Dawnkit's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

Gorsefeather walked through the sticky marshes that remained unfrozen by some miracle to reach ShadowClan's border. The medicine cat, despite carrying with him old prejudices like most WindClan cats, was here to teach a ShadowClan kit the ways of healing. A sacred art that had been passed on from medicine cat to medicine cat apprentice since the beginnings of the clans. It was something usually taught by a fellow clan member, but with Ebonyleaf's unfortunate demise, and Thicketpaw's accident, this was the only way. The calico was uneasy amongst these strong marshy scents, but that didn't deter him from his task, after all, his vows were not like the common warriors. His was to serve all cats, to heal them and offer guidance. His role was not that of a protector or a fighter, so he refrained from letting his prejudices colour things too much.

Instead, he waited by the Thunderpath for a warrior escort to take him to the clan camp. It didn't take long.

The warrior seemed obviously uncomfortable with allowing a stranger to see the way to their camps, especially one with such a violent history. But he did his duty, a little clipped and barely polite, however it was enough for Gorsefeather. If situations had been reversed, he didn't imagine that he would have reacted any differently.

"I'll get Dawnkit." The warrior explained, leaving the calico alone in the clearing to fetch the apprentice.

Gorsefeather nodded in acknowledgement. His yellow eyes flitting about to admire the camp once the warrior left. Not that there was much to admire, but he had to give them credit where it was due. This land seemed plain awful to live on. The fact they managed to build a home here, that was a feat indeed.

Dawnkit padded out of the nursery, seeming pretty happy with that was going to happen today. The light colored cat always knew she wasn't cut out to be a warrior like her brother is, and when she heard about being a medicine cat that's all her attention was devoted to, and now here she was.

Dawnkit walked over to the Windclan medicine cat, and looked up at him. She wasn't going to let her excitement take over. This was supposed to be serious so she would be serious. "I'm ready to go, Gorsefeather."

Gorsefeather saw the little kit before him and sized her up. She looked surprisingly serious for an apprentice to be, Emberleaf and Acornpaw had been practically vibrating in excitement when he first came to take them to Highstones. Acornpaw had hid it a little better than his first apprentice, nonetheless, it was something a trained eye noticed. A useful trait around rambunctious kits who saw medicine cat's dens as the holy grail of a playground.

It was too soon for him to make any judgements about whether she was truly well suited for this position, but he saw nothing wrong with her yet. He'd heard from elders in the past that deformed or disabled cats had been give the role of Medicine Cat as an alternate route than a warrior. He was glad Thrushstar hadn't subscribed to that nonsense thinking, Dawnkit looked whole and abled as a medicine cat should be. The trip to Highstones was no leisurely stroll. "Have you eaten, Dawnkit? It'll take us the whole day to get there, and I don't plan on taking rest breaks."

Dawnkit was well prepared for the morning. She made sure of it. She woke up early, she made sure she ate, and she was containing her excitement. So yeah doing great better than some. She was determined to do this. She nodded in response. "Yes. I am ready to go whenever you are."

"Good." He appreciated her readiness. "If you could take us out the Thunderpath, I can find my way from there." Gorsefeather addressed the lurking warrior, who seemed not particularly keen on his presence but graciously lead them to the border. From there, the calico took over, gesturing for Dawnkit to follow in his footsteps with caution. He stopped her every now and then, not for rests but the ever present threat of predators and Twolegs unfortunately drew out the journey longer than anticipated. When they finally reached the shadowy yawning maw that was Mothermouth, Gorsefeather sighed in relief that they'd made it in one piece. He'd never made the trip through this path before.

"We're here. We'll be entering the cave to see the Moonstone, it'll be dark so I need you to be careful and use your ears to follow. Understood?"

Dawnkit followed silently behind Gorsefeather. She hadn't seen any of these places before, and questions filled her mind, but she remained silent. She made sure to stay hidden anytime Gorsefeather instructed her to. She stared at mother mouth in awe for a moment when they finally arrived. She couldn't wait to see what was on the inside, but she pushed her impatience down, and remained serious. "I understand." She responded.

Without another word, Gorsefeather lead her down into the pitch black depths, relying on his paws and past memories to guide him down into the darkness without a hint of fear. He'd come here many times over the moons so he was evenly paced and calm, but he took short strides so Dawnkit could keep up. A small concession for now, she was young and he wasn't devoid of all kindness. He, too, remembered being small and cowed by the inky darkness. But eventually the gloom parted as the Moonstone was shining in all it's glory beneath the half moon. It was beautiful, and breathtaking like the first time he'd seen it. He gave her a moment to admire it, before turning to face her for the ceremony to begin. "Dawnkit, is it your wish to enter into the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

Kay the darkness was scary. It was something she wasn't too found of seeing how she couldn't see anything. She felt fear start growing, but she took a few deep breaths to relax. She listened to the pawsteps of Gorsefeather ahead of her, and kept going despite the slight fear she felt. When they finally got there, she felt relief that she could see again. She had finally made it. She observed the beautiful stone for a moment before turning her focus back to the medicine cat before her. "It is."

"Come forward." The medicine cat commanded, his tail curled over his forepaws as he remained seated where he was. He took in a deep breath and looked out to the night sky above them, recalling the words spoken at his own ceremony many moons ago. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this kit. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

With a barely audible sigh, he locked eyes with her again. She looked so small, so young, but that wasn't a measure of what made a good medicine cat, she seemed to have conviction. And really, worse cats had become medicine cats. Dawnkit looked willing and sensible, he prayed those traits would serve her well. "This is as far as we go together. You must now touch noses with Moonstone and meet our warrior ancestors. It will be they who give you your Medicine Cat Apprentice name. Not I." He waited for her to take her place before he'd join her. "Close your eyes and let go."

Tonight was full of so many emotions for the kit. Excitment, fear, and now a great bit of nervousness was within her. How would her ancestors react? Would they accept her? She hoped so. She really wanted to serve her clan this way. The warrior life wasn't for her. She stepped up to the glowing stone, and took her spot. She stared at it for a moment before pressing her nose to the stone, and letting go, like she was told.

She thought that it didn't work. She didn't even feel herself drift off. She opened her eyes and she sat a little ways from what looked like the edge of the gorge, but it was different. Before her the sun was rising, and on the edge a single flower grew out of the grassy terrain. It gave the kit a strange since of hope, but it felt a bit lonely. Was this what her path was going to be like for her? The small kit blinked

When her eyes opened again she stood in a starry plain. Was this Starclan? She looked around at the the various things around her. She took a look behind her but nothing was insight. When she turned back to face forward a pale cat stood before her. The strange cat spoke.
"Dawnkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you earn your Medicine cat name, you will be known as Dawnpaw. The previous Medicine Cats of Shadowclan will guide you along with assistance from Gorsefeather. This path is lonely, and one burdened with hardships. Heal, and guide your clan and honor the code. Stay hopeful for dawn will always come."

Dawnpaw blinked and everything was gone. Darkness surrounded her. Something felt off but it didn't last long for the now apprentice awoke with a gasp.

Gorsefeather waited for her, having fallen asleep the moment he touched noses with the Moonstone. It was the usual, he spoke with Suntail and Cloudpatches, then a quick visit from his mother, Nettlewing who spoke of potential places to lead the warriors to hunt on RiverClan Territory. Then he awoke. Pretty stock standard. When Dawnkit, or probably Dawnpaw now, awoke with a gasp, he touched her lightly on her right foreleg to ground her. "Did they give you your name?" He asked to be sure. Gorsefeather had never had StarClan refuse an apprentice before, he didn't even know what he was meant to do if StarClan refused. But there was a first for everything.

Dawnpaw relaxed when she felt Gorsefeather. She looked up at him, and nodded. The dream started nice, but the moment of darkness at the end confused her. Was she allowed to speak about her dream with him? She didn't know. "Am I allowed to share my dream with you?" She asked, as she shifted into a sitting position. If she was then maybe he knew what the flower meant, and what the darkness meant. Was there some darkness in store for her? Or for her clan? Maybe it was for all of the clans? She wish she knew.

"You may." It was true, that at the end of the day Gorsefeather was a WindClan cat, but for now, Dawnpaw was his apprentice. No that it stop him from allowing WindClan to attack SkyClan when times were desperate.

Dawnpaw looked down at the ground for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. It took her a moment but she finally spoke. "Well.. It started with me sitting near the edge of a cliff. The sun was rising, and a single flower sat on the edge of the cliff.. when I blinked I was sitting in front of a starclan cat. Which I assume was a Shadowclan medicine cat. She gave me my name, and then everything went dark. There was darkness everywhere.. then I woke up." The apprentice explained. "That darkness part is what scares me.."

"Hmm." Gorsefeather looked over at the Moonstone as he thought of what her dream could mean. It seemed unlikely that Dawnpaw had a peculiar past like he did. The nettle plant and the ray of sunlight were for him a sign of his parent's unholy union. But considering her name, Dawnpaw, perhaps it was a warning of what laid ahead? "When I became a Medicine Cat Apprentice under Suntail many moons ago, I received a vision of the life that I had ahead of me. Perhaps there are dark times ahead of you in ShadowClan. I wouldn't be surprised considering all this conflict we're having this Leaf fall. Don't focus too much on that though. I would view the flower and the sun rising as a sign of hope, you will be the first medicine cat that ShadowClan has had in moons. All of us walk the path of uncertainty, you'll have a grey muzzle before you're a full medicine cat if you fuss over every bad omen."