Driftpaw's Moonstone Journey

A white and gray shape yawned widely, and Driftpaw raised his head to blink blearily up at Muddythorn. "Hmm...? Whassat? Moonstone...? Oh, right," he mumbled, getting slowly to his paws. Newtspring had informed him a couple sunrises prior that he was ready to make the journey, so today was apparently the day. A rumble of excitement sparked in his chest and he gave his fur a hearty shake. He prodded the bundle of herbs at his paws, humming softly. "These fer me?"

Driftpaw leaned down and sniffed at the bundle. It didn't smell that bad...but when he lapped it up into his mouth, the taste was far worse. Trying his best not to gag, he hurriedly swallowed the bundle, a violent shudder of disgust running down his frame. "Moon an' stars...A-Alright, I'm ready now."

Driftpaw braced himself against the biting cold, his pawpads already tingling from the snow on the ground. Yawning, he padded along after Muddythorn, casting tired glances around at the territory as they walked. There was a long journey ahead of them, but he was sure it would be well worth the trouble.

Muddythorn asked him a question, and he flicked an ear thoughtfully. "'M alright, training's going well. Newtspring is great, he's like...I dunno, he's like a big brother more than a mentor, y'know? I hope I can spend more time with 'im once I become a warrior. What about you, how's medicine-ing goin'? Is it hard without Beechface--uh, I mean, Beechpaw?"

Driftpaw nodded slowly in agreement, listening carefully to the medicine cat. An amused purr rumbled from his chest; paws falling off felt pretty accurate at the moment. He realized he was slipping behind and pushed his legs harder to catch up, his breath forming in clouds in front of his nose as he panted in the cold air. "An apprentice, huh? Sounds hard. 'M sure you'll do a good job though, whenever you get one. I hope I do a good job when I get an apprentice, like Newtspring did with me. I dunno how good I'll be at actually teaching, though. But I'm glad you're doin' fine."

He fell silent after that, simply admiring the different views as the pair crossed over the different territories on their way to Highstones. If he could make this long journey in the snow, Driftpaw felt as if, perhaps, he could do anything.

Finally, much to Driftpaw's relief, they made it to Highstones. It took the plump apprentice some effort to make it up the slippery slope, but he reached the top, his heart thundering in his chest. This was it, he was about to meet with StarClan. Driftpaw held his tongue, listening carefully to Muddythorn's instructions. "Gotcha. I'm ready."

The pair dipped into the dark tunnel, and no matter how hard he tried, his eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness. Muddythorn wasn't lying, it really was dark. They padded through the tunnel in what felt like forever, eventually coming upon a lit cavern. Blinking the stars in his eyes away from the sudden light, Driftpaw opened them again with a gasp. The Moonstone stood before him, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears now as his paws carried him forward. Slowly, reverently, he laid down beside it, tucking his paws under his frame to keep them warm. He stared hard into the stone for a moment, a shimmer of his own face staring back at him. Who would he meet? What would they tell him?

A compulsion told him to touch the stone. Driftpaw leaned forward and touched it with his nose, closing his eyes. Nothing happened for a moment, then his paws dropped out from under him. He was floating, weightless, and then his paws touched solid ground again. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in SkyClan's forest, alone. Was...this it? He looked around expectantly, quiet, afraid that if he spoke, he would somehow scare StarClan away.