Juniperkit's Apprentice Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to climb trees gathering beneath the Tallbranch for a Clan meeting!” Foxfire stood on the tall branch, his claws digging in as he called the Clan together for yet another ceremony...And another of Spottedstar's kits to make an apprentice. There was a joy in him, seeing SkyClan grow slowly. Their numbers had taken a hit recently but maybe...Just maybe they would recover and things would be right again. He hoped so, stars, he hoped so.

Juniperkit, herded by his mother, gathered in the clearing at Foxfire's call. He'd observed a few ceremonies from the nursery and decided that this one was probably his. Some of his older siblings had already been named apprentices, and now he would get to see what they did all day. The little black tomkit sat patiently in the clearing, pale yellow eyes trained on the deputy.

At the sight of the black tom, Foxfire gave a soft nod as he cleared his throat. "Juniperkit, please step forward." He waited a few heartbeats, taking the moment to scan the gathered cats for who he had picked as the young kit's soon-to-be mentor. Once he saw her, he smiled and turned his attention back to the excited Juniperkit. "Juniperkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Juniperpaw. Firflower will be your mentor." At that, he climbed down the tree and padded toward the deaf she-cat, jerking his head in the apprentice's direction to fully make sure she had caught what he had just said.

"You're his mentor," he repeated, his words not very loud and instead he was focused on making sure his words was clear for her to read. He hadn't found the chance to really...Interact with Firflower, often feeling unsure of how to properly do so when she was deaf and mute. But Spottedstar knew how to interact with his mother, and he was sure that Juniperkit could figure it out. He always felt terrible that he couldn't give the she-cat an apprentice, but perhaps Juniperkit could be a good testing of the water.