OakClanSplashfeather couldn't help but feel slightly relieved when Weaselstripe was chosen to be Fawnpaw's mentor. Though she thought it would have been good to have an apprentice herself, she wasn't sure if she was ready for one if she was being honest. Besides, it would've been more fun to train one alongside her closer friends anyway. Out of the three new mentors, Splashfeather was closest to Dappleleaf, but even then she'd be lying if she said they were terribly good friends. Especially now that Dappleleaf had a mate in Weaselstripe, Splashfeather had felt they'd grown a bit apart if anything. Turning back to Ivypaw, she nodded in agreement with Jackdawstrike. "Yeah, you've more than earned your name by now. I'm sure Robinwind wants to give you it; it can't be much longer." She let her brown-and-ginger tail brush against Ivypaw's fluffy silver one and gently touched her nose to her friend's cheek. "You've always had a purpose, Ivypaw. Whether you're a warrior, medicine cat, or neither...your purpose is bigger than that. Never forget that." As the ceremony drew to a close, Splashfeather noticed that Raccoontuft had fallen silent, and turned to the other she-cat. She knew the younger warrior hadn't gotten to know Ivypaw the way that she and Jackdawstrike had, and she didn't want their denmate to feel left out. "Looks like none of us got an apprentice this time, huh?" she mewed with a small smile. "Oh, well. There's always next time. Who knows?" She gave Raccoontuft a teasing prod. "Maybe when I do get an apprentice, it'll be one of your kits, Raccoontuft."
Sunflare paused to ponder it, but Fawnkit was called up before he could give much thought to it, and all of his attention was swept to his son's ceremony. He didn't even realize he'd been holding his breath until he let it go when Beestar announced it would be Weaselstripe who would guide the young tom's training, and began chanting the new names of all three of their kits. "They're growing up so fast," he murmured, though there was warmth in his eyes as he nuzzled his mate. "I'm kind of going to miss it...You know, having kits in the nursery."
Dustpaw stuck close to Dappleleaf's side, but her gaze flitted about frequently, from her new mentor to her parents to Poppypaw and his new mentor, and finally to Fawnpaw. She could almost feel his anxiety just from the look on his face; while not as nervous as her, at least initially, he was clearly more so than Poppypaw. Dustpaw couldn't remember a time when the three kits weren't together, and yet she knew, from listening to those around her, that Fawnpaw hadn't been born in the clan as she and Poppypaw had. While she didn't look at her adoptive brother as any different, she sometimes got the feeling that he himself did, and now that they were on the path to becoming warriors, she wondered how much more pressured he felt.
Riverstripe felt a rush of pride as his own former apprentice was chosen to mentor Fawnpaw. He met Weaselstripe's gaze, pride and excitement for the young warrior reflected in his eyes, and gave him an encouraging nod. Riverstripe had trained Weaselstripe as well as he could, and now Weaselstripe would pass on all he had learned to his own apprentice. He was a hard worker and a skilled warrior; Riverstripe was sure he'd be a great mentor to Fawnpaw. Elmshade's words snapped his attention back to her, and he followed her gaze to their two apprentices before thoughtfully rubbing his chin with a paw. "Let me think about it," he replied jokingly, before breaking into a purr. "Yes, of course." Elmshade was a cat he never minded spending time with, and each of them training one of Beestar's sons provided plenty of time for just that. "I'm just going to go congratulate Weaselstripe first. I'll be right back!" With that, he rose to his paws and bounded over to his former apprentice. "Weaselstripe! Congratulations," he purred. "You're going to be a great mentor, I know it."
Emberkit blinked up at Russetswirl, then at Stagleap when she chimed in. He liked the young queen--she was a lot younger than his own parents, but she seemed just as smart and good a parent to her kits as his were to him and his littermates. But before he could respond to either of the two cats, his attention was drawn to Oatleaf by Pinekit, and he followed his brother's gaze to the elderly she-cat. "She looks lonely," he observed aloud, before looking back up at Russetswirl with pleading eyes. "Can't we go see if she'll tell us a story?" he asked.
Tigerblaze's gaze betrayed no emotion as Weaselstripe was called up to mentor the last of the new apprentices. Casting a glance at Jackdawstrike, he couldn't deny that a part of him was disappointed his own former apprentice hadn't been chosen to be a mentor, but there was nothing to be done about it. He was still young, after all; he had plenty of time. Tigerblaze just hoped he didn't become too distracted in the meantime. The young tom seemed to spend all of his time with she-cats, particularly Splashfeather and Ivypaw, and more recently Raccoontuft. It was all well and good while they were apprentices, but now that they were warriors, Tigerblaze expected Jackdawstrike to be more focused on his duties than ever.
Then again, being focused doesn't necessarily seem to mean anything, he reminded himself. Streamstar surely hadn't been focused when he'd chosen his own mate as his deputy, and that seemed to have carried on into Beestar's leadership, choosing a tom as her deputy that clearly had feelings for her rather than the more practical choice. Indeed, practicality seemed to have gone down the river moons ago, and Tigerblaze wasn't confident that any amount of hard work could bring it back.
EagleClanLittleflower flicked an ear curiously, wondering what the reason was for Swiftbadger's chipper mood.
He must just be glad to have an apprentice, after so long. "We were just going to give our apprentices a tour of the territory," she replied. "Probably wouldn't hurt to mark the borders while we're at it." It didn't take long to catch up with Springheart and the apprentices, and Littleflower slowed her pace just a bit to match theirs. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she meowed. "We're all ready now. So, where should we show our apprentices first?" She looked between Springheart and Swiftbadger curiously, deciding to leave it up to them.
The touch of Quiverheart's tail against his flank startled Darkclaw ever so slightly, but what startled him even more were her words that followed. Did she really think Deertail would be happy to share anything with him, even a word? Darkclaw certainly didn't. If anything, he thought that his former mentor would be more bitter towards him now than ever, even if he had the decency not to show it. Still, Quiverheart's suggestion...sounded nice. "Yeah, maybe," he mewed at last, but the she-cat was already heading away. Shaking his head, Darkclaw started in the opposite direction, trying to clear his mind so that he could focus his senses on his surroundings, and soon picked up the scent of a squirrel.
Nightwish padded after Messfur with a nod, keeping pace with Blazefrost. She let her mouth hang open and her ears stand straight up as they exited camp, trying to focus entirely on hunting. Her mind had been full lately, yes, but she wouldn't let that distract her from her duties. If anything, her hope was that by staying busy, going on patrols and catching as much prey as she could, she'd be able to forget about everything that was concerning her lately. It was all she could do, really. It wasn't long before she picked up the scent of a mouse, and veered off to track it.
Eveningpaw nodded, but said nothing as she padded after her new mentor, still not sure what to make of him. She stuck close to Bramblepaw the whole time, comforted by the brush of his pelt against hers. She froze mid-step when Deertail held up his tail to tell them to stop, nearly bumping into the ginger-and-white tom, and quickly took a step back just to be safe before opening her jaws as instructed. Almost immediately, a foul stench hit her mouth and she shut it again, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Is that the Thunderpath?" she asked. "It smells terrible, whatever it is."
Southstar nodded, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I knew cats would question my decision--Deertail most of all. But I want him to realize that, whatever happened between him and Foxcloud, it isn't the kits' fault. They're good kits, and I know they'll make good warriors, like you said, if given the chance. I want Deertail to give Eveningpaw that chance--and for her to give him a chance to move past his bitterness. That reminds me..." He paused, his tail tip twitching hesitantly, before continuing. "Daydream, I know your intentions are good, but I don't think you should be as close to Foxcloud and her kits as you are. I understand you and her are good friends, and there's nothing wrong with that. But surely you understand how it looks, don't you? Especially considering everything that's happened in the last few moons, it's really easy to point claws. I don't want claws unfairly pointed at anyone in this clan--Messfur and Swiftbadger have already taken the brunt of that, thanks to their pelt colors." He added quickly, "I know you're not the father, Daydream, but I don't want anyone else to think you are...and I don't want you to become one. Those kits already think of you as their father, and if you let them continue to think and call you that, not only will it spread suspicion in our own clan, but outside of it. What do you think will happen if rumor spreads to OakClan that one of our queens cheated on her mate with our medicine cat, or that a medicine cat fathered a litter of kits at all? I want you to think of your own reputation, but also of the entire clan's." He paused once more, trying to think if there was anything else he should add. "And besides that, you need to think about the morality of it all. Whoever the kits' true father is, the fact of the matter is that Foxcloud was unfaithful to Deertail. She went behind his back to mate with another tom, covered it up, and lied about it to him; and not just to him, but to the entire clan, for moons, until she couldn't anymore. Do you really think, after all of that, that she still deserves to have a tom by her side, acting as a mate to her and a father to her kits? I feel bad for them too, but she made her decision, and she needs to live with the consequences of that decision. Think of Deertail, if nothing else. It isn't fair to him."