Introducing: Mothwing

[mothwingofriverclan]

Mothwing leaves camp at sunrise, wanting to beat the greenleaf heat. Herbs are plentiful this time of year, and Mothwing wants to find a few to take back to camp to teach Frostpaw their scents. She’s glad that she’d found a new apprentice with a connection to StarClan so quickly after Willowshine’s death, if only so that her clanmates wouldn’t bug her. She still doubts that they really need StarClan; it had been Bristlefrost that saved them from the impostor and the Dark Forest, not a bunch of mouse-brained dead cats. Still, Frostpaw was learning her herbs well, which was what really mattered.

Heading for the lakeshore, Mothwing keeps an eye out for borage, and maybe some rosemary. Padding up to the edge, Mothwing takes a look at her reflection. She’s getting old. Her dappled golden fur isn’t as shiny as it once was, and her amber eyes are tired, but she notes with satisfaction that she’s still bigger and stronger than most of her clanmates.

There’s an odd flicker in the lake, and Mothwing instinctively swats at it with her paw--extra fish is always welcome, even in bountiful greenleaf--but it turns out to be a trick of the light. Disappointed, she looks up, and is startled to find herself at a completely different lake. It’s much smaller than her lake, and she can’t see the Gathering island anywhere. Besides, it smells completely different--is it leaf-fall suddenly? She backs up a few steps, the fur on her back raising defensively.

For a moment, she wants to laugh--is this her first ever vision from StarClan? They couldn’t have sent this to her seasons ago, when her position was in question? Then she notices the large twoleg dwelling looming over the lake, and she feels a stupid kind of relief. There are definitely no twoleg dens in StarClan’s hunting grounds, so this isn’t a vision. On the other paw... she has no idea where she is.

“Is any cat here?” she meows as loudly as she dares. Unbeknownst to her, anyone walking by would understand her words, whether they were a cat, a twoleg, or any other person.

Comments

[rememberettersberg]

"My name is Thomas Nightingale," he says. "This place must be very strange to you... unless you are used to being able to communicate with humans where you are from?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Not at all," Mothwing meows. "I'm getting used to it now, though." Thomas is a word she hasn't heard before, but "Nightingale" is almost a proper name. "Are you an einherji warrior as well?"

[rememberettersberg]

"Just Nightingale is fine," he says, near-automatically, as he does to most everyone. "I'm not, no. A mere wizard, I'm afraid." This is so understated as to be almost comical. "Do you have a profession?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"A wizard?" Mothwing doesn't know what that is. "Yes, I'm a medicine cat, a healer."

[rememberettersberg]

"I practice magic. Are you aware of the concept?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Oh. Yes, though we don't have a word for cats who use it. It's very rare for us to have it, and I didn't really believe in it until I saw it with my own eyes."

[rememberettersberg]

"How interesting. You make me wonder if the stray cats in my world have an organised society we know nothing of." He pauses to consider. "Are there, um..." How to put this delicately. "Are there cats who live with humans where you're from?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Yes. They're called kittypets. My mother was one. You don't think you're from my world?" she asks. "You sound like twolegs I've heard¹, except you can actually talk, but I think that's part of the magic of this place."

¹By this she means he has a British accent. Don't ask me how she's able to tell that.

[rememberettersberg]

Nightingale nods solemnly, trying very hard not to let his face convey that he finds the word kittypets kind of adorable. "I suppose you're right, we very well could share a world. How would we ever know? Do you know what the, ah, twolegs call the place that you're from?"

[mothwingofriverclan]

"No," Mothwing sighs. "It would be nice if I could understand twolegs better at home. Then maybe we could ask them not to destroy our territories. Hmm... do you know a place with a big lake, and one small island in it? Also a horseplace nearby?"

[rememberettersberg]

"Not off the top of my head, no. I'm sorry to hear that your territories are in danger."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Oh, they're fine. Or, the lake is fine. The original home of the clans was destroyed by twolegs many moons ago, though. They pulled out all the trees and paved it over with that horrible hard stone that they can ride around in monsters on."

[rememberettersberg]

"Ah." Nightingale, a city dweller with a very fancy car, looks mildly uncomfortable. "At the very least, you'll find none of those here."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Good," meows Mothwing emphatically. "Actually, I've never gotten the chance to ask before. Why do twolegs use monsters so much? Are you always making such long journeys?"

[rememberettersberg]

"I suppose we are, from a cat's perspective. Time is a precious commodity, everyone needs to get where they're going as swiftly as possible."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"It does seem like it would be helpful in an emergency, but I wouldn't like it for gathering herbs," Mothwing decides. "Half the fun of it is getting to walk through the forest and see how the seasons are changing, or where the prey is, or if there are any new dangers around."

[rememberettersberg]

"I don't spend a lot of time in forests," Nightingale admits. "The grounds here are quite extensive; hopefully enough so for you to be comfortable."

[mothwingofriverclan]

"Oh, I'll definitely be comfortable. I think this place could support a whole clan. I hope the den is comfortable for you as well."