username; talonpawthewarrior
clan link;
Hillclancat name; larkmoon
cat gender; female
prompt;
Gather around, let me tell you a tale. One of the birth of a great tradition...
Now, many of you youngsters may know what a dance is right? I hope so, because it is very important that you do. Well, one of hillclan's strangest, and by far, most interesting customs, is its dancing. The cats off this clan are agile and skilled, and leap as high as they can into the air, preforming twists and maneuvers and landing on the ground. They often leap from rocky mounds and skip though the fields. There are many other parts of the grande scheme of this tradition. One is the costume part. Cats will smear the blood of prey on themselves to paint their coats. Others wear skulls, bones, flowers and feathers in elaborate creations while dancing. Mates often dance together. These dances often occur when kits are born, with the father wearing the most elaborate guise, when two cats become mates, in which they both have complex and elegant attire or when an apprentice passes their assessment, in which the apprentice is the most decked-out and the mentor presents them. However, during this, the apprentice cannot speak a word, and they still hold their vigil even when the dance is done. The cats don't have music other than their voices, so they often chat, vocalize or even try to make some sort of noise. They often decorate their camp as well, looking differently depending on the reason for the dance. Larkmoon herself enjoys this so much. She usually wears a skull over her face and roses in her thick fur.
In the end, it may look like chaos, but it has a deep spiritual meaning. The dance is meant to appease and amuse starclan, and in the eyes of the cats of hillclan, it is also quite enjoyable.
The tradition started when tawnyfeather and brackenstar had their kits. The two had been so happy they'd danced the night away. Frosteye's white coat was stained with blood from a rabbit that he had fallen on and squished. Brackenstar had put flowers into Tawnyfeather's chest fur, and thus a tradition of singing dancing and costumes was born.