Tonight would be the first time Smokepetal returned to the Moonstone since returning to SkyClan's homeland. The brief passing on the way back hadn't lent enough time for a visit, not with so many still sick or injured, not with the tensions of war so thick you could cut it with a claw. But SkyClan was back in their camp, the defenses had been restored, and things were peaceful... for now. The medicine cat didn't know how long it would remain this way, but she intended to take advantage, and now more than ever, SkyClan needed warriors... that meant getting apprentices to their communion with StarClan.
Rosepaw was long overdue for this, Smokepetal noted. She'd been preparing to take the apprentice shortly before her disappearance, and that was some time ago even. But Rosepaw had grown into a fine young cat, and she was definitely ready to be a warrior. "We're nearly there," she told her companions, casting a glance first at Rosepaw, then at Sunfire, who'd been assigned to protect the patrol as she'd requested. Caution and fear kept her voice low, though they were close enough now to the Moonstone that there was certainly no mistaking them for a battle patrol. "Now, Rosepaw... when we get there, it will be like a tunnel, into the ground... it will be dark, but if you stick close to me, I will guide you. I know the way." Her wide gray-green eyes blinked reassuringly at the other she-cat.
"Then, you'll see the Moonstone. Lie down beside it, and touch your nose to the stone. StarClan will come speak with you, and I'll be right there when you wake." Smokepetal tried hard to ignore the disgusted stare her speech had drawn from Sunfire, but she could almost feel it burning into her pelt. The tom mostly kept to himself when he was escorting her, but he never attempted to hide his disdain for StarClan. She'd learned to drown it out.
