Emberpaw's Warrior Ceremony

"Let all of ShadowClan gather in the shadow of the Jaggedrock!" The familiar words rang across the camp as Flintstar made the easy jump onto his perch, taking his spot at the tip as he waited for his Clan to gather. It was time for a new warrior to be named, another cat moving up from the apprentice's den. ...Another cat that Flintstar didn't know that well. He...Felt like that he was failing on some regards, not knowing his Clanmates that well. It wasn't that he wanted to know them, he...Wasn't a very social cat but his duty was to them. It seemed...Off that he only knew the basics from what he had gathered from their mentors or just heard from around the camp. Perhaps...Perhaps it was time for him to try to be a little more active in knowing his Clanmates. It would just take some while to figure out where to start...

Another day, another Clan meeting. He didn't care what it was, as long as it wasn't Smokepaw's ceremony. Emberpaw strutted out of the apprentices den, fur matted as usual. He glanced around, looking for Ebonysong, but didn't see her. Shrugging to himself, he sat down below the Jaggedrock and fixed his expectant gaze on Flintstar. Who knew what this meeting would be about? He didn't really care. Maybe it will be my ceremony, he thought, in the back of his mind, but dismissed the thought with a twitch of his striped tail.

Flintstar quietly mused on the rock, lost in his own thoughts as he waited for the Clan to gather beneath him. Once enough had taken their seats that he was satisfied, he raised his head to address them all. "I have called you all here to witness a new warrior be named. Emberpaw, please step forward," he meowed, turning his gaze onto the apprentice. He waited for the tom to do so before he spoke again. "I, Flintstar, leader of SHadowClan, 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 him to you as a warrior in his turn. Emberpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Oh, oh, oh raced through his head as he wondered, of all the apprentices, why it was his time to become a warrior. Emberpaw didn't show it, but he was insecure about himself, and he covered it up with humor and jokes. And now that he was actually accomplishing something, he didn't know how to feel about it.

Was this really it? How was it that something as simple as words could seal your fate? Had anyone ever said no? The questions raced through his mind, but he wasn’t really thinking about them. The words. I do. Upholding the code. The Righteous Few had made the oath, and broke it, and yet, punished those who broke it. The code wasn’t set in stone. The code was a guide. And if you made mistakes, they were forgiven. Mistakes defined character. Mistakes helped growth. He’d made many mistakes, and some of them had indeed broken the code. But in the end, what mattered was the desire to be a warrior. He didn’t want to become a warrior for the name or status (those were nice bonuses, though). He wanted to become a warrior because it was set in stone for him, from the moment he was born. Because this was his path. He didn’t believe in fate. Cats made their own decisions. And the one he was making today was that he would do his best as a warrior. The words were weighty, but they didn’t matter. What mattered was that he meant them. “I do.”

Flintstar dipped his head to the apprentice as the two words were spoke. "Then by the powers granted to me, I give you your warrior name. Emberpaw, from this moment you will be known as Emberspark. StarClan honors your strength and humor..." He actually drifting off a bit there, eyeing the newly named warrior. Humor was...Something he had never grasped, even if it had come so easily to his father and uncle. But...He had heard such good things from Ravenmist, about Emberspark's light humor and how it was refreshing. Humor was...Important. It brought joy, and his uncle had given him a life about looking for it. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain of heartache that was summoned at the thought of Poppyheart before he finally pressed forward. "And we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

With that, he hopped down and stepped over to Emberspark to rest his chin on the apprentice's forehead before he stepped back with a dip of his head, pleased to have yet another warrior in his ranks.

Ravenmist couldn’t be prouder. Emberpaw has trained hard, and he had been a good apprentice. He’d serve his Clan well. She cared for all of her apprentices like her own kits, and they didn’t leave that family once they became warriors. So her voice was among the loudest as she cheered his new name. “Emberspark! Emberspark! Emberspark!”

Once Flintstar had stepped away, she padded forward, a grin on her scarred face. “Congratulations, Emberspark. I’m so proud of you.” A sudden question came to her mind, and she was surprised it had never come up before, for any of her apprentices. She’d never asked, and it had never seemed that important.

Sight and what those around her looked like didn’t matter much to Ravenmist, not nearly as much as their personalities, their voices, their hearts. The feeling of another pelt pressed against hers, the friendly meow of a Clanmate. But a sudden urge had made her curious, curious as to whether Emberspark had been called such after his pelt or psyche. So she spoke quietly, slowly. “What... do you look like?”

Ebonysong had blended into the shadows, not wanting to be seen, but because it was Emberpaw’s ceremony, she finally stepped out of her hiding place. “Emberspark, Emberspark, Emberspark!” She cheered with the rest of her Clanmates. “Congratulations!” Ebonysong purred, stepping closer towards her friend. “You did great. And I did promise you I would come, didn’t I?”

As the ceremony dictated, Emberspark gave Flintstar a respectful lick on the shoulder (although Flintstar's fur was clean, he still thought the whole process was gross) and backed away. He flicked his ears as his former mentor approached him and pressed into her gently, a purr vibrating in his throat. It was the only response needed. Ravenmist knew him well enough to know that he was thankful for her training, more grateful to her than he could really express in words.

Emberspark hadn't expected her question, and it caught him off guard for a second. "What do yo-" He stopped, swallowing. Although he could see Ravenmist's scarred face, he never really thought of her as blind. She was blind, but she wasn't defined by that. His tail flicked apologetically. She had a right to know. Still, it was weird to think that she'd never once seen him. "Uh, sorry. I-I mean, I'm a dark brown mackerel tabby with white on my muzzle and underbelly..." He hesitated, glancing at himself. He never really thought about his appearance. "I-I've got orangey amber eyes, and I'm pretty long and lanky."

Emberspark didn't want to leave Ravenmist, but it seemed impolite to ignore Ebonysong, and he wanted to say something to his friend, so he turned around with a whisk of his tail and focused on the dark gray warrior. "Thanks." It was the only thing he could think of to say. He stared at her for a moment, her blue eyes locking into his amber. Every time he saw those azure depths, he thought he lost a little more of himself within them.