Swooppaw's Moonstone Journey

"Oh, ah!" Swooppaw jumped in surprise at Turtlepelt's words,but quickly recovered. His face heated slightly in embarrassment, realizing that he probably hadn't made the best first impression. This was a StarClan cat, he couldn't stand here being rude! Trying to seem as polite and professional, he tried again. "Hello Turtlepelt. And thanks. Is that really true though? I try to be as strong and loyal as I can, but when I see Birchheart and the other warriors I wonder if I'm doing enough." He didn't expect to state his doubts so soon, but something about this place made him feel safe to address his own problems. His self doubt at being able to become a great warrior, his fear of being alone, his love of fighting. That last one was what he hated most of the ones on the list. He looked at the tortoiseshell for reassurance, hoping she would say some soothing thing that StarClan seemed to be capable of think of.

Turtlepelt grinned. It was nice to talk to someone new-  the old fogies here in StarClan got boring fast, and as much as she loved Flamestripe, they both needed their alone time every so often. She almost wished the Dark Forest would try to attack so she would have something to do. She had died fighting, after all, and no one up here seemed to want to practice. But she wasn't paying attention to the task at hand- Swooppaw deserved better. "I don't just randomly hand out compliments," she meowed good-naturedly, "especially when it comes to important qualities. And loyalty is the most important quality of them all, for a soon-to-be warrior. The Clans wouldn't survive very long if no one was loyal to their own."

With a swish of the StarClan she-cat's tail, visions of ThunderClan warriors carrying out their daily duties- hunting, training, fighting, protecting- from the Clans' dawn to present times, swam in the air. A fluffy she-cat nurtured her kits. A dark tom showed an apprentice how to crouch. Warriors, fur bristling, scared enemy cats away from the border. A calico she-cat brought a large squirrel into camp. An elder regaled the apprentices changing his moss with stories of ancient times. At a gray medicine cat's side, spotted leader fell to the ground, and a deputy rose up to take her place. A rogue, trespassing on the territory, struck a familiar-looking brown dappled tortoiseshell to the ground as they fought, and an orange tabby ran to her side as she died. "If cats weren't willing to spend time hunting, feeding kits and queens and elders, if warriors didn't fight for their Clans, if the code was all for naught- we'd be no better than rogues, then, wouldn't we? Rogues with perks, certainly, but rogues nonetheless. And even rogues can be loyal to their own. Loyalty is at the root of Clan life, Swooppaw, and it is something we warriors need- and need in abundance. Whether you've kittypet or rogue or half-Clan or pure blood, your Clans need your undying loyalty. It's in the warrior oath, passed down from leader to leader, since the dawn of time."

The former ThunderClan she-cat looked solemnly into the apprentice's eyes. "Can I trust you to be loyal to your Clan no matter what, Swooppaw?"

Swooppaw smiled at at the compliment, but his green eyes grew wide at the images. He wondered if they were just his imagination, before remembering he was already speaking with cats in his sleep, so this wasn't a stretch. He had always thought of loyalty as following his clan, but now he saw it on a whole other level. Loyalty was clan life as a whole, everything a cat did to help a clanmate in need. He gasped as the brown tortoiseshell's death image appeared, quickly making the connection that it was Turtleplet. He looked at the passed warrior with an expression of awe on his face, now layered with understanding. Any cat would willingly die for their clan. He would do that too if it was needed. He listened to her words, nodding, eyes shining with wonder and want for more information. He might have his flaws, but he had and understood what made clan cats so great. Her words about blood ties reminded him of his kittypet grandmother. Only Specklefang had ever used that as an insult, so he didn't feel the importance. And he felt like that was exactly what she was telling him. He returned her gaze, taking a deep breath before answering. It wasn't that he felt unsure about his answer, he was just reluctant to speak at all, fearing it might break the aura of peace in the air. But nevertheless, he did.
"I'm loyal to my clan, and I will always be. I promise."

Turtlepelt touched her starry nose to the apprentice's, pride in her smile. "I knew I could count on you." Now that her message had been received, perhaps she could sate some of Swooppaw's curiosity before he went. As she sat back, the tortoiseshell's green eyes grew distant. "I have impure blood as well as you, Swooppaw," she informed him, remembering her kit days. "My mother, Sageflower, was a ThunderClan queen, but the life was too much for her- so when she fell in love with a kittypet tom, she ran away to live with him. I wasn't the only cat in the litter. It was me- Turtle- along with my brother Spot and sister Cloud. But I was the only one who got my mother's ThunderClan genes. When she saw the fire in my eyes, she knew I wouldn't be happy with the comfortable kittypet life- so she gave me a choice. I could leave, join the warrior Clans she'd told me about, risk death every day, or stay and live easily with my family." The StarClan she-cat chuckled at the memory of that day. "I was so excited to learn to go and be a warrior that I almost forgot to tell my parents and family goodbye... but I did. Then I ran off into the snowy forest and, as a last favor to my mother, Spottedstar took me in. I never did see them again."

Her eyes saddened a little at the thought, but brightened again almost immediately. "But life went on- and oh, what a life it was. I knew immediately I was meant to be a ThunderClan warrior, and I became a great one. In the end, I died too soon, with big dreams unfulfilled and without finding a final purpose, but I was glad to do it. That rogue didn't steal food from hungry ThunderClan kits ever again." Turtlepelt's luminous green eyes looked into Swooppaw's a last time. "I can only hope your life will be longer and more fulfilling than mine. Be loyal, Swooppaw, and trust your Clanmates. Even though you'll see many troubles, your name just may live on in elders' tales of bravery if you see them through to the end. Farewell, young one- Leopardclaw will be waiting for you. StarClan will always be with you."

Swooppaw smiled at the starry touch of Turtlepelt's nose, a feeling of pride filling him. He felt a feeling of pride wash through him. StarClan trusted him to be a loyal member of his clan. That was what mattered. He listened to the story the warrior told, glad his natural curiosity was being quenched. It was cool, how she started out as a kittypet and became a warrior. It wasn't unlike his own mother. He smiled and almost laughed at her description of her excitement, but realized it was just as sad as funny. For that reason he kept his amusement inside. Even her untimely death had an upside, a noble sacrifice to ensure the safety of the clan. It was touching, really. When once again she was talking directly to him about him, he looked her straight in the eye. He hoped his destiny was among loving friends and family in ThunderClan. He would be the most loyal clanmate that his clan had ever seen.
"Bye Turtlepelt. I'll do my best to be a loyal and hard-working clanmate. Thank you, for speaking with me." As the apprentice finished his sentence, the scenery around him started to fade. He smiled at the dappled brown tortoiseshell, then closed his eyes in anticipation. When he opened them, he was back in the cavern, the room now dimmer without the stone's light. After frantically to make sure Leopardclpw was there, he took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm ready to head back."