salamanderkit's apprentice ceremony

A ground still marred from falling debris and long-settled snow had been a welcome sight for the molly, finding the aching knot of anxiety slowly unravelling and allowing her a sense of freedom and stability once more. Breathing in the cold air softly, exhaling it out into a puff of visible air, the deputy made her way to the top of the rock she had not stood upon in moons, beaming with slight excitement. With that, Thistlemask called out the first ever summons she had learned, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!"

Blazefang stepped out of the nursery and into the light, pelt ruffled from trying to groom her feisty little daughter. Salamanderkit’s ceremony would be today, and the queen’s heart was torn in two. On the one side, she couldn’t help being relieved that most of her kits were out of the nursery and her sleepless nights were drawing to a close. But on the other side she was stunned by how fast they were growing up, and how brief her time with her babies was. Saving those thoughts for later, she sat down. It was time to celebrate.

Sunpaw ran up to his sister and gave her a quick lick behind the ears. "I'm sure you'll have an AWSOME mentor!" He encouraged.

It only took a few moments for a crowd to gather, eager eyes gazing up at the deputy, her twitching tail-tip betraying that the molly may have had the capacity for feeling anything but neutrality. Taking in a deep breath, she sought out the focus of today's ceremony, moving forward on the stone as she did so. "Salamanderkit, step forward." The deputy allowed the kit a moment, thinking on her next words. "You have reached the age of six moons and are ready to become an apprentice. From now until the day you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Salamanderpaw. Your mentor will be Murkyripple, and I trust that she will guide you to warriorhood well as my former apprentice." Thistlemask bowed her head as she dismissed the meeting, allowing the new duo to meet, and the calling of her new name to begin.

Murkyripple hadn't been too keen on attending the ceremony... until she heard her former mentor call her name. Instantly, the mottled she-cat was in the crowd, looking up. She had just earned her name not too long ago. Did Thistlemask really have that much faith in her? Evidently, she did. Dipping her head to the deputy, the she-cat was quick to recover and seek out her new apprentice. Her apprentice. At the very least, everything she had learned would be fresh in her memory. That was definitely going to be to her benefit. "Congratulations, Salamanderpaw! We can begin training after the Gathering, since it'll be soon - it'll be great for you to know the forest before we start. "

Blazefang purred in approval as another of her children became an apprentice. Salamanderpaw’s mentor was a new warrior, but that didn’t put Blazefang off. After all, she had been a first-time mentor once herself, and that didn’t go too badly. “Salamanderpaw!” she cheered.