Apprenticehood

Looking out towards the group, Dusk-kit can feel his fur prickle. This idea of being present in front of everyone else, not being able to see him. Not being able to understand what they are doing. He hears Grackleshade mew over the crowd, the others falling silent as she spoke. The shifting of paws stop, and Dusk swears a bear could come in and nobody would care. His head turns towards where he THINKS their leader could be. Her voice allowing him to finetune it down, it’s above him. Consumes him. Fills his senses.

“Dusk-kit. you are beginning your path to becoming a full warrior. Your days as an apprentice are important, and the choice for a mentor even more so. But I know one who will compliment and raise you up into becoming a true warrior.”

Acacia whispers to her mate on the left of him, wonder and excitement fills him as he keeps looking. “Think he will get someone who compliments him like Laurel?”

Memories flip. The smell of potent flowers fill his brain. Laughter and Anguish, and huddling warmth comes up into his senses all at once. He swears he can hear her mewing in his ear. Mewing on the wind, “Good luck little brother. I hope you leave the world better than you found it.”

I hope I can do your legacy right Laurel. I want to do your name justice.

“Through careful consideration. I have decided that your mentor will be Owleye.” The murmurs of the clan, lead to his brain staticing slightly. Who is that? What will this unknown cat lead too. What will he do. What will he change. He hears the shifting of fur, the shifting of paws. He hates this idea. This unknown PEST coming in and training them. He feels an unknown set of fur approach and move against him, letting Dusk know he was there.

“This will be a journey for both of you. It won’t be just for Dusk-kit to grow and become a warrior. But for you as well Owleye. To understand the responsibility of raising a new warrior to their fullest potential.”

Silence deafens the grey tabby cat, his ears flicking and listening to the breath of his…Mentor quicken. He’s nervous.

Great, did their leader latch him to a new warrior? Or someone who hasn’t trained another warrior. This will be a WONDERFUL set of moons to deal with.

“I promise to raise this cat to his fullest potential.” They look to him, he hears his mother cough and his hair stands on end. She did say that she would help him remember when to speak. When Falconwatcher had come in and told him want to say. “I promise to take the teachings of this warrior to heart, and grow to my fullest potential”

He feels weird saying this. Feels weird being this…nice. It sucks, but Laurel went through it. So he can get through it too right?

But soon Grackleshade speaks up again, her tone smiling. Its weird to say a tone can smile, or be good and right and pure. Or happy despite the fact things are going on. Something else is going on.

“With this promise, Dusk-kit ascends and becomes Duskpaw. May this change be an honored one.” He hears Acacia’s voice first. Followed by her mates. And then the clan alights in cheers. The different tones creating a song which transends something he never knew. There is this idea of distress that comes from loosing another of his senses. It builds an anxiety that the grey cat doesn’t quite know what to do with.

He doesn’t know if the name means something good or ill? The acceptance is…there. Not excitement like other apprentices though, almost an apathetic response to what was going on. How they are dealing with it. It’s scaring them almost, and it’s something that their mentor seems to notice. So they put their tail about them, as if to calm them down. But Duskpaw flinches, there is something that might deal with being touched by those that aren’t their family. They feel the eyes of their  mentor look at them, and it’s likely out of concern. Out of wonder, and how they might look to them like what kind of cat did they get as their student. It probably would scare them.

To get the cat that can’t see, is fine for Cave.

But to get the cat that can’t smell? Oh Owleye will have a rough time with the self loathing.

And it doesn’t help that as the ceremony draws to an end, the apprentice looks approximately to where his mentor might be. And he offers a smile that is so fake, even Owl can realize the apprentice is hiding something. Anything.

But he can’t say anything, especially since there is something that forces him to leave and run somewhere else.