Thornkit's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

Spiderquill sighed pensively, tail curling around his legs as he sat facing his neatly-sorted herbs. Lilykit was gone. Not dead or anything, but she'd finally gained the strength to move out of the medicine den. She was as strong as any of the other kits and getting closer and closer to apprenticeship. Spiderquill was happy for her, truly, but some selfish part of him was disappointed. Some part of him had hoped that she'd stay, or that she'd proclaim her love for herbs and decide to become his apprentice. It was silly, he knew, but the medicine den felt empty with only him in it. He'd mentioned it to Ivystar the other day, to which she'd answered with a smile and something about needing a helping paw. He knew what she was implying, of course. But was he ready? He was hardly out of apprenticeship himself, was it really wise to enlist some kit as his apprentice? It certainly would lighten his workload, at least as soon as he showed his apprentice the ropes. It was a nice notion, having a little helper to teach and guide. He would have to get an apprentice at some point anyway. But him? A mentor? He couldn't see how he'd be good at it.

It appeared, however, that his legs weren't having as hard a time deciding as his brain, as he found himself leaving the medicine den and stepping into the warm night air. He sighed once again and directed his gaze at Silverpelt, clearer than ever in the cloudless sky. The stars seemed to wink at him, almost encouraging him. He tentatively tiptoed towards the nursery, where queens and their kits slept soundly. Actually, scratch that: there was one pair of emerald eyes staring back at him in the darkness. Immediately, a weird feeling filled his chest. It was as if something was dragging him towards this kit. 'This one?' he mouthed soundlessly, as if to StarClan itself. Well, the kit was already awake, he might as well have someone to talk to. He wasn't gonna get any sleep anyway. He sat down in front of the nursery, waving at the fluffy brown kit. "H-hey there. Couldn't sleep?" He smiled, then hastily adding on, "I'm Spiderquill, by the way. The- the medicine cat." Wow. What a tagline.

Along the walls of the nursery sat a plump and fluffy ball of brown fur peering ever so curiously at the strange cat. It was obvious he was different from the rest, none of the cats around looked like him but nonetheless having the friendly medicine cat around made her home feel complete. From the other restless kits to the caring queens, the nursery tethered her like the fish that needed to swim in the river. Otherwise they might...well, mom says they just don't like going outside out of their home. Just like she didn't leaving the nursery itself much less the part of it were the funny little plants were strung about. Whenever she snuck around playtime it was meant to be playtime, of course, but her playtime involved poking at the peculiar scents. They were different then the scents she'd been accustomed to but they lured her in no matter what.

Only this night she had been tied up waiting for a window of opportunity to get more than a whiff. She wanted the real deal even if it meant staying up later than she had intended to. "Mmrm?" She squealed groggily eyes sparkling at the older tom's greeting. The molly's tabby pelt blended in with the moss she began to press herself into the wall, her face said it all. Getting in trouble wasn't her intention yet here she was getting spotted by one of the bigger cats. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to..." She mumbled, tucking her paws behind her tail. "I didn't want to cause trouble - I really want to see the plants, Spiderquill."

Spiderquill smiled thoughtfully as the little kit spoke, hastily trying to apologise for being awake at this hour. She seemed to think he'd be cross with her. Did he really look that intimidating? He flicked his tail in amusement, an odd glint in his eyes. "No, it's okay, don't apologise. You're not in t-trouble or anything. I... needed someone to talk to anyway." He stood up for a moment, something the kit said making his ears perk up. "The- the plants? You mean herbs? I could- I could show you, if you'd like. Herbs are kind of my job. Usually people don't care about the herbs as long as I heal them somehow. I guess it's fair enough, I don't care about hunting as long as I get food, after all... But it's nice that someone is interested in herbs. They're really quite fascinating, I promise." Fully aware that he was rambling, he shook his head and turned towards the medicine den, gesturing with his tail for the kit to follow.

Once they got to the den, Spiderquill made his way over to the herb pile. He started gesturing at various herbs, explaining their uses and where to find them. "...cob nuts, you grind them into... ...horsetail, it's really useful for... ...hard to find, I usually ask Softpaw for... ...bleeding, although if it's infected you..." After what felt like hours of rambling, he remembered that he had an audience. Mentally kicking himself, he turned back to the fluffy she-kit with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I'm probably boring you. Just-- It's been ages since I last got to talk about what I do. It gets lonely, you know."

Silence was all too familiar to the young kit having been the quiet one. Always the one to lurk and observe in the shadows of her more active sibling. At the very least under all this heat she was better off being cool, a summer breeze passed her leaving her stunned. The kit snapped herself of her sudden heat driven stupor. "I mean pants." The last word came out wrong for a yawn caught her off guard. It was meant to be more cool now that the sun wasn't hung high in the sky. "I mean herbs - those tasty thingies." Hearing the medicine cat's calming voice reassured her that her night up was not in vain, she spoke more in a whisper once SpiderQuill lead her into the medicine den as he called it.

Intently Thornkit grasped the names and purposes of every remedy the older cat had mentioned up to the point of where he stopped. Whenever the healer pointed out a familiar subject her green eyes would shine brightly. Pride wasn't what could describe the fuzzy feeling inside of her moreso a genuine joy seeing she could do more than sit around in the nursery. "It's okay, you did good." She hushed him, gently patting his tail albeit the lack of sleep present in her now sparkling eyes. "Maybe you need poppy seeds to rest. We all get tired sometimes, Spidey."

Spiderquill glowed with genuine joy as he saw the spark of interest in Thornkit's eyes. He was liking this kit more and more by the second. He chuckled softly at her suggestion of poppy seeds. "Looks like someone knows her stuff. I'll be alright though--gotta save the poppy seeds for our queens and elders, anyhow. Maybe some chamomile would do me good..." He frowned for a moment, genuinely considering it, before shaking himself out of it again. "Well, I think we should both head off to sleep. You've always got a friend here in the medicine den, remember that. Feel free to... feel free to drop by at any time. I'd be happy to have you here. Teach you more. You know. Er... Yeah. Good night then, Thornkit." And with that, Spiderquill lay down in his nest and drifted off in the best sleep he'd had in moons.
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Spiderquill was up bright and early. Too early, by most standards, but today was important. Very important. Today, Thornkit was finally becoming an apprentice. Not just any apprentice. His apprentice. His chest swelled with pride at the thought. Obviously, he'd never done this before, but he couldn't imagine it was too different from a Moonstone journey. He remembered his own ceremony quite vividly. He was a tiny, spindly little thing at the time; Torrentstar had had to carry him part of the way, if he recalled correctly. Thankfully, Thornkit was both bigger and older than he had been at the time and probably wouldn't need to be carried. Practically buzzing with excitement and repressed anxiety, he grabbed two herb bundles and made a beeline for the nursery. Swallowing his herbs so fast he almost choked on them, he nudged Thornkit and motioned towards her herb bundle. "Heya, Thornkit! You ready to go? How're you holding up? Excited?" He hoped she was a little more confident about all this than he had been. She probably was, seeing as she'd made this choice herself. Spiderquill didn't regret becoming a medicine cat, but it had kinda been chosen for him.

Time went by like the fast but smooth currents in the river never stopping even for a second. Within the nursery was Thornkit was was all to eager to join in Spiderquill's good spirits. Their past conversation had enlightened her as to who and what he was in the clan. Enough of her days had been spent with nothing to do but hear she was walking at the medicine cat's side. "I'm ready, just had to say bye to mom." Thornkit grinned, her pale eyes shining brightly in the light of the rising run. The tabby's shyness was gone from the first night they had spoken to each other, now she held her head high. "Are you ready?" A rare glimpse of what could be shown through her solemn demeanor.

Spiderquill grinned when Thornkit joined him, nodding. "Yeah, I suppose I am. Never gonna be any readier, anyway. You finished your herbs? Okay, brilliant. Follow me, we have a long way to go." Making sure his soon-to-be apprentice was following, he began walking the path he'd walked countless times before.

Unlike the Moonstone journeys he'd been on, which were usually silent but for small talk and necessary warnings, the trip to Highstones was filled with banter. Spiderquill was glad for the change of tone from his usual trips. He hadn't had a proper conversation with someone in what seemed like moons. Not stopping in front of the tunnel, he merely motioned his tail to Thornkit. "Come on then, stay close and yell if you need anything. It's pitch black down there." Finally, after ages of blindly following the dark tunnel, the blue glow of the Moonstone filled their view. Beaming and filled with excitement, the jittery medicine cat turned to Thornkit. This was it. Just a few words, and Spiderquill would finally have an apprentice. Clearing his throat, he began. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice, Thornkit. She has accepted the path of a medicine cat. Please grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance to your will. Thornkit," his breath caught in his throat, "until you earn your full medicine cat name, you will be known as Thornpaw." He pressed his nose to hers. "Congratulations, Thornpaw," he whispered, not wanting to ruin the magic of the moment, "you'll make all of StarClan proud, I know it. Now, onto the best part." He turned to face the Moonstone, gently touching Thornpaw's flank with his tail. "Go ahead, press your nose to it. StarClan may want to speak with you." Briefly, he remembered his own ceremony. Dewshine had spoken to him then. As a matter of fact, she had conducted the whole ceremony. Who would speak with Thornpaw? Would it be like Spiderquill's second ceremony? He shuddered at the thought. No, Vixenstar was gone for good. StarClan was normal now. He looked expectantly at his apprentice, waiting for her to do as he prompted.