Buzzardkit's Apprentice Ceremony

The rock's surface was rough, as always. It felt like the coarseness of it had stuck to his paws from the last ceremony he'd done, just earlier that day. But this time, with the sun bathing it, an added warmth soaked into his pads. He lifted his nose to the faint breeze traveling down the ravine, the scent unique to mid-afternoon swirling in his nostrils. From here, the rest of camp looked distant, like a perfect reflection on the surface of a still pool.

He opened his maw and shattered the lazy stillness. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Buzzardkit was grateful that the call for clan meetings was usually so loud, or else he might not have heard them at all.

He had already watched one of his siblings become an apprentice, and he knew the moment must not be far off for the rest of them. Would this announcement mark another one of his siblings leaving the nursery? Or, perhaps, even himself?

He joined the crowd of cats with deep ambivalence to that notion. Sure, there was a lot about being an apprentice that seemed fun, and he was looking forward to getting to have a mentor and training to become a good warrior, but...was he even "good warrior" material? He was fully aware that there was something wrong with him-- with his eyes and his ears. What if he never made it past training? He didn't want to disappoint his mother, his siblings, his grandparents...or his father, whoever he was. The thought had crossed his mind numerous times that perhaps the tom had chosen to remain anonymous because he had taken one look at Buzzardkit and decided he didn't want to claim connection to such an unfortunate cat.

Oh well he thought That's a useless thought. No point in thinking it. My mother loves me. That's enough.

Cedarheart smiled. Her kits were growing up so fast, Minkstream had been holding theme ceremonies. She settled under the rock, watching Buzzardkit. He was a peculiar little kit, to say the least. She knew some of his senses weren’t as strong, but that didn’t matter. He was a bit awkward, but so was Smallbean. Nothing could make her love her kits any less.

She sat down behind him, wrapping her tail around him with a faint smile. He would be an apprentice soon, off hunting and battling. It was a scary thought, but strangely comforting at the same time.

Minkstream watched the little kit come out of the nursery, the sun shining off his fluffy pelt. He knew there were problems with some of the kit's senses, but hopefully the mentor he'd picked would be able to work with him through that. Speaking of mentors.... He opened his mouth, making sure to keep his voice clear as it rang over camp. "Buzzardkit, step forward."

When the kit did so, he went on, "You have reached the age of six moons and are ready to learn the ways of the Clan as an apprentice. From this moment until you earn your warrior name, you'll be known as Buzzardpaw. Your mentor will be Robinloft."

It was a relief to get out of the sun, the shade of the High Rock cool compared to its surface. He watched the ceremonial touch of noses, a slight twinge of misgiving making his tail twitch. Maybe I should have picked Ferretnose.... But Buzzardpaw's problem wasn't the same - Robinloft should be able to deal well with it. He hoped.

Robinloft's ears pricked in surprise when she heard her name called from highrock. 'Me? Already?' It was already so soon after she had lost her previous apprentice, Wolfpaw, who's death was... unfortunate and unpreventable. Thinking about the young she-cat made her feel sad- but now she could start over. The cat she was mentoring was in fact a kit of Cedarheart's, which would make her strive to keep this apprentice safe even more. She remembered interacting with Buzzardkit, now Buzzardaw, before, and she had gotten some... weird vibes from him, but she didn't mind much. Walking up to the young tom, she touched noses with him and gave him an almost mischievous look. "I knew i was going to end up mentoring one of you." The words came out as playful whispers. Raising her voice to it's usual, energetic tone, she continued. "I know we're going to have such fun together! Training starts... later today. How does that sound? Or perhaps tomorrow?"

After a moment she turned to Cedarheart who was standing close by. Looking into the eyes of the brown tabby, she said the words that needed to be said. "I promise... i won't let anything bad happen to him, I'll put my life on the line for him if it comes down to it. I'll make sure he stays safe." For what seemed like the first time, the smile faded from her expression and in place was a solemn, serious gaze. Stepping back, she gave room for the queen to congratulate her kit.

Buzzardkit leaned into his mother's side as she wrapped her tail around his small frame for only a moment before he heard his name, (relatively) loud and clear, and got up, taking a step forward.

He looked up at Minkstream, then back down at his own paws. He felt a remaining moment of hesitation before deciding to try and commit to being excited about being an apprentice. There was a lot more he could do now, right? And he'd met Robinloft before, so that was good. She had seemed nice.

The first words his new mentor spoke were whisper-like, and were lost on Buzzardpaw, which he immediately felt a little guilty about. He strained his ears, wanting to make sure he heard the rest of what she said.

An expression crossed his face that was probably a smile, and he nodded enthusiastically-- perhaps a little too much so, as the rapid movement of his head knocked him slightly off balance, and he stumbled slightly over his own paws before inelegantly regaining his balance.

"Today sounds good. Or tomorrow! Or both!" he chirped happily (not that one could tell by his tone), "I'm looking forward to it. Being an apprentice."

And he actually, really kind of was.