Hillpaw's Moonstone Journey

A growing fear sweltered inside of Fallowpaw's gut, knowing that Shade was out and about. She'd already fallen into a neat routine with the apprentices and their Moonstone Journeys, but with Shade around, there was a constant pit of dread broiling inside of her. Even though she would have a well-trained apprentice with her the entire time, it didn't help her anxiety in the slightest. She shook her head; what choice did she have? Gingerly grabbing one set of herbs- she'd already eaten hers- Fallowpaw made her way out of her den, searching for Hillpaw amongst the many apprentices that caught her sight. She'd added a slight bit of Heather Nectar to this bundle, which would hopefully make it a bit easier on the apprentice, with both the taste and getting it down. Finally, she found him. Setting the leaf down gently, she lifted her head and looked into the apprentice's eyes. "Eat it quickly, they don't taste very good."

"Hey Fallowpaw. I'm going to finally get to see StarClan tonight!" Hillpaw's tone was full of a sense of arrogance, as if he was the only apprentice that ever got to go to the Moonstone. Taking the herbs in his mouth, he almost spit them out right away. But no, that would be a sign of weakness, which a RiverClan cat could never show. So he forced himself to swallow them all without grimacing, trying to remain looking casual. When he had finished, he looked to Fallowpaw with a cocky smile on his face. Not a single worry seemed to be about the young tom, which wasn't the most common. "Can we go yet?"

Offering nothing more than a slight smile- not an empty one, of course, she truly felt the tom's excitement- but she hardly had time to babble on about it. She didn't want to run the risk of bumping into Shade, whose dark fur would make it easier for him to camouflage himself. As soon as they were out into the territory that the she-cat called home, she gulped slightly and noted the circumstances. "As you know, Shade is indeed out and about. We'll have to be careful- my experience in battle is... extremely limited." She looked into the apprentice's eyes, the seriousness of her tone not necessary to be able to tell that she was as solemn as a cat could get. She moved along on the path that she knew led them to Highstones- she was beginning to get used to this Moonstone routine. As soon as the duo reached the River, a tightness in Fallowpaw's chest released- so far, everything had gone fine. She could only pray to StarClan that this would become a pattern. "You shouldn't have much trouble crossing, but I still want you to be careful. It's slippery no matter the weather." She nodded gently to the tom, signaling with her tail that she'd cross first. She bounded quickly across the rocks that jutted out of the water, being careful to get a good pawhold on the rock before leaping to the next. Sooner rather than later, she'd managed to make her way to the other side. She beckoned Hillpaw over with a flick of her ears, waiting for him to finish.

"We shouldn't worry about Shade. If he attacks, I'll protect you," Hillpaw assured boastfully. Even though he had nearly died in his last encounter with Shade, he had managed to convince himself that if would have done just fine on his own if Nutfur hadn't showed up. Besides, he was even more experienced now. That belief helped him to be a real RiverClan cat and be brave. Trotting after the medicine cat apprentice, he was a bit surprised at the she-cat's caution about the stepping stones. Oh right, she didn't know how often he snuck out. Keeping quiet and pretending to agree, he followed after her, easily finding footholds on the stones. "Why are we stopping? Let's go!"

Fallowpaw grinned at the charming tom's promise, nodding her head at the claim. "He's still a very powerful cat. Don't let your guard down." The she-cat walked on through the grassy part of the territory, making sure not to go too fast as to not exhaust the apprentice. This journey was something she'd done several times before- for the apprentice, however, this was probably one of the longest treks that he'd ever take. As soon as they came to the Thunderpath, the she-cat stopped. Her front paws rested on the edge of the rancid black surface, attempting to see if she could feel the rumble of a monster in the distance. When she was sure that there was nothign coming, she gestured for Hillpaw to cross quickly. "Go, and go fast. Sometimes it's hard to tell if something's coming. You should be good now."

"Ugh, Monsters. They're horrible." Hillpaw actually hadn't seen them before, but from what he had heard, they could kill a cat. Why couldn't they just be gone and RiverClan wouldn't have competition for mightiest creature. Grumbling, he sprinted across, sure he was faster than any WindClanner could ever be. Those arrogant fleabags weren't even that fast. Still, he could sense no sign of monsters, and started to wonder what the big deal was. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more pointless delays before they reached Highstones.

Breathing a quick sigh of relief as the tom made it across, she thought back to the many close encounters that she'd had. She hadn't lost an apprentice to them yet, and she didn't plan for that to change. She kept her paws firmly planted on the Thunderpath, and closed her eyes. To the young apprentice, this occurrence probably looked extremely strange- but she could feel the rumble of the Thunderpath in her paws, even if she couldn't quite tell where it was. She knew it was coming, and that she couldn't cross until it had passed. Her blue eyes opened with a snap, and she quickly looked to her left to see a large Monster with many of the twolegs stuck inside. Her fur bristled as it came nearer and nearer, and soon any sound the she-cat could have heard was drowned by the deafening reverberation it gave off. As soon as it had passed, she was quickly on her paws, darting across the Thunderpath. She could see the lights of the next oncoming Monster just to her left, and it was a terrifying feat not to stop right where she was. All her instincts screamed for her to turn back around, but she was sure she could make it. When her paws finally touched the soil on the opposite side, she huffed out a large sigh. The Monster roared past behind them, and her chest heaved up and down. There was a large procession of the foul things behind them, so she saw it important that she got across before the hoard of them came. If she hadn't Hillpaw would've been left on the other side by himself. She couldn't have risked that. She was now slightly disheveled, but she steadied herself quickly and licked down the fur that stood up on her shoulders and back. "Let's keep going, we're nearly there now." She continued walking, glancing back behind her every once in a while to make sure that the apprentice was still behind or beside her. And then, they came upon the Mothermouth.

"Oh, so those are what Monsters look like. They're bigger than I expected." Hillpaw's understanding statement did not quite hide the shakiness he was feeling. Having him and Fallowpaw separated by one of those huge beasts had been terrifying, like they would just pick them off while they were alone. The way the acrid scent filled the air and the thunderous roar drowned out all sound wasn't natural, and it made him want to curl up into a ball and cry for his mother. But as a RiverClan cat, he had to be strong, or else be a disappointment to his clan. To make that even more so, he was the warrior apprentice and she was the medicine cat apprentice, so he had to be even stronger. Terror filled him as Monsters zoomed towards the she-cat, and let out a sigh of relief when she made it across. RiverClan would suffer without any medicine cats, so this was great that they both survived. His comment was his futile attempt to seem unbothered, but with his voice shaking, that didn't work. Fallowing after the medicine cat apprentice, the fear soon subsided, and he just focused on the walk. Then he saw Highstones. The rocky hill didn't seem to majestic to him, but apparently a powerful crystal was inside. Upon reaching Mothermouth, he couldn't help but stare into the pitch black depths of the cave. "We're going to have to go in there?"

"Indeed we are." She padded towards the entrance, growing ever closer to the Moonstone inside with each step. She could feel the presence of StarClan more and more each time she grew nearer, a familiar feeling that she adored. She was right in front of the pitch black darkness when she looked back to the apprentice, still a bit battered from crossing the Thunderpath. "There's nothing to be afraid of. As long as you stay close to me, there's no chance of you getting lost. Nothing will bother us once we're inside." She reassured the tom softly, beckoning him over to her side. "Are you good to go?" When she saw Hillpaw nod shakily, she ventured into the cave. Even the keen eyes of the Medicine Cat Apprentice couldn't pick apart any shapes in the darkness of the cave, so she doubted that Hillpaw could see anything at all. She made sure that she could hear each of his steps behind her as she walked, keeping no more than a two pawsteps ahead of him at all times

Then, the pair came to the Moonstone. The light emitted from the powerful stone was comforting to the she-cat. She looked back to Hillpaw with a grin. "When you're ready, touch your nose to the stone. You'll feel extremely tired; don't fight it." With that, she padded towards the stone, settling down next to it comfortably and touching her own nose to it gently. Then, sleep overcame her.

"Fine, I'll go in there," Hillpaw gave in, huffing as he fallowed Fallowpaw (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) into the dark tunnel. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, and he made a point of never making contact with the she-cat in front of him. Of course he was enough of a warrior to just walk through a pitch black cramped tunnel without needing reassurance. Though his eyes were open, he really couldn't tell, the level of light being the same when he opened and closed his eyes. That was, until the brightest light ever hit his eyes. Blinking rapidly at the sudden change in lighting, his thoughts were the exact opposite of the medicine cat apprentice. Instead of being comforted by the bright light being emitted from the giant stone, he felt nothing short of intimidated. As if this stone was taunting him on his small size, even if he was large for his age. Like it was huge and powerful, and he was weak and insignificant. The other she-cat's grin just made him feel worse. How dare she feel empowered while he felt impaired? Frustration and anger flowing through him, he doubt full laid down and looked at the stone. Stupid crystal. Scowling, he pressed his nose against it, and immediately fell asleep.

"Well well well, another apprentice has shown up to talk to me." The gray tabby warrior said looking at the apprentice that was now in Starclan territory. Amber eyes looked at the apprentice as Thistleblaze sat in a spot enjoying the nice weather of Starclan territory. "You have any questions for me, Hillpaw?" The she-cat asked.

“This is StarClan?” Hillpaw asked, seeming a bit underwhelmed. When he had imagined StarClan, it was way more cool than this. Well, this was a warrior’s paradise, but it seemed just like a perfect version of the real world, not something totally different and awesome. Either way, it wasn’t like he had died yet or anything, so he didn’t have to start worrying about stuff like that anytime soon. Looking at the cat who was speaking to him, she looked vaguely familiar, but more like he kne a cat that looked like he rather than this she-cat herself. Maybe she was someone’s mom or something? Whatever the reason was, she wanted to know if he had any idea questions. Of course he did, starting with the obvious one. “Yeah, I do. First off, who are you? And what is it that StarClan has to tell me? I don’t even think I need advice or something like that, but what cool message are you going to give me?”

Thistleblaze let out a sigh. So this cat thought he was perfect. "I am Thistleblaze I was a great Riverclan warrior." The gray tabby she-cat stood up and padded closer to the tom. "Listen closely Hillpaw. You certainly need some advice. You need to start following the rules more, and respecting others. If you don't when things get bad they will end up turning on you. Do you want that? Do you want your friends and clan turning on you? I don't think you do." She said harshly. She didn't care if she had to scare the tom into listening. "Keep these in mind as you return to the waking world." She told the tom as she faded from sight of the tom sending him back to the moonstone.

"I do follow the rules! At least the important ones. Oh, I get it, I should follow all of the rules. Fine," Hillpaw reluctantly agreed, rolling his eyes. Ugh, why couldn't StarClan have given him an actual message about something important? That would finally get cats to take him seriously. Sure, it wouldn't get him to the same level as Lichenmask, but why couldn't he get more than the customary advice thing? Seriously, Thistleblaze was a bit disappointing. And now she was saying he had to respect cats more! What was she even talking about! "What do you mean? I am respectful to everyone who deserves it! But you can't expect me to be nice to codebreakers like Flamepaw and Nutfur, can you? Do I really have to?" Suddenly, a vision of all the cats he had ever been rude to ganging up on him filled his mind, and he realized the StarClan warrior's point. For a split second his expression turned to one of fear, before he remembered that it was only his imagination. "Fine, I understand. I'll do my best to remember what you told me."