Wisteriapaw's Moonstone Journey

Spiderquill stretched and yawned, pale pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. Even after all these moons, he still hadn't gotten used to waking up at twilight to escort apprentices to the Moonstone. Today it was Wisteriapaw, a fluffy grey tabby he'd yet to meet. One of these days, he should catch up with the apprentices. He felt like he barely knew anyone in his own Clan. Grabbing the travelling herbs he'd arranged into neat bundles the day before, he padded over to the apprentices' den. "Hey, Wisteriapaw. You ready t-to go?" Curse his stupid stutter, he thought as he swallowed his herbs and nudged the other bundle towards the apprentice.

Wisteriapaw rose quickly at Spiderquill's call, having been barely asleep in the first place. She trotted out to meet him and prepare for the journey. The tom's unusual appearance had startled her at first, but after seeing him often busying around camp,  she had grown used to it. He met her outside the den and gave her a small bundle of herbs. From what she'd heard from the other apprentices, they were foul-tasting traveling herbs, used to keep up stamina on the long journey to the moonstone. "Yeah," she nodded as she bent to wolf down the traveling herbs. She was unsurprised when she discovered the rumours were true, and swallowed the bitter-tasting medicine as fast as possible.

Smiling softly, he waited for the apprentice to finish her herbs before standing up, beckoning her to follow with his tail. He padded out of camp, lamenting the absence of the river and much of the foliage as he passed the burnt area of the forest. A pang of sorrow filled him each time he saw a charred tree or the burnt up body of a mouse or bird. The fire really had destroyed a lot of the forest. 

Walking mostly in silence, the duo made it to Highstones by sunrise. He gave the usual 'stay by me, don't get lost' speech as they headed through the pitch-black tunnel, stopping only once they'd reached the Moonstone. "Alright, Wisteriapaw, this is where I leave you. Touch your nose to the Moonstone, I'll be waiting when you get back. Enjoy yourself."

Wisteriapaw kept pace with Spiderquill on the long journey to Highstones. She listened carefully to his lecture and stuck close to his tail through the dark tunnel. They padded into the cavern and the tabby apprentice caught her breath. There it was, the Moonstone, in all its glory, sparkling in the moonlight that seeped through a large crack in the roof. It was.... beautiful. Wisteriapaw felt very small amongst the hundreds of stars above, each one once part of the clans. In the presence of the stone she felt scared, and almost unlike herself. Without taking her eyes off the sparkling rock, she followed Spiderquill's instructions: carefully lying down and pressing her nose to the Moonstone. She fell asleep almost immediately, and found herself plunged into darkness. "Hello?" she called out, panicking a little at the darkness.

Applefang had been chosen to meet Wisteria, suprisingly. He knew that she was Streamtail’s apprentice, but not much besides that. The starry-pelted tom approached the she-cat with a smile. ”Hi Wisteriapaw.” Death was bittersweet for him. It was an amazing peace, but he missed his family. He both wanted them to join him and didn’t at the same time. He knew his mate missed him greatly, as did his father. Of course, his siblings and his kits did as well. He wished he could be there with him, call out their names as they became warriors. Even if he couldn’t do it in the land of the living, he could do it from here, and hope that they would know how much he loved them. Each and every one of them.

Wisteriapaw's jaw dropped when the starry cat appeared. It was Applefang, her mentor's late mate, who she had missed so much. Streamtail and her had done little training, as the blue-grey she-cat had been grieving so much. She knew it would be a great comfort for her when she knew her mate was happy in StarClan. "Applefang?" she called out, a little unsure, "Is that you?" his amber pelt was dappled with stars, but his face was friendly as he greeted her. Still a bit scared, she sat down in front of him and dipped her head. "Streamtail misses you... a lot. I've been trying to comfort her, but she doesn't want to hunt, eat, and rarely even drinks. I don't know how to help her." Normally, she wouldn't have gushed her feelings to a warrior she barely knew, but he was a warrior of StarClan, and carried a comforting presence. "Do you have any ideas?" she mumbled, "on how to help her recover." 

Applefang smiled. He had been a bit nervous about the meeting, but he wanted to make Wisteriapaw feel comfortable here. “Yeah, it’s me.” He watched her sit down and sat down across from her. He was taller than her, but he didn’t tower over her as he did when he was standing. His long legs didn’t boost his height when they were folded underneath him. As the apprentice started talking about Streamtail, he looked down sadly. ”I know. I miss her a lot, and I know she is really sad. I’m glad you care about her, though. Just...” he sighed. When he looked up, his eyes were glistening. [color:cbe5=#00ff0”]”I don’t know, Wisteriapaw. I wish I did, but I don’t. I love her so much, and it hurts to see her like this.” he sighed.

Wisteriapaw felt helpless on how to help Streamtail now. If even Applefang didn't know, her mentor's beloved mate and a starry-pelted warrior of StarClan, who could help her now. Time. Time is the only answer. Her wounds will heal eventually. She started to feel a bit bad for putting Applefang in this position, he looked broken, as if all he wanted to do was comfort Streamtail. "I think just telling her that you came to see me might be enough. She'll find her happiness some day. I just wish it would happen sooner." All they could do for now was hope.

Applefang grimaced. ”She’s a strong cat, she’ll make it through it, somehow. And she obviously has a very caring apprentice.” Sniffing one lasts time, he managed a smile. ”So, if there any other questions you have? About life, warriorhood, whatever?” He licked his paw for a moment, carefully cleaning out a bur he noticed. His green eyes gazed down. The subject they had previously on was hard. He wanted to run up to his mate, sweep his tail around her and tell her everything would be alright. But there were borders, and rules. He couldn’t do that. He hoped she knew how he felt about her still. He hoped his whole family knew how much he loved them, even though they were so desperately far now.

Wisteriapaw nodded as Applefang commented on Streamtail's strength, but quickly turned her head and gave an embarrassed smile at his praise to her. Clearly trying to change off the sad topic of the conversation, she carefully thought about his next question. What do I want to know the answer too.. "How were the clans created? Like who started them and why?" she had heard the nursery story many times, but had never found much interest in it. Her favourite tales usually were that of RiverClan heroes, but maybe now it would be interesting, and feel more real coming from a starry-pelted warrior.

Applefang smiled. Joining Starclan, he had met cats from so many different eras of the forest, including ones who had been there when the clans started. It was amazing to hear their stories first-hand. ”There were cats that came from the mountains, a tribe. They decided to form the clans. The original leaders were named after the clans, well, actually, the clans were named after them. The clans survived to this day, but the forest has been through a lot. Evil rouges, the dark forest, floods, fires, the Righteous Few...It’s kinda crazy how we survived.” he smiled. ”Anything else? I can sense that our time together is drawing to a close.”

Wisteriapaw tried to hide her disappointment at the story. As she had predicted, it was the same one she had heard many times. It still feels more real coming from him, he could have met cats that died generations ago. Applefang's right though - it's amazing how we survived and are still here. He asked if there was any more questions. The apprentice's head was full of questions, too many to sort to ask. How does StarClan work? What will happen when I die? How long until I can become a warrior? They piled up, higher and higher. But.. as the starry warrior had said, their time was probably coming to a close, and he could only answer so many of her questions. What's the most important? "Do you enjoy.. being dead?" she said almost shyly. It may have been an invasive question, but Wisteriapaw didn't care.

Applefang’s head titles slightly as he posed the question. It was one he wasn’t really sure of the answer. Would the correct answer be no? He missed his family, hunting and patrolling, serving his clan. But with death came a sort of peace. He met cats he had only heard of, and although he hadn’t lost many family members, he had more freedom here. Freedom to run on the endless plains. A freedom he never had as a part of Riverclan, and never would have. Even if he had been outside of his clan, the forest was constantly haunted by dangers. And beyond that? Well, no cat knows what lay farther than they could even imagine. So yes, in a way, he did. ”Truthfully, it’s more peaceful. I’m more at peace with myself here. I miss my family and my clan, of course, but...it was my time, I suppose.” he answered quietly. With one glance around, he noticed he was being torn away from this place. ”Well, Wisteriapaw, it’s been nice to talk. Tell Streamtail I love her. And be safe.” With those words, the starry pelt faded.

Wisteriapaw considered his answer to her maybe prying question. It was understandable, and gave her a new insight to ho he felt. "Thanks for everything Applefang, I will do whatever I can for Streamtail." she promised as he began to fade away. She was left in darkness, with no starry cat to light the area of her dream. Soon she stirred, waking from her deep sleep. It may have been a dream, but it was pretty much real and she promised to herself that she would always be there for Streamtail, just like Applefang wanted.