Frostpaw's Moonstone Journey

The early afternoon air was filled with the faintest hint of the early Leaf-Bare chill that flavored the cool breeze, promising that the heat of the day would be bearable- pleasant, almost. Wrapping her tail neatly around her paws, Brindlewhisker remained seated still as stone, carefully watching the slow-going action within the camp. A few sunrises earlier it had been decided that another apprentice had reached the final stages of their training and now it was officially time for them to meet their Warrior ancestors for the first time. Almost time for another ceremony. Starclan truly was blessing them this season!

The Deputy remained settled on the soft earth beneath the cool shade of the Gorse Wall as she waited for the lucky Frostpaw to make her appearance. Yesterday evening Brindlewhisker had managed to corner the young she-cat to speak privately about their upcoming journey, so now all that was left was the actual trip itself. Starclan willing it would be a smooth journey. Remaining crouched within the shade of the Gorse barrier, the Deputy found herself patiently waiting for Frostpaw to make her first appearance, a small bundle of traveling herbs placed a few short tail lengths away from her paws.

Frostpaw walked out of the apprentice den sleepily until she notice brindlewhisker with herbs. She remembered today was the day they would travel to speak with starclan. She herself was very exited except for the non eating part. hey I'm ready when do we leave?" she asked.

"Well good morning to you too." Brindlewhisker greeted softly with a hint of amusement in her voice as Frostpaw spoke. Well at least it seemed like the young she-cat was going to be in a good mood for their journey- good company always made the tedious journey much more bearable. Ignoring the stiffness in her hips that still remained despite her constant exercise, the Deputy slowly rose to her paws and gave each of her limbs a quick stretch. "We'll leave just as soon as you eat your traveling herbs." Brindlewhisker mewed, reaching out with a forepaw to gently push to the small bundle of herbs towards the grey apprentice.

"They won't taste very good," Brindlewhisker warned with a slight grimace of sympathy evident on her face, "But make sure to eat all of them- they'll keep you energized throughout our entire journey."

Frostpaw looked down at the herbs and ate them. "yuck." she said even though she did feel energized and waited for brindlewhisker to finish hers to get moving.

- time skip so we don't have to waste a bunch of time ;) -

The sky was bleeding red behind the imposing outline of the Highstones and the faint light of Silverpelt was barely visible in the early night sky that unfolded around them. The gaping wound in the Earth that hungrily swallowed what little light remained in the late dusk of day eagerly awaiting their approach with an eerie calm. They had finally arrived to the Highstones a few hours earlier and spent the majority of the day lingering in the shade of nearby trees to escape the brutal heat that had followed them during their trip. Brindlewhisker's head lifted towards the night sky with wide eyes, watching as the rest of the light was finally swallowed whole by the darkness of night. It was time.

Rising to her paws and giving herself a brief shake, the Deputy strode away from where she had been previously resting. Twitching her tail in a signal for Frostpaw to follow suit, the scarred she-cat quietly padded towards the Mothermouth. A part of her always seemed to envy the apprentices that were fortunate enough to speak with Starclan since all she wanted to do was to speak to Thistlefall or Goldenflame- but she knew that this was far too important an event for her to become caught up in her wistful fantasies. Pausing at the entrance to the sacred cavern, Brindlewhisker turned to look back at Frostpaw with intent eyes that gleamed sharply in the faint light of dusk before finally speaking. "Are you ready to begin?"

frostpaw looked up at the red sky and noticed it was getting darker. she saw that brindlewhisker got up and she did too. are you ready? she asked." yes brindlewhisker im ready." she replied even though she could tell in her own voice the fear and excitement.

"Good." Brindlewhisker mewed softly, carefully observing the expression on Frostpaw's face. Even the most confident of apprentices sometimes found themselves daunted by journey ahead, but hopefully the young she-cat wouldn't be too frightened. Nothing about this journey was supposed to be frightening, anyways- aside from the tunnels they had to travel through."The tunnel we are about to go through is very dark and it will feel like you might get stuck in the passage, but just remember to breathe and keep walking- the tunnel does open back up towards the end." She continued briskly, turning to eye the dark opening in front of them, her voice slightly reassuring. Turning around with a soft chirp, Brindlewhisker plunged down into the gaping entrance of the Mothermouth, her pupils dilating as she tried to find an adequate light source within the dark depths of the tunnel. For several long heartbeats as the little WindClan duo continued further and further into the passage, it began to grow tighter and tighter around them until the stony walls were pressing against their sides in a menacing manner. Her ears were pricked in an attempt to check on Frostpaw, but she didn't dare halt their progress.

The tight tunnel around them slowly began to widen with every step the duo took and there was the faintest hint of fresh air wafting from deep within the darkness. The soft muddy earth beneath their paws was softly sloping upwards towards an unknown destination. Exhaling quietly, Brindlewhisker felt the walls that once pressed in menacingly around them begin to slowly open up around them and suddenly, deep within the unmerciful darkness ahead of them, the faintest glow was barely visible. Pushing ahead with a new vigor in her step, the Deputy began to pick up the pace to a brisk trot as they finally entered the sacred grounds. A massive cavern unfolded around them, bathed in massive shadows thrown by the various rock formations that spilled into the sacred cave, while the imposing figure of the Moonstone lay nestled in the center as if it was guarded by the teeth-like rocks. The Moonstone was glinting softly in the weak light that streamed down from the jagged opening in the ceiling above them- they were a bit early but better safe than sorry.

Turning to face Frostpaw, Brindlewhisker beckoned the young apprentice forwards with a twitch of her tail before she approached the softly illuminated Moonstone. Settling down at a comfortable distance from the stone, she lifted her head to watch the night sky from the slightly rounded hole in the ceiling. The moon was slowly rising higher and higher in the dark sky until finally it reached the top of the cave's ceiling, flooding the space with its soft, silvery light. The entire cavern was instantly lit up in a dazzling light that erased nearly all the shadows that had previously made their home in the cozy little cave and the Moonstone itself twinkled and glittered as if it had swallowed every star in Silverpelt. Turning to look at Frostpaw, the Deputy had to squint slightly in the harsh light as she stared at the apprentice with commanding eyes. "Frostpaw, you are now able to speak with our Warrior ancestors so come forward and press your nose to the stone. Remember that I will not join you on this part of our journey, but do not be afraid- trust in our ancestors and take heed in their words. I wish you good luck." Brindlewhisker finished softly, making herself as comfortable as she could as she prepared to wait for the apprentice to complete her spiritual journey.


ooc) so post with Frostpaw falling asleep and I'll give you a Starclan cat to talk to! :)

Frostpaw fallowed her deputy into the dark tunnel and could feel it going down. She breathed like she was told and felt that they entered a big cave. She looked around in ahh remembering she wasn't aloud to speak. lay down and put your nose to the stone. she listened to her and put her nose on the stone. It was really cold and she almost jerked up but stayed where she was. She drifted of to sleep and then she noticed she was not in the cave anymore. "where am I what is happening"? she asked herself than a cat appeared.

Waiting for Frostpaw deep within the evergreen realm of StarClan was the faint outline of a star-speckled white tom who was barely visible among the the endless moorland that unfolded around them for far as the eye could see. The enticing scents of various prey filled the air but it did little to distract the former Windclan warrior as he continued his short journey. Small specks of starlight were thrown into the air as the white tom emerged from where ever he had previously been residing as he waited for the Windclan apprentice to complete their journey to the sacred rock. Despite the fact that he had very much earned his resting-in-peace part, it seemed like he was the designated Starclan cat to speak with the steady stream of apprentices who visited the sacred stone. "Frostpaw." Cloudrunner finally summoned the small grey tabby she-cat into his view, his green and blue eyes both glittering as he waited for the young she-cat to appear.

"ya that's me who are you and where am I?" she asked the white cat who showed up. this must be the starclan cat I have to talk to she thought. "am I dead is this what death feels like?" she asked the cat

Cloudrunner didn't blink as Frostpaw appeared before him, only let out a soft, wordless meow of greeting to the grey tabby apprentice in front of him. "I am Cloudrunner and you're in Starclan's territory now." He explained patiently, using his tail to gesture at the dream-like moorland that surrounded them. Whiskers twitching in something that could possibly classify as laughter, the snowy-white tom shook his head in disagreement to the apprentice's questions. "No, you're not dead." He refuted quietly, his mismatched blue and green eyes carefully trained on Frostpaw, "You're just sharing dreams with Starclan. I'm here to answer any questions you have about the future- so long as they're reasonable questions."

"well I don't know what to ask so can I ask this?" she said. "if I keep practicing will I be a good warrior for my clan cloudrunner?" she asked the cat. She somehow knew she would make a good warrior but she couldn't tell how she knew. All she knew was that her friend was beating her and she wanted to beat her.

"You need not practice- being a Warrior is something that comes naturally," Cloudrunner patiently mewed, his blue-and-green eyes glinting with a wisdom well beyond his limited years, "Every cat has the potential to be a great Warrior and you are no different. So long as you continue to hunt, fight, and care for your Clan to the best of your abilities, you are already a great Warrior."

"I have friends in other clans will that make a difference." she asked the wise cat.

Cloudrunner's blue-and-green eyes sparked momentarily, although he said held back for a few heartbeats before responding to Frostpaw's words. "I'm sure they will," He mewed tolerantly, "All cats have the capability to do so. Do you have any other questions before I go?" The white tom questioned, his snowy-colors flickering slightly as he slowly began to disappear in front of Frostpaw's very sight.