LOST IN THE UNIVERSE / a starclan dream

[PHLOXWISH]

The stars shined on RiverClan's first night. Plenty of cats had already taken to sleep within their new nests, not quite comfortable, but pleased with the promise of a brighter future. One cat would not stir from their slumber to glance upon their new home, instead, should they open their eyes, they would be met with a vision of their future. An endless landscape, stardust amidst the grasses where pawsteps had once trodden, the feeling of a full belly after moons of strife, a pleasant smell within the air with its description forged by the favourite scent of whoever breathed it in. Paradise - Jinglemoon would not share it alone for long.

Out of everywhere and nowhere, a cream tabby's visage formed upon the shimmering plains, pelt aged beyond its years, eyes full of mirth and wonder as they settled upon the blue-eyed kittypet. "Ah, hello, Jingle." A lifetime ago, he would have likely cuffed the cat on principle, knowing that Jingle now represented the very same clan that had taken his life. His younger self would have hated what he'd later become: peacekeeper, guider, a symbol of hope, all the things that may have prevented their destruction in the first place. He smiled behind his bushy fur. "My name is Phloxwish, you do not know me, but I speak to you as one of StarClan's many whiskers. We are the ancestors of your clan, and I'm sure you will be seeing us again. I don't have the time to answer your questions, so listen closely to what I say next," The tabby leaned forward, feeling the weight of his presence wane.

"You are to become RiverClan's first Medicine Cat, chosen by the Stars themselves. You will tend to the sick, as you did when you lost your home. You will call upon us when you are lost and find what herbs and remedies will keep your clan healthy. I speak as an ancient Medicine Cat, this role will not be an easy one and the weight of all those you could not save will sit on your spine like boulders. But... I know you can do it." Because if Phloxwish the hedonistic, selfish cheat could learn what it meant to be selfless, then a cat with a righteous paw would have few issues. The trust within his gaze for the blue cat was perhaps as heavy as those stones he mentioned.

"When you awake, you will no longer be called Jingle. Your name will be Jinglemoon in honour of your new connection to the stars above, may it serve RiverClan well." Phloxwish flickered like a fluttering blink, when he pressed his nose to Jinglemoon's forehead it would be like a touch from a river's ripple. "Oh, and do tell Pike about this, will you? He is..." 'Stay mysterious, stay cool, stay all-powerful'. "When you tell him about this, he will understand." Probably. Seabriar's frustration upon his return from speaking with Pikestar had been of some amusement to Phloxwish, but, it was that hesitance from a mortal that made him rush speaking to Jinglemoon. That and a limited connection to the world below - too many moons in stasis, too much time not being a StarClanner, but that was a secret for the Stars alone.

He moved away from Jinglemoon and dipped his head. "Farewell." Another blink and Phloxwish and the stars would be gone, replaced with the dingy dark of an unfinished den and the promise of a new future for RiverClan's first medicine cat.

@Jinglemoon


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[Jinglemoon]

JINGLEMOON, 22 Moons, Riverclan Medicine Cat // He/They // #3b90ff
A long furred blue tabby tom with low white, long pointed ears with curved tips and dazzling blue eyes.
Son of UNKNOWN, sibling to ASTRO
Always walks with a jingle in his step! Good listener and ever curious about the world.

---

Jingle would yawn moving to stretch out his front legs and arch his back like he usually would when first waking-- Except when he sleepily opened his eyes he was no longer where he remembered having fallen asleep. He would jolt upright and glance around at the new surroundings upon realizing this, this wasn't like any dream he had had before... Where was he? Where were the others? This new landscape seemed never ending and were those stars among the grasses? Despite his uncertainty of being somewhere unknown to him he also couldn't help but feel at peace at the same time, whatever this place was it brought with it a sereneness, maybe he just hadn't actually woken up yet after all.

The blue tabby tom nearly leapt right out of his fur when approached by an unfamiliar pelt, his sudden jolt of movement causing his remaining bells to rattle softly-- Where had they come from!? He couldn't make sense of it but hadn't much time to think on it further either, as the other cat soon spoke and seemed to already know him by name! He opened his mouth to ask how they knew him but before he could do so they were introducing themselves and pointed out that they didn't have the time to answer his questions either. He tried his best to hide his grumpy disappointment at hearing this and thought it best to simply listen for now as this strange starry cat spoke.

So their name was Phloxwish and they were a part of something called Starclan-- Jingle's whiskers twitched slightly at the mention of this Starclan, hadn't Pike mentioned something about them too during the day? He hadn't thought too much of it then but hearing it mentioned now made him start to think that this was no ordinary dream and that Pike had been serious in what he had said. What did Phloxwish mean when he said that Jingle would be seeing the ancestors of the clan again? He held his tongue on his questions but he couldn't help but worry now too, if this was where their dead ancestors went was it being implied that Jingle was going to die and join them? He tried to push the thought away for now as he focused back on what the tabby was saying to him.

Apparently he was to become RiverClan's first Medicine Cat-- Whatever that was? And that he was chosen to be so by the Stars themselves. Already Jingle was starting to feel the weight of such a responsibility press down on him-- But he had wanted to help the group of cats he now found a new home with in any way he could, he had vowed even to make up for not being there earlier that night to help when the shelter collapsed, and he wasn't exactly a fantastic hunter so maybe this really was his true calling? But still, it was a lot of responsibility and he still had lots to learn when it came to tending to the ill. Jingle swallowed hard when he caught the trust being held towards him in the other cats' eyes, not only were the living cats now counting on him but seemingly Starclan was as well...

When given his new name he looked to the other cat with a gaze filled with so many burning questions, but he could see that Phloxwish was beginning to flicker and his visage was beginning to falter overall. Jingle... Moon? He supposed it had a nice ring to it but there wasn't much time to question that right now either. Jinglemoon would dip his head respectfully to allow the Starclan ancestor to press his nose to the blue tabby's forehead- The sensation it caused was like a peaceful rippling of water and further convinced the young cat that this was no mere dream. "I promise to try my best--" There was still no time for any of his questions. Phloxwish would mention to tell Pike about this visit as well and that he would understand once told. Jinglemoon sure hoped that was true because he wasn't sure Pike was entirely believed by all the other cats when he had told his story about being visited by Starclan. It did all sound really unbelievable and he wasn't sure how the other cats were going to take this news either especially when they were still processing Pike's news. To Phloxwish he would give a simple nod of his head to let the starry cat know that he would tell the other tom once able.

When Phloxwish began to move away Jinglemoon tried to move to follow him, reaching out a paw to the cream coloured tabby, "W-wait but I-!" And just like that, as quick as he had appeared the other cat was now gone and so were the starry fields that had accompanied him as well. Jinglemoon would gasp in gulps of air for a few moments as though he had just broken his head above water when in actuality he was still exactly where he had been when he had fallen asleep that night. He had wanted to ask so many things but mainly how was he supposed to call upon this Starclan again when he needed them? How was he to work out what herbs and remedies would help his clan mates?

He would draw his paws over his eyes a few times to rub the sleep from them, taking one quick glance around at the other cats who were probably all still fast asleep at the moment before slowly getting to his paws. He wasn't going to get back to sleep again anytime soon, there was too much to think about. So instead he would pad as quietly as possible around the other cats and head out for a short night walk of their new home, he would tell Pike of the news shared with him first chance he got in the morning.