» 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙑2 [full]

[phayraoh]

𝚎𝚕𝚔𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛 [ˈelk-stär] — 36 moons
𝖫𝖤𝖠𝖣𝖤𝖱. a massive black-brown maine coon tom with pale green eyes
location: camp | tags: the clan; insta-warriors

The tabby’s broad shoulders rippled as he prowled up to the top of Clan-rock, his eyes bright and his thick-furred tail sweeping across the cool stone. Today was the day: at long last, StormClan’s eldest apprentices would be receiving their warrior names — a task that should’ve been performed by Birchstar ages ago. Elkstar reached the top of the outcropping and let his summons ring out across the clearing, his voice holding the bright jubilee of morning birdsong as he beckoned his cats from their dens.

Once the clan had amassed, he took a deep sigh and approached the edge of the stone, his paws soaking up the warmth that the surface had begun to gather from the golden rising sun.

“Cats of StormClan!” the maine coon called, his voice echoing through the waking skies. “The time has come for several young cats to earn their warrior names — StarClan knows how long they’ve waited for this moment to come.” Elkstar let his gaze rest on Slightpaw for a brief moment, the softest of smiles gracing his lips before he swung his tail in a beckoning flourish.

“Slightpaw, Gorsepaw, Lotuspaw, Runningpaw, Eclipsepaw, and Sunpaw,” he mewed, “step forward.” Once the cats stepped up, he went on to say: “I, Elkstar, leader of StormClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.”

At this, he bunched his muscles and leapt down to the camp floor, landing before the gathered toms and mollies and sweeping his piercing green gaze over them all. “Apprentices, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

When they responded with the ceremonial “I do,” he nodded lightly and bit back his purrs of warmth.

“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names:

“Gorsepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Gorsetail; StarClan honors your uncanny ability to defend your clan.

“Lotuspaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Lotusbreeze; StarClan honors your sensibility and compassion for your elders.

“Sunpaw, from this moment on, you will be known Sunsplash; StarClan honors your swiftness and loyalty.

“Eclipsepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Eclipsingwing; StarClan honors your soaring spirit and agility.”

Elkstar quieted and stepped up to each of the cats, resting his muzzle atop each of their heads and allowing them to lick his shoulder in turn until he halted before the remaining two apprentices: Runningpaw and Slightpaw.

“Runningpaw,” he said, swiveling his broad head to face the younger tom, “Your reverence for Birchstar has not passed unnoticed. In honor of the leader we have lost, from this moment on, you will be known as Runningshadow. With this name, let us be reminded of the strength, vitality, and devotion that our leader possessed, traits embodied by this young tom before me...and Slightpaw.” Elkstar swung his gaze to the pale she cat. “I honor your patience in reaching this day. In spite of the difficulties that life has given you, you have pushed forward and given your all, a shining example of what a true warrior looks like. Slightpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Slightstep; not to remind you of what has held you back, but to remind you of where you have yet to go.”

With that, he stepped back to allow the clan to greet its new warriors, eyes shining.

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𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 [ˈches(t)ˌnət-fȯl] — 22 moons
𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖨𝖮𝖱. a tall, fawn-colored she-cat with light green eyes
location: camp | tags: —

Ches let out a few mumbles in her sleep, attempting to drive away the voice that beckoned her from her slumber. Couldn’t a cat get any rest around here? The molly buried her nose deeper into her tail, attempting to block out the sound of her clanmates shuffling about. However, when someone muttered something about a ceremony, Chestnutfall’s head shot up, her fur standing on in. Of course! Slightpaw’s ceremony! Heart thundering, she scrambled from her best and loped out into the brisk morning, shaking off scraps of nesting material as she scampered towards the Clan-rock. Excitement fizzed in her paws, and a permanent grin was etched across her face. Finally, finally, her dearest companion would be getting what she’d deserved to have moons ago. I wonder what her name will be, Ches thought, and how long it’ll take me to remember it.

Once the clan had gathered, she fell silent and watched as Elkstar began the ceremony. The warrior shifted impatiently from paw to paw, wondering when it would be Slightpaw’s turn. Relax...be happy for the others, too! Inhaling, she let herself ease up, watching as each cat received his or her name. When Elkstar finally got to Slightpaw, Ches held her breath, her eyes glowing. “Slightstep,” she murmured to herself, before yowling out: “Slightstep!” once the ceremony came to an end, joining the clan in welcoming its newest warriors.

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𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚙𝚊𝚠 [ˈlärk-pȯ] — 11 moons
𝖠𝖯𝖯𝖱𝖤𝖭𝖳𝖨𝖢𝖤. a golden tabby she-cat with blue-green eyes
location: camp | tags: windpaw

An angry screech jolted Larkpaw from her dreams. Eyes flying open, she watched her brother scramble out of his nest, Windpaw aiming to bat at him. What in...? The tabby she-cat sat up, a wide yawn splitting her jaws as she smoothed her chest fur with a paw. “I’m glad you two are getting along,” she mumbled, blinking the sleep from her eyes. It wasn’t long before Elkstar’s voice echoed through the camp, piquing Larkpaw’s interest. What was going on? She followed Windpaw out into the clearing, nodding to her brother as she passed by. Settling down next to Windpaw, she squinted up at Elkstar, measuring his mood. “I wonder if this is that ceremony everyone’s been jabbering about for days,” she mewed, giving her ears a wash.

Sure enough, as cats melted from their dens, it became clear that everyone seemed to share the same expression of anticipation and excitement. Larkpaw then watched as Elkstar called the apprentices forward, her tail-tip twitching from side to side. That’ll be me someday, she thought with a glimmer of warmth in her belly. When the time came, she joined her clan in cheering for the new warriors, happy to have some more space in the apprentices den and less snores keeping her up at night.

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𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊 [ˈə-mērə] — 32 moons
𝖮𝖴𝖳𝖲𝖨𝖣𝖤𝖱. a slender she-cat with glossy black fur and green eyes
location: — | tags: —

—

[Laetificat]

Tigerpaw
Today was the day. The day that everyone had been waiting and longing for for so long - for forever it felt like! Her denmates, the senior apprentices who so strongly deserved this honor, were becoming warriors. It would be her first time watching a warrior ceremony and a thrill went through her as Elkstride - no, Elkstar called for the clan to gather. Tigerpaw leapt to her paws, unable to help but wonder what her warrior name would be. Tigerheart? Tigerpelt? Nah, that one was a bit lame. Tigershadow? Her own ceremony was still moons away but she was excited just the same.

Having been restless and unable to sleep well, the apprentice had woken early and gone to wait impatiently outside of the apprentice den for the ceremony to start. She didn’t have long to wait as she watched the new leader jump to the top of Clan-rock to make the announcement. Eaglepaw swiftly fled the den, appearing harried and as Windpaw grumpily stalked out after him who likewise was followed by Larkpaw, she figured the older apprentice must have upset her brother in some way. “Hey you old grump, cheer up! That’ll be us pretty soon!” Tigerpaw said cheerfully, gently bumping him with her shoulder as she sat down on other side of him as Larkpaw had already occupied that spot. She looked around quickly, wanting to call Firepaw over to sit next to her, only to be distracted as Elkstar began the ceremony.

As he finished giving the apprentices their warrior names, she jumped to her paws, enthusiastically calling out her now former denmates’ names. One day, that would be her and her brother and Firepaw and - and - Tigerpaw just couldn’t wait! And maybe one day, that would even be her in Elkstar’s place, watching with bright eyes the joy in an apprentice’s eyes as they finally, after moons of hard work and dedication, became a warrior. Unsure of who to congratulate first, she headed over to the first new warrior she saw: Gorsetail. “The den is going to feel so empty with all of you gone!” Tigerpaw meowed, her tail held high and waving. “I think you and Slightstep had the best nests. I better hurry and claim one before someone else does! How does it feel to be a warrior now? Are you excited? Nervous? Unfeeling and uncaring of anything that can and will happen because Starclan ultimately knows all?” She grinned mischievously at him.

Wolfheart
He had woken early, more than aware the ceremony would take place today. Elkstar had asked just yesterday if Runningpaw was ready to become a warrior - the answer came naturally to him, having said it for two past apprentices already: yes. The young tom had passed his exam with flying colors and Wolfheart had been beaming in pride ever since. Runningpaw - and the other apprentices - were more than deserving of their warrior ceremony. Wolfheart nodded to himself and stood up as Elkstar bounded to the top of Clan-rock, already knowing what was to be said.

The big black and grey tom quickly padded over and took a seat at the front, careful to sit to the side so that his smaller clanmates could still see. Quickly enough, the rest of his clanmates fell in beside him, the clearing now filled with countless pelts of all different colors and sizes. As Elkstar spoke, he bowed his head in gratitude for the new leader’s wise words and perfect name choice for Runningpaw, now Runningshadow, a perfect monument for their former leader. Birchstar couldn’t have done any better had he named him himself.

As soon as Elkstar was finished, Wolfheart took to calling the apprentices’ names with gusto. All of them had worked hard, some for longer and harder than others, but ultimately they had all made it. He quickly made his way over to his former apprentice, grinning all the while. “You did it. All of you did,” Wolfheart said, looking from Runningshadow to the other new warriors. “Make Stormclan proud. I know I already am.”

Stormleap
The call of her leader woke her up, the she-cat looking around groggily as as denmates filed past her. Undoubtedly the warrior ceremony that Wolfheart had been gushing over. He seemed just about as enthusiastic about it as he had been her own ceremony. While an important ceremony nonetheless, she had never been very close to any of the other apprentices, let alone the current ones. Slightpaw had still been a kit when she was made a warrior after all. It didn’t really help much that her aggressive nature easily scared others off. The only one who seemed willing to talk to her was Wolfheart, and he seemed to have a polar opposite personality. Stormleap huffed to herself, getting to her paws and quickly grooming her thick fur. Not much she could do about it now.

She took a seat towards the edge of the gathered clan, taking part in the cheering but not having much else to say to the apprentices. What was there to say that hadn’t already been said? The grey she-cat slipped away to the outskirts of the clearing, waiting until her clanmates had finished their congratulations for it to calm down.

[rookfern]

───
𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶: overwhelmed
───𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽: camp───𝚃𝙰𝙶𝚂: --

𓅃 𝙷𝙰𝚆𝙺𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙿, she-cat; 36 moons; deputy
───────────────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────"now you won't see all that I have to lose"


Hawkstep was already up and about when Elkstar made his way up the the rock to speak. She paused in her morning bath, looking up at the leader with curious yet knowing eyes. There had been talk of the elder apprentices finally earning their warrior names for a while; it seemed like it was finally happening. Hawkstep lapped at her chest fur once more, making sure it was laid flat and shined, before she rose and padded to the base of the rock where the rest of the clan was gathering. Wordlessly, she sought out Slightpaw in the row of apprentices being named. A warm buzz of pride burned in her chest. While she and her apprentice hadn't trained in moons, aside from Slight's assessment, she was still the young cat's mentor. Slightpaw would make an excellent warrior.

As the apprentices were named warriors, she couldn't keep her expression from turning joyous with a twitch of her whiskers. While she didn't cheer their names aloud with the rest of the clan, she welcomed them as warriors in her mind. When the commotion had died down some, she rose and approached Slightstep, Gorsetail, Lotusbreeze, Runningshadow, Eclipsewing, and Sunsplash. "Well done," She rumbled, the purr tinged with pride. She rested her tail on each's shoulder before stopping in front of her former apprentice. "You made it." She smiled, wanting to say more, but no other words came to her tongue. Instead, she dipped her head to Slightstep and slipped out of the throng of clan cats surrounding the new warriors.

Once free, she shook out her pelt and waited. The fresh-kill pile needed restocking; a hunting patrol needed to go out, but there was no way she would be heard over the excitement. The clan could celebrate; the food could wait.

Hawkstep sat, resting her tail lightly over her paws. She watched the clan with a thoughtful gaze, her stare lingering on the coat of one cat before leaping to another. Since Elkstar had become leader and received his nine lives, most of the clan seemed to have grown tighter, more close-knit. Of course, there had been some suspicious whispers about the circumstance of Birchstar's death, but Hawkstep hadn't heard them in a while. Many cats were getting closer, a few even becoming mates. Surely Ravenclaw and Robinsong would have kits bumbling around soon.

She knew she should be happy for them; she was, somewhere in her heart, but it was mostly smothered by the shallow ache beneath her breastbone that threatened to widen if she thought about settling down like many of her clanmates were. She wasn't opposed to the notion; rather, it seemed impossible, at least for a cat like her. Now with the title of deputy on her, she felt even more distanced from it all. Somehow, Elkstar had managed to be a great deputy and a great mentor and just a great cat overall. She felt too small and unprepared to fill the too-large hole he had left behind.

Hawkstep breathed in a sharp breath and shook her head. She couldn't afford to think like that; to dwell on the anxieties that threatened to eat her whole. Instead, she raised her chin and gazed back across the clan, shoving the gnawing thoughts to the back of her mind.

───
𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶: happy
───𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽: camp───𝚃𝙰𝙶𝚂: nightspark (ment.)

🙒 𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁𝙽, tom; 90 moons; elder
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───"the pines, they often whisper, they whisper what no tongue can tell"


Pinethorn rose at Elkstar's summons with aching joints. He prodded Nightspark into wakefulness and shook the remnants of his nest out of his pelt. His sleep had been peaceful and undisturbed, one he attributed to his very comfortable nest. He didn't quite remember who had fixed it for him, but he had an inkling Lotuspaw likely had something to do with it. He would have to thank her later. Once his pelt was in a relatively-presentable state, he nosed his way out of the elder's den and sat on the edges of the gathered crowd. In the center was a row of apprentices, Lotuspaw being one of them. So they were finally being named warriors...

Pinethorn gave his whiskers a bemused twitch, lifting his gaze to Elkstar. The stocky tom seemed in his element as the ceremony played out without a hitch. When the apprentices were given their warriors names, Pinethorn stood, a warm smile on his face. "Slightstep! Gorsetail! Runningshadow! Eclipsewing! Sunsplash! Lotusbreeze!" He cheered.

The six deserved their warrior names; had long deserved it, even. He fully planned on congratulating them all later, but for now, he was content to watch the clan greet the new warriors.

───
𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶: very excited
───𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽: camp───𝚃𝙰𝙶𝚂: eaglepaw, open

❧ 𝚂𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚄𝚃𝚆𝙷𝙸𝚂𝙺𝙴𝚁, she-cat; 23 moons; warrior
───────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────"i’ll learn to breathe deep and make peace with the stars"


Sproutwhisker pricked her ears in her sleep before groggily raising her head as the yowling summons continued. Elkstar. She realized, hastily picking her way to her feet with a sudden burst of excitement. She nearly trod over her denmates' tails in the clumsy process, to whom she whispered apologies. They would be getting up soon, too, but she still felt bad about the intrusion. Free of the den, she bound into the camp clearing. She nearly collided with Eaglepaw, but she swerved around the large apprentice. "Sorry, Eaglepaw!" She breathed as she narrowly missed knocking herself over against his flank.

She reigned her paws in and came to a staggering halt. This was the first warriors ceremony she was witnessing outside her own, and a few of the apprentices earning their names were ones who had once been her denmates. She had missed their presence beside her, and she was very eager to welcome them into the warrior's den.

Sproutwhisker sat, although she bounced her weight from paw to paw and swished her tail over the dry dirt. As the ceremony began, she calmed, just enough to not draw attention with her antsy actions. As soon as all the apprentices had been named, however, she leapt up and yowled their new names with elation. She weaseled her way between the pressing bodies closing around them. "Congratulations, guys!"

[tealeyes17]

slightpaw { camp. elkstar, hawkstep, chestnutfall. }
>> she/her. warrior apprentice. twenty-one moons.
>> cream and white tabby with green eyes and a twisted front paw.

The pale form of Slightpaw was hard to see in the early dawn light, but she wasn't trying to conceal herself. She was just tucked away into a corner of camp, slowly and carefully grooming her coat as the Clan stirred around her. The sky was barely light when she woke up, as always, but it was brightening faster and faster and more and more birds were adding their song to the day. Slightpaw let out a pleased cat noise at the quiet. She didn't mind her Clanmates bustling in and out all the time during the day, but it was nice to just let the quiet settle into her bones and give her time to prepare herself for the day.

However, she was halfway through her morning routine when Elkstar appeared and summoned a Clan meeting. Her puzzlement showed on her face as she emerged from the shadows of camp and limped to the main clearing. It dawned on her when she heard some other cat murmur something about ceremonies being long overdue. That was good -- the older apprentices deserved their warrior names and had earned them twice over. She was happy for them.

She didn't realize that it applied to her as well until Elkstar called her name, and she visibly jumped in surprise. She hadn't ever expected to be given her warrior name, despite everyone telling her she had earned it. There were still things she wasn't able to do that other warriors were, but apparently Elkstar was going to overlook that, and when she realized it...she was shook with a wave of a feeling she couldn't name. It was a combination of excitement, happiness, and surprise. She'd never expected this, but she was going to take it in stride, and held her head high for the whole ceremony.

Slightstep was, almost immediately, overwhelmed with many things. First, she felt a burn of happiness and elation and warmth threatening to bubble over and spill. She let it, and her expression brightened the moment Elkstar started speaking directly to her. She'd never expected to be singled out in such a way, but it felt so freeing that her efforts were being acknowledged, and she shot her leader a look full of gratefulness for his words. "I hope so," she managed to meow, voice full of conviction, before the Clan burst out into cheers. When they did, she stepped away from Elkstar with a polite dip of her head and turned to her fellow denmates who were also new warriors. A purr caught in her throat. She wasn't much one for sentimentality like this, but she couldn't help but get swept up in all the excitement.

When Tigerpaw dashed up with her pawful of questions, Slightstep let out a small trill of amusement. "I only have the best nest since I've been there the longest. I'll have to sleep at the edge of the warrior's den, now, though." She flicked the younger cat's ears with her tail in a playful way, reflecting that while what she had just said was tradition, she planned on dragging her cozy, moss-lined nest from the apprentice's den and merging it with Chestnutfall's. They'd practically shared one big nest as apprentices, and she missed it. And she doubted she'd be cold with her best friend curled up against her side every night.

With that thought in mind, Slightstep flicked her attention beyond the circle of cats that were not her age but she had come to be good friends and denmates with anyway. While she appreciated them, there was one cat she wanted to see more than any other.

She took a step forward on her steady paw, but before she could spot the light coat of Ches, Hawkstep appeared in front of her.

Slightstep blinked, and then her green gaze settled. She nodded to her former mentor, her tail curling with pleasure at Hawkstep's words. Though they might seem odd, Slightstep understood and deeply appreciated their meaning. "I did," she replied, nudging her back in reply, in lieu of saying so did you. When Hawkstep walked away, she realized she wouldn't have wanted any other cat as her mentor, and that she had always been so patient and flexible concerning Slightstep's training, and she would never forget that.

Once the deputy left, Slightstep took a moment to take in the scent of celebration in the air. The Clan was hardly ever so united and together and it also wasn't common for so many cats to be made warriors at once. She knew that it would be a night to be remembered, and she was excited to see how it all unfolded. She also knew, though, that her night would not end in her sleeping, but in her guarding the camp. It would be strange to have such a large group guard the camp silently, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

With a flick of her tail, she pulled herself from her thoughts and limped around her Clanmates carefully until she caught the eye of the one she was looking for. She'd heard Ches yowling her name loudly right after the ceremony, but had lost track of where her voice had been coming from in all the chatter that followed.

"Ches!" She called, her eyes dancing with delight as she put on a light jog to meet her friend. She paused next to her, and then, with a million things and simultaneously nothing to say, ended up just pressing her face into Chestnutfall's coat, a strong purr shaking her from nose to tail tip. That was sign enough that she was absolutely delighted, but Slightstep was never one to be able to put words to emotions, and Ches always understood her anyway.

[pecos]

c h i p p e d c r e e k ! !
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gender. tom rank. warrior age. thirty moons where. stormclan camp tagged. shrikespring, clan words. 0638

the bottom of the river was dark. water danced around the tom's face as he squinted into the murky black. he could just barely make out dark shapes darting too and fro, although it was nearly impossible to follow their movement in the ill-lit waters. chippedcreek glanced up towards the surface of the narrow river. the water roared and bubbled as it travelled rapidly downstream, carrying leaves and branches with it. he was well aware that he was dreaming; it was quite obvious, really. he knew that no creature could possibly stand at the bottom of this river and not be swept off their feet; the rapids and strong current made it impossible to stay still. he also knew that cats couldn't breath underwater, yet he was. and, having just come out of leaf-bare, the water would surely be freezing, yet chippedcreek was as warm as could be.

so he relaxed his shoulders, allowing himself to sit on the rocky bottom of the river. the roar of the rapids above was soothing, and he felt his mind clear instantly. all of his worries were swept away by the river. he turned his head to the side, eyes just barely open, in time to see a large shape hurdle towards him. he opened his mouth to screech in terror, but no sound emitted. the creature grabbed him between its massive jaws and began to shake him viciously, and chippedcreek could do nothing.

he startled awake, head shooting up and breathing in deeply. his eyes were still wide, although they showed no emotion. chippedcreek had learned long ago how to mask his feelings from the world, and it was now a second nature to him. laughter sounded from beside him, and his head snapped around so he could glare at the culprit. the brown tabby was hunched over, eyes alight with amusement as she laughed at him. "what's the matter?" he inquired, his brow knitting together in one swift motion. shrikespring's laughter paused for a moment before she replied. "elkstar summoned the clan. you, being the oaf you are, slept through his call, so i shook you awake. must've scared you or something because boy did you shriek!"

chippedcreek's frown deepened. he had no recollection of making any noise, but, then again, he had been sleeping. the warrior huffed, his cheeks growing warm with embarrassment. the den seemed empty for the most part, so he prayed to starclan that no cat had heard him. he got to his paws, shaking scraps of moss out of his fur. shrikespring bumped him playfully with her hip, tilting her head in the direction of the exit. he followed her out of the den, his eyes narrowing as he adjusted to the bright light of the sun. the rest of the clan had already gathered around the clan-rock, and chippedcreek was embarrassed once again. he despised it when other cats were late to training sessions or patrols, so the fact that he and his littermate were late to a clan meeting was absolutely humiliating.

the tabby followed shrikespring over to the group of gathered cats. he settled down beside her, eyes trained on elkstar as the ceremonial words echoed throughout the clearing. he smiled warmly as each apprentice was made a warrior. "gorsetail, lotusbreeze, sunsplash, eclipsingwing, runningshadow, slightstep!" he sang along with the rest of the clan, their voices weaving together in a sort of harmony. memories of his own warrior ceremony flowed through his mind as he congratulated the newly-appointed warriors. he remembered how proud he had been, and how desperately he wanted to prove his loyalty to his clan. he had made some hasty decisions as a young warrior, and, as he gazed proudly at the new additions to the warriors den, he hoped they would be smarter than he had been.

s h r i k e s p r i n g ! !
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gender. she-cat rank. warrior age. thirty moons where. stormclan camp tagged. chippedcreek, sunpaw, clan words. 0545

the tabby's pale green eyes snapped open as a familiar voice carried itself to her ears. she lifted her head from where it had been resting against her paws, eying the other nests. she let out a relieved huff as she watched the shapes begin to stir and pad out of the den, glad that she hadn't been hearing things. shrikespring yawned, sitting up in her own nest as she watched her fellow warriors file out into the clearing. some had content expressions on their faces, while others looked slightly irritated to have been woken up so early. shrikespring, on the other hand, felt like she could run all the away across stormclan's territory and back and still have the energy to go through with today's duties.

her globes searched the den for the familiar grey coat of her brother. she couldn't help but smirk mischievously as she spotted him curled up in his nest and seemingly unaware that a meeting was about to begin. carefully, she crept over bundles of moss and sticks that had fallen from the den roof, eyes trained intently on the sleeping form of her brother. she reached him in no time, grinning as she placed both her forepaws on his flank. he shifted a bit, uncomfortable with the pressure that was now being applied to his side. smile still intact, shrikespring began to shake her brother.

she burst into laughter as he shrieked loudly before shooting upwards, eyes wide. the tabby loved it when she startled her brother like this. although he rarely let any hint of emotion through his barrier, it was amusing to watch him jump in surprise. and the suspicious glares he shot her for the rest of the day were a bonus too. her laughter only grew louder as he frowned at her, obviously irritated. "what's the matter?" he questioned, getting to his paws leisurely. shrikespring inhaled deeply, cutting off her laughter so she could answer. "elkstar summoned the clan. you, being the oaf you are, slept through his call, so i shook you awake. must've scared you or something because boy did you shriek!" she let out one last amused huff before gesturing towards the den exit. "c'mon, we don't want to be later than we already are, do we?" she teased, bumping him lightly on the hip before trotting out of the den.

she hurried over towards where the other cats had gathered, spotting the bright orange pelt of her apprentice immediately. she sat down beside him, smiling as chippedcreek did as well. as elkstar began to speak, shrikespring bent down towards sunpaw. "one day, that'll be you!" she whispered, motioning towards the line of soon-to-be warriors. the happiness of the newly appointed warriors was reflected in her own expression as she congratulated them, smiling wide. at her own ceremony, she had been so excited that she had nearly fallen over when she had bounced up to birchstar. her former mentor, fernsnarl, had scolded her afterwards, but she didn't mind it one bit. the only thing that had mattered to her at the moment was that she was a warrior. and now, looking at the proud expressions on each warrior's face, she knew that they felt the same way as she once had.

a s t e r f l a m e ! !
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gender. she-cat rank. warrior age. twenty-three moons where. stormclan camp tagged. clan words. 0380

asterflame was up as soon as elkstar's words rang through the still morning air. she grumbled under her breath, but got up nonetheless, striding out of the den after her clanmates. the quiet morning was soon filled with excited chatter as everyone waited for the rest of the clan to gather. the she-cat's brown eyes flickered too and fro, watching as conversations started up here and there. she didn't necessarily feel like chatting with anyone, so she stayed where she was, eyeing cats from afar. eventually, the rest of the clan had poured into the clearing, and elkstar began to speak. asterflame fixed the tom with her gaze, eyes sparkling with excitement as she watched him call the six apprentices forward.

as they were given their warrior names, the clan erupted into cheers, and asterflame joined them. she pressed through the crowd to stand beside them, dipping her head politely. "congratulations," she purred. "i'm sure you'll all be wonderful warriors! but, great starclan, the den is going to be so crowded!" although she was very happy for the new warriors, she was unsure of how much more space they would need to add on to the warriors den to make room. the rank was large enough already, and six more cats would likely take up the last of the space in the den.

as soon as she had spoken, asterflame backed away from the crowd to give other cats room to welcome the new warriors. the rest of the camp had been abandoned as soon as the meeting was called, leaving plenty of space for the she-cat to lounge about before patrols were assigned. she found a cozy-looking space between a patch of ferns and a tree trunk to settle in, tucking her paws beneath her chest and watching as the clan's excitement began to dwindle. irritation began to pluck at her the longer she had to wait. she didn't understand why talking to the new warriors now was so important. they'd likely be warriors for the rest of their lives unless they were made deputy, so there would be plenty of time to chat with them in the future. she huffed, lowering her head to her paws as she watched the clan buzz around its newest warriors like bees.

[.:Whimsical.Ghosts:.]

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𝓗𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓬𝓸𝓫𝓻𝓪
𝓕𝓸𝓻𝓽𝔂-𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓼|♀|𝓑𝓲𝓼𝓮𝔁𝓾𝓪𝓵|𝓒𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱: Open|𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓼: Clan, Asterflame
✦✦✦✦
The large, ginger molly stirred when Elkstar's loud call for the clan to gather. Annoyed, Hissingcobra exited the warriors' den. Sure, she was thrilled that Eclipsepaw was finally becoming a warrior, but did the ceremony have to happen so early on? She yawned as she took a seat near the back of the crown, her head drooped from fatigue. This she-cat was infamous for her sleep schedule, where she typically woke up around midday and gave 110% throughout the rest of the day and into the night. Hissingcobra was by no means, lazy. She just preferred to work when she knew she had the energy and patience to do so. She tended to not fair too well in any early morning activities.

Still, she needed, and wanted, to be there for her apprentice. She was fond of Eclipsepaw, though she didn't often show it. The apprentice always did excellent with her training. Though she was admittedly odd, Hissingcobra soon got used to her and her personality. So, she cheered as loud as a tired and grumpy she-cat could for her apprentice. As the ceremony closed off, she congratulated each of the apprentices with words such as "Good Job," and "You've made it," before stalking off. She knew she couldn't go to sleep, but she planned to sit in a subdued corner where nobody would bother her.

Hissingcobra caught sight of Asterflame, whom seemed to be about as over with the ceremony as she was. The elder warrior made her way over to her. She dipped her head to her and sat down. She too was now ready to move on to other things. "Morning, awful long ceremony, isn't it?" Hissingcobra mewed as she watched the cats drone on around the camp. Yes, new warriors were exciting, but they were just warriors. Assign them to warrior duties and be done with it.
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𝓖𝓸𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓹𝓪𝔀
𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓼|♂|𝓗𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓮𝔁𝓾𝓪𝓵|𝓒𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱: Open|𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓼: Clan, Open
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Gorsepaw hadn't been able to sleep. Paralyzing fear and buzzing excitement had torn at his stomach all night at the thought of his ceremony. He was now nineteen moons, rather old to finally be made a warrior, but things had to be pushed back after Birchstar had passed. As he rose from his nest, he allowed himself to think of their fallen leader. He had mixed feelings about his passing, but he still grieved as any loyal warrior had. Still, another, stronger wave of grief washed over him. His parents wouldn't get to see him become a warrior. His parents always talked about the day their little boy would finally get to join them in the Warriors' den, but he'd now never get the chance. He lowered his head for a moment, preferring the horrible anxiety that came from the day to the sadness.

He joined the other apprentices, taking a deep breath as Elkstar began the ceremony. His words became lost until he heard "Gorsetail," and just like that, he was a warrior. Gorsep- tail stared at the ground as his leader announced the other warrior names. It all became static. He finally lifted his head to the sound of cheering emanating from his clanmates. He smiled a bit, though he still felt petrified. He was a warrior now.
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𝓗𝓪𝓵𝓯𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓴
𝓣𝔀𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂-𝓯𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓼|♂|𝓑𝓲𝓼𝓮𝔁𝓾𝓪𝓵|𝓒𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱: Open|𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓼: Clan, Open
☾☾☾☾
Halfmask had woken a few minutes before Elkstar called the meeting. He rose from his nest, and entered the clearing. Today was the special day for six apprentices. He could feel their excitement and anxiety already. The tom smiled a bit, it was a joyous day indeed. He took a seat in the middle of the crowd of cats, and watched the meeting with immense interest. He cheered after each apprentice was named. After the meeting closed, he went around, congratulating each new warrior. Today was one of the few days the warrior would initiate conversation.

After he was sure each warrior was adequately congratulated, he moved away so others could speak with them. He sat under the shade of the warrior's den and closed his eyes, meditating. Halfmask really wanted to channel the good energy within the clan at the moment. There were very few times the clan was ever this happy about something, especially recently. It was refreshing to feel positive rather than negative emotions now.
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[~Atlas~]

ʀ ᴀ ᴠ ᴇ ɴ ʜ ᴇ ᴀ ʀ ᴛ

"A serious sleek, black she-cat with cloudy blue blind eyes."

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(rank). warrior/app. firepaw (location). camp, fernpatch (mood). proud yet restless and salty (tags/mentions). Sunsplash, Runningshadow, Asterflame, Hissingcobra Chippedcreek (m), Shrikespring (m)

C’est un jour comme un autre… A day like any other, Ravenheart thought with a flick of her tail. After nearly two moons, it seemed as if the death and disaster were almost behind them. Birchstar had passed on to Starclan, after a run-in with a fox. Although Ravenheart grieved her leader, she couldn't help but feel it was for the best. The ancient tom hunted with the stars now, restored to his former mind; waiting any longer to die would have been torture on him, and the cats he led.

Now, control was in the noble paws of Elkstar. He took his leadership well, leading with the stride that gave him his warrior name. Perhaps he’d be able to right the many wrongs that were done under Birchstar’s final days.

Buzz floated in and out of the warrioress’ ears. She had been up for quite some time, just basking in the momentary morning quiet of the warrior’s den. During the day, it was always bustling, cats coming in and out from patrols. The sightless she-cat’s sensitive ears picked up anything and everything -- most of the time mundane tidbits she’d rather not hear. Now, though, all she heard were the songbirds and peaceful snores of her clanmates. She liked it like this.

It didn’t last long. The black furred cat let out a low hiss as a shriek sounded from nearby. Shrikespring’s chortling confirmed that it had been her brother, Chippedcreek. After recovering from her surprise, the warrioress rolled her clouded, starry eyes. They were warriors, not kits for Starclan’s sake! Weren’t they a bit too old for nightmares?

Morning peace stolen, Ravenheart stalked out of the warrior’s den, tail flicking irritably. She took great care to use her whiskers and ever-flicking tail to detect any stragglers who may be sleeping -- lest she interrupt their peace like hers was interrupted. The sun shone on her black pelt, which was prone to getting too overheated. Still, the sun’s rays weren’t at their intensity yet -- just a simple overcast. However, it was more than a simple day -- apparently it was a day for celebration.

Once again, the blind cat jumped with alarm at Elkstar’s yowl. Had there been another murder? Or perhaps a loner invasion? Elkstar’s following words quickly disarmed her always-negative thoughts -- she needed to work on those. Apparently, it was time for all the older apprentices to receive their names. This was Elkstar’s first task to amend Birchstar’s poor leadership. Ravenheart let out a soft smile at first, but her lips slowly stopped moving mid-smile, giving her the look of a grinning crocodile. More warriors meant less nests. Although she dearly loved her clanmates, Ravenheart would be the last one to give up her nest. They’d simply have to find a corner to cram in -- her sleep was precious, after all. Blind eyes needed their beauty rest.

As grumpy as she could be, a ceremony could still lift her from behind the shadows of her moon. After all, they hadn’t had one in moons -- it was about time! “Gorsetail, Lotusbreeze, Sunsplash!” she cheered. Mouse dung, that wasn’t even all of them! She paused a moment to catch her breath, and continued with “Eclipsewing, Runningshadow, Slightstep!” She felt a strange surge of pride at the last new warrior. Slightstep was the only other heavily disabled cat in the clan. While they had never been close, Ravenheart admired Slightstep’s courage and hard-work from afar. Looking back at her apprentice days, Ravenheart thought she’d never be a warrior. She had to fight tooth and nail, literally, for everything she had. And so had Slightstep, overcoming her odds. The blind warrior felt honored to share ranks with the crippled tabby. Besides, she wasn’t crippled, not truly. She walked in a special way, just as Ravenheart “saw” differently. It wasn’t quite the same as everyone else, but the respective she-cats found their way to adapt.

The meeting broke apart and the cats went to congratulate each other. Now, Ravenheart was losing interest. She gave a brief “Congratulations, Sunsplash and Runningshadow!” to the two young warriors, whose voices she heard nearby. However, finding exact cats in the hubbub and intermingling of different scents was difficult. Besides, she wasn’t particularly close to any of them, other than quietly admiring Slightstep.

“It’s all exciting, yes, but why don’t we get to our warrior duties?” she mumbled grumpily to herself. The excitement was over -- it was time for the youngsters to make themselves useful. Babbling mouths caught no prey!

With care, she navigated her way through the moving bodies, fur bristling ever now and then as another cat would get too close to her personal space bubble. Finally, she made her way through the crowd and sat near the edge. She could sense another presence by her, but with all of the confusing scents, she found it difficult to identify the cat. So, hearing would have to be here other option.

“Quite the fuss,” she noted to the nearby Asterflame while her eyes stared dully ahead. The galaxies within her cerulean (I know you’ll love that, Dre lmao) eyes sparkled and the fog swirled at the edges. For such useless eyes, they were beautiful. “I’m all for a quick celebration, but it would make a lot more sense for them to get busy. A warrior’s life isn’t that glamorous -- the glitter will fade soon, I’m sure,” she mewed dryly, always practical and down-to-business. However, her goal was to figure out the other cat by their voice. Little did she know that Asterflame shared similar sentiments as she did.

She picked up Hissingcobra's annoyed drawl coming closer. Although Ravenheart wouldn't publicly admit that these ceremonies were a bit drawn out, she ave a slight twitch of her ear. Every apprentice deserved the excitement and honor of their own ceremony, but... Listneing to the same words did get old after a while. "What, you don't mean you want to hear the, "Starclan bestows" and the "Starclan honors your courage" bits?" she mewed sarcastically, her ears wandering in Hissingcobra's direction but eyes ever-unresponsive. What jaded, salty cats the three of them were.

ℍ 𝕠 𝕨 𝕝 𝕚 𝕟 𝕘 𝕡 𝕒 𝕨

A large brown tabby tom with snapping green eyes, white paws and a good-humored grin

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(rank). apprentice/ ment. stonestrike (location). camp (mood). excited and a lil jealous (tags/mentions). Eaglepaw, Larkpaw, Tigerpaw, Slightstep, Eclipsewing, Raggedwood (m), Windpaw (m) Runningshadow (m), Gorsetail (m), Lotusbreeze (m)

Eaglepaw’s restless dreams didn’t disturb Howlingpaw in the slightest. In fact, when the poly-dactyl tom had rolled into him during the night, Howlingpaw had snuggled into him like a kit. When Eaglepaw shifted in his dreams to the other side of his nest, the tabby tom had let out a slight, startled mewl. However, as he awoke, he had no recollections of his embarrassing snuggling and kit-like mewlings. Eyes bright, he smacked his dry lips a few times before getting to his feet. The tails of the disgruntled Windpaw swished out of the den as he adjusted his eyes. Better get going -- there was something going on!

He churned up moss and dust on his way out of the den. “Hey guys, wait up!” he mewed at Eaglepaw and Larkpaw, his best buds. There was an unspoken excitement in the air -- what had he missed? Honestly, he was surprised his father didn’t have his hide for waking up a few seconds late. In fact, Raggedwood had been oddly quiet lately. He’d been complaining of sore joints and a cough, but Howlingpaw wasn’t concerned -- what elder didn’t complain? His father was no exception, his reputation as the meanest elder in the clan preceding him. As his father hissed and complained about his joints, Howlingpaw got a slight break from the abuse.

Still, he accidentally looked over at the elder’s den and caught Raggedwood’s eye. The elder didn’t need to speak to send a jolt of fear through the tom -- his eyes did the talking. The electric green eyes of the massive elder pierced into Howlingpaw’s. He gave a respectful dip of the head to his father, and tried his best to slink off after his friends.

From all of the whispering, the big tabby tom gathered that it was a long overdue warrior ceremony. “Do you think it’ll be us?” he whispered in anticipation to Eaglepaw and Larkpaw. The rational side of Howlingpaw knew it was too soon, even for them. Still, it was fun to pretend!

The honors went to the older apprentices, though. Howlingpaw watched with admiration as Gorsepaw, Sunpaw, Elipsepaw, Runningpaw, Lotuspaw and Slightpaw stepped up to receive their names -- there were so many of them! Tigerpaw seemed to share Howlingpaw’s sentiments, that one day, it would be their turn. He turned his head to whisper excitedly to the she-cat. “Right! I hope it’s soon -- they better watch out, we’ll be even stronger than them!” It was all in good fun, of course. However, Howlingpaw did take this little vow a bit seriously. He was determined to out-fight any cat in the clan -- and so was Raggedwood.

“Woo, go Lotusbreeze! And Slightstep! And of course the rest of ya fleabags, Gorsetail, Sunsplash, Runningshadow and Eclipsewing!” Howlingpaw was joking at this, but received another silencing glare from Raggedwood. He glanced over to Eaglepaw to see how he was taking this -- everyone knew he and Lotuspaw -- now breeze -- followed each other like puppies. He was sure his friend would miss sharing a den with the pretty, white she-cat.

Once the ceremony was over, he hoped to stay with the group of apprentices and newly-made warriors for as long as possible before his father could cuff him over the ear. Tigerpaw launched into a million questions for Slightstep. “Slow down, Tigerpaw,” he chuckled. “Can’t feel that much different, can it Slightpa-err, Step? I bet I could still beat you in a battle,” he challenged, tabby tail swishing. But it if was a fishing competition, she’d leave the competitive tom floundering.

He directed his attention to Eclipsewing -- Starclan, there were so many cats to congratulate! “What’re your big plans for the day, you warrior?” he mewed, enunciating the hallowed words. She’d made it -- how cool was that?

R A G G E D W O O D

"An elderly, yet still large and somewhat muscular dark tabby tom with ragged fur and snapping green eyes, like his son's."

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(rank). elder (location). camp (mood). grumpy and old (tags). pinethorn, Howlingpaw (m), Lotusbreeze (m), Slightstep (m) other new warriors (m)

A low growl made its way out of the crotchety elder’s throat as commotion sounded outside. Although he was in his 90s, he was still an early riser. As of late, though, he hadn’t been feeling well; his age seemed to be catching up to him. Pain rippled through his joints as he tried to stretch. His senses felt more dulled as well, the figures in the camp just large, colorful blobs. Anxiety pulsed through him. Was he becoming like Birchstar? No, of course not. While his body was protesting, he still had his mind -- and his stupid son to unleash his ever-cutting tongue on.

As he creaked out of his nest and closer to the commotion, his ears were able to pick up his son’s moronic comments. Couldn’t Howlingpaw, for just one day, shut up? He let out a low growl and flashed his son a glare. It was about time for a meeting; if the young tabby tom, a spitting image of his father, managed to utter one squeak while Elkstar spoke, he’d have his hide.

This wasn’t to say that Raggedwood liked Elkstar. In his opinion, the cat was a poor fit for leader. It had been two moons since Birchstar’s untimely death, and the new leader was just now getting to ceremonies? What had been doing all this time -- enjoying his new, fluffy leader nest? Elkstar had no idea what he was doing, and it showed. He was even making that cripple, Slightpaw, a warrior! What had Stormclan come to? The elder spat and narrowed his eyes as the tabby leader spoke, but stayed silent. Although he didn’t like Elkstar, he knew better than to protest. There was loyalty, and then there was respect. Although the elder was ever-loyal, no matter who lead, he knew Elkstar would never earn his respect.

As his clanmates joined in on their moronic chanting, Raggedwood thrashed his tail. He gave a half-hearted “Sunsplash,” before turning around to retire to his nest -- quite unlike him. He had half a mind to take Howlingpaw out, but he hadn’t the energy. He knew his mousebrained son would find some way to screw up; it wasn’t worth his time. As he turned around, his piercing gaze fell on his denmate, Pinethorn. Raggedwood never liked the tom, he never liked anyone really. Still, he figured he should say something.

“Unfortunate, Lotuspaw won’t be tending our nests anymore,” he tsked, his acerbic tone ever dry and careless. “She was good, too. I don’t see her living up to much else, unfortunately -- always such a soft mouse-heart, that one.” Pinethorn loved the little scrap of fur. Raggedwood smirked, a flicker of his old self returning, anticipating his denmate’s blind defense of the new warrior. What was here new name again? Lotusmoss? Or Lotuswind? It didn’t matter to him -- all that mattered was that someone else had to fill in for the white she-cat and make his nest.

ᗷᎥᔕᗝᑎ

A massive yet chubby brown tom with sharp amber eyes and white paws/belly

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(rank). loner (location). whereever tbh, somewhere on territory snorting catnip (mood). his big, dumb happy self (tags). open

High on life, and catnip. Come chill with him by the border pls, I wanna use him!

[Scoinwolf]

Russetheart || tom, warrior, 27 moons | tagged: Softwing, Runningshadow (mentioned), clan meeting
Russetheart woke to the sounds of cats gathering for a clan meeting. He'd been on the night shift earlier, sitting guard in the soft dark of newleaf turning greenleaf, and had had high hopes of sleeping in through the rising heat of the day. The heat did not agree with the dark ginger tom, though he knew some of his clanmates would bear it worse once greenleaf was in full swing. He certainly was not looking forwards to the humidity either. It always felt stifling, the way his fur would cling to his body. Russetheart supressed a shiver at the thought.

The soft murmurs of anticipation swirled around his ears and the tom rose slowly from his nest, shaking out his thick fur and going over his pelt with a quick fix-it groom. Would this be the long awaited warrior ceremony? He felt excitement growing in his chest and bounded out of the den, shaking off any lingering lethargy.

Once outside he sought out Softwing instinctively, purring as he caught sight of her pale grey fur in the crowd. Russetheart weaved his way between his clanmates to claim a spot by her side, murmuring a greeting. He was beyond the days of pretending that he was sitting next to the gentle she-cat by coincidence, that she just happened to be near where his chosen vantage point was. Now he felt able to admit (to himself) that maybe the reason the best spot to watch a ceremony always happened to be next to her not because Softwing picked the best spots to sit, but because Softwing was sitting there.

And indeed it was the long awaited ceremony. Though never having been a mentor himself, Russetheart watched with growing pride as the apprentices were finally given their warrior names. He wouldn't deny however that his attention was mostly on Runningpaw. Knowing the young tom's hero worship as well as everyone did, Russetheart was thoroughly pleased when Elkstar bestowed Birchstar's warrior suffix on the new warrior. He'd been wondering if Elkstar was going to acknowledge Running's icon.

"Gorsetail! Lotusbreeze! Sunsplash! Eclipsingwing! Runningshadow! Slightstep!" He yowled in congratulations.

Darksky || she-cat, warrior, 27 moons | tagged: Tigerpaw, clan meeting
Darksky had spent the past two moons focusing on Tigerpaw's training. Her apprentice had been working hard and it was really showing. While Darksky had made sure to stick with the schedule she had planned out, she had also never turned down any requests that Tigerpaw had made when it came to what the young she-cat wanted to work on that session in particular.

She was extremely proud of how well Tigerpaw was doing but that didn't mean she was going to ease up on her. Darksky wasn't exactly one to hand out praise but she tried her hardest not to criticize her apprentice either. Constructive criticism was important, yes, but Darksky tried her hardest not to snap or scold. Thankfully Tigerpaw made that part easy, the smaller tabby hardly ever caused trouble.

She was watching her apprentice head over to the newly named Gorsetail now, the others gathering with them. There was no rush to get out of camp today, so Darksky settled in to wait until Tigerpaw was ready to head out. She made sure to catch her apprentice's eye, however, signaling to her to come over once she was ready to start today's lesson.

Sandtail || tom, warrior, 27 moons | tagged: Amira + Slightstep (mentioned), Windpaw, clan meeting
Sandtail followed his brother out of the warriors den, pausing in the entrance and drawing in a deep breath of air. Ever since the medicine cats had cleared him to get out of their den he had been doing that a lot more often. Dawnlight had eventually reached the theory that it was something with his breathing, or his lungs, that was the cause of his coughing. She'd encouraged him to take it slow and just stop to breath when he needed to. Ever since he'd stopped striving so hard to keep up with everyone else, Sandtail had found his fits to be less frequent.

He'd been working with the medicine cats to adapt his hunting and fighting techniques around his disability. Amira had been great about it and Sand found the encouragement of his best friend to be the best motivator as he essentially went back to an apprentice level. While he technically retained his status of warrior, he'd passed that assessment moons ago, relearning moves was proving to be more difficult than the initial memorization had been.

That didn't mean he wasn't still a frequent visitor to the med den.

And speaking of long term patients, Windpaw was sitting up ahead, clearly awaiting the clan announcement. Sand made his way over to the youngster and took a seat next to him. The pale ginger tom had a sort of admiration for the apprentice. No matter how bad the pains got, and with no cure in sight, Windpaw still threw himself into training with a fierce determination. Sandtail had high hopes for the younger tom and found that drive influencing himself as well when the adaptive training sessions got unbearably frustrating.

Sandtail offered Windpaw a silent nod of greeting, gaze focused up on their leader throughout the entirety of the ceremony. Elkstar's words to Slightstep had a fond smile tugging at Sand's neutral mask and by the end of the ceremony he gave up on holding back. Sand cheered along with the rest of the crowd, mindful of his breath but figuring this was worth risking a fit for.

Dawnlight || she-cat, medicine cat apprentice, 35 moons| tagged: Sandtail + Windpaw + Toadpelt (mentioned), Rainjaw, clan meeting
Dawnlight watched the ceremony with absolute joy, calling out the newly made warrior's names with everyone else. This was a large batch, the largest she knew of, but for her it marked the beginning of a new age. Sure naming Hawkstep deputy was technically the start of Elkstar's chapter, but the tom had been acting leader for longer than that, and anyways naming new warriors always brought new life into the clan. Starclan knew this group deserved it.

The medicine cat apprentice found her gaze lingering on the backs of two onlookers in particular, Windpaw and Sandtail. The pair were her most difficult patients by far. Windpaw's ailment in particular still eluded her. But Sandtail, Sandtail they had begun to be able to help. Wolfrunner had worked out some exercises for him and Dawnlight had been using her background as a warrior to help adapt some fighting maneuvers for the tom. She'd been trying them out with Toadpelt, enjoying her sister's input.

Sandtail still needed to work on his exercises today. Dawnlight usually preferred to supervise him herself but she'd been meaning to spend the day herb hunting. Looking around now, she spotted Rainjaw and decided to call out to him. "Rainjaw! Hey!" She hopped up from where she'd been sitting by the medicine den entrance and bounded over to him before he got pulled into some other engagement. "Please tell me you don't have a patrol to get to or anything." She opened warmly enough, not wanting to steal him away if he did actually have somewhere to be.

[eleutheromania]

☼ Ｂｒｉａｒｐｏｏｌ
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molly → 22 moons → warrior → apprentice: none → location: border → tags & mentions: bison

the young molly had been up before that of the sun, like normal. briarpool tended not to ever sleep in most cases and she watched as the camp was soon up and moving as elkstar began the day's ceremony to give some overdue warrior names. she smiled and soon chanted the names with everyone else before she felt the need to get the day started and not dwindle too long on the ceremony. the long-haired feline pushed herself up to her paws and then made her way towards the camp entrance. she knew they could probably use some prey and while she was at it she could check out the borders, though if that was a good idea to go alone, probably not. it seemed everyone else was busy with others so she wouldn't be a bother. the warrior made her way out of the camp and into the territory, heading first towards the borders. she would begin there and make her way back and hopefully catch some prey to bring back so she wouldn't be empty-handed when returning.

the weather was nice for the most part though she didn't see it getting worse from the looks of things. she enjoys the morning and the noises in which it brought with it. the birds chirping and other small noises here and there that she could hear from the smaller critters, one most likely being a mouse. the molly smiled to herself and picked up her pace, of course, she had a habit of looking at the ground instead of in front of her so it wasn't long before she tripped and tumbled forward into something solid enough to stop her. she was currently on her back, a little dazed as she tried to figure out what it was that stopped the tumbling that she herself had fallen into. a sneeze escaped the warrior from the tom's fur having tickled it upon impact. shaking her head and blinking a few times, she let her gaze focus on the shape in front of her. it was another cat, though she didn't recognize him as a clan cat. "uh, sorry about that sir." briarpool mumbled slightly, unsure of how he would be reacting to her suddenly bombarding into him. she wasn't too sure if she was on clan territory or right across the border at this rate.

☯ Ｐｅｂｂｌｅｓｔｒｉｋｅ
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tom → 43 moons → warrior → apprentice: mintpaw → location: camp → tags & mentions: mintpaw [m] chippedcreek, briarpool [m]

the tom had to scurry out of the den when he heard elkstar bringing the clan together. he had overslept, per usual but it seemed he couldn't find his apprentice anywhere within his sight at the moment. the ever questioning mintpaw was something he could handle but he was sure her constant questions among other things would cause any other cat to flip at some point. shaking his head, he briskly began to groom the moss out of his gray pelt as the warrior ceremony continued. when the names were given and they were released, he chanted their names maybe once or twice before again searching for the small molly in which he would need to be teaching the next few moons. huffing, he still didn't catch sight of her, maybe he was looking too hard or just too fast? the tom pushed himself up to his paws and headed over towards the closest cat to him, chippedcreek. the tom dipped his head in greeting to the younger warrior. "mornin' chippedcreek. any chance you've seen mintpaw? seems my apprentice is out of my sight currently. i'm surprised briarpool isn't glued to your side yet." he questioned and lightly teased. it was obvious the two were close friends but pebblestrike didn't make any assumptions over their relationship. he was curious on why the young molly wasn't already talking the tom's head off and trying to go explore and get the day started with him. speaking of which, he didn't even see her anywhere either.

rather than stand to wait on a response, he sat down, curling his tail around his paws, it flicking softly. he turned his gaze towards the cats around the camp, seeing the newly named warriors along with their mentors seeming overjoyed with either them getting their names or no longer having to deal with the unruly few. a smile faintly crossed his maw before he turned his yellow-green gaez back to the tom in front of him. 'along with that, how is your morning starting off?" he added only seconds later, deciding to start up some sort of conversation for now at the least, rather than focus solely on finding his own apprentice.

[Laetificat]

Tigerpaw
Tigerpaw looked at Slightstep with big eyes, nodding as she processed the answer as if it were the words of Starclan themselves. Maybe she should let Firepaw have his choice of nest then - he was older after all. She was about to say just that when she caught her mentor’s eye. “Oh, gotta go train, bye!” Tigerpaw said hurriedly, rushing off to Darksky. The more she trained, the sooner she would be a warrior! She’d learn all the best battle moves and hunting positions and fight off all the foxes and catch all the squirrels. Tigerpounce, the legendary warrior of Stormclan. Oh! Or maybe Tigerfang, the fiercest warrior ever. Can’t blame her for dreaming. “I’m here and ready to be a warrior!” she exclaimed, swiping at the air in front of her enthusiastically. She didn’t seem to notice that she had nearly clawed all of her clanmates in the nearby vicinity.

Wolfheart
He had woken early, more than aware the ceremony would take place today. Elkstar had asked just yesterday if Runningpaw was ready to become a warrior - the answer came naturally to him, having said it for two past apprentices already: yes. The young tom had passed his exam with flying colors and Wolfheart had been beaming in pride ever since. Runningpaw - and the other apprentices - were more than deserving of their warrior ceremony. Wolfheart nodded to himself and stood up as Elkstar bounded to the top of Clan-rock, already knowing what was to be said.

The big black and grey tom quickly padded over and took a seat at the front, careful to sit to the side so that his smaller clanmates could still see. Quickly enough, the rest of his clanmates fell in beside him, the clearing now filled with countless pelts of all different colors and sizes. As Elkstar spoke, he bowed his head in gratitude for the new leader’s wise words and perfect name choice for Runningpaw, now Runningshadow, a perfect monument for their former leader. Birchstar couldn’t have done any better had he named him himself.

As soon as Elkstar was finished, Wolfheart took to calling the apprentices’ names with gusto. All of them had worked hard, some for longer and harder than others, but ultimately they had all made it. He quickly made his way over to his former apprentice, grinning all the while. “You did it. All of you did,” Wolfheart said, looking from Runningshadow to the other new warriors. “Make Stormclan proud. I know I already am.”

Stormleap
The call of her leader woke her up, the she-cat looking around groggily as as denmates filed past her. Undoubtedly the warrior ceremony that Wolfheart had been gushing over. He seemed just about as enthusiastic about it as he had been her own ceremony. While an important ceremony nonetheless, she had never been very close to any of the other apprentices, let alone the current ones. Slightpaw had still been a kit when she was made a warrior after all. It didn’t really help much that her aggressive nature easily scared others off. The only one who seemed willing to talk to her was Wolfheart, and he seemed to have a polar opposite personality. Stormleap huffed to herself, getting to her paws and quickly grooming her thick fur. Not much she could do about it now.

She took a seat towards the edge of the gathered clan, taking part in the cheering but not having much else to say to the apprentices. What was there to say that hadn’t already been said? The grey she-cat slipped away to the outskirts of the clearing, waiting until her clanmates had finished their congratulations for it to calm down.