Orchidpaw's and Poppypaw's Warrior Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Jaggedrock for a Clan meeting!" Scorchstar yowled from atop the Jaggedrock. Today he would be holding his very first warrior ceremony as a leader, yet this wasn't the first warrior ceremony he had ever held. His two sons, Orchidpaw and Poppypaw, had both completed their training and all their required tasks to graduate from apprenticehood and become warriors in their turns, and he couldn't be any happier for the both of them.

Poppypaw grinned widely in absolute excitement at the call of their Clan leader and father. Having already prepared himself beforehand with a massive grooming, making his pelt neat and silky, he sat tall and proud next to Orchidpaw, who was doing his best to sit upright as well. They each sat next to each other, with their own mentors by their other sides. He looked over at Froststone and offered him a happy smile; after today's ceremony, the ShadowClan deputy would have successfully trained him into becoming a warrior. He hoped he had made his mentor proud throughout his apprenticeship.

Orchidpaw wasn't feeling nearly as excited as his littermate. There was so much already going on in his life as it stood already, and now that he was becoming a warrior he felt things would never get better now. Why couldn't he and Poppypaw have just been born to Minnowcall instead of Blazeflight, or at least have Blazeflight keep them instead of giving them up? Why couldn't Sparkfeather have survived the battle against Lichenmask and the Exiles so that she would be earning her warrior name while she was alive? Life just wasn't fair. There was nothing happy about today for him. Nevertheless, he forced his usual lazy smile to appear laid back and casual, yet with a hint of eagerness.

Looking down at his two gathered sons, who were already prepared for their graduation, Scorchstar smiled as a purr rose up in his throat. He pushed it away so it wouldn't make his voice rumble. That would be unprofessional. "Today we gather to give two apprentices their warrior names. Poppypaw, Orchidpaw, step forward."

Once the two brothers did as they were told, he continued with the ceremony, feeling about ready to burst with pride. "I, Scorchstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Poppypaw, Orchidpaw, do you two promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do!" Poppypaw meowed loudly with confidence, standing up tall.

"Heh, I do, too," Orchidpaw echoed with a bit more casualty.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Scorchstar mewed, turning his attention first to Poppypaw. "Poppypaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Poppyheart. StarClan honors your kindness and passion, and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Poppyheart gasped, and his impossibly wide grin seemed to grow even wider still. Poppyheart! His new name was Poppyheart! It was just what he was hoping for! It was absolutely perfect!

Purring briefly at the look of sheer ecstasy on one of his son's faces, Scorchstar then turned his head to look down at his other son. "Orchidpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as--"

"Wait!"

Scorchstar blinked in surprise as he was cut off by the cat whom he was about to dub a warrior. He had never been interrupted during a ceremony before. Hopefully Orchidpaw wasn't trying to back out from ascending from apprentice status. "Y-Yes, Orchidpaw?"

Orchidpaw looked down at his forepaws as he shuffled them nervously, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. After a few heartbeats, he forced himself to look back up at my father. "I... I hope you'll forgive me for my interruption, Scorchstar, but... may I please choose my own warrior name? If I'm going to have one that I'll end up keeping forever, I'd rather it be a name I'm fond of. I... I would like to be called Asterspark. Please?"

Scorchstar blinked. Never before had he heard of a cat changing their entire name during a warrior ceremony. Usually that was saved for name-changing ceremonies. However, he wanted his son to be satisfied with the name that would remain with him forever, so he nodded. "Very well, then. Orchidpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Asterspark. StarClan honors your senses of justice and humor, and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

With a soft, relieved exhale of breath, Asterspark smiled up at his father, feeling much more comforted than he had in a very long time. Now he would be able to keep a piece of Sparkfeather with him for as long as he lived, until the day where he reunited with her in StarClan.

The deputy's white body was visible in the crowd, shouting the two warrior's names cheerfully. As soon as the crowd had dispersed a bit, Froststone made his way over to his former apprentice. "Congratulations Poppyheart, I know you'll serve Shadowclan well. I'm proud of you. You were an excellent apprentice and will become one of the best warriors Shadowclan will ever know, I'm sure." With a small bump of his head, he looked over to Orchi-. Asterspark. "Asterspark, excellent name choice. You honor Sparkfeather with it I'm sure. Congratulations. May Starclan light both your paths." A small smile could be seen from Froststone, who was quite pleased with the fact that his apprentice had become a warrior.