Cricketpaw's Moonstone Journey

"Cricketpaw? It's time to go." Muddythorn called out quietly.

He was taking another apprentice to the moonstone, which was good, especially since the clan had so many recently. Then again, speaking with Starclan didn't mean a guaranteed warriorhood, but often it meant they were nearing the end of their training. Just like many of the cats who shared a den with his old mentor, Muddythorn didn't know Cricketpaw well, but the long journey to highstones was a sure way to change that. It was lucky the tom was so amiable, as the clan had its fair share of over-excited apprentices.

"Here are your herbs, so you won't get hungry or tired as quickly." He explained, pushing the bundle towards the apprentice as he emerged from his den. Already having eaten his own, he waited patiently as his companion gulped them down.

"Alright, Muddythorn." There was too much enthusiasm budding in his pads to protest the sharp scent of the herbs. Cricketpaw found the taste to be as unpleasant as it smelled but he hardly thought about it, gulping down the bitter foliage in a flash. And then the tom was to his paws.

A fair bit of time has passed and he was a head taller than he had been when receiving an apprentice name. His pelt was sleeker and his muscles, stronger, leaner - Cricketpaw was on the way to becoming a warrior. He'd grown but mostly in physical appearance. Little had changed about the flighty and energetic tom's personality. Without so much as a thought, he bounded off ahead of Muddythorn, pausing just outside the camp walls as he realized he did not know the direction to highstones.

"Which way? Can we jump through the trees? I love it up there."

It turned out Cricketpaw was yet another extremely excitable apprentice that the clan had many of. Sighing, Muddythorn hurried after the young tom. "You'd know if you hadn't run off! I can't be losing you on another clan's territory, so just try and stay close." And just like Rabbitpaw, the brown tabby wanted to waste all of his precious energy for the journey on climbing trees. It was fun, he did have to admit, but they had more important things to do. After all, he didn't have an endless supply of travelling herbs, no matter how much he wished that he did. "We've still got to get all the way to highstones. Believe me, the trick is longer than it seems." Lucky Muddythorn, the medicine cat of the clan furthest away from mothermouth.

Trying to keep Cricketpaw with all four paws on the ground, he tried to make conversation instead, "So your training clearly's going well! Who's your mentor?" He really needed to start remembering things like this about his clan, whop was apprenticed to who and all that.

"Yes, Muddythorn, sorry." He quickly apologized, ducking his head. It seemed cats were getting on his tail often and he had yet to place exactly why. The strengthening herbs were already working, or it was just his own desire to bolt off. Regardless, Cricketpaw had to work to keep his paws rooted firmly to the ground. Muddythorn didn't seem up for climbing so he shook his pelt out and tried to focus on the path ahead as they headed for the borders and towards highstones. At the question, the young tom perked up slightly, "Dandelionflight but I've gotten to train with Oliverain too. There are so many good warriors in the clan. You think I'm going to be one of them too? "

"Of course, otherwise you wouldn't be coming to the moonstone with me already! You certainly have the energy and enthusiasm for all the work, I can see that much." Muddythorn said. He had once been told enthusiasm was all a cat needed to be a good warrior, that if you put the effort in then you'd do great. The tom had followed this advice very closely, but even then it wasn't enough. He tried, but he had never really enjoyed the warrior life. This was much better - helping cats in other ways, trying to detangle the mess that was Starclan. Frustrating at times, but much more suited to Muddythorn.

The sun was beginning to set as highstones neared, looming peaks casting shadows with what was left of the light. What was once intimidating was now a common sight to the medicine cat, and he led Cricketpaw up the winding slope, towards the infamous cavern. "The tunnel is very dark, so stay close to me. Remember, I'm there leading the way the whole time, and I'm right in front of you." With that, he stepped into the entrance, bathed in darkness. His paws followed the well-trodden path as if it was his own territory, and soon the pair were in the cavern. Sparkling just like always, the moonstone part in the centre in all its grandeur, and Muddythorn said in hushed tones, "Touch your nose to it, and you'll fall asleep quickly. I'll be waiting when you wake up."

Praise from the medicine cat quickly soothed his worries and caused a little smile to cross his maw as they padded along. Cricketpaw was hardly self-conscious but to know another cat thought he would be a good warrior made him feel better.

The rest of the trip seemed to pass by quickly. A gaping cavern mouth stared down at him - it was thrilling and exciting all in one. While a cold chill crept down his spine, the apprentice found his paws energized by the icy climate. He dove down after the medicine cat, following as close as he could despite the impossible darkness.

And then, the blackness was broken by an ethereal glow. But this was real, not a dream. Cricketpaw padded forward per Muddythorn's instruction. A wonderous sigh left his maw as he laid down and touched his nose to the stone. Quickly, he drifted into an easy sleep and when he awake, something even more brilliant than the moonstone greeted him. Starclan was simply stunning.

The late evening sky, an ethereal simmering smudge of silky colors perpetually wreathing against the luscious backdrop of the endlessly unfolding forests, was laden with little specks of twinkling light- some seeming to slip forward from their place within the strange sky, plummeting forward to rain down against the sweet-smelling foliage in a manner similar to that of rain. Thick foliage and undergrowth, rich with life and heavy under the newfound weight of budding bulbs and flowers, trembled softly in the faint breeze that crept through the ghostly forest- bringing with it the taste of all things warm and inviting. For several moments, it seemed as though Cricketpaw was left entirely by his lonesome, with only the gentle tremble of undergrowth whistling softly in playful response to the temporary visitor's sudden appearance among the not-quite-there lands.

A silky flourish of starlight rippled suddenly against the flank of Cricketpaw a strange trembling and warping of the limited light as something seemed to simply... appear out of thin air alongside him. The iridescent flecks of gleaming white light quaked as they hung heavily in the air for a momentary heartbeat, before sharply contracting and pulling inward; the little bits and broken pieces of refractory light gently stitching themselves back into the orderly outline of a cat, warm ruddy reds and beguiling tans bleeding out into the familiar shape of a dusky coat. A slender forepaw reached out to carefully prod the gentle groove between the warped curve of Cricketpaw's ribcage, a playful bid for the attention of the starry-eyed young tom.

"I'd advise against gawking with an open mouth," Elmcloud rumbled out, sharp amber gaze gleaming out from his delicate lines of his face as he rose to his full height, "you'd be surprised to learn that bugs do in fact go to StarClan like the rest of us."