Echopaw's Moonstone Journey

It had been so long since Basilbloom had gotten to see the Moonstone in all its shining glory, much less lead an apprentice to speak to StarClan. So many moons of fruitless attempts to reach that had come to an end and as Basilbloom trotted up to the apprentice's den near sun-high she had a bounce in her step. Echopaw, her little brother, had proved himself a warrior, and despite the recovery efforts, she wanted to make sure he received the blessing on StarClan, truly. Poking her head in and purring in a low tone, she woke the young tom. "Echopaw, it's time to go to the Moonstone! Meet me outside when you're ready." She had all her herbs prepared, including the extra ones for herself. The Dark Forest's aura of calamity and anxiety had taken a toll on the she-cat; her body was thinner than usual, and at times she seemed to struggle for breath. She had important things to do though, she couldn't worry about that right now. When Echopaw emerged, the tortoiseshell she-cat smiled and motioned towards the traveling herbs. "It's a long journey, farther than you've ever traveled. Eat these, they'll give you strength."

Echopaw groaned slightly when his named was called from the entrance of the den. He had heard stories of taking these trips, but he never imagined he would be the one to do it today. Regardless he pulled himself from his nest and made his way outside, pausing occasionally in his steps to stretch along the way.

Once he reached Basilbloom, he lapped up the herbs like she instructed, grimacing at the taste slightly. He didn't really know what to say to her, though he was never really one for words in general. Plus he didn't really know his older sister that well. Once the herb taste was clear from his mouth, he nodded up to his medicine cat.

Basilbloom watched with a smile as her little brother lapped up the herbs, but as she waited for him to be done an uncomfortable thought came over her.  She didn't know a single thing about Echopaw, they had been so distant because of all the chaos caused by the Dark Forest and their mother's death.  Besides the blood they shared, the tortoiseshell tom was a stranger; and at that moment, Basilbloom resolved herself to fix that.  "I'm sorry for being so distant, the last several moons have taken their toll on me, and I'm ashamed to say that I barely know my little brother.  When we get back, would you like to share a piece of prey?"  No matter the tom's answer, she had a job to do, and with a flick of her skinny tail the medicine cat led them out into the marshes.

---

The moon was high in the bright starry sky by the time the two ShadowClanners reached Mothermouth, and Basilbloom had to take a moment to compose herself, breathing deeply through constricted lungs.  Purring reassuringly to Echopaw once she caught her breath, the she-cat's tone was surprisingly light and casual; "I'm fine, don't worry.  My heart hadn't worked correctly since the day I was born, so I have some trouble traveling."  Once recovered though, the petite she-cat led the way into the tunnels confidently, excited to see her beloved Moonstone once more.  It had been so long...  When the brilliant light finally came into view, Basilbloom couldn't contain her smile.  It was just how she had left it, glowing with the power of a million stars returned to the sky.  Gesturing to Echopaw, she meowed instructions in a low tone.  "Go lay down and touch your nose to the stone, StarClan will bring with a dream.  I'll be here when you wake up, good luck Echo!"  She hoped he wouldn't mind the nickname.

Green eyes looked up at the older she-cat as she spoke to him. Apologizing for being distant, and wanting to fix it. He didn't mind. She had a job to do, taking care of the clan was more important than looking out for your little brother. For him, as long as his siblings were okay, he was content. Still if it helped her peace of mind then he would agree. "Thats fine with me. A frog would be preferable." He said to her as he followed her out of the camp.

--

Echopaw had paused when his sister did, green eyes watching with concern as she seemed to have a hard time collecting herself, or rather a hard time with the trip. Either way he didn't like the fact that she struggled with this no matter the condition she had. Still there was nothing he could do about it so he was just going to leave it alone for the moment.

Once they reached the stone, Echopaw took a moment to look at the shining stone. It was beautiful, certainly a sight to behold, but would he really see Starclan? Did he even want to see Starclan after all they took from him? He had to because this was part of becoming the warrior, but if he had his way, he wouldn't be here. Still the tom laid down and pressed his nose to the stone.

The expanse of StarClan's territory was breathtaking, but before Echopaw could truly appreciate it a cat stepped forward- or, more accurately, barreled forward; just barely pausing before she would have knocked him down. A large, fluffy black tabby with shining orange eyes stood before him. When she spoke, her voice was energetic and the words came out quickly. "It's so good to see you, Echopaw! I'm so proud of you!"

Bouncing on her paws, she tilted her head, considering the apprentice before her. Remembering that they hadn't technically met before. "Right! I should introduce myself," she nodded. "I'm Mothglow! It's been a long time since I was a ShadowClan cat, huh... Well, anyway, I've been really excited to meet you, Echopaw!"

Echopaw recoiled backwards some as the she-cat had rapidly approached him, fur standing on end slightly as a snarl graced his maw. It took him a moment to get a reign on his emotions, forcing himself to relax as the she-cat spoke, with far to much energy than he could tolerate. He wasn't used to this.. He wasn't used to Starclan in general.

"Mothglow?" He echoed. He had heard the name before, in stories from his father. This was his grandmother.. or rather adoptive, but still. "Dad has spoken about you before."

"He has? That's good to hear," Mothglow answered cheerfully. She did her best to watch over her family, but she also tried to watch over all of ShadowClan; and it was easy to fear she'd been somehow forgotten, as silly as it might have been. "You know, of everything I've done... Raising Batglow might be the thing I'm proudest of. Well, and mending things with Silent, but... That's different, isn't it," she murmured, forgetting herself for a moment before turning her attention back to the apprentice, considering him. "You kinda remind me of her, now that I think about it. It's not a perfect comparison, but..."

She shook her head. It wouldn't do to be caught up in the past, at a moment like this. "I've been waiting to meet you," she said, a bit more calmly this time. "How could I not want to meet my grandson?" she added, the obvious pride she felt clear in her voice. "And to give you some advice. Take it seriously, okay? It might not seem like it, but I know what I'm talking about! Promise!"

Mothglow paused for a moment, possibly to let her words sink in or maybe just to catch her breath. "You can't live your life alone forever. Love- in all its forms; friendship, romance, family- is such a beautiful thing, and if you don't open up to the people around you, you risk losing it. You can always find it again, but... It's easier to keep it. It's harder to fix something that's broken than it is to keep it from breaking in the first place."

She tilted her head, as if the words weren't coming out quite how she wanted to say them, and tried again. "There's something I want you to do. Just one thing. Find what matters most to you, and promise me that you'll do everything you can to keep it safe."