Crocuspaw's Warrior Ceremony

Finding a place to set up a camp was proving difficult - for as temporary as it had to be, it still had to be able to shelter them without any real time to make dens... Currently, ThunderClan was making shelter among the cliff-face a good distance away from the other Clans. Acornstem had called for a halt for the investigation towards a proper home for now - it was unfair for her to ask more of her Clanmates after such a hard trek and all of their energy they had was to be spent on hunting - filling their bellies, strengthening their paws and hopefully giving the Clan the strength to fight the illness that had befallen them.

Acornstem was crouched on a nearby rock - she had been up there quite a while. Perhaps she had been too quick in her decision to take matters into her own paws but her leap onto the rock had nearly been short-lived as as soon as her paws touched the cooled surface, it had been like the whole world spun beneath her feet. She had swayed, forcing to close her eyes and pin herself to the ground to try to quell the dizziness that had claimed her. While the odd motion had passed a while ago, she hadn't felt the courage to push herself into a proper sitting position yet... But finally, she pushed herself upright.

She had come up here for a reason after all - it had been a matter that she and Mottlestar had spoken about in hush whispers during the journey. Crocuspaw had been diligent in her work as a scout for the Clan and had shown no fear or gestation when it came to the hunting skirmish with SkyClan before they had left. Her training was complete and she had proven herself time and again it had seemed... Which had been one of the additional reasons Acornstem had called off seeking a proper camp for now - Crocuspaw deserved a rest before she gained her warrior name.

But Mottlestar's illness seemed to be more dire than Acornstem had been expecting and it was clear that the leader needed more rest - she had taken the hard task of leading ThunderClan during this journey and even before that, given Acornstem time to rest when her own matters forced her to step away from the duties expected of her. She could happily do the same for the leader and so she lifted her head, taking in a deep breath. "Let all cats safe from the bramble's thorns gather..." Her voice suddenly caught off, catching in her throat as her nose winkled. Her back straightened as her lips curled, trying to fight the rising feeling before her head jolted forward with a sneeze that softness could only be rivaled of that of a newborn kitten's cry - despite how violent the motion was in the deputy. A few fluttery sneezes followed the first, before she raised a paw to wipe at her nose with an embarrassed huff. "...Beneath this rock for a clan meeting."

Crocuspaw hadn't quite figured out any spots that would work best for Thunderclan, but she considered that maybe she was being picky and that her clanmates couldn't survive for too long without shelter if she continued to be picky. Crocuspaw had reconvened on Thunderclan's base of operations in the night, where Acornstem had requested that she give herself a rest and stay a bit into the morning before she left to scour the lake some more. Acornstem's call summoned her to the rock, but it was no commanding voice, but softer than her usual summons that Crocus had heard previously before. The illness was taking a toll on Acornstem... and if this was Crocuspaw's warrior ceremony like she expected it to be, Crocuspaw would only feel bad that she was the cause of her deputy's distress right now.

Still, Crocuspaw answered the deputy she-cats summons and sat amongst the growing crowd.

Acornstem continued to scrub at her nose with a dainty paw as she watched her Clanmates gathering, hoping to chase off any future sneezes. Once everybody had gathered, she lowered her paw and took in a deep breath before wincing as her chest seemed to rattle, causing a series of coughs to escape her before she managed to catch her breath. She sat there, taking in deep breaths as she tried to ignoring what could almost be called an itchiness within her lungs before she felt strong enough to attempt to start the ceremony again.

"I've..." she started, pausing for a brief second to see if another cough would worm its way out of her throat but once it seemed she was in the clear, she continued. "I've called you all here to celebrate the hard work of one of our own. Crocuspaw served dutifully as one of the scouts during the trek and has now been tirelessly seeking a proper camp location. Duties better fit for a warrior than an apprentice, I concede, which is why Crocuspaw will no longer be the latter. Crocuspaw, please step forward," she meowed.

"I, Acornstem, deputy of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Crocuspaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

While Crocus was aware or at least semi aware this was going to happen, she was still a bit stunned when she was asked to step forwards. Crocuspaw stepped forwards, and were she more expressive in personality her mouth may have been agape or at the very least a smile on her face. Nonetheless, her eyes sparkled despite her illness, much more mild than many of her clan. There was no hesitation as Crocuspaw spoke, "I do" as it had never felt truer to her. This was what she was meant to be. A Thunderclan cat.

Acornstem smiled as she spotted the sparkle in the apprentice's eyes, giving Crocuspaw a proud nod as she raised her head - determined to wrap up the ceremony before her symptoms returned in full force. "Then by the powers given to me, I give you your warrior name. Crocuspaw, from this moment on you will be known as Crocusfrost. We honors your ferocity and insightfulness," she meowed, smiling softly. It hadn't been hard to come up with the two traits - she had heard how fearsome Crocuspa-Crocusfrost had been in the battle with SkyClan and it had been her very own recommendation that had led to this entire trek - and the bounty of prey that ran here proved that it had been the right call. In all honestly, it was a shame how long it took Crocusfrost to gain her name as she had proven herself again and again - but the wait was over. "-And we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

With that, she jumped down and padded closer, but came to a stop a tail-length away - she didn't want to risk making the newly named warrior even more sick. "You've done us proud, Crocusfrost - this was long overdue. Enjoy the day - rest and celebrate with your Clanmates before your vigil. You will also have tomorrow off, then you can resume your search for our future camp site."

Crocusfrost. What an apt descriptor for Crocusfrost and her usual demeanor as well, if given the chance she'd give a slight disagreement with the traits given to her, but she would accept them nonetheless. Acornstem launched into telling her she could rest and celebrate, and while Crocusfrost appreciated the offer and otherwise would take her up on it, her leisure meant less time finding Thunderclan a camp and the longer they'd stay exposed. After her vigil Crocusfrost would get some rest and scout some more but in the meantime she'd celebrate and enjoy her newfound name and dream of the fact that she'd get to put her nest in the same den as her litter mates at home.

Redsun was watching on, half in a daze, hearing but not quite understanding the words coming out of Acornstem's mouth. Lucky for him, eventually the time-honored words of the ceremony heralded his return to awareness. He'd nearly missed Crocuspaw's warrior ceremony! The ginger tom pushed himself to sit up properly. She'd done so much to prove herself a more than capable warrior even within this past moon.  He'd seen it with his own eyes as her scouting partner. He cleared his throat as best he could before letting out a cheer and a holler, though his voice still came out a bit wheezy. "Crocusfrost! Crocusfrost! Congratulations, Crocusfrost!" A toothy grin spread across his face. He wished that even only putting in this much effort to celebrate didn't drain him of so much energy. She deserved better than that! He wanted to hop around and cheer as much as he liked, as much celebration as was right for all she'd done to earn it!