#Rainstar’s burden

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Finished drawing him while in the car

more on him later cause I’m still in the car and looking at my screen makes me dizzy

—

ref by turukhan

[oflgtfol]

"Why do you visit us alone, Turtlestar?"

Turtlestar recognizes the she-cat in front of her from the last time she had visited the Moonstream. On that fateful night, only twelve moons ago, the river had been blazing with the light of the waning gibbous as it gleamed off the current. Silversong had greeted her with stars sparkling in her eyes and moonlight weaving through her fur. Now, tonight, the moon is just a thin crescent setting on the horizon, and the Moonstream is dark. Silversong is but a pale apparition floating over the water.

Turtlestar bows her head. “I come before StarClan tonight to ask that… that you may rescind my nine lives, and give them to my deputy, Fawnspot. Name them Fawnstar in my stead.”

A moment of tense silence, and then, “Why should we do that?”

“I'm not fit to be SpruceClan's leader," Turtlestar replies. "It is… destroying me, and I’m afraid that it may destroy my Clan in the process."

A murmur rises up before her. She lifts her head to see more spirits have joined them, staring at her from behind Silversong. In the darkness, their forms blend together, faces bleeding into more faces until they're unrecognizable. She can't make out any eyes, but she can feel the weight of their stares, their disapproval heavy on her exhausted shoulders. She feels pinned down, small, cowering there alone on the river stone.

“It is not every day that a cat receives eight additional lives from StarClan,” Silversong says. “Do you doubt the gifts we gave you?”

“No, I just — I’m not worthy of them,” Turtlestar chokes out. She hangs her head in defeat. “Please. I’m trying to do what’s best for my Clan. And what’s best for my Clan is not me.”

Her pelt burns: with shame, with guilt, with humiliation. Only twelve moons, and she has come crawling back, knelt down and begging to be relieved of the duty that any other cat would be honored to have. As painful as this is, she knows that withstanding a single more day of this burden would be more than she could bear.

"Very well," Silversong says. She looks down at Turtlestar, eyes glinting like ice. "Let the ceremony commence."

A new cat emerges from the formless mass of ghosts. Rainstar, the leader of SpruceClan before her, steps towards Turtlestar and dips his head. Her mentor, her friend, and her predecessor — he had believed in her when even she herself didn't. His eyes are downturned and somber as he says, "There is no coming back from this. Are you sure you would like to begin, Turtlestar?"

She nods wordlessly, and he sighs. "For your ninth life, I gave you the gift of judgment. Now, I will revoke it.”

Rainstar leans forward and touches his nose to her forehead, and a terrible hollowing sensation pangs through her chest. It feels like the life is being sucked out of her, leaving her empty, shaking and weak. She feels a piece of herself missing, somewhere nestled next to her heart, where now nothing but a small, gaping hole resides, and she knows that hole will only get punched bigger and bigger over the course of the night. He pulls away and watches her, green eyes shadowed in the darkness, before he melts back into the crowd.

The press of the water-slick stone beneath her paws is grounding, now. She digs her claws in and pants, chest heaving, as she regains her bearings, head spinning and heart racing. The ghostly mass of StarClan cats hovers over the water, silent and watchful. Like the loss of her ninth life was an actual death, and this is her final judgment. But she still has seven more lives to lose tonight, and seven more final judgments to endure.

Another cat approaches. Sageleaf, a former SpruceClan medicine cat who had died when Turtlestar was still a kit, too young to remember them, but old enough to hear their stories. The cat eyes her flatly, face too stoic to betray any emotions. “I gave you your eighth life in honor of making difficult choices. I see it has been put to good use. Now, I will remove it.”

The cats come and go, and matter less and less each time. In between the terrible, bone-deep ache of each life lost, their words somehow still reach her, penetrating through the fog.

“I gave you your seventh life for loyalty.”

“Your sixth life was given for integrity.”

“Forgiveness.”

“Duty.”

“Confidence.”

Finally, as Turtlestar stands hunched over and trembling with exhaustion, Silversong steps to the front once more. She eyes Turtlestar coldly. “For your second life, I had given you perseverance. Now, I will take it back." She presses her nose to Turtlestar's forehead, hard, unforgiving, and it feels as though the warmth is leaving her limbs.

Silversong pulls back, but doesn’t retreat. “You will remain known as Turtlestar, as a reminder of the lives you once had. You may not be leader of SpruceClan any longer, but may your experiences forever remain in your memories and guide you for the rest of your days.” Now, she steps back. “Have a good life, Turtlestar.”

Turtlestar watches as the thin crescent moon finally slips below the horizon, and StarClan fades away. She is left standing alone on the stepping stones, a shivering wreck in the darkness with only the rushing of water for company.

[delugeclangen]

Rainstar, formerly Rainstrike, is the ambitious leader of DelugeClan. Ever since his kithood, he has been told that he was blessed by the stars and would rise above during hardship. Perhaps he truly was destined for greatness as he ended up surviving The Calamity, a violent storm that destroyed his home and left him as the leader of a ragtag group of survivors. He doesn't doubt his skills, but being forced to rely solely on himself due to his either extremely young Clanmates or aged ones is a heavy burden.

Before his life fell apart at the threads, he took a warm shelter extremely for granted. Now, outside of surviving the coming trials, he longs for a comfortable den rather than an abandoned nest perched in a tree. Alas he is the leader of the Clan and the only middle aged cat. His needs come last to his Clanmate's.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Rainstar’s former mate, Maplefall and Wolfburn’s daughter, and one of Myrtlewing’s victims! She was sick over a long period of time, as Myrtlewing only gave her withered and bad herbs.

—

ref by Turukhan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Windclan

Leader: Rabbitstar: gray tabby and white tom

Deputy: Rosebranch: calico mollie with amber eyes

Medicine cat: Coldwater: white mollie with blue eyes (apprentice, Houndpaw)

Warriors:

Pepperfoot: white tom with blue eyes

Patchface: white tom with brown eyes

Whitewhisper: white mollie with brown eyes

Lambfreckle: Dark gray tom with hazel eyes

Kestrelspot: black and white mollie with amber eyes

Nightstorm: dark gray tom with hazel eyes

Sheeppelt: dark gray tom with hazel eyes

Moorface: sickly black tom with amber eyes

Hawkshrike: cream and white tom with blue eyes

Owlfeather: black tom with amber eyes

Beechhiss: dark gray cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Daisyface: fawn and white queen with pale green eyes (mother of Grousekit)

Brightwhisker ginger tabby queen with amber eyes (mother of Harekit and Moorkit)

Apprentices:

Houndpaw: black tabby tom with one green eye

Tiercelpaw: black smoke tom with messy fur and yellow eyes

Meadowpaw: black smoke mollie with long sleek fur

Kits:

Grousekit: sickly black tom with big yellow eyes

Harekit: white tom with amber eyes

Moorkit: white tom with brown eyes

Elders

Nightdrift: dark gray tom with hazel eyes

Hawksplash: tall black mollie with green eyes

———

just outa curiosity, who do you think Hollyclaw gets with 👀?

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Mole and Echo had two litters, Fallen and Fleet in one and Wolf and Ivy in the other.

Maple and Wolf also had two litters, deciding to have a new kit after their daughter died to help with the grief.

Sadly, most of them would end up as victims

Really, everyone but Molespots.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Leenile! His markings are partly representative of that of a knight, which he is based on. Very noble and loyal.

I started to wonder when he would have met Lee and Nile, either loners or kittypets, which he would have had to be friends with long enough to want to name himself after them.

Then I thought that maybe he was sent on a mission to find the missing cats, whom Alderstar definitely didn’t know the location of.

THEN I was thinking that maybe Grouse went with him, and that was why Grouse was gone when Myrtle and Alder were revealed.

Maybe Leenile died on the mission, too? Or perhaps he comes back in Rainstar’s Burden?

—

ref by turukhan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Ref by Turukhan

Flicker’s brother, father of canon Redscar, and uncle of Fernlight and canon Flowerstar and Mossfire

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Murdered family

All refs by turukhan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

He was probably such a good hunter, just look at him! He would blend into the shadows so well

ref by turukhan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Ref by Turukhan

(fun fact: her eyes colour is maple)

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Noticed that Splash and Blue are black so congrats to them they are now part of Alder’s family tree

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

I know I just posted it but seriously Shankill Butchers song but it’s Rainstar being haunted by Myrtle and Alder

and like maybe it starts with the instrumental and Alder’s bloodied fur when he got crushed. Maybe focusing on the claw marks at his paws before shifting to Rain

OH WAIT WAIT

what if it was the focusing on the claw marks, when a drop fell (Myrtle tear) and it changes to normal muddy ground because it’s now raining and the focus has shifted to Rainbur/star?

and he looks all around the camp and just sees how many were killed

and he remembers how they seemed so normal as kits (lyric about how they were once just kids)

figuratively haunted or literally, either way

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Wolfburn! I wanted him to kinda resemble a werewolf

He got his name because as an apprentice, he was the first to wake to the smell of flames. The elders’ den had caught fire, and he risked his life pulling them out (with the help of others, but he was first and therefore got the worst burns).

He had to spend some time in the medicine den, but as soon as he recovered, he was given his warrior name, which honours his heroic act.

Some burns are more healed than others. You can kinda see where fur has grown over.

He is Maplefall’s mate, Boulderpaw’s and Blossomtuft’s father, Fleetsong’s, Fallendust’s, and Ivytooth’s brother, and Molespots’s and Echo’s son

Btw he is the one Dawnmoth witnessed Myrtle bury!

——

ref by Turukhan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Ref by turukhan