Sagepaw's MCA Ceremony

Beetlewing had done a lot of thinking regarding who he was going to chose as his apprentice. He needed a cunning, strong mind, a cat willing to learn beyond their limmit. Of course, he was sure that for that to happen he needed to be a just as good mentor. The tom had had his eyes on a particukar apprentice for a while now and, after a talk with Ashstar, he made his decision. In the middle of the night,  he roused Sagepaw, prodding her gray fur with his paw. "Wake up, Sagepaw. I need to tell you something." he meowed softly, careful not to wame the other apprentices. Beetlewing couldn't imagine the chaos of surprised apprentices creation a flurry that would soon wake up the whole Clan.

Some cat's paw prodded her awake. Sagepaw blinked sleepily, shaking away the tired haze. Her head felt groggy and he body heavy. Brindlewhisker's training, along with roaming the whole territory had tired her out. Yet, here some cat was shaking her up in the middle of the night. She was tempted to throw out some displeased remark towards the other cat, assuming it was Slatepaw. But instead her eyes met those of the clan medicine cat. He green eyes blinked in surprise. What does he want so late at night?

It was really her first encounter with Beetlewing. Confusion was evident across her features. A yawn escaped her maw before she could say anything. Sagepaw stretched slightly, but didn't quite get up yet. The apprentice cocked her head at the time and finally whispered, " What is going on, Beetlewing?"

Beetlewing looked around, eyes narrowed as he studied the sleeping bodies of Sagepaw's denmates for any sign of odd movement. All of them seemed asleep, much like Sagepaw, they must have been exhausged after hard training. He returned his attenton to the gray and white she-cat that he had awoken. "You and I will make a journey. You will be my apprentice, so we need to go to Mothermouth." he explained briefly before allowing Sagepaw out of the apprentices' den. He hadn't prepared any herbs for the journey, granted Highstones was in their own territory and then journey wouldn't be quite as long and tiring as one from other Clans. "Hurry up." he instructed, studying the dark sky with his keen eyes. Beetlewing wanted to arrive at the Highstones before dawn began painting the sky bright colours.

That caught her attention. Beetlewing wanted her as an apprentice. Shock froze the young she-cat for a second. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever pictured becoming a medicine cat. Her green eyes widened at the prospect. Did Starclan choose me? Is this their will for me? After a moment of initial shock, she questioned, " But, Beetlewing, I'm supposed to be a warrior..." Her eyes darted over to look at the sleeping frame of her brother. What will Slatepaw think?

The medicine cat seemed to be in a hurry and hustled out of the apprentice's den. Any other protests died in the young she-cat's throat. She wasn't quite sure what was happening, it was all so sudden and confusing. While her mind swam with unanswered question, Sagepaw was silent. Following after Beetlewing with a brisk pace, she simply meowed, "Okay."

Beetlewing felt a pang of guilt as he walked by the apprentice, struggling to understand her protest and her wish to become a warrior more than a medicine cat apprentice. He had never faced that sort of feeling, but hoped that it will nonetheless die down as time passed and she maybe discovered it was nicer than she thought, to heal her Clanmates. The journey through the moorland was quiet and he did not speak until they arrived at Highstones. Hot wind gushed from the inside of Mothermouth, beckoning the two cats inside. "Follow my scent." Beetlewing instructed as he dove into the deep darkness and weaved his way through the tunnels, until light began to shine from the end and he quickened his pace to exit the tight tunnel. "This is the Moonstone." he said as they both took in the sight of the glittering stone, spreading light over the walls and throwing a silver dapple over Beetlewing's black fur. He coughed and readied his voice, remembering the words Cindercloud had spoken at the time of his ceremony.

"Sagepaw... is it your wish to enter into the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" he meowed, feeling his paws heavy as StarClan vibrated alongside them.

Occ: so far each one of these posts has ended up being om mobile so I'm srry for how bad they

Sagepaw was silent the entire trek. The clan medicine cat hadn't said anything, so she felt no need to speak up. Her mind raced with a swarm of questions. This was so sudden; it was so entirely unexpected. She had just started training under Brindlewhisker, and now she was supposed to be a medicine cat apprentice? It made her head reel. Before she could manage to process it all, they were at mothermouth. Despite the warmth of the cave, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Sagepaw hesitantly padded after him into the darkness. He seemed to know exactly where they were going. At first she was petrified, but the lack of light and addition of heat became strangely comforting. Soon, a dazzling light seemed to pulsate in the midst of darkness. The moonstone. Her eyes went wide. She was so caught up in taking in the brilliance, she barely registered that Beetlewing had spoken.

"Y-yes," She stuttered slightly. There had been no time to think. But it seemed this was now destined to be her path. Coughing to clear her throat, she tried again, forcing affirmation into her voice, "Yes."

Beetlewing pushed down the knot in his throat and nodded, his gentle eyes locking into his apprentice's for a short while before he spoke again. He knew this was a hard decision for Sagepaw, and maybe not even her own, at the moment, but StarClan had spoken, and only few were lucky enough to hold this possition. "StarClan, the time has come for me to appoint an aprentice. I present to you, Sagepaw. She has chosen this path and wil train hard to understand your ways. From now until you recieve your full name, you shall be known as Sagepaw. Mayb StarClan light your path with their wisdom." he spoke, adressing to noone in particular. When he finished speaking, he knelt in front of the Moonstone, feeling the cold radiating from it's surface. He motioned Sagepaw to do the same as he pressed his nose to the cold stone and the world vanished from under his paws.

A shaky breath left the she-cat. The whole world felt like it was spinning. She had just been presented to Starclan as a medicine cat apprentice. Never before had she pictured something like this happening. Sagepaw had never thought that Starclan wanted anything to do with her. Of course they watched over her as they did the next cat, but to chose her as a medicine cat? The thought was simply insane. Her mind could not comprehend it. When Beetlewing motioned her forwards, she walked stiffly towards the stone. There was a slight bit of hesitation before she pressed her nose to the ice cold stone. Chills ran through her body for a moment before everything went dark.

Sagepaw blinked a few times. She was in a starlit plain. Instantly the young she-cat recognized that she was now with Starclan. The place gave off a peaceful vibe unlike anything she had ever felt before. Not only was it beautiful; but the world of Starclan was calm. This was different than anywhere she had ever been. I can't wait to tell Slatepaw, She thought, unaware she was not meant to share her dreams with him. A feeling of discomfort caused her to shift her paws. She had not idea what Slatepaw would think of her becoming a medicine cat; she barely knew what to think. Before she could ponder the idea anymore, a voice breaking through the silence caused her to jump.

"It will be okay." A voice meowed. The speaker was a little she-cat, she appeared not to be much older than Sagepaw, but was a fair bit smaller. The gray and white Windclan cat's eyes locked with the strangers, "My name is Puddlepaw. I was once Shadowclan's medicine cat apprentice."

"Why have you chosen me? I was supposed to be a warrior? What is ha-"

"I know it is a lot to take in, Sagepaw. But Starclan had chosen you for a reason." This little cat spoke with the authority of a full grown medicine cat. Despite her size and youth, Puddlepaw made Sagepaw feel like a tiny kit again. There was something comforting about it, "Beetlewing will be an excellent mentor to you, like Honeydrop once was to me. And you will grow to be a fine medicine cat yourself. I, along with the rest of Starclan, will always be with you." Sadness shown in Puddlepaw's eyes. There had been no chance for her to ever gain her full name. Her life had been cut short. However, the flicker of sadness soon dissolved into one shining with determination. Today, another medicine cat apprentice was starting their new path. Sagepaw was silent. All of her questioning died out at Puddlepaw's words. Everything was still so new and confusing, but at least she now knew her warrior ancestors would be walking next to her through it.

"I'll do my best." Sagepaw vowed. There was still a nervous edge to the words, but for this reason alone she would try to find her place in the clan as a medicine cat. She realized what had happened to Puddlepaw. The sadness touched her as well, despite it being another clan's medicine cat. Sagepaw would attempt to do what the Shadowclan apprentice never had the chance to do- live to become a full medicine cat. The weight of it all felt crushing in her chest. Although, she reminded herself Puddlepaw had said it would be okay.

The starry she-cat sent her a reassuring smile. A second later, the world around her dropped out again once more. Screeching began to ring in her ears. The sound caused her to jump in alarm. Slowly, things came into focus. Cats tore at each other with unsheathed claws. Mercy was long forgotten here. It was a moment before she realized this was the gorge. She had only seen it once, but it was memorable. A dark-grey and white pelt launched itself at a younger cat. Between the writhing masses of other cats, Sagepaw couldn't quite figure out who was who or what was happening. An overwhelming scent of Windclan and Riverclan hit her. Is this happening now? Everything seemed so real, and she would have believed it, if it weren't the middle of the night.

A sickening crack caused her to go ice cold. Whatever it meant, it wasn't good. She looked up to see the main fighting pair. The smaller cat was on the ground; barely moving. His attacker let out triumphant yowl, 'This is what happens when you mess with WindClan!' That was when her blood froze. Smokepelt. Broken, gurgled yowls rose from the Riverclan cat, overwhelming her. Darkness crept it again. The scene was over.

'We're always with you... no matter how things may seem...'

The light of the moonstone returned. Her heart was still stopped. She blinked wide, disbelieving eyes up at her new mentor. Horror still filled the young she-cat. All of her longed to ask Beetlewing about it, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say anything about it. Instead, she meowed softly, "We should go."


OCC: not sure if its acceptable for Starclan to reveal to Sage the moment when Smokepelt broke Frog's jaw (she doesn't know yet). but if it isn't I can edit and cut that out

Beetlewing stood lost amongst SarClan, sharing tongues with his long dead mentor quietly, feeling every rasp of Cindercloud's tongue both as a praise and a scold, just like a mother to a kit. She smiled down at him as he looked at his paws. "D-do you think Sagepaw will be happy as a medicine cat?" he questioned, and his glance barely touched the surface and his eyes fluttered open for a few moments to watch Sagepaw besides him, touching the cold stone with her nose. The reality faded and he was flung back besides Cindercloud, feeling her comforting warmth. The tom wished he could see what Sagepaw was seeing, but StarClan did not bless him with this power, nor authority, and what the small she-cat was encountering, what was initiating her in her rank, was out of his protective reach. And even though he yearned to know, he knew he was supposed to instruct her to never reveal dreams. Deep lost in thought, he almost jolted as Cindercloud spoke, her voice rough and smooth at the same time.

"StarClan chose her through you." she replied simply, leaving Beetlewing with a pit in his stomach, longing for more. Sometimes it seemed that StarClan was deliberately distant, keeping things hidden from the four Clans. He sighed, knowing there was no way to beg for more. He would only obtain another flat half-response, half-question. StarClan have chosen her through you... he thought. But why? Why her? She wanted to be a warrior, she was training under Brindlewhisker! his mind spoke. But he could not complain, for Sagepaw was a great apprentice, he could tell.

"You should go." the medicine cat said, startling him. There was something uncanny about her voice, as if it was blending with something else. "You should go." she repated and sat up, looking at him with a ghost of a smile.

"We should go." he heard his apprentice. Beetlewing opened his eyes, almost feeling the urge to look for Cindercloud through the cave. Her scent still hung in the air, or maybe it was just his imagination. He got up, shaking his pelt and passing his tongue up over his cold nose, determined to warm it somehow. "Remember, Sagepaw, you mustn't tell anyone what you dreamed." he meowed a he led the small apprentice through the twisted tunnel, emerging into the moorlan, washed by the lighs of dawn. We must have been in here for ages. he thought. His stomach grumbled but they would have the chance to eat back in camp. "We can go tell Brindlewhisker and Slatepaw about your new rank... If you are ready." he meowed, looking down at Sagepaw with his round, large eyes.

i'm sure the staff would not say it is prohibited, since anyone could have just told Sagepaw and her having a dream that does not reveal trully hidden information would be a problem, though if you want, you could check with Pika))

OCC: I checked with Shad who said it was fine! also s/o to us for having one of the most in-depth and greatest MCA topics of all time B)

"Not even medicine cats?" The thought of having to keep this all to herself made things worse. Being a medicine cat was seemingly becoming more lonely. A soft frown crossed her maw, but it couldn't be seen as they picked their way out in the darkness. She longed to share with Beetlewing the images of Smokepelt that now haunted her. However, the apprentice wanted to mull over them herself first for a bit. But she wanted answered. Puddlepaw had not explained, only tried to reassure her. Her new mentor's words broke her out of her head once more. They had to tell the clan. Sagepaw had pushed off thinking about it. Thinking about her brother's potentially disapproving looks made her ear twitch. Brindlewhisker had to know as well. It felt weird the warrior she-cat was no longer her mentor. Sagepaw would miss their training sessions.

"Can we wait until later to tell the clan? I need to rest." A yawn broke from her jaws just as she finished speaking. Dreaming with Starclan certainly hadn't been restful. The young she-cat felt as if she had been awake for a few moons. Her paws ached and the trek to camp seemed like it would be hundreds of tail-lengths away. All she wanted to do was curl up and try to process everything that had just happened. Everything had changed over night. Thinking about it made her head spin once more. Sagepaw longed to settle down, hoping things would make sense in the morning.