Moonpaw's Warrior Ceremony

It was an important day - one of the first ex-Asylum cats who had joined had completed her training. She had learned quickly and well, Flintstar had been pleased to hear of her progress and now it was time for Moonpaw to receive her warrior name and put down any doubts on where she belonged. She was a ShadowClan cat as far as Flintstar was concerned - and now she would be a ShadowClan warrior in a short while. The leader leapt onto the Jaggedrock, glancing towards the apprentice den with a twitch of his whiskers as he called out for his Clan.

"ShadowClan, gather in the shadow of the Jaggedrock!"

Moonpaw answered Flintstar's call and sat beneath the Jagged Rock. She looked around nervously for Mistyfalcon, her mentor that she had more or less attached herself to. She thought she spotted him among the crowd of cats, but she couldn't be sure. She looked up at Flintstar, hoping her mentor would come sit with her. She thumped her tail tip against the ground and waited for the meeting to start.

Hearing Flintstar's call, Mistyfalcon settled on the edge of the crowd like usual. He had an idea of what this meeting could be for (and why shouldn't be when he'd informed his leader of his apprentice's progress?) and was content to watch. His eyes found Moonpaw sitting closer to the front, and he offered the apprentice a quick smile of reassurance, though didn't approach.

Flintstar straightened up as he waited for his Clan to gather, eyes falling onto Moonpaw as she stepped into the clearing. He waited for her to take her seat and for the rest of the cats to settle - taking a moment to nod his head in acknowledgment in Mistyfalcon's direction - before he raised his head to address them. "I've call you all here to witness a warrior ceremony for a cat who has more than proven her place within our Clan. Moonpaw, please step forward," he meowed, dipping his head in the direction of her. He waited for her to take her steps forward before he cleared his throat to continue. "I, Flintstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Moonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Moonpaw's eyes widened when Flintstar spoke. She had a feeling this was her ceremony right before he said it. A bright smile practically split her face in half. She padded forward with a rushed stiffness due to excitement but also trying to keep her composure. "I do!" She couldn't control her tail tip practically vibrating like a rattlesnake's. She was finally getting what she had worked so hard for... and the meeting with Starclan had taken the breath right out of her in the most soul-warming way possible. It was an honor to serve those noble cats. And Shadowclan had actually accepted her...

Flintstar gave a small nod as Moonpaw spoke the two words, head tilting as his lips turned in a smallest smile - her excitement so palpable that even Flintstar could see it. She had wasted no time asking to join ShadowClan when Asylum was dismantled and he had wasted little time accepting her. He had easily seen that she was one of the good Asylum cats - ones who would put their lives on the line to protect ShadowClan like Iniko had. He had no hesitation in this choice - she had proven herself to ShadowClan and he was sure she would do it many times over. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Moonpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Moonshine. We honor your loyalty and tenacity and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." As he finished, he jumped down from the rock to personally greet the newly named warrior, resting his head on hers. "You will do us proud, Moonshine. You are a ShadowClan cat, no matter your origins."

Moonshine. The instant the name left Flintstar's mouth she felt tears well up in her eyes. I did it... I'm a warrior now... She inhaled deeply and tried to blink away the moisture building up in her eyes. Just when she thought she might have had it under control, Flintstar approached her and placed his head on her's. All control she might have had over her emotions... were gone that quickly. Happy tears rolled down her face and she buried herself in the leader's fur. She hoped he was okay with that... because she wasn't exactly trying to let the whole clan see her ugly cry even if it did stem from sheer joy and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. "I will serve Shadowclan proudly. Thank you Flintstar." Her voice was broken and shaky. It took her a moment to compose herself well enough that she was comfortable pulling away from him. She scanned the crowd looking for Mistyfalcon... and when her eyes landed on him, she briskly walked toward him as well.

She had almost made it to him before her face tensed and contorted into the same face she had just tried to hide in Flintstar's fur. Tears of joy rolled... and she plowed her face into Mistyfalcon's chest. "Thank you so much, my friend. I owe this all to you." And then her shoulders jerked a little. She pulled away and swiped her foreleg over her eyes trying to clear them and took in a breath to try to calm down. "I swear I don't cry this much usually. I'll fix it." She swiped her paw over her face a few more times and focused on her breathing. It was a good feeling... but where these tears were coming from she wasn't sure.

Mom... I made it. I wish you and dad could see...

"Moonshine! Moonshine!" Mistyfalcon's voice joined with the rest of his clanmates as he congratulated their newest warrior. His now-former apprentice had earned this; she'd done well with her training and Mistyfalcon couldn't have been prouder.

"congratulations, Moonshine. You've earned this." He stepped forward after the ceremony had formally concluded, briefly resting his fluffy tail on her shoulder as she composed herself and shoving the awkwardness he felt down. He understood the emotions, but the crying... It couldn't be helped, he supposed, and he wasn't about to ruin her moment.

"It's alright, I'm proud of you, kid."

Flintstar stiffened as suddenly Moonshine rushed forward, head buried into his neck and shoulder fur. His fur bristled as he remained rooted in place, doing everything he could not to swat her away as she was clearly having a...A moment, but it didn't change the fact that the leader despised sudden contact that he hadn't given consent to. Also, perhaps, it would send a bad message if he smacked away the new warrior. Finally she pulled away and he took a step back, fur fluffed as he tried to relax down. "Uh, yes," he meowed awkwardly as she turned to face Mistyfalcon. "Good...Talk..." he stood there, sparing a glance at the other cats who were gathered before he quickly turned and fled toward his den - suddenly having had enough interactions for the moment.