mintpaw's apprentice ceremony

A shaky breath escaped his maw as Minnowfin readied himself to conduct his first ceremony. Doubts swirled in his mind as he stared at the large boulder that he would have to stand upon. Was he ready? Shaking the question out of his mind, he told himself that whether he was ready to do this didn't matter. Stoatstar was depending on him to be the responsible deputy the clan needed. He had to prove that the decision his leader had made had not been a mistake. Starclan... help me- Stiff limbs made their way to the intimidating structure and leaped up, paws landing on the cold stone. His tail lashed uncomfortably as he glanced around from where he stood. Would he ever get used to this? Was this how his mentor had felt when he was chosen to be Minkstar's deputy?

The grey and white tom's eyes flashed with fear, then determination. Forcing his voice to remain steady, he called out to his clanmates. "L-let... Let all cats of Thunderclan gather for a clan meeting-" Had he said it right?

Reedpaw bounded in front of the highrock once he heard the meeting call. It was weird, coming from Minnowfin. However, the Tom gave his old denmate an encouraging smile.

Softpaw approached the base of the Highrock upon hearing Minnowfins call. He gave Minnowfin a quick glance... the two of them had not spoken since Softpaw had openly objected to his being picked as deputy....

Softpaw felt a bit of a fool for that... he had spoken out of order there and deep down knew he should not of done that. It was just... that it seemed so unfair to Minnowpaw ... err ughh he even thought of the tom as a paw still not on purpose its just that had been his name until recently... the two had even overlapped in their time in the apprentice den...

Perhaps part of the reason it felt so unfair was that Softpaw wouldnt want that much responsibilty put on him when he was a one day old warrior.

Sighing he sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws and gave Minnowpaw an unblinking stare.

Im watching you... dont mess up Minnowpaw he thought to himself his expression probably potrayed somthing similar to this as well.

Now... dont get him wrong. He wanted Minnowpaw to succeed and at large he wanted Thunderclan to succeed. The truth however remeined in his mind that in order for them to do so they needed a deputy that was and looked the part... intimidating, strong, experienced and ext. Minnowpaw ughh he kept thinking of his name wrong... Minnowfin did not look ready for this at all

Minnowfins whole body expression gave the vibe of a kittens first time out of the nursery nervously seperated from its mother the first time.

His tail twitching nervously, his whole body was so stiff it was hard to tell where highrock ended and the deputy began, the slight stutter in his voice... ughh Thunderclan would be the laughing stock of the neighborhood and that was the last thing they needed right now.

They needed someone who could project confidence right now... again, what was his father thinking with this choice...

It should be mentioned that Softpaw did feel sympothy for the young deputy, stars he couldnt imagine if he had to fill that role... but the clan needed strength right now more than ever and them seeing their deputy nervously stuttering during something as simple as a naming ceromony was not going to boost an already low morale.

Sighing he got to his paws and approached Minnowfin. He gave the tom a nod of encouragement, while he didnt agree with the decision of him becoming deputy he was loyal to his clan and if this was the cat picked he would do anything in his power to help Minnowfin succeed.

There was time to fix this image before others arrived
Minnowfin a word before you continue? he said quietly so that only the deputy could hear.

I realize I misspoke at your deputy ceremony for that I apologize

he started.

But right now you need to project confidence, strength, ... leadership. What is everyone gonna think if they come here for a naming ceromony and see their deputy scared? No! Right now you are in charge Minnowfin, look them in their eyes when you speak, take a deep breath and relax, he nudged him

and loosen up... how cats see you is how they will react and treat you... You are the deputy now, show them what that means... it means you are in charge of them... they need to know they can follow you into battle and follow your orders

he gave him a quick grin

you can do this he said hoping that he sounded encouraging.

With a final nod he walked away back down to view the ceromony ... he hoped to stars that minnowfin would take his advise as more and more cats came out of their dens to view the ceromony.

He locked eyes with minnowfin... alright swim or sink time Minnow... whats it gonna be?

A few encouraging nods from the apprentices that had gathered were noticed by the tom. Was I that obvious? Get it together Minnow! A smile curled his maw, his confidence building up, but then... he noticed it. An almost scary glare was coming from a certain apprentice. The one who called Stoatstar out during the ceremony... To his horror, the tom was getting onto his paws, approaching. Perhaps he was just leaving? Because he didn't want to watch? No- ...?? A barrage of confusing questions was popping up in his head. What was Softpaw doing? Oh.

"It's alright... I understand why you'd doubt my abilities." he reassured, but the younger tom had more to say. Forced to listen, his ear flicked in uncomfort. What the apprentice was saying wasn't wrong though. "I really do appreciate the er.. advice, I'm just getting used to addressing the clan like this." he tried to speak, but the tom's nudges were a little rough. He wasn't used to being treated like this. Couldn't Softpaw see that? At last, the tom walked away, of course, not without making him feel awkward with the way the tom grinned. He forced a cringing smile back before turning back to his other clanmates.

Mintpaw had felt a flicker of surprise, when she heard Minnowfin’s voice — saying the words Stoatstar had, until most recently. And Minkstar. Though Mintpaw was perhaps more used to a female voice, regal and efficient, and Jaystar’s. A new voice wasn’t a bad thing. But... she would’ve expected Stoatstar to appoint one of the older, intimidating warriors.

Not the young, friendly Minnowfin. Who, atop the Highrock, seemed nervous but determined. Was it all the stares?

Mintpaw was feeling uncomfortably noticeable herself; her height didn’t do her many favors. But she chose to join the small gathering by the front, anyway, instead of hanging far back. It felt like it wasn’t her place — what did she know about Thunderclan cats? — but privately, she thought, But I think you’ll be a much better deputy than any of them.

He... had been kind to her. Like Minkstar. Is that what Stoatstar sees in him?

It made her a little uncomfortable to think of Stoatstar, anxiety returning. But then another, darker gray apprentice — who was he? — approached Minnowfin, wanting to speak quietly. Her ears were sensitive, however, and tuned to soft voices, who would almost prefer not to be heard. No one can speak more softly than Swanmist. She processed the words silently.

The delay though not long had been long enough. After a brief glance from Softpaw to Mintpaw, he continued the ceremony. "Mintpaw, you have been well over six moons for a while now and it is time you received a Thunderclan mentor. I will be your mentor and will pass down all I know on to you." He said this with an inward smile. It would be his joy to mentor the grey molly as his first apprentice. Stepping down from the worn boulder, he made his way towards the grey she-cat to touch noses. "I hope you're excited to train with me-" he mewed quietly, a hint of joking in his voice.

Mintpaw watched curiously; Minnowfin spoke like he was speaking directly to you, always. And then she realized that’s because he was. And she froze.

The molly unfroze at his smile, and as he leaped from the rock they used for Clan meetings. He was grey-furred, like Hollyleaf — with a shimmer of kindness, too — but where the Riverclan molly was graceful, polite, Minnowfin felt just... refreshingly honest. (She found she didn’t really mind.) They touched noses, and at his closeness, Mintpaw’s eyes widened. His eyes are so bright.

He spoke playfully and hers narrowed, a little. Then softened. “I’m sure I can try to be,” she said dryly, realizing she was joking back. But she was happy with this. “And thank you.”

Maybe that was giving away too much. But a little of the churning anxiety eased, as it sunk in. Thunderclan hadn’t forgotten about her; didn’t intend to turn them away. Not if they were assigning mentors, when Mintpaw had been cobbling together her own learning — from patrols and general duties.