Darkkit's Apprentice Ceremony

The bark of the willow tree was well-worn from the claws of countless cats that had gone before him. As Scorchclaw stepped out unto the familiar willow branch, he felt it dip just the slightest bit beneath his weight. Another one of RiverClan's many kits was ready to become an apprentice today. Along with the return of newleaf had come a great spike in births. The fluffy deputy had never been particularly fond of kits; they got under your paws when you were trying to work and were quite good at getting into trouble. Nevertheless, they also meant that RiverClan would grow even stronger. Especially in these times when the conflict with ThunderClan had not yet died down, that was always a good thing. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the willow branch for a clan meeting!"

This was it, this had to finally be it!

The fact that Darkkit had told this to himself over and over for the past couple moons each time either Jaystar or Scorchclaw called for a meeting, even knowing he was too young at the time, and he over and over got disappointed wasn’t even near to enough to get him discouraged.

Once more the fluffy dark kit rushed towards the Willow Branch and quickly took a spot in the very font row of the gathering crowd before the deputy could even finish the call, chest puffed up and tail held high with pride as he constantly looked at his pelt, licking any bit of dirt, getting rid of any bit of moss or grooming even the single stray hair that none would notice anyways.

He was destined for greatness, he just knew it, so his appearance couldn’t be anything but his very best in what he hoped would finally be his apprentice ceremony. He knew he had a lot of competition for the oh-so desired spot of leader, but he was more than willing to best every single warrior in the clan to prove it was meant for him…and even resort to trickery and foul play if he found himself unable to best someone else at some point.

The words were barely out of Scorchclaw's mouth when Darkkit appeared beneath the willow branch. The fluffy tomkit's eager appearance each time a clan meeting was called had not escaped the fluffy deputy's notice, although he had been disappointed each and every time up until now. In a moment, his enthusiasm was finally about to be rewarded. "Darkkit, step forward." Waving his fluffy tail, Scorchclaw beckoned him forward.

"Darkkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." There was a slight pause as he allowed his words to sink in. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Darkpaw and your mentor will be Lilytail." Unlike what Jaystar often did when the large gray tom had been deputy, Scorchclaw did not add any extra words, ending the ceremony there. From his perch where he could watch the two cats he had named touch noses, his thoughts roamed to the previous Darkpaws. StarClan, let this one at least reach warriorhood.