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ﾟ。 Mossfreckle (ShC)
ﾟ･｡･ﾟ they/he ~ medicine cat apprentice
❦ Diligent white tipped paws padded out of camp… thump, thump, thump… with each fall of his paw steps his heart beat intensified… thump, thump, thump… ocean static filled the canals of his angular ears but this time it wasn’t anxiety that sent the blood coursing beneath his pelt…thump, thump, thump… his time had come and the stars twinkled above his head in a comforting halo, his kin smiled above him, those whose paws he had to fill watched above him - insecurities claws raked against his tattered heart but he showed them down, ripped them from his flesh and locked the tenuous being deep within the darkest parts of his starry mind… later… but later would be different, later would be the same but in the end nothing would ever be the same. Angular head swung from side to side as he started up at the conifer canopy that loomed above them, the tall pines glinted with the twinkling of the stars above and Mossfreckle held his white twinged muzzle a little higher, lanky form moved with humble confidence, pride for once settled warmly over his freckled pelt - not pride for himself per se but for what he has accomplished for his clan… he was capable, he had proven to be a choice that made Lostspark proud, had proven further his dedication to his clan - to the clan who had given and taken and molded him - and his dedication to Lostspark who had given a starry eyed warrior a family when he had none. Silence hung in the air as excitement mingled with the weight of the situation in a tête-à-tête of emotions that wisped in all the things left unsaid between the two felines, all the things that didn’t need to be said between mentor and apprentice as it simply was as if the words flowed between the two in starry veins of knowledge.
❦ So few moons had past but as the medicine cat apprentice stood at the entrance to the Starcave he felt the tempestuous emotions rising to well in his tattered heart, mossy hues settled to rest with his mentors amber eyes sparking wildfires between them as the laters lips curled in a smile of rare affection… You ready, kiddo… Lostspark’s lilting voice settled weightily on the sensitive hairs within the canals of his pressed back ears, freckled oriental shaped form grew rigid as his angular head canted down in a nod, ”Yes, Lostspark. I am ready,” the words where akward but confident as the clam tones slipped from his maw, ”Thank you for everything, for the knowledge and the family, I love you,” words laid himself bare before his mentor but he had stopped caring long ago about appearing and unmoving and masked statue before her, ”whenever you are ready I will follow.”
Pausing midstep, breath catching as the Medicine Cat faltered, suddenly frozen in place. She couldn't do it. Couldn't look over her shoulder at the tom who'd just told her in simple terms the depth of their appreciation for her. It sounded so simple, so final, his words, and Lostspark could not believe it. She did not blink, did not breathe, just stared straight ahead, waiting for the inevitable moment where she would wake from this dream, or where Mossfreckle would laugh and take it back, would say he had been joking.
Neither came, and when a few moments passed, and it sunk in that he was really here, that he had really meant what he'd said, Lostspark seemed to reboot. Her head lifted, swiveling to face her apprentice, hope flickering in her gaze. Had she truly, for once, not messed something up? Was she capable of being loved?
Turning back, the scarred grey molly padded back to stand in front of Mossfreckle. She'd once had a brother. An older one, a cat she'd looked up to. And he'd betrayed her, had left her for dust. While she could not see herself accepting another older brother any time soon, could not place her trust so recklessly like that again, she could be an older sister. She could try her hardest to be someone to look up to.
She reached up to press her muzzle to theirs, fogged gaze warm. "Thank you for everything. I love you, too. Welcome to the family, little brother." They were unconventional, but they could make it work.
With that, she turned and padded into the darkness of the Starcave, her plumed tail flicking behind her in a universal gesture indicating that she be followed. And when the starstone came into view, glowing with ethereal light, for a moment, Lostspark was cast back to the previous two times she's been here.
The first time;
'She was drawn to the light, like a moth to a flame, and one paw reached out on it's own accord to press against the cold, smooth surface.
Paw to stone, a streak of burning claws raking down her spine, a foretelling, a warning. A curse to come.'
The second time;
'A glowing crystal, a fallen star, dimmed on the ground. Secrets of the Stars and the Starless within it's beckoning depths.
Muzzle to stone, a phantom caress of something not of this world, a whisper of an embrace.'
And now, the third;
A reuniting of lost souls, of secrets untold.
Of greetings to murmur, and goodbyes to lament.
Gaze not on stone, but on the cat she'd led here. The cat she was fully focused on now. The last two times she's come here, it had been for herself. This time, it was for him. Settling at the starstone's side, Lostspark watched them take it all in. "The Starcave." She offered, voice quiet, but still carrying. "There's not much I have to say - and even if I knew what to say," she laughed softly. "Which I don't, by the way - I'm as new in this as you are. All I can tell you is this; thank for sticking by me these past few moons, thank you for not disappearing on me." A bitter taste filled her mouth. Both Eveningpaw and Hollowpaw had disappeared on her, and to this day she wondered where they had gone. "Thank you for cooperating with me, even if I may have not been the best mentor at every turn."
She exhaled softly. This moment was for her, and for him. Mostly the latter, so if she could not mess this up, that would be great.
"Mossfreckle, you have trained hard to understand and implement the ways of a Medicine Cat, and I have no doubt that you will continue to serve ShadowClan for many moons to come. I, Lostspark, stand here today to name you a full Medicine Cat of ShadowClan." Resting her muzzle on Mossfreckle's head, Lostspark smiled faintly. She pulled away after a moment. "Congratulations."
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ﾟ。 Mossfreckle (ShC)
ﾟ･｡･ﾟ they/he ~ medicine cat
❦ He had said something wrong… stupid, stupid, stupid… the herbalist had laid himself out bare and raw and he was going to he rejected, starry mind reeled with realisation of all the things he had seemingly taken wrong all these moons - was the bond simply that of necessity, of duty… did he take a wrong pawstep somewhere on his reasoning, was the feline he loved as family going to reject him, look at him disgusted and wave him in to get this over with… Lostspark moved, each step was cautious and meticulous as she moved towards him, lithe grey form was taunt as if she worried a singular whiskers length of a misstep would shatter the moment into a million pieces, tatter her tattered heart as his own heart thumped ruthlessly in his ears with excitement, anticipation, and fear… thump, thump, thump… mossy hues met glazed amber eyes that seemed to spark with the fires he imagined had once blazed as wildfires within their depths… thump, thump, thump… white twinged muzzle reached up to meet her apprentices own white twinged maw… [I]thump, thump,thump…[I] words slipped from her tongue and Mossfreckle’s body flooded with relive, with love, with the feeling of acceptance and family he had lost so long ago and found in once again in the starry depths of a cave far from home - Thank you for everything. I love you, too. Welcome to the family, little brother… she thanked him as if he had done something for her but little did she know that she had given him the world, she had given him her love and respect, his thank you would never be enough in the end.
❦ The words said hung in the air thickly for a moment, a singular moment that felt like a million moons lingered before Lostspark turned and padded deeper into the belly of the Starcave as her plumed tail beckoned him within, something within the cave pulled him in as his white tipped paws moved forward pulling his lanky freckled form along - the oriental tom remained taunt, each pawstep lead him closer to his fate, to the moment he had waited and trained for for moons - nothing would be the same even though a single word was relinquished from his title, Lostspark stepping down and he himself taking another feline under his starry skies to fill the role he now left empty. The freckled herbalist let her speak, let Lostspark say everything she wanted to say offering her a soft, sad smile when she thanked him for not leaving - he bit his tongue when she said said she hadn’t always been the best mentor… Mossfreckle wanted to protest, to tell her she had been nothing but perfect… well as perfect as a mortal feline could be.
Mossfreckle, you have trained hard to understand and implement the ways of a Medicine Cat, and I have no doubt that you will continue to serve ShadowClan for many moons to come. I, Lostspark, stand here today to name you a full Medicine Cat of ShadowClan.
❦ A simple string of words, a few sentences of formality uttered in lilting heartfelt tones, starry mind glowed with pride as he beamed at Lostspark, oriental shaped head dipped in respect as his mentored fluffy head rested on top of his angular head, her chin resting on the star which adorned his forehead - he licked his mentors shoulder… well, former mentor… his sister, his family, his world… he had wanted to make her proud and as they stood in the dark star hewn cave he knew he had, for once he believed he had done something worthy of pride, for once he felt as if he had not been a choice made in vain. Mossfreckle was Shadowclan’s medicine cat, he would take an apprentice soon - he served his clan even at the extent of his own life, he was Shadowclan in a sense, he was the beating heart that kept it alive and he would serve his clan until Starclan called him home.
Re: The Starcave
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