Tulippaw's Warrior Ceremony

Today was a good day - another apprentice was to become a warrior. Flintshard jumped onto the Jaggedrock, sparing a glance toward the leader's den as he did so. ...It was a shame that this would be another ceremony that Thornstar would be missing out on as Tulippaw was her remaining apprentice since Freckleface had gained her name. But duties called for him to take on this mantle until Thornstar felt well enough to return to her duties - but she was doing better. Soon, hopefully. He already disliked doing ceremonies as it was - to many words he felt was...Pointless that he was expected to say when things could be far, far shorter - being tasked to take care of the warrior ones along with the apprentice ceremonies wasn't something he was fond of. Ah well."ShadowClan! Gather beneath the shadow of the Jaggedrock!"

Trotting to the front of the growing crowd with her head and bushy tail held high, Tulippaw sat down, wrapping her tail gingerly over her white paws. Today was the day she'd been waiting for for so long, and the apprentice fought hard to hold back the urge to squeal with excitement. She would finally be a warrior and she would be able to put all of her training to good use, finally!

~~~~~

Watching as his daughter, Tulippaw sat in front of Jaggedrock, Daisyflame knew the young she-cat was proud of herself. She'd done lots of training, even through such trying times, and he knew she would do her clan proud, for it just wasn't in her blood to do anything otherwise.

Flintshard twitched an ear in acklowdgement of both Tulippaw and also to Daisyflame, spotting the tom watching from the crowd. The two were nearly a splitting image of each other, and Daisyflame had ever right to be...Proud. Flintshard had seen the labor of Tulippaw's training first paw and knew that she was certainly deserving enough for this moment. Once he was certain that the Clan - or at least most of them for him to be content with - had gathered, he raised his head and started to speak. "I gather you all here to witness another apprentice gain the rank of warrior. Tulippaw, please step forward... I, Flintshard, deputy of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Tuilppaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Tulippaw spoke, puffing out her chest fur as she met the deputy's stoic gaze. While part of her was free-spirited and curious, she couldn't imagine doing anything other than serving ShadowClan. If she didn't make her mother and father proud, what even was the point of becoming a warrior?

He dipped his head as Tulippaw said those two words, thinking through the next part of the ceremony. Luckily...He didn't really have a choice to make when it came to picking her warrior name. It was hard to forget when Tulippaw had come up to him a couple moonhighs before, requesting - Demanding? - that her warrior name be Tulipfang. He didn't know what had driven her to make that choice, and honestly...He didn't really care. He wasn't sure it was...Hm...Allowed for an apprentice to request their own warrior name but Flintshard didn't want to waste more time on this matter than he had to. If anything, Tulippaw had saved him time...So if she wanted to be named Tulipfang for one reason or another, so be it. It was a standard warrior name and clearly meant something to the young she-cat so why fight it?

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Tulippaw, from this moment on you will be known as Tulipfang. StarClan honors your passion and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." He jumped down from the Jaggedrock, straightening up to his towering height as he stepped forward to rest his chin on the she-cat's head for a couple heartbeats before he pulled away. He gave her another nod, glancing toward where Daisyflame was sitting before he turned to pad away - knowing he still had some responsibilities to deal with. He would let the she-cat celebrate before he would remind her to prepare for her vigil. For now, he had to figure out the rest of the patrols.

Radiating with joy as Flintshard recited the ceremonial words, the newly named Tulipfang dipped her head to Flintshard as a sign of thanks when he touched her muzzle to her forehead. Today, she was no longer an apprentice, but a full fledged warrior of ShadowClan.

Turning her attention from the gathering crowd that chanted her name, the young warrior made her way towards her father, who'd eyes show with pride. "He wanted me to let you know that he watches over you," she mewed to her father as she bumped the top of her head against his cheek, knowing that he would appreciate such... knowledge. Him and Scorchstar's bond was something in which she wasn't able to fully comprehend yet, but it was certainly one in which she admired.

Leaving her father with her words, she turned away and returned to the crowd of cats that congratulated her, a sense of joy filling inside of her as she stood surrounded by loved ones.

~~~~~

Ears perking as the deputy called out his daughter's new name, Daisyflame's heart fluttered in his chest. Tulipfang... he once knew a cat who's warrior name was -fang... his best friend, Scorchstar, to be exact, held that name before he became leader... was that the reason for her new name, or was it a coincidence? Well, whatever the reason, he couldn't have been more proud for her, his family, and his clan, and chanted her name with his clanmates.

Soon enough, Tulipfang made her way towards him. Opening his maw to say congratulations, what the young she-cat said left him speechless. Though she didn't say who exactly, he knew exactly who his daughter was talking about and it all made sense. Tulipfang had chosen her name to honor the deceased leader; his best friend, even though she'd only met him once. He truly was an amazing tom, and one who deserved to have his name passed on.

With a smile on his muzzle and tears welling in his eyes as Tulipfang padded away, Daisyflame let out a laugh. So that rapscallion really was in the stars watching in silence as him, along with life in general pressed on. Shaking his head in hopes of ridding his eyes from the tears, the white and ginger pelted warrior looked up to the midday sky. 'Good to know you're up there, old friend,' he thought silently before continuing to chant his daughter's name once more.

OOC: short bc mobile ;w;

So her sister was a warrior now. Rookpaw hung back towards the back of the crowd of gathered cats, sulking. She was happy for her sister, of course she was, but she should have been up there too. She growled to herself, ears pinning back against her head. She just needed to work harder.

Spotting her father and sister talking, she got to her paws and padded over. "Congrats," she meowed, bumping Tulipfang with her shoulder. At least she was still bigger than her. Rookpaw cast a glance over at Daisyflame and bumped against him too, a somewhat more affectionate gesture this time. Finished with her socializing, the dark apprentice went to go find Sparkfire. She has training to do.