Mothpaw's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

Less than 4 seasons old, Amberdawn had already learned - much like the rest of the forest - that life moved in mysterious and unpredictable ways. It had been a strange change of pace when the young medicine cat apprentice had stepped in to help with Moonstone journeys now that she was old and strong enough to reliably make the journey on her own. A stranger change of pace was to help lead a cat from another Clan to the Moonstone. Amberdawn would not be guiding a mere apprentice to see their ancestors though, no: she was to aid them in the naming of a new medicine cat apprentice. She would help to name one of the pillars of ShadowClan.

"Mothpaw" was the name she was told, an apprentice who had lived an apprentice's life and decided that wasn't the path she desired to walk. Amberdawn couldn't guess the circumstances of the she-cat's declaration, and she couldn't help but wonder if the ShadowClan apprentice knew what decision she was truly making. Was it her place to question it?

She couldn't say. StarClan had the final say in the matter, and so Amberdawn would carry out the will of the Clans she loved. The young golden tabby trekked across the territories, going from forests of tall, thin trees to low, stooping trees thick with branches, then finally to the sparse pines of ShadowClan's land. At the edge of their section of the forest a patrol met her politely to guide her to camp. The earth was oddly springy, but the SkyClan she-cat moved swiftly with her escorts, trying hard not to think of the troubles behind her. She couldn't taint the medicine cat-to-be with her own troubles.

They arrived in camp with little fanfare, and Amberdawn was directed to wait at the entrance of camp while one of the patrol sought out Mothpaw.

Mothpaw had no real concerns about her decision to pursue the path of a medicine cat beyond the well-being of her sister, Silentpaw. She had seen the path of a warrior, a trail covered in blood and plagued with death, and it was not the path she wanted to take. This path, too, would be filled with suffering, but she would not watch helplessly and her friends and allies were hurt over and over again. As a medicine cat she could help them, without needing to hurt anyone else. She didn't bother looking to the stars for guidance or support; there was another medicine cat here to take her to the Moonstone, where she would pledge herself to this new path, and she was sure that Amberdawn would be able to answer any questions that she could think up. Not that she had any just yet.

"Hello!" she greeted the medicine cat, her usual enthusiasm slipping through despite her relatively solemn thoughts. She was bouncing as she moved, refusing to keep still for even a moment. "You're Amberdawn, right? I'm The Magnificent Mothpaw!"

A thick-furred dark cat appeared a short distance away, slipping from a den and quickly making their way towards Amberdawn. She met the new cat's eyes and was relieved to find warmth in the vibrant orange depths. The she-cat mewed a cheery greeting, and the SkyClan medicine cat had no choice but to smile bashfully at the energy of the proclaimed Magnificent Mothpaw.

"That's magnificent, Mothpaw!" the golden tabby replied with a giggle, nodding and adding, "Yes, I'm Amberdawn. It's lovely to meet you." Amberdawn looked around camp curiously, a little nosy despite her usual reservations. It didn't seem like much of a home to her, but she was used to the brush clearing of SkyClan. It had likely suffered in the flood as well, though. Did it look better before? Probably still not like home.

She looked back at her companion to be. "Well... I suppose we know why I'm here," she started awkwardly. "I couldn't imagine taking the leap to becoming a medicine cat without someone to guide me." Amberdawn tilted her head. "May I ask what guided you?"

"What guided me?" Mothpaw asked, her expression making her confusion obvious. "Nothing. I decided that I didn't want to be a warrior, and we needed a medicine cat. After we got back from-- from the mountains..." Her voice faltered slightly, but quickly picked up again. "After we got back, I spent enough time in the medicine den to realize we kind of really needed a medicine cat. And that I was willing to do it. So... I guess if you needed to say something guided me here it'd be... I just want to help." She stood a little taller, still bouncing on her paws. "I don't like fighting. And it seems that's all warriors ever do."

And I don't want to hurt anyone...

Amberdawn wasn't sure for a moment if she had spoken correctly, for Mothpaw hesitated before answering. It turned out, however, that she only hesitated because she had not felt guided. The medicine cat listened as the young she-cat explained how she had come to her decision. She faltered when she spoke of the mountains and Amberdawn's face softened sympathetically. At last, though, Mothpaw declared, "I just want to help. I don't like fighting. And it seems that's all warriors ever do."

The SkyClan cat dipped her head in acknowledgment. "I was never a good fighter, nevermind that I didn't like it. I was lucky that StarClan called me to this path before I was forced to face it." Her dark amber gaze flickered as she added, "If you truly believe this is the path you need to choose, then StarClan will accept you like they accepted me. You are giving up more than battle, though. Do you know that?"

"Well, yeah. I'm giving up the most important thing," Mothpaw said softly. "My sister. I can't stay close to keep an eye on her as a medicine cat... But we're older now, anyway. Nothing else matters to me nearly as much as she does, but this is the best thing I can do for myself, and for her, and for everyone else. It's really the only thing I can do."

After a pause, though, she realized that likely wasn't what Amberdawn had meant. "...Do you mean not having a mate? There's more to life than love, and there's more to love than mates. I love my friends and my family and my Clanmates... This doesn't change any of that." Her own feelings on that particular section of the warrior code (and medicine code) aside, her words were honest. Her sister was the most important thing to her, followed closely by her friends and family and Clanmates. Anything past them and their well-being was secondary.

Truth be told, Amberdawn did not just mean mates and kits and all of that. Of course that was part of it, but many cats went through life without a mate or offspring and were just as content. No, the SkyClan cat had Clanmates and kin, but there was always a wall of formality separating them - a knowledge of something the other could never understand that kept them at a distant even when they were close and caring for each other. Mothpaw's fear was a better representation of what medicine cats gave up: Closeness. She would no longer be able to be the constant watchful companion of her littermates, nor any of her family. She had to step back to watch over all, even if it meant she could no longer prioritize those most important to her. 

Mothpaw acknowledged the better known of the worries, and Amberdawn nodded gently. "You're absolutely correct; there is more to love than mates, like family and friends and Clanmates," she responded. Her tail flicked again and she smiled, meeting Mothpaw's gaze again. "You sound like you have thought it through. I trust your wisdom in what is best for you, and for your Clan. Are you ready to start the journey?"

"I'm ready!" Mothpaw exclaimed, preparing to charge into the unknown future at full speed. Her enthusiasm, it seemed, had returned in full force. "I've never made this journey before, though... When I spoke to StarClan it was at the lake, after the flood. So this is all new to me!" She welcomed the new experience with a bright smile, thinking about the future ahead. "It'll probably stop feeling quite so special eventually, won't it? So I've got to enjoy it while it lasts!"

Mothpaw's enthusiasm reminded Amberdawn of her best friend, Leafpaw, in SkyClan. She smiled in response and dipped her head again, replying, "It truly is an experience. I may have made the journey a few times, but I'm not used to it yet. I don't know that I'll ever be." She stood and began to turn towards the entrance, then hesitated. She smiled sheepishly and asked, "I, ah, I guess I don't know ShadowClan territory. How do we go back towards the Thunderpath? You, um, may need to lead. I can get us to the Moonstone from there."

---

The journey was much shorter when they were already on the far side of the forest, and Highstones loomed up over them before Amberdawn's legs had even begun to grow tired again after her first jaunt. The moon had risen over the clouds when they reached Mothermouth, and Amberdawn turned to her traveling companion and mewed, "Well, here we are: Mothermouth. Down a long tunnel we'll find the Moonstone - and StarClan. I am sure you'll be able to manage the darkness fine, but it's not.... normal darkness. If you're feeling worried just tug my tail and I'll slow down. Okay? But we can't talk again until we arrive at the Moonstone."

Mothpaw nodded silently to show she understood, even her energetic movements slowing slightly. She was focused, for once, on one thing only: the cat in front of her, leading the way into unknown territory. Questions filled her mind: what was this not normal darkness, for one thing, but also why had their ancestors chosen such a place to be reached? It was confusing and difficult to understand in the way StarClan often seemed to be, she supposed, and brushed it off at that. She had to focus all of her attention on Amberdawn, or risk getting lost somehow; and she was certain they'd both had enough of that for one journey.

Already the mood of the group had changed; a doorway to destiny stood before them, a void in which there was no way to see the future except to go to it. Amberdawn nodded again, seeing Mothpaw was ready, before turning to take the first plunge. The darkness of the cave seemed to swallow her whole, and before they had gone a few tail-lengths all the light from the outside seemed to vanish. The tunnel they walked rose and dipped in a few places, turning here and there. Amberdawn's senses were on full alert for very litter sensory input; wind blew through her ear fur and her pawsteps echoed in the darkness, yet she couldn't see her nose in front of her face.

Then the tunnel opened into a black cave, a soft wind whispering over the stone. Amberdawn was quiet for a moment, holding her breath for the moment she knew was about to come.

Light illuminated the cave suddenly, washing Amberdawn to a pale silver in the harsh light. The Moonstone truly shone like the moon, brilliant and blinding yet cool and lustrous, impossible to look away from. It glittered like stars. The ancestors had arrived. Amberdawn turned to face Mothpaw, opening her mouth to speak. "Mothpaw," she started, and she was startled yet unsurprised to hear that her voice was not her own as she carrried on, "is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"Yes," Mothpaw breathed softly, finding herself in awe. Even in her travels through the Twolegplace and the forest and the lake and the mountains, she had never seen - or heard - anything like this. The Moonstone was beautiful and distant in a way that made her understand, in an instant, why this would be where their ancestors gathered. It seemed a perfect reflection of everything they were, somehow within reach and yet still so far out of their grasp. All that they could and couldn't understand, all at once.

An instantaneous answer. Amberdawn's lips turned up in a slight smile as she continued in the words of countless ancestors, "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal ShadowClan in accordance with your will."

She dipped her head towards the Moonstone. The time had come for Mothpaw to receive her name as a medicine cat apprentice.

Mothpaw touched her nose to the stone, reluctantly closing her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to no longer see the beauty that currently surrounded her, but it was what needed to be done.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the shimmering forms of a pair of StarClan cats. The one directly before her was a silver tabby, beautiful and ethereal with sparkling blue eyes. By her side, a solid gray cat with black markings and eyes like greenleaf grass. It was the breathtaking silver tabby that broke the silence, her voice as lovely as her face, if somewhat stern.

“Greetings, small one… No... Mothpaw. I must ask you one last time… Is this the path you have chosen?”

Mothpaw didn’t respond with words, instead standing tall and proud and meeting this StarClan cat’s shining blue eyes with confidence, her expression an unspoken challenge. If her ancestors took issue with her doing what felt like the only right thing, then that was their issue to deal with. She had her own.

The sternness evaporated almost instantly, leaving the StarClan cat to speak as though addressing an old friend. “Then we should become acquainted, shouldn’t we? My name is Featherlight, and I was once a medicine cat of WindClan… There are no medicine cats in your Clan now to teach you our ways, and those of the others have their own lives to lead and apprentices to teach. That is why I am here. Are you willing to learn, Mothpaw? You have trained as a warrior, it is what comes naturally to you… This will be difficult, but if you are willing to learn, then I am willing to teach.”

"I am," Mothpaw nodded solemnly. Featherlight nodded back, seemingly satisfied if the small smile on her face was any indication.

It seemed, then, that it was the other cat’s turn to speak, her voice quiet and gentle as Mothpaw caught her affectionate forest green gaze. “Though my name is Lilacfall, who I am matters little. Who you are is what is important, Mothpaw. And I believe, my dear, that you will do wonderful things with time. Have faith in us as well as yourself, and we’ll do our best to guide you.”

He'd hoped to next see a Shadowclan cat on better terms. But the stars were cruel in their timing, and a sense of duty called greater than a mere longing for some meaningful connection with the living members of the clan he loved. Flamestrike watched the ceremony with a mild expression. It was supposed to be a day of celebration when a young Shadowclan cat was welcomed into the ranks of generations of healers. The orange-pelted tom felt nothing as he stared on. Perhaps in the back of his mind there was some joy, a semblance of what he had felt when moons ago Puddlepaw had been appointed underneath Honeydrop's care. As he thought of it, the memory flitted through his conscious for only a mere moment before disappearing once more. There were more important things than remembering times that were long past. And he did not with to think of Honeydrop in this moment. A frown crossed his maw from the shadows that he waited in.

Featherlight and Lilacfall were good cats. Mothpaw would be well watched out for. His tail flickered back and forth with a creeping anticipation as they continued to speak. He simply wanted this moment to be over with, for the burden of bad news to be passed along to the next cat. The former Shadowclan warrior had never wanted to bear the name of a hero, nor be remembered for his relationship with a medicine cat. He had not wished to be anything more than a cat who simply served his clan. And here he was, still serving it, but in a way in which his name and legacy would be passed down to the younger generations. Shadowclan still likely told tales of how he defeated Bear all those moons ago. His eyes squeezed shut and he took a deep breath in an attempt to abolish the memory. And then it was his time. As Lilacfall's voice settled over the starry landscape, he broke from his cover behind the foliage and headed straight for the new medicine cat.

"I have no time to waste, Mothpaw. My name is Flamestrike, a former warrior of Shadowclan and I come to once more repeat a warning I shared with Morningpaw moons ago." Except this time is far more urgent... The tom sucked in a silent breath before continuing a repeat of the ominous words he hated fervently as they passed by his lips for the second time. A prophecy of doom, "There will be one of mixed-blood, wrought with misguided judgment, an evil claiming deliverance that will lead Shadowclan into the depths of darkness and out from the gaze of Starclan. Your clan is going to die. Shadowclan will be no more." Soon. He hoped that the grave tone of his voice and the expression written across his face would be enough to communicate the severity of the words. Mothpaw would eventually be needed to help rebuilt her clan and bring Shadowclan back. There was no avoiding it, only managing the effects of the outcome. His head twisted in a brief farewell, before the tom turned away, leaving here with those words.