[graves]

Originally Posted by Empress Of Evil

An ebony she-cat watched silently from afar. She sat beneath a thick cluster of oak trees, her inky pelt making her blend in with the shade and hiding her from sight. The young cat watched as the other young cat appeared and took in their surroundings. Crimsontiger closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths as she prepared herself for what was to happen next. She’d never done what she was going to do before. This was all new to her and very honestly, she was quite nervous for it. She’d only ever given lives to leaders. Never before had she given a medicine cat their full name. Typically, the medicine cat was supposed to give their apprentice their full name, however Daypaw didn’t have a mentor. They were technically the medicine cat, not a medicine cat apprentice, despite their name. Opening her eyes, she let out another breath and rose gracefully to her paws. She straightened her posture and put a calm expression on her face. Even if she didn’t feel extremely confident, it was probably best to act like she was. She padded out from the shadows and headed towards Daypaw.

“Greetings Daypaw,” Crimsontiger said warmly. She dipped her head as a sign of respect and gave the tom a warm smile. If she were still alive, she would definitely not be this good at being respectful. “I’m Crimsontiger. I have watched you train to become the medicine cat that you are now. You have worked long and hard and you have been treating ShadowClan as well as any medicine cat should be. For this, you have proved your worth as ShadowClan’s medicine cat and you deserve your full name,” Crimsontiger said. Her dark blue eyes glinted with pride as she spoke about how they had proved their worth. The she-cat had once been a ShadowClan warrior and she was glad that her clanmates had a cat that was reliable and approachable if they needed help, whether it be advice or injuries. The she-cat gazed curiously at the apprentice. She was sure that they would be ecstatic to receive their full name. She then continued on, speaking the traditional words for a medicine cat ceremony. “I, Crimsontiger, a warrior of StarClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help they will serve their clan for many moons.” It felt weird to say ‘warrior of StarClan’. It was supposed to be medicine cat instead, but she wasn’t and hadn’t been a medicine cat, so she had no right nor reason to say that. “Daypaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?”

daypaw looked around, eyes focusing on the cat who stepped forward. they didnt know what they were expecting, they had never had a proper ceremony before. they had never visited starclan deliberately, and for good reason. at the sight of a starclan cat they couldnt help but let their fur bristle, amber hues focusing on every little movement the shecat made. they knew when taking on the role as a medicine cat they would be involved with starclan greatly, but that didnt mean they had to accept it. they wanted to do thing their own way, starclan involvement or not.

¨what if i dont accept my name. what if im not ready.¨ they mewed coolly. everything up to this point had made them constantly question their role. with geckoleafs disappearance, with the violence happening between their clans,with the lack of herbs and their clan mates dying around them because of said problems. it hurt, it all did. it was stressful. and the fact that gecko wasn't the one giving them their ceremony stung beyond comprehension. the role had taken both a tole on them emotionally but physically. but when it came down to it, they had put their patients first. no matter what came to be, their work had always driven them. it was a lot to take in, to officially leave the possible life of a warrior behind for good. they knew in their heart that this was what they were meant to do, but they couldnt help but think of small things like what kind of warrior they wouldve been, if they would've been a good mentor to someone,if they could've been leader one day.

they knew this was what they were meant to do, but it helped to have some reassurance--anything.