A bubbly laugh came from the she-cat as Cricketpaw smiled towards Bouncepaw. She hadn't expected him to know who she was. Her memory was long forgotten within the Clans, brushed off like cobwebs in the morning. "My name is Cricketpaw. I was a medicine cat apprentice for RiverClan many, many moons ago," she explained, taking a seat in front of him and curling her tail over her paws.
Following his gaze, Cricketpaw nodded, remembering how beautiful and brilliant it had all seemed when she had first set paw here during her own ceremony. Geckoleaf had been beside her, and she had felt safe and home for the first time in her young life.
Looking back at Bouncepaw now, she was curious if he felt the same way.
"Welcome to StarClan, and your life as a medicine cat. I'm sure you might have some questions, but first off I just want to say how proud I am to see that ShadowClan and Ebonyfang has you."
Bouncepaw stared up at Cricketpaw- he'd never met a cat from another clan- let alone a medicine cat apprentice. He remained silent for a great deal of time. When she sat, he sat.
His heart was pounding- and also fluttering- and also shallow- and also racing- and...he felt so much at the same time.
"T...thank you. I'm happy to be here- I...I think it's the only path I could take without..." he looked around, paranoid, despite the fact that there was absolutely no way Dawnstar would be caught dead in Starclan, "If I hadn't been chosen...I feel like our leader would have killed me. My eyesight is poor, and I shake a lot, and I don't speak so good and..." he took a deep breath, stopped talking, and look worriedly down to the side.
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Bounceberry
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Please do NOT use bright/neon colors for your text while RPing with me, I cannot read it.
Bump me literally whenever, I'm quite busy and do need reminders!
Bounceberry is Shadowclan's Medicine Cat, apply for healing here. He has a semi-open den policy, make sure to read the rules!
Narrowing her eyes in worry, Cricketpaw lifted her tail, placing just the tip of it on the tom's paws. She knew of Dawnstar, and her blood boiled. If Daydream were still alive, they would've never allowed such a leader to rise to power. "You're safe here. Dawnstar cannot tread in this place - you were called because of the medicine cat path you've chosen." She hoped her tone was reassuring to him.
All of those things he had listed, Cricketpaw felt as though they could be used as strengths. In time, she was certain Bouncepaw would make a fine medicine cat - perhaps one that Daydream would've been proud of.
"You'll soon come to realize that by being selected as the Clans next medicine cat will bring you courage. Strength. The confidence needed when realizing the health of an entire Clan is in your paws." Her blue eyes glowed in the moonlight. "You Clan will look to you for guidance, and if ever you feel lost, just know that StarClan, along with myself," a brief smile as she watched Bouncepaw, "will always be right with you."
Every pawstep of the way, Cricketpaw thought, dedicating herself to watching over this apprentice. He needed someone. Someone to help guide him.
He closed his eyes, in his head he saw scary images- but Cricketpaw had managed to instill a somber calmness in him. He did not respond, at least not right away, his head was tilted towards the ground as the she-cat spoke.
"Thank you, Cricketpaw..." he murmured, his voice was shaky but not with anxiety- his voice flowed with emotion. He didn't want to cry- he wasn't even sure if he could, but as a cat that had been living in one of the harshest environments, with his every breath being scrutinized, he finally felt cared for, he finally felt calm.
He knew it wouldn't last forever, but for the moment, he was happy.
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Bounceberry
____________________________________
Please do NOT use bright/neon colors for your text while RPing with me, I cannot read it.
Bump me literally whenever, I'm quite busy and do need reminders!
Bounceberry is Shadowclan's Medicine Cat, apply for healing here. He has a semi-open den policy, make sure to read the rules!
Relief flowed through the bengal's body as she sensed calm waves quell the anxiety-driven storm within Bouncepaw. He was a promising young cat, who would go on to do wonderous things.
After all, he was treading in great pawsteps of the past.
"You're welcome here anytime, StarCave visit or not," Cricketpaw spoke softly, getting to her paws as she readied herself to leave. "Just think of this place," she glanced around at her own little carved of peace of StarClan sanctuary - a bubbling stream, a few reeds pointing upwards, the sun bright and full overhead with no clouds to block it - before bringing her gaze back to Bouncepaw, "and I'll be right here for whatever you need."
For moons, Cricketpaw had felt lost. She had felt forgotten and discarded, watching helplessly as each living cat she'd once known in the Clans disappear or die. First the living, then with those she knew of beyond death. All fading...
But this... This gave her purpose again. This made her feel needed again. A soft smile stretched across her face as the young she-cat dipped her head to Bouncepaw. "Safe travels back to ShadowClan. Remember who you are, and the legacy you carry in your paws."
It wasn't too often that the young molly heard other voices in her vicinity - at least ones that were directed at her. Ever since her only close friend in StarClan had somewhat disappeared out of the blue, she'd taken to keeping to herself for the most part. Now though, there was a voice directed at her, a rather unfamiliar one, and Cricketpaw turned her head to catch a glimpse of an equally unfamiliar black she-cat. She couldn't place a paw on who this was, but from the fishy scent that lingered around them both she could safely guess this was a fellow RiverClan ancestor.
A smile broke across her maw - she was less cautious of strangers now being in StarClan - and she dipped her head. "My name is Cricketpaw. My dad - I mean, Russetstar - was the leader during my time, many many moons ago." Had it really been three years? It felt like ages ago that she had roamed the earth. "I've been here for quite some time now... Though, I did disappear for a bit... The cat who guided me here at my death, he was a close friend of mine, and he's since vanished, so I haven't really been around lately..." Briefly, an image of Northpath's kind smile flashed in her mind. She dearly missed the tom, and felt a hole in her heart where he had once been.
Tipping her head now as she studied the cat in front of her, curiosity tugged at her pelt. "And what about you? I can tell from your scent that you're RiverClan - and the fact that no other StarClanners hang out by the water otherwise." A light chuckle, like air, floated on her words. "Though I can't say I recognize you by name..."
The black-furred feline didn't relax too much as the newly recognized Cricketpaw spoke. While she'd certainly grown more impulsive since her death—she no longer needed to worry about the physical consequences of her actions—she'd quickly learned that the stargrounds were just as dangerous as the most peaceful place in the living realm. Threats were rare, but they still existed, especially within the dreamverse. Anytime a living cat and a deceased one interacted, unordinary things were bound to happen, and Ravenpaw had observed an influx of living visitors touring the starlands recently.
Russetstar? She'd never heard of such a tomcat before; his reign must've ended at least two dozen moons ago. As far as the molly was concerned, Lionstorm and Sootstar were the only two leaders of RiverClan. The molly backed up. Had… the riverdweller called him 'dad'? So she was the leader's daughter. Impressive. That made her royalty in a sense although clans were more democracy-based than they were monarchist. Still impressive. The majority of leaders never had kittens.
"Ravenpaw," the young molly introduced herself. "I've only been here for around ten moons." And what an uneventful ten moons it had been. For all they enjoyed interfering with the lives of the living, the dead didn't speak to their own much. She had theories about why, but didn't feel the need to share.
"If you don't mind me asking," Ravenpaw inquired, "How did you die?" Some cats were more sensitive about that than others; the honorary apprentice didn't see the point of hiding it. They were all dead. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of, nor was it anything special.
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← light cannot shine without darkness →
Please do not bump unless it has been over a week.
(I have a very good memory, I promise.)
Have a wonderful day!
Ravenpaw. The molly's name sounded vaguely familiar to her, though she hadn't been paying much attention to RiverClan lately - well, as much as she should've been anyways.
"Well, welcome." A sweep of her tail as Cricketpaw gestured to the rather empty looking starry terrain. She'd carved it out as a more peaceful place for her to visit, away from the rest of the ancestors and a place that consistently reminded her of home. A smile graced her face as she realized that the age different between the two might not be too much. "I'm usually here, if I'm not at the pool in camp watching the Clans below."
At her question of her death, Cricketpaw simply sighed. It didn't affect her like it used to - with a shivering cower and a side-step of the actual question. "A Syndicate warrior named Hephaestus - he was seeking revenge on RiverClan. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." There was no hint of malice in her tone, or despair. Simply just straight forward factual sentences.
"What about yourself? If you don't mind me asking," she mewed, extending the same curtesy she had been offered.
The black-pelted molly smiled gratefully at the welcome. For all that she tried to help out unfortunate newcomers, no feline had greeted her upon her death; Cricketpaw's introduction reached her many moons late, but it still meant something important.
That pool. Ravenpaw spent the majority of her free time glaring down at the living world. The foolishness of some cats never ceased to amaze her, and not in a good way. She once told another that she lurked in the stars not for her own sake, but for that of her living companions—that hadn't been a lie. Not at all, and she still stood by that choice.
"'Syndicate'?" the experienced apprentice echoed thoughtfully. Despite her upbringing, she'd never heard much about the Evil Eras. Most felines simply didn't enjoy bringing it up, and the majority of felines these days knew little to nothing about those times.
"No, I don't mind," Ravenpaw reassured. After all, she'd asked first. "It was nothing impressive, I'm afraid. Simply put, I tried climbing a tree mid-leafbare and it didn't quite go as planned. A crow startled me; I slipped and was impaled by an unfortunately placed, rather pointy, upward-pointing branch."
__________________
← light cannot shine without darkness →
Please do not bump unless it has been over a week.
(I have a very good memory, I promise.)
Have a wonderful day!
Snowmask laughed, her bright white pelt easily noticeable, but her face was black, giving her the name. “I died from a ShadowClan warrior’s killing blow while my calm were driving them out of their old camp” she purred at the apprentice. ”I was surprised when I came to StarClan that all the cats here weren’t sort of starry, like they had been described as when I was living. I just wish I could have stayed with my clan longer, to help them while Dawnstar has take over their camp. I was just a warrior though, I have almost no power here. I was about 14 moons when I died, I just wish I had had more life. Well, I say that but you were only an apprentice” she smiled at the smaller cat and flicked her tail. She had hardly faded, but you could almost see the grass through her paws. She hadn’t been a very important cat in WindClan, but she felt disappointed that she could be forgotten so soon.
((Don’t mind me joining in, do you? I’m a bit bored haha)) @spade @bmkmb
Last edited by Yeeter; February 21st, 2021 at 05:32 PM.