Jaykit, Ivykit, Bluekit, and Yewkit's Apprentice Ceremony

The large tom swallowed loudly as he jumped onto the Jaggedrock. As much as he loved witnessing young kits become proud apprentices, he still felt anxious towards his duties. Leopardstar's paw was on the verge of a full recovery, but that still required the black deputy to stand in his place and perform such important ceremonies.

"Let all cats old enough to capture their own prey gather underneath Jaggedrock for a clan meeting!" Magpiewing howled, his voice less shaky that he expected. At least these were kits. One in particular had become a slight fascination of his as well...

Ivykit was swift to come from the nursery, her dull eyes seeming to give off a more vibrant hue with her excitement. She refused to allow herself to bound excitedly, so as not to mess up the hours of grooming her coat had taken her. Man, having such long fur was hard... But with the knowledge that she had reached six moons old, and could finally become an apprentice, it was hard to not have excitement coursing through her. Gone would be her days of observing by her lonesome in the Nursery, and she could actually explore!

Before Bluekit was a dead firefly. He squinted at it and rolled it over gingerly with his claw. It had to have died of heat stroke or old age. He found it in the hot sun, its exoskeleton black and sweltered. Yet, all he could do was give excited flicks of the ears. His mind raced with various ways he could pretend to have caught it, when a yowl startled him from over the camp.

The leader was summoning the cats. Announcements were fairly regular, and he wasn't quite old enough to catch prey. Or so his name's suffix demonstrated. The skinny cat continued to paw at the dead insect absentmindedly, not moving forward in any way, trying to etch little clawmarks into the body to make the catch believable. Yewkit and Ivykit would freak out when they saw what he did. He would almost be a real apprentice!

Jaykit had been rolling around outside of the nursery, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on his fur. It was such a beautiful day out, he never saw the camp look more beautiful other then today. He rolled back onto his stomach when he had heard Magipiewing call the clan to a meeting. The kit had known it was his turn to become an apprentice so Jaykit had bolted towards the Jaggedrock glancing around him to look for other kit's that were becoming an apprentice today.

She must have groomed herself for the better part of sunup, preening and primping like a starling, smoothing down every untidy patch of fur, and smoothing it down twice. Her ceremony... Her actual, real, honest to the stars ceremony. Yewkit's tail twitched. The whole Clan would be out there looking at her, and she needed to look perfect. No straggly hairs, no twigs or clumps of moss from her nest, no rough patches, nothing... She couldn't afford something like that, not today. She'd rehearsed it over and over in her head, in her dreams, out in camp when she thought no one would notice, strutting from the nursery to Leopardstar's boulder and back again.

Perfect. Perfect. It had to be perfect.

Magpiewing's call echoed through camp, his howl leaking through the brambles of the nursery, and she stiffened in place. After all her preparation, through all her excitement and apprehension, she was staked in place by a sharp pang of anxiety. After a paralyzed heartbeat, she found her nerves, half-stumbling, half-tripping out of the nursery after Ivykit and Jaykit.

She wandered out, mind blank, barely seeing the ground in front of her until she was almost falling over Bluekit, bumping past him and... whatever in StarClan's name he was doing. Picking through the mud? Yewkit's hackles bristled, eyes wide as she glanced feverishly around, at the gathering warriors, elders, apprentices... "What are you doing, fly-brain?" she hissed under her breath, nudging him forward with a jab of her paw. Did he have moss in his ears?! "Pull your face out of the dirt. Don't you know what today is?"

Barely waiting for him, Yewkit hurried forward with rigid pawsteps, tail up straight.

Among the gathered cats was Smokestripe, watching with pride as he watched Yewkit come stumbling into the clearing after her denmates. It was a bit odd - being the...Father of the young kit, at least that is what everybody thought he was. He had promised to stay by Ravenclaw's side even if he knew he wasn't the father but he saw Yewkit and Pinepaw as his own....Even if his duties had made it hard to be the proper father figure he wanted to. He sat down, curling his tail around his paws as he watched with a soft purr. It was a joyful moment - ShadowClan was growing.

It felt weird, hearing her father's voice come from Jaggedrock but Larksong ignored it as she stepped from the warrior's den, taking her own spot to watch the ceremony. There was a flicker of pride in her eyes - not just for the about to be named apprentices but for Magpiewing. It brought her such joy that her own father was deputy, that he was so deeply trusted by Leopardstar. She could only hope she could live up to her father and be as great as a warrior as he was.

Magpiewing stiffened as the clan gathered below for the ceremony. Deep breaths you mousebrain.

"Jaykit, Ivykit, Yewkit, Bluekit, please step forwa--" the tom froze, looking down at the three kits. Aren't there supposed to be four? "Bluekit?" he called, head leaning towards the nursery. With a crinkle in his muzzle, he glanced down at his daughter, gesturing for her to find the sluggish kit.

Quickly clearing his throat, the deputy meowed apologies left and right, nodding his head to each cat that gathered. Even the kits.

What day was it? Bluekit was about to ask before the she-kit ran away, and he bristled with annoyance, as much as the short-haired cat could. Typical. He didn't even have time to put on his performance, because she was already away, probably to watch the ceremony from afar like a peeping tom in the Dirtplace.

Bluekit

The leader's calling of kits truly didn't ring in Bluekit's head until his own name was called, with interrogative uncertainty.  Oh mousedung! Was this really happening today!? He was never told! The cat sprung up, burying the firefly in a small pile of dirt, and pushed his way through the warriors, a flurry of Excuse mes and Pardons following him through the gathering. He exploded into the clearing, beside the other three kits, tail straight as a tree trunk in the air. He paused, bright blue eyes rigid with embarrassment. He fell in line with the others.

"Sorry, I... overslept." Bluekit glanced over to the nursery entrance, where he clearly hadn't come from.

How... How humiliating! Yewkit could've shuddered in revulsion, almost nauseous as Bluekit came scampering up to join the rest of them in front of the Jaggedrock. If he wanted to embarrass himself on his own time, that was fine, but what about the way it reflected on the rest of them? She managed to keep her gaze lifted up toward the deputy, eyes wide, and not shoot any looks toward her other compatriots. He'd get an earful in due time, but right now, this was her moment...

Jaykit's ears perked at the sound of his voice, he was so prepared for this. To be named a apprentice to start the task's of an apprentice he was beyond eager the tom wanted to show his entire clan that he would be a great warrior in Shadowclan. The tom looked at Magpiewing in confusion when he had paused he glanced around looking for Bluekit and was relieved when the young tom stepped forward. Jaykit sat back down, no more delays it was time.

Ivykit had somewhat zoned out as the deputy had begun the ceremony she had overheard a couple of times from the nursery, a quiet prrt bringing the long-furred cat back to her senses. She glanced beside her. There was Jaykit, Yewkit and... Oh, Bluekit wasn't there. Hadn't someone told him? Flicking an ear, she couldn't help but almost chuff at his excuse. Oh, he had been awake. The vibrancy in her otherwise dull and pale eyes still refused to leave as she turned her head back towards Magpiewing. Everyone's here... Who will be my mentor?

Larksong sat upright when her father realized that one of the kits, Bluekit, was missing. Her eyes shifted to him, catching the slight movement of his head in a signal to go find the kit. She nodded back, pulling herself to her paws only for for the kit to come rushing forward though the crowd and to the rest of his denmates. She sighed softly, before frowning at he claimed he overslept. She had failed to see where he had come from but knew it wasn't from the nursery. But, there was little else to do about it so she sat back down, ready for the ceremony to carry on.

The tom cleared his throat once again, giving a concerned blink at the rather embarrassed kit. Hopefully Bluekit would grow out of this.

With the four present and full attention on the deputy, Magpiewing continued the ceremony. "You have all reached the age of six moons, and are now ready to be apprenticed. From this day forth, until you receive your warrior names, you shall be known as Jaypaw, Ivypaw, Bluepaw, and Yewpaw." Various warrior names dashed through his head as he pondered who would be the best fit for these new apprentices. His amber eyes trailed down to young Jaypaw. The uncanny resemblance was too much to pass over. "I will be your mentor, Jaypaw." A quick browse of the crowd gave him the next mentor. They both seemed like sweet she-cats. Hopefully they would get along. "Rosefur will be your mentor, Ivypaw." Now Bluepaw... Who would force that lazy little kitty out of his nest every evening? He needed someone with a loud pres-- "Foxheart will be your mentor, Bluepaw." Oh, that was perfect. All that was left was the pretty Yewpaw. Perhaps keeping her close to her family would be a good idea. "Smokestripe will be your mentor, Yewpaw. I trust that they, and I, will pass on all we know about being a warrior to you."

Giving a final nod, the black tom hopped down from his perch to greet his new apprentice. It had been some time since he had trained one, and Jaypaw's resemblance to his father brought out a curiosity in him he didn't think was possible at his age. "I look forward to training you, Jaypaw," he meowed and pressed his nose against the apprentice's.

Smokestripe eyes lit up as the ceremony was finally underway despite the small hiccup with Bluekit. He straighten himself up, looking at his daughter with warm eyes and all the joy he could muster. Mentor after mentor was named as his tail swished, all to excited to know who would be granted the honor to mentor his daughter. Pinepaw was under the care of Littlebrook, Smokestripe's own mentor but for his daughter? It would be...He blinked as his name echoed in the clearing, his gaze flashing up to Magpiewing in surprise. Really? There was the faintest look of confusion that passed over his face before he shook it off, rising to his paws as he swiftly headed toward the black she-cat that he so lovely called his own and bent his head down to nose touches with her with a slightly purr. "Don't think because you are my daughter I'll go easy on you," he purred with a swish of his tail. This was perfect, this would give him the time to bond with her despite his duties!

It only took a few moments for Bluekit to go from scraping dead bugs off the dirt to being a real apprentice-- a Bluepaw. The new apprentice bristled anxiously, still taking it in. Foxheart was his mentor! Who...who was Foxheart? His blue eyes flitted to-and-fro, and he decided to instead look at the new apprentices beside him. He flashed them a light expression, taking notice to Yewpaw's glowering. His tail twitched. Why was she so mad on such a happy day?