Burntkit, Slatekit, and Redkit's Apprentice Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Jaggedrock for a Clan meeting!" Scorchstar meowed, his voice ringing throughout ShadowClan's camp. After having stayed with the Clan for only a few sunrises, it was very clear that Burntkit, Slatekit, and Redkit, the kits of Brushgaze and Lichenmask, were growing too big and old to stay in the nursery. Today would be the day these three outsiders would forever become part of ShadowClan.

Clan life was nothing short of interesting, to say the least. How they ran things, the cats... it was all odd to the kit, but he didn't show defiance towards their "system" of course. Laying in the nursery with his littermates at his side, Slatekit's eyes were closed but he was wide awake. It was difficult sleeping in a new place with new cats, even for him, so finding any solace in sleep wasn't an option, at least not yet. So, having been laying curled up in the warmth of their nest thinking about everything that had happened in the past few sunrises for who knows how long, the sound of the leader's sudden call made his head shoot up. Was something wrong?

Curiosity nipping at his pelt, the large fluffy kit stood up, his bright amber gaze fixed on the entrance of the nursery. Turning back to the sleeping Burntkit and Redkit, part of him wanted to simply leave, but he decided they might as well be a part of whatever was going on, seeing as though it could be about them. Prodding his brother's side and then sister's with a big paw, he didn't take the time in waiting for them to fully wake up and made his way out of the den. Holding his head and tail high, the tom made his way towards the growing crowd, looking up to Scorchstar, curious as to what was going to happen.

Redkit woke with a jolt, looking up at her brother as if he might have been her mother, her heart soared for a moment before plummetting again. The little kit yearned each day for her parents, for her siblings that were taken away from her, but it lessened just a little each day, her father's words numbing her. She and her littermates were the future. Struggling to her paws she waited for her brother, Burntkit, to get up before following close behind him, her pelt brushing his, craving his affection.

It hadn't been long since they had arrived in Shadowclan. Despite the strange gnawing sensation that nagged at his heart, left by the sudden death of his mother and the disappearance of Lichenmask, they had fared okay. Even with the growing chill of leaf-bare threatening to overtake at any moment, Shadowclan had warmth and prey. Scorchstar, along with Froststone, had been welcoming. And the queens had not shown too much disdain. Overall, it had not taken long for Burntkit to find something decent among the clans. Of course, they were still wrought with the impurities and the misguided nature his father had fought so hard against but weren't he and his siblings born outside of the code in more ways than one? The sensation had started once Lichenmask was no longer standing before him and leading him on and grew into something he could not ignore. Burntkit had begun to doubt his father.

Between the doubt and the surprisingly easy transition into the clan that had begun to ease his defiance, the young calico missed his siblings. Each passing day clouded his mission of being reunited once more. It was in his sleep that he relived watching helplessly from a distance as his littermates were snatched up by the Thunderclan deputy. A paw prodded his side and the tom slowly opened as the memory was interrupted by reality. Burntkit rose onto his paws and shook out his coat before briefly attempting to smoothe the fur. His green gaze found Redkit and he pressed his coat to hers as he followed after Slatekit. It irritated him mildly that the grey tom had awoken before him. He should have been first. With little more than a twitch of his whiskers, the kit found his way to the clearing where all of Shadowclan had begun to gather.

"Burntkit, Slatekit, Redkit, step forward," Scorchstar meowed to the three littermates, continuing on with the ceremony once they did so. "All three of you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you three to be apprenticed. Burntkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Burntpaw. Slatekit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Slatepaw. I shall mentor you both." He knew he was taking quite a hefty risk of mentoring two of Lichenmask's kits while still having a third apprentice to worry about, but he honestly felt much more comfortable knowing the two brothers would have a watchful eye kept on them at all times.

He shifted his gaze to Redkit, taking in a soft breath and finishing the ceremony with her. "Redkit..." he began.

Before Scorchstar... that was his name right? Right. Before Scorchstar could continue onto her she stepped forwards once the few scant cheers died down, her noise pointing into the air in a sense of strength, yet she was shaking like a leaf. "Uhm... Scorchstar, sir? C-Could I take on a new name? I know you clan cats are big on names and I-I'd think it'd be nice to take on Littlestars name?" Redkit sputtered, she only knew of Littlestar from the gossiping of the clan cats around her, 'their father killed Littlestar.... she was such a nice leader....' Redkit looked down, any false confidence withering. "I heard from your- my clan-mates that our dad, Lichenmask killed her. And I want to change my name to Littlekit, or I guess it'll be Littlepaw now? So if that's alright I'd like that to be my name..." Redkit's paws shuffled, wanting to sink back into the ground. Why was she doing this? She didn't want to abandon the name her mother gave her, but she had to do this, to be accepted. For their future.

If there was one thing Scorchstar knew, it's that the acorn may not fall too far from the tree, but sometimes it will fall very far away. An excellent example would be his late firstborn son Shade; that murderous monster of a cat shared not a scrap of Sweet's kindness, or his own loyalty, proving to be the complete opposite of the both of them. It wasn't hard at all to imagine at least one of Lichenmask's offspring would feel second-hand guilt over whatever sins their loved one may have committed. It was actually quite touching.

Smiling warmly at her request -- and having wanted to change her name anyway for the sake of Redwing -- Scorchstar nodded. "Very well. Redkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Littlepaw. Froststone will be your mentor. All three of you can rest assured that we both will do our duty to raise you into the best ShadowClan warriors you can be, just as Brushgaze had been in her time, and you will have the whole of ShadowClan to help you as well."

Listening as Scorchstar began, Slatepaw sat proud when told who would be his mentor; the leader himself. It must've been an honor, getting the older tom as a mentor, and the fluffy black and grey apprentice couldn't have been more proud. He would no doubt prove that he would be the best apprentice and then warrior ShadowClan had ever seen. Turning his head as Redkit spoke, his ears flattened. She wanted to change her name to? Littlestar, like their father, had been weak. The only reason she died was because she was too much of a mousebrain to notice his father's intent to attack. Letting out a hiss, the large kit eyed her down with narrow eyes which were full of disapproval.

Burntpaw, freshly named, stood a bit higher at the leader's words. To some, it might have seemed like a pride rooted within clan traditions but it was more one of self-assurance than anything. With his chin raised, the tom took it in. Even with the supposed exiles, he had waited for this moment. Although, he had always assumed that Lichenmask would be the one speaking the words, not Scorchstar. As difficult as it was to understand that this cat had been the one to banish his mother from her birth clan over matters such as seeing improvement in the clans. That was the only disdain that seemed to root itself in the pit of his stomach. Otherwise, the Shadowclan leader had proven to be respectable in many ways. There was a softness that he held that was different from Lichenmask, one that still confused the young calico but he did not hate Scorchstar.

What did bother him was the idea of training alongside Slatepaw. His father never would have raised them side-by-side. While he did not hate his brother, as he was overwhelmed with the desire to lead and protect his siblings as he had been charged, there was the usual frustration of having to deal with his more impulsive behavior. It was difficult to manage a cat who had no intention of being tamed. He had to be strategic when it came to Slatepaw. There was no need for the Shadowclan cats to see them as any worse then they were merely because his brother was unable to tame his tongue nor his claws. Redkit was much easier. As they had grown, he had come to adore his sister and become even more fiercely protective. As the kit-like brashness wore off, Burntpaw had become a lot more affectionate towards her instead of merely defensive. When she spoke up, his ears twitched, listening with interest.

Although he said nothing, there was a curiosity that welled up inside of him. Littlepaw. Littlestar. He had heard the stories of the former leader, one who had fallen at the claws of his father. None of the exiles had told them the tale of what had happened at fourtrees before the battle, or at least not in this way. It had only been talked of how the clans refused to follow the will of Starclan. But, in the way in which his father had stolen the leader's lives all at once, Lichenmask had broken the very code that he swore to protect. It was one of these things that had begun to loosen the roots deep within the chest of the young calico. The doubt of his father's ways only welled up further as he remembered, as Redkit, or rather, Littlepaw now spoke. His eyes only gave away a mild interest underneath the warm light that came from his intense, green stare. Only a slight tilt of his head showed that he had heard what happened.

Unlike Slatepaw, there was no disdain. He understood why she was doing this, and if it gave them favor within the clan, so be it. Maybe it came from some inherent drive to please that had developed under Lichenmask but his initial disdain towards the clan had developed into a desire to be respected, to belong. He longed to serve the clan, to see it improve. Something that was not unlike his father but... different. His tail flicked Slatepaw's pelt as if a gentle reminder to control his frustrations before padding over to his sister's side and touching his maw to her coat. Unlike the defiant nature of young Burntkit, he now held a more strong yet gentle tone as he meowed, "Congratulations, Littlepaw."