Celebration [makes.a.nice.CHANGE-->clan meeting]

[♫.Starredmyst]

Patchstar was quite obviously a mess.

His shoulders and sides were covered with scratches big and small; he'd gotten into a fight with two young traitors the night before and doubtless by now the whole Clan knew about it. It embarrassed him to have to so much as stick his head out of his den today -- and the stupid wounds hurt -- but between the nagging of his deputy, daughter and various deceased relatives, he thought his head was going to explode.

So, that evening, he reluctantly leapt up onto Highrock.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey come to Highrock for a Clan meeting." The traditional call, shortened slightly in Patchstar's irritation, rang out over the Clan.


Risingdawn was taking a short break after his evening duties, relaxing and sitting with Silverdust, who he hadn't spent much time with lately. He was regretting it, as she wouldn't stop teasing him about Snowsong -- and there was a certain serious gleam in the back of her eyes as she prodded about his fight with Patchstar the night before.

Silv's eyes widened as Risingdawn stood up and pointedly turned away from Highrock when the call came out. "Riss, what are you doing?"

"Ignoring the fat idiot," Risingdawn answered shortly, padding towards the camp exit. Silv's mouth dropped open.

"But it's not just about him, Riss, the whole Clan --"

"-- is falling apart. Get out of my fur, Silv."

Shocked, Silverdust padded to the base of Highrock as Risingdawn left camp.


Starredmyst was watching the clouds color as the sun fell, and was glad to hear her father would finally be starting the ceremonies. She padded over, keeping an eye out for Nightpaw -- her cousin would be excited.


Nightpaw was startled to hear a Clan meeting being called -- it was the first one in ages. At the same time, his heart started pounding. He was twelve moons old...

Excited, he hurried over to Highrock.


Aviansun's ears flicked at the leader's call. He padded up to the meeting place, idly keeping an eye out for Moonwhisker. She might tell him what all this was about...

[რoonwhisker]

Rainclaw and Rippedheart had been together as usual when Patchstar called the meeting. Rainclaw rolled her eyes and Rippedheart sighed. The tabby twins rose from their resting place near the nursery. For once, Rippedheart was faster than his sister. But he couldn't really count it as a win, she was obnoxiously pregnant.

She hobbled along after him and they found a seat next to their mother, who was already waiting for them. "So when are those little Darksongs coming. You look like a balloon," the elder commented. Rainclaw didn't respond.

Moonwhisker took her usual seat as she waited for Patchstar. She looked over at Aviansun, wondering if he was looking for her.

Dewkit poked her head out of the nursery, wanting to take a peek. She had groomed herself and everything. She was ready!

[Đarκsong]

"Aww, what the heck does that idiot want now?!" Darksong called out from the depths of the Warriors Den. He was not the least impressed when he heard about yesterday's 'incident'. Plus, something was shifty about Mothflight. He was hiding something....

Mothflight was coming back into camp, dropping 2 mice into the freshkill pile. There was a pang of guilt in his gait. Just a small pang though. He told himself again and again, I did the right thing, Patchstar needed to know. He didn't know the exact details of the fight though. Still sure he and Patchstar were in the right, the tortie tom padded over and sat to listen to the meeting.

Darksong padded unenthusiastically into the clearing, looking around for Rainclaw. He instead saw his brother, exactly the cat he didn't want to see. His amber eyes burned into Mothflight's tortie pelt.

"What?!" Mothflight hissed.

"Oh nothing grouchypelt....." Darksong groaned sarcastically. He then silently padded over to Rainclaw and her family. He purred as he settled down next to Rainclaw, but still felt rather uneasy.


Purplekit raced out of the nursery, nearly running over Dewkit. He had never been more excited in his short life. The tabby kitten had refused to let any of the queens clean his pelt. Well, he wouldn't stay still long enough. He skidded to a halt in the middle of the clearing to take in everything.

Wiltedflower slowly padded out behind the bouncy kit. She quickly jumped on the chance to clean Purplekit when he stopped, licking his pelt quickly and rather rough.

"Ow....no....please.....OW." Purplekit cried dramatically.

"Oh stop it." Wiltedflower said. She sighed, then stopped. She supposed he was good enough. Her heart sank though when a thought came to her mind; if her kits had lived, they would be becoming apprentices today too. The tabby queen sighed again, and sat in the back of the gathering by herself.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

It was the traditional call, but it was best to ignore it for now. Snowsong slipped from the warriors' den to the medicine cat's den, aware that the medicine cat wasn't around for the moment. Hopefully, she'd have some peace in there. That way, her sanity would simply retreat back to her, though she knew she'd still be irritated with Patchstar.

Soon slipping into the den, she allowed herself to be engulfed in the shadows. There, she turned around as she sat down. She wrapped her tail neatly around her paws, her moonstones gleaming a clear ebony through the darkness as they glared out, emotionless, to the world, from deep within the shadows.

But, as she spotted Risingdawn departing from Camp, she wavered whether or not to follow him. Eventually, the side that desired to trail after him won, and she got to her paws. Stealthily, she slipped out of the medicine cat den and slipped through the hidden entrance to trail after her mate.



The ceremonial call! Gingerpaw rushed over to the Highrock, sitting down with glee. She knew she wasn't at the age of a warrior just yet, but she was still glad for all the others who were going to be involved in the ceremony upgrades.

She couldn't wait until it was her turn to be made a warrior! Just a single step left, and it had her forcing herself to keep from squealing occasionally from excitement.



Paintedkit poked his apex out of the nursery as he heard the call for a ceremony, and he padded a few tail-lengths from the nursery entrance. Tail held high, he raised his head, somewhat, and his orbs gleamed as he felt the excitement of his Clan growing stronger.

So, what if he wasn't old enough, just yet? He was going to be an apprentice soon, and then become a warrior. He wanted to have his time of pride. But, for now, he knew that it was others' times of pride, and he would not interfere, only support.



Sharp hid within a corner of the nursery, his pale emeralds, rimmed with gold, seemed to darken to a deep green as he watched Wiltedflower exit the nursery, as well as another kit. His arrival had been known, but only in the nursery; all the queens and kits had decided to leave him be, since he was an orphan, and for that, he as grateful. But, he still only trusted his foster mother; he cared about her, just as a kit would for a mother.

Shifting around, he got out of his curled up position and to his paws, flicking his lobes as he silently bounded over to his foster mother. He concealed himself behind her, peering out from time to time, just a tiny peek to see what was occurring.

It was all interesting. He had never seen so many cats in one place, and in peace. Well, mostly in peace. Some seemed to have hostile glares and conversations with others, which concerned him, but just barely. He was still attempting to grow accustomed to nursery life, and then onto Clan life. A sigh escaped his lips, and then he glanced at his foster mother.

[Twigtail]

Twigtail glanced up at the yowling of his irritable and irritating leader. He had been enjoying a meal break, made up of a particularly fat mouse, which he very much enjoyed crunching up in his lean jaws, feeling the little bones splinter between his teeth… oh, but sadly, now was not the time for morbid details. According to Patchstar, now was the time for something else. Slurping up the tail of the mouse, which the ginger warrior had saved for last, Twigtail sidled a little closer to the Highrock, ragged ears pricked towards the ball of fat that was passing itself off as a leader.

Interestingly, though, on this day, the ball of fat was apparently injured. Twigtail’s beady little eyes took in the multiple scratches lacing the sorry-excuse-for-a-tom’s patchy pelt. Over the course of the night, gossip had trickled down the grapevine to Twiggy’s eager ears, but was this gossip truly true? Did Patchstar really get into a fight with a couple of warriors? Considering his lazy bulk, that was a real surprise, and interesting enough to have kept the infamous Twigtail skulking around the camp for the past twenty-four, trying to dig up whatever dirt he could find.

The scrawny tomcat crouched, leering unpleasantly as usual with his head sunk below his shoulders, staring up at the leader, wondering what juicy details might be revealed over the course of the meeting. It wasn’t as if Twigtail was actually going to care about whatever Patchstar’s announcements were unless they correlated to something unusual or especially intriguing, preferably involving the killing of helpless loners. (Actually, Twigtail rather liked one of those helpless loners that had been ordered to be killed; he just liked the idea of the turmoil created, not the actual action.)

Meanwhile, from a short distance outside the camp, another warrior’s blue-gray ears were pricking. Beetlewing, who’d been stalking along the edge of the Great Water, heard his leader’s call, and – great StarClan above, let nothing bad happen! – Patchstar sounded especially mad. The big blue-gray coward that was Beetlewing was especially tuned to tones of anger, and he recognized the leader’s instantly. Turning with a swiftness that defied his size, the gawky warrior loped back towards the camp, his silvery tail a-bristle.

As he slipped through the entrance, though, Beetlewing detected no more than the usual tension in the atmosphere, and he relaxed a teensy bit. Slowly, now, the tomcat padded towards the assembling cats, trickling in with the others, hoping to blend in without any cat noticing him and his bluish bulk. His large eyes scanned the growing crowd, trying to find a friendly face, one that he could settle down near without arousing any angry glares. His owlish eyes eventually landed on Mothflight. Hey, he’d gone hunting with that cat recently, hadn’t he? Perhaps Beetlewing’s presence would be tolerated, or at least ignored, near the tortoiseshell tom. But when he saw the unhappy look on the other tom’s face, the gray warrior hesitated, hovering a few tail-lengths away, very apparently at a loss.

Where could he sit?!

[☆§wìftflame☆]

[wow guys sorry this is kind of very hard to follow.]

Rainkit barreled, overjoyed and over-groomed, out of the nursery, like a streaky gray bullet. Her small paws propelled her forward as she weaved expertly throughout her disgruntled clan-mates. All thoughts of maturity had momentarily fled her mind, but her yanked back into place as Dawnflight grabbed her by the scruff of her neck as if she were no more than a tiny kit. Which she would no longer be momentarily, Rainkit reflected happily. She struggled helplessly until the motherly she-cat finally lowered her with a brief reprimand. Dawnflight was unable to stay angry at Rainkit, soon to be Rainpaw, for long. Her little kits were finally going to be apprentices! She was positively glowing with happiness. Dawnflight padded over to sit by her sister, Swiftflame, and greeted her warmly, a greeting which was returned similarly. Meanwhile, Rainkit bounced over to sit her siblings and friends, overwhelmed with excitement. "Guys, this is it! We're finally gonna be apprentices! I wonder who my mentor will be?" Her slim tail flicked out over the dusty ground, quickly reverting to its previously dusty state.

****

Echopaw peered apprehensively and gloomily out of the apprentices den. The last apprentice ceremony he had been to was his own, and honestly, being an apprentice in this clan wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Sure, he'd learned to fight well enough, but only because he was forced to do so to stay alive and keep his pride intact. He sighed and padded silently out into the clearing, scoping out the darkest shadow he could find. He trotted over and blended silently into the shadows, observing but unseen.


***

Jaywing grunted good-naturedly and jiggled her flab. She could hear from over here by the fresh-kill pile just fine.

[/size]

[Đarκsong]

((ooc: idk if it's alright to post again....but yeah I wanted to let Beetlewing sit XD))

Mothflight shot a confused glance at the hovering Beetlewing. Feeling the need to be polite to his fellow tom, he said, "Beetlewing, you can sit by me if you'd like." He supposed the grey-blue tom would be decent company.

[Flower]

Flowerpelt pricked up her ears at the signal of a clan meeting. She bounded to her feet, but Silverstripe stayed where he was. "Why bother? It's not like I can't hear from here. You go ahead." Flowerpelt hovered anxiously nearby for a moment, then walked up to the Highrock.

Maskkit heard Purplekit scramble out of the nursery. Accordingly, he followed, albeit at a more sedate pace. His fur was actually mostly in place for once, and he was extremely excited.

(so blah, I'm late ._. not much to say here)

[♫.Starredmyst]

OOc;{Ok guys, mentor assignments next post...let me know if you have someone in mind for any of these apart from Purplekit/Rippy, I'm mostly just picking at random, or if you didn't want your kit apprenticed yet.}


Most of the Clan had assembled. Patchstar, trying to hide his disinterest, called down, "Nightpaw, please come forward."

Despite himself, he felt a little twinge of pride as the young tom beamed in excitement and bounded up to Highrock; Nightpaw was family, after all. The apprentice was doing his best to look solemn for the situation, but was practically twitching with excitement all the same. Patchstar spoke the full traditional words this time; the old ones, still surviving despite generations of disbelief. He felt a shadow of his old power in repeating them.

"I, Patchstar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Nightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Nightpaw's yellow-green eyes gleamed trust up at his leader. "I do," he answered gravely.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name." Patchstar met his nephew's gaze squarely. "Nightpaw, from this moment you will be known as Nightstreak. StarClan honors your courage and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of IvoryClan."

The bulky tom leaned forwards toward the lower rock, briefly setting his muzzle on top of the new warrior's head. Nightstreak pressed his tongue against the older tom's shoulder; pulling away, he whispered, "Thanks, Uncle."

Patchstar nodded gravely, very much the elderly leader. "Your vigil will be tonight."

Feeling slightly awed, the young tom held his place as the crowd called his name.


"Nightstreak! Nightstreak!" Like her father, Starredmyst was delighted for her young cousin. He looked ready to die of excitement.


"Nightstreak!" Silv was grinning cheerfully as she watched the new warrior -- younger than her! what a strange thought, that it wasn't a new idea anymore -- but she had to wonder at the innocence of the scene. Was he the only cat in the Clan who didn't know their leader was nuts?


"Nightstreak!" Although Aviansun was glad for the new warrior, he had very little interest in the scene. Spotting Moonwhisker, he slipped through the crowd over to her.

"This is cozy, don't you think?" he murmured in her ear, under cover of the crowd. "I'm glad Patchstar thought to cheer the Clan up a little -- or was this idea yours?"


Patchstar waited for the cheering to die down, then flicked his tail; taking the signal, Nightstreak jumped down and melted in with the crowd.

"Dewkit, Purplekit, Paintedkit, Rainkit, Maskkit, please step forward."



Risingdawn felt a bit of a traitor, wandering out through the sands when the rest of his Clan was celebrating. Still, despite twinges of guilt, there was a sense of relief; he didn't feel like a brainless follower anymore, ignoring the whispers and downright misdeeds surrounding Patchstar. It felt good to be a rebel.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Snowsong, slipping out the back entrance. He padded up to her.

"Tired of the empty words back at camp?" he asked her softly, lightly teasing. "Did you just want a breath of fresh air? Or is it that I was supposed to meet you here, and whisper sweet words to you? I hope I'm doing all right if that's the case."

[რoonwhisker]

"Nightstreak Nightstreak!" Rainclaw called. She was indeed happy for once, new warriors were good. Nightstreak would now have respect in her eyes. Well, some respect. But then again, Rainclaw had never really had a problem with the cat to begin with.

"Nightstreak!" Rippedheart called. It would be nice to have a new addition to the warrior's den.

Carmeltail didn't bother to waste her voice, there was enough yelling already and it was hurting her ears.

"NightstreakNightstreak!" Dewkit yowled happily. Because after this, it was her turn!

"Nightstreak!" Moonwhisker yowled, then found a familiar voice talking to her in her ear. She smiled. "Well, I've been bugging him about this for awhile. So I don't know who you'd credit," she meowed.

Then, it was Dewkit's turn. She gracefully bounded towards the rock when she herd her name. She waiting for everyone else to arrive, excitement leaking through her fur.

[Đarκsong]

"Nightstreak! Nightstreak!" Mothflight chanted with the rest of the clan. He was very proud of him, considering he was the one who trained him.

Darksong didn't chant the name. Instead, he whispered to Rainclaw, "Hopefully with his warrior name comes common sense. Mothflight and I had to get him out of a tree once." A smirk played upon his lips.

Wiltedflower stayed silent through everyone's chanting. She felt so down right now that she couldn't be excited for the new warrior. Everyone else in the clan could have kits that lived, and be warriors. Why was she singled out for torture?

"Nightstreak!" Purplekit called out, shaking from excitement. He bounded up to the rock quickly at the mention of his name, nearly running into Dewkit.

[Flower]

"Nightstreak! Nightstreak!" Flowerpelt was happy for the new warrior. Silverstripe halfheartedly mumbled the name out of the corner of his mouth as he groomed.

Maskkit's throat closed up in excitement and all that could come out was a shrill squeak as he ran up to the rock. He shifted from foot to foot, feeling as if any second now he would either take off and fly or explode - maybe both. He was going to be an apprentice!

[Twigtail]

Beetlewing was relieved to see a flash of friendliness from Mothflight, and the big blue-gray tom padded quickly over to the tortoiseshell and seated himself tidily and conservatively beside him. He sat quietly, watching Patchstar as the IvoryClan leader named the oldest apprentice, Nightpaw, a warrior. Well, now it wasn’t Nightpaw, was it? The blue-gray warrior, almost missing his cue to start chanting the latest addition to the warrior arsenal’s name, heard the usual call come from his side, where Mothflight sat. Out of time with the rest of the cats, Beetlewing belatedly started calling, “Nightstreak! Nightstreak!” He felt, despite his mistimed beginning, a brief glow of relaxation with the oneness of chanting with the rest of the Clan. For once, he didn’t feel quite so disconnected.

But Twigtail, for one, was disheartened by the new warrior’s ceremony. Why was this? Why, it was because Patchstar seemed to regain whatever smidgen of authority he ever possessed while he repeated the traditional words. The skinny warrior who had been waiting for some drama sighed imperceptibly, and began to quietly chant the young warrior’s new name. “Nightstreak. Nightstreak. Night-streakity Nightstreak.” His tone was bored, as usual, and his narrow shoulders slumped a bit.

The blue warrior and the red warrior had different feelings about the next part of the meeting. Beetlewing felt the usual rush of anticipation to see the young kittens named new apprentices. He couldn’t expect Patchstar to give him an apprentice, and he frankly had to agree. Beetlewing would never be able to handle the responsibility of mentoring. Twigtail, meanwhile, felt his boredom double in size. Was he really expected to sit through another list of new names? No matter how old they got, they were still stupid kits in his mind, along with… well, pretty much the rest of the Clan.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

[[ ._. Sooo late. ]]

"Nightstreak! Nightstreak!" Her yowl echoed cheerily, since she was so glad for her companion. It was wonderful to see him become a warrior, and she couldn't wait until she became one.

Just as Gingerpaw was about to shout again, the signal for complete silence arrived. She gladly shut her jowls, and she awaited the next words. And they came; and she was quite happy about the kits!




His breath hitched in his throat, and he somewhat stiffened as his calling was voiced by the leader. So, perhaps the excitement made him forget how old he actually was; not five and three fourth moons, but six moons already!

Paintedkit calmed himself down, taking a breath. He raised his tail and lobes even higher, and he took a few steps forward, glancing back to see if the others were going to follow.




The shouts of excitement and joy battered his eardrums, and Sharp crouched to the ground. His emeralds stared out at the scene of the Clan's ceremonies, and he couldn't help but feel like he wanted to be an apprentice soon. But he still had a wait, and who knew if the Clan would accept him. A faint sigh escaped him, and he straightened up, watching the scene intently.




It was comforting to watch her mate pad up to her as she escaped the Camp's atmosphere.

"Tired of the empty words back at camp? Did you just want a breath of fresh air? Or is it that I was supposed to meet you here, and whisper sweet words to you? I hope I'm doing all right if that's the case."

His soft tone and gentle, lightly teasing words soothed her, and she allowed a faint purr to ripple within her throat her Risingdawn. Closing her moonstones, Snowsong allowed her lobes to pin to her apex as she nuzzled his chest and chin. "All of your guesses are correct," she murmured gently, before twining her tail with his.

"And, your sweet words are a charming, whispering breeze." She rasped her tongue over his chest, and she stepped closer to him to allow their pelts to softly brush.

[☆§wìftflame☆]

As Dawnflight sat behind, glowing with pride at her kits, Rainkit bounded, almost gracefully for once but still bouncing slightly, up to highrock to stand beside her siblings and Patchstar. She was bubbling with excitement, completely ready to begin her training as an apprentice. However, a small part of her wished that Patchstar had been too sick so Moonwhisker might have been the one to name her as an apprentice. Rainkit was more than sure that this so called clan leader was completely off his rocker. This thought was not enough to distract her, however, and her eyes darted wildly across the clearing, trying to take in everything at once from this new vantage point. Rainkit had never been up on Highrock before, with the ability to look down across camp. With a twitch of her tail across the down down ground, Rainkit decided she liked it and felt quite at home up here. Settling more comfortably on her small paws, Rainkit gazed avidly about, anticipation all but overwhelming her.

[Aah late, but Algebra 2 beckoned. And it still does. I'm going to be up late. =/. xD]