Pebblekit's Apprentice Ceremony

[don't worry about this wall of text, the important bit's at the end ;) ]

The rock loomed above, its rough surface stretching up towards the trees swaying against the light-blue morning sky. Minkstream found himself gazing at it, his paws solidly frozen against the earth, each blade of grass and grain of sandy dirt pricking into the pads suddenly growing claws to hold him in place. Everything about this.... His tail twitched. Organizing patrols hadn't been so bad. Sure, it took getting used to, suddenly having everyone look to him for order in the day-to-day happenings around camp, but he was getting used to it.

But this was the first ceremony.

It's just a rock. You'll get used to it. Somehow, looking up at it, it was hard to imagine that. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and leaped, the wind rushing against his fur, his paws meeting the rough stony surface lightly and taking him to the top. For just a moment, as he looked down on the camp, a memory stirred - Batbite's green eyes mischievously sparkling down at him from the top of the Great Rock, much taller than this. The way it had felt, standing on top of that.... Somehow, it had been less intimidating to curiously wonder what it would be like to stand where the leaders did without any responsibility, and no expectation of ever getting there. His insides twisted just a little at the thought that one day he might end up there, too. Don't get ahead of yourself.

He stepped to the edge, feeling a faint breeze ruffle his fur as it wound through the ravine. The feel of a thousand generations before him standing upon it pressed into his feet, and suddenly it was no longer a rock, but a branch, flickers of a dream before his eyes. Scorchclaw standing above, his light mint-green eyes staring down, his stance tall and proud, a hint of disapproval in his expression.

"Someday you're gonna be asked to take an oath for RiverClan, and you're not gonna be able to take it."

"Do you vow to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

He could hear the words ringing, see cats in the camp starting to look up at him, curiosity in their eyes as he stood like the air had been knocked from his lungs. RiverClan again. His own confident words from his ceremony mocked him. My loyalty is to ThunderClan, not RiverClan or any other place. Suddenly, all he wanted was to shrink back, to leap back down and run as the hairs along his back started to prickle - he could come back later, Pebblekit could wait another day. But it wouldn't be fair on the kit - he was fiesty, headstrong, and old enough to learn the ways of the Clan. His Clan.

Pull yourself together, Minkpaw.

He clenched his teeth, his paws kneading against the rough, gritty surface underneath them for a moment. He'd seen it a thousand times, heard it a thousand times, yet the words still stuck in his throat.

"You're still something - there's a storm in there, Minkpaw, a force to be reckoned with an' respected.... It's impossible to know the right path 'til you've chosen one. Don't freeze in the moment ya need yourself. Take a step - a leap a' faith, if ya have to. Just... don't stop movin', Minkpaw."

Letting out a silent breath, Mottledspark's words returning to mind as they had done more and more often lately, he stood tall. A leap of faith. The song of the wind through the leaves on the trees rustled in his ears, a twitter of a bird echoing in the ravine. He opened his maw, letting his voice ring through camp with words he'd never expected to hear from his own mouth.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Wi- High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Pebblekit had been waiting all day for his ceremony, his mother, telling him to be patient, but Pebblekit just couldn't it wasn't in him to be patient. "Well, it's time to practice." She had told him Pebblekit was far too ignorant to actually follow his mother's advice. But, what his mother had succeeded in doing was distracting him, he was playing with a leaf when he heard the new deputy's voice ring out across the camp. His short fur stood up with surprise and excitement, before he got pulled back by his mother.

She only whispered a few sentences to him before letting him go, he was surprised she didn't start immediately cleaning him. He'd almost forgotten the sentences she had whispered to him. "Stand tall, to the front of the crowd. Listen to what your deputy says now before answering, and don't you stutter, the words you need to say will come to you, just be patient." He opened his mouth to reply to her, rather loudly before closing it, because when he turned around, his mother was halfway through brushing past him.

Tension flooded him, it pricked at his paws, his whiskers, and he felt like everything was watching him, even the battered leaf that was lying, crumpled on the ground. He searched the faces for his mother, who was nodding slowly at him, already in the group. I'm going to have to do this at my warriors ceremony, I was so excited for this, so why am I stopping now? Pebblekit took a deep breath before stepping forwards, through the group of cats, his mother's words guiding him through the ceremony. "Stand tall, to the front of the crowd..." He paused at the front, lifting his head up, his eyes gleaming with every tiny bit of pride a cat could have. I've been waiting for this.

Minkstream saw the kit stop playing with his leaf, his head coming up, yellow eyes gleaming as the crowd began to gather, one or two giving him a slightly bemused look. He ignored them, watching as the kit was sent forward by his mother with a few whispered words, trying to keep the flick out of his tail. A hint of nervousness was in the kit's pawsteps as he came forward, dwarfed by all of the older warriors gathered for his ceremony.

That made two of them.

"Pebblekit, step forward." The words felt a little stupid and unnecessary, since the kit was already coming forward, but the words of ceremony were his lifeline to keeping the appearance of calm, and the only thing between him and the prickling feeling like bees under his pelt. The High rock couldn't have been higher; the ground further away. He kept his fur slicked down, his paws tight against the rock underneath as Pebblekit moved up, and prepared to open his mouth.

And hesitated.

The words fled from his mind like water from an oiled pelt. He swallowed, quickly flicking his tongue over his dry mouth and plunged forwards, desperately trying to recall the exact words he hadn't really payed attention to - apart from the name and the mentor, anyway - since his own ceremony forever ago. "Pebblekit... you have reached the age of six moons and... are ready to take the next step to become an apprentice of ThunderClan." He'd probably flunked that. But at least he knew the next few more or less, and had thought long and hard about who would mentor the little guy. Speaking of him... He flicked his eyes over the crowd, watching for the black and white pelt. "From this moment until you become a warrior, your name will be Pebblepaw. Echofrost will be your mentor."

And suddenly, it was over. The sun overhead turned everything into a sunlit daze as he leaped down from the rock, the calls of the new apprentice's name ringing to the sky. An unexpected flutter of warmth flickered to life in his chest as he watched the new mentor and apprentice, a flash of pride. I did it. It felt good, it felt right. A twinge still lingered, but it was over, and he hadn't done too badly.

Sure hope I can get used to this. There are a lot of kits in the nursery....

Pebblekit watched Minkstream speak, his words were calm before he paused. Pebblekit's whiskers twitched nervously. Is something wrong with Minkstream? He was about to ask before the deputy began speaking again, his eyes gleaming brighter with every word that came from the deputy's mouth. It feels like it's taking so much longer now that I'm having my ceremony. His paws twitched, his pride almost bursting from him as he focused on the last few words of his ceremony. "From this moment until you become a warrior, your name will be Pebblepaw." Pebbleki-paw's yellow eyes gleamed in pride as he heard his new name, all signs of nervousness was gone. His ears flicked as he took the time to process what the deputy had said afterwards. Who was my mentor? He searched for the name that had been spoken. That's right... Echofrost. He turned to his new mentor, purring loudly as he lifted his nose to them. "I'll be the best apprentice you could have!" He mewed, rather loudly.

Echofrost walked slowly out of the warriors den at Minkstream's call. He sat at the back, half listening to the new deputy's words. It was just another apprentice ceremony. Pebblekit...six moons...apprentice...Echofrost His head snapped up as he heard his own name spoken from the high rock. What? Me?! Well, I guess I haven't had an apprentice for a while... He walked forwards towards the newly named Pebblepaw, not sure how he felt about this. But as the young cat turned around to find him... Echofrost looked into those young, proud eyes. He remembered his own excitement at becoming an apprentice. He found his own face forming a smile, a true smile. When was the last time he had done that? Not since he had lost Lilyflower... Echofrost touched noses with the purring apprentice, I'll be the best apprentice you could have! He chuckled at his apprentices boldness. "I'm sure you will be." Maybe... Maybe he could move on. Training a new warrior was definitely more productive than half halfheartedly patrolling and hunting. He could help this apprentice be ready, more ready than he was able to be. Be the mentor he wished that he had had. Not just a mentor, but someone to support him his whole life. Even when things get hard...