Myrtleturtle's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

Skyclan may've been overrun before, but these undead warriors were far more terrifying than any pelt-wearing Asylum cat. Muddythorn was constantly on edge, and tonight he might just confirm his biggest fear. That Morningstar was right, and Starclan was truly dead. Hopefully they would be able to reach them without going to the moonstone - it had been done again, and they could do it once more.

"Myrtleturtle?" He nudged the warrior awake, although he wouldn't be one for much longer. "Can you come to my den please? It's about that... bellyache you had." He wasn't sure if the lying was necessary, but it was what they'd done with Asylum. Better to be safe than sorry. On the apprentice front, Primroselight had most certainly been right that he shouldn't wait too long, and at last he'd found the security and confidence within being a medicine cat himself to consider training the next.

He lead Myrtleturtle into his den, and took a seat on the floor in front of him. "I'm sorry this couldn't happen at the moonstone like it's supposed to, but hopefully it will be similar regardless." At least that would be made up with by countless journeys there, when things got back to normal that was. Because they would, they always did. And if they didn't, then the definition of normal just changed, like it always did.

"Are you definitely sure about this? I know Beechfang wasn't a willing medicine cat, and I'd hate to put you in the same situation."

Constantly on edge.

That was the lightest way to put how Myrtleturtle now felt. He had only just become a warrior, and it felt like everything had changed around him in an instant. The tom had firmly believed things couldn't get much worse for him, and yet... they somehow had. StarClan seemed to have abandoned them all, and he felt doomed to serve in a role that had left his heart aching with every action. Ever since he had gone on that herb patrol with Muddythorn, a glimpse of hope had risen within his chest. Finding the herbs had been something he found himself not only good at, but enjoying. Even still, he'd repeat the rhymes back to himself occasionally.

As he felt the paw nudge his shoulder, instantly, he was wide awake. His green eyes searched, only to find Muddythorn, and a small breath of relief released from his chest. Giving the other tom a simple nod, he rose from his nest. Shaking out is fluffy pelt, he trotted faithfully behind the medicine cat. The path to his den was one that he'd become familiar with out of curiosity, but also it was good to know on the off-paw he would need to be checked out. It would seem that would be changing tonight.

Understanding shimmered behind the younger tom's gaze. "Whatever keeps us the safest." He mewed in response, a simple and humble answer. Upon being asked if he was absolutely sure, a look of peace that hadn't been upon his maw in moons surfaced. "I hate being a warrior... when I went to the moonstone, they said... if I can't be a warrior... I should find another path." He began, hunching with slight guilt for not conferring with Muddythorn sooner. "This is the other path. I don't want to fight, I want to heal and help." Myrtleturtle concluded, his young voice almost sounding like an exhausted plea. "I would be honored to train as your apprentice."

Muddythorn had never seen so much of himself in another cat. Every word that came out of Myrtleturtle's mouth was one that he himself would've said as a warrior. It was clear that that life, although suited to many, was not for everyone. "Then I'll do everything in my power to train you so that you can help like you want to. And you'll be good at it as well, I can already tell."

Maybe the tom could've come to him sooner, but the fact that this was happening now was enough. It would definitely be nice to have some company. And so he started the words of the ceremony, staying as close to what Beechfang had said to him as he could remember. "Myrtleturtle, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat apprentice?"

Please Starclan, hear me. Even if we can't reach you tonight, I'll find a way.

A smile formed upon the tom's maw at Muddythorn's response. He felt the excitement of a kit rippling underneath his pelt - was this the excitement he should have felt when becoming a warrior? He knew he had felt it just before becoming a normal apprentice, but that was before he had known what all it entailed. Giving a bit of a bashful purr, Myrtleturtle stood straighter as the ceremonial words began to be said.

"It is." He confirmed, without any doubt. His wish was to join the legacy that the medicine cats before him had left behind, that the legacy Muddythorn was creating. There was no going back now, but Myrtleturtle didn't want to go back. It was comforting to him to be surrounded by the overwhelming scent of all the herbs, and he didn't want to leave.

Muddythorn gave the other cat a comforting smile before continuing with the ceremony. At least this was a lot less nerve wracking than performing it in front of the whole clan. "Ancestors of Starclan, I present to you this warrior, who wishes to choose the path of a medicine cat. Please grant him your wisdom and guidance so that he may understand the ways of the stars and serve his clan for many moons to come." He knew he wasn't exact, but surely it would be close enough.

With no moonstone to dream beside, Muddythorn flicked his tail towards one of the nests usually used for patients, which thankfully was empty. "Lie down there, and may Starclan reach you in your dreams, no matter where you are."

One ear was on a consistent swivel as Muddythorn continued his ceremony, out of fear on the case they would be heard. He remembered their threats if they so much as mentioned StarClan, and didn't particularly want to take any chances. Thankfully, they were safe. His head was dipped out of respect as well, hoping he'd feel something as a sign that their ancestors were out there. The young tom could only imagine how it felt to be Muddythorn, who had been used to having the guidance of the stars.

Dipping his head towards Muddythorn, he kept quiet, reverent as he curled up within one of the nests. Thankfully, sleep still felt as if it would come to him naturally. Closing his eyes, he felt he would be approached with something. At least, that was what he anticipated.

Instinctively, he knew that his conscious was attempting to connect with his ancestors. His eyes opened, but what he was met with send a chill down his spine like no other. What the young tom was met with was... emptiness. There was no warmth, only a cold that felt lifeless. No subconscious feeling of being amongst Starclan, but the abyss of being stuck... elsewhere. Panic charged at the tom's mind as he seemed to run in no direction in particular around the blackness, a desperation to his steps.

"Starclan?" The tom called out, his voice both echoing and being absorbed by the abyss he was within all at once. Something within him broke, and he felt... defeated. "Has StarClan rejected me?" He thought with fear. Part of him didn't want to accept what Morningstar or the other dark forest cats had said, but part of him felt like he had to... for his own mental sanity.

The tom woke back up, and slowly, he rose to his paws. A look of dejection, of distance, covered upon the tom's face. Fear also hid behind it, and part of him had to choke back a few tears. "They... weren't... there..." He slowly said, his ears pinning back towards his head. "Have... they really abandoned us?" He questioned softly to Muddythorn. "Did they reject me?"

Muddythorn turned his back as Myrtleturtle settled down, hoping to be busy for a while with various sorting, since that was all he ever did these days. No matter how soothing he found it, it could still get boring sometimes. However, much to his disappointment, his new apprentice woke much faster than normal. "Is everything alright?" He'd met his fair share of cats who didn't get on with certain Starclan cats, clearly Beechfang, but more recently Lionpaw.

The medicine cat was about to start addressing the young tom's doubts, but first waited for him to finish. "Rejected you? No, no. Starclan would never turn down an apprentice as willing and with as much potential as you do. The matter is much bigger than that. Maybe not abandoned, just... struggling to reach us. It's happened before, quite a while ago now. But they'll return in time - I refuse to believe that Dawnhawk could kill a force this powerful, no matter what he says."