Shimmerkit's ceremony

Fear rose in Bearmask's throat but she forced it down as she hopped to the rock normally taken by her father in times of announcements or ceremonies. She didn't want to do this...She felt really, really scared as she glanced around the camp but she knew Thrushstar would expect her to do such as he was unable to do this ceremony. Her fluffy tail flickered as she shifted on her paws, letting the age-old words that called the Clan together leave her tongue as she had heard so many times before. "L-Let all cats old enough to capture their own prey gather underneath Jaggedrock for a clan meeting!" She blinked as she finished, hoping she had gotten the words right. She was sure she had gotten the words right...Oh StarClan she had hoped she had gotten the words right. At least she only had to give Shimmerkit her name and mentor...Who the mentor was had already been decided by her father, so that was a weight off her shoulder. Just had to announce it...She could do this, she could do this as deputy.

Mousepaw headed out of the apprentices' den, purring quietly. She could only guess who's ceremony it was; Shimmerkit. She was older than her! Yet, she was still a kit. The blind apprentice sat beneath the Jaggedrock, smiling. She had been proud for Bearmask becoming deputy; Mousepaw thought she was good at it. Stopping her wild thoughts and strange pondering, she focused her attention on Bearmask and the ceremony.

Leopardfang trotted to his usual spot, sitting down with his tail flicking slowly around his paws. He lifted a single paw and drew his tongue over it a few times before lazily dragging his attention to the latest deputy. In his mind, she was not doing a very good job. But he didn't quite care, because no cat started out as the best deputy in the whole forest. Bearmask would grow into it, he had faith.

Shimmerkit limped out of the medicine cats' den. She had been healing well, and thanks to Thrushstar's hints earlier, this was probably her ceremony. She was so nervous that she was visibly shaking. She headed over to one of the only cats she knew: Leopardfang. "Hi," she purred shakily as she plunked herself down next to him.

Ah, there the soon-to-be-apprentice was! Once Shimmerkit wandered from her sister's den, Bearmask was quick to go over the words she was about to speak. It was a lot of words but she had heard it enough times...She could do this. "Shimmerkit," she finally said, doing her best to keep her voice calm and steady for once, her yellow eyes glimmering as her tail twitched. "You have reached the age of six moons long ago, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Shimmerpaw." She grew silent for a few seconds, flicking her eyes slightly over toward Leopardfang who happened to be sitting next to the kit. "Your mentor will be Leopardfang. I hope Leopardfang will pass down all he knows on to you. Leopardfang, you will be the mentor of Shimmerpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." When she had finished, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Sure she had missed a few words at the end there...Maybe a lot of words, but she didn't know enough about Leopardfang to go on about his qualities and such...It was a small detail and she hoped he wouldn't mind. At least this ceremony was finally done.

He purred, amused, when the black she-cat sat next to him shaking like a leaf in the wind. He didn't have any time to say anything even remotely comforting before Bearmask launched into the ceremony and he listened quietly. He had no qualms about being Shimmerpaw's mentor, but he wondered if he'd still have to touch noses with his new apprentice. With a dismissive flick of an ear, he turned, stood, and briefly tapped his nose against Shimmerpaw's, his equal in age. "I suppose you'll be ready to train when I wake you tomorrow?" He asked, knowing she would have preferred the medicine cat apprentice position to being his apprentice.

Shimmerpaw smiled as relief rushed through her. Thank goodness her mentor was Leopardfang! She touched his nose with no hesitation. "I certainly hope so, Leopardfang." Her grin grew wider as she remembered their first ever discussion, as Leopardpaw and Shimmerkit. Well, she finally had a place. And she would fit into it as best she could.