Deerpaw's Moonstone Journey

Bracing his short fur against the cold wind that blew into his den, Sagelight made quick work of gathering two herb bundles for his journey today. One for himself and one for Deerpaw, the apprentice he would be accompanying to the Moonstone. Naturally a social cat, the tom honestly enjoyed this part of his job. He loved getting to know the rising warriors in the Clan; if he knew them, he could treat them better, he reasoned. Plus, this way he could force someone to listen to him run his mouth all day. He chuckled softly to himself at the thought, wolfing down his bundle with ease. The bitter taste didn't bother him anymore, thankfully. The young medicine cat made sure to drizzle a few drops of honey on Deerpaw's bundle before he carried it over to the apprentices' den. He set it down outside and padded in, searching for the young tom's brown shape in the darkness.

"Deerpaw?" he mewed quietly, nudging the spotted apprentice with one paw. "Time to get up, meet me outside the den. I've got herbs for you." He backtracked out of the den and sat down to wait, looking up at the sky. The moon was still out, the sun had not yet risen from behind the trees. It would be a long day most certainly, but a very fulfilling one at that.

Deerpaw let out a groan. "Five more minutes Murkpelt." Deerpaw moaned. When he heard Sagelight's voice Deerpaw jumped up to his paws. It was time for his moonstone journey! Deerpaw padded out of the apprentice's den to find the moon still out. When Amberpaw went to her moonstone journey she said at the crack of dawn It looked to be quite a few hours till dawn.

Of course Deerpaw knew why. He and Tinylegs were the smallest cats in Skyclan and wern't kits. Deerpaw sat down. He knew it would be the last time he sat before the long grueling journey. He quickly lapped up the herbs in front of him and looked towards Sagelight.

(OOC: wait I just realized Deerpaw is Spottedstar's son, that makes Sage Deer's uncle! :) )

Sagelight watched the small apprentice carefully, waiting for him to finish his herbs. Sagelight wasn't a very large cat either but he would try to keep a good pace for Deerpaw. "Ready?" he asked with a smile, getting to his paws. "If you ever need to take a break along the way, feel free to let me know. Those herbs should keep you energized for the rest of the day, though. Are you excited?" The older medicine cat led the pair out of camp as he talked. He enjoyed talking to the apprentices, it took him back to his own apprentice days. "I remember being very excited for my Moonstone. I trained to be a warrior first before I became a medicine cat."

Deerpaw hopped up to his paws as he followed Sagelight. "Well why did you become a medicine cat instead of staying a warrior?" Asked Deerpaw as they walked through the territory. It was something that Deerpaw now wondered about his uncle.

"There were many reasons," he began, glancing over at Deerpaw. "First, I have what they call 'sensory disabilities'. My dad was blind and my mom is deaf, and it made me partially blind and deaf. I can still hear and see, but not as well as other cats. Hunting and battling are hard for me because of it. I also got a message from StarClan. During my Moonstone journey, I spoke to my grandfather Rippedstar. He told me I was on the wrong path, that I was not meant to be a warrior. Soon after that, the old medicine cat, Mintwhisker, asked me to become her apprentice and I accepted." He didn't go into the drama that happened between the Clan and Mintwhisker, that was a story for another time.

Deerpaw listened in awe. Starclan told Sagelightto become a medicine cat. Deerpaw hoped Starclan wouldn't tell him to be a medicine cat. Deerpaw would perfer to be warrior. But still another question lingered on Deerpaw's mind. "But why didn't Starclan tell Firflower to become a medicine cat. She was deaf but she's still a warrior. Why did Starclan ask you?" Deerpaw asked trotting next to Sagelight as they got out of Skyclan territory.

He gave a thoughtful smile, thinking of his dear mother. "Medicine cats are not allowed to have mates. Mom really wanted to have a family, so she became a warrior and then a queen. I think she's much happier that way. Your mom and dad have given her a lot of grandkits, I'm sure she's thrilled!" His smile turned into a grin. Which reminded him, he should check in on Firflower and see how she's doing.

Deerpaw understood. But with every answar Sagelight gave another question popped up. "How come you didn't want kits?" Asked Deerpaw.

The wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves overhead. It nearly drowned out what Deerpaw had said. "H-- c-m- y-- d--n't w--t k-ts?" the apprentice asked. Sagelight blinked, ears flicking as he took a moment to decipher that. "Why do I not want kits? Is that what you said? Sorry, I missed some of that. Honestly, I had never really thought about it. I haven't ever really liked anyone like that anyway. And...it doesn't feel like a huge loss to me. I'm just happy I have so many nieces and nephews!"

Deerpaw nodded. All his questions were gone. Now he walked in silence.


OOC: Hey Aspen may we skip the journey please?

(OOC: Of course! So sorry for the wait, I've been busy with life stuff :( Next time feel free to PM me if I miss any replies!)

The two cats made their way to the Highstones with relative ease; luckily there were no major issues on their journey there. Sagelight stopped outside the entrance to the tunnel and turned to face Deerpaw, smiling. "Stay close to me when we go in, I'll guide you to the Moonstone. It's dark, so make sure to feel the way with your whiskers too. Once we reach the Moonstone, I'll wait by the entrance to the cavern while you go in ahead. Touch your nose to the stone and StarClan will guide you the rest of the way. Ready?" He gave him one last smile before he turned tail and led the way to the Moonstone. He stopped at the entrance, gesturing with his tail for him to go in.

Deerpaw's whole body ached. He heard his fellow cats how they felt tired on a moonstone journey. But they didn't have short legs like he did. When Sagelight spoke Deerpaw took in every word. They padded towards into mouthermouth. He padded in at Sagelight's gesture and padded towards the center of cavern. The moon shined over head as the Moonstone lit up.

Deerpaw padded forward in awe. Once he got to the moonstone he lied down in front of it. He touched his black nose to it. Starclan its cold! Thought Deerpaw. But he was too tired to care and fell asleep. When Deerpaw opened his eyes he was in Starclan territory.

OOC: Its okay! Life happens.

Per usual, Antdrop laid alone on the empty, cloud covered moorlands, concentrating on nothing in particular. Noticing a shape begin to appear not far away from where he sat, the black tom lifted up his head from where it'd rested on his paws and focused his gaze on what seemed to be another apprentice. The young tom's pelt didn't shimmer with sparkling stars like those of deceased cats, which meant he was probably just visiting, which was good, of course. Standing up, he gave his black pelt a shake, sending specks of stardust falling back onto the misty ground. With him being what looked to be the only cat around at the moment, he knew what needed to be done.

"Here for your Moonstone journey?" Antdrop asked stoically as he approached Deerpaw, though he assumed that was what the younger cat was there for. Like always, there was not much emotion on his face even when "welcoming" a cat to StarClan. Even when he was among the living, the warrior had never been a very social cat and preferred to keep to himself, since that way, life was much more simple, and he was perfectly fine with things being such a way.

Deerpaw looked in shock. A warrior from Starclan! When the Starclan warrior asked Deerpaw a question he responded right away. "Yeah I am!" He replied following it up with, "My names Deerpaw. What's your name?"

Watching as the apprentice stared at him with wide eyes, he assumed the she-cat was most likely surprised by his appearance. "I'm Antdrop, one of SkyClan's former warriors and son of Crowstar," the black tom spoke, standing as still as a statue, holding hardly any emotion on his dark pelted face. "You're here because you wish to earn your warrior name, correct?"