Shimmerpaw's Moonstone Journey

Spiderquill heaved himself to his feet, carefully avoiding his sleeping denmates. The medicine den was getting awfully cramped, what with two medicine cats, two apprentices and one soon-to-be-discharged patient. Usually the little tom was reluctant to leave his nest, but this time emerging from his den was almost like a breath of fresh air. He briskly trotted towards the apprentices' den, looking around until he spotted a familiar she-cat. One he had treated in the medicine den, after a SkyClan cat ambushed her. A cat Shimmerpaw was now sharing walls with, he realised with a chill. He nudged her and proffered a herb bundle with one paw. "Shimmerpaw, you ready? It's time to go."

Shimmerpaw had not slept very well the entire night, keeping one eye on that cat that had attacked her previously. She was absolutely paranoid that the cat would randomly attack her again. That cat seemed to have received a horrifying burn scar, and Shimmerpaw was ashamed of herself for being secretly glad and thinking the other cat had deserved it.

Spiderquill’s arrival woke the uneasily-sleeping she-cat. She trotted out of the den, hiding a yawn. “Yes? Oh, the Moonstone.” She remembered.

Glancing at the herb bundle, Shimmerpaw wrinkled her nose at the smell but downed it regardless. She choled it down, gave herself a second to recover, and nodded to Spiderquill to signal that she was ready.

Spiderquill's whiskers twitched in amusement at the apprentice's disgusted face. Never got old. He downed his own herb bundle and set off at a slow pace, leading Shimmerpaw out of camp.

After what seemed like moons, the pair finally made it to the Moonstone. The trip there had been uneventful at best, boring at worst. Spiderquill thought he spotted a dog in the distance, but it was gone when he blinked and he chalked it up to an overactive imagination. Leading Shimmerpaw absentmindedly through the winding tunnel, the medicine cat sat by the Moonstone and waved a paw at it. "Off you go, then. Just press your nose to the stone. I'll be waiting here for you, take your time. It's not the kind of experience you'd want to rush."

Shimmerpaw was very appreciative of the lack of words during the entire Moonstone Journey. She simply followed silently, stepping carefully, occasionally falling behind before catching back up.

At long last, they reached the Moonstone. Shimmerpaw listened to Spiderquill's instructions carefully, nodded, and stepped forward to press her nose against the Moonstone. She made sure to lie down, so she didn't drift off and fall down.

I wonder who I would meet. She thought, before shaking her head. Whoever it was, it probably wasn't someone she would recognise. They probably didn't recognise her either. So why did she care?

Troutstep had never been a very social cat and that applied in StarClan as well. The grumpy tom usually stayed by his mate or kept to himself and his mood seemed to swing every which way, so not many cats cared to chat with him, which he certainly wasn't complaining about.

Sitting by himself, the star-pelted warrior's gaze drifted up and down the valley, until something caught his eye not too far from where he was. What looked to be a younger cat had arrived in StarClan and unlike him, their pelt wasn't shimmering with stars which meant they hadn't died. Great, was this StarClan's way of telling him he needed to chat with who-ever cat had arrived?

Letting out a sigh, Troutstep stayed where he was. If this cat really was there to chat with him, they'd come to him and he certainly wasn't going to go out of his way to seek them out.

Shimmerpaw blinked her eyes, looking around. Wow... So this was what StarClan was like. It was a valley, from what she saw. Everything was bathed in a tint of gold light.

In comparison, her own pelt was dull and solid. She felt weirdly inferior as compared to everywhere else.

Who was she kidding? She had always felt so inferior compared to everyone else. It was just specifically more significant here.

In the distance, she spotted a cat. They had a pelt that seemed to shimmer with stars. They also seemed a little older than she was. Maybe they were a StarClan cat.

Which would mean that they were probably the one she had to speak to.

Nervously, she began to approach them.

Letting out a sigh as the cat began approaching him, Troutstep stayed sitting where he was, not bothering to move much. It was soon clear that the strange cat was most likely no more than apprentice aged and were most likely in StarClan for their moonstone journey. Great... one more cat to have to talk to.

"Moonstone journey I'm assuming?" the grump of a tom mewed, raising a non-existent brow as the she-cat grew closer.

As the other cat spoke, Shimmerpaw stiffened. She felt her body involuntarily shiver at the sound of the voice, knowing that she was speaking to someone who was supposedly almighty. Of course, she was annoyed at her body for doing that. As if she wasn't nervous enough already.

She stepped closer to the other cat so they can hear each other easily. "Yeah, I am." She explained. There was a momentary pause as she waited for the other cat to start talking.  

Then, she decided she should start talking. "I'm hoping for some advice over myself feeling inferior to others...Or just, uh, anything you want to talk about in particular?"

Listening as she spoke, Troutstep lifted a paw and began to lick between his pawpads, not bothering to even try and hide his disinterest in the matter. After a moment, she kept speaking and as much as he hated it, he knew he was the cat she was going to talk to for her Moonstone journey. Well, if he gave her an answer, maybe she'd go away quicker.

"Listen," he began with a sigh, pausing his little grooming session and meeting her gaze. "I'm no good at advice, but I can already tell you're worrying about it too much," Troutstep continued, his voice bland and crass. "A problem with worry is that it makes you forget your worth and makes you feel worthless, forgotten, and unimportant. You might feel inferior to one cat and even yourself, but you're priceless to another, so don't forget your worth, got it?" he finished, his gaze sharp. Once finished, he lifted his paw again and continued grooming his star-filled pelt.

Shimmerpaw let her tail drape over her paws as Troutstep talked. She blinked. Was she really just overreacting? She didn't feel like she was. But then again, maybe she just needed an outsider's point of view. Maybe she was actually important to someone, even if she didn't know it. Maybe...Maybe she was actually important. Or maybe Troutstep just didn't know her well enough.

"Thanks...That means a lot." She said in a small voice. The words seemed to echo in her head as she began to turn back the way she had came. Now how was she meant to get back out...

Letting out a huff at her thanks, Troutstep stood up and gave his pelt a shake, sending a puff stardust in the air around him. Turning around, he was about to leave, knowing nothing else needed to be said, but before he walked off, he turned his head back towards the she-cat. "Good luck," the grumpy tom said simply. With that, he began to make his way away from Shimmerpaw, slowly disappearing from her view and into the star filled air.

As Troutstep walked away, Shimmerpaw watched from behind him. Gratitude welled up in her heart as she thought over what he had said. People actually did care for her, and she could almost actually believe it. No, she could believe it.

She blinked and found herself lying on the cave floor. She stood up slowly, streyching a little, and glanced at Spiderquill. “That was a memorable experience.” She commented, a faint smile showing on her face.