Spotpaw's Moonstone Journey

The deputy left the medicine cat less unsure than the last journey he made. Unlike Heronpaw, Spotpaw had been an active member of the clan despite being called one of the untrustworthy clanmates. From the four cats that were called like that by Ivystar, he believed that Spotpaw was the closest to his redemption. This journey would be a test for him.

He settled down on a stone without snow and he waited there for the young tom, the herbs laying in front of him.

Spotpaw forced the herbs down. "I'm ready to go, Jaystream." He said. He licked the fur around his mouth to try rubbing off the bad taste.

The young seemed pretty eager to go since he didn't even say hi and just swallowed the herbs without him having to tell Spotpaw what to do. He smiled. That meant that he truly wanted to be a Riverclan warrior. Quickly, the deputy did the same, not even feeling the bad taste. His tongue was already used. Even the smell wasn't awful anymore since he had been spending a lot of time with Goldeneye."Okay then, let's go!" He mewed before starting the long travel.

As usual, he guided Spotpaw from Riverclan camp to the Twoleg bridge using the shortest path. The apprentice didn't need his help at all for this part of the trip but it was necessary. "Even if the river is frozen, we're not going to risk ourselves. We'll use the rock to reach the other side. The Twoleg bridge is too dangerous." He ordered before jumping to the first stone. Just like a frog, the Riverclan warrior moved swiftly from one rock to another, making sure that the young tom didn't fell behind his back. "Ready to continue?" He asked when he was safe and sound on the other side of the frozen water.

Spotpaw followed Jaystream. He didn't entirely understand why the Twoleg bridge was so dangerous, but he did know that whatever Jaystream said, he had to do. So he did. So far, the trip had not been exciting, but now they approached Windclan territory, and he had only been there once or twice for a border skirmish, but never a whole trip straight through.

Slowly but steady, the two Riverclan toms were getting near to Windclan's territory. After crossing the Fourtrees, they soon were at the front of the Thunderpath. The large deputy crouched a bit, looking at both sides of the road. "This path is what separates the neutral territory from Windclan's territory. Your mentor must have told you about this place, the Thunderpath, and you must know why we must be careful: the monsters." A few seconds after those words were said, one of that hideous creatures passed the Thunderpath at high speed in front of the two cats. The lights blinded Jaystream for a second but he remained still until the danger had passed. Then, his green eyes glanced at Spotpaw once again. "You will probably hear before seeing it. When I say run, you run to the other side non-stop and not looking back, okay?" He gave him the proper indications before preparing for the race. When the warrior was sure that nothing was coming, he leapt forward saying out loud the code word. "Run!" Although he wasn't a Windclan cat, his long and muscular legs helped him a lot to run almost as fast as one of them. He only stopped when he felt the soft snow beneath his paws instead of the hard path.

"Welcome to Windclan." He mewed bitterly, remembering that one of the Windclan's cats wounded his friend and medicine cat.

OOC: um... "Slowly but steady, the two apprentices were getting near to Windclan's territory" ehrm... I think you mean Jaypaw then?

IC: Spotpaw crouched beside the Thunderpath, staring in awe at the Monster. He ran as fast as he could, only barely missing the Monster. He looked around the moor. "Windclan." He said bitterly.

OOC: Oops! My bad! Fixed it XD

IC: "Well, there's a long way to go. Follow me." The deputy said before walking once again.

(time skip)

After travelling through Windclan's moors, the landscape changed. There was no grass under their paws. Only snow and hard rocks. For a few moments, the two RiverClanners walked in this mountain environment until the Mouthermouth appeared in front of them. "This is the entrance. The tunnel is dark and it can lead you to wrong places so stay next and follow me closely. You might not see anything at all so use your ears and paws only. We're close." The large warrior entered the dark and wet cave, making sure that Spotpaw was following him like he said.

The tom walked slowly and indicated every sharp rock that could be dangerous for the apprentice's paws. Soon, the bright light welcomed them, warmly. The Moonstone, like always, was standing there in the middle of the cave, waiting for the tom's touch. Jaystream approached it and laid down on a mossy rock. "Touch the stone with your nose as you close your eyes. Starclan will speak to you. You must be respectful and follow their advice. Good luck, Spotpaw, and may the stars guide your path."

OOC: After your next post, you're free to request your ceremony. However, you must finish this even if the ceremony is over.

OOC: mk short trash post

IC: Spotpaw nodded.
...its the timeskip...

Spotpaw padded toward the Moonstone and gingerly touched his nose to it.

Waiting for Spotpaw, in the starry plains of Silverpelt, was a fluffy white she-cat. Her fur made her look like a star-studded cloud, and her deep green eyes had mysterious depths. Her size was that of an apprentice, though the look in her eyes made her seem much older. "Hello, Spotpaw," she purred in a quiet, low voice that he had to strain his ears to hear. "My name is Snowpaw. I am Shellwater's daughter."

Spotpaw looked at the she-cat. "Snowpaw... Shellwater's still alive... But I guess you know that already, I think you could tell if she came here, to Starclan..."

Snowpaw blinked. "Yes, I am well aware that my mother is alive. Sometimes, however, with all that she has borne, she wishes she wasn't. I have not been able to visit her dreams as I would like to, because my leaders forbid it. But I hope my namesake will play the role in her recovery that I would." She shook her head, giving a low chuckle. "But that's not why you're here, is it? Tell me, Spotpaw, what do you worry about? What are your concerns? What advice would you have he give?"

Spotpaw looked down at the green grass before looking back up at her with sad eyes. "I... I worry about Riverclan. I feel like I could have saved Darkpaw if I wasn't on top of the fox, and I KNOW I could have saved Brightpaw, if only I had done something... I'm worried everyone else I love is going to die because I couldn't save them."

Snowpaw nodded thoughtfully, feeling a pang of sympathy. It reminded her of how she had died, trying to protect her father Otterleap. "There's no point in what-ifs and wishing we could change the past, Spotpaw, because we can't. We can only change the future. StarClan will take who they will. As long as you stay loyal and continue to do your best, however, you may still be able to save many of your Clanmates' lives when they are in danger, and perhaps be saved in turn. Don't beat yourself up about what can never be." The fluffy white she-cat looked at the tom, making sure he understood.

Spotpaw had heard this before, somewhere. He didn't remember where. Perhaps he had known it all along? "But I could be something else, and that's the problem! Had I helped Brightpaw drive away the fox, I could have taken some of the blows and then we'd both be alive! I can't help it,
and I try not to think about it, but I keep being reminded of them every day. I'll try helping them,
but... it feels like Brightpaw's fate rested on my shoulders and I just let him die, I could have attacked the fox differently but no, I was on top of it, and so then that led to Darkpaw dying. Tigerpaw died because we couldn't heal {him/her}, Fawnsong who was just an apprentice a few days before and Rowanpaw who was barely more than a kit, they both died because of Thunderclan, Raccoonpaw and Frostpaw died too, it's like Starclan wants all of our apprentices!"

Snowpaw shook her head, a wry half-smile on her face. "Leaf-bare is a hard season, yes- but many of your denmate have survived to warriorhood, as have you so far. I know, perhaps better than most, of the pain that premature death brings...." Shellwater's cry of anguish at seeing her dead daughter's body was brought to the StarClan she-cat's remembrance, and her head dropped in a moment of sadness. Her mother hadn't deserved such pain. "But the Clan continues on. As will you. Just remain loyal, and everything will turn out."