Loonkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Already perched upon the Willow Branch, Ivystar sat watching her Clanmates. A few of them had looked up at her curiously, but otherwise, they all seemed content to go about their business. Eventually, she cleared her throat and yowled, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Willow Branch for a Clan meeting!"

Loonkit wandered (a little aimlessly) towards the willow tree that was so integral to their little island home. He flopped over onto his side, grimacing a little. Growing pains had attacked his nimble little legs as he shot up in height during his last moon in the nursery. He, along with the rest of his siblings, were finally too big. This necessitated a change of dens, and a change of names to go with it. Now, as it had been explained to him, a warrior would give him the knowledge all RiverClan cats needed to ensure their survival.

He was mostly excited to learn how to fish. "Hello, Ivystar!" he said loudly. "Hooo, oo!"

Ivystar watched as Loonkit made his way over, eventually flopping onto his side. She simply nodded at him in response to his loud greeting, fluffy tail hanging below her. "Loonkit, please step forward." She said slowly, waiting for the tom to rise and do so. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day onward until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Loonpaw." She looked around a bit at the gathered warriors, thinking about each one and the multitude of apprentices swarming around, considering who mentored which. "I will be your mentor." She mewed, leaping off the branch and making her way towards the black and white tom. "Take a while to celebrate and move your nest to the apprentice den. Get a good night's rest, and we'll begin training tomorrow." She touched her nose to the young tom's for a moment before parting ways, offering a backward glance as she made her way back towards the warriors den.

Loonkit listened closely to the ceremony, enjoying the traditional feeling of it. Even if the leaves changed, and the river dried, and cats came and went, the words would always be the same. There was something to be said about that. It felt as though, in the time it took him to blink one sharp green eye, and then the other, his identity had been changed by the blessed power of StarClan. He wondered if there were other clans that were beyond their world. AirClan, or ReflectionClan, where cats roamed that were not his ancestors. That would be very nice.

Now Loonpaw, he waited for Ivystar to come down from the branch. He had seen the greeting before, and tapped his nose to hers politely, feeling suddenly rather small. Her eyes were very pretty, he remarked to himself. Perhaps that was the reason they called her "star": the smattering of color in her eyes. "Okay," he hummed, parting ways with his new mentor to find Flashpaw in their new den.