Yarrowpaw's Moonstone Journey

Dennis stretched in the moonlight, shaking out his motheaten pelt before grabbing two herb bundles (which were quickly running out, he really needed to go on a patrol) and heading out into camp. His uneven trot brought him to the mouth of the apprentices' den, where he scanned the sleeping cats and tapped a cream-coloured one on the shoulder. He'd never spoken to Yarrowpaw, but there was a first time for everything right?
"Psst, wake up, it's time for your Moonstone." He dropped one herb bundle by Yarrowpaw and ate the other, ignoring the bitterness as he left the den to wait for the apprentice.

Yarrowpaw woke with a start, looking upwards with tired, droopy eyes to see RiverClan's medicine cat, Dennis, standing over him. Gazing back down to the herb bundle, Yarrowpaw watched as Dennis ate his, gesturing to follow suite. The white tom craned his neck to eat the bundle, gagging at the bitter taste but managing to keep the herbs down.

It's time. Yarrowpaw can hardly believe that his Moonstone is finally here- after all his hardships, all he had been through, he could finally almost taste his warrior ceremony. Grinning, the apprentice jumped up onto his feet to follow Dennis out of the apprentice den.

Dennis smed at the young cat, making sure he was following, before setting off past the reed border of camp. The weather was, for lack of a better word, gentle; there were no clouds in sight and the air was completely still. Residual heat from the cloudless day meant that the two would be spending the arduous journey in relative comfort, at least where climate was concerned. Walking slowly to save his strength, Dennis walked on.

The old medicine cat huffed out a breath, finally stepping up onto the rocky platform where Mothermouth was. He turned around, making sure his travelling companion was still close behind. With a gentle smile and an indication to stay close, he entered the tunnel and lead the apprentice to the small illuminated cavern. He gestured at the stone with a paw, laying down. He was probably going to be waiting for a while.

Yarrowpaw walked behind Dennis through the thick, muggy silence, eyes constantly vigilant of his surroundings and of the medicine cat. Though Yarrowpaw could not remember ever having a true conversation with the other tom, the apprentice found an odd comfort being with him; they both had overcome so much, Dennis having lost a leg and Yarrowpaw...  Yarrowpaw felt like someone finally understood, at least to some degree.





Yarrowpaw followed the medicine cat's wordless instructions, touching the stone with his nose and laying down on the cool cavern ground. He thought it would have been hard, falling asleep, but a slumber overcame him only moments afterwards.

He was in StarClan territory now. Yarrowpaw couldn't believe it.

ooc: if you were curious, this is how he moves: https://youtu.be/FIwafJyHFzw?t=5

Aspenheart stumbled haphazardly out of the starlight, tail swinging to accommodate his own terrible balance. He spent so much time in StarClan moving as the nimble WindClan tom he had been born as that this form was foreign to him. But of course, he knew this was how his beloved clanmates remembered him... it was how many cats needed to see him. Such was the case with this little tom.

"Well, you're a little fluffy for a RiverClan apprentice, aren't you?" he snarked, a cheeky grin transfixing his features as he reached out with a trembling paw to scruff Yarrowpaw's ears. "Most of them are pretty greasy."

Unsure if Yarrowpaw could understand his words by the sight of his mouth alone, Aspenheart suddenly grimaced. Memories of Grousefrost's affliction crossed his mind, and he remembered the miming, pointing, nods and head shakes that went along with communicating with his clanmate, who became deaf late and never learned lip-reading. The medicine cat's huge ears flipped back and he shrugged his narrow shoulders, silently conveying a single word: "Sorry!"

Yarrowpaw gaped in abject horror- or was it excitment?- at the StarClan cat's words. Not what was said, no, but the fact that Yarrowpaw had heard him. The young tom felt tears well up in the corners of his odd eyes, suddenly overcome with an affliction to say something, anything, just to see if he could. Yarrowpaw opened his mouth, took a deep intake of breath, and spoke his first words.

"I don't swim very much, you see. I'm not allowed out of the camp by myself, and more often than not those trips don't require much swimming."

Yarrowpaw gasped as his own words echoed in his head- he could hear! He could speak! Everything overtook him at once; the soft, ambient sounds of the StarClan forest- a sound that must surround him at all times but one he had never heard- and the quiet, gasping breaths of Yarrowpaw's own breath rattling in his ribcage. Tears finally spilled over his cheeks, making soft pitter patters on the dark ground. This poor StarClan cat must think him mad, truly, looking at him like that, but Yarrowpaw was too caught up in his own brewing emotions to truly care.

"Thank you for visiting me. I'm Yarrowpaw, and I can hear you- sorry, this must sound strange, but I've never heard something before. What's your name? I'm sorry- i'm a bit excited right now." Yarrowpaw choked out, bouncing from one paw to another, eyes dancing around Aspenheart's frail frame. "Are you here to tell me how to be a warrior? What advice do you have? Were you a warrior too? Or a medicine cat? Or a leader?"

Yarrowpaw's interrogation ends just as suddenly as it had begun- a small cry coming from the apprentice as more tears streamed down his face. He really, truly, could not believe this.