Redfall's Elder Ceremony

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather before me for a clan meeting!" Wolfstar called out. It was warm and dry, near midday, and a light breeze caressed the leader's left side as he sat perched at the entrance to his den, waiting for the clan to gather for this ceremony. Today, Redfall would retire to the elders' den - and it was something that Wolfstar had very mixed feelings about. He knew that Redfall had had a rough go at life, but the red tom was half Wolfstar's own age. But with seven less lives, remember, he reminded himself. Still. It seemed odd to him, but the leader would respect the warrior's request.

A cough shook Redfall as he pulled himself towards the middle of camp. It wasn’t like him to feel so frail, but the cough he’d had for moons at this point had left him feeling weakened. It showed no signs of going away. And, despite knowing he wasn’t that old, SkyClan being full of younger cats made him feel like it. Tail curled around his paws, he glanced up at Wolfstar, knowing exactly which ceremony this was. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if this was the right decision; but his gut told him it was... not that he trusted his gut. At this point, he couldn’t go back. The tom curled his claws into the ground, and waited.

The moment Wolfstar actually saw Redfall, his assessment changed. The warrior looked ragged and exhausted, and a brief concern about the cough that rattled in his chest had him glancing towards Beechface, wondering if she'd ruled out whitecough. The leader flicked his tail, forcing himself not to show the worry that he felt.

"Today we are gathered to honor the moons of service and loyalty, and witness the retirement of, a SkyClan warrior." His eyes caught Redfall's, and the leader nodded to the red tom. "Redfall, is it your wish to give up the name and rank of warrior, and join the elders' den?"

Bloodstrike himself couldn't believe it. Redfall had taught him how to stalk when he was just a kit. Now he was retiring to the elder's den? He had been sickly lately and Bloodstrike had taken it easy on him... but to hear that he was retiring was surreal. The deputy's heart hurt more than he thought it would. He sat there and remained silent... and a part of him actually hoped Redfall would end up refusing to retire. They'd had their disagreements before, but Bloodstrike had always liked the tom and held no ill will toward him. Regardless, he would keep quiet and respect Redfall's decision.

“It is.” Redfall forced his tone to stay neutral and kept his eyes staring straight ahead. He could feel looks resting on him - something he usually liked, but not in this scenario. There were a couple murmurs of surprise, as well. He couldn’t stop his tail from twitching (more from annoyance than anxiety) and let out a quiet sigh. It didn’t feel as dreamlike as he might have imagined; perhaps that was due to all the overthinking done beforehand. This was one of few situations Redfall had given good thought to. With his mind and his gut at odds, he’d done his best to make the “right” decision. With time, hopefully, it would feel like he had.

Beechface had sat outside her den when Wolfstar called the meeting, knowing full well that Redfall intended to retire. It was strange to think, but then, after spraining his paw a few moons earlier, the tom had been caught by sickness and nothing she had tried did much to ease his coughing. He was older than her parents, that was true... But Beechface's claws still sank into the ground, her tail twitching with barely concealed frustration at yet another thing she was unable to fix. The string of sick and injured cats and senseless deaths had left her feeling drained.

Some medicine cat she made.

Wolfstar glanced in her direction, was he seeking some sort of confirmation? Reassurance? He was out of luck, Beechface glared down at her paws, an ear twitching as Redfall's words rang across the clearing. He did a better job at keeping his tone neutral than she would've thought, at least.

Wolfstar nodded at Redfall's affirmation, one ear slanting back to lie against his skull. "Then it is done - Redfall, SkyClan honors the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest." Once again, he quickly glanced past the russet warrior, trying to seek Beechface's gaze, but the medicine cat refused to meet his eye, and he shook his head gently, before returning to Redfall and giving a tight smile.