make a man out of you ☀︎ ceremony practice

[Sunfreckle]

"Alright kits, you'll be apprentices soon so let's practice how we should act for the meeting shall we?" Pigeonkit was not going to be joining them, a moon behind and far too small still and he worried Sunshinekit may be too sickly to as well; but they could participate in the game all the same. If anything it was a nice distraction from the growing sickness sweeping through their camp and even with the cure found by Berryheart he was still wary and unsure of how well they would fair. Sunfreckle led his kits and any of the other nursery occupants along to the middle of camp and though he did not climb the Highrock he made a point to sit in front of it so they at least knew where their ceremonies would take place. The red tabby takes a moment, waits for them all to catch up and take their seats, finish their little distracted chatter, before he clears his throat for attention and smiles.
"I will be Howlingstar and..." Green eyes glance around, land on the first cat he saw and his voice raises to get their attention as well as to put them on the spot, "...Raccoonstripe will be playing the part of all of your mentors." A paw waves encouragingly to draw his fellow lead over before he continues. "Now remember, you must be quiet and not make a ruckus. Only speak when you hear your name called..."
Sunfreckle stood, puffed out his chest and lifted his head and while he made no attempt to sound like their leader he at least put in the effort to come across a little more confident and sure of himself as he spoke to emulate her, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!"
His tail whisked out, gestured for the kits to move forward and he lowered his head to whisper, "Make sure you sit up straight.", before continuing, "Pigeonkit, you have reached four moons and are ready to be apprenticed. Until you earn your warrior name you will be named Pigeonpaw and Racconstripe will be your mentor."
"But I'm twooooo???"
"No, I know that...this is...this is pretend, Pidge. Go touch noses with Raccoonstripe."
For his effort the kit at least made an attempt at walking toward the black tabby before immediately getting distracted and walking past him to leap upon a pinecone that was laying in the middle of camp. Sunfreckle inhaled deeply through his nose before letting it out as a sigh and decided to let that go, Pigeonkit was a little too young still to get it.
"Emberkit, you have reached four moons and are ready to be apprenticed. From this day forward until you recieve your warrior name you will be known as Emberpaw and Raccoonstripe will be your mentor." He raises his lone forepaw in a gesture to approach the other warrior and touch noses.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[Ooc]
PAFP - @RACCOONSTRIPE
Kit tag - @RAINBOWKIT & @EMBERKIT. & @sunshinekit . & @Pigeonkit
But feel free to post before the kits and any kit can join!
​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

Raccoonstripe does not love being a mentor, and he’s felt freer without Wildheart and Moonwhisper weighing him down than he has since he first became a warrior. The tabby knows at some point he’ll be burdened once more, and that he won’t be able to turn down the opportunity—his mother places a great deal of importance on mentoring, and he knows if he ever wants to move up the ranks in ThunderClan, he’ll have to continue to play along until he’s leader one day himself.

Real ceremonies are bad enough, but then Sunfreckle catches him and beckons him over for a fake one. The tabby frowns, but he does not refuse. Sunfreckle’s own kits bounce and squirm, their coats groomed and eyes shining with play. “Right. Okay. I’ll be… everyone’s mentor, I guess,” he says without much enthusiasm. Would he be expected to take one of his co-lead warrior’s kits when the time came? Some of them are getting bigger, big enough to look like cats instead of nondescript scraps of fluff, but… he can’t muster up any excitement.

The big red tabby calls his youngest kit forward at first, one of two he’d found abandoned in the undergrowth. Pigeonkit, like Emberkit, looks as though he could have come from Rabbitnose and Sunfreckle’s bloodlines easily, with his bushy gray fur. The two moon old acts as though he’s going to approach Raccoonstripe, but when the tabby bends down to the gray tomkit’s level, Pigeonkit streaks past him and hurls himself at a pinecone.

He flicks Sunfreckle an amused glance. “I don’t think that one’s ready yet,” he comments humorously. “Okay, next one. Let’s see if we can get this right.” The next kit called forth is Emberkit, the second adopted child. Raccoonstripe again bends his nose, offering it to the cream tabby.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — raccoon . raccoonstripe
  — he/him ; lead warrior of thunderclan
  — heteroflexible ; single
  — long-haired black tabby with white and dark brown eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Rai

​

 

[GENTLESTORM]

( ❄ ) He was definitely no kit but watching this was certainly amusing as he approaches nodding a greeting to Sunfreckle who was playing as Howlingstar and they were gathered near highrock, he decides to give an encouraging smile to both lead warriors and pipes out with a large, lopsided grin "I'll volunteer myself as the cheering clanmates," After all, that's the important part of the meeting is it not? He watches as Sunfreckle instructs Pigeonkit to go up to Raccoonstripe and touch noses with the black tabby tom but the small grey tomkit leaps past the lead warrior for a pinecone instead and Hailstorm snorts in amusement. A pinecone did have the same color as Raccoonstripe, he will give the kid that much. Pineconestripe. It had a nice ring to it, he thinks.

His warm gaze fixed onto Emberkit now dubbed Emberpaw by his adoptive father and he's quite certain that Emberkit won't confuse Howlingstar's son for a pinecone. ​

( O SOL PEDIU A ; LUA EM CASAMENTO )

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Hearing the familiar words she has spoken many times upon the Highrock is what gains her attention. At first, the stoic, and admittedly no-nonsense old woman feels slight confusion at the ceremonial words being used in such a non-serious way, but it swiftly washes off of her like water gliding off her pelt. She sees Sunfreckle’s kits bouncing about, her own son standing there to pretend to be their new mentor. A smile forms on her muzzle as she strolls forward, eyes shining as she imagines the four of them becoming apprentices soon. Well, not Pigeonkit - he will be held back until he is of appropriate age, another reminder that her lead warrior is choosing to stay in the nursery longer rather than let their permanent queen take on the child, but she shakes it off. She won’t ruin this game with a sour mood, despite her questioning of Sunfreckle’s motivation to do his job.

She comes to stand next to the large, ginger-furred tom, an amused chuckle leaving her. “It will be a wonderful day,” She tells them, eyes roaming over the four kits before falling on the queen at her side. “It’s always a very proud day for the entire clan when we gain new apprentices. You all will be incredible.” ​

 

[sunshinespot]

Sunshinekit's feeling better - much better, even, though their paws still drag sluggishly behind their siblings. It must've been relieving for the adults around, to know that the child wasn't somehow patient zero for the yellowcough epidemic. Instead they're less sturdy healthwise, knocked down by a simple rainstorm. They're even allowed back in the nursery again - perhaps to keep apart from the truly sick and ailing - though there's no glimmer of hope that they'll be apprenticed on time.

They stop short of their other siblings, curly fur dematted just for this fun exercise. Instinctively, they lurch forward, wanting to curl up in Sunfreckle's side instead of play this game. Instead they hold back, leaning their heft onto any of their siblings that allow it. Getting their name changed to -paw, eventually, sounds daunting, as does all of the work behind it. Howlingstar joins them, after Pigeonkit and Emberkit are called forward, and the mottled kitten offers her a lazy smile.​

 

[& RAINBOWPAW]

Rainbowkit doesn't really think about being an apprentice. Some other kits seemed to think about it a lot, but Rainbowkit didn't think about it at all. Thinking about stuff that hasn't happened yet is silly, cause... what if it doesn't even end up happening, and you just made yourself sad for no good reason? Important cats like Howlingstar and Berryheart had to think about hard things all the time, but Rainbowkit's not important like that, so... they should just get to play and take naps.

But apparently, this is important. It's so important that they had to practice and Sunfreckle even gets other important cats to help them out. It's easier to not feel like it's important if he just thinks it's a game. " We're playing pretend, " he mews to Pigeonkit, tail curling nearly around their paws the way they've seen warriors do. Raccoonstripe says he's not ready... Maybe if Rainbowkit is very bad at this game too, he can keep stay in the nursery for a little bit longer. Even Howlingstar's here...

Standing beside Sunshinekit, Rainbowkit would look at the leader very seriously... super seriously. " If I'm an apprentice, whose going to save us... from them? " He dramatically points to the pinecones Pigeonkit was losing against with his nose. " I need to serve my clan! " They promptly launch themselves at the offending pinecone, batting at it ferociously.

『 OOC 🌈 09.05.2023 』

•  

• 

• rainbowkit & [ raine ] [ bow ] : sunfreckle xx rabbitnose 2nd litter. littermate to sunshinekit & emberkit. younger brother to mousepaw, sparkpaw & frecklepaw.
  —— amab. they / he ; fine with gendered terms ( tom / boy / brother / etc . . . )
  —— currently 3 moons old.
  
  a typical size for their age. warm - faced and bright - eyed, rainbowkit sports boyish features and an easygoing smile. early signs of a thick ruff to come can be seen in plush cheeks and a thickening tail. sports long curling whickers and a dip of sun - red down the length of their neck.

• this is for cute purposes begone.

​

 

[EMBERFACE.]

☼—— it's clear to anyone who spends enough time in the nursery that emberkit isn't always the sharpest claw on the paw, nor is he quite able to keep focus on, well, much of anything. still, emberkit's baby-blue eyes sparkle with good-natured cheer as they dance between his father, his siblings, raccoonstripe, and just about anything interesting that happened to pass by. the boy wraps a huge tail around him and white paws knead its end for comfort and to fidget as he listens to his father's instructions. he may be young, but every day he stretches closer to the sky above and every day apprenticeship grows closer—the nuance of leaving childhood behind is lost on emberkit, who appears excited as opposed to intimidated by the mock-ceremony.

"hi, raccoonstripe!" the boy chirps before snapping his mouth shut with a sheepish grin, fluffy white tail-tip flicking incessantly beneath his paws as though he's about to literally burst with energy. still, he cannot suppress the giggle that escapes him at pigeonkit's drawn-out coo of confusion, and the laughter barely muffled behind a large white paw at his little brother's distraction. the thought sends the boy off into a cheerily distracted spiral—pigeonkit is getting apprenticed, do real pigeons get apprenticed? he knows pigeons are birds, do birds get apprenticed? if birds get apprenticed, do bugs get apprenticed? do toads get apprenticed? is that how bumpypelt got his name? was he bumpypaw once? these and a host of other barely-related questions dance about the boy's head.

of course, he completely fails to notice that his name is the first to be called. by the time he spaces back into the real world, a whole host of cats are staring at him and waiting—his papa, his siblings, raccoonstripe and even howlingstar (who look so alike, isn't that funny - not the time, emberkit!) and he realizes it must be his turn by the way raccoonstripe offers his nose to him. the boy's anxious to get all his energy out and stop sitting up straight-backed like his papa had reminded him, and so he bounces to his paws. perhaps he's a little too enthusiastic—launching towards the tabby lead warrior, he smacks his muzzle (really, more like his entire head) into raccoonstripe's and a white paw flies to his nose as the boy yelps, "ow! ow ow ow .... sorry, raccoonstripe!" he offers his faux-mentor a repentant smile.

STRANGE AND BREATHTAKING DAYS (☼) 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑶𝑮 𝑫𝑨𝒀𝑺

• ooc: late sorry!
  
• nothing here, have a nice day :-)
• 
  — emberkit
  — he/him ; kit of thunderclan ; 3 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — penned by dejavu
  

​

 

[Flamestar]

The fiery tabby was laying nearby when she spotted Sunfreckle leading a group of kittens to the base of the Highrock, with Raccoonstripe joining him. She tilts her head curiously, and decides to watch and listen for a moment. When she hears Sunfreckle call for a fake meeting, and run through the words that Howlingstar used for apprentice ceremonies. It didn't take her long to figure out that he was just preparing them for their special day, and with that she decides to trot over to join them.

They were almost old enough to become apprentices...where had the time gone? It seemed like only yesterday that they were born. Flamewhisker sits down near Hailstorm, and offers Howlingstar and the rest of the group a warm smile. "That's an awful lot of apprentices for one cat Raccoonstripe. You will have your paws full." she teases lightly, surprising a chuckle. ​

★ born to find that great unknown

• ooc text, delete if not used​
• 
  FLAMEWHISKER of THUNDERCLAN
  LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
  — Lead Warrior of Thunderclan ; currently mentoring Acornpaw
  — she/her ; mated with Flycatcher
  — mother to Stormpaw & Falconpaw
  — 24 moons ; ages on the 20th
  — Smells like dirt, old leaves, tree sap, faint hint of flowers
  — will start a fight, will finish fights, will kill (case depending)
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — penned by Icey ! ; link to tags
  — funny guy art by waluigipinball​

 

[GENTLESTORM]

* ˚ ✦ Hailstorm can't help but chuckle in amusement when Rainbowkit joins Pigeonkit against the awful pinecones that seem to be an issue for Thunderclan according to the kittens. He dips his head in greeting to Howlingstar as she joins them, his attention flicking back to the pair of kittens that battle bravely against the pinecones before focusing on Emberkit and how he toddles over to Raccoonstripe before striking the lead warrior with his head that itself causing Hailstorm to wince. "Right on the sniffer... That must've hurt." He mumbles under his breath as his ears lay flat against his skull noting that it had also hurt Emberkit, which he isn't all that surprised. He had volunteered as the cheering crowd but glances over to Sunfreckle to see if he could get any of his other kittens to get successfully mentored.

He returns Flamewhisker's warm smile and chuckles at what she says about that being a lot of apprentices for Raccoonstripe to handle, his whiskers twitch in amusement only to say lightly "He can handle it." Of course, Hailstorm is joking and glances over to the black tabby warrior to add with a lopsided grin "Ain't that right, Raccoonstripe?" He really hopes that Emberkit hadn't caused the lead warrior a bloody nose, maybe a headache but it would be better than bleeding at your own apprentice ceremony even if it was fake. ​

[ WE WORE SWEATPANTS TO THE BALL ]​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

Hailstorm’s pale, fluffy form crosses his periphery, and the tabby gives him a lazy smile. “Alright, then, let’s give your Clanmates something to cheer for.” He dips his head to Howlingstar in greeting, though he does not share her enthusiasm. It is a good day for ThunderClan when useless scraps of fur begin their warrior training, but the knowledge he might be saddled with another of these little pests dampens his good cheer.

Still, he plays along—for Sunfreckle more than anyone else. (And Howlingstar, now that she’s watching the procession.) Raccoonstripe spots one of the kits—the sick one—presses their mottled body into their father’s scarlet side, watching lazily. This one’s in no hurry, huh, he thinks dismissively, dark eyes flicking to the next one.

Rainbowkit—a silly name for a kit who admittedly doesn’t look that serious himself. They find the pinecone Pigeonkit had been worrying and launches toward it, leaving his “mentor” completely ignored. Raccoonstripe’s frown deepens. “I don’t think any of your kits want to become apprentices,” he tells Sunfreckle in half-jest.

The final of the five stumbles over, the pale one. Emberkit. Finally, some enthusiasm! Raccoonstripe almost smiles as he dips his head to brush his nose to Emberkit’s—and instead of the gentle contact he’d been expecting, Emberkit smacks his enormous ill-proportioned skull right into the bridge of the tabby warrior’s nose. “Ow!” He recoils, pressing a paw to the sensitive area, and scowls. “Okay, I think you all need a little more practice,” he says, rubbing gingerly at his bruised nose.

Flamewhisker’s teasing earns her a fake-angry glare, one he spins back on Hailstorm. “It’s a lot of apprentices for you, but clearly Howlingstar thought I could handle it,” he says, giving his mother a smirk. In truth, he’d rather drop dead than have to be responsible for even one of this lazy, clueless bunch of kits, but he won’t voice that to Sunfreckle. It’s not his fault, probably.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — raccoon . raccoonstripe
  — he/him ; lead warrior of thunderclan
  — heteroflexible ; single
  — long-haired black tabby with white and dark brown eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Rai

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

The "ceremony" quickly falls into chaos. Howlingstar watches with growing surprise as kit after kit somehow messes up the practice, before finally she succumbs to amused chuckles. "They are still young, they will be fine when the day comes," She murmurs to Sunfreckle warmly, knowing he might feel embarrassed about the show.

She shifts her gaze to the warriors, meeting her son's smirking gaze with a big smile of her own. Indeed, her mind is already whirring. These are a lead warrior's kits, and as such she will be sure to give them prized mentors. Raccoonstripe jests, but little does he know he is one of the warriors at the top of her list to mentor one of Sunfreckle's little ones. "You handled Moonwhisper and Wildheart just fine, didn't you?" She purrs, flicking her tail jokingly. "I'm sure you'll be fine with the lot of them."​