Scorchpaw's Warrior Ceremony

Littlebrook lept onto Jaggedrock in one swift bound. Her gazed raked over the clearing as she called out the familiar words. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Jaggedrock for a clan meeting!" She yowled, her gentle voice ringing clearly throughout the camp.

Scorchpaw blinked curiously. He padded away from the nursery -- he was spending more and more time there now that he's made friends with Foxkit, Brownkit, and the other kits after turning over a new leaf -- and looked up expectantly at Littlebrook.

While he was very cynical over the she-cat's position as deputy at first, he had grown to really admire and respect her for her bravery and intellect; she really did earn her position, and he was proud to have her as a deputy. He just wished he had treated her with such respect from the beginning...

Rowantalon stepped out of the warrior's den, shooting Littlebrook a small smile before settling down next to his son, Scorchpaw. His hazel eyes glimmered knowingly- he had a feeling he knew what this clan meeting was about...

Brownkit got out of the nursery and followed Scorchpaw. She looked at him and asked, "Hey Scorchpaw, do you know what's going on?".

Crowfur's big figure was seen moving his way through the assembling cats and sat down next to his father. He looked over at Scorchpaw with a proud grin. Today might be the day his younger brother will ascend into Warriorhood. The tom had an excited glint in his eyes.

Littlebrook smiled proudly down at the much improved apprentice that came to sit under Jaggedrock. He had come far from the haughty young apprentice he had been, and she had nothing but pride for him. "Today we gather to give an apprentice his warrior name." She meowed, pausing for affect. "Scorchpaw, step forward." She commanded, her voice gentle and even.

After the tom had taken a step forward, she continued the ceremony. "I, Littlebrook, deputy of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Scorchpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" She asked solemnly.

Scorchpaw looked around curiously at all the cats who had gathered, all of them looking excitedly and proudly at him. What was going on?

When Littlebrook called him up, he felt a lurch of panic in his belly. Had he done something wrong? Was he being exiled from ShadowClan for being such an awful apprentice? Was everyone just excited to see him leave?

Then, as the deputy began reciting the sacred words of a warrior ceremony, Scorchpaw felt excitement and pride, but mostly he felt relief and happiness. He wasn't going to be leaving ShadowClan -- the exact opposite was happening! He lifted up his chin respectfully. "I do." he meowed firmly.

Littlebrook nodding in acknowledgement to Scorchpaw's pledge. “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Scorchpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as, Scorchfang. StarClan honors your loyalty and self-improvement, and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." She finished, a proud smile on her face as she leaped down to finish the ceremony.

The newly-named Scorchfang bowed his head to the deputy, then licked her shoulder respectfully. Finally, he turned to his fellow Clanmates. "I know I've been possibly the worst apprentice in Clan history, and it's a miracle that no one elected to throw me out. But I give my word, by StarClan's name I will be the best warrior I can be for ShadowClan." He bowed his head respectfully again.