[Fawn]

This day had been a long time coming; it was one of those mornings that gave Lionstar hope for future, today in more days than one. The sun was shining, a wonderful reprieve from the snowy, overcast days of dark, freezing cold mornings and even more frigid nights, with mountains of snow piled upon them every couple of days, it seemed. Making the snow drifts sparkle like pawfuls of semiprecious stones, Lionstar inhaled deeply the scent of fresh, cold air, pine, spruce and the many distinctive scents of his Clanmates all hard at work.

The wind rustling his ruff, the lion-like tom walked past the fresh kill pile, the patient leader finding his footsteps almost carrying him towards the nursery, where Silverkit and Rowankit were likely snuggled up against their mother for warmth. Especially after Silverkit's little escapade two days ago, his tiny half-sister didn't seem all that eager to set paw outside much these days. He would have chuckled if the experience hadn't been so scary for her and for him, who's own imagination had filled in the blanks as horribly as possible, had reason not won out in the end.

For saving Silverkit's life, Lionstar would forever be grateful to the cat he was about to acclaim in the best way possible, short of granting him deputyship. Make no mistake, it was not because of his sister that he was granting Noblepaw the one thing he'd wanted since before he could walk; Lionstar would never be so careless with ceremonies. He wouldn't hand them out like presents because a cat had done a good thing for him. No. It was with resolute will that Lionstar could safely say that Noblepaw had earned this ceremony. He had all the bases covered and more, and in Lionstar's opinion, skillwise, this was long overdue.

Leaping onto the ancient stump, catching the attention of several Clanmates just by doing so, his voice raising up against the wind, proud and strong, as he called the cats together with the customary call;

"May all cats strong enough to attend gather beneath Ancient Stump for a Clan meeting."

As expected, the cats began to stop what they were doing, the queens in their nursery looking on with interest, Sandfur bringing Rowankit and Silverkit forward perhaps, to enjoy the spectacle that was a warrior's ceremony in it's full glory. Duskpaw came out of the apprentice's den immediately, rubbing a wet paw over her face and ears to wipe away any sleep residue from her nap. Looking around for Noblepaw, she grinned at him, having a very good feeling about this.

Was today the day?

"Noblepaw, step forward."

Duskpaw's ears pricked forward excitedly, and she had to resist the urge to yowl out early, instead sending him some very positive vibes from where she sat beside the other apprentices.
Yes!

Today WAS the day!

[Phoenix]

Much to his relief, sleep had no longer evaded him after he had returned to camp with Silverkit, and his luck had lasted for the past few nights, leaving Noblepaw well-rested and in a relatively good mood. He had even stopped by the nursery a few times to entertain Lionstar's little silver beast, though he refused to say that he had done so of his own accord; he just wanted to make sure that he had not stomped around in the cold and beaten off a raccoon just to have the kit die of greencough or something of the like a day later. In any case, he had not lingered in the nursery for long, because the pressing obligation to do something infinitely more productive had returned to haunt him once more. As always, battle-training was his favored activity, and after his spar with Lionstar, Noblepaw had more moves that he wanted to master himself. All of the sudden exertion after a moon or so of practically moping around camp had the apprentice sleeping well at night.

Said tom blinked as he shifted in his nest, wondering what had roused him from another dreamless slumber. A glance toward the entrance of the apprentice's den, where sunlight streamed in, had him wondering why Bloodtalon had not come to collect him for training or a patrol; rarely were apprentices allowed to sleep in as late as he had, and judging by the emptiness of the den, he had slept in. Eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion, Noblepaw climbed to his paws, giving himself a little shake to rid his fur of any stray moss or other bedding materials. After quick wash consisting of a lick to his chest fur and a paw running over his face, he deemed himself presentable and exited the den.

The sight of the clan gathering beneath Ancient Stump answered his question; Lionstar's call must have reached him from within the apprentice's den and woken him from his sleep. Noblepaw let out a huff as he joined the congregating cats - woken up just so I could attend a clan meeting of little to no importance toward myself. Great. - and fell in step with Duskpaw, wondering why she could look so cheerful about a simple clan meeting. "What?" He hissed at her, irritated. "Do I have something on my face?" And then Lionstar spoke, and it took him a moment to comprehend that it was his name that had come off of the leader's lips.

Oh. And then it really struck him. OH!

Instantly the day had improved by leaps and bounds. Unable to hide the grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth, he stood tail flicking as he struggled to keep his excitement at bay. It would not do to look like an kit when he was about to become a warrior. Giving his chest fur another quick lick, the tom walked up to the base of Ancient Stump with proud, long strides. Green eyes shone with a light that had been missing ever since Demon's attack, and for the first time, he lacked the slightly challenging air that he had begun to develop as a defense mechanism against the looks he received for the scars marring an otherwise handsome face. Noblepaw was too distracted by his errant emotions, which flitted from disbelief to general excitement to pride and back again, to care about the other's opinions of him. Finally, finally, he was going to become a warrior!

[Fawn]

Though it was arguably an impressive sight, to see the golden TreeClan leader stand atop the Ancient Stump in all his strong, noble regality, Silverkit found her kitten-blue eyes straying to the cat for whom the ceremony had been held. Silverkit perked up immediately straying away a little from Sandfur and Rowankit to get a better glimpse of the scarred apprentice who had saved her life and checked up on her a few days in a row. She hadn't expected the visits, but had wholly enjoyed them, except for the part where Rowankit wouldn't stop asking him about his scars.
Feeling warmth blossom in her chest, Silverkit lent her voice to the supportive murmurs of the crowd, hers louder due to her enthusiastic shouts; "Noblepaw! Noblepaw! Noblepa..."

Instantly all eyes went to her at the seemingly sudden outburst, and Silverkit faltered under the many staring faces all fixing her with a confused or humored look - Sandfur, her mother, laughing softly and pulling the mortified kitten back to her side. Oops. I didn't ruin anything did I? Casting a fearful glance at Noblepaw, the tiny silver kitten breathed a shaky sigh of relief when Lionstar, his muzzle hinting at a slight smile, breathed in deeply and continued on in a calm, clear voice.

The golden tom was inwardly enjoying this moment almost as much as Noblepaw, TreeClan's ever-worrying leader pleased for a bit of good news in these dark, snowy times; meeting the apprentice's excited gaze, Lionstar saw the little gray and white kitten he'd told off many moons ago, for playing too roughly with his siblings. That little gray and white kitten had grown up, and grown up well.
"I, Lionstar, leader of TreeClan, call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice, for he has worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Noblepaw," Gaze tilting down to the scarred features of the proud TreeClan cat, Lionstar, the apprentice's new name on the tip of his tongue, asked the age old question he had heard TreeClan's leaders speak so many times over the course of his lifespan.
"do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Lionstar did not have to wait long for Noblepaw's answer.

Satisfied with what was given, the golden tom made a faint smile and a curt dip of his head in acknowledgment, his voice raising, projecting outward to reach all points of the TreeClan campsite, a sense of warmth and pride crashing over him as he did so.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Noblepaw, from this moment you will be known as Nobleheart. StarClan honors your courage, your battle prowess, your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of TreeClan." Eyes as golden as fossilized amber, the lion-like tom stepped forward to rest his muzzle on top of Nobleheart's head, further reassured that the name he had chosen for the young warrior would be a good one, befitting the proud cat whose name was currently being chanted up to the heavens.

Lionstar was glad it had been Noblepaw, who would be the first apprentice he crowned a warrior as the leader of TreeClan. If anyone had asked him a few moons ago if he could pick any apprentice to give his first warrior ceremony to, Noblepaw honestly would have been at the bottom of the list, but progress, hard work, and growth of character had changed all of that. Stepping back, Lionstar gave another, deeper dip of his head in further acknowledgement of the newly made warrior. Letting his gaze connect with the tom one last time, the message they conveyed was for the gray and white warrior alone.
Well done, Nobleheart. I'm going to be counting on you from here on out.

[Fate Admin]

Bloodtalon was lazily grooming himself when Lionstar leapt atop the Ancient Stump and called for the Clan to gather. Normally he didn’t particularly care at all for the state of his fur, but today Noblepaw, his very first apprentice, was becoming a warrior, and so he made the effort to look somewhat presentable. Perhaps if he’d had a proper mother who would scold him about proper grooming he would care more, but what did it matter what he looked like when the Clan needed to be fed and patrols were waiting to be joined? How long would his fur stay clean when he was cavorting about all over the forest? It was all rather pointless to Bloodtalon and he as thankful for his short and easy to care for fur, even if he was colder in the leaf-bare moons than his longer furred Clanmates. It went the opposite way in the Greenleaf moons, he stayed cooler and more comfortable and less prone to overheating. One could not have it all.

He gave himself a few more quick licks, his gaze following one of the senior warriors, Walnutpelt, as he padded by without so much as looking at him. He rose and followed after the older tom, wondering again briefly at how Walnutpelt had been one of the very first to call his warrior name and to congratulate him at his own warrior ceremony when the two had hardly even spoken before and since. Bloodtalon was almost certain the older tom avoided him, actually, but had no idea why. It was really annoying, actually. Sometimes he could swear the dark tabby tom was watching him. He would turn around, feeling eyes on him, just to see Walnutpelt turning his head and padding off somewhere. It was almost as if the older tom could read his mind, because whenever he finally got fed up and started to approach him and ask him what his problem was the tom would leave, clearly avoiding him. He lashed his tail once at the thought, as Walnutpelt took up a position to sit and look up at Lionstar, waiting for the leader to speak.

His tail twitching, Bloodtalon found his own spot, away from bird-brained Walnutpelt, and looked around for Noblepaw. When the younger tom emerged from the apprentices’ den he sat up a little taller. Noblepaw had been a promising young tom when he was first apprenticed, a fighter from the beginning, and Bloodtalon had looked forward to honing his raw potential into something great. They may not have had the closest of mentor and apprentice relationships but Bloodtalon was still proud of the young tom for reaching this day and becoming a strong warrior for TreeClan, and that he played a part in shaping the skills he would now use to serve his Clan as a full warrior.

He turned to look at Lionstar as the leader spoke, but his pale green gaze kept flicking back to his apprentice… former apprentice… soon to be warrior. When Lionstar spoke his new name Bloodtalon lent his deep voice to calling with the rest of the Clan, “Nobleheart! Nobleheart!” The massive tom pushed past another cat in order to be one of the first to congratulate his now former apprentice, “Your past as an apprentice is behind you now… I know you’ll serve TreeClan as a great warrior, Nobleheart.” His voice rumbled quietly, for the words were for Nobleheart alone, not an announcement for the Clan. If any cat happened to hear well that was fine, but it wasn’t something he wanted to shout out above the crowd. He wasn’t big on public displays of… affection? Encouragement? Whatever it was, he wasn’t big on it. He gave the new warrior a nod and stepped back to allow others near to congratulate him.

[Deleted]

where you invest your love,[/size]

The olive eyes of Sparrowpaw were alit with curiosity when, from her idle place in the TreeClan camp, she heard Lionstar call the clan together at the Ancient Stump for a clan meeting. The black and white apprentice immediately pulled herself to her paws and padded in the direction of the Ancient Stump, feeling no worry about the contents of the meeting and wondering to herself who the lucky cat might be. Do we have any kits ready to become apprentices? Sparrowpaw asked inwardly, but realized that this was not the case -- she and her brother, Swallowpaw, had not been kits too long ago and she would definitely know right away if there were any other nurserymates of hers ready to join the apprentice rank. It must be a warrior being named, then! Sparrowpaw decided.

The gangly apprentice settled in the midst of her bustling clan-mates but was mostly silent and focusing on figuring out who it was who the ceremony was for. Olive eyes glanced around casually and the smile never faltered from her muzzle as she looked for potential warrior candidates. Is it Duskpaw and her sister Dawnpaw's turn? Sparrowpaw wondered to herself, knowing that her calico friend, Duskpaw, was significantly older than herself and had become rather accomplished as an apprentice. Or, at least Duskpaw was in Sparrowpaw's inexperienced eyes. The young apprentice spotted Duskpaw a little ways away from herself, but from a quick criticism of Duskpaw's attitude, she decided that it was not possibly time for Duskpaw to become warrior.

When Noblepaw's name was announced, all questions in Sparrowpaw's mind ceased. The black and white apprentice simply watched the ceremony take place and appropriately called out Nobleheart's new name at the ceremony's close. When Silverkit cried out Noblepaw's name early, Sparrowpaw gave a small chuckle to the kitten's support of Noblepaw. Though, it made sense to Sparrowpaw. Noblepaw had saved Silverkit's life, and Sparrowpaw felt that if someone had saved her life, she would be supportive of them as well.

Though Sparrowpaw didn't know Nobleheart at all, she did know that the cat had saved Silerkit, Lionstar's kits', life, and was Duskpaw's friend. That was enough for Sparrowpaw to feel excited for the older tom.

One day I will be in his shoes, Sparrowpaw thought to herself.

you invest your life.

[/size][/u]

[Phoenix]

A hushed silence seemed to have fallen across the clan, as if every cat in the clearing held their breath as one in anticipation of the ceremony that was about to ensue. Rarely was the camp ever this quiet; Noblepaw could only remember silences that rivaled this one during other ceremonies or the announcement of a cat's death. Thankfully, there had been few of the latter during his time. For some reason, he found himself fixating on the conspicuous absense of sound while he took the last few steps to stand beneath Lionstar. It was odd, something he had never considered before, but just as he had begun to come to terms with it, a cry split the air. Enthusiastic and loud, his name was chanted by a familiar she-cat far too early. Keeping his face from betraying the mixture of amusement and exhasperation he felt, the apprentice turned green eyes in the direction of Silverkit, whom he saw looked respectably mortified. He stored the priceless expression written all over her features away in his memory, already planning on reminding her of her actions sometime in the future. It never crossed his mind just how brotherly his thoughts had become.

Looking back up at the impressive golden tom, Noblepaw felt his breath catch in his throat, even as he raised his chin with pride. And finally, Lionstar began. Every word the leader spoke in his deep voice resonated through the apprentice, connecting with him in a way that they had not done so before. During his apprentice ceremony, he had been too young, too excited to fully comprehend the importance of that moment; now, however, he had matured enough to considered the words of the ancient tradition. How many other apprentices had stood where his paws were placed now, heart thudding just as loudly as his, and received their names? How many had become leaders, like Lionstar, in the end? Green eyes met golden ones, and even as Lionstar asked the question, Noblepaw had his answer ready.

"I do." Of course I do.

He was very satisfied with the way his voice did not betray the dryness of his mouth, the way his tongue seemed to thick to speak around. Instead, he thought it gave off the impression of competence and power that he had hoped it would. Lionstar accepted his response with a nod, and as he spoke once more, anticipation flooded Noblepaw's veins.

Then it was done. He was TreeClan's newest warrior.

Nobleheart.

The weight of Lionstar's muzzle on his head helped him center his erratic thoughts and wild emotions, and he took a deep breath before licking his leader's shoulder. Only a few days ago his claws had dug into the thick golden fur and met flesh, and only in his dreams would he have hoped that he would be giving it the customary lick days after the incident. Stepping back, he watched Lionstar a moment longer, collecting himself and giving a small nod in return at the message he saw in those amber eyes.

Then he turned and faced his clan, realizing with surprise that his name was being chanted and kicking himself a moment later for his surprise. Immediately, his eyes sought out the familiar broad shoulders of his mentor. Former mentor, He reminded himself, unable to help the awe that traveled down his spine at the thought. Bloodtalon's words resonated through him in the same way that the words of the ceremony had, and he stored them away in his memory. Dipping his head, he responded in the only way he felt he could. "Thank you, Bloodtalon, for everything." His voice was as low as the warrior's and his words equally private. Then his former mentor disappeared back into the crowd, and his place was filled with many others, all fighting to congratulate him. But rarely were the words his clanmates as meaningful to him as the words of a certain select few.

Seeing the pride and hearing his new name echoing through the clearing in Bloodtalon's deep voice caused the events to hit home and the disbelief that had plagued him throughout the whole ceremony finally fled for good. I am a warrior.

[Fawn]

Duskpaw waited until the broad-shouldered Bloodtalon had said his piece, the pretty tortoiseshell she-cat nudging her way through the crowd until the gray and white figure of Nobleheart was well within speaking distance. Not stopping at a respectful pace away, the she-cat went right up, purring, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder in a warm, happy gesture of friendship and affection.

She was all smiles.

"Congratulations, Nobleheart. I knew you could make it," mottled plume swaying, Duskpaw's whiskers twitched with amusement, warmth and pride, coinciding with the look in her eyes, the she-cat purring twice as loud as before. "And Dawnpaw said I had bad taste in toms..." Hinting at her affection for him, it would truly be a surprise to her if Nobleheart hadn't realized it after all this time.

That was half the reason he'd let her hang out with him so much over these past few moons, because of her completely biased feelings for him? Or had he been oblivious all this time, thinking her overly friendly or some sort of admirer of his strength?

Duskpaw would laugh, if the latter was the case. Strength was nice, sure, but having a noble heart was much, MUCH better. Light green eyes flashing, Duskpaw lurched forward and nuzzled his shoulder a second time, feeling her flesh grow warmth beneath her fur - she just wanted to say her piece before Lionstar walked over to remind Nobleheart of his vigil.

I'm so so proud of you, Nobleheart. I knew you could do it. You're going to be a great warrior, and you know what? I'm gonna be rooting for you for deputy, too. Already signing up as Nobleheart's support system for any other goals he was determined to reach, the she-cat quietly felt a twinge of excitement for her own sake. Oh how amazing that was going to be, when she got to become a warrior! He would walk over and say congratulations, wouldn't he? He'd tell her he was glad to be her friend then, right?

[Phoenix]

There she was. He had expected Duskpaw to be one of the first to approach him after his ceremony; after all, they had a pawful of experiences together, and she had become his shadow for the past few moons. The irony of the situation did not escape him; never had he thought that he would actually try to find the she-cat. Even then, it was only after their encounter Demon and close brush with death that he truly began to appreciate her company. He still chose to avoid her sister whenever he could; Dawnpaw had not amounted to much, after all, and in his opinion, she had no redeeming qualities. Duskpaw, however, had slowly wormed her way into his heart with her stubborn loyalty and determination. All purrs, said she-cat rushed up to him and pressed her cheeck into his shoulder. His smile grew warm and amused as he turned and rested his nose on her head, glad that he was still that much taller than her.

They drew apart as the mottled she-cat spoke, and TreeClan's newest warrior dipped his head. "Thank you, Duskpaw," He meowed sincerely, green eyes bright. And before his masculine pride could convince him to swallow his words: "You're a good friend." Flushing at the embarassment, he started to regret ever uttering that sentence. It made him sound far too soft and sappy and emotional. He was a warrior now! He could not afford to be--

Her next words made him freeze as utter indignation replaced embarassment. He had not been completely oblivious as to Duskpaw's reasons for hanging around him; while he could not confirm it and did not care to ask, feelings of affection toward him had been suspicion. At first, it caused him little guilt that he did not return the feelings, and though she must have known that, she had continued following him anyway. So, he had managed to hide that suspicion in the back of his mind, to store it away and ignore it. Jaw dropping in shock - which was only half faked - he turned to the she-cat. "She said that?" Nobleheart questioned, tail flicking through the air behind him. "Really?" He huffed, glancing away. "Sisters these days, ya know? So rude..."

Giving his chest fur a few licks, he allowed a thoroughly satisfied expression to cross his features. Perhaps he would feed his ego for a little bit, indulge and raise his self-esteem. "We all know that she was wrong," Nobleheart added slyly, a purr catching the end of his words.

[Fawn]

He always looked so handsome when he smiled, genuinely smiled, and even with the scars on his face, Duskpaw still thought he hung the moon and the stars in the sky. Purring soundly, the ecstatic noise momentarily faltered in surprise at the genuinely nice words Nobleheart had spoken to her;

"You're a good friend."

Had he really said such a nice thing to her? Did he truly mean that? Light green eyes rounding in surprise, the she-cat felt her body grow warm from the tips of her ears all the way to her paws, flushing red beneath her densely mottled ginger, black and white coat. Suddenly growing shy, she beamed at him, momentarily struck speechless by the first honest compliment he'd given her in... Oh gosh, only StarClan knew when.

"Sisters these days, ya know? So rude..."[...]"We all know that she was wrong,"

Chuckling at his words, Duskpaw momentarily hogged his attention all to herself for a few seconds longer, purring and kneading the earth beneath her paws, conscious of the cats clustering around her. "Very wrong. Oh Nobleheart - I'm so proud of you!" Craning her neck forward, she purred, rubbing her cheek briefly against his, before her courage failed her, lingering long enough to drink in his warm, masculine scent, as well as murmur in her usual supportive tone;
"Stay warm, Nobleheart. I'll miss you. Don't you dare meet some other she-cat while I'm still stuck an apprentice, okay?" That last line came out softly teasing, Duskpaw leaning back again so she wouldn't fill his ears with her satisfied purring, the tortoiseshell and white she-cat intending to move away and let the rest of the crowd have him at last.

[Phoenix]

The way her face lit up almost made up for the sappiness of the comment that was never supposed to make it past his lips. Did it really mean that much to her? In his opinion, it was embarassing. It was something a sappy she-cat would say, not a grown warrior.

Duskpaw pressed forward, her cheek rubbing against his. Standing still, he let her, eyes closing until they became slits as he enjoyed the company of his good friend and basking in her praise. Another purr, matching her's, escaped him, vibrating deep in his chest, and his ears flicked as her soft murmur reached them. A smile, genuine and caused by the warm feeling that had spread all the way to his paws, made its way across his lips, and he turned his face slightly, smiling into her familiar, soft fur. "I won't," He whispered in reply, voice muffled by his friend's pelt. His tone was uncharacteristically soft, and he continued speaking before he lost the nerve. Already his mind had begun to comprehend how emotional and sappy this would sound to a bystander. "Of course I won't. You'll always be special to me, Duskpaw. I'm always going to be your friend."

And he found that he meant it.

She had been a good friend to him far longer than he had been a friend to her. Before the encounter with Demon, he had never really known how much he had appreciated her or her company. The near-death encounter with the lynx had changed all of that. It was surprising, really, how those could change a cat. That experience was one that only he and Duskpaw shared, and it had instigated the creation of their strongest bond of friendship. They had helped heal the psychological wounds that the lynx had left on both of their pysches, become pillars of strength for one another as they worked their way through the nightmares and the physical challenges. Spottedfeather may have had to heal their bodies, but they had worked together to heal the invisible wounds. It was something for which he would be forever grateful toward Duskpaw.

A strange sadness of some sort filtered through the comfortable warmth as she drew away from him. He swallowed down the knot that had formed in his throat, green eyes leaving her familiar form to converse with another cat. Their similar experiences would stop here, until Duskpaw became a warrior. They would no longer share a den and train together. He would be called away with his warrior duties, and she had a few more moons of hard, dedicated training. She would still be there, but she would not play as large a role in his life anymore. And he found that somewhat saddening, much to his surprise. Turning, he thanked another cat who had offered congratulations.

Yes, he would miss her. But he was a warrior now. He could not stay in the past forever. It was time to move on, and he was ready to face the challenges that came with it. The cats kept on coming, eager to speak with TreeClan's newest warrior. I'll be right here waiting for you, Duskpaw. Just don't take too long.

[/blockquote]