Heh heh. It's been quite a while since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. I've been working on a story with my friends a lot lately, and it won't be ready for a good while, but you have something to look forward to I guess. It takes place before Heat of the Blaze, and follows the story explained in chapter 8 of that story.
Reviews
VolcanicPizza - I'll try to use your OC once they make it to Skyclan!
NightyNightOwl - Thank you for pointing those things out. I will make sure to look out for them in the future, however I would like to keep my OC's if that's okay. I believe it adds a bit of originality.
Flameheart - That's a good guess for the reference, but I just realized the reference won't make any sense until Talonpaw receives his warrior name. I'll ask again when we get there. I'll use your OC's as well.
Birdflame - I'll use your OC's too once they get to Skyclan!
Chapter 2
"Talonpaw and Flowerpaw," Firestar mewed, "You two are coming with me to the Moonpool."
Talonpaw's eyes widened, "Us? Coming with you to the Moonpool?"
"Well, yes." Firestar confirmed, "That is what I just told you."
"Er-" Talonpaw could feel his cheeks burning. "Yes Firestar, but why are you bringing us?"
"Well, all apprentices need to go at some point, and I have had… a dream. I need to seek out help from Starclan to find out what it means." Firestar told them.
"Are we going tonight?" Flowerpaw asked, "I mean, it is going to be moonhigh soon so we would have to go quickly.
Firestar nodded his acknowledgement, "I already thought of that, however, the answer is simple. We just need to go there fast." There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
Talonpaw almost squealed with excitement. "So, we need to get traveling herbs from Jayfeather?"
Flowerpaw looked at Talonpaw and smirked. "If we disturb his sleep, he'll probably rip off our pelts. I think we're better off getting help from Leafpool."
"Fair enough." Talonpaw laughed. Jayfeather was known for having a bit of a short temper, so what Flowerpaw said might not be one hundred percent untrue.
"Settle down you two. You should show more respect for the medicine cat of this clan." Firestar scolded them, "Now, let's go see him." Firestar and the two apprentices padded over to the medicine cat's den. The silver shape of Jayfeather was sprawled out in his moss nest, his legs going out in all directions. He was snoring softly. On the other side of the den, Leafpool was sleeping peacefully, curled up neatly on her nest.
"Okay, we've got a fifty-fifty chance of who wakes up easier. You try to wake up Jayfeather, and I'll try Leafpool." Flowerpaw decided.
"Hey! Why do I need to get Jayfeather up? You did that on purpose." Talonpaw mewed indignantly. He could tell Firestar was about to scold them again, but he was stopped by some movement in front of them. Jayfeather groaned and opened his eyes. His tired expression turned to irritation.
"Brace yourself." Flowerpaw whispered in Talonpaw's ear. Talonpaw responded by covering her mouth with his tail.
"Ugh." Jayfeather grunted, "What is it? Whatever it is, can't it wait 'till morning?"
Firestar purred lightly in amusement, "Jayfeather, liven up. We're going to the Moonpool, and we need traveling herbs."
Jayfeather shot to his feet, his eyes widening. "Right now? What happened?"
"Don't worry about it. I had a dream, and I need to see what Starclan has to say." Firestar reassured him.
Jayfeather slumped back down. "What is it with you and getting dreams that medicine cats should get." There was a slight joking tone in his voice.
Firestar shrugged, "Jayfeather, we haven't got much time. We need the herbs before moonhigh passes." Jayfeather nodded and collected the healing herbs from the store. He spread out an assortment of leaves in front of Firestar and the apprentices.
"Make sure to chew them into a pulp, then swallow it. Make sure not to swallow just the leaf, otherwise it won't have any effect and it can get caught in your throat. Flowerpaw bent down and lapped up a few leaves, only to spit the back out and cough violently.
"Aw, those are disgusting!" She spat.
"Oh, come on, don't be a scaredy-mouse." Talonpaw teased. He bent down and lapped up his leaves. A fowl taste filled his mouth, almost like crowfood combined with mouse-bile and everything else disgusting. He retched and spat out the leaves.
"Look who's the scaredy-mouse now!" Flowerpaw laughed.
"I'll show you who's the scaredy-mouse!" Talonpaw scrunched up his face and forced himself to chew the leaves into a pulp. He swallowed them reluctantly, then looked to see Flowerpaw had done the same.
"I g-guess neither of us are scaredy-mouses." She panted. Talonpaw nodded in agreement. He suddenly noticed that both Firestar and Jayfeather had been watching them. He stumbled backwards in embarrassment.
"Um- let's go." Talonpaw stammered. He could tell Flowerpaw was struggling not to laugh, and Firestar just stood there with a grin on his face. Strangely enough, Jayfeather had just laid down and gone back to sleep.
"Huh." Flowerpaw mused, "I guess he really was tired."
The group of three set off towards where Firestar told them the Moonpool was located. The stream that marked the border between Thunderclan and Windclan lead to it. You would follow it a short distance out of clan territories to a path that led to the Moonpool. Supposedly the starlight and moonlight reflected very well in the Moonpool, which was one of the reasons it was chosen to be a place sacred to Starclan.
"We made it to the stream." Firestar told the two apprentices. They had arrived at the small stream that Talonpaw had seen many times during the day, but never at night. Even now, he could see the stars shining endlessly in the water, almost as if it housed an entirely different sky that lay just beneath the water's surface.
"It's amazing at night." Flowerpaw mewed, in awe of the amazing reflections.
"Even more so at the Moonpool. The stream is nothing compared to what you'll see there." Firestar chirped, "Now let's get going. We don't want to miss our chance." Firestar started sprinting up the slope, effortlessly pushing through the undergrowth. Talonpaw attempted to follow him, but the brambles tore at his pelt.
I need to keep up! Talonpaw pushed on, ignoring the thorns that clung to his fur. Flowerpaw ran beside him, giving him a new motivation to go faster. After a few painful seconds he burst out into a clearing filled with grass and ferns. The ground fell away sharply just a few fox-lengths in front of where he skidded to a halt.
"Look out!" Talonpaw heard a yell from behind him, seemingly approaching rapidly. Flowerpaw emerged to his left at full speed, with no sign of slowing down. She skidded towards the drop, but couldn't stop herself in time. She started slipping over the edge, trying to grip the ground with her claws. Just before Flowerpaw fell, Firestar leaped out of the bushes, grabbing Flowerpaw firmly by the scruff before backing away from the cliff and setting her down, panting.
That was incredibly fast. Talonpaw thought, amazed. He wondered what Firestar might be able to do in a battle if he was this quick now.
"You need be more careful, Flowerpaw. You almost died." He declared. Flowerpaw seemed too stunned to speak and just sat there breathing heavily.
If… if Firestar wasn't there, Flowerpaw would be dead. Talonpaw thought grimly, I just sat there petrified. If I do that when one of my clanmates is in trouble, and there's nobody else there to save them… no. I won't let myself do that again.
"You almost fell into the Moonpool." Firestar mewed. "It's right down there." The ginger tom angled his ears down to where Flowerpaw had almost fallen.
"You mean-" Talonpaw sprinted over to the cliff and looked down. Flowerpaw shook herself and joined him on the edge of the cliff.
"Wow." she said. Before the was a path speckled with paw prints from many cats before them, that lead down to a sparkling pool of water. It looked like the moon itself lay inside the pool, illuminating the water almost like the sun. On the back of the pool there were two small waterfalls pouring into the pool, creating a light splashing sound.
"Let's move." Firestar urged. "We haven't got much time." Talonpaw looked in the sky and saw that Firestar was right. The moon was almost vertical in the sky above them. The ran down the path to a small stone beach by the water.
"So, what do we do now?" Flowerpaw asked.
"When the moon lights up the pool, you need to drink a small amount of the water. You should be transported into a dream then." Firestar explained. Just then, the moonlight hit the water at just the right angle. The water reflected an enormous amount of light, making the whole hollow shine.
"Now!" Firestar yelled. Talonpaw bent down and lapped up a bit of water. For a few seconds nothing happened.
"Firestar? Nothing hap-" The edge of Talonpaw's vision became engulfed in darkness, and it slowly crept inward until he could see nothing but black.
Aaaand… there's chapter 2! Still accepting OC's and stuff, and I'm also planning on this being a fairly long story, so don't expect them to go off on their journey right away. Don't forget to REVIEW!