Ratkit's Apprentice Ceremony

It was time for another kit to join the ranks of ShadowClan's apprentices. Murkystrike strode to the front of Jaggedrock, the moonlight streaming down onto her pelt as she stood above the clan to summon them. "ShadowClan! Gather in the shadow of Jaggedrock." She called, waiting for the clan to gather, especially the kit that would be receiving their mentor.

Dusktail, his mother, fiddled once again with his pelt — smoothing down the same stray tufts in an attempt to make him more presentable. It was an anxious mother’s comfort, the motions; no one would notice. Not in the moonlight, anyway, with the nature of his pelt: Ratkit’s was dark, warm and close to his small form. They would mostly see his eyes.

They were a striking pair, and yellow like her own. Good eyes for the night — a hunter’s eyes, she’d said. Shadowclan eyes, Ratkit thought sturdily to himself. Good ones.

Maybe his mama’s nerves were getting to him. She worried about him, he knew. (He just didn’t know why.) Her tongue rasped over his ear, an echo of his thoughts.

He was her only kit, though. And he was going to be an apprentice tonight. It was making him oddly nervous, too; sometimes he thought he slipped beneath his adult clan mates’ notice entirely, and now they were going to all be staring right at him, however briefly.

But they weren’t... sometimes, the big cats were scary to him as a kit. But no one he’d spoken to was actually mean to him, and many were nice. (He thought of Duskpaw, and Loudnose, and that lifted his little spirits.) He straightened. Maybe Duskpaw would be there? He was an apprentice.

(He should’ve asked Duskpaw more, when he had the chance. Was their deputy scary? She looked scary...)

And at Murkystrike’s call — for once, he knew, also calling to him — his mother stilled. She could go quite still sometimes. But a murmur of encouragement, a nudge to his side, got him up and padding out of the hollow of the nursery into a familiar shadow — of the looming, staggered rock that overlooked most of camp. He thought of his fond memories, playing underneath it. It only seemed intimidating now.

Ratkit had to try not to tremble as he stood, far closer than he’d ever sat. (Ratkit wasn’t sure if he succeeded.) And when he glanced back, his mom smiled at him, before letting herself back away — the first time, he realized, that she ever had.

It was... odd, not having her over his shoulder. Was this what made you an adult?

He glanced up, and his heart skipped a beat at how tall it seemed, how many gazes he already felt straight in his heart. Is this what it’s going to be like?

Hearing Murkystrike's call for a clan meeting, Duskpaw hurriedly trotted over. Spotting the anxious kit alone, he beamed, then padded towards him. Settling down beside the kit, he immediately realized- this must be his apprentice ceremony. Looking back to when he first had it, Duskpaw had been as lively as he could, tail held up high in pride of becoming apprenticed. Though perhaps not all cats were the same. He gave a soft grin to the soon-to-be apprenticed cat, swaying his tail in anticipation. Looking to Ratkit, his own eyes seemed to smile to the him, as if it was comforting him and telling him that it would all play out fine. It would be lying if he said he haven't been nervous on his own ceremony, too. Though he knew, as intimidating Murkystrike looked, her first talk with him made him feel completely otherwise, and that made him feel less tensed-up on his apprentice ceremony. In fact, she seemed oddly nice to him the first time he got to help her.

The apprentice looked up Murkystrike, smiling. Very soon, the kit beside him would no longer be considered a kit, but as an apprentice instead. He felt proud for Ratkit. He wanted to get to know him more, despite their fairly small talk together. Perhaps he'd even be able to hang out with him more often as an apprentice, and help guide him through new things too. Yeah, that sounded great to him! Though not wanting to be more distracted by his own thoughts any further, Duskpaw perked up his ears, continuing to listen to the deputy's words.

There he was, the dark tomkit that would soon be named an apprentice. She tried to keep her expression neutral, she was sure that the whispers of his ceremony coming soon had already reached his ears, but she liked to pretend that it was a surprise, and give them some excitement. Apprenticeship was hard, with a lot of late mornings and early nights, and the shock of leaving the nursery was not always an easy one to overcome. Her eyes glittered with warmth though as she looked down at her clan before continuing with the meeting.

"ShadowClan! I've gathered you all here today to witness the naming of a new apprentice. Ratkit, please step forward." She mewed, turning her gaze to the Tom and offering a smile while she waited. Once she was content he was in place, she continued. "Ratkit, you have reached the age of six moons and are ready to become an apprentice. From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Ratpaw. Webshadow will be your mentor. I trust that he will guide you with patience and understanding as you learn the ways of a ShadowClan warrior." With that, she made her way down from Jaggedrock, offering the new apprentice a friendly nod as he met his mentor.

Webshadow had been lingering near the warrior's den, observing the ceremony from afar as it opened. Another new apprentice today... his ear flicked as he watched cats gather, gaze drifting towards a tom that looked too big to becoming out of the nursery. The warrior blinked slowly, letting his attention drag back to Murkystrike as she began the ceremonial words. Ah, it is him, he thought idly, tilting his head. He rarely would actually sit and watch them, but admittedly, he did enjoy apprentice ceremonies. It was always nice watching the younger members of the Clan grow up.

He'd been lost in thought enough that he almost missed his name called, but being addressed made him startle to attention. Lifting to his paws, Webshadow made his way to the dark-furred tom he spotted earlier. "Hi, Ratpaw," he mewed evenly, stretching down to gently touch noses. "Training will start tomorrow, okay?" With that, he shook his fur out and backed away to let whoever else congratulate the new apprentice.

Ratkit stepped forward into Ratpaw, and with that, he realized that this... wasn’t so scary. Murkystrike struck an imposing, almost regal figure — her voice clear and imbued with an authority not to be questioned — but there was something softer, too, behind her eyes. She seemed almost gentle, to Ratpaw, and with a pang of emotion, he realized that she must genuinely be kind. No cat could be that steady, and strong, and scary, with that sort of care, and not be kind.

It was... a little amazing.

Maybe, he felt a flicker in his chest, this is what it felt like to want to follow someone. The importance of his ceremony seemed to linger in the air, mingling with a sense of admiration for Murkystrike; his first true, unbridled admiration. It might have been small — but in Ratpaw’s chest, he felt the seeds of it in his heart.

This, it dawned on little Ratpaw, was maybe why some cats, you wanted to be leaders. They looked like they could take on a fox, and win, but they also looked at a trembling, tiny apprentice like you mattered too.

It warmed his chest, and almost through his fur. Made him, maybe, feel a little like Shadowclan. Is this why cats said clans were different? Is this why “everyone” should want to be in one?

He felt the connection in his soul, as he saw the grown warrior, Webshadow, approach. Cats stepped aside so that the mentor — his mentor — could come and greet him with a touch of his nose. It felt like a warm, friendly gesture too — welcoming. (Did he not expect to be welcomed?) And Ratpaw, who felt usually very little, felt like he might be glowing inside.

”Hi,” he said back, and there was nothing like the feeling of wanting to start something. Being excited. Normally, he wanted to be on his own; he imagined the territory as something he couldn’t wait to explore on his own, not with someone telling him what to do. (He didn’t generally like that.)

But he would have gone with Webshadow right then.

”Okay,” he mewed, eyes focused, and genuine. ”I’ll be up.”