Cypresskit's Apprentice Ceremony

The soft tremor of the jagged, likely unsteady stone shelf sent a soft shower of debris raining down upon the cavern's floor, a faint patter of disingenuous sounds that distantly resembled the sound of falling rain. It was difficult to swallow down the lingering fright that coiled up from somewhere low within Acornpetal's belly, a sour weight that made it all the more issue to attempt to respond the friendly congratulations and idle chatter offered up by her curious Clanmates or kin. It felt wrong to stand here, where Silverstar and Sorrelwing had addressed their Clan more times that she had ever cared to count, as though it was her rightful place.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting!"

Cypresskit sat perched on one of the larger rocks that were lingered around the camp, watching with a curious expression as Acornpetal made her way up to the stone shelf. He wasn't quite aware of the whole situation that had happened with Sorrelwing - he recalled hearing Silverstar yelling at the she-cat and her demotion but... It wasn't quite his business as he was only a kit still. But...He had picked up enough to know that it was the deputy who did apprentice ceremonies...Which meant that somebody was becoming an apprentice today. He hopped down from the rock as Acornpetal's voice rang across the clearing, padding over to take his place in the crowd as he settled down to watch the ceremony.

Neatly winding her tail around her paws in hopes of further concealing her anxious shifting, Acornpetal turned an apprehensive eye down upon the slowly approaching Cypresskit- evidently unaware of the proceedings that were about to transpire. It felt like only a few sunrises ago whenever she had her ceremony, back before the nonsense with the rogues and ShadowClan. Only when the last stragglers made their way to the loosely formed ring of cats did she finally raise her voice once more. "Cypresskit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to find your place among the Clan." She began, voice carrying a sharp and determined undercurrent that was so unlike her emotional state, ”From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cypresspaw. Robintail shall be your mentor and I am confident that she'll pass down everything she has learned."

Leaping off of the looming stone, the Deputy was quick to congratulation her close companion and her first apprentice.

Cypresskit perked up at his name being mentioned, his eyes glimmering. It was about time - there was only so much he could do as a kit and he was tired of people looking down on him. Not that it would get much better but at least he was moving up in the world...And it meant that he could better start getting an idea of how the world worked and people's motives. Being stuck in the nursery made it hard to understand why cats would do the things that they did. Maybe being an apprentice would help better put it in prospective and help him judge if he could trust others or not. But he couldn't deny the sense of warmth as he was given his new name, even if it was nothing excited and Robintail was named his mentor. Some cat that he actually knew - he hadn't bothered to get close with any of the warriors but he recalled that conversation with her with some sense of fondness. Maybe she would be a good match, who knew. Cypresspaw stood up as he approached Robintail, putting on a simple smile with a purr. "I won't let you down," he meowed as he reached up to touch her nose.

Heeding the call of Acornpetal was an abnormal feat. Yet between the familiar words and intimately dear voice, Robintail was drawn forward in a mere breath. She settled down and cast her gaze up towards the tortoiseshell. Various clanmates lingered near their kin, sharing tongues as they awaited what the new deputy would say. It was in this moment that the warrior realized her lack of companionship. The pelt she craved to sit at her was addressing the clan and she hardly spoke to another soul outside of passing conversations or the necessity of duties. A slight frown flickered across her normally neutral expression. Dull eyes maintained their trained position over Acornpetal's pelt. A stoic appearance offered support as the ceremony carried on. She was so drawn into silently supporting the other she-cat, it took a moment to realize the words became directed at her. An apprentice. Robintail hadn't considered such a thing. He approached her and offered a verbal reassurance, likely a good sign from an eager young cat.

"I won't let you down either. We begin training tomorrow at dawn. I hope you are ready."