Morningkit's Apprentice Ceremony

For more than a moon, no new nests had joined the cluster where the apprentices slept. Then word of Morningkit’s adventure with Olivestone had gotten around…mostly because a goose in the fresh-kill pile and new feathers in WindClan’s nests were hard for even a preoccupied Raventail to ignore. He had to admit that StarClan had gotten something right; though there was little harm in walking borders or chasing rabbits (above the tunnels, of course), the idea of sending a kit to fight against foxes and badgers made him shudder. But it had only been a goose, Morningkit had been fine, and by now, she wasn’t much of a kit at all. In a matter of moments, he’d be making that official.

While not as sore as it had been a sunrise ago, Raventail’s claw ensured his scramble up the Tallrock was a good deal slower than he would have liked. At the top, he eased into a sitting position. His tail unfurled behind him, long fur waving in the early post-sunhigh breeze, and he called, ”Let all cats old enough to run the moor gather beneath the Tallrock!” As the crowd gathered, he searched not only for the kit in question, but for her soon-to-be mentor as well.

The day was warm as the sun soared overhead, its rays warming the gray striped pelt of Olivestone as she rested from her morning hunt. She ran her tongue slowly over her pelt, carefully flattening down any fur that had been fluffed up from the wind flowing through it. She watched Raventail cross the camp, and take the climb up to the Tallrock extra slowly, and she recalled seeing him return home with a limp the previous day. Twitching her whiskers, she pushed herself to her paws as the deputy made it to the top of the Tallrock, and the familiar words were called down to the camp below.

She had a feeling she knew whose apprentice ceremony it was, and she glanced around to see if she could spot the pelt that looked so much like her own. She padded over to the Tallrock, and sat down beneath it, gathering with her Clanmates.

The warrior-to-be(-to-be)'s exploits hadn't stopped at the goose, of course- the young Morningkit had taken it upon herself to distribute the feathers as equally as she could among the clan, weaving them into the nests herself with all the pride of someone who, put simply, shouldn't have been fighting geese anyway. (The charitable act proved entirely pointless when a fair portion were moved to the nursery, but it's the thought that counts- and getting to prod the other cats about "I'm going to be an apprentice soon!" wasn't too bad either.)

Morningkit had been working on her training as well- she may not have been an apprentice yet, but she would be soon (she'd just celebrated her six-moon-kind-of-birthday!), and a little head-start never hurt anyone. The true strength of WindClan is in its swiftness and agility, she remembered hearing the others say, so it is on that which she focused, finding time to sprint around the camp border as much as she could. So when the call went out for 'all cats old enough to run the moor'... well- she knew it was figurative, of course, but- she was old enough to run! And she was on the moor! Which, logically, meant that this was something she'd be allowed to attend-- right?

So, just a moment later, and with all the enthusiasm (and velocity) of an excitable kit who oh-so-desired to be included in this kind of thing, Morningkit bounded into the middle of the camp, skidding to a halt in a way that might almost be called comical.

"Hi- I'm here-", she mewed, taking a moment to catch her breath, "Oh, hey, Olivestone--"

A pause, a glance up at the Tallrock and the dark-furred deputy atop it, and the kit murmured, "Uh- why's Raventail looking at me like that? Am I not supposed to be here- is this an apprentice-and-up thing? I'm almost an apprentice!"

(And how right she was!)

Clovertwist knew a thing or two about goose hunting - well, not exactly on purpose - and after hearing about the escapade of one "Morningkit" with her warrior friend Olivestone, he expected the Clan had another hunter in their midst. Clovertwist had heard the tale all through camp from Olivestone herself to Finchstar and of course mutterings among the elders. It was dangerous, but it had ended well, and Morningkit would forever have a reputation to uphold. As Raventail called the meeting, Clovertwist expected the Clan's newest goose champion would be getting an exciting surprise soon. The silver tabby warrior padded up and sat patiently, watching with amusement as Morningkit skidded to a halt in the middle of the gathering crowd trying to determine what was happening. "You'll see," Clovertwist promised mischievously.

In the end, there was no need to search for either of them. A flash of gray shot into the middle of camp well before the rest of the Clan, kicking up sand as she ground to a halt—not far from Olivestone, naturally. Raventail didn’t laugh. He did, however, break into a grin so wide and sudden it startled him. Several moments passed before he remembered where he was and had the sense to bury his muzzle in his chest under the guise of straightening out a wayward patch of fur. Morningkit wasn’t the first overenthusiastic apprentice-to-be he’d seen, but…it had been a while. Better yet, it helped him shed the gloomier edges of his mood.

Below, Morningkit and Olivestone exchanged a few words. Clovertwist joined them, a patch of silver amidst the gray. Then Morningkit glanced upward, directly at him, and Raventail decided she’d waited long enough. He stepped up to the Tallrock’s edge, limping only slightly. The ceremony’s words would be stuffy as always; the least he could do was try to put some energy into them. ”Morningkit,” he said with no preamble, unaware he might have just answered one of Morningkit’s own questions, ”step forward.”

After a pause, the dark-furred tom continued. ”You’ve reached the age of six moons, and it’s your turn to be apprenticed. From now until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Morningpaw.” With so many factors to consider—experience, a would-be mentor’s strengths and weaknesses, potential personality conflicts—choosing a mentor was rarely an easy task. In Morningpaw’s case, though, it was clear as a Gathering night's sky. ”Your mentor will be Olivestone,” Raventail meowed, dipping his head toward the larger gray she-cat. ”May she pass everything she knows down to you.” The ceremony complete, he picked his way down the back of the Tallrock and joined the crowd at its base, calling alongside them, "Morningpaw! Morningpaw!" He couldn't quite stop himself from wondering just how long it would be before Morningpaw brought another goose into camp—after at least some proper training, he hoped.

Olivestone gave a a happy trill as Morningkit was apprenticed to her, and she stood as her name was called before padding forward. She stopped below the Tallrock, and lowered her head for the newly named Morningpaw to touch noses with her.

Morningkit- no, Morningpaw!- stared, shaking softly in anticipation as Raventail said The Words. The Words were magical; to have StarClan look down on her from Silverpelt (or, more accurately, Raventail look down on her from Tallrock) and grant her the esteemed title of apprentice? It was almost too much to handle. (Almost.)

"Morningpaw..." the kit apprentice echoed quietly, tasting the name on her tongue for the first time, feeling the mantle of just a little more respect and responsibility settle on her shoulders, letting her mind drift away with thoughts of hunting and fighting and gathering and being a proper, actual member of WindClan, her home, her love, her kin-

-she thought she was ready for this. She thought she was mentally prepared, her mind resolved and her spirit hardened, imagining this exact moment so many times. And she thought correctly- for, vibrating softly though she may have been, Morningpaw had never been readier.

"Thank you," she replied, holding her head high at the deputy's words. Was- was she supposed to thank him? It felt like the kind of thing she should say. And- what else? 'I'll bring glory and more geese to us all'? (She'd try.) 'I'll die for the Clan, just watch me'? (Tends to come hand in hand with the previous.) After a moment, the apprentice settled on,
"I'll try and live up to this honour."

Morningpaw approached her new mentor, looking up at Olivestone and pressing her nose to the other cat's, beaming with all the pride of someone who had to wait six whole moons for this can you even imagine and mewing softly, "I kinda dropped a few hints that you'd make a good mentor, I hope you don't mind. You would! Make a good mentor, that is. I mean- you will!"