Bubblepaw's Moonstone Journey

Returning home made Bubblepaw feel simultaneously relieved and overwhelmed. All the things she'd wished for had, apparently, manifested themselves as if by magic. Ploverpaw miraculously appeared out of the snow on their journey. SkyClan had made it home to their camp, and the forests--though buried in cold drifts and strange scents--lived once again with the sound of birdsong. It seemed as if everything could return to normal. And yet... "normal" didn't really exist. She still bore the scar on her face. Many cats had never seen this territory before. Not to mention that the whispers of war grew progressively louder until they were all but shouted, over Bubblepaw's head as if she didn't deserve to know. But none of that was on her mind when Thymelight's voice floated into the apprentice den at some early hour of the morning.

It took only a few moments for Bubblepaw to disentangle herself from her hastily-reconstructed nest and follow her friend out into the frigid air of camp. "What is it, Thyme?" The mixed sensations of normalcy and confusion hadn't quite settled before excitement overtook them completely, flashing brightly within her eyes at Thymelight's words. "Wait! The Moonstone? I get to go with you to the Moonstone? Like Gramma Wolfblossom talked about?" A wide beaming grin broke out across her face. Energy flooded her veins; she probably didn't even need the stamina that the herbs supposedly brought. But it was just like she'd imagined! On that terrible day when she was so sure that she'd never get back home, and Gramma Wolf had tried to make her feel better. The herbs even tasted... well, they tasted awful. She'd been right about that. Her nose scrunched up as she ate it, but she fought through the grimace. Her paws tapped happily beneath her. A journey to the Moonstone, just like she'd always heard about! "Okay, I'm ready to go!"

At hearing that Thymelight had never been before, Bubblepaw blinked. Right--they were the same age, and they'd both spent a large chunk of their apprenticeships gone at the other place. But they were home now, and they were going to the Moonstone, for their first time together! "Let's go see it together! It'll be like the journeys, but a shorter, fun one just for us two." Her eyes sparkled, and she nudged her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure we're both great at walking by now. So let's go!"

It did take a lot of time to get to Highstones. After the previous journeys, the length didn't seem unbearable, but her paws did tingle from walking slightly by the time they finally made it. Dusk falling and the moon rising in the sky made even this closer part of the world near WindClan territory look unfamiliar in an ethereal, comforting way. In contrast to the dimming sky, the cavern was dark dark. Darker than anything she'd ever seen before. She couldn't even make out her whiskers in front of her face. It was actually kind of scary. But she kept her nose close to Thymelight's tail, following her friend's familiar scent, until the faintest glimmers of light began to break through in front of them and signify the cave path's end.

And there it was. The Moonstone. Bubblepaw did not gasp like Thymelight did, but simply sat down, completely stunned by the incomprehensible beauty before her. The enormous stone glittered like a piece of the moon itself, sparkling light bouncing off of its many facets, glowing with a silver-white light that was softer and somehow brighter than anything she'd ever laid eyes on before. So... this was the Moonstone. Gramma Wolfblossom had been right. It was beautiful. Eventually though, she had to shake her head to clear the dazzling gleam from her eyes and remember why she was here. To dream. Who would she meet? Would the stars want to talk with her? The joy of the journey and of finally being home had caused her to forget anxieties that now rose up from the pit of her stomach. But she nodded and stepped forward. Carefully she arranged herself at the base of the stone, heart pounding. Then she leaned forward and pressed her nose to its shockingly cold surface. The last thing she recalled seeing was the shimmer of silver light before her eyes closed into a quickly-falling dream.

Bubblepaw would awaken to a starlit forest that much resembled Skyclan's in the waking world. Not far off, the reeds that bordered the river were visible, the flowing water beyond a gentle murmur. The air wasn't cold, and the foliage was no longer dead and snow-covered.

"Hello, Bubblepaw." The voice that greeting the apprentice came from the branches of a tree above, warmth in the she-cat's tone despite the cold starlight shimmering in her fluffy tabby fur. "My name is Birdsong. I was a Skyclan warrior once, though it's not where I spent my last days." Pale green eyes gazed toward the river for a moment before turning back to the apprentice.

"It's been quite the time down there, hasn't it?"

Bubblepaw was dreaming--she knew that much. Nights of vivid landscapes in her head had caused her the innate knowledge of whether she gazed upon reality or constructed images. This, however, was something far closer to the previous than she was used to. It looked just like she was on SkyClan territory, near the river border. Where she'd walked with Rainfrost several times. Almost uncanny, the resemblance, though it was lit by stars and free of snow and frost. "So this is StarClan," she murmured, because she remembered what Gramma Wolfblossom had said. Wisdom of her warrior ancestors. So they would be around her somewhere, right?

And as if on cue, her eyes finally caught sight of a starry figure--high in the trees, looking down. A cat she'd never seen, but a cat who knew her name. One who looked a lot like Wolfblossom and Birdstar, actually. Bubblepaw smiled. "Hi, Birdsong! Hang on--let me join you up there." Tree-climbing skills served her just as well on an incorporeal tree, and within moments of claws gripping bark, the apprentice sat on a branch opposite the ghostly she-cat. Then she frowned in thought, because the other words spoken had caught up to her. "Yeah, it's been pretty awful," she admitted. "I got hurt real bad in a patrol, then there was no prey, so we had to leave, and then Ploverpaw went missing, and then--" She cut herself off. "Wait, but you know that already. I forgot." Smiling a little sheepishly, she waved her soft gray tail behind her. "You said that you were a SkyClan warrior once, huh? Why's that? Did you have to leave home like we did?"

Birdsong let out a purr as the apprentice quickly made her way into the trees, "Oh, you're a natural climber! That's good to see, honestly. I don't always get to talk with Skyclanners at their moonstones, you know?" She shook her head to clear it. She could ramble... But she wanted to be a little more helpful to the young cat in front of her, not just ramble about herself. Of course, the question was asked about her being formerly of Skyclan, and that one Birdsong had no shame in answering. "These current tensions... Well, it won't be the first time Skyclan has found themselves in for a fight. I... Hated it. Everyone called us warmongers, even though we were seeking justice - vengeance, yes, that too - for a cat who had done a lot of wrong. Holed up in Windclan, and I agreed something needed to happen... But not the level of violence that did when we finally found out. Skyclan has a reputation that precedes it, sometimes rightfully... But not every cat is as bloodthirsty as the stories." She began, "Between what happened in Windclan's camp and my own father on his deathbed because we had left camp undefended... Beechfang - still Beechface - was the medicine cat back then. Couldn't save him from infected wounds. Couldn't tell me the truth either until he was dying." She shook her head, remembering that last conversation she would ever have with Wrenspring in life. Birdsong shook her head. "I screamed at them. Left. Never spoke to them since. I was so angry and I hated the violence, hated the bloodshed. Hated that their crusade for justice led to such things. That, it seems, doesn't change." The star-speckled tabby laughed, though it held little humor. She had been watching the forest from her starry perch. Her mother was being hunted down, just like the tom she had once hunted down. Birdsong only hoped that there would be less carnage to come of it.

"There have been times where Skyclan has had to leave their home in the past. Not while I was alive, but the clan is nothing if not tenacious... We always find our way back, I suppose. Like you did, like Ploverpaw did. If there's one thing Skyclan knows, it's how to fight, how to survive. Usually because someone started something out of shortsighted emotion... But I digress." She mewed, "I know how overwhelming that can be. I know it's not for everyone - stars, I left the clan to get away from it - but I think you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You aren't a willingly violent cat Bubblepaw, neither was I. But you fight in your own way. Nobody can take that away from you."

Bubblepaw flicked an ear bashfully at Birdsong's compliment, but straightened her balance on the branch and leaned forward with interest to listen. This entire interaction so far had been far cozier than she'd expected. The "wisdom of the warrior ancestors" had sounded ethereal but terrifying. This felt more like talking with a member of her family... and as Birdsong spoke, it became apparent that the resemblance was more than superficial. She was related to the family that composed most of SkyClan. It didn't really surprise Bubblepaw to hear that SkyClan had been in similar war situations before; she'd heard such whispers from the elders' tales as a kit. But hearing from the point-of-view of someone who had actually been there was a different experience entirely. Her pale-green eyes grew wide as the situation unspooled in her mind. Beechfang--Beechface then--had had kits, and lied about their origins. Had broken the code. She blinked at the idea of it. Honestly, the answer had been far more than she had expected.

Birdsong's concluding words were kind, and caused Bubblepaw to look down at the starry landscape beneath the tree on which they perched. "I don't know," she murmured. "I just don't get the point of fighting. In stories like that, what good does it even bring? Fighting over the same scraps of territory, or avenging blood with blood. It never ends. It never stops, and I'm really not good at it. I wish I didn't have to fight ever. I wish we could all just get along within our own borders, and that the Gathering was truly for companionship instead of... I dunno. Posturing." She lashed her tail once behind her, then looked up curiously. "So you left your Clan by choice, then. Can't really say I blame you. But where did you go? Did you become a rogue? Or... something else?" She tilted her head, then hastily backtracked. "N-not that I'm thinking of leaving SkyClan, of course! I could never! All my family is there. Gramma Wolfblossom and Auntie Graywind and Great-Aunt Birdstar, and Uncle Rainrain and my siblings, and Sunfire. I couldn't. But I was just... wondering. Where did you go? And did you... I guess, find peace? Before you died?" Peace outside of SkyClan. It wasn't something she craved, exactly, but she couldn't deny the foreign allure of the concept. Of course her family tethered her if nothing else--and she did truly love the trees and the birds and the mossy soft dens. But Birdsong's story intrigued her. She wanted to hear more.

"I think most cats, if given the chance, would agree with you, if they could see past their own stubborn pride in the face of perceived slights and wrongdoing. I agree with you. Our claws are better used on threats like badgers and foxes." A Thunderclanner that had sat and watched as she fell to one of those vicious beasts, not lifting a paw to help her. Birdsong couldn't understand why, and hadn't for a long while. But that wasn't a story that Bubblepaw needed to hear, not today, at least. "Sometimes war with our own can't be helped... But I think it's overkill for more reasons than most would agree with."

"I was a loner for a little while, my sister Shadewing left the clan with me, disillusioned for the same reasons I was. Eventually I ran into a Riverclan tom - a cat I had seen at gatherings while still in Skyclan. He was nice and... Well, I fell in love with him. Riverclan was kind enough to allow me to stay and I had our kits there." Thinking of Turtlefur made her chest hurt, it had been so, so long since he'd disappeared from the clans, and despite her efforts she had lost track of him. She only hoped that wherever he was, he was safe and happy. "It took me a long time to be at peace with things. I... Honestly don't think it was until after I was here that I managed it. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in Skyclan but... Riverclan was mostly good to me, even if my time there was short. Suspicious and not exactly trusting, and I think the respect I was given was mostly because of my mate and kits... But even so." Birdsong smiled wryly.

Pale-green eyes widened as Birdsong's story continued to unfold. Time as a loner, a whirlwind romance, being accepted into RiverClan of all places. Bubblepaw tilted her head thoughtfully. The name was often uttered with such hatred these days that it seemed almost strange to think of her ancestor crossing the river and joining them. But they hadn't always been at odds, right? So maybe it would have made more sense back then. They ought to have been friends still. She nodded. "It's definitely crazy where life takes you sometimes. Definitely not always where you expect." Would she ever leave the Clans? It seemed counterintuitive. She hated violence and she hated leaving her family, and both would become far worse if she were to flee just because she didn't like the idea of war. So she'd probably stay. "I'm glad you managed to find some peace, though, even if it took a while. I'm sorry things were difficult. Thanks for your advice, though. I think it's helped a lot." It felt nice to sit here on a branch and chat... nice to be told that she wasn't in the wrong for disliking the violent skirmishes and difficult happenings. But she knew it would be over soon. So, she smiled at Birdsong. "I hope you can continue to have peace. Maybe someday, in a really long time, we can talk again."