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Post by Flame13 on Feb 23, 2022 23:08:15 GMT -5
Since they don’t cover this in DOTC how do you think the name rituals came about (paw for apprentices/kit for kits etc.)
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Post by ivysaur on Feb 24, 2022 0:26:36 GMT -5
I like to imagine they just stopped calling them kit as they grew older, gave them another suffix while they were apprentice aged, then realize their suffix didnt fit them anymore as they became adults and gave another suffix to match. Kinda like when you have changing nicknames that eventually stick with the entire group.
-kit is pretty straightforward. If Emberkit had survived, I doubt he'd have stayed Emberkit. -paw is more confusing since the DoTC cats who have Paw/Paws suffix all have notable feet (Mud Paws has striped paws and Spider Paw is polydactyl). Maybe it was a trend where they called apprentices Paw because they have small paws?
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Post by Flanoir on Feb 24, 2022 6:00:53 GMT -5
My headcanon is that the paw suffix is a resurgence of the softpaw/sharpclaw system The Ancients had. I guess the meaning behind it is that a sharpclaw has all the strength and maturity to exploit their body's potential (including their main weapon, ie claws), while a soft' would be an inexperienced paw who can't do much with the tools they were given yet. We learn in the Sun Trail that, thanks to the elders, Gray Wing's generation still knew about the trial young cats had to go through in the tunnels. So there was already a historical basis for such hierarchy. And as Half Moon was still one of the most prominent StarClan cats in the Clans' formative years, it's not hard to imagine that the traditions she once left behind influenced what she envisioned for the Clans.
The basis for a mentor/apprentice system was also already laid during the fight again Slash's rogues, as the cats felt the need to help youngsters defend themselves. Same for the medicine cats in MFV. I imagine that the leadership ceremonies were an inspiration and essentially trickled down to affect the whole clan structure, and, perhaps due to newer conflicts, and to keep younger cats in line, it eventually progressed to what we know today. At some point, the cats probably felt they had to instaure a cut-off line from which youngsters could decently start fighting and hunting. I could see something along the lines of Skystar sending slightly underage fighters against an outside menace, and it ending so badly that all leaders agreed to the six moon rule and that a more proper training system was needed to ensure the Clans' future. The fact that the same rule is supposed to apply to everyone in the clans probably also came in handy to keep cats from arbitrarily gaining speed over their age group, and, more importantly, to discipline them, give them their first taste of loyalty, and diminish the probability for kits to take unecessary risks. Some kits/teens may have rebelled or did somethibg harsh at the time. Now everyone would know their place, so to speak.
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