Frecklepaw's Moonstone Journey

Mothglow hummed to herself as she gathered up the travelling herbs, and carried them carefully to the apprentice's den. "Frecklepaw!"

It was a comforting, comfortable ritual. Make the bundles, eat her own, carry them to the apprentice's den and call out the lucky cat's name. Waiting for them to emerge wasn't ever boring, mostly because it rarely took long, but also partially because Mothglow was eagerly anticipating it. Each apprentice's response to the herbs, their awful taste, and whether or not they were excited to go... Well, it was an insight into a life she hadn't led in some time now.

(Not that she minded. She loved being a medicine cat.)

Just as her eyes were about to flutter closed, Frecklepaw focused in on the sound of her own name being called just outside the den. Sleep since the gathering had been hard to come by, but she had been managing to carry out her duties as an apprentice fairly well- not that they were difficult, of course. Pushing herself to her paws, the petite tabby she-cat walked outside to see Mothglow's familiar face awaiting her. "Is this... Are we going to the Moonstone now?" Her tone was inquisitive and held a distinct tone of excitement, and her round eyes grew larger as each moment dragged on that she didn't know. She wanted to lap up the herbs immediately, but it was entirely possible that they weren't for her. Now that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?

"We will," Mothglow confirmed with a smile. "Every apprentice makes this trip at some point in their life... And now it's your turn. These," she nudged the herb bundle closer to Frecklepaw, "are another rite of passage. They'll give you strength for the journey. ...That doesn't make them taste any better, though."

Smiling softly, the little apprentice tried her best to hide her apprehension. After the gathering, Frecklepaw wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about StarClan. She understood fully what the Code was and why it was there, but... Love is love, right? Why should some old dead cats get to decide who gets to love who? It’s not the fault of the lovers that they were born in different Clans, after all. She believed lovers were destined for each other, so why should Clan lines tell them that they aren’t allowed to let their feelings blossom... She just didn’t understand. ”Alright.” Shutting her eyes tight, she lapped up the herbs, a sneer of disgust forming on her features as she waited for the taste to fade.

"Now that we've gotten that over with," Mothglow purred with amusement, "follow me." The medicine cat led the way across the journey, which was certainly long but mostly uneventful. At the very least, no significant danger was posed to either of them.

Eventually, though, they came upon Mothermouth; and Mothglow paused at the entrance. "Stay close, Frecklepaw," she warned before pressing onward; and when they finally emerged into the cavern the moon was perfectly in position. The Moonstone shone under the light. "Now you touch your nose to the stone, and StarClan will speak with you."

Making sure to stick close behind Mothglow, Frecklepaw stared in awe as they passed through ShadowClan territory, continuing their journey to the Mother Mouth. Mothglow's warning frightened her a bit, but she pushed onward nevertheless. When, finally, they reached the ancient stone, Frecklepaw's eyes grew to the size of saucers. It was so bright, the beautiful moonlight shining down and illuminating the entire cave. Nodding at the medicine cat's instructions, Frecklepaw touched her nose to the stone, letting the drowsiness overcome her.

There was a lot of unrest in StarClan as of late; murmurings from some of the dark, unsettled corners of Silverpelt's domain had become a bit louder, and cats who should've been long ago forgotten were now walking more freely and openly among the recently deceased cats. Frog wasn't upset by the change of pace. She was more interested than anything, perfectly content to sit back in the starry marshes and bide her time and watch the proceedings to further her own knowledge. When some of the younger ancestors spoke to Frog with protests about the revelation of Thornstar and Torrenstar's relations in front of the entire forest, she usually answered with something vague and cryptic - neither approving nor disapproving - and then changed the subject, or else showed herself out with some "other duties to attend to; she did the same when any of the more ancient spirits approached her expressing approval of the way it had been handled.

Why choose a side before all the pieces were in place, right?

This visit to a familiar starry hunting ground was another welcome distraction from the usual monotony of the afterlife. Frog sat somewhat impatiently on a patch of dry, springy moss amidst some wet marshy pools and mud, a greenleaf wind brushing over the surfaces of the water and through the grass. Her green eyes watched as a pale translucent outline began to appear, slowly darkening and growing in clarity until she could see the subject of her visit: Frecklepaw, the daughter of a former SkyClan cat and the battle-thirsty Lynxscar. What an odd pair they'd made, and what a strange legacy they'd left for ShadowClan. What sort of cat was Frecklepaw going to be? There was only one way to know.

Frog's gray ears flicked as Frecklepaw stirred. "Wake up, Frecklepaw - we don't have all night, you know," the starry warrior teased with a laugh. It was true, but they had plenty of time. She enjoyed pushing buttons simply for the sake of pushing buttons. Sometimes she even learned from it.

When an unfamiliar sounding voice interrupted Frecklepaw's sleep, she nearly scrambled to her paws in a rush to see who it was. To her amazement, she was... In StarClan. Sure, she had expected to wake up here- why would Mothglow and Flintshard lie to her? But Stars, she hadn't expected it to be this beautiful! There were big stars and little stars, twinkling as they littered the area surrounding her. It looked almost like her home, except now it was shiny! Her small form shook slightly with the excitement of it all, whiskers trembling as she looked around in awe.

With a start, she realized she had forgotten the very reason she was there. Turning to face the StarClan cat that had greeted her, she puffed up the fur on her chest. "Hello. I like your stars. Who are you?" Frecklepaw could think of a dozen more things to say t0 the pretty she-cat, but she wanted to remember to stay respectful, like her mama would want her to.

As the apprentice stirred and began to take in her surroundings, it was quite clear that Frecklepaw was going to be in a kinder mood than Shadepaw had been. Frog hadn't been sure what to expect but she had a suspicion that this stumpy little tabby would make some pleasant conversation. Frecklepaw turned to Frog with her pale chest poofed in eagerness and excitement, but even as she spoke she was soft-spoken and respectful. The starry ShadowClan cat's dark whiskers twitched with amusement, and the gray warrior smirked. Surely she'd have inherited one of her parents' commanding voice?

"That's awfully sweet of you. My name is Frog - Frogmarsh, if you really want to be formal, but I like Frog better," she introduced proudly, puffing up her own chest. It was unlikely that the apprentice would know who she was; she'd died long before either Lynxtail or Cardinalcry. Frog's green eyes sparkled as she examined Frecklepaw a little more. She'd certainly inherited the smaller tree-climbing frame of a SkyClan cat, hadn't she? At least she had a thick, dark ShadowClan pelt. That was something.