Emberpaw's Moonstone Journey

"Emberpaw," Mothglow called the apprentice over. "Take these, then we can go," she gently nudged a bundle of traveling herbs toward him.

Emberpaw had known this was coming, but he wasn't sure what to expect, either. He hadn't had any good interactions with StarClan (could the Righteous Few even be called that?) in his life, but he was assuming this would be different. His tail twitched and he raised his head as he heard his name being called, gaze eventually settling on the medicine cat, Mothglow. Tail sweeping the ground, he stood up, trotting over to her. His nose twitched as he caught the bitter scent of the herbs, and he sighed. May as well get this over with. Emberpaw winced at the tangy taste and swept his tongue around his mouth, trying to get the lingering bitterness out of his mouth. "Wow, those taste bad. Do you have to eat them every time you do a Moonstone Journey?"

"Every single time," Mothglow assured. "I'd say you get used to it, but... Not really, at least for me."

With that said, she led the way out of camp. "I feel old for having to ask, but what's it like being a warrior's apprentice these days? Actually, what's it like having Ravenmist as your mentor?" she asked, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "Don't worry, I won't tell!"

After a long and overall uneventful journey - though one filled with casual conversation in the form of Mothglow's never-ending curiosities - they reached Mothermouth; and Mothglow led the way through the tunnels until they emerged into the shimmering Moonstone's cavern. "Go ahead - just touch your nose to the stone. Our ancestors are waiting to speak to you."

Emberpaw winced slightly. He couldn't imagine being forced to taste that bitterness every single time an apprentice went on a journey. That would be a lot of herbs. He giggled slightly as Mothglow asked about Ravenmist, and being a warrior apprentice. "It's nice. I can't imagine doing anything else. She's a really good mentor - and cat - despite being blind."

Eventually, they reached Mothermouth. Emberpaw's legs had never been so tired, despite eating the traveling herbs. Being a medicine cat seemed less and less appealing the more he found out about it. He followed Mothglow as she navigated, more excited then scared, and walked up to the bright stone. He gave her a small nod and smushed his nose against it, a bit harder than necessary, as pain shot through his nose.

Frog couldn't help but snicker as she watched the dark brown tabby apprentice smash his nose into the Moonstone in the physical realm, materializing within the confines of StarClan before her. He probably wouldn't feel how hard he'd pressed once he joined her in StarClan, but he certainly would once he'd returned to Mothglow in the land of the living again. The slight, dense-furred gray she-cat blinked her pale green eyes and did her best to suppress a smirk as the tom began to shuffle, awakening in Silverpelt. "If you'd have smacked the Moonstone any harder, I think you might've broken it," Frog teased in her husky voice, eyes glittering with mischief and starlight. "You're totally gonna feel that when you wake up." She grinned, wondering what Emberpaw would make of her comments.

His fur stood on end as a voice rang out, and he whipped around, finding an older gray she-cat. He grinned at her comments. This was a cat he'd get along with. Emberpaw glanced around. StarClan seemed just like ShadowClan territory. He'd been expecting prey to be running around everywhere. It did seem lush and nice, but it wasn't as great as he'd thought. Well, I'm in no hurry to die. He returned his gaze to the StarClan cat who'd greeted him and shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm gonna spend some time here first. What's your name? I'm Emberpaw, but you probably know that already."

The apprentice's reaction seemed to be passive and accepting - after an initial startle, at least. Frog found it amusing and chuckled at his nonchalance. "Sounds good," she interjected briefly, and once he'd introduced himself and asked for her own name she dipped her head and meowed, "I'm Frog - Frogmarsh is what Scorchstar named me, but it's a dumb name. Some warrior names are fine, but... I dunno. Everything that could go with "frog" is dumb." She shrugged, chuckle a little more, and gave the young tom another look-over. "So, have you been looking forward to this? I barely remember my trip at this point. Maybe they gave me bad wisdom." She reached a paw forward and tapped Emberpaw's shoulder playfully, teasing, "Hopefully I'll do a little better than those bog-brains."