Sleekkit's Apprentice Ceremony

It seemed right, somehow, that the first ceremony Thrushnose conducted would be her son’s. More importantly, it made things easier. She was taking swipes in the dark when it came to understanding how mentor and apprentice fit together, but knowing one of the involved parties (well, both) certainly helped. All that knowledge did nothing to ease her nerves. As she hauled herself onto the Highrock with a mental note—climbing practice today—her stomach prickled as if the squirrel she’d just eaten had been full of sparks.

Logically, she had nothing to fear. Before sunrise, she had ventured deep into the territory to practice these words. Now she yowled them before the entire Clan: “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!” They came out polished enough. A bit quiet, but Thrushnose imagined she’d adjust to shouting with time. Gratified somewhere beyond the nervousness, she shuffled at the rock’s front edge while her Clanmates arrived.

After hearing his mother was the deputy (even if only temporarily), Sleekkit became even more excited for his apprentice ceremony. He was a little apprehensive about it, but what could go wrong? Stoatkit - no, Stoatpaw - had been apprenticed earlier than him, and nothing had gone wrong there. Sleekkit wished they could have had a joint ceremony, but for whatever reason, he was forced to wait another day for his. At least Thrushnose was doing the ceremony. He trusted his mom to give him a good mentor. Head held high, the tom padded out of the nursery. His black-and-white pelt was well groomed, true to his name, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

It wasn’t long before she spotted Sleekkit hurrying toward the Highrock, his pelt as smooth and shiny (maybe even shinier?) as it had been when Thrushnose had left him to prepare for this ceremony. Where he’d gotten that from, she had no idea. Once the stragglers found their seats, she stepped forward. Her paws went still; instead, her tail began to wave. “One of our kits has reached the age of six moons; today, he will become an apprentice. Sleekkit”—the last time she would ever call him by that name—“please step forward.”

She waited until he had done so, an unmistakable tinge of fondness in her expression, before speaking again. “From this moment on, until the day you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Sleekpaw. Kestrelswoop will be your mentor.” Kestrel was a planner, patient and thorough. Someone who could keep Sleekpaw safe while teaching him how to protect himself. Thrushnose’s gaze settled on Kestrelswoop for a long moment, then drifted back to her son. “I trust him to pass everything he knows on to you.” That was it. Her freedom from the nursery; her first ceremony behind her. She turned on her heel and made her way down the back of the Highrock, then padded around to join ThunderClan's newest apprentice, bending down to gently headbutt his shoulder.

The proud kit (but not kit for much longer, he reminded himself) stepped forward as requested, lifting his head to meet his mother’s eyes. His claws curled into the ground as his new name was spoken. Sleekpaw. He’d already known, of course, what it would be, but hearing it brought a wave of adrenaline. Another came crashing down as his mentor was named: Kestrelswoop. He didn’t know too many of the warriors, but he’d seen Kestrelswoop around. And they were related; he was Sleekpaw’s uncle. Sleekpaw’s gaze shifted from Thrushnose to Kestrelswoop as he gingerly touched noses with his mentor. “When do we start training? Now? Can we? Please?”

The headbutt from Thrushnose was a reminder to the young tom that it might not be the best time for so many questions when the Clan was watching. “Thank you, mom,” he squeaked, half in a whisper.

He had been quite surprised at the outcome of this apprentice ceremony, to say the least. He never expected to be given an apprentice this early on, especially after having just receiving his warrior name only around a day ago. He understood why, of course. ThunderClan had been lacking warriors for quite a bit now. Almost all of them already had an apprentice or two to train. Don't get him wrong! He was perfectly fine with getting one. He was just a bit caught off guard, that's all.

The tom grinned down fondly at his nephew, who now happened to be his apprentice as well. He bent down and pressed his nose to his. "Well..." he pretended to think for a moment before, face portraying no clear answer. "Alright. We can start your training today, Sleekpaw. It's still quite early so it should be fine. Meet me at the camp's once you're done celebrating your apprenticeship with the others." he purred, a paw reaching out to teasingly nudging the younger tom. He then turned to his sister and gave her a soft smile. He walked up to her and whispered with a prideful tone, "You did great up there, dear sister." With that, he padded away and disappeared into the crowd.