Falconpaw's Warrior Ceremony

Marigoldmask's ears twitched as she heard Birdstar's call, and raising her head from off of her paws, the golden-marked warrior found herself easily making her way over to the crowd. She'd been ready to head out on one last patrol for the evening, but a clan gathering came first. So the molly found her spot, glancing around for any familiar faces to converse with.

Thornstalker had almost settled in for the night, having done all of her tasks for the day when she heard Birdstar's call. Not being one to ignore her leader the small pale warrior made her way over, and settled among the growing crowd. Slightly curious as to what the leader had in store for the meeting.

Falconpaw approached Tallrock and sat down in front of it. The night prior had been one of the few that had been completely dreamless. He wasn't about to complain. He looked for his siblings as the clan gathered, as he usually sat with them. Shrugging to himself when he didn't spot them yet, his eyes went to Birdstar and he waited for the meeting to begin.

Graypaw had been thinking of going to her nest for the night, even though it was still a bit early, when Birdstar called the clan for a meeting. She couldn't say she was over enthusiastic as she padded to sit beside her brother, with her own training seemingly at a crawl. But if Birdstar was calling the meeting, surely there must be another ceremony, right? Not hers, she was sure...

---

Wolfblossom had taken her spot beneath the tallbranch as well, offering a small smile when she found her kits in the crowd. She was trying to keep her own excitement in check and not give away the surprise, considering she knew exactly whose ceremony this was going to be. She was proud of them, all of them.

Falconpaw stiffened when Birdstar called him forward. His heart stopped. It took a moment for him to realize what was going on, but that didn't fix the wide-eyed expression on his face. He stepped forward, all too aware of the eyes on him. "I do." he said simply, actually surprised that managed to make his voice carry. This was happening... it was actually happening...

Quickpaw had joined the gathering crowd, taking a position next to Graypaw and Falconpaw. A cough she just couldn't seem to shake still paired with exhaustion and weakness had stunted her training, but still her eyes shone with pride as her brother was called forward to receive his warrior name. Her voice rose with the rest of the clans, welcoming the newly named Falconmoon as a warrior.

Falconmoon... He smiled hearing his new name. Given that he had been switched night patrols he found it fitting. A silent vigil for tonight too... how could he ask for anything more? He'd love some time to himself to think about what had happened, what had finally happened. He looked back at the clan, beaming. He found his siblings' eyes and his mother's eyes and stared for a good long while at them. He never understood what feeling like he could walk on clouds meant, but he did now. As light as a feather.

Falconmoon... I can't wait to see my siblings get their ceremonies too!

---

Bloodstrike sat at the back of the clan and watched Falconmoon's reaction carefully. The new warrior seemed happy, but more importantly, he seemed humble. It helped the old tom relax a bit. With a single nod of congratulations from afar, the old, scarred tom turned away from the meeting. There were still bellies that would need feeding.

Graypaw seemed to shake some of the malaise that had befallen her as Falconpaw was called forward, giving her brother a grin. She'd known it would only be a matter of time before he got his name, of course, he'd progressed in his training faster than she or their siblings had, and while Graypaw was happy for him, she couldn't shake a sense of jealousy. Smokestep obviously cared about her former apprentice, why hadn't Yewfrost dedicated the same attention to her? Her training stagnated, and now he was gone.

But her brother was receiving his name, and the ceremony was over. "Falconmoon! Falconmoon!" Graypaw and Wolfblossom's voice were quick to join the crowd in cheering for Skyclan's newest warrior. Graypaw bounded forward, purring as she reached Falconmoon's side. "I had a feeling it would be your ceremony, congratulations, Falconmoon!" She grinned up at him, trying her hardest to keep her inner turmoil off of her face.

"I can't believe you're a warrior already. I could've swore I made you apprentices yesterday." Wolfblossom purred as she padded forward, the grin she'd been trying to hide at the start of the ceremony now hopelessly worn across her expression. "I'm so proud of you, Falconmoon. May your vigil be a calm one." She had noticed the way Graypaw's expression wavered even if Falconmoon didn't, and her tail rested gently across her back for a brief moment as she brushed against Falconmoon before retreating to let the rest of the clan celebrate.

As the warrior's name was called, the molly's voice raised with the crowd. "Falconmoon! Falconmoon!" While she wasn't entirely familiar with the tom and who he was, the fact that he was a new denmate would surely change that fact. One look at him gave her the presumption that he was one of Wolfblossom's children, the first to get their name. Had it really been that long already..? The thought came and went from the gold and white she-cat, all while she cheered and kept her distance to allow those closest to him to celebrate.

Sunpaw and Smokestep had been on shared patrol when the ceremony was called together, but the pair of them, along with the rest of the patrol, arrived home just in time to hear Falconpaw recieve his warrior name. Sunpaw hurriedly deposited the fat hare he'd caught with the rest of the fresh-kill and then bounded over to his brother, winding between his sisters and his mother to get to Falconmoon. He lowered his head and butted the other tom on the shoulder, rougher than he would have done to either of his sisters but he knew Falcon wasn't a wimp. "Congrats, Falconmoon! That's a great name." He turned to look at Quickpaw and Graypaw, "It'll be us next, huh?" He grinned.

Smokestep was slower to approach, having actually taken her time putting her squirrel on the pile, and keeping a more respectful distance as the family rejoiced. Eventually, though, she approached, dipping her head to Wolfblossom before touching her nose to Falconmoon's cheek. "I'm very proud of you, you'll make a great warrior."