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

[♫.Starredmyst]

Patchstar looked at the five kits who had lined up in front of him with a mixture of disappointment and annoyance. It was never the same, after your own ceremonies were over with for good -- and once you'd done a round dozen as leader, it got downright boring. Still, he was being nagged. With a sigh, Patchstar dredged up the mental list of mentors Moonwhisker and Starredmyst had provided.

He turned to Dewkit, the first to arrive at the rock. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Dewpaw. Silverstripe, you are a powerful warrior, as your...appearance shows. You will mentor Dewpaw. I'm sure your experience will be...helpful for her."


Down in the crowd, Starr winced visibly. She'd been afraid this would happen the moment Silverstripe's name had slipped out; still, he was a good warrior despite her father's grudge against him, and he would mentor Dewpaw well, scars aside.


Not seeming to notice the awkward moment, Patchstar moved on to the next cat. "From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Purplepaw. Rippedheart, as a loyal, careful warrior, you have proven yourself able to take on an apprentice. I'm sure you will pass on your knowledge to Purplepaw." Without pausing a beat, still looking faintly bored, he kept the line moving.

"From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Maskpaw. Aviansun, even as a young warrior you have been a great help to the Clan. Maskkit will be your first apprentice, and I expect you to pass your abilities on to him."


At this point, Aviansun had been standing very close to Moonwhisker, in order to continue a whispered conversation with her in the mostly silent crowd. "I think I'd rather pay the compliment to a pretty she-cat than a fellow tom, myself," he was beginning to answer her, voice slightly teasing, when the call of his name returned him to the present ceremony.

He was being given an apprentice? What a surprise. A good one, considering what Patchstar had said about him -- a little inconvenient for the moment -- but, well. Cats who had apprentices reflected experience. "I'm sorry," he murmured to Moonwhisker, with a slight tilt of his head -- a silent did you know about this? -- and hurried up to Highrock.

Which one was his? Ah, the one right in front of Patchstar, the jittery grey-and-orange one. This was going to be a handful. Stifling a sigh, Aviansun plastered a parental smile on his face and bent to touch noses with the young tom.


Patchstar went on to the last two, churning right through as though the cats were an assembly line {idk xD}. "From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Paintedpaw. Swiftflame, you are a talented warrior in our Clan. Please pass your abilities on to your new apprentice.

"From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Rainpaw. Silverdust, you are an...enthusiastic warrior, and ready for your first apprentice. Mentor Rainpaw well."


Silverdust was slightly distracted from the ceremony, worrying about her brother and his mate. Oh, she'd seen Snowsong slipping out the back...the two lovebirds were probably together now.

But this was just wrong. There were things more important than personal grudges, Clan things -- if you walked away from a ceremony, you weren't just showing disapproval to the leader, you were refusing to support the newly-named cats that the ceremony was about. Silv felt a stirring of unease and promised to have a long talk with the two skippers later.

In any case, she almost missed her name being called.

And then she heard it and wondered, offhandedly, what she was doing wrong.

And then she remembered she was at a ceremony, and then she noticed all the ickle not-kits-anymore standing up in front of the leader.

And THEN she realized she'd better get her tail up to Highrock and say hi to her new apprentice.

Stifling a squeal of excitement that was practically as undignified as any kit's, the grey she-cat barreled through the crowd without so much as a 'please-excuse-me'. For the third time in her life she bounded up to Highrock and stared wildly around, this time trying to figure out which apprentice was hers.

Oh, the one that didn't have a mentor touching its nose yet, right? She grinned at the kit -- apprentice -- whassername, Rainpaw -- and leaned forward a little more gently than she'd run up, to touch her nose to the apprentice's.


Nightstreak, Starredmyst and any cats Ren forgot to mention chanted and stuff. {xD}




Risingdawn smiled, half to himself, at Snowsong's words and movement; rubbing his head against her shoulder -- careful not to bump any of her injuries -- he answered her, a purr in his chest. "Good."

He wondered, briefly, if the question he wanted to ask would break the mood, then decided it was more important that he ask it anyway. Still, he phrased it carefully, wrapping his tail tighter round hers. "And how are you feeling, with your fresh air and a tom at your side? I wouldn't have been hurt if you felt the need to stay in camp, you know -- with the ceremony, and the," he hesitated, "busy past few days."

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Excitement took hold of his figure, and he couldn't help but tremble with it as he pricked his lobes and tail. He rose to his paws, pride clearly revealed, and he awaited the arrival of his mentor to touch noses.

Gingerpaw chanted, as Sharpkit decided to join in. However, he only murmured.




A smile played upon her lips, and her purr somewhat grew. "It's nice. Very pleasant," she whispered softly, pushing up against him once their tails were tightly twined. It truly felt comforting, wonderful even.

How she wished they could remain like this. The moment was relaxing, like a dream. Like paradise.

[ You can tell my muse is dead. xD ]

[Flower]

Silverstripe heaved himself up, his expression of boredom plain on his face. Walking up to the Highrock, he stretched out to dab noses with Dewpaw, silently appraising her. She appeared rather frail and had an odd limp, but then again he was missing an eye. He allowed himself a grim smile. They would make a fine pair.
Flowerpelt chanted & stuff. ((XD))
Maskpaw grinned like an idiot and touched noses with Aviansun, unaware of his new mentor's annoyance. This was going to be ever so much fun.

[Twigtail]

Beetlewing called all of the new apprentices’ names, feeling very warm and fuzzy from such a touching ceremony. All the little kittens looked so excited, and their enthusiasm fueled the blue-gray warrior’s. He turned to grin at his meeting companion, but when he saw the tortoiseshell, his smile faded and he turned his attention back to the apprentices. No need for the hype to go straight to his head. Guessing that the meeting was finished, the big warrior lifted himself up and puzzled over what to do next.

Down in his position closer to the Highrock, Twigtail was feeling bored out of his mind. Now he regretted coming so close to the rock; it was so much harder to make an escape from his position. He stared as apprentice-mentor pairing after pairing filed past, the base of his tail itching with annoyance. Why didn’t Patchstar just tell the mentors in private? Did they all really have to drag themselves over to a meeting for this load of dog poo? Not even bothering to chant, the warrior waited with burning frustration until the meeting finished, and by that time, the camp exit was screaming, “Twigtail! Twigtail! Come hither!” As soon as the old windbag on the Highrock ran out of breath, the summoned warrior scurried to his small paws and scooted over to the entrance, ducking out quickly to make a clean escape.

[And with that, Twigtail the roleplayer has done her obligatory attend-the-meeting posting. Over and out.]

[რoonwhisker]

In all honestly, Dewpaw had been expecting it. Silverstripe didn't have one of his eyes and Dewpaw's leg was limp. But she didn't mind. In fact, this would help her more than hurt her. She was just overjoyed at the fact of having a mentor at all! She touched noses with the Silver tom happily.

Rainclaw couldn't help but laugh Purplepaw and Rippedheart were a match made in StarClan. Rippedheart smiled, full of pride and was on the highrock in a millisecond. He touched noses with the new apprentice, a huge dumb smile pasted on his face.

Moonwhisker couldn't help herself. She blushed, turning red under her fur. "Thank you," she meowed. Then his name was called. "Congratulations," she said.

[☆§wìftflame☆]

As Silverdust was named as Rainpaw's mentor, she couldn't help but giggle. Of course she would receive this ridiculously over enthusiastic cat as her mentor. This will be fun... Thought Rainpaw, and she bounced a little with excitement as she leaned forward and touched noses with her new mentor.

***

Swiftflame looked up in genuine surprise as her name was called to mentor Paintedpaw. Immediately she was filled with excitement and determination. This was her first apprentice, and Paintedpaw was a natural leader and hopefully a quick learner. Swiftflame couldn't help but think she'd gotten the best apprentice out of the lot. Trotting forward with a measured pace, Swiftflame leaned down and touched noses with her newly named apprentice. Staring confidently into his eyes, sure that they'd make a good match.


[ughhhhh muse soooooooooo dead. I'm gonna go figure out who silverdust is. xD]

[Đarκsong]

Purplepaw felt like he was going to jump right out of his fur when he heard Rippedheart would be his mentor. That was exactly who he wanted! He shook from nose to tail when he touched noses with his new mentor. The newly made apprentice simply could not wait to train with his favorite warrior.


Darksong was trying so hard not to laugh at Rippedheart and Purplepaw being matched up, he choked for a moment. He couldn't figure out how Purplepaw could possibly become a decent warrior if he was being trained by a pansy. Then again, it probably wouldn't matter who trained Purplepaw, he'd end up that way.


Mothflight chanted the new apprentices names along with the rest of the clan, but was bored out of his mind. So many kits!


Wiltedflower called out the apprentices names as well. She thought Patchstar's mentor choices were surprisingly good. Well, at least there weren't any pairings like Darksong with Gingerpaw. Now that made no sense at all.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Patchstar waited a moment as the chanting died down, then leapt off his rock. He wanted a nice, long sleep so his wounds would stop aching. [exit Patchy]


Starredmyst nudged Nightstreak, who had come over to sit with her for the remainder of the ceremony. "You know, you really should have gone to sit with Mothflight," she murmured. Nightstreak shrugged. "Anyway, it's been a long day. I'm going to bed. Have a nice vigil, all right?"

Nightstreak nodded at his cousin; as she turned to go he reached out and touched her shoulder with his tail. He smiled at her when she turned, and they parted. [exit Starr]

The new warrior looked around camp, then began to pad through the dispersing crowd. It was a fairly warm night, for mid-spring; he was tired, and it would be hard not to fall asleep.

After a moment's consideration, the tom selected a spot to wait out the night: a comfortable, but prickly, section of the camp wall. It jutted out from the rest and had a good view of the camp entrance. Leaping up, Nightstreak settled himself to watch camp and think about...whatever new warriors were supposed to think about, anyway. [exit Night]


Aviansun drew back from Maskpaw as the meeting broke up, studying his new apprentice. Whatever he saw in the young tom, his expression didn't show it. "Tomorrow," he said finally, turning to go. "I want to see you at the freshkill pile, ready to go, as soon as the sun's risen enough to see by."

Now, where had Moonwhisker gone...?


Rainpaw giggled a little as Silverdust reached her, bumping their noses. Silv drew back and grinned at the apprentice.

"You're my first apprentice," she informed the she-cat with cheerful candidness {is that a word? xD}. "This'll be fun. Sleep good tonight, and we can go out in the morning and do some stuff, 'kay?"


Risingdawn's purr rumbled and grew loud enough to hear as well as feel. His thoughts were in a line with his mate's; it always felt so warm, so safe when they were together. Even if he'd ever been interested in another cat, he didn't think he'd feel so comfortable flirting with them like he did Snowsong.

He sighed. "Can you imagine?" he murmured absently, half to himself. "What it would be like for the two of us, way back when...generations ago, before all this madness? Nocat would want to hurt us for being in love, or for thinking like independent creatures. And even if they did, there'd be justice..."

He half sighed again and smiled at Snowsong, shaking his head. "Forget that. I'm just daydreaming. What do you think the meeting was about?"

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw padded over to the apprentices' den as all the other cats began to exit the ceremony, glancing back at Nghtstreak, happy for him that he was now a warrior. It would be lonely to not be able to train with him anymore, but, she knew it would be soon that she could be made a warrior.

However, there was also something else that interested her; being a medicine cat, to help all her Clan mates who were in need. It would be nice, considering how Ripplepaw's duties... before he disappeared.. A faint sigh escaped her lips; she didn't allow herself to dwell upon it for long. With a twitch of her lobes, she turned and allowed the shadows of the den to engulf her.



Sharpkit glanced around as all the cats began to disperse, and he couldn't help but feel a jolt of excitement. He would be able to participate in this one day, right? Well, he would let himself look forward to it. With a faint breath, he retreated back to his corner within the nursery.



When he withdrew from his new mentor, a smile played upon his lips. Paintedpaw couldn't help but feel that, working together, they'd make a wonderful match. And, perhaps he would become a warrior faster than usual! But, no time to dwell upon that. He needed a good night sleep. "We're training tomorrow, right?"



Pallid shoulders somewhat sagged at the thought of the ginger tom's daydreams. A faint sigh escaped her lips, her tail somewhat drooping for a moment. However, she snapped from that as he spoke again, and then he asked her about her thoughts about perhaps what the ceremony was about.

Snowsong allowed a moment of silence to pass, and she tightened her tail around Risingdawn's again. ".. Probably just updates..." She couldn't help but feel a dislike to listening to the blank, care less voice of the insane leader that 'led' then.

Another faint sigh broke past her lips, and she shifted to lay upon her stomach. She twitched her right lobe to invite her beloved to settle down next to her. "How about we spend the night out here? Then, when we return tomorrow, we could bring back prey.."

[Flower]

Silverstripe looked around to see if anyone was watching, then gave Dewpaw a quick, affectionate lick. "Meet me by the fresh-kill pile at sunhigh tomorrow, okay?" He then turned his back on his new apprentice and padded back to the warrior den. Flowerpelt followed at a safe distance, but didn't say anything. She sensed that he was more pleased with his apprentice than he let on and didn't want to ruin it for him.
Maskpaw nodded importantly at what Aviansun told him, tail held high. He wouldn't let his new mentor down.

[☆§wìftflame☆]

Rainpaw bounced slightly in excitement at her mentor's happy-go-lucky attitude. "Okay!" And she could not wait for training to start. [byez Rainpawz]

**
Dawnflight had watched the ceremony with unbelievable pride in her heart. All of her kits had been assigned perfect mentors, especially Rainpaw. However, she was unable to suppress a small amount of disappointment in what used to be her calmest and most responsible kit. What had happened to her?

**

Swiftflame smiled warmly at her apprentices eager response, and meowed, "Absolutely. Get a good nights sleep, Paintedpaw, and we'll start training tomorrow at sunhigh."

[/b] Swiftflame had spent a considerable amount of time debating when she should start training. She had been leaning towards dawn, as it would allow them to follow the path of the dawn patrol and allow Paintedpaw to learn the borders, but she had figured he deserved a little more sleep after the long ceremony. Feeling still a bit unreal, having an apprentice of her own already, Swiftflame gave him one last smile before heading off towards the warriors den. Tonight had been an eventful and surprising night, and she needed even more than Paintedpaw to be rested for the day to come.[/size][/blockquote]