Ferretpaw's Warrior Ceremony

What quantified a good cat? Was a cat to obey the law, the Code? Or was a cat to be good; by their own terms? Finchstar stood now on the Tallrock, asking himself these questions. Did his moral compass outweigh that of StarClans'? Or was he truly coasting off the rails, gone mad by his desire for peace? The tabby's cool yellow eyes watched from above, contemplative, stormy. There were some in WindClan who followed his rule without question. Finchstar feared for them. Barleytuft, Clovertwist, Aspenheart, Raventail. Those toms could hold their own, driven by their own wants and needs. They did not bow to Finchstar's rule blindly. The tom was grateful for that. Never would he ask his friends to live and die by his claws. It would be selfish - shortsighted. However it came as second nature to some apprentices and kits. Often they would look up to Finchstar, wooed by his honeyed words and warm smile. While the tom was proud of his assets, he wished to make it clear that WindClan was by no means bound by his law. Finchstar fought for peace - for equality, and now as StarClan's morals varied from his own, Finchstar was labeled a liberal. Fine by his own right. "Let all cats old enough to run the moor, gather beneath the Tallrock for a clan meeting!" However was it fine by his clans'? Did Finchstar fit perfectly into the spot of a cat who should lead? Or did his words crown warriors and smear StarClan's reputation through the dirt? Had he endangered his clan? Or had he saved them?

Olivestone took the last bite of the rabbit she'd been eating, and at Finchstar's summons, buried the remains, and bounded over to where her Clanmates were gathering.
Is this a ceremony?

Ferretpaw padded up, curious as to what was going on. He knew his warrior ceremony could be coming up any day, but he wasn't really expecting it. There was so much going on, after all. The tom still didn't know what he really thought of everything. StarClan was so different than he had thought them to be as a kit, so much more harsh and angry. Part of him desperately wanted to cling to Finchstar's vision of a world that ran smoothly on love, but with Clan leaders dropping like flies and uncertainty and darkness everywhere, he was afraid that that wasn't possible.

He sat, tilting his chin up to look at Finchstar on top of the Tallrock, a look of interest in his eyes. His tail swished, as usual he was incapable of remaining completely still, although he had much improved in the past moons.

Lightfang took a seat at the back of the growing crowd, tail swept around his paws and quiet understanding in his dull blue eyes. After all, it had been his job to decide if his apprentice was ready for warriorhood. He couldn’t claim to have trained Ferretpaw well—not when his SkyClan upbringing and the loss of Burningwolf had rendered him a less-than-satisfactory mentor—but Ferretpaw had learned and grown all the same. He was almost sitting still, now. Almost. He deserved every letter of the suffix Finchstar had chosen for him, and Lightfang wanted to watch him receive it.

Even so… The pale tabby’s gaze slid to the figure atop the Tallrock. After overhearing what had been said during the Gathering, he had no doubt Finchstar would hold to the words he’d used in Olivestone’s ceremony. As if love, rather than the stars, gave leaders their power. As if love had saved Torrentstar and Thornstar, or the mountain cats, or anyone. He'd seen his ancestors' justice before; this was merely more of the same, on a wider scale. But as they were fair in cruelty, they had to be fair in mercy. Even if the ceremony that made Ferretpaw a warrior was…unorthodox, surely they would accept him as the rank he'd earned.

Clovertwist raised his head from where he'd been grooming across the clearing. Finchstar's voice drew him from his task of smoothing fur over the bite scars along his ribs - a task that was always in vain with his short, sleek coat. The warrior stood and padded over to join his other gathering Clanmates, his ears perked and gaze curious. He felt a little uneasy about the state of everything, but he had to have faith as he always had: faith in himself and his loved ones, and faith that the good cats in StarClan had a plan. He hoped some of them would be compassionate in all this. Regardless. Clovertwist sat beneath the Tallrock and looked up, wondering what this meeting held in store for them.

Finchstar watched with glowing eyes, contemplative as the clan gathered. “Ferretpaw, step forward,” he purred, toying with fate.

Ferretpaw's ears pricked and he felt excitement bubbling through his body, up from his paws. Was this really happening? The ruddy tom stepped forward, eyes gleaming. At the same time, the gathering echoed in his mind, and he hoped that Finchstar would stay a bit closer to tradition with his ceremony. He didn't fancy getting soaked to the bone again.

"'Paw, it is time for you to become a warrior." Finchstar gazed down at the brown tom with narrowed eyes, warm yet calculating. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Ferretpaw lifted his chin and puffed his chest out, standing as tall and proper as he could. "I do."

Finchstar purred, as defiant as ever. His love was vast, wide, yet blind. "Then by the powers of love, I give you your warrior name. Ferretpaw, from this moment forward, you will be known as Ferretdance. The moors honor your passion and loyalty. May your name reflect your whimsical heart." The tom leapt from the rock as cheers meant the air, eyeing the newly named tom carefully. How did he feel about WindClan's rift from StarClan? What did this mean for the young cat? "Welcome to warriorhood, Ferretdance. You have earned every aspect of it." Finchstar smiled and lifted his maw to the sky, breaking out in cheer with the rest of the clan.

"Ferretdance! Ferretdance! Ferretdance!"

Clovertwist sat up and flashed an enthused grin at Ferretpaw as the young tom's name was called. A warrior ceremony - of course! Clovertwist thought, feeling delighted and relieved by the normalcy of such a meeting. And Ferretpaw deserves it, too - I still wish someone had been around to see us fight that goose together. The silver tabby tom watched the proceeding with interest. It was impossible to ignore that many of the ceremony's traditional words were left unspoken; this time around, however, Clovertwist was able to mostly stifle that prickle of discomfort. He'd been a stick in the mud for Olivestone's ceremony, and he didn't intend to do the same for Ferretpaw whatever Finchstar declared underneath the hidden Silverpelt. He intended to feel and express the joy that his friend deserved.

As the warrior-to-be took his vow, Finchstar nodded his head. The ginger-and-white leader looked as proud and certain as always, as if in defiance of the laws of nature themselves - for all they knew, he was. Clovertwist admired Finchstar more than he feared for him, but the fear was growing every day. The WindClan leader gave the tom his new name: Ferretdance. Clovertwist chirped lightly with approval, his kinked tail flicking. A moor-dancer he is, for sure! the warrior thought, and once Finchstar had leaped down to greet Ferretdance by his new name Clovertwist yowled. "Ferretdance! Ferretdance! Ferretdance!"

The newly named warrior couldn't lie. He felt a pang of fear when he heard his leader's words, or rather the words that he didn't say. Still, excitement and pride swept that away. He was a warrior now! Despite the missing ceremonial words, he was overjoyed with the adjectives that Finchstar had deemed fit to describe him. They felt so right in his heart. He stepped forward to give Finchstar the customary lick on the shoulder, pausing when he realized that maybe that wasn't going to be a thing either. Ferretdance felt a little lost for a moment, before the cheers of his new name took to the breeze. He turned to scan the crowd, blinking warmly at Olivestone and Clovertwist. He was so glad to have such good friends, and now he would be joining them in the warrior's den!

Padding over to Clovertwist, he grinned. "Hey, you happen to have a spot saved for me in the warrior's den?"

Clovertwist's eyes sparkled as his newly named friend eventually pulled away from the ecstatic crowd and moved towards him. He laughed at Ferretdance's question and answered with a mischievous grin, "We'll have to scoot someone over. I wasn't prepared." He bumped Ferretdance playfully with his shoulder and then waved his tail towards the warriors' den, moving forward and looking at his companion expectantly. "Better get it done now before your vigil, you'll need the nest in the morning!" he suggested, only half joking.

Olivestone felt her whole body and soul fill with pride at her brother's new name, and joyfully yowled them to the sky.
"Ferretdance! Ferretdance! Ferretdance!"

Once she'd exhausted her breath, she bounded over to him, and ran her cheek along his, purring all the while.
"Congrats!! I'm so happy for you!"

Upon catching Ferretdance's comment about a nest, she offered,
"I can always make room next to mine! Might take some rearranging, but I'm sure it can be done!"

Ferretdance felt so lucky to have a sister as supportive and awesome as Olivestone. He had been so proud when she got her full name, and now he could join her. He brushed his muzzle affectionately over her ear, purring in return as she came over. "Thank you! The world will feel much more right with us together again." It was true. Obviously there were more circumstances than just her ceremony, but the forest was really going crazy since they'd been in separate dens.

With a laugh, he stepped after Clovertwist. "Between you and Olivestone, surely we'll find room for me, I've been cutting back on the rabbit lately." His whiskers twitched in amusement, his good mood unable to be dampened even by the reminder that he was to sit vigil, by far the least cool part of becoming a warrior.