Mistypaw's Moonstone Journey

After the debacle with Goldenpaw just a moonhigh or two ago, Aspenpaw was determined to destroy any possibility of such a thing happening again. He waited to take his own special herb concoction, wrapping it gently into his bundle of traveling herbs. It was going to be a mouthful, but he couldn't risk a situation like one on the Thunderpath again. Not every apprentice was so daring as Goldenpaw, and she had done him a great service. It was one she should have never needed to do. 

Mistypaw was next on his itinerary, and he let her know early in the morning that she was excused from her duties for the day. Of course, he had her tell Grousefrost the news. Aspenpaw was in no mood to be lectured about efficiency when Mistypaw simply needed her rest. That would be the end of it... he liked having a little authority over the tom. He may be but frail, but he is fierce. 

Sunhigh came, and with two bundles of herbs in his jaws, he mosied to the edge of camp and waited for the next apprentice to arrive.

Mistypaw padded into the medicine den before she went to meet Aspenpaw. "Hey,bro. Ya need anything before I head out?" She pressed her muzzle into his fur. It still bothered her very much to see Cloverpaw in the state he was. She didn't think she would ever get used to it. "I'll see you soon, okay?" She stood up as she said this. "And hey, I know I don't say it much, but I love you." And with that, she was off.



She padded over to Aspenpaw. "Sorry to keep ya waiting! Had to make a quick little visit first!" She smiled, despite the fact that she felt like running away crying. She had her own little philosophy she went by. "Smile, and the world will smile with you." She thought that went for crying too, so she did as little of that as she could, although there were times she just couldn't help it. "Don't tell me those are the disgusting herbs Goldenpaw told me about!" She teased. She wanted to get her mind off of Cloverpaw. She didn't want it to hurt so much.

Cloverpaw had been considering going back to sleep when a voice sounded at the entrance of the medicine den - his undesired home for a few moons. Immediately his expression brightened at seeing his twin sister, Mistypaw. "Sis, hey!" he greeted her cheerily. He shook his round head gently at her kind offer and answered, "Nothing but a hug!" Without hesitation Mistypaw leaned in to nuzzle at his fur and Cloverpaw pressed back affectionately. She pulled away and began to exit the den, but not before saying kind words of sisterly love.

"Aww, you too," was all that he managed before she was gone. He watched her go with another deeper pang of envy - no, not envy. It couldn't be. Perhaps... simply the feeling of being left behind. The apprentice murmured to no one as he lay his head back down for that nap, "Be safe."

---

Barleytuft had seen Mistypaw emerge from the medicine den, and his fatherly heart was warm with a bittsweet feeling that both his daughters had been thoughtful enough to visit their brother, injured by a dog, before going on a journey that they might all have made around the same time had the stars permitted. Still, Mistypaw wore a smile on her face, and Barleytuft rose to his paws and began to make his way across camp as the little silver-and-white tabby she-cat greeted Aspenpaw apologetically. Mistypaw, like her sister before her, made a comment about the herbs as Barleytuft arrived at her side. He laughed. "I'm starting to wonder if making a comment about the herbs is secretly part of the training to become a warrior," Barleytuft teased, flicking her haunches with his tail.

The sandy warrior gently bumped the side of his daughter's neck with an affectionate nudge before straightening up. "Have a safe journey, sweetheart," Barleytuft purred. "I'll see you when you get back. You can tell me all about your trip." With that, the senior warrior himself went towards the medicine den, wondering if he could catch a moment with his son.

"Oh, don't sweat it," he told the apprentice, "If I spread honey on every plant for every apprentice that asked, I'd be covered in bee stings. Chew and swallow, Mistypaw, and we'll head on out of here!" Aspenpaw made quick work of his bundle, feeling the calming effects of chamomile flood his system. It was working out for him lately, and he could only hope it would remain that way. He guided the apprentice out of the camp and set a clear trajectory for Highstones. He checked over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure she was still doing alright. He was more anxious than he had been with Goldenpaw, especially as the Thunderpath grew nearer and nearer.

"If ever there is a situation, you have my permission to drag my across the Thunderpath with whatever force necessary if I do not move quickly enough," he explained, "We wait until there are no glowing eyes and no roaring. It'll be scary, but every WindClan apprentice since the dawn of the clans has made the journey, including your sister. It'll be okay." The last sentiment was spoken with more compassion than matter-of-factness. He didn't want to scare the poor scrap, after all. There shouldn't be any trouble this time. "Do you have any questions about StarClan while we walk?"

Mistypaw ate the herbs quickly, sticking her tongue out as she did so. They did taste awful, just as her sister said, but Goldenpaw said they would help... Still she regretted her choice. She could definitely feel her hunger ebb away, that was one thing she was glad about. But the taste lingered. Or at least in her mind it did. Still, she pushed that aside and followed Aspenpaw as they headed out.

"If ever there is a situation, you have my permission to drag my across the Thunderpath with whatever force necessary if I do not move quickly enough. We wait until there are no glowing eyes and no roaring. It'll be scary, but every WindClan apprentice since the dawn of the clans has made the journey, including your sister. It'll be okay."


"Somehow I am not convinced it will be okay." She joked. "But sure, I will drag your butt if I need to. If I can manage it, myself, that is" She was not very convinced in her own ability to cross a place Grousefrost had never taken her. It was not "efficient" to need a tour, she lived there, she should know the place. Grousefrost could really get irritating at times.


"Do you have any questions about StarClan while we walk?"




She thought for a moment. "Yeah, I do have a question. Why do we have to walk so freaking far every single time we want to speak with them?" She gave a little grin to the medicine cat. Cloverpaw was difinitely wearing off on her with his jokes.
"

Aspenpaw found himself amused by Mistypaw's many questions. "StarClan finds it most easy to communicate their will at the Moonstone. It's their strongest connection to the physical forest, after all. When the light of the moon touches it, it gleams with all of the beauty of the stars themselves. Or something to that nature. Technically, they can come to you in regular dreams, but those dreams tend to be vague, and emergency-type situations." As he explained, Highstones was already in sight. All that was left was the Thunderpath.

"Just be glad you're not SkyClan. Luckily, you won't usually find yourself in that neck of the woods. Now that's a treck!" After a brief pause, Aspenpaw found no monster lights on either side of them and sprinted across the rough ground. When Mistypaw joined him on the other side, he looked up the mountainside they now had to climb. "It's nothing like the moors, I'll tell you that. We're almost there!"

Mistypaw had followed Aspenpaw all the way across the thunderpath, and finding they were almost there filled her heart with glee. "So if it isn't like the moors, does that mean it is harder or easier. I hope the latter." The she cat smirked. 

Looking at Highstones, she could guess the answer to her question. It was a rather intimidating sight, considering she had never gone to this place before. But she was confident now. Even though her paws already ached, and wow did her paws ache, she was going to make it. Or Aspenpaw would have to carry her. One of the two.

Aspenpaw gave Mistypaw a funny look as he began the tedious climb, acknowledging her joke. Did all of Barleytuft's children have the same sense of humor? He rolled his eyes and laughed. With Mistypaw close behind, they reached the top of Highstones as the moon reached a midpoint. If they hurried down the tunnel now, they'd be there by moonhigh.

"It's a bit cramped in there, Mistypaw," he warned the apprentice, "Don't lose my scent, or you might get lost. Once we're in the cavern, all you have to do is touch the stone and fall asleep. I'm sure you're tired enough by now to do it without any problems, right?" Aspenpaw winked and gestured for the apprentice to follow his lead.

Believe it or not,Mistypaw was actually wide awake and full of energy,but she mocked a yawn in light of Aspenpaw’s joke. “Harty har har.” She said as the pair climbed. “I am willing to bet I will be just fine down there. It’s just a dark......narrow.........scary cave....”. As she thought about it,the tabby she cat was actually scared. She had never been in dark tight spaces before. All she knew was that one of those spaces might have killed her baby brother. But she took a deep breath. It was now or never. “So,are we going to do this thing or what?”

Aspenpaw gave Mistypaw a soft smile. "If I can make it down there all fish-legged, an able bodied apprentice like you will be just fine. These tunnels are made of stone... They won't fall." With little more to be said, he squeezed into the narrow space and began shuffling down the path. It was easier when you were used to it, he figured. He swallowed a lump in his throat, a nervousness that came with speaking to dead cats about prophecies. He had heard rumors of little apprentices being told the secrets of the forest before. He hoped Mistypaw didn't meet that fate.

When they reached the Moonstone, it was already ablaze with light. "Just touch your nose to it. You'll dream in no time, Mistypaw. Good luck." Aspenpaw sat back against the cave wall to enjoy a StarClan-less sleep and rest his weary paws.

Mistypaw smiled as she followed Aspenpaw, on shaky legs, down the tunnel. Maybe she was a little claustrophobic, but after so many stories of cave ins, who wouldn't be? These things were a death trap! Anything could be hiding in these tunnels, and she would have no way to escape. And this particular tunnel, she couldn't even see! She had to rely on her whiskers to get through the narrow space. How was that not frightening, especially for young cats who had never done anything like that before?

When she got to the end of the tunnel, however, her jaw dropped. The light coming from the moonstone was amazing. She had never seen such a spectacular sight in her life! Then Aspenpaw spoke. "Alright, just gotta touch my nose to it. Will do." She moved forward, pressing her nose against the cold surface. It felt as though the ground fell beneath her feet, and the world around her grew dark. 

When the apprentice came to, she was no longer in the cave. Instead, there was a forest. It was filled with life. The whole area seemed to sparkle, it truly was a dazzling sight. And there was a cat in the distance. She was a skinny, russet colored cat, very beautiful too. "Hello?" Mistypaw called to the she cat. "Are you the one I need to talk to? Who are you?"

The slender warrior slipped from the shadows with her ghostly companion at her side, now a little less faint than previous but still indistinct in nature. To Mistypaw, it likely seemed to be a trick of the eye or even a mist after her own namesake. Regardless, Brookclover forced the thoughts of Finchstar out of her mind. In a similar fashion to before, she sized up her mentor's kit for a mere moment before speaking, "Welcome to the all-powerful Starclan, Mistypaw. It was a pleasure meeting your sister, and I'm sure you have makings of greatness in you as well. After all, you are his kits." At the thought of Barleytuft, she smiled softly and in a much more pleasant way than the previous moonstone ceremony. Only Windclan's youth could drag her from this eternal disappointment. Her interest in things had only dulled, even if Goldenpaw had draw some interest from her. She was interested in seeing what would happen with Mistypaw. Did she possess an equally as strong spirit as her sister?

"So, Mistypaw, what earth-shaking revelation have you come here seeking? I have my own thoughts to share but I'm curious. Ask away, young one."

She thought for a moment. What revelation could she want? Cloverpaw was recovering well, so she knew he would live. She was pretty sure Quailpaw was dead by now, and if he was alive, that meant he chose not to return. So she low key hoped he was dead, that he didn’t abandon his family. “The only questions I would have asked, the answers have come with time.” She tried to sound all wise like a StarClan cat. 

Then she thought about it. This same cat saw Goldengale? What was so special about her that she wanted to see her family? And how did she know her father? “I actually do have a question. Who are you, and why does my family matter to you so much? You speak of my father in a way only a cat close to him would. And if you really do care so much, why let bad things happen to us?” She asked this referring to Cloverpaw and Quailpaw. Her twin and her baby brother. Mistypaw was the oldest, and felt she had to protect her family. Yet she had failed. That is what hurt most.

The russet she-cat, in her bitter state, found it hard to laugh among the stars. But Mistypaw's words made here whiskers twitch. How the apprentice spoke made her think of other, more serious Starclan cats during their own moonstone words. This was not the average. Brookclover held little regard to the natural order of things here. She cared for the cats she had been forced to leave behind. As the apprentice prodded, she smiled softly, thinking of Barleytuft, "Your father was my mentor, and one of my closest friends. I had hoped to one day train up one of his kits but my life was stolen away before that could ever happen. So, now, I am condemned to rot here at watch from the stars." Her green gaze dulled slightly but only for a moment before she spoke again with another sharp laugh, "I wish I could stop harm from befalling any of you, but I couldn't even stop my own death. And trust me, you don't want to see Starclan interfere, I've already seen the damage they can do." Remembering Lichenmask, the flood, and the lovely thing Starclan had gifted the forest with in her time, Brookclover was adamant she would never meddle like the foolish cats who had caused such things to befall the forest. She hoped this answer was satisfactory, even without any sort of comforting words. To know the truth was a harsh beast, but upon accepting it, made one a much stronger cat, one that she hoped Mistypaw would grow into.