Smokepaw’s Moonstone Journey

Hazelbriar wasn’t exactly sure why she’d been chosen as Plumleaf’s stand-in, and while she’d been skeptical about the position at first, she had to admit it wasn’t that bad. Carrying a bundle of herbs across camp (only after double-checking it about a hundred times) she stopped in front of the apprentice den and poked her head in.

”Smokepaw?” She called, her voice slightly muffled by the bundle she was carrying, though she set it down gently so that she could be heard better. ”Smokepaw, time to, uh- go to the moonstone or whatever. You should probably eat these herbs, they’ll give you strength or something, but if you don’t wanna, no pressure I guess.”

She remembered her own trip to the moonstone, but it hadn’t been nearly as exciting as she expected it to be. Hopefully Smokepaw would have better luck. After the apprentice had eaten the herbs she led the way out of camp. Before long they had arrived at Highstones, the looming darkness of the caves beckoning them with open arms. Hazelbriar had always found it a bit spooky, but at least she’d get a nap once they got in.

”Follow me.” She said, striding into the cave with the confidence of a cat who had done this a billion times already. Fake it till you make it, right? As they reached the stone she allowed Smokepaw a minute to be wowed by its beauty as all apprentices usually were while she found a comfy spot near the wall and tucked her paws underneath her.

”Touch your nose to the stone and close your eyes. Starclan’ll talk to you when you wake up or somethin’. Have fun!”

Smokepaw was up early, just dozing in her nest, when she heard a voice calling to her. Obediently, the smoky apprentice exited the apprentices' den and listened to Hazelbriar explain what was going on. She nodded, looking down at the herbs, and then with a grimace, swallowed them down. "Okay, ready."

The journey to the Moonstone was long, and by the time they got there, Smokepaw's limbs ached, and her pads were scuffed and tender. She'd never traveled so far in her life. But the yawning cave before her was enough of a distraction that she didn't feel it once they got there. She followed Hazelbriar through the tunnel, sticking close to the older warrior's flank, and then breaking away when the Moonstone came into view. Smokepaw blinked at it, her eyes traveling over to take it in. She'd never seen something so magnificent. "Wow..." she whispered, moving closer. She listened to the instruction, and then nodded, stepping forward and sinking down to her belly, reaching her nose out to touch the stone.

(Mobile post so it sucks, sorry.)

A whirling pool of stars appeared before Smokepaw. They slowly gave way to reveal a copper and gold furred tabby tom with eyes the color of polished copper. His smile was gentle and his gaze was soft as he approached.

"Hello Smokepaw," He began gently, his voice warm and rich. "I am Copperfox of Skyclan. Congratulations on your first moonstone journey. My mother's name was Smokefeather. It seems like "Smoke-" is given to a lot of kits that have various shades of gray in their fur." He sat down and wrapped his tail loosely around his paws.

"So... what questions do you have for me? What are you struggling with? What is something that makes you uncertain in your life? I'm sure I can help."

When she opened her eyes, everything had changed. She wasn't in the cave anymore... her nose wasn't pressed against cold stone. It was warm and nice, and before her stood a reddish colored cat she'd never seen before. Copperfox, he said his name was. Smokepaw's eyes widened slightly, a hint of wetness in their big round depths. StarClan was real? This was amazing.

"I know Smokefeather," she mewed quietly. "Well... I don't know her, but... my mama says I'm named after her." She observed Copperfox with a hint of mysticism, trying to figure out what she wanted to ask... what she wanted to know. Finally, she settled... "I'm not strong like the other apprentices, and... and I don't really like to fight. I want to be a warrior, and I want to protect my clan. How do I become strong?"

Copperfox patiently waited for the younger cat to ask questions. If she didn't, he would have offered advice of some kind regardless. Fortunately the situation she presented was something he was all to familiar with.

"I was like you once. On my first outing with my mother, whom was also my mentor, we were attacked by a fox. It frightened me so much that I never wanted to fight again and it actually made me mute for several moons." His eyes suddenly darkened at the memory of how he got his voice, and his courage back. It wasn't a short tale, but he would shorten it as much as he could.

"I had a cruel older brother, you may have heard of him. His name was Dawnhawk, yes the very same Dawnhawk that brought an army of rogues and the Dark Forest to the clans. Well, this took place after he was banished by Wolfstar for bringing the army of rogues to our territory. There was an apprentice named Birdpaw, my niece and Beechfang's daughter, that wandered off into the Old Twoleg place. I went to find her since it was dangerous to be out alone as an apprentice. Unfortunately when I found her, my vengeful fox-hearted brother had her pinned.

I begged him to let her go, offering myself in her place since he was known to be a murderer. I'd been afraid of violence for so long and only fought out of fearful self-defense that I knew my war-mongering brother had a lot more experience than I did. I felt powerless like there was nothing I could do... and I will never forget what Dawnhawk said to me.

After I tried to reason with him and tell him that my life was worth more than an apprentice's because I was a warrior and that it would hurt Skyclan more for me to die... he said, "I disagree former brother. Her life is worth more than yours because you are a coward!" Copperfox's expression hardened at the memory, but this was important to this apprentice, so he kept going.

"He did something to her... I'm not sure what, but she made a squeak as if she had been hurt. I feared the worst and I sank to my belly. All I could do was..." He paused a moment and sighed, shame and guilt riddled on his face as he lowered his eyes. "...All I could do was shake and cry. I was still too afraid to fight him. He walked right up to me and, although I doubt he meant to, he did help me find my courage that day. I'm not fond of this memory, but it taught me a lesson and I hope it helps you too.

While I lie in the dirt cursing myself as a coward, he felt the need to gloat over me and taunt me further. He said, "You act as if your rigid pacifism makes you better or smarter than everyone else, and yet here you are! The "good tom" doing nothing! At least when your family and everyone you love drops dead around you onto a BLOOD-STAINED FOREST FLOOR you will have one victory awarded to you: that you stuck to your beliefs and that you were a coward to your last whimper!""

Copperfox's tail tip twitched and his claws unsheathed into the starry void below him. He paused only for another moment before he cleared his throat, and his head, and kept going.

"He raised his claws to kill me then. That was when I realized that he was right, that me doing nothing would only allow him to win and everyone I loved would die. Something inside of me snapped and I fought back. I didn't win, but he didn't have the strength to kill me either once it was over. I found out afterward that Birdpaw was fine. For some reason he'd let her go with hardly a scratch. He did what he did only to taunt me and toy with my fear. I suppose I should have thanked him for that, because I never was afraid to fight anything ever again." He allowed a moment of silence to pass between them before he finished, his soft gaze and warm smile returning to his face.

"I don't think your situation is as extreme as mine, and I hope your resolve won't have to come to you under similar circumstances as mine did, but that was how I learned that sometimes violence is the answer, however unpleasant it may be." He waited to see what she would say, if anything. Maybe that story had been frightening, but it was a real world example of when to use claws and teeth, to defend your loved ones, that he had. She was an apprentice for now, but she would not be shielded from the evils of the world forever. He had given her the best advice that he could.