Orchidpaw's Moonstone Journey

Beechface silently put together two bundles of traveling herbs, then glanced towards Muddythorn. She was half-tempted to just wake him and have him bring the apprentice to the moonstone, but she'd already been laying awake for what felt like hours, and making him do it wouldn't mean she'd go back to sleep anytime soon, so with a reluctant sigh, the medicine cat trudged across camp and ducked beneath the entrance to the apprentice den, eye searching the gloom for the apprentice in question. If Orchidpaw was like Beechface, she wouldn't enjoy getting up quite this early.

"Orchidpaw," Beechface called into the den, then stepped back once she was sure the apprentice was stirring and awake. She sat outside the apprentice den, and quickly ate her portion of the traveling herbs. She'd eaten them enough times now that she hardly noticed the bitter, sour taste they held.

"Eat these, they'll give you strength and keep you from getting hungry or thirsty on the way." She nudged the herbs in Orchidpaw's direction. "They're bitter. Nothing to be done about the taste." She warned. Beechface had tried to sweeten the herbs using honey and heather nectar before, but according to those she'd tried it with, they had done little to help. All she could do was warn the apprentices and let them drink from the creek outside camp, to get rid of the taste.

Once the apprentice had eaten the herbs, Beechface turned and led the way out of camp. She would stop and let her drink from the creek, and then pressed on. Skyclan's territory was the farthest from the moonstone, and making the trek to and from was a miserable two-day affair. That meant walking, and walking fast.

---

The pair reached highstones at sundown, and Beechface allowed Orchidpaw a few moments to rest before turning towards the entrance of mothermouth. She would have rather been anywhere else, but like back in camp, but she'd come this far already. "Stay close, the tunnels are narrow and you won't be able to see much. When we get to the moonstone, touch your nose to it and lay down." The words were said more out of habit than anything, and once Orchidpaw confirmed she was ready, Beechface turned and led her into the tight, narrow tunnels. It would take a bit of walking before the path ahead began to lighten ever-so-slightly, allowing the apprentice behind her to see the faint outline of Beechface's head. After that it wasn't long before they finally rounded the corner to enter the moonstone's chamber proper, and Beechface stepped aside to let Orchidpaw pass. The stone glittered brightly in the light of the moon, visible through a small hole in the ceiling, but to Beechface that's all it was; a stone. Maybe the apprentice would find it to be something more useful than an inanimate rock.

Orchidpaw's blue eyes opened to the sound of her name being called, though she hadn't really been asleep in the first place.  After having been notified that she would be going on her pilgrimage to the Moonstone the previous night the young colorpoint tabby had found true sleep hard to come by.  Every muscle in her body was tensed with excitement, though not really for the journey itself but for what it would lead to.  If she was honest, she didn't really have any strong feelings about StarClan or their place in her life.  Maybe it was her rouge origins talking, but she felt strong and intelligent enough to solve her own problems, she didn't crave approval from the spirits above.  However, seeing them would be an interesting experience at least, and with curiosity linger in her mind she climbed from her nest and emerged into the pale dawn light.

She was a bit surprised to see Beechface waiting there for her rather than Muddythorn, but she didn't mind.  They were both important members of authority despite Beechface's reputation, and she would treat them as such.  Nodding a respectful greeting, the large apprentice quickly swallowed the mixture of herbs set before her, only wrinkling her nose a bit at the flavor before they were gone, merely a memory.  Meeting the scarred medicine cat's gaze, Orchidpaw waited for her to lead the way out of camp and she followed quietly, preparing herself for the long walk ahead.

---

The setting sun now received her as the duo of SkyClan cats finally reached their destination, and Orchidpaw allowed herself to lay down and rest, stretching out her aching legs and back.  It wasn't too long though before Beechface summoned her, and following the older she-cat's instructions she walked closely behind her as they entered the dark tunnel.  Orchidpaw wasn't a fan of the dark, but she wouldn't call herself scared of it either; however, the sucking darkness of the long tunnels made her heart race, and she found herself reaching out around her with a tail or spare paw to just made such that she wasn't just wading through pitch-black water.  She didn't like it, but she kept following Beechface until a light finally blossomed ahead of them, a light brighter than she had ever seen.  Squinting her eyes, Orchidpaw emerged from the tunnel into a wide cave that held a crystal in its center, illuminated by moonlight.  It was quite beautiful, she might even say awe-inspiring, but the she-cat's mouth remained closed and she stepped forward without pomp to lay beside the cold stone.  Touching her nose to it's surface, she closed her eyes and soon drifted into deep, strangely strong unconsciousness.

When next her eyes opened, the world glittered.  Laying at the base of a tall star-studded tree, Orchidpaw slowly got to her paws and looked around, taking in the environment with wide eyes.  This is...StarClan?  The place clan cats go when they die?  Like the Moonstone it gave off an ethereal aura which was almost too grand and out-of-touch for her liking, nothing like real life.  Though she would never say it out loud, she preferred the natural appearance of the waking world.  Ears flicking, she gazed around and waited.  Isn't someone supposed to speak to me?  Some grand hero to give me advice?  As if the thought had summoned them, Orchidpaw heard the rustling of paws against leaf-litter, and turned to face whoever was about to reveal themselves.

As the soft sound of rustling leaves spoke of a new arrival, a black and white pelt quickly appeared. The tom's pelt was short and seemed like it would be velvet to the touch. Across his fur were many long-healed wounds, telling of the vibrant and arduous life that he'd lived. Of the many pink-tinged markings, the ones across his face and maw were the most noticeable; but, underneath them, he wore a warm and welcoming smile.

Settling back on his haunches, the former Skyclan leader greeted her with a meow, "Welcome to Starclan, Orchidpaw. My name is Rippedstar. I was a former leader of Skyclan, many moons ago." His tail flickered slightly as if to beckon her forward, "Tell me, young one, what is it that you have come here seeking."

As Orchidpaw's icy eyes locked onto the approaching StarClan cat, she only grew more curious than she had been before; by all means, the tom before her looked like a regular cat that you could find anywhere in the living world...but his fur glittered with stardust.  He looked wise, as if all the secrets of the world lay within his reach and understanding, but that wasn't what made her so intrigued.  Orchidpaw returned his greeting with a nod, taken aback slightly by the fact that he had been a leader in life.  Rippedstar...it sounds familiar.  Perhaps I overheard an elder's tale about him.  She didn't react to his beckoning, instead taking a seat a comfortable distance away from the leader, but she did give an answer to his question, despite it being much more...blunt than she would usually speak.

 "Seeking?  A warrior name, mostly.  These trips are a formality for me to attain one.  However, now that I'm here I can't help but be a little curious.  Tell me, Rippedstar, what does a cat have to do to end up in a grandiose place such as this?  Is it heroics?  Hard work?  Status?  Perhaps the names that embellish your genetics?  If so, I'm afraid I don't have any names to give."  It felt odd, to spill her true feelings and emotions out to some long-dead cat, but if anyone was going to have advice for her life it would be him.  She paused for a long moment before going on, casting her perplexed gaze out towards the treetops beyond.  

"Since the day I first stepped out of the nursery, I knew that all I wanted was to be useful to SkyClan, for the sake of my mother and siblings.  I don't want or need any fancy roles or titles, I wouldn't be fit for them, all I want is to serve my clanmates and have my contributions recognized.  When I see cats like Dawnfeather though,  living out their lives without a care in the world, content in the knowledge that their family history keeps them in a stable place...I can't help but be a bit jealous.  If I slip up or get lazy, what's stopping Bloodstar from tossing me out as quickly as Wolfstar let my family in?  Some of my siblings tell me I'm being too serious, paranoid even, and maybe it's true...but I'm not going to be the one to let my guard down and ruin everything for us all.  Mama doesn't talk much about her past, but I can tell that it's hard out there beyond the clans.  I don't want to live that life."  

She didn't know exactly where she was going with this conversation, and as she ran out of words all she could do was gaze solemnly at Rippedstar.  He probably wouldn't understand her plight, he was a leader after all, but if StarClan had chosen to send him to her for a reason she might as well lay it all out on the line.  Allow her mask to slip off, even if just for a little while.

The black and white tom didn't react to the way she sat some distance away, regarding her curiously. Her questions were thoughtful and caused him to pause for a moment. It was unusual for a cat with such a straightforward goal such as rising through the ranks to pry about such things but he was more than obliged to answer in the best way he could think of. After a beat, the former leader parted his maw, "Cats say many different things when it comes to the matter of afterlife. But I think fate is something that even those who dwell among the stars can never truly answers. I like to think it is a matter of faith, something that you decide."

Rippedstar's piercing, deep blue gaze met hers evenly. He saw drive in the icy depths, underneath that a fear. Such a thing was a hazardous mix, but it also had the potential to make her a wonderful warrior. His tail flickered, reminiscing on the many young cats who had trained underneath him, and how he too had once indulged in a similar worry. Skyclan could have thrown him out as quickly as Crowstar accepted him. Stars knew that some of his clanmates had tried for some time. The tom found that his head had dipped ever so slightly as his mind had become plagued with thought.

"I know your fear better than you might think, Orchidpaw. I was born in Windclan, to warriors whose lives were lost before I could ever follow after them on a patrol. My birthclan was plagued with war at the time, a deputy whose temper was as wild as a storm at times. When I was still an apprentice, we fought to protect him. Cats were injured as Riverclan overtook our sanctuary." The memory was still fresh, all these seasons later, lifetimes later. Rippedstar sighed, whiskers twitching in response, "My mentor had passed and I was lost as a kit on the moors. Who knows if leaving was the right thing, but it lead me to Skyclan."

As he spoke, the scars on his face stretched, twisting with each movement of his maw. It was as if he remembered how he looked, finding it amid his own story, "These scars that you see were inflicted by a Skyclan cat - a clanmate, who sought to drive me from my new clan. It took quite some time before the trees felt like home." There was no telling if the babbling story of an old leader would mean anything to her, but Rippedstar would tell it, and let her find the rest, "There will be challenges, Orchidpaw, the road is never easy. For some time I was worried that I would end up living a life outside the clans, but if you square your shoulders and keep your head up, do what your heart thinks is best... I believe you'll have nothing to worry about."

Orchidpaw listened to the leader's story with an unreadable face, taking it all in as it came in surprising waves that lapped at the very heart of her deep-rooted worries. This tom was very similar to her, though she might even say his situation must've been even harder to overcome. Switching clans was very different from joining one, there were so many delicate webstrands of tension and diplomacy to weave through that she couldn't even imagine the stress itself being worth it, but one look at the aged black and white tom told her that he had overcome the struggles and became great, just like she wanted to do someday. It wasn't often she looked upon cats with such admiration, but in this moment the she-cat's eyes shone like precious jewels, but she caught herself quickly. Without any elaborate explanation, Orchidpaw simply dipped her head and blinked up at Rippedstar, the very hint of a smile on her face. "Thank you for sharing your story, I will take your advice to heart." That seemed to trigger the end of the dream, as she only had enough time to wave goodbye before she awoke beside the cold stone, ready to return home.