Cricketkit's Apprentice Ceremony

It was one of those days. One of those bright, sunny, eye-glaringly white days where the snow melted into half-slush and every crystal seemed bent on driving cats blind. Minkstream squinched his eyes against it as he padded up to the High Rock, keeping his gaze as far away from the glare as he possibly could and feeling each step squish satisfyingly under his paws. If only it wasn't as cold, and a little more wet, it would actually be welcome. I wonder how the river's doing. New-leaf would be welcome, perhaps a chance to swim in one of the calmer spots on the river, playing with the tug of the current.... He shook the thought from his mind, bunching his hind legs and leaping up onto the rock, paws lightly connecting with its drier surface. As if. Your pelt would get so waterlogged you'd sink like a ThunderClanner. Which you are. Like Asylum would ever let them, anyway. Somehow he had a feeling that swimming was on their list of "don't"s.

Flicking his eyes out over the camp, he called the Clan together. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Cricketkit, now old enough to become an apprentice, padded out of the nursery, hoping that something interesting would happen. Maybe one of the older apprentices would become warriors? Or perhaps there was news to be shared? Either way, Cricketkit had been a little quiet lately. Still as talkative as ever, but now in a more sad, subdued manner. He'd been quite boisterous since birth, but since the disappearance of his mother, Dewwhisker he'd been a lot less cheerful.

It had been the night of the arrival of the Asylum in Thunderclan that Dewwhisker had gone missing. Cricketkit didn't want to believe that she was gone for good, but it'd been a long time since he last saw her. Deep down, he could feel that her presence in this part of the world was gone. She was with Starclan now. And probably had been for a while.

Shaking his fur out, the large kit took his place at the edge of the crowd and peered up at Minkstream with wide, orange eyes. He had to admit that he was curious (when was he not) about this clan meeting. Cricketkit was always curious about meetings. And smells...and pretty much everything else to be honest.

Minkstream watched the kit appear and take his place in the crowd, letting the rest of them gather like water droplets slowly condensing. Water. River. Stuck in this camp, with these pelt-wearers. He hissed a quiet breath between his teeth and launched into the ceremony as the stragglers started to settle down. "Cricketkit, step forward."

When the kit had done so, he continued, "Cricketkit, you've reached the age of six moons and are ready to join the ranks of ThunderClan as an apprentice. From this moment until you earn your warrior name, you'll be known as Cricketpaw. Your mentor will be Kitefire."

The she-cat already had an apprentice, but he felt she'd be good for this little guy. As he jumped down and called the new apprentice's name, he watched her come forward and touch noses with him. Soon... soon.

Cricketkit perked up, eyes going wide and ears twitching. Him? Was this about him? He got up to pad forward, amber eyes wide and curious as he stared up at Minkstream. He was going to become an apprentice. This was the day he'd been waiting for since...practically forever! The young tom's paws tingled with excitement and he reflexively glanced back to look for his mother in the crowd. Realization shot through him like a lightning bolt and he whipped forward, tail still. She wasn't there to see him become an apprentice. She wouldn't see him catch his first prey or become a warrior.

The painful grief welled up in his chest but Cricketkit pushed it away. Nonetheless, his enthusiasm had been dashed. He peered at Minkstream, seriousness tugging on his features. He nodded to himself as his mentor, Kitefire, was named and he earned his apprentice name. He stretched his neck to touch noses with Minkstream and as the clan called his new name, he felt a touch of joy. Despite Dewwhisker being gone, he would do his best to excel as an apprentice. Even if it was without his mother.

Cricketkit, now Cricketpaw, turned around. He wondered what Kitefire would want to do or if she would even have time for him. If he recalled correctly, the she-cat already had an apprentice of her own. Maybe, if Kitefire didn't mind training two apprentices, getting out of the camp would help take his mind off the loss of Dewwhisker.