New Paths (Closed)

Tendrils of fog clung to the rocks and roots of Skyclan territory, bathing everything in a ghostly white mist. Although the sky was cloudless, the breeze that stirred the tree's browning leaves was cold. The promise of rain was in the air.
Mintwhisker stirred in her nest. Slowly, she sat up and looked around, rubbing her face with one delicate paw. She reached blindly for her morning herbs, finding the neatly tied bundle exactly where she'd left it the previous night. "Morning," She grunted to nobody in particular, finding a bit of comfort in the familiar, bitter taste of the herbs. At least that was something that would never change.

The taupe Medicine Cat eased herself out of her nest, rolling her shoulders to try and get the crick out her neck. Her stomach growled.
Given the choice, she'd stay in her den all day. "Hey-" She snapped at an apprentice, who promptly scampered away from the mouth of her den. Looks like I'll be getting my own breakfast today.
Wincing as her joints creaked in protest, the plump she-cat padded slowly towards the Fresh-Kill pile, blinking sleepily. She had something to do today... what was it?
Ah yes! New apprentice. New clan, new apprentice. Well, old clan, technically- she wasn't from Windclan, after all! And an old apprentice. A warrior, hopefully. She couldn't handle another kit, or starclan forbid, a warrior apprentice. She didn't know if she'd be able to survive teaching another one of them.

The she-cat ate slowly, taking care to keep her greying face and long whiskers clean. She didn't want to groom if she could help it...
A grey figure passed by, and Mintwhisker looked up from her nearly-finished meal, her tattered ears perking. There! Her new apprentice. Hopefully. If he said yes.
Sagelight was one of her original apprentice candidates, but Starclan had given her a sign to choose Amberdawn instead. Had she seen a sign for Sagelight this time around? It was possible... it would make sense, right? Can't have an apprentice without a sign, after all.
Once the herbs worked, she'd have a clearer memory.

Sagelight... let's see. He was a bright warrior. Very friendly, a bit naive though... and a little farsighted, but that wouldn't be an issue.
"Sagelight!" She called, feeling the herbs starting to kick in. "Do you mind speaking with me in my den? There's something I'd like to discuss."

Sagelight had just finished dropping off his fresh kill from the morning hunt into the pile and was padding back to his den, lost in thought. He had only been a warrior for a couple sunrises now and while it was a great feeling to know that he had finally made his goal a reality, something still felt off about it. He couldn't shake Rippedstar's foreboding message telling him that change was coming. That his life was about to change, that he wasn't on the right path. The newly-named warrior felt a pit of anger well up in his chest when his thoughts drifted towards Amberdawn. He would always go to her for advice, but apparently she was a coward. His tail lashed aggressively. Here he thought they were close friends, but she didn't care enough about him to stick around. In a rare moment of vulnerability, his ears laid down the back of his head and he scoffed. It hurt that she was gone. He missed her. Why would she just leave--

"Sagelight!"

He nearly leapt out of his fur in surprise, hackles raising as he was shocked out of his reverie. He turned towards the sound of the voice to see Mintwhisker coming towards him. Sagelight swallowed hard, feeling apprehension replace his anger. Murderer... What did she want?

"You...You want to see me?" he asked, hesitantly following her back towards her den. "Is it important? I guess it must be. I hope I'm not in trouble." He forced a laugh in spite of himself, stepping into the medicine cat den behind the older molly. The scent of the pungent herbs hit his nose and he breathed in deeply. It was almost soothing to him.

Mintwhisker nodded, her ears twitching. She took a calming breath. The herbs were working now- she could think a little clearer, see a little better.
"No, you're not in trouble." She began, her murky eyes flashing at his frightened expression. Was he really that worried? Or was it...
Everyone knew she killed Sedgestrike. It had been announced at a gathering moons ago... Her eyes glazed over. Had Sagepaw been in attendance?
Did it matter?

She sat down on one side of the den, gesturing for the grey tom to sit as well. "Quite the opposite, actually." How on earth am I supposed to say this? Sagelight, be my apprentice, and never go on another patrol again. Hey Sagelight, Starclan says you have to be my apprentice, so...
Might as well just go for it. "Sagelight, I'd like to offer you a job- er, a new position, that is, -as my apprentice. You're a bright, charismatic young tom and I think you would be an excellent medicine cat."

(OOC: mobileee)

He kept his mouth shut for once as he followed Mintwhisker into her den, promptly sitting down when he was told. His mind was racing. Was he a part of some prophecy that she needed to tell him about? Was he chosen to be the hero that would save SkyClan? Sagelight listened closely as the medicine cat continued, asking if he would accept her offer of becoming her next apprentice. His blue eyes widened as he stared at her blurred form in front of him.

"You want me to be your apprentice...?" he echoed in disbelief. This must have been what Rippedstar was talking about. But did he want to apprentice under a murderer...? The tabby tom fidgeted uncomfortably, his ears rotating back. He wasn't particularly great at fighting or hunting, and the thought of hurting another cat on purpose made him feel weird. Also, he was replacing Amberdawn. Yet, SkyClan needed a medicine cat apprentice and if this was StarClan's will, he supposed he would have to do it. He had always liked the idea of healing instead of fighting...

The warrior squeezed his eyes shut tightly, swallowing hard to steady his nerves. It was now or nothing.

"Even though I just gained my new rank as a warrior after being an apprentice for so long...StarClan knows best. I'll...I'll do it. I accept your offer, Mintwhisker." He smiled at her, a small, unsure, hopeful smile.

Mintwhisker nodded. "Excellent." She mewed, rising to her feet. "I'll inform Tinystar."
Third time's the charm... Hopefully, Sagelight would be an easy apprentice. Although Mintwhisker didn't want to admit it, she was growing old, and she needed to make sure that there would still be someone caring for Skyclan once she was gone.
"We'll leave tomorrow at sunrise. It's not an easy journey, but you've been to Highstones before, so you know what to expect."
With that, the elderly tabby lead the way out of her den, glancing back at the young warrior before plodding back towards her half-finished meal. How many times would she have to go through this?