Alderstar

Base by: pkrockin\_, coloring by: thatratparker

## Overview

Alderstar is a tall russet red tomcat with a light brown, almost cream in color underbelly, throat, and muzzle/face, and black paws, ear tips, tail tip, a black stripe running down his back, and black markings next to his eyes, on his ears and legs, on his back, and black rings around his tail. He has red eyes and a torn left ear, a large scar on his flank, and a severely torn pale cream and dark russet scarf. He is a former leader of ShadowClan. During the middle of greenleaf, Alderstar disappeared without warning, leaving his Clan for the life of a loner.

Since he was not present for Pinestar's nine lives ceremony, Felt, Alderstar's mother, took his place and cursed Pinestar with the life of regret.

## Detailed History

### *Early Life and Apprenticeship*

Alderkit was born to Felt, a kittypet, and an unnamed ShadowClan tomcat. The two had a dispute about who would keep the kits, and it ended with Alderkit's father winning and taking the kits to ShadowClan. The two agreed to have the kits visit Felt once again, but Felt's owners ended up leaving town, taking her with them. This led their father to not wanting them from the grief of losing his mate (the kits reminded him too much of her) and from the shame of having half-kittypet kits. He ended up leaving the kits to be raised by queens who promised not to tell the kits of their heritage.

Alderkit grew up self-conscious of his red fur and red eyes, and he often hid behind his siblings and avoided social interaction. He also had inherited a stutter from his father which didn't help at all.

When he reached six moons of age, Alderkit became Appledusk's apprentice, the current deputy of ShadowClan. Feeling the pressure of being the deputy's apprentice, he tried his best in everything he did. While Alderpaw did have battle prowess and strategic skill, he was an extremely bad hunter, and he'd much rather run away from a fight than engage in one. He also was very naive.

The death of his brother Birchpaw and his sister Cypresspaw made Alderpaw become even more reclusive. He now only spent his time alone, with Appledusk, or with his remaining sibling Maplepaw. Very rarely would he spend time with other apprentices, and it was unheard of for the russet apprentice to talk to warriors.

Despite the hardships Alderpaw faced, he managed to pass his assessment and become Alderheart, a full-fledged warrior of ShadowClan.

### *Warriorhood and Deputyship*

As a warrior, Alderheart had made friends in the three other main Clans, most notably Cloverstar of WindClan and Snakestar of ShadowClan. Although this wasn't an issue at first, it eventually forced the tomcat to make a choice.

Sunstar had passed away and Applestar had become ShadowClan's leader. A few moons after Applestar became leader, she contracted rabies and attacked WindClan's new leader, Cloverstar. Cloverstar had been forced to kill the ShadowClan leader, however, the event was twisted and misunderstood. When she declared war on WindClan, Alderheart panicked and fled ShadowClan, not wanting to fight his friends or fight in general. Although he promised to come back after the war was over and although there was only one battle, the tomcat wasn't fully welcomed back by his Clanmates, and he was ashamed of the fact that he let his cowardice and friendships get in the way of his loyalty. Since then, the warrior vowed to become more loyal and a stronger cat.

Soon after the war, Applestar's leader came to an abrupt end at the paws of a badger. Alderheart was deeply shocked by the incident; furthermore, the death of his sister, Maplefur, made him feel like he had no one else in ShadowClan. His siblings and mentor were in StarClan now, and all the cats who he could call his friends were in a different Clan.

But Alderheart had no time to grieve- the new leader, Brackenstar, announced Alderheart as deputy, much to the tom's shock. Stressed by the his losses and his sudden deputyship, he became more anxious than ever and extremely unsure of himself. He struggled to adjust to his new role at first, and the tom barely knew what he was doing. He never had an apprentice. He was too young to lead patrols. He almost wanted to ask Brackenstar to demote him, but he never did.

However, after having to speak in the Gathering since Brackenstar was absent, things began to change. He started asking other warriors for help, and to his surprise, none of them insulted him. This made him realize that he had Clanmates, that he was not alone, and with the help of his friends, he was able to move on from Applestar and his siblings. Even though it didn't get rid of his grief and fears, it helped him manage it. After a few moons, he stood up straighter and became more firm in his words. He even found ShadowClan's new camp after the volcano destroyed the old territories! But Alderheart's confidence was short-lived.

As soon as he had gotten used to being a deputy, news of Brackenstar's death befell the Clan. Everything he had built seemed to shatter. He wasn't ready for this, he told himself. Alderheart desperately wanted to run away from being Clan leader and perhaps even run away from ShadowClan entirely. But the support of his Clanmates helped him power through and make it to the Moongarden.