Crowpaw's Warrior Ceremony

It was always good, in uncertain times, to be welcoming a new warrior to their ranks.

Crowpaw would be the first of Cedarheart's fairly large litter to receive a warrior name, and Nettlestar hoped that as his littermates followed suit, it would  mean having a young, strong set of new warriors to help the clan weather the unknown dangers that seemed to lurking around the borders of their lives. StarClan new they could use as many good warriors as possible.


Eager to welcome what she hoped would be the first of many, Nettlestar made the call to begin the ceremony.


"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a clan meeting!"

Crowpaw was lazing in a patch of sunshine, his dark coat soaking up the rays of a sun that would only grown weaker in days to come. The early, light snow that had covered the ground during the Gathering had gone, and Crowpaw was taking advantage of the brief respite.

But the ThunderClan leader's voice calling for a meeting had the lanky apprentice quickly on his paws, and he sidled over with wide, curious eyes. Had they found the missing kits? Were there more apprentices to be named? He sat and waited to find out.

Nettlestar immediately spotted Crowpaw among the crowd, and quickly moved on to the next words of the ceremony.

"Crowpaw, take a step forward, please,"

The she-cat continued as soon as he had done so.

It was not that she felt there was an urgency to naming another warrior; ThunderClan was big and strong as is. But the scarred gray she-cat hated uncertainty and vagueness, and with Laurelkit missing without any evidence as to how, or why, or who...well, that meant the very threat they were potentially facing was defined by a sense of uncertainty and vagueness. And that thought was making her more noticeably on edge than she ever cared to be. And the idea of ThunderClan becoming even bigger and even stronger, even if by just one more warrior, helped alleviate at least a little bit of her worry, or at the very least it helped her keep it in check enough to hide it like she always preferred to.

"I, Nettlestar, leader of ThunderClan, 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. Crowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Crowpaw padded forward obediently, mouth slightly agape as he stared up at Nettlestar, and his large ears tuned to her words with a mystified expression. His warrior ceremony! He glanced around quickly, searching for his uncle in the crowd, but as Nettlestar continued he jerked his chin back up to meet her gaze.

"I do!" The words were out of Crowpaw's mouth before Nettlestar had completely finished her last word, and he bounced a little with the force of his enthusiasm.

Nettlestar acknowledged the tom's response with a nod, and continued, ready to speak the words that would mark his shift from apprentice to warrior.

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Crowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Crowcaller. StarClan honors your loyalty and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan,"

As the chanting of the young warrior's new name sounded around her, Nettlestar joined in, happy to see the clan growing, despite the mystery of the missing kits still hanging over them all.

Cedarheart heard Nettlestar’s voice and quickly followed it, setting herself at the base of the rock, a few fox-lengths behind her son. She watched as he joined the ranks of the Warriors with overwhelming pride. A single tear fell down her cheek. Her kits were so strong, they had endured so much at such a young age. Oh, she loved them so. She was the first to call out his new name as she started the chant, her voice ringing out loud and clear. "Crowcaller! Crowcaller! Crowcaller!”

His own apprentice, his own nephew. Pinefrost's smile grew wide as he shouted the tom's new name. And what a great name it was; Crowcaller. The warrior puffed his chest out with pride as the clan cheered, and Pinefrost beamed. He'd trained such a cat, fought an owl with such a cat, let him grow into this. It was a new feeling entirely, something foreign and yet warm. The tom padded over to the dark tabby, whipping him with his tail in jest. "We'll have to go out and kill another owl sometime, this time, you can deliver the final blow, eh?" Pinefrost flashed him a large grin and let his gaze drift over to Cedarheart, who let bittersweet tears fall from her cheeks.

"Crowcaller! Crowcaller! Crowcaller!"