Elmkit's Apprentice Ceremony

A light smile dappled the molly's features as she cast a lazy gaze across the clearing, pleased to find more than enough of the clan to conduct a ceremony. The hot sun had begun to sink below the horizon, allowing for cooler winds to take hold and provide a much needed reprise from the sticky feeling clinging to most cats pelts. Giving her chest fur a swift lick, she made for the Tallrock, stretching quickly before ascending to the top of the ancient rock formation. Clearing her throat quickly before she began, Heronfeather called out the summons, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath Tallrock for a clan meeting!"

Elmkit limped out of the sloped nursery den, climbing up into the rest of camp at Heronfeather's call. His sister Dashpaw had recently earned her apprentice name, so surely he would earn his soon too. Maybe that was the reason for the meeting. A wave of anxiety passed over the young tom's small frame at the thought of the rest of the Clan staring at him and he shrunk back into himself in the back of the gathered cats, pinning his ears back and tucking his tail around his missing leg as best as he could. Could he even be an apprentice? To his credit, he was getting better at maneuvering on three legs, but was it good enough? Elmkit sighed and gazed up at Heronfeather on the Tallrock, eyes wide with apprehension at what was to come.

A friendly smile adorned her features, eyes softened with a mix of pity and understanding for the young tom who was born with a disadvantage. She was yet to speak to either him or his family, but from what she'd seen in the past 6 moons, he was doing incredibly well to compensate. "Elmkit, please step forward," Heronfeather called, voice ringing out across the clearing, an excessive amount of delight in her words. "You have reached the age of 6 moons and as such are ready to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you become a warrior, your new name will be Elmpaw. Your mentor shall be..." The molly paused for a brief moment, there had been discussions about who was best fit to take on the tom, although it didn't alleviate the feeling of regret she had assigning another apprentice. "Brindlestar, I'm sure she'll pass on everything she's learned from her mentor and more," There was a warm smile on the deputy's face as she descended the rock to congratulate the clans newest apprentice, and congratulate her former mentor.

Elmkit did as he was told, taking a couple hobbling steps forward as his name was called. So this was his ceremony after all. He did his best to make himself appear less scared than he was, but he almost toppled over in shock when his mentor was declared to be...Brindlestar. Great StarClan, he would have to prove himself to Brindlestar? Nearly trembling, Elmpaw smiled weakly as the leader approached and he leaned up to touch noses with her. "I-I'll do my best to, uh, make you p-pr-proud, Brindlestar," he mewed, now dipping his head in respect towards her.

Brindlestar's tufted ears gave an interested twitch at Heronfeather's ceremonial declaration, unable to fend off the silky web of apprehension that crept through her being at the prospect of handling such an usual case. It was hardly a secret that missing a limb amidst a Clan that thrived upon long-distance running... would likely result in bizarre or miserable circumstances. Carefully disentangling herself from the throng of her Clanmates, the pale-furred molly's approach was leisurely as she attempted to categorize as many small details about Elmpaw as she could. Pausing before the evidently apprehensive young tom, Brindlestar bent down slightly so that the pair could lightly touch noses with more ease.

"I hope you don't mind waking up early, because our wonderful Deputy here seems to enjoy punishing others with long days." She joked softly, keeping her voice lowered to a furtive whisper as though she was sharing some special secret with Elmpaw that wasn't meant for prying ears, hoping to ease the mutual discomfort that blossomed between the newly acquainted pair.