Names

Ambrose followed Raven down the forest path, enjoying the cool breeze that ran through the trees.

Eventually, they walked side by side, Raven singing quietly to herself and Ambrose deep in his thoughts.

When they made it to the ceremony, there was already a large crowd of shifter parents there. Raven wagged her tail and pointed out where their pup was standing. He was grinning ear to ear, and his tail wagged violently, slapping a female pup in the knees.

She snarled at him and he flattened his ears in apology. Raven chuckled.

When the village healer walked into the stage that had been set up in the morning, the murmuring parents stopped and watched him eagerly.

The pups being named this year were the ages five to eight years old. Ambrose had been waiting for this day the moment Pup was born, now, he wasn't sure if he was ready.

"Hello, and welcome to the Naming Ceremony!" The healer, Elwin, says. The murmuring parents quiet down. "We all know that pups are named off of personalities, and actions." he pauses to look around at the crowd.

"With careful observations and long discussions with the elders, we have decided the perfect names for these pups." He smiles at the pups, who were watching him with wide eyes. "We all hope that the pups will learn from their names, are become them. But most important of all is that they carry their new names with pride, and not with shame!"

The crowd of parents cheer and Elwin lets them for a moment before holding his hand up to silence them.

"We will begin now." Elwin smiles, looking at the pups. There were 23 pups in total, and the Naming Ceremony would probably last for a couple of hours. After would be the celebration, and there would be food and drinks and music. A huge party that even non-shifters would join.

Elwin called a female pup, who was six. She has big green eyes and wavy brown hair. She was timid when she approached Elwin. He gave her a reassuring smile and she smiled back at him. There was a bowl on a stand next to Elwin, and he dipped two fingers into it. When he lifted them out, they were covered in a thick black substance.

He touched his fingers onto the female pup's forehead and drew a shape onto it. The mark began to glow. "This pup is often observed helping in the gardens and making sure critters don't get to our food stores. She loves to help in the kitchens as well, and she can be trusted to not steal food either. We've decided to name her Ceres, after the goddess of the harvest."

The crowd is silent for a moment. Then someone calls out, "Ceres!"

Other people begin to murmur her name, getting louder and louder, and soon everyone was chanting her name. Ceres beamed, and puffed her chest, walking back to where the other pups stood.