Duckpaw's Moonstone Journey

Littlesplash had taken extra care in preparing this bundle of traveling herbs. Additional amounts of sorrel and burnet were gingerly added, in hopes their properties of providing strength would help this particular apprentice on their journey to the Moonstone. He was happy to see that it was finally time for Duckpaw to speak with the ancestors; the trip was far overdue. However, there was still a nagging worry at the back of his mind over the fact he did not have a cure for their condition.

"The sour taste will be gone quickly. Drink some water from the stream to help it fade faster." Littlesplash advised, dipping his head toward the bundle as he addressed Duckpaw. His own traveling herbs, a much lighter selection, had already been swallowed back. He couldn't wait for Newleaf, which meant new life, and the possibility of honey. It sounded like the rare substance was good for a great many things but best of all, sweetening the bitterness of herbs for patients.

As he waited, the gray and white-furred tom's mind drifted. Many worries wracked his thoughts, most due to his position. Being a link between the stars and the forest was a burden that he hadn't much time to entertain before accepting the role. Littlesplash had recieved his first prophecy and it echoed in his mind in brief pauses like this. Beware the wings of fallen birds, for they are born of tainted feathers. Duckpaw was a bird, kinda, at least in name. But there was no way such an ominous warning could refer to such a sweet cat.

He padded from the den and glanced at the pale sky, receding light fractured by gathering clouds. Maybe he needed to watch out for birds more. Would it be worth it to tell Perchstar and Poppyshine their clan needed to stop hunting winged-prey? It was rare anyways. As he hummed softly, the medicine cat winced slightly. His wound had healed a lot but still gave him pangs of pain at odd disturbances. Shaking his head, the tom turned back to Duckpaw, "Are you ready?"

Duckpaw was nervous - of course they were, there were days were they could barely stay awake walking to the border and now they were going past it? That being said, it wasn't like Duckpaw didn't know where they were going. They had technically been to Highstone twice - both to and back from the lake but that had been in the company of their Clanmates, it had been easier to lose track of the distance in the river of pelts that had carried them forward. Now, it would just be them and Littlesplash...

Everything aside, today was shaping to be a normal day - that being, what Duckpaw imagined a normal day for a standard cat was like. There was a little tiredness but that was because they didn't always sleep neatly and the night before had been one of those nights - waking up a few times throughout the night but that was often sorted by rolling over in their nest and attempting to get back to sleep. Things would be fine...Right?

Their worries and thoughts were interrupted by Littlesplash speaking, the tom directing their attention to the bundle at their paws. Oh, right yeah. They nodded, half absorbing the rest of the words until after they had lapped it all up and their muzzle scrunched at the taste. They hadn't quite had an idea of what 'sour' was but it was safe to say they hated it. They stuck out their tongue as they turned and dipped from the Littlesplash's den and to the river that surrounded the camp. Lapping it up greedily to chase away the foul taste, they shook their head before glancing at medicine cat.

"Yeah, I think so," they meowed at the tom's question, raising a paw to wipe away what water had managed to splash onto their chin in their determination to rid themselves of the aftertaste of the herbs. "Today has been...Um, normal so far so we...We should be good?" they nervously said as they approached Littlesplash, looking a little sheepish. "But I'll let you know if I feel tired o-or anything like that. If I need a break or what." A pause. "W-We could take a break midway through the trip if needed, right?"

The nervousness in Duckpaw's voice was apparent and worry immediately reflected in his gaze. Littlesplash dipped his head slightly to put his nose underneath their maw in order to tip their head upwards. Once the apprentice's chin had been lifted slightly, he locked eyes with them, "Hey, don't worry. We will be good." The gray and white tom's voice was reassuring and unwavering despite the concern lodged in the back of his mind. Duckpaw did seem to be roused enough for the journey today, and besides, the herbs would help.

Not wanting to dwell on it, the medicine cat turned to lead the way out of camp. Crossing the territory quickly, it was almost as if his pawsteps had fallen into the familiar path subconsciously. Tasting the air told him they would likely see rain during their journey but with how thin the gathering clouds were, it would likely only be a drizzle. Thankfully, unlike other clans, water rolled off their sleek fur much easier. It made him proud to think about that now as they approached the river. He paused at the stepping stones to more gingerly hop across. No point in soaking his coat early in the trip, even if it did dry quickly.

Once the pair of Riverclanners were at the edge of Thunderclan territory, he stopped to wait for Duckpaw. Admittedly, it was his excitement about the apprentice meeting Starclan that quickened his pace. Besides each step towards Fourtrees brought them further away from Skyclan territory. Littlesplash made sure to stick close the border as they traveled just inside the other clan's territory. Even if the clans were allied, it wouldn't do him any good to cut through the heart of another clan when they didn't need to. As the dense foliage snagged at his fur, Littlesplash glanced over at Duckpaw.

"This is long overdue. I'm glad you'll be moving to the warrior's den soon. I've heard they have the softest reeds and moss. Well, short of the elders den." Thinking about it, that probably wasn't true. There was the nursery, leader's den, and maybe his too. Dismissing the amendment with a flick of his ear the gray and white tom smiled softly at his companion, hoping that talking about the exciting aspects of their promotion would be further encouragement.

Duckpaw took in a deep breath as Littlesplash hooked a paw beneath their head so they could lock eyes, giving a nervous nod at the medicine cat's reassurance. Right, things would be fine. They hadn't felt tired at all today which had to mean that today was going to be normal, things would be fine. They gave their pelt a shake as Littlesplash pulled away, pulling together what courage and energy they could before the hurried to follow the medicine cat out of the camp.

Treading the familiar path of their territory gave Duckpaw a good bit of time to take in deep breaths and steady themselves, to try to figure out the nervousness that made their paws tingle. Was it just to do with the fact that they were worried of dozing during the trip? Was it the continued fact that there had been no real progress made on knowing if Duckpaw would ever be free of it...And what that could mean for them once they had the responsibilities of a warrior? ...Or were they just worried of what the Stars themselves would say? Some cats acted like everything was StarClan's wills - that they decided how easy or hard their lives were and if that was true... Why did they curse Duckpaw with this...?

Their expression fell a little as they wondered if it was possible that it was StarClan's fault they were like this. They hoped not, but they were a little foggy on what powers StarClan did have. They had heard of the nine lives, and of course they could control the weather...Or at least could do so during the Gathering. But the snow storm that had struck the Clans on the way to the lake, had StarClan had a say in that? Why hadn't they stopped it? Why... Why control the weather to keep the Clans in line on the full moon but not to save lives...?

Their questioning of StarClan's will and powers came to a slight end when they reached the river as Duckpaw had to put their attention on carefully crossing the rocks, pausing as Littlesplash was waiting for them. They gave the medicine cat a nervous nod, to show that they were still good to go on before they continued along the border. Their ears twitched as Littlesplash chose to make small-talk, a nervous laugh escaping the apprentice. "Oh, uh, yeah it will be nice to be a warrior," they meowed, whiskers twitching. "But...Honestly its been so long, I don't...I don't know how to feel when I'll get my warrior name. If I can... I hope I can live up to being a proper warrior but...Um, yeah a softer nest will be nice with...How much I sleep." They tried to end it with a laugh, but it was obviously a little faked as their gaze fell to their paws as they walked. They...They had really hoped that this entire tiredness thing would be solved by their warriorship - that it was just an odd phase of growing up but...But it hadn't gone away and Littlesplash hadn't seemed to know if it was anything he could ever cure even with all of the time in the world.

"You'll make a better warrior than I ever could." The little grey and white tom quipped after a brief pause. He carried on down the familiar track, finding comfort in the fact that Fourtrees ahead. Something about the neutral territory gave him extra peace and solace. Time back in the forest had been as tumultuous as it had been joyous. Their home was beautiful, a much better fit than the temporary encampment at the lack, yet this life the clans lived wasn't perfect. Strife and tensions between neighboring clans created rifts. Littlesplash swallowed as he remembered the medicine cat meeting.

"I'm sorry I don't have answers for you yet." The words stuck in his throat like fish scales. It was a difficult thing to admit so brazenly but Duckpaw deserved to know. Focusing on the path ahead as he spoke, the medicine cat found the thought of glancing at their face to be an overwhelming thought, "Starclan is often, uh, mysterious in their answers. And with everything going on in the forest, the other medicine cats seem more interested in their own affairs than speaking to others." A crestfallen expression painted his maw. He couldn't blame them, not with how much he'd feared the Skyclan medicine cats upon their first meeting.

The acrid tang of the Thunderpath hit his nose, it was just through the foliage ahead. Despite how fair the pair had traveled already, the journey felt like it was stretching on forever. Littlesplash's heart seemed to pound in his ears. His tail rose in a signal for them both to stop. A monster rumbled by and he could feel another one under his paws. In the moments as the clan cats waited for a break in the dangerous beasts, his mismatched gaze finally looked towards Duckpaw, "I'm not going to give up. I'll find something, Duckpaw. I promise."

A small laugh escaped Duckpaw as Littlesplash noted that they would be a better warrior than him - and perhaps that was true. Duckpaw didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body, they were sure that the comforts of getting to make know the other medicine cats and focus on healing instead of hunting or fighting was everything Littlesplash could want. It did make Duckpaw wonder if such a life would have worked for them if things had been different but... "Well you're a far better medicine cat then I ever could be," they acknowledged, a comfort falling over them at it. "I'm not sure I have the head for herbs - not like you do so...At least we've found our place, no matter the hurdles."

The apology over lack of answers thus far however, caught them off-guard. "Oh, its fine," they lied, giving a shrug of their shoulders - they wished it wasn't so, that they could be content even with the wait but they hated it... To not know what was wrong with them, to fear the others finding out before they could find a solution or...Or anything about why. Why them? Why did their body...? They had a normal kithood, they had done everything right, didn't they? So why had they...? But of course the other Clans were busy - a big battle had broken out between three of them after all and they were still picking up the pieces. Their gaze was fixed towards the sky, to keep the sadness hidden from Littlesplash - it wasn't fair to lay it on him, after all.

But as Littlesplash gave an earnest promise of not giving up, their gaze lowered to meet his and the sadness broke away into relief - happiness to have an steadfast cat like Littlesplash seeking answers, even if they might not like them.

"I know, Littlesplash," they purred honestly.

The rest of the walk turned onto lighter topics - general check-ups, how things were going... Away from the possible future and onto the current present. It was...Nice and Duckpaw could feel their worries start to melt away only to be replaced with other anxieties as the duo drew closer and closer to Highstones. As they reached the entrance, the apprentice peered into the darkness with a nervous flicker of their tail - giving Littlesplash a wary look but dutifully followed the young tom into the tunnel. The fear wasn't of getting lost - they trusted the medicine cat - but instead for what the Stars would tell them. Littlesplash had just said that the Stars tended to be vague, so what could they possible have to say to them? Could...Could they ask for answers straight up? Or would their fears over this all be ignored in favor of other topics?

They weren't sure and not even the awe-inspiring sight of the Moonstone itself could ease the fear that crawled at their stomach. Sparing another look at Littlesplash, they nervously stepped forward before settling down to touch their nose to the rock as instructed. The wave of tiredness that swept over them was familiar, but at the same time sent a throb of fear through them - if StarClan could do this to bring them into the star-lit fields, could their tiredness be a curse from...? Their thought didn't get finished as the tiredness blanketed their fear, smothering it as their dyes drooped and they found themselves giving into the darkness of slumber.