Jaypaw's Moonstone Journey

The sun hung heavily in the late morning sky, bathing all of WindClan's camp in a warm, honey-like glow that threw bright reflections off of the partially melted snow that still lingered on the brittle earth. Despite the heavy chill that still weighed down upon the forest, the winds brought the faint taste of dampness and budding greenery- promising that Newleaf was slowly reclaiming the barren territories. Departing from Mottleheart and Featherpaw's den with a farewell flick of her tail, Brindlewhisker picked her way across the clearing towards the Tallrock, a carefully wrapped bundle of dried herbs firmly held between her teeth.

Jaypaw left the apprentices' den and moved towards Tallrock to meet his mother for the journey.

"Good morning Jaypaw," Brindlewhisker mewed, her words slightly muffled by the small bundle of precious herbs that were carefully placed between her teeth, "I hope that you slept well last night." Dipping her head and carefully depositing the wilted leaves on the ground in front of her paws, the Deputy gently nudged the traveling herbs towards the grey tom. "These are the traveling herbs that Mottleheart and Featherpaw have prepared for you. They taste quite foul, but in order to keep up your strength and avoid becoming hungry during our journey, you need to eat everything." She instructed, gaze flicking from Jaypaw's face and down to the pitifully small amount of herbs.

"I did, thank you." The apprentice nodded to this mother. Jaypaw's muzzle screwed a funny sort of way when Brindlewhisker warned of the taste. The grey tom swallowed them anyways and detested every second of it. "I am ready!" He claimed.

Brindlewhisker watched as Jaypaw obediently swallowed the herbs, her nose briefly twitching in amusement as she witnessed the disgusted expression upon her sons face. No matter how many times she traveled to the Moonstone, watching the apprentices taste traveling herbs for the first time would never grow old. Rising to her full height, the Deputy gave a quick nod in response to Jaypaw's exclamation, her own impatience to start on their journey evident in her gaze. "Then I suppose we should get going!" Brindlewhisker responded, tail flicking as she began making her way towards the entrance.

Jaypaw wasted no time following his mother through the territory. WindClan and ShadowClan were lucky enough to have territories that were close to the Moonstone. That was something that the apprentice was happy about, although he enjoyed spending time with his mother, Jaypaw was eager to shed his apprentice name and gain his full warrior name. And this trip would put him one step closer.

-time skip-

The late evening sky was heavy with warm hues of red and gold, the dying sun bleeding out weak rays of light as the Highstones eagerly swallowed the sun for the evening. The faint glimmer of starlight was barely evident among the rapidly gathering darkness that was slowly overtaking the barren territory that surrounded the Highstones, casting weak silvery shadows on the half-dead grasses. Brindlewhisker and Jaypaw had arrived at the Highstones closer to end of the day, and they had been allowed to spend the majority of their time impatiently basking in the weak light of day.

Raising her head up from her paws, Brindlewhisker's attentive gaze raised up to the rapidly-darkening sky high above them, her ear flicking as she did so. Now that the moon would be rising, it was time for them to make their descent into the belly of the sacred mountains. Giving Jaypaw a gentle nudge, the Deputy stiffly rose to her paws and gave herself a brief shake to chase away the lingering cold. "Are you ready to meet your ancestors, Jaypaw?"