Willowpaw's Moonstone Journey

Another day, another moonstone journey to complete. Now that Skyclan was back in the forest, it made little sense to keep putting them off, and with the apprentice den practically the size of a full clan all on its' own, Beechpaw figured that being a step closer to no longer being an apprentice was something to look forward to.

Of course, that meant that soon, it would be the warrior's den overflowing with cats, though from what Beechpaw could tell it looked as if it was halfway there already.

"Willowpaw?" She called softly into the den. There was no need to wake the she-cat roughly or startle her awake, Beechpaw had decided. And there were still others in the den who wouldn't appreciate being woken, either.

Taking a step back, Beechpaw quickly swallowed her bundle of traveling herbs, and once Willowpaw was out of the den, she nudged the second bundle towards her.

"Eat these, they'll keep you from feeling hungry or tired on the journey."

Beechpaw’s call was fairly soft, but even then, Willowpaw leapt to her feet in a panic, only just managing to flail enough so she didn’t fall on anyone.

“Y-Yes?” She called back as she scrambled to her feet and out of the den. Her eyes then widened as she remembered. “Moonstone Journey! Right!”

She was still having nightmares about SkyClan burning down. It had already been so long and the dreams hadn’t stopped yet...That was frightening.

Willowpaw glanced at the traveling herbs and quickly swallowed them, making sure to hold her breath. Even then, the taste made her cringe slightly.

“Thanks.” She told Beechpaw.

Beechpaw settled in to wait for Willowpaw. She wasn't the only one having dreams plagued by fire, and Beechpaw silently wished that there was some sort of herb to prevent the nightmares. The fire had been bad enouogh, but she could tell that the inability to forget and having the events replay in dreams was affecting some of her clanmates more than others.

Her sympathy didn't prevent her whiskers twitching in grim amusement as Willowpaw cringed after swallowing the herbs. Beechpaw understood how she felt.

"Yeah, they're awful. I think I'm starting to get used to them." She joked. Eventually she would get used to them, if the steady stream of apprentices needing to be taken to the moonstone kept up. Maybe her taste buds would become immune to bad tastes and then she could try some of the fish that the Riverclanners seemed to love.

The large tabby and white she-cat turned, pawsteps leading toward the camp entrance.

---

Mothermouth loomed before them as Beechpaw made the last of the climb to highstones. A soft breeze was blowing, bringing with it the sounds of crickets as night set upon them, and Beechpaw paused at the entrance to the tunnels that led into the mountain to glance back at Willowpaw, giving them both a moment to catch their breath from the climb.

"The tunnel gets very narrow at points, and it's pretty much impossible to see in. You'll want to rely on your whiskers when you follow me to the moonstone. When we get to it, press your nose to it and lay down." She instructed before stepping into the tunnel.

Beechpaw paused and looked over her shoulder once more to make sure Willowpaw was following before forging ahead into the darkness. It was only when they got close to the moonstone that a faint blueish light became visible, and she stepped aside once they had reached the cavern, allowing Willowpaw to enter and lay beside the softly glowing stone.

Willowpaw followed Beechpaw out of camp and onto the climb. The she-cat was thankfully agile enough to manage the climb with fair ease, but by the time they were at the tunnels, she was panting in exhaustion.

Listening to Beechpaw's instructions, she nodded along. Then, they went through the tunnels. Willowpaw couldn't help but respect Beechpaw's swiftness in moving through the tunnels. She was probably already getting used to it.

Then, they saw the Moonstone.

For a second, Willowpaw stood there, marvelling at it. Then she stepped forward and touched her nose to it, and laid down.

Which cat would I meet? Would I recognise them? Willowpaw wondered.

"Hello Willowpaw, I'm Mumblefoot!" The tail-less, black and white tom was settled on his haunches, prepared to greet her. A smile crossed his maw as he looked at the apprentice. At first, he'd thought of her as a young cat but at a quick glance, it was obvious how much of a warrior she was already. Bright orange eyes regarded her in the most warm and inviting manner. Should the tom had lived longer alongside his mate, Poplarstar, there was no doubt the pair would have helped to raise more fine kits in Skyclan. A wistful expression of the life that could have been crossed his features for only a moment. There were more impartant things than pondering over a life lost. For now he was here to guide the pawsteps of a clanmate; an honor it was to shape the lives of those who still padded through the forest.

His ears flatted ever so slightly after calling her forward. It was obvious the Skyclan warrior hadn't spoken to the living in so long. He wasn't sure what had lead up to these moments. A sheepish grin flashed his teeth for a brief moment before his expression fell into something more neutral. Delicate paws pricked at the star-speckled grass beneath their toes. Mumblefoot hesitated before speaking up once again but when he did, the words were the same warm and inviting bravado as before, "You've come here for guidance, as all young cats do. My Starclan cat was a bit of a silly brute, I'm hoping to give you a far kinder welcome... do you have anything to ask me? Any advice you seek?" His head tilted slightly in a questioning manner.

Willowpaw blinked in surprise as light flooded the area around her. Blinking quickly to make her eyes adjust, she saw a figure before her. A black-and-white cat who...seemed to not have a tail? Willowpaw quickly snapped her eyes to their face so she didn't state at their tail in a rude manner. "Hi! So glad to see you!"

She was glad to have met such a nice cat. While most cats think StarClan is full of nice cats, Willowpaw had heard enough stories to know not all of them are that nice. Some are grumpy, some are a little rude-she wasn't sure if any is full-on malicious, but hopefully not.

When Mumblefoot asked her what advice she seeked, Willowpaw hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure if you already know, but SkyClan's been mostly destroyed in a recent fire. We're staying with RiverClan at the moment. I...Well, I may need some advice on how to comfort others." She smiled meekly, knowing how weird she must sound.

As she meowed a response, he listened with a soft smile, nodding softly at her concerns. The tom's expression fell slightly as she mentioned the fire and the state of Skyclan. Mumblefoot had watched with anxious eyes at what befell his kin below. If he had a tail, it would have been flickering back and forth as he debated a response. In life, the warrior had struggled with his own inability for many moons. Comforting others was hard to do when one needed some much reassurance themselves; he was very familiar with that struggle.

Mumblefoot bowed his head with a low sigh, "I know very well all the troubles you've faced, and what the clan has to go through. There are certainly times I wish Starclan had more of a paw in things." But the clans had to live their own lives, and the struggles that came with it. One paw reached up to press reassuringly into her shoulder, where a tail might have flickered if it was any other cat. The black and white warrior tilted his head towards her, "The best thing you can do for your clanmates is to be present and be there for them. Sometimes words don't measure up to simply being there. I'm sure they all appreciate you being there, Willowpaw. If you stick with your kin and clan, that's the best that you can do."

Willowpaw smiled gratefully at Mumblefoot. So they were of the opinion that it was better for her to be there for her clanmates. That made sense-the one time she had needed to help Sunflower, she had made him happier by staying beside him.

Willowpaw had previously struggled with the dilemma of if she should stay with SkyClan or move to RiverClan when the choice came. After all, Shimmerpaw still needed her there. Then again, so did her clanmates...Willowpaw debated the thought silently.