- Nov 30, 2022
- 595
- 312
- 63
"SkyClan, gather beneath the Highbranch for a Clan meeting!"
She runs low on time. The greenleaf sun rises ever higher, and Orangestar wants the Clan scattered among the cooler parts of the forest by the hottest part of the day. They deserve a moment of peace: a chance to celebrate the cats among them, and the chance to reveal to the Clan the outcomes of two conversations she'd had not too long ago.
"We begin with two warriors who have chosen to shed their names and start anew. Bobbie, Eggshellbloom, step forward." When the cats of SkyClan have assembled beneath Highbranch at her midmorning call, Orangestar does not start her Clan meeting by mentioning the unspoken beast that breathes down their collective necks. As ochre eyes meet the two warriors' among the crowd, the leader shuffles forward along Highbranch so that she can see them better. She allows them to reach the front, to settle for a heartbeat, before she continues:
"Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the names of the cats you see before you, for it no longer stands for what they are." For a moment, she imagines she feels the tug of a breeze at her fur, and closes her eyes against the sensation. When she opens them again, her gaze descends upon the two warriors. "By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give these cats a new name."
The first of the two is lilac and white, and scarred with moons upon moons of the trials that a Clan life wrought. Orangestar had been surprised by the request: a renaming had been long earned, the she-cat before her one of SkyClan's best. Orangestarhad accepted, instead, that she hadn't wanted it. It seems like this moon, something had changed. Something to honour Blazestar, she'd requested, a sincere pleading in olive eyes that Orangestar couldn't have said no to even if she'd wanted to. The whole Clan had seen how she and the late leader looked at each other. If she wanted to carry a piece of her mate with her for the rest of her life, the warrior deserved that much.
"From this moment on, she will be known as Doeblaze."
The name Orangestar gives him, next, is not normally a name she would pick for a warrior. It's hard to envision bestowing such a name upon a grown cat, but the gentle naivety of the golden-and-white tom before her greets the world with the promise to start anew. He'd shed his shell, but had retained an innocence that was hard to come by in the forest. It's intriguing as much as it is a liability. The former daylight warrior he had, of course, retained his potential ... And so his earned name would remain. She has no reason to steal the signifier of growth from beneath him.
"From this moment on, he will be known as Chickbloom."
She does not descend from Highbranch to meet them (the ceremony does not call for such, and she wants to reserve her leg), but Orangestar inclines her head towards the two warriors respectfully as the Clan erupts into cheers. After a moment, she adds her meow to the calls: "Doeblaze! Chickbloom! Doeblaze! Chickbloom!"
She runs low on time. The greenleaf sun rises ever higher, and Orangestar wants the Clan scattered among the cooler parts of the forest by the hottest part of the day. They deserve a moment of peace: a chance to celebrate the cats among them, and the chance to reveal to the Clan the outcomes of two conversations she'd had not too long ago.
"We begin with two warriors who have chosen to shed their names and start anew. Bobbie, Eggshellbloom, step forward." When the cats of SkyClan have assembled beneath Highbranch at her midmorning call, Orangestar does not start her Clan meeting by mentioning the unspoken beast that breathes down their collective necks. As ochre eyes meet the two warriors' among the crowd, the leader shuffles forward along Highbranch so that she can see them better. She allows them to reach the front, to settle for a heartbeat, before she continues:
"Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the names of the cats you see before you, for it no longer stands for what they are." For a moment, she imagines she feels the tug of a breeze at her fur, and closes her eyes against the sensation. When she opens them again, her gaze descends upon the two warriors. "By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give these cats a new name."
The first of the two is lilac and white, and scarred with moons upon moons of the trials that a Clan life wrought. Orangestar had been surprised by the request: a renaming had been long earned, the she-cat before her one of SkyClan's best. Orangestarhad accepted, instead, that she hadn't wanted it. It seems like this moon, something had changed. Something to honour Blazestar, she'd requested, a sincere pleading in olive eyes that Orangestar couldn't have said no to even if she'd wanted to. The whole Clan had seen how she and the late leader looked at each other. If she wanted to carry a piece of her mate with her for the rest of her life, the warrior deserved that much.
"From this moment on, she will be known as Doeblaze."
The name Orangestar gives him, next, is not normally a name she would pick for a warrior. It's hard to envision bestowing such a name upon a grown cat, but the gentle naivety of the golden-and-white tom before her greets the world with the promise to start anew. He'd shed his shell, but had retained an innocence that was hard to come by in the forest. It's intriguing as much as it is a liability. The former daylight warrior he had, of course, retained his potential ... And so his earned name would remain. She has no reason to steal the signifier of growth from beneath him.
"From this moment on, he will be known as Chickbloom."
She does not descend from Highbranch to meet them (the ceremony does not call for such, and she wants to reserve her leg), but Orangestar inclines her head towards the two warriors respectfully as the Clan erupts into cheers. After a moment, she adds her meow to the calls: "Doeblaze! Chickbloom! Doeblaze! Chickbloom!"
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// congrats to Doeblaze (@BOBBIE ) and Chickbloom (@Eggshellbloom ) on their new names !!! apprenticeships and mentor changes coming next post<3
JUNE SHOUTOUTS (15+):
@Cherryblossom @DAWNGLARE @Fireflyglow @SILVERSMOKE @SLATE @Johnnyflame @TWITCHBOLT @FIGFEATHER @Howlfire @CHRYSALISWING @Tawnyclaw @Owlheart @DROWSYNOSE @DUSKPOOL @BOBBIE @Florabreeze @Eggshellbloom @edenberry ?! @Nightcrawler @CANDORPAW @SANGRIAPAW -
[ art by pin ] -
ORANGESTAR ✧ she/her, leader of skyclan | eight lives
— "a scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes."
— single ; mentoring springpaw & ashpaw
— speech is in #F18C47
— tags | penned by mercibun, contact on discord for plots.