Melody

character owned by yawnish (aka Yawn)

## Appearance

Melody is a somewhat small she-cat with light tan fur and darker points. She has a light gray-ish brown face, ears, and paws. She also has blue eyes, long legs, and soft medium-length fur.

## Personality

Melody is a sharp tongued young she-cat. She is generally pessimistic and apathetic towards most other cats, with a few exceptions of those she has come to grow close with. She is strategic to make up for her lack of physical strength, quick-witted, and considerably intelligent when it comes to battle. She has a stubborn side, and is easily influenced by others. Melody's opinions are strong and she voices them often. Her lack of experience in both leading as a "warrior" lead her to be self-doubting and critical, though she'd rather not express that.

## History

Larkkit was born in CavernClan alongside her sister Oriolekit. Their mother died during kit birth near the border and their father remained in ReedClan. They were taken back into CavernClan by a warrior who did not speak of the incident out of respect for their late mother. Larkkit grew up watching over Oriolekit closely and was always quick to protect her.

When made into an apprentice, Larkpaw became more closed off and irritated by how other cats viewed her and how they would upset her sister. She trained occasionally with Roseshade, and saw her as an older sister figure. She was crushed when Hiddenshadow killed Roseshade, and became even colder after her mentor's killer came back to embarrass her while on patrol.

Following the gathering where the other Clans turned away GladeClan, Larkpaw's distaste for the code and the Clans overall way of life in the Clans only seemed to grow. She noticed some other cats feeling the same way, and soon found herself meeting the group that would later become the founders of the Society at the gatheringplace. Talking to these cats opened her eyes to the faults in the Clans ways that she hadn't seen before. During these meetings, she'd be one of the less empathetic ones. She was rather harsh, considering she was too young to have experienced the horrors of conflict and battle herself, and insisted that the Society's morals shouldn't entirely exclude being forceful or aggressive when necessary. She took a liking to Scorchpaw/Hope, and found herself quarreling often with Rosyfreckle, who went by Blush at the time. She worked to form this group and eventually was voted as the CavernClan representing leader, despite her young age and inexperience.

Melody vaguely knew of Sun's enemy, Ashsun. She first ran into him at the border, and the two immediately had a sort of hatred for each other. They continued to bump into one another in the uncertain territory shared between the Society and GladeClan, each time resulting in some sort of argument. They developed an interesting sort of rivalry, which resulted in Melody asking Sun to train her. Ashsun piqued her interest as a possible opponent (and just as a cat), and she wanted to receive the same training he did so she'd one day be able to face him in combat and understand his behaviors.

One day, Melody fell considerably ill with a cough and fever. With no shaman or medicine cat at the time, she forced herself to continue with her work and went out to collect resources. Ashsun stumbled upon the she-cat yet again, but there wasn't much of a quarrel this time. He seemed a bit concerned about her, and although he disagreed with her beliefs, his heart told him that helping her would be the right thing to do. He hoped his act of kindness could show her that the Society's ways of thinking were flawed, and the Clans could still help each other out without being one group. Ashsun took her to the abandoned tunnels and kept her there to take care of her, despite Melody's stubborn behaviors. Ashsun called for Rosyfreckle's help in treating Melody. The retired medicine cat agreed, even though she had just left the Society. Melody stayed in the tunnel with Ashsun for several days, and the two slowly developed an odd understanding for each other. Both began to warm up to each other, though neither would really show it directly. Melody started to see him in a different light. After a while of occasional arguing, Melody admitted that she was grateful for his help.

The two saw each other again after this incident, this time with Ashsun accidentally overstepping boundaries and wandering too far into the Society's territory. Melody leapt on what she thought was an intruder, only to find out it's just Ashsun again. To her annoyance, Ashsun referred to her as 'sweetheart' once again. She threatened to rip his pelt of for this, and he responded with a swift lick on the cheek to play with her mind. Melody became quite flustered and demanded that the two actually fight. Ashsun surprisingly accepted, and Melody went all out. However, Ashcloud never unsheathed his claws. Meanwhile, Melody was biting into his scruff and slashing at his shoulders. The spar ended with Ashsun tossing Melody against a tree, rendering her useless. He told her that the spar was done, and didn't allow her to hurt herself any further. Melody felt guilty afterwards and offered to tend to his wounds. While she groomed him to make his wounds seem less harsh, the two shared a peaceful moment and even joked around with each other. In the end though, they both reverted to their typical attitudes. Their feelings quickly faded and they parted ways once again.

After the Clans rejected the Society's invintation so quickly at the gathering, Melody began to push for a forceful takeover. The target selected was DustClan, and she played a part in planning out the attack itself. When going into battle, she fought with several cats, though her skill level at the time was not much better than an average apprentice's. She severely wounded an apprentice, and though she didn't intend to kill them, she saw them laying dead at the end of the battle. Melody also found herself facing the leader, Boarstar, and made the quick decision to kill the DustClan leader rather than die herself. She struck at Boarstar's stomach and killed the she-cat, then retreated to the sidelines. She returned after the Society's false surrender and finished off the battle with a victory, though she witnessed the death of Webwatcher. These deaths would later come back to haunt her.

Melody ran into Ashcloud again after this battle. She expected to comfort the tom over his the loss of his mother (Webwatcher) but was quickly pinned down. He demanded a reason to not kill her like she killed his mother, all the while breaking down. He let her go, tossing her off towards a tree again. She tried to defend herself by telling him that she hadn't killed Webwatcher herself, and they wouldn't have had to invade DustClan in the first place if they had just accepted Society's offer peacefully. The deputy lashed out at her cheek, clearly grief-stricken. Ashcloud was furious and picked apart her weak excuses, calling the Society a bunch of hypocrites. Melody felt remorseful for her actions, and had a brief moment where she genuinely questioned the Society's actions and morals. Ashcloud left her a message to deliver to Sun detailing a prophecy about the sun going dark and the end of the Society. She tried to console him with a weak apology, but he simply told her not to expect him out there any longer and that the next time they'd see each other would be on the battlefield. Melody begged him not to go as a last resort, but Ashcloud still turned away.

Melody led a surprise attack on a GladeClan patrol, disguising it as a meeting to speak about territory lines with GladeClan and Halfstar. She walked in by herself, then signaled her cats to attack from the sides. Ashcloud and Sun both arrived at a delayed time. Melody grappled with some of the warriors, then caught sight of Sun fighting with the GladeClan deputy. When Sun looked as if he were going to deliver the final blow, Melody stepped in and offered to take care of it for him, concerned about Ashcloud's safety. Melody was careful with fighting him, not wanting to actually hurt the tom. She knocked him out and basically kidnapped him while the border skirmish came to an end.

During Ashcloud's time in the Society, Melody offered to personally guard him. Tensions between the two were still high following their previous talk, which hadn't ended too well. The Society took Ashcloud for ransom. The deal was to have GladeClan concede peacefully to the Society, or to have Ashcloud killed and an attack follow. The two argued, and Ashcloud eventually questioned why Melody didn't kill him. Melody denied anything at first, claiming she would kill him with no hesitation if it came down to it and the only feelings she harbored for him were hatred and pity. Ashcloud gave her silence for a bit, which made her openly admit that she wouldn't actually kill him. She told him to stop ignoring her, and that she wouldn't want him dead. Ashcloud pieced together her words and her awkward behavior. He became worried, then demanded that she tell him the truth. He asked her if she had feelings for him, and if that's why he always happened to find her at the border, or if that's why he was the cat captured during the attack. She finally confessed her feelings for the tom, and Ashcloud hesitantly expressed his feelings as well.

The following night, both Melody and Ashcloud questioned if what they were doing was right. In a moment of confusion and frustration, Ashcloud considered ending Melody right then, and Melody then almost denied her feelings once more. Both matters were cleared up. They discussed the danger that Ashcloud was in, and what his future would hold. After some heavy consideration, Melody decided on a plan. She instructed Ashcloud to kick in a certain spot of the wall at the back of the den. While expanding the dens, Melody had purposely created a soft spot for a quick escape if needed. She told him to use this weak point to escape during the Society's meeting with Halfstar at the gatheringplace, which she attended with Sun. When she returned, Sun was furious, and Melody acted equally as confused. While she felt guilty for betraying the Society, she figured it wouldn't mean their ultimate defeat, and she knew her love her Ashcloud outweighed her loyalty to the Society even then.

During the fight with GladeClan at their camp, Melody ran into Ashcloud. The two "fought" with each other, but it was just a bit of tackling and weak swipes. Neither had the intention of attacking the other. Curlingsmoke saw the two fighting and went after Melody, swiftly knocking her out while Ashcloud was needed elsewhere in the battle. The flood came in and the battle ended as a draw, and Thorn dragged Melody back to safety.

Melody spent a while wondering if Ashcloud made it out alright, considering neither of them knew if the other made it out of the flood alright. Since Ashcloud was staying with GladeClan and CavernClan up in the mountains, the two weren't able to see each other, and Melody assumed the worst. Believing Ashcloud had died, she quickly lost that small bit of hope and went back to focusing on the Society instead of questioning it's ways.

The SeaClan battle came quickly, and the Society was spread out. Melody's sister, Oriolecrest, had joined just recently joined the Society with her mate and became known as Harmony. Harmony and her mate stayed in the DustClan Society camp, and were the first to be attacked. Once Melody heard of the surprise attack by DustClan and ReedClan, she rushed into battle. Before she could defend her sister, she found herself pinned by Hawthornstar. The two fought for some time till the ReedClan leader decided to spare the very wounded she-cat. Melody lost hope once she saw her sister's dead body and retreated to the sidelines for the rest of the battle, protecting her. The battle concluded with the Society's loss, though they were permitted by Hawthornstar to remain in their old LionClan camp location.

With a heavy heart, Melody went to go bury her sister in CavernClan lands, seeing it as more fitting. She ran into Ashcloud there, and the two had a tearful reunion. They parted ways again.

When GladeClan returned to their camp, the two saw each other again. Ashcloud, confident in his own and GladeClan's abilities, revealed the plans for the final attack against the Society. During a slightly intense conversation, Melody admitted that she loved him, and Ashcloud confessed that he felt the same. Still, Melody panicked. She felt too guilty, knowing that she was the one who created the Society, and would be responsible for it's fall if she didn't try to stop him somehow. Melody also felt concerned for the tom, thinking that he'd ruh into battle against Sun and get himself killed. She turned away from him, deciding to openly betray Ashcloud and briefly put her loyalty back in the Society.

When Melody told Sun the news of the attack, he wasn't very surprised. He was more intrigued in how Melody obtained this obvious information. He pieced together the events of Ashcloud's escape, Melody's frequent visits out of camp, and the she-cat's overall suspicious behavior. Sun questioned her relentlessly, and Melody's fear only grew. He finally asked her how Ashcloud was, which caught Melody off guard, and she eventually admitted to it. Sun told Melody to leave, and never return. Melody defended Ashcloud before she left, telling Sun that he would never beat the deputy, then pleaded that Sun would spare him. She ran off into loner territory shortly after. Sun announced to the Society that Melody had died, and later told Ashcloud that she was found dead near a fox den.