Pyrik's Warrior Ceremony

Murkystrike's conversation still lingered in the leader's head as he jumped onto the Jaggedrock. She had expressed her unwavering support in Pyrik becoming a warrior and he found he had to agree. He had proven himself well in his time in ShadowClan, finding his spot. However, this ceremony wouldn't be that much of a surprise for the tom - as Flintstar had...Awkwardly approached him a sunrise ago to see if he wished to keep his current name or take on a Clan one. To his surprise, Pyrik had actually requested a proper warrior name to better fit in. It had taken a while to think it through and he was content enough with what he had come up with. Now, all that was needed, was for the ceremony to be called and started.

"ShadowClan! Gather in the shadow of the Jaggedrock!"

Today was the day. It had to be. She had spoken with Flintstar several sunrises ago, and told him that she felt Pyrik was ready to become a warrior. She wondered as she joined her clanmates if Pyrik had decided to keep his name, or take on a new one... Hopefully she would find out soon. Casually, she looked around for Mistyfalcon, her pelt flashing with warmth at the thought. Unable to stop the smile that adorned her face as she thought of the tom, she started to look for Pyrik. If this was his ceremony, he would need to be here.

Pyrik had been reeling for what felt like a quarter moon. Talking to Dappleshine had shaken him, only for Flintstar to send him spinning further in the waking world. Vaguely, he remembered asking the leader for a warrior’s name, whichever one Flintstar thought might suit him. (Even Ember-, if it came to that; so far, his fear of being treated like the kit he’d forgotten how to be had been unfounded.) Outside of the obvious -kits, -paws, and -stars, he didn’t understand Clan naming conventions well enough to decide for himself…and honestly, he wanted ShadowClan to have a paw in that choice. It just seemed important.

Not wanting to risk being caught off-guard by his ceremony, Pyrik hadn’t so much as grabbed a lizard from the fresh-kill pile since moonrise. Thus, he started toward the Jaggedrock seconds after the call rang out. Spotting Murkystrike in the crowd, he sat beside her, slightly frazzled past his well-groomed pelt. He’d seen that smile before. Lately (well, always, but especially lately) she and Mistyfalcon had been joined at the hip. It wasn’t the sort of thing he could mention to his mentor—but she would stop being his mentor soon, which meant she could be his friend.

When he thought of it that way, the idea of a warrior ceremony sounded a little less intimidating. A little. He raised a paw to his mouth and began to groom it, just in case it had gathered any mud while he'd been looking away.

Ah, there was he, the lucky apprentice. Flintstar glanced over at Murkystrike, giving her a knowing nod as he cleared his throat and spoke out to the Clan. "I've gathered you all here to witness another cat who has proven themselves to be a fine ShadowClan member gain their warrior name," he meowed, before his eyes shifted onto Pyrik, dipping his head in the tom's direction. "Pyrik, step forward." He waited for the tom to take his new place in front of the gathered cats before he went forward with the ceremony. "I, Flintstar leader of ShaowClan, 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. Pyrik, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Flintstar’s words offered only a few seconds’ warning. Combined with the discussion they’d had, it was just enough. Pyrik let his (now twice as well-groomed) paw fall, pushed a long, slow breath out of his chest, and stood. This time, he knew to continue forward until he could feel ShadowClan’s eyes on his back. He refused to look at them. Most of the crowd were near-strangers. The rest, new and old alike, had helped him get here. His ears swiveled forward; his gaze settled on Flintstar.

They’d all given him a chance. Despite Dappleshine’s help, he still didn’t understand why, only that it had to do with more than blood and birthplace. He could question whether or not he deserved it, try to talk them out of keeping him around, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. What mattered was repaying them tenfold, as long as they would have him. For all his hesitance, it was looking more like forever by the day. Maybe it would be.

“Yes.” Half a heartbeat’s pause. Pyrik scrambled for the right words, eyes going wide. “Absolutely, I-I do.”

As the customary two words - erm, four words in Pyrik's case - were given, Flintstar gave yet another nod of approval. It was time. "Then by the powers given to me, I give you your warrior name." There was a pause as he ran past the name he had chosen. While Pyrik seemed welcomed to the idea of gaining a true warrior name, Flintstar had still taken the upmost care in deciding what it would be. At first, he had wanted to not name him Ember- even if the tom was not against it - to give him a name that was full his, not the kit that he wasn't anymore. But...Well, Flintstar was not a creative cat and gave up quickly in that regard. At least coming up with the latter half had been much easier after he surrendered to his uncreative mind. "Pyrik, from this moment on you will be known as Emberleap. StarClan honors your diligence and adaptability and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

As he finished, he jumped down and approached the tom, resting his chin on Emberleap's head. "Congrats, Emberleap," he rumbled as he took a step back - if anything to hopefully avoid another 'Moonshine' incident in the post-ceremony emotion rush - to meet the newly named warrior's gaze. "Murkystrike did well in your training, you will be a fine warrior and do us proud."

There he was. Murkystrike turned her smile to Pyrik as he settled next to her. Touching her nose to his shoulder lightly, she took his meticulously groomed pelt as a sign that she was correct. A final confirmation came as Flintstar met her eye and nodded, and a low purr began to rumble in her chest as he began the ceremony. Everything went smoothly, and before she knew it Pyrik was no longer her apprentice... Nor was he Pyrik at all. Emberleap... What a wonderful name. As she raised her voice with the rest of ShadowClan to welcome the new warrior by name, she hoped that he liked it. Soon, they would go hunting, not as mentor and apprentice, but as warriors and friends.

Emberleap. Deep down, he’d expected something like that. It felt foreign and clumsy in his head, like a kit’s oversized paws—but so had Pyrik, he imagined, and he’d grown into that well enough to forget he’d been anything else. He’d asked for this. Because it seemed like the right thing to do, yes, and because he didn’t want to be Pyrik. At least, not all the time. If he met someone new on a Gathering night, he could be a little less afraid like this. For that, a moon of relearning his own name was a small price to pay.

He blinked to see Flintstar approaching. Then the leader’s chin settled between his ears. Emberleap froze—was there some gesture he was supposed to make now, like the nose thing at his first ceremony?—but before he could properly begin to overthink it, Flintstar stepped back. “She really did. Well, I guess I wouldn’t know what makes a mentor good, but I think—” A spark of frustration crossed Emberleap’s face. He shook his head, then brought his gaze up to meet Flintstar’s again. “What I mean is, thank you,” he said, voice soft to keep it steady, “so much. For everything.” With a smile (genuine, but distinctly overwhelmed), the newly-named warrior turned back toward the crowd. Thalia, Murkystrike, Mistyfalcon, even Rookfire, in a way—he owed them just as much for this.

At Flintstar's call, Mistyfalcon padded towards the rest of his clanmates, tail curling over his paws as he sat. It wasn't long before Murkystrike joined him, and the dark tom offered her a smile in return. Pyrik joined the pair, and as Flintstar called for him to step forward, Mistyfalcon gave him an encouraging nod.

When the ceremony was completed, Mistyfalcon's voice rose with the rest of the clan welcoming the newly named warrior.

Emberleap turned, looking a bit overwhelmed. Mistyfalcon stepped forward along with Murkystrike, and spoke. "Congratulations, Emberleap. You've earned this." Let any fool try and say he wasn't a Shadowclan warrior, and Mistyfalcon would call them wrong.