“Okay Figpaw make sure the moss is nice and dry before they arrive.” Peachblossom had been on her paws all morning preparing for the Medicine Cat herb exchange. It was insane to think what started as a secret meeting between Harepaw, Peachpaw, and Startledpaw would soon turn into a way for all the healers to meet and share stories along with herbs outside of their official meetings. They healers took turns when it comes to ‘hosting’ the event and this time it was Peachblossoms, the short molly took the reigns on the medicine cat group once Saplingskies retired, aside from Hareflight she was healer longer than anyone else, it was her job to make sure the new healers felt welcomed. Peachblossom, as long as the clan was taken care of first, would even provide a small mouse as a snack for her co workers. The mice she brought with her today were even more special because she caught them herself in the neutral territory. Maybe she went a little overboard but she wanted to make sure everything was perfect, she had slacked off slightly when she was swollen with kits and now that she was free she took on her normal hard worker self again. Peachblossom wished for her apprentice to find his own friend he could look towards for advice and help when the pressure of being a Medicine Cat weighed heavier than normal, much like the friendship she had with Startledcrow and Hareflight.
It still felt odd coming all the way to Moon Cave and not visit Starclan but it was nice to take a break every now and then and just enjoy the beautiful scenery around the outside of the cave. “Figpaw make sure the moss balls have plenty of water soaked in, I want to make sure everyone has plenty to drink.” She was grateful that she got such a hardworking apprentice like herself. Figpaw never complained that it was too hard or too much, he also rose up to the challenge, she wanted to show off her apprentice more to her healer friends. Walking around the small area, the small molly made sure all the moss bedding was twig free and large enough for them to settle down on, these healers work all day long they deserve a day of pampering. Placing a mouse in front of each seating option, along with the water soaked moss. Everything was perfect. Dragging a large leaf into the center of the circle of nest, the healer placed the herbs that she and Figpaw gathered, some of her favorites including Daisy Flowers, Laurel leaf and Burnet.
All that was left to do was wait. Offering a large, uncharacteristic smile as she saw the first felines approaching, “Welcome!”
⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰ Ceruleansky ⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰
They had left early, gathering up offerings for this new clan custom that the young molly had yet to experience for the first time. Although she was not of these lands, she was aware of the distance that stood between she and the Mooncave and so she would round up her apprentice and the items they would be traveling with. A small part of her was hopeful that the lingering sunlight might've offered a bit of warmth to sink into their pelts against the bite of frosted air, but she knew the trek would be cold. She hadn't even wanted to think about their walk back home.
Her head turned to Laurelpaw one last time as they set out, checking just once more that they had collected up all they needed to bring before slipping out of their camp. Along the way her song-like voice would chime in now and then, drifting above their heads in vapor clouds carrying the melody into the warm painted sky. Against the backdrop, the sky slowly cooled into mellow blues and violets to pair with the waning orange. The breeze pulled at the locks of her fur, ruffling muted browns and subdued blondes and taking the perfume of wildflowers with it as it traveled on.
Would they accept her? It was the question of the night, guided more so by passive curiosity than anything resembling apprehension. Clan customs were a recent addition to her life, let alone those the healers themselves shared, but from her time here she had gathered that things did not always go according to rules and tradition. Some seemed to allow this to roll easily off their shoulders, like flowing water over smooth river stones, but others clung more staunchly to their deeply rooted beliefs. She could feel the edge in their stares, the sharpened blade veiled so thinly in their voices, sometimes back at Skyclan's camp. None of it mattered, not in the end.
When the pair had finally reached that Mooncave, Ceruleansky allowed her head to tip back for just a moment to take it in before they proceeded. The molly was among the newest additions and this meeting marked the first of many. Stepping into the cave she exhaled, relief at the new absence of the wind.
An easy, charismatic smile had settled into her maw, greeting the others before her with a warmth as if they had known one another all their lives. "Well, good evening!" The healer chimed as she and Laurelpaw came to join them. Offerings that included borage, broom, and chervil, interwoven among strands of ivy leaves.
They'd been walking for a for what felt like forever, way too long for Figpaw to tell how much time has passed. The sun hung in the sky, just beginning it's slow descent across, warming their furs even in the cold. In his mouth he carried soft, and fluffy moss which can only be found in the undergrowth of ThunderClan's territory. He'd taken careful caution not to walk too fast for his mentor, as his legs were about three times longer than hers, which caused him to have to learn to take large and slow strides. His ears flickered at the sound of his mentor's voice, his breath getting caught in his throat at the request. Keep the moss dry?! He heard his uncle's sharp chuckle from beside him and instantly shot the old ghost a dirty look before returning his attention. He'd definitely been salivating the entire walk and there was no way the moss in his mouth had remained to stay dry. He gave his mentor a weary look and opened his mouth so air could pass through his teeth.
He was just so nervous! The young apprentice didn't like to think about the mooncave too often- or the reminder of the dream he'd had when sharing tongues with StarClan. The lad had awoken in a warm and summery-like field surrounded in wildflowers. No one had come to meet him, the only other sign of life was a large black butterfly which carefully meandered through the field.
As he began to follow the butterfly, it led him to the other side of the field- the trees on this side were much darker than the other. The butterfly drifted through the trees, evading Figpaw's capture, until it lead him to a large banyon tree with a nest. As he greew closer insect started to shake and spasm until it turned out to not be a butterfly at all but a wasp!
The wasp turned to him, growing angry until his whole swarm was behind him. Figpaw awoke just before he'd gotten stung- and instantly had to rise to the occasion and help his mentor and her newly birthed kits home. He still hadn't mentioned his dream to his mentor, embarrassed that obviously StarClan hadn't chosen him.. they didn't even meet with him! And his uncle.. well, Figpaw glared at his uncle again, the large black tom who lurked in his subconscious and bossed him around during his free time. Lately, he'd been insistent on Figpaw entering SkyClan territory to look for some old herb the apprentice had never heard of, but Figpaw had his own problems to deal with. A problem named Hazelwind.
The cave grew closer and closer within the distance, and Figpaw's anxiety could only be egged on by the sudden eagerness of Peachblossom. "Yes ma'am," he replied to her request, dropping the moss he was carrying onto the ground and ripping up a small slice to make into moss balls. The apprentice walked towards the cliff's edge, dipping the moss into the water which naturally spewed from the cave. He returned swiftly, letting the moss balls fall into a pile.
"How long do we have to stay for?" He asked, a hint of teenager attitude and whining behind his tone, "It's going to get dark soon and I told some of the elders I'd help with their stretches tonight," He wanted the opportunity to learn the history of the clans from the ones who had actually been there. It was also his uncle's favorite part of his day, the old tom would find a spot in the den and make his own comments alongside the elders, correcting history his way, or laughing at the falsities of history.