Pigeonpaw's Warrior Ceremony

Sprawled atop the heated surface of the Tallrock, Brindlestar's forelimbs hung heavily off of the well-worn edges of the ceremonial stone. Following the aftermath of her recent ceremony, the newly-named Leader had eagerly grasped every chance at a brief moment of relaxation. Her paws ached unmercifully most days and her mind was still left reeling in the wake what had been revealed, so the thought of the sun washing away her remaining pains was much too tempting to resist. But, she hadn't allowed herself to fully succumb to the nagging wave of drowsiness on this particular evening- there was another matter to attend to.

Swallowing down the pestering thorn of grief that still stubbornly remained wedged within the flesh of her heart, Brindlestar slowly pushed herself  into an upright seated position. The idea of handling ceremonies wasn't distasteful, per say, but it still made her ache with grief at the thought of fully succeeding Ashstar. Pausing for a brief heartbeat to smooth down any stray clumps of fur that had been mussed out of place, the she-cat took this opportunity to collect her thoughts.  

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Tallrock!"

Pigeonpaw was sprawled out near the edge of the sandy shallow. His scarred and worn body gently rose and fell with the sleeping tom’s breath. The sun beat down lazily on him as he took a nap. He had just caught a large hare and was exhausted from it all, so the sleep was welcome. Upon hearing the call the old apprentice looked up, stretched, and quickly licked down his fur, before coming to sit before the newly named leader. He didn’t know what it was about just yet, but he was attenative and listening nonetheless.

What as she supposed to say?

Blinking down at the familiar features of her Clanmates, Brindlestar's mind suddenly blanked. She had witnessed this ceremonies nearly as many times as she had witnessed the sun rise, and yet she could hardly recall the proper summons. Nose wrinkling sharply, she tried desperately to sift through the jumbled heaps of memories, dismayed at the lack of factual clarity she revealed. Oh sure, she could vividly recall how she felt during those moments, but not what had been said. Swallowing down a short huff of irritation, the Leader took another brief interval before finally speaking. "We gather here today to make one of our apprentices a Warrior. He has proven herself worthy to climb the ranks of WindClan and receive his Warrior name. Pigeonpaw, please step forwards."

Pigeonpaw’s yellow eyes widened. Finally! After endless moons of training, he would finally get his warrior name. A smile broke out on his broken jaw and he purred slightly. If Bat and Pepper were watching him, then they certainly were proud of him. He took a shaky step forwards and awaited the next part of the ceremony.

Tension coiling sharply beneath her meticulously groomed fur, Brindlestar's neck ached softly as she tilted her chin upwards. Eyes narrowing ever so slightly, Pigeonpaw's features were partially obscured by the fiery gleam of the late afternoon that stung her eyes slightly. As she waited for the young tom to do as she bid, she could dimly recall a memory that had been pushed to the wayside due to its rather unimportant stature. Pigeonpaw and Hollowfang had been littermates, right? Blinking down at the younger tom below her, she was struck with realization of how long ago it had been since she had trained Hollowfang. Long enough for Ashstar to die, that's for certain.

"I, Brindlestar, leader of WindClan, 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 return. Pigeonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Brindlestar eventually continued, relieved to see that the ceremonial words were flowing much more naturally now that she had actually begun.

Blinking down at down at the heavily scarred tom, Brindlestar took a moment to witness the wide array of emotions that seemed to flicker and burn upon his features. Oh sure, Apprentice ceremonies brought about feelings of youthful anticipation, carelessness, and naivety, but there was something entirely unique to a Warrior ceremony. The sheer gratification was unlike anything she had witnessed before. All of the moons spent agonizing over training was certainly worth the burning look of determination and hope that was often exuded during the ceremony. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I shall give you your warrior name. Pigeonpaw, from this moment you will be known as Pigeonstorm. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." She eventually mewed, springing off the Tallrock to offer the newly-named Warrior a congratulatory head bump.