Mistypaw's Warrior Ceremony

Flintstar's claws dug into the stone beneath him as he perched on the edge of the Jaggedrock, Things had been...Uneasy since the lost of the kits. They had searched nearly every whisker-length of the marsh but there had been no signs of their scent trails. No answers on where the kits had gone. They simply...Were. He shook his head, trying to make sense of all of the trouble that seemed to keep befalling his Clan. Things had been so peaceful...But then Mothglow had died and now kits were missing. It was troubling, to say the least but he wasn't sure what to do other than to carry on. It wouldn't ease the pain that Smokespirit and Ebonysong felt but he didn't know what words to offer - he could only help the more...Emotional sensitive cats would come to their aid. But, for now, he had duties to attend to. To make sure his Clan kept looking to the future ahead of them. "ShadowClan! Gather in the shadow of the Jaggedrock."

Mistypaw's ear pricked at the sound of Flintstar's call, and he carefully stepped forward so that he was on the edge of the slowly-gathering cats, body shifted slightly so that most would only see the uninjured side of his face. The herbs had come off, finally, but the what lay beneath wasn't particularly pretty. Punctures and a jagged slash running from the lower edge of his left eye down to his chin, splitting the corner of his lip in the process, expression slightly crooked as a result. Patches where fur would likely not grow back. His left ear was in tatters, just more signs of the dog's attack.

Maybe Crowpaw had been right about the sight of his ruined visage.

Mistypaw's expression remained carefully neutral as he struggled to push away the thoughts of his own appearance, dark blue gaze turning in the direction of Flintstar. Maybe there had been news of the missing kits, or something else. Anything to distract him from Crowpaw's words that had lodged themselves in his mind.

Flintstar's ears twitched as his eyes fell upon Mistypaw...And the terrible state the tom was in. It had been a shock and horror to be informed about the hunting trip went awry - and he knew he had to make sure that dog was taken care of or left the territory for good before another cat could end up like Mistypaw - or worse. There was a determination to take it on himself - much like he had planned to with the badger that had helped lead to Mothglow's... The leader sighed softly to himself. There was little time to think of his sister and mourn, not when there was things to attend to at the moment.

Either way, Mistypaw's determination even after the attack only made it more clear to the leader that he was ready. "I've gathered you all here to witness a warrior ceremony. Mistypaw, please step forward," he meowed, dipping his head to the scarred apprentice. The sight of the apprentice's wounds didn't phase the leader - his leg injury didn't look rather 'pretty' itself, being so jagged and so much fur unable to grow back over the scar tissue. Scars had always meant a lot to Flintstar - recalling the one over his mother's eye. They were a marking of survival - left by a terrible injury that hadn't ended your life, a sign of how strong you are. They weren't pleasant, but they weren't truly a terrible thing to have in the end, either.

And so, he saw it only fit that now that Mistypaw had recovered...It was time for him to be made a warrior for his strength in the face of suffering. "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. Mistypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

A flicker of surprise briefly crept into Mistypaw's eyes at Flintstar's next words. His warrior ceremony had been about as far from his addled mind as it could be with everything else going on recently, and he certainly hadn't been expecting it at today's meeting.

Mistypaw stepped forward as Flintstar commanded, finding the strength to raise his head and meet his leader's gaze.

"I do." His voice rang clearly, and Mistypaw truly meant the words. He'd fought the snakes what felt like moons ago with Ebonysong and Brighteye and Tulipfang. The dog had nearly killed him, but he would not be deterred from fighting to keep his clanmates safe.

Flintstar wasn't surprised at all by Mistypaw's clear response - he had fought the dog alongside Brighteye with bravery and even as the tom had been recovering it was clear his spark hadn't faded. Mistypaw knew the dangers of their life, but now he knew what was at stake and the fact that he was still willing...He would made a great ShadowClan warrior. "Then by the powers granted to me, I give you your warrior name. Mistypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Mistyfalcon. We honor your tenacity and honesty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." With that, he jumped down and padded over to the tom, carefully resting his chin on Mistyfalcon's head. "You've done us proud, Mistyfalcon. Wear those scars with pride - they only show how strong you are," he murmured under his breath, taking a step back with almost a...Happy, proud look on his face - mostly shown through the barest hints of a smile at his lips. "Congratulations."

“Mistyfalcon! Mistyfalcon!” Brighteye cheered for her friend, making much more noise than what was usual for her. The new name felt strange after calling him Mistypaw for so long, but there was no doubt that her had earned his warrior name. His scars were healing better, even if they would never truly disappear. She wasn’t reminded of the horrible attack when she looked at him, however. All she could think of was his bravery, and the promise she had made to herself before everything happened.

If it weren’t for the injury, she may have tried to distance herself from him, just in case she tried to go back on her decision. She couldn’t just abandon him now. Glancing over at Crowpaw as the thoughts crossed her mind, what she saw surprised her a lot. He didn’t like happy or proud for his friend in any way, just envious. But now she thought of it, where they friends? She had never really seen the two toms interact. Do they know? She panicked. Mistyfalcon was to never now how mush she loved him: she couldn’t bear to break his heart in that way.

“Congratulations!” She said to him when he came towards her. Maybe everything would be alright, and they could just stay as friends forever.