Willowpaw's Moonstone Journey

The sky glowed with the usual pale pink, the early morning sun just barely peeking out from behind the clouds. It was still to early for warm weather, explaining Spiderquill's shivering. Not able to bear the cold any longer, he shakily got to his feet and stretched. He had another Moonstone journey to attend to today, though he definitely wasn't complaining. He'd already made so many friends thanks to them, and he wasn't planning to stop anytime soon. He looked through his neatly organised herbs and grabbed the usual blend of chamomile, daisy leaves, burnet and sorrel to strengthen the two cats on their journey. He forced down his bundle of herbs, grabbing the other in his jaws and heading for the apprentices' den. "Willowpaw? It's time for your Moonstone journey, are you prepared?"

"Yes," Willowpaw replied, "I'm so excited!" She was going to see a real StarClan cat!
She noticed the bundle of herbs that Spiderquill had set down and knew that they were for her.  She had heard stories from other apprentices about how nasty the herbs were.  When she lapped them up, they surprisingly weren't that bad.  She figured that either the other apprentices were over-exaggerating about them, or she was just so excited that she didn't realize how bad they really were.  She figured that it was probably a little bit of both.


"Are we going to leave soon?" Willowpaw was anxious to get going.  Not only was she excited, but she was also nervous about what StarClan cat she would meet.  Would they be nice? She hoped so.  Willowpaw was also nervous about the Righteous few. Would she meet one of them at the Moonstone?  She had never heard of any of the Righteous Few visiting cats in their dreams, but there was a first time for everything.  She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that she had started to pace.  Willowpaw took a deep breath to clear her mind, and sat down, waiting for Spiderquill.

Spiderquill smiled warmly at Willowpaw's excitement. He remembered his first ever trip to the Moonstone, how wide-eyed and excited he had been. That was probably his fondest memory.

Brought out of his daze by Willowpaw's question, he nodded. "Yep, if you're all ready we're leaving now!" Waiting for Willowpaw to prepare herself, he then started to head out of camp. He wasn't really thinking about the journey, his paws knowing the way at this point.

After a long while, the two of them finally arrived at the Moonstone. Spiderquill looked over at Willow paw and gestured to the large blue stone. "Here we are! Press your nose against the stone and you're all set. I'll be waiting for you here."

Willowpaw walked forward, as per Spiderquill's instruction, and quickly fell asleep.  She woke up it a starry place which she assumed was StarClan Territory.  She noticed a cat walking toward her and got excited.

Lightstep chuckled faintly as he saw the excitement light up Willowpaw's face at his approach. It was certainly a sight to behold, a pristine white warrior with his pelt glittering radiant starlight and yellow eyes that shone like the sun moving gracefully and soundlessly over the starry expanse that resembled RiverClan's territory. He had a faint smile on his face, and he raised his tail in greeting as he approached her. He dipped his head and slowed to a halt, then raised his head and greeted, "Good evening, Willowpaw. Welcome to StarClan." He waited for her reply with a patient smile.

Lightstep smiled and replied, "My name is Lightstep. Your leader, Ivystar, is my aunt - the daughter of Jaystar, my grandfather." He dipped his head again, introduction completed, and waved his slender white tail to their surroundings. "Is this what you expected to see? Did you have any expectations when you came here?" he asked.

Lightstep chuckled softly at Willowpaw's enthusiastic, awed response, feeling a sense of peace and happiness to witness her amazement of the starry world. He nodded with her answer, but at the mention of the dark stains of StarClan, Lightstep's face sharpened slightly and he sighed. "Unfortunately, they can, but they haven't been welcomed at the Moonstone since the revolt began. They are StarClan - or at least used to be. I don't understand them. I don't understand what they're doing. I understand why, even if I disagree, but..." He shook his head and looked at Willowpaw again. "Regardless, they're not here with you and I this night, and they won't be. We're safe as we can be." He wasn't sure how comforting that was.

"I'm glad," Willowpaw said, relaxing a little, "What is it like in StarClan?" she asked him.  She figured that it was about the same as actual life, but wasn't completely sure.

It was clear to see that Lightstep's words had eased the apprentice's nerves at least a bit, and the starry tom smiled faintly, relieved to have done some good. Willowpaw asked what life in Silverpelt was like, and he chuckled softly. "I'm never hungry, for there's always prey, and there's always water and shelter where I sleep. In many ways it is like the forest, but... the unrest as of late has been felt. I will always wish I'd been able to return to the forest and see it one last time before I died, to feel the sand under my paws and the reeds on my fur..." His tail twitched, and his yellow eyes were distracted with thought.

"Do you have any advice on being a warrior?" she asked him, asking the question that had been asked by many apprentices.

Lightstep chuckled, his tail waving gently as he heard her question. "All of the advice I could give about being a warrior, young Willowpaw, your mentor Addershade could teach you just as well. It is what mentors are for, after all," he replied good-naturedly. Still, he had some advice, and he answered, "Try not to hold your mentor and leaders in too high of a regard, hm? We are all cats; we are all fallible. My grandfather Jaystar had a relationship and kits with the Clan's medicine cat, Goldeneye. He had always seemed to obey the code flawlessly, to be such a perfect example of a warrior... It stunned and infuriated everyone. Do not let yourself be blind to signs of faltering; be true to yourself, the Clan, and the Code."

"Okay," Willowpaw responded "Thanks for the advice.  I hope to be a great warrior someday."

"Of course, Willowpaw; it's what StarClan is here for," Lightstep answered warmly. "If you are determined to be a good wrrior for RiverClan, I'm certain that's what you will be. Fight for your Clan, and for yourself and others. Do you have any more questions?"