Wolfpaw's Warrior Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to capture their own... prey gather underneath Jaggedrock for a clan meeting!" Thrushstar yowled.

Wolfpaw padded into the clearing on hesitant paws. After their confrontation a few days earlier, the apprentice still felt uncomfortable under the eyes of the rest of the clan. Despite Thrushstar's reassurance that she was a part of Shadowclan, nothing felt any different than before. Her tail twitched lightly in frustration as she assembled along with the other cats. After a moment, she settled near the edge right next to her mentor. While Mudfoot had been upset with her after the gathering, she still felt comfortable around him. He'll forgive me eventually, She thought, taking in the warmth of the older cat.

Sitting beside Wolfpaw, the tom had grown to forgive her, although he didn't want to show it. She needed to know that what she had done at the gathering was a huge mistake, but even so, his soft side always kicked in when he tried to be mad towards her and he just couldn't help himself. Nuzzling the top of her head with his muzzle, the tom couldn't help but be proud for the she-cat for having made it this far, even with her misdoings.

"Good luck," he mewed in his apprentice's ear softly.

"Tonight we gather to make this apprentice a warrior," Thrushstar said. "Wolfpaw, please step forward." He glanced down at the she-cat reassuringly, hoping that she had at least somewhat forgiven him. It didn't matter as much in the grand scheme of things, but he still felt guilty for what he had said. Maybe this would fix things up.

She shot Mudfoot a quizzical look, but Thrushstar spoke before she could ask him what he meant. At the sound of her name, Wolfpaw's ears pricked and her eyes shot up to the leader. Am I in trouble? But Thrushstar's tone said otherwise. She padded forwards almost in a trance, far too shocked to react with much more.

Blazeflight wobbled over to Wolfpaw, knowing now this would be her moment. She sat on the opposite side her mentor who had trained her very well in the ways of a warrior."Another one down, Mudfoot." The she-cat felt comfort around the tom too, and he had trained her so well."Go easy on her, I'm sure she had a reason to goof up. Hey, look at how I paid for my actions." The auburn she-cat glanced down at her bobbed tail, and then to her chest. Just by looking, you could still tell the young warrior had suffered great trauma. She smiled as she watched Wolfpaw take the steps into warrior-hood, I know she'll do great!

Puddlepaw pushed her way to the very front, only a few tail-lengths behind her littermate. Her blue eyes were bright and happy, sparkling with affection and pride for her sister. Though they were not following the same paths, and she knew she wouldn't be a real medicine cat till much later—she had plenty of work to do—it filled her with excitement to be watching Wolfpaw's. Despite her faults, and mishap at the Gathering, she was a bold and daring she-cat, independent and strong.

The runt gave a short, small squeal to get the grey apprentice's attention, quiet enough to not be noticed by Thrushstar or the others, but loud enough for the ones closest for her to hear. She wanted Wolfpaw to know that she was there, watching; she would always be there for her big sister.

"Do you promise to serve... and protect this clan, as well as uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?" He asked.

Hazeflight took a seat her ice blue eyes glistening with pride. She was so proud of her daughter and knew she deserved it. Purring, she flicked her tail gently over daughter. " Good luck." she purred. The silver she-cat leaned over to Mudfoot."You did a great job training her, just like you did me. Sorry she was such a handful... I can't believe today came so soon!" Hazeflight almost squealed to he mentor.

"I..I do," Wolfpaw managed to get out as she attempted to focus on the clan leader. Her ear flicked slightly to acknowledge Puddlepaw.

"Then I grant you your warrior name," he called. "Wolfpaw from... now on, you will be known as Wolffang. We welcome you as a full warrior of Shadowclan." With that, Thrushstar leaped down to let the clan finish the ceremony.

"Wolffang! Wolffang!" Flamestrike cheered softly from next to Hazeflight. It wasn't many moons ago his mentor had watched his warrior ceremony too. Despite the recent events, he was proud of the tough young cat.

The newly named Wolffang was speechless. There was not the immediate cheers from the whole clan that accompanied most ceremonies. Her ears flattened uncomfortably on her head and she padded back towards the group she had been sitting with. At least there would be a handful of welcoming cats. She flashed Puddlepaw a weak smile. The young she-cat had expected her warrior ceremony to be the best day of her life. A lot of cats hyped it up to be that. However, now, nothing felt different for her. A dull weight settled in her chest. The whole event was overshadowed by a dark feeling for her. But she was a Shadowclan warrior now. Is this what I want? She thought to herself, glancing around at the couple of cats who didn't tend to avoid her, Or is this just what they expect me to do?

"Wolf-fang! Wolf-fang! Wolf-fang!" Puddlepaw cried enthusiastically, barely even noticing that most of the clan was silent. "It's a great name!" she purred, sliding around her sister easily, masking the view of the rest of the group of cats beginning to shuffle away. "But you could've had so many great names. What will they call me? Puddlenose?" that very thought seemed to horrify her, and she went cross-eyed trying to make sure her nose was not covered in snot. It was, fortunately, not.

The she-cat paused, gazing up at her older sister with large blue eyes, sprinkled with a growing wisdom and compassion, an empathy that the two shared that seemed almost unnatural.

"Anything wrong?"

"I'm sure you'll get something good," Wolffang smiled weakly at her sibling, managing a soft laugh as well. She flicked her tail uncomfortably and mumbled, "No. I'm fine." Normally, she would have shared with her closest friend, but something stopped her now. Instead, the newly named warrior retreated to prepare for her vigil. It was going to be a long day.