Basilpaw's Moonstone Journey

The losses SkyClan suffered from the recent battle still weighed heavily on Sagelight's mind, no matter how hard he tried to focus on something else. He was a little ashamed to face Basilpaw today but he had a job to do so by StarClan, he was going to do it. He couldn't stand the thought of letting his Clan down again. Heaving a heavy sigh, the tom shook the frosty feeling from his fur and began dutifully gathering herbs for the journey. There had to be some way he could make it up to them.

As he pulled the bundles together and secured them in leaves, he pricked his pawpad on a stray thorn on the ground and winced. A quick inspection showed there was no splinter, just a small bead of blood. Sagelight sat back down with a huff, licking at his paw. He took a moment to gaze around at his den, empty of other cats for the time being. "I should think about taking an apprentice soon..." he muttered to himself, resigned at the thought. But that thought was for another time.

Bracing himself against the cold wind that blew through the trees, he hurriedly swallowed his bundle and carried the other over to the apprentices' den. He headed inside, picking his way around the sleeping forms until he found Basilpaw. "Basilpaw, time to get up," he mewed, prodding her with one paw. "Meet me outside, I have your herbs for you." Once he saw her stir, he turned back and padded out of the den, sitting outside to wait for her.

Her eyelids fluttered ever so slightly as fragments of dreams passed through her mind in sleep. The apprentice knew what was to come, having been told and resting before. Eyes snapped open right away as Sagelight sought her out a spoke. She jumped onto her paws immediately and met him outside. Basilpaw had heard of the unpleasant herbs that all cats had to eat before travelling for their moonstone. Right away, she greeted the medicine cat pleasantly, "Thank you, Sagelight, I'm ready to go! I've trained and trained to be a warrior, the ceremony has to be soon, right?" Her voice was rather enthusiastic and excitable, but there was a bit of an edge as she glanced up to the sky. Selfishly, she hoped that this meant she would get to see Leaftwirl among the ancestors. As soon as she finished speaking, her head dipped to lap up the herbs that were at the medicine cat's paws. As she lapped them up, her feature screwed up at the bitter flavors. It was worse than she expected, "How do cats eat these, they're awful!" Basilpaw's whiskers twitched and she laughed slightly at her own exclamation.

Sagelight quietly exhaled with relief when she seemed to be handling things well. Maybe they could still talk about things as they walked, but it was nice to see that she was doing okay. He smiled back at her, waiting patiently for her to finish her herbs. "I'm sure you'll become a warrior very soon, yeah!" He laughed at her face once she had lapped up the herbs, distinctly remembering his first time eating traveling herbs. "Honestly, I've eaten them so many times I've gotten used to them," he purred, rising to his paws. He gave his pelt a shake and looked back towards her blurry gray form. "Ready to go? We can get a drink of water at the creek so you can wash the taste out of your mouth." With that, he led the way out of camp, tail held high.

She nodded enthusiastically, both at the prospect of continuing on in their journey, and at the idea that crisp water would soon wash away the bitter flavors that seemed intent on clinging to her tongue. The apprentice looked up at Sagelight with bright eyes. Even if his vision was fuzzy, and his hearing just as well, the she-cat knew that he understood things more clearly than most cats. Her gaze flickered above. If the medicine cat believed she would soon join the ranks of the warriors, perhaps it would be so, and above Leaftwirl would look on with pride that only a mother could hold. Such a thought spurred on her paws and she headed towards the territory at Sagelight's paws. No matter how many times she had padded in this direction, Basilpaw's wonder of the beauty of the forest never seemed to quell. She loved this place that she called home, that her parents had brought her into. The idea of ever leaving it was so foreign and surreal she had never considered it.

"Do you think that I can ask to speak with Leaftwirl? I'd love to see her. Do medicine cats even get to pick who they talk to? Starclan is such a funny thing. Sometimes I can't believe that all those cats lives up among the stars and look down on us. But I know they do for sure." Basilpaw questioned the medicine cat, chattering on loud enough for him as they traveled along. This would be the farthest she had ever wondered from Skyclan territory. Once upon a time, her mother had trod the same path, straying so far from the place of her ancestors and kin. Leaftwirl hadn't been satisfied with this journey, she had sought more to find her happiness. Glancing briefly over her shoulder, her green eyes drank in the territory with a mild fear. Would she seek to go elsewhere someday too? Basilpaw had to remind herself this was where Foxfire was. And Wolfcall. And all of her many clanmates she loved. She was happy here. Right? And it would stay that way.

ooc; would it be okay to skip it along? i wish to grow the beb and i held up the poor gal with my busy-ness^^

He inhaled quietly at her question, guilt seizing his chest. "As far as I know, you can't choose which cat to talk to. They'll choose you. But I'm sure she would love to talk to you, Basilpaw." Sagelight gave her a warm smile. The pair of cats made their way to Highstones in good time despite the cold weather and the medicine cat led the apprentice up the slope towards the opening to the tunnel. He stopped outside the entrance and turned to face Basilpaw, giving her the same speech he gave all the apprentices. "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 her one last smile before he turned tail and led the way to the Moonstone. He stopped at the entrance, gesturing with his tail for her to go in.

The she-cat trotted after her clan's medicine cat, finding the excitement that filled her seemed to dull away the ache of travel. It was a long journey, but she would have gone further if it meant the possibility of seeing Leaftwirl once more. There was a pang of disappointment in her chest as the tom told her of Starclan's mysterious ways. She had hoped to see her mother's pelt among the stars today but if it was some other cat, perhaps they would at least have an interesting conversation. They will chose me like Sageleaf said. What cat would want to descend from above to share their wisdom with her? The prospect of mystery was thrilling. As they reached mothermouth, there was a brief chill down her spine at the pressing darkness but it did little to dampen the excitement. Slowing her pawsteps, she crept down the dark tunnel, feeling the sides of the path gingerly with her whiskers. Once they reached the moonstone, her green eyes danced with the brilliant white-blue light. Basilpaw looked back at Sageleaf, as if to seek approval to approach, but after a quick nod, she went forward. As her nose touched to the stone, a comforting cold seemed to creep from head to toe. Within moments, sleep overtook the apprentice. When she opened her eyes once more, in each direction there was limitless starry landscaping.

Starclan was brilliant.

Amidst the starry landscape that Basilpaw now occupied, the starlit figure of a golden-furred apprentice-sized cat watched her, with something resembling curiosity. This StarClan stranger's eyes danced with mischief, and she slowly drew closer. As she approached, it became clear to Basilpaw that the strange she-cat's fur was both gold and white, though stars sparkled throughout her pelt.

"I'm not the one you hoped to see, am I?" she asked in lieu of a proper greeting. "No, I don't suppose so. But I've been waiting some time for you, dewdrop."

Her eyes further widened in awe as she saw the beautiful coat of the she-cat approaching before her. Indeed, the cats here were just as magnificent as the starry landscape, if not more for the mysterious life of death was breathed into them. Admittedly, the newcomer was right in her words; there had been a brief pang of disappointment as she noticed that this wasn't her late mother. Basilpaw's eyes darted around as if they would soon catch sight of the tabby coat before they settled back on Sunpaw. Her head tilted at the nickname that had been bestowed upon her by the Starclanner, "My name is Basilpaw, not dewdrop. I'm not a warrior yet but that's why I'm here. You probably knew that. What's your name? You don't really look like a warrior. Are you an apprentice? Did Starclan not give you a warrior name?" Curious question ran through her mind and she spoke them as they came. Starclan was supposed to know everything, so she had no doubt everything would be swiftly answered and their great wisdom would be provided. It occurred to her perhaps you could only ask them so many questions. Hopefully she had not used them already. Basilpaw's face scrunched in brief thought, considering what exactly she could ask the Starclan cat. There were so many options, that was if she could even ask anymore.

"What you call yourself matters little, in the grander scheme of things," the stranger told her cheerfully. "The importance of a name is only in what it means to you. They change so frequently, after all... So tell me, what does your name mean to you, dewdrop? What makes you Basilpaw, and not Mintpaw or Rootpaw or Whisperpaw?" There was a pause, a single breath, where the StarClan cat did not speak. And then she continued. "As for me... Well! It's rather rude to ask something like that, don't you think? But I'll answer, all the same... My name is Sunpaw. Just Sunpaw. You see, I haven't any need for a warrior name when I'm not quite a warrior. So tell me, dewdrop, as one apprentice to another! What makes you you? You're Basilpaw, you say... But have you the faintest idea why? And when you get your full name, what then? Who is Basilpaw, when Basilpaw no longer exists?"