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: Pigeonpaw's Moonstone Journey Sat 2 Mar 2024 - 11:45
ooc;; timeskippy for my own time related reasons and because you said you didnt have a preference <3
The healing process was slow and there were times he doubted the wound would ever fade. It had scabbed over as much as it would underneath a carefully mixed poultice, as much as the medicine cat could muster. Speaking still hurt so he limited it as much as possible, silently instructing the apprentice to eat the herbs and offering a sympathetic glance in apology. Today Pigeonpaw would meet the ancestors. She was older than him despite having an apprentice name and he hoped this would be the final step to her joining the warrior's den. It was time.
As he lead her to the Moonstone, it proved to be an uneventful journey. The fog that hung over the forest, accompanying a slight warming of the temperature that contrasted the flakes of snow that still dotted the earth, was light. Littlesplash felt his pelt itch at the idea of less visibility given his already obscured vision. Crossing the Thunderpath had made his heart pound. However, the medicine cat quickly found relief as Mothermouth came into view. He quickly scampered up to the entrance and warned for Pigeonpaw to stay close.
After several visits here, the tom had memorized the path and it felt natural to have his coat brush against the cold stone. It did not take long for the path to open up into a wide cavern, already bathed in silvery moonlight. Littlesplash flicked his tail to beckon Pigeonpaw forward and kept his voice low, "Sleep with your nose on the stone. Starclan will come to greet you. I will be here when you wake."
Pigeonpaw wasn't sure what to think when Littlesplash and his herbs came to rouse her. She knew she would have to make the journey to the Moonstone one day if she ever wanted to be a warrior, but it felt like the day would never really come. She'd expected to feel more excited, too, but instead the only thing that settled into her paws was a tingling uncertainty. Thoughts of Starlingflare surfaced while she choked down the traveling bundle, and the large tom remained on her mind throughout their quiet walk. Looking at nothing but silvered fog layered over white snow gave Pigeonpaw little to think about other than his pale coat and the thicker, darker fog that wrapped her father's legs in dreams. Would he be the one to greet her? Did he even actually walk the plains of StarClan?
They were questions Pigeonpaw didn't hold the answers for. As she followed Littlesplash's paws up the stony rise leading into Mothermouth, she expelled a foggy breath and shook her head. She would have answers... soon. I hope. With another shake of her head, Pigeonpaw followed her medicine cat into the cavern's dark jaws. The walls were tight, but she was small, so it wasn't too cramped. She followed the age-worn pawprints and the fluttering of Littlesplash's tail until light pooled out in front of them. They'd come upon the Moonstone, and it stood with all the brilliance it was fabled to. Pigeonpaw found herself stuck squinting into its glow for several moments before the rasp of Littlesplash's voice, breaking for the first time that night, drew her attention.
"...Right," she murmured, nodding. Worry crept into her pads again, but Pigeonpaw shook out her legs and crept closer to the stone. Would her siblings be proud of her, for finally making it to StarClan? Would Scarletpaw be proud of her? Having him come to mind surprised Pigeonpaw enough that she immediately got to settling at the Moonstone's side, as if sending herself to StarClan could erase the wonder. After a final look to Littlesplash for confirmation, she pressed her nose to the stone and let the foreign chill of StarClan's sleep wash through her.
In contrast to what the apprentice had found commonplace in their dreams with cats that had left the mortal realm, what would open before the molly was a landscape of starlight and warmth. Familiarity rippled from every corner and crevice, and yet, there was something different about it. Large trees swooped into the sky, their foliage of pure starlight. Bracken and bramble grew aplenty, and yet, there was an ease to navigate it all that most cats wouldn't have been gifted. Off in the distance, the smooth, silver stones of the familiar could be seen, the trickling of the water not far off.
It was Thunderclan territory, the land on the other side of Sunningrocks that few truly got to explore.
Amongst the trees, a small tortoiseshell hid, too. She didn't wait too long before coming forward, her tail and head both held high as her amber eyes now sparkled with the stars in welcome. "Pigeonpaw, greetings." A blessing of the stars beyond: getting to know the name of the cat she got to visit. An apprentice whose roots grew into the lands that she always would be able to see just across the river. "I'm Mottlestar, once a leader of Thunderclan. Though, given it's only been a half-moon since I passed... I wouldn't be surprised if you knew that. Welcome, friend." A jubilant giggle followed the small molly's words. Even though she had been crowned a leader, the apprentice before her was already taller. She was simply a tiny tortoiseshell.
Subject: Re: Pigeonpaw's Moonstone Journey Sun 17 Mar 2024 - 14:11
"Like any misfit, I spit on some good advice."
Pigeonpaw Apprentice | RiverClan | she/her
It was hard to open her eyes when Pigeonpaw felt consciousness again. She tried once, but everything was so bright with starlight she had to close her eyes again straight away. But after a few moments, she managed to take in her surroundings. She could see the river sparkling in the distance, but immediately around her... It took several seconds to recognize where she stood. The foliage around her was ThunderClan's. Dual pits opened in her stomach: one for how bright and different this was from Starlingflare's world, and one for the ancestor that chose to welcome her. She shook her head and turned to look through the bracken. Of course, she didn't have any ancestors in RiverClan. She should've expected to wake up in ThunderClan's stretch of Silverpelt. Did ThunderClan's star-forest have any dark corners...?
Pigeonpaw didn't have long to think on it. A shape the same size as her came gliding out of the undergrowth. Processing the sight made her blink several times with shock. "Y-yeah, I recognize ya," she sputtered with a half-issued nod. She was supposed to say more than that, surely. Wasn't she? Should she apologize? Pigeonpaw just shook her head. There was no expectancy in Mottlestar's eyes, and she always heard the THunderClan leader was kind. Perchstar liked her, at least. She probably wouldn't be too bothered by the lack of manners.
"Oh, yeah--it was safe. Li'lsplash's a good guide," Pigeonpaw smiled. "I mean, long 'n' borin', but we walked all'a way t' the lake 'n' back, so..." She shrugged, voice trailing away. As her voice drifted out, Pigeonpaw reclined onto her haunches and scuffed the ground with a forepaw. "Hey, 's it always so bright 'round here? It never gets dark, does it? 'Cause I've seen StarClan before--I... I think--'n' it didn't look like this at all."
Her smile widened at the rather casual attitude the apprentice approached her with. At the very least, it meant that she was at ease. It had always bothered Mottlestar when apprentices seemed scared of her. After all, the tortoiseshell was just as small as most of them were! She couldn't help but tilt her head at the way the apprentice seemed particularly distracted, but after a heartbeat, it was rather understandable. There was a lot to take in when getting to see Starclan for the first ti-
"Oh?" Her head tilted the other direction, the one that was signature to the leader being intrigued by something her conversational companion had said. "This is how Starclan always is, yes. It is not dark, perhaps only dim where trees would catch a shadow--but never dark. What do you mean by you've seen StarClan before, friend?" Her tail curled around her paws, and a look of worry flashed on her gaze. The only place that was ever dark was the place that was rather aptly named-the Dark Forest. Not even Thunderclan's terrain in the true forest below held such dark pockets as that place did, but the tortoiseshell was lucky to have never fully had to peer into its depths. Besides, as far as the Stars had told her... Pidgeonpaw was just like any other apprentice, just simply one that had hailed from Thunderclan's bloodlines.
Something in Mottlestar's curious Oh? gave Pigeonpaw the idea she shouldn't have said a word. Or, at the very least, she should've picked something else to say a word about. The following reply only affirmed that thought. "Ah, jeez," Pigeonpaw muttered. Her brow furrowed and she batted loose a clump of stars from the grass. She kept an eye on them as they drifted away and fizzled out. She didn't have it in her to look back at Mottlestar yet. "Well, it's just-- I get dreams sometimes, ya'know. Me 'n' the rest 'f my siblings, too-- from our dad." Despite the sense this was forbidden ground to tread, Pigeonpaw couldn't keep herself from venturing on. "And I just thought, y'know, since it was in dreams 'n' stuff-- I just 'ssumed it was StarClan. But it's always real dark in those dreams--foggy." Round blue eyes flitted toward Mottlestar before Pigeonpaw quickly shook her head. There was a sadder note to her voice when she continued, "And--and honestly, I jus' really don't wanna believe that the dreams're comin' from... y'know. Elsewhere."
