Rookpaw's Moonstone Journey

The late morning sky was heavily obscured by stone-colored clouds that drifted lazily across the bleak morning sky, but the lack of sun and subsequent lack of warmth hardly bothered Brindlewhisker by this point. After venturing countless sunrises into Leafbare, she was relatively used to the frigid and snow-drenched weather. Taking shelter by a particularly thick clump of gorse that offered extra protection to the Medicine Cat's den, the Deputy found herself patiently curled up with a pitifully small bundle of dried herbs laid at her paws.

Rookpaw was quite excited to go to the Moonstone. She had heard so many stories of StarClan and how Silverpelt glittered in their fur like they got sparkles stuck in them, similar to how one got thorns in their pelt while going through gorse. It was later in the morning, but the sun was not yet poking through with its full power. She shuddered as a breeze wracked her pelt and she waddled her way stiffly to the medicine cat's den. She was tense, but the smell of the herbs made her scrunch up her nose. Gross! She was so glad she did not have to spent all her time in here. Following the example of her deputy, she looked at the herbs with great disdain. With great hesitance, she licked them up.

"Brr!"

Brindlewhisker's brow raised slightly as she watched the young she-cat scarf down the herbs without preamble or hesitation, her head tilting ever so slightly as she continued to stare at the dark she-cat. Although she would likely always be soft on any kit raised by Silentstrike and Quailfeather, perhaps her kin weren't entirely focused on teaching certain mannerisms. "There's no need to rush," She chided softly, feeling her whiskers twitch slightly with amusement as she gazed at Rookpaw, "The Highstones aren't going anywhere."

Rising to her paws and giving her fur a brief shake in hopes of forcing some warmth back into her system, Brindlewhisker's gaze briefly darted to the stormy sky that churned high above them. Traveling during the scorching days of Greenleaf was often quite terrible, but she almost preferred having her paws burnt by the sun-heated stones over traveling during the harsh winter weather of Leafbare. Sweating to death seemed less painful than freezing their paws off. "Are you ready to go?" Brindlewhisker still questioned, although she was fully aware of the answer that she would receive.

Rookpaw gave an embarrassed smile in response. "Sorry. I'm just really excited! Plus, herbs are really gross, so I wanted to get it over with." Oh, she hoped she did not look too silly to be a warrior in front of her own mentor, the deputy! See, she had been dreaming of the day she would finally stand proud beside the rest of her Clan as a full warrior. She had no plans for a mate or anything, as she kind of thought the toms in her Clan to be less than her standards, but she did see herself shooting for the leadership someday. Maybe she would be Brindlewhisker's deputy!

"Yes!--- I mean, uh, yes." She squeaked almost like a kit from sheer anticipation, but forced herself to to calm down and sound more mature with her second 'yes.' Although it was leafbare, which made an unforgiving frozen wasteland out of the moor, she felt ready to travel onward to her destiny. Who would she meet? What wisdom would she receive? It was all so... wow!

"Then I suppose we should head out now. We have plenty of ground to travel before we reach the Highstones." Brindlewhisker hummed, giving Rookpaw a playful poke between the ribs with a forepaw. Allowing herself another final stretch in preparation of the long trip ahead of them, the Deputy carefully flexed her shoulders as she continued to gaze at her clearly excited apprentice. Flicking her tail, Brindlewhisker gave Rookpaw a light nudge as she began to pad towards the camp's entrance, waiting to see if the young she-cat would come dashing from behind.

Now! She would finally take her last steps towards becoming a full warrior of WindClan! Her parents would be so proud. The playful poke made her giggle. "I'm sure it won't be that long! We're WindClan cats, so we're as fast as the wind!" Rookpaw stretched too, making sure she was all limber and ready to go. Did not want to cramp up before she met her warrior ancestors, as that would be very embarrassing. She wondered what it was like beyond the moors that they lived on. Was it true that monsters guarded the Highstones so fiercely? Or did they simply hunt there knowing that was where cats went? She was nudged out of her daydream, finding herself bounding on over in an attempt to catch up with her mentor. Was it possible to be late for StarClan?! So many new and odd anxieties filled her veins as she considered all the negative possibilities.

-time skip-


The heavy blanket of clouds had made the passage of time difficult to keep track of, but now that the sky was rapidly darkening, it was easy to tell that nighttime was rapidly approaching. Thankfully the journey had been quite an easy one and the pair of WindClanners were able to make good time- arriving at the Highstones well ahead of sunset. Eyes straining to pick out the faint hint of moonlight behind the thick blanket of dark clouds, the Deputy allowed herself several careful moments of observation. Even though she knew that Rookpaw was practically dying to see the Moonstone by this point, there was no point in rushing into the tunnel too early.

Stiffly rising to her paws, Brindlewhisker gave Rookpaw a careful nudge, gently rousing the dark-furred apprentice. Although it was rather difficult to get an accurate measurement of how high the moon currently was, the Deputy's belly told her that if was definitely close to the appropriate time. "Are you ready to see the Moonstone, Rookpaw?"

Rookpaw was a little winded by the time she got to Highstones. The clouds kept the warm sun away, so she was a little chilled, especially as the sky began to darken with the coming of night. Her endurance could have been better, but to be fair, Highstones were so far away. The distance was much greater than the span of the whole moor! She twitched, waiting for Brindlewhisker to give her verdict on the status of the moon. Were they too early? Too late? Oh, she was dying to know, and dying to go into the cave! Of course, patience was a virtue, so she forced herself to remain as still as she could. The nudge practically lit up her enthusiasm. However, she also felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of being before all of StarClan. Respect would be a must. "Yes," she said, reverent of her warrior ancestors. Perhaps she would meet a great WindClanner who could teach her how to be even better than she was?

"Very well." Brindlewhisker dipped her head slightly at Rookpaw's affirmation, her pupils dilating in an attempt to pick out the dark fur of her apprentice among the overwhelming darkness of the night. Though the moonlight was slowly bleeding through the heavy blanket of clouds high above them, it was still unusually dark for this time of night. Padding along the strangely familiar trail towards the gaping wound in the earth that marked the Mother Mouth, she was careful to point out any sudden dips in the earth or hidden stones that could trip Rookpaw. The ground was slowly beginning to slope beneath their paws, clearly leading them deeper into the belly of the sacred mountain range. "Passing through the tunnels before us is quite easily the most difficult part of our journey, but don't be alarmed. I've traveled through these tunnels countless times and I'll make sure that we make it to the Moonstone in one piece." Brindlewhisker mewed, padding several paces ahead of Rookpaw into the tunnel, "Just make sure to stay close behind me and you'll be fine."

Brindlewhisker's seriousness began to seep into Rookpaw, making her paws tingle with the heaviness of what was happening. Suddenly, this did not feel like a kit-dream anymore. This did not feel like playing leader or warrior in the confines of the nursery. This was real now; she was going to meet her ancestors, although hopefully not for the last time before she would join them someday. The night was oppressive, but the moon's fight to break through the clouds and light a path was inspiring. StarClan truly was watching over them, no matter what time or weather it was. It made her feel safe. She followed her mentor into Mother Mouth, intrepid but trembling still. The gaping jaws of the earth were terrifying, as if they craved the very flesh of cats. She stumbled a little, unable to clearly see the slope downward and the rocks laid out haphazardly in her path. As they went deeper, her breathing got more nervous. What if they got lost? The soothing words helped ease her restless spirit, and she gave an 'mmhm' to bestow upon herself new courage. Her footfalls sped up to make sure she could keep up with Brindlewhisker.

Carefully keeping a tab on Rookpaw's progress, Brindlewhisker continued to confidently guide them deeper and deeper into the belly of the ancient stone. Occasionally brushing against a frigid wall to keep track of where they were, she would only really speak up to warn her apprentice of the upcoming change in terrain underpaw. Feeling the muddied earth slowly grow more solid, a faint silver light was slowly seeping into the darkness that surrounded them, illuminating the jagged walls all around them. Picking up the pace, the Deputy eagerly guided Rookpaw into a surprisingly spacious cavern that was completely bathed in a strangely comforting light. The Moonstone sat nestled in the center of the cavern, glinting in the moonlight that bled from an odd hole in the ceiling of the wide space.

"This is the Moonstone, it has served as our connection to our ancestors for countless generations. To speak with our fallen Clanmates, all you must do is press your nose against the stone and wait until you fall asleep. Although I cannot attend this part of the journey with you, I'll be waiting here until you wake up. Remember to take heed in what our ancestors tell you." Brindlewhisker mewed softly, her voice echoing sharply in the empty space, quietly settling down several tail-lengths away from the young she-cat.

She followed through the tunnels, trying to relax her screaming legs that commanded her to get out into the open air. Although she could not see, her eyes remained down at her paws to keep track of her journey. Every word was met with pricked ears and earnest to listen to it. But even despite the careful warnings and even what she had been told about the Moonstone, her eyes went wide in disbelief in what was before her upon entering the huge empty belly of the earth. Rookpaw breathed in awe of the beauty of the anchor between her ancestors and herself. It was nearly blinding, all that light, but it was gorgeous. It was really like the stars were coming down into this cavern to share their wisdom. Brindlewhisker spoke, and she nodded with her breath caught in her throat. Anxiety bubbled up through her, infecting every ounce of her being and making her pelt tingle in anticipation.

Her heart was thumping the fastest it ever had, but upon touching her nose to the frigid surface, she felt calm.

As Rookpaw opened her eyes, the beautiful landscape that was StarClan greeted her. There was an abundance of prey, and the night chills never bothered any cat. One starry pelt stood out a little brighter than the others, walking towards Rookpaw with a gleam of happiness in her eye. This was her sons adopted kit, and even though they weren't bound by blood, she felt the same connection to her as if she were actually her grandkit. It was a shame she didn't know her true origins, but Willowwhisker knew it would break her heart to know that Quailfeather and Silentstrike weren't her true parents. As she came upon the slightly smaller she-cat, she gently prodded her side to awaken her. "Wake up, Rookpaw." She said, with a playful smile teasing the side of her muzzle.

Rookpaw jumped to attention at the prod, scrambling up to her paws. Before her stood a cat she had never seen before, although she reminded her of her father a great deal. Around her, a gorgeous, starry moor sprawled into infinity. It was like newleaf was already there, spreading its soft, easy warmth to the apprentice who had spent a long and cold night journeying to visit her ancestors. Needless to say, she was far from disappointed. It was everything she had dreamed of and more. As a kit, her mother had told her stories of StarClan being a paradise in the stars, but this was something else. She tried to hide her excitement, attempting to appear confident and mature. There was a little something in the back of her mind that told her that she would be here again before she died, the echoes of ambition for leadership.

"H-hi..." she said, awestruck.

"Hello, Rookpaw. I'm Willowwhisker." She bit back her lip on the part about being her grandmother, because that would almost be lying to her. The starry she-cat knew it would be hard for Silentstrike and Quailfeather to tell her themselves, but it was not her responsibility. Although she knew it wasn't necessary, she hated to see her son have to break his daughter's heart. "Rookpaw, I've got something rather important to tell you." Her long tail swished back and forth as she looked the WindClan apprentice in the eyes, "Quailfeather and Silentstrike are..." She shook her head, trying to figure out the best way to tell her the truth. "They aren't your real parents, Rookpaw." The large StarClan she-cat walked towards her granddaughter, resting a starry muzzle atop her head. "I'm sorry."