Loonpaw's Warrior Ceremony

Though the past moons had been quite distressing, what with the loss of her entire litter of kits as well as her adopted son, Spiderquill, Ivystar had made it a priority to prepare her plethora of apprentices for warriorhood. She'd determined that Loonpaw was ready, however odd the tom might be at times, to receive his warrior name. Over the moons, he'd certainly earned it in terms of technical skill, even if he still had a bit of growing up to do. Ivystar had grown fond of him and hoped that going forward, they'd be able to maintain at least some semblance of their relationship. "All cats old enough to catch their own fish, gather beneath the Willow Branch for a Clan meeting!" She called out, leaping up to the branch herself. She hoped Loonpaw would like the name she'd chosen for him.

Loonpaw grinned his awkward, crooked grin as he ambled toward the Willow Branch. Though he knew his ceremony was imminent, he was all the more oblivious to the actual content of the day's meeting. He was quick to sit towards the back, near the other apprentices, but quickly realized that he had been mistaken by the way Ivystar watched him. Tentatively, he moved closer, until he was squarely in front, and began to shuffle his paws. Nerves were very uncommon for him, but in this moment, he felt a jolt of it unlike any other. What was this fear in his heart?

Perhaps he was scared of what she would say to him. He feared his name, most of all. Though they made an excellent pair of teacher and student, Loonpaw knew that their relationship had the same underlying energy of all his other ones. There was a fundamental disconnect. He was strange. He spoke in fragmented poetry. He could not break through the mold that the world had made for him. Would his name reflect how the cats in this clearing saw him? Would he be Loonmoon, the insane? Would they gawk at him, and would StarClan "honor" him for his uniqueness?

Remembering Fallowlight, he let his paws relax and set his eyes forward.

Ivystar greeted Loonpaw with a soft smile as he stepped forward, whiskers twitching a bit as she cleared her throat to officially begin the ceremony. "I have gathered you all here today to witness the promotion of yet another apprentice. I have monitored Loonpaw's training closely over the past moons, and I am confident that he has more than earned his warrior name. Loonpaw, if you believe this to be true, step forward now and your ceremony will begin." Whether she wanted it to show or not, Ivystar was proud of the tom, and that much was clear.

Loonpaw rose to meet his mentor's eyes, only glancing back for a moment to find Fernfluff's face in the swath of clanmates. Standing alone, he felt quite a bit important. He wondered if she saw him smile at her, and if she noticed that it was not crooked or toothy at all. If you had been standing close enough to Loonpaw, you might have seen him duck his head and murmur the softest "Hoo, hoo."

Once Loonpaw had stood in front of the rest of the crowd, Ivystar offered him a firm nod of affirmation, continuing with the rest of the ceremony. "In that case, I, Ivystar, leader of RiverClan, call upon our warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in hie turn. Loonpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and to protect and defend the Clan, even at the cost of your life?" She uttered, green eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Loonpaw from atop the branch.

"I do," Loonpaw swore, his eyes fluttering shut as he prepared himself the remainder of the ceremony. He could hardly stomach the anticipation. He surrendered all of his trust to Ivystar and waited for the most important part to begin.

"Then I grant you your warrior name. From this day onward, you shall be known to all as..."

Ivystar's brow furrowed for a moment, doubt sinking into her chest. She was aware of just how much this meant to Loonpaw, and this was the first time she'd ever doubted a name that she'd chosen for one of her warriors. What if he didn't like it? What if he felt that it wasn't fitting for him? Would she choose another, or would he be doomed to an eternity with such a name? She shook her head a bit, closing her eyes for a moment before announcing his chosen name.

"Loonwhisper."

It sounded right when she said it, and she hoped that Loonpaw felt the same way. "RiverClan honors your fishing skills and intrepid spirit. As per tradition, tonight you will hold a silent vigil while the rest of the Clan sleeps. Until then, however, we will celebrate the rise of a strong new warrior." Leaping from the branch, Ivystar headed to Loonwhisper's side, resting her chin on his head for a moment before stepping back and whispering, "I hope that you like it," A gentle smile crossed her face, a rare thing for the fluffy leader.

Loonpaw's eyes snapped open. No, no, not Loonpaw anymore...

Loonwhisper.

His lips parted as he ran over the name again in his head. Shock rippled down from his head to his tail. Of course his name was Loonwhisper. It was always meant to be. His gaping mouth twisted up, beaming as she listed his accomplishments for the clan to hear. Intrepid. What a handsome word! He was lifted, his heart jumping for joy like the smallest of mice, and when Ivystar approached him as a warrior for the first time, he pushed his head up into her chin.

She hoped he liked it. He purred. "It's splendid." Without another word needing to be said, the new warrior turned to acknowledge the clan as they chanted his new name.

---

When the ceremony was long done, and all of his precious trinkets had been shifted from one den to another, Loonwhisper watched the sun set on his first day as a warrior. When the first star of Silverpelt appeared in the half-lit sky, he did not speak a word to anyone. He did not even murmur a "hoo, hoo." He relaxed into the sandy floor of the camp and stared up at the ancestors, for the first hour of many. There he would stay, until the sun rose again, when he would greet his clanmates and begin his first patrol.

Unless, of course, something, or someone, were to interrupt the vigil. But there was peace in the forest tonight, and Loonwhisper was certain that such a thing would never happen.

Flashpaw watched her fellow RiverClan cats gather for a ceremony, as they so often did, and as her brother was called forward. She found that it was a bittersweet declaration, as he gained his name; as proud as she was - and she was proud, was always proud of her family for their accomplishments - it meant that he was moving forward, moving on, and doing so without her. It was true that they still shared a camp, and they would someday share a den again, but for now she would stay behind.

(And that stung in its own way, that she wasn't the first; but she'd made her peace with that. As much as she could, at least.)

"Loonwhisper!" she cried, her voice among the loudest; doing her best to fill the words with all the pride and love she felt. "Loonwhisper!"