Hollykit's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

The sun had began to set, the first stars appearing in a dark sky streaked by vibrant orange as the two Skyclan cats reached highstones. Hollykit was quite young for this journey, given most cats didn't see the moonstone until they were several moons into their training at least. He'd been curious to learn, and learn he had, however. Wolfstar found herself hopeful. Skyclan would at last have a medicine cat, a healer, a link to the stars beyond her untimely deaths. They had said they would give her a sign, she was fairly confident that Hollykit playing in the medicine den that day had been it. She was nervous, but also excited.

"Stick close, grab my tail if you need to. The path down to the moonstone is dark and narrow, winding. Eventually it opens up into the cavern that holds the moonstone itself, which will be quite bright. You'll get used to walking this path in time." She mewed. "The medicine cats make this trip every half-moon, but I'll try to introduce you to one of them before the next gathering. They function beyond the clan borders and put themselves above rivalries for the good of everyone. They'll be able to teach you what I cannot." She spoke softly as she led Hollykit into the tunnel, paws finding the familiar, well-worn path toward the moonstone.

Hollykit found the concept of medicine cat interesting.

He had heard stories, but mostly about healing - medicine cats being above clan rivalries was new to him. It was nice that he wasn't going to be alone, though; there would be other cats who would be willing to teach him what it meant to be a medicine cat, the responsibilities necessary for it, and everything else.

Following behind Wolfstar, the ginger tom weaved through the dark tunnels of the Moonstone, keeping track of each change in direction the SkyClan leader made. Left, then right, then left again, stay left, right again... It was hard to remember, but he hoped he'd at least remember how his body twisted and turned as he followed Wolfstar to the Moonstone.

Eventually, the tom entered a giant ball of light. When his eyes adjusted, he found himself surrounded by a giant cavern. A large stone in the center of the cavern glowed mystically, with Hollykit finding himself drawn to it.

"Whoa..." It was awe-inspiring. Medicine cats came here every moon? "I can't wait to meet the other medicine cats." He had heard a lot of problems in SkyClan and in other clans in the past - perhaps being a medicine cat could be good to help him. "What do we do here?"

"Windclan's current medicine cat, Hemlockfox, is a good tom. He was born Skyclan and trained with us until the stars called him to serve Windclan. I'm unsure of Shadowclan's current medicine cat, but I knew his successor Heatherberry - she was a kind soul. You'll likely train with one of them, but I will be here to help and support you where I can, too. It's a lot of responsibility, but not something you are alone in." Wolfstar mewed, watching as Hollykit took in the sight of the moonstone before them.

It took her a moment to recall the words that Plumleaf had once told her of, when her sister had become a medicine cat apprentice herself. "Hollykit, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of a medicine cat apprentice?"

"Yeah," Hollykit replied, irritation prickling his pelt. He had wanted to explore the world of a medicine cat for a while - it sounded so cool and amazing, how could he not? - but did they have to travel all the way here just for that? Was he supposed to use the Moonstone, while not knowing how? The ginger tom flicked his tail. "Is that it?"

Hollykit was impatient, and Wolfstar offered the soon to be apprentice a small smile. She probably could have explained what to expect a little better, but he'd learn quickly, she hoped. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. They have chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant them your wisdom and insight so that they may understand your ways and heal Skyclan in accordance with your will."

"Touch your nose to the moonstone and lay down." Wolfstar instructed, "Starclan will visit you in your dreams. I'll be here when you wake, Hollypaw."

Hollykit understood why Wolfstar asked him now. It was to confirm to StarClan that he wanted to be the medicine cat of SkyClan. I get it.

At Wolfstar's instructions, he stepped towards the Moonstone, tapping it with his nose. It was cold, which was eerie, but also... interesting. As he curled his nose into his tail, preparing to sleep, he couldn't stop thinking about why the Moonstone glowed like it did. Does it glow in an interesting way because StarClan blessed it with their power, or did StarClan choose it because it glows in such an interesting way?

Hollykit - no, Hollypaw - soon drifted asleep, conversing with his warrior ancestors above.

The newly-named apprentice would open his eyes to a starlit forest that much resembled Skyclan's territory. Birds chirped softly in the trees overhead, a warm breeze ruffling the foliage. Where the waking world was draped in the reds and golds of leaf-fall, Starclan's forest was green and vibrant.

The silver and white pelt of the cat that approached the apprentice was a stark contrast to the colorful environment, starlight making her fur shine in a way it never had in life. A smile flitted across the she-cat's face - whole, not the scarred visage it had once been, either.

"Hello, Hollypaw." The silver and white tabby greeted, "It's good to see Skyclan with a willing medicine cat apprentice at last. I died a warrior, Beechfang. I was Skyclan's medicine cat once, under the name Beechface." She continued, settling onto her haunches. "I became medicine cat apprentice when our former one disappeared. When Sagelight told me of the star's intentions, I did not believe him at first. I tried everything under the sun to get out of it. When fire swept through the territory, I was left no choice but to take the position, though my mentor did not have long to train me before his own demise. I knew very little, and had spent the time while he was alive butting heads and being stubborn." She shook her head. "It was the Thunderclan medicine cat at the time, Mossbloom, who stepped in to train me. It took me a long time to appreciate what they both did, a long time to appreciate the knowledge they held. And I never did grow to appreciate the stars, even if part of the duty of a medicine cat is communicating with them." 'Them,' not 'us.' Even in death, the former medicine cat still questioned, still was outspoken. The bitterness that had driven her for so long had faded, though.

"It's a tough path to walk, without a mentor, without someone to guide you. Tougher still when there has been no medicine cat in the clan for moons. It's a position that a cat should want, not one they should accept begrudgingly - that is in part why it has taken so long to find another apprentice, I think. I made things harder for myself, in a lot of ways... Made things harder for the clan, even with the support of the clan's leadership. It's why I refused to take on an apprentice until I was certain that someone genuinely wanted the position. You are here because the clan needs you, but you have an advantage that I did not, being curious about the role, even if you do not have a mentor within the clan. My daughter doesn't know nearly as much as she could with four immediate family members who were medicine cats. She's done her best, but it's not an easy task." A soft scoff escaped her, a hint of disapproval in murky yellow-green eyes. "But being a medicine cat is more than just herbal knowledge - and you'll learn it all in time. It's communicating with the stars, relaying messages to your fellow leadership. Leaning on both your clan's leadership and the other medicine cats for support or help interpreting things - Starclan's messages are seldom very clear. I should apologize in advance for that, and no I never understood the need to be vague either. It drove me mad, actually. Sometimes a message will seem like absolute nonsense... And then things will happen and you'll understand the warning too late to do anything other than accept it and move forward, helping your clanmates as best you can under the circumstances. It's not a burden one cat alone can or should carry on their shoulders. Remember that, clan leadership is a team, not just one cat." Was she rambling? Sure. The 'paw could handle it. "The herbs will seem complicated at first, especially once you go beyond the basics. You will learn them all over time, do not be daunted by them. Do not be ashamed if you're having trouble keeping it all straight, either. Learning takes time, and you are young. The majority of Skyclan's medicine cats did not start medicine cat training so young either. Many of us were either partway through with apprentice training, or even fully-named warriors before being called to this path. You'll have a familiarity with herbs by the end of your training that those of us who started later don't often reach, even if we're all proficient with herbs and know how to treat injuries and illness with ease." Beechfang did believe that the earlier one started training, the better their chance was at succeeding and understanding it. "You have a bright future ahead of you, 'paw."

"I guess you didn't expect to have your ears talked off already... If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them."