Nettlepaw's Warrior Ceremony

Feeling distant from his clan, Nettlepaw took his place on the outskirts of the gathered cats. He had excellent hearing, whatever lame announcement Leopardstar made he would hear from up the back. Well, the last announcement she made hadn't been too bad he supposed, she'd named Orchidpaw Orchidspark! He was happy for his friend, but he already missed her presence in the apprentice den. Their nests were so close, he missed the warmth she emitted and waking up to see the sunset together. His warrior ceremony wouldn't be for a long time, possibly never with how Leopardstar thought of him, but he could hope to join their ranks.

There was a yawn fighting to escape when Leopardstar announced another ceremony, it wouldn’t be his, and so he might as well leave. Nettlepaw rose to leave just as his name was called, the tom quickly swallowed the yawn, eyes snapping to Leopardstar. Her eyes were locked on him unflinching, a coward would have flinched, but not him. He was getting use to these sorts of looks from every cat, and so he only rose his head higher, nose to the stars, as he meandered through the crowd to the base of the Jagged Rock. The two never broke eye contact, and if this was some test of wills, the spotted leader would find his unbroken. Nettlepaw was miserable in his punishment, but he hadn’t been broken by the attempts made by Lilypaw and the ShadowClan leaders to dull his spirit.

Firefly had told him to take the high ground to be the better cat, but he wanted to do what was right by himself. Why should he keel over so that he could be trampled into the mud? Becoming a warrior though… Accepting this oath, despite how he only applied the code when he felt like it, maybe it’d be his own way to stick it to Leopardstar. He’d prove them all wrong, that he could follow the code his way and still be a good warrior. This… Him… ShadowClan needed Nettlepaw, and they just didn’t realise it yet. A fury burned in his eyes, at the thought of fighting all the wrongs that had been done to him and his friends. “Yes.” It rolled off his tongue with the conviction of a true warrior.

Nettleweaver… He wasn’t sure how he felt about the name, was she calling him a liar? His eyes narrowed as they leapt down. It was impossible to miss the infuriation on Leopardstar’s part, and how petty she was. For starters she didn’t even touch her nose to his forehead, then she withdrew much too quickly and her words were clipped and short. She clearly hadn’t expected Nettleweaver to play along and then beat her at this game. A smug smile graced his features, before he turned to join his friends.

Hedgepaw beamed when she heard the ceremony. She'd caught the vague confusion and worry in her friend's eyes--the worry over whether he'd actually get his name. Thankfully, though, whatever animosity Leopardstar had borne for him had been put aside, and there was another ceremony to celebrate. "Nettleweaver! Nettleweaver!" she cheered, her small voice doing its best to rise above the crowds. She was glad for him. He'd worked hard! Quietly, some part of herself wondered why he and Orchid had gotten their names so recently--when they were both younger than her, and she and Wolf and Fern hadn't been given their ceremonies yet. But she pushed the thought away when she saw Nettleweaver's smile.

To her surprise, alongside many of the congratulatory apprentices was Silverhawk. Hedgepaw blinked a little bit at his presence, but then couldn't help grinning. Her conversation with Nettleweaver must have paid off, then, if the two of them had become friends! Of course her older brother was the best. The small she-cat made her way through the crowd, bumping affectionately against Silverhawk's side once in her way to the center. "Congratulations, Nettleweaver!" she purred, meeting his mismatched gaze with deep green eyes. "You deserve it."