Ebonykit's Apprentice Ceremony

The smooth, well-worn stone of the Tallrock was shimmering weakly in the watery atmosphere, the chilly light of day reflecting upon the soft dusting of frost. Brindleface's fur caught softly on the tendrils of ice, a faintly evident rustling sound just barley noticeable above the breeze, as she pulled herself atop the ceremonial meeting place. Straightening up, the Deputy’s voice rang out with a sharp note of purpose as she called out the familiar summons, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"

Ebonykit walked out of the nursery upon hearing the call. Now, she wasn’t sure if this was her ceremony or not, one could even argue if that thought even crossed her head to begin with.

She just liked hearing the announcements, know what was going on in the clan, so even if she often didn’t fit in the required age group, she often found herself sneaking into the crowd, with hopes of not being shooed away…and if she was, she would still stay close enough to hear.

This time was one of those good times where none started to nudge her towards the nursery, even if mostly everyone seemed to notice her presence, which probably would’ve raised her suspicions shouldn’t she be too distracted trying to get as close to the front as possible.

Neatly winding her tail around her paws, Brindleface's austere gaze was pensive as she watched Ebonykit's careful approach into the crowd, lacking both subtly and the knowledge that this was her own ceremony. Only when the last stragglers made their way to the loosely formed ring of cats did she finally raise her voice once more. "Ebonykit, 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, "From this day on, until you receive your Warrior name, you will be known as Ebonypaw. Spiderspark shall mentor you, and I am confident that she'll pass down everything she has learned."

Gracefully dismounting the looming stone of the Tallrock, the Deputy made to congratulate both the newly-named Apprentice and her respective Mentor.

O-oh…

OH!

Ebonykit flinched at first when her name was called, thinking that for once she had managed to cross the line and now the deputy herself was about to shoo her away after making the whole clan notice what she had done, but as soon as the motive of her name being used was revealed, her fear and shame got quickly replaced by surprise and excitement.

Her ceremony! How did she forget?

She rushed to take her place in front of the crowd, right below the Tallrock, no longer wasting time nor effort to try and not being seen. She looked up at Brindleface with her heart beating quickly in her chest. This wasn’t the first time she heard those words, ceremonies tended to be a bit repetitive, she had noticed that…but for some reason these words simply felt different…

She could feel the fur on her back rise with excitement as the nerves made her feel strange goosebumps and almost convinced her that the vole she ate for breakfast had somehow come back to life and was squirming in her belly in an attempt to get free.

As soon as her mentor was revealed, her yellow eyes started to scan the clearing with excitement, trying to find the older tom within the crowd.

Ebonypaw…while she was aware that would not be her final name, she couldn’t help but love the sound of it!

Spiderspark lay on his side on the cool grass of camp, content yellow-orange eyes half-closed against the brilliant light as the sun shone down on him and Windclan. A flutter of wings near the entrance of camp distracted his attention for a few heartbeats, and Spiderspark was tempted to follow the strange, and perhaps rare, bird when a sudden call rang through the camp.

The gray coated warrior was surprised to hear a voice call out over the quiet of the camp, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!" Spiderspark, still laying on his side, turned his head from the sun to the Tallrock; Brindleface stood atop it, calling the summons for a Clan meeting. He half-heartedly came to his paws out of courtesy. He didn't want to be sent on the dawn patrol for dozing during a ceremony.

Ebonykit. His gaze turned to the young she-kit as she stumbled forward in glee and expectation. His whiskers twitched in amusement. She would make a fine apprentice, he thought, to whatever tom or she-cat became her mentor.

Spiderspark's eyes widened in surprise as he became that very mentor. He couldn't help but curse his own thoughts for it - he had practically fell into that one. Perhaps, then, Brindleface was a mind-reader. A tide of butterflies coursed through him. He cast a side glance at the deputy before moving to touch noses with young Ebonypaw, his apprentice.

As soon as she finally found him, Ebonypaw basically started hipping all the way towards him, not wanting to wait any longer.

“What is the first thing we are going to do? Can we start now? Maybe digging?” She hadn’t even touched his nose before she started dropping questions on him. She couldn’t help it, she wanted to start her training as soon as possible after all.