Sparrowkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Despite all the chaos they caused elsewhere, Waterlily’s litter had done wonders for Thrushnose’s ceremony-related nerves. She still had too many factors to plan for—remembering names, matching apprentices to mentors—but the meetings themselves were almost natural. Every time she spoke the ceremonial words, they cemented themselves a little further into her mind. Even climbing the Highrock had gotten easier (though given the danger of falling, she’d made sure to practice that in her free time, with no one but ThunderClan’s night guards to witness it).

Today’s meeting continued that trend. When her paws hit the stone with a muted thump, they didn’t slip at all. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!” The customary shout scratched its way up her throat, and Thrushnose's ears flicked back in surprise at the sound of her own voice. Nothing honey couldn't fix, thankfully.

The moment her brothers graduated from the nursery to the apprentice’s den, they had been holding it over poor Sparrowkit’s head. As much as she loved them, she quietly plotted numerous pranks for them that she’d fulfill the day of her ceremony. And that day has finally come. Sparrowkit bounded from out of the nursery, barely giving Waterlily any time to groom her unkept fur. She sat under the Highrock expectantly, tail twitching with anticipation.

Soon Sparrowkit bounded toward the Highrock, looking just a bit messier than most of her denmates—siblings, even—had been for their ceremonies. Thrushnose couldn’t blame her. She didn’t understand the tradition herself. Kits were excitable enough without suspecting they had something to be excited about, and perceptive beyond their moons as well; that any of them sat still for grooming at all was a miracle. Thrushnose cleared her throat. “One of our kits has reached the age of six moons; today, she will become an apprentice. Sparrowkit, step forward.”

Once Sparrowkit had done so, she continued. “From this moment on, until the day you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Sparrowpaw. Wolfblaze will be your mentor. I trust she’ll pass everything she knows on to you.” Having taken on an apprentice shortly after her own warriorhood, Thrushnose didn’t see anything odd about assigning one to Wolfblaze so soon; mentorship was the sort of thing a cat could only understand through doing. If nothing else, she knew Wolfblaze had enough energy to keep up. With one last look at apprentice and mentor, the broad-shouldered tabby sprang down from the Highrock to join the crowd.

Wolfblaze, who had been watching the ceremony proceed, was surprised when she was the one who would be mentoring this new apprentice. She had pretty much just become a warrior! Well, that wasn't about to bring her down, she was gonna train this apprentice and make sure that she became a great warrior! With haste, she made her way to her new apprentice, smiling all the way. She leaned down and touched her nose to Sparrowpaw's nose, wasting no time explaining what would happen next. "Hey there, ok so I'll be getting you up tomorrow morning pretty early so we can see the territory, and maybe even start teaching you to hunt! Hope you're excited 'cause I sure am! See you bright and early tomorrow!" With that, she practically skipped away, thinking about all the ways she could teach this young cat the ways of a warrior.