Medicine Cat Meeting 4/19/17

It had taken a lot of courage, bravery that she didn't have, to get Honeydrop to leave ShadowClan camp for the half-moon meeting. She would have rather stayed behind in the medicine den, tending to her Clanmates and talking with Flamestrike, but there were two major reasons that she knew skipping out on the gathering of medicine cats wasn't an option. First of all, she had a responsibility to her brand-new apprentice, Roaringpaw. He would be going to his first-ever meeting, and no way would she make him come alone like she had always had to. She was his mentor, and as such it was her duty to teach him. Second of all, the recent arrival of the cats from the Tribe of Endless Skies. The whole ordeal had been extremely confusing, and she was at a loss for what to do. Hopefully, StarClan would speak from Silverpelt and guide her unsure pawsteps. And seeing her old friend Rabbitfoot wouldn't be too bad, either.

The honey-gold medicine cat padded shakily up to the craggy rocks of Highstones, noting with slight apprehension that she was first to arrive. The sharp stones below pricked at her battered paws, and a cold wind buffeted her almost off her feet as she stopped to make sure her apprentice was following. "C-come on, R-Roaringpaw," she called out behind her, waving her dappled tail to signal him onward. "We're a-almost th-th-there!" When they arrived a few minutes later, the exhausted medicine cat sat down, with out from the long journey despite the bitter traveling herbs she had consumed. Hopefully, the other medicine cats would come shortly.

Roaringpaw followed his mentor scrambling, trying to make sure he kept up. His kit-like body made it difficult to not fall behind, but the medicine cat apprentince was determined to look good to his mentor. He felt a pang of fustration at himself when her pelt would draw close before suddenly emerging farther ahead when they encountered an obstacle that he couldn't help but feel should've been easy to get over.

'Am I good enough for this?' He wondered, thinking about his capable brother Duskpaw. The cat had known more herbs than he did to help their sister, yet Roaringpaw was the one who got this position instead of him. 'Why did Honeydrop choose me?' The apprentice thought about how distracted she was when talking to him sometimes, like something or someone else was on her mind. He knew his mentor was dealing with some dark stuff, which he noticed from her restless nights in the medicine cat den, but Roaringpaw couldn't help but feel like he was being a burden.

When Honeydrop called him, Roaringpaw felt his guilt lessen and chest rise with happiness at the positive encouragement.  He followed her beckoning tail eagerly, and let his dark thoughts lift from his mind in excitement of being at his first medicine cat meeting. He sat next to his mentor, waiting for more cats to appear.

Beetlewing took in a sharp breath, poening his jaws slihtly to taste the fesh scent of the moorland. The large, black medicine cat waited for a few moments for his apprentice to catch up before he moved on. He could see two shapes contouring themselves near the spot where they were supposed to meet, and Beetlewing pressumed they were other medicine cats. He was eager to pressent Sagepaw to the other medicine cats, and also wished to speak to Honeydrop. He guessed it must be hard for her without Puddlepaw.

As he got closed, he smlied. Beetlewing did not expect to see Honeydrop with an apprentice so soon, but it was all for the greater good. He dipped his head in a warm greeting to his friend from ShadowClan before he moved on to introduce Sagepaw. "Honeydrop, I am happy to introduce to you, Sagepaw. And I see you have gotten a new apprentice as well?" he meowed with a small, warm smile to Roaringpaw. "My name is Beetlewing. We are tbe medicine cats of WindClan." he explained to the little cat, happy that his apprentice would have another cat to be friends with. Only he could tell how lonely was his life as a family-less medicine cat. He remembered his first friend, Sparkflower, and how happy she had made him.

Roaringpaw didn't know if it was ok for him to speak, but his excitement at meeting other medicine cats crushed his caution into nothing. He wanted to introduce himself to them and forge a friendship, if Starclan allows it. It would be fun to learn about what it's like in the other clans. "I'm honored to meet you all," the tom stated honestly with eagerness clear in his voice. "My name's Roaringpaw."

Sagepaw padded quietly after her new mentor. It hadn't been long since her ceremony and the torrent of confusion inside had yet to quiet down. Her muscles still ached from the last trek to highstones, but  already, they were back. Part of her was excited at the prospect of meeting the other medicine cats. It was one of the privileges medicine cats had- to meet those from other clans peacefully. Her tail flickered impatiently as they walked. Finally, two overs came into their site line. As Beetlewing greeting the Shadowclan cats, her heart skipped a beat. Honeydrop? Where have I heard that before? It was only a moment before she remembered this was the last Puddlepaw's former mentor. The lost apprentice had been the one to welcome Sagepaw as a medicine cat. It took every ounce of her self-control to not instantly blurt out all she had seen to the golden she-cat.

"Nice to meet you." Sagepaw allowed a soft purr to her words. Despite her struggle to come to terms with her new destiny, the apprentice appreciated the beauty of the night. For once, she allowed herself to relax and enjoy it while pushing away any dark or unsure thoughts. The grey and white patched apprentice found herself hoping she would see Puddlepaw again. It was because of her Sagepaw had felt more at ease. Oh Starclan, guide me, She begged silently, longing to once more to share tongues with the warrior ancestors.

Her first medicine cat meeting after she'd received her full name. It was odd how it felt the same as ever. Sparkflower nodded a greeting to the other medicine cats, silently gritting her teeth in the wind. It felt like so long since she'd last seen them. With interest, she noted that there were a few new apprentices. That had been her, not long ago, and it was strange to see herself as once being that small. Maybe she'd take on an apprentice soon. The medicine cat padded over to the two younger cats, giving them a little sheepish smile as she fumbled over a little. That clumsiness is why I'm not a warrior.
"Sparkflower - medicine cat of ThunderClan," she introduced herself with a grin. "You two must be the new apprentices. WindClan and ShadowClan, right? Pleased to meet you!"

A smile crossed Honeydrop's face as Beetlewing came around the bend. It was nice to see him again, too. She assumed the gray and white she-cat behind him was a new apprentice. So soon? Before she could introduce her new apprentice, he spoke up, nervousness apparently out the window. The golden dappled she-cat smiled and nodded instead. "Th-this is Roaringpaw, my n-n-new apprentice," she stammered out by way of explanation. "E-Ever since Puddlepaw d-d-disappeared... I needed m-more help, so L-Leopardstar suggested I t-t-take him o-on. I d-don't regret it, and St-StarClan a-a-approves." She dipped her head to ThunderClan's medicine cat. "S-Sparkflower, isn't it? Nice to s-see you. N-nice to meet you, S-Sagepaw. You're l-lucky to have B-B-Beetlewing as your m-mentor."

Roaringpaw felt a jolt of surprise when Honeydrop's mentioned Puddlepaw, a cat he never heard of. The tom hadn't known that Honeydrop had trained an apprentice before him, let alone one who had mysteriously disappeared. 'Is that why she doesn't sleep well?' The apprentince wondered. He felt a pang of sympathy for his mentor, figuring it couldn't be easy to not know what truly happened to Puddlepaw.

Caught up in his epiphany, Roaringpaw yanked himself back to focus on the present. He didn't want to miss anything, so he pushed the incident with Puddlepaw back into the corner of his mind.

Oceanlight spotted the medicine cats gathered at Highstones. She walked over and dipped her head to the medicine cats. "Hello, everyone." she would normally list the cats here, she didn't care, there was too many to list.