Ashpaw's Moonstone Journey

A heavy sigh escaping him, Smallbean readied up two stacks of travelling herbs, not exactly looking forward to the journey that laid ahead of him. Today he would be taking Ashpaw to the moonstone, the apprentice of Muddyleap. It seemed like such a short time ago he was accompanying Muddyleap on his journey to the moonstone. It really was an odd feeling. Leaving the herb bundles on the den floor, he crossed camp to wake Ashpaw. Stepping into the apprentice den, he tried his best to avoid stepping on the tails or paws of other sleeping apprentices. "Psst, Ashpaw." He nudged the she-cat. "Wake up, it's time to get ready to visit the moonstone." He left the den and returned to the herb bundles, eating his own. Once he saw Ashpaw he pushed the stack of herbs toward her with a weak smile. "Eat these, they're travelling herbs to help you on your journey. Be warned, they're quite bitter." After Ashpaw had eaten the herbs, he walked alongside her to the camp entrance, beginning to make small conversation.

---

With a troubled expression he gazed into Mothermouth's depths, the guilt becoming worse now that he was here. Throughout the whole journey he had managed to keep his emotions under control, but his doubts grew much worse the moment Highstones came into view. Glancing over at Ashpaw, he made himself acknowledge that today wasn't about him, it was about her. Swallowing the feelings that were desperately trying to make their presence known, he began to go over the instructions he gave to every apprentice. "Um... When we enter the tunnels, stay close to me, okay? I don't want you getting lost. When we reach the moonstone touch your nose to it and close your eyes. You'll wake up in Starclan." His hesitance obvious, he forced himself to enter the tunnels, the silence that filled the air being more ominous to him than usual. Eventually the moonstone came into view and he increased his pace, not slowing down again until they entered the cavern. Like he usually did, he took a spot on the edge of the cavern, sitting down and watching over the apprentice as she touched her nose to the stone.

Ashpaw woke suddenly from her sleep when Smallbean nudged her, eyes opening fast in surprise. Once she realized that it was just Smallbean, she gave a slow nod and got to her paws. After extracting herself from the apprentice nests, she made her way over to the Medicine Den. Glancing down at the herbs that had been pushed her way, she quickly pawed them closer. "Well, gotta take them well they're bitter or not I guess," she mused, almost to herself. With that she licked up the herbs, nose scrunching due to the taste. They were bitter. Shortly after, she followed Smallbean out of camp, tail flicking in quiet anxiety.

---

Much of her trip was spent in silence, which meant that Ashpaw's gaze traveled over the landscape, taking in the new sights as she approached the Hoonstones along with Smallbean. Though once Smallbean began talking, she recognized a hesitance in his tone, and looking over she saw that same hesitance in his face. She swallowed dryly in some sort of worry, but kept her face impassive as she listened to his explanation. "Stay close, touch the moonstone, wake up in Starclan. Got it." She repeated this back, mostly to alleviate her own worries, and slowly padded in after Smallbean. It was quiet, almost more quiet than felt natural. Ashpaw glanced around at the tunnels, remembering her first experience in the tunnels on Windclan territory, though these felt larger, more stable, than the ones in their own territory. Still, the thought of dirt all around bothered her, and she increased her pace. Soon, she saw the moonstone itself, and it looked quite amazing. She gave a short glance to where Smallbean had situated himself, and slowly padded towards the moonstone, laying herself down near it. Well...alright then...lets see what Starclan has for me. That was her final thought as she leaned her head towards the stone, her nose making contact with the cool stone. She laid there silently for a moment, before falling into the slumber that would take her to Starclan.

As the world around the apprentice fell away and gave way to a field of starlight, Copperfox descended from the glittering diamonds above her. He gently approached, knowing that it was a bit of a shock the first time a cat made contact with Starclan. He leaned his nose down to her and gently rested it on the top of her head. "Wake up, Ashpaw." He whispered softly before backing off to give her space. The shimmering copper-furred warrior sat down and wrapped his fluffy, star-laden tail around his paws. "I'm so happy I finally get to speak to you. I've been watching you. You have a heart of gold, my niece."

Ashpaw awoke in the land of stars similar to how she had woken when Smallbean had gotten her up, suddenly. Her eyes snapped open to an unfamiliar field of stars, and to an unfamiliar cat in front of her. Getting to her paws, she glanced around before sitting down herself. This place is really something, she thought as her gaze finally settled on the copper-furred cat in front. Ashpaw listened to him silently, eyes widening at the realization that he was her kin. "You...you're my uncle? Unless Sunnyskip never told me about you, you're my dad's brother!" With questions swimming in her mind, she spoke once again. "Sorry, what's your name? I guess you already know mine." Her tail tip twitched as she waited for a response, paws working the starry grass beneath her.

"I'm Copperfox." He answered her simply, deciding for now to leave out the fact that he was a Skyclan cat. She had already discovered how he was related to her. She was smart, but he already knew that. "I passed away peacefully in my nest one night. I suppose I am lucky that I didn't experience the harsher deaths that some cats endure." Well, that was getting dark... time to change the subject again. "I wanted to visit you because... well I have a feeling you are about to go through some unexpected difficulties, as one does in life. There are going to be times when you may call into question what is right and what is wrong... I want you to remember to stick to the code with all of your might. There are cats in the world that do not like the warrior code, and even resent Starclan. It would break my heart if you turned into one of them." There was pain behind his words. Dawnhawk was such a cat... though this poor thing knew him as "Nightwind". Though probably not for much longer.

"Starclan watches over all of the clans... and you will have times where you doubt our love for you. I want to tell you that doubt is normal and it doesn't make you a bad cat. I promise you Ashpaw... we love you. I especially love you. If you need to take the time to be angry at us, then be angry. It's alright. But please don't abandon the code no matter where life takes you. It's been put in place for the good of all, and the good of the clans." Maybe she wouldn't understand all of this yet, but she would in time, and now was the only time he may be able to speak to her in a very long while. He gave her an encouraging smile before he softly continued.

"Do you have any questions for me?"

Ashpaw listened silently, simply taking in Copperfox's words. She did not comment on how Copperfox had died. While she knew that passing away in one's sleep was common for elders, it was less common for warriors, which is why she didn't comment. It was not worth asking details, because there was a good chance not even Copperfox would know why. When the starry warrior began speaking of future difficulties, however, she started forming questions. Ashpaw could hear the pain in his words, and that worried her. The fact that she couldn't tell why he was warning her of these things, worried her more. When he stopped talking, she took a moment, looking down at her paws before glancing back up. "Why?" She asked this quietly, before quickly elaborating. "Why are you telling me all of this? Is there going to be someone who breaks the code? I don't want anyone hurting my clan or my family. I won't let anyone hurt them." She got to her paws, pacing around for a moment before sitting again, more composed than before, and with a more thoughtful expression Ashpaw continued, "You probably can't answer that can you, Starclan sees everything and usually doesn't just give us information. I do have one question you can probably answer though. I thought my dad was a loner before joining Windclan. If you're his brother, why are you here? Were you a rogue who joined with a clan too?" Ashpaw knew at this point she would be leaving this place with a lot more questions than answers, but maybe she could get a little bit of understanding. Things were starting to not add up, and she wanted to the bottom of it.

There were certain rules that Starclan had in place for revealing too much, and Copperfox knew he was likely very close to crossing that line. Still, Ashpaw had figured out a few things on her own. Now she was asking him a simple question... one that he felt he could answer truthfully. "I am one hundred percent Skyclan. My father is a Skyclan cat and so is my mother. Both are still alive." And he would say no more on that. He wouldn't have to. "I have a sister named Ashstorm as well." No more details needed, he didn't think. She'd probably make the connection just from that, and her name, that Ashstorm and Dawnhawk had been close.

"Don't lose your good heart, Ashpaw. The forest needs more like it."

Ashpaw's jaw tightened as she carefully listened to her uncle's explanation. "If you're completely Skyclan...that would mean..." Her words trailed off as realization hit her. That, but that would mean he lied to Windclan? Why would dad lie there's no reason! It makes no sense! In Ashpaw's heart of hearts though, she realized what this could mean. The horrid glimmer of a possibility that she could now see, and it scared her. A heavy sigh escaped her as she sat before her kin, suddenly looking very tired. "I...have some things to think about. Thank you. I don't mean to seem like I don't care about you or the information you've given me. It was a privilege to see kin that I would have likely never known about otherwise, thank you. Now I know that I, and Ryepaw, have more kin out there." She was quiet for a moment more, before continuing, quieter, "I'll try. I'll try to believe in Starclan, and the code, as hard as I can. I'll try not to lose my good heart. I'll do my best for the kin that I know exist, and the kin that I may never meet." Ashpaw dipped her head in gratitude to Copperfox, giving him a small smile. "I'm glad to have met you, Copperfox of Skyclan, I hope we meet again someday." Her blue eyes, similar to those of her father, glimmered with the reflection of the starry field, her curiosity replaced by realization, and the weight which was the price of knowledge.