Owlkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Crowstar called out to his clan "Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather here for a clan meeting!"

Viperpaw walked up to Crowstar, upon his perch just like his feathery sable namesake. She sat down, patiently waiting for other cats to arrive, and the ceremony to start.

Owlkit bounded up, his heart swelling with excitement.

The small, black-gold mottled tom had been groomed already, his strange pelt glimmering in the sun. The kit fluff was just starting to fade; his paws and ears still appeared to be too large for his body, and his tail, too, was difficult for him to control. Still, he was ready for this ceremony—he had waited through so many other apprentices' ones that this must be his.

Sneaking a short, excited glance over to his mother, his blue gaze returned to Crowstar, alight with hope.

"Owlkit please come forward." The leader said. It was time for his new name until he became a warrior.

The small tom trotted up until he was only a tail-length away from being directly underneath Crowstar, ears pricked forward in excitement, heart rate going up. I wonder who my mentor'll be!

Sunblaze gazed proudly at her son as he shot a glance over to her. Finally i can get that furball off me!

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Leafstream watched his friend's kit wondering whether if he was going to be the mentor.

Lightningstrike padded to sit beside his friends, watching the kit get his apprentice name. Judging by Sunblaze's face, this was one of her kits. He smiled and sat down, resting his head on his paws.

"Owlkit from this moment on you will be known as Owlpaw your mentor will be Lightningstrike." THe leader said.

Lightningstrike stood up when he heard his name. The broad-shouldered tom padded up to Owlpaw, looking down at the small tom streaked with pale ginger and touched noses with him. The thick bands of black on his face shifted as he studied the small apprentice. He really just hoped he'd be able to show SkyClan's hunting styles correctly to Owlpaw...

The tom, despite his small size, let out a deep resounding purr, bouncing over to Lightningstrike.

He's the best warrior in the forest! He came here from Shadowclan before I was born, Sunblaze said! Thoughts ricocheting around in his mottled head, the new apprentice reached up to touch noses, straining to get a good look at his mentor's face, blue eyes wide.

"We'll start your training tomorrow so rest up, you'll crave sleep more than fresh-kill soon." he said with a slight mrrow and gave a teasing smirk.

Lightningstrike wasn't really nervous to have an apprentice, Redwood came along just fine before his death. The only challenge would be finding easy spots for Owlpaw to hunt and train for battle.

The new apprentice nodded excitedly, slightly disappointed that his training wouldn't start right then. He didn't believe Lightningstrike—How could I like sleep more than eating?—but he flicked his golden-black ear, chirping:

"Okay! I'm really excited," he went on, tail waving behind him. "I want to become just as good of a warrior as you, Lightningstrike! I—" realizing he was babbling, Owlpaw dipped his head, barely concealing a grin. "I'll see you tomorrow!"