Poplarpaw's Moonstone Journey

Rippedsky gathered up the bundle of herbs and quickly found the apprentice he was searching for. He and Poplarpaw were to travel to the moonstone today. It had gotten a little later than the deputy had hoped so he quickly passed the smaller bunch of leaves to Poplarpaw and scarfed down his own. Without wasting any time at all, Rippedsky padded towards the entrance and flicked his tail for the other cat to follow.

"Are you ready for this?" He meowed, trying to make light conversation after a while. They had never spoken much, but the black and white warrior enjoyed getting to know the apprentices and young warriors of the clan. Besides, they'd managed to travel quickly and make up for lost time, so some conversation would not set them behind.

Of course, like any other apprentice that he knew, Poplarpaw wanted to go the Moonstone. He wanted to know what StarClan had to tell him. After all, they were the spirits of his warrior ancestors, and they could give him advice that no other cat that was currently alive could. The tom was ready to accept anything that would make him become a better apprentice, a better future warrior, and a valuable member of SkyClan. Without saying a word of greeting, the fluffy tom lowered his head and devoured the traveling herbs. What he had heard about them was true... they were utterly disgusting. However, the tom managed to hold back a sour expression. In his mind, it would be immature to complain about the taste of the herbs or make a twisted face. The apprentice obediently followed the deputy after he flicked his tail.
"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." Poplarpaw said with a slight nod.

ooc; short, lack of muse.

occ: short; lack o time ;)

The black and white warrior narrowed his eyes at the lack of a greeting but nodded stiffly. Without a word, he turned to set out. It was a particularly cold evening and he quickly picked up a brisk pace to stave off the cold. A chill ran down his spine and it only pressed him to move on further. Thankfully, the weather meant that most clans were safe within the confines of their camp. There was little trouble along the way, whether or not it was a good night to be out was still up in the air.

As they reached the highstones, and final part of their trek, he slowed to allow the younger tom to catch up to him. Rippedsky led the way up and paused briefly at the front of the cave opening. Once they were out of the wind, he meowed, "Follow close. We will reach the moonstone in no time at all. When you see the stone, press your nose to it and settle down. Starclan will meet with you while you'll sleep." With that, he turned and his tail disappeared into the darkness.

Well, this was it. Obediently and silently, Poplarpaw followed Rippedsky into the dark tunnel that led to the Moonstone. He made sure to keep track of the deputy's scent and listened to his pawsteps so that he wouldn't end up getting himself lost inside the pitch-black tunnel. He soon began to see light, pure white light, and it signified that the cave was not far. It seemed to be only a couple of heartbeats, and then they were there... the Moonstone. It was nothing like he expected. Was it always that... small? Well, maybe to other cats it was large and grand, but all the tom saw was a glowing rock. Shrugging, the fluffy tom approached the stone, like he had been instructed to do, and pressed his nose against it. It was cold, and Poplarpaw felt a shiver go down his spine. However, his reaction didn't last for very long, because darkness flooded his vision and he fell asleep immediately. One second, it was as if he was asleep in his den, normally. The next second, he was awake.
Was this StarClan? Was he there?
Glancing around, the tom figured that he shouldn't call out for a StarClan cat. One was obviously going to come to him, and it would be foolish if he asked if they were there. He just had to be patient.

ooc; lack of motivation

For several long heartbeats, it truly did seem as if Poplarpaw was was utterly alone in the starry realm- with only the occasional breeze as his sole companion. The faint sound of pawsteps were only just audible over the gentle rustling of lush tree branches and foliage. Brushing through a particularly long clump of sweet-smelling grasses, Addergaze felt the heavy strands sift gently through the shaggy fur of her belly as she clambered towards the young bi-colored tom. Apprentices. Always late! She reflected as she drew closer to the tom, the usual scowl weighing heavily on her broad features, Or was she late? It was hard to tell when moons seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. "It's 'bout time you showed up. I was beginning to think that Rippedsky led you off a cliff instead of bringing you here." Addergaze rumbled, although her tone lacked the tetchiness conveyed by the ill-mannered expression upon her face.

Poplarpaw felt the soft wind blow through his fur as he silently glanced around at his surroundings. It was silent, it was... peaceful, and the tom enjoyed it. It was a huge contrast in comparison to the business and hassle of daily Clan life. Then, the tom remembered that he'd just have to return back to it all sooner than he had left it, and his tiny lift in mood seemed to drop back down again. The brown-and-white tom turned his head immediately when he heard the rustling of foliage coming from near him. Out of instinct, the fur on the back of his neck began to rise, but then he remembered that he was in StarClan's hunting grounds. It was only a StarClan cat. The first thing that Poplarpaw noticed was Addergaze's expression. The glower on the she-cat's face didn't make the tom feel intimidated, or confused, in fact, he met the StarClan warrior's expression with a slight yet blunt look of his own. The tom tried to hold back an eye-roll after Addergaze's statement.
"Seems I got one of the grumpy ones," He started with enough sarcasm in his voice to kill a badger, "Whatever, then, go ahead and tell me some story about the glory days, or something. I'm all ears."

"Somehow I think that stories pertaining to glory isn't whats preoccupying that angst-riddled mind of yours," Addergaze hummed, ear twitching as she continued to gaze at Poplarpaw, "But if you're offering I suppose I shouldn't refuse." The shaggy-furred she-cat displayed her surprisingly white teeth in a wide yawn, clearly not in nearly as big of a hurry as the young apprentice before her, "After all that'd be the polite thing to do." Sitting back and rolling her broad shoulders, the star speckled she-cat leaned forwards to give Poplarpaw a more intrigued glance, an unreadable emotion sparking in her amber gaze. Large head tilting slightly, Addergaze's haunches dropped heavily as she took a seat before the young SkyClanner, a rear paw lifting up lazily to scratch at a torn ear as she continued to inspect the long-furred tom who stood before her.

Paw dropping back down to the soft earth, Addergaze's whiskers twitched several times as she took her time with observing the grumpy tom who stood before her. Something about the impatient and careless gleam in his gaze seemed strikingly similar to how she had once appeared in the eyes of her Clanmates. "But whether you believe it or not, we're here to discuss something other than some overly-exaggerated story about a long-forgotten battle." She relented, her tail giving a brief twitch as she spoke once more.

Poplarpaw remained silent as Addergaze went on to speak. The only thing that was on the fluffy tom's mind was wrapping this up. He felt like he was in the midst of some sort of examination, and he hated it. He was the one who usually watched from the sidelines and examined other cats. Despite the fact that he felt a slight bit of discomfort, Poplarpaw managed to hold a straight face. The brown-and-white tom lifted a nonexistent eyebrow as if he was expecting something from the starry she-cat who had sat down in front of him. His fluffy tail snaked forwards to wrap itself tightly around his paws. Considering that he was an apprentice, the young tom had been lectured plenty of times before; how to hunt, how to fight, what to do, what not to do, how to climb a tree. He wasn't in the mood- correction, he was never in the mood for being talked to for long amounts of time. So, he certainly wasn't ecstatic about being lectured by a StarClan cat. It was the last point on the list of things that he wanted to do right now.
"Okay, then," Poplarpaw started, "I just hope it won't take forever. You may be dead, but I still have a life to live."

"You say that like living is enjoyable." Addergaze grunted, broad shoulders shaking slightly with something akin to laughter. After meeting her end, she had found that the eternal peace and quiet provided by death was much more preferable. Who would of known that death was such a minimal price for actual relaxation? The shaggy-furred she-cat continued to gaze at the impatient young tom, allowing herself a brief moment to revel in his apparent dislike of the situation. "You're a smart young tom with plenty of opportunities within your grasp," She simply mewed, "But you seem intent on letting them go by without lifting a paw in pursuit of them. Why is that?"

Smart young tom...? Well, this StarClan cat was definitely right about something. However, Poplarpaw didn't let his pride show and he continued to effortlessly hold his rather blank expression. Opportunities? What opportunities? He was an apprentice; he trained, he hunted, he patrolled borders, and he watched. He watched with eyes that nobody saw, but he didn't mind. In fact, he didn't want anybody to take any notice of him. Watching others while being concealed in nothing was his speciality. No, he wasn't a stalker. He just seemed to notice things about certain cats while he went about his normal Clan life. What was the first thing the apprentice did with whatever he saw? He judged. He put mental labels on everyone he met, and on everyone he ran into, and on everyone he laid his eyes upon. Whenever he'd see a cat in the future, he'd automatically jump to conclusions and slap the mental label right upon them. It was all silently, and it was all in his own mind.

There were times, though, where Poplarpaw did express how he felt aloud. For the most part, it was disgust about another cat. The tom wasn't the type of cat to complain and whine pointlessly about something that was deemed unfair, impossible, or too difficult. In his mind, complaining was just another way to prove that your physical rank may be respectable, but your mental rank was still a kit. So, back to the first question. What opportunities did he have? None seemed to pass by, unless Addergaze was implying that he was so blind that he missed everything.
"Opportunities?" The tom queried, not in a curious voice, but rather in a bored and nonchalant way, "What opportunities? Opportunities to catch a mouse? Climb a tree? I'll have you know that I've caught quite the amount of prey, if that's what you mean by "opportunities". Or, perhaps you think that I'm so stupid and sightless that I can't see what's right in front of me."

"Well I have seen your hunting skills before, so I can definitely say that you've missed quite a few hunting opportunities." Addergaze snorted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the young tom's words. Why were apprentices always such a pain? Young cats always somehow seemed to be practically dripping existential dread and angst. Shuffling her large paws in the soft grasses she was seated upon, the ginger tabby took a heartbeat to mull over her next words before attempting to speak again. "You've had plenty of opportunities to make new relationships with your Clanmates, rise to a respectable rank, and actually impress your Clanmates but you seem content to simply sit around and observe every cat. Perhaps if you actually got out there with your Clanmates, then you'd understand what I'm talking about."

Poplarpaw rolled his green eyes at Addergaze's first comment.
"As if you haven't missed any prey while you were alive..." The fluffy tom grumbled quietly to himself as he temporarily glared down at his bi-colored paws. Why couldn't he have gotten a sweet, quiet cat? While he probably would've had the same temperament with the sweet cat as he currently did with this cat, Poplarpaw figured that it would be far better than this grouch.
"Respectable rank?" The SkyClan apprentice started, staring at Addergaze with a bitter expression, "Rising to a respectable rank doesn't require socializing. It requires hard work and effort. Most of the other apprentices are mouse-brains. If I want my social status to be respected, then I can't possibly be caught speaking with failures. If I did, then I'd practically be a failure, too!"

"You have the audacity to call your Clanmates failures when you yourself can hardly be bothered to interact with them?" Addergaze fired back, unwilling to allow herself to be consumed in the bitter expression upon Poplarpaw's face, "Perhaps the only failure within SkyClan truly is you. If you actually believe that cats like Crowstar or Rippedsky rose to power by spitting on their Clanmates and drowning themselves in their duties, then you have less brains than a half-dead mouse!" She growled, reaching out with a large forepaw to poke Poplarpaw's cheek with an accusing toe. Faint specks of starlight wavered and drifted from where her paw connected with living flesh, but she hardly gave the young tom a heartbeat to dwell on the strange sight of her unearthly form rippling. Pulling away her forepaw and giving Poplarpaw another scorching glare that likely burned away at his skin, the large starry Warrior let out an unimpressed huff. Why did Rippedsky have to thrust some troublesome apprentice down at her paws like this?

"If you are truly concerned with your social status, or whatever it is that motivates your frigid little heart, then give your Clanmates a chance. Those idiotic activities your denmates are doing? It's called making attachments and finding their value within the Clan, or even going as far as impressing respectable members of your Clan. Perhaps you should give it a try for once, instead of drifting off aimlessly to the side." Addergaze growled, eyes rolling as she finally let some of her own exasperation seep into her scolding words. Perhaps it was due to her simmering anger, or merely due to the fact that the moon was rapidly being overtaken by the rising sun, but her form began to fade and shimmer more intensely now, making certain parts of her only partly visible.

Poplarpaw's hooked claws slid out, almost as if it was instinctively, and buried themselves into the dirt. He felt threatened, terribly threatened, by this StarClan cat in front of him, and his first reaction was to take up a defensive stance by unsheathing his claws. He wasn't at all planning on attacking Addergaze, because even attempting to attack a StarClan cat would be shameful. However, he did have the ability to be as angry as he wanted to. He didn't come to the Moonstone for his flaws to be fleshed out until they were obvious. He wasn't a disobedient kit being scolded by his mother, but it seemed to the apprentice as if that was what was occurring. He wasn't a failure, he was nowhere near being a failure. Analyzing his Clanmates only made sure that he could steer away from their failures and make himself better. How could he be a failure if he resisted falling into the trap of stupidity? That's when Addergaze made physical contact. Poplarpaw couldn't help but flinch at the poke, and he let out a soft hiss in response.

That was it. He wasn't about to look up at this StarClan she-cat with wide, scared eyes and his tail between his legs.
"Cats that have to purposefully impress others aren't worthy of a warrior title," Poplarpaw spat, narrowing his eyes at Addergaze, "In order to prove that one is worthy of being respectable, they should be able to do something that's worthy of being respected on their own. I don't force opportunities to come to me, because cats have to learn that life isn't always going to bend to their liking. I understand that I have to be able to roll with whatever life throws at me. Everyone faces obstacles. What are my obstacles? Other cats. Kits are all focused on being the greatest warrior in the forest, but they should learn that their dreams may not become reality. Apprentices do nothing but try to impress the warriors and each other, but they fall flat on their faces and make fools of themselves. Warriors try to act like the boss when they know that they really aren't. The deputy and the leader are the only cats in the Clan that can act like they're the boss, but I still can't bring myself to stand them. Why should I carve time out of my valuable day, when I could be hunting for and protecting my Clan, just so that I can entertain those mousebrains?"

Letting out an exasperated snort, Addergaze rose to her full height and lumbered past Poplarpaw, letting out another irritated groan from deep within her belly. Talk about a thorn in your side! Whoever was in charge of training the tom definitely deserved a lifetime of uninterrupted peace after dealing with all of this. Pacing around Poplarpaw, the large starry Warrior let out a short spit in response to his words. "Because that's what we do for our Clanmates! We take time out of our days to humor and spend time with them, even if that they're doing seems mousebrained, because that's what Clans do. Even on our worst of days, whenever everything seems painfully irritating, we push through and rely on our Clanmates for support because one day they'll return the favor. But if you're incapable of giving them the smallest kindness or understanding, then you don't deserve any of what they might give in return. Perhaps you should just go ahead and do yourself a favor and run with your tail tucked between your legs, since all you seem capable of caring about is yourself! I don't want to do this! I think this is stupid! I think that my Clanmates are beneath me for indulging in precious familial ties! You! You! You! I've seen rogues in the Twoleg place who would make better Warriors than you!"

Whirling around and halting in front of Poplarpaw once more, Addergaze gave the tom a somber gaze. If he was unwilling to listen to her, then she would no longer waste her words on him. There was no point in speaking if her words went in one ear and directly out of the other. Shaking her head, the she-cat's broad shoulders sagged slightly as she let out a loud exhale before eventually speaking once more. "Just know this, if you continue down this path of selfishness and foolish false righteousness, they won't miss you when you die. You'll have no friends to remember you after you pass on, no kin to mourn your passing. They won't tell stories of you long after you've gone. You'll go into death as you lived- alone and bitter without a single cat to miss you." The outline of Addergaze was only just visible now, but the strange ethereal world around the two cats was beginning to fade rapidly as well.