Beyond the Stars [c]

Tired. That was all he seemed to feel as the days dragged on. A heavy sigh escaped the old tom as he huddled into himself for warmth atop the cold rocks of Highstones. If only Silverwing had still been around, he could share the warmth of another pelt still.

His brown eyes scanned his surroundings, landing on a cat plucking plants out of the crevices of pebbles. Odd behaviour. This must have been one of those clan cats."Who goes there?"

Batsong was so busy picking herbs that she hadnt even noticed the older tom sitting nearby until he spoke up.

She glanced over tilting her head in curiosity. She scented the air and he smelled alot like the place that Whisperear had been taken to. Was this a missing clan cat from a clan perhaps a lost elder?

She purred softly showing she meant no harm at all.


"h-hello, I-m batsong, the medicne cat from windclan she introduced herself as she went over to his side. hmm she wondered if any herbs might be useful for him... maybe something for his old joints if they were sore.

"hmm what has y-you s-so far out here? A-are you lost? hmmm may-maybe you are looking for th-the moonstone?" she ventured a guess as to why an elder would be this far out from the clans

Medicine cat...? Ah! The picking of plants made more sense to him now. This cat was a doctor of some kind. Perhaps she had anything for his aching joints. "I'm Mr. Worm. It's a pleasure to meet you, Batsong." His memory was getting eorse as he aged, but having to actively remember others names seemed to be helping him. Batson. Batsong. Locked in.

"Moon stone? What's a moon stone?" It really felt like a cat had used that term with him before, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, the memory kept slipping away.

Batsong tilted her head in even more curiosity now. "y-you dont know of the moonstone... hmm m-maybe you are not an elder after all"

she stuttered almost to herself as she got closer to take a good sniff at him...


"b-bleh... tw-twloeg smell she giggled lightheartedly.


Hmm this must be a kittypet escaped with all the other clan cats recently.


"t-the moonstone is w-where we clan c-cats talk to the stars of our ancestors" she explained to them.


She purred softly thinking it over carefully ... "w-would you like to see it? she offered figuring that nothing could have ever gone wrong to show a starnger the moonstone... what were they gonna do raise an army from the dead and torment the clans?

ha nonsense there was absolutly nothing that could go wrong with this. ;)

"i-if ya want y-you could ma-maybe even have a starclan d-dream and such" she offered purring at the idea of a loner getting to know starclan... how cool would that be?! she wondered if she was the first med cat to offer a loner passage to the stone to get to know their traditions and religion.

Mr. Worm sniffed his paws. Did he... Truly stink? A little embarrassing, but what could be done now? He smiled. At least she was kind about it.

Her offer to show him a piece of what the forest cats experience in their daily life was intriguing, if not entirely exciting. Maybe being kidnapped had all been worth it, after all! "I would love to see this moon stone. Please, lead the way."

She nodded but before they went off she gave him some traveling herbs. And some for any stiff joints he may have had too. Clan cat or not, she loved getting to help others and he seemed very friendly and nice enough. If he was a clan cat she could see him as a friendly elder or something like that.


she nodded and quickly led the way to mothermouth.

She flicked her tail at teh caves entrence... "i-in there d-dark tunnel for a w-ways and then. t-the stone, a beautiful c-creation. she explained. She rested her tail on his shoulder guiding him slowly through the dark for awhile. It was pitch black with nothing but their wiskers to guide them. Batsong had been here countless times and knew the way well though luckily.


They arrived to the moonlit room the bright moon pouring throught the hole in the ceiling window.

It shown down beautiflully illuminating the big stone in the room. Batsong never got tired of looking at it, it was so mysterious and held so much awe as the light danced in it almost.


She explained quietly in her stuttery voice that he would tounch nose to it and sleep and dream of a far away place called starclan.


She grinned nodding that she would be right by his side the whole time. She rested beside the stone and touched noses to it at the same time as him and the dream began

~~~~~~

As they walked through the slim and dark tunnels, Mr. Worm felt thankful for the bitter herbs Batsong had given him beforehand. With each step, it seemed he had more energy and less joint pain. He hadn't felt like this since he was a young tom! This forest sure held a lot of miracles.

Speaking if miracles, Mr. Worm gasped as they entered the room that held this 'moon stone', and immediately understood why it had that name: a hole through the roof of the cave let light in, reflecting off the rock in its center in an array of colours. Breathtaking!

Hesitant at first, Mr. Worm followed Batsongs lead in laying down and touching noses to the cold stone. He was out almost immediately, and what he saw when he opened his eyes was almost unbelievable.

A valley of stars that created lands both tangible and intangible would be there to greet Mr. Worm as he slipped into the gentle dream that the Moonstone would bring to him. Lands of long grasses that swept with a gentle breeze were tipped with the starlight, and forests dotted the horizon. Should the older tom be drawn to any of them, it seemed as if the landscape would shift, exactly to match where he felt the most at home. But it never shifted in such a way that would be too jarring, all in a comforting mix and warmth that would feel familiar.

He wouldn't be left alone for long. Soon enough, through the stars, they would swirl together to form the familiar appearance of a cat. Even with the way her pelt glimmered, her pattern was unmistakeable. A soft, peachy orange mostly blanketed her fluffy pelt, with a chest of white and white paws that perfectly reflected the stars.

Most notable of all was the soft, warm, calming gaze that now looked upon the older tom. "Why, hello there." She purred out in greeting, her fluffy tail rippling in a greeting of its own. "I haven't gotten to see another cat in moons, and it looks like the stars have chosen a new friend for me to come greet!" A cheerful voice spoke each word as she came closer, unafraid of the tom that now stood just pawsteps away.

"Did Batsong bring you? I hope she is doing well." The molly prompted, a tiny flick of hear ear of curiosity only continuing her kindness. But suddenly, the molly shook her head, as if instantly bewildered by something. "Oh! Where are my manners? Forgive me. My name is Brindlesong, I used to be a Windclan warrior. Many, many moons ago. Mind if I ask your name? Usually, the Stars would let me already know. But if they haven't, that means you're certainly a special face!"

His eyes felt clearer and his body light as a feather, the only indicator that this was, in fact, a dream. Yet it was unlike any dream he'd had before: a grand expansion of long grass was dusted in a thin layer of what could only be described as stars. This landscape was familiar, yet one he didn't recognize all at the same time. Home and yet... It wasn't. It was like the stars themselves were trying to pinpoint where exactly his home was. However, the warmth of it had the desired calming effect on his old heart. He hadn't moved, still taking in the scenery, completely okay if this was all there ever was.

Not too long after arriving, a kind and gentle voice greeted him. Just like the tall grass, her fluffy pelt was also dusted in a fine layer of stars. Star clan. Yes, what Wolfblossom said did make more sense to him now. The she-cats voice was lovely, and he smiled as she told him her name and rank. Wind Clan. Just like Batsong. It seemed this pretty molly also knew of the medicine cat. "My name is Mr. Worm. It's a pleasure to meet you, Brindlesong." He's met many forest cats by now, and was starting to sense a pattern. Blossoms and songs... It seemed the cats here enjoyed softer sounding names. Excluding Sablestrike. But he was something else entirely.

"I've heard a little about you... You speak of the stars. Might you be... Star clan?"