January Medicine Cat Meeting 1/15/19

Amberdawn had been practically trembling with... something all day. Excitement? Anxiety? Anticipation? She wasn't entirely certain, as her previous (and only) medicine cat meeting thus far had ended with bad news about Jaystar and Goldeneye. They had no real proof other than a vague prophecy from StarClan. Amberdawn had only been an apprentice then. While she was still learning from Mintwhisker all the time, she had earned her full medicine cat name. During the day, she had wondered what their ancestors would reveal to her tonight. Some part of her hoped for clarification on Mintwhisker's dream, but another hoped for some hint of why Twoleg scents had been lingering in the forest more recently.

As the young golden she-cat made her long journey from SkyClan's territory to Highstones, she had no time to wonder about these things anymore. A thick fog had descended early in the day and left the world in a gloomy fog. Amberdawn picked her way carefully over less familiar terrains and made good pace once she had the Thunderpath to follow. It was strange how such a dangerous thing could prove so useful sometimes. The Twolegs and their monsters seem to think so, she mused to herself, though I can't imagine what they use it for. She shuddered to think about it. By the time the moon had risen, the fog had thinned just enough for it to guide her. Thank StarClan, she thought, but the foreboding feeling had only strengthened.

When the Mothermouth came into view, Amberdawn picked up her pace, long strides taking her to the place where she would meet shortly with her fellow medicine cats. I wonder if any of them even care that I received my full name, though, she thought sadly.

Pricklepaw was second to arrive, his thick pelt fluffed up to keep out the cold, breath showing puffs of white in the chilly air. As long as he didn't have to talk to Mintwhisker or StarClan themselves, he didn't mind making another trip to the Moonstone like the ones he did so often. He saw that the SkyClan medicine cat apprentice was there, and he nodded respectfully at her. She was one of the few who he could stand. "Hello, Amberpaw," he meowed. "How is your Clan?"

Morningpaw hastily arrived to the Moonstone, eyes holding a sense of loss and worry. Things weren't great in Shadowclan and may not be in the future. The prophecy she had received from Starclan still haunted her dreams. She decided to avoid eye contact with her peers, only nodding a greeting to both Amber and Prickle before beginning to head inside Mothermouth. As she walked further, she could feel herself shiver. The darkness reminded her of the dark times ahead for her clan. She decided to exit the tunnel. She felt the need to at least spend some time with the cats she calls her friends. She rarely ever sees them. The tortie apprentice forced a smile, awkward but nonetheless warm. "H-Hey you two! How's everything been?" Morningpaw silently cursed herself for slightly stuttering. She had to be strong however, she felt pressure pushing her shoulders down. It was such a big burden that it was actually starting to physically hurt. She remained standing with a smile. There was no "giving up" in her vocabulary.

Mintwhisker half-ran after Amberdawn. "Slow down!" She mewed, struggling to breathe through laughter and exertion. "We've got all day to get there!"
She sprinted up the hill, skidding to a halt at the top as her leg throbbed. She'd taken copious amounts of herbs to make sure that it didn't ail her during the journey, but they were beginning to wear off. She drew her tongue over the place where the creature had closed its jaws, gave her leg a few shakes, and looked up at the others.
"H-hi," She coughed, glancing around. Not many cats here... She took a second to catch her breath before speaking once more. "Hello Morningpaw," She chirped. "Pricklepaw."
Training the ornery had been... difficult. It didn't help that they weren't on the best terms to begin with. The short-furred she-cat sat down near the entrance to Mothermouth, her tail-tip twitching as she waited for Goldeneye, Fallowpaw, and Briarpaw.

Amberdawn glanced back at the sound of Mintwhisker's voice, calling playfully over her shoulder, "Then you've got all day to catch up!" She laughed a little, but then she fell quiet as she climbed up the ridge and arrived at her destination. The young golden tabby sat a few tail-lengths from the Mothermouth and licked her dully-aching paws for a few moments. ThunderClan scent hit her nose first, and not a moment later Pricklepaw appeared over the ridge, looking tired and ruffled. ThunderClan and SkyClan both had some of the longest treks from their camps to the Moonstone, and Amberdawn sympathized with the ThunderClan tom as he arrived panting lightly. She was surprised when the generally prickly tom - aptly named - addressed her, and even attempted small talk.

"Good evening, Pricklepaw! SkyClan is doing fine," Amberdawn answered warmly, though she wondered if she ought to mention the increasing number of Twolegs trails through their territory. Before she could decide Morningpaw had appeared. Amberdawn took a breath to greet the ShadowClan apprentice, but the vibrant tortoiseshell had already disappeared into the Mothermouth, avoiding their gazes. Amberdawn gave Pricklepaw a quizzical look, but then a moment later Morningpaw emerged, looking awkward as she addressed them. "Oh, um, things are fine," the golden tabby replied. "I got my medicine cat name, I'm Amberdawn now."

By that point Mintwhisker had caught up, and Amberdawn noticed how shortly she greeted Pricklepaw. The medicine cat had heard her former mentor say a few choice words about Pricklepaw before, and it was clear that their relationship was not ideal for learning. Amberdawn felt for the tom, and hoped that he wouldn't be upset by her progress when his had been so slow.

Briarpaw bounced up to Mothermouth, as happy as ever. "Congratulations, Amberdawn!" he chirped, nudging the She-cat playfully on the shoulder. "In case any of you are wondering, WindClan's doing fine! Barleytuft found a strange cat that smelled like RiverClan. At first, he thought I was Goldeneye! I am a medicine cat apprentice, but I'm not THAT old. But he was just waking up from getting hit on the head by a badger, so that might explain that!"

"Alright, who just called me old?" Goldeneye, at the mention of her name, seemed to appear from no-where. "Sorry I'm late, I've been very busy these past couple moons. Riverclan is well but has been facing a tough leaf-bare regardless. Fallowpaw won't be attending tonight, seeing as she'll be busy attending to the business that I've had to leave behind." Goldeneye meowed, looking down particularly hard at Briarpaw, her eyebrow raised. "This is the first I've heard of a Riverclan cat being in Windclan, who is it?" Goldeneye asked, before seemingly losing interest in the blink of an eye. "Well, I figure I'll find out, it's getting a little too late so lets head in." Brushing past Goldeneye dipped into the tunnels, resisting the urge to cross her eyes and see if there was any greying on her muzzle.

Winding tunnels turned to the large expanse of the moonstone, the whispers of her ancestors known only to her comforting her. Once-upon-a-time they drove her to near insanity, but now, she embraces them, it was because of them that she had become such a successful medicine cat. Curling up she pressed her nose to the stone and let her eyes shut.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

"Everything is well in ThunderClan, Morningpaw," Pricklepaw responded respectfully to his fellow apprentice. Then, he blinked when he found out that the SkyClan medicine cat apprentice had gained her name. Good for her! "Congratulations, Amberdawn," he meowed, a brief smile on his face before he saw Mintwhisker. Then the smile slipped from his face, and his tail-tip twitched with repressed irritation. The sight of his "mentor" didn't bring him any positive feelings. As soon as he got his medicine cat name, he was never going to speak to that- that fox-heart ever again. For now, though, he just settled on a glare and then looking away as if he wasn't interested. He merely rolled his eyes at Briarpaw's appearance, but snickered a little when he called Goldeneye old. Well, she certainly was no spring flower anymore. He was disappointed to hear that Fallowpaw wouldn't be coming, since she was one of the easiest to get along with. Since they were all there, he flicked Amberdawn's shoulder in a friendly way with his tail, then headed into the cavern.

His paws traced the steps he knew so well, moving sure-footed through the cramped and narrow, pathways, heedless of the complete darkness. When he finally got to the Moonstone, he blinked at it- as unimpressed as ever- lay down, and touched his nose to it. A StarClan cat would come talk to him... or they wouldn't.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

"Hello Mintwhisker!" greeted the tortie as she looked at the Skyclanner. Afterwards, she turned to face Amberdawn, "I'm very happy for you Amberdawn! It really suits you." responded the Shadowclanner with a genuine smile. Seeing her friends succeed made her feel happy inside. They all definitely deserved only the best. She nudged Amberdawn playfully and then nodded at Pricklepaw's answer. "That's great! Shadowclan is doing fairly well."

Morningpaw soon turned to Briarpaw and silently giggled when he called Goldeneye old. She was about to speak when mentioned older medicine cat arrived seemingly out of thin air. She smiled, attempting to hide her previous amused expression and greeted Goldeneye silently. As quickly as she had arrived, the Riverclan medicine cat vanished into the dark tunnel after having spoken to Briarpaw. She was eventually followed by Pricklepaw. Morningpaw decided it was best to head in but before she did so, she turned to look at Amberdawn, Mintwhisker, and Briarpaw. She flashed them a smile before walking inside.

Goldeneye was already laying at the Moonstone. Morningpaw arrived when Pricklepaw settled down. She took a spot slightly further from the two. Before pressing her nose to the cold stone, she took in a deep breath to calm her growing nerves. It was time to enter Starclan and see what news they would tell her.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Briarpaw of WindClan had arrived in time to hear Amberdawn share her new name. A chorus of congratulations from the medicine cat apprentices - who had no mentors in their own Clans - made her dip her head with humble pride. "Thank you," she purred soflty to them all, but to her relief they had all moved on. Pricklepaw spent a moment to glower at Mintwhisker before turning as if she wasn't there, Morningpaw had nudged Amberdawn herself playfully, and Briarpaw shared news of one of his Clan's warriors finding a RiverClan cat. The way he told the story made Amberdawn laugh. Out of nowhere Goldeneye of RiverClan arrived, seeming to have no knowledge of this cat Briarpaw mentioned and, almost immediately, no interest in finding out. The older medicine cat led the way into the Mothermouth, and wordlessly the others followed one by one.

Amberdawn glanced at Mintwhisker, but after a moment the golden she-cat took a deep breath and entered before her mentor. I'm a fully named medicine cat now, she told herself, I need to learn this path. She won't always be here to guide me down it. So, Amberdawn padded in after Morningpaw. The darkness still felt supernatural, but the scent of the other medicine cats in front of her helped to guide her. She tried to remember each twist and turn as they came, and though she got them a bit mixed up once or twice the other cats helped to guide her in the darkness and solidify her knowledge. Next time I'll know it by heart, she thought as she emerged into the glowing cavern which held the Moonstone. She spotted her fellow medicine cats slowly settling around the brilliant stone and did the same, her coat bleached by the light. She loafed beside the Moonstone and touched her nose to it. Sleep greeted her slowly but certainly.

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Amberdawn's dark amber eyes flickered open. She had visited StarClan's hunting grounds twice before: once when she received her apprentice name, and once when she had received her full medicine cat name. As an apprentice she hadn't been able to share tongues with her ancestors, but now... now maybe she could learn more about how Jaystar and Goldeneye impacted SkyClan. After all, they wouldn't have told Mintwhisker if it weren't going to impact them, right?

"Ah, Amberdawn, it's good to see you again," a familiar voice greeted, and the she-cat looked up to see the big silver tabby tom from her other visits seated in the branches of a maple tree.

"You as well," Amberdawn purred, and then she queried, "What is your name? I've always forgotten to ask."

The tom dipped his large, broad head into his thick chest fur and responded, "It's alright; you never needed to know. I am Sleetplume."

"Sleetplume," the medicine cat apprentice replied warmly, taking a few steps towards the tree in which he was perched. "And you are a SkyClan warrior, right?"

Sleetplume laughed and replied, "Yes, though my size always made the life of a SkyClan cat a bit tricky. In StarClan, one cannot lose their grip and fall. We are as graceful as the breeze, sturdy as stone, and light as a bird." The tom paused for a moment, then mewed, his tone different in a way Amberdawn couldn't discern, "Do you believe that Mintwhisker has trained you well enough? Taught you everything she knows?"

Amberdawn shuddered at his question, remembering that he had asked the same questions when she had received her full name not too long ago. "Why do you keep asking me that?" she pleaded. "A-Am I not doing well enough as a medicine cat? I've trained so hard; I always want to learn more. I listen to everything she tells me. I-I think I've been well trained."

The StarClan warrior sighed and stood, his glistening silver fur sparkling with starlight. He made his way down the maple tree and padded to her side. Sleetplume said, "Oh, Amberdawn, you are well trained, but Mintwhisker has not taught you everything she knows."

She looked at the tom who was nearly twice her size, feeling small and frightened. "I-I'm still her apprentice," Amberdawn responded defensively, "so she's teaching me more every day."

Sleetplume shook his head. "Amberdawn, she has kept a secret from you," he stated, "since before you were born."

Amberdawn stared at him blankly, but thoughts raced through her head. What could it be? Maybe StarClan didn't choose me. Maybe she doesn't like me. Maybe...

"Mintwhisker killed one of your Clanmates."

The golden tabby she-cat recoiled from Sleetplume and replied, shocked, "No, that can't be right. What are you talking about? Who? When?"

Sleetplume sat before her. He responded, "It is true. Your leader, Tinystar, is already aware. However, if you are to learn from her, she must be able to be honest with you. Ask her to tell you what happened to Sedgestrike."

A shiver ran up Amberdawn's spine and she replied, "Sedgestrike? I've heard of him; he undermined Tinystar at a gathering, then cost him a life before being exiled! How could she have killed him if he was exiled?"

The silver tabby tom's body had begun to fade, and she could see the trees through his form for a moment before they began to disappear as well. As Amberdawn slid helplessly back into sleep, Sleetplume replied, "Give her the chance to be honest with you and you will both be better for it. Do not turn a blind eye to what I've told you or both of SkyClan's medicine cats will be lost."

Then all the stars faded, and StarClan slipped away from Amberdawn's view once again into blackness.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :