Fuzzykit's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

Constantly feeling weighed down under the pressure of foreboding eyes peering out from every nook of her camp, her home, Basilbloom lately had found solace in the company of the nursery.  It was part of her job of course to care for the littlest members of ShadowClan and make sure they stayed healthy as spring finally bloomed, but their bright smiles and insistent questions brought a sense of calmness to her heart.  One little kitten in particular though had caught her interest, the son of her dear friend Duskflight.  Fuzzykit, a cute little bundle of brown tabby fur stood out to her, and she hadn't quite known why until recently.  The fact was, he reminded her quite a bit of herself.  Enthusiasm, energy, kindness, and empathy...he would make a wonderful medicine cat.  Earlier that day Basilbloom had already taken it upon herself to ask Duskflight, Ivycreek, and Murkystar their opinion on the matter, and they had all agreed.  Yes!  Now, it was time for her to ask the protege in question...

"Why hello there Fuzzykit, how are you today?"  Ducking into the nursery with a smile, the small tortoiseshell she-cat spotted the tom-kit and padded over to him, leaning down to speak quietly into his ear.  "I need to ask you about something very important, can you come with me to the medicine den?"  She would've told him outright, but she didn't want the kit to look too excited if they had to sneak back over to her den.  She didn't want questions from the Dark Forest cats, better to play it safe and make it look like she was simply taking the kit over for a check-up.  Regardless, Basilbloom couldn't help the shaking in her paws.  Not because she was scared, but because she was happy!  Fuzzykit might be my apprentice, the cat who I share all my knowledge with and train to follow in my pawsteps.  He could be part of the next generation of healers!  If the Dark Forest doesn't decide to wipe us out...

Fuzzykit was rolling a moss ball around when Basilbloom walked in. “Hey Basilbloom! I’m good, moss ball is so much fun!”

When Basilbloom asked him to follow her, he chirped and started to follow the medicine cat. What could this have been for?

As they approached the medicine den, Fuzzykit took a deep breath in.

“It smells really good in here!”

The brown tabby tom wiggled a bit as he waited for Basilbloom to talk to him. He cocked his fluffy head to the side, wondering what she could have wanted.

As they entered the den, thankfully unnoticed by the Dark Forest, Basilbloom twitched her ears at the sound of Fuzzykit's deep sniff and smiled, amused by his light-heartedness.  "Yes, I love the smell too.  A mix of flowers, herbs, moss..."  She stopped herself, she needed to get to the point.  Taking a deep breath, the petite she-cat sat down facing the kitten and signaled for him to do the same.  She wondered if she would be taking this so seriously if this potential promotion were under different circumstances, but there was no way to know.  "Fuzzykit, being a medicine cat is a very important job.  We heal our clanmates, gather and grow herbs, and most importantly, we speak to StarClan and interpret their messages.  Right now, with StarClan gone, things are a lot different, but I still need to continue doing my job.  Part of that is training an apprentice to watch over the clan after I'm gone."  She paused, gazing into the kit's eyes with a thoughtful expression, before continuing.  "Fuzzykit, I see great potential in you, and I believe that you could be an amazing medicine cat. Do you want to become my apprentice?"

Fuzzykit sat next to her, his eyes meeting hers. The brown tabby wasn’t used to the severity of Basilbloom’s tone, and he understood that it was serious business.

She had described the things medicine cats did, which he tried to make a mental note of. After all, medicine cats were important.

But he wasn’t anticipating Basilbloom to ask him to be her apprentice.

“Really? Like, really, really?”

He noticed how hushed of a tone that she spoke in, but he couldn’t help but grin. She wanted him as her apprentice! The small kit smiled radiantly,.

“Yes! I’ll be your apprentice.”

Fuzzykit's pure, untainted excitement broke through Basilbloom's worries, and the she-cat couldn't help her laugh as she nodded, amber eyes squinted happily.  "Yes, really really!"  She remembered her own excitement when Rookfire had asked her to be his apprentice, that felt like a million moons ago now.  However, there wasn't time to waste.  Getting to her paws, Basilbloom stepped forward and pressed her nose against Fuzzykit's forehead.  "Fuzzykit, since it is your wish to walk down the path of a medicine cat, I give you the name Fuzzypaw.  I pray that StarClan will grant you wisdom and insight so that you may understand their ways and heal your clan in accordance with their will."

Smiling, she stepped back and gestured to one of the nearby nests.  "You can sleep here today, and we'll build you your own nest tonight.  StarClan has not spoken to us since the stars vanished, but there's always a chance that you may be able to dream of them.  Lay down Fuzzypaw, and get a good rest. We'll start our work tomorrow."  Nuzzling the top of the tom's head, she took one last look at the den entrance before laying down in her own nest, trying not to let her anxiety show.  She wished she could've shown his the majesty of the Moonstone...maybe someday.  For now though, they all needed to focus on what mattered; finding StarClan, and banishing the Dark Forest.

Fuzzypaw was an apprentice now! He could barely believe it.

“Great! Tomorrow is gonna be awesome!”

He curled up in a nest, trying to sleep. He was just too excited! So much had happened.

When sleep eventually took him, it was a deep restful sleep, but with no vision of the stars or the cats that lived there.