Tansypaw's Moonstone Journey

Littlebrook padded quietly towards the apprentices den to wake up the next apprentice who was up for her Moonstone Journey. "Tansypaw.. It's time for your Moonstone Trip." She called softly into the den of sleeping apprentices before ducking out and heading to the entrance of camp to wait.

Tansypaw's eyes snapped open at the sound of Littlebrook's voice. Moonstone trip. Right! She shook out her short pelt and gave it a few quick licks before bounding out to meet her Clan Deputy. "I'm ready," she ventured, unsure of what to say.

Littlebrook purred softly as the apprentice made her way nervously to her. "Okay Tansypaw," She started, nudging the bundle of herbs at her paws towards the young cat, "These are your traveling herbs. They aren't the best tasting, but they are helpful." She told her sympathetically. She had already eaten hers, so as soon as Tansypaw had finished, she flicked her tail and headed out towards the Mothermouth. The sun was just setting, so they would make perfect time if they kept up a steady pace.

They had been walking for a little while when they finally reached the Thunderpath. "Okay, this is probably the most dangerous part of our journey, Tansypaw, so I need you to listen to exactly what I say, okay?" She meowed, looking at the apprentice with a significant look in her eyes. "I will check the Thunderpath to make sure no monsters are coming, and then whenever I say go, you go. Do you hear me?" She said, not looking away until she was sure the apprentice understood. Now, she set her paw carefully on the edge of the path and waited until no vibrations could be felt and no monsters were seen, "Go!" She yowled before streaking out across the stinking black path and making it on the other side.

Tansypaw hurled herself onto the Thunderpath at Littlebrook's command. Her paws barely touched the strange black rock as she dashed safely to the other side. "That felt so strange!" she exclaimed. Looking ahead, she flicked her tail. "Is that Highstones?"

Littlebrook nodded to Tansypaw's question as soon as they had caught their breath. "Yeah, that's Highstones." She meowed, smiling at young cats excitement. "We're almost there now. Come on, let's hurry." She purred as they continued with a brisker pace.

Soon they had reached the gaping hole of Mothermouth and she paused in her steps to turn to the apprentices. "This part can be a bit unnerving to some cats sometimes, but all you have to do is just follow me. I'll lead you safely to the Moonstone, alright?" She said, her blue gaze soft and reassuring. "Okay, follow me. If you feel you're falling behind, just call out to me and I'll slow down." As they slowly made their way down the cave, the pitch black they had gotten used to suddenly erupted into light as the moonstone came into view. Smiling at the familiar glow, she sat down off to the side as she let Tansypaw take the breathtaking sight in. "Alright, this is where your journey continues without me. Just touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes. StarClan will do the work from there." She meowed gently as she made herself comfortable.

Tansypaw looked back at Littlebrook and nodded, not wanting to disturb the silent, peaceful atmosphere. Her shadow looked foreign in the beautiful glow of the Moonstone. She padded closer to it, gazing at it curiously. Will I really be able to talk to StarClan cats? she thought. What if no one comes to talk to me? The ShadowClan apprentice settled down beside the moonstone, hesitating for a brief moment before she pressed her nose to its smooth, cold surface as Littlebrook had instructed.

Her eyes snapped open. StarClan? She looked around, trying to spot a starry figure. Please, please let some cat come and talk to me, Tansypaw pleaded silently.

The cats in StarClan knew just who was coming to visit them that day, and they sensed the presence of Tansypaw's spirit the moment she fell asleep. The cat who had chosen to speak with her made her way over to the ShadowClan apprentice. In a quiet, grass-covered meadow, where the visitor opened her eyes, a starry form appeared, growing from dim to extremely bright in the space of two seconds. The StarClan cat was short and lean, with beautiful golden dappled fur and warm amber eyes. She looked young and happy, and there was a notable absence of scars from her pelt- but something familiar about the tilt of her head and the look in her eyes told Tansypaw that she knew the she-cat. It was the former medicine cat of ShadowClan- Honeydrop. She'd visited Sparkpaw, and now she was here to see her other grandkit. "Hello there," the StarClan cat purred warmly, her voice soft and beautiful- unmarred as it had been before the tragedies of her life. "Nice to see you again, Tansypaw."

A beautiful, honey-colored she-cat melted out of the shadows, stars glowing in her pelt.
"H-Honeydrop? It's nice to see you too." Tansypaw hadn't been expecting to see the former ShadowClan medicine cat, but she wasn't surprised to find Honeydrop in StarClan. "Are you here to talk to me?" Internally, Tansypaw sighed with relief. Honeydrop had been one of her favorite cats before she had been exiled, and it was comforting to have a familiar dead cat to talk to rather than one she didn't know.

The starry-furred golden she-cat laughed, a clear and beautiful sound that not many cats still alive in ShadowClan had ever heard. "Of course I'm here to talk to you- what did you think, that I was just going to stand here without saying hello to my own grandkit?" Honeydrop's smile was smaller, but still proud, gazing down at Tansypaw with something bordering pride. "I've been watching you, Tansypaw, and I'm so proud. You have a good chance of being one of ShadowClan's greatest warriors someday, you know that?" Boosting the apprentice's pride was important- some cats needed it toned down a little, but some cats needed more self-confidence. Her grandkit was one of those. "I'd ask you how your father is doing, but... I've been watching him too, no matter how painful it is, so I know. Make sure that you don't push him away- he needs you right now. He's going through a hard time." That was probably an understatement, but even though he had murdered her, Honeydrop still couldn't hate her son- or even remotely dislike him. Her love for him was too strong for that. "Is there anything you need advice on, Tansypaw? Anything you'd like to know? This might be your only time going to the Moonstone, you know- not that StarClan can't visit you in your dreams, sometimes."

Tansypaw's heart swelled with pride, and she smiled. Honeydrop's words were welcome and reassuring. Tansypaw vowed that she wouldn't let them go to her head, but she knew that whenever she needed confidence, she would remember that Honeydrop believed in her. "I'll always be there for my dad. He can count on me... You can count on me," she promised. Tansypaw racked her brain for questions for Honeydrop. "Honeydrop... how will I know if I'm doing the right thing? I mean, there will always be choices to make, in life... but how will I know that I'm making the right choice? I'm afraid of choosing something that will hurt someone else..." she trailed off. "That doesn't even make sense. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say." Tansypaw shook her head. "Do you have any other advice for me?"

Honeydrop smiled at her grandkit. "Just make sure that you follow your heart and the warrior code, Tansypaw, and everything will turn out fine. ShadowClan will be lucky to have you as a loyal warrior. Of course, no one's life is perfect, but as long as you follow the code, listen to the leader and your heart, and make sure that you are always yourself, then you're set. Just never let anyone change you, all right, Tansypaw?" The golden dappled medicine cat touched her nose to the apprentice's, before stepping back and beginning to fade away. "Don't forget that I'll always be here for you! Follow the code. Don't make my mistakes. I love you, Tansypaw!" With those last parting words, Honeydrop was gone, only the stars in her fur remaining before those, too, dissipated into thin air.