Bigpaw's Moonstone Journey

Flashpaw finished grooming herself, and glanced at the sun to determine it was time to head out. It was yet again time for one of her siblings to go to the moonstone. It felt like half of her job was escorting them, she thought with an amused twitch of her whiskers. It was one of her favorite tasks, though. It was fun to stretch her legs on the journey, and every cat came back from their meeting with StarClan a little changed, more mature somehow.

"Bigpaw," she called, peeking into the apprentice den, "It's time to head to Mothermouth."

Having just woken up himself, Bigpaw let out a yawn, his ears perking at his older sister's voice. That's right; today he was going on his moonstone journey! He'd completely forgotten until now and thanked the stars that Flashpaw had come to remind him.

Exiting the apprentice den for what would be one of the last times, the large pawed apprentice made his way over to the medicine cat, his paws thumping against the ground bellow. "I'm all good to go!" he purred with a big smile on his maw as he stood in front of the pale-pelted she-cat.

Bigpaw was such a refreshing breath of air. Flashpaw returned his smile, flicking him with her tail and giving him the bundle of traveling herbs she had prepared. "Then let's get going!" She really did need to make more of an effort to spend time with her siblings outside of these journeys.

The two set off, making their way along the path that Flashpaw had walked for the first time with Logleap. Memories filled her mind as they approached Mothermouth, especially as she cautioned him to stay close. Before long they were at the moonstone, and the medicine cat nodded towards the stone.

"It's time."

Gulping up the herbs that she'd prepared, Bigpaw didn't take any thought into trying to hide his disgust and shook his head when finished, as if to rid his mouth of the taste. Did she have to eat those every time she went on a moonstone journey? Her mouth must've always tasted horrible!

The two made their way through the forest and to the Mothermouth, passing the time with the usual small-talk on the way there. Not even noticing that they'd been traveling for too long, Bigpaw stood at the entrance of Mothermouth. Swallowing the lump in his throat, his paws began to itch with excitement as they made their way down into the cavern and soon enough, he stood before the moonstone.

It was somewhat difficult to see Flashpaw in the dimly lit area, but her words gave him confirmation on what to do next. Taking a step towards the glowing stone, Bigpaw laid down near the edge. Pressing his pink nose against the damp surface, he drifted into a slumber and soon, awoke in the plains of StarClan.

Standing up, the large pawed apprentice glanced around in awe. So StarClan really was really, how crazy was that! Before long, he noticed there was somecat making their way towards him and as he stood there, he wondered who he'd get to meet with.

~~~~~

Padding over to Bigpaw, a black and white tom approached, and it was none other than ThunderStar himself. Thunderstar, Lightningstar's father and the founder of ThunderClan, was remembered as one of the most courageous and compassionate founding leaders, developing the sympathetic components of the warrior code. Now deceased from a series of unfortunate event that befell upon him and the other founding leaders, he hoped to be able to pass down such attributes and beliefs of the code to his "future clanmates" for many more moons to come.

Giving a dip of his head to the hefty tom, a soft smile was held on his black and white muzzle. "I am Thunderstar, the previous leader and founder of ThunderClan. I presume you are here for your moonstone journey?" he mewed. Bigpaw, unlike many of his other littermates was gifted with a vibrant, golden pelt, but even so, he still resembled his father in one way or another.

~~~~~

Thunderstar... he got to meet with Thunderstar? Bigpaw certainly was one lucky tom, that was for sure. "Y-yes!" he replied, puffing out his chest fur and trying to stand as tall as possible. "I'm Bigpaw," the large apprentice mewed before blurting out, "Nice to meet you!" For a moment there, he'd almost forgotten what Sageleaf had reminded him of time and time again, to always politely introduce himself.

~~~~~

"It's good to finally meet you as well, Bigpaw," ThunderStar mewed with a nod, a smile still resting on his white and black maw. This tom certainly wasn't as self-assertive as most apprentices were, but even so, he could tell that Lightningstar and Sageleaf were doing everything right when it came to parenting, which was somewhat of a surprise to him, seeing as though he hadn't seen his son to be a very... fatherly figure, to say the least.

"Bigpaw, do you know what it means to be a warrior?" the large tom asked.

~~~~~

Ears perking at the question, the golden-pelted apprentice took a few moments to think before answering. What it meant to be a warrior... well there was only one answer, right? After a few moments of putting his few brain cells to work at max capacity, Bigpaw had an answer and met Thunderstar's gaze once more. "To be the strongest cat in the forest and always protect your clan," he mewed with a nod, confident in his answer.

~~~~~

Listening to Bigpaw, Thunderstar couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "Well, you've almost got it," he purred. "To be a warrior is to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life, and yes, to protect your clan and the code, no matter what. Being a strong cat is a perk to warriorhood, I suppose," Thunderstar mewed, before continuing once more. "Bigpaw, I can tell that you will be a strong and loyal warrior to ThunderClan, and just remember; strength isn't always everything," he chuckled with a wink. Having said what he came here to say, ThunderStar took a few steps away from the apprentice. "May StarClan light your path," the leader mewed before fading away, leaving only stardust as proof of his arrival.

~~~~~

Blinking open his eyes, Bigpaw stood up. He'd been able to meet with Thunderstar, how cool! He'd given him good advice and hopefully he'd be able to remember it all...

Padding over to Flashpaw, the golden apprentice stuck a large paw out, poking the medicine cat's side. "All done!" he exclaimed happily.

Flashpaw couldn't hold back the giggle at the paw to her side. She had almost dozed off herself while Bigpaw had been visiting with their ancestors, and the sudden touch tickled and startled her. She got to her paws, playfully poking him back as she did so.

"Sounds like you had a good visit. Let's get on back to camp." She purred, leading the way back out of the cave.

Letting out a rumble of a purr from deep in his throat as Flashpaw playfully prodded him back, Bigpaw flexed his claws as she spoke. Giving a nod, though it wasn't like she could see it, he followed the she-cat and the two of them made their way back home. Soon, he'd be a warrior of ThunderClan and he couldn't wait for when that time came.