Smallpaw's Warrior Ceremony

As the sun sank past the prickly walls of WindClan’s camp, Raventail, behind the Tallrock, shifted from paw to paw. By now, he’d seen enough of his Clanmates become warriors that he knew how it was meant to go; being the one to officially make them so, however, was nearly-uncharted territory for him. Today, his own apprentice would receive a warrior’s name. All the more reason to be sure he had it right. Smallpaw had cleared every hurdle Raventail had set for him, and then some; the least Raventail could do was this. Closing his eyes, the small tom mentally ran through the words one last time. Then he climbed, looking out over the rest of WindClan as they relaxed in the cool evening air. Thankfully, his paw had more or less healed since he’d last stood here; he stepped forward with no traces of his previous limp. ”Let all cats old enough to run the moor gather beneath the Tallrock!”

Smallpaw sat near the fresh-kill pile with his eyes closed and his paws tucked under him. The sun was beginning to set, casting red-orange rays of light across camp, and a slight breeze had begun passing through. Letting out a deep breath, the apprentice opened his eyes and gazed across the camp. It was somewhat quiet, and not many cats were up running around, with the exception of a few kits and apprentices. It was the moments like this that he relished the most.

As the sun sank deeper toward the horizon, he began to see more activity throughout the clearing. It seemed as though patrols were returning to camp. Letting out a wide yawn, he arched his back to stretch and stood up. Glancing around the camp once more, Smallpaw spotted Raventail making his way up to the Tallrock. 'Oh no...' He thought, shifting on his paws. Ever since his moonstone journey, he'd been dreading every clan meeting, in case it was his warrior ceremony. He wanted to become a warrior more than anything in the world, but he was just too nervous. At the call of the deputy, he reluctantly walked from where he stood and joined the growing crowd of cats that now stood in the middle of camp. He put himself near the middle of the group, knowing that if it was his ceremony he wouldn't want to sit in the back because he'd have to weave between his clanmates, but he wouldn't want to sit in the front either. He wrapped his tail around his paws and waited for Raventail to make the next announcement.

Olivestone pushed her way through the camp entrance, a large hare hanging from her jaws. Upon seeing Raventail on the Tallrock, she tossed the hare onto the growing pile and bounded over to where the Clan was gathering.
I wonder whose ceremony is going on today?

Had he not mentored Smallpaw, Raventail might have expected him to march out in front of the others, secure in the knowledge that, even if today’s meeting wasn’t for him, it would only be another day or two until his turn came. He’d gone to the Moonstone; few apprentices needed to wait long after that. But Raventail knew better. He leaned forward as far as he dared, watching the stragglers first, then the cats who’d already gathered. There, in the middle, sat Smallpaw. Raventail flashed him a brief, small smile, wondering if it was even visible from beneath the Tallrock, wondering if it would help at all. Then he spoke. ”Smallpaw, step forward.” Thankfully, his voice betrayed little of his own nerves.

On one paw, the words he was meant to say; the ones he'd heard during his own ceremony. On the other, the words Finchstar had used since StarClan had made their opinions clear. Raventail took a breath. Something between the two, then. ”I, Raventail, deputy of WindClan, ask my fellow warriors to look upon this apprentice. He’s trained hard to understand our ways, and I commend him to you as a warrior in return. Smallpaw“—he locked eyes with his apprentice, or tried to—”do you promise to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” At the heart of it, warriorhood was a choice. Though he had no doubt his apprentice was ready, though Finchstar had given his approval, the final decision rested with Smallpaw himself. Quiet once more, Raventail waited.

The sound of Raventail's voice signified a ceremony, and Clovertwist rolled to his paws, moving away from the spot in the sandy clearing where he'd been lounging for a good long while. The sun had been pleasant, and it warmed the warrior's silver tabby fur, but he supposed all sunbathing had to come to an end eventually! He placed himself before his deputy and waited patiently as the rest of his Clan gathered. He was surprised to find the meeting was for a warrior ceremony lead by Raventail; nevertheless, he looked at Smallpaw and gave him an encouraging nod.

Smallpaw watched as Raventail's eyes washed over the crowd and finally rested on him. 'oh no...' the small tom thought. Panic began washing over him, causing him to shake uncontrollably. He felt the familiar feeling of him stomach tying itself into knots. Why today? Why couldn't he just wait a few more sunrises? Taking a deep breath he raised his head to meet the eyes of his mentor, trying to control his shaking and shivering as much as possible. He quickly looked around and saw Clovertwist give him a curt nod of encouragement before reluctantly stepping forward with a wobbling paw.

He slowly weaved between the crowd of cats, knowing everyone was watching him. What were they thinking? Did they think he was weird because of how he was shaking? Dozens and dozens of thoughts flooded into his mind, so much so that he could barely hear Raventail continue speaking. His head spinning, he looked up at his mentor. "I-i do."

As a solemn, familiar silence settled over the gathered cats, Raventail watched his apprentice, who was…shaking? Maybe he was imagining it. Maybe he wasn’t. Either way, it didn’t seem to matter. Smallpaw gave his answer, and Raventail grinned despite himself, dipping his head to the small cat beneath the Tallrock. The rest of the ceremony’s words—the words he’d chosen to use—came easily. ”Then with the approval of my Clanmates, I give you your warrior name. Smallpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Smallbean. We honor your kindness and your hard-working nature, and I am proud to welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan.”

No doubt Spotlake and Crowspirit stood somewhere in the crowd; maybe some of Smallbean’s siblings were present as well. Still, when he leaped down from the Tallrock, Raventail made a beeline for Smallbean. He hadn't been able to say anything to Goldengale after her ceremony, but this time seemed to be different. ”Hey, Small—Smallbean.” He caught himself just in time. A Clanmate’s new name usually made for an easy adjustment; with his own apprentices, the change took a little longer to sink in. ”I know I said it up there,” he meowed, flicking his tail toward the towering stone behind him, ”but it’s probably worth saying twice. You did great—I’m proud of you. Congratulations!” With that, he backed away, giving the rest of WindClan room to celebrate their newest warrior.

Olivestone grinned as she watched the brown and white tabby pad up to the front of the crowd, and rose to her paws, chanting as Raventail gave him his new name.
"Smallbean! Smallbean! Smallbean!"

When she was done chanting, she approached the new warrior and his former mentor.
"Congratulations!"

Spotlake watched as her kit became a warrior. He was the first out all her kits to become one. "Smallbean! Smallbean!" Spotlake cheered. She padded up to her son and gave him a lick on his forehead, like how she would do when he was a kit. "I'm so proud of you."

It was pretty clear to see on Smallpaw's face that he was nervous beyond all reason, and once the small brown tom turned away to stand before Raventail Clovertwist turned to give the nearest cat to him a look of sympathy on the apprentice's behalf. Clovertwist had never been too opposed to the spotlight, but he understood it wasn't for everyone. It'll be over soon, Smallpaw, and you'll be glad it is, the silver tabby warrior thought certainly. Clovertwist looked up to Raventail as he began the ceremony, and he was surprised by the words the deputy spoke (but much less unsettled by them than the ones which Finchstar used). Still, he nodded once or twice in agreement with the proud words spoken of Smallbean - as the tom was now named.

Clovertwist eagerly joined in the chanting this time, no longer willing to let an unusually worded ceremony interfere with the way he celebrated his Clanmates. He was proud of them, and he would honor them the way they deserved to be. "Smallbean! Smallbean!" he cried.

OOC: aaaaa i ran out of motivation, i feel like this is really bad TwT)))

Trying to focus, Smallpaw fixed his gaze on Raventail once more. Why couldn't he be normal like other cats and just be excited? Why did he worry about everything? Why couldn't he just be confident? The endless questions continued, but as he heard his mentor start speaking again, he forced himself to get out of his mind and pay attention, as hard as it was to do. He found himself still shaking a little bit, and his pads were still sweating. By taking deep breaths, he finally got himself under control enough to get himself to stop. As the Raventail continued speaking, he listened to the words that he chose. He's noticed that Finchstar had stopped using Starclan in his ceremonies, for whatever reason, so it only made sense if Raventail did too. It didn't really bother Smallpaw though, a ceremony was a ceremony after all. As Raventail said the final words, Smallpaw let out a sigh of relief. He looked around him as his friends and family started chanting his new name. 'Smallbean.... i like how that sounds.'

When Raventail leaped down from the Tallrock, Smallbean turned around to meet him, his anxieties fading. "Th-thank you! I'd have never b-been able to become a warrior without a mentor as g-great as you!" He smiled at his former mentor as he walked away, before talking to Olivestone. "Thanks Olivestone!" He grinned. The last cat there was his mother, Spotlake. "Aw, th-thanks Spotlake." He mewed, standing close to her. Spotake had always been there for him, or at least tried her best to. He was glad that she'd recovered from Greencough. He had a feeling that if something had happened to her, he wouldn't have enough courage to stand up for his ceremony, or maybe even get to his ceremony in the first place. As his clanmates repeated his name, the same thought kept on coming back to the front of his mind.