Beepaw’s warrior ceremony

Oakstar padded out of his den with the quiet rising of the afternoon sun. Just a couple days before, Rainstrike has become Rainpaw… Batbite and Minkstream has a litter of kits. He wanted to feel pride and joy… but that wasn’t his to have. In every way, he felt strange. As though the clan didn’t need him anymore.

Was that bad? His heart ached at the realization. One day, he’d be gone… but at least the clan would be okay without him. Nettlefire had done a more than admirable job it seemed. Yet, for now, he was still leader. Leopardstar told him he was their leader… he just had to feel like it again. Somehow. He leapt onto high rock. His dark pelt still covered in scabbed and healing wounds, as were many others… but they were alive. That was the important thing.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a clan meeting!" He yowled, attempting to keep his voice clear as his throat strained from its brutal slash.

Ferretnose emerged from the medicine den with Beepaw at her side. Since his injury, she had been visiting him in the medicine den, bringing him prey and speaking with him whenever she could. When he was able to walk with less obvious nausea, she supported his weight with her strong limbs, allowing her enormous son to lean into her if he was too dazed to walk steadily. When he asked why, she told him that he was her clanmate, and as a senior warrior, she felt a responsibility to the young cats of ThunderClan, who would take her place when she retired to leisure in the elder's den. Though, Beepaw knew it was because she was his mother, and a queen does not forget her kits, even when they are much larger than herself.

He felt the tide of animosity between them fade with each passing day as they mended their bond as mother and son. Beepaw was not ready to explain the reasons for his standoffishness, and in fact, he wasn't sure he understood it himself. The folly of youth? Maybe, in part. Ferretnose certainly didn't mind whether he told her or not. She was as happy as a bunny in Newleaf just to have him to talk to, as an equal. Beepaw was a grown cat now, and he had proven himself in battle, giving his health for the safety of the forest. If Oakstar had not already decided it himself, she would've given him an earful about Beepaw's ceremony.

And so, they walked together, Beepaw squinting against the too-harsh sunlight, just barely leaning into his mother's side, until they reached the base of Highrock. She lapped at his shoulder fur, causing him to ack in disgust. Ferretnose could tell that something was troubling him, and she placed her paw on his.

"I wish Duskrain was here," he murmured. "I keep thinking about the sickness... She wasn't born in ThunderClan. What if she..."

"Oh, Beepaw," Ferretnose insisted. "I don't think the Righteous Few could find Duskrain if they tried. I don't think she meant to leave. Knowing her, she probably took a walk and decided not to stop walking. Far beyond the jurisdiction of these stars, I'm sure. I believe she's safe, wherever she wound up."

Beepaw nodded, and pulled his paw up from under Ferretnose's to stare at the many toes. Beast paws. He smiled. She had said it with so much awe. Duskrain made him feel seen. These beast paws were his. He wondered for a fleeting moment if Beartooth had ever felt so much pride in his appearance, but the thought was as quickly gone as it came. The past was the past, and he was not a ghost. The only wrongs he had to right were his own. He pressed both of his paws into the ground and waited eagerly for Oakstar to begin the meeting.

Oakstar’s gaze fell to Beepaw when the young tom stepped out from the medicine den. Despite everything, the wretchedness of the past couple of days. The worries of the future… he found himself smiling down kindly at him. Beepaw had been the first face he saw when he returned back to the living. Had sheltered him from the worst of the battle, and protected his own body when it was vulnerable.

"Beepaw, step forward." He called, voice clear in the air despite the rasp. His gaze fell to Ferretnose. He gave a meaningful glance in Beepaw’s direction, before returning it to hers with a twitch of his tail. Acknowledgement, that this was to be the younger tom’s big day. "I, Oakstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Beepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" He asked the question with care.

No longer was it just an easy one. A simple vow. In their midst, was a potential danger… his own granddaughter was a potential threat that stung greatly. If he couldn’t trust his own family… who could he? He couldn’t just hold every cat to suspicion though, and Beepaw had more than shown that he was a reliable cat, worthy in every sense to be a warrior at last.

As Beepaw hobbled forward, he felt the strength of LionClan all around him. No, just ThunderClan. He beamed at the clanmates around him as he stretched his head up to Highrock. Oakstar's speech was customary; he had heard it a thousand times before. Yet, each syllable suddenly hit him like a monster. He swallowed a mighty rock in his throat. The noble Code, the object of so much strife and debate, whose meaning was not understood by the Clans equally. It was clear to him now, having matured past the simple black-and-white, good-and-evil mind of an apprentice, that the code WindClan followed was much different than RiverClan's. The battles they had thought, the ancestors Beepaw had seen, were never really in agreement. Then, since every clan gave the same speech, the same ceremony, and the same names, it must be the essence of the Code which he had been tasked to defend. Peace and war came in cycles, just like the seasons. Was he ready to fight for truth, honor, and love?

"I am. I-I mean, I do," he breathed. Even at the cost of my life. For every innocent cat who was killed, maimed, or cast out by the Righteous Few. What a bunch of crow-breathed dopes.

When Beepaw answered, Oakstar took a deep breath. This was it then. The young tom’s final moment as an apprentice.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Beepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Beecloud. While StarClan honors your fortitude and altruism, which you’ve demonstrated time and time again. There has never been a time where we’ve needed a warrior like you more and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He announced, glancing at the cats all around the camp. He hoped his words rang true.

Even when Dacedream was made a warrior… the moral had never been so low. Now, more than ever, he realised they needed this. Needed to move forward from the negativity of it all. There was few cats more fitting. Ferretnose perhaps, but it was a relief to have a new warrior as well. One he could trust, as he padded over to Beecloud and touched his shoulder with approval.
"You have faced many obstacles most apprentices never did, and I hope you continue to be the best cat you can in the face of whatever happens next."

Cedarheart had settled in, wracking the ceremony with interest. No other apprentices were read6, it must be Beepaw’s! She was so glad her brother was joining her as a warrior, and she knew he deserved it. It was a spark of joy in the strange sadness her life had been engulfed in. She watched him step forward, and finally, Oakstar gave him his warrior name. Beecloud. It was unique, beautiful, and just perfect. ”Beecloud! Beecloud!” she shouted. Only one of her siblings had reached warriorhood. And he would be the only one to do so. The rest of her litter was gone, but they had each other. And Ferretnose, and Harefoot. And true blood or not, they were a family.