Stormclaw

If you're here, you've probably at least seen something about this dude. Stormclaw is the current deputy of FallClan and the father of Emberglow. He was formerly mates with his Clanmate Sorrelseed and a rogue named Hazel, and he has a rather poor reputation among the Clans due to his short temper and generally standoffish demeanor. In spite of this, he is recognized for his many talents and his unwavering dedication toward whatever he sets his mind to. Also, since he's a deputy now, he's a lil bit more respected.
Name - Stormclaw
Gender - Tom
Clan - MarshClan (formerly), FallClan
Rank - Deputy
Family - Emberglow and Moon (daughters), Void (son, deceased), Hazel and Sorrelseed (ex-mates), Sootsnow and Whitebird (sisters), Darksplash (father, deceased), Fernfrost (mother, deceased), Duckfeather (foster mother for like a month, deceased), Scorchstripe (foster brother for like a month, deceased), Ivybranch and Petalleaf (aunts, deceased), Fawnflower (cousin), Dodger II (grandson), Shadow, Midnight, and Cinder (granddaughters)
Friends - His family and Sorrelseed. Also Reedstalk and Rosefoot (both formerly)… kind of Stonesnap, I guess (also formerly). He might still get along with Turtleheart and some of the kits he’d used to visit, though.
Enemies - Specifically as of now, probably just Hazel. Formerly, though… He used to hate Scorchstripe, Ivybranch, and Tidewave, and he didn't like Ashface for a while. Rosefoot hated him when she left, too. Poor guy.
==Appearance and Personality==
====Appearance====
Stormclaw has dark gray tabby fur, a few lighter markings, and sharp dark green eyes. His stripes are jagged and branch out almost like lightning bolts, and his pelt is shot through with the occasional streak of silver or black. He has a sturdy, bulky build, and was a lot leaner during his younger moons. He became much stronger in stature after leaving Hazel, as he dedicated much more of his time to work and training. He has calloused paw pads and short, stiff whiskers encircling his broad muzzle, which is beginning to whiten from age. He probably has that little bit of dad scruff on his chin. He also has a resting expression of annoyance, which tends to put off some cats. He’s usually isn’t mad, though. His face just looks like that.
There is a small notch in the side of his left ear that was given to him by Hazel during his apprenticeship, and he has a deep, crooked, and patchy scar on his right flank in the likeness of a raking set of fangs. He received it from a dog as a young warrior, and it it tore out a little too much flesh to ever fully heal over. His fur, while short, is thick and bristly in some areas, often knotting together into a condensed, wiry mat. He liked to keep it sleek and shiny when he was younger, but has since given up on trying and accepts that he’ll just look like a tangly, grizzled old man for the remainder of his life. He has short but sharp claws and his teeth are starting to turn a little yellow.
====Personality====
Stormclaw is generally stubborn and headstrong. Around cats he gets along with, he's sarcastic and cheeky, but otherwise, he tries not to show much concern for anyone. He comes across as gruff and unapproachable to anybody who hasn’t known him long enough to see through his rocky exterior. He's very down-to-earth and blunt, and is easily aggravated, occasionally going out of his way to be antagonistic. He’s trying to get better about that, though. All flaws aside, he is brave and loyal to the core, and has a very strong sense of duty and responsibility. He hates feeling like he’s letting down his peers’ expectations and wants to come across as dependable. He also really likes kits, which surprises a lot of cats. He enjoys visiting and playing around with them and is especially fond of the ones who have a tendency to get into trouble a lot. He’s secretly just inclined to act like a dad. He makes dad jokes and he thinks that they’re funny. He needs to be stopped.
During his youth, he was very sharp-tongued and hotheaded. He was reckless, impulsive, and kind of an idiot, although he had a much keener sense of humor as well as a greater ego and sense of pride to defend. He never passed up an opportunity to make a snarky remark or a witty quip, and loved thinking up fun pranks and elaborate ways to cause mischief. Now he's just kind of grouchy and awkward most of the time. He doesn’t know how to handle situations where he isn’t in control or where things don’t go as he expected. He tries, though. He's a good deputy and a good mentor and he tries his best to be a good father. He regrets his decision to be with Hazel, but while he would never admit it to himself, he does sometimes miss her still. Nonetheless, he is never going to forgive her for what she put Emberglow through, nor will he ever forgive himself.
== Backstory ==
==== Kithood ====
Stormkit was born in MarshClan to Fernfrost and Darksplash alongside his two sisters, Whitekit and Sootkit. Stormkit was named by Fernfrost for the pattern of his fur resembling… well… a storm. His parents loved each other and all three of their kits very much and nothing really went wrong for a good long while. Fernfrost had an infinite supply of great stories to tell and all sorts of new, creative manners in which to teach lessons, and Darksplash would visit the nursery frequently to give them prey and playthings and badger rides and all that fun stuff. The only other cat in the nursery was Fernfrost’s good friend Duckfeather, whose kits wouldn’t even be born for another three moons. Duckfeather liked them, too, and would often watch over Fernfrost’s kits while her friend went out just to stretch her legs or to hunt with Darksplash. Things were nice and chill.
Although he was daring and adventurous around his parents and sisters, Stormkit was actually a relatively quiet kit for the first three moons of his life. He liked to keep to himself. He only ever bothered his family and avoided the rest of his Clanmates, finding Sootkit’s love for the elders and Whitekit’s fascination with the medicine den to be boring. But his quietness should definitely not have been mistaken for shyness or anything like it - he didn't talk much because he was always watching and scheming things, absorbing information so that he could use it later on. Stormkit was a shifty little bugger, and his parents learned early on not to trust him whenever he had a certain smirky look on his face, no matter how well he seemed to be behaving.
At only a moon and a half old, Stormkit once managed to steal a bunch of raspberries from the medicine den and somehow stashed them under their nest in the nursery because he liked the taste. Fernfrost found out straight away, of course, but she thought his efforts were impressive, especially since he could still barely walk and wasn’t even speaking yet at the time. She was always highly amused by his antics, and while she outwardly discouraged his behavior, Stormkit could tell that his mother was having fun with them. His reserved, yet puckish personality wormed its way right into her heart, and while she would never say it out loud, he was her favorite kit by the time they’d turned two moons old. Good job, Stormkit. Stormkit developed a little more slowly than his sisters did, not walking until long after Sootkit and not speaking until he was three moons old, a couple of weeks after Whitekit. As soon as he was physically able to leave the nursery, though, Stormkit spent almost every waking moment at Darksplash’s heels, pestering him to bring him out of camp. He was spirited and curious from the moment he opened his eyes, and now there was nothing to stop him from getting under every cat’s paws. Darksplash only obliged a few times, and on each of those occasions, it was incredibly difficult to keep track of Stormkit. He would pretty much just go galloping off and do whatever he pleased without a shred of caution. On one of these trips, while poking around at the FallClan border, he leaned in for a better look at a fish and accidentally fell into the water. It was terrifying and he was lucky that Darksplash heard him yowling in time to pull him out. His father was furious with him for being so careless, but Stormkit was surprisingly unbothered. While he’d found it rattling for sure, he thought that his near-death experience was more cool than anything else. The occasion stuck with him, and he decided that he liked the water. He would incessantly tell his parents about how much he wanted to do it again, and then get belligerent when they told him it was a bad idea. Have I mentioned yet that Stormkit was annoying?
In any case, he squabbled a lot with Whitekit. She was easy to annoy and he took advantage of that, teasing and messing with her whenever he could— but all in good fun. He was a little easier on Sootkit since she was more sensitive and a lot sweeter, but her unwillingness to participate in his antics irritated him. Stormkit loved his sisters, but truly enjoyed nothing more than bothering them half to death. Duckfeather’s son, on the other hand, really rubbed him the wrong way. Scorchkit was born when Stormkit was just a little under three moons old, and Stormkit knew he was trouble from the second he was born and Whitekit, who had been helping the medicine cat, promptly called him gross. Scorchkit proved to be even more fiery and impish than Stormkit, and the pair of them butted heads and argued over everything imaginable. Sootkit pointed out one time that if they bothered to actually spend time together, they would probably end up being the best of friends, but they both ignored her. They hated each other.
In any case, Stormkit gained more confidence and more of an ego as he aged, and over the span of his kithood he got himself and his sisters into a fair amount of trouble. One time, at three and a half moons old, he had the brilliant idea of sneaking into the tunnel system to see if they could navigate it before becoming apprentices. He pressured Sootkit into coming with him by threatening to tell Fernfrost that she’d stolen an extra shrew from the fresh-kill pile the day before, and Whitekit only agreed to go along because Sootkit was scared to go without her. Predictably, this backfired. They instead got lost, wandered around aimlessly for a whole few hours during which Sootkit started crying and Whitekit yelled at Stormkit really loud, and ended up being found by Darksplash and some other cats who’d been sent out to search for them. Their dad took them back to Fernfrost and they all got thoroughly scolded for the eight billionth time. Mostly Stormkit, though. Good job, Stormkit.
During the later moons of Stormkit's kithood, however - starting when he and his littermates were about four to four and a half moons old - Fernfrost fell ill with a severe case of greencough and was unable to watch over her kits as much as she had used to. She was confined to the medicine den for almost an entire moon. Stormkit never really worried much about her illness, and didn't pay much attention to it. He visited her in the medicine den with the rest of his family and continued acting the same as he always had. It was inconceivable to him that anything bad could actually come of it. He complained that his sisters - particularly Whitekit - were only overreacting. He was much more concerned with the fact that he was forced to spend more time with Scorchkit now under Duckfeather’s care. And at first, it seemed as though he’d been right; when they were five moons old, Fernfrost got better and was allowed back into the nursery.
Only a few days later however, Stormkit was messing around and tussling with his sisters in the nursery when Fernfrost suddenly just… had an episode. She started coughing until she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes were bulging and her legs were spasming. Duckfeather and Scorchkit were out on a walk at the time, so it was only Stormkit and his sisters there to witness it, and they panicked. Sootkit ran to find Darksplash and Whitekit hurried off to get the medicine cat, Cherrycloud, leaving Stormkit alone with Fernfrost. All he could do was stare at her, wide-eyed, as she twitched and wheezed and choked. He was too petrified to move any closer or any farther from her; he just sat still and watched as she died right in front of him. She had been dead for several minutes by the time Stormkit’s sisters came back with Cherrycloud and Darksplash. The wail that his father let out upon seeing his mate’s body would haunt him for moons afterwards, as would the look in his mother’s dying eyes. She’d been straining her jaw as though she was trying to say something to him in her final moments. He didn’t know what. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think at all.
So that was pretty traumatic for him. Things were different after that. Duckfeather was kind as ever, and Darksplash, if anything, had only become more affectionate with his kits. Stormkit and Sootkit hardly ever left each other’s sides. Whitekit grew more distant, focused on helping Cherrycloud in the medicine den, but Stormkit and Sootkit were brought together in their grief. And for the first time since he was very small, Stormkit was quiet and obedient. He avoided talking to anyone but his remaining kin and couldn’t look other cats in the eyes without being plunged back into the moment Fernfrost’s had glazed over. Even Scorchkit’s taunts seemed to bounce right off of him with no effect. This lasted for… approximately a half-moon.
Then he got worse. Where he had previously been cheerful and rambunctious, he was now fervid and obnoxious. His temper flared and his well-meaning mischief changed into more tactless pranks performed only with the goal of garnering attention. He didn’t know why he was doing it; all he knew was that he was hurt and he was angry and he wanted to be seen. He would do things like leave thorns in the warriors’ nests and lie about having seen snakes or hawks in the territory. He would do it in ways that fooled the other cats and amused him— in ways that made him feel better, or, in truth, just feel anything at all. Because really, that was all he could focus on anymore. Nothing else mattered. He needed to channel all that pent-up emotion into something, and so, upon seeing how determined his sisters were to become a medicine cat and a messenger, he made a vow to himself. He would become the best and the strongest warrior he could be— someday, maybe even a Clan leader. He would do it for Fernfrost’s sake, and he would make her proud. That was the one thought that kept driving him even as the majority of his Clanmates began to like him less and less.
During his last half-moon in the nursery, Fernfrost’s sister Pettalleaf moved in. She tried to reach out to Stormkit and his siblings. He ignored her. He didn’t want her pity or her empty words. His fights with Scorchkit increased in severity, too. At one point, Scorchkit made an insensitive comment about Fernfrost and Stormkit straight-up attacked him, pinning him against the nursery wall with claws unsheathed. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if Sootkit hadn’t shoved herself between them, but he had a feeling that it wouldn’t have been good. The only thing that saved him from having his apprenticeship delayed for misbehavior was the fact that Duckfeather put in a good word for him, persuading MarshClan’s leader (probably Skystar?) that he would calm down with time, as he was only grappling with grief. Good job, Stormkit.
==== Apprenticeship ====
At six moons old, Stormpaw and his littermates were apprenticed. Whitepaw trained as a medicine cat under Cherrycloud, Sootpaw was assigned to a warrior named Cedarstrike, and Stormpaw’s mentor just so happened to be Ivybranch, Fernfrost's other sister. He already disliked her. He knew that she had never gotten along with Fernfrost while she was alive, and he hated the way Ivybranch acted all sad and sympathetic about it now that she was dead. It felt fake to Stormpaw, and he was resentful and determined from the second they touched noses to not make his training easy for even one day. But as it turned out, that wasn’t too difficult anyways.
Stormpaw sucked at hunting. He didn’t have the patience for it, and he didn’t want to succeed with Ivybranch watching him. He would instead just embarrass and frustrate her until she gave up and left him alone to do as he pleased. Then he would really make an effort. But without his mentor present to critique him, his progress was slow. He did considerably better in battle training, and consistently bested Sootpaw and their other denmates in practice. That was really the only redeeming factor he could find in being an apprentice, though, as not even the freedom to roam felt good to him. MarshClan’s moors and tunnels were not nearly as grand or impressive as they had seemed when he was a kit. A part of him knew that he was only so upset because he was actively looking for things to complain about, but he couldn’t quite help it. It felt so wrong to move forward and find reasons be happy in the place where Fernfrost died, surrounded by cats who, for the most part, didn’t even seem to care anymore. He was irritable and discontent in MarshClan no matter what he was doing or who he was with. He was unruly and more often than not failed to show up to Ivybranch’s training sessions altogether. He was going to become a great warrior for his mother, but he was going to do it his way. He was not going to accept training from the sister who had hated her.
Stormpaw didn’t stop getting into trouble outside of training, either. He liked to amuse himself. During his first moon of apprenticeship, he stole some raspberries from the medicine den and used them as an incentive to trick the two kits in the nursery— Scorchkit and his new cousin, Fawnkit— into reaching under the medicine den walls to steal herbs. He knew it would work, because after all, he'd loved raspberries as a kit. And he was right; it did work. He did it mostly to prank Whitepaw, who had become the medicine cat apprentice and was still just as fun to tease as ever. She and Cherrycloud were incredibly confused as to why their herbs kept disappearing. Stormpaw thought it was hilarious. But then it became a big deal, and they were worried that someone was actually stealing them and doing things they weren't supposed to be doing, and the Clan leader got involved. That was sort of awkward. Stormpaw tried to keep laying low, but Whitepaw already had a pretty good idea that he'd done it and exposed him. He tried to pin it on Scorchkit, because he didn't like Scorchkit, but no one bought it. He was punished pretty severely for the whole fiasco and missed his first gathering because of it. Good job, Stormpaw.
At seven moons old, Stormpaw got into the habit of leaving the apprentices’ den at night. He’d been having trouble sleeping ever since he moved out of the nursery and eventually decided to stop trying altogether. He would instead just wander the territory and try vainly to practice his hunting skills some more, exhaustion be darned. But on one of these night trips, he ventured past the FallClan border and paused. He remembered the incident he’d had as a kit where he fell into the water, and thought about how much of an impact it had left on him before being overshadowed by his mother’s death. Compelled by nothing but his own melancholic thoughts, Stormpaw stepped up to the edge of the water and sat down, watching his reflection as it rippled over the stars and the moon. And he thought for a while. He wasn’t happy; he knew that. His presence in MarshClan was only serving to make other cats unhappy; he knew that, too. And as much as he might’ve been trying to act like he didn’t care, it bothered him.
While Stormpaw was sitting by the water being sad and edgy and brooding in the moonlight, a fish happened to swim past his paws and passed through his reflection. Almost absentmindedly, he flashed a paw down and scooped it up. It flipped into the air, silver scales flashing in the dark, and he caught it. He killed it. He surprised himself. He wasn’t sure what exactly it might’ve stood for, but he saw it as a sign. It motivated him. He ate the fish and found that he liked it. And thus began his calling to FallClan.
After that night, Stormpaw began spending more and more time near the border. He would visit it during the day and at night, teaching himself to traverse the stepping stones and to catch small fish. He even tried to swim a bit in the shallows when he thought no one was watching. He didn’t care what Ivybranch had to say about it. It relaxed him. He enjoyed it. It felt nice, and it felt right. It was a relief to him that he could still feel that way. For a little while, he’d been worried that he no longer could.
Stormpaw was banned from attending his second gathering as well after offending Ivybranch one too many times, but he snuck out behind the rest of the Clan anyways and got to see Silver Falls for the first time at eight moons old. While there, he met several apprentices around his age, including Whisperpaw and Geckopaw of HorizonClan among others— but the one cat who really caught his attention was Reedpaw of FallClan. He had been hoping to encounter a FallClan apprentice, and he ended up in luck. He slid in next to Reedpaw and the two of them at once got to talking, quickly establishing a friendship and finding that they had a surprising amount in common. Reedpaw was witty and jaunty and reminded Stormpaw of how he’d acted as a kit. Reedpaw made him laugh— not the forced and bitter kind that Stormpaw had grown used to over the last three moons, but the genuine kind. He’d missed that. He talked to Reedpaw about FallClan and he began having thoughts of changing Clans. He felt guilty, though, thinking of Sootpaw and Whitepaw and Darksplash. He knew how they would feel about him leaving. He kept his thoughts to himself.
But when he encountered Reedpaw again at the border only a couple of days later, Stormpaw thought that surely it just had to have been fate, telling him what he wanted to hear. Reedpaw had missed a fish he was aiming for and Stormpaw had caught it for him. Reedpaw made a joking comment about how a MarshClan cat was a better fisher than a FallClan cat, and Stormpaw made up his mind. After giving the fish to Reedpaw and bidding him farewell, Stormpaw trotted back to camp and swerved around Ivybranch as she tried to cut him off and reprimand him for one thing or another. He found Darksplash sharing prey with Sootpaw in the clearing and brought Whitepaw from the medicine den, sitting them all down and telling them that he was leaving them to join FallClan.
Needless to say, they were not happy about this. Sootpaw was completely blindsided and started begging him not to leave. Darksplash only urged him to do what made him happy, but Stormpaw could see in his father’s face that he felt like he was losing him. Whitepaw said nothing to discourage him, but there was a sort of quiet anger emanating from her that made Stormpaw wince every time he noticed it. He hated doing this to his family, but he wasn’t going to just sit around and stew in MarshClan when he could be someplace where he knew he’d be more content and at peace with himself. His family knew it, too, and in spite of their initial protests, they ultimately caved and accepted his decision, wishing him luck. He got a fierce hug from Sootpaw, a lick on the head from Darksplash, and an eye roll from Whitepaw, and that was good enough for him. He left MarshClan without saying goodbye to anyone else or even formally breaking the news, leaving it up to Darksplash to notify Skystar of his departure.
And so, at roughly eight and a half moons old, Stormpaw was accepted into FallClan by Mallowstar— and just in time to avoid Scorchpaw becoming an apprentice. His new mentor was a strict but skilled tom named Stonesnap, and Stormpaw actually quite liked him. Stonesnap’s brother, Aspensting, was HorizonClan’s deputy and Stormpaw thought that was pretty awesome. He boasted about it to anyone who would listen. Stonesnap had also been friends with Darksplash back when they were both apprentices in HorizonClan, and Stormpaw thought that was cool, too, even if they didn’t really keep in touch anymore. Stonesnap didn’t think Stormpaw was too great, though. He was a pawful and he had to be hard on him— but all in all, they worked well together. Much better than Stormpaw had worked with Ivybranch, at least.
Stormpaw did have a bit of trouble adjusting at first, used to tall grass and underground tunnels rather than damp sand and scattered islets, but he was helped through it all by Reedpaw. Reedpaw quickly became his best friend, and they trained well together. Stormpaw found that the longer he spent in FallClan, the more he was starting to feel like his old self again— jovial and devious, but only ever in a good-natured way. He continued to get on everyone’s nerves, but this time all of the warriors regarded him more with fond irritation than with actual hatred. So it was progress! Good job, Stormpaw.
Stormpaw had a great time learning to swim. Reedpaw and his mentor Stagheart would often tag along during Stormpaw and Stonesnap’s swimming lessons, meaning that Stormpaw and Reedpaw spent more time splashing each other and messing around than actually learning. In the end it did work, though, and Stormpaw did in fact find out that he could swim well after all when Reedpaw almost drowned him on accident one time. After realizing that he could do it, Stormpaw refused to use the stepping stones ever again and would only ever swim places when given the option. He loved the feeling of being immersed in water and letting it buoy him up, lapping under his paws and seeping into his fur. It was liberating.
Stormpaw continued to excel in battle training and was considerably more talented at fishing than he had ever been at land hunting. When he and Reedpaw had nothing better to do, they would visit the nursery and spend time with the two oldest kits, Sorrelkit and Rosekit. Normally, Stormpaw would never had paid much attention to the nursery, but one of Reedpaw’s favorite pastimes was playing with kits— and the more Stormpaw accompanied him, the more he found that he also quite liked it. Stormpaw would continue to visit the nursery regularly even after Sorrelkit and Rosekit moved out and after he earned his warrior name.
In any case, Rosekit and Sorrelkit were fun. They were strong and smart and always had a blast trying to replicate the fighting and fishing moves that Stormpaw and Reedpaw would demonstrate for them. Sorrelkit in particular seemed to have stars in her eyes whenever she looked at Stormpaw, and he was amused by how much she seemed to look up to him. He wasn’t complaining, though. He’d always been a big fan of having attention. And he liked Sorrelkit, too.
For the next two moons, Stormpaw trained normally. He and Reedpaw got into a fair amount of shenanigans, though, such as the time where they decided it would be funny to start leaving a bunch of dead fish poking out of random nooks and crannies all throughout the camp and on random islands just to surprise and confuse their Clanmates. And that it did. They kept it up for around half a moon and thought it was great. Until they got caught and punished, that is. They both had to miss their third gathering to make up for it. And they couldn’t even sneak out again, either, because Skystar had warned Mallowstar about Stormpaw’s track record and he and Reedpaw been placed on elder duty on the night of the gathering. Good job, Stormpaw. Sorrelkit and Rosekit made fun of them for that.
Life carried on, though. Even while Stormpaw found his place in FallClan with new friends and a mentor that he more or less liked, he kept in touch with his kin in MarshClan. Sootpaw would help the old messenger, Moldmoss, whenever she had the chance to, and so Stormpaw saw a lot of her even when he wasn’t actively visiting. She would tell him all about how she, Darksplash, Whitepaw, Fawnkit, Duckfeather, Scorchpaw, and Ivybranch were doing, even if Stormpaw didn’t really care much for the latter two. He would travel to MarshClan once a week to meet up with the cats he’d left behind, occasionally bringing Reedpaw with him. Darksplash was always over the moon to see him, and Whitepaw, while still displeased, got over her bitterness towards him and they rekindled the friendly-but-snarky dynamic they’d had when they were younger. Duckfeather always greeted him happily and Fawnkit didn’t seem to remember him, but she was polite all the same. Even Ivybranch was nicer to him whenever he came by, and Stormpaw got the vibe that she regretted the way they’d left off. He wasn't exactly willing to forgive and forget, though, and so he just let the tension hang in the air. He did his best to avoid Scorchpaw during his visits.
When Stormpaw was ten moons old, Sorrelpaw and Rosepaw joined him and Reedpaw in the apprentices’ den with their mentors being Wingbreak and Stoatthroat respectively. Stormpaw was vaguely familiar with them since Duckfeather had been their friend, as had Twistwhisker, Pettalleaf’s mate and the father of Fawnkit. But aside from that, he was pleased to have more cats to spend time with, and the four apprentices formed their own tight-knit little friend group. Together, they would cause all sorts of problems for their Clanmates, all in good fun. Such as the time they all got together on the outer border and smeared mouse blood on their fur, then pranced back into camp claiming to have fought off a group of rogues in the hopes of being made warriors early for their courage. It didn’t work. It actually just caused an unnecessary panic and concern about remnants of the great rogue uprising, which Stormpaw had previously only heard elders and senior warriors ramble about and had forgotten actually happened. Good job, Stormpaw. At least it was a valiant effort.
Late into his tenth moon, Stormpaw came back to camp after a fishing trip with his friends to find Sootpaw and Whitepaw both sitting in the center of the main island waiting for him. They looked disheveled and distraught, and he knew at once that something was wrong. Telling Reedpaw, Sorrelpaw, and Rosepaw to go ahead and drop off their catches without him, Stormpaw approached his sisters with dread. They pulled him aside and informed him that the night prior, Darksplash had been killed while outside in a thunderstorm when a stray tree branch had struck him at just the wrong angle. Stormpaw was stunned by the news and learning of it secondhand stung him deeply. He regretted not having been there the way he had for Fernfrost, and he accompanied Sootpaw and Whitepaw back to MarshClan for the night to sit vigil for his father. The loss devastated him. Unlike Fernfrost’s death, it had come out of nowhere and there had been no forewarning at all. It felt as though a freshly healed scar had just been violently reopened and he wasn’t sure how to cope. He spent a few days in MarshClan with his sisters to help him come to terms with everything, but he couldn’t stay away from FallClan for that long. He left again on the third morning, promising his littermates that he would continue to visit regularly and that he would always be only a few stepping stones away if they needed him.
After returning to FallClan, the next couple of weeks were a haze for Stormpaw. He refused to take time off of training even when Stonesnap offered to let him. Stonesnap was actually very nice to him for little while because he was also grieving— he’d been close with Darksplash when they were younger, after all. But Stormpaw didn’t care about that anymore. Stormpaw’s goal of becoming a great warrior and a leader was no longer just for Fernfrost now. It was for both of his parents, and he couldn’t afford to waste any effort. He determinedly tried to stay active with his friends as well, refusing to fall down the same self-destructive rabbit hole he had found himself in when his mother died. Above all, his primary coping mechanism was to spend more time with Reedpaw specifically. Reedpaw was funny. Reedpaw was fun. Reedpaw could come up with some kind of crazy idea or prank to make Stormpaw forget the grief for a little while. Sorrelpaw and Rosepaw were secondary concerns.
As it turned out, though, Sorrelpaw wasn’t keen on that. She wanted to help and spent a solid two weeks after Darksplash’s death desperately wanted to get Stormpaw alone so she could talk to him in private. Eventually, she managed to catch him leaving the apprentices’ den one morning without Reedpaw, and she steered him over to a secluded island not far from MarshClan’s border. There, she pretty much just talked him through his grief and made him agree to try and go about it healthily instead of just focusing too hard on the wrong things. He told her about his intentions to become leader one day and she told him that she thought he’d make a great leader, but to not think of it as any sort of obligation. Stormpaw was surprised and somewhat impressed by the wisdom in everything she was saying to him, and he really took notice of her for the first time. He was grateful for it, though, and they cat-hugged. It was cute.
Anyways, Stormpaw moved past his grief a little quicker and a little more easily after that. Spending time with his friends really did help, especially once he reeled back and started appreciating it for what it was— just pals hanging out— instead of only trying to use it to bolster his mood. There was one spot in particular where he, Reedpaw, Sorrelpaw, and Rosepaw would usually hang out to plot their evil plans- a little pool near the OasisClan border that Rosepaw had encountered on accident one day. The water wasn't too deep there, and it was surrounded by flat, solid rocks. It was not only a good fishing spot, but it was also a good area for them to just chill and chat without being seen or overheard by anyone. It was usually their go-to place where they would meet up and plan their worst— sorry, best— offenses. For example, they put their heads together once in an effort to come up with a plan that would frighten all of the warriors. They ended up working together to leave scraps of moss and prey flesh lying around the territory in a broken trail and managed to convince more than half the Clan that there was some kind of swimming badger on the loose. It was working for a good half-moon or so until Stonesnap spotted them setting it up. He ratted them out to Mallowstar despite Stormpaw’s attempts to bargain with him, and Stormpaw was banned from his fourth gathering as well, as were his friends. Stormpaw was mad at Stonesnap for a while after that. At the time, he was aggravated to no end by the lengths Stonesnap went to in order to keep him disciplined, but later in life he was grateful that his mentor had been able to reign him in a bit. Stonesnap knew what he was doing.
Near the end of his apprenticeship, when Stormpaw was eleven moons old, he and Reedpaw challenged each other to catch a certain number of fish in a limited amount of time. It was a game they had played together numerous times, and Stormpaw was not expecting anything to come of it. But when he pulled himself up on his usual fishing island near MarshClan’s border (the same one Sorrelpaw had brought him to— he’d decided that he liked it), he unexpectedly encountered a young loner named Hazel trespassing in FallClan territory. Excited by the chance to defend his borders, he confronted her. When she refused to leave, he attacked, and subsequently got a notch torn out of his ear. He stood his ground until she swam off, but he was more than a bit shaken at having received a permanent scar. He was not used to being bested in combat, especially by a cat who was small enough to barely look apprentice-aged. While the experience was jarring for him, he didn't forget Hazel, and he often wondered about the strange, strong loner he had tangled with.
On an unrelated note, he also got into another physical fight, this time with Scorchpaw on the MarshClan border. Scorchpaw called Duckfeather a better mom than Fernfrost or something and Stormpaw got angry. He probably made fun of Scorchpaw for being abandoned by his dad. They were both rude like that. Stormpaw attacked first and nicked one of Scorchpaw’s ears, unintentionally giving them matching scars, which he was very unhappy about after Reedpaw pointed it out. But as a result of that scuffle he got banned from going to his fifth gathering, too. Good job, Stormpaw. My mans went to a total of one (1) gathering during his whole entire apprenticeship and he wasn’t even supposed to be there. That’s impressive.
==== Warrior Life ====
Stormpaw managed to pass his assessment on his first try, and received the name of Stormclaw due to his passion and physical prowess. He was given a joint ceremony with Reedstalk since the two of them were the same age, and he thought fondly that it was almost like having a brother. Speaking of which, he met up with his sisters in MarshClan as soon as he could after his warrior ceremony. Upon reuniting with them, he was not surprised to learn that Sootsnow had become MarshClan’s newest messenger. He also made fun of Whitepaw for having to keep her apprentice name longer than them since she was a medicine cat. She threw burrs at him. Fun times. 
But anyways, in the moons following Darksplash’s death, Stormclaw had matured considerably. While he still had a streak for causing trouble and suspected that he likely always would, he knew when to stuff it down. He had an easier time getting along with his Clanmates, but even so, the only cats he really spent much time with were Reedstalk, Sorrelpaw, and Rosepaw. Maybe Stonesnap if no one else was available, but now that he was a warrior it was considered uncool to spend time with his old mentor. At least, he thought that his friends would think so. He still kinda liked Stonesnap. 
Sorrelpaw started joining Reedstalk and Stormclaw on their trips to the nursery, too, because her mother was raising her little cousin Tidekit at the time. Tidekit was three moons old when Stormclaw and Reedstalk became warriors, and he was just as energetic and eager to learn from them as Sorrelpaw and Rosepaw had been at his age. Stormclaw liked Tidekit. He thought he was a cute little guy. Tidekit seemed to like Stormclaw. He thought he was a cool big guy. They messed around and entertained each other daily. Everything was lovely for the next four moons. 
Stormclaw also visited MarshClan less regularly after receiving his name. He didn’t feel as strong of a need to anymore, and Sootsnow was always popping up at least once or twice a day to run messages anyways. On one of these occasions, she told Stormclaw that Whitebird had gotten her full name and Ivybranch had been killed in a hunting accident. Stormclaw was happy for Whitebird, but a little saddened over the news about Ivybranch. He’d intended to formally make amends with her at some point, but he’d never really gotten around to it. It hadn’t occurred to him that he’d had a limited amount of time. 
It did, however, encourage him to make an effort to fix his relationship with Scorchpaw. Sootsnow was very happy about this since Scorchpaw was her friend. Stormclaw was much less thrilled. It was incredibly hard for him, actually. He hated Scorchpaw’s guts still and being nice to him made him want to eat his own tail. Fortunately for him, Scorchpaw wasn’t a fan of it either and they ended up fighting again while trying to sort out their differences. So that was counterintuitive. They gave it up and went their separate ways. Good job, Stormclaw. 
When Stormclaw was fifteen moons old, Sorrelpaw and Rosepaw’s mom died of a stomach tumor. They mourned heavily for her, as did Tidepaw, and Stormclaw did his best to comfort them along with Reedstalk. It was still fresh in Stormclaw’s mind how helpful Sorrelpaw had been to him when Darksplash had died, and he wanted to repay the favor somehow. He didn’t know what he could do to make her feel better, though, and so he just offered to hunt for her and Rosepaw for the next moon until they became warriors. Reedstalk decided to help, and so they did that. They just brought Sorrelpaw and Rosepaw all of their food for a moon. It was a little, minor thing, but it made them smile, and Stormclaw was glad to see that. 
Sorrelseed and Rosefoot passed their assessments with no issues and became warriors. Stormclaw was happy for them and glad to be sharing a den with all of his friends again. At least, he thought he was. But it turned out that Rosefoot and Reedstalk had apparently begun courting without his knowledge, and suddenly they were always all over each other and being disgustingly cheesy and lovey-dovey all the time and never paying any attention anymore to him or to Sorrelseed. Stormclaw didn’t like that. The pair became mates two moons later, rarely separating from each other, and Stormclaw was bored and annoyed without his partner in crime to goof off with. He still had Sorrelseed, but she was much more goody-goody and rule-abiding on her own. He missed Reedstalk. 
At around that same time, though, a ton of kits were born and a couple of more were brought into the Clan, so Stormclaw could always spend time playing with them when he had nothing better to do. He particularly liked Weepingkit, Slatekit, and Ebonykit, because they were zealous and fun and seemed just as prone to action and/or mischief as he had used to be. A part of him hoped that he could mentor one of them, but he knew Mallowstar would never trust him enough for that after everything he had pulled during his own apprenticeship. The other kits in the nursery, Milkweedkit, Silentkit, Goldenkit, and Brokenkit, were much quieter than their denmates, and while Stormclaw always liked to see them, he didn’t interact with them nearly as much. 
When Stormclaw was twenty moons old, Sootsnow came to him with more news: Duckfeather had died in a cave-in, and Scorchstripe, who had only just gotten his warrior name, had left the Clans to become a rogue. Stormclaw didn’t really care about Scorchstripe, but it did pain him to hear about Duckfeather and he once again traveled to MarshClan to attend her vigil that night along with Wingbreak and Stoatthroat. Oh, right. A little before that, he had run into none other than Hazel again at MarshClan’s border while trying to visit his sisters. They had an actual conversation instead of beating each other up this time, and it was almost completely civil. Hazel made fun of him a lot and boasted about ripping his ear, which he thought was annoying, but he also thought she was kinda pretty, so... it cancelled out. He was actually quite fascinated by her. She was like no one he’d ever met before, so wild and lively in a way that made his pelt tingle and his paws itch. They agreed to meet up daily at the border, and it gave Stormclaw something new to do with all the kits nearing their apprenticeship and with Reedstalk and Rosefoot always being preoccupied. Over the span of a moon or two, they sort of evolved from rivals to friends. 
Stormclaw would meet Hazel at sunhigh each day, swimming to an islet just beyond the border and waiting until he saw her approaching. They would hand out around the moor and talk about their lives and tease each other, sometimes while hunting. During these hunts, Stormclaw would do his best to hide the fact that he was terrible land hunter (fortunately he usually got lucky and did fine), and Hazel would force him to run around with her just for the sake of it. Surprisingly, it was fun. He actually enjoyed their little outings very much. She also told him a little bit about her family and her parents' harsh treatment of her, and he thought that was pretty uncool. They made up cute nicknames for each other and were just generally kind of adorable. They were crushing pretty hard on one another before too long. He got to visit her heather patch home beyond MarshClan's outer border, too. He thought it was nice. He thought she was nice. They were nice. HazelStorm was nice. 
When he was twenty-four moons old, though, Rosefoot announced that she was expecting Reedstalk’s kits. He was pleased for his friends and even more pleased that Rosefoot would be moving to the nursery, thus giving him a chance to spend some time with Reedstalk again. Excited at the opportunity to go back to having adventures with him, Stormclaw proposed that they go exploring past FallClan’s outer border together just to see what they might find. He’d heard from several cats that there was a twolegplace far beyond the territory, and while he had no intention of going that far, he thought it might be a worthwhile venture just to see what was along the way. Reedstalk was reluctant, not wanting to leave Rosefoot behind, but Stormclaw insisted until he gave in. 
So they set off, just the two of them, just like the good old days. Stormclaw was delighted to have Reedstalk back at his side for another trip into the unknown, and they spent the better part of that day just loping around the outer territory and enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, that was not meant to last. While they were on their way back, a feral dog came across them. It was a hungry mutt that evidently had some kind of an infection that was driving it crazy, and it attacked the pair without restraint. They weren’t sure if it would be able to cross FallClan’s stepping stones, but they didn’t want to risk leading it to their camp, either, and so they veered aside and let it chase them along the outer border away from Clan territory. Reedstalk was faster than Stormclaw, though, and Stormclaw fell behind. The dog ended up lunging for him and seizing him by the flank, sinking its teeth in and shaking, leaving him with a gruesome injury that would later leave a permanent scar. He kicked and clawed at the dog, but it would not let go— not until Reedstalk whirled back around and flung himself at it, forcing its muzzle off of Stormclaw to where it instead found its way around his throat. The dog broke Reedstalk’s neck in one clean snap and advanced again on Stormclaw. Good job, Stormclaw. 
Left with no viable alternative options, he turned and kept running with the dog at his tail until he came across a tree nearing the edge of OasisClan territory. He had never learned to climb, but he figured it couldn’t be too difficult when your life depended on it. He managed to scramble up the trunk and onto the lowest branch, and he stayed there, peering down at the barking dog until it eventually gave up by nightfall and retreated back in the direction of the distant twolegplace. He didn’t move until close to an hour had passed just to be sure. Then, slowly, he jumped down from the tree and made his way back to where Reedstalk had been killed. 
It didn’t really sink in until he found Reedstalk’s body. Even then, the realization that his friend was dead was somewhat muted by the shock he was already in. He dragged the body back to FallClan’s camp on his own, making it back so late that it was nearly sunrise, all the while still bleeding heavily from his bite wound. It was a bad night for him. It was also a bad night for Rosefoot, who came out of the nursery upon hearing some commotion just to find her mate dead. She was furious and screamed at Stormclaw for several minutes, demanding that he justify himself for making Reedstalk come along and for not saving him. He was a little too numb and lightheaded to think of what to say by that point though, and Rosefoot didn’t like that. She blamed Stormclaw for his death and ran out of the camp. She never came back. She just straight up left the Clans. Just like that. Good job, Stormclaw. 
With Reedstalk’s death and Rosefoot’s departure, Stormclaw was left with Sorrelseed as his only companion. The recently named Tidewave was also still around, but he also seemed to sort of blame Stormclaw for the incident and became a lot less friendly. Slatepaw and Ebonypaw had changed Clans, and Stormclaw didn’t interact much with Weepingpaw anymore anyways. It took a little while for Stormclaw to really get a grip on the fact that he’d caused the death of his first and best friend and driven one of his other good friends to just leave behind everything she’d ever known— everything including Sorrelseed, her sister. Sorrelseed was trying to be there for Stormclaw. She was trying to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and that it would be okay and all that. He wasn’t buying into it. He was sad and traumatized. After coming out of his grief fog, though, he was a lot more hardened and jaded and snappish. He’d lost a considerable amount of his sense of humor in the healing process and turned to serving his Clan as his new and most important duty. 
While this was happening, Sorrelseed was still following him around everywhere and trying to talk to him whenever she got the chance. Because, as it turns out, she was crushing on him and had been for a while. She saw their situation as an opportunity for them to help each other recover and she kept trying to be flirty. He didn't notice, because he was amazingly terrible at noticing things. He didn't return her feelings. He didn't even know she had them. In fact, he found her constant efforts at spending time with him to be more irritating than anything, as he was starting to drift back into the mode of wanting to do things himself and his own way. Stormclaw was kind of a mess at this point. He had no idea what he wanted or why. He missed several meetings with Hazel, though, and he felt guilty about it. 
Speaking of that!! Over the course of the previous few moons leading up to the dog incident, he‘d ended up getting much closer with Hazel. Two days after the accident, once he could sort of move around again, he worked up his courage and went to their meeting spot at the usual time. Hazel was there even though he'd failed to show up to their previous two meetings, which he thought was quite kind of her. He spent a couple of days living with her in her heather patch to recover from Reedstalk being brutally murdered in front of him. It worked, kind of. Hazel was able to sort of fix up the injury on his flank almost as well as a medicine cat could, and they were cute. They hunted and chatted a little and admired the night sky. She made him forget his guilt and grief in a way that Sorrelseed couldn’t. He appreciated that. After the topic of prey came up, he also suggested to her that they try burying some rabbits to save them for winter. They did that, marking their spot with a branch they'd broken off of a bush in OasisClan territory. They also stayed up late on the second night and renamed Venus because they thought it was just a really bright star. They named it Aurora at Hazel’s suggestion. Stormclaw thought that was an incredibly dumb name for a star, but he went along with it just for her. Anyways, they had a fun time and sort of fell in love, with confessions and everything. It was sweet. 
When he finally came back four days after he left, Sorrelseed screamed at him. As it turns out, she wasn’t happy about him disappearing with no warning right after she’d lost her parents and her sister and Reedstalk (incidentally, her father had also died during the few days Stormclaw was gone). Stormclaw kind of just stood there like an idiot and blinked at her while she yelled at him on the verge of tears, because he hadn’t even considered how she would feel about it and now he felt like a jerk. Good job, Stormclaw. He got harshly berated by Stonesnap and received a flurry of frantic messages from Sootsnow and Whitebird, too, and then he felt super guilty about just ditching everybody without saying anything about it. It did give him a little bit of a wake-up call as to how many cats actually did still care about him, though, and he swore to himself not to do something like that ever again. Even so, deep down, a small part of him still thought that it had absolutely been worth it. For Hazel. Hazel was worth it. He still didn’t tell anyone about her, partially just enjoying the secret and partially afraid of getting into some kind of trouble for it. At least he had a new source of excitement and joy in his life. 
They also tended to fight a lot, though. He tried to show Hazel how to fish multiple times and somehow didn’t pick up on the fact that she despised it. He then caught a rare pupfish for her and she got mad at him, so he got mad at her in return. He felt bad later and caught her a rabbit, though, which turned out to be a good idea because she’d been attacked by several rogues earlier and was having a bad day anyways. So... points for him. He started coming over to spend nights with her every so often. It was ~romantic.~ 
Also, more kits were born or brought in during this time frame that he liked to spend time with. The three that he found the most entertaining were Sunkit, Redkit, and Weedkit. They were chaotic and never failed to amuse him whenever he swung by the nursery. Fireflykit and Gorsekit were less rambunctious, but that was fine. Stormclaw was fond of them anyways. 
On one occasion, while he was sneaking back to camp at sunrise after spending a night with Hazel, Stormclaw found Brokenpaw trying to drown himself and decided that was a bad idea. He pulled him out of the water and yelled at him for being stupid before helping him back to camp. I mean, he didn’t know it was a(n indirect) suicide attempt, because Brokenpaw broke his paw against the rocks (ba-dum tssss) and probably passed it off as having just being a bad jump, but still. Yes. Stormclaw felt good about himself and was relieved that he’d been passing by at just the right time. Good job, Stormclaw. 
Anyways, Stormclaw and Hazel ended up becoming unofficial mates, even though Stormclaw was beginning to have doubts about their relationship. He felt as though he was being disloyal to the Clans, having trouble splitting his relationship and his ambitions, and felt guilty about keeping their romance a secret. Hazel was not easy to stay on good terms, with, either. She was harsh and difficult, and they were getting into more and more arguments, and he was beginning to lose interest anyways, as bad as it made him feel. It was getting to be too much for him - too demanding and too limiting. Stormclaw hadn't exactly been ready for a full relationship when he'd gotten with Hazel, and in the end, it meant far more to her than it did to him. He knew that their relationship was starting to fall apart. He ended up leaving her when he was thirty-six moons old, turning his back on her and not once glancing over his shoulder. 
He was pretty salty and bitter after that. He was pretty weighed down by regret and buried that under resentment. He channeled a lot more attention on battle training, for no particular reason except to have a physical outlet for his emotions. He told Sootsnow about the breakup the next time she stopped by FallClan, and she in turn forced Whitebird to come over for a visit so they could try and make him feel better. They did not do a good job. Whitebird only talked about how she hadn’t liked Hazel from the sound of her anyways, and that only made Stormclaw feel worse. He yelled at them until they left. Then he felt even more bad. Not even the presence three more kits in the nursery, Eelkit, Swallowkit, and Albatrosskit, could improve his mood. Eelkit was missing a leg and therefore didn’t get around much, Swallowkit was taken to OrchidClan by her mother at two moons old, and Albatrosskit was just plain irritating. In fact, instead of enjoying the little tom’s antics like he normally would’ve, Stormclaw only snapped at him a lot and found him just as annoying as all the other warriors did. Good job, Stormclaw. 
To distract himself and make himself feel better, he turned to Sorrelseed. She was massively relieved that he finally seemed to be noticing her presence, and the two rarely separated for the next couple of moons. They fished and went on walks every day and occasionally dropped by MarshClan together. Stormclaw could never really find enjoyment in it, though. Ending his relationship with Hazel did a number on his heart, and he didn’t think it would open back up again anytime soon. That’s why it took him completely by surprise when Sorrelseed brought him to their island by the border one day and asked him to be her mate. She explained that she could tell he was drifting and it was scaring her and she wanted to be by his side to help him the way she had been wanting to for moons. And Stormclaw, still rebounding, agreed. Good job, Stormclaw. 
He said yes to the question before he could give himself time to overthink the decision. He told himself that he needed this, despite the fact that he had no romantic interest in Sorrelseed at all. He told himself that it was fine because she wanted it— that it was a good thing, really, because he was giving her something she wanted. But there was no real substance to their relationship at all. It was far from being healthy or stable, and just as with Hazel, they started getting into frequent fights. It wasn’t long before they were even more distanced from each other than they had been when they were just friends. Sorrelseed began to suspect that he had no feelings for her after all, and Stormclaw knew that she was onto him, making their interactions very uncomfortable and tense. They both made an effort to stay friendly with each other on the outside, but Sorrelseed wanted something more while Stormclaw was hoping their relationship could stay pretty much the same as it had always been. It was different and awkward for both of them, though. Tensions were pretty high to the point where any of their Clanmates could have felt it whenever they were together. 
One of these Clanmates who noticed was Tidewave. Tidewave did not approve of the dynamic. Tidewave had always been quite close with Sorrelseed, and he rightfully thought that the way Stormclaw was treating her was awful. He confronted Stormclaw about it one time, which led to a pretty bad standoff in which Tidewave struck a nerve and Stormclaw only just barely refrained from attacking the younger tom. They kind of hated each other after that. Tidewave would make edged comments and direct provoking insults at him whenever he has the opportunity, and would continuously and non-subtly try and convince Sorrelseed to leave him whenever he could. Stormclaw did not want to end this relationship the same way he had ended the one with Hazel, though, and Sorrelseed, not even knowing about Hazel, was still determined to try and make it work somehow. It was a stressful time. 
Additionally, Mallowstar died shortly after Stormclaw became mates with Sorrelseed. She was succeeded by her deputy Ducksun. Stormclaw hated Ducksun, and was one of his most outspoken critics, being severely unhappy about the fact that the tom was too sick at the time to receive his nine lives. Ducksun died before even a moon had passed and Milkweedcall became FallClan’s leader after him. Stormclaw was even more aghast by this. He was not a fan of Milkweedstar. He thought Milkweedstar was an idiot. It was made a little better after Weepingbrook became his deputy, because at least she could manage the Clan, but he still was less than pleased about it. 
On the bright side, though, Stonesnap and his mate Brookfeather had a daughter named Oceankit at around this time. Stormclaw probably came to see her in the nursery a few times. Again on the the not-so-bright-side, though, Stonesnap proceeded to immediately leave for HorizonClan and then die in a scuffle with rogues a few moons later. So… that was unfortunate. Stormclaw mourned his passing, and went with Stonesnap’s family to the vigil where he awkwardly got to sit with some random HorizonClan cats, including the newly appointed Aspenstar and the two toms’ sister, the Clan deputy Crowflight. It was weird and awkward. So Stormclaw didn’t enjoy that. But not all was bad! A queen named Permafrost showed up in FallClan shortly afterwards with three more kits: Flurrykit, Frozenkit, and Glacierkit. Stormclaw would visit them sometimes and he liked Frozenkit’s temperament even if her littermates were a tad too withdrawn for him. 
When he was forty moons old, however, Emberkit came to FallClan. She was younger than the other kits and was looked after by both Brookfeather and Permafrost. Normally, Stormclaw didn’t pay too much attention to the shyer and quieter kits, but something about her was a little different— something just seemed a little off. She had been found in the territory with strange scars on her face and didn’t seem particularly inclined to interact with anybody, not even the queens or the other more reserved kits. She seemed almost familiar in some weird way, and something in his head told him that he had to get to know her. So he did. He went out of his way to engage the young kit, learning that her mother had greatly influenced her withdrawn personality and that she had a sharp distaste for rabbits. He learned about how FallClan’s waters made her feel safe and comfortable, and, on a whim, he offered to bring her out of camp for a swim. He brought Emberkit to the little pool near OasisClan’s border where he had used to have fun with his friends. There, he told her a bit about everything he had used to do there, and learned a bit more insight into Emberkit’s past. They ended up getting along quite well, and she came to trust him with time. He was much more fond of the little kit than he had expected he would be. 
When he was named Emberpaw’s mentor two moons later, they were both very pleased. Stormclaw was excited to have at last received an apprentice, and even more excited that it was a kit he had liked. He and Emberpaw trained very well together. She had a unique but efficient way of catching fish and she swam better than some of the warriors Stormclaw had seen. Battle training was a little slower, but Stormclaw was patient with her. He still didn’t know what exactly was drawing him to Emberpaw, but he was glad for it. It let him get close with a cat whom he otherwise wouldn’t have looked at twice. That realization was actually a bit eye-opening and he decided to try and spend time with all of the kits from then on, and not just the ones who amused him. 
Aside from that business, though, a cat named Ashface joined FallClan during this period and became the new mediator. Normally, Stormclaw wouldn’t have cared. But Ashface was weird. She moved and spoke strangely and often rambled about seeing colors and odd tastes. Stormclaw didn’t think much of it and avoided her when he could. But she seemed to have an inherent dislike towards him, or at least something like it. She approached him often with cryptic comments that he interpreted as being passive-aggressive, and he was starting to get fed up with it. During one of these altercations, Ashface went off on a tangent about how she loved dogs and how friendly and sweet they were, and that was the final straw for Stormclaw, who, for obvious reasons, was decidedly not a fan of dogs. He determined that Ashface was bad and annoying and wrong about everything and refused to have anything to do with the mediator. This was a bit of a problem, considering that his regular altercations with Tidewave often demanded Ashface’s presence. Ironically, though, it ended up helping, because in order to avoid having to deal with Ashface, Stormclaw stopped reacting to Tidewave’s attempts to provoke him and their animosity sort of dwindled off over the next few moons. Good job, Stormclaw. 
But anyways, training! Stormclaw was relieved that Emberpaw wasn't difficult and unruly like he had been, and for the first time, he started wondering how Stonesnap had ever even survived training him. He bragged about her to Sootsnow and Whitebird a few times and also used her training as an excuse to avoid Sorrelseed more than once. He was proud of the warrior she was shaping up to be, and happy that he got to play a part in leading her there. Emberpaw's apprenticeship was nice and smooth for the first... four or five moons, let's say. 
Meaning... everything was pretty much fine and dandy until very soon before Emberpaw became a warrior. During one of their fishing trips, she unexpectedly mentioned Hazel by name. What. What? Stormclaw’s brain kind of short-circuited, because how did she know who Hazel was? Some probing led to the revelation that Hazel was in fact her mother and had been an abusive monster to Emberpaw and her two littermates, made bitter by their existence after her mate left her, and had given Emberpaw the scars on her face before abandoning her with her brother Void, who died soon after. And suddenly everything clicked into place. The angle of Emberpaw’s ears, the curve of her tail, the way she raised her chin ever so slightly when she was making a point— those was all from Hazel. And the short thickness of her fur, the spacing between her whiskers when they twitched, her quiet but self-assured posture— those were all his. Hazel had been pregnant when he left her. And suddenly, staring into Emberpaw’s bright green eyes, all Stormclaw could see were her mother’s glaring back at him. Accusing. Hating. And he didn’t trust himself to speak. He had unknowingly ruined this young cat’s life. He was her father. He had a son who was dead. And somewhere out there, he had another daughter. 
Stormclaw didn’t say anything to her about it right then. He didn’t know what he could say; he didn’t know what to think. He just called off the session early and spent the rest of the day on an island by himself, trying his best to come to terms with everything he had just learned. It was a pretty jarring realization, to say the least. That night, he was visited in his dreams by the spirits of Fallstar and Void, the latter of whom confirmed that Stormclaw was indeed their father and that Hazel had mistreated them because of him. Stormclaw was pretty stunned by that. He interacted awkwardly with Void, but promised to protect Emberpaw to the best of his ability, and apologized for being a sorry excuse of a dad. That was actually pretty meaningful, because Stormclaw sucks at apologizing. He had some trouble wrapping his head around the fact that he was a father, but he undeniably felt extremely guilty about what his kits had to endure because of his idiocy. He vowed to be better from then on. 
Anyways, as much as he wanted to, Stormclaw knew that he couldn't really put it off, so he pulled Emberpaw aside and told her the truth the very next morning. He apologized to her, but did not ask for forgiveness; whether or not she forgave him would be her decision alone. Emberpaw was understandably angry with him at first, and he knew he completely deserved it. But then, much to his surprise, she for some reason chose to forgive him. Right there on the spot. She didn’t hold it against him at all. He was very confused but also very relieved about that, and was grateful for her, knowing that in her place he never would’ve let it go. So he was glad for how well she had taken it and he brought her to with him to MarshClan where they visited Whitebird and Sootsnow, reconnected with their kin, and had a grand old time. They told stories about their families and kithoods and made fun of each other and bonded. It was great. It was wholesome. 
After coming back, though, Stormclaw realized that he still had his relationship with his current mate to sort out. Sorrelseed. That wasn’t great. And knowing what he knew now, he felt even more sorry for having led her on and been essentially using her for the past ten moons or so. He knew she didn’t deserve that. She’d only ever loved and been supportive of him, and he realized that what he‘s been doing was unbelievably selfish and callous. He decided it was going to stop. And so the next time he caught Sorrelseed alone, he told her that they had to talk, and he took her to their island near the border. She knew as soon as they got there that he was going to be breaking off their relationship, but before she could get angry, Stormclaw told her everything. Everything about Hazel, everything about Emberpaw, the truth about where he’d disappeared to during those four days after losing Rosefoot and Reedstalk, when Sorrelseed’s father had died and she had needed him the most. He came clean. He admitted that he didn’t love her— not in the way he had loved Hazel. Not in the way she had hoped. And she admitted that she knew that already. Sorrelseed was not happy with him. But she could see how much he regretted it all and could hear the sincerity in his apology. He requested that she give him one more chance— not as his mate this time, but as his friend. She was reluctant at first, not sure if she could trust him not to ruin what they had again, but Stormclaw promised her that he had learned from the mistakes he’d made. He realized now how much he valued having her by his side and he was determinedly never going to undermine her worth again. She went along with it and they hugged again in a little parallel to the time when they were apprentices. It was cute. They were friendly and more relaxed with each other after that, and while there was still a little bit of awkwardness and tension, they were working to move past it. Good job, Stormclaw. 
In any case, at the end of that moon, Emberpaw passed her assessment easily and became a warrior with the name of Emberglow. Stormclaw was extremely proud of her and he made sure she knew it. They went fishing together afterwards and talked a bit more about Hazel and Emberglow’s siblings. Hazel had left Emberglow and Void behind when they were three moons old, bringing their sister Moon with her, and Void was killed in a fire before even one more moon had gone by. Emberglow had named herself Ember in his honor. Prior to that, her name had been Night. Stormclaw tried to be comforting, but he struggled with it all. It was strange to feel so much grief for a cat he’d never met, whom he hadn’t even known existed until recently. And he had trouble imagining Hazel as he knew her doing all of the awful things that Emberglow claimed she had. He knew that it was true, though, and there was nothing he could do about it now. He just had to do his best to make up for it. And that he did. He continued being as active as he could be in Clan affairs, remaining one of FallClan’s best fishers as well as one of the best fighters, and when he wasn’t honing his skills in those departments, he spent most of his time with Emberglow, Sorrelseed, or any kits in the nursery. Over the span of quite a few moons, these kits included Stepkit, Fennelkit, Cherrykit, Acornkit, and Bearkit. He tried not to let it bother him that most of the queens didn’t like him. He liked playing with their kits anyways and they would just have to deal with it. 
So at any rate, Stormclaw just vibed for a while. He was surprised and a little displeased to find that Emberglow was becoming friends with Ashface, but he didn’t want to make it complicated. Emberglow convinced him that Ashface really wasn’t bad at all, and he begrudgingly admitted that it didn’t matter to him if she was weird and liked dogs. She could be weird and like dogs if she wanted. That was fine. As long as she was good to Emberglow and his daughter liked to spend time with her, that was all that mattered. He let go of his dislike towards Ashface and they have been on chill terms ever since. He was a little annoyed when Bearpaw was made Tidewave’s apprentice, because he had been hoping to mentor him, too, but he supposed it didn’t really bother him that much. He was mellowing out. He was starting to get his life back together. Good job, Stormclaw. 
Somewhere at around this time, Sootsnow brought more news to Stormclaw that was simultaneously uplifting and unfortunate. Apparently Scorchstripe had returned to the Clans, bringing with him three four-moon-old kits: Applekit, Foxkit, and Redkit. He had taken them to OrchidClan and lived with them there for a few weeks, but had died of an unexpected heart attack soon after. Stormclaw was… actually pretty sad to hear of his death, surprising himself. After working through his issues with both Emberglow and Sorrelseed, he’d hoped that he could reconnect with Scorchstripe on better terms one day. Apparently not. But even so, he still tried to keep an eye out for his old rival’s kits whenever he was near one of their borders from then on, and made sure he could be clearly heard cheering their new names when their apprenticeship was announced a couple of gatherings later. 
Whatever the case, a few more moons went by. Lavenderstar abruptly closed OrchidClan's borders with little explanation. Stormclaw thought that was weird, but he didn’t really care all that much. It didn’t affect him personally. Weepingbrook had Milkweedstar’s kits, Torrentkit, Frostkit, and Glorykit. He felt sorry for them when the two she-kits were stillborn, and he wondered how different their grief was from his own for Void. Minnowkit was also born and Stormclaw liked her because she was a troublemaker. He was more than a little miffed when she got sent to live in OasisClan for her behavior and he was one of the only cats who advocated for her to stay. It didn’t work. Stormclaw was annoyed. 
But then the plague started. Oh no. It wasn’t good. Like… half of everyone died. That was frightening. Stormclaw managed to avoid catching it himself, but his Clanmates Eelstride, Pikenose, Larchflight, and Stepleap weren’t so lucky and ended up being killed. Stonesnap’s daughter Oceandusk fell victim, too, and she died within a day of contracting the illness. Stormclaw was a little sad to lose his old mentor’s closest kin, but he hadn’t really spoken to her much since she was a kit, so it was nothing too heavy. He hadn’t known any of the cats who had died very well. He was worried about Sootsnow and Whitebird, though, since MarshClan was where the plague had started— and being messenger and medicine cat, they both had much more exposure to it than the common warrior and were kind of working themselves to death trying to keep everybody alive and up to date on what was happening. 
After Milkweedstar lost all nine of his lives to the plague, Weepingstar succeeded him as leader and appointed Stormclaw as her first deputy. He was actually pretty shocked about that, but was all the same pleased with his new role. It proved to him that his Clanmates had noticed and appreciated his efforts to better himself, and it gave him motivation to keep trying. He vowed to continue working to improve and to not disappoint his Clanmates. After everything that had happened to him, he’d kind of forgotten about his old dream to become FallClan’s leader, and while he no longer had any desire to become one, he was still quite fond of his position and hoped to serve FallClan well in the seasons to come. He also asserted to himself that it was enough to fulfill his promise to his parents that he would one day make them proud. Good job, Stormclaw. He awkwardly tried to comfort Emberglow after the death of Larchflight, who had been her almost sort-of boyfriend. She showed him the grave she’d made for Void, and he helped her collect flowers to decorate it with. They sat together in peaceful mourning for few minutes, and then Emberglow told him that she wanted to leave FallClan with Ashface for a bit in search of Moon, her sister. Stormclaw hadn’t been expecting that. He was a little worried about it and briefly considered coming with her, but he knew he couldn’t leave FallClan behind— and in truth, he didn’t want to. He supported her Emberglow’s decision and wished her safety and the best of luck. If nothing else, she and Ashface would at least be safe from the plague for a bit. They gave each other awkward cat-hugs and exchanged even more awkward “I love you”s, and it was super sweet. Then they left, and Stormclaw spent the next several moons worrying about the fact that his daughter was now traveling aimlessly around the moor with a crazy cat who couldn’t hunt or fight in search of her long lost sister who had hated her the last time they interacted. In hindsight, it wasn’t the greatest of plans. 
Another source of concern was the fact that shortly afterwards, all of the borders were shut down as per Aspenstar’s suggestion. Stormclaw was less than thrilled about that. It stopped him from seeing his sisters, who needed all of the support they could get right then. He disagreed with the decision and argued that he didn’t see the point in bothering to stop cats from crossing borders, as the plague was in every Clan already and anyone could just catch it from their own Clanmates anyways. He was salty about the change in the rules and was one of the senior warriors who griped about how something like that would’ve never happened when he was young. 
But in other news, now that he knew where Void’s grave was, he would return to the site at least once a week, even if only for a few minutes, just to sit and reflect and repent. Sometimes he would bring flowers in Emberglow’s stead, too, since she was away and no longer could. Sorrelseed kept him company sometimes and he still liked to drop by the nursery, where there was now a whole new generation of kits, and an enormous one at that. It consisted of Turtlekit, Puddlekit, Beekit, Mothkit, Flykit, Rainkit, Mallowkit, Shellkit, Mosskit, and Hurricanekit. He helped to keep them entertained sometimes in order to give the queens a break and he came to be quite fond of them all. 
Once the kits were old enough, he received Turtlepaw as his second apprentice, much to his delight. Even better was the fact that her brother Puddlepaw was apprenticed to Sorrelseed, meaning that they could hold joint training sessions and spend some extra quality time together. It was less good, however, when both of the medicine cats died to the plague. Like… almost back-to-back. Seedpaw went first and was followed by Crystalrock only about a week later. This left the six-moon-old Puddlepaw, who had initially wanted to train as a medicine cat, as the only cat in all of FallClan who had any sort of training in that field. He became the apprentice medicine cat straight away and Turtlepaw spent all the time she could helping him with his work. Stormclaw tried to be understanding. He wasn’t sure how to balance his apprentice’s training with her concern for her littermate, but he still managed for the most part. Turtlepaw was a good and dutiful apprentice, and he enjoyed working with her even if it was a little harder than it had been to train Emberglow. 
Several more cats were lost to the plague over the following moons, including Bearfrost, Deerpelt, Cinderstream, Auburnpaw, and Sunstriker, the last of whom left her four newborn kits orphaned. Stormclaw felt quite bad for Warblerkit, Downykit, Frecklekit, and Seedkit, and he came by the nursery a lot to play games with them or tell them stories along with Sunstriker’s old friend Fireflyleap. Eventually, Turtlepaw reached twelve moons and passed her assessment without a hitch, being named Turtleheart for her caring and determined nature. Stormclaw was proud of her and pleased to have done his job well yet again. Good job, Stormclaw. 
Anyways, that’s about where we left off. Stormclaw is currently still working on his overall demeanor and trying to make everybody stop hating him. He's still sorting out his relationships with Emberglow and Sorrelseed, but significant progress has been made. The plague is still a big issue, though, and Stormclaw is still worried about his sisters. And also Emberglow. He really hopes nothing dumb happens to her. He hopes nothing dumb happens to anyone, actually. He’s just generally worried. 
Also, he's an old man now. Almost 70 moons, I think. Wow. Time flies! 
==Other==
====Trivia====
* Good job, Stormclaw.
*Not to be confused with Stormstalker, a MarshClan dude who did nothing notable and then died. Or Stormshadow, Cedarpoppy's dad. Or Stormheart, the dad of Basilpool, Sagestep, and Elmleap. Or any of those other deceased stormy guys. Nope. This is the OG Storm.
*Ever since finding out how much he enjoyed playing with kits, Stormclaw had wanted to have some of his own. He sort of lost sight of that dream after leaving Hazel, though, and he had no interest in having kits with Sorrelseed. He’d pretty much given up on ever becoming a father by the time Emberkit joined FallClan. Fortunately, fate had some surprises in store for him.
*His favorite kit names have always been Thunderkit for toms and Carpkit for she-cats. He doesn’t know why. But he used to think that if he ever had kits, he would name them that.
*Originally, the dog that attacked him and killed Reedstalk had rabies. I changed that because it bit him and making it rabid would be... not good in that respect.
*He looks stormy. That’s perfect. I like his design. It was made by one of my irls, not me (Starling). She did great. Bless her heart.
* When he first joined FallClan, Stonesnap failed to explain how to avoid getting earfuls of water while diving. Stormpaw had to teach himself the hard way.
* His favorite prey has always been fish - no particular kind, just all fish - and he enjoys teasing his kin in MarshClan about it. He doesn’t dislike rabbits, but they’re not his favorite. He frequently ragged on Hazel for loving them so much.
* He hates the smell and texture of dust.
*I admit that he was absolutely inspired by Crowfeather. He's just a tad less edgy and considerably more likable.
*Personality-wise, I think he would be a Capricorn. Yes, I (Starling) am a star sign nerd. Do not judge me.
*He used to call Hazel "Hazel-cat" sometimes as a joke, because she would often call him "fish-cat". It actually sort of makes sense in context and it's funny. You can see why in his quotes if you're curious enough.
*I accidentally called him Armclaw once.
*He never learned how to climb trees. He’d be ashamed to admit it, but it is true. He only managed it during the dog incident due to the magic of adrenaline.
*He will never be leader. He’ll retire first once he’s old enough. But if he ever did, his nine lives would be from Fernfrost, Darksplash, Duckfeather, Ivybranch, Scorchstripe, Stonesnap, Reedstalk, and… two others. Probably the previous leader and possibly Void. Who knows.
*It at one point came to Warrior’s attention that most of the songs on Taylor Swift’s Lover album fit HazelStorm really well. I, Starling, would like to add onto this by saying that whenever I hear Anti-Hero come on the radio I can also only think of HazelStorm. Taylor Swift is just their jam, I guess.
*He may or may not have also played around a bit with Juniperfin, Drizzlesnow, Cinderstream, Bramblestem, Larchflight, Dreamkeeper, Auburnpaw, Smokepaw, Soulpaw, and Cometpaw when they were kits. It depends on whether or not they were born or raised in FallClan. Who knows.
*Also, I was very general with the time framing here. It’s, like, 90% accurate I think, but there are a few mistakes that it would be too complicated to correct, such as the fact that Swallowfrost and Albatrosswhisker were actually born seven moons apart and therefore never shared the nursery. But it’s close enough. I tried my best.
*I (Starling) have been gone for like 3 years and I just came back to add a heck ton of more detail to this page. I also rewrote a few minor aspects of Stormclaw’s backstory, so some of the little snippets I wrote in the backstory studio are now ever so slightly inaccurate. My bad. But hey, it’s good to be back! I’ve missed this guy!!
====Quotes====
"Yeah. You tell that fish." - (to Reedpaw during their first meeting. Second meeting, actually, because I retconned it.)
.
"Ivybranch’ll tear my ears off for doing this instead of catching rabbits, but then again, when have I ever cared what Ivybranch thinks?"
.
Stormpaw: "You FallClan cats are cool."
Reedpaw: "We are?"
Stormpaw: "Never mind. I have to go. If I’m not back with a rabbit soon, I’ll be forced to take care of the elders or something.”
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"Right. Games to the death are my favorite." - (to Hazel during their first meeting, while they're supposedly fighting to the death)
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"Hello, Hazel. I’m sure you’re more than capable of shredding me, but I’d actually prefer if you didn’t. Thanks.”
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Stormclaw: "No one else has caught you yet? It's been a few days."
Hazel: "I stay pretty well hidden. Except from you, of course."
Stormclaw: "I'm flattered."
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"I'm quite used to being yelled at. In case you haven't noticed, I'm very annoying."
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Stormclaw: "How exactly, may I ask, am I odd?"
Hazel: "No, you may not ask."
Stormclaw: "Oh. Well, alright, then."
.
Stormclaw: "Hey, you haven't insulted me yet today. Are you feeling alright?"
Hazel: "Of course I am. Don't be stupid."
Stormclaw: "Alright, alright. I'm not being stupid. I've never been stupid. I'm the least stupid cat you'll ever meet."
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"So what'd you think of that? It seems I can still hunt on land after all. I'm not such the average fish-face, then, am I?"
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"I don't mind stupid. Go ahead and stupid to your heart's content."
.
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Stormclaw: "Myself, I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy living on the moor with this vast expanse of water right there beside them, just waiting to be swam in. But to each their own, I guess.”
Hazel: "Maybe because rabbits are the best prey ever?"
Stormclaw: "Maybe, if their opinions are incorrect. Joking. Don't kill me."
Hazel: "Liking rabbits is the only correct opinion."
Stormclaw: "Yes, ma'am."
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Stormclaw: "I - for some reason - I thought it'd be interesting to venture out past FallClan's borders a little bit. With my friend. I got the idea from the moors we were hunting on, you know. He wanted to stay at the camp with his mate. I convinced him to come along. As it turns out, it wasn't interesting."
Hazel: "Well, that was a really dumb decision."
Stormclaw: "Yeah, I realize that."
.
Hazel: "Well, it's not quite sunset. What do you want to do now?"
Stormclaw: "Since you're not letting me move around much, I guess our options are somewhat limited."
Hazel: "I'm trying to make sure you don't die. You can thank me when you're in a better mood."
Stormclaw: "Okay."
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"In FallClan, we sometimes bury fish and save them for the colder seasons since the water freezes over. That might work with rabbits.”
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Stormclaw: "A fox or a badger or something might pick up your scent there, though, and they're likely to find the prey and dig it up if it's nearby."
Hazel: "So I'll fight them off."
Stormclaw: "Alright, then."
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"Sure. I always enjoy a good rock hunt."
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Stormclaw: "Maybe I’ll start calling you rabbit-cat. That doesn’t really have the same ring to it, though. Hare-cat? Coney-cat?”
Hazel: "I think you should stick with Hazel."
Stormclaw: "Hazel-cat?"
Hazel: "You're an idiot."
Stormclaw: "I know."
.
Hazel: "I agree. I like hunting rabbits. Great reward afterward, too. And you stay very fit. There is no reason to not love rabbits." 
Stormclaw: "Remember that time you told me to stop rattling off all the reasons fish were amazing?”
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"The sun really ought to know better than to mess with you."
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“I love you, too.”
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Hazel: “You’re impossible.”
Stormclaw: “No, I’m Stormclaw.”
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"It was fun while it lasted. Bye."
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"As a young apprentice, back in MarshClan, I was always intrigued by FallClan from the moment I was taken to the border for the first time. I thought it was fascinating how a Clan could function with so much water everywhere - and it is fascinating! Do you like it here?"
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"I used to want that. It does sound appealing. But... I don't think I'm quite right for that position. I'm too impulsive. Too ambitious. It just wouldn't be a good role for me. Hunting and fighting for my Clanmates as a warrior makes me happy, so that's what I'll continue to be." - (to Emberkit when she asks if he wants to become leader. Ironically, he ends up being FallClan's deputy later anyways.)
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"It's... not your fault, either, Emberpaw. Don't hate who you are because of what [Hazel] inflicted on you. You're a lot stronger than you realize."
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"I will. I won’t let anything happen to [Emberpaw]. I caused her great pain in the past, and it is my responsibility now to make sure that doesn’t happen again. I’ll take care of Emberpaw to the best of my ability, until I’m here in StarClan with you. I promise you that." - (to Void)
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"I'm sorry Hazel was like that. You were all so young. You deserved more. A better chance at life. I'm sorry for taking that away from you."
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"Yes. Hazel... was my mate. I was - I am your father. Everything she did to you would not have happened if I’d stayed. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry."
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"There she is, up there. I'm going to sneak up on her. I really am a kit, aren't I?" - (to Emberpaw when he sees Sootsnow)
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"[Whitebird]’s right. You shouldn't have to feel unwelcome anymore."
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"Well, you can swim like a fish, and you’re better at catching them than most of the warriors in the Clan, so I’ll daresay you did." - (in response to Emberpaw asking if she passed her assessment)
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"Okay, I would rather you didn't insult me in front of my daughter, thanks."
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"Bye, Whitedirt. Thanks for having us."
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"Maybe keep your voice down. Y'know, so as not to scare away every rabbit on the moor."
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"Knew it. That's my daughter, alright. Good choice, Emberpaw." -(to Emberpaw after she chooses a fish over a rabbit)
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"Hey, don't give me that look. Let’s... try to be graceful about this, okay? Like, don’t blow up at me. I’m about to be real upfront and honest here, and I think that’s a good thing. Please?" - (to Sorrelseed right before they have "The Talk"™)
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"I don't know what I thought. But what I do know is that I'm a rotten fox-heart and I don't deserve you. So I'm telling you the truth now."
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"Thank you. Thank you so much. I-I don’t know how to put what I’m thinking into words right now."
.
"Hey. I was just visiting Torrentkit. I don’t think Weepingbrook likes me very much, but, well... I can’t really blame her. It’s to be expected. I can already see a bit of Milkweedstar in Torrentkit, though. I’m not sure yet if that’s good or bad.”
.
"At least we still have time to spend with each other. I would have missed this."
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Stormclaw: "It can be pretty draining. For some cats, it's probably useful. Like me. I was a troublemaker. But I didn't think you needed that sort of pressure."
Emberglow: "You? A troublemaker?"
Stormclaw: "I know. Unbelievable, right? A straight-laced, rule-abiding cat such as myself?”
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"As an apprentice back in MarshClan, I was seriously something— I once tried to teach all the kits in the nursery how to stick their paws through holes in den walls to grab tails or steal herbs from the medicine cat. I'd never seen so many warriors so angry."
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Emberglow: "You're ridiculous."
Stormclaw: "Thank you. I'm well aware."
.
“That got heavy again. But I think — no. I know you haven’t done a thing wrong. Nothing that happened is your fault. You just got unjustly tangled up in your parents’ messes. But you still managed to come out of it all as a good cat. I admire that."
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"Aren't parents supposed to be, like, helpful or something?"
.
=== Deputy Position ===
Proceeded by: Weepingstar
Succeeded by: No one yet my dudes