Hawkpaw's Warrior Ceremony

It was good to be back in the marsh; Leopardstar was no stranger to leaving it behind, but she was glad to be home. And not only that, but they had more than one reason to celebrate tonight. Grief and heartbreak seemed to loom over the Clan like storm clouds at the best of times, even now, but it felt as though she could finally see the sun.

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

Hawkpaw joined the swiftly gathering crowd beneath the Jaggedrock, finding a seat near Sunflare. He held his head high. Even with everything, it was good to be home at last, and more than ever Hawkpaw had become aware of the distance between his position remaining an apprentice and Silverhawk continuing on as a warrior. Hawkpaw was desperate to join his best friend in the warrior’s den, and so he couldn’t help but feel a flickering spark of hope when he looked up at his leader.

Leopardstar looked over her gathered Clan, finally settling on Hawkpaw's hopeful gaze. He would be pleased today, she was sure. "We are gathered here today to witness the naming of a new warrior. Hawkpaw, please step forward."

Once he had, she continued. "I call upon the warriors of ShadowClan to gaze upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of our honorable code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in turn."

As was her tradition, she held his gaze as she spoke; searching for something. Trying to understand his thoughts and feelings in this moment.

"Hawkpaw, do you swear to uphold the warrior code? To protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Golden eyes widened, and Hawkpaw’s heart stuttered and skipped a painful beat in his chest. Alongside his hope, there’d been a bitter doubt in him, one that covered for a bone-deep fear that he’d never get here. To hear Leopardstar call his name felt like a dream. He got to his feet quickly, almost too quickly, clumsy in his eagerness but steadying himself quickly as he stepped forward.

Hawkpaw held Leopardstar’s gaze, his heart pounding so hard and so loudly that he almost couldn’t make out the ceremonial words. He almost wanted to break the gaze, wanted to seek out and steady himself with the eyes of Pineblossom, or Sunflare, or the bitterly comforting green of Silverhawk, but he held steady, and the rest of the world seemed to fall away. Hawkpaw forgot to breathe. Excitement , fizzy sweet and unfamiliar outside of the context of adrenaline-fueled combat buzzed through him. There was more than that too, the satisfaction of seeing his hard work earn him the title of warrior he’d been chasing so desperately, that sharp fear curling in his stomach, the voice of his father reminding him of his failings; but above all was the excitement, almost kittish in Hawkpaw’s joy. Normally cold or angry, today, Hawkpaw’s eyes sparkled.

The response was traditional, spoken by many cats before Hawkpaw and would be repeated by many after, but Hawkpaw felt it deep within. Shadowclan was his home, and Hawkpaw knew he’d give his everything for it. “I do,” He said, voice firm and determined, chin raised.

The joy in Hawkpaw's eyes, sparkling and clear to see, caused a small smile to form on Leopardstar's face. "Then it is my honor to name you as a warrior before all of ShadowClan."

Hawkpaw had spent quite some time as an apprentice, and she could at least be confident that he had learned a lot; she held no doubt that he was ready now to be a warrior. "From this day forward, you will be known as Hawkmist. ShadowClan honors your fierce nature and your loyalty, and we are proud to welcome you as a warrior in your own right."

And as she jumped down from the Jaggedrock, touching her nose to his shoulder, she offered him a soft smile first.

"Congratulations, Hawkmist. You've truly earned your name. Get settled and celebrate with your Clanmates before your vigil."

Silverhawk
T3 Warrior | ShadowClan | he/him

Silverhawk paid attention to Leopardstar's summons whenever they came, of course. He wasn't going to ignore his leader, even if his interests lay elsewhere. But lately, his attention had been especially tuned to her voice. Leopardstar called them together to address the dogs, the nomads that were... staying with them, some minor things Silverhawk didn't care to listen to; all those frustrating or pointless things made his fur itch. He'd been waiting for Hawkpaw's ceremony since leaf-fall. Silverhawk could make excuses for the journey, the rampant disease, all the tragedy that'd followed them abroad... but other ceremonies had gone underway  at the lake, or the unforgiving lands in-between. If Sunflare or Leopardstar or his wretched father didn't think Hawkpaw was more than ready to earn his name, there was no explanation other than deciding each of their brains had been turned into wormy carrion (though that was already true of Wolfshadow).

But his ceremony had finally come. As if it was his day, Silverhawk immediately sat straighter the moment Hawkpaw was called forward. His chest tightened, excitement squeezing the air out of his lungs, and Silverhawk realized he hadn't felt excited without an undercurrent of dread in so long. It almost made him shake, but he managed to contain himself--except for his whiskers, which he couldn't cease the faint trembling of. He tried not to look for where Hawkpaw moved from in the crowd--though he still took a quick glance and caught a brief shift of white before quickly looking at the Jaggedrock again--but when Hawkpaw reached the front of the Clan... By design, he was impossible to ignore. But stars, for a moment--for the next several, as the rites were spoken and agreed to--Hawkpaw was everything. He was glowing from the moonlight his pale fur drank in, and his ever-piercing, golden stare caught fire looking up at Leopardstar now. He was the most beautiful thing Silverhawk had ever seen.

Silverhawk held his empty lungs through the proceedings as if risking a breath would interrupt everything. He couldn't stand the thought of any disruption--he'd already waited too long. Come on, Silverhawk urged silently. He was starting to lean forward, weight shifting into his eager paws. Come on. Say it. Say it! Hawkpaw made the promise. Silverhawk didn't care about the blessings in between; he needed to know the name. He might have tipped forward if Leopardstar took any longer.

Hawkmist. It was gentler than Silverhawk expected. Hawkmist-- it was ethereal. The moment the last gesture was exchanged between leader and warrior, Silverhawk's voice broke the respectful silence. "HAWKMIST!" He howled over Hedgepaw's cheers, ignorant to the sound of her voice in the crowd. "HAWKMIST! HAWKMIST!" Silverhawk made sure his voice was louder than anyone else's that joined in. He bolted from his seat as soon as Leopardstar stepped away, eager to be the first at Hawkmist's side and tackle him to the mud just as had been done to him; but, when he shouldered past a few cats in his way and got closer, he was finally forced to take notice of Hedgepaw's presence. Silverhawk stopped short, stumbling over his paws as hot bile submerged his heart and shot up his throat. He was supposed to be the first to congratulate Hawkmist, not-- not Hedgepaw. So what if Hawkmist had always been her favorite, anyway? She could wait! This was their moment! Hedgepaw couldn't just stand in his place, cuffing Hawkmist on the shoulder.

Silverhawk was suddenly hot all over, claws humming with the desire to scratch his itching pelt, but he swallowed hard in a determined effort to quell the sick feeling. He didn't want to lose his good mood entirely. For that, he would have to save reflecting on when Hedge had ever made him mad for after the ceremony. Sighing inwardly, Silverhawk shook out his fur and finished crossing the distance to them. His tail flicked Hedgepaw's shoulder as he approached, and he squinted down at her to teasingly snort, "When did you get so fast?" Silverhawk puffed a half-laugh for good measure before letting the twist in his stomach turn his attention back where it belonged. For several moments, he just took Hawkmist in, held rapt by the way golden eyes glittered. "Was Sunflare trying to keep you as his apprentice forever?" Silverhawk eventually spoke, his smile--though pinched at the corners--returning broadly. "I was starting to think you were just going to let him! Did you want to stay away from me that badly?" Silverhawk laughed and with no more preamble, threw his weight into Hawkmist's with just enough force to roll him to the ground. "You kept me waiting forever," Silverhawk issued a final vexed huff, planting his paws on Hawkmist's shoulders and briefly pressing down harder to emphasize his point. Then, the pride and love flooding him moments ago caught up enough to rise over his passing ire; it finally bled into his voice, too, with the rare rumbling of deep, sincere purrs underlining his praise. "You're finally a warrior. You're brilliant, Hawkmist."

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Hawkpaw stood completely still, staring up at Leopardstar, as his new name was announced. Hawkmist. A shiver ran down Hawkmist’s spine at the sound of his new name, running straight to the tip of his tail. It was unexpectedly almost soft, a word that Hawkmist could never associate with himself, and yet… Hawkmist liked it. It was a kinder name than what he’d been expecting. He hoped he could live up to it. He blinked back at Leopardstar, then dipped his head respectfully to her and offered a quiet, but utterly sincere, “Thank you.”

The sound of his new name rising from the crowd sent fresh shivers racing through Hawkmist, making his fur stand on end. Silverhawk’s voice was as loud and booming as Hawkmist’s had been at his ceremony, and that returned gesture was what finally melted the ice and sent a smile cracking crookedly across Hawkmist’s face. It was one of the biggest he’s ever given, dopey and boyish, and he turned that smile Hedgepaw’s way as she appeared at his side. He could manage only a breathy, excited, “Thanks Hedgepaw,” as he looked at her.

Then silver and white appeared in his peripherals, and Hawkmist’s head swiveled to face Silverhawk so fast it hurt a little. The smile doesn’t waver, if anything it grew wider, and then Hawkmist was actually laughing with Silverhawk, full-chested and warm, and following that, the rough sound that bubbled out of his chest that approximated purring-- a sound so rare from Hawkmist, which grew almost automatically louder the moment Silverhawk made contact with him.

Hawkmist made no effort to stop Silverhawk from rolling him back, laughing only growing louder as he shoves his paw against Silverhawk’s chest, looking up at him with golden eyes still sparkling bright. “I like keeping you on your toes,” He snarked back at Silverhawk’s playful complaints.

Then, Silverhawk was purring too, and looking at him in a way that completely stole Hawkmist’s voice. He stared wide eyed up at Silverhawk as he took in that soft, gentle compliment, feeling so much from it he threatened to burst. He breathed in sharply, mouth dry and fur once again standing on edge. The only response he could come up with was an action, and he leaned up from his position to brusquely rub his cheek against Silverhawk’s, unused to the display of affection but meaning it completely. It was the only way he knew how to accept the compliment and return it.

Then he shoves Silverhawk back and wrestled on top of him for a moment, that purring once again rumbling loud as he said, “Shut up. You’d better have saved me a good spot, y’know.” He said, but his voice has lost all gruffness, and he’s still breathlessly laughing a little.