February Medicine Cat Meeting 2/27/19

Amberdawn had really hoped that perhaps leaf-bare had fizzled out at last - her first, the naive thing - and was rather disappointed when she left the medicine den on the day of the half-moon to see silvery-white flakes falling slowly from the sky. As the day had progressed the storm had slowly picked up its pace. By the time Amberdawn was leaving SkyClan's camp to make her way to Highstones for the half-moon meeting, the forest which had almost been thawed was now coated in a pristine white sheet. The golden tabby she-cat let out a resigned sigh as she stepped from the shelter of camp and into the gentle snowfall and began to make her way towards Highstones. Her journey was bathed in a warm glow that went from pink to lilac to violet as the sun made its way down.

By the time SkyClan's medicine cat apprentice had arrived at the Mothermouth, the sun had set, but the earth still glowed with the fresh snow under the moonlight. Amberdawn waited patiently for the other medicine cats to arrive, wondering what had occurred in RiverClan since Mintwhisker had chosen to reveal Jaystar and Goldeneye's forbidden relationship. Had anything been done? Did she want anything to have been done?

Pricklebush was the second medicine cat to arrive, crunching through the powdery, soon-to-melt snow. His first medicine cat meeting with his full name! He couldn't wait to tell Amberdawn. Hopefully StarClan wouldn't have any disastrous prophecies for him, and he'd be able to have an uneventful meeting for once. Any more debacle like last moon's gathering, and he'd burst.

When he saw the younger SkyClan medicine cat standing there, he smiled. "Hey, Amberdawn!" He purred, in an uncharacteristically cheerful tone of voice. "Guess what? I got my full medicine cat name! I'm Pricklebush now."

Mintwhisker grumbled as she made her way up the steep hill, shivering in the cold. Her apprentice had already made it to the top- curse her short legs! With a final push, the small she-cat clawed her way to Mothermouth.
"Prickle...bush." She greeted, overhearing the tom's uncharacteristically light words. She nodded to Amberdawn, still panting, and padded a short distance away. Even after moons of being a Medicine Cat, the trek to Mothermouth never got easier.

Morningpaw rushed toward Mothermouth, panting softly as she began to run out of breath. "H-Hey!" she called out to them. Her blue-green gaze held a warmness that was rare lately. "How are you all doing?" asked the she-cat before grooming her untidy fur. She had been caught up with many tasks and had began her trip to the Moonstone rather late. She had decided to speed up her walking throughout and run at the last stretch. Luckily, her clan wasn't far from the site.

OOC: oof, sorry for the late post!

"Congratulations, Pricklebush!" Briarpaw meowed happily as he bounded up to the ThunderClan medicine cat, staring at him with wide green eyes.  "I can't wait till I get my full name! What do you think it will be? Briarpelt? Briarclaw? Briarthorn? Maybe Briarthorn because my dad's name was Badgerthorn, but you never know! Did StarClan give you your name, or was it your mentor? If it was your mentor, then how would I get one, since my mentor isn't my mentor anymore?" Briarpaw continued, his normal, over enthusiastic self. He had no idea that a storm was coming.

Amberdawn's golden ears pricked and flicked as she heard soft crunching in the snow from a different direction than the one from which she and Mintwhisker came. She turned her head to see Pricklepaw, ThunderClan's medicine cat apprentice, padding over the rise. Amberdawn let out a small mew of greeting just as the creamy tom spotted her. She was delighted to see the ordinarily short-tempered tom in a good mood, and he gave her no time to wonder what he was joyful about as he greeted her and announced, "I got my full medicine cat name! I'm Pricklebush now."

The SkyClan medicine cat immediately took a small leap to the tom's side and brushed her head under his chin affectionately. "That's wonderful, Pricklebush!" she purred, "You've definitely earned it."

Mintwhisker had arrived then and greeted the newly-named ThunderClan medicine cat shortly. Amberdawn looked at her mentor intensely for a brief moment, her tail-tip flicking just slightly with exasperation at the she-cat's lack of enthusiasm for the achievement of her fellow medicine cat. However, the tabby had already padded off to sit and wait for the others.

A moment later Morningpaw and Briarpaw both arrived. Morningpaw seemed as odd as the past few visits despite the warmth in her eyes, and Briarpaw was chatty as always, running right up to Pricklebush to congratulate him before speculating his own future name and then asking how the ThunderClan cat received his.

Amberdawn chuckled lightly with amusement, as she had always loved Briarpaw's cheerful nature for the same reason she loved her Clanmate, Leafpaw's. They seemed so fearless... something Amberdawn had never been. She liked how they just struck on without caution, but she liked even more when those sweet individuals were surrounded by others who could keep them safe. The SkyClan medicine cat apprentice's dark amber eyes searched the direction where Fallowlight and Goldeneye often came from, but she could see no movement. Her heart sank with disappointment. StarClan watch over them, she thought, and then she mewed, "Let's go inside - I think RiverClan may be having some complications."

---

The journey was winding, but by now Amberdawn nearly had it memorized. She entered the cave of the Moonstone and padded right up to the magnificent structure. The golden tabby she-cat was washed a pale white-gold in the light as she crouched beside it. She took a deep breath, then touched her nose to the stone. Sleep immediately toook her...

... only when she awoke where StarClan normally waited, she opened her eyes to find herself being suddenly tossed into swirling, murky water. Amberdawn opened her mouth to scream but water rushed in and made her choke, and she couldn't find her way to the surface. She was drowning in StarClan, and her ancestors were nowhere in sight. Despite herself she tried to cry out again, but no air even escape this time. The world was growing darker and darker, but as the world was beginning to disappear she saw, faintly in the distance, three glowing lights slowly falling from the sky before disappearing.

Then she awoke again in the cave of the Moonstone, staring around bewildered.

ooc; since the flood has made so much happen since then, I just gave Amber a vague and unhelpful warning about the flood rather than receiving a revelation to avoid paradoxes.

Mintwhisker followed her apprentice through the tunnels, her murky green eyes widening as she struggled to see anything in the darkness. Luckily, she only spent a few minutes stumbling in the dark before emerging into the main chamber. "Thank Starclan," She grumbled, her ears twitching as she limped briskly towards the Moonstone. "Let's get this over with..."

What in the name of...? She awoke completely submerged in water. It was as if something was pressing over her mouth and nose, and although she could breathe, she was far from comfortable in this strange new world. The tabby she-cat swam as best she could towards... Was that a tree? She blinked, staring around. And that boulder... She knew where she was. This was Skyclan's territory.
Suddenly, the water began to churn. Mintwhisker let out a gasp of surprise as she began to drift towards the forest floor. She gritted her teeth, trying to pull himself to the surface of the water, but it was no use. Her lungs were beginning to burn, and she realized that her mouth was now full of water.
"Beware the flood."

Mintwhisker jumped to her feet, her fur in disarray. "Great Starclan," She mewed softly, looking around the now dimly lit cave. What could it mean?