#cedarfern

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Thinking about how after Fernpaw died, killed by her mentor, her dad decided to become Shadowclan's medicine cat to honour her memory, and then when he was re-named requested he be named after his daughter (Cedarsky to Cedarfern).

And then his surviving daughter has a son that wants to become a medicine cat and Cedar trains him.

Also thinking about how Cedar's son has a kit that becomes leader, making Redscar and Flowerstar who are cousins twice over med cat and leader, but instead of like Alder and Myrtle they're the good guys!!

@ambitiousauthor

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Medicine Cat After Myrtlewing stuff

--Fernpaw was delivered by Myrtlewing (possibly alongside littermates).

--She became intrigued when she saw Myrtlewing care for her sick sibling, or another kit in the den, and decided to become a medicine cat.

--She didn’t think much of it when Myrtlewing kept her in the den a lot to sort through herbs while he ‘collected herbs,’ as most medicine cat apprentices and mentors do the same thing.

--She really liked him and thought that he was kind.

--Visits to the Moonstone frightened her because the dreams were odd (they were warnings about Myrtle. Too bad Starclan speak in riddles). Myrtle twisted their meaning when she confided in him about them.

--She was killed by Myrtlewing while she was eight moons old to take away the last medicine cat the Clan had. 

--She was possibly out while with a Clanmate, likely relative and even likelier her father.

--The Clan went without a medicine cat for a while because with their leader, deputy, and medicine cat gone and two of them murderers, they didn’t want thr Clans to think they were weak. Eventually they gave in after Rainstar gained his nine lives.

--During this period, Fern’s father found himself trying to help his sick Clanmates.

--Her father decided to volunteer as the Clanmate the other Clan’s medicine cat would train in order to honour his daughter.

--Her father requested changing his name when his training was finished, changing his suffix to ‘fern.’

--Parents might be Mossflake (mom) and Cedarsky/Cedarfern (dad)

--Because they were Shadowclan in the old forest, the medicine cat most likely came from Thunderclan or Windclan.

--The medicine cat had their own apprentice at the same time, so Cedar had to train alongside them in the other Clan’s camp.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

I wanna do a medicine cat one now

Gorsedaisy -- Hickoryskip -- Myrtlewing -- Cedarfern --Redscar -- Mossheart -- Molepelt -- Sloefur -- Redthistle -- Sagewhisker

Redscar was the medicine cat when Flowerstar (and possibly Snowstar?) was leader, so he wouldn’t have been right after Myrtlewing. 

Also because there was no medicine cat in Shadowclan after Myrtle left (Hickory was either way too elderly or died), they likely had to get someone from another Clan to help. 

Probably not exactly continuous, but gives an idea

--------------------

Molepelt is the mecicine cat during Cloudstar’s Journey, AKA when Skyclan leaves the forest.

Sloefur appears in Mapleshade’s Vengeance, which takes place after Skyclan leaves

Redthistle was medicine cat during Goosefeather’s Curse

--------------------

Putting them together:

Under Hailstar’s and Cuckoostar’s reigns, Gorsedaisy was medicine cat

Under Stormstar’s reign (and possibly Cuckoostar’s), Hickoryskip was medicine cat

Under Alderstar’s and Stormstar’s reign, Myrtlewing was medicine cat

Briefly under Alderstar’s reign, Fernpaw was a medicine cat apprentice

Under Rainstar’s reign, the medicine cat was Cedarfern (formerly Cedarsky)

Under an unknown leader’s reign, Mossheart was medicine cat. The deputy at the time was Silvermask. It is unknown if he became leader, but for the sake of consistency, let’s say no. Other leaders at the time were

Under Dawnstar’s reign, Molepelt was medicine cat

Under an unknown leader’s reign, Sloefur was medicine cat. Other leaders at the time were Oakstar of Thunderclan and Darkstar of Riverclan

Under Houndstar’s reign, Redthistle was medicine cat

Under Cedarstar’s reign, Sagewhisker was medicine cat

[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]

Training and Simple Plant (short story)

Myrtlewing woke to the feeling of being poked with a claw on his nose. He flinched back. “Ow!”

Aldereyes stood over him, because of course it was him. “Get up. You're coming with me to train.”

Myrtlewing shifted to a sitting position and yawned. “You do realize that I’m a medicine cat, right?”

“Of course I remember. It’s the only position you could have where no one would judge you for fleeing in a battle. No one’s sick,” Aldereyes added. “The Clan should learn how to fight against bigger enemies.” He said that looking briefly to the ground. 

Fleetsong had died three days ago. Myrtlewing had initially planned to sneak back through the dirtplace, but because Fleetsong ended up being mauled by a dog, he didn’t have to pretend. He told them the truth, or part of it–that Fleetsong offered to help him gather herbs while he was still awake, and they were attacked by a dog. Myrtlewing managed to climb up a tree in time, but Fleetsong wasn’t so lucky.

He forced himself to frown in spite of the very different emotion he felt. Fleetsong hadn’t died right away. The dog was chased off by a dawn patrol–another blessing for Myrtlewing, because it meant that he might have been caught if not for the beast. Fleetsong was then brought back to camp, where Myrtlewing would heal him. Poor tom was so terrified, knowing the truth but unable to tell it. Myrtlewing gave him some special herbs, and that was it. He had hung his head after that, telling Stormstar that their Clanmate was already too far gone.

“I’m a medicine cat,” Myrtlewing repeated, “I don’t need to fight.”

“I can tell that by looking at you. But you almost died.” Was that a shimmer  in his eyes? “And as useless as you are at everything you do, you’re the Clan’s only medicine cat and we cannot afford for something to happen to you.”

Right. Myrtlewing smirked. That’s why.

He followed Aldereyes out of the den and to one of the training clearings, making sure to tell Mossflake where he would be and to fetch him if anyone needed him. 

The training had already begun by the time they arrived. Molespots and Pricklepelt were circling each other, while Hootpetal and Cedarsky wrestled on the ground. Upon seeing Aldereyes, they straightened and watched him, waiting for instruction. Myrtlewing couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of pride at the respect their Clanmates held in his friend. Aldereyes wasn’t even deputy, and he was younger than Molespots and Pricklepelt by many moons, yet they still looked to him for guidance. 

He kept mostly on the sidelines, but listened intently as Aldereyes gave instructions, explaining to his Clanmates how to fight a bigger predator in contrast to another warrior, and when he asked Molespots and Pricklepelt to share any knowledge they had on the topic. After all, he may need to use this information one day, whether as prey or predator. 

“The best element of all,” Aldereyes was saying, “is surprise.” With that, he whipped around and tackled Myrtlewing, who was behind him, without warning, grabbing him by the shoulder and flinging him to the ground. Myrtlewing only blinked in startlement as Aldereyes pretended to bite his throat. 

He felt it was all so funny. Only three days prior, he had done the same thing to Fleetsong, only much harsher, shoving the tom onto the forest floor and slitting his throat with his claws. Aldereyes would make an amazing killer. 

—-----------------

After the training was over, the group parted. Aldereyes took Pricklepelt and Hootpetal to hunt, only after hinting to Myrtlewing that maybe he wouldn’t have been so easy to tackle if he had some muscle–which Myrtlewing most definitely did. 

Myrtlewing told them that since he was out, he would gather some herbs, and passed up the offer of traveling with a warrior. The dog had been chased back to its Twoleg, and both were long gone by now. Plus, there was the most obvious reason: he was hoping to meet with Nightfly, and didn’t want anybody to see him.

Arriving at the border, he was pleasantly surprised to see the dark grey tom already pacing back and forth along the scent line. 

“Hello,” he called.

Nightfly leaped into the air, landing semi-gracefully. When he saw Myrtlewing, he practically ran over. “Hi!” he called back, hardly able to contain his smile. “I wasn’t sure if, you know, I was supposed to come here. Was I? You’re not just here for an unrelated reason? I’m sorry if you are–”

Myrtlewing gave him a reassuring smile back. “I’m here for you.” 

“Oh!” Nightfly somehow seemed to both stiffen and melt. He looked around, as if distracting himself from the mixing feelings, and his eyes landed on the crumpled patch of flowers. “Good thing you gathered them when you did,” he said jokingly.

“Yeah,” Myrtlewing mumbled. Should he still use the flowers to cheer Aldereyes up, as he had planned? It had been a while since Stormstar–or Maplefall–had gotten on the golden tom’s nerves. There was still the flower that Nightfly had picked for him, laying on the ground apart from the others. It was in much better condition than its counterparts, since it had no longer been part of the bush when Myrtlewing clawed it apart in frustration. 

“Speaking of….” Nightfly’s voice began to trail away, and he forced it back up. “I…I spotted another flower on the border here. It wasn’t part of the ground or anything, and there was nothing like it around, so I was wondering if maybe that meant that it was left. Or maybe the wind just blew it,” he added quickly. 

“I was hoping you would find it,” Myrtlewing told him. He had taken Molespots’s advice. When the older tom had suggested flowers after Myrtlewing said that he wanted to show someone he cares, it gave him an idea. Of course, he didn’t mean it romantically, but he could certainly trick Nightfly into thinking that’s what simple plants means. The fool was already quivering any time Myrtlewing looked at him. 

He went with hyacinth, hoping its bright colours would make it stand out against the yellow-green moor. “We can’t talk long,” he went on, “patrols will be coming by.”

“Right!” Nightfly’s tail fell. 

“This was great, though,” Myrtlewing went on. “I like seeing you.” He wanted to vomit at his own words, but Nightfly brightened once again. “We should do it again. Perhaps at the next Gathering?” 

“Sure!” Nightfly’s eyes practically flooded with affection. Then his attention flicked to something behind Myrtlewing. “Itwasgreatseeingyoutoobye!” and he was off, leaping back over the hill. Myrtlewing glanced behind him and saw a Shadowclan patrol approach. 

“Who was that?” they asked.

“Just a Windclan warrior,” Myrtlewing answered. 

“Okay, well we’re heading back to camp after this,” Briartalon, who was leading, spoke. “Do you want to come back with us?”

“Sure,” Myrtlewing responded. His eyes drifted to the dark petals at the bottom of the hill. Padding over, he picked the flower up in his jaws, and followed his Clanmates back to the camp.

================================

--Myrtle likely got the flower from a Twoleg garden

--Finally getting to the ‘Alder thinking Myrtle likes him’ part!

--His Clanmates likely won’t use the ‘how to fight a big predator’ moves on him if he tried to kill them, but best to listen just in case they tried to.

--Hyacinth means play/game, symbolizing that that’s all his and Nightfly’s relationship is to him.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Cedarsky/fern’s Background:

It came as no surprise to anyone that Cedarpaw became a fantastic hunter. After all, his pelt made for perfect camouflage in the shadows. As well, it made him a valuable fighter when battles took place in darkness. 

Because of his talent for hunting and fighting, he was popular among the apprentices, and was the crush for Mosspaw.

Mosspaw herself was shy and, in her eyes, weird, so it was quite a surprise for her when Cedarpaw returned her affections after several moons being oblivious.

Cedarpaw felt bad that Mosspaw was so surprised, and spent their courtship wanting to prove her worth to her. This often involved sneaking out at night with her for private training sessions, strengthening familiar movies and creating new ones just for her. It worked! Mosspaw's already great moves became even better, and she soon earned her warrior name alongside Cedarpaw's.

He would have earned it a couple moons prior, being older, but had purposefully messed up long enough to be able to be named and stand a vigil with his very soon to-be mate.

After some time together as warriors, they had their first litter, Elderkit, Grasskit, and the runt, Fernkit, who both parents were just as proud and just as devoted to. He had been overfilled with pride when they became apprentices--Fernpaw choosing to become a medicine cat apprentice--and overfilled with grief when Fernpaw died.

He tried to protect her, slashing at Myrtlewing, but he was too off-guard, too slow. 

He couldn't stand the look on Mossflake's face as she learned what had happened, or Elderpaw or Grasspaw. He never wanted to see any of them hurt ever again.

That is way he decided to become a medicine cat, to honour Fernpaw's legacy as well as to protect what he had left of his family.

He had to be trained by Windclan's medicine cat alongside Houndpaw. After it was complete, his name was changed at his request. He was now Cedarfern, so that his daughter could live on and save their Clanmates just as she had always wanted.

------------

feels a bit clunky, but eh

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

She was always the softest one of her littermates, inspecting 'injuries' that occurred during playing, even sending her brother, Elderkit, to the medicine den when he was pushed awkwardly onto his tail, despite his protests.

It came to no one's surprise when Fernkit decided to follow in the path of a medicine cat. And Myrtlewing was friendly and caring, or so they thought. He would make a fantastic mentor.

After Alderstar was revealed as a killer and chased from the Clan, Myrtlewing went after to 'check where he went and make sure he didn't come back.' Fernpaw, like the rest of them, was confused and frightened. But of course she didn't think of herself, only others. She worried for her mentor and of how he would handle the news of his most trusted friend.

Cedarsky took her out of the camp for a walk, hoping to calm her nerves. Out there, they were found by Myrtlewing--grieving after finding Alderstar's body--and he jumped, biting and clawing her belly and then running off before father or daughter could react with more than enraged slashes.

Cedarsky would return to camp with her reddened pelt, announcing the news of Myrtlewing's betrayal. The last days of her life was spent slipping in and out of consciousness, unaware when she was improperly fed comfrey root instead of having it smeared on her wounds. She rested, laying on a comfortably mossy nest in the middle of the camp, with her littermates and parents never once leaving her side.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

@ambitiousauthor BIG brain: Myrtle’s first video is something like “injured and angry feral cat needs to be rescued!!”

why is he injured?

because of Cedarsky slashing at him during his attack on Fernpaw, before he left the territory

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Shadowclan allegiances after Alder and Myrtle I guess

very rough because I made it in a rush

Important Note:

--only features cats who are ALIVE and IN SHADOWCLAN. The deceased or gone or not on, as it’s mainly to show who’s left.

Also know that it doesn’t include Swanmist, Grebewing, or Lightstream as I’m not entirely sure if they were still in Shadowclan at this point or if they left.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So here’s some stuff about each of them (or at least those that I have background relationships on):

--Russet and Blaze had Birchcloud (deceased) as a doner. Bird and Lion’s brother is Flickerpine.

______________________________

--Grassbloom and Elderchirp are Fernpaw’s littermates.

--Their names go E F G, and are all named after plants. 

--Their suffixes are both things that Fernpaw loved (cricket chirps and watching blooming flowers).

--Both Flicker’s littermates and Fern’s are around the same age, as they were both young apprentices when the revelation occurred.

--Grass and Lion would have kits, as would Bird and Elder.

______________________________

--Runningcloud (Alderstar’s apprentice) and Silverwhisker (sister of Dawnmoth, a victim) would later have a several litters of kits. 

--Silverwhisker was Rainstar’s apprentice.

______________________________

You know Blacksong and Greydusk, Myrtle’s mother and uncle and who are also too old to have more kits even if it would help the Clan grow (not that they would want any).

______________________________

Molespots likely won’t have any kits to grow the Clan, as he’s much older than the other options. Maybe unless he finds a loner or kittypet around the same age that joins the Clan.

He was also Alderstar’s mentor.

______________________________

Hollyclaw is into girls, so she won’t be passing on any genes either

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One of this cats would have been Rainstar’s deputy! (remember that they would have died before becoming leader and would be replaced by Snowstar -- who will likely be a kit of one of these couple’s litters).

None of them are not connected to Myrtle or Alder in some way.

It would either be Mossflake (mother of Myrtle’s victim),

Russetnose (mother of the cat who decided to follow in Alder and Myrtle’s pawsteps and also the bio father of her kits was killed by them),

Blazepad (see Russet),

Molespots (Alder’s mentor),

Hollyclaw (Alder’s half-sister),

Silverwhisker (sister of their victim),

Runningcloud (Alder’s apprentice)

it really goes to show how difficult it is to move on when you’re so connected 

(btw the rest are either too old or were apprentices when Rain became leader and therefore could not have become deputy).

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Rainbur / Rainstar and Cedarsky / Cedarfern are officially the leader and medicine cat after Myrtle and Alder fucked things up

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

The whole family is here!!

Now, where did Elder get those scars? Maybe we'll see very shortly!

--

Refs by Turukhan and Renciel

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Medicine Cat Legacy Line-Up

From left to right:

Dapplefire (she-cat). She was Gorsedaisy's mentor.

When she's not busy working, she will likely be found cleaning her fur. Every tuft has to be placed a certain way. That goes with the herbs as well--she was very particular with how everything was sorted.

Gorsedaisy (she-cat). She was Hickoryskip's mentor.

Traumatized girl.

Hickoryskip (tom). He was Myrtlewing's mentor and victim.

He loved his mentor and trusted her word, but as her mind slipped away so too did his trust in her. When she warned him of Myrtlewing, he wouldn't listen, believing instead to see the good in his apprentice. That faith would be his undoing, as when he began to choke, Myrtlewing didn't help.

Myrtlewing (tom). He was Fernpaw's mentor and murderer.

He was a serial killer and used his position as a medicine cat to harm his Clanmates. He experimented on them as well, improperly placing twigs to see what would happen if their broken legs weren't properly set, testing what would happen if he fed them rotting herbs, and more.

Fernpaw (she-cat). She was Myrtlewing's apprentice.

Everyone knew that she would become a medicine cat, as during play, she would 'heal' her fallen Clanmates.

She enjoyed everything that came with being a medicine cat apprentice. She sang, rhyming the herbs together as she sorted them.

She was worried for her mentor after Alderstar was exiled, after all the two were close. With her father, she searched for herbs to help. It was during this time that Myrtlewing struck out of nowhere, inflicting a wound that would shortly end her life.

Cedarsky/fern (tom). He was Redscar's mentor.

After Fernpaw died and Myrtlewing revealed himself as a killer, Shadowclan was left with no medicine cat.

Cedarsky chose to take up the position in order to honour his daughter.

He was mentored by Windclan's medicine cat, Coldwater.

When he finished his training, he requested changing his suffix from sky to fern.

Redscar (tom). He was Bluefoot's mentor.

He is a canon character. In his time as medicine cat, both his deputy and leader passed. It was up to Redscar to choose the Clan's leader, and he did so by (with permission from the deceased leader) faking a sign.

What wasn't seen in that story is how calm Redscar is when such drastic events are not occuring.

He tends to enjoy walks when searching for herbs, and finds what joy he can in everything he has to do.

He got his scar as an apprentice. Gorsedaisy's sanity had by that point greatly deteriorated. Having the 'Red' suffix, relating to a cat that had hurt Gorsedaisy, caused her to attack him. Being alone in the woods, Redpaw had to heal himself. At this time, he was a warrior apprentice. Cedarfern was impressed that he used the correct herbs on himself and applied them wonderfully, and suggested he change his position.

Bluefoot (tom).

He found a mate in a loner that lived in the field near the Moonstone. He would visit her every Half-moon on his way to the Moonstone.

Redscar advised against their relationship, but Bluefoot had leverage against him, as he knew that Redscar faked a sign (Blue was a kit at that time).

Though both had leverage against the other, they for the most part got along quite well.

Unlike Redscar, Bluefoot disliked much of the chores that came with being a medicine cat. He only chose it so that he could see his littermates, who passed away when they were five moons old--shortly before Bluefoot became an apprentice and made the chose to live as a medicine cat.

=============

Bases:

Dapplefire

Gorsedaisy

Hickoryskip

Myrtlewing

Fernpaw

Cedarsky/fern

Redscar

Bluefoot

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Trek In Shadows (Rainstar's Burden)

Rainbur expected that the journey ahead would be exceedingly difficult on his lungs. He and the rest of the patrol had just exited the territory, and already his breathing was becoming heavy and irregular. He scanned the undergrowth for any signs of Myrtlewing or Alderstar, or even Hootpetal, but there was nothing. Keeping his attention partly on the forest around him, he gazed upward, searching the branches above them. While his muzzle was in the air, he tasted the forests’ smells. All was clear.

Unless they hid their scent.

“Be on guard,” he told the patrol. As much as he wanted to return to the safety of the camp, this was a trek that had to be taken, sooner rather than later. “Russetnose, keep on eye on everything on the right. Any movements at all, even from the wind, tell me. And use your namesake. Smell the scents around us as much as you can without getting dizzy. Cedarsky, you keep an eye on the left and on anything that may pass over our heads. I’ll watch behind us.” 

The two nodded and did as told as they moved forward. Rainbur rubbernecked every tenth step. Any time he began to wonder what Myrtlewing or Alderstar would do if they caught the patrol, or about the kind of leader he would make, he switched his focus back on the territory around him and keeping the group safe. If his heart sped up–though it was impossible for it to pound any harder than it already was–he watched the shadows until he was sure that they held nothing more dangerous than a mouse. 

It wasn’t until the grass’s colour dulled to golden fronds and rocks dotted more and more of the ground did Rainbur realize that he just gave the patrol an order. It was expected, he was leading them and he had lead patrols before–but he didn’t even think about it! It had come out so easily, like he was telling them his name. Was it a show of the good leader he would make in spite of his own doubts, or had it always been so simple, and his nerves now were making him think that giving an order was a challenging feat?

Grass..Shadows..focus on that.

Shadows, shadows…big shadow, looming over him. Rainbur came to a sharp stop just outside of the Mothermouth cave. Jagged edges ringed the entrance, which was as black as a moonless night. The fur along Rainbur’s spine raised, expecting the head of a giant cat to bite down on his suddenly-very-fragile-feeling frame.

“Do we wait?” Cedarsky asked, breaking the silence that had lasted since Russetnose stopped the patrol to scrutinize a quivering bush which thankfully turned out to have a blackbird family eating inside of it. 

Rainbur knew that he was asking him, but how could he know? He looked up at the sky. The moon, almost full, shone brightly above. That’s what they wait for, isn’t it? The moon?

“Let’s head inside,” he decided, stepping forward without allowing himself to think too deeply about what he was walking to. 

“All of us?” Russetnose checked.

“We stay together,” Rainbur answered. He was afraid to enter the pitch-black tunnel on his own, but more than that, he was afraid of leaving two more of his Clanmates vulnerable.

Cedarsky and Russetnose apparently came to the same conclusion, as they put up no further argument, and padded after Rainbur.

The tunnel was suffocating. Everything was a shadow, which meant there was nothing he could push his attention towards to drown out his brain. Leader. He was going to be leader! He was going to be Rainstar. By the end of the day tomorrow, he would be back in the Shadowclan camp as the one solely responsible for them. He would be in charge of picking battles, of settling disputes around and within the Clan. He would be the one representing Shadowclan in front of an entire gathering, even the other four leaders. His breathing quickened. The next gathering was so soon. He would have to tell them everything, he would have to face scrutiny for not being a proper deputy–and in a way they would be right to scrutinize him! He hadn’t even been a deputy before, why on earth would Starclan think that he was ready to be a leader? But they had, so Rainbur had no other choice but to walk.

All too slowly and all too quickly, the space opened up. There was little light, which came from the stars twinkling through a hole in the cavern. It was mostly the fresh breeze of air that told them where they were.

“Is this the Moonstone?” Cedarsky asked in awe.

“Where?” Russetnose whispered. 

As if on cue, the moon set into place, and everything became far too bright.

================

RETURN OF RAINSTAR'S BURDEN!

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

@ambitiousauthor

Hey, remember the canon cat, Redscar, born a little bit after (or during) Rainstar’s reign? The grandson of Blazepad and Russetnose + Mossflake and Cedarfern?

Funny how his suffix is Red. 

Funny how he also decided to be a medicine cat.

Interesting how he has a long scar on his face. 

Could it be possible that Gorsedaisy, well into her years, caused the scar, because he reminded her of two horrible cats?