June Medicine Cat Meeting

Her felt grew warm as Pricklebush introduced her as his apprentice while she was still pinned, but thankfully Mothpaw didn't seem to realize she had been holding her down and quickly stepped off of her. "Thanks, Mothpaw, it's a pleasure to meet you! Sorry for mistaking you for Scorchstar.." Standing and shaking her fur out, she met Amberdawn's gaze and smiled as her right ear flicked once. Listening as her mentor continued, speaking about the small RiverClan apprentice, Mosspaw nodded in agreement to his words, wondering to herself if this meant that she would be alone sometimes while he trained her. A nervous excitement filled her at the thought, but was quickly interrupted by another new voice.

She turned to the figure that came from the same direction that the other she-cat had come, and when she turned to look for Mintwhisker was her name, she thought she recalled, she noticed with confusion that the medicine cat was already gone, her scent trailing down into the tunnel that led to the Moonstone. Turning back to the new tom, she raised her tail in a greeting before moving to stand between Amberdawn and Pricklebush as she watched the ShadowClan cat and WindClan cat's exchange. They must have met before, at some point, she noted, looking towards Amberdawn. Just like I did with her.

The air changed drastically with the last words that came out of Mothpaw's jaws, and Mosspaw would have sworn the temperature of the night dropped significantly. She stared at the other apprentice, tail bushed out slightly in alarm before turning towards Pricklebush. "Umm... I wasn't told anything like that.... Were you?..." Was Pricklebush hiding something from her? She hoped not, and the tom didn't seem like the type who would hide something that drastic, but she had a feeling he might shield her from the truth if he had the choice.

"Useless..useless.." The words repeated like a broken record in Mistlepaw's mind, forcing her into a brief trance. Luckily, the tan cat's words of reassurance eased her pain, and her heart wrenching cries soon came to a stop. Her breathing was still uneven and ragged, with the occasional hiccup leaving her maw, but at least she wasn't sobbing anymore. "S-Sorry about the mess.." She murmured, forcing her gaze down in shame. The cat's- Pricklebush, he had called himself, once well-groomed fur was now messy and sticking in all different directions due to the tears she shed and her constant burrowing. Well, the burrowing part she didn't regret. His fur was warm and surprisingly a bit soft, despite its prickly appearance. If it wasn't for the duty she had to do, she would've probably stayed in his arms for as long as she wanted. The night wouldn't remain young forever, and the sooner she was back in her nest, the better. 

Reluctantly, she pulled herself from his embrace, wiping at the stray tears that trickled down her cheeks. "Thank you, Pricklebush. I..I didn't realize how much I needed that," the young gray and white tuxedo smiled sadly, "I'd love to be your apprentice, if it's okay with Jaystar and if it isn't too much for you. You could even come back to me with me to Riverclan!" Her green eyes shone with excitement; the tan tom seemed like a good cat to be around, especially because he comforted her, even if she was a stranger. She was eager to learn more about him, but she would have to worry about such matters later. Trying to hold a more 'mature' composure (despite the fact that she was younger than every other cat present), Mistlepaw cleared her throat and said in a slightly more professional tone, "I should probably head into the cave, too. Get the whole prophecy thing out of the way. I guess I'll see you later tonight, right?" Before he had the chance to answer, the new cat murmured something about Shadowclan dying. Confusion was written on her face for a moment, but she decided against further questioning. This was probably a grown medicine cat matter, something that she shouldn't get involved in. Taking one last wistful look at the Thunderclan medicine cat before his apprentice beckoned him over, Mistlepaw headed into the cave.

It was surprisingly easy to get lost, and after a backtracking a couple of times, she could finally see the bright light emitted from the Moonstone. Settling down near Mintwhisker so she wouldn't feel alone, the young Riverclan cat pressed her nose against the cool surface and was instantly overcome with sleep. Curious, she tried to fight it for a bit, but her eyelids became too heavy and the world went dark.

~~~~

Mistlepaw awoke for the second time ever in Starclan. Her life had just begun and yet, here she was, standing among the stars once more. "This was supposed to be Fallowlight's experience.." She sighed, sadness clawing at her chest. The pain from watching her mentor die still stung like a pesky wasp, even in a paradise like Starclan. Quickly blinking back the tears that threatened to slip from her eyes once more, the Riverclan she-cat awaited the presence of a revelation giver. And, sure enough, a shimmery pelt formed out of the air in front of her. The cat had a familiar striped pelt, and their eyes screamed that she knew them from somewhere.

"We meet again, little one." 

Finally, it hit her. The cat she was talking to was Torrentstorm, the cat that did her ceremony for her! Mistlepaw smiled, but it quickly fell when she saw the grim expression on the former warrior's face. Now that she thought about it, his tone was flatter and had an edge of sadness to it. What revelation could he have that troubled him so much? Her eyes narrowed in confusion, but she said nothing and let him explain. 

"Fallen bird, washed ashore. Weak and lonely, he ate no more," the silver tabby paused to give her time to assess his words, "Jay's Flight is coming to an end, Mistlepaw. Soon, the foaming waters and jutting rocks will claim him. Guide your clan, for troubling times are ahead." She opened her maw to demand for an explanation. Jay's Flight? Jutting rocks? Troubling times? What did this all mean?! Before the questions and protests spilled out of her, the ground seemed to dissipate below her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out as she tumbled out of Starclan. A sharp, numbing cold surrounded her as she made contact with...with water. Where was she? Her ability to move had been stripped from her body, and the waves tossed her around mercilessly like a mere twig. All she could do was internally panic as she sank beneath the surface, unable to breathe. Not long after, water forced its way into her lungs and when she tried to gasp for air, more came in. She attempted to thrash, kick, do anything that would save her life, but her body refused to budge. Her vision swam and the need to sleep overcame her as she sank lower...lower...lower...

~~~

Mistlepaw's head shot up and she gasped for air, green eyes wide in panic. Her fur stood on end and she forced herself onto shaky paws. What..what was all that? Had she been dreaming? What did all those words Torrentstorm say mean? She..she couldn't make sense out of all of it if she remained like this. She closed her eyes and attempted to even out her breaths, but the sound of rushing water quickly filled her ears again. Her eyes shot open as tears trickled down her face. She whipped around, and spotted a tan pelt at the very back of the cavern. She scurried to his side and sobbed into his fur, trembling from pure terror. Whatever she had experienced in her dream clearly left her extremely shaken up.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

The fact that Mistlepaw seemed somewhat comforted now made Pricklebush feel a lot better. A slightly relieved and happy smile touched his face in response to her own, and he brushed a few of the tears from her tiny face. She was barely older than a kit, but she'd gone through so much... He resolved that he would not only escort the RiverClanner back to her camp, but stay with her for a few days and help her get organized in the medicine den there. "Don't leave without me," he told her kindly. "I'm going to go back to RiverClan with you." Hopefully Jaystar was fine with that. The leader of RiverClan may have been a disgusting code-breaker, but at least he was no idiot.

He was about to follow her into Mothermouth so that she didn't get lost, but Mosspaw drew his attention back to the other cats there. And the words coming from Mothpaw's mouth shocked him just as much as his apprentice and Amberdawn. His sage-green eyes widened, and his pelt fluffed out even more, disturbed with the implications as well as angry at the warrior ancestors they were supposed to trust. You what, StarClan? What is wrong with you?! He met Mosspaw's terrified eyes and almost immediately shook his head. "They told me nothing of the sort. Not only do I doubt that StarClan would have told me such a thing about ShadowClan, I doubt their reasoning for saying it at all. And to an apprentice, no less!" The ThunderClanner returned his unsettled gaze to Mothpaw. "There's nothing that I can do about whatever your ancestors told you," he said more softly, a little concerned. "You'll have to go dream with them again, and maybe they'll elaborate on whatever they told you. In the meantime, you ought to confide with your leader and deputy. They'll help."

With that said, Pricklebush beckoned to his apprentice and turned to Mothermouth, entering inside the dark network of caves to reach the Moonstone. He usually had no desire to speak to StarClan, but this time he allowed himself to feel the burning fury deep in the pit of his stomach at the unjust way the two new apprentices had been treated. Death of a mentor so soon, and before Mistlepaw's very eyes? Prophesying the doom of a brand new medicine apprentice's entire Clan? Their ancestors had a rant coming to them. When he finally reached the tall sparkling stone, he saw that the RiverClan apprentice was lying asleep, and Mintwhisker must have already left. Good riddance. He shook out his pelt, prepared himself mentally, and lay down by the Moonstone. When he touched his nose purposefully to the cold surface, he was out like a light immediately.

--

The starlit plains were cold and still, full of darkness and stars, as much as usual. No one else appeared to be there other than him... but Pricklebush had wised up to StarClan's tricks. He whirled around immediately, and to no surprise, that was where the dark and grizzled tom was sitting. Nightfire, the rude ThunderClan medicine cat who always showed up in his dreams. The tan tom took in a deep breath, ready to give the deceased former warrior- and as an extension, all of StarClan- a piece of his mind. However, Nightfire held up his scarred black-furred paw, and Pricklebush found himself unable to give voice to the anger inside him. Or anything at all. He couldn't speak. I hate it when they do that!

"Before you get all high-and-mighty on me, kit," Nightfire began, his deep eyes narrowed, "remember that we aren't all that different. You would have kept any news about ShadowClan's doom to yourself, and you know it. You don't think it's your job to take care of other cats' problems. Since when have you listened to anything we told you? Since when have you followed our instructions?"

Pricklebush glared, and his hackles raised. "Everything I do," he spat, "has been your instructions. Becoming a medicine cat. Going to the Tribe. Taking on Mosspaw. You can't expect me to run to Leopardstar with every stupid revelation of a forbidden romance in some other Clan. It isn't my business! Taking care of my Clan is my business."

"Wrong," Nightfire returned, fire crackling in his voice. "Listening to us is your business. We are StarClan. We give you everything. Without us, you are nothing. The least you can do is listen to us."

"Oh, I'm sorry, since when have you ever been with us?" he fired back. "Remember the flood? Remember Lichenmask? And why would I listen to self-important starry fox-hearts who kill mentors in front of apprentices barely out of kithood? Who tell a brand new apprentice that their Clan is going to die?! What the Dark Forest, Nightfire!?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, kit. Some things have to happen for a reason- and not every event is orchestrated by us alone!"

"Then stop acting like it!" Pricklebush roared, rage suffusing every vein in his body. His face was almost touching Nightfire's. "I would never listen to a group of starry old fools who did nothing but make the lives of Clan cats a misery. Almost every decision you make leads to disaster. You know what? I'm-" He tried to say done with you, but his voice immediately disappeared. StarClan had silenced him again. Nightfire was just sitting there, glaring at him with teeth bared and pelt standing straight up. Frustrated and full of roiling anger from their yelling match, the tan tom spat in StarClan's face.

The grizzled old medicine cat barely reacted to the spit, just wiped it off of his face. He seemed angry, but then visibly calmed down further. As a matter of fact, when his eyes met Pricklebush's again, there was a smirk on his face. "That's up to you," he meowed calmly, a sense of self-satisfaction coloring his tone. "You know, it's not us who make your problems. You scream and rant and rave about how we're ruining everything, but what's about to come is going to show you that we aren't the problem here. You know who makes your life so miserable, Pricklebush?" Nightfire stood up, and leaned close to the tom's ear. "It's you," he whispered smugly. "You're the one who ruins your own life. Not only you, but all the other cats in the forest are ruining their own lives, too. The truth is, your decisions hurt everyone. And soon, you won't even be able to trust Amberdawn and Mosspaw. Good luck trying to fix your own mistakes, kid. You'll need it."

Pricklebush just sat there, eyes furious, trying to tell Nightfire exactly what he thought of his condescending, two-faced smug self. But by the time he got his voice back, Nightfire had already vanished, and he was left sitting along in the starry field. After he sat there for a few seconds, teeth clenched, claws sheathing and unsheathing in frustration, the fields underneath him suddenly disappeared and he plummeted alone into the blackness-

-and woke up next to the Moonstone. He sat up almost immediately, glaring angrily at the benevolently sparkling spire of crystal, almost wanting to hit the stone though he knew it would do no good. As he sat there in the silence, however, he reflected on the smug words of Nightfire. Disregarding the mouse-dung about him causing his own problems, what was that the tom had said about Mosspaw and Amberdawn? Why wouldn't he be able to trust them? They were almost his only friends left... The medicine cat, his leftover anger rapidly boiling down to frustration and also concern, sat back in the cavern and waited for Mistlepaw and Mosspaw to finish.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Aspenpaw was happy to have a kindred soul among a group that he felt out of place in. He half-smiled at Mothpaw as she kept talking. However, as she kept talking, his smile slowly started to disappear. There was a strange, cutting tension in the air as he looked around at the other medicine cats. "Really?" he asked, flabbergasted, "Is this a joke? Not one other cat? Nobody else was aware of this?" He turned to Mothpaw, frowning. The poor she-cat carried this heavy weight all on her own. How was she supposed to know what to do. "I guess... I guess you better tell Scorchstar. I don't know. I don't know."

He followed Pricklebush, the huge bugger, close behind. He didn't know his way around the cavern yet, and his legs buckled every now and again. He stepped close to the Moonstone and pressed his nose to it, taking a deep breath. Alright, StarClan, gimme something useful.

---

Rain. Rain in his eyes, ears, and nose, soaking his pelt. He was pretty sick of rain, after last season. His head whipped around, and he vaguely made out a starry shape in the downpour.

"Come with me, little one," the shape whispered. "My name is Pansyface. I was the daughter of Tinystar, and the mother of Fernpetal and Mintwhisker."

"Mintwhisker?" he asked, calling loudly over the rain. "She's your kit?"

The pretty she-cat nodded silently. She turned and ran into a forest of starlight, leaving Aspenpaw gawking behind her. He hustled after her, and found that in StarClan, his legs did not falter under him. He grinned with an admittedly kitlike glee and followed close behind. The rain got louder in his ears as he gave chase.

Soon, he couldn’t even see Pansyface, and he was lost in a landscape of rocks and trees that no longer appeared coated in stars. He opened his mouth to take in the musty scent of StarClan. He stepped carefully over the boulders and rocks that made up the forest floor, stumbling on the looser ones. He really was a WindClan cat, after all. He suddenly heard voices above his head, and he spotted his StarClan companion up in the treetops. The grey-and-white cat gracefully plunged from the trees to stand by his side.

“There are things about my daughter that you don’t know, Aspenpaw,” she explained. “I hope that you’ll begin to understand her soon. She’s troubled. She has a past, your mentor. Yes she does...” Her green eyes lifted to the treetops.

Aspenpaw followed her gaze and saw a silver cat walk along the branches. He seemed angry… hurt? The tom’s tail whipped like a reed by the river. The strange cat stared down at the forest below, contemplating something.

“Pansyface, who is that?” he asked quietly.

“His name is Sedgestrike. He was considered a traitor to SkyClan. His daughter, Sparrowpaw, was executed after his death.”

“Death..?” The confusion only grew in Aspenpaw’s brain. The little bee began buzzing in tandem with the rain.

Nothing prepared him for the she-cat that crept up behind Sedgestrike. She was a small tabby, and her green eyes carried Pansyface’s own sharp color.

“Say hello to Rippedstar for me on your way down.”

The tom fell in slow motion, and Aspenpaw couldn’t bear to watch. The sickening crack shot through his body like a snakebite, and he screamed. The tom felt himself falling alongside the SkyClanner, tumbling out of StarClan, his dream collapsing around him.

“Mintwhisker murdered Sedgestrike.”

---

When Aspenpaw awoke, he knew he had seized in his sleep. His head felt a little more fuzzy than usual, but he was otherwise alright. He was lucky that it had happened while he was already lying down. After giving himself the once-over, and deciding that he had no injuries, he lifted his head to address whoever was awake.

“If you saw any of that, I’m fine, and no, I don’t need help,” he announced. He gasped in spite of himself, trying to regain his breath from what he had just witnessed. Did the others know? Should he tell them? Would they believe him? Should he ask Mintwhisker?

Suddenly, the novelty of being a medicine cat wore off.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

"I don't want to tell Dad - um, Scorchstar - about it," Mothpaw said, her voice soft. "I don't want to make him worried... Any more than he already probably is... But I couldn't keep it to myself! I thought, it's selfish not to tell, right...?" What was the right choice here? "I guess I have to tell him now, though... We can't do anything if no one knows about it, right...? Thank you, all of you."

It almost seemed to inspire confidence in her, as she realized what she needed to do. But for now she was here to speak to her ancestors.

That said, she followed her friends into the cave, wondering what her ancestors had to say to her. Would they explain themselves? She hoped so... Maybe it was all a misunderstanding, and she wouldn't have to bring it up to Scorchstar after all! She had to hope for that, for things to be simple and easily explained; hoping for the best was just what she did. So she followed her friends, and touched her nose to the stone with a faint but present sense of hope.

---

Mothpaw opened her eyes to a familiar starry scene; the very same that had greeted her when she was last here. And, indeed, the cats that greeted her were the same as well - well, almost. She purred happily at the sight of Featherlight, who had taught her some basic things in the days since her ceremony. Lilacfall, the ShadowClan warrior that was often with her, was nowhere to be seen, but that was unsurprising; this was a gathering of medicine cats, after all.

"You're making progress, Mothpaw," she said gently, greeting Mothpaw - who nearly towered over her - with a smile that betrayed just a hint of pride. "But you'll have to work just as hard as the other apprentices, if not harder, if you want to keep up with them. ...You do want to keep up with them, don't you?"

"Of course I do! They're my friends!" Mothpaw answered, her earlier worries once again forgotten as she thought of her friends and the starry she-cat before her, and how she wanted to make all of them proud somehow.

"The correct answer," the starry medicine cat nodded. "It's good that you're making friends, Mothpaw... I hope they stay with you through your life. Making friends seems simple enough, I think... It's keeping them that complicates things. ...Well, let's get started: I'll name an herb and you tell me what you think it does. Have you been paying attention to my lessons, Mothpaw? Are you ready?"

Oh. She wasn't ready for that, she wasn't good at remembering things at all... But it was important for a medicine cat, wasn't it? To recognize herbs by name and sight and to know what they did... "Ready," she replied, lifting her head high.

"Stinging nettle. Tell me, what does it do... And, what does it look like?"

"...It's that thing with the pointy leaves that hurt you when you touch them, right? And it, um... Doesn't it..." She knew this, she knew that she knew this... "It makes a cat throw up if they ate something bad, right?"

"Well, yes, the seeds do that... But the leaves are used in poultices that are used to help with injuries that swell, and with healing broken bones. Your description, however, was accurate, but not detailed enough." Despite her corrections, Featherlight seemed pleased enough, though that didn't stop her from continuing with the next question. "Lavender?"

"It's... A flower. It's purple... And... It masks scents, right?" Mothpaw hesitated before her answer, and she knew it; hearing the StarClan cat's gentle voice point it out made her sigh.

"You hesitated. You need to be more decisive. Your patients won't have any confidence in you if you're not even sure of your answers," Featherlight told her. "Besides that, you're thinking of mint, which has white and purple flowers, and leaves with edges. Lavender has purple flowers, yes, but it's used for fever and chills. Can you remember those three for me now? From the start. Stinging nettle, Mothpaw. What does it look like, and what do we use it for?"

---

Mothpaw woke the same way she often woke in her den: lazily. Sleeping and just waking up were possibly the only times she wasn't incredibly energetic, instead slowly getting to her paws and trying to recover her energy after what felt like ages spent answering questions about plants. "Aspenpaw...?" she murmured, focusing on the first thing she saw. "What'd you see?"

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Other cats responded slowly, and all seemed to hold at least some of the shock which Amberdawn had expressed aloud. Mosspaw had looked to Pricklebush with a look of concern while Pricklebush shook his head and responded that he'd never heard such a thing. He went on to doubt StarClan's reason for saying such a thing and in spite of the severity of the situation, Amberdawn couldn't help but smirk a little. Of course he would say such a thing to make light of it, but clearly both ThunderClan cats had been disturbed. The SkyClan medicine cat realized, then, that Mistlepaw had left the conversation, for Aspenpaw then questioned how no one else could have known. It did seem an awful big thing for one cat to bear.

The WindClan cat offered advice, but Mothpaw didn't seem too pleased by the solution. Still, at last she resigned herself to her fate and Amberdawn sighed, shooting her dark-furred friend a sympathetic gaze. Personally, she believed that Pricklebush's advice would likely turn out most accurate: perhaps they would elaborate when she dreamed with them tonight.

Uneasily, they finally all parted, making their way after Mintwhisker and Mistlepaw to head towards the Moonstone. Amberdawn had made the trip so many times recently that it seemed to blink by - though one could hardly tell if they blinked in the tunnel - and she found herself almost at once in the great brilliant light of the Moonstone. Mintwhisker's moon-washed taupe pelt was laying in restful sleep beside the stone. Maybe I'll see her after the meeting, Amberdawn thought, she must have had something important to share with StarClan. I hope it's not something bad.

Amberdawn settled herself beside the stone, casting a half-smile to Mosspaw and Mothpaw before touching her nose to the cool surface. Darkness washed over her swiftly, and for a moment it felt like an eerie dream of the flood she had once survived.

---

The golden tabby she-cat opened her eyes to the celestial lands of StarClan, but for once Amberdawn was surprised that they had not taken her to SkyClan's heavenly territory. Instead, mud squeezed up between her toes wherever there was no grass or stones, and the air smelled damp. Her dark amber eyes scanned the horizon and she wondered where she might have appeared. Was this... ShadowClan's hunting grounds? If so, why was she here?

"No, you aren't in SkyClan. Not everything's about SkyClan, you know," a voice jeered from the shadows. Amberdawn quickly turned her gaze to a dark-furred cat under the edge of a creeping bush, who went on, "There are five Clans, after all. I'd think you'd recognize this land after you've been to visit so recently."

Slightly taken aback by the she-cat's cool tone, Amberdawn hesitated before slowly glancing around. Sure enough, it looked different all illuminate by stars but after a moment she realized where she was standing. "This is ShadowClan!" Amberdawn exclaimed. One question answered, others left untouched.

The StarClan she-cat's tail flicked and she emerged from the brush, her sharp green eyes glinting with starlight and sleek, dark fur shining like dusk. "There you go," the she-cat purred patronizingly. A darkness crept over her face as she circled Amberdawn to stand beside her, facing the same direction and gazing over the marshy territory. "Take a good look while you can, prettywhiskers, it may not belong to ShadowClan for long."

"What do you mean?" Amberdawn asked warily, glancing aside at the starry ShadowClan cat. She remembered Mothpaw's word. "This is about Mothpaw's prophecy!" she exclaimed as she realized what must be happening.

"It's ShadowClan's prophecy, not hers," the ShadowClan cat corrected shortly, "and you got yourself involved with it whether you meant to or not. The prophecy existed long before Mothpaw joined the path of a medicine cat." The dark gray she-cat's voice softened, her eyes growing a glimmer of sympathy, as she added, "Would you want to be the only one bearing that weight - bearing that knowledge? Would you wish that on Mothpaw?"

Speechless, Amberdawn shook her head and waited for the words that would be spoken.

The ShadowClan cat nodded, satisfied, then said with undue easiness, "Mothpaw spoke truly, as I'm speaking now - ShadowClan is dying. There will be one of mixed-blood, wrought with misguided judgment, an evil claiming deliverance that will lead ShadowClan into the depths of darkness. ShadowClan will be no more, and there is nothing StarClan can do to stop it." Oddly, the she-cat's tail lashed and she said in a voice much more her own now, "Dying was the worst thing I ever did. What I'd give to have my paws on this...." An odd look like hunger glinted in her gaze before she sighed. "Mothpaw's going to need to learn a lot, and I don't know how long she'll have before her Clan faces its destruction, so you'll need to teach her as much as you can as fast as you can. Have fun with that."

"Wait, Mothpaw isn't going to die, is she?" Amberdawn cried, but too late. The dark ShadowClan she-cat had faded into the dark forest, and the forest, too, had faded to black, leaving the SkyClan cat flailing helplessly in the shadows of sleep.

---

Amberdawn woke up with a start, her heart pounding. As her eyes adjusted to the fading light, she was disheartened to see the the spot which Mintwhisker had occupied was now empty. "Mint?" she squeaked in a small, kittish voice despite herself. Her voice sounded strangely loud, but fortunately it seemed that the others had also already awakened or were waking up alongside her. Amberdawn sighed, thinking, Perhaps Mintwhisker just went to the top for fresh air. She rose to her paws and looked around at her companions. Mosspaw had noticed Mintwhisker's disappearance, as well, and the two met eyes for a moment. Then Amberdawn turned and waved her tail to her fellow medicine cats before ascending the tunnel. She waited at the top to say her goodbyes to Aspenpaw and Mothpaw, and to join with Pricklebush, Mosspaw, and Mistlepaw for part of the journey home, her heart heavy with sadness to see that Mintwhisker hadn't waited for her.

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

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'StarClan Revelation' :

Her fur relaxed some as Pricklebush soothed her fears, and a look of relief passed over her face as she looked to her mentor for reassurance. She nodded at his suggestions, brushing her tail along Mothpaw's shoulder as she walked past, following Pricklebush into the tunnel at his gesture. The dark was still unnerving, but with the many scents it was easy to find her way and not get lost in the tunnel, and it wasn't long before the glow of the Moonstone made it so she could see. She padded forward, watching as Pricklebush settled himself in and was instantly asleep.

Her nervousness made her hesitate, and it wasn't until Amberdawn sent a smile her way that she smiled back and settled down next to Pricklebush, his long bushy fur brushing against her. Taking a deep breath, she touched her nose to the stone and succumbed to the sleep that StarClan brought.

---

She woke up padding through the star-filled forest of StarClan, alone. Looking around, she spotted some goldenrod blooms, and walked over to them. As she approached, another smell caught her attention and she turned, spotting some comfrey roots. Gazing at her surroundings, she realized the forest near her was filled with different herbs, and she took her time walking along and identifying the ones she knew, and mentally noting the ones she didn't. She had never seen so many herbs all in one place, this was certainly a treat from StarClan! The air was quiet, peaceful, it made it hard to believe anything could be going on. As the wind rustled the fur at her ears, she looked up to the treetops with a smile. Things would work out just fine, for sure.

---

Her heart felt lighter as she blinked awake, and the first thing she noticed was the lack of Pricklebush's warmth beside her. Alarm shot through her pelt as she sat up and turned to look, relief washing over her as she saw him a short distance away. She stood and made her way over with a quiet smile, settling in next to him as she waited for the others, and as she counted it seemed that one, Mintwhisker was her name she thought, was already gone, her scent quite stale considering how soon they had all come down to the Moonstone. She looked up at Pricklebush with confusion and concern, wondering silently if this was a normal occurrence. Didn't she have to lead Aspenpaw home?

Pricklebush was only awake by himself for a few minutes, dealing with the leftover mess of emotions he had. Anger at StarClan, burning and boiling over. Frustration at Nightfire's vague and smug warning. Concern for Mosspaw, Amberdawn and ThunderClan... and a small amount of fear as to what the unsettling revelation meant. However, he didn't have very long to dwell on it, because soon Mistlepaw was up, sobbing and buried in his fur again. Every single emotion of his went out the window, no longer important or worth dealing with, because the tiny apprentice needed his help. After a millisecond of shock, the large tom immediately embraced the small she-cat, rubbing his tail up and down her back. "Shhh, it's okay," he murmured, saddened by what she'd had to go through and also concerned for what she'd seen. "No one can hurt you. You'll be okay. If you want to talk about it, I'm here." After that, he comforted her silently, staring down at her vulnerable form.

Everyone else woke up a little while after that. Aspenpaw suffered some sort of seizure during his dream, but was adamant about not needing help- and as he didn't know the tom very well, Pricklebush didn't interfere. He was supposed to be Mintwhisker's responsibility, but apparently the senior medicine cat had already absconded from their meeting before the rest of them even arrived at the Moonstone. Mothpaw woke up to, and proceeded to start a conversation with the WindClanner. The other SkyClan medicine cat- Amberdawn- and his own apprentice were the next and last ones to finish. Mosspaw woke up and walked over to him, and he smiled instinctively at her, before remembering with a flash the revelation Nightfire had condescendingly whispered. He shook it off, though, resuming a warm smile at the apprentice he had decided to trust completely. He also nodded at Amberdawn, and with a slight nudge to Mistlepaw, began to usher her up towards Highstones so that he could escort her home.