Shrikepaw's Moonstone Journey

The morning was unusually warm for Leaf-fall, the breeze strong as it blew through the forest, bringing with it leaves from the canopy of trees. Holding two leaf bundles in her mouth, Mossbloom idly watch one such leaf swirl and flutter before reaching a resting place on the ground. As it settled on the dirt, the medicine cat blinked and seemed to return to her senses - she had been on her way to wake Shrikepaw for her Moonstone Journey when she was distracted. Padding over to the apprentice den, she set the herb bundles at the entrance before ducking inside, looking for the brown tabby pelt of the apprentice. Once she found it, she gently prodded her with a white paw and soft voice. "Shrikepaw, it's time to wake up. We have a long journey ahead of us today!," she mewed before backing her way out of the den and picking up the herb bundles once more. Once the she-cat emerged, she presented her with one of the bundles, leaving the other at her own paws. "Here, eat these. They're bitter, but they'll give you strength and keep you from getting too hungry until we return!"

Shrikepaw had been in a deep sleep before being woken up by a white paw. "What is it, Icecloud?" she said groggily, getting up onto her paws. However, when she was able to focus at the cat who was standing right there, it was not her mentor, and that could be explained easily. Rather, it was Mossbloom, one of ThunderClan's medicine cats. When Shrikepaw noticed the packet of herbs at the medicine cat's jaw, which she inferred had to be traveling herbs, she realized that today was the day that she was going to go on a moonstone journey.

She had been looking forward to the moonstone journey for a long time. First of all, it was a stepping-stone to warriorhood. Second of all, it allowed her to speak with her ancestors, who would give her good advice. Which I need to be a better cat, she thought.

When Mossbloom gave Shrikepaw a bundle of traveling herbs, Shrikepaw immediately ate them. They were very bitter, but she made sure to force them down her throat. She needed to stay strong. Taking a deep breath, Shrikepaw stared at the medicine cat. "I'm ready," she said, her voice masking the worry in her thoughts. What will StarClan do when they see me? She didn't know, but she was going to find out soon.

As the apprentice ate her herbs without complaint, Mossbloom consumed hers. Licking her maw as Shrikepaw voiced her readiness, the medicine cat stood and turned to lead the way out of camp, motioning for the she-cat to follow her as they made their way up the steep path to the forest. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, made slick with recent rain, but Mossbloom's paws were sure as they reached the top and paused to take in the state of the forest before continuing. After a brief pause at the nearby stream, the two set off towards Fourtrees together. After some silence, Mossbloom cast a glance over to the apprentice before speaking. "The forest is beautiful, in Leaf-fall. The colors of the leaves never cease to amaze me. I wish that we could have the colors with the warmth and growth of greenleaf - what do you think?"

Shrikepaw followed Mossbloom out of ThunderClan camp. The colors were vibrant, as always, but Shrikepaw was uninterested in them. She had seen them throughout her apprenticehood, so she wished to find something else in the environment to enjoy. After she failed, she thought about her good memories. She remembered that one time when she hunted with her brother, Buzzardpaw, where they caught two mice, a squirrel, and a grouse in the hunting trip. She liked thinking about that trip because it made her feel really good about herself and her brother. That was an awesome hunt. Brought back to reality by Mossbloom's question, Shrikepaw looked up at the medicine cat. "I guess so. I haven't really experienced the colors of the other seasons that much, so leaf-fall is getting a little stale for me." The young she-cat didn't see anything wrong with Mossbloom, but she still wanted to check on the medicine cat. "Is there anything bugging you recently?" Shrikepaw wanted to help Mossbloom if the medicine cat wanted something.

Mossbloom blinked in surprise before remembering how she had once experienced her first of each season. Feeling like a mouse rain, she smiled and chuckled. "Of course, I have a feeling you'll enjoy Newleaf, when the trees get their little buds and the flowers start to bloom. It's a beautiful time, although it is a little cold for my taste still!" She purred as they entered the clearing of Fourtrees, ears perking as the she-cat asked her a question. Tilting her head slightly and casting a glance back at the she-cat, she thought for a moment before responding. "Not particularly. Outside of my joints getting more stiff by the day, and worrying about what leaf-bare will hold this year." She mewed softly, tail twitching as they started to ascend the far side of Fourtrees towards WindClan's moors. "I just hope this leaf-bare is peaceful."

Shrikepaw followed Mossbloom past Fourtrees. "Yeah, I guess I hope so too." she said in response to the medicine cat's comments. "But I doubt we will be that lucky." She didn't know very much about leaf-bare, but she did know that it was a time of less prey and colder weather. It didn't seem very appetizing, especially since she had begun to get a little cold already. I can't imagine being in leafbare. It must be miserable. The amount of fresh-kill would most likely drop at that , which would probably cause food shortages. ThunderClan might have to go to Sunningrocks a little more to hunt, even though they would most likely face the wrath of RiverClan. ]And SkyClan is in RiverClan right now, the apprentice thought. So we might face the wrath of SkyClan, unless they accept ThunderClan's claims to the territory. But they might have had to give up any recognition claims ThunderClan had to Sunningrocks in return for stay in RiverClan. The brown tabby sighed.

Man, the forest fire that drove SkyClan out must have been devastating. I'm glad that it didn't spread to ThunderClan and hurt us. Where could we have gone? RiverClan wouldn't have taken in another clan, just because of bad blood and the fact that they would not want three clans in their territory. If we were driven out from the territory, maybe WindClan would be where we would go? I think that as far as interclan alliances go, ThunderClan most had one with WindClan, and I don't think that the clans ever had a falling out. Shrikepaw's mind was overflowing with thoughts, too many thoughts for her to concentrate on one. Shrikepaw, stop daydreaming. A warrior doesn't lose their train of thought like this. The brown she-cat snapped out of her thoughts, looking to see where she was. She seemed to be in what looked to be WindClan's moors. Speaking of WindClan, they- NO DON'T FALL DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE AGAIN

Mossbloom chuckled, silently agreeing with the apprentice as they continued into WindClan's territory. The pair fell silent as Shrikepaw seemed to withdraw into her own thoughts, and Mossbloom simply guided her along the way through the moors, content to leave the apprentice to her thoughts for as long as she wanted. After several long moments Shrikepaw sighed, and Mossbloom glanced over to see her still lost in thought, looking troubled. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered what could be weighing so heavily on the apprentice's mind, but decided against it as she narrowly avoided one of the many rabbit burrows that dotted WindClan's moors. The silence stretched on for a while, but as they reached the far edge of WindClan's territory Mossbloom cleared her throat softly. "You seem to be thinking about something quite intently... Is there something you have questions about? Anything I can help with?" She mewed gently, leading the way across WindClan's scent border and into the lands beyond the clans, towards a distant roaring Thunderpath that was getting closer with each step.

When Mossbloom cleared her throat, Shrikepaw realized how lost in her thoughts she had been. I didn't say anything for the whole trip through WindClan's territory. "I'm alright. Just thinking about..." She paused, thinking about if she should tell the medicine cat on what she was thinking about. "Well, I was thinking about what would have likely happened if ThunderClan had been affected by the fire as severely as SkyClan was. Nothing too serious." Perhaps now would have been a good time to tell Mossbloom about her concerns, but she decided to not say anything. I can ask StarClan for guidance, she thought. However, she wasn't sure that they would give her an idea on how to be a great ThunderClan warrior. The brown tabby she-cat eventually followed Mossbloom to the Thunderpath.

Mossbloom nodded slowly, thinking about it as they approached the Thunderpath. She remained silent as they reached the edge and waited for a few heartbeats as a monster the color of the sky swiftly passed them, ruffling their fur and the grass on the side of the Thunderpath before signaling for the pair to cross. Luckily, there had been a longer lull in the patrols of the monsters, so it was a fairly easy cross, her fur still stood on end as she led the way towards Highstones. The tall peaks stood in the distance, but far closer than they had been. Finally, she answered. "The flood was very different from a fire, the opposite in fact, but seeing how RiverClan helped SkyClan, I'm confident that the other clans would have aided us in our time of need just as we have aided them. It would have been difficult, but the forest does heal. The scars are present, some things can't be erased, but the forest is stronger because of it. We would just need to be patient and steadfast, and trust StarClan and Nettlestar to do what is needed."

The ground under their paws shifted to loose pebbles and stones, and she started up the path towards Highstones as the moon started to show on the horizon. "Everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is not immediately clear. Perhaps StarClan can help you more than I in that regard." She mewed as they reached Mothermouth, the large mouth yawning into darkness. She waited for a little longer as the moon rose into the sky before motioning to Shrikepaw. "Shall we find out?" Turning, the medicine cat led the apprentice into the darkness, following the twisting path to the Moonstone with confidence. Finally they reached the cavern, the Moonstone lit with the light of the moon before them. Murmuring softly, she advised Shrikepaw. "Press your nose to the stone, and StarClan will speak to you. I'll be here when you wake." She settled off to the side and waited.

Shrikepaw followed Mossbloom through the Thunderpath, running quickly to avoid the monsters that lurked on the path. She decided to listen to what Mossbloom had to say for the rest of the trip to the Moonstone. As the sun set and the moon began to rise, Shrikepaw nodded. "Yeah, they probably would." As the two cats entered Mothermouth, Shrikepaw nodded to Mossbloom's question. Following Mossbloom through the winding paths, they eventually reached the Moonstone. Wow. The brown tabby looked at Mossbloom, who told her what to do. Shrikepaw nodded, and put her nose on the Moonstone. Eventually, the young cat got sleepier and sleepier, before she finally closed her eyes and arrived in the dream world.

~~

A gray tabby tom emerged from the misty shadows, a troubled look on his face. He was trying to make up with his former mate, Wrenbreeze, but it was very difficult due to the fact that she turned towards the Righteous Few. He couldn't look her in the eye after she did that. However, she didn't end up actually following along with them, and even helped StarClan fight them off. But the gray tabby was still uneasy, feeling that she could stab him in the back when his guard was down.

But today wasn't about him. It was an apprentice's Moonstone journey today, and he was the cat chosen to speak with her. This apprentice wasn't in RiverClan, but rather ThunderClan. Even still, they were part of the five clans, and they deserved as much guidance as any other cat. He had, of course, been on a Moonstone trip himself when he was an apprentice, and now it was his time to share the wisdom he learned to another apprentice. Staring face-to-face with the young ThunderClan she-cat, the gray tabby spoke. "Hello. My name is Heronflight." He was careful to avoid speaking his name to the apprentice, since ThunderClan and RiverClan had bad blood over the years.

The young she-cat seemed amazed by him, for some reason. He thought that he was pretty ordinary, really "My name's Shrikepaw!" she said excitedly. "I have so many questions that I want to ask you." Her bounding smile then turned to a serious look, something Heronflight hadn't ever seen in an apprentice before. "I'm worried. Worried that I can't be as good of a fighter as I want, worried that my countless imagination will prevent me from achieving my potential, and worried that I won't be a great ThunderClan warrior. Can you help me with that?"

Heronflight nodded. "I understand the feeling. I, too, have felt like if I wasn't perfect I would have failed as a warrior." The circumstances were very different than Shrikepaw's, but he could still sympathize with her. "The best advice I could give you is, well, try your hardest to improve and grow. But also never forget that no matter who you become, there are cats that love you and care for you." The gray tabby wasn't the greatest motivational speaker, but he hoped that Shrikepaw would listen to him. She seems pretty reasonable, but you never know when it comes to advice.

Thankfully, the brown tabby she-cat nodded. "I'll try. Thank you for the advice." Before Heronflight could leave, however, Shrikepaw spoke again. "Wait! Before you go, I'd like you to ask you another question." She seemed adamant on asking the question before the gray tabby left, so he stayed.

"Okay, fine," he said. "But please make it quick."

"How are you feeling? I guess that it's a dumb question, because you're in StarClan and all, but I just wanted to ask."

Heronflight tensed up. I'm feeling horrible. "I'm okay," he said, cracking a fake smile. He knew that now was the best time to leave the young she-cat. After all, he gave her an answer to all of her questions.

"I have one more thing I have to say," Shrikepaw said as Heronflight stepped back into the mist. "Never forget that there are cats that love you and care for you. I think you needed to hear that too."

Heronflight stopped moving, then broke a smile. "You're right. Maybe I did need to hear that." The gray tabby then disappeared into the starry mist that was StarClan.

~~

Her mind returning to the physical world, Shrikepaw got up and looked around. She was back in Mothermouth, right next to the Moonstone. Mossbloom was there, like she said she would be. "I'm ready to go back," she said. It was a really fulfilling trip for her. Not only did she get advice from a StarClan cat, but she was able to help him as well. I guess that even though StarClan's all-powerful, they are still made up of cats, and none of them are perfect. That was a comforting feeling to know that, at least for now.