Wolfpaw's Moonstone Journey

Littlebrook padded up to Wolfpaw and dropped an herb bundle at his paws. "Here eat these. You'll need them for your moonstone journey." She meowed, smiling as she turned and padded to wait at the entrance for the young tom.

Soft billowing clouds of breath were slowly and surely exhaled into the brisk Leafbare air, remaining only for several brief heartbeats before dissipating into the early morning light of the day.  A thin coating of sleet-like snow dusted Wolfpaw's statue-still form, resulting in him looking as though he had been carved from ice. It was already time for his Moonstone journey? Was he really that old? Seething out another foggy breath, the bengal tom craned his head back stiffly to gaze at the barren sky, only to find no reassurance in the bleak sky high above him.

At Littlebrook's approach, Wolfpaw's ear twitched sharply and his head sluggishly dropped to give the Deputy a neutral look. At the tortoiseshell's mention of herbs, his gaze drifted to the small stack of herbs that now rested at his paws. "Alright." Is all he could simply manage, dipping down to swallow the rancid-tasting traveling herbs.

Littlebrook rose to her paws as Wolfpaw finished the herbs with a rather well demeanor and made his way to her. "Are you ready? Let's head out." She meowed, her gentle voice friendly as they padded out into the frosty territory. The moon was just making its appearance as they began their journey, which gave them plenty of time to make it to Highstones before it was at it's highest point.

Soon they made it to the Thunderpath and she came to a halt just a few tail lengths from it. "Alright, I'm sure Magpiestar has told you all about the Thunderpath, but I just want to make sure we cross safely. Don't cross until I say so, okay?" She meowed seriously before feeling the black path for any movement and looking both ways. As soon as the coast was clear, she let out a loud yowl, "Go!"

Wolfpaw was quite thankful that Littlebrook never pressed a conversation between them- while he enjoyed the smaller she-cat's company more often than not, his conversational skills were still lacking in most categories. The young tom instead chose to focus his attention upon the slowly rising moon high above them, unable help how fixated he became on the sparse spattering of the cold distant stars that dotted the cold sky. As they approached the Thunderpath, he became aware of the occasional rumbling that signaled a Monster was hurtling by, but all it did was ruffle his nape fur ever so slightly; he had become accustomed to the unpleasant Twoleg creatures, but still found their presence to be quite disruptive.

Halting beside Littlebrook with a swish of his tail, Wolfpaw cocked his head slightly as he listened to the Deputy rattle off instructions about crossing. He hated this part. "Yes, Littlebrook." He mewed softly, ears twitching as he waited for her command. As soon as Littlebrook gave the command, the rosetted tom quickly slithered out across the hard stone of the Thunderpath, wincing slightly as the rough stone scraped at his paws, although it did little to slow him down. Crossing the final stretch of treacherous stone with a confident leap that brought him safely down upon the weed-like grass on the other side of the path, Wolfpaw turned to look at Littlebrook with wide eyes, awaiting her next instructions.

Littlebrook quickly looked over the apprentice to be sure he was fine before nodding with assurance. "It's almost time. Let's get going, and we'll be there before you know it." She meowed over a passing monster as they continued to pad in the direction of Mothermouth. Stars were just beginning to dapple the darkened sky and she watched as her breath billowed out in front of her as they walked. The cold usually bothered her because of her short pelt, but with their quick pace, she was actually quite warm when the reached the dark opening of Mothermouth. "Here's the last stretch, Wolfpaw. This part sometimes scares apprentices and freaks them out because of the complete darkness, close quarters, and many twists and turns, but I assure you that you will be fine as long as you stay with me." She told him with a reassuring smile before flicking her tail and heading down into the tunnel.

After several minutes, they came out into a cave with a brightly lit stone in the middle of it. The moon was shining down perfectly through the opening in the top of the cave, shining its beautiful light onto the Moonstone. "Okay, this is where your journey goes on without me. Just get comfortable and then touch your nose to the stone, and StarClan will meet you on the other side. I'll be here when you wake up." She purred softly as she got comfortable herself to wait.

Ignoring the slight twinge of pain in his paws, Wolfpaw hurriedly trekked after Littlebrook, his gaze often anxiously switching between the faint white light of the stars and the Leafbare barren trees that stood before them. At Littlebrook's words, his gaze returned to the tortoiseshell she-cat once more, offering a short nod in response to her warning. The dark wound in the earth that was more formally known as the Mothermouth yawned before him, emanating a surprisingly intimidating darkness that seemed to swallow up every single bit of weak light. It made his fur bristle ever so slightly, but his muscles moved upon instinct, and he found himself nervously following after the Deputy.

The sensation of the cold and damp stone of the tunnel pressing down all around Wolfpaw made his heart race and his mouth go dry, his tail lashing in an agitated manner in response to his mounting discomfort with the situation. Hurrying up slightly so that he was close behind the Deputy's heels, the rosetted young tom dipped his head down as he walked, aiming to control his ragged breathing. Thankfully, the tight tunnel gradually began to widen around them, bringing in the faintest hints of weak light and fresh air. As they entered the main cavern, Wolfpaw flinched slightly at the dazzling light that was being thrown from the Moonstone, his face screwing up awkwardly as he peered distrustfully at the sacred stone that stood before him.

A large ear twitched in response to Littlebrook's instruction and he found himself taking several hesitant steps forwards, his eyes struggling to adjust to the harsh white light that was being casted from the moon high above them. Crouching down close the stone and wrapping his tail tightly around himself it an attempt to chase away the frigid chill that had descended upon him. Tightly closing his eyes and gently pressing his nose against the Moonstone, Wolfpaw could practically taste the cold white light of the ancient stone as he drifted off into sleep.

"Wolfpaw."

"Wolfpaw."

"Wolfpaw."

"...You're all grown up."

Sitting in front of the tabby tom was a bright red and white she-cat. The stars that dotted her pelt glimmered as if they themselves were happy to see the apprentice. Her face was covered with a small but toothy grin. She had left the tom too early. Although she was terrible at expressing her own emotions, she felt overwhelmed at the sight of her son. He was here, with her, albeit temporarily.

Mousefang and their other kits were sitting silently in the tall trees behind them, out of sight. Although they were all keen to meet the remaining cat of their family, it was up to Foxheart to speak with the soon-to-be-warrior. She wasn't just here for his comfort, but as a small guide for the coming moons. If there was anything the warrior could do for her precious son, she would do it.

Through his tightly sealed eyes, Wolfpaw was just barely able to detect the faintest traces of light, while a soft voice was drifting in and out of his ears, drawing him away from the comfortable haze of sleep. Seemingly trapped in his bedraggled, groggy state of semi-consciousness, it took the young tom an embarrassingly long amount of time to recognize the agonizingly familiar voice that was speaking to him.  With an icy flush of alertness drumming through his veins, Wolfpaw scrambled to his paws with a hushed exhale of disbelief.

"F-Foxheart?" Wolfpaw gaped, gazing at the star-speckled red tabby with huge eyes, "Is it really you? I-I thought..." His tongue felt tied and weighed down in his mouth as he stammered out half coherent thoughts, unable to wrench his sight away from his deceased mother.

The warrior padded up to her son, brushing her tongue against the tom's head. A soft purr filled her throat as she comforted the tabby. "It's all right. I'm... I'm happy now. Your father and siblings welcomed me with open paws," Foxheart meowed, turning her head back to look at her family. Their forms were faint, but with good eyesight, you could distinguish the smiles on their faces as they watched from afar.

"Tonight is not the night you will meet them," she began, voice losing part of it's welcoming hum. "Tonight you are free to ask any question about your future. Distant, close, it doesn't quite matter. I will answer as best as I can, and give you the advice you need most. There will be more time for us to talk another time."