Snailkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Leopardsun's voice carried over ShadowClan's camp; and it felt good to be back where it felt like she belonged. To call forward her clanmates without needing to clarify which Clan they hailed from (a formality, true, but one she had observed for the entirety of their stay at Highstones), and to do so on ShadowClan land.

"All cats old enough to silently stalk in the shadows, please gather around for a Clan meeting!"

Snailkit was a little older than most kits ready for apprenticehood. She'd spent what felt like seasons living off of a pawful of SkyClan cats' goodwill when she'd found herself left behind at Fourtrees, only returning to her own clan at the Gathering. And now they lived here, in ShadowClan's home camp, a place she'd never set paw in once in her life. Cold mud squished up between her pawpads with every step and moss-laden branches covered great portions of the starry sky above.

At Leopardsun's call, Snailkit padded forward and looked up. While her newly-returned father watched with warmth, her mother's gaze felt piercing. She couldn't tell if the trembling of her pelt was from nervousness, excitement, or simply the cold.

"Snailkit, please step forward."

With every lost cat returned to ShadowClan, Leopardsun's heart grew a little bit lighter. Good luck had been in short supply as of late, and every shred of it was welcome. If Snailkit's apprentice ceremony was perhaps a little late due to her recent return, it didn't mean it was any less of a cause to celebrate.

"You have reached the age of six moons and are ready to become an apprentice. From this day until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Snailpaw. Your mentor will be Rookfire- I trust he will pass all that he knows onto you."

The young tabby she-cat hardly felt her tail swishing about as her excitement mounted, finally culminating as she received her new name: Snailpaw. It was very similar to the name she'd already had, sure, but it would still take some getting used to. Her head whipped around for the tomcat named as her mentor, and once she found Rookfire she bounced towards him. She was careful to do the customary nose touch as she had seen the other apprentices do many times before. She didn't know much about him, but he seemed nice enough!