Cloverkit's Apprentice Ceremony

There was a slight drizzle that morning, so Loonwhisper moved the ceremony to after Sunhigh, which he was quite a bit grumbly about. RiverClan's deputy was not the grumbling type, and in fact, his clanmates might not have known he was feeling grumbly at all, unless they realized that after his very soggy border check, he was sitting in his nest, rearranging the decorative stones to face the opposite direction or sit upside down. It was going to be a perfect morning for a ceremony, too. He had heard a loon before the sun came up, which was good luck.

He was still waiting for that luck as he climbed the Willow Branch that Sunhigh. It was a little damp, and the willow leaves dripped on his head, tickling his ears. Loonwhisper fought back a sneeze as water droplets tapped his whiskers. "All cats old enough to swim kindly gather beneath the Willow Branch!" he crooned.

Cloverkit had spent most of the morning in the nursery, trying to avoid the rain. While she was waiting out the weather, she took to sitting at the entrance to the den, staring anxiously out into camp. It felt like she'd been there for moons before she heard Loonwhisper's call, at which she promptly scurried outside. She sat as tall as she could make herself, staring up at the deputy eagerly.

"Cloverkit," Loonwhisper began. "Come, come. You have reached the age of six moons, and you will now become an apprentice. From now until you are ready to receive your true name, you will be called Cloverpaw."

Loonwhisper tip-tapped his paws a little impatiently as his clanmates echoed their new apprentice's name. He was eager to finish up, as he was sure Cloverpaw was as well. As much as a ceremony was meant to be cherished, the deputy knew how difficult it was to make a young cat sit still. "Ivystar will be your mentor," he hummed. "She needs no flattery. She was a wonderful mentor to me, and she will be for you. That is all. Hooo..."

The sound of her Clanmates voices echoing through the camp made Cloverkit — no, Cloverpaw tremble with excitement. She hung on the deputy's every word,  kneading the earth as she stared at him, mind racing as she tried to go through every cat in the Clan and guess who her mentor would be before he could announce it. Then he said.. wait, had she heard him right? Ivystar was going to be her mentor?

She almost couldn't believe her ears. Loonwhisper assigned her to Ivystar, of all cats? Cloverpaw thought her chest might burst from all the excitement. Had Ivystar requested her? Or had the deputy just thought they would be a good fit for each other? It didn't really matter — she was just ecstatic she would be learning under their leader. It took everything Cloverpaw had to keep her composure instead of just letting her jaw hang open as her eyes searched the crowd for the tabby, but she couldn't keep herself entirely calm, breaking out a huge grin.