Streampaw's Warrior ceremony

Oakstar padded out from the leader’s den to a world of crisp snow. The sunlight was gently fading on the horizon of the treeline. The perfect time for a warrior ceremony as the dark tom leapt onto the Highrock.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a clan meeting!" He called, then looked through the cats who had heard the announcement. His gaze calm as he watched them gather. It was time for one cat to receive their long delayed warriorhood. Earlier, he had sent the tom on dawn patrol. Now he hoped that he had gotten enough rest that the trial of vigil would go easier.

Once all the cats had gathered and settled, his gaze fell on the apprentice with a calm smile.
"Streampaw, step forward." He flicked his tail in beckoning. The young tom was bright and smart… just as his mother had once been. His gaze flicked towards the sky, hoping that Blizzardstar was watching from up in Starclan. That she might approve that despite his absence from his twoleg capture, that it was time.

Streampaw stretched his limbs a bit as he got up from his comfortable spot under one of the few last rays of sunshine to attend to Oakstar’s call.

The last day had been a real whirlwind of emotions for the large blue tom. From the great joy of finding himself back home to the terrible pain of knowing even more members of his family had died…he really hated to admit that he had more than just a few mood swings thanks to that since his arrival. He was working on keeping them in check, though…but he was no fool, he knew that the emotional scars left by his experiences outside the forest and by the rather gloom news upon his own return would take a long time to heal.

He sat between the gathering cats and his fluffy tail curled around his paws. It felt…strange to say the least. The last time he had done this he had to stretch his neck and move a bit to have a clear view of what exactly was going on, and now not only he didn’t need to make any effort to see the leader and…anything else under the Highrock, actually…but he was starting to feel self-conscious about his size, fearing he was the one blocking another cat’s view.

He was starting to toy around with the idea of retreating and take a spot further back to avoid exactly that when his name was called, causing him to look at the leader with wide surprised eyes and his tufted ears to move, pointing forward, to hear better.

His paws acted before his brain could fully process the information, making him stand up and carefully make his way through the crowd, trying to not step on anyone’s tail on the process, reaching the base of the Highrock and looking up.

"Streampaw, you have been an apprentice for a long time. You have worked hard, faced trials both within the clan and outside of it. Now that you’ve come home, it is time for you to receive what has been long overdue." Oakstar smiled kindly down at the young tom as he began the traditional words.

"I, Oakstar, leader of ThunderClan, 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 them to you as a warrior in their turn. Streampaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" His gaze sharpened on the young tom. Now, was the tom’s chance. If he wanted to change anything… if he decided that he wanted to explore more before he was named, or retreat… then it was now the time. Though he doubted that Streampaw would do that.

If Streampaw’s ears could perk up more, they definitely did as soon as he heard the words coning from Oakstar’s muzzle. It hadn’t been long since he arrived, and yet the ThunderClan leader had decided to grant him his warrior name, something he couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever get since the day he had been snatched by twolegs.

He wasn’t sure if it was his own insecurities upon arrival or the grieving state he had found himself stuck in since the news of the deaths within his family struck him down like ruthless lighting, but he honestly hadn’t expected such thing to happen for a while longer.

And yet, here he was. Standing tall before the clan and under the Highrock, heart beats a way from it. For the first time in moons, a kit-like excitement took over him as he tried to find his voice again.

“I-I do…I do!” His first affirmation came as little more than a whispers I he though second, louder one was required. Even in its shocked state, the unusually melodious tone his voice held, a trait inherited from Blizzardshine, was easy to hear.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Streampaw, from this moment on you will be known as Streamsong. StarClan honors your empathy and wisdom, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Oakstar declared, his smile unyielding as he leapt down from highrock. The chanting began as he murmured into Streamsong’s ears. "Blizzardstar and Beetlemask must be very proud."