"Anemonepaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. From this moment on you shall be known as Anemonewhisker. StarClan honors your intelligence and devotion to the craft and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of OceanClan."

There had been a pause of words, gratitude and pride expressed with a mentor's lick to the apprentice's shoulder.

"Now, drink from the pool and dream freely. You may be greeted by some of your ancestors." Reedtail smiled, motioning to the medium sized expanse of water lying untouched beneath the drooping willow tree.

In the darkness, the glow of the fireflies reflected from the water's surface and danced in illuminated speckles across a pale screen of sage green from the looming brown tomcat. He lowered his head slowly, slowing to a halt to glance up with uncertainty toward his mentor.

"Go ahead," the black feline meowed softly from the former apprentice's right side.

Granted explicit permission, the newly named medicine cat of OceanClan dropped his chin, settling down into a comfortable crouch on the grassy bank, paws tucked beneath him. He stuck out his muzzle, white whiskers tapping the water's surface in a tiny barrage of minute ripples. His lids closed with an air of slowness, taking the time to carefully lap at the sacred pool water. Drinking his fill, his head came to rest on his forepaws, awaiting a peaceful sleep.


When Anemonewhisker's eyes opened, he was met with sights of vast caverns. An odd heat washed over his pelt, an uncomfortable feeling ripping through his thin coat. The rock floor beneath his paws wafted with warmth, a reminder of memory from what seemed like seasons ago. Similar rock, similar caves, similar warmth.

If this was StarClan - why did the territory seem so real?

"Sorry for the confusion. I wanted to meet on grounds I was most comfortable with."

Anemonewhisker whirled around as the voice continued talking.

"I know, I know, totally selfish. But then again, I wasn't exactly a nominee for most considerate cat."

Padding closer with every step, emerging from one of the tunnels behind him, arose a stark pelt the medicine cat he'd never dream of seeing again.

There, in all her fiery glory, stood the embodiment of unbalanced emotion that could only be described as Flarepaw.

In this light, her pelt held a twinkle - a thin sheen of gloss overlaying her already soft and bushy fur. Her amber eyes glowed like the magma pools no doubt in the next set of corridors. She stood no taller than she had moons ago. She was still that small little she-cat with a height complex and anger issues.

"You...?" Was all Anemonewhisker could spit out, overcome with shock.

"Me what...?" Flarepaw cocked her head to the side in a picture of innocence.

"I thought I'd be visited by a -"

"By a medicine cat?" Flarepaw cut him off. "Yeah, sorry. I kind of have first priority over some dead bag of bones who knows poppy seeds make you sleep. Come on; we've got a lot of ground to cover before you wake up again." Letting her words hang in the stagnant air, the small apprentice whirled on her black socked paws and loped smoothly through another tunnel.

Anemonewhisker, dubious, had no choice but to follow.

They'd been walking for what felt like mere minutes. In no time at all, Anemonewhisker had identified their real-life location and announced them to be heading further away from the mountain range.

They kept walking.

It was the path they'd used to traverse up to the mountains where they ran into Blackshadow, only in reverse. The tiny ginger seemed to be leading the medicine cat in a backwards journey.

"I missed you," he said finally, breaking the silence. In response, he merely received an ear flick to show she had heard but had no intention of answering just yet. "Everyone missed you," he added. "It wasn't the same to walk through that hollow without your fiery presence."

Flarepaw hummed. She said nothing.

"Fallenpa - Fallenflare - still misses you. You ever walk in his dreams?"

"Uh-uh," she verbally replied, shaking her head visibly.

"Does anyone else besides me know that you're dead?"

"Uh-uh."

"That's very helpful," the brown tom sighed sarcastically.

"Mmhmm." Came the smiling response.


They had weaved through more woods, treading lightly on the leaf-ridden earth. The rumble from a river caused Anemonewhisker's ears to perk up in surprise. Flarepaw seemed unaffected, even as she led him closer to the gradually increasing noise. With a few quick bounds, she had increased their pace for a minute or so before drastically slowing once she had jumped over a puddle. She halted at an over cropping ledge of dried mud and crushed grasses.

"A river?" the medicine cat pulled himself alongside the apprentice, leaning over carefully to survey the rushing water with cautious eyes.

"Down there," the former MagmaClan cat nodded off center. Her whiskers twitched, tail flicking with an unreadable emotion as she lowered to her haunches.

The tomcat leaned closer, craning his head and squinting his sage optics to see what was being displayed in front of him. It took a moment longer of optically seraching before the scene came into focus. Off to the left, nestled uncomfortably between a set of rocks and twig debris, lay the lifeless reddish corpse of the apprentice beside him. The body's face had been turned away, allowing sight to only the back and flank but the color alone gave it away whose life it once was.

"I was chased downstream by some twolegs' dogs." Flarepaw's voice was tight yet somehow void of any other emotion.

Death will do that to you, Anemonewhisker supposed.

"Narrowly escaped by leaping across this little gorge of a gap. Didn't make it. Fell down. Current pulled me under. Hit my head on a rock. Drowned. Crash landed right there."

"Oh, Flarepaw, I'm so sorry," the brown feline jerked around to face her. Her spunky attitude had faded, leaving her expression rather mute and inexpressive. "You didn't deserve to...You had such a good future...You had a second chance..."

The she-cat shrugged. "Short lived second chance. But that's besides the point; Go and tell the others of my whereabouts. I've decided I don't want to be left here for some scavenging fox to come around and pick at my remains." She turned to face him with watery eyes. "Anemonewhisker, I want a proper warrior's burial. Please."

There was already a hitch in her voice, proving just how young and naive the apprentice really was. Simple minded and terrified.

"Of course, yes," he consoled her, wrapping his thin tail around her back. "You were honored as a warrior in the eyes of all the Clans. You'll have your burial. We won't leave you here to rot."

"And tell...tell Fallenflare I lov -"

"I will."


It was at the soonest gathering when the secondary medicine cat of OceanClan had approached his former traveling members off on the sidelines of the stone hollow. It was now their favored meeting spot - just a few fox lengths from the OceanClan entry tunnel, making it ideal for quick access to a short and sweet rendezvous.

"Full fledged medicine cat, I see, hmm?" Wildfur sauntered up to the meeting spot, following the sleek brown tom followed by the orange and white warrior. The BlizzardClanners had earned their warrior names short a moon ago.

"I've come here not to make small talk, friends," Anemonewhisker said stiffly, cutting past formalities. He was eager to get this information off his chest as soon as possible. "I come bearing news of great importance. I require your services this night and into early dawn."

Mistbird's gray ears perked in interest. Beside her, Floodrunner shuffled closer, toes twitching. The OceanClan siblings had only been named three sunrises prior to the gathering. Anemonewhisker couldn't help think how far along into her warrior duties Flarepaw would be had she stayed to be one in the first place.

Speaking of the fem fatal -

"Flarepaw is dead. I need your assistance in giving her a proper warrior's burial."


And THERE! There you have it! The final story content chapter for this story. Thank you all again for sticking with this story all the way to the end. I'm actually really proud of myself for completing this. It only took a year and then some, XD. I told you I'd get it done someday.

Huge hugs and thank yous to a bud of mine, Kira! Also known as IWalkBlindlyIntoShadows. Without her idea, this story would've never bloomed so thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my creativity with the world. I hope I did the idea some form of justice. So thanks, Kira!

Remember when I promised a special treat at the end? That's right I didn't forget it.

Our next chapter will be a collection of TJ's trivia that I myself have kept cataloged throughout writing this story. Anything pertaining to the story that wasn't explicitly explained or anything interesting about the story that didn't make it online, this is the moment to share my thoughts and notes. Also any viewer questions you guys want to ask are welcomed as I'll answer some of those as well.

This was a great little quest. It wasn't just Their Journey - it was OUR journey as well. And I hoped you enjoyed our journey through exhaustion, dealing with my writer's block and frequent procrastination. Thanks guys.

"Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."

~ Richard Bach

- Snarky