Crowpaw's Moonstone Journey

It was maddening to Cinderpaw that while she'd been in and out of ShadowClan - learning the ups and downs of being a medicine cat, her brother was nearing his ceremony with each passing day. Jealousy wouldn't even began to describe the feelings that Cinderpaw felt. The black tom had learned to hunt and fight - it felt like only last moon that they'd been kits together, equal in rank and in future. But Crowpaw now slept soundly in his nest as Cinderpaw watched, with everything he could ever dream of. The tom could find himself a mate if he wanted, he could leave and hunt at any time of day, Crowpaw would grow to be respected and renowned, while Cinderpaw smelled of herbs and sand. She swallowed her apprehensions and prodded the tom, waking him to an early dawn's frost. Most of ShadowClan had already gone off to their nests for the day. While usually, dawn would mean an early morning for a journeying cat, for ShadowClan, it was simply a late night. It made the medicine cat wonder what kind of secrets the day held, as usually she was sound asleep as the sun crested the trees.

Crowpaw awoke and Cinderpaw led him from the apprentice's den, silently remembering where she'd kept her nest when she could still call herself a warrior's apprentice. The camp had been lulled into a gentle rest, and the medicine cat turned to her brother. It'd been a while since they'd talked, with busy with their own, entirely different lives. "Eat these. Don't ask me what's in 'em. I have no idea, Mossbloom gave them to me. If you keel over and die at least we'll know for next time not to accept gifts from ThunderClan." There was a twinkle in Cinderpaw's eye as she swiped at Crowpaw, cuffing him over the ears. Her family were the only cats Cinderpaw could really call her friends. She didn't relate well to the rest of the clan, save for Brighteye, who had no choice but to put up with the medicine cat's musings.

“Well, at least then I’d have died for a good cause, right?” the dark-furred apprentice joked as he took the herbs from his sister, and returned her playful swipe. He ate the herbs quickly, his face screwing up at the less than pleasant taste.

When he was done, he looked back at her.

“So,” he said, smiling, his voice brimming with enthusiasm “Are we...are we heading out, then?”

The yellow-eyed tom was beyond excited for this day. For one, he got to spend some time with his sister, which was nice, because they were family, and he liked his family, but it was also potentially (and more importantly) advantageous, because she was the medicine cat, which meant she was important. And it was always good to be close with those who were important.

Of course, he was also-- and primarily-- excited that this meant he was one step closer to his warrior ceremony. He couldn’t wait to stand proudly before all his clanmates and receive his new name. He hoped it was going to be something cool-- well, even if it wasn't, it would be his, and he'd make it cool.

Anything that brought him closer to that day was good, and he was more than ready to set out on their journey.

---TIME SKIP---

Crowpaw held his breath as they approached the stone.

So, he would just...press his nose to it, and then wake up in StarClan?

Strange how the world worked. Strange, but exciting. He was going to meet a StarClan cat...and, no, he didn't really care all that much about them in his day to day life, but...still-- they were supposed to be all wise and prophetic and everything, right? And tonight he was supposed to, what, learn things about his destiny? He couldn't wait for that-- he was sure he had a great destiny ahead of him, right? Smiling to himself, he touched his nose to the stone.

His eyes closed and then shot back open in a entirely new place.

Well he thought That's startling. And cool, I guess.

He looked around for whoever it was he was supposed to talk to, and was mildly confused but mostly unperturbed to find that he was alone. He was sure they'd be here soon; or maybe they just hadn't spotted him quite yet.

"Hello?" he called, his voice reverberating through the starry trees with a tone of confidence. "It's me Crowpaw, from ShadowClan? I'm supposed to talk to someone, yeah?"

Surrounding the dark-pelted tom was a gorgeous landscape. The mimicry of marshlands was studded in shimmering dust. Each bit of foliage was so dazzling that a mere twist of the head rendered these stagnant beings creatures that almost seemed to pulsate with life. A soft hush seemed to have befallen the apprentice's dreams. It was an otherworldly sound, peaceful and inviting. Here there was no torment, trouble, or strife. Drifting away into the background and enjoying the coddling environment would have been all too easy for any cat to succumb to.

But Crowpaw was not alone in this realm.

Across from where the Shadowclanner had waited, a lithe figure had appeared. Her frame was nearly gaunt despite the pleasantly abundant eternal being. The she-cat was small in stature, with a short and ragged gray tabby pelt. Various scars of another lifetime marred her and told of many wounds. Twin piercing yellow eyes found the tom. For a long time, Wolffang said nothing to his bold proclamation, demanding wisdom be bestowed upon him. It took everything in the she cat not to snore and to maintain her stoic composure; she hated his confidence.

"You come seeking wisdom?" The Starclan cat finally pressed, a feigned interest lining her rasping voice. Another pause as her gaze fell to the large tom's paws. The manner in which she stared demanded attention and spoke of great intrigue. In the most unexpressive tone Wolffang could manage, she broke the reverberating silence once more. The entire time, her eyes never left their target, "Ask the snail. He knows all the secrets of this world and the next." At Crowpaw's pads, there was a rather large snail. It seemed unremarkable in every way possible, sans the light-speckled being it possessed. She waited for him to look away before allowing the tiniest sliver of a smirk to cross her grizzled maw.

A...snail?

If the she-cat in front of him hadn't been a StarClan cat, and therefor supposedly very wise and powerful, he might've laughed.

Goodness, I'd heard they had a tendency to deliver information in riddles, but...I have to talk to a snail?

Still, this starry warrior was here to deliver to him information about the great destiny ahead of him, so...if she said he needed to talk to the snail, he'd talk to the snail, and he'd do it with his best smile. Plus, maybe this snail thing was something everyone had to do. Had someone mentioned it to him and he hadn't remembered? If that was the case, he didn't want to look stupid by questioning it.

"Of course," he said, as if the snail thing were obvious, as if he had been completely expecting it. He bent down and began speaking respectfully to the animal at his paws. He felt slightly ridiculous, but that was fine. Whatever he needed to do to get what he wanted he would do. "Hello there, uh...Snail. Would you do me the great honor of sharing some of your wisdom? I wish to know...well, what I am going to be and do, I suppose. Any wisdom you have for me-- I wish to hear it. I am honored to be in your presence,"

Even now the young tom sought his own self-assurance. This thought, while contrived from a mere fleeting whim, had worked out exactly as planned. Wolffang managed to hold her composure as he bent his head and began his inquisition of the mindless projection of Starclan. It was at the the declaration of 'I am honored to be in your presence' that the gray tabby broke down into a rough and raucous bought of laughter. Her sides heaved and borderline wheezing broke from the sides of her maw as the Starclanner doubled over. There was a few moments of these abnormal scene which was accompanied by the rather unpleasant sound. Tears stung the yellowed eyes and it took several seconds before the she-cat caught her breath.

"Well, that was certainly fun. I hope you go back and tell your fellow apprentices about how you nearly got your wisdom from a wordless snail." There was a teasing glint to her gaze as she sized him up once more. The she-cat rose onto all four paws and stretched with a lazy yawn. Her casual façade was stretched thin as a whisker, coating the fiery personality that burned just beneath her pelt. Wolffang had expected their encounter to be unique and despite the overwhelming desire to give the tom a hard time, he reminded her of her own offspring and kin. Genuinely so, the Starclan cat hoped that maybe she could help in some way, that through the downfeathers in his ears that perhaps Crowpaw would draw something from their encounter.

"You've got a lot of growing to do young one. Earning a warrior name doesn't earn you the right to be stagnant and stop growing. I know that more than any cat." Wolffang fixed him with a stern gaze as she spoke. Her eyes flickered away for only the briefest second before returning, a mere mumble from her maw.