Enlightenment_AMoNgst_*StArS*

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(Spottedstar needs to be here, of course. This thread wasn't getting done, so I decided we should start it. If that's okay? )

Crow dreadfully put one very sore paw in front of the other. His shoulder was burning, but the good kind. It was the first time it had gotten this much excerise since his accident.

His eyes dared to look up and what he saw made his heart quicken. They were a leap away from where the gravel met grass and a little farther till Highstones. It was twilight and the sense of what he was about to do made his mind race despite the dull pains.

The loner looked towards Spottedstar for reassurance, but he felt a bit disconnected from her. She had made this decision of letting a loner into Mothermouth, risking more than just dissatisfaction amongst her clan. What if he failed her and couldn't communicate with Starclan at all? Crow jostled that thought out of his mind and kept going forward, trying only to think positive in the gathering night.

His pads finally felt gravel underneith them. Soon, he'd be at the entrance of the gaping hole in the ground.

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(( OOC: xP Completely forgot! Sorry! ))

The ShadowClan leader kept pace with the loner tom, her eyes focused on the pathway ahead of them. Crow was keeping up well, despite the remanence of his injury, but the she-cat felt that she should still stay close in case something gave. But nothing of the sort occurred, and soon enough she could trace the dark outline of Mothermouth against the darkening night sky. As they drew closer to the opening, Spottedstar felt her claws prickle. She still almost couldn't believe she was leading a loner right up to the Moonstone. Never in her life would she have believed it if StarClan themselves had said so. But here she was.

Her amber eyes glanced quickly over to Crow. She still had no idea who this tom was, or if this would actually work out. The only convincing reason the ShadowClan she-cat had in bringing him all the way here was because of the possibility of the black tom carrying some of the Clan blood in his veins. At some points when she thought about it, the whole matter seemed as believable as fox-dung. But hope still clung to her. She wanted that hope to be true. And the only way to find out was by StarClan, themselves.

The white and ginger she-cat stopped as they drew closer, and looked back into the looming darkness of the cavern. Once in, there would be no going back until all was over. There could not be any doubts. "Crow, I'm about to take you to where Clan cats have shared tongues with their ancestors for far more seasons than any cat can now remember. I am not sure what will happen, but I want you to take this very seriously. This is the most important place the Clan cats know, and I expect you to revere the importance we place here. Do you understand?"

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Crow looked up at Spottedstar as soon as they reached the entrance of the grand cavern. He heard the wind piping down into the darkness as if something inside was sucking the life out of the world. To a loner, this place was vudoo and his pelt prickled at the sight of the monstrous mouth. Something inside him thrummed a warm feeling throughout him though and settled the fear.

No whispers had occurred during the journey, not even a remaining dull voice in the back of his ears that he could sometimes hear at night in the clan. This was the right choice!

He listened to Spottedstar and noted she was still nervous about taking him here. The loner understood and didn't take it wrongly. Every word that came out of her mouth, he memorized as if his life hung in the balance, which it did. Loner or clan? A decision was going to be made tonight and hopefully the clan's ancestors would tell him the truth.

Crow nodded. "I understand Spottedstar," he said firmly yet quiet. Determination flared in his eyes as he mentally prepared himself to seep into the dark ebiss and find the ancestors.

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Spottedstar nodded, and took a deep breath, looking back into the gapping jaws of Mothermouth. "Alright, then. Follow me. Inside, the path can be a little tricky. You won't be able to see me, or much else for that matter, so you must go by sound and scent along. Also, I'd suggest you don't run inside. You might knock your head clean off when the ceiling dips in." The leader flicked the tip of her tail. She was being serious about that bit, of course. It took several visits before one could get the path down well enough to quicken pace. She would this time have to remember to slow down for the sake of the tom.

The leader then began to swiftly pad into the darkness of the cave, letting the darkness engulf her form, hiding it from any trace of moonlight. For a few heartbeats, the cave seemed wide enough. At least as much as it had seemed on the outside. But right on schedule, she felt the cave walls suddenly right at the tips of her whiskers, before pulling away slightly as the rocky path descended and rose back up again. As the roof of the cave lowered, the ginger and white she-cat pressed her body low to the ground, feeling rock brush against her ear tips before finally pulling back up to a comfortable height.

Upon seeing the familiar blue glow just ahead, lightly illuminating the darkeness around her, a sense of relief washed over her pelt. In just a few paw steps, the cave opened up to a big enough circular area to fit several cats. It was almost like a cave inside of another cave. And in the middle of it, was the Moonstone. The giant blue stone gleamed from the light of the moon shinning directly down on it from a hole in the rock-and-earth-made ceiling. She felt no fear, here, but rather comfort.

Spottedstar turned her head over her shoulder, waiting to see Crow's figure appear after her. "Over here, Crow," she called out, acting as a guide if the tom so needed one. "Follow the light."

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Crow nodded his understanding and got back onto his paws. He followed a few steps behind Spottestar into the darkness. The loner felt the cave twist and turn and grow steep and then low again. If it weren't for the sound of paws ahead of him, he most surely would have gotten lost.

His paws seemed to be following a trail with pawprints engraved into them. The path had been worn to a smooth surface. Once in a while, he had to walk with his claws unsheathed so as not to slip on the damp rock.

He then heard Spottedstar's voice echo towards him. She told him to follow the light. But what light?! Crow's whiskers felt the wall next to him turn and he followed it. Before his heart could start panicking, he made out a dull blue light in the distance.

Carefully, he made his way towards it till he entered a cavern with a shining rock. He gasped in amazement at the sight. Looking up, he saw the stars and the moon. He realized instantly that the moon beams made the rock glow. His eyes then came back to Spottedstar. "Okay," he breathed quietly.

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Once the tom came into view, a touch difficult to see against the darkness of the tunnel, Spottedstar gave a flick of her tail as a sort of welcome. But the look on his face almost made her smile. The way his awe-struck eyes widened as he looked from the Moonstone to the sky was like that of an apprentice on their first journey to the sacred place. Quite amusing. But now, it was time to focus, and meet StarClan. To see just what would happen.

The smile slipped away from the she-cat's face, becoming serious once again. "Now," she mewed in a hushed voice, as speaking loudly was not approved of here, "do as I do. Crouch beside the Moonstone, press your nose to it, and just close your eyes." Her eyes traveled to the stone, already expecting the chill that would come upon contact. It wouldn't exactly help the chill that she felt on her pelt from the opening above their heads. But there was no way around it.

Just as she had instructed, Spottedstar took a few pawsteps closer to the glowing stone and positioned herself on her belly, her paws tucked under her, relaxed. She then lowered her head to the rocky floor, and extended her neck just a bit so that her nose brushed against the frozen rock. A shudder traveled all the way down her spine, but in the next instant she felt at eased, and felt her mind slip away.

(( OOC: Do you have an idea for what you want to happen next? ))

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He listened to Spottedstar wide-eyed. This place was just so different and ancient feeling. Everything she said seemed to have a deeper more resonate meaning to it than it would in the outside world.

Crow blinked as Spottestar did as she intrusted. He saw her body ripple and he had to suppress a warning yowl from escaping him. Then her body seemed to be at ease, but he somehow could feel that Spottestar wasn't really there in her body, but somewhere else.

The loner walked up to the bright stone and lied down just as Spottedstar had done. Before he pressed his nose to it, he hesitated. Just as quickly, he recovered and concurred what ever had caused him to pause. Then he pushed his nose against the stone. His eyes shimmered with the glow before he closed his eyes.

A sudden drag pulled at him and he allowed himself to slip to what it wanted to do with him for it was warm and full of pureness. His body jerked and then settled just as Spottedstar's had done. Now it was time to see just what would happen to the black loner named Crow.

(( OOC: Well, he should meet some Starclan warrior at first. Just one at the moment and from there we shall talk some more. XD ))

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*****

As Spottedstar's mind began to slip away into the cold, numbing sensation, it was as if her own body were slipping away. Of course she had gone through this ordeal before on a number of occasions- when she had first come to claim her nine lives, when she'd come to StarClan for answers- but it was never quite the same, or easing on the nerves. The ShadowClan leader seemed to have a sharp but brief moment of fear before opening her eyes to find herself in StarClan's hunting grounds.

So when the ginger and white she-cat opened her amber eyes on this particular night, worry seemed to just simply flow away from her mind. Her limbs did not feel cold nor stiff here, but rather renewed. Ageless. Wonderful. Spottedstar then pushed herself up from her paws and gave each limb a quick shake. No doubt a StarClan cat would soon show themselves. She wanted to be ready and alert for when they did.

Then, upon remembering that this time she had another living cat in her company, the ShadowClan leader turned to look to her side, finding there the still form of Crow on the earth. "Crow," she mewed quietly, nudging the black tom with her forepaw. "Crow, open your eyes." The she-cat then looked around them again. The moonlit clearing seemed empty besides the two of them. Was perhaps StarClan not coming at all? Were they insulted by the presence of a loner? Had she been wrong to bring him here at all? The leader's stomach began to clench with worry, fearing the worst. But then, just off in the distance, a shape seemed to appear out of the haze.

~~~~~

The she-cat who was making her way over to the two cats would not be well known to either. This particular medicine cat had no real ties to ShadowClan at all besides the Clan's own medicine cat, and indeed felt the slightest bit awkward of meeting them here. But no other cat seemed to be around, so she would have to make due for the travelers.

But the sight she found intrigued her. Spottedstar she recognized, of course, but the other cat- the black tom beside her- was a complete mystery. His scent was like that of a loner's who had been nesting on ShadowClan territory for moons. A very odd thought indeed. But this was just the sort of thing that would have interested her when she was alive. Dappledfrost always had been, of course, a very curious cat, something that would have interfered with her warrior training. But no matter to that. There was a more interesting matter at hand.

The once-ThunderClan medicine cat kept padding towards the two until she stood a couple tail-lengths before the cats, settled herself in the ground, and kept her bright blue eyes trained on the two. "Greetings," she mewed calmly, looking from one cat to the other. "I am Dappledfrost, last medicine cat to ThunderClan. What brings you here, Spottedstar, with this tom? I cannot say that he belongs to the Clans."

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Crow's sense of security quickly fell apart and he felt himself straining to swim out of the dark void. Nearly frantic, he snapped awake at Spottedstar's call with panting breathe. What he saw made his fear rip away. Everything didn't seem right. Hadn't they been inside Mothermouth, not some forest? It felt like he'd always known it, but parts of it felt completely new. It was the most awkward feeling in the world.

Crow looked towards Spottedstar for guidance and was instantly calm. This was where they were supposed to be, the so called Starclan every clan cat couldn't help preaching about. It made perfect sense that they would to from what he had already seen.

Following Spottedstar's example, he rose onto his four paws and shook himself. A sudden movement from afar made him stop a shoulder lick mid-way through. The scent of Thunderclan and something far more vast came to him. His tail flicked behind him as the cat approached, not sure what to do.

He dipped his head when the cat had finally approached and greeted them. The loner noticed the intrigue flickering inside the blue eyes of the cat and knew it was about him. If anything, he was the strange one in these parts and it was only natural for any cat to want to know what was up.

From 'Dappledfrost's' voice, he knew instantly that the Shadowclan leader was familiar with her. Of course the way the question popped from Dappledfrost's mouth made anger flare up. She was talking like he wasn't even here, or that he couldn't speak for his self. He was a cat, dead or living, like the both of them! The feelings that had radiated off of Spottedstar before coming here danced into his memory. It wouldn't do any good to be angry at this Starclan cat, especially when Spottedstar was risking her tail. So instead of being a snob and jumping in, he held Dappledfrost's gaze as he awaited Spottedstar's answer.

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The ThunderClan medicine cat's words almost made Spottedstar want to wince in guilt. She couldn't detect any disproving words in the she-cat's mew, but the words set her nerves on edge. StarClan's disproval was the last thing that the ShadowClan leader wanted. "Greetings, Dappledfrost," she started off, dipping her head to the starry cat. "This tom has taken residence in my camp for the last few moons. I know that doing so is not exactly approved by the warrior code, but I did have my reasons in doing so." The ginger and white leader clenched her paws, trying to release her tension through her claws rather than her voice.

"One of my warriors, Runningpath, brought him to camp after he had fallen into the Star Pool and almost drowned. But more came across my path than just having an injured loner on my paws. Runningpath explained that she had reason to believe that this tom, Crow, could possibly be her kin. That could either make him a ShadowClan cat by blood." Or the both of them loners, she admitted to herself with a twitch of her whiskers. "But no cat has any memory that could clearly establish the truth of their origins. There are no cats old enough.

"But there is also something else. Crow has told me that he has heard voices in his head, like whispers. But they stopped once he entered the ShadowClan camp. My thought was that these voices had helped to lead him into the camp for some reason, or that they could possibly be even the voices of StarClan, yourselves. But we realized that we couldn't find the answer on our own, and I decided that we should come here to seek your wisdom on the matter."

Spottedstar then closed her jaws, and glanced from the StarClan cat, to her paws, and then to the StarClan cat again, waiting for the response, and bracing for the worst.

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Dappledleaf listened keenly to the ShadowClan leader's explanation, keeping her ears pricked and eyes attentive. The story was indeed as interesting as he had expected it to be. Quite interesting, indeed. But she couldn't say that she held the answers that the couple seeked, either. Once Spottedstar had finished, the siamese she-cat turned to the black tom named Crow. "Is this true, then?" she asked, simply, with the goal of simply confirming Spottedstar's tale.[/i]

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The Starclan's voice echoed through the clearing making him shiver. It felt like one of those scary ghost stories, except this was real. The apparation in front of him was real and not just words spoken for any ears to listen to.

At Dappledfrost's words he felt Spottedstar stiffen. She was scared of the starry cat before them? He knew for sure right then much respect was given to Starclan. These were honored cats and it felt right to think of them as such. At least this bit of clan lore had proven real and felt right to take in.

He looked at Spottedstar as Dappledfrost began. Then he promptly turned his attention back towards the starry cat. Crow wanted to know how this cat would take in his story and how it wasn't Shadowclan's fault, but his own incompetence of not realizing that he was going to trip over a tree root.

When Spottedstar was done, Crow's fur stood on end as soon as the gaze of the ancestor fell upon him. He didn't take his gaze away from her own. She was giving him permission to speak and confirm the story. This was more than he thought would happen. Dappledfrost wasn't going to just take Spottedstar's side of the story, but allow him to be part of it as well.

Crow immediatly liked the she-cat and nodded. "Yes, but please forgive Shadowclan for doing what they did. It was my own fault, not theirs, and I'd feel ever so guilty if Starclan was angry at Spottedstar," he said. Crow had gotten onto his four paws quickly, but then realized he had done so and sat back down. Heat grew under his fur for the behavior because usually he knew his manners. The loner dipped his head in embarressment, but didn't take his gaze from the starry cat in front of him.

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(( OOC: Kay, still kinda not sure on what you want Dappledfrost to say.. x3 Little help? ))

Seeing the starry medicine cat's calm response, the tension began to liquefy in Spottedstar's claws. Her worst fear had been that the StarClan she-cat would have agreed that it had been wrong of her to take in yet another loner. No, such a thing was not something she planned to make a pattern out of. But this was different. Then, seeing as the medicine cat was about to continue speaking to the black loner tom, Spottedstar curled her tail around her white paws and waited to hear her words.

*~~~~~*

Dappledfrost smiled a small smile at tom tom. She could clearly sense the hot waves of embarrassment that swirled around his pelt. He was quite the amusing one. "Not truly angry, just questioning. ShadowClan has never been known for their fondness toward outsiders. It made us curious- well, myself at the very least. But that has always been the kind of cat I am." Her blue eyes gleamed a bit brighter as her mew allowed a light-hearted purr to sound through.

"But what do you think about all this, Crow? Do you think that you may be a ShadowClan cat? Is that something you want?" The Siamese she-cat blinked, flicking her tail-tip a tad to encourage him to speak up.

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((OOC: hehe...didn't know either when I started the thread. Something along the lines of Starclan will test his heart....I don't know. XD ))

He listened to Dappledfrost and a slight smile played upon his face. She was nice and could clearly tell that she could have been a great queen. Either way, she had soothed her clan as she was doing with him. She shot no accusations at either Spottedstar or him. Crow had been so sure that the ancestors would have yelled at him for even being in clan grounds. This was a totally different experience, but he was glad for it. He, a loner, was being welcomed into this new way of life.

At her mention of the other cats, he couldn't help, but think about all the different starry cats if Dappledfrost wasn't the only one up here. It memorized him that dead cats came back and would give their time to the living to help guide their paws.

Crow snapped out of his revourie when Dappledfrost asked him questions. When he took them in, his eyes grew. Was she asking him if he wanted to join? She was actually giving a loner the chance to join Shadowclan? This was so unexpected, his eyes grew and he gasped in surprise. At her encouragement, he cleared his throat with a stammer. His ears went down at this, but then went right back up as he got control of his voice.

"You'd really allow me to join?," he asked in disbelief. Then the sheer weight of the question hit him. This was a time to make a decision that would change his future. He wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Crow could live among other cats that would be friends. It was something that confused him. All his life he had lived by himself and very rarely talked to others, plus some clan cats didn't like him even being there. He glanced over at Spottedstar, to his paws, then to the starry cat in front of them.

"I-I....It's hard," he said and looked down at his paws.

((OOC: Well they still don't know if Crow is Runningpath's brother or not....))

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((I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THIS THREAD. ;-; ONE SEC. ))

Mrr! It was chilly out. RunningPath was running behind, big time! She wanted to be there, too, and get answers! She went as fast as she could there, not really sure if she would make it in time.

When she made it to HIghStones, she slinked in, and dashed in. When she arrived at the Moonstone, she was toolate. Maybe. She could still get with StarClan, right? Same dream and stuff? She didn't know.

She laid down beside Crow, glanced at him, and then touched her nose against the moonstone. She was washed over with the pouring of water over her pelt, until she opened her eyes once more.

She looked around. At first, all she saw was a large plain. It was empty. It was like nothing was there, then forms were starting to appear out of no where. A tree, blood... gushes of it. What was going on? Maybe she went somewhere else where she wasn't supposed to.

"I...I don't know." she spun around when she heard that, and saw Crow there. And SpottedStar. And... and... DappledFrost? She heard of her and saw her at Gatherings. She used to be the ThunderClan medicine cat, right?

She took a few pads forward, not sure if they would notice.

"Uhm... Sorry for being late, SpottedStar... I got caught up in everything... and ya'know..." she looked at her paws and scuffled them. If no one knew better they would think that Crow duplicated himself.

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((I'm thinking that maybe she gets close to death soon. Or something<3 I want some weird plot going on. Maybe a descendant from bloodclan comes to kill her, her family, or Crow or soething? xD))

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The black tom’s response to her question almost amused the she-cat. In his eyes, the medicine cat could see surprise turn to shock, then shock turn to nervousness. He really was a funny tom. “Well, I’d suggest you think about this. It is a big decision for you to make, I know, but it seems you will be welcomed there by their leader- and with StarClan. No cat can make this decision for you, but think that many would support your decision if you did choose to join ShadowClan.”
Then, just as Dappledfrost finished speaking, her eyes flickered over to the shadows behind the two living cats. Another figure was bounding over in their direction: a black she-cat who much resembled the loner tom seated before her with Spottedstar. A name came to her. This was Runningpath, a ShadowClan warrior. And there was some connection between the two black cats. The medicine cat just couldn’t put her tail on it. The brown Siamese gave a small smile to the new arrival in understanding, and then turned her attention back to Crow. “I’m afraid that this is all that I can tell you. As for the rest, you will have to determine for yourself.”

~~~~~

Runningpath’s arrival had made Spottedstar’s fur bristle a bit in embarrassment. Of course, the ShadowClan leader had invited the warrior to join them, but arriving in such a manner- in front of StarClan, even! - was not something the leader would encourage in her Clan. But desiring to maintain her temper in front of the starry she-cat, the ginger and white she-cat just flicked her tail in disregarding forgiveness, and looked back to Dappledfrost. She found herself nodding in agreement with what the medicine cat said. “She’s right,” she mewed to the black tom beside her. Then after Dappledfrost had finished speaking, her amber eyes glanced back to Crow, and then to Runningpath. If neither of them had anything left to say, then they had best be on their way.