Hazelpaw's Moonstone Journey

Batsong prepared some traveling herbs for a visit to the moonstone. This time she would be accompanied by Hazelpaw, who was ready for her moonstone to become a full warrior of the clan.

The quiet and shy med cat called them from the apprentice den and dropped the herb packs at her paws one for each of them.

She ate the bitter tasting herbs quickly and gestured for Hazel to do the same.


Once the apprentice had done that, it was time to begin the journey. The moon was quite full now, giving plenty of light for their way there.

It was relativly uneventful which Batsong didnt mind at all. No predators, no invaders so far so good.


Getting to the cave entrence, she sat down and gave Hazelpaw a little reassuring smile

"In there" she whispered pointing to the cave with her tail.

Ill wait for you here... the rest is up to you.... you k-know what to do" she purred. Wrapping her tail around her paws she let the apprentice go into the cave on their own. Part of this, she figured at least was letting them go off on their own.

She nodded dutifully at the medicine cat, taking her cue to enter the ravenous maw of the cave with glee; whiskers carefully tracing along the rocks to make up for her lack of sight. Hazelpaw found herself stumbling a little on the way, paws clumsy on an unknown and rather cold ground, but she kept going on the route she had been carefully instructed on how to follow. As light emerged at the end, the calico trotted a little faster, a slight frown marring her features as the tunnel seemed to stretch on forever. But as she was considering turning back, Hazelpaw found herself staring at the moonstone, gently glowing with the light of a waning moon.

The amazement she felt was immense, eyes stretching wide, mind buzzing with questions. The apprentice knew what she was to do, squinting as she got closer to the stone, settling in and gently touching her nose to the cold surface.

The warmth she felt was surprising and she jumped in shock, the wide expanse of the moor in broad daylight meeting her now open eyes. A brown-and-white tabby tom sat nearby too; blue eyes filled with nothing short of curiosity, the responsibility gifted to him being promptly lost. "Is this StarClan?" Her voice was soft and incredulous, and she padded over to the tom, sitting next to him. "Who are you?"

"Wh- Me? Who are you! Get off WindClan's territory!" His demeanor had now shifted dramatically, standing with his fur bristled. Hazelpaw looked at him in horror, words about being a member of the clan herself, their location, apologies all bubbling on the tip of her tongue, stammering it out as jumbled sentences. The tom softened at her anxiety, fur laying flat. "I'm kidding. I'm Buzzardpaw! This is StarClan - well, still WindClan, just in StarClan. It's nice to meet you, Hazelpaw."

The molly cocked her head to the side a little, confused as to how he knew her name; shrugging it off as just a StarClan thing. "That wasn't very nice!" She pouted, flattening her ears a little. Was she expected to show full respect to a tom of her age, playing cruel jokes on her? That wasn't fair. "I thought you were meant to be wise and all-knowing and caring," Hazelpaw mumbled, looking away.

"It was just a joke," Buzzardpaw shrugged, confused as to why she cared so much. "I think you're maybe taking this one a little too hard, Hazelpaw." Is this what I'm meant to give advice on? He pondered briefly, deciding that it absolutely was. "You gotta take things less seriously! Nobody was hurt, and there wasn't a chance you could be hurt from that! Live a little!" He was grinning now, incredibly proud of his pep talk.

She softened a little, but still looked a little frustrated, and he realised his job wasn't yet complete. "Your sense of justice is admirable, Hazelpaw. But things aren't always going to be correct, and sometimes yeah, there will be bad jokes played on you. I think it's important that sometimes you just let it go, especially when it's as menial as this. But for what it's worth, I apologise. Not all jokes are for everyone."

Hazelpaw was visibly relaxed now, nodding a little. "Thank you." They sat in comfortable silence for a little, until her vision faded and she awoke in front of the Moonstone, a purr in her throat. The calico returned to Batsong in silence, ready for the journey home.