Winter Is Coming

[sabs]

BRACKENSTAR - - >

    A chilly breeze swept through the camp as the new leader creeped his way upon the High Rock. Sure, he’d done this a couple times before, but this time he was actually leader. His yellow eyes briefly scanned the clearing as cats had already started to make their way towards him. The camp had been quite solem since the passing of Mothstar and death of many of their other Clanmates as well. Brackenstar gave a curt nod as the last litter of Lionstorm’s litter. Today, they’d be warriors. He was sure their father was looking down proudly upon them from StarClan.

    “May all cats old enough to fight their own battles gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!” The tom’s voice rang out, and he observed as the last of the cats around camp made their way towards him. He waited a heartbeat longer for everyone to settle before continuing. “Times have been hard this Leaf-fall, with the death of a few of our Clanmates, and of course Mothstar…” His voice dropped, but he quickly regained his words. “But MothClan is strong. We’ve made it through tough times before, and this will be no different. Today we will welcome more strong warriors into our ranks, as well as some well-deserving apprentice.” Brackenstar purred as he looked down upon Stormwatcher’s litter.

    He didn’t skip a beat as he called the first cat forward. “Redpaw, you have trained diligently. Your cheery spirit and courage has not gone unnoticed. For this, I name you Redwing. May you continue to soar in all your accomplishments.”

    Next, he called forward the tom’s brother. “Darkpaw, I feel that Eveningblaze has given you quite the training experience from what I have heard, but you pulled through with your sheer determination. I name you Darkstorm, both in honor of your father, and as a reminder that though things may get rough, in the end it will shape you into a fine warrior.”

    His eyes scanned the crowd once more for a familiar torbie pelt. “Cherrypaw, your fiery personality proves that your tongue is just as sharp as your claws. You shall be named Cherryhawk, your wits and combative skill are quite impressive, but be sure to keep your eyes open and remain humble.”

    “Sparrowpaw, step forward please.” He smiled, noting the once tiny kit had grown quite quickly into a fine MothClan warrior. “Sparrowpaw, though you may be soft spoken at times, you have a heart of gold. I name you Sparrowlily, continue to blossom into the fine young cat we all know you are.”

    “Leafpaw, you are quite the fierce and formidable foe. From this day forth you shall be named Leafeyes. Don’t forget to observe, and think before taking an action that may end up being regrettable.”

    “Finally, Goosepaw.” He paused. “Goosepaw, you are a loyal and resolute tom, but still able to take life with a grain of salt. You shall be known as Gooseleap, continue to teach others that fun and responsibility can go hand in hand.”

    With the last naming of the warriors, he turned his attention to the rowdy bunch of apprentices. He knew that Stormwatcher would be very critical of his choices for her kits, but ultimately the decision was his, and he knew just the perfect fits for the descendants of Mothstar. “Snakekit, Spiderkit, Iriskit, and Palekit, step forward please.”

    “Snakekit, your mentor shall be Russetflame. Her calm and gentle nature will do you some good, I believe. Be patient with her and she will teach you everything that she knows.”

    “Spiderkit, you mentor shall be Otterspark. She is a energetic and hard-working young she-cat, two traits that work quite well together. You may even find some competition between one another throughout training. Take it lightly and be sure to show her your utmost respect.”

    “Palekit, your mentor shall be Aspenscar. He is a fine warrior and experienced in battle. I know you show quite an interest in combat, but also learn from him rationale and reason.”

    “Finally, Iriskit.” The MothClan leader paused and gave a grin at the spiteful young she-cat. “Your mentor shall be Thunderbird. You share a lot of that same fire in your step, and though she will be your teacher, I believe you will both have much you can learn from one another. Including some humility.” A purr rose in Brackenstar’s throat but quickly died as his tone grew more serious.

    “Before we cheer on our new warriors and apprentices, there’s a few more things I would like to address. Mothstar had put a ban upon any cats joining our ranks due to the high volume of strange cats showing up on our doorstep and the problems we’ve been having with the rogues. I would like to tentatively lift this, as we need as many able-bodied cats as we can get this leafbare. Be it from another Clan or a loner, please bring any intruders directly to me for assessment. Rogues and kittypets are still not welcome here, chase any dangerous or lazy cat immediately from our territory.” He took a moment to stretch his claws before he continued. “As well, with the mention of leafbare, Eveningblaze and I have decided we will again be pushing borders against the neighboring Clans. The more hunting grounds we can acquire the better. If you wish to assist with these patrols, or have any ideas, please come to me or our deputy.” With that, the fluffy tom let his voice fade to make way for the cheering from the cats below.

[Miss Tactical]

Stormwatcher had moved back into the warrior dens a moon ago. She knew her kits could take care of themselves. She had done the hard work, right from wrong, the warrior code, perhaps a bit extra in battle and hunting on the side. Like she and her sister, she wanted her kits to be independent and strong. As one by one her kits became apprentices she nodded, the mentors weren't necessarily her first choice but would be okay. That was until her daughter was called. Her heart froze, and she instantly whipped her head to face the she-cat the loathed so much. Thunderbird??? Her claws instinctively unsheathed as a foul taste formed in her mouth. Irispaw would never learn anything from her. There was a reason why she was made a warrior before. What was Brackenstar thinking anyways? Had her father been alive he would have assigned her to someone much better than a new warrior. She didn't say anything, simply nodded giving Irispaw permission to complete the ceremony. This was something she certainly would keep in mind when it came to judging just how well Brackenstar would lead MothClan.

~~

Irispaw flattened her ears and twitched her whiskers in annoyance. She wanted perfect and she got mediocre. At least according to her mother. She huffed slightly looking at her mom with a defeated look in her eyes. How would she be the best warrior if she didn't get the best mentor. When her mother nodded she padded towards Thunderbird but when she touched noses she smirked ever so slightly. "I don't like you...training me will be just a blast for you." The words flowed from her tongue like honey as if it were some sort of promise. She skipped back to her mother, smirking slightly at Palepaw before taking her seat with the other apprentices.
~~

Redwing puffed out his chest and looked at Cherryhawk. How funny Redhawk was the name they joked about as kits when he gave her his dads special rock. He trotted over giving her a playful nudge. "Interested in pushing the borders? It will be nice to run without Tansysong making me do laps around trees." He mewed. His fluffy red kit fur was now gone, his green eyes sparkling with determination instead of mischief. It was quite obvious that the two had grown through out their training, and he couldn't wait to spend time with the fiery she-cat as a warrior. Perhaps they could find other small trinkets to add to their collection

~~
Eveningblaze sat just below Brackenstar as the apprentices became warriors, and the kits into apprentices. He locked eyes with Darkpaw just briefly and gave him a curt nod as Brackenstar gave him his warrior name in honor of his father. Once his rough edges had been shaved down, Darkpaw had become strong. Sometimes even Eveningblaze struggled to beat him in spars and with that he felt proud. Eveningblaze gave a crooked smile, chest puffed out as Darkpaw became Darkstorm and stepping back. When Brackenstar announced that they would be pushing borders, the black tom stood up and nodded. "For the past few dawns we have been pushing the MistClan border. We've pushed in to grab a bit of the field space, however we need more woodlands as well. I will be running patrols at Dawn, Sunhigh, and Dusk to push our markers inwards as there. Please meet me by the entrance if you wish to join. The black tom mewed before standing up. He walked past Darkstorm and locked eyes with the tom for just a moment. "I'm proud of you, you know." His subtle praise was left unheard by others when he padded to the entrance waiting to see who would be interested in expanding MothClan's territory.

[noctemq]

Cherryhawk’s gaze was down at her paws for a moment before she heard her new name being called. Wait, was that supposed to be her? Her ears perked up at the mention of “being humble”. Ah yes, Brackenstar was definitely talking about her. She bowed her head in respect to him before lifting it up higher, a little bit higher than she usually would. Cherryhawk definitely had a ring to it that she could get used to.

Once she felt the presence of Redwing, her prideful stance melted away into a casual one. They had very little time to hang out as apprentices, and it was a shame since she had grown accustomed to his shenanigans. ”Definitely. It’ll be nice to stretch our legs.... and new responsibilities,” she stated simply, but there was still something impish in her tone. Batstrike’s training had groomed her into a fine warrior, though there were still many lessons for her to learn. She was definitely a more rounded cat than she was a few moons ago, and her booming voice and personality had calmed down considerably; Cherryhawk was still as fierce as her kit self, but now it was more of a controlled fire.

Miss Tactical

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom sat in the very front of the group, eyes sparkling in happy anticipation. Today, she would be reunited with her best friend and mate, Darkpaw. Well, not that they had really been separated in the first place. They only lived a den apart from one another. But for the short time that she had been a warrior, Bunnyblossom had felt...lonely. By the time Darkpaw would return from training with Eveningblaze, it seemed as if Bunnyblossom could barely share a piece of prey with him before he needed to get to his nest. 
That will change today! She promised herself. When he is a warrior, Eveningblaze cannot keep him out training till dusk.
Of course, this was not exactly true, seeing as Eveningblaze was now deputy....but she would deal with that later. For now, she was going to worry about nothing but watching her friend receive his name. 
“Darkpaw, I feel that Eveningblaze has given you quite the training experience from what I have heard, but you pulled through with your sheer determination. I name you Darkstorm, both in honor of your father, and as a reminder that though things may get rough, in the end it will shape you into a fine warrior.”
She yowled in approval and joy, making sure that Darkstorm would see her. 

[Storm]

Batstrike
MothClan | Warrior | Tom | 20 Moons | Heterosexual

The tall black and white tom always sat at the back when the clan gathered. His stature made it a little easier to see over his clanmates and honestly the ceremonies were not of interest to him. It was the little annoying kits that were always acting up that pushed him away from the clan event, he just could care less about them becoming apprentices. Today was different though… Just a few moons ago Batstrike had sat in the back and had to push his way past to greet the little orange and brown kit he had trained with his own paws and now Cherrypaw was becoming a warrior. So today… today Batstrike had to excuse himself as he found a space to sit off to the side and in the front row of the crowd.

His ruffled black fur offered little protection from the chill rolling through, but the crispness of the air only added to the excitement he felt for the little cat he so casually had accepted into his pulled together family on their first day of training. The toms yellow gaze shifted softly from where Cherrypaw sat with the other apprentices up to Brackenstar on High Rock. He listened quietly, shifting his weight back and forth on his forepaws as he waited, a strange feeling of loving pride in his chest. She wasn't even his blood, but he imagined this is what parents felt like. A grin crossed his maw as she officially became a MothClan warrior. He couldn't help but nod along agreeing with their leaders words to her. Cherryhawk was the perfect name. There was no doubt that he had instilled his fighting skills in her, but her cleverness matched his own from day one, the little spit-fire had even dared to teach him some spunk and passion along the way. Batstrike sat tall, chest puffed out as he gave his now former apprentice a nod of respect and pride. 

He had nothing to tell her now that she didn't already know. The humble comment Brackenstar had made… Surely that was to control all of the talking up her ears had received from him. Batstrike had praised her from the beginning and even more as he knew their training was coming to an end. He had told her with confidence that she would do great as a warrior and confirmed he'd always be there for her with no doubt or worry in his mind that he had failed her at this point. The charming grin that graced his face today felt much warmer than it normally did.

The tom held his tongue at the end of the ceremonies as the leadership spoke on pushing their borders. Sure leafbare was a difficult time, but it was difficult for all of the clans. It seemed wrong to take advantage of the other clans with the wounds of war still so fresh, knowing they wouldn't push back it almost seemed cowardly. He wasn't one to ruin the celebration though, especially not today with Cherryhawk becoming a grand warrior. The sour spell that had quickly washed over the warrior faded to a light mood again though as he spotted Redwing at his girls side. He was the friend that was there for her in the beginning when she didn't have anyone else, right? It wasn't like he intended on going on Eveningblazes patrol in the first place, but he decided he'd leave the two new warriors to go out without their mentors for the first time today.



Sparrowlily
MothClan | Warrior | She-Cat | 13 Moons | Heterosexual

The effects of war still lingered on the little brown feline that sat before her clan. Her head was still foggy with the remanence of a concussion and it was probably a good thing. The stress of being named a warrior would have had her heart pounding, but instead she was in a daze; calm and complacent. Sparrowpaw didn't hold her breath today or quake beneath her fluffy pelt, instead she sat with a golden blank stare up to Brackenfall-star. The fact that Mothstar was gone was like a dream to the confused little cat whom missed the end of the battle. She wasn't even quite sure how she had made it home to camp, but it was better that way too. The memory of the fallen would have been much more traumatizing to her than a missing travel away from the aftermath was.

She tried with some difficulty to focus on the leaders words as he addressed her, it took her a moment extra to step up as she was asked. A heart of gold… that was too kind of words for her and Sparrowlily, that was just too pretty. The small new warrior offered a soft smile to Brackenstar before leaning back onto her haunches to sit for the rest of the ceremony that she found dizzyingly long.