Ryekit's Apprentice Ceremony

Ashpaw's ceremony had only occurred a few sunrises ago, and today her brother would be joining her in the apprentices' den. Dayspring had no littermates of her own, but no matter how much she seemed to enjoy being an only kit, it warmed her heart to see young siblings at times. The she-cat took a small breath before calling out to the Clan.
“May all cats old enough to run the moor gather beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"

Ashpaw had settled into the apprentice's den quickly, and though Sunnyskip still had Ryekit and Duskkit, there was certainly a piece that felt missing. Now, another one of her kits would be following after their sister to become an apprentice. She groomed both of the tom-kits carefully, finding comfort in rejoicing their growth. "Remember, straight and tall you two." She purred, nuzzling each one before leading them to join the gathering crowd. Nightwind would be joining them soon, of that she was certain now. He had never missed anything before, after all. She looked up at Dayspring with a bright smile before looking down to her sons, hoping they were behaving... Ryekit especially.

Another meeting had been called. Nightwind was beneath the Tallrock quickly and found his family among the gathering clan. He nodded at Sunnyskip before taking a seat beside her. He knew it would probably be another apprentice ceremony and it was either Ryekit or Duskkit next. "Straight, tall... and mind your manners." He looked at Ryekit as he said the last part. His son had proven to be energetic and vocal, two things Dawnhawk never had been as a kit. He had never been one to take insults laying down maybe, but loud? No. He wasn't sure where that trait had come from.

When Ashpaw heard the meeting called, she scurried from her spot in the Apprentice's Den and took a seat somewhat close to her family. She knew that her siblings were due to become apprentices any day now, and, while she hated to admit it, Ashpaw had been a little lonely without her siblings around. Sure, sometimes they annoyed her, but they were family, it would be nice to see them in the same den as her. She flicked her tail over her paws and waited for the meeting to begin, looking over at her siblings for a moment before returning her gaze to Dayspring.

Ryekit lolled out of the nursery with a sullen expression, limply swatting his mother's tail as he followed behind her. He was much to big for the nursery, now. He was bigger than most of the six-moon-olds, and twice as rowdy. He was coming into his own body at last, with all the awkward gangliness of a newborn fawn. His legs were like long reeds ending in wide paws. He had a thick neck and a broad, strong spine, and he was covered in a thick layer of what could be described as puppy-fat; if he trained well, it would harden into muscle. For right now, though, Ryekit moved like a sleepy badger... it was in stark contrast to the nimble, dragonfly-framed WindClan cats who happened to be clanborn. He glanced up at his father, soot-black and proud. There was a deep, troubled concern that flashed in Nightwind's eyes. It said, "who is this tom-kit that they say is my son?"

Ryekit's eyes flickered back down to his tawny gold pelt and grimaced. He was nothing like Nightwind. He looked expectantly up to Dayspring and waited for the news.

"Ryekit, please step forward." Dayspring began once Ryekit and his family had arrived at the scene.
"Ryekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ryepaw. Your mentor will be Fawnstep."
The she-cat gave herself a quick nod of satisfaction before leaping off of the Tallrock to officially end the ceremony.

Ryekit's ears flushed as he stepped out from behind Sunnyskip's legs, swallowing roughly. His eyes flickered around the mass of warriors, wondering who Dayspring had selected. Not Downtuft! he begged. Anybody but Downtuft!

Downtuft, of course, had done nothing to him. But he didn't like the warrior's scowling. It unnerved him.

And then, all of a sudden, Ryekit was Ryepaw, and he was whipping around to find Fawnstep's face as the older tom approached his new apprentice. He reached up to tap Fawnstep's nose. "You don't step so much like a fawn!" he exclaimed. "That's a weird name you've got!"

"Ryepaw! Ryepaw!" Nightwind chanted with the clan. He approached his son and gave him a gentle bump on the head with his own. "Congratulations son." It was a good feeling, being named apprentice after having been stuck in the nursery for so long. Of course, he would have to reprimand his son immediately after congratulating him. Still, Nightwind had the decency to be gentle about it. "Manners, Ryepaw. Be respectful of your mentor." He gave Fawnstep an apologetic look, but his voice had far from been harsh. He wasn't going to soil his son's special day, but he wasn't going to let him act however he wanted because of it either.

"Once you get a few lessons in, maybe we can patrol together." He told Ryepaw with a smile. And with that, he moved away from the apprentice and his mentor. They had work to do, and so did he.

It wasn't too long of a wait for another one of Sunny's kits to be given their mentor. Ashpaw had been the first to reach her first big milestone and Silverpaw had been sure that her brothers wouldn't be too far behind. The reason he'd been anxiously awaiting the kits' ceremonies was that he wanted to spend more time with his dear niece and nephews. Perhaps he'd even get the chance to teach them a few things while they trained. It was something he very much looked forward to do.

The messy-furred apprentice had been watching Ryekit with fond amusement. That tom-kit was certainly a pawful. He wasn't sure how Sunny or Night handled him so well. Perhaps it came naturally when becoming parents? Who knows! Silver surely didn't, at least, he didn't yet. He might one day. But that day, sadly, wasn't today. Today was something even more special and he couldn't be happier.

As the ceremony was coming to a close and Rye's mentor was just about to be announced, Silverpaw had been observing how others were reacting to the kit's ceremony. He normally didn't do that but lately, he's been trying harder to not have his head in the clouds too often. If he wanted to be taken more seriously, he needed to be a bit more vigilant. It's what he's seen most warriors act like. Naturally, Silverpaw took notice and was more than eager to replicate. If it's what got him one step closer to warriorhood, he was all for it.

Fawnstep being named Rye's mentor really didn't make him feel... anything, as it probably should've. He didn't have much dislike for Fawnstep despite him not being in his life much. If he was being honest, Fawn being his father actually felt like a blessing to Silver. It's what tied him to Muddy and Sunny. It's what made him close to Sunny's growing family. It's what made him a proud uncle. Yeah, it was more of a blessing than not.  So that's what he was going to be, a proud uncle and a supportive brother/half-brother. It's what he usually strived for so he just had to keep at it.

As soon as Rye's immediate family had dispersed, Silverpaw took that chance and rushed over to the younger tom to offer his congratulations. "Hey Ryepaw! Congrats on getting your mentor! You're finally joining Ash and I as an apprentice. Are you excited to start training? I hope ya are since it's something you'll be doing a lot. Maybe we could all go and hunt together at some point?" The older apprentice shot his nephew a chipper grin before taking his leave.

Ashpaw, with a small smile, chanted, "Ryepaw, Ryepaw!", along with the rest of her clan. She, as soon as Ryepaw had finished meeting with his new mentor, moved towards him. Shuffling her paws slightly as she stopped herself in front of him, she spoke softly,"I'm glad that you're coming to the Apprentice's Den, it was, uh, weird without you or Duskkit around. Maybe we can train together or something later on after your mentor teaches you some stuff." Ashpaw bumped her shoulder against his affectionately, giving him a small smile, and padded away. She wasn't the greatest at the whole sibling love thing, but she wanted to make sure Ryepaw knew that she did actually care.

Along with the rest of the clan, Fawnstep gathered. He'd bore several kits that climbed through the ranks and gone through apprentice and warrior ceremonies. Such things meant little to him. Sunnyskip had been offered little more than a nod and interested stare at her own climb to warriorhood. Above all else, they were clanmates. Blood relations meant little to the tom beyond the relationship he'd built with his sister.

Dayspring's voice rang through the clearing, addressing the kit of his kit. Slowly, Sunnyskip's litter had begun to earn their warrior names. It appeared another was going to today - Ryekit. The young tom was certainly not the most sightly creature but seemed spry enough, filled with enough energy that would carry him... somewhere, surely. Bright blue eyes narrowed as he heard his own name called. So this was to be his next apprentice then. With a few battle training session, they would shake off the kitten fluff and bring about a hardened warrior.

Cats gathered around, kin with congratulations. Fawnstep held back, waiting for the kit to come to him. He padded towards his daughter, a mild expression about his features, "Don't worry, I will teach your kit to be a proper warrior. You have nothing to worry about, Sunnyskip." The warrior's tone was genuine and he offered her a flickering smile and a nod before turning to face the kit who had bounded over.

Their noses touched and his tail flickered ever so slightly at the young tom's words, "I've learned to use these long legs to run far more gracefully than a true fawn could ever hope to. I plan to show you the same, Ryepaw. We will start our training tomorrow."