Echopaw's Moonstone Journey

The bright leaf-fall sunlight warmed Leopardstar's back as he trotted across the clearing and ducked into the medicine cat's den, grabbing two bundles of already prepared traveling herbs in his strong jaws.  It had been a long time since he'd taken a warrior apprentice to the Moonstone, and since the pain of his injuries had started to fade the long walk had begun to sound quite appealing again.  He was in an unusually cheery mood as he placed the stacks of herbs on the ground outside the apprentice den, devouring his own in one swallow.  The taste had become almost nonexistent to him, and he quickly settled down to groom his pelt as he waited for young Echopaw to emerge.  The thought of more warriors on the horizon brought a swell of pride to his chest; ThunderClan was growing once again, and he was proud to be a part of these apprentice's training; plus, it would give Pricklepaw a bit of a break.

Echopaw squirmed in his nest as the weak leaf-fall light landed on his face. He squinted at it with his icy blue eyes, annoyed at how bright it was. Those eyes shot open when he realized what he was doing today. With renewed vigor, Echopaw stretched his legs and did a quick grooming of his messy fur. He left the apprentices den, and padded up to Leopardstar. "So," the tuxedo tom said. "we're going to the moonstone, right?" Echopaw sat down next to him, noticing the pile of herbs. "Um," he said awkwardly. "am I supposed to eat those?" He prodded them with a white paw.

Leopardstar's pricked ears swiveled around when he heard fur brush against foliage, and turned to greet Echopaw with a faint, but friendly smile.  "Good morning."  Upon being posed with questions, the golden tabby tom dipped his head and purred; "Correct.  These herbs will give you strength for the journey and curb your hunger, as we won't have time to stop and hunt."  Pushing the small leaf pile closer to the bi-color tom with a careful forepaw, the leader rose to his feet, tail waving languidly.  "Once you're finished we'll head out, we have a lot of ground to cover."

Echopaw stared at the herbs a moment longer, then stooped down and ate them. "Eyuck!" He exclaimed. "Those things are bitter!" Echopaw padded after Leopardstar. "I'm not quite sure how this works..."  he meowed after a moment of awkward silence. "What will we do at the moonstone?" Echopaw had never spent this much time with the leader, especially not one on one. It felt strange.

Leopardstar chuckled, amused as he always was by the apprentice's disgusted reaction to the traveling herbs.  His own numbness to the rancid flavor over moons of repetition stood in stark contrast, but he could still faintly remember himself having a similar, but much quieter, experience in his younger years.  "You'll be grateful for them later, I assure you.  Let's go."  

As he led the way out the prickly gorse tunnel and up the jagged sides of the ravine, the leader's black-tipped ears pricked at the sound of Echopaw's voice, and he looked back over his shoulder at the patched tom as they took refuge in the shade of the quickly balding trees.  The apprentice's voice rang with an edge of discomfort, and it suddenly came upon the golden-pelted tom that he couldn't recall ever talking to Echopaw before.  No wonder this is awkward...what kind of leader doesn't know his own clanmates?  His ears flattening slightly, Leopardstar hesitated for a moment before answering, though he knew the information by heart.  It's hard...but I guess I should try to follow Grasswhisker's advice, even if it's something I'm not used to...

"Oh...uh, yes, the Moonstone!  When we arrive at Mothermouth, we will descend into the tunnels until we find the Moonstone; when the moon is at its peak, you will sleep beside the stone and a StarClan cat will visit you in your dreams.  Is that cl-...uh, d-does that answer your question, Echopaw?"  For StarClan's sake...I'm a grown cat, leader of ThunderClan!  Why is it so hard to just have a regular, casual conversation...?

"Y-yeah!" Echopaw meowed. "It does. Thank you." They padded alongside each other in awkward silence. Huh. That sounds cool! I wonder who I'll talk to... He wanted to ask more, but he felt too awkward to. He wished that he had a better relationship with Leopardstar.

OOC: Should we do a time skip to when they are at Mothermouth?

(occ: yess)

Leopardstar flicked his ears, acknowledging Echopaw's thankful response, before beginning to pick up the pace until both cats ran at a steady trot.  The end of ThunderClan's territory drew near, as the open cloudy sky revealed itself between the branches; they had a long way to go, so the leader decided to save his breath.  They could chat another day...

~TIMESKIP~

At long last, after traversing the expanse of Twoleg farmland that lay beyond WindClan's gusty moor, the two cats finally arrived at the rocky gap they knew as Mothermouth, golden tabby and monochrome bicolor pelts fading into the growing darkness of evening.  Taking a moment to catch his breath, Leopardstar gazed into the tunnel that sat before them, unnavigable by a cat's eye alone.  "As you can see, the path to Mothermouth is extremely dark, and it's easy to lose your way.  Stick close to me, and make use of your other senses besides sight; we're almost there."  With a sharp flick of his ringed tail, the ThunderClan leader dove into the unknown, beckoning for Echopaw to follow.

On they went, down many trails that ranged from echoing chasms to minuscule shafts they had to crawl through on their bellies, but after what began to feel like an eternity a light finally shone ahead.  With a faint smile, the golden spotted tabby tom entered the holy place of their ancestors, the Moonstone shining in all it's breathtaking glory.  Moving off to the side, the leader was bathed in the ethereal glow cast by the stone, making his face appear shaded and body crystalized.  "Step forward Echopaw, and touch your nose to the Moonstone's surface.  StarClan will call you into a deep sleep, and from there you will speak to a warrior of the past.  I'll be here when you wake."

Echopaw cautiously stepped forwards. With one last glance towards Leopardstar, he laid down, and placed his nose to the stone. Instantly, a shudder of cold passed through him as he sank into a deep sleep.
Echopaw opened his eyes. He was standing in a forest, with stars shining above. He heard a rustle in the bracken. He shot around, looking for the source of the noise.

OOC: Sorry for the late reply! Recently, school has been trying to suffocate me in homework.

A StarClan cat was sitting and waiting for the apprentice when he opened his eyes, just a few pawsteps away. His mouse-brown fur was ruffled and unkempt, and his glowing eyes were a soft and friendly green. If not for the stars in his pelt, he could have been any ordinary tom. "Hey there," he greeted Echopaw with a friendly voice, not so much laid-back as only partially there. "M'name's Ryestep. I'm a ThunderClan cat, like you. What can I do for ya? Got any problems I can solve?" He was cheerful and eager, but wisdom seemed to emanate from his gaze as he looked directly at the apprentice.

Echopaw stared at Ryestep for a moment. What could he help me with...? Than he remembered something. "I got into a border skirmish with Sparrowpaw of SkyClan, and she won!" as he talked, his voice became more and more exasperated. "She was on ThunderClan territory, but she was the one who chased me off. How can I win more battles? I don't want to be the coward that runs into the medicin den. Can you help me?!" Echopaw eagerly awaited a response from Ryestep.

Ryestep listened for a moment, then sighed. Another one of those brash cats... like Ivystar and Rainstorm, who'd murdered him for resting on his own territory. This tom had to be stopped where he stood, so that he could live a good life, uninhibited by the same drive to fight and win that so many other cats in the Clans were afflicted with. "Echopaw," the StarClan tom said finally, green eyes luminescent as they rested on his face, "I think you're missin' the point. Ya see, life isn't about battlin'." The lean, mouse-brown warrior stood up. "Sure, fightin' to defend your Clan is great an' all, but it's not the only reason ta live. It doesn't affect as much as ya think it does. Skirmishes, who wins or loses... it doesn't matter. Family matters. Friends matter. Clan matters." His words were simple and relaxed, but truth ran through them like a cold undercurrent in a sunlit river. "If ya live your life just lookin' for success in battle, that may be what ya find. But your life won't be fulfillin'. Slow down a bit and enjoy life. That one cute apprentice you've got your eye on? Talk to her. Your family? Spend time with them. Patrol, hunt, share tongues with your friends. It's not about fightin', and it's not about winnin'."

Ryestep touched his nose to Echopaw's, and a flurry of images suddenly ran through the apprentice's head. A young tom laughing with friends, talking to a she-cat under the moon, batting at a piece of moss with kits, laying in the sun and relaxing. The images brought with them a sense of peace and warmth, something that left a desire waiting to be filled. "Go live your life," the tom said kindly, voice still smooth and unconcerned. "Actually live it. Don't worry about fightin', don't worry about anythin'. Just live. Or ya might find yourself someplace ya don't wanna be."

Echopaw looked at Ryesteap as he spoke. "I-I don't have a family! I don't have friends! I thought... Maybe if I could show them I was strong. That I had potential then-then maybe I could have friends." He listened as Ryesteap continued, and said he should go talk to 'That one cute apprentice you've got your eye on'. Could he mean Lilypaw? Of coarse he doesn’t! She's from WindClan! But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted too talk to her. to get to know her.

"No family yet," Ryestep corrected him, nudging him kindly. "No friends yet. Maybe if ya put more effort into talkin' instead of fightin', you'd see that there are plenty o' cats who'd be more'n open ta the idea o' friendship. You've got all your squirrels up the wrong tree, sonny." The light brown warrior stood up and shook out his pelt. "All right, I oughta let ya go now. Can't be ramblin' on all day. Remember what I said, kid- enjoy the life ya got, don't let it pass ya by. Don't go looking for fights, or you'll find 'em... and more than ya bargained for."

His green, half-lidded eyes stared into the distance for a moment. "A storm's comin', and soon you'll have all the strife and fightin' you've longed for. But before then, make some friends. Talk to cats. Be happy for me, Echopaw, all right?" Then, after a wink, Ryestep was gone.

"Okay," Echopaw meowed as Ryesteap disappeared. He woke up, and padded out of the cave thinking about what Ryesteap had said. He needed to speak to Lilypaw. Even if she was from WindClan... It wouldn’t hurt to be friends... would it?