[Fawn]

Leaf-fall Medicine Cat Meeting

The medicine cats, with the loss of StarClan's Claws and no guidance from StarClan, did not choose to meet for this half-moon gathering. It was less 'mutually decided upon' and more a matter of circumstance, with each healer staying close to their newly-formed Clan, still combating the wounds and fatigue accrued through the moving process.

But StarClan has not forgotten this meeting. Each medicine cat will be visited by a healer from days past, all passing along the same message: look for me where the stones whisper, under the light of the next half moon.

These visions can be seen together (see follow-up post for example), or they can occur separately in a dream while the healer(s) sleeps.

Suggested visitors:
Tigereye for Kindleflare and Ravenpaw.
Crowfeather for Ebonyheart, showing great displeasure.
Sagepaw will be visited by Spottedfeather, and this will take place 'off screen'.
As of leaf-fall 13, Dewfrost is now dead. (refer to follow-up post)

If you have any questions, please reach out to me and I'll answer them as best I can! Simply post your healer's StarClan visit in this thread. This will count as 1 post for February's High Rank Check.

---

curiosity is not a sin...

...but we should exercise caution with our curiosity

Shadowchaser

The night of the half-moon was spent sitting vigil for Dewfrost. A full recovery never came to the former-RainClan healer, not since becoming a mouthpiece for StarClan. Shadowchaser could not say what truly happened to Dewfrost, but what he imagined to be the truth always sent a shiver down his spine. He believed in the might of their forebears, and had seen them give lives to leaders. It was an experience that was hard to endure. The idea of Dewfrost trying to hold on to the will and urgency of StarClan itself was too much for Shadowchaser to fathom.

You saved us, Dewfrost. Thank you, for all you have endured for us. He leaned in close to the carefully groomed body laid out in the center of the mossy hollow - the new MistClan camp - and gently licked her ear. A few small doubts wriggled in his head like worms, coursing through the detritus of fatigue and grief gathered at the back of his mind.

What if she can't make it to StarClan? What if something - or someone - was blocking their access to their ancestors? The earthquake had shaken up the entire valley, destroyed the moon tree - what if it's aftershocks had reached even the stars? Did they feel it there too, in the light of Silverpelt?

Shadowchaser kept these worries to himself, trying to shield his young companion - er, apprentice now - from more stress upon her shoulders. Only Newtstripe knew the depth of Shadowchaser's unease. Sensory memory of the scarred ginger tabby made him draw a deeper breath, taking solace in all that Newtstripe was, and knowing that their shared nest awaited him in the morning.

With a glance to his left, he pressed his thin dark shoulder against Rustpaw's in silent solidarity. All they had to do now was wait out the moonlit hours--

Something shimmered around Dewfrost's body. Shadowchaser froze as if petrified, golden eyes widening as a spectral form of their healer companion seemed to rise out of the unmoving body. It was the spirit of Dewfrost, undoubtedly, and she carried an ethereal quality about her, the she-cat made beautiful by the lack of pain and grief and fatigue that plagued her in her last days.

Only Rustpaw beside him seemed to see her, and Shadowchaser's heart thumped into his throat as he struggled to find words. The spirit of Dewfrost looked right at them, her expression not as harsh as it once was.

"Look for me where the stones whisper, by the light of the next half moon."

Dewfrost held their gazes for a few long seconds, then she padded away, slipping through those that were still holding vigil like a cool wind. It ruffled some fur, brushed some whiskers, but none seemed to pay it any mind. Only Shadowchaser and Rustpaw we're privy to this private vision.

"Goodbye," he murmured, expression soft. "and we will."

medicine cat of mistclan

Abyss Phoenix (Snewt mention) | jk rowling | background image | table by phoenix

BlooRey DVD, ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
Ghost the Undead Goddess

[Abyss]

The presence of the young healer had been absent from the camp the entire day. She hadn’t left the Medicine Den for…well, it wasn’t entirely clear how long she had been in there without leaving. She hadn’t come out for food, nor for water. She hadn’t spoken to anyone, save for a few very brief and quiet words to Shadowchaser when they were needed. Hours were spent curled up in the back of the den, though it wasn’t her own nest that she laid in. Instead, she could be seen huddled in the nest that, in the time since Mistclan had arrived to their new camp, Dewfrost had resided in, her forehead pressed against the edge and her nose lightly brushing the bottom between her paws.

She couldn’t really recall if anyone had tried to visit her. She swore she heard the voices of both Riverpaw and Poppyp- er….Poppyrain. But she hadn’t spoke. All she wanted was time alone, something she could never say she had ever sought after before. For so long she craved the company of others. Listening to other voices and the problems of others was a distraction from her own thoughts. Her self-doubt, her worries, her struggles, her memories that haunted her in her dreams, reminding her of what and who she had lost that she held so dear. But now?......she just needed to be alone.


Her eyes were clouded, droopy even, and horribly tired when she finally came out, silently joining Shadowchaser in the middle of camp. Though the body of her fallen mentor laid before her, those tired amber eyes were trained downward at her own paws. She couldn’t look. Not yet. She couldn’t look that morning, nor could she do it now. A part of her wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that Dewfrost was just sleeping. But…she knew better than that. After all she had already seen during and after the earthquake, she knew. But still. While she and Dewfrost had grown far apart during their time together, far further than Rustpaw had ever intended or wished for, fond memories still played in her head.

The day that Rustpaw agreed to become the Medicine Cat’s Apprentice. Some of their training days. The days when Dewfrost would praise her, or send her off to check on her favorite Elders. The very first Medicine Cat Meeting she had ever attended. She missed those days.

Though her eyes were closed now, she felt a gentle press against her shoulder, likely Shadowchaser. He was going to be her new mentor…..she wasn’t unhappy about this. She had always adored the black tom and had wished for his company many times. She had learned a lot from him in her time as Dewfrost’s Apprentice, and now he was her actual mentor. But…..she really wished it had been under different circumstances.

Through the darkness of her closed eyes, there was a strange glow that met her eyelids, emitting a gentle blue light that didn’t fade. A very faint whisper blew through her ears of a voice so far away and yet so near. When her eyes opened, she found she was looking at paws, but they were not her own. Instead, they were translucent, nearly completely see-through, and they were the source of the calming blue light. Her eyes slowly lifted, growing slightly wider with each movement. By the time she saw the face of the cat before her, a lump caught in her throat and her vision blurred through a watery haze. While her body lay at their paws, Dewfrost, or rather her spirit, stood before them. She very briefly flicked her gaze to the side, but no one else was looking at her. Did they not see her? Oh, wait…..regular cats couldn’t see spirits, could they. Her eyes returned to her previous mentor as she began to speak. What she said came in the form of a riddle, or a message, or a vision? They just weren’t clear in meaning. Then again, nothing involving Starclan was ever clear.

When she finished, the spirit looked between Shadowchaser and herself. When she met Dewfrost’s eyes, there was a part of her chest that stung. She didn’t look pained, or worried, or scared, or angry. She just seemed….peaceful. She tried to stop the thoughts from poking through, but she wasn’t entirely successful. I’m glad that you are more at peace now than you were with me…

As the spirit began to turn and walk away, a moment of panic set in. No…where are you going? Don’t leave me! I have so much to say! She wanted to say these things out loud in hopes that she would stay. But her voice was stuck within her throat, only her thoughts speaking what she wished she could say. Her body shook for a moment, wanting to rush forward, but still, she did not. No one else saw what they could see.

Her head lowered to her chest, tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to swallow down the pain, but it didn’t fade. With a slight shift of her front legs, the rusty red she-cat leaned her head into Shadowchaser’s neck, trying to hide her eyes in his fur. For a split moment, she felt bad. She didn’t want to get his fur wet with tears. But…after being alone all day, she needed this. Some form of physical touch. Any form of comfort. Her voice was quiet, nearly inaudible, only a whisper. If you are able to find them…

“...say hello to mother and sister for me…”

RUSTPAW

Medicine Cat Apprentice

Fawn ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 Ghost the Undead Goddess BlooRey DVD

[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Ebonyheart,

Livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams

Starclan had been quiet, more so than usual. They had been late on their warning signal for the earthquake, and they had chosen to embody only one cat when it came time to return to what was left of the valley the clans once knew. There was the curiosity to know if any of the other healers had received any information from their ancestors, or if she was specifically being singled out due to her current... situation. 

Even the clan was quiet, the night around her silent as the moon hung above her head in the vast darkness of the sky. It was a half-moon, normally the time in which all the healers would meet and converse with Starclan... but not this night. The clans, now three instead of five, didn't have a sacred place anymore as the Moon Tree had been toppled and it's roots torn from the ground. 

The smallest of noises caught Ebonyheart's attention as her pale green hues shifted to find Sagepaw's pale form curl tighter within her moss nest. The young apprentice had come from Treeclan, formerly mentored by the foul-tempered warrior known as Falconstorm. Her training wasn't completed yet, and it now fell to the elder of the two mollies to see her gain her fully name and rank as healer. 

Sagepaw had retired for the night earlier, leaving Ebonyheart to sit alone within the welcoming singleness. With the recent sunrises and moonfalls, she had been accompanied by Icefang, the two she-cat practically attached at the hip since the loss of Birdstar. Not to mention the inky black she-cat's other... situation. 

The thought of it caused the thick-furred molly to shift, though she was happy that the length and shagginess of her coat help hide the weight she had recently been gaining. Her former leader's kits seemed to be growing healthily within her hidden belly, and currently only the white and gray warrior known as Icefang was aware of the situation. 

Though, knowing the 'all-mighty' Starclan, she was sure that their warrior ancestors were well aware of it already. 

Lifting her head back up, Ebonyheart let her mossy gaze focus on the slight twinkling of stars up ahead in Silverpelt, curious as if one of those happened to be the light of Birdstar. The handsome gray tomcat's body had never been discovered or found, but with the state of the valley after the quake there was no doubt that he couldn't have survived without making it to the tribe with the rest of his clan.

Her heart squeezed within her chest, that pain still so fresh and real despite the moons since it had happened. "You have broken the laws we placed down." A new voice broke through the emotions present within Ebonyheart's fluffy form, causing her to quickly turn her head to come face to face with a dark coated tom. She didn't know his face, or his natural scent aside from the familiar brush of Stoneclan. His eyes were pale, his body wasn't nearly as dense as some of the Starclanners she had met, though not nearly as translucent as Mintleaf. 

"You mean the laws given moons before any of us were born?" Ebonyheart didn't move, her tone even and sharp and proper as it always was. She didn't give a respectful bow of her head, not this time - and it was something she knew her mother would reprimand her about should the old black and white elder discover it.

"Does it matter? Rules are rules and you are not above them." His tail flickered behind him, the clarity of pure disappointment full within his hazy yellow gaze. While he didn't seem like a naturally intimidating feline, Crowfang made sure to use specific Starclan tricks to deep his voice and intensify his aura. His visit to Ebonyheart was not for idle chatter, he had a purpose and a punishment to dole out for the youngster.

"Do you know why Medicine Cats are forbidden to take mates, to have kits?" He asked, tone cold as he walked forwards to be face to face with the black she-cat as she sat still. Their gazes met, pale green against aged yellow though there was nothing he could gather from Ebonyheart's stone-cold stare. Her face didn't have distinct emotion upon it, and her posture showed she didn't fear him. 

"Are you here for a history lesson or are you going to tell me something important for Gorgeclan?" Ebonyheart didn't hesitate in her response, she didn't want to sit here and play riddles and games with an old tomcat from Stoneclan. 

"You may be grown child, but you do not speak to your elders that way. Crowfang deserves your respect as the first healer of Stoneclan." A familiar growl burned within Ebonyheart's ears, causing a rise of irritation to burn beneath her thick black pelt. She didn't shift her gaze but soon enough the image of Badgerpelt, in her black and white star studded coat padded up next to the tom known as Crowfang. 

"The Medicine Cat who abandoned his clan?" Ebonyheart asked, her tone still sharp though the faintest hints of curiosity rose within her voice. She had heard the story, that under Fallingstar's rule the healer had just suddenly up and vanished. It would seem odd that a cat tasked with healing others would just leave them with no notice... but isn't that what Falconstorm had done as well?

"Watch your tongue child!" Badgerpelt snapped, yellowed fangs showing beneath her muzzle before Crowfang held up a tail to stop the elder she-cat. 

"My death was not in the plans of the stars, though it was not my intention to leave Stoneclan without capable paws to care for it." Crowfang answered in a very vague but steady tone, one that showed he was not pleased with being questioned by a younger cat. "But you chose to seek out the companionship you did, and as such you have to now suffer the consequences of your actions."

"The plans of the stars." Ebonyheart almost snorted in disgust as such a statement, one that didn't go unmissed by the two Starclan warriors before her. She was not gaining herself any favor or sympathy with her actions, not that she really wanted any. The thick furred she-cat knew that at some point her ancestors would come after her for being pregnant. 

Did she plan for it? No, it was something that happened purely because of nature. She could have prevented it by avoiding her attraction and her feelings for the tomcat who sired her unborn litter... but was it truly fair to any feline to severe the connections to their heart? It was in these moments that she could understand the crazed anger that Falconstorm had experienced during his time as Treeclan's healer. 

"Just like my sister. Opalcloud couldn't be bothered to follow the rules either. She made her nest, and muddled our family linage while she did so. I should have expected no different from her kin." Badgerpelt snarled, her tail flickering around behind her as stone-cold green hues bore into Ebonyheart's face. It was a story she'd never heard before, but judging by the venom in the elder molly's tone it was still a festering wound. 

"I followed the rules, I was raised to respect the law of Medicine Cats, the law of Starclan." Ebonyheart responded in her steady tone, though each of her muscles were tense with apprehension at this point. Confrontation was one thing, to be ganged up on and shamed by two deceased cats was another. Queens were revered by all, unless it was a she-cat who wasn't allowed to bring life into the clan.  

"And yet, knowing your place in the clan you still decided to bare Birdstar's kits." Crowfang stepped forwards, interjecting himself between Ebonyheart and Badgerpelt. "And for that, you have broken the most sacred of rules for Medicine Cats and you will be punished." Faded yellow eyes stared into the pale hues of mossy green, watching as the ire within the youngster rose ever so slightly. His name still yet triggering emotion from within the chest of the expecting healer. 

"Your kits will never know what it feels like to walk beside Starclan, they are banned from ever taking the mantle of Medicine Cat or Leadership. They will suffer the mistakes of their parents, and you will suffer the loss of motherhood. As Gorgeclan's only full healer, you will pass off your litter and train Sagepaw to correctly take your place." Crowfang echoed, his voice blending into the tone of several voices as if others of Starclan were adding to the conversation. 

It was a punishment passed down by all who resided in Silverpelt. 

Ebonyheart sat as still as a stone, her fierce gaze yet to leave the faded maw of Crowfang as he spoke. She was uncomfortable, irritated and temperamental at the moment, not to mention all the pent up frustrations and heartache that she had experienced up to this point. The fact that this ancestor of hers was okay with punishing unborn kits nearly driving her blind with fury. A strike against her would have been enough to drive their point home, but Starclan was as Starclan is and they had to sink their claws in deeper. 

They had been ignored and rebutted, so they had to make the offender feel smaller that reality. Ebonyheart had to be put in her place. 

A low growl rose in the black she-cat's throat as she stood up on her paws. "For being our guide, Starclan certainly likes to play the role of dictator. We have bowed down to you for moons upon moons, playing the same games as always. Starclan has left us to fend for ourselves, forced us to move and change time and time again, yet your laws remain the same. Why should we be forced to adjust while you lay up in the stars without so much as a thought to change with us." 

Her fluffy nub lashed unassumingly behind her, but it was enough for her as the young healer continued. The fuel of her fire was the last image she had of Birdstar, the singular tomcat who had somehow managed to capture her heart despite the intensity of her trying to avoid those feelings. She was proud to carry the tom's kits, even if she wasn't the one who would be able to raise them. Had he been alive... she had no doubt in her mind that he'd be proud and quick to defend her station against Starclan. 

She had blindly followed their ancestors before, but not now. 

"You can punish me all you want, I'll train Sagepaw and Icefang will raise my kits. I can live with that punishment," As much as it made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest, if it meant that she could watch her offspring grow from a distance then she would take it. From the begining, Ebonyheart knew she wouldn't be able to mother and care for her kits the way most, if not all Queens could. Despite how much she had fallen in love with Birdstar, her true calling was to be a Medicine Cat.

Broken rules or not.

"As long as you can live with the fact that your archaic laws will continue to drive the clans into ruin." Her venom was present in her voice, ignoring the hiss of indignation from Badgerpelt as Ebonyheart held her glare with Crowfang - the tom sent to her by Starclan. "Now, are you here for a reason or just to try and make me feel as big as a spider in your presence?"

Crowfang didn't say anything, but his tail flickered to press against Badgerpelt in some sort of silent communication because within seconds the starry apparition of the she-cat faded before she vanished all together. There was something like recognition that flashed within the old yellow eyes of Crowfang before that attempted intimidation fell to reveal the tired, old healer rather than the Starclan sent voice of punishment.

He didn't respond to her accusation, but Ebonyheart could tell that her words touched some sort of nerve that he mused upon silently. After a moment, Crowfang parted his jaws to speak, but instead of his voice it was the most quiet of whispers like a gust of wind and echoing mews as his own starry form started to fade away like the ends of a dream.

"Look for me where the stones whisper, under the light of the next half moon."

39 Moons GorgeClan Medicine Cat 

Abyss Fawn BlooRey DVD || Made by Fawn || 2083 Words

[BlooRey DVD]

"Some people see scars, and it is wounding they remember.
To me they are proof of the fact that there is healing.”

KIndleFlare

It was strange to be sat as she was, awake yet seeing someone she should not being seeing. Or at least... She assumed she was awake, after all Ravenpaw sat stone-still next to her, eyes trained on the very same figure. Surely if someone else shared a vision of a most assuredly dead specter, then it was a true vision and not some form of insanity, right? Though a part of her supposed that, theoretically, they could both be crazy, what with all the insanity that had sundered the Clans in recent moons.

Realizing that she’d been staring with her jaw open, the ginger and white she-cat flinched visibly and brought herself back to reality. Her ears shoved forward as she moved from her half-seated pose to standing, brushing her tail against Ravenpaw’s flank to stir him from his own shock. Still feeling as though her tongue was made of stone, the GaleClan medicine cat cleared her throat and took a slow step forward, her aging joints complaining softly.

“T-Tigerheart?” She croaked, feeling the weight of missing the tom she’d come to see as a son she’d never had deep in her chest. With a sad smile, he nodded his head, briefly glancing toward Ravenpaw as he did so. When he spoke, his voice ever-present yet simultaneously but a whisper on the wind, Kindleflare struggled to stifle the tremble in her legs. Biting against the emotion heavy in her throat, she listened as her former apprentice continued.

“Though I wish I could introduce myself properly, it will have to wait for another time…” Unable to form the words to answer, Kindleflare simply nodded in response. It had been too long since she’d heard anything from StarClan. And then to be faced with Tigerheart out of the blue… If it wasn’t for the urgency behind his eyes, she would have run to him simply to be near him again. Holding her breath, Kindleflare waited to hear his voice again.

“Look for me where the stones whisper, under the light of the next half moon.”

Even as he spoke the last pawful of words, his form began to shimmer. Unable to find the strength to surge forward, she could only watch as he smiled at her again, her sadness and longing reflected behind his starry gaze. When he finally twinkled out like the last star in the morning sky, Kindleflare felt herself deflate as the air rushed from her lungs again. But she could hear those words, over and over. It was both Tigerheart’s voice, and someone completely different all at once. Wrapping her tail around Ravenpaw to draw him closer, seeking comfort in his familiar presence, she shut her amber eyes.

“L-Look for me… W-Where the stones wh-whisper… Under the l-light of the next h-half moon.”

Medicine Cat of GaleClan

93 moons. ~464 words. @tag

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Xanh Mono][googlefont=Dosis]

RAVENPAW

g a l e c l a n 8 a p p r e n t i c e






Open your eyes, choking on his breath.

<sub>[attr="class","raven-content"]Ravenpaw felt dazed as he fixed his eyes on the figure in front of him, a cat that had seem to slip out of the shadows without warning. His fur stood on end as he realised that this stranger carried no scent. It was as though the cat didn't exist at all. Green eyes passed over the detail in the tom's fur, his dark stripes and his hunched posture, which sent a wave of foreboding flooding over him. There was something wrong. Of course there was something wrong, he was seeing things! But as this tabby stood in grim silence before both him and Kindleflare, he slowly became aware of the fact that she was staring at the apparition with the same awareness as he. The bob-tailed silhouette emerged more into the light, revealing a glimmering sheen to his fur that certainly was not normal.

All at once, Ravenpaw found himself entirely convinced of StarClan's existence. And he was afraid. So afraid. Growing up, little Ravenkit grew to view StarClan as a comforting and benevolent watchful eye. Ravenpaw grew to view StarClan as a comforting story. But now that Tigereye stood here before him, he was overcome with a sense of power of the likes he had never felt before. His legs felt weak, and his throat felt dry as bone.

It was the feathery touch of Kindleflare's tail against his flank that roused him from his awed stupor, and he stood as if on frozen, stiff legs. When Kindleflare spoke, the sound was almost deafening in the silence that Tigereye's appearance had brought. He swallowed as the name rolled around in his brain. He had never known Tigereye, Demon had taken him before he was born. To be in his presence felt impossible, wrong, and strange. When Tigereye's gaze met his, he felt his own lower down to those large brown paws, unworthiness soaring up and squashing him flat. Why was he here? And why could Ravenpaw see him?

"L̵o̸o̷k̶ ̴f̵o̵r̷ ̴m̷e̸ ̸w̸h̵e̷r̸e̵ ̸t̷h̸e̴ ̵s̸t̸o̷n̷e̶s̴ ̷w̴h̸i̴s̵p̵e̵r̴,̷ ̶u̴n̷d̴e̸r̵ ̴t̸h̴e̶ ̶l̴i̴g̸h̴t̸ ̶o̶f̴ ̸t̴h̴e̷ ̴n̶e̶x̶t̶ ̵h̷a̵l̵f̸ ̵m̶o̷o̶n̸.̵"

The words came from Tigereye's mouth, but seemed to hit Ravenpaw from every direction at once, an amplified cacophony of sound and meaning. It shook through him with all the force of an earthquake, instilling itself in his mind, echoing and repeating as though to emphasize its importance. When Ravenpaw mustered up the courage to look back up at Tigereye, that terrible sense of dread had abated. Instead, he could see a warm smile on a broad but gentle face. Then, his features began to blur and fade, gone as abruptly as he had arrived. Ravenpaw finally felt like he could gasp for breath, as if something had let go of its grip on his entire being. Kindleflare drew him close, and he pressed against her as though to draw energy from her orange fur. He heard her murmur close to his ear, the message that was still repeating in his own head. The words seared into his mind. Not a message. An instruction.

Look for me where the stones whisper, under the light of the next half-moon.

He reached out his white paw to hook around Kindleflare, the closest thing to a hug the little cat could achieve.</sub>

You grimace, then smile.

544 words

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