A loud call rang out through the camp as the sun's rays began to peek through the canopy. Faint light danced across the clearing, casting down upon the sleeping Clan.
Starlingpaw stirred at the noise and pried her eyes open, at first only seeing the black-and-white patched cat she had slept next to before rolling over and rising to her paws.
It didn't take long before every den became full of rousing cats, and soon enough DawnClan had gathered below the tallest tree where Blizzardstar sat waiting above them.
Mint pushed his way through the crowd of half-awake cats, holding the tiny black-and-silver kit by its scruff. Mosspetal and Tawnystripe followed suit, shepherding the other three kittens to the right position.
Blizzardstar yowled once more to ensure that every cat was present.
Starlingpaw flattened her ears. "Does he have to be so loud?" she grumbled, a headache beginning to throb in her skull.
Birchpaw murmured something unintelligible, so he was likely as groggy as she was.
"Today the Clan gathers to witness an important ceremony," Blizzardstar began as the sun dappled his long fur. "We officially welcome four new kittens to DawnClan."
The crowd began to whisper enthusiastically, excited to learn the names of the young kittens.
"But first," Blizzardstar added, and both Starlingpaw and Birchpaw groaned in unison. What had he planned this time? "Two young Clanborn kits will become apprentices."
She heard two loud squeals from the back of the crowd and felt Birchpaw shift uncomfortably beside her. Starlingpaw was confused until she saw the source of the squeals emerge from the crowd.
Two kits stood side-by-side, their frames unusually large. Just like Birchpaw's, she supposed; these were his siblings, after all. One of the kittens was almost fully black with white markings from her snout to her underbelly, the other a miniature version of Birchpaw, white with black patches and cold green eyes. Both of them seemed to be bursting out of their pelts with excitement, and Starlingpaw smiled at their blissful innocence.
Birchpaw seemed to be grappling with multiple feelings, his eyes flitting from his siblings to the ground and his paws constantly shuffling around. Starlingpaw realized that he had probably expected to be a warrior by now, when his younger siblings were becoming apprentices. They'd have to share a den with the new warriors-in-training, and it would probably be awkward for him to explain why he was still an apprentice. She pressed her pelt against his and purred, trying to offer comfort. Birchpaw looked down at her with a grateful expression in his eyes. He knew she would be there for him.
"Black-kit and Skykit, please come forward," Blizzardstar meowed, and the kits obeyed, their legs shaking with joy. The leader motioned with his tail, and two other cats walked forward. Rabbitwhisker and Nettleclaw emerged from the crowd, both of their tabby pelts well-groomed. Starlingpaw was surprised that Mosspetal wasn't going to receive an apprentice, though she supposed that the young she-cat would be busy with her newly adopted kits. They each held long loops of branches in their mouths, woven very carefully and adorned with flowers. The branches were to be hung around the new apprentices' necks to symbolize the bond between apprentice and mentor. Starlingpaw smiled in memory of the branch Darkfeather had bestowed upon her at her ceremony; it was full of bright white clovers that had been woven in, spotting Starlingpaw's fur like the feathers of her namesake. "Rabbitwhisker, you were taught by Breezefall and learned his strong sense of loyalty and kindness. Nettleclaw, you were mentored by Nightfang," At the mention of the name, the older cats in the crowd dipped their heads and murmured sadly. Starlingpaw was confused; she had never heard of a Nightfang. Who were they? "Nightfang gave you battle prowess and bravery, and I should hope that you pass these on to your new apprentice."
Starlingpaw noticed that Ashscar, who sat at the base of the tallest tree, was sitting with her shoulders slumped and her head hung low. Perhaps she knew Nightfang, and the memory upset her? It was unnatural for Ashscar to be so sad, or at least to show it outwardly.
Blizzardstar continued on. "Black-kit, from this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, shall be known as Blackpaw. Rabbitwhisker, may you pass down all you know to this apprentice." Rabbitwhisker walked forward to touch noses with Blackpaw, who was bouncing on her paws in glee. He then carefully placed the loop of branches around her neck, the long strands of grass in it standing out against her dark fur. Blackpaw purred happily at the accessory that she would wear until her first training session.
"Skykit, from this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, shall be known as Skypaw. Nettleclaw, may you pass down all you know to this new apprentice." Nettleclaw followed suit with Skypaw, who must have touched noses with his new mentor too forcefully, as the brown tabby-and-white she-cat recoiled slightly at the touch. Nettleclaw laughed softly and placed her branch collar around Skypaw's neck. It was full of bright pink and purple flowers that brought color and life to the young tomcat's black-and-white fur.
Starlingpaw joined in with the Clan as they cheered the names of the new apprentices, but she couldn't help feeling that these ceremonies were just as forced as Tawnystripe's. Blizzardstar seemed to enjoy using the namings to intimidate Mint, though the kittypet didn't seem to be affected by any of it.
"Now it is time to welcome five new cats to the Clan," Blizzardstar stated unenthusiastically. "As you all know, Mint the kittypet has decided to join our Clan. There is no true ceremony for this most unusual event, so I will have to hope StarClan accepts what I say,"
Starlingpaw scoffed. What had made Blizzardstar so spiteful to throw petty insults at other cats? "Mint, as you have kin in DawnClan, you shall be welcome as a warrior. Even still, you have not learned the ways of our code, nor how to fight and hunt, so you shall be assigned a mentor to teach you those crucial lessons," Blizzardstar paused for a heartbeat before continuing, puffing his chest out proudly. "I will-"
"I will mentor him," Ashscar suddenly meowed. She had recovered from her sudden grief, though her pale green eyes were watery.
The Clan broke out in surprised whispers. Starlingpaw was rather sure that Ashscar had only ever had one apprentice before, though she wasn't sure who, to stay completely focused on her duties as deputy.
"Mint already knows how to hunt and fight," Ashscar explained. "His skills only need to be refined. I will still have plenty of time to focus on being deputy."
The fur on Starlingpaw's neck settled down, and she realized how agitated she had been. If Ashscar was too busy with Mint, then she wouldn't have enough time to keep Blizzardstar in check, and that could be a dangerous situation. Hopefully, the dappled she-cat knew what she was doing.
Mint smiled, dipped his head, and walked toward Ashscar. He sat in front of the deputy and waited for Blizzardstar to speak.
The Clan leader's ears were flattened against his head and his eyes narrowed, but he continued the ceremony nonetheless. Starlingpaw wondered if he had been planning on mentoring Mint himself, and shivered at the thought. It would have been torture for the poor gib. "As the leader of DawnClan, I let StarClan look down and approve this decision. Mint will be welcomed to this Clan as a temporary apprentice until he has learned the rest of the skills he needs. Ashscar, as a strong and loyal deputy, I expect you to train this cat well in the ways of our Clan."
"I will do so, Blizzardstar," Ashscar responded, nodding respectfully.
Starlingpaw and the rest of the DawnClan cats sat in silence for a while before Blizzardstar spoke again. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"As you know, our Clan celebrates the bond between apprentice and mentor through wreaths placed around the apprentices' necks, as you just witnessed," the leader explained, staring directly at Mint, who was shifting his weight from paw to paw as he waited for something to happen. "Not only is Mint not a full apprentice, but he already bears something around his neck."
She wondered where he was going with this.
"The most appropriate way to begin the apprenticeship of Mint is for his new mentor to remove the collar and bring him into the ways of the forest, just as Vinetail was when Rainstar was leader."
The crowd whispered excitedly as Ashscar took a step toward Mint. Starlingpaw spotted Vinetail sitting tall near the front of the crowd, puffing out her chest in pride. One of her kin was joining the Clan, something she had probably thought was impossible.
She watched in anticipation as the Clan deputy hooked her sharp teeth around the bright blue, almost unnaturally so, collar. Mint sat as still as a cliff, the only movement being the rise and fall of his chest and the nervous flicker of his eyes. It was soon apparent, as Ashscar began to tug on it, that the collar would not come off easily.
Ashscar tried in vain to remove it, eventually releasing the collar from her teeth and pacing around Mint, searching for a better approach.
Someone yowled from the crowd. "Why not ask Vinetail how to do it?"
The Clan deputy whipped around to face the voice and responded. "That's a very good idea. Vinetail, how do I take this off?"
The silver she-cat walked away from the gathered cats and stepped toward Mint, then began to inspect his collar. After a while, she cried "Aha!" and began to whisper something to Ashscar.
The deputy listened intently and then nodded, signaling with her tail that the old medicine cat was free to go, and turned back to Mint. Starlingpaw looked up at Blizzardstar to see his whiskers twitching in amusement, and she flattened her ears at the rude tom. Sure, the ceremony wasn't really going as planned, but that didn't mean it wasn't important to Mint.
She turned her gaze back to the soon-to-be warrior apprentice, who, to her surprise, also seemed amused, though less obviously. His eyes were shining with mirth, and Starlingpaw couldn't restrain a small purr of laughter. It was sort of funny how ungraceful the ceremony had been. Starlingpaw felt Birchpaw purr as well and soon enough there was a low rumble of laughs spreading across the crowd. Even Ashscar joined in, closing her stern eyes in a grin.
Once the Clan fell silent, the deputy opened her jaws and leaned in close to Mint's neck, clamping her sharp fangs onto the collar. The kittypet flinched slightly, and the next moment, his collar fell off of him like a leaf drifting from a tree. Somehow Ashscar had opened it, and now the collar lay like a long, straight stripe of blue on the dusty ground.
The crowd exploded with cheers of "Mint!" and Starlingpaw joined in with glee, crying out at the top of her lungs. At one point she caught Birchpaw looking at her with an unreadable expression, his eyes full of light reflected from the shining sun, and she beamed at him, her heart bursting with hope for this new cat and what he might mean for the Clan. Birchpaw smiled back and joined in with her loud yowls and cheers until Blizzardstar motioned with his tail for quiet.
"Mint has already explained that he wishes to keep his kittypet name, and that will be respected, so there is nothing else to do in welcoming him," the leader meowed, his tone unamused and unaffected by the joy of the crowd. Almost all of the Clan seemed to like Mint, and Starlingpaw was glad about it. DawnClan needed new faces. "Moving on, it is time for the third ceremony of this morning," Blizzardstar said with a yawn, his voice full of exaggerated exasperation. "The new kits have been given names by their parents, and I shall officially recognize them as such."
Tawnystripe and Mosspetal brought forward their three kits, the two with curly fur and the tortoiseshell she-kit. All three seemed fond of their new parents, nuzzling their forelegs with their tiny, fuzzy heads, and pressing their delicate bodies against their pelts. Mint's kit sat with them, batting at the other kittens with a paw and squealing happily.
"As DawnClan grows and new kits are born, moon-old kits are given names that follow the rules of the warrior code. These four kittens shall be given the names that they will keep until they reach six moons of age and become apprentices. Tawnystripe, Mosspetal, Mint, please tell the Clan what you have named your kits."
Mosspetal briefly touched her nose to Tawnystripe's muzzle before turning with her to face the Clan. Mint joined them, sitting a tail-length away, and waited for them to speak first.
Tawnystripe picked up the brown tabby she-kit, gently grabbing its curly neck fur and picking it up to show the Clan.
"This kitten is named Wetkit, for her thick and coiled fur," Mosspetal announced, her voice raised to ensure that the whole Clan could hear her. Tawnystripe moved to pick up the next kit. This time she lifted a gray tabby kit, its fur equally curled. "This kit is named Wolfkit, for her thick grey pelt." Starlingpaw smiled at the names and the beautiful kits with their fuzzy and wavy fur. Even their whiskers were curled, something she had never seen before in a cat.
Tawnystripe set the kit down with a quick lick and nudged Mosspetal with her muzzle. Her mate grabbed the remaining kit by her orange-and-black scruff and brought her into view of the Clan.
"This kit is named Halfkit, for her split face," Tawnystripe meowed. It was true; the little kitten's black markings seemed to split her face in half. It was a cute name, Starlingpaw thought.
The she-cats and their she-kits moved back to let Mint face the crowd, the silver-and-black tabby kitten at his feet. "This kit is named Fishkit, for the sheen of his silver fur," he meowed uncertainly. Starlingpaw realized that he was new to the naming conventions of the Clans, and probably had help selecting his kin's new name. It was a nice name regardless.
"Wetkit! Wolfkit! Halfkit! Fishkit!" the Clan cried, their voices breaking through the canopy to be heard by the hidden stars of their ancestors. Starlingpaw called out with the same fervor she had the last time, though her throat was growing tired with all the yowling.
Blizzardstar hopped down from the tallest tree without another word and disappeared underneath the tall oak, leaving the new parents to speak with the rest of the Clan.
Starlingpaw turned to say something to Birchpaw, but she was interrupted by a gruff voice.
"Starlingpaw," it meowed, and she turned to see Thornflame, his sable pelt shimmering in the dappled sun. "You, Birchpaw, and Larkpaw are to come with me and your mentors to the training hollow."
She nodded, unsettled by her father's strict tone, and turned back to Birchpaw.
"I'll go get Larkpaw and make sure he's okay. Can you get Darkfeather and Russetstorm?" Starlingpaw mewed to her friend, who agreed grudgingly and ran off to interrupt Darkfeather and Russetstorm, who were speaking with Tawnystripe and Mosspetal and mooning over the new kits.
Starlingpaw bounded into the apprentices' den, her stance wide to keep her from stumbling, and saw her brother lying curled up in a ball in his nest of moss. She pushed her nose against his flank, and he immediately opened his eyes. Apparently, Larkpaw was only pretending to sleep.
"What is it?" the tomcat apprentice meowed.
Starlingpaw swished her tail back and forth, at first wondering why Larkpaw hadn't been woken by Blizzardstar's call like she had, but then she remembered that he was trying to avoid Tawnystripe, for both of their benefits. "You, Birchpaw, and I are all going out to the training hollow for some practice. Our mentors too, of course. Are you coming?"
Larkpaw grumbled only a little before he rose to his paws and yawned. "All right. Let's go."
The littermates walked together to where their mentors and Birchpaw waited, close to the camp entrance, and Starlingpaw noticed that Honeypool was with them.
"Honeypool?" she meowed with surprise. "Why are you here?"
The medicine cat touched her nose to Starlingpaw's forehead quickly before answering, a show of friendship. "For you, of course. I'm here to personalize your training as well as I can."
Starlingpaw was confused. "Can't Darkfeather do that?"
"Well, sure, but I'm the medicine cat here. I'll know a few more tricks than any old warrior. Vinetail can cover for me. And…" Honeypool gestured quickly towards Thornflame with her tail when he wasn't looking, and Starlingpaw suddenly understood. The medicine cat wanted to make sure that Thornflame didn't act out, as he was known to do. Her father had very mixed feelings about Starlingpaw's condition, and he already wasn't known for his kindness.
"Okay, then," Darkfeather announced from her position beside Russetstorm. "If everyone's here, then we should go!"
The seven cats stepped through the thicket tunnel one by one and pushed their way through the forest to the training hollow above camp.
my writing program kept correcting skypaw to skype. i just... sigh.
the new kits are named! hurray!
sorry that this is sort of a transition chapter. I just needed to do some Clan progression, so! oops. it's pretty short.
**Just the same as the last chapter, if you submitted OCs, I'd love it if you could tell me your favorites so I can be sure to feature them (though the others will be too) since there are so many to fit in and I want to be sure that your most beloved get more important roles! :)
Reviews:
succulentsofa- thank you! I'm glad you liked the chapter, writing with so much dialogue is a bit of a change for me from my general style so it's kinda hard to do? but it's good you enjoyed it regardless. and Mint is a great character, hopefully his role in the events of the story will be revealed soon! :0 (and thank you for letting me know about your OCs! I'll keep that in mind)