The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
Welcome to WCC! Here are our latest announcements:
Activity checks take place on the 1st of the month. PM a staff member with the completed form if you missed it.
Newleaf is finally here, and the Clans hope to find reprieve from the tough Leaf-bare.
Gatherings take place on the 1st of the month; keep your eyes out for a staff member's post!
Please feel free to hit up any staff member if you have any questions!
It felt like no time had passed at all before Perchstar’s kits were ready for their apprenticeship. Once they were all apprenticed, Perchstar would no longer need to stay in the nursery, which Poppyshine knew that her friend would be happy about. Thus, she wasted no time in organizing for the first ceremony of Perchstar’s children. She let Perchstar prepare Willowkit, and when they were both ready, she went to the Willow Branch and called, ”Let all cats old enough to catch their own fish gather for a Clan meeting!”
Willowkit sat tall at her mother’s side while she waited for her ceremony to begin. She was quite eager for this day. She would be the first of her siblings to reach apprenticeship, which made sense as the oldest of the litter. Willowkit was more than prepared for this new step. She wondered who her mentor would be. Selfishly, Willowkit hoped for her mother. She knew that her mother already had an apprentice, that being Rookpaw. Thankfully they had not yet taken too much of their mother’s time, but once they were all out of the nursery, Willowkit knew that her attention would be split. She did not want to lose that time with her mother. If she was her apprentice, then she would continue to get plenty of time with her.
With the meeting being called, Willowkit stood and approached. She walked gracefully, even if it was not very far, and she arrived at the front by the branch. Willowkit sat and looked expectantly up at the deputy.
Poppyshine smiled back down at her and began the ceremony in full. ”Willowkit, you have reached the age of six moons. It is now time for you to be apprenticed.” The matter of who would apprentice Perchstar’s first child was something that Poppyshine had thought long and hard about. It was important to her that Perchstar’s children were taken care of by the best warriors in the clan. Poppyshine would have happily taken this responsibility herself, but admittedly, she had not spent much time at all with Willowkit, who instead always seemed attached to her mother. Poppyshine knew that she would be better suited for another kit. So instead, her mind had turned to another cat who she had entrusted her own child to, and who she believed had done a fantastic job in mentoring him. The choice, once it had come to her mind, was obvious. ”From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Willowpaw. Your mentor will be Stormdance. His experience will be more than enough to guide you to warriorhood.”
Willowpaw’s expression didn’t change, but she felt disappointment swell inside her chest. She was sure Stormdance was a great warrior, though she had not spoken with him. But no matter what a good warrior he was, he was not her mother, and thus she already felt uneasy. Willowpaw supposed that she would just have to make sure that she found the time with her mother anyway. In the meantime, she looked for the new cat that would teach her all that she needed to know.
Perchstar had mixed feelings about Willowkit's ceremony, heralding the ceremonies of all her kits. She was relieved to finally be exiting the nursery for good, of course--though not quite as enthused to be stepping into the leader's den as her resting place once more. She had yet to throw out the dusty old nest, and was dreading it. But she was proud of her kits. As strange of a sensation as it was to think of them as hers, even after the time she'd spent helping to raise them, she did feel a recognizably warm twinge of pride as Willowkit stood and became Willowpaw. She'd discussed their mentors with Poppyshine, of course, so the appointment of Stormdance stood as no surprise to her. Once the ceremony had concluded, she waited for the two to touch noses and exchange words before walking forward to greet both of them. "Congratulations, Willowpaw," she said, offering a nod. Expressions of affection towards her kits had not been entirely absent, but were few and far between. She did not feel comfortable doing such an action as licking her kit in front of anyone else--even Poppyshine--so she refrained. Instead, she blinked slowly to communicate her pride, then turned to look at Stormdance. He was one of her most trusted warriors, and if Rowansong was any indication, a wonderful mentor in his own right. "I have faith in you," she informed him simply. It was a mark of trust to choose which warriors would be mentoring her kits--though of course any apprentice deserved such consideration. What else should she say? Was there anything? Though she'd watched many apprentice ceremonies, she felt awkward. So she stepped back and allowed others to congratulate the pair.
Perchstar’s kits were old enough to become apprentices. It was always so strange watching kits grow, they seem to grow so big, so fast. Stormdance really didn’t spend that much time in the nursery as they were growing up, something that saddens him a little. He was occupied with warrior duties, but he still loved visiting the nursery frequently.
He watched Willowkit’s ceremony, and straightened to attention when his name was called. He didn’t feel the same level of anxiety he did at Woolywing and Rowansong’s ceremonies (though, true to form, he still felt some anxiety) as he’d grown a lot more confident as a warrior and mentor than he was in those days. He just hoped that Willowpaw’s apprenticeship would turn out much less adventurous than either of his previous apprentices’.
He rose to his feet and crossed to Willowpaw, giving her a soft, encouraging smile before bending down to touch her nose. “I look forward to teaching you all I know.” He told her warmly. “We’ll get started tomorrow.”
He stepped back then. He watched Perchstar greet and speak to Willowpaw, prepared to take his leave when Perchstar turned to him too. He blinked at her, and her words filled him with warmth and pride. He didn’t think it would ever stop being a shock that Perchstar and Poppyshine entrusted him with so much, but he was determined not to ever let them down. He dipped his head respectfully back and replied, “Thank you, Perchstar. I won’t let you down.”
Wrenkit
Riverclan Camp
Wrenkit started buzzing with excitement as soon as the ceremony started. She rocked from side to side, watching her sister get called up by her Aunt Poppyshine. A huge smile broke across her face as Willowpaw was officially given her apprentice name, pride and excitement making her chest puff out. She waited, patiently, very, very patiently for the ceremony to wrap up. She was bound to become an apprentice soon too, so she had to prove she was ready by showing she could take such things seriously. However, as soon as her mother and Stormdance gave her the room to do so, Wrenkit was bolting across the camp.
She wiggled past the adults to bonk her head right into Willowpaw’s shoulder, grinning wildly.“'Scuse me mama, favorite sister coming through. Congratulations, Willowpaw!” She cheered with a purr. “Save me a nest in the apprentice’s den, okay? I’m gonna be right behind you!”
