ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY ELEVENTH, Exquisitekit was born. One of five kits who'd mark that leaf-bare morning as their birthday. ON MONDAY, MARCH TWENTY-FIFTH, Exquisitepaw was apprenticed. One of eleven kits who'd forever remember that day as the first ceremony dedicated to their training's commence. Never, never, had Exquisitepaw been one of one. -- The auburn-furred she-cat sat solemnly, her bright pelt duller than usual under the cloud-covered night sky. It was pathetic, really, in a poetic sort of way. Not that poetry was something the new apprentice had ever been good at. But all the same, there was some sort of dumb irony about it... she'd spent her whole kithood waiting, watching, ready for a time she could finally explore the territory unsupervised, and now that she could? She sat. Sullen, silent, still, all those uncharacteristic for the usually hyper she-kit- No. Not she-kit, not anymore. Exquisitepaw was now a she-CAT, and her kithood was gone. Wasted, it felt. Because when she really thought about it, it made sense that Exquisitepaw had never stood out. Never been one, never been someone important or recognized. What had she done with her life? Played moss-ball, escaped camp, napped away the hot desert daylight... all basic. Standard, by-the-book results you'd get when asking a warrior what they'd done as a kit. The reality was that SHE was basic. Basic unkempt fur, basic clumsy paws, even a basic personality. She was a joke of a background character, a sidekick who gets killed off for comedic relief. A worthless, useless excuse of a- /Stop it./ She'd been so happy earlier, ecstatic as Strongstar announced her name and she stood, surrounded by cheering Clanmates... Except they hadn't been cheering for her. They'd been cheering for the eleven apprentices as a whole, and she'd been stupid to assume they even knew her name. Why would they? She hadn't spoken to a single warrior her entire life, save for her mother. /But maybe that could change./ If she worked hard enough. If she met every single cat, if she made a lasting impression. She'd put herself front-and-center, risk it all because she had nothing to lose. She could. She could feel it, her paws drumming with excitment against the scattering sands. She'd be someone, someone they'd all love or hate or fear... time would tell, she supposed. It didn't matter what they thought of her, as long as they knew her name. As long as she flitted through their heads and invaded their minds so that her influence was enough to make them bow, her power was enough to order commands they must obey. /Yes!/ The vision brought her to her paws, the clouds drifting away from the moon as if StarClan themselves agreed with her proclamations. She would continue the Bellflower legacy. She would show them that she was the daughter of Rattlesnaketattle, the bearer of WindClan's future. And future she'd bring them. -- And so begins Exquisitepaw's quest for recognition! I think this will be a really fun arc and a cool character development move, and I'm super curious to see what everyone else thinks! <33
