Silverflame

Be prepared for a long backstory hehe~

S I L V E R
F L A M E

BASIC INFO

Name - Silverflame

Sex - Female

Sexuality - Straight

Breed - American Shorthair

Status - Alive

Rank - Warrior

Clan -

Age - 60 Moons

Discord User - Silver Kitsune

Wiki User - 0Celestial Kitsune0

Alignment - True Neutral

Roleplay Style - Traditional

Beliefs - StarClan & The Dark Forest

Theme Song - 刹那 75 arrangement by 暁Records

DESCRIPTION

Silverflame is a large, silver-gray she-cat with white tabby markings and underfur. She has amber eyes, and a mechanical right forearm. Her fur is short and thin. Silverflame has a claw mark on her tail tip, back, flank; a bite mark on her hind left foot, a notch on her right ear, and small scars on her cheek and muzzle.

PERSONALITY

Silverflame has a passion for spending time with kits and being loyal to her Clan. The moons she spent
travelling have taught her flexibility to adapt to new surroundings and be open to possible changes. Due to her loneliness, she's changed to be an observant and alert cat; always watching her surroundings and listening in and being prepared for anything. Along with being alert and flexible, Silverflame acts cautiously in new or unusual situations. Unfortunately, she can be angered quite easily, especially when frustration forms from her determination- refusing to give up any task. Her impatience doesn't get her very far in hunting and it can ruin her relationships with other cats when she jumps to conclusions. Silverflame is also argumentative- she'll take chances to argue her side of a subject- usually when she feels the other side is wrong. Along with this, she can be competitive in specific moments or situations. She dislikes obvious statements and questions, which often causes her to respond sarcastically instead of giving a straightforward answer.

(+) Passionate, Loyal, Flexible, Observant

(=) Determined, Alert, Cautious, Competitive

(-) Irascible, Impatient, Argumentative, Sarcastic

STATISTICS

Agility - 7.2/10

Stamina - 7.6/10

Speed - 9.4/10

Hunting - 8.9/10

Climbing - 1.0/10

Swimming - 3.0/10

Defense - 7.9/10

Offense - 9.3/10

Socializing - 7.6/10

Stability - 9.8/10

Leadership - 3/10

Herbs - 1.2/10

LIKES

Silverflame likes a variety of things. Her top picks are the colors red, blue, green, violet, white, orange, and yellow, the prey vole, fish, and squirrel, her best relationships are with her most trusted friends, the sounds of birdsong and waterfalls (from a distance), the sights of gentle falling snow, kits, and flowers in bloom. She likes getting into fights, sparring or not, for the thrill. She's not entirely sure what "thrill" is her favorite, for it always depends on whoever she's fighting. She refuses to fight her Clanmates unless they choose to spar with her.

DISLIKES

Silverflame hates birds, foxes, Twolegs, Twolegplaces, items owned by Twolegs, and dogs. She dislikes shrew, cats being disrespectful without clear reason, unnatural bright lights, friends getting severely hurt, and tyranny. She also dislikes too much noise, bossy and "captain obvious" cats.

BACKSTORY

Silverpaw was walking through the forest, thinking about her kithood. It was great; she had loving parents who still loved her, and her only sibling was so small and shy... They still were the same, and Silverpaw wanted to protect her sister forever. She was a great hunter, and Silverpaw was proud of Snowpaw.

Although sometimes Silverpaw sometimes had weird dreams and headaches, Snowpaw was *always* there to comfort her. Snowpaw was Silverpaw's world. She hoped she would never have to watch her die, like when the previous leader, Swirlstar, lost his last life. The sisters were fond of Swirlstar for he was very kind to them. And then last leaf-bare, greencough took his life. Silverpaw delicately sighed at the memory.

Stopping, Silverpaw crouched suddenly. A mouse was ahead, unaware of her. She crept forward, cautious not to disturb the forest floor and scare the mouse. She heard the tweet of a bird nearby and her tail flicked; Silverpaw had never been able to catch a bird and Snowpaw would be so happy if she could! Her emotions starting to conflict, Silverpaw turned around and followed the scent trail of the bird.

As she got closer, Silverpaw realized it was a thrush. Thrilled, Silverpaw moved faster. She loved thrush! This catch would be all hers, she'd have to find another one for Snowpaw. And of course, more prey than two birds for the elders. Focusing her thoughts on the thrush, Silverpaw crept faster, quietly.

*Snow-chan will be so happy I caught my favorite prey! Too bad I haven't been able to catch any birds since apprenticeship. Ah well, 10 moons is better than 24 now isn't i-* Silverpaw's thoughts were interrupted as she realized the thrush knew she was there. Quickly glancing down, she realized she stepped on a stick and it had cracked. *Mouse dung!*

She started chasing the bird, which was very luckily not flying any higher than Silverpaw could jump. She ran faster, feeling the breeze in her fur. She flattened her ears and closed her eyes, letting her paws and nose guide her, relishing the moment. The thrush's scent got stronger, and stronger, until...

*Snap!* Silverpaw tripped, falling on the forest floor. Searing pain flashed through her right forepaw. She gritted her teeth and looked at it. It was caught in a fox trap! And fox traps were Twoleg things. A Twoleg could come by any second to check the trap. She had to get out of here!

Panicking, Silverpaw struggled. She could feel her warm blood and smell stale fox scent. How had she missed this? Was she really so excited to get a thrush? She gasped as a vision overwhelmed her. A blurry image of another cat stuck in what appeared to be a fox trap flashed through her head. Fearful for her life, Silverpaw jerked upward, only to be pulled down again by the trap.

Pain was now gripping her forearm with harsh claws. Still struggling to get free, Silverpaw felt dizzy. Wobbling, she fell. *No, I have to get free! I h-have to...* Suddenly everything went black, her last thought about Snowpaw.

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Silverpaw awoke numb. She couldn't smell anything, and everything was too blurry to make out where she was. She heard mumbling, but couldn't make out words. She was probably in the medicine cat den.

She blinked several times. It was way to bright to be inside any den, unless something happened while she was sleeping that took the roof off one of them. Maybe the sun was about to set and a wall was in the process of being fixed. No, the light was definitely coming from above.

Still blinking, her eyes trying to focus, one of the voices came closer. As the shape got closer, she realized it was a Twoleg! Silverpaw panicked, but couldn't move. She was too numb. Breathing hard, the Twoleg removed something from her shoulder. As cold air met it, she gasp-wailed at the pain. Her whole right forearm hurt so much!

*Did the fox trap actually do this? How long have I been asleep?* She thought, her belly inconveniently rumbling. Was it really the time for her to be hungry now? A Twoleg was practically attacking her!

Silverpaw whimpered as the Twoleg wrapped something else around her shoulder. It hurt, even when it was done. Still whimpering with pain, the Twoleg left the room. It came back with something, and placed it against her shoulder. No, not on her shoulder. Next to it? How was that possible? Silverpaw couldn't see where, but the object was cold.

Then she realized: She no longer had her entire right forearm! Did the fox trap really damage it that much? And why could she still feel pain there, as if it was still attached to her body? She was so confused... and tired. Silverpaw closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

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Moons later of sleeping, kittypet food, Twolegs, bright lights, pain, and overall misery, Silverpaw finally felt... more like her previous self. She could now limp around a bit, however unpleasant it was. Her stump didn't hurt as much, and she barely felt her right forearm anymore. Life with the Twolegs wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. By now she was used to the Twolegs touching her.

One day before she could walk, Silverpaw noticed these weird sounds. It sounded kind of like stone, injured animal screeches, and... other noises she couldn't put together. Now though, she was noticing it was going on more frequently. She still couldn't figure out what it was. As she sat down, listening to it, she realized she had grown. She figured she was now maybe 20 moons. Silverpaw should have a warrior name by now...

*Silverflame. That's what Mother always said my warrior name should be. For my amber eyes,* Silverpaw thought. *Alright, Silverflame it is. My new name is Silverflame! If I can find my Clan again, I hope they won't mind...*

Silverflame was taken aback and almost fell off the flat surface she was on. A Twoleg had screeched, but it sounded... victorious? Maybe happy? Another Twoleg came in the room and leaned over, examining the thing the other Twoleg was so excited about. They exchanged some words, then the first Twoleg left the room. It came back with something light green and square-ish; Silverflame couldn't find any other words to describe it.

The Twoleg set the thing down where she had been sleeping all this time. Curiously and cautiously, Silverflame went to it. She placed a paw on it and... it was soft. Very soft. And fluffy. She sat down on it. It was much more comfortable and warm than the stone-like surface.

Sighing, she settled onto it and started to dose. Immediately though, the Twoleg who brought it to her started poking Silverflame. By now she knew it meant she should roll over on her left side or back, but she really didn't feel like it right now. She gave the Twoleg a disapproving look.

Before she knew it though, the Twoleg had flipped Silverflame on her side itself. Still pretty comfortable, Silverflame decided it wasn't worth it to retaliate. Closing her eyes, she braced herself what would be next; the changing of the material on her stump.

This time though, it took longer. The Twoleg usually would quickly examine the wound before covering it back up, but this time, it did more than just that. This time, it seemed to study it. For some reason, Silverflame felt her pelt start to grow hot. She had never felt this ashamed. As the Twoleg poked around, she closed her eyes. She had never really thought about it before, but what if when she returned to her Clan, she would have to become an elder? The thought filled her with dread. She was way too young!

The Twoleg mumbled things to its partner, most likely about her. Silverflame didn't know why, but suddenly she felt scared. Like maybe something bad would happen. The first Twoleg grabbed a cylindrical pointy thing. It stepped away for a moment, doing something she couldn't see, while the other Twoleg started petting her head. Despite being used to this by now, she still hated the Twoleg's touch.

The first Twoleg came back, and before Silverflame noticed anything different about the thing in it's paw, the Twoleg poked it into her, right above her flank. She let out a hiss of pain. She knew the Twolegs couldn't be trusted! She started feeling drowsy, and before she knew it, Silverflame's world turned black as she fell into deep sleep.

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Silverflame woke up, sunlight in her face. She blinked several times as the memories came back to her. How long was it since the Twoleg poked the thing in her? A day? Nothing looked any different than it had the last time she was awake, so it must have been a day or two. Silverflame then noticed something was attached to her right forearm.

*What in the name of StarClan is this?* She thought, studying it. It looked a cat's forearm but... it was close to a stony color, and it had these two weird holes with... something inside. Silverflame could barely find the words to describe it, but she knew it was meant to replace her real forearm.

The Twoleg noticed Silverflame was awake, and walked over to her. The Twoleg started poking her, mostly her new leg. It was shocking, how she could feel every touch on her forearm. It was strange, really, how she could feel things with it. She wondered if she could actually walk on it, too.

The Twoleg urged Silverflame to stand up. She didn't want to, but she figured that if she did, the Twoleg would leave her alone. She stood, putting no pressure on it. Silverflame didn't even know if she could move her new arm. The Twoleg lifted it gently, and she could feel it being moved, as if it were real. The Twoleg let go, and Silverflame tried moving it on her own. It actually worked; she could move it on her own!

Right now, Silverflame didn't care how it worked. She hoped that now she had it, the Twolegs would let her go. Or at least, stop bugging her constantly. She had no idea what would happen, and now she could only hope. She lightly squirmed as the Twoleg picked her up, knowing well by now that it would tighten it's grip to extremes if she struggled a lot.

The Twoleg took her to a room with all kinds of strange objects, and it set Silverflame down here. She heard a clicking noise behind her, but she didn't care. She wanted to know what in the name of StarClan these things were! All of them consisted of a similar material to the stony surface she had been on all these moons. They were all kinds of colors, but somehow they seemed to be matched...? Organized? And they seemed rather big for Silverflame.

Suddenly she realized that the Twoleg wasn't in here anymore, and there were only walls. No windows (a word she learned from a kittypet she'd met on her first apprentice patrol) anywhere, just regular, colorful walls. The only exit she saw here, was the thing they went through.

Silverflame turned her head when the thing opened, and a Twoleg and a Twoleg kit emerged. The kit had something in it's paws, something good-smelling. She went up to it, sniffing it, not noticing the other Twoleg had closed the thing.

The Twolegs made squeaking noises at each other, then the Twoleg kit coaxed Silverflame to her, shaking the thing in it's paws. She didn't know what to think of this, but the thing smelled like something edible, so she followed. The kit walked through and around the obstacles, Silverflame following not too far behind it.

Finally they got reached what seemed to be the end, and the Twoleg kit pulled something out of the object in it's paws. She didn't recgonize it, but the kit dropped it on the floor. Silverflame investigated it, then ate it. Actually, it was really good! She wanted more, but the Twoleg was running away now, back through the obstacles. She sat and waited for the kit to come back, but it didn't. Finally she decided to catch up with the Twoleg kit by running and following its scent.

Eventually, Silverflame caught up with the Twoleg kit back where they both originally started. The kit dropped more of the stuff in it's paws on the ground, and she eagerly ate all of it as the kit and grown Twoleg exchanged noises.

The grown Twoleg sent the Twoleg kit away, and picked up Silverflame after she had finished the treat. It was delicious, which was surprising because it was from a Twoleg. Nonetheless from a kit, which were generally reckless, grabby, and loud. Silverflame wouldn't be surprised if she got sick within the week, and decided maybe not to take chances with food from Twoleg kits.

The Twoleg took her back to what she now decided to call her "nest," since she practically lived on it. After setting Silverflame down, the Twoleg got some shiny things out it had used before, and a couple new ones.

The Twoleg had Silverflame stand up for all of it, which seemed like a weird... apprentice test with Twolegs instead? Honestly, it wasn't all that bad. The Twoleg barely touched her, and most contact made between them were the cold items the Twoleg had in its paws. Once the Twoleg was done, it seemed to let Silverflame move around freely if she wanted to.

Silverflame stared at the four-legged platform with it's cage-like back to the left of where she was at. Curiously, she lightly jumped down onto it. She had no fear now that she knew this new arm of hers actually worked in her favor. She sniffed the platform, thinking about how old she may be.

*Yep, I'm positive this thing was made by Twolegs. I wonder if my Clan misses me. I know for sure Snow-chan does... Does she have her warrior name yet? I wonder exactly how long I was gone... and how many moons I would be now. Maybe 24... I think I'll go with 24.* Silverflame thought with a sigh before jumping down from the platform.

The regular floor was cold, and as she walked, Silverflame noticed the squeaky sounds weren't made by her as they always were by the Twolegs. Maybe it was whatever their hind paws were made of. Twolegs were so weird!

Now that she finally could, she explored whatever interested her first. The thing the Twolegs used to leave and enter the room was a large rectangle that she had noticed would only move in a certain direction. There appeared to be a crack under it, and she could feel air coming through a smaller crack in both sides going vertically.

Silverflame jumped back as the thump of Twoleg hind paws neared the rectangle from the side, and disappeared from the other. Heart racing at the thought of the thing squashing her, she turned around to explore the other things in the room. First, there were all of the tall, white things similar to the ones with her nest lining the wall. She couldn't see anything on the stony surface, but saw the indents along the sides. The Twoleg probably kept it's tools there.

Next, Silverflame jumped back up to her nest to survey the things below her and on that stony surface. She didn't notice before, but there was a window to her right behind her. Silverflame then noticed that most of the cool air she had felt, came from a small crack in this window. Interesting.

She lost all of her interest for everything else as she sniffed the area around this window. It appeared that she could stick her muzzle under the crack, and get more scents outside. They were amazing... Almost as amazing as those when she first went out of camp as an apprentice. Silverflame tried sticking her muzzle out more, but she noticed something was in the way. Something black, with a lot of small holes.

With a sigh, Silverflame realized how much she missed being in her Clan. She tried to lift the window up with her muzzle, but it was too heavy (yet somehow it stayed in place). Besides that, it also kinda hurt. Sighing, she went back to her nest.

She started to comfort her muzzle when a Twoleg walked in. Silverflame noticed it was the previous Twoleg's partner. It brought in boxes, and stacked them on the empty surface across the room. Silverflame watched the Twoleg leave the room before jumping down to the floor.

What was in those boxes? Prey for her perhaps? Doubtful, prey generally had a strong scent to her and she certainly didn't smell any as she neared.

Silverflame jumped up, taking the risk of not making it. But she was a cat, she was supposed to be able to jump that high and perhaps higher. Once she was up, Silverflame sniffed the boxes. No scent from inside came through... She jumped onto one of them. It didn't waver. They seemed sturdy enough.

Sneaking a glance at the door, Silverflame climbed to the top, pretending she was Clan leader.

*Foolish, you're not a kit anymore! I shouldn't be enjoying this place. I need to find a way to get out of here!*

Silverflame slowly scanned the area for another way out. Sneaking out of that rectangle was too risky, especially if there were more rooms. Now that she thought about it, the Twoleg had taken her out of this room in order to get to that strange room with the kit. Alright, that was a lost cause.

Silverflame eyed the window. It might take too long for the Twoleg to decide to open it further, but wait. What if she used her paws? That solution could work! Then she realized that it wasn't the window that prevented her from sticking out her muzzle, it was a weird material behind it.

Silverflame just realized that even if she could open the window, the almost-invisible stuff would prevent her from doing so. And if she tried to claw her way out and it didn't work, the Twoleg would catch her and then she may never get another chance to escape. There had to be another way.

Silverflame looked up and started scanning the upper area. When she and the other patrol members had driven away the kittypet after its refusal to leave, Silverflame had noticed a window near the upper part of his owner's nest. She wondered if this Twoleg's nest would be any different.

Silverflame started thinking escaping would have to go back to the window, when she spotted a small space of light filtering in above her. Finally, a way out! Silverflame got on her hind legs, placing her front paws on the little space before the window. She could feel cold air leaking.

Immediately with summoning strength, Silverflame started pushing against the clear stuff. It moved! With a gasp, she pushed it as far back as she could, almost slipping. Her claws had grabbed onto something, probably a thing that kept the clear stuff from moving inward (as far as she could tell, windows only went outward).

Instinctively, she struggled to get her body up so she wouldn't fall. Barely succeeding because of the tight space, Silverflame got up. She could see out now, but she was also too high to jump down. She pushed her head past the clear stuff, moving it up more until her head was out.

Then Silverflame noticed a half-hollow slanted white object from the end of the outside wall to the other. It was either her imagination, or the thing actually curved down. She moved her body forward to get a better look before placing her front paws on it. The object creaked but barely wavered. It would be safe, but Silverflame decided it would be best if she moved quickly.

She pulled her body past the space, her tail tip flicking excitedly. She glanced back inside, and heard a creak from the rectangle. Oh no, she needed to get out of here, and fast!

Silverflame quickly moved along the white object, stopping at the edge. It creaked, and she was right about it curving downwards. Taking a deep breath, she unsheathed her claws, and started heading down. Her claws didn't go all the way through the material, but she could tell that it was at least getting dent.

Finally she reached the ground. She ran away from the nest, running faster as she scented dog. She didn't notice it was stale, however, and just realized there was a fence. Bunching her muscles, Silverflame leaped, her hind paws tapping the top as she continued going down. Her landing was thrown off a bit, but she kept running through the flat land.

Just as she felt like collapsing, Silverflame made it to a forest. Heart racing, blood pounding in her ears, she skidded to a halt. Looking behind her, she could just barely make out the outline of Twoleg nests. She lay down to rest, when she realized she should have tried to find the direction from where the Twolegs might've found her. This place definitely wasn't it, for on her Clan's territory, there was nothing between the forest and fences of Twolegs.

Silverflame inhaled sharply, catching forest prey. She was hungry, and it had been a couple seasons since she'd actually eaten fresh-kill. She started following the scent of mouse, her hunting instincts kicking in after so long. Just being in this forest brought back hunting memories. Suddenly she saw a cat by an ocean, crouched, their shadow on the sand. Their left forepaw lashed out in the water, chilling Silverflame's own, and it came back out with a fish. The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had started. *Huh.*

She leaped, and caught the mouse, the only trouble being her right forearm had slipped. Silverflame knew she'd have to find a way to adjust in her journey to find her Clan. With luck, her Clan might've moved to the direction she would be going in. Her true home was perfect, but it was only truly perfect with those she loved.

Once she had finished eating, she started following a curious scent. As she neared, which didn't take too long, Silverflame realized the scent was from a barn. The forest edge was here too, meaning there was a large clearing.

Silverflame payed no mind to the area and instead went straight inside the barn. After a small amount of exploring, and just as she was about to find a spot to sleep, a mouse stumbled under her paws. Another cat who appeared to be chasing it stopped in front of her.

The gray tom was speaking in a semi-aggressive tone, but Silverflame couldn't understand him. "What?" She tried asking. The kittypet sighed deeply, before he started speaking again. This time, Silverflame could understand his words.

"You have strayed into this barn. Who are you and why are you here?" the tom questioned.

"I'm Silverflame. I was looking for a place to sleep and I stumbled across this barn. Who are you? And would you also mind if I just stayed one night here?" Silverflame replied.

"Hm... You're name is that of a Clan name, but the language you speak clearly shows you are not from this land. I am Smokey," The tom meowed.

"Huh?"

"You sound clueless. You're not native to this land, meaning you most likely weren't born here. Cats here speak the language I tried to speak to you in. I know many languages, for my owner and I always travel together. This is how we are communicating now," Smokey explained, or maybe he was simply analyzing her.

"I'm afraid I don't follow..."

"You may stay here as long as you like. But if you are to survive here, you must learn the native language. I will start teaching you tonight, and we will continue for however long it takes you to learn it. Understand? You will not be permitted to leave until you have learned the native language."

"Um, alright. Where do we begin?"

Afterwards, Silverflame learned what appeared to be this land's native language, whatever that meant. It only took a week, although it felt like eternity to Silverflame. But she felt so like she knew so much more than she had. She still had no idea what Smokey meant by "this land" and "native language," and he never explained it to her.

Before she had left, Silverflame had asked about her right forearm. Smokey had explained the "basics" to her. Then Smokey had given her a farewell gift, which was simply one of the plump mice from the barn. She had learned much from Smokey, but Silverflame still had much more to learn, where some of it she may be better off not knowing, about the world.

By the time the sun was starting to set, Silverflame had eaten Smokey's parting gift, and was now looking for another morsel of prey to feed herself before finding a safe place to sleep. As of now, the area she was in smelled faintly of badger. She hadn't been worried, since they were out at night, but soon the sun would be below the horizon. Silverflame had just picked up the pace when she heard a faint yowl.

*Who was that? I haven't scented any cats in this forest... But that was definitely a cat's yowl.* Her ears flicking with uncertainty, Silverflame ran towards it.

She slowed as the harsh scent of rogue hit her. Still curious, Silverflame continued under the cover of the forest. Peeking through a bush, she saw a group of cats. Their fur was messy, almost every one of them had ribs showing through their pelt, and their camp was a complete disaster. All cats looked almost the same, except... the brown and white cat standing over a poor kit.

Then she realized: That brown cat must be their leader. It appeared to be a tom, thought it was hard to tell from here. Glancing around, Silverflame backed up and snuck over to a bush that seemed closer to the camp.

From this view, that brown cat was a healthy-looking she-cat, and bore a large scar twisting from her hind paw, along that leg, and jaggedly leading to her neck. Silverflame couldn't tell, but it looked like the scar might be curving upwards to her cheek... How is a scar that big even possible? Self-harm was the only way she could think of, but this cat looked smarter than that. But looks weren't everything.

Silverflame watched in horror as the she-cat tortured the kit. Now that she had a better view, it was actually a tom that may be six or seven moons old. Who were these rogues, and what kind of leader would treat their own ranks so miserably?

The she-cat snapped her head up and stared intently at the bushes where Silverflame was hiding. Had she spotted her? She wasn't directly looking at Silverflame, but one more tiny turn to the right... and she would be looking directly into Silverflame's eyes.

"For accusing me of being greedy, *kit*," the rogue spat "kit" like it was her worst enemy, "-you will set the example for what we do to disobedient members!" The leader dealt a death blow with her front paw, but she wasn't done there. "Now we feast upon this brat!"

Silverflame had no idea what she meant until she literally tore off every limb, taking the cat's body and leaving the remains out for the rest of the pack to chow on. The leader took the body to the high ground in the camp, and Silverflame watched, horrified, as she *ate her own kind's body.* The rest of the group were fighting over what their leader had torn off.

Before anyone found her or before anymore gruesome things happened, Silverflame darted away from the rogues. She turned to travel in the direction she had been after smelling her own scent in the badger area, still running. Now not only was she escaping badgers, but rogues as well. She kept running until she felt safe.

There was barely any light from the sun now, but then trees were also blocking some of it. Panting, Silverflame made a nest in a dip next to a tree. Hopefully she would have a peaceful night, but she knew what she just saw might haunt her in her dreams. Just as she was sinking into sleep did she realize that the language the rogue had used was the same as Smokey had taught her...

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Unknowingly to her, Silverflame was very far away from her Clan now, and would never be able to find them again unless she could swim across the entire ocean. But that would be impossible. She was here now, and it was certain she could never go back to where she originally came from.

After a few moons of searching for her Clan, Silverflame had adjusted to her metal forearm. And everyday from then on had been the same: Wake up, hunt, travel, hunt, travel, hunt, sleep, repeat.

But not today. Today was something new. Silverflame could sense it in the air. Leaf-bare was coming, and still no signs of her Clan. Today,the clouds promised rain. But it was too cold. Today, would be the first day of snowfall she had seen in, well, a long time.

Silverflame continued moving forward despite this, though. She was determined to find her Clan, although she knew she was starting to lose hope. A bird call in the distance seemed to warn the pine forest of the first snowfall of the season. Besides the crunch of crisp morning grass under her paws, the forest was silent.

Then, that crunchy sound doubled. And before she knew it, another cat was on Silverflame. Remembering her training, she rolled over, crushing her foe. He hissed, and Silverflame felt him struggling. His claw caught on her, causing Silverflame to get back up.

"What do you want?" Silverflame asked him.

Instead of answering, he lunged at her. Silverflame stepped to the right, turned, and started forward. But he came to her with the most ferocious face on. Silverflame's eyes widened in fear, and before she even knew it, Silverflame was on top of him. Apparently she had had her paw raised, and brought it down on him as he neared. Then she used him to launch herself over and crush him beneath her weight.

"Ow..." He mumbled.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Silverflame growled as she got off him.

But still, he didn't answer. Instead, he ran away with blood dripping from the wounds she had inflicted. For no reason, she felt... satisfied.

That fight just had a sweet satisfaction to it. Perhaps it was because Silverflame had been trapped inside a Twoleg nest, helpless, for so many moons. Fighting that cat just now, she felt like a true warrior. She couldn't wait to join a Clan again, hopefully hers.

Silverflame licked her paw and rubbed it over her ear. She just now noticed it stung, but it didn't feel like it was nicked. Just as she had continued traveling again, it started snowing. Silverflame sighed; she had hoped the snow would come tomorrow.

*Ow,* She thought. Silverflame definitely didn't notice her tail was wounded until the snow around her caused it to sting. *Alright, maybe I should take shelter and tend to my wounds best I can in this weather.*

After continuing in the same direction for a bit, Silverflame had made a nest under a tree. She also had found cobwebs along the way, but it was a small amount. Before she applied the cobwebs to anywhere, Silverflame cleaned the tail on her wound and searched for the scratch on her ear, wiping the blood away as she did so. She wasn't a medicine cat, but she could still take care of herself.

Once she had this task complete, Silverflame lay down to sleep through the snowfall. Just as she was about to fall into slumber, Silverflame realized the cat didn't answer her because she hadn't used this land's language.

The next morning, the sun was shining. Snow covered the ground, although it wasn't very deep. Silverflame's paws crunched through the snow with every step she took as she both hunted and continued to travel.

She found a small rabbit nearby, caught and ate it, then continued on her journey. It seemed hopeless that her Clan was lost now, however, Silverflame still wouldn't give up. She *couldn't.* She had made it this far already!

At this point, Silverflame wished that she *had* gone the other direction from that Twoleg nest. Or maybe she should have looked for something familiar in or near that Twolegplace. She was probably going the wrong way this whole time... and now it was too late to turn around. Silverflame was starting to get impatient.

As she moved on, Silverflame started smelling fox. At first she didn't worry too much, but as she trekked deeper into the pine forest, the fox scent was getting stronger and stronger. Silverflame picked up her pace when a low growl started somewhere to her left.

"Ah!" She hissed as the fox bite down her left hind paw. The fox wouldn't let go as she kicked at it with her other hind leg, claws unsheathed.

Silverflame whacked the fox with her forepaw, causing it to yelp and let go. She whipped around, facing the fox who was now snarling and glaring at her with hate. Silverflame slid to the left, just barely dodging the fox as it lunged at her.

"Go away, you filthy creature!" Silverflame spat as she raked her metal claws against the fox's flank. It howled with pain.

As if on cue, more foxes scrambled out of the undergrowth. *No!* Silverflame screamed in her mind. She was surrounded by the foul beasts. Hissing, she ran towards the nearest tree, using a fox as a launchpad when she jumped.

Silverflame frantically climbed the tree, slipping a little now and then. Her tail was moving back and forth so much, she could barely feel the breath of the foxes below, who were trying to kill her. Luckily, she never felt teeth meet her tail, which was a relief because she didn't need any more tail wounds.

"Shoo! Shoo!" She hissed down at the foxes, who were barking and clawing at the tree trunk, hate glazing their eyes.

Silverflame was still scared a fox might try something stupid, and succeed, to land a killing blow. This was unlikely, she knew, but foxes were unpredictable. She hung onto the branch she was on, and gradually the foxes got tired (and maybe hungry, too) and left her alone. The last fox that Silverflame had fought with first, left as the last bit of sun went below the horizon.

Yawning, Silverflame knew she had to sleep. But sleeping in a tree? No way. She could fall, or what if the branch wasn't really as sturdy as it seemed? But it was also dangerous on the ground. She would only be able to travel so far in this pine forest in the dark.

A whine from below startled Silverflame, causing her to lose her grip on the branch a little. After regaining balance, she squinted in the dark. Below, Silverflame could see the outline of a fox lying on the ground. She hadn't realized before, but it turned out that she had jumped on the head of the fox.

*Haha, I knocked it unconscious, didn't I?* Silverflame thought bitterly. *Either it's younger than I thought, or my jumps are really powerful. Eh, it looks kinda small. Guess I must have missed that before, or the dark is making it look small. Maybe it's just because of how high up I am.* She yawned again. *Looks like I won't be traveling any more tonight.*

Sighing, Silverflame rested her head on her paws. *I really hope I don't fall off this branch into the jaws of a fox. Actually, I'd rather not fall at all...* She thought, just before her eyes closed and she fell into slumber.

The next morning, Silverflame found herself in a tree. *How'd I get up here?* Then she remembered. *Oh, right. The foxes.*

It seemed like the fox from last night had left, and no other foxes were in sight... yet. Silverflame cautiously climbed down the tree, stumbling as quietly as she could. Once down, she started heading in the direction she had been going in for the longest time at a quick pace.

Soon she was out of the fox territory, and seemed to be in a meadow now. The snow was cold beneath her paws; however, it was soft. The sky was cloudy, too. Silverflame had to keep going. Up ahead, she could see the land was more hilly. There were also some trees, but not as many as a forest.

*Well, there would be better than being caught out here in more snow. Especially if it's a snowstorm. Hopefully not, but if it is, I'll probably freeze to death either way,* Silverflame thought, sighing. She continued, picking up her pace as the wind started picking up.

It started snowing just as Silverflame was halfway there. The snowfall was harsher than before, and the wind was blowing her fur around. Silverflame could feel the snow was getting worse, especially with this wind.

*Great. Caught in a blizzard. Wonderful,* She thought before breaking into a run.

The wind tugged at Silverflame, slowing her down. Snow whipped around her face, causing her eyes to water and sting. She lowered her head, using whatever strength she could summon to push forward, through the snow, the wind. Silverflame feared she may be buried alive.

As she reached the hills, Silverflame's legs were so numb she thought they might fall off. Well, except her one forearm. Honestly, the cold didn't hurt as much on it as her whole body. Now that she thought about it, the part of her skin that made contact with the metal, was hurting.

(Unknowingly to her, the Twolegs who made the arm were smart enough to make it out of something that wasn't iron where the skin made contact with it. However, the skin there was still tender.)

Silverflame still kept pushing on. She needed to find someplace to rest. There were only trees here. Trees and snow. Lots of snow, not many trees. But still, Silverflame moved forward. She couldn't give up living, not now. Again, she had made it this far. Nothing was going to keep her from continuing to live.

*There!* It was hard to tell, but Silverflame was pretty sure she could see something that looked like a cave. She half ran, half stumbled over the land, herself, and the weather to get over there.

Panting hard now, snowflakes flying in her mouth, Silverflame was right. In front of her was a cave carved into the hillside. Eagerly, she went inside without worries of predators. To her luck, none seemed to lurk here. Silverflame stayed near the entrance, but far enough that the wind and snow weren't reaching her. At least, not as hard as directly *in* the entrance.

She curled up on the cave floor. To be in here was a huge relief for Silverflame. But she couldn't just lay here and wait for the storm to pass. First, Silverflame started grooming her messy fur the best she could. It felt like ice against her tongue. She still wasn't out of the woods yet. Literally.

Deciding to groom herself later whenever her fur thawed out, Silverflame rested her head on her cold forepaws. Right there, she saw a fluffy cat. The image was too blurry for her to tell what it was doing, or who it was, but one thing was certain: It was very fluffy.

Silverflame yearned for that much fur. Oh! Imagine how much warmer she could be right now! Almost like her wish came true, Silverflame gradually became warmer until she could feel her body again. It wasn't much, but Silverflame hung onto that warmth like her life depended on it. Actually, it kind of did.

Silverflame watched the storm from the cave. She was tired, and her now-weary eyes were drooping. Yawning, she curled up more, the roaring wind becoming just a background noise and the snow becoming a blur. Then, Silverflame fell asleep.

When she awoke, the blizzard had passed. Silverflame noted that it wasn't very deep, although it would slow her down. She would've loved to stay here a few days and wait for most of the snow to melt, but that'd take forever. Besides, prey wouldn't just waltz into her paws from the cave. She'd have to go out to hunt anyway.

Her belly rumbled, and she sighed. She stood, then shook her pelt. Eventually she'd groom it, but for now she had to hunt. Silverflame stepped into the white world, sniffing for prey. Most of it would probably be hiding somewhere, but she couldn't give up.

Silverflame's ears twitched. She could've sworn she heard a stick cracked, but there were no sticks on the ground...? She inhaled, moving on. Maybe there'd be something at the bottom of this hill. Maybe, since she thought she had seen an overhang that could provide a little shelter. She started looking for it.

"Hiya!" A cheery voice called behind her, startling her. Silverflame jumped. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Uh." Silverflame turned around to face a tan-and-white she-cat. "Who are you?"

"My name's Birch! What's your name?" That cheery voice again.

Silverflame sighed before responding, "Silverflame."

"Ohh, so you're a Clan cat, huh? I'm a loner. By the way, I noticed you were looking for prey. Well, there won't be any for a while, so why don't you come over to where I spend most of my time around this area? Oh, I'd love to hear about your Clan and what you're doing here! And am I on your territory? Sorry! I didn't know, I don't much attention to the land. Say, what's your favorite prey? I have a few pieces left that can last us both through-" Birch spoke quickly.

"Okay okay, slow down!" Silverflame interrupted, slapping her tail over Birch's mouth. "First, I was a Clan cat. Right now I suppose I'm a loner since I've been looking for them. Second, sure, I guess I'll stay with you until prey starts coming out. And third, we can talk about our lives when we reach your place; also I don't really have a favorite prey."

"Okay! Follow me!" Birch bounded off. Silverflame rolled her eyes and picked up her pace to keep up with her.

Pretty soon, Birch stopped in a cave-like space. Except, it was too small to be an actual cave. "Here we are!" She chirped.

"Um, wow, it's pretty cozy in here," Silverflame meowed, noticing the air inside was warmer than in her cave. "But why an area this small?"

"Yep! And since it's just me, I decided this would be my home for whenever I came around this hill. It's big enough for three cats, so I use it to store prey sometimes, too," Birch explained.

"Do you ever get visitors?"

"Nope, actually, you're my first! Anyway, help yourself to the prey. But don't eat a lot, since we still need to save it for the few days to come. Prey probably won't return in at least three days, and who knows? It may end up snowing some more."

"You have a good point... So, you wanted to know about my Clan, right?"

"Yes!"

"Well, they were really nice, and my family loved me. My sister and I had a bond that I believe and wished had grown stronger. That's all I can really say..."

"How come?"

"Well, I haven't been there long enough. You see this?" Silverflame held up her mechanical limb. She winced at the slight pain in her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. What happened? Also, your shoulder must hurt... You may have frostbite there if it's made of iron."

"Iron? What's that?"

"A type of material known as a 'metal.' I hear the word a lot on my journeys near the Nofurs."

"Nofurs?"

Birch rolled her eyes. "The weird creatures that stand on their hind paws and build all kinds of weird stuff."

"Oh, us Clan cats call them Twolegs... I thought every cat knew them as that."

"Well, you were wrong, then! Anyway, continue your story!"

So Silverflame told her story, answering really dumb questions from Birch like, "Wow, how did you put up with it!" in the middle of a sentence. "And now I'm here with you," she finished.

"Cool! Alright well, I guess I owe you my story then!" Birch took a deep breath. "So originally I was born what you call a 'kittypet.' I remember being taken away from my mother and siblings, and I don't remember my father at all. I was taken in by an old Nofur, and he passed while I was still growing. I ended up living in his home until there were no food scraps left.

"Eventually I left, when food was no longer good, of course. I heard tales of horrible Nofurs in that area from kittypets, and instead of risking being taken by one of them, I ran away. I was taken in by a rogue group, and they gave me the name 'Birch.' I was taught how to hunt and fight there, and I thought everyone was amazing. But later I learned the horrible truth.

"We had gone to battle with a peaceful Clan for no reason, and I ended up being taken prisoner. The Clan was almost wiped out, though, and I was easily set free. While being prisoner, I had learned a couple more things, like how names there work. I learned that compared to a Clan, rogue groups were generally cruel and evil. So I ran away from the rogues and became a loner.

"I travel a lot, but I still pass by some areas frequently. That's why, like around this area, I found and made myself a place to stay in case something happens while I'm there. Among my travels, usually around where the Nofurs live, I picked up some words, like iron and metal, window and table, you get the idea.

"I was in this area when I scented a snowstorm may be coming. So I hunted a bit, which is why I have some prey now. I was taking a mouse back here when the blizzard started. I stayed here, full from one of my earlier catches, and waited for the blizzard to pass. But while I was waiting, I thought I saw a cat shape, and I was right! That's why I came out to look for you after the storm passed," Birch finished with a huff.

"Oh. Uh, wow." Silverflame nodded.

"Eh, my story is lame compared to yours."

"True, I guess. Your story is still interesting, though."

"Thanks," Birch meowed with a yawn. "I suppose we should be getting more sleep. Nightfall is upon us."

Silverflame curled up, and of course, Birch cuddled next to her. Birch's breathing became smooth and steady, telling Silverflame that she was asleep. She looked at the night sky, worried what may be in store for her. Finally, Silverflame lay her head on her paws, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

🐾🐾🐾🐾

About a week later, the snow was barely touching Silverflame's belly. The prey had ran out three days ago, so she had left yesterday after no luck in finding anymore prey. She hadn't made it very far through this snow, but she was further than the cave she had camped out on the day of the blizzard. Even if that hill was still very well visible.

Silverflame yawned and she easily heard the rumble of her belly over the snow crunching under her paws. She had been tempted to try eating snow once or twice, but she shut down the thought. Snow was basically water, and it wouldn't help her hunger. Plus, from previous experience, it had tasted very cold... and bland, to her. At least out here, she had plenty of snow to stay hydrated, despite her disliking its taste.

*It will be a few more days until the snow melts enough for prey to come out...* Silverflame thought. *Unfortunate, for those on their own. Like me. I wonder how my Clan is doing?*

Silverflame turned her head to the sound of crunching snow behind her. There was nothing there... but when she scented the air, she could sniff rabbit. On closer inspection, she could see some tracks in the snow. They veered off her course of direction though, and then they stopped at a funny-looking lump of snow.

*Oh!* Silverflame realized that it was a rabbit. It started hopping away. *Wait!*

She ran after it, the rabbit speeding up as it had heard her. Silverflame pushed forward, trying to run through this snow. Then she leaped, just barely catching the rabbit with her front paws. She pushed it down, sort of to trap it, before she made the killing bite.

*Thank you for the meal, StarClan.* Silverflame prayed despite her doubtfulness that her StarClan would be all the way out here. Then she dug into the rabbit, eating slowly. She stopped about halfway into it and picked it up to save.

Silverflame held in a sneeze, causing her muzzle to scrunch up and her eyes to water. The snow here was deep, but luckily not as deep as it had been when she left Birch's place. There were also very few trees in this particular area, which would explain the snow's depth. Finally, the sneeze passed when Silverflame reached the edge of the clearing.

The forest was still; no prey, all the leafless trees barely moving in the wind. Silverflame shuddered as if she had the feeling of being watched. She felt a sneeze and this time dropped the rabbit, letting it out. She coughed before picking up her rabbit again and moving on. Her throat felt... a little scratchy.

*Oh StarClan, I hope I'm not getting sick out here. I wouldn't be able to find any herbs out here.* Silverflame thought horrifically. *And it might not be greencough or whitecough, it might turn into... I don't know. Something worse.*

Her eyes watered, mostly from what she hoped were the bitter winds. This was not the weather to be traveling in, but Silverflame couldn't just sit and watch the snow melt. She had to find her Clan, if she still could at this point. Silverflame's confidence was slowly shrinking each day of her journey.

She stopped. A river had frozen over, but it was too wide to jump across. Silverflame couldn't see any quick ways around it, and with the rabbit, it'd be best not to try to leap from tree to tree. After a quick decision, one that she may end up regretting, Silverflame tossed the rabbit across the river. It awkwardly bounced near the edge and slid the rest of the way to the bank. Seeing that the rabbit hadn't broken the ice, Silverflame sighed and start to move across.

"W-woah," she gasped. Silverflame was unprepared for the ice's slipperiness, and she was already too far from the bank to turn back now. At least she hadn't fallen, yet.

Suddenly a sickening *crrrrrrrrrrrack!* came from the ice below her. Her ears flattened in panic as the thin ice broke... and Silverflame fell right into the cold water! She shrieked, clawing at the ice still there, despite the fact that it was slowly cracking. Silverflame had no other choice but to swim across in the rapid-flowing, freezing water. Already she couldn't feel her paws.

Silverflame went under the water, spluttering when her head broke free. Her vision was blurry from the water in her eyes. This was not part of the plan. Unfortunately she breathed in just as she was dunked underwater again, swallowing some of it. At least it tasted good after the few days of eating snow in attempts to satisfy her thirst.

Slowly Silverflame came to her senses. She swam up the best she could, shook her head to clear the water from her eyes, and looked ahead. Silverflame rotated her body, seeing that she was away from her destination, fighting against the current. Choking on more water as she gasped, she pushed herself forward, slowly making progress as the water still continued to take her down.

At last Silverflame could touch the sandy bottom. The ice had broken a path for her, allowing her task of reaching the bank to be easier. She slowly waded out, found her rabbit, and collapsed in the snow next to the furry creature. Silverflame shivered and she noticed some of her fur had already started turning to ice at the tips.

*I'm... I'm really going to die here, huh. I-I'll freeze to death and no one lives here...* Silverflame let out a quiet wail, for it was all she could really muster anyway. She noticed the darkening sky, but her vision was dancing and she was too cold to fall asleep now. *Haha, even if anyone lives here, they won't be coming out of their shelters now.*

Silverflame was wheezing now, and she curled into a ball. Slowly she ate the rabbit, even though it would have gone to waste since she was about to die anyway. She didn't notice mucus was running from her nose and falling on the snow below her. Neither did she notice that it was getting darker, or the quiet voices nearby. Everything around Silverflame seemed to not exist, even the rabbit that was now self-consciously being eaten still.

Eventually Silverflame was unconscious. She couldn't feel, see, or hear anything from the outside world anymore. *Is this StarClan?* Silverflame blinked in the black void. Maybe someone would call out to her, bring her to warmth and sunshine, prey and water. But... she couldn't feel anything. Was she dreaming? It had to be a dream. So then, why was she dreaming of this dark, gloomy place?

"Hello?" She tried calling. But no words came out. Silverflame tried moving, but couldn't. Nothing was here, and no one was here. Wherever "here" was, which was probably the best her brain could think of at this time.

The black started blinking and fading to white, then back to black, then white again, black, white, black, white. Silverflame could feel a little heat now. She could hear murmurs, but they were too quiet to make out. Gradually, she felt her bruised body. And then, a dim light filled her vision.

"Look, she's awake!" A voice quietly hissed.

"I know! But I don't know if she's sick or not! So get over there and ask her!" Another voice hissed back.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea! Because she totally won't think it'll be suspicious to her that a stranger is asking what type of sickness it is!" The first voice hissed sarcastically.

"Ugh, do I have to do everything?!" The second voice became louder at the last word, and before she knew it, a dark brown-and-white splotched cat was in front of Silverflame. "Hello, I know this is a weird question, but do you know exactly what illness you have? I mean, if you're sick, that is. You're probably coming down with something after all of... that."

"U-um," Silverflame coughed, unsure what to say.

"Oh, right. How rude of me. My name is Aster," the tom meowed.

"S-Silverflame," she mumbled, coughing. "I don't know."

Aster sighed and put his ear to her chest. Silverflame wheezed.

"Well?" Aster's companion questioned.

"I think she has greencough and will probably quickly go to whitecough," Aster replied as he moved his head. "You should talk to her or something while I get the herbs."

Then Aster was gone, and in front of Silverflame now was a black she-cat. *Her muzzle and chest are white.* Silverflame noted.

"Hi. I'm Blossom," she meowed. Silverflame weakly nodded.

"Here, eat these." Aster set... catmint, in front of Silverflame. She lifted her head enough to lick up the leaves, then ate them after setting her head down.

"Where... where am I?" Silverflame asked when she had swalloed the last bit.

"In a hollowed out tree. It makes perfect shelter. Not a lot of wind can really get in here. Same deal with snow and wind. There are a few other hollow trees in this area, most of which all contain prey," Blossom explained. "They can't really go anywhere else when it snows like this, so." She shrugged. "Perfect place to live in."

"Well, I suppose you'll be staying here until either this snow has melted or you've healed, your choice," Aster meowed. "You should rest now. There isn't much you can do right now, and sleep helps with the healing process."

Weakly nodding, Silverflame closed her eyes and relaxed her body. She probably shouldn't trust these cats, but then... they had went through the trouble of bringing her here. Maybe it'd be best of she kept her guard up... Not everyone was as nice as Smokey or Birch. Silverflame yawned, hearing the two cats getting into what she assumed were their nests. It was late anyway. Silverflame fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

The next morning, Silverflame awoke alone in the den. For a second, she forgot where she was. She rolled over to lay on her belly and tucked her forepaws under her chest, slightly shivering at her metal forearm's touch, as she was still not quite used to it. Her ears perked to voices, which were too far away to hear. They kept getting closer, and she found them belonging to Aster and Blossom.

"He said we need to kill her soon." Silverflame started making out the words of Blossom.

"When is 'soon?' Is he letting us decide or will he tell us?" Aster meowed.

"I don't know! You can ask him later! For now, we should figure out the quickest way to kill her..."

"Why does he want us to kill her, anyway? It doesn't make sense!"

"Well, I don't know. But he's technically our leader and all, so we have to do it. H-he must have a good reason."

"Like what? She's too creepy?"

There was a pause as Silverflame took this in. *Are they talking about me? I'm not creepy though, am I?*

"I think it's because she's sick," Blossom meowed quietly, Silverflame had to perk her ears to catch it.

*Oh no, I think they* are *talking about me! I need to leave as soon possible,* Silverflame thought, looking around. The crunch of snow under Blossom's and Aster's paws stopped, so Silverflame tried to look like she just woke up.

"Good morning! How are you?" Blossom purred after entering. Aster followed in soon after.

"Uh," Silverflame coughed. "I don't know."

"You're still sick, I see," Aster grumbled, going over to the herbs. He came back with more catmint, setting it in front of Silverflame. "Eat up."

Silverflame scrunched her nose, she was hungry for prey, not herbs. But this was medicine, and the more and sooner she ate it, the sooner she could escape in better condition. Reluctantly, she ate the leaves, hoping they weren't poisoned.

"'Eat up,' really? Herbs aren't going to fill anyone's belly!" Blossom rolled her eyes.

"Well actually, there are traveling herbs that will stop a cat from feeling hungry for a while-" Aster started.

"You know that's not what I mean!" Blossom huffed. She set a mouse in front of Silverflame. "There, this will actually help with your hunger."

Silverflame sniffed the mouse. It smelled normal, for leaf-bare mice, so she ate it. She glanced at Aster, who was messing with his herbs, and Blossom had left... Where did she go? Well, if Aster attacked her, at least she'd have a chance of escaping.

*I have to figure out when I'm going to leave this place! At night would be the best way, but I don't know how deep of sleepers they are. But it's my best option! I suppose if I'm caught I could say I was just getting back from making dirt or something.* Silverflame thought with a sigh. *This may be difficult...*

"Are you alright, no stomachaches or anything?" Aster asked.

"No, I-I'm fine." Silverflame shifted her paws.

"I can get you some water."

"Sure..."

Aster let out what sounded to be an annoyed sigh in Silverflame's ears. She watched him grab some moss and left the hollow. *Wait, this means I could leave right now! But wait... I might run into either of them and while they're awake, they would find me easier. Then they'd probably kill me right there... And I can't really run in this condition...* Silverflame wore a worried expression as Aster came back with wet moss and set it in front of her.

"Something wrong?" Aster meowed as he turned back to his herb stocks.

"Uh, no." Silverflame started busying herself with the moss, hoping he wouldn't ask anything else.

Suddenly Blossom trotted in with a rabbit and two mice. Out of the corner or her eyes, Silverflame watched Blossom put the prey on the pile. Blossom went over to her nest as Silverflame finished with the moss. Aster came over with more catmint.

"I'm not sure how much a cat needs per day, especially one your size," He shrugged, setting the herbs before her.

"I thought you were specialized in herbs?" Silverflame sniffed the catmint before deciding it was safe, despite her sense of smell not being as good as usual, and eating it.

Aster let out a quiet *mrow* of laughter. "Well, maybe. But I don't know *that* much. So how are you feeling now? Are you hungry?"

"F-fine, I guess. And, sure."

As Aster left to get something for her, Silverflame looked out of the den entrance. It was hard to tell, but it looked like it was almost sunset. *Already? Well, I guess I did sleep in most of the day.*

"Thank you," She meowed distantly, noticing a faint mouse scent, sort of mingling with Aster's. She sniffed, feeling her slightly-cold nose was running. She didn't notice Aster dipping his head before he turned away to his nest.

Silverflame heard Aster's and Blossom's voices, but they were too quiet to make out anything as she bit into the mouse. Too late, she realized that she had forgotten to check its scent. So far, it tasted pretty normal. She shrugged, not really caring anymore. She was tired, yet she also had a long night ahead of her. Once she was out of their earshot, she'd have to mask her scent... The snow would be a problem too. Unfortunately, Silverflame had forgotten to plan what she would do ahead of time.

*Well then, I'll just have to work my way out as the obstacles come. I'll find a way,* Silverflame thought, glancing over at the two cats. She finished the rest of her mouse and lay her head on her paws, watching Blossom and Aster with eyes half-closed as she also willed herself not to fall asleep.

When Silverflame thought she could hear steady breathing from them, she shakily stood up. She felt a yawn but held it, and slowly made her way to the exit of the den. After glancing back at Aster and Blossom to make sure they were asleep, she stepped out into the bit of snow around the tree. There was a small crunch, and her ears rotated alarmingly. It was now or never; Silverflame started to run.

After she was out of earshot and sight from the hollow tree's hollow, Silverflame rolled around in a patch of mostly dirt, with some cold snow briefly pressing against her. Once she was satisfied, she leapt from that patch of dirt to the next area right next to a tree. Her hind paws barely touched the snow that was piled up there. Hoping she'd done a good enough job of covering her scent, she climbed up the tree.

Silverflame reached the lowest branch, which was about three tail lengths from the ground. She really wished there was another way to get away from this place, but jumping trees was the only way to get away without being tracked. Taking a deep breath, she jumped to the branch of the closest tree. Her claws furiously dug into the branch before she pulled herself to the thicker end of it. Coughing, she let herself relax a little.

*This isn't going to work. Maybe I should swim, even though it really won't help my condition. But I'd rather not go back and face death from their own claws and teeth, either.* Silverflame thought, sighing once her small coughing fit was done. When she looked down to see how far she was from the ground now, her stomach churned. *Oh... I don't want to do this anymore.*

She started going down the tree, and was tempted to squeeze her eyes shut, but Silverflame couldn't. Once she reached the ground, she ran to where she thought the river was. The trees started thinning out, and she fell into the river with a startled gasp.

"Wha-!" *I didn't even see it!"*

Sputtering, Silverflame's head bobbed above the surface. She started swimming in the direction where she saw less trees.

Silverflame was panting and shivering when she got out of the river in a clearing. Catching her breath, she decided to head forward in that direction a bit. Snow crunched under her paws once she moved forward, and she couldn't feel her paws anymore. A faint warmth suddenly appeared, and it warmed her paws and her pelt.

*Thank StarClan,* Silverflame thought in her first language, laying down on thin snow, the warmth still there. She leaned against something flat but rough, thinking it was one of the types of trees that shed their leaves during leaf-fall. She drifted off to sleep, not realizing what the thing was until her nose caught a whiff of catmint.

"Hmm?" She murmured sleepily, and got up. Silverflame got up and looked around until she caught the scent again, and followed it. It was faint next to the same thing she was leaning against... "Oh... this is a fence... Meaning twolegs... Twolegplace, kittypets... Catmint."

Silverflame's eyes widened in alarm. It was a Twolegplace! She needed to get out of here! But... she also needed catmint. Besides, it was night now, surely Twolegs would be asleep? Then there were dogs... Were they awake at this hour? Maybe they were inside since it was leaf-bare, after all. This convinced her, so she started climbing the fence. It was dangerous, in her state, but she managed to get to the top of the fence. She fell down into a patch of mostly newly-sprouting catmint, which was strange in this weather.

"Ahhh oww..." She mumbled before eating four total leaves that looked fresh.

Silverflame's ears perked as a light suddenly filled in the darkness. Once her eyes adjusted, she realized it wasn't that bright. Her instincts were telling her to run, to climb back over the fence. However she was curious, although she knew the bad things that were likely to happen if she stuck around. Quickly she grabbed two catmint leaves and turned back to the fence, scurrying up it.

*Hm, maybe I can see what's happening from here?* Silverflame shifted until she was as comfortable as she could get, forgetting that she was still cold and wet. Something creaked, and a huge dog bounded out of the Twoleg nest. Her eyes widened. *It's okay, it's okay. Th-there's no way it can get up here, dogs c-can't climb!*

Silverflame's jaws almost opened to make a frightened sound, but she kept them shut, remembering the leaves in her mouth. The dog made dirt, which Silverflame had looked away. Suddenly it barked, nearly scaring her off the fence. It snapped it's jaws excitedly at the fence, and a Twoleg kit appeared. It yapped something, then looked up and started squealing with delight when it saw Silverflame.

*There's my cue!* Silverflame thought as the dog started clawing at the fence. She jumped off, her heart pounding, and ran away from the twolegplace. Eventually she came to stop in a meadow and lay down, setting the leaves next to her. Then, she fell asleep.

When Silverflame awoke the next day, she found that the catmint had dampened over night. Thinking it'd be best to eat them all now instead of saving them, she gave a weak sigh as she licked up the leaves. She got up and scented the air, then followed a faint trail of mouse. Silverflame eventually found the creature and pounced, her landing a little off. Managing to kill it before it got away, she quickly ate it before setting off once more.

🐾🐾🐾🐾

Two moons later, Silverflame was well again. Actually, it had only been a moon and a half since she felt like she was completely recovered, in which she payed attention to her frost-bitten shoulder and ear tips, in which she decided would be best to let them grow numb and deal with them when she found her Clan.

The snow had melted rather quickly at first, but then it had snowed again. Now there wasn't a whole lot of snow left, and most of it was mushy. It felt like leaf-bare had just begun yesterday, but it was already feeling like new-leaf. It would be a few more days until it would be too warm for snow, which would then mark the beginning of new-leaf. Silverflame fluffed our her fur in anticipation.

Silverflame stepped on something that caused her to shiver. She didn't realize it, but she had entered a long stretch of dirt with short, brown stalks. The ground was damp but the stalks still had a crunch to them. She appeared to be in the middle of the field; no place to walk around them. She'd have to be careful, in case the stalks were able to cut her pads. That would be bad, especially now.

As she picked her way through the field, she thought she could make a shape in the distance. Well, maybe a few shapes. It was hard to tell. Silverflame picked up her pace, and eventually saw a big, red structure. There didn't appear to be any signs of life, but then she thought she saw smaller shapes moving around in a walled in area with one opening.

*A barn!* Silverflame thought. The animals seemed harmless, but as she got closer still, she noticed they were pecking at the ground. *Prey and shelter, if they are catch-able.*

She started running, watching the ground ahead of her and trying to avoid the sharper-looking stalks. Eventually she made it to the end of the field. The creatures seemed harmless enough. *Wait! Aren't those called chickens? I think so!* She thought, slowing down and headed for them. But there was a strange, wiry material with holes surrounding the chicken area. Silverflame looked up. It didn't go that high, so she backed up a bit, bunched her muscles, and leaped.

With a grunt, she reached the top. Pain seared through her forepaw, and when she looked, her pad had been sliced by the fence. Silverflame licked it several times before jumping down. The chickens payed no mind to her, so she padded up close to one. It glanced up at her, then went back to pecking the ground. It almost pecked at Silverflame's paw, but she moved it in time.

She raised a paw and pinned the chicken with ease. It made weirder sounds than the others were already making. Silverflame bit its throat, then deciding to eat it here in case one wouldn't satisfy her hunger. Hungrily, she started eating, plucking the feathers off of it as she went.

When she had finished, she licked her jaws, deciding if she should eat another one. She stood, deciding to get one and leave the area to go to the barn. Looking around a bit, she decided on a fatter one, and pinned it. As she was about to kill it, she heard a click.

Silverflame stopped and listened, then suddenly angry Twoleg shouts made her fur bristle. She looked behind her. A Twoleg was running at her with a strange Twoleg object. She yowled in surprise and bunched her muscles, jumping to the top of the fence before the Twoleg could reach her. Glancing behind her, she jumped and ran for the barn.

Once in the barn, Silverflame surveyed the place. Nearby was a ladder that led up to a loft. The ladder didn't look like it was in best shape, but maybe the Twoleg wouldn't want to climb it, if it even tried chasing her. Her ears flicked with uncertainty, but went to it anyway. She studied it, deciding where to set her paws, and started climbing.

Silverflame had reached the top when the Twoleg entered. It grumbled and looked around, so she crouched, belly solid against the hay, behind a piece of wood that was all around, making the edge of the loft. She peeked above it, ears flat, and watched the Twoleg. Eventually it left, and she sat up to groom her fur.

Silverflame then stretched, and left the barn. She needed to continue; she didn't have time to stay in a place she barely knew anything about. With her belly full, she set off once again.

🐾🐾🐾🐾

The rest of leaf-bare had passed, and now it was new-leaf. Silverflame was skinny from the lack of prey, like most leaf-bares are. She moved along exhaustively, glad that the worst of the cold was gone. Prey had already came out of their homes a week ago, but it wasn't exactly easy to catch enough to fill her up properly. It was just now breaking dawn.

Silverflame's nose twitched as she picked up a strong scent of rabbit. She followed the scent in the hunter's crouch, until the rabbit was in range. Unaware of other scents around her,  she leaped for it. At the same time, another cat had done the same and they crashed into each other, startling the rabbit away.

Before Silverflame could say anything, the other cat, a tom, knocked the wind out of her. Instantly she was awkwardly pinned down. "Rogue!" The tom yowled. Another cat, a she-cat, came into Silverflame's view, paws a dusty-brown with soil.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" The she-cat snarled, although Silverflame thought she had grief in her eyes. "Well?"

Silverflame gasped for breath. "What do you mean? I'm not a rogue!"

"Lies. You're certainly big enough to be one, plus hunting on our territory!" The tom sunk his claws into Silverflame's chest. "Be honest, and maybe we'll let you go alive!"

*Territory?* Silverflame figured she must've crossed a border without noticing... *Wait, a Clan?!* "Hold on, are you in a Clan?"

"Yes..." The she-cat glanced at the tom.

"What does it matter? You crossed our territory, plus you're a rogue, and we won't let a rogue get away with hunting on our grounds! Not after what your friends did to us." Then the tom noticed Silverflame's right forearm. "The hell is this?" He growled, poking it with a claw.

"I-I don't kno-!" Silverflame stopped, realizing she spoke her first language our of fear. She took a breath and started over. "I have no idea what either of you are talking about!"

"Let her go. I don't think she is a rogue," the she-cat meowed.

Grumbling, the tom got off of Silverflame, but planted his eyes on her.

"Uh-" Silverflame blinked.

"What's your name?" The she-cat inquired.

"S-Silverflame." She got up and sat.

The tom's ears twitched. "Are you a Clan cat, perhaps?" The she-cat cocked her head.

"Yes but... I'm looking for them. I was separated so now I guess I'm a loner."

"Oh? What's your Clan's name?"

"L-LotusClan."

The she-cat's expression changed from curious to confused. "I've never heard of it before... Sorry."

"Oh... Thanks anyway..."

"Uh, maybe you could join us?" The tom asked.

"No, but thank you anyway." Silverflame sighed and hurried along, away from the rising sun.

🐾🐾🐾🐾

Moons had passed, and it is now leaf-fall. Silverflame had been in a few rogue skirmishes, but nothing serious. Her aching paws longed for the soft nest in the warriors den, even though she'd only slept in a nursery and an apprentice's den by far. She'd begun to wish she joined that one Clan; it seemed hopeless that she'd find her own anytime soon.

Silverflame was soon hunting in a light snowfall, the first since the start of leaf-bare. A chilly wind ruffled her fur, but blew the scent of mouse toward her. Quietly, she crept forward until the mouse was in sight. She used her surroundings to get closer to the mouse, and then she leaped on the fuzzy body. Thanking StarClan, she bit it's spine and quickly ate it, burying the remains before setting off once again.

*If I find another Clan, perhaps I should join it...*

After a couple moons, leaf-bare was moving in. It hadn't snowed too often, only once or twice since the first snowfall of leaf-fall. Silverflame fluffed out her fur against the chill, her paws aching. Each night had recovered them less and less, but her pads were as hard as she thought they could get. The long journey of continuous walking had started taking its toll on her body.

Silverflame spotted a shallow cave not too far away, and headed for it. *I think I should rest there for a few days. I'll make it a temporary camp.* She scanned the landscape for moss and easily found some on the trees, then scraping it off carefully for bedding. Then she headed into the cave and sniffed around for signs of life before sorting through the moss and making herself a nest. A familiar warmth covered her briefly as she fell into sleep.

🐾🐾🐾🐾

Another couple moons had passed, and Silverflame found herself trudging through snow-ridden grass- though, it wasn't deep enough to cover the brownish blades. She had just walked by yet another Twolegplace, though this one had a bunch of grass between it and the nearby forest. Curiously, she headed toward the forest once the bare tree branches had caught her eye. She couldn't remember the last time she'd walked through a forest close to a Twolegplace.

Silverflame entered the forest, and could immediately smell cats and a border marker- both of which were rather stale. A couple cat scents she picked out *were* fresh, but the border told her that whatever Clan may have settled this territory was either in jeopardy or had recently disbanded or moved for whatever reason.

As she tasted the air, Silverflame scented another Clan border, which was fresh. As she padded deeper into the staler of the two Clan's territories, apprehension rose in her belly. Eventually it got so bad, she could smell stale blood that was growing stronger with every step- until she realized it wasn't just her imagination. The majority of cat scents was mixed with the stale blood scent. The alarming part was that the cat scents were rather fresh.

Eventually, she found a large cave that, when she peeked inside and past the roaring waterfall, saw a few cats. *This is the first Clan I've seen in ages, though it doesn't look like they take care of themselves very well.* She looked down in guilt, staring at her reflection in the water pooled at the bottom of the waterfall, before realizing that the water was somewhat stained with blood.

*Something big happened here very recently.* Silverflame shuddered and hurried away, towards the other Clan border. *I may as well check it out before I leave.*

Now, Silverflame nearly crossed the border, her metallic paw on the other side already. She blinked her amber eyes before curling up against a nearby tree. *I'll just rest for a moment before I really cross.*

However, she was itching to get up and find this Clan's camp after only a small moment of laying against the tree's trunk. Silverflame sighed and stood, before finally venturing into the territory.

She frowned, the sound of her pawsteps in the shallow snow sounding much too loud as the strong scent of cats grew stronger. Finally, the silver-furred she-cat stepped into what looked like a camp- obviously it was one, because all the cat scents from the territory were here, and... as her amber gaze swept the area, she could see multiple cats out and about. There was still a small number, and she wondered again what kind of history this group might've had with their... neighbors.

Silverflame's ears lowered as she couldn't help but glance around the foreign camp. Then she immediately looked down at the ground in front of her when she saw a youthful feline nearby, glad they hadn't accidentally met the other's gaze. Soon, her thoughts were broken to the sound of large pawsteps, and she couldn't help but glance up again, to see a large- no, this orange cat was very much the same size as her, and the way the other tabby she-cat was stalking toward her made her look like an authorial figure.

After mere seconds, the native in this camp froze, and the silver feline instantly noticed her heartbeat speeding up as she realized *why* this cat would have paused in her literal mid-stride. For a moment, Silverflame thought of forcing her fur to bristle and tensing her muscles to appear tough, but since this was a Clan camp, with many cats... *I can't show signs of hostility now. I want to see if I can join, right? I'd most certainly die if their leader gave the command.*

When her tail touched the ground, it startled her, letting her break free of her current thoughts and decide how she should perhaps greet this cat in front of her. "こ-こんにちは... (ko-konichiwa...)" Silverflame mumbled, the skin under her fur instantly turning hot in embarrassment as she ended up being the first to say something. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that because of her fear and anxiety, the greeting had come out in her native tongue.

"Excuse me, what was that?" the orange cat asked.

Silverflame's anxiety shot up as she realized what she said... and then the fact that these cats didn't understand her. "I-I said 'hello.'"

"Oh, really?" the same feline questioned, skepticism in her voice.

"はい (hai). I mean, yes. That meant yes." Silverflame couldn't help but glance behind the orange feline's shoulder, but instantly regretted it when she saw that the younger cat was still there. Her ears caught the sound of nervous gulping from the young feline, but she already felt too nervous herself to think much of it.

*I bet I already left a bad impression,* Silverflame thought to herself. *I should just get this over with.* "I've actually been looking for a Clan to stay in. I found your scent markers and followed cat scent from there," she explained, leaving out the part about her discoveries of the other... Clan. "Er, my name's Silverflame." While she spoke, she tried to avoid looking directly into her equal's green gaze, but she found it difficult after noticing how composed and firm the orange tabby appeared.

"I am Blazestar, leader of CarnationClan," the orange tabby introduced.

"Oh, I see," Silverflame mewed, dipping her head in respect. "Blazestar-dono, may I ask to join your Clan?"

Dono? Blazestar thought, frowning as she let her eyes narrow.

The silver tabby noticed Blazestar suddenly frowning with eyes narrowed, and now Silverflame remembered with a hurtful pang that no one had addressed her with respect, not even Smokey... *He never thought twice about what I called him, though. Well, no one will stop me from doing what I've known to be right since I was born.* "It's basically a sign of great respect, and I can explain it after I've joined- if you'll have me."

"Okay, welcome to CarnationClan, Silverflame. But if you try anything funny in the next few days, after the blizzard you'll be exiled," Blazestar meowed.

Silverflame was flooded with relief at being accepted, despite but she was tense once Blazestar mentioned the part about exilement. She bowed her head before meowing, "I promise you won't regret this decision. Thank you!"

ROMANCE

**Eye Candy [Physical] -** Silverflame prefers well-kept fur and tuxedo cats, or cats with splotches. Generally she likes medium-colored pelts, and she likes bright eyes of any color.

**Eye Candy [Mental] -** Silverflame prefers cats who have a good spirit, and are respectful of others. She likes those who aren't rhyme over reason.

**Turn Offs [Physical] -** Silverflame dislikes cats who don't bother to clean their pelts. She's also not too fond of heavily-scarred cats with dark pelts, or dull eyes.

**Turn Offs [Mental] -** Silverflame hates anyone who thinks they're better than everyone, as well as bossy and rude cats. She also dislikes cats who always point out the obvious, and cats who have strong fondness for Twolegs.

**Sexuality -** Hetrosexual

**Romantic Orientation -** Hetromantic

**Current Mate -** N/A

**Current Crush -** N/A

**Past Mate(s) -** N/A

**Past Crush(es) -** N/A

**Felines Silverflame is attracted to -** N/A

**Felines Silverflame was formerly attracted to -** N/A

**Felines attracted to Silverflame -** N/A

**Felines formerly attracted to Silverflame -** N/A

**Looking For**

[Key: ✓ (yes), ྾ (no), ? (unsure), ❦ (maybe), ❧ (leaning to no)]

[✓] Long-lasting Relationship

[྾] Short-term Relationship

[✓] Open Relationship

[❦] Quick Fling

[❦] Kits (out of a fling)

[✓] Kits (out of a stable, long-lasting relationship)

FAMILY

FRIENDS

 Birch
 N/A
 N/A

THOUGHTS

**Format: Name|Trust|"Thoughts"**

Daisywind|99%|"I loved her so much! We had so much fun together when I was a kit, and I wish that time could've lasted longer. But she supported me a lot once I became an apprentice."

Heroncall|97%|"He was a lot of fun when I was a kit! But then he'd tease me once I was an apprentice... I didn't like it. I still love him a lot, though!"

Snowpaw|100%|"Best sister ever! We always made each other so happy, and we played a lot together too! I really miss her, and I hope I can see her again..."

Smokey|76%|"He was cool, and I'm glad I met him. Otherwise, I'd probably have to stick with being a loner. I mean, if I didn't find my current home now..."

Birch|81%|"She was very nice and generous. But, she was maybe a little too... enthusiastic?"

Aster|10%|"Although, I'm grateful he saved me, he was grumpy. Suspicious too, although he seemed... Sort of against killing me."

Blossom|1%|"She did keep me company when I was sick. But why did she want to..." *There is a long pause.* "Who was she talking about? Who were both of them working for? I get a queasy feeling whenever I think about either of them these days."

TRIVIA

* Silverflame is a reincarnation of Silverclaw, one of the creator's previous OCs. Both characters have the same stripe pattern, height, and tail length

* The idea of Silverflame having a mechanical arm came from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (I'm a weeaboo okay)

* Silverflame's backstory was meant to be relatively short, but the Nightstar Era ending plot kept dragging on due to outside drama

* Originally, Silverflame was going to appear in SableClan after Silverclaw got lost and ended up dying after SageClan moved to a new location, but then SableClan disbanded

* Unlike Silverclaw, Silverflame hates birds because of how she ended up with Twolegs

GALLERY

* Silverflame Commission by WiitchCrafft
* Silverflame Commission by -CallMeHades-
* Silverflame by Emitlee
* Silverflame Headshot by Emitlee
* Silverflame (AJ avatar) by Luz Doggo
* Silverflame by Clodelano
* Silverflame by RoseSnow
* Silverflame (DollDivine)
* Silverflame's leg
* Silverflame by Sal.might.be.a.bird
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All img proof can be found here