Flashpaw's Warrior Ceremony

With each passing day, the chill that gripped the moor tightened its hold further and further, and Olivestar remembered her kithood and early apprenticeship as she traced her way up to the peak of the Tallrock, where the bitterly cold wind always howled. When Elmskip had told her stories about the Nightstrikers and their reign of terror over WindClan, the leader had always hoped that the beast-cats would remain nothing but stories to her, and long-gone memories to those who had fought. At night, the leader thought about her fathers, and wondered what they would think about the situation, and wished that she could ask them for advice.
Maybe I'll take to Softbreeze tonight about trying to talk to StarClan...

Suppressing a shiver as the wind chill cut to her core, she kneaded the rock under her paws as she called out the familiar summons.
"May all cats old enough to run the moor gather beneath the Tallrock!"

There was only one thing Asylum seemed to have some sense in doing-- as much as Flashpaw hated to admit it-- and that was keeping pelts. With the moors in the tight grip of Leaf-bare, shorthair like his was little help against the whipping chilly winds, but the pelt wearing intruders seemed unphased. As he and his clanmates took their spots beneath the Tallrock, Asylum followed like unwelcomed shadows. Flashpaw wrapped his tail tightly around his paws and hunched his shoulders against the chill as he tried to ignore the prying eyes of Asylum cats on his fur to focus on the message his leader had for the Clan.

This would be the fourth ceremony since the take-over of the Asylum cats and Eagletalon was glad of the opportunity to celebrate something semi-normal without having to sneak behind all of the cat's back. She was a loyal cat of Windclan, but she knew that Windclan would be punished sooner or later for all of her activites behind the Asylum cat's back. She didn't mind them and even welcomed them as clanmates but to be watched all the time made her feel uneasy and slightly impatient.


She could still feel the pride of becoming a warrior herself. It still burned in her chest every time she would look at clanlife and think about how wonderful it was, although she did less of that now during leaf-bare. She flicked her tail at Flashpaw and smiled. "You'll be fine."

ooc;; unnamed senior warrior coming up to help you out. dont think too much into it

A black she-cat stood where Olivestar had normally stood; a senior warrior with flecks of gray in her fur. Despite everything going on, they needed someone to carry on with ceremonies until leadership could be settled. Narrow yellow gaze looked over the young tom, "Flashpaw step forward." She paused a moment to allow the apprentice to respond before continuing the ceremonious words as she remembered them... the lack of practice lined her words, "I ask Starclan to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard and I commend him to you as a warrior in turn." Was Starclan watching them now? She hoped so. Even if some cats had lost faith. There was an uncertain pause before the ceremony continued, "Flashpaw, do you promise to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Flashpaw gave Eagletalon a grateful nod before he made his way to the front of the crowd. He looked up at Tallrock and the senior warrior conducting his ceremony. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he cast a glance over his shoulder to look at his Clan. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be done. No leader to say the traditional words, and no mentor to welcome him into the warrior’s den. He narrowed his eyes at the memory of Goldengale. Would she be proud of him now?
"Flashpaw, do you promise to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
There was no hesitation or doubt in his voice as he answered, “I do.”

Eagletalon saw the look when Flashpaw glanced over his shoulder. She understood the look all too well, no proper leader to say that proper words to the proper ceremony. Eagletalon shook her head in disapointment, the least that these cats could do after they were welcomed into the clan was say the proper words to the ceremony.

She knew that Flashpaw would be accepted as a warrior, but was a little concered about the mind of the apprentice. When she was an apprentice she knew for certain that the ceremony was going to be done right and she would be in the eyes of Starclan. But if it was done incorrectly without the proper words, leader and ceremony would be he accepted into Starclan?

"Then under the eye of Starclan, I give you the name Flashstrike. Windclan honors your thoughtfulness and diligence. And surely... Goldengale is watching from the stars." Her throat was dry as she sighed out the final part. It was hard to prevent the sadness that touched her gaze. To proclaim herself a leader or even stand before the clan felt wrong, she was far to old for such duties. The clan deserved better than this, better than circumstances and so did Flashstrike. The old warrior raised her head to crow the new warrior's name into the night sky, finding it a touch more rugged than before, "Flashstrike! Flashstrike!"

"Flashstrike! Flashstrike! Flashstrike!" Eagletalon yowled the young warrior's name as loud as she could, remembering the pride that had flashed through herself as she had received her warrior name. She looked up at the stars and saw that Starclan was still watching over the clan, still receiving the warrior's of Windclan into their ranks.

After she was doing chanting she padded up to the young warrior. "Congratulations Flashstrike, I bet you thought that you would never make it?" she purred teasing the young cat.