Finchpaw's Moonstone Journey

"Finchpaw's it's time to head out!"  Dropping the bundle of herbs in his jaws onto the snowy ground, Leopardclaw ran the back of his paw against his tongue, trying to remove the bitter taste of the herbs from his mouth.  Today he would be taking the young tom Finchpaw on his journey to the Moonstone, which meant another long walk through the snow.  The thought of the coming difficulty damped his mood a bit, but the golden spotted tabby deputy still kept up a generally happy demeanor as he waited for the apprentice to emerge from his den.

Finchpaw stood up looking at Leopardclaw; it was the day. Today he would be having Moonstone trip and met some StarClan cats, he supposed. Quickly he padded out of den and mewed: "I am ready! We can go." He knew that it would be really long path, much longer that he had ever been patrolling. But with doing this, he would be one step closer to his warrior name and end of his education.

Leopardclaw nodded approvingly at Finchpaw's enthusiasm, but didn't lead the way out of camp quite yet.  "Good.  Before we go though, eat these."  Pointing his tail at the pile of herbs on the ground between them, the golden spotted tabby meowed; "They're traveling herbs, to help give you energy for the journey, and quell your hunger."

"All right," he agreed. Then he ate the herbs, which deputy had given to him. As quickly as he was he exclaimed again: This time I am ready for good! Nervously flickering his tail in both directions he waited for Leopardclaw to lead on.

With an approving nod, Leopardclaw flicked his tail and set off, leading the way out of camp and out into their snowy forest territory.  Glancing behind him occasionally to make sure Finchpaw was keeping up, the two toms made their way steadily towards Fourtrees, where they would cross into WindClan territory.

Finchpaw followed the deputy without much looking at the nature around him. He was very nervous because this was the day, when he would be meeting StarClan cat and when everything would had changed. This was really important event right before warrior ceremony and he wanted to be perfect.
With quick steps he was catching up with Leopardclaw, whenever Finchpaw was too slow and deep in his thoughts.

Soon enough, the two had crossed over the ThunderClan scent line, and padded through Fourtrees.  The great oaks with their bare, leafless branches looked skeletal, ghosts of their former glory.  Soon though, warmth would return to the territories, and the forest would regrow as strong as ever.  The forest faded into fields as the two crossed the WindClan border, and traveled steadily across the moorland.  Leopardclaw could see a WindClan patrol in the distance, but didn't approach it, and signaled to Finchpaw not to as well.  Though the two clans were currently allies, he didn't feel like being held up by cats that might want to chat.  Pushing on, he gazed back at Finchpaw, seeing if he had much of a reaction to the new sights and scents the highlands held.

Finchpaw was becoming a little unpatient he was not used to such a long paths- he preffered short and active trips, with energic hunting or tensed checking of the borders. Being on the Moonstone trip was something new for him and he knew that this had the chance to be repeated once; maybe if he would  acompany leader to the Highstones as a guard.

Silly WindClan scent was coming into his nose and he sneezed when he it was becoming stronger. He would surely remember it and hate it, as is expected from the member of ThunderClan.

Leopardclaw pushed on, and soon enough the two had left WindClan territory behind.  They were now entering lands unclaimed by any clan, the grounds of Twolegs.  On they went, crossing Thunderpaths and cautiously avoiding the strange stone nests that scattered the land, before finally approaching the base of Highstones, where Mothermouth lay.  Sitting down with an exhausted huff outside the cave entrance, the deputy glanced over at Finchpaw and, once his breath had returned, flicked his tail to guide the apprentice over to the looming dark tunnel.  Taking a step inside, he meowed lowly; "Follow me."; before being swallowed by the darkness ahead of them.