Chosen [CLOSED]

Sagelight awoke with a start in the dead of night, shaken awake by a dream. It was rather...odd; something about bees and honey. It must have been important if it woke him up. Bees and honey, bees and honey...Did he need more honey in his stock? No...honey, honey... "Honeypaw!" he cried, shooting to his paws. His dear niece...he knew in an instant that she was intended to be his apprentice. StarClan is quickly becoming a family affair, he mused to himself in his head, ducking out of his den and heading for the apprentices' den. Spottedstar was the leader, his son Wolfcall was deputy, Spottedstar's brother, Sagelight, was the medicine cat, and his niece, Spottedstar's daughter, was meant to be the medicine cat apprentice. The tom chuckled softly to himself at the thought and poked his head in to the apprentices' den. Once he spotted Honeypaw, he picked his way over to her and tapped her side with his paw. "Honeypaw," he hissed, trying not to wake any of the other cats. "Honeypaw, wake up. I have to talk to you."

Honeypaw was awake in an instant, albeit feeling very dazed and groggy. She blinked her teal-colored eyes a few times and looked up at the cat who had woken her up. It took her a few heartbeats to recognize her uncle. ”Sagelight?...” she murmured, right before a large yawn left her maw. She sat up slowly in her nest and took a few moments to study her surroundings. Everyone was still asleep in the apprentices’ den, and it was dark and cold. The moon had probably just passed its peaked point by now. ”Sagelight? It’s still night. What’s wrong?” A sudden thought caused her fur to fluff up in anxiety, but she kept her voice relatively soft when she added in a whimper, ”I-I’m not in trouble, am I? I-I know I haven’t gone to you about my Moonstone journey yet, b-but—!”

His ears flickered forward, struggling just a little to catch the soft words spoken amid the surrounding noises. "Are you what? In--...In trouble? Oh, no, it's nothing bad! Unless...you say no. Here, join me outside, I don't want to disturb anyone." He padded out of the den into the cool night air and sat down in the middle of camp, waiting for her to join him. Once she approached, he flicked his tail and smiled. StarClan had finally deemed him ready to be a mentor. Although he was kind of nervous about it, he knew he would be a better mentor than Mintwhisker by far. "Honeypaw. StarClan has given me a sign tonight. It is your choice entirely, but I woke you up so I could ask you a very important question. How do you feel about becoming my apprentice?"

Relieved and confused at the same time at Sagelight's answer, Honeypaw rose to her paws and shook out her fur to puff it up before following him out into the cold still air. She sat down before him, wrapping her tail tightly around her paws to keep them warm, and she looked up at him to listen to his short speech.

Then his question came, and her eyes widened like the full moon that hovered above them just a couple nights ago. "You.... You're telling me that ... that StarClan wants me to become the next m-medicine cat?" She could hardly contain the swirling emotions within her. Nearly all of her wanted to leap for joy and cry out her thanks to the stars above -- there was so much excitement rising in the little molly's chest that it was making her feel nauseous.

And yet ... there was a small part of her that figured she shouldn't accept Sagelight's -- StarClan's -- once-in-a-lifetime offer. She had wanted to become a medicine cat so badly ever since she had been a kit, but ... surely her mother would disapprove? She remembered Murkpelt once telling her that she was destined to become a strong and powerful warrior as opposed to a soft, herb-smelling medicine cat. It would totally break her heart and destroy her life if she said no to Sagelight, but ... she didn't want to disappoint her mother, either.

"Ummm.... I-I...." Honeypaw began to panic, not knowing what she should choose. Should she uphold her mother's wishes, or choose her own destiny? Should she become the warrior Murkpelt wants her to be, or should she become the medicine cat she herself wants to be? She whimpered and shut her eyes, feeling tears beginning to brim them, threatening to overflow. I don't know what to do. I want this for myself, but I don't want Murkpelt to be upset with me because I didn't become a warrior like she wanted me to. What would Sparkfire do?

Honeypaw suddenly opened her eyes in realization. She had only known the beautiful ShadowClanner for a little while, but that had still been long enough to know what she would do in a situation like this. In fact, it was incredibly easy to hear her voice speaking in her head: What's there to worry about? Murkpelt's your mother, she'll always love you no matter what. If this is what you feel in your heart is the right decision for yourself and for your Clan, then you should go out there and be the best medicine cat SkyClan has ever seen.

The apprentice smiled at the thought, instantly feeling at ease. With her decision made up, she looked up at Sagelight, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I would love to be your apprentice, Sagelight."