Orchidpaw's Moonstone Journey

The early afternoon sun was floating high above as Leopardclaw ducked out of the medicine cat's den, a bundle of herbs clutched in his jaws. Today he would be taking another apprentice on their customary journey to Highstones; his daughter Orchidpaw. With a smile, the deputy settled down outside of the apprentice's den and let the leaf wrap in his jaws fall gently to the ground between his paws. He had already seen the gray spotted tabby she-cat awake earlier, and had told her what would be going on. Waiting patiently, the golden tom gazed up at the clear green-leaf sky, his hazel eyes half-closed as he enjoyed the perfect weather.

The silvery spotted she cat had woke up moments before and had understood her father's words. Eagerly she made sure she was fully awake. She sat outside the apprentices den when her father came over and she looked to him and smiled a tiny bit"hey"She mewed.

"Hello Orchidpaw, it's about time that we head out.  Before we leave though, you need to eat these."  Gesturing down at the herb bundle between his feet, he reached forward and pushed it towards his daughter with a sympathetic smile.  "They're traveling herbs, to give you strength and curb your hunger for the long journey."  Tilting his head a bit with an amused look, he purred.  "Yes, they smell bad, but they're necessary."  Leopardclaw just a few minutes earlier had eaten his share of the revolting leaves, and he enjoyed it probably just as much as the other apprentices had; not at all.  His mouth still was contaminated with the herbal flavor, and he set to grooming a tangled patch on his shoulder, hoping to lick off the taste.

Orchidpaw blinked and nodded slowly smiling some. An eagerness to leave shined in her eyes before she slowly looked down at the bundle and opened it hesitantly. She gave a small nod before she lapped up the herbs and swallowed then her face scrunching up at the horrible taste."nasty"She mumbled shaking out her slightly ruffled fur."alrighty"She smiled despite the nasty taste in her mouth."we leaving now?"She mewed.

(occ: short)
Leopardclaw watched, slightly amused, as his daughter managed to get down the traveling herbs, but when she had finished he jumped to his paws energetically.  "Yep, let's get going.  It's quite a long trek, so remember to pace yourself along the way."  Leading the way out of the camp entrance, the tom's golden fur shined in the mid-day sunlight as he broke into a run towards WindClan territory, checking behind him to make sure Orchidpaw was keeping up okay.

Orchidpaw gave a grin and nodded"that's not a problem"She mewed smiling some. The silvery gray spotted tabby darted out after her father. Smiling when he glanced back to her.

By the time the duo had arrived at the Moonstone, the sun was already staring to slip down towards the impending horizon.  Though darkness was beginning to edge the earth, it was not quite time to venture down into the cave.  Taking a seat near Mothermouth, Leopardclaw motioned to Orchidpaw that they needed to wait, and set to work grooming his golden spotted pelt.  Soon enough though, the sun had set, and the moon was rising higher in the night sky.  Illuminated by the starlight, Leopardclaw rose to his paws and beckoned with his tail for Orchidpaw to follow behind him as he began to pad up to the tunnel entrance.  "It's time, come along."

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Orchidpaw had followed with ever growing excitement and even nervousness. When they arrived and was told to wait her excitement was visible as she paced a bit. She stopped after a moment quietly and groomed her fluffed up fur from the excitement. She licked it flat before she looked up at her father as he said it was time. She jumped to her paws and followed him in.

(occ:  I AM SUCH A TERRIBLE HUMAN FOR FORGETTING THIS, please forgive me my friend ':D)

Leopardclaw smiled down at his silvery-spotted daughter as the two were engulfed in Mothermouth's dark embrace, the rough feeling of the chilled stone beneath his paws always a familiar but strange experience.  No matter how many times he made this trip he always left feeling awed not only by the pure glory of the Moonstone, but by the intimidating feeling the whole area held, as if it was testing all to see who was truely brave enough to discover it's hidden secrets.

While he was intimidated by the pitch-like darkness, he wasn't scared, and the golden spotted deputy kept up a steady pace.  Passing by pointed rocks and branching tunnels, the two ThunderClan cats kept going straight until the passage began to widen out into a medium-sized cave.  A crack in the otherwise solid roof allowed a small beam of light to shoot down and illuminate the Moonstone, a large clear-colored crystal that stood tall, sparkling and glistening slightly in the still-limited moonlight.  

With a relieved sigh, Leopardclaw lowered himself onto his haunches and gave his sore shoulder a quick lick, before turning to gaze at Orchidpaw with a fatherly grin.  "We need to wait until moonhigh, it shouldn't be very long."  And indeed, it wasn't.  Soon enough, the creasent moon passed in front of the gap in the ceiling, and the Moonstone blazed to life, it's intense aura causing him to squint his eyes for fear of being blinded.  Their pelts glowing several shades lighter than usual, Leopardclaw's expression grew serious as he stepped forward to stand in front of the luminescence cast from StarClan's holy refuge, and spoke to the apprentice before him.

"Orchidpaw, it is time.  Step forward and press your nose to the Moonstone, and StarClan will call you into sleep so that you can share in their wisdom."  After he finished though, a smile reappeared on his exhilarated face, and the long-legged tom-cat stepped aside to give his daughter room to lay down.  He wondered who she would speak with...

Orchidpaw had followed her father into the growing darkness only able to follow his path by scebt. She felt the tunnel widen after practically having her squeeze through the last bit of the tunnel and she seemed to relax seeing the small bit of light though despite her relaxed feeling the area made her feel really intimidated as her fur seemed to bristle up nervously at the feeling. Hearing that they would have to wait she sat down slowly and smoothed her fur out to calm down. She then blinked as it grew brighter in the area and practically turned her pelt pure white from the glow. She had to squint her blue eyes as she looked to her father. She gave a small nervous nod her ears flick back against her head briefly before on somewhat shaking paws she approached the moonstone. As she got herself comfortable and pressed her nose against the cold stone sleep didn't seem to take long as almost immediately she pulled into a sleep or sleep like state.

It's fine :) )

As Orchidpaw drifted away into deep sleep, Leopardclaw lay down near the edge of the cave, resting his head on his sore paws as he watched his daughter's still body, wondering who she would be speaking to tonight.

---

Curiously watchful eyes observed the sleeping gray spotted apprentice with excited interest, the sparkling starry landscape of StarClan territory glistening like gemstones as a small pale calico shape bounded her way through the grass towards her kin.  Her stubby tail held high, Cherrykit extended a patched paw to prod Orchidpaw's nose, purring in sing-song tones; "Wake up sister!  I want to talk to you!"  Seemingly satisfied with her introduction, the small she-cat plopped down into a sitting position, head tilted inquisitively as she waited for her living sibling to awaken.

Orchidpaw's brilliant blue eyes snapped open in a bit of surprise as a paw hit her nose. Sitting up quickly she shook her head then blinked looking to whom called her sister. With her head tilted for a moment she blinked"your Cherrykit"She mewed blinking as she recognized her elder sister which was odd enough for her. She forced her fur to lay flat which had puffed out in surprise before she smiled eager about what her sister wanted to talk about.

Cherrykit didn't flinch at her sister's shocked reaction, her smile only grew broader as Orchidpaw got up and recognized her, something which she had been hoping for.  They had never met in life, since Orchidpaw had been born after her death, but she had watched as their beloved parents told them about her.  Though she had recognized sadness in their eyes back then, she knew that would not last.  Someday, they would all be together again!

"Haha, yea! That's me!  And you're Orchidpaw; it's nice to meet you!"  Jumping to her paws, Cherrykit shook out her short, star-studded pelt before bouncing up to the larger she-cat, weaving between her paws affectionately.  A loud purr rumbling through her body, Cherrykit tilted her head back to make eye-contact with her sister, pale hazel eyes lit by starlight.  "I wish I could've lived to meet you... Well, I guess this is just as good I suppose!"  For a moment her bright little face seemed to be shaded by painful memories, and her voice grew a bit less energetic as she continued on.  "I really miss Reed and Honey...and of course Mama and Papa...I hope that you, and the rest of our siblings, know how happy you make Leopardclaw and Lichenfang.  They would give up everything to make sure you all are healthy and happy...please never forget that."  

Her voice grew serious and bittersweet towards the end of her statement, much unlike her usual bubbly eternally kitten-like self.  She deeply regretted how sad her death had made her family...she hoped that through those that remained she could somehow redeem herself, by watching that dark glint in her parent's eyes fade away as they watched their other kits grow up and live happy, fulfilling lives.  The last thing she had ever wanted was to see her family sad...

Orchidpaw blinked quietly and purred smiling "it's nice to finally meet you too"She mewed slowly laying down so she was her eldest sister's height. She blinked taking in her words quietly I do know how we make then happy...but mom...she does still miss you and she talks about you to me and Birdpaw all the time"she said quietly.

Cherrykit's eyes widened slightly at her younger sister's words, though she wasn't surprised.  She had seen her mother's many conversations about her from the stars, and they saddened her every time.  She wished that her mother wouldn't be sad anymore, that she could know that every time she cried Cherrykit's heart hurt just as fiercely as it had when she had died, the smoke she had inhaled consuming her from the inside out all over again.  Breaking off her gaze, the small striped calico slid down onto her belly, looking at her paws in a melancholy manner.  "I...I know.  It makes me sad; I'm glad that she wants to keep my memory alive, but I wish that she could see that I'm happy here!  I get to play with all the other kits that are here forever, and there are so many cool warriors to talk to and learn stories from!  Grasswhisker especially!  She likes to tell me stories about dad while she was training him; he used to be super shy!"  With a cheerful laugh, she seemed to brighten up a bit, her eyes once again gaining a characteristic sparkle.  It felt better to talk about fun things; she didn't like to be sad.