Beetlekit's Apprentice Ceremony

There had to be a first time for everything. Still, it felt strange to leap on top of the Willow Branch, and Perchfall's balance was precarious as she tried to find a comfortable position. She still hadn't gotten used to anything about this situation yet, but time marches on, and kits need to be made into apprentices. The she-cat steeled her nerves, cultivated her stoic expression once more, and yowled out the traditional summons: "Let all cats old enough to catch their own fish gather beneath the Willow Branch for a Clan meeting!" Were... were those the words? She'd never said them before. Perhaps she had made a mistake... well, if so, it was too late now.

Beetlekit darted out of the nursery like a minnow, as they did for every ceremony. They were excited, naturally, for the prospect of becoming an apprentice, as it seemed all of their siblings were gradually leaving the nursery one-by-one. But to Beetlekit's curious mind, any ceremony was interesting, especially with the new deputy Perchfall. They weren't too sure about what had happened with all of that; all they knew was that Jaystar was leader and Perchfall was deputy, and their mama Dewlight was a part of it somehow too.

With a quiet gasp, their eyes focused on a stray fish scale on the ground as they made their way towards the Willow Branch. A gift from the river! Although they were mighty tempted to keep it for themself, they eventually decided to give it to either Perchfall or...perhaps their new mentor! Grinning, Beetlekit scooped the scale up in their mouth and sat down at the very front of the gathered cats, their bright blue eyes piercing up at Perchfall.

Perchfall waited on the branch, focusing on keeping her balance, until she saw the small kit in question scamper out into camp. Yes, scamper was certainly the right word. What a little ball of energy. Now that energy would be used for serving RiverClan.

"Beetlekit," the deputy meowed, trying very much to sound like she knew what she was doing, "you have reached the age of six moons and you are ready to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Beetlepaw." Before she'd even known who the next kit to be apprenticed would be, she'd made this decision. Jaystar had named her deputy, breaking the code by appointing a cat who had never mentored an apprentice. She would rectify that as quickly as possible, and hopefully salvage her reputation in RiverClan's eyes somewhat. Not to mention it would be a learning experience for them both.

"I, Perchfall, will be your mentor." The gray and white she-cat leapt down from the branch as gracefully as possible, and padded up to the small apprentice. "I will pass all of my knowledge on to you." Ending the ceremony, she leaned down and touched her nose to Beetlepaw's, looking intently into their eyes. There was a spark of energy there. Good. Still not smiling, but nodding in approval, the she-cat backed away. "Congratulations. I will begin training you soon."

The newly-named Beetlepaw's eyes sparkled like stars as they heard the words coming from the deputy's mouth. They were the new apprentice! "Finally!" they blurted, then nearly choked on the fish scale in their mouth. Eagerly bouncing from paw to paw, they touched noses with Perchfall. "Oh, thanks! I am so excited! Do we start tomorrow? I hope we do. Also, before you go...!" Beetlepaw deposited the soggy scale at the gray-and-white molly's paws, then beamed up at her. "That is for you, I found it, and I wanted to keep it, but I thought it should go to someone special. And you are special, you are my mentor now, so you can have it! Isn't it pretty and shiny?"

Perchfall was taken aback at the small apprentice's immediate enthusiasm. She found herself grossed out, but also strangely touched, at the saliva-soaked fish scale that now lay at her feet. "Yes, training will start tomorrow," she meowed, a slight bit of warmth entering her voice despite her best efforts to filter it out. What a cute little minnow. "I appreciate the gift. Now, you should go celebrate with your family." How odd. Perhaps this would be less awful than she anticipated.