Post by Fireflake on Apr 2, 2020 6:05:21 GMT
Mantisstar gulped down the last chunks of her fresh-kill and left the bones in her nest, hurrying out into the clearing. It hadn't been particularly tasty, messily-killed and left over from yesterday, but she hardly noticed. She thought that she might be even more excited for this ceremony than when she got her own warrior name. Today, she was giving warrior names to her sons. She used to think it was a little unfair for cats to be able to fully name their own kits, but now she held adamantly that managing to be a leader and a parent at the same time gave her that right. She crouched and was about to leap up onto the tall rock when she realized that she could hardly see the edge of it, and most of the clan probably wasn't even awake yet.
The she-cat sighed, paced back and fourth, then decided to go on a short hunt to fill the time until the sun rose. A missed finch and a caught shrew later, it was finally a reasonable time to begin the ceremonies. The she-cat crouched once more and pounced onto her perch, groaning at the ache in the pit of her belly. Apparently, swallowing an entire piece of prey in a matter of seconds was a bad idea. She'd have to keep that in mind. But, for now, she had to perform the most important event of the moon. "Crouchpaw and Rushpaw, and everyone else, gather for a clan ceremony!"
It wasn't the most professional call she'd ever given, but that didn't matter. At least she didn't slip up and almost call for her missing kits anymore. The thought of how much the family had lost made her head spin and her stomach tighten. The she-cat pushed on. Today was a happy occasion, and those thoughts had no place in it. She beckoned for Rushpaw to come forward first.
"Rushl- paw! Rushpaw. Your confidence is admirable, and as you gain experience of the world as a warrior, I trust that you'll recognize how to make the best use of it. I'm glad you were able to adapt to Icefur's training after Stormycloud went missing. I have no doubt that you've grown into a fully capable cat, and now you can butt heads with cats your own size, as Rushleap."
Mantisstar turned to Crouchpaw, imagining what his future would look like too. She'd had no idea over the past few moons that his sight was slowly fading.
"Crouchpaw. It amazes me to see how much you've grown, both physically and as a cat, in ways that I did and didn't expect. You've managed to learn caution that, admittedly, took me a lot longer, and without losing your fiery attitude. I'm proud to now give you the name Crouchwhisker."
She watched them closely, hoping that they liked the new names. She'd had a hundred more swirling around her head, battling to be chosen, for moons now. Looking at them, she forgot her original intentions. Mantisstar's chest swelled and she felt her heart beat fast. She wanted to tell them how happy she was to have them by her side, and take them to celebrate. She was so excited she was almost drooling. Or, actually drooling? Hm. How embarrassing. But she had another matter to attend to first. She let the clan cheer, adding her own voice into the mix, after covertly wiping her mouth, then stepped forward to speak again.
"These two new warriors know as well as any cat what we have lost to the rogues," Mantisstar began. Her muscles tensed and her heart seemed to sink at the thought of them. "And I'm sure some of you have heard by now that they've recently sent cats to take our prey, more than once. While this is infuriating, their efforts have been, like them, largely failures. They're thin and untrained, and we managed to get our prey back without much of a fight. Just like I said they would be, the rogues now truly are less of a threat and more of a m-" A violent spasm wracked her body and the she-cat crashed to the ground. "A minor..." she tried to continue, dazed, before she realized that the world had tilted around her. Panic rose in her throat. She had no idea what was happening, but it didn't feel good. "Mo- Mottlepool!"
[If anyone wants the same thing to happen to your character, feel free.]