Batpaw's Moonstone Journey

It was time for Batpaw's Moonstone journey, as she was told by Nightstar. The sun was warming the camp now, and the apprentice and Burdockroot should leave shortly. Lumbering her form over to the apprentice's den, she spotted the apprentice for today's trip. Not really caring if she woke anyone else, she only merely avoided stepping on paws and tails before standing above the sleeping form. Nudging him with her paw, the medicine cat flicked her tail. "Come. Moonstone." Burdockroot said flatly before retracing her steps back to the medicine cat den. A pile of herbs lay there for the apprentice.

When she was finally joined by the soon-to-be warrior, she nudged the small pile forward with her paws. "Eat. Yes, it's gross. You don't need to tell me." She flicked her tail and glanced towards the sun.

After his sister Moondancer had become a warrior, the dreaded day was finally here. He'd hoped it wouldn't have come so soon. He groaned, getting to his paws and following the medicine cat silently who barked orders at him shortly after reaching her den. Batpaw took the herbs and chewed, forcing himself to swallow them. She was right. They were bitter.

Since it was obvious where they'd be going, he silently stared back at Burdockroot, almost stalling, waiting for her to lead the way.

"Let's go." Burdockroot said, eyeing the apprentice before turning and stalking out of camp. Her badger pelt was left behind, so her mottled fur was left to bounce with every step. The trip was much like the others, uneventful and quiet. Burdockroot didn't speak unless spoken to, and if she was, it was quick replies with no context. The journey would eventually end, and the apprentice and medicine cat found themselves at the entrance of the cave.

"Follow my tail. It's dark." Plunging into the darkness, Burdockroot didn't hesitate and followed her paws through the winding cave. At this point, it was sheer habit. Eventually, they emerged into the large cave, where the Moonstone had just started to shine.

"Lay down and touch your nose to it. Wake me when you wake up." With another yawn, the mottled cat walked to her usual spot and plopped down, curling into a ball with her tail over her nose. She kept her mismatched eyes open to make sure Batpaw did as he was told.

Batpaw was glad Burdockroot never spoke a word to him during their long journey back to Highstones, the place he was born. He didn't think he'd even have enough energy to fake the interaction. The only words spoken eventually were orders for him to touch his nose against the odd rock that swirled with stars. It was pretty... But it would be an improvement if he could see his reflection in it.

On Burdockroots command, he nestled down and tapped his nose against the icey surface, immediately drifting off.

Originally a WindClanner and then a kittypet, Kindle, sat with her family among the stars. Her blue-grey pelt shimmered among the stars as they all laid together on a moorland hill, and she let out a sigh of contentment. She'd lived an interesting life with many ups and downs, but now that they were all together life was good. No worries in the world, no battles, no fear or strife; just being together for the rest of eternity.

About to close her eyes and take a nap, she noticed a figure begin to appear in the distance. Focusing her gaze, she watched as the dark shape took form and it seemed to be an apprentice, or so she guessed. The young tom's dark pelt didn't shimmer with sparkling stars like those of deceased cats that had died and come to join the stars, which meant he was probably just visiting. Standing up and stretching out her paws in front of her, she gave her short pelt a shake which sent specks of stardust falling back onto the misty ground below. Well, since none of her family currently seemed too keen on greeting the cat, she supposed she'd better say hello.

"Hey there," Kindle mewed as she made her way over to the stranger, her long legs gracefully stepping through the tall grass. "Here for your Moonstone journey?" she asked with a tilt of her head, slowing her pace and stopping in front of the tom.

There was something about this scene that made Batpaw, for once in his life, feel at home. Maybe it was lack of mud and swamp water, but he enjoyed the soft breeze through his diluted calico fur. He smiled to himself. He could get used to something like this. It didn't match his beauty, but it sure did compliment it.

The blissfully soft whoosing of wind was cut short, however, when a long-legged she-cat joined him. Her pelt was dusted in a light coating of stars, so he figured this was who StarClan sent to him. A huge part of him wished they wouldn't show so he wouldn't have to be a warrior. He rolled his eyes before turning around to face her. "You really didn't have to show up."

But Cicadapaw was probably right. If he grew stronger, he would be far more beautiful than he was right now. But... He was here to ask questions. Questions the living would berate him for. "Is there more to life than just the forest?" The missing cats had spoken of their time in Twoleg dens. And to be honest? None of it sounded bad at all.

'Well hello to you too,' she thought to herself at the dark pelted tom’s initial remark, but pushed away her sharp thoughts. Not all cats were the same, for example her brother Rye, and she knew it wasn’t her place to judge. Lots had been going on in the forests below, but she hadn’t been particularly watching down on this cat and who knows what he was going through. Maybe he was just having a bad day, or something of the sorts.

The young tom’s question wasn’t a particularly normal question that apprentice’s usually asked, but she supposed it was a good thing that she had approached him, as she had such experience. It certainly wasn’t her place to say things that would persuade him to leave his clan, but she wasn’t about to lie to him. He was here to learn things, after all.

"First off, I’m not here to tell you to leave your clan. Got it?" she began, her tone stern as she met his gaze, her long grey tail swishing back and forth gracefully. "But yes, there’s more than what you've only known," she sighed, wondering where to begin. "After I was exiled I wondered where to go; what to do with my life. They say that Twolegs are evil and yeah some of them are, but not all of them. My mate introduced me to his and it was definitely an adjustment, but honestly…" she paused, reminiscing of the past. In the moment being exiled was the absolute worst, but now she was so ever thankful that she’d found Flame and been able to live peacefully and safely with her family. Not to mention the fact that Flame had been able to join her in StarClan; that was a true miracle. "It wasn’t all that bad," she finished, trying to keep her answer as vague as possible, praying she hadn’t already said too much. Hopefully, he wouldn’t ask any further questions about the matter. She’d gotten in enough trouble in her lifetime and while she’d made it here, she still didn’t want to somehow anger StarClan with how touchy they could be.