Blackpaw's Moonstone Journey

Blackpaw made an effort to be awake early, trying to get the worst of her sleepiness out of the way before Fogpaw got there. She stretched and yawned, occasionally accidentally kicking an apprentice or two in the head as she got up. She spared them no sympathy; if she had to be awake at this hour so did they. She was ready when the medicine cat appeared at the den, greeting him with a quiet growl that was perhaps the least aggressive greeting she could muster at this time of night. She eyed the herbs disdainfully and then swallowed them as fast as possible, hissing at the taste. "Are you trying to poison me? At least make it less obvious." She shouldered him 'playfully' with enough force to knock a normal sized cat clean off his feet. Fogpaw was far from normal sized, though, and they walked on.

--------------------

Finally, after moons of walking and irritated tail twitches, they arrived. Blackpaw followed Fogpaw, relying on the sound of his heavy footfalls to navigate the dark tunnel. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the Moonstone. She'd never say so but it was beautiful, for a rock anyway. Blue was her favourite colour. She approached the Moonstone, moment of awe over, and pressed her nose to it hastily. She hasn't bothered to lie down first and collapsed into a laying position as her consciousness left her body.

At first she thought Fogpaw had been lying, as she still saw the blue glow of the Moonstone when she opened her eyes. She whirled around, teeth bared, to bite Fogpaw for making her walk all this way to see an admittedly pretty rock. And maybe claw him for good measure. But to her surprise, no big grey medicine cat greeted her when she turned around. In his place, a much smaller tuxedo she-cat stood with an impatiently twitching tail. Stars danced in her fur, matching the scenery that Blackpaw was only now starting to notice. The older she-cat glared at Blackpaw, malice gleaming in her eyes despite her generally neutral expression. "I'd put those claws away, apprentice." Her voice was raspy and entirely monotone. It was a little freaky, but not freaky enough to make Blackpaw comply. She took a step back, claws still unsheathed. "Hm. SkyClan's cats are still insolent. Typical." Her tail twitched again, betraying annoyance that her body otherwise entirely hid. This cat was creepy, Blackpaw thought. [color:0852=565D65]"Who're you? I thought StarClanners were supposed to be all mushy. You're not Dark Forest, are you?" she demanded suspiciously, though there was excitement in her voice. Was she allowed to fight StarClan cats? Or Dark Forest cats, she supposed?

"I'm Adderflare. I'm not Dark Forest. It's rare to see a SkyClanner who isn't kin. But you have Bloodstar's rudeness anyway." She sat down, clearly unthreatened by Blackpaw's unsheathed claws and spiked-up fur. "You need advice. Clearly. What is it you want to know?"

Advice?? Blackpaw faltered. Was she supposed to ask Adderflare something? Fogpaw didn't tell her to have a question prepared. When she got back she'd kill him. What was she supposed to ask a dead cat? She was dead, what did she know? "Maybe you should ask me advice. I'm the alive one here." she growled. She didn't need advice, especially not from a dead she-cat who was shorter than her.

Adderflare's tail twitched again. "Ah. Leave, then. If I have nothing to offer." Blackpaw blinked. Adderflare sat, calm as anything. But there was something off, something Blackpaw couldn't quite figure out...

Suddenly and without warning, the StarClanner sprang from where she sat and knocked the unprepared Blackpaw onto her back. Her claws were at her throat and those green eyes bore into her own. "If this wasn't StarClan you'd be dead. It's easy to die. Much harder to stay alive. Especially with your manners." Blackpaw prepared to retaliate, but then Adderflare- and everything around her- began to fade. "You're reckless. Continue and I'll be seeing you soon." Adderflare warned as she faded into nothingness and Blackpaw returned, gasping and hissing, to her body.