Quietpaw's Warrior Ceremony

Quietpaw was exactly that... quiet. He and the apprentice had rarely spoken, but from what he had observed, the tom was more than ready to become a warrior. And Rippedstar was ready to give him the title. Like he had done quite a bit likely, he quickly found his way to the tallbranch. His claws dug into the bark to steady him. Instead of sitting on the branch, he stood to address the clan. Troubles had piled on a plenty since he became leader, but with the clan growing, he was more than confident they would take them on and come out okay. The fire that gave him that hope and drove him to leave his den once more to speak and command his clan like he was supposed to, was evident in his voice as he let out a yowl, "Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the tallbranch for a clan meeting!"

Quietpaw's whiskers twitched as he heard the leader's voice. Nothing unusual, he never paid much attention to the Clan meetings taking place. He lifted his head, content with following the happenings from a shaded spot near the edge of camp. He fixed his steely gaze in Rippedstar's, and for a moment their eyes connected. Quietpaw didn't seem to acknowledge it, and kept staring blankly.

As he watched the young tom come forward, it was obvious that he, like Swiftflight, had not expected to be named a warrior today. But, it was here. He found himself wondering if the apprentice would be excited to take on a new name. Rippedstar remembered being more shocked than anything all those moons ago. The ideas were swiftly pushed away as he continued on, "Today, we welcome another apprentice into the ranks of the warriors. He has more than earned his place and it is my honor to present him before Starclan. Quietpaw, please step forward."

Once Quietpaw had made his way to the front of the group, Rippedstar continued on with the familiar ceremonial words, "I, Rippedstar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this cat. He has trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Quietpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Per usual, he looked to Starclan for the ceremony. Like before, he wondered where Crowstar sat among them as he waited for Quietpaw to affirm his dedication to the clan.

Quietpaw lowered his gaze after a couple of heartbeats of bare eye contact with the young leader. He listened on, quite absent to the whole ordeal until something sparked his interest. His own name. The tom uncurled himself from his position, facing away from everybody else, and instead drifted, like a ghost through the crowd of cats, towards the front, where he sat himself down. He didn't retort any of the congratulations that his Clanmates whispered as he stood in front of Rippedstar.

"Yes. I do." his voice was like the wind, carried away and almost drowned out by the simple rustle of leaves in the breeze.

The apprentice's response was soft, yet sure. To himself, and to the tom, he nodded slowly in acknowledgment of the promise to serve the clan. Quietpaw was prepared to be a true warrior of Skyclan. When he meowed once more, his voice was filled with a slight bit more conviction than the last few ceremonies, "Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Quietpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Quietrain. Starclan honors your patience and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan." Rippedstar finished speaking and leaped down from the tallbranch before disappearing into his den as the clan congratulated their newest warrior.