Flickerpaw's Moonstone Journey

Leopardclaw sat down outside the entrance to the apprentice's den, and placed the familiar bundle of traveling herbs at his paws.  Today he would be taking yet another apprentice to the moonstone; Flickerpaw.  He waited for a moment, before calling out.  "Flickerpaw, it's time to leave!"

Flickerpaw had almost dozed off when Leopardclaw's voice yelled out to her. What was it now? She had been in the middle of a perfectly good rest. Still half-asleep, she slowly sat up annoyedly, stretching her hind leg automatically. Maplepaw had told her that some exercise would be good, and Flickerpaw never did get out of the habit. Then his words registered. Leaving? For what? Training? Daisyheart was her mentor, not Leopardclaw, so surely that wasn't it. Then she remembered. She was going to the Moonstone. She half fell, half leaped down from her rock once again, padding over towards Leopardclaw. A part of her wanted to go irritatingly slow, but this wasn't the time. Starclan waited for no one. She wrinkled her nose at the herbs, but gingerly ate them anyway. "Bleaugh. Couldn't we wash them down with just a small amount of water?" She asked. Surely there was something, like a piece of prey they could munch on to take away the taste a little?

Leopardclaw smiled faintly, and purred; "You probably could while the water isn't frozen, but alas, most of it is this time of year."  The water isn't the only thing that's frozen solid...  The tall deputy shifted his cold paws in the snow, inwardly cursing this horrible season.  Once they started walking, hopefully they would warm up a bit.  "Well then, ready to head out?"

Flickerpaw tried not to show her disappointment that there was nothing. "Yeah, I'm ready, but if we see unfrozen water we can drink it, right?"

With an amused smile, Leopardclaw nodded his permission before turning to lead the way out of the ThunderClan camp, and out into the snowbound forest they called home.  Trudging along, the golden-pelted deputy tried his best to shift snow in order to make a clear trail Flickerpaw could follow, to make it easier for the smaller she-cat.  Heading at a steady pace towards Fourtrees, the long-legged tom glanced back over his shoulder, checking to make sure Flickerpaw was still behind him.

Flickerpaw followed Leopardclaw. She bounded up beside him to show she didn't need a trail carved for her, that she could make her own. The snow was deep, but she could do it.

Slightly startled by Flcikerpaw's sudden appearance at his side, the spotted tom gave her a look through a raised brow, as if wordlessly saying 'well, if you want to make it harder for yourself'.  He didn't really mind too much though, and the two continued on their way, crossing over from Fourtrees into WindClan territory.  It was a pretty nice, clear day for once, but Leopardclaw could see more snow clouds forming on the horizon.  Hissing slightly under his breath, the deputy pushed on, silently taking in the beautiful open space of the moorland heights.

Flickerpaw continued to walk by Leopardclaw. The moor was easier to navigate than the forest, considering the lesser amount of logs and trees, no undergrowth. However, the wind blew harder and she could see the clouds as well. "Will the clouds cover up the moon? Will I have to...
to go back? Will the moonstone still work?" She asked worriedly.

Leopardclaw didn't reply, his mind lost in worried thought.  After a long moment though, he meowed matter-o-factly; "We should be fine, those clouds are still pretty far off.  At worst, we may get caught in the snow on the way home."  He had tried to sound casual and humorous, but his voice only reflected a deep stress he was trying to contain.  He did not want to turn back, or even have to stay a night in the Moonstone cavern.  It was cold out, the clan didn't need any sick cats, and...ThunderClan needed it's apprentices to be promoted as soon as possible.  He fell silent, but picked up the pace a bit, walking as fast as the snow would allow.

Soon enough they left WindClan territory behind, and began to traverse the lands of Twolegs.  All the while as they dashed across Thunderpaths, dodged Twoleg nest, and avoided dog or rogue cat scent, Leopardclaw kept flashing his gaze back to the sky, watching the clouds.  A swift breeze had begun to pick up, blowing the dark masses even closer to the territories.  Biting the inside of his lip, the ThunderClan deputy almost ran across the last stretch on their walk, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as Mothermouth came within view.  Stopping outside the cave entrance, the long-legged tom took a moment to catch his breath, before turning to Flickerpaw and hissing; "Come, we don't have time to waste."  Entering the dark entrance in the hillside, the tom's bright golden pelt was swallowed by darkness.

As Leopardclaw's pace grew faster, Flickerpaw fruitlessly attempted to keep up. Eventually, she fell back to the trail of snow he made by walking. The bitter cold was made worse by the wind. Why couldn't I get that thick fur like Sharptooth's? She thought wistfully. She followed Leopardclaw's every direction, knowing that any disobedience could get her killed, especially on the Thunderpaths and areas known for having dogs. Once they made it, however, she was cold and tired, not to mention hungry, but all 3 were common for leafbare. Nervously, she followed the deputy into the darkness.

Their path twisted away down into the stony depths of the earth, and very soon their visibility was lowered to zero.  Using his whiskers to guide him, Leopardclaw made sure to keep fairly close to Flickerpaw, so that his scent could help direct her.  For a while they walked, enveloped by silence, until a faint light began to glow ahead of them.  As they got closer the light shone brighter and brighter until they were standing in the Moonstone cavern, pelts washed white by the holy illumination cast from the crystal.  Turning to meet the young she-cat's gaze, the deputy meowed lowly; "Step forward, and touch your nose to the stone Flickerpaw.  StarClan will send you sleep, so that you can walk in dreams with your ancestors.  I will be here when you wake up."  Flashing her a slight smile, he found a semi-comfortable place to lay down, prepared to wait out another night.

The dark was scary. It felt like creatures of the night were watching her, waiting to pounce. The light that eventually appeared made the dark feel darker, but as it grew brighter she began to make out Leopardclaw's silhouette. She approached the bright stone cautiously and reached her nose out to it.

"You're something else, Flickerpaw." An echo seemed to come from all sides as the starlit plains came into focus around the apprentice. A long-furred, and rather large, grey she-cat stepped into view as the sound subsided. Grasswhisker had not spoken to the living for quite some time. She constantly watched over them, yet held her tongue so many times, and with far more patience than she had shown in her own life. It was finally time to break the silence. The former warrior had watched the she-cat as she had grown from a kit. Along with that, her disdain towards impure cats only worsened. It was that same mentality that had lead the now deputy to believe he was not good enough to serve the clan. And now, he stood in line to serve as the next leader.

Every ounce of her wanted to star by cuffing the she-cat over her ear in an attempt to shake out all of the mousebrained thoughts there. But, Grasswhisker had discovered some level of restraint and patience since coming to Starclan. Besides, she had died with eternally motherly instincts that kept the rest of her personality in check. The Starclan warrior had been the one to love and guide Wolffang when no one else wanted to. With a sigh, she settled down and fixed her green gaze on the Thunderclan apprentice, "My name is Grasswhisker. I was a Thunderclan warrior before your time. And I believe we have some things to talk about. Do you know what they might be?"

OCC: JUMPING IN TO GET THIS TRAIN ROLLING

OOC: you put occ what does occ mean
yeah I'm a perfectionist

IC: Flickerpaw looked around, finally then found Grasswhisker. "Something... else?" She swallowed her saliva. "No, I don't know... What will we talk about?" She asked uncertainly. Grasswhisker was a towering figure before the relatively small Flickerpaw.

OOC: OCC means I type to fast and screw up the actual acronym

"I have noticed you seem to have a taste for... purity. I suppose it would please you to know that I was born of pure Thunderclan clan blood, much like you." Her eyes narrowed, and the way she said 'purity' hinted at on obvious disdain. Other than that, her tone was even. Grasswhisker did not want to jump right into her personal feelings on the subject, but rather ease in the apprentice. The tip of her tail flickered with an increasing amount of patience. After a moment, she finally mused, "I am not sure you have heard my name before, but I was Leopardclaw's mentor back when he first became a part of Thunderclan."

She waited silently. Flickerpaw was given a moment to think and let the wheels turn in her head. Despite the blood purity issue, Grasswhisker strived to believe the young she-cat had sense. As she waited, her eyes never tore away from the apprentice. Their discussion would take some time, and she was okay with that. As long as the message got through to the young cat.