Camp RiverClan ear to the memory of a golden age ✦ jingle

[Galepaw Galepaw]

{$title} galepaw is incredibly interested in the whys and the hows

—————————————————— Rocked by an endless motion ✦

It was strange to have no purpose. He had always sort of had one—as a kit, it was simply grow older, and try to not die. It was surprising how difficult that seemed some days, but it was something to focus on. Something to sink his teeth into, something that kept him tethered. Then, he graduated from that existence. Sure, there was always the whisper of death in the back of his mind, but now he had to be useful. He had to be at the beck and call of his elders, had to bow to whatever Wavesong said. He didn't mind it really, she was kind to him and—more importantly—interesting... until she found herself a frequenter of the medicine cat den.

The tom never expected to have to scrabble for attention against little beings that didn't even know he existed, much less know anything existed, yet here he was. She could teach him well enough, but with the passing days the growing weight seemed to slow her. All of a sudden, things seemed to halt. Suddenly, the tom was far too aware of his own name, nothing more than a footnote these days. Wavesong... and Galepaw. But with her all but entirely incapacitated, he found himself as the second half of a run-on sentence. Interesting in theory, but severely lacking context.

Thus started his planning. It had always been an inquisitive thing, something that squabbled at others brains like some sort of leech, but he never made an effort of it. He never forced himself into other's lives, never left a particularly strong impression on anything really. Like the wind he was named for, the most he did was rustle a few bushes, blow a breath and then sweep it back in. He was existing, but that simply wouldn't do anymore.

Its paws found themselves moving steadily, moving rhythmically towards a familiar den. He had been in the medicine cat den a number of times, blue eyes wide and following Rainpaw's exploits. He didn't know much about herbs, nor did he know much about the why. Why was this the job given to Jinglemoon? What gave him the authority to usurp fate? To quell a wound and extend a life? It was... exciting, the prospect of fiddling with fate. It was new. It was a purpose.

With bravado far outweighing the size of the apprentice, he found himself wandering easily into the den. "Jinglemoon?" He echoed, a singsong-y call not unlike the familiar chirp of birds. "Where might you be?"

—————Whether truth or just a story

It's not up to you—————

• @Jinglemoon the boys here to ask you about herbs and also god
• 
  Galepaw
  ✦—Riverclan Apprentice | 8 Moons
  ✦—He/They/It
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A fluffy high white lynx point with curled ears and deep blue eyes
  #87878E #BAB2AC

 

[Jinglemoon]

​

JINGLEMOON he/they, RiverClan Medicine Cat, 27 moons old.
a long furred blue tabby tom with low white, long pointed ears with curved tips and blue eyes.
mentored by none // mentoring RAINPAW
littermate to ASTRO, Uncle to TWINKLEPAW, ECLIPSEPAW and COMETPAW
father to none / mate of no one
"speech" // 'thoughts' // #3b90ff
penned by Dingo ↛ Dingo on discord, feel free to dm for plots or chat in my channel for them!

---

This moon had been a pawful and Jinglemoon found himself more exhausted than ever before these days, spending most his time either healing, collecting herbs or laying alone in his nest... And yet despite this exhaustion and pain, the sound of smaller pawsteps padding on into his den still caught his curled-tipped ears and left a hopeful twinkle in his eye. Why? Was he hoping it was Shellkit perhaps? That she might simply waddle back in through the entrance reeds, into her nest with her mother and everything would be all okay again? He'd raise his head up from his nest at hearing a singsong-y voice call out his name, peering over towards the entrance as his eyes adjusted to being awake again. For a brief few moments he thought he had seen Shellkit, that it had been her that had sung out his name, that maybe all that had happened had just been something to wake up from.

But when his eyes re-focused it was Galepaw who came into view by the den entrance in place of the silver she-kit. Galepaw's voice was a familiar mew how could he have mistaken it even in his delirious state? He shook his pelt and his head trying to snap out of the usual brain fog that seemed to follow him around like a storm these days. "Galepaw?" He stretched up out of his nest and slowly padded his way over to the young apprentice, glancing around the medicine den to see who might still be present after having awoken his nap. "Is something the matter? -- Oh, are you here looking for Rainpaw?" This wouldn't be the first time the young tom had come by the den in search of his littermate after all-- Though they had specifically called out for Jinglemoon himself this time around... Hopefully the apprentice was alright!

 

[Galepaw Galepaw]

—————————————————— Rocked by an endless motion ✦

Hm... the tom was asleep. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, with the state of things being such a drag on the energy of camp. There seemed much less time for anything but sorrow and rage, though perhaps they were simply just particularly hard to ignore emotions. Gale hardly cared, disregarded them as easily as he disregarded a buzzing fly. Nothing but a nuisance, nothing that he should concern himself with. He had wanted to discuss herbs with Jingle for moons now, to understand the ways of the older cat... but now that he was here, that Jinglemoon was at his beck and call... well, the opportunity was dizzying to say the least. They hardly acknowledged the bluish tom's question, instead gazing up in silence at the older cat. After a moment, he formed some measly words in an attempt to express his undying need to know.

The tom cocked his head, eyes glittering with a sort of hungry curiosity. "When you die, where will you go?"

That question sat in the air for just a moment, a breathless moment, before Gale continued. "That's what you do, isn't it?" The tom, as though his paws had a mind of their own, began to pace. It gazed around the medicine den, the place that had meant to be a place of life. Or at least, that's how he thought it was meant to be. That's the front that Jingle seemed to put on. He pushed past the familiar medicine cat easily, instead perusing the collection of herbs in a feverish manner, as though he needed something, anything to do with his paws. "You specialize in it—The ins-and-outs of it all, the viscera and then the..." He trailed off, seeming perturbed. With a gentle twitch of his whiskers, he suddenly spun around to face Jingle once more. "The what? The nothing?" A strange sort of frustration, of not understand, was clear on his face—The tom hadn't thought much about that strange starry cat at the gathering, had pushed it out of his mind to instead pick through the other events. The bloodier ones, the fate-defying ones. The ones he didn't understand, the ones he wanted more than anything to bury his teeth into, to rip apart into manageable pieces. The apprentice wanted to know, but the holes in the story swallowed any semblance of sense.

He barked a stressed laugh, a strange sound to come from such a cat, especially one devoid of joy. "Well, clearly that rule of nature has been violated. What does it matter, being able to heal? The dead don't stay dead, not anymore... But- But you—" It swallowed hard—he had hardly realized he had begun to tremble, to shake like some grand willow tree. It's as though understanding was just out of his reach, a bird flitting mischievously out of his grasp. The sudden noise, the sudden roaring in his ears, threatened to overwhelm him, and he had to talk louder to hear himself over it. "You defy the rules already, defy it with every wound you treat, every little display of nature you stop in its tracks..."

Sharp blue eyes looked deep into the others, thin pupils threatening to bore deep in. "...But you can't do that forever. Pikestar is already unlike us, he's something else now... but are you as well?" The tom's eyes were searching, grasping, desperate for anything. "And can that be taught?"

—————Whether truth or just a story

It's not up to you—————

• 
  Galepaw
  ✦—Riverclan Apprentice | 8 Moons
  ✦—He/They/It
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A fluffy high white lynx point with curled ears and deep blue eyes
  #87878E #BAB2AC

 

[Jinglemoon]

x

x

x

JINGLEMOON

RIVERCLAN

MEDICINE CAT

HE/THEY

27 MOONS

DINGO

The silent gazing at him from the apprentice reminded him a lot of Rainpaw which made sense considering the two were littermates, he wondered if Thunderpaw also did the same...

Jinglemoon stared back for a few moments looking as though he was processing what the younger cat had just asked him and if he had heard them right. Galepaw had asked it so curiously and without any hint of fear to their mew too, it was almost concerning though he supposed inwardly it was better than having the young cat be fearful of it, right? Still, it was a rather big question from someone so young. "Someplace nice and peaceful I hope, like StarClan" He answered though truth be told he had no way of knowing exactly where he would go when he died, who decided such things in the end was beyond even his own understandings.

The medicine cat watched the young tom pace around the den as he continued with his thought provoking questions, its pacing eventually taking him to the back of the den to view the collection of herbs that were stashed for healing. Jinglemoon tilted his head to the side for a brief moment thinking maybe the apprentice needed something from the stores but Galepaw soon turned back to face him once more. They had so many questions Jingle was beginning to wonder what exactly had brought all of this on, surely it was from something more than just the shared sorrow RiverClan was going through at the moment? Then again, Galepaw had always been curious.

"That's what you do, isn't it?"

Jinglemoon seemed taken aback for a few moments. He supposed there was truth to that, he healed but death was also a part of his job even if it was the part he disliked most. Still his ears flattened backwards at the thought that that would be what he was known for. Death. For being unable to heal anyone back from the brink. It was not something he wanted to become comfortable nor familiar with. He smiled softly at Galepaw's strange sort of frustration at the 'nothing' "Death is not where our stories end young Galepaw, not truly" Jinglemoon himself had felt very similar when he had first been approached by StarClan, full of so many questions and a deep desire to know more-- He still was like that about it in a lot of ways, but if Shellkit's departure had taught him anything good it was that death was not nothing and there was still so much they didn't understand about the beyond.

The stained laugh made the medicine cat's whiskers twitch, concern for the young cat starting to really build up inwardly. It was a stressful topic but he had a feeling that not answering at all would only cause more harm. Clearly though, what had happened at the Gathering with Pikestar losing one of his lives... Was something Galepaw had witnessed and was trying to make sense of. Jingle would sigh gently at Galepaw's last desperate question, it should be out there playing with mossballs with the the other apprentices', learning how to fish and to swim but instead he was in here asking hard questions about life and death and violating the laws of nature.

"These are all very big questions for someone your age Galepaw" The blue tabby tom would pace the back of the den himself a few times, pondering. "What says healing is a violation to the rules of nature? Who decides what is a rule of nature at all? If it is a violation then why give me the knowledge to heal others through the use of nature in the first place, why even have herbs that heal at all?" He would give the apprentice a gentle and almost playful shove of the shoulder as he added on with a wink , hoping to help lighten the mood and stop the trembling that had taken over Galepaw during his questions. "Besides, rules are made to be broken, Mmm?" He was mostly joking, some rules clearly were made to be though and this rule he would gladly break over and over again if it meant another cat got to see the light of day for one moment more.

"You are right though, I can't do it forever and someday I too will move on from this world. But even Pikestar can't defy death forever, though he has been blessed with more chances than you or I or any of our other clanmates have" He had wondered for a while now if he had been the only one able to see the stars the leader held and how one of them had been noticeably missing once he'd returned from the Gathering. "If you're asking if I too have nine lives like Pikestar did I'm afraid not little one, I only have my one chance just like everyone else. I do have the knowledge to help prevent losing that chance in some cases though" Some cases but not all. Some wounds herbs could not heal and sometimes time was not on their side either.

As for can it be taught? Jinglemoon flicked his tail before settling himself down. "StarClan is the only power I know capable of gifting a cat nine lives" He began, "But they don't give them to just anyone, they come baring a heavy responsibility and many challenges that Pikestar finds himself facing now." He was sure he didn't need to explain what that responsibility or what the challenges were given what Galepaw had no doubt seen at the Gathering. "I can teach you healing like how I'm teaching Rainpaw if you'd like that but... You saw what had happened to Pikestar at that gathering, didn't you? Is that why you're here asking me all of this now?"

When danger greets you with a smile

A long furred blue tabby tom with low white, long pointed ears with curved tips and dazzling blue eyes. Usually walks with a jingle in his step. Good listener and always thoughtful.

Sibling to ASTRO, Uncle to TWINKLEPAW, ECLIPSEPAW and COMETPAW
Mentoring RAINPAW
"speech" // 'thoughts' // #3b90ff