Garpaw's Moonstone Journey

Though it hadn't been too long since Adderpaw had treated Garpaw's paw pad, his mentor had let her know that it was time for him to make that sacred journey to the Moonstone. Hooray. She'd get to spend an entire evening with the whiny, petulant tom. How absolutely terrific. Frustratedly, she grabbed two pre-made bundles of traveling herbs, consisting primarily of burnet, chamomile, daisy leaves, and sorrel. She scarfed hers down quickly, already quite used to the bitter flavor. Whenever she had a surplus of nectar or honey, the she-cat added a bit to every bundle before doling it out to apprentices to help with the taste- thank StarClan she had some extra now. She dripped a bit of honey onto the unfolded bundle, letting it settle a bit before gathering it together and leaving her den, setting it right outside the apprentice's den before ducking inside. "Garpaw, let's go!" She called out, thankful that she didn't have to sleep in the crowded area anymore. She pointed her tail towards the bundle of herbs sitting next to her, an annoyed look already settled onto her face. She was not going to enjoy this trip.

Garpaw's green eyes opened out of sync, his cream-colored muzzle morphing into a deep frown. "Huhwhaddyawant," he mumbled, getting to his paws and stretching with an arch of his spine. The orange tom waddled out of the apprentice's den, eyes still bleary with sleep. He took one look at Adderpaw and let out a soul-suffering groan. Highstones? With no food? Garpaw was absolutely positive that he was going to die. One sniff of the traveling herbs made him devour them ravenously, tricked by the honey, and he almost threw it all up instantly, barely managing to swallow. "Auch! Disgusting!" This was going to be a long, long night.

---

The orange apprentice gawked at the sight of the Moonstone. He offhandedly wondered how the medicine cats spent so much time around that thing-- it's so bright. As instructed, he wandered up to the stone and booped it with his nose, distantly amazed at how quickly he fell asleep. That was fast even for him.

StarClan smelled wonderful. There was so many fish in the river he could hardly see the bottom, and Garpaw could feel his mouth rapidly filling with saliva.

"Garpaw," a deep voice rumbled. It took a few more tries of the apprentice's name to get him to turn around. A dark blue-grey tom stood behind him, with a deeply unimpressed expression. "You need to get your act together and stop acting like an overfed kit."

Garpaw gawked at the tom. "Who are you to tell me what to do? I'm the pride of RiverClan," he spat.

"My name is Stormstep. I was the first deputy of RiverClan, and you're a gluttonous disgrace. If you do not learn from your ways and uphold the code, you will be made to learn." His tail lashed angrily, and he looked half a second from curling his lips and spitting at the apprentice.

The orange apprentice just laughed. "You're dead! I'm not scared of you." What are cat ghosts supposed to do to flesh and blood like him?

"For now."

---

Garpaw blinked at the warrior's response, and when his eyes opened he was in the cave again. Stupid cat ghosts. "Come on," he grumbled to Adderpaw. "I want to go back to sleep."