Brightpaw's warrior ceremony

She'd get through it, just as she knew she always would. At least today, there would be a ceremony to give her something to look forward to, to fester a bit of hope into the Clan. She hadn't had much interaction with the apprentice, but nevertheless, she trusted Vinecrawler's judgement that he was ready. "Let all cats... Safe from the brambles," She paused to cough, "Thorns, gather for a clan meeting!"

Brightpaw stepped close towards the highrock, In a rage. he gave up his friend, maybe even his lover, to stay close to this code?! To be close with his ancestors didn’t matter to him anymore; nothing did. He felt no regret for slicing at Silverpaw and giving her a scar. His brother died, and he gave up his lover for the code. It was all broken to him. He never bothered to help sick cats, never bothered to take care of himself or them. It was all so rage-inducing towards him; he felt like he could scream and break out this pain and rage inside of him. The wave of emotions crashing down on a young apprentice with no one by his side to help him hurt. It was hard, insufferable for him. Vinecrawler, his mentor, wasn’t there for him. He felt like he had to be loyal to his code and clan, but he felt backstabbed by everything. Oh, it was pointless. A huge scar was now cut into Silverpaw, and soon Mottlestar would figure out who had done this. He had to tear himself apart from Berrypaw and end everything. He bit his tongue but then settled his eyes on the tortoiseshell leader. It seemed she didn’t know yet.

Though she in fact was not aware of what was happening amidst the apprentice's life, it was knowledge that would not hurt her for the time being. She assessed Brightpaw with a strong curiosity as he joined the crowd, sensing the dissatisfaction that seemed to roll off of him in waves. It pulled at her gut to tell her that there was something else going on for the apprentice, but it was much too late to discuss. In fact, now was hardly the time to try and get to the bottom of it. Storing the information in the back of her mind to question about later, or at least to raise to Acornstem to check in about, she called to continue. "It is time for us to see... a new warrior. Brightpaw, step forward." Though she was typically a much more verbose cat, it seemed with the stinging of her throat, she kept things much shorter. "Do you promise to protect and serve Thunderclan... and uphold the warrior Code... even at the cost of your life?"

His thoughts were cut short after Mottle called him. He tried to switch his look to a happier one, attempting to seem like he was just going about his day-to-day tasks as an apprentice. His warrior ceremony? Finally! He had been waiting moons for this! But the excitement felt less genuine now, given his current predicament.

He prepared his legs for a jump and sprung towards the temporary Highrock. He dipped his head in acknowledgment as his name was called, noticing the curious look in Mottlestar’s eyes. Embarrassed, he turned away, avoiding Mottlestar’s gaze. No way she noticed his rage, right?

Mottlestar carried on with the usual speech, and Brightpaw hesitantly stared at her again, not wanting to, just wanting to end this. He could curse StarClan elsewhere; here wasn’t the place. He had to uphold the warrior code by saying, "I do." He didn’t even know if he could uphold it as an apprentice. Hesitantly and slowly, in less of his usual self-centered, cunning, and charming tone, he muttered, "I-I do," nodding at his leader, feeling guilty but still angered.

Her watchful eyes didn't leave his change in demeanor unnoticed, and her whiskers twitched as she made extra note of it. There was certainly something gnawing at his behavior. Still, he had proven himself on all the skills required to earn his warrior name. Her gut told her to pause the ceremony to get to the bottom of things, but it was way too far along. He gave his affirmation, even if his note of hesitation did not escape notice of the tortoiseshell leader. Mottlestar dipped her head, then, calling out, "Then from the gift of Starclan... and my power... you shall be known as Brightsplit. ... You shall sit in silent vigil tonight... and honor your new place. Congratulations." Dipping her head, she stepped back to allow the Clan to celebrate the newly-named warrior.

Green eyes peered out of the sick den, Silverpaw, feeling obligated to their duty, had made her way to the entrance to watch the clan meeting. Amongst the gathered cats, Silverpaw spotted the golden pelt of Brightpaw. The tabby seemed to vibrate anger and rage, the emotions clouding his eyes and punctuating his every movement. Silverpaw felt a low growl build in their throat at the sight of him and his misplaced anger. How was he allowed to be angry when his predicament was his own fault? He was a code breaker, and it was his impulsive actions that had maimed her, furthering their decrepit state. What right did Brightpaw have to be so angry? The silver apprentice shook her head, it wouldn’t be long now until the clan knew of his treachery.

Unfortunately, the thoughts that had consoled Silverpaw’s indignant anger did not help her as Mottlestar called for Brightpaw’s ceremony to begin. Their ears flattened against their head, and the fur along her spine raised as they seethed. No! Unsheathed claws tore at the ground beneath her, as she fought hard to resist the urge to yell and call out, she would not cause a scene or draw more attention to themself. They took a deep breath, hoping to settle her rising emotions. Her tail twitched slightly, but all other tell tale symptoms of her emotions had dispersed. The rest of the clan chanted Brightpaw’s new name, Brightsplit, but Silverpaw did not. Without a word, she stumbled back to their bed tail swishing behind them, mind on Brightsplit’s name and the split personality he presented to his clanmates and who the newly named warrior truly was.