Minkpaw's Mentor Re-assignment Ceremony

He was the new deputy. The thought still hadn't quite settled with him, and often Sootstorm would catch himself looking around for Tigerdance to arrange the patrols before realizing it was his job now. And that meant that apprentice ceremonies were his duties now as well. Jayfrost had been Minkpaw's mentor, but, well, everyone knows what happened. And it simply wouldn't do to let the apprentice be left without a mentor.

The dappled tom stepped onto the slight rise of the ground that Tigerdance had been using for clan meetings. It was an odd feeling, standing higher than the rest of his Clan. He knew that he should be higher, that the Tallrock was much larger, but he couldn't begin to imagine standing on such a tall structure. It was almost as if he was impossing on the place that previous deputies and leaders had stepped on. Sootstorm quelled his nerves, then raised his voice to call out, "Let all cats old enough to run the moor gather here for a clan meeting!" Repeating the words that he had heard countless times before finally made him realize how difficult it was to make his voice heard over the general chatter. Hopefully, he would get used to it.

There she was. Sootstorm's gaze found the familiar tabby coat of the leader's daughter, though she looked a bit under the weather. It must be from the sickness that plagued the Clans at the moment. He made a mental note to check in with Daisypaw later, but for now he had a duty to perform.

"Minkpaw, please step forward," He paused for a moment to allow the apprentice to do so. "You've already become apprenticed, but with Jayfrost currently being missing, you are in need of a new mentor to guide you in your training," Sootstorm continued. He had thought long and hard about who could help Minkpaw, though the options were far too limited. Most of the warriors were sick, some so sick that even eating was becoming a problem. "Your new mentor will be Molehill. I trust that he'll help guide you to warriorhood," he finished. Molehill was considered very young, having been an apprentice at the same time as Minkpaw, but he was one of the fortunate few that had escaped the sickness. That, and Molehill was his former apprentice. Sootstorm knew that the tom was prone to worrying that things may take a turn for the worse, but he was also eager to help. Having an apprentice would do well to boost his confidence.