Hailkit's apprentice ceremony

Bloodstrike hauled himself out of the warmth of the warrior's den and stretched. The cold nip of the morning leaf-fall air made him grumble a bit to himself, but he literally shook it off and climbed to the Tallbranch.

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the Tallbranch for a clan meeting!" He stretched again, this time with his back making a series of... audible cracks. What the...? I'm not even that old! His ears airplaned out on either side of his head. Hopefully no one else heard that.

Hailkit didn't hesitate at the sound of a meeting call, bolting up from his place next to the nursery and bounding over with pride. This was his ceremony, he knew it. He confirmed how many moons it had been with the queens five times over, and even then was considering getting a sixth opinion before Bloodstrike had made his way up onto the Tallbranch.

He was one of the first ones beneath the tree, shuffling on his paws with barely contained excitement. This was his moment. He was going to get a mentor, get to leave camp, get to do all sorts of cool warrior things! He just had to get his name first.

Bloodstrike watched the clan gather, and once everyone had arrived and settled down, his voice rang out again. "Hailkit, step forward. You have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to become an apprentice. From today until the day you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Hailpaw. Primroselight will be your mentor. She has proven herself to be a fine warrior and I know she will teach you well." He nodded at the clan, dismissing the meeting. He hopped off of the Tallbranch and made his way to the center of camp to start organizing patrols. Primroselight had had apprentices before and he was confident that she would train Hailpaw just fine.

Hailkit- no, Hailpaw purred brightly as he received his new name and mentor. Primroselight. That name sounded somewhat familiar. Primrose... Prim... Prima? Oh! Dawnfeather had mentioned her before. She was Dawnfeather's mother... her blind mother.

His excitement dwindled a bit as he chewed on the possible implications. Was he given to her because they were a good match or because they were both nearsighted? He knew that she could teach him to navigate the forest better as she had her own experience with it, but he didn't want to be lumped with someone simply because he couldn't see right. He was a whole cat! Not just a pair of eyes.

Dawnfeather did put a good word out for her though, calling her one of the best warriors in the clan. She was a bit eccentric but he still trusted her word. Hailpaw didn't voice his concerns as he trotted up to his new mentor, smiling brightly as he still rode the pride of reaching apprenticehood. "I can't wait to start training with you!"

Primroselight joined the rest of the clan, a meeting nothing out of the ordinary. From the lack of general distress from Bloodstrike, it was probably another ceremony. It was nice to witness her clanmates progressing through the stages of warrior-hood. Starclan, I sound old sometimes. She took her place sitting on the ground, but her ears pricked up at the sound of her own name. The warrior was definitely caught by surprise at receiving another apprentice, feeling like it was so soon since Jasminepaw left. But, looking back, her first training session with her former apprentice had taken place in the snow last leaf-bare, before Asylum and before Muddythorn was even born. Those days were now a distant memory.

"Well then we'll start nice and early tomorrow! Make sure to rest up," Primroselight said, smiling. It was always good to have an eager apprentice. Now she thought about it more carefully, Dawnfeather had mentioned a kit in the nursery with vision issues similar to Muddythorn. Hailkit, that was his name. Bloodstrike had certainly paired them thoughtfully, an experienced mentor and an apprentice with similar strengths. And weaknesses.