Graykit's Apprentice Ceremony

Another day, and another of her kits was ready to be apprenticed. Wolfblossom couldn't have been prouder of them all for making it this far, but it was bittersweet, too. They were no longer the little bundles of fur at her side. No longer were they in need of her constant watch, they had grown quickly and were ready to explore the world. With her brothers already in the apprentice den, Graykit would be joining them shortly.

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the tallbranch for a clan meeting!"

---

Graykit had watched as first Falconpaw, then Sunpaw had been made apprentices, and she just knew that her turn would be sooner rather than later. She knew she was old enough, and her mother had done a poor job at hiding her excited demeanor. Today would be her or Quickkit, it had to be. At the summons for a meeting, the silvery and white kit padded forward, hopeful golden eyes watching Wolfblossom.


---

"Graykit, step forward," Wolfblossom called once the clan had gathered and she had found her daughter and the cat who was to be named her mentor in the crowd. Graykit stepped forward, and Wolfblossom smiled softly at seeing the barely-restrained excitement in her golden eyes. "You have reached the age of six moons, and with that it is time for you to become an apprentice. From now until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Graypaw. Yewfrost will be your mentor." She had never known the tom to get into trouble, and he was quiet but dutiful. A good match to mentor Graypaw, she hoped.

The tuxedo tom watched as another of Wolfblossom’s kits made the transition from kithood to apprenticehood, noting with quiet amusement the deputy’s expression. Yewfrost had grown more than accustomed to understanding the emotions of the numerous kin of Bloodstar - Bloodstrike? It was still a bit odd to call him by a different name given that he’d long left the clan. Either way, much of the family had traits in common besides their generally large size, much as they loathed to admit it. How they expressed their emotions was one of those traits. He’d dare not say it in front of Moonlily though.

When he was named as the young molly’s mentor, he stood and padded forward to greet her. When she was ready to become a warrior she’d likely be taller than him. He almost laughed at the thought, faced with such a small cat now. “I won’t make it easy, but it’ll be worth it.”

Falconpaw wasn't going to miss his siblings' ceremonies for anything. Upon hearing another clan meeting, the white and gold tom bolted to the Tallbranch. It was his sisters' turn next! He wondered which one it would be. When Graykit was called forward, his tail twitched excitedly. He was ready for it, the instant she received her apprentice name. He sucked in a lungful of breath and loudly chanted his sister's name above the voices of the rest of the clan.

"GRAYPAW! GRAYPAW! GRAYPAW!"

Once the chanting was done and her mentor approached, he gave Quickkit an encouraging nudge with his shoulder. "You're next! Mom is probably saving a really really good mentor for you! She's smart. She always saves the best for last!" Did he knew that for certain? Not at all, but he didn't want Quickkit to feel discouraged for being the last one to get her apprentice ceremony. Touching her gently on the back with his tail one final time, Falconpaw turned around once the meeting was over. He needed to go find Smokestep and get to work.