The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Subject: Crookedpaw's Moonstone Journey Mon 6 Mar 2023 - 6:07
Another day, and another trip to the moonstone would be undertaken. Wolfblossom carefully picked up the already-prepared bundle of herbs, giving Plumleaf a last worried look before she exited the den as quietly as she could. Rainpaw's journey had been just days ago, and now it was Crookedpaw's turn. Wolfblossom was glad the apprentice was now back where he belonged, and happy to see his training progressing even with Blackbear's continued absence.
"Crookedpaw? Time to get up," Wolfblossom's voice was quiet in an effort not to wake the other apprentices as she carefully nudged Crookedpaw's shoulder with a paw. Once he was awake, she exited the den and nudged the herbs toward him. "We're going to highstones today, eat these quickly. They taste awful, I know." She wasn't fond of the taste at all and had eaten her own portion of the herbs with reluctance, but they were necessary. Once Crookedpaw had, she led him out of camp. Waking up before dawn wasn't fun, but the traveling herbs and getting a move on would help.
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The sky was darkening, the last rays of burnished orange giving way to deep purple as Wolfblossom stood at the entrance to highstones. The walk had gone by quickly and without incident, and now only the dark tunnel remained. "Stay close, once we reach the moonstone press your nose to it. Starclan will visit in your dreams." She told Crookedpaw, then forced her paws to move once more, finding her way down to the brightly lit moonstone with the apprentice in tow. Once they reached it she stepped aside, nudging him gently forward. "I'll be here when you wake."
Crookedpaw roused and ate his herbs as instructed. The walk was long, and it gave Crooked a lot of time to himself to think. His thoughts swam with memories of his time at the twoleg place and what occurred there. He thought of his fight with Rowanpaw, of the things that they said to one another. The kittypet insult rang in the back of his mind and he shuddered. He was getting his moonstone. He was no kittypet.
He was older, too, which made going to the Moonstone strange. He was older than most warrior initiates due to his time spent with the twolegs. Even if that was time wasted, it was strange to be doing something so important to his apprenticeship development when he felt so…adult. The disconnect between his young self, the one who got trapped in the cage, and the one who returned—it was a disconnect so vast that it felt like a chasm. And yet, it also felt so foolish to think. Of course he is the same cat…
Crookedpaw lifted his head and listened to Wolfblossom as they neared the entrance. He stuck close as instructed and they winded down the stone steps to the large, glowing moonstone. Crookedpaw stared with wide eyes, frozen for a moment in its beauty. The nudge from Wolfblossom was appreciated, and he tentatively stepped forward. He laid down, settling and getting comfortable. He took a deep breath and touched his nose to the stone.
Sparse trees surrounded Crookedpaw as he came to in the glittering expanse of StarClan. Beyond him, the trees disappeared, turning into the rolling fields most guests were accompanied with. Though the sight of the clear horizon might have looked tempting, it was hard to ignore that maples around him. …Especially not when the branches above him rustled and knocked together, the clear and clumsy sign of movement.
A flash of mottled fur shot towards him, leaving star-shiny splinters to fall from the tree he’d been lounging in. A barking laugh was already rising out of him the instant he jumped out of the tree; when he bowled into Crookedpaw, the jovial noise only grew. He didn’t make a show of rolling this apprentice through the dirt. Digging his paws against the ground, the tabby balanced himself.
“Still got it,” he purred, grinning brightly at the cat before him. “’M name’s Newtspring. Glad ya actually made it here, kid. Y’come with questions prepared, or did’ja jus’want me to give ya the classic dead folk spiel ‘n’ pray it gets somewhere in your head?”
The land of StarClan was beautiful. Everything shimmered like the Silverpelt that rested in the sky each night. The rolling fields were endless and beautiful. The trees, also, were gorgeous. He stared up at the leaves and heard some rustling. He paused and shifted in time to see a figure spring down from above. A yowl screeched out of him as he sprang back, feeling terribly startled. He blinked a few times and forced the fur on the back of his neck to flatten when he realized it was no danger. Of course there would be no danger. This was StarClan territory, after all.
Crookedpaw cleared his throat. “Pardon me,” he croaked. “You surprised me.” He looked over the cat in question, his eyes sweeping over the mottled coat of the cat before him. “Hello, Newtspring. I’m Crookedpaw.” He paused again. “You may have already known that…I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The request for questions also caught him off guard. He didn’t know that he had to prepare any. “I…did not anticipate that. But that does sound rather important.” There were so many doubts eating away at him all of the time…perhaps getting advice from a cat that came before him was a good solution. “How about…What do you do when you have doubts about being a warrior? Like if you feel like maybe you’re not…what SkyClan needs?”
