November Medicine Cat Meeting 11/15/18

Mintwhisker was the first Medicine Cat to arrive, her apprentice in tow. "Here we are," She mewed, panting as they finally managed to reach Mothermouth. "We're usually first or second to arrive, since we're so close. I'm sure the other will be here shortly."

Pricklepaw despised making a large portion of the long journey to the Moonstone all by himself, this time, but he knew that he would have to memorize the path since he would be taking other apprentices, close to his same age, to the stone for their journeys soon- a privilege he never received. Trying to keep himself from being bitter, however, the large fluffy apprentice walked silently to Mothermouth, paws retracing and remembering the steps he'd taken just two days ago in order to "accept" the position that had been imposed upon him. After the dream, he'd had no desire at all to reject it- which had felt disturbingly unnatural at the time, and still dead. Was StarClan messing with him, his feelings and thoughts? After the display of power they'd shown him during his ceremony, he had no doubts it was completely possible. But now the deed was done, and he who would have been ThunderClan's greatest warrior was now its medicine cat apprentice. And he had to do an apprenticeship all over again... only this one would be full of herbs and healing. Shaking his head, Pricklepaw sighed as he finally arrived at the entrance to the Moonstone, seeing SkyClan's medicine cat who had visited his Clan standing there already. "...Hi," he meowed sullenly, sage-green eyes staring into Mintwhisker's. "I'm ThunderClan's new medicine cat apprentice, I suppose. Leopardstar says... you'll be mentoring me?" His words weren't openly rude, but there was an undertone of annoyance and belligerence that implied he was not altogether happy with his position.

Morningpaw shuffled her paws here and there as she neared the Moonstone. She was quite nervous. Despite knowing most of the medicine cats and medicine cat apprentices, she was still nervous to seem awkward or weird. After a few more paces, she reached the Moonstone where the Skyclan medicine cat and her apprentice as well as an unfamiliar tom were assembled. "Hey." she greeted them. The apprentice then turned to Pricklepaw who's scent was that of Thunderclan's. He must be Thunderclan's new medicine cat apprentice. "Hi there. I'm Morningpaw, Shadowclan's medicine cat apprentice. What's your name?" she asked while smiling kindly.

Amberpaw followed Mintwhisker silently to the Highstones, her normally bubbly personality having been subdued since the battle at Fourtrees. She felt that she had dealt with the reality of the injuries and death she had witnessed to the best of her ability, but the question of "why?" rang in her head constantly. StarClan had waged war against them, then seemingly changed their minds after half of the Clans had been horribly injured; now despite the injuries, the medicine cats were all still making their usual pilgrimage as if they didn't have Clanmates hanging by a thread back in camp.

More than that, Amberpaw questioned her abilities as a medicine cat. She had been paralyzed with terror during the battle, horrified by the carnage she witnessed, and her inability to act could have cost lives. Maybe it had - how could she know? And she had been ordered not to help any of the Exiles; wasn't it her duty to help any cat who was hurting? She had been conflicted, and surely StarClan wouldn't want an indecisive medicine cat - but why, again, did they care what those fox-hearted ghosts thought? Amberpaw didn't know what a medicine cat was without StarClan was, but if StarClan were evil now, did that mean she was, too?

When Mintwhisker spoke, the small golden tabby looked up at her mentor and then followed her gaze to the Mothermouth. Amberpaw nodded once and murmured a soft, "Okay." She let her dark amber eyes wander. After a short while, the SkyClan medicine cat apprentice spotted a fluffy cat making their way up the path. Sniffing the air, she noted WindClan, and within a few moments the tom walked up. Pricklepaw, Amberpaw thought, remembering overhearing the conversation between her mentor and leader about the arrangement. ThunderClan was without a medicine cat, and SkyClan was closest to be able to provide a mentor. Amberpaw kept quiet and looked at her feet, trying not to let her pelt bristle at Pricklepaw's irritation.

Shortly after, Morningpaw arrived, and Amberpaw greeted her warmly, "Hi, Morningpaw." She looked out over the path and thought, That's SkyClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan. Where are RiverClan and WindClan at? She glanced up at the moon and shrugged. They had plenty of time to get there, and if they didn't what could StarClan do to them that they hadn't tried already?

Goldeneye arrived next to last, which was very unusual for her. But with so much going on with Riverclan, and training Windclans next Medicine Cat she was at her wits end with exhaustion, still unable to gain the weight she had lost. She was still as gaunt as ever, but she was still pushing through. Her apprentice stayed behind, though she tried to forcibly drag her apprentice out she would not budge. So she turned up her nose and walked to Windclan to pick up Briarpaw. Now, here they were, a bedraggled Riverclan medicine cat and Windclans newest medicine cat apprentice.

"Greetings." She meowed stiffly, looking over the cats currently present. "We can get started or you all can have a chat." She meowed stiffly, pointedly turning her nose down at the thought of chatting with her colleagues. Before she could dip into the tunnels she stopped to look at Pricklepaw, obviously annoyed at being here. Goldeneye scoffed, "Welcome to the gang, kid." Her tone wasn't welcoming, her voice terse and strained as if she wanted to say more. The medicine cat realized that she hadn't been able to relate to a cat more than the one currently in front of her.

Huffing she dipped into the tunnel, leaving Briarpaw to do his own introductions. Winding caverns had the voices behind her dwindling until she couldn't hear them anymore. By the time she arrived, it was just starting to light up. Goldeneye hesitated, her paws stalling briefly before she started walking forwards. Once at the base of the stone she settled down before pressing her nose to the stone and falling asleep.

The member 'Grey' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Briarpaw looked at the other medicine cats as he padded down the tunnel. "H-hi!" He meowed to Pricklepaw. "I-i'm Briarpaw! The new medicine cat apprentice of WindClan! What clan are you from? What is it like to be a medicine cat? Is it fun? How long have you been doing this?" He beamed at Pricklepaw with bright green eyes.

Morningpaw turned to face Amberpaw with a smile when the other greeted her back. "How's everything in Skyclan? I hope it's been well." The apprentice then addressed the new Briarpaw, "Welcome Briarpaw! You sure seem excited to be here. I hope Windclan is doing well." The she-cat noticed Goldeneye retreating into the dark tunnel that leads into the Moonstone cavern. She then stood up and nodded to the others. "We should head in now." The apprentice then began to walk in, stopping a little bit inside to wait.

Pricklepaw blinked slowly as the ShadowClan-smelling she-cat approached him, then inclined his head slightly at her greeting. "Pricklepaw." His response was short, and his eyes made it clear he wasn't much for conversation at the moment. However, he still felt slighted when SkyClan's medicine cat apprentice completely ignored him. Then RiverClan's medicine cat, the only other fully-named cat here, "welcomed" him with a tone that inferred that she didn't think much of the position either. Well, good for her- maybe she'd been pressured into it, too... or maybe she was just grumpy. Both were viable answers, and he found that he really didn't care to find out which. Besides, the she-cat was gone into the cavern anyways. When someone spoke to him, he turned, startled- he'd forgotten that WindClan's new apprentice was there as well. Briarpaw. At the overgrown kit's excitement and neverending questions, Pricklepaw quickly grew even more annoyed than he was already. "Stick a mouse in it," he growled eventually, pelt bushy with irritation. "I'm Pricklepaw of ThunderClan, as I've said three times already, and I'd rather not be in this position at all. Now can we just go into the Moonstone and get this over with as quickly as possible?" Without waiting for a response, the aggravated medicine cat apprentice swept past Briarpaw, flicking his face sharply with his tail, and followed Morningpaw's retreating form into Mothermouth.

Mintwhisker's murky green eyes flashed at the sullen tom's tone of voice. "Yep!" She mewed brightly. This should be fun... "I'll be visiting Thunderclan every other sunrise until you can prove to me that you have what it takes to become a fully-trained Medicine Cat. I'm looking forward to training you."
With that said, the she-cat turned away from the apprentice to greet Morningpaw with a friendly smile. She assumed that Goldeneye would be responsible for most of her training since Riverclan and Shadowclan were allied, although Mintwhisker would certainly love to step in and do her part. It wouldn't hurt to have a paw in both Thunderclan and Riverclan, especially since Skyclan happened to be one of the smallest clans in the entire forest.

Mintwhisker was about to suggest heading into the tunnels without the others when Goldeneye with a small, extremely excited apprentice in tow. "Goldeneye!" She mewed, stepping forward. "I-!" But Goldeneye promptly ignored Mintwhisker's attempts to speak, talking loudly over her.
Taken aback, the taupe she-cat was forced to fall behind the golden Riverclanner as she lead the way into Mothermouth. Just before she disappeared into the tunnels, a snatch of conversation from the apprentices made her steps falter.
"Pricklepaw, a word?"

Without giving the tom time to think, Mintwhisker pulled him roughly out of the tunnel and into the waning light of day. "I'm only going to repeat this once." The plump Medicine Cat's kind demeanor was gone, replaced by cold anger as she stared down at the spike-furred apprentice. Her murky eyes burned into his dull green ones, staring directly at the tom with an expression that could only be described as pure contempt. " If I ever see you act like that towards another Medicine Cat, no matter their behavior, I'll make your training a living The Dark Forest. Is that understood?" A silence stretched between them, and Mintwhisker's ears twitched. "Excellent. Follow me." And with that, the tabby she-cat lead the sandy tom towards the Moonstone.

---

"Who are you?"
When Mintwhisker awoke in Starclan, she found herself resting beside a pool of crystal-clear water. Beside her, a tall, battle-scarred tom-cat stared at her with piercing green eyes.
"I am Reedstar. The code has been broken."

The tom-cat's voice echoed through the chamber. Ripples radiated across the pool's previously glassy surface, the water slowly growing less transparent. "Goldeneye and Jaystar have made a mockery of the Code, and now Ivystar's blood runs through false kits of Riverclan. The lord of the stars will guide you, but tread carefully. Goldeneye is not your friend."
The pool was churning now, sending steaming droplets of water onto Mintwhisker's pelt. She flinched as they flashed crimson, staining her pelt. The chamber grew hotter, the pool was boiling now. Flecks of salty spray slattered across the she-cat's cheeks and face, burning fur and scalding flesh. Mintwhisker jumped to her feet, letting out a screech of pain.
Darkness.
Water, flowing over her, settling across her chest. Whispered words of prophecies given to her moons ago rushing past her. "...Mistfeather does not rest..." "...Rosekit is avenged... "...The drums of war are beating..." "...When the shrike calls..." "...Goldeneye and Jaystar are innocent no longer..." "...lord of the stars..." "...rainstorms destroy all..." Wind. Warmth. Stillness. Mintwhisker felt everything at once, experienced everything at once. Her mouth opened in a silent scream of pain as she felt flecks of boiling blood land on her face, her chest, her legs.

---

Mintwhisker sat bolt upright, her chest heaving. "Amberpaw!" She gasped, looking around for her apprentice as adrenaline pumped through her veins. "Oh... there you are... it's time to go..." There was a note of urgency in her otherwise exhausted voice that warned her not to ask any questions until they were safely alone.

The member 'Drippy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Amberpaw froze slightly at Goldeneye's cold and unfriendly tone; she immediately dropped her head to stare at her paws. Why was the RiverClan she-cat always in such a terrible mood? Did she have to treat everyone so coldly? The SkyClan medicine cat apprentice said nothing again until she heard Goldeneye storm off into the dark tunnel of the mothermouth. The apprentice lifted her head slowly to view the remaining medicine cats, feeling further discouraged by the animosity from Pricklepaw to Briarpaw's friendly greeting.

Fortunately, Mintwhisker stepped in swiftly, and the medicine cats began to make their way down to the Moonstone one by one. Amberpaw stayed quiet as her mentor reprimanded ThunderClan's new medicine cat apprentice - what could she possibly say? she didn't want Pricklepaw to snap at her too. Once their short "conversation" ended, Amberpaw made her way nervously after Mintwhisker to follow her into the tunnel. Once they arrived in the blinding lightness of the Moonstone, Amberpaw settled in a small huddle at the edge of the cavern near the entrance, gazing enraptured at the Moonstone while the named medicine cats slept.

---

Amberpaw felt herself beginning to lightly doze when the cave suddenly became pitch black. As always, she was uneased by the sudden darkness, but she was further alarmed by Mintwhisker's sudden cry. "I-I'm here, Mintwhisker," Amberpaw offered, but her mentor had already found her and was leading her out of the cave through the tunnel. There was no opportunity to say goodbye, and so Amberpaw just followed silently, wondering what her mentor had seen.

Pricklepaw let out a hiss as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into a dark pathway by his "mentor," Mintwhisker. Oh, joy... this will be absolutely wonderful. His sage-green eyes were absolutely flat notwithstanding her anger, and her failed attempts to intimidate him. He'd fought in the battle at Fourtrees; his former mentor had been one of them. This bristling, herb-eating she-cat held no fear for him, only thick contempt. At her promise to make his training a "living Dark Forest," he only smirked. These threats held no water. "It already will be," he growled quietly, looking directly into her eyes. "Nothing you can say or do will make me like this position, or make it any worse than it already is. It will be far easier if you just show me how to heal my Clanmates with herbs and then just let me be. And for the record, I'm not scared of you- and I'd rather be trained as a warrior by Lichenmask than listen to your advice, but this is my job now, and my Clan needs me. So I will stay a medicine cat apprentice, but not because I want to. It's because ThunderClan has no medicine cat and no one else, apparently, would be fit for the job." He followed at a far distance behind her when she finally left, and sat in a corner of the cavern staring at the tall, sparkling Moonstone with disenchantment. He knew all about StarClan... those fools held the power of everything in their paws, and used it just to toy with an apprentice and to make the lives of the Clans even worse than they already were. He held little respect for them, if any. This is not an honor, Leopardstar. It is a punishment, and the worst one that I could be called to bear. He wouldn't even get to talk to the starry-furred fox-hearts....

In the Starry Plains, awaiting Pricklepaw was a RiverClanner, his brown tabby pelt glistening darkly, with the white of his underbelly almost see through. He was a paradox of colours, confusing to look at, his inner discord being all but reflected in his corporeal body, until he inhaled deeply to settle down his form. He had made his decision, now he awaited the ThunderClan Medicine Cat, to show them the truth and reveal it for all to know.

@ash: no need to roll your dice, Otter has a revelation for you.