Frostpaw's Moonstone Journey

Plumpaw headed over to the apprentice den, once again clutching the familiar traveling herbs. She was eager to get out of camp for a bit, the journey to the Moonstone suddenly seeming effortless in comparison to how hectic things had been lately. To think she'd once thought this would be the hardest part of her duties as a medicine cat was comical.

"Frostpaw?" She called, her voice echoing in the silence of the sleeping cats. "It's time to go to Highstones. I've brought you some herbs for the journey."

Plumpaw gently set the bundle down outside the den, sitting down while she waited for Frostpaw.

The marbled silver tabby stirred, rising to her paws. It was far too early. With ShadowClan sleeping everywhere, it was plainly difficult to get any shuteye around here.

“Morning,” Frostpaw meowed, sounding rather terse. It wasn’t personal, she was just tired.

“Do I have to do anything special with these, or do I just eat them?”

"Morning!" Plumpaw replied quietly, stifling a purr of amusement at Frostpaw's question.

"Nope, you can just eat them. Unless you'd like to do something special, though I can't guarantee they'll still be useful afterwards. A word of warning, though, they tend to be a tad bitter. But that's just part of the experience."

Plumpaw didn't really mind her clanmate's gruff tone; she'd gotten used to that while sharing a den with Fogpaw.

Frostpaw unceremoniously scooped the herbs in her mouth, wincing at the taste. If this is ‘a tad bitter’, I’d hate to feel what ‘a tad warm’ or ‘a tad painful’ is…

The chewing somehow made it worse. Stars, this was terrible. She gulped, concerned that the tickle in her throat was going to be a piece of herb that would linger with her all day. How these cats are herbs like this all the time was beyond her. “How can you still taste, chewing on these?”

“I’m ready when you are,” Frostpaw coughed, a leaf still in the back of her throat.

Plumpaw led the way out of camp, setting a brisk pace as the two apprentices journeyed toward Highstones. They had plenty of time to get there, but she'd rather not delay and risk Frostpaw missing out on her chance to speak with Starclan. The trip seemed shorter than it had before, but maybe that was due to the fact that she knew the route better, and of course the strengthening herbs. Before long they'd arrived venturing into the darkened cave. Plumpaw found herself getting used to the darkness more and more, which could be said about many aspects of being a medicine cat. She finally felt like she was finding herself in her role. Once they reached the Moonstone, Plumpaw turned to Frostpaw with an encouraging smile.

"Touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes. When you open them, Starclan will be waiting for you. I'll be right here when you wake up." She sat down nearby to wait.

Highstones was a maze, but soon enough they came upon a promising looking cave.

Frostpaw followed the medicine cat apprentice inside, whiskers twitching in the dark.

She glanced up at Plumpaw for instruction, which she freely gave.

Well, this was the moment of truth. The large marbled silver tabby took a deep breath in, then out, then in once again, placing her nose on the frigid stone.

It was weird how closing one’s eyes transported them to another reality. She felt as though her eyes were open, and she looked around to see colors she never heard of streaking the sky with their shimmering pelts, an unusual levity in her feet. This was StarClan, she knew.

The tabby she-cat swiveled her head around, looking and absorbing the landscapes. Every Clan’s scent rolled together to give a uniquely StarClan scent, sharp and clear.

She was ready. No matter what.

Out from the mist, a reddish-brown tabby hobbled her way towards Frostpaw. Her right eye gleamed a bright amber-- her left missing beneath deep trails of scar tissue. Her pelt was grizzled and broken up with gashes, her gait unsteady, but even so she continued on with an air of confidence. She stopped in front of Frostpaw, her piercing gaze never breaking. "My name is Maplepaw. I was a SkyClan apprentice, just as you. I never got to grow, become a warrior, do anything of value before my life was taken from me. But you... you can make SkyClan proud."

The tabby moved to circle around Frostpaw, glowing eye flickering in the mist. "You seem capable enough, maybe a little scrawny. I've heard that my mother is leader now; is she not feeding any of you?" Maplepaw chuffed out a short laugh. "You'll be a fine warrior, as long as you don't get into any trouble. Don't go snooping around and putting your nose where it doesn't belong-- that's how I lost everything. My curiosity got the best of me." Maplepaw sighed deeply, finally breaking her gaze to look at something far away. "I thank the stars every day that he's rotting in the Dark Forest."

Frostpaw turned her head to face Maplepaw. Stars, she was shredded to bits. The marbled silver tabby looked into Maplepaw’s good eye.

“I’m a decent hunter, can’t help everyone eats it first,” Frostpaw meowed, rather deadpan, but a wry smile was on her lips.

“So, Briarstar’s your mom?”

“Whoever roughed you up like that needs to be there.”