When meetings are called, Luckykit likes to listen in from wherever he's last been playing, though never daring to join in with the crowd - after all, he's not really supposed to be there at all just yet. Today is no exception as he pauses in place after hearing Sootstar's call, watching cats begin to filter over. The bulk of her message is about building tunnels to RiverClan, which provokes in him a now-familiar feeling of both excitement and nerves. Do any of the tunnelers feel the same, he wonders? Is it as thrilling as it is terrifying to skulk about below, with their enemies none the wiser? Looking at those gathered, the general consensus seems to be excitement, he thinks, and it's not really all that hard to understand why. Soon he'll be able to join them down there, and perhaps then he'll truly understand the enthusiasm flashing across the faces of his clanmates. Sootstar then branches off to another topic - Snakepaw's warrior ceremony. Far from the only warrior ceremony Luckykit has witnessed, he cranes his neck, trying to spot the black-furred apprentice out of idle curiosity. While he can't say he has any particular fondness for Snakepaw, with his own apprenticeship imminent, it's hard not to feel a little excitement for the ceremony.
And just like that, Snakepaw is crowned Snakehiss - a name that makes sense, he thinks, since the new warrior always seemed to have a sneer of sorts whenever Luckykit has been around him. If the warrior ceremony after the RiverClan tunnels announcement had been a surprise, the next words from Sootstar are downright shocking - it's time for his apprenticeship? Hearing himself, his littermates, and Parsnipkit called forward, he freezes up; despite knowing it was about time, he perhaps foolishly thought there would still be time yet. He can't just sit there looking dumbfounded forever, he knows, and so after giving himself a few quick licks to flatten his fur (thankfully, he hadn't been playing too rowdy that day), he follows the rest, weaving through the crowd to stand before Sootstar alongside the others. Chin up, tail held high, Luckykit tries to stand still as a statue as the ceremonies begin, hardly hearing as Rumblekit is the first to become Rumblepaw - they're a moor runner, he's pretty sure, but there's time to piece together and process later. Even as he tries to hold completely still, there's still some margin to stiffen entirely as his name is called next.
As soon as he's named, it's as though Luckykit forgets to breathe - this is it. Luckykit becomes Luckypaw in one fell swoop, and he savors the way the name sounds coming from Sootstar. Luckypaw. Of course, the naming is only part of it, and so Luckypaw is paired with - Cygnetstare? Truth be told, he'd spent plenty of time contemplating who might be his mentor, many different cats with many different temperaments, and it would be a lie to say he hadn't entertained the possibility of the odd chimera being his mentor - not that he'd hoped for it. She was a bit...off-putting, to say the least, but then again, they're a loyal, respected tunneler of WindClan, right? The wounds still visible on her pelt tell of devotion and victory, and he tries to tell himself it's an honor that they were chosen to mentor him. As Cygnetstare approaches, he tries to continue to hold himself steady, stretching up slightly to touch his nose to hers. For a moment, their eyes lock, and he hopes there's no apprehension brimming in his gaze.
Finally, as Cygnetstare steps away and his ceremony is sealed, Luckypaw takes a deep breath, and then another. He feels light-headed, like he needs to sit down and process for about a moon, but his was only the second ceremony. Scorchkit is called up, and it's yet another shock as she becomes Scorchpaw, apprenticed to Badgermoon of all cats. His first instinct is a small flare of disappointment and anxiety, just like with Rumblepaw - neither of them were really tunnelers? They're both bigger than he is, of course, but he'd really hoped... Regardless, he can't help a small pinprick of jealousy, either, at the fact that Scorchpaw gets to train under their father. It's irrational, he thinks, since there wasn't ever even a chance that he'd get Badgermoon as his mentor, and besides, Cygnetstare is...fine, they're fine, and so he tries to banish any negativity from his mind. If anything, Luckypaw should be happy for his sister, receiving such a fine mentor, even if it means he won't be seeing her or Rumblepaw much due to their different paths.
Frostkit is up next, and he finds himself desperately relieved as he's named Frostpaw and apprenticed to a tunneler as well - he'd been certain that they both would be, but it feels like a weight off his shoulders to actually hear it himself that he won't be deprived of all three of his littermates down there. Parsnipkit, too, becomes Parsnippaw, apprenticed to a moor runner, and though he hardly knows the newly-made apprentice all that well, Luckypaw still finds himself slightly disappointed at the loss of another familiar face to train alongside. With that, though, the ceremonies are over, and he feels free to move, if only a bit for now, in case there's anything else left during this meeting. His legs want to fold, body wants to sink to the ground; instead, he looks first to his siblings, his fellow apprentices, now, wanting to gauge their reactions. Are they feeling exhilarated? Are they pleased with their mentors? Do they feel just as shaky as he does? Whether any of them meet his gaze or not, he feels his expression begin to crack into that of a genuine smile. Whatever comes next, he's a real apprentice now!
Instinctively, he seeks out Scorchstreak next, eyes lighting up when he spots the familiar tones of her pelt. Eyes meet, just as he'd stared into Cygnetstare's so recently, and his smile grows as he spots hers. Sure, he doesn't have Badgermoon for a mentor, or even Scorchstreak herself, but at least his mother will still be down there with him and Frostpaw, just like his father will be out on the moors with Scorchpaw and Rumblepaw. How long will it take for their differences to begin to show, he wonders, glancing at Badgermoon and hoping to catch his eye, too, if he's not busy with Scorchpaw. It will be evident immediately from a quick glance, he thinks, white paws already slightly tinged brown, but when will their skill differences really come into play? Hopefully, there'll still be time for them to come back together as four again sometime, even if it's under the guise of training; maybe they'd even be able to teach each other a few tricks from the other path of training. For now, though, Luckypaw tries not to worry about any of that, simply basking in the feeling of being an apprentice and in a new, certain feeling of pride and duty to WindClan.
[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]
