Rushkit's Apprentice Ceremony

Everything was strange and terrifying. But despite all that, Perchfall had to continue with ceremonies. These kits, Darkglow's and Flywhiskers... still, no one knew for sure what had happened to the she-cat. Or if they did, they hadn't told her. Still, life went on somehow, and the kits had grown enough to be apprenticed. She didn't envy the time in which they had to receive their ceremonies. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own fish gather for a Clan meeting," she called, eyes quickly scanning the familiar clearing. Hopefully none of their strange ghostly "visitors" saw fit to interrupt her. Jaystar hadn't demoted her yet, so she would continue to do her best to be a rock in the terrifying stream.

Rushkit immediately trotted out from the nursery. He'd grown up in this weird world, accustomed to the strange happenings around him. At such a young age, the russet tom was hardly aware of the tension mounting within the clan. Twin pools of light glanced eagerly up the clan deputy. Hopefully, this would be his ceremony and he would be able to see the sights of the territory. Perhaps find a better place to lounge when he wanted... the possibilities were endless. Unaware of the prying eyes of their undead companions, the little kit sat in wait of what would come next.

Seeing the kit in question arrive under the Willow Branch, Perchfall nodded. "Rushkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rushpaw. Your mentor will be Flywhisker. I trust he will pass down all he knows to you." Normally she wouldn't have a kit be mentored by their own parent, but in the strange times that threatened them all, she felt that it was best to give Rushpaw as much stability as possible. Still none of them knew what had happened to Darkglow... but it was likely that if she hadn't returned by now, she wasn't going to. Either way, the deed had been done and the ceremony was finished. With a nod, the deputy leapt down from her perch, already filling her mind with other thoughts as swiftly as she could.

"Flywhisker." Was the first thing that he whispered, registering that the cat he was most familiar with would be his mentor. Some apprentices might have been disappointed in that fact, but far from it, he really liked his parent. A grin slowly spread across his maw as another thought occurred to him, "Rushpaw." The tom could hardly believe that he was an apprentice now. Thinking about seeing the territory and the river itself, he could hardly contain his excitement. Rushpaw trotted over to the warrior and beamed as their noses touched. This was going to be so much fun.

Force of habit pulled Flywhisker to their paws, a natural response to the sound of their own name from the Willow Branch. Once upright, they stayed there. Their gaze met Perchfall’s and lingered. Then it shifted to where they knew Rushpaw stood, though they could only see the tips of his ears over the crowd. Cats typically didn’t mentor their own kits, for good reason; a warrior who’d been sheltered every step of the way through their training wasn’t much of a warrior at all. Yet Flywhisker didn’t—couldn’t—argue. When they looked deeper, they found that it wasn’t outrage, but a small, quiet relief that made its den in their chest.

As their Clanmates shuffled to make way, they decided not to think about it. Rushpaw looked ecstatic to have them as his mentor. Between that and the array of Dark Forest eyes on their back, any complaints Flywhisker might have had died long before they could congeal into words. They pressed their nose to their son’s. “Training starts tomorrow morning,” they informed Rushpaw, leaning back a whisker’s length. “Early tomorrow morning. So don’t stay up too late, all right?”