Ceremony (It's About Time)

[Pale*]

Palestar
Palestar was a bit worried. They hadn't had apprentices for a while, but finally these kits were ready to be trained into warriors and by StarClan they would be some of the best trained ones in the forest! There were so few of them though, and there were so many warriors to choose from. She couldn't handle taking on an apprentice right now, she didn't think. She was becoming even more edgy and paranoid. She strode out of her den and into the Clearing. She could see that a few cats were already positioned and waiting for her to address them and call the rest of the Clan foreward.
"Cats of RiverClan, gather before me for a Clan Meeting."


Rustkit
Rustkit could hardly contain himself. He was gonna be an apprentice! He was wriggling under his pelt with excitment. He looked over to Dropkit, wondering if he was the only one squirming like a kit still, even though he was not going to be for long. He knew that he should act more mature about this, but he'd scold himself later, or his mother would. He looked over to catch a glance at her.


Rosethorn
Rosethorn was almost as excited as her kit was. This was her first kit to be apprenticed of her first litter. She loved her little scrap, but also worried that he would be a bother to whoever had to mentor him. Boy, was he a talker, she twitched her whiskers in amusement. She couldn't wait for his mentor to break him and make him listen. It was almost too good to be true. She caught him looked at her and nodded, trying to show how proud she was.

[{Snarky}]

Dropkit padded forward slowly, every cell in his mind screaming at him to sprint forward in front of the other kits waiting. He was maturing---he would force himself to wait. He tried to squelch the excitement building in him, but he wasn't sure if it worked or not. He supposed it did to a degree; he was able to sit still now, although the fur on his gray tail rose up stubbornly. He couldn't lick it down now, someone would see.

Staring at their leader, he prepared himself for the coming ceremony. He wished his mother was here. Would his sister be going through this? At the thought of his sister in the Thunderclan camp, a rush of excitement and adrenaline flew through him that could only be hers. Stupid connection. It was going to be hard to be a warrior much less an apprentice if he kept communicating with his Thunderclan sister in his mind.

He blocked it off, making sure she knew he did. He didn't care if he hurt her feelings or not; and he shouldn't. She might be his blood, but their borders separated them and demanded loyalty. And he would give it, all paws in. He was loyal to Riverclan to the core, and he wanted to show Palestar that, along with every other cat who mocked him because of his blood.

Here's to you.

[maddykay]

A young she-cat sat, thinking, in a secluded corner of camp. Her light gray fur blew softly in the wind and her ears twitched as she heard the expected summons. Raindrop had been made aware quite a while ago that three kits were soon to be apprenticed. She wondered if she'd ever be ready to have an apprentice herself and also vaguely wondered if any other sensible she-cat her age should be jealous that she had not been given the honor of an apprentice, but with Raindrop's personality jealousy seldom was an issue. Rising quickly to her feet, she joined the que of fellow clanmates now gathering around their beloved leader. Taking a seat next to Rosethorn, Raindrop couldn't help but notice her excitement.
"You must be so proud," she murmured, gazing upon the queen's kits, "they will grow to be such great warriors."
This was not a hope Raindrop had. One the contrary, this feeling of greatness was more tangible than that. As the reflective she-cat studied the young ones, she could see the determination and pride they all had. She new intuitively that they would indeed grow to make their mother, and their clan, proud.

[Pale*]

Palestar
Palestar looked down at the apprentices. She remembered her time as one. She hadn't been anything for too long. A kit for only six moons, an apprentice for four, a warrior for eight, deputy for one and a half, and leader for only half a moon or so. Ah, youth... It was a time of discovering who young cats were and who they were going to be. They would become warriors who would either serve their Clan well, or take a different route.


Rustkit
He glanced over at Dropkit who was almost as excited as he was. He wondered if he would begin to vibrate at some point. His ears began to twitch nervously. How was he going to make it until the ceremony? Would he be a good apprentice!? Who would his mentor be? Thoughts and questions rushed through his mind, but with the questions, there were no answers to be found. He felt like this was the begining. Mother wouldn't be around to watch him anymore; he would have to fall and pick himself up. He was on the edge of a cliff, looking down to the soft clouds below; all he needed was one step: to be made an apprentice. The journey was about to begin.


Rosethorn
"Of course. Rustkit is the only one left from my first litter. He, hopefully, will make me proud, she replied to Raindrop, pleased to think that her only son would make such a warrior. It had been extremely tough on her, losing one kit at a time: Mottledkit, then Creamkit, and then Duskkit. She had to believe that Rustkit would survive and make a warrior. He was all she had left. Her mate was now the deputy of another Clan and he couldn't see her anymore. She and her kit were all that was left. "Will you want to have kits, someday?" she asked, curiously, worried that she'd overstepped a boundary.

[{Snarky}]

Dropkit stared up at Palestar, only once looking away when another kit padded over to him. He recognized him as Rustkit, the only surviving kit of one of the warriors. It was a sad story, he had heard, but he had never really stopped to listen. Sadness didn't sit well with him. He didn't need anyone else's when he had his own that he could barely handle. Being an apprentice should be able to take his mind off of it, though. It would be hard work, but Dropkit knew he was ready for it.

Swishing his tail, another jolt of excitement shot through him, this time ten times as large as the other. He knew for sure it was not his own, but his fur stood on end anyway. Frantically, he tried to soothe it down before someone noticed. His sister must have just gotten apprenticed, and probably got a really good mentor judging by the flow of shock that passed through him next. Well, good for her. He wished her well. If he needed to, he could send her a thought later.

But right now and for the rest of his life, the clan came first.

[Pale*]

[[anyone want to mentor some kits? i can't tell whose active anymore.]]

[maddykay]

Raindrop could see the pain Rosethorn still felt over the loss of her other kits. Sensitive to other cats and their feelings, she was especially warm-hearted towards her clanmates. "I'm sorry about your other ones," she said in a quieter, more soothing voice, "but Rustkit will soon become a great warrior and will make you even more proud then you are now." Taking a pause inbetween her words, she thought of Rosethorn's question. Not feeling offended or put off by it in the least, she looked her right in the eye and said, "Yes. Someday, when I find the right tom, I do want kits. I want the love for them you have, the pride you get. I want not just the closeness of clanmates, but the closeness of kinship." She gave a sad little sigh, "But for now, the most I can hope for is an apprentice."

ooc:I'll apprentice Rustkit if you want, I don't think Raindrop has an apprentice. do you remember ever doing a mentor/apprentice ceremony for her? I couldn't find a thread anywhere so I'm assuming not XD

[Pale*]

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[maddykay]

ooc:no problem