Shadekit and Petalkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Jaystream placed himself on the willow branch, his eyes scanning the camp covered in snow. Today it was time for another apprentice ceremony and two kits would become apprentices. Petalkit, who was Silverfang's daughter, one of the most fierce and loyal warriors in all the clan. And the other was Shadekit, Sweetheart's son. At first, the tom thought that her kit would be like her and that could be another cat that in the future Ivystar might call untrustworthy. But, from what he had heard, he was totally the opposite and the tom wasn't sure if that was better.

”Let all cats old enough to hunt their own prey, gather beneath the willow branch for a clan meeting!” He called, waiting for the two kits to appear among his clanmates.

Shadekit heard the call of the RiverClan deputy, and he knew what the meeting was. It was a ceremony. More specifically, his apprentice ceremony. After waiting so long, he was finally going to train to be a RiverClan warrior! The only downside was he had to share his ceremony with Petalkit.

The tom yanked himself away from Sweetheart as she tried to groom him. From here on out, he wouldn't need that she-cat anymore. No, instead, she would need him to protect her from everything the world had to offer!

Petalkit looked up at Jaystream's call, and after shooting an excited look with her mother she darted out of the nursery. She knew that she looked great, her mother had been grooming her all day and her white pelt shined like snow. She sat beneath Jaystream's perch, ignoring Shadekit.

"Petalkit and Shadekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and now it is time for you to be apprenticed. From now on you will be known as Petalpaw and Shadepaw until the day you're ready to become warriors." His green eyes looked at the two young cats and for a second, he thought about the best mentors for them.

"Petalpaw, your mentor will be Splashwillow. She's a great and loyal experienced warrior so be sure to learn everything you can from her. And Shadepaw, your mentor will be Silverfang. I hope she passes you her unconditional loyalty to Riverclan and her strength." The deputy was afraid that the tom could follow the steps of his mother and become a potential danger to the clan. That's why he decided to assign him Silverfang as a mentor because she was one of the most loyal cats in all the clan.

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Silverfang, who sat among her clanmates after finishing grooming the fur of her daughter, watched the ceremony silently. She was happy for her daughter and Jaystream couldn't choose a better mentor than Splashwillow. The she-cat was wise and strong. She was about to stand up to celebrate Petalpaw's ceremony when she suddenly heard her own name. Violently, the fiery she-cat turned her head to Shadepaw. His mentor? Was she going to be the mentor of Sweetheart's son?

However, the warrior didn't complain about it. As a warrior, she had to obey the deputy and leader's orders. The she-cat approached the young tom and with a strict look on her odd eyes, she touched his nose with hers briefly. "We start training tomorrow at dawn. Don't be late or I'll make you clean the den of the elders for a moon."

The newly-named Shadepaw puffed out his chest with pride. He was surely going to be one of the greatest warriors RiverClan would ever have, or at least he'd be far superior to Petalpaw.

At the name of his mentor, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he whipped around to look at Silverfang, who was looking right back at him. Great. He thought he would be escaping all the annoying cats once he became an apprentice, but it seemed there was no getting away from family, no matter how intolerant they may be.

Still, he showed her respect in the face of the Clan deputy. He touched noses back to her, staring unblinkingly at her. "Why would I be late? I only want to be the best of the best."

Petalpaw grinned widely as she received her new name. Petalpaw. She laughed inside when she saw that Shadepaw had been assigned as her mother's apprentice. He'll learn respect from her if it kills him! Petalpaw quickly forgot about that, and turned to her new mentor: Splashwillow. She smiled happily at the she-cat, and bounded over to her to touch noses.

Splashwillow had been lounging several tail-lengths away from where the newly-named Shadepaw and Petalpaw stood, quietly observing the ceremony with interest. Now that she had completed Wolfsong's training and managed to get her entire second litter out of the nursery, her paws had been freed enough to take on the training of another young cat. The calico's ears pricked as she listened to Jaystream complete the ceremony before she quickly rose to her paws and padded towards the younger she-cat.

"I'm looking forward to training with you, Petalpaw." Splashwillow mewed, leaning slightly to meet Petalpaw's eager touch.

Petalpaw smiled as she touched noses with her new mentor. "I'm looking forward to training with you as well." She was going to be the fiercest warrior Riverclan had ever seen.