Drizzlekit's Apprentice Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the tallbranch for a clan meeting!" The black and white deputy took his place on the branch and stood tall, eyes scanning below. Poplartooth had very recently like 2 minutes ago had his warrior ceremony, but the tom knew he was ready for an apprentice. Besides, the hope was that Drizzlekit's ever-cheerful personality would help him to learn to balance out. The little she-cat, who was his son's adoptive daughter was also more than ready to begin her path to warriorship.

Mumblefoot padded out of the nursery with the kit beside him. His paws scuffled a bit awkwardly across the earth. He wasn't ready for the she-kit to go out into the forest alone. Although, he supposed it would be for the better. Like him, she would have to learn to defend herself. Whoever Drizzlekit's mentor was, they would have to be prepared to deal with the overprotect father. Transferring his internal worried onto the kit had been both a good and a bad thing. Her apprenticeship would be another step for him as well.

Drizzlekit stared up at the mottled deputy with vacant blue eyes as she walked beside her mother foster father. The kit wondered why the old cats always had to jump up on the big tree to say things. Why not just come down and talk like normal? She still had yet to understand it. Maybe mama would be able to answer it for her after. Sitting down next to Mumblefoot, the tiny ball of silver fluff continued to space out. She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention, not that she was doing it purposefully.

He almost let out a chuckle as the young cat moved to sit next to Mumblefoot near the front of the crowd. There was an obvious obliviousness. Pulling himself back to attention, Rippedsky did not hesitate to continue on with the ceremony. Training needed to start as soon as possible, "Drizzlekit, please step forwards." It was redundant, but not reciting the words as they were always said felt wrong. His ear twitched as he side ached slightly from the motion. Hopefully, this would only continue to go away.

The little she-kit was ignorant to the words and had to be nudged forwards by Mumblefoot when it was her time, "We gather once more to name another young cat as one of the clan's apprentices. Drizzlekit is old enough to begin training. From this day forwards, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Drizzlepaw. Poplartooth will be your mentor. He is young but experienced. I trust he will train you well."

Poplartooth? He was supposed to be the one to train Drizzlepaw? The tailless warrior stepped up next to his adoptive daughter as the yowls began to rise into the air. A protest built up in the back of his throat and he looked up at Rippedsky. But, no words would be heard over the excitement. It was unlikely the deputy would change his mind simply because Mumblefoot worried too much. The young warrior glanced back at Poplartooth, fixing him in a blank stare. This was the tom that had harassed him for the longest time alongside Sedgepaw. How was he going to take care of the kit? Mumblefoot vowed to keep on eye on the pair. He wouldn't be allowed to harm Drizzlepaw in any way.

There were a couple of different emotions that went through Poplartooth's head. At first, the tom felt an immense amount of pride. He had already received an apprentice. It was so soon! He had only recently received his warrior name.
'Young but experienced.'
The fluffy tom couldn't help but let a small smirk as this was said, but it was instantly replaced by his usual frown. It was as if the smirk had never existed. As Poplartooth made his way towards the front to touch noses with Drizzlepaw, he began to wonder what kind of cat this she-cat was.

The tom never really wanted to evaluate kits that much. He knew that the majority of kits ended up maturing in some sort of way; majority being the operative word. However, what if his new apprentice was whiny and annoying? The newly-appointed warrior wouldn't be able to put up with a bratty, kit-like nuisance. So, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as he thought about this. The tom lowered his head and gingerly tapped his nose against Drizzlepaw's. The brown-and-white tom didn't look back to meet Mumblefoot's gaze, and he wasn't even aware that the other warrior was looking at him. Poplartooth was aware, however, that his new apprentice and Mumblefoot were close to each other in some sort of way. Hopefully, that coward had not instilled any of his traits into Drizzlepaw.

The tiny she-kit had been thoroughly lost in thought when Mumblefoot nudged her forward, causing her to stumble slightly as she scrambled to her paws. She blinked back at her foster father in confusion. Why did he push her? The tall cat was still talking on top of the big tree, and she never had to listen very closely before--

It was then that Rippedsky's words sunk in.

"Drizzlepaw"

The apprentice name felt foreign to her in ways she couldn't explain. She was an apprentice now? She had a mentor?

"Poplartooth"

What a funny name. The silver wisp of an apprentice quickly tried to conjure up an image of what her mentor would look like. Her imagination came up with some very... unique cats. Before long, a new tom stood before her. Was this Poplartooth? Drizzlepaw stared at the tom with wide eyes as he touched his nose to hers. This was... different. After a long pause, happiness flooded the little ball of fluff and she bumped her head against the new tom's chest. "I like you! You're my new papa!" she declared proudly, before turning her head to look at Mumblefoot with a bright, heartwarming smile "Look mama, he's so nice!"

His ears pricked hot with embarrassment as he heard the kit call him mama in front of the clan. But, her words registered and instead his ears briefly flattened. Originally, he wasn't going to approach the pair. Drizzlepaw called him over. While his heart thudded for a moment, it was much easier to push it way. His kit's wellbeing was at stake here. He stood shorter than the younger warrior, yet found himself straightening up for once and matching the other tom's gaze, "He best be good to you." It was strange for him to almost be challenging another cat and his fur fluffed up a bit. Although, he did not tear his gaze from Poplartooth's.

Brokenpaw sat dutifully for the ceremony. He almost felt bad for the little cat, although he didn't care that much about the rules and specifics of clan life, he at least new the traditions and how things were to be enacted by the time he was old enough for his own apprentice ceremony. But Drizzlepaw, well, it was pretty clear how sheltered she had been. And when she called Mumblefoot 'mama', he almost laughed. That always entertained him. "This is gonna be a whole new world for you", he whispered to the new apprentice when he got the chance to brush past her.

Poplartooth tried his hardest to hide back the snicker that was threatening to escape once the newly-named Drizzlepaw called Mumblefoot her 'mama'. However, his amusement was only to hide the fact that he had just been called 'papa'. The tom would rather stick his head into an anthill than be associated with the smaller warrior that way. The fluffy tom rested his green gaze in Mumblefoot once he trekked over, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes after the other tom spoke. He glanced down at his new apprentice and managed to force a stiff grin.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you or anything," Poplartooth said, however his tone made it clear that it was no joke, "Get your fair share of rest tonight, I'll be waking you up early tomorrow morning for your first training session."

After giving Drizzlepaw a dismissive flick of his fluffy tail, the tom stalked past Mumblefoot in order to head towards the camp exit. However, before he was able to pass the smaller warrior, he whispered something privately into his ear.
"Don't you worry, mama, I'll take excellent care of your kit. Hopefully, the term 'like father like daughter' isn't true, in this case."
Poplartooth hissed out the word 'mama' with a slight yet prideful smirk on his muzzle that disappeared almost instantly. Then, without another word, the newly-appointed warrior padded out of camp.