Beanpaw's Moonstone Journey

Amberdawn wasn't comfortable around kits, and she never had been - even as a kit herself. They always seemed so fragile, yet so chaotic at the same time. Beankit - a 'paw now - had been one of most prominent examples of those kits; he had given Spottedleap and herself a bit of a fright with his discovery of deathberries in the medicine den. Somehow, though, he had also been one of the first kits that Amberdawn befriended all the way until he received his apprentice name. They were friends now, she hoped, and she felt honored to be able to accompany Beanpaw to the Moonstone for his journey. The thought of returning, though, still made her shudder. The warning she'd received at the medicine cat meeting wasn't yet forgotten, and she was afraid. "The sun will spill blood for the blood that was spilled; when a life for life is given, then the injustice will be fulfilled." Only one thought had brought her solace: "Perhaps your blood isn't involved. . . perhaps it never needs to be."

They were thoughts for another time. StarClan had never visited her while she was accompanying an apprentice to the Moonstone, and they had never harmed an apprentice in her keeping - that she knew of. Amberdawn shook her head and exited the medicine den with two bundles of herbs in her teeth. She searched for Beanpaw, wondering if he remembered what the day held and if he was ready for it. She sat the herbs down in the center of camp to sweep her eyes over the clearing for him.

The trek to highstones was something that Beanpaw knew he should be excited for, yet he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy about it. First of all, all that walking couldn’t be fun, could it? And if StarClan was so great, why not visit him back at home, shouldn’t they be able to do that? But if StarClan was great, Beanpaw supposed all this horrible stuff wouldn’t be happening within the Clan. He was so tired of hearing about his mentor’s mistakes, and how he should feel ashamed of himself- all he wanted to do was take a nap.

When Amberdawn let her den with a pair of herb bundles, Beanpaw couldn’t decide whether or not to jump up excitedly, or huff and puff about it. But just as if it were another dawn patrol, Beanpaw lifted himself to his paws without a word. He flickered his ears as he met Amberdawn’s side, sniffing the herbs and nosing them around a but before finally swallowing them. The taste was absolutely horrid, but he swallowed it regardless. He was sure that his face had scrunched up, and he lowered his tail, embarrassed. ”I’m ready, Amberdawn.” He muttered with a fake smile.

Amberdawn spotted Beanpaw as he approached, looking no more enthused than he did any other morning for any other kind of patrol. Me too, Beanpaw, she thought with an inaudible sigh. The medicine cat greeted her companion wordlessly as he reached her side; he greeted her the same before casting a doubtful glance at the herbs she had packed for the both of them. She nudged his bundle towards him, and they both stooped to eat them up without saying a word. Beanpaw's face crinkled at the flavor. Amberdawn couldn't find it in her heart to be as amused about it as she normally was. They finished their doses and then the apprentice stated he was ready to go.

The golden tabby nodded dutifully. "Alright, Beanpaw. Let's head out, then," Amberdawn responded softly, and with one final glance towards the leader's den where Tinystar likely lay sleeping, the pair exited camp, leaving behind the soft sounds of sleeping Clanmates. As they stepped further into the forest, a clear early morning sky peered through the canopy of trees above. Several moments of silence had spanned between them, and Amberdawn broke it with a quiet voice as she commented, "It looks like it'll be beautiful weather... Clear, but hopefully not too hot."

Nodding as Amberdawn began walking, Beanpaw followed closely behind her. He didn't want to venture out into SkyClan's territory, not with the weather looking like it did. For any other cat, clear weather was probably a blessing from StarClan, but usually, that meant it would be much hotter than if it had been overcast. For Beanpaw, that was absolutely and excruciatingly awful. Nothing could be better than having your long, thick fur wet from your own sweat, right?! Huffing as Amberdawn commented on the exact thing he had been thinking about, he shook his head slightly. "Yeah, hopefully."

---

The pair of them had finally reached Highstones, and thankfully, Amberdawn had been right about it not being too hot. Hopefully, that meant leaf-fall was on its way... Beanpaw wasn't sure if he could take too much more of this Green-leaf heat. Looking to Amberdawn, he waited for further instructions. He was sure that it was pretty self-explanatory, but he was no medicine cat, so he wrapped his tail around his paws patiently.

While Beanpaw's response to her comment wasn't overly enthusiastic, Amberdawn thought little of it; he had a thick coat, after all. It was natural that he would have an aversion to the heat, and the sun was always hot when it beat down from the greenleaf sky. She prayed that her prediction would be accurate to spare them both some discomfort.

The pair made their trek across the forest with good time and pacing. The medicine cat was grateful; indeed, the walk hadn't been too unbearably hot, though they had missed the shade when passing by the moors. The sun began to set as they drew closer to Highstones, promising them that their journey would be cooling down rapidly soon. By the time they reached the Mothermouth the sun had gone away completely, leaving behind only stars and a glimmering moon. The pair slowed to a halt by the mouth of the cave, the younger apprentice looking in with interest.

"It's a beautiful night for a visit with StarClan," Amberdawn murmured, looking wistfully up to the sky. She met Beanpaw's gaze then and smiled, explaining what they would do. "I'll lead the way; you can hold my tail if it will help. It can get a bit winding but I'll stay close. We'll go through the tunnel for a while until we come out into a cave. That's where the Moonstone rests. When we arrive you'll go over and lay beside the Moonstone and touch your nose to it. StarClan will help you sleep, and then they will come visit you." Her dark amber eyes scanned him for signs of trepidation, and then she nodded reassuringly. "If there are any other questions you may have, now is the time "