Ripplesong

Lineart by pkrockin\_ | Colored by kiraznyx

## Overview

Ripplesong was a former ThunderClan Medicine Cat, serving under leaders Shroomstar, Simmerstar, and Hollowscreech (immediately following Simmerstar's death, as the deputy had not yet received his nine lives). He stepped down from his position due to his guilt and panic over his creation of and involvement in the ThunderClan Civil War. His mentor was Brightsight and his successor was Liontuft.

### Appearance

Ripplesong is a thick furred silver tabby tom. His tabby markings are extremely dark and contrasting to the rest of his lighter pelt. His left eye is a dew green, and his right eye is a sky blue.

### Personality / Background / Summary

Ripplesong is kindhearted, calm, and open minded. Growing up, he was disturbed to hear about Shroomstar's interactions with the other Clans, including spreading a deadly sickness throughout. Despite being too young to have any part in it, he felt guilty on his Clan's behalf. He wanted to help his Clan and other cats in need, both out of nature and to somehow make up for ThunderClan's past behavior. This, in combination with meeting then SkyClan Medicine Cat apprentice Raccoonleap inspired him to also take on the life of a Medicine Cat. He had a long, difficult journey of life, always aiming to bring peace to ThunderClan and the rest of the other Clans as well. His biggest conflict was with his leader, Simmerstar, and he eventually started a Civil War in order to remove her from power. After the war, he was plagued by guilt and stepped down from his position. He no longer believed he deserved to be medicine cat. He died, most likely due to heartbreak, only a few moons after the end of the war. Waking in the void, Ripplesong wandered the empty land, accepting it as his forever home. However, he would learn he was only in the void to serve his self-given sentence, and he eventually found his way to StarClan. It is there he carries out a much more peaceful afterlife with his family, former apprentice, mate, and friends.

## Detailed History

### **Kithood**

Ripplekit never got to know his father or his brother due to them being rogues, and his mother passed when he was just about to become an apprentice. He grew up with little to no friends, and no close friends. He witnessed the threats of war and violence due to Shroomstar's actions from the nursery, and never really got to understand why and exactly what was going on in the Clans. All he knew was that something was wrong, and he didn't like it.

### **Apprenticeship**

Shortly after becoming an apprentice, Ripplepaw met the SkyClan Medicine Cat apprentice Raccoonleap, who was collecting herbs in ThunderClan territory. They shared a short and meaningful conversation about the Clans, and Ripplepaw was inspired to think that he could find a way to make change and help other cats. He then decided he wanted to become a Medicine Cat, and began his training under Brightsight.

Not long into his training, both his leader Shroomstar and his mentor Brightsight died. This made him the sole Medicine Cat under Simmerstar, without having finished his training and receiving his full Medicine Cat name. Brightsight attempted to continue to train Ripplepaw from StarClan in his dreams, but it didn't work out very well, and Ripplepaw had to go on by figuring it out himself.

He took part in the battle of Tribe, ThunderClan, and RiverClan vs BloodClan, healing Tribe and mostly RiverClan cats in the initial attack, including leader at the timeWaterstar, and warriors Mudfoot and Firestorm. He stayed behind in RiverClan to further assist while the rest of ThunderClan pushed forward to help liberate SkyClan from BloodClan's control

Shortly after the battle, Brightsight came to him in a dream and told him he needed to journey to the Moonfall. Fearing something could be amiss, Ripplepaw set out right away. He was surprised to hear Brightsight tell him that he was ready to become a full Medicine Cat. His ceremony was held, and he was named Ripplesong.

### The Beginning

Not long after receiving his name, Ripplesong shared a dream with the other Clan Medicine Cats, telling them they needed to visit the Moonfall. On arrival, the cats were visited by Brightsight, the former ThunderClan Medicine Cat. Brightsight told them a vague prophecy, warning of danger to the Clans, and telling them they would have to keep strong faith in StarClan, and they musn't turn on each other. This left Ripplesong and many of the other Medicine Cats frustrated, wishing that Brightsight had more information to offer. At the next gathering, the WindClan Medicine Cat, Goosedapple, revealed this information to everyone, causing questioning from all the Clan leaders and cats.

Not long after, Ripplesong learned of his Clanmate Feathertuft's death, and was distraught. Feathertuft was one of his only friends, ever since they had managed to fight off a fox together. She had been imprisoned for taking a rogue mate, Viper, and having his kits. Despite this, he still thought of her very fondly. Simmerstar had stated that she had to kill Feathertuft when the prisoner attacked her and her unborn kits, though Ripplesong suspected it was a lie.

One night, not long after Feathertuft's death, Ripplesong had yet another strange dream. He had wandered through a seemingly deserted ThunderClan camp, with no one in sight save for a flash of fur continuously appearing and disappearing. He followed the mysterious cat, trying to chase them down and ask who they were. The cat remained elusive, until he turned to see them standing tall and proud on a rock, the sun glowing strongly behind. The cat jumped down and walked up to Ripplesong, revealing itself to be Lionkit, a ThunderClan kit and power cat. Knowing this was a sign, Ripplesong went straight to Simmerstar after waking. After a short discussion, it was decided that Lionkit shall be apprenticed as soon as possible. Ripplesong then went to speak with Lionkit, who excitedly accepted.

### Trepidation and Loss

Though extremely excited about his mentorship of Lionpaw, Ripplesong's uneasiness continued to grow about Simmerstar as time went on, as well as the impending mysterious prophecy. Soon enough, destruction began in the Clans, beginning with the twolegs ripping up RiverClan's territory and poisoning the river. The area in which destruction was happening only kept growing. Ripplesong worriedly tried to search for answers, concerned about the fate of ThunderClan and all the others that lived in the land.

The destruction continued spread quickly. Clan to Clan, territory to territory, before the everyone decided that the only option they had was to leave the territories. All set out, leaving their homes, save for BloodClan, who Auburnstar drove out in revenge for their previous aggressions toward SkyClan, and SkyClan itself, too stubborn to admit defeat and move.

### The Journey

Not long after the Clans set out on the quest to find a new home, Simmerstar went into labor with her and Eagleteller's kits. The kitting was complicated, and Simmerstar lost a life as well as one of her kits, left unnamed.

The Clans finally came upon a place that could be their new home, and temporarily settled in a den until they claimed new territory. Determined to find ThunderClan's new home, Ripplesong and Simmerstar went scouting one day, when they came across an odd rock formation. Ripplesong slipped and fell backwards from the dampness of the rocks under the waterfall, and had a vision of a sheltered gorge in a forest. Taking it as a sign, he named the rock formation StarClan's Claws, and he led the way past the landmark and towards the gorge. Soon, they found the site, which was deemed ThunderClan's new camp.

### Simmerstar's Prison

Simmerstar, growing more and more harsh, continued to take prisoners in many numbers. One day, Ripplesong's apprentice, Lionpaw, spoke out against her at a gathering, and landed himself a spot in ThunderClan's prison. He was tortured and left unfed, banned from attending gatherings or Medicine Cat meetings, and Ripplesong could only see him for training once a day. Ripplesong felt very conflicted, as he had promised to protect Lionpaw, and wanted to just break him out. However, he stayed compliant, as he knew he could not help Lionpaw or the rest of ThunderClan against Simmerstar if he were to be locked up as well or executed.

Another notable imprisonment was that of Eelfin, one of Simmerstar's former mates. After his capture, Tribe and RiverClan set siege to ThunderClan in order to free him and other prisoners. Ripplesong spent his time healing his Clan during the battle. Although he knew it was wrong for Simmerstar to have imprisoned Lionpaw, Eelfin, and others, he was angry that the Tribe and RiverClan had sprung a surprise attack in their camp.

### Free at Last

Due to impending harsh weather, Lionpaw was eventually released from prison in order to be more 'useful' as a Medicine Cat. Ripplesong was ecstatic, and apologized that he couldn't have done more to help Lionpaw. Soon, Ripplesong deemed that at his age of 14 moons, Lionpaw had trained hard and well enough to recieve his full Medicine Cat name. At the next Medicine Cat meeting, WindClan's Medicine Cat Goosedapple gave her apprentice, Steppepaw, her full name of Steppeface. After this, Ripplesong completed Lionpaw's naming ceremony, naming him Liontuft, after his mother and Ripplesong's friend, Feathertuft.

### Prophecy

After the two Medicine Cat ceremonies, Ripplesong fell to his dream with StarClan. Instead, he woke in a strange canyon, turning to see his good friend Raccoonleap, the SkyClan Medicine Cat, sharing the same dream. They both wondered what was going on, when a huge storm erupted. Water began to crash around them and fill the area. The storm continuously grew worse and worse, until both Medicine Cats were dragged under the surface and drowned in the raging waters. Waking from the dream, both Ripplesong and Raccoonleap were now apprehensive of what such a horrible warning could mean for the future of the Clans.

### StormClan

The prophecy was soon revealed, as Simmerstar and Auburnstar announced the joining of ThunderClan and SkyClan, as one StormClan. This only made Ripplesong more on edge, and he feared what could become of both Clans with the leaders in charge. However, he did find the small amount of comfort in being able to see Raccoonleap once more, who had been under strict supervision in SkyClan. StormClan's existence remained throughout leaf-bare, but was disbanded when the other Clans worked together to defeat them in a final battle.

### Missing in Action

When Cloverdove, the RiverClan medicine cat, is reported missing, the blame is directed at Auburnstar and SkyClan. During a RiverClan raid to get her back, the SkyClan warrior Blackfeather was taken as a hostage for trade. It was announced at a gathering that during the final battle, Medicine Cat Raccoonleap had spoken out against Auburnstar. Auburnstar, wearing Raccoonleap's tail as a trophy, deemed that he will be hunting Raccoonleap down until the Medicine Cat is dead. Hearing this news left Ripplesong distraught. After no more news, Ripplesong came to the conclusion that his oldest friend was in fact murdered.

### Rising Tension

Tensions continued to rise in ThunderClan, and with Simmerstar growing worse by the minute, Ripplesong knew something had to be done before the rest of ThunderClan was doomed forever. He decided that there had been enough pain, and if ThunderClan did not stand up for themselves now, they would never get the chance.

### Aftermath

The final battle left its mark. Ripplesong, not wanted to kill Simmerstar and instead imprison her, continued to be distraught over his indirect killing of the former leader. He also had to deal with his own actions during the war. He was disgusted at his threats of his Clanmates in desperation to free them from Simmerstar's reign. He resigned from his title as medicine cat, believing he no longer deserved such a position.

### Death and Trial

Ripplesong died of a broken heart due to dealing with the traumas of his life experiences, and most of all his actions of starting the ThunderClan Civil War and what he did during it. Upon death, Ripplesong found himself waking in a vast, grey, wasteland. He had been sent to the Void.

...

## Trivia

* Ripplesong had to finish his Medicine Cat training on his own after the death of his mentor and received his full name at just under 11 moons old
* Received the moving prophecy along with the other Medicine Cats
* Discovered ThunderClan's new camp at the new territories
* Received the StormClan prophecy
* Started and won the ThunderClan Civil War in order to remove Simmerstar from power
* Liontuft, Ripplesong's apprentice, named his own successor Stormsong in honor of Ripplesong

## Gallery

Ripplesong via Tau's Cat Creator on Picrew, 2020Ripplepaw by kiraznyx, 2017