#russetnose

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Ivytooth and Blazepad were best friends, starting as apprentices. They were kind of like the "mean girls," though not THAT bad.

Ivypaw knew that Blazepaw liked to bug Russetpaw because she had a crush on her, and would tease her about it.

[thesunlitvalleywarriors]

Designs for the clan leaders! I want each clan to feel uniquely they’re own, with physical differences & even different government systems between the clans, & the leaders are step one! Plus I wanted to take a break from writing lore and draw cats.

From left to right: QueenMother Russetnose of EmberClan, Glowstarsight of NightClan, MothTiger of MistClan, and ThriftRidge of RidgeClan

Transparent ver & image description under the cut

[ID: A digital drawing of 4 cats. The first cat is a large, fluffy female with green eyes and orange-brown fur, sitting at a 3/4 angle facing the viewer. Her ears, tail, and a stripe running from her nose down her back are a slightly darker orange-brown, while her chest, paws, and lower half of her face is slightly lighter. She has 2 cuts on her right ear, a scar across her right eye, a scar across the bridge of her nose, and two scars right next to each other across her back. To her right sits a black male cat, notable shorter & thinner, with yellow eyes and facing away from her. He has white eyebrow dots, a white blaze on his nose, white front paws, and a white tail that is curled around his paws in front of him. On his right a golden brown female steps out from behind him, with a cheerful expression and curly fur. She is a similar height to him. She has bright blue eyes, darker brown rosette patterns across her body, and freckle-like markings of the same color. The final cat in the lineup is another female, sitting at a 3/4 angle the same way as Glowstar, with her front paws out as if she is bracing herself. She is predominantly a grayish-brown color with richer brown patches across the left side of her face, her shoulders, her paws, and most of her tail except for the tip. She has heterochromis, with the left eye being yellow while her left is green, a scar underneath her right leg coming up to her chest, & a v-shaped slash on the tip of her right ear. End ID]

[wc-outbreak-au]

..can I help you??

[marrowpaw]

i have been making a small comic just for fun 

[softflurrysblog]

Junipersnow.

She-cat

23 moons old

No mate

Has two adopted kits, Darkpaw and Acornkit

Mentor was Honeyshade

Parents are Dovecry and Archfall

She has three siblings, Arch, Skunktounge and Stagcry.

Junipersnow had a rough life with her siblings, Her father died before she was born and her mother died when she and her siblings where newly appointed apprentice's. Junipersnow was the youngest of her siblings and always seemed to struggle after the death of her mother, quickly growing depressed and lagging behind in her training. Even when they went to gather the flowers to put in there fur, she still lagged behind and didn't talk to anyone even though her siblings noticed it. Junipersnow and her siblings where rasied by there half-brother Russetnose who is the deputy of Stormclan. Eventually Junipersnow realized that she was better off trying to move on then continuing to grieve for her mother, after her sister arch left the clan half-way through there apprenticeship this made Junipersnow more stubborn and she eventually got over her mother's death and accepted that Dovecry was better off in starclan. Junipersnow received the name warrior name she has now for the almost white sandy pale color on her chest, she is told every day that she resembles her father just by her colors, she's like her mother in the markings on her fur and color of her eyes. Junipersnow looks the most like either of her parents and even though her fur isn't exactly unique she still loves herself. Now she's raising a daughter and has a son, she found both of them in the forest and loves them both dearly, giving them the names Darkpaw and Acornkit.

(pictures below show Junipersnow's new ref, The death of her mother with her mother in the front and in the background with Junipersnow and her siblings, Her sister Archkit/Arch, And her son Darkpaw).

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Russetnose’s background:

Her mother hadn't thought through her daughter's name, sure that her eyes would resemble the colour russet in some way. When Russetnose's blue eyes turned to green, her parents decided to keep her name, believing that it still suited her.

When she became an apprentice, she originally hated Blazepaw because the apprentice bullied her. She soon found out after Blazepaw became protective over the less experienced apprentice during a battle that she was only mean because she had a major crush on Russetpaw and didn't want the brown she-cat to find out.

With Russetpaw now aware, there was no reason for Blazepaw to continue her teasing. They became friends, then closer than friends as they reached warriorhood.

She and Blazepad wanted kits, but both were she-cats. Luckily, Birchcloud, a friend of both of them since apprenticeship, offered help. He promised that although he would biologically be the kit's father, they would be the primary parents, and he wouldn't overstep more than they allowed him to.

With Blazepad, they had Birdkit, Flickerkit, and Lionkit.

Birchcloud was right about not overstepping, as only a moon after the kits were born, he disappeared.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Feelings?! (short story)

It had been a day since Myrtlewing had given Aldereyes the dark, puffy flower, and still he had no idea what he was meant to do with it. Part of him wanted to just toss it away, thinking that it was probably a stupid joke. The other recalled the genuine annoyance in which Myrtlewing had expressed when he had told Aldereyes that he was just doing something nice.

Maybe that really is what it was. Strange, yes, but everything about Myrtlewing was. Maybe he thought–for whatever reason–that giving flowers to fellow predators was a normal thing to do. 

He still had it in his paws, fiddling with it absentmindedly in the empty den when Molespots padded in, accompanied by Russetnose and her mate, Blazepad. “What’s with the flower?” Blazepad asked, giving him a funny look. 

“Stars if I know,” Aldereyes replied, looking at it. “Myrtlewing gave it to me, but it’s not a herb.”

“Myrtlewing?” Molespots repeated. “Oh, I see!”

It was Aldereyes’s turn to make the funny look. “See what?”

The three cats exchanged an amused glance. Irritation pricked at Aldereyes’s pelt. “What’s with the secret looks? Do you know what this is?”

“I have an idea,” Russetnose said with kind humour. “In fact, I received something similar before. A pretty white stone.” She glanced at her mate. 

“Okay?” Aldereyes prompted her on.

Russetnose smiled warmly. “Blazepad gave it to me. I already knew then that she had feelings, but the rock is what really solidified it for me. Wasn’t it, honey?”

Blazepad purred in the nest pressed next to hers, laying on her back with her paws tucked on her chest.

“Feelings?” Aldereyes echoed dumbly. “Good for you, but what does that have to do with….” his voice trailed off as they all gave him a look that said ‘you cannot be that stupid.’ “Feelings?” he said with more emphasis, in his shock.

“Maybe not,” Russetnose spoke up again. “It just seems….well, what else could it be for?”

“I talked to Myrtlewing about a moon or so ago,” Molespots chimed in. “He said he wanted to show someone ‘that he cares.’ I recommended flowers.”

Aldereyes’s mind stuttered through thoughts, struggling to make enough sense to respond to that. “‘Cares’ could mean a lot of things! It doesn’t mean that he likes me….romantically.” He pushed the last word through gritted teeth. It was too weird to think that Myrtlewing, Myrtlewing liked him in such a way. They were just friends, and even that was odd enough to admit to, with how clumsy and idiotic the medicine cat could be, tripping over his own paws! Trampling the ground loudly when Aldereyes took him on hunts!

“Not necessarily,” Russetnose agreed.

“But probably,” Blazepad put in, her eyes shut lazily. 

Aldereyes’s head spun. The den suddenly felt stuffy. He stood up and padded for the entrance. “I’m going on a walk,” he told them, flinching at his own words and how harsh they sounded. He hadn’t meant to be angry, but what followed him was not grumbles, but laughter.

Aldereyes ignored others as they asked him what was wrong, cutting straight through the camp and out into the forest. There, he kept walking, until finally his brain settled down enough for him to form a coherent thought. 

Myrtlewing liked him. Myrtlewing. Surely this was just a misunderstanding? He played their last conversation over in his head. A gesture, Myrtlewing had told him. He had never said just what it was, and Aldereyes had a sinking feeling that that meant that it was romantic. 

A gesture of what?

Does it matter? 

Had Myrtlewing’s response been deliberately vague? It made the most sense, didn’t it? What else could a cat use a non-medicinal flower for if not to show affection? He shook his head. It didn’t really matter, because Aldereyes wouldn’t take him up on the gesture….would he? 

He hesitated the answer, and that hesitation made him hesitate more, because, well, why was he hesitating? His first instinct was to react with disgust–not at being propositioned by a male, of course not, but at the fact that it was Myrtlewing who was doing the propositioning. They were just friends, and it was weird to think that he could ever allow them to be more. 

Besides, Myrtlewing was a medicine cat.

Although that rule was only put in place to prevent kits, and they were both males…. No! No! It didn’t matter anyways, because he would turn him down. Yes, he would turn him down. Or he could just ignore this happened at all and they would both move on. A prickle of guilt poked at his stomach. At least, he told himself that it was guilt and not apprehension at the prospect of saying no. 

It must have taken some guts for Myrtlewing to give him the flower. And the way he had answered vaguely, perhaps that meant he was shy and afraid of Aldereyes rejecting him right then and there. How far had Myrtlewing traveled to get the plant? Had he woken up knowing where to go, or did he wander around the woods, looking for one he liked?

Surely he just picked the first one he saw? Aldereyes knew that wasn’t right. He himself had walked many times around the territory, especially close to the camp, and had never seen the flower nearby. To put such effort into a gesture must mean that it was romantic, and that it also must mean that Myrtlewing was very sure about his feelings, and that it wasn’t some fling-thing.

Aldereyes would let him down easy.

Again, the prickle poked, edging deeper.

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

--The flower, as we know, is on Shadowclan territory, but Aldereyes isn’t a medicine cat and has never bothered with flowers until now, so it’s likely he just hasn’t noticed them before.

--The flower is a red chrysanthemum

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Flickerpine’s sister + Blazepad and Russetnose’s daughter! (and Birchcloud’s bio daughter)!

She gets the short fur and brown pelt genes from her dad, but everything else (eyes, nose, tongue, inner ears, pads) are colourpicked from Blazepad.

----

She was one of the kits Myrtle and Alder often played with.

In her brother’s story, Alderstar is said to have once carried her all the way to the medicine den when she sprained her paw.

----

Ref by Turukhan!

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

one family done

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Yes she is named Russet even though she is brown

her mama thought she would have orange or amber eyes

[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]

Just Another Clanmate (short story)

“Everything’s going to be okay, Russetnose,” her leader promised, pressing comfortingly against her shoulder. “Myrtlewing knows what he is doing. Lionkit is in good paws.” 

Russetnose knew he was right, and let herself weaken, falling into his support as her son was taken into the medicine den. The poor little fool had snuck out while Russetnose and Blazepad were trying to settle a dispute between Flickerkit and Birdkit, only for it to rain. Really, it had only drizzled, but it was enough to give Lionkit a cold. Stars– Russetnose hoped it was only a cold.

“How was he when you found him?” she had asked. Alderstar had been out on a lone patrol, as he often did, when by chance he found Lionkit shivering beneath a fern leaf he was trying to use as shelter. 

“Well enough to ask if he was in trouble,” Alderstar replied with a hint of laughter. His comfort in being able to laugh as well as his confidence in the medicine cat calmed Russetnose. She was grateful for her leader, even more so after he had rescued her kit. She dared not think what could have happened, had he not been where he was when he was. 

It was only three moons ago that he went to the Moonstone to receive his nine lives after his father, Stonestar, had died in the terrible storm. It had been a tragedy, and sudden too. Alderstar wouldn’t speak to anyone but Myrtlewing for the whole day, not even to respond to congratulations, only hanging his head solemnly. The first time he did speak had been raspy, and it was to name the new deputy.

Russetnose smiled at her leader. He had been a kit when she was a warrior, and still he seemed so young for so much responsibility. But he was handling it remarkably well. Russetnose dared say he was doing better than his father, whose word was always final, to the other Clans as well as his own Clanmates.

Russetnose didn’t realize how long she had been sitting with her thoughts until Myrtlewing reappeared, a polite smile across his muzzle. “Lionkit’s fine, although you may want to rename him Shiverkit.”

Russetnose huffed. “I certainly might after today! What was he thinking?”

“According to him, he was thinking he could catch a frog and scare Birdkit with it. And apparently, Birdkit called him a ‘fur-brain with the dashing looks of a toad.’” 

The three couldn’t hide their laughter at that, and snortled. “At least she’s clever!” Russetnose finally said after regaining her breath. “I’ll be having a strong talking-to with her, too.”

“Cleverness could be useful,” Alderstar thought aloud. “I’m sure once she grows out of the name-calling, she will grow into quite the resourceful worker. And Lionkit is very brave. You have your paws full with good futures.”

Russetnose dipped her head. “Thank you, Alderstar.” The she looked at Myrtlewing, and back again. “Thank you both.”

—-----------------------------------------

“Thank you for agreeing to let me come,” Alderstar said.

Russetnose looked at him with surprise, padding through the forest beside him. “You’re the leader,” she pointed out.

“I protect the Clan, not command its every move,” he responded. “I have as much right to ask you to watch the training sessions as you do denying me.”

Russetnose smiled. Little more than a year had passed since Alderstar received his nine lives, and still he had yet to give anyone doubt in his abilities. Their paws crunched on the snow. “Perhaps waiting for a warmer day would’ve been better.” 

Alderstar kicked through the snow as they walked. “This might be the warmest day for the rest of leaf-bare.”

As promised, when they got to the clearing, Alderstar watched in silence, observing politely, only giving advice when the mentors asked for it. And when it was over, he congratulated the apprentices on how well their training had grown– making them look at each other with star-shattering delight–and then he praised the mentors for how amazingly they were handling the troublemaking furballs.

“Do you have any advice?” Russetnose asked, letting her apprentice run along back to camp with his sister and her mentor. She felt an old leaf stick to her cheek, and pulled it off between her toes. Alderstar looked to be in thought.

“Nothing springs to mind,” he responded. “Their fighting moves are exceptional for cats who’ve only been training for a few moons. How is their hunting?”

“Better, I expect,” Russetnose responded, then shrunk a bit, hoping she didn’t sound like she was bragging about her skills as a mentor to her leader. Then she remembered his words, he was just another Clanmate. “We focus a lot on it in leaf-bare, with the lack of food.”

Alderstar dipped his head. “Perfect, that’s what I like to hear.”

Snow began to fall, softly drifting down in delicate flakes. “We should probably return to camp before this light cold turns freezing,” she joked, fluffing out her fur. “Care to walk with me?”

“Thanks, but I’ll stay out for a while longer. The prey-pile was a bit thin when we left.”

Russetnose realized he was right, they should be hunting. “I should hunt too,” she decided. 

Alderstar stopped her with a paw. “After how hard you had just been working? Go back to camp, and give yourself some rest.”

Russetnose was about to take his request, then hesitated. “No, I’ll think I’ll come, too.”

Alderstar tilted his head in a friendly manner. “What if it’s an order?”

—-----------------------------------------

“From this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Birdpaw. Your mentor will be Oakfringe. Oakfringe, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Pinesong, and you have shown yourself to be patient and courageous, and I hope you pass on all you know to your apprentice.”

As Oakfringe went to touch noses with the quivering Birdpaw, Russetnose, too, shook with pride from her spot in front of the crowd. “They’ve grown so much,” her mate, Blazepad, spoke softly beside her.

Russetnose agreed, purring in delight, not taking her eyes off of the ceremony. “I know! It feels like yesterday when Lionkit snuck out of the camp and got cold, or when Birdkit sprained her paw, or when Flickerkit had that bought of ticks!”

“Their mentors are going to have their paws full!” Oakfringe, Dawnmoth, and…. Russetnose scanned the crowd, wondering who would mentor her sweet runt.

“Flickerkit,” Alderstar continued as if on cue, “you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Flickerpaw.” A pause. Russetnose held her breath. “I will be your mentor.”

Russetnose pulled her jaw from where it had dropped onto the floor. The leader training one of her kits! What an honour!

Flickerpaw was bouncing on his paws so hard, he had obviously forgotten that he still needed to touch noses with Alderstar, and rushed over, moving so fast that he bumped into the golden tom. Russetnose’s heart swelled so much, she was sure it would burst out of her chest at any moment. All wonderful mentors, dedicated to their Clan, and kind to the young ones.

Russetnose caught Alderstar’s eye. She knew Birdpaw and Lionpaw would no doubt complain, and in a way, they were right. Alderstar was so much more than a good leader. Flickerpaw was the luckiest apprentice in all the Clans.

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

--We don’t see her reaction just yet to Alder being revealed, cause I didn’t want it to be too long. 

But you know..... if you want to write that yourself....

--You may recognize Dawnmoth’s name!

--Bonus fact! Alderstar had just killed someone before finding Lionkit, and was again going to kill someone after watching the training (probably arranged to meet with Myrtle prior to leaving to watch the training), which is why he told her “no, leave.”

--Since Russetnose and Blazepad were mates and raising their kits together, I imagine that at least one of them could still train their apprentice while their kits were in the nursery.

--Might make another version but with more focus on Myrtle.

[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?

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Leader: Cuckoostar

Deputy: Stonefleck

Medicine cat: Hickoryskip

Warriors:

Marblegaze

Redjay

Grebewing

Swanface

Lightheart

Brokenclaw

Shimmerstone

Rainbur

Molespots

Birchcloud

Bluefeather

Sedgeshell

Wavewillow

Aspentalon

Stoatbird

Drizzlespots

Apprentices:

Birchpaw

Blossompaw

Blazepaw

Queens:

Conetoe (mother of Sweetkit)

Oatflight (mother of Owlkit and Rainkit)

Littlelight (carrying Russetkit)

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

*Time Skip*

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

Leader: Stonestar

Deputy: Aldereyes

Medicine cat: Myrtlewing

Warriors:

Hollyclaw

Blacksong

Graydusk

Dawnmoth

Rainbur

Silverwhisker

Molespots

Birchcloud

Blossomtuft

Owlfang

Mossflake

Pricklepelt

Bluefeather

Fallendust

Waspheart

Wolfburn

Cedarsky

Swanmist

Hootpetal

Lightstream

Brokenwhistle

Apprentices:

Runningpaw

Boulderpaw

Queens:

Russetnose (mother of Flickerkit, Lionkit, and Birdkit)

Blazepad (mother of Flickerkit, Lionkit, and Birdkit)

Grebeglade (expecting)

Elders: 

Sedgeshell

Hickoryskip

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

@ambitiousauthor potential character list for when Redjay was alive vs when Alder’s father was leader.

Italicized names are those who were killed

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Birdsun background:

Fathered by Birchcloud so that her mothers could raise kits, she was born to Russetnose and Blazepad alongside her brothers, Flickerkit and Lionkit.

The trio played together practically every day of their kithood, joined often by the leader and medicine cat, Alderstar and Myrtlewing when the pair weren't busy. The games often included the kits pretended that Alderstar was an enemy warrior, defeating him, and Myrtlewing running over to dramatically announce that they had dealt a 'killing blow,' when he wasn't also wrestling with them.

Once, Birdkit had sprained her paw after falling from the Clanrock when she tried to prove to her brothers that she could climb all the way to the top. Alderstar had gently picked her up and carried her all the way to the medicine den, sitting with her until Myrtlewing was finished wrapping her paw. 

Then, when she could go back to the nursery a few days later, Myrtlewing told her that he expected to see her a lot, as her impulsiveness would surely one day lead to bravery that would earn her many cool scars.

All those memories made it difficult to believe that both of them could have killed so many of their Clanmates, and who knows who else. She hated her Clanmates badmouthing them, but knew that they were right, and that her personal feelings shouldn't overweigh the fact that her Clanmates had been murdered.

Her determination and ambition strongly wavered after learning that the cats who had encouraged those traits in her were killers. But over time, with the affection of Elderchirp, they were able to return.

Considering her feelings toward Alderstar and Myrtlewing, perhaps it was a good thing that Flickerpine was never revealed as a killer. That is, until she joined Starclan.