Nightpaw's Moonstone Journey

In the limbo between her siblings earning their rank, Birdchaser stepped up to take the responsibilities that would soon be theirs. She was hesitant about it, praying silently that her paws would remember the path to Highstones. She'd only made the trek once– twice, if she counted the walk home –and hopefully that would be enough to guide her memory. The bitter herbs she was supposed to give were no better than she suspected the journey would go, a messy pile of leaves more than anything, but it was... something. Ducking into the apprentice's den with the dawn sun behind her, Birdchaser found Nightpaw and gave him a rough nudge with a paw, dropping the pile of leaves before him. "I'm taking you on your Moonstone today. Hope you don't mind walking. Eat these." With that, she backed out to wait for his arrival.


Somehow, the two of them had made it to Highstones in one piece. A little exhausted, but they hadn't gotten lost or swallowed by dogs, so Birdchaser would count that as a win. Hovering in front of Mothermouth, she faced the apprentice and mewed, "Uh... try and follow me through the tunnels. Don't get lost or knock your head on anything. It's dark and cramped down there." In the same unceremonious fashion as she summoned him, she ducked into the cavern. The tunnels twisted out before her, but the grooves of ancient pawsteps lead them to the glowing stone. Another thing to be more than grateful for. "Okay. Lay down, touch your nose to it, and... well, hopefully StarClan finds you. I'll still be here when you're done."

Nightpaw had recently been taking the liberty to get an extra wink of sleep when he could. Though Crimsonflame’s departure was brief, he’d slipped into an almost-routine like state, but none of which included getting up particularly early. Birdchaser’s rough poke in the ribs was unwelcome, and he responded with a groan. What she said next, though, excited the curious young tom. He scrambled to his paws and took the herbs all in one go, almost inhaling them. It helped with the bitter taste, at least.

—

Soon enough, the duo had made it to the sacred mountain, and though the mothermouth was daunting, he found himself giddy at the thought of venturing in. So, as soon as Birdchaser began their winding path through, he followed right after. When they did finally arrive, he furrowed his brow in a bit of confusion. ”Hopefully?” Shaking his head, he settled down along the grooves of the stone and gently touched his nose to it, falling into a deep sleep. When he awoke, he found himself sitting next to an almost parallel version of the moonlit creek that he knew from life… Except this one was scattered with dazzling stars all around. He looked around in awe, searching for the supposed StarClan cat that was supposed to find him.

Newtspring had been waiting at the creek for quite some time before Nightpaw had appeared. He'd been expecting this visit, had watched these apprentices closely, had acted almost kittishly giddy at the chance to speak with one of them. Now the apprentice was here, and the mottled tabby kept himself low, pacing through the grasses in an effort not to be seen. Once he'd circled around the littler tom, Newtspring pounced forward, playfully bowling him over and nearly rolling them both into the starry stream. "Hiya, li'l brother. I know 'M s'pposed to have a li'l more composure'n this, but... well, what can I say, jus' got excited. Never thought I'd have a brother, or more siblin's at all." He was grinning like a fox when he he hopped off of Nightpaw's shoulders, prancing in a half-circle before finally settling down on his haunches to listen.