Mosspaw's Moonstone Journey

So many things had happened over a span of a couple moons. Swiftstep was willing to forget those events but unfortunately couldn't. It would be ingrained into his mind as well as everyone else who had seen the evil that was now gone. The clans were now trying to continue their normal lives, lives that had been stopped in time as the events of Lichenmask and his followers played out. Time seemed to have resumed. He was grateful for that. Today, deputy was ready to take an apprentice to the Moonstone. Young Mosspaw would be one of the first few apprentices to contact Starclan after their rather long silence. The tom had a bundle of herbs by his paws for the she-cat. Swiftstep had eaten his a few moments ago. "Mosspaw! It's time to get going!" he called from his sitting position by the camp entrance. The deputy felt strangely relaxed just thinking about the trip. It felt like the calmer times in his life. The times without too much worry or a tense atmosphere.

With an ebullient skip in her blithe bounds, Mosspaw was soon beaming at Swiftstep, zealous enthusiasm iradiating her glistening eyes. The reasons to be exuberent were vast - but even through the apalling events of the eclipse and war, she'd still forced a blissful beam on her expression. With the aftermath of the ultimate battle pounding in alls' hearts, Mosspaw could only empower them with her smile.
"Hello, Swiftstep!" she trilled, the quiver of keenness undeniable in her tone. The apprentice skidded and slipped to be a pawstep away from the bundle of aromatic herbs, almost tripping over them in her wildly eager dash. Without hesitation or doubt, Mosspaw arched her neck to devour the stalks of emerald, ivory petals and rich leaves. Instantly, a flood of harsh bitterness trickled into her mouth. Scrunching up her muzzle in a wince, the tortoiseshell hastily gulped it down, nose still flaring from the shaprly acidic sensation. The taste still tickled at her throat, like claws scrabbling onto the walls of her maw. "Wow. Okay. That was sour." Despite the abrupt acrid savour, she still giggled. Her expression had probably looked ridiculous.

"I'm ready!"

Swiftstep nodded with a smile and beckoned the younger cat to follow his lead. The pair then set off on an exciting journey to the Moonstone!

~Time Skip~

The deputy and apprentice had made it to their destination as Silverpelt began to paint the night sky. Swiftstep, the whole way there, pointed out interesting facts about each landmark as they passed them. The tom hoped it was all exciting to Mosspaw. The sprint across the Thunderpath seemed to give them both adrenaline. They continued walking up to the tunnel's opening.

Swiftstep smiled and began to step into the dark entrance. "Stay close to me Mosspaw. I don't want you hurting yourself in the dark." he instructed as they began to walk. Soon the two reached a cavern where the glowing Moonstone sat. "Touch your nose to the Moonstone and a Starclan cat will speak with you." the tom said as he made himself comfortable by the exit.

This had been the most exhilerating adventure Mosspaw had ever engaged in!
Whenever Swiftstep had directed her focus to landmarks, she had demonstrated her thrill in discovering such diverse curiosities very plainly. All the information that had been shared with her this night were intriguing, but what she had anticipated with the most euphoria was the Moonstone itself. In the limited amount of description she had gathered from her fellow apprentices, she could already realize that the location they were travelling to was one of celestial beauty. StarClan, she sure was elated when they had finally arrived.
She responded to the deputy's directions with effervescent enthusiasm, but was contious to heed his words. Murk gladly engulfed her throughout the pace through the tunnel, but neither the solemn silence nor the shade diminished her zeal.

When ethereal rays dazzled her, she knew they had reached their destination at last. Mosspaw's eyes could not have enlarged any futher when she surveyed the Moonstone with bursting awe. No words flowed to her mind to describe this stunning experience. Swiftstep's instructions penetrated her wonder to snap her out of her daze, and she promptly trotted to the sparkling source of illumination. The beams irradiated her entire expression of utter bewilderment as she lightly made contact with the colossal gem.

StarClan would finally show themselves after moons of despair.

(OOC: Sooooo sorry for the late response!)

StarClan was truly a majesty of a land to behold. Green, warm, quiet, and beautiful, it certainly lived up to its potential as being the ideal place for cats to seek eternal rest after their time spent with the living. Up above where not a single cloud blotted the dark sky, countless stars shimmered and shined radiantly, and several of them began to subtly shift. Then they began to swirl and descent to the grassy, firefly-lit ground.

The stars took shape as a light gray tabby with bright leaf-green eyes. The molly blinked as she gazed at Mosspaw with such warmth and joy, absolutely certain that any insecurities the apprentice may have had when being whisked away into StarClan territory through her dreams were diminished.

"Hi, there! My name's Fernwing, and I used to be a WindClan cat just like you!" the StarClan cat meowed happily. "Welcome to StarClan! Isn't it just beautiful? I remember my own Moonstone journey when I was an apprentice, I didn't think I ever wanted to leave this place once I arrived... and now I have no choice but to stay!" She purred with laughter, her long bushy tail swishing behind her. "Anyway, I'm sure you must be dying -- hehee, get it? -- to ask me something, so ask away!"

《ooc》that's alright! <3 i'm sorry for my late response.

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"AaaAAH! Wow! StarClan! I'm in StarClan! This is amazing! Oohh, this is so awesome!"
The effervescent apprentice frisked around in extensive arcs, the monumental phenomenon too enthralling to thoroughly behold. All the scintillating lustre riveted her, charming the juvenile she-cat as she resumed her euphoric frolicking. Mosspaw had scarcely been focusing on the coruscating stars, but rather the queer phosphorescence lingering above the ground. The source of the mellow glowing appeared to be minute specks idling by the grass. Were they little creatures?

After heartbeats of being allured by the fascinating illuminations, the cozy atmosphere seemed to warp and morph. The tortoiseshell hastily retracted to whisk around, discerning the subdued shifting of the air.
She had only narrowly got to register what was happening when suddenly, the figure of a warrior had materialized in front of her. Mosspaw made a limited effort on restaining her gasp, all rapture abruptly amplified as she gaped at the StarClan cat.

"Oh, wow! Hi, Fernwing! This is so awesome!" she squealed with upmost ecstasy, once the former WindClan warrior had finalized her welcome. It couldn't be more pronounced that she was in a state of utter elation and was prepared to burst at any second. The apprentice had concluded that she already admired Fernwing, trilling and giggling at every stage that Fernwing did. "StarClan is beautiful! I don't think I'd want to leave, either!"

Oh, she had too many questions to inquire. She'd recieve the wisdom of a StarClan cat, and the thought aroused profuse bliss within her, but what question tugged at her the most?
"Fernwing, I've realized.. not everyone is happy. I've realized that there was a lot of despair and anguish, especially when the stars had disappeared. I tried to keep joyful - and I did! - but others around me were devastated.
I.. I want to make them happy. Happiness, to me, is the best feeling in the world! How do I do that? Is there a way that I can spread joy?"