Mallowpaw's Moonstone Journey

The work never ended, no matter how much she willed it too. Cloverheart was grimacing against the taste of the herbs she'd already swallowed as she shouldered her way into the apprentice's den, another bundle clasped lightly between her teeth. She scanned the cats gathered there, and picked out the pelt she was searching for, carefully padding over to give Mallowpaw a nudge. "Wake up," she mewed gently, setting the herbs down by her nose. "Eat these, and I'll be waiting outside for you. We're going to the Moonstone.


"Did you make it through the tunnels okay? Good." The medicine cat's voice was clipped as she ducked into the cavern that held the Moonstone, breath heavy from their trek. After this, she was demanding no cat bother her for a moon or more, at least; she was wedging herself into the furthest corner of the den and sleeping through the next Gathering. Or two.

Her tail whisked, and she nodded to the towering stone as she moved to settle beside it. "Go ahead and lay down next to it, Mallowpaw. Touch your nose to the Moonstone, and you'll wake up in StarClan. I'll be right here, and all that. Sweet dreams." Her ear flicked. Hopefully, Mallowpaw's trip wouldn't be as eventful as other recent expeditions.

Mallowpaw had been curled up, having been sleeping for only a few hours before she was nudged awake. Sleepily, the apprentice stirred, and with a large yawn she attempted to puzzle together who it was. Cloverheart? Why was she- oh, it was time for her moonstone! She nodded to the medicine cat, quickly downing the herbs in front of her. It was a good thing it was dark, as her face scrunched into a horrendous twist at the taste. Oh, Starclan - why were they so bad?

After leaving the apprentice's den and nodding to Cloverheart, she followed her dilligently.

---

While any other time, the apprentice would have been asking dozens of questions, it was one of those occasions she simply was too tired to do so. Stretching upon arrival, the apprentice gave yet another dutiful nod towards Cloverheart. "Sounds good." The silver-tipped molly settled down in front of the stone, taking in the sight of it before gently resting her nose against the cold surface. A chill rippled down her spine as she shut her eyes, and soon, the she-cat was whisked into her dream.

Her paws seemed to carry her within a forest lit by stars, and a look of amazement filled the young cat. Would she meet someone while in her dream? Would they share wisdom with her? She was alone for the moment, but it looked like another cat was coming towards her...

From the swirling, starry mist, padded a slender she-cat. Her fur was short, a warm russet with darker markings throughout. The she-cat's head tipped slightly to the side and she settled back on her haunches, a fair ways away from Mallowpaw. Their surroundings possessed the feeling of Riverclan territory on a warm summer morning. It was pleasant and calm. Twin pools of light regarded the apprentice. For a while, the Starclan cat said nothing, contented to rake her gaze over the pelt of her visitor.

"I'm not sure what any good Riverclan cat could gain from speaking with me, but I suppose the stars must have deemed me worthy enough since my mate now leads your clan." Her voice was soft, filled with mild measures of contempt. It had nothing to do with Mottlepaw, but rather, a peace that Kitefire still had to find within herself - something that wasn't obtainable even in a blissful afterlife. But there was nowhere to run to anymore and she'd become mostly resigned. With a flick of her tail, Kitefire meowed once again, "What have you come here to learn? Unfortunately, I don't possess the secrets of the universe."

Even though the sensation of warmth wasn't real, the illusion of it all certainly felt like it was. Mallowpaw also studied the cat before her, taking in the russet and star-kissed fur. Her frame certainly didn't convey the typical stature one would have seen in RiverClan, but without much of a sense of smell within her dream, she couldn't exactly tell.

It was the next sentences that gave way to her theories - the cat wasn't of RiverClan origin. However, a curious phrase brought the apprentice to flick an ear. She was Jaystar's late mate? "Jaystar had a mate?" The question simply slipped out of her maw, whatever filter typically existed upon the apprentice having failed in that moment. Her whiskers twitched in brief amusement at the fact that the cat before her seemed to not have all of the answers, but truth be told Mallowpaw didn't anticipate her to. "I-I really don't know what I came here to learn..." She turned her gaze to just beyond the starry cat, although it was quite hard to remove her gaze. "Would you like me to bring a message to Jaystar? If I remember it when I wake up..." Mallowpaw offered, feeling somewhat awkward that she didn't know what to ask of the she-cat. "He's so... I don't know. I just want to make him proud of me. Maybe he'll be happy to hear something from you?" The she-cat finally opted for simply speaking all of the thoughts that came to her mind, hoping it'd lead to a productive chat between the two of them. After all, it was one thing to disappoint Tinypool or Jaystar... but disappointing StarClan? That was a wound she wouldn't be able to recover from.