Darkspring

**Darkspring** is a black she-cat with white paws, chest, chin, and facial marking. She has short ears and pale yellow eyes.

## Personality

A relatively friendly cat, she relays optimism in doubtful circumstances. Darkspring is kind, but within limits. She can be quite soft with young apprentices and kits but do not expect that lenience with full fledged warriors. If she catches you engaging in some wrongdoings, you have to work twice as hard to prove your loyalty in her eyes.

## History

During the collapse of CedarClan, Darkspring was assigned to escort their kits, queens, and elders to safety rather than fight in the main battle. Though at first she was rueful she did not have a chance to prove herself in a fight, she did not question it any longer upon seeing the fatalities suffered. Shortly before the meeting with GrimeClan, she was given Sappaw as an apprentice.

### First Leaf-fall

Waking in the morning, Darkspring watches quietly as Toadpaw runs a leaf along Ivytooth's muzzle to wake her up. As Ivytooth splutters awake and Toadpaw crows in victory, Darkspring knocks him down abruptly with her tail, responding to Toadpaw's protests that this is unfair by pointing out it's not fair to sneak up on a sleeping warrior. She asks Sappaw if he was going along with it or trying to stop Toadpaw, then reassures him when he becomes nervous. When she suggests they practice hunting moves in the camp clearing, Sappaw agrees, and the two of them leave the warriors' den.

Seeing Sappaw's sister Lichenpaw off by herself, Darkspring calls for Lichenpaw to join them. They begin practicing the hunting technique for squirrels. As both apprentices struggle a little with their crouches, Darkspring reassures them and shows them her own hunting crouch. She greets Stagleap as he arrives with Toadpaw, and agrees to let Toadpaw join their session when Stagleap asks. Encouraging Toadpaw to crouch as well, she tells the three apprentices to crawl forwards before sprinting and pouncing. She tells the three apprentices that they did well, then turns to Stagleap to see if he needs anything from her. Stagleap tells her to wait by the entrance of camp while he collects Burnetfang and Ivytooth. Before Darkspring does so, she asks Sappaw to keep the other apprentices in line while she's gone.

When Burnetfang arrives, Darkspring is privately irritated that she will be joining their patrol. The four cats leave the camp and enter the Conifer Grove in search of the fox scented on their territory. They come across the fox in the middle of eating a squirrel, and Stagleap orders Darkspring to go for its flank or back. As the fox notices them and closes in, Darkspring leaps onto its back and digs in her claws. As Ivytooth, Burnetfang, and Stagleap attack the fox in turn, the fox shakes Darkspring off. Darkspring gets to her paws and distracts the fox from Stagleap as he attacks it. Her attention is caught by Ivytooth's yowl of pain, at which point the fox grabs Darkspring by the shoulder and throws her aside. As the fox loses strength, Darkspring bounds forward and bites down on its throat, as Stagleap, Ivytooth, and Burnetfang pin it down. The fox expires from the wound in its throat.

As the patrol recovers itself, Ivytooth congratulates Darkspring on her kill. Darkspring brushes it off, saying that it was a shared effort. They tense again as the GrimeClan border patrol reveals itself. Sizing up the patrol, Darkspring is unnerved by the equal number of cats to theirs and the injured states of herself and Ivytooth. She moves over to Ivytooth's side. Stagleap arranges a meeting at sundown between GrimeClan's leadership and HollowClan's, and both groups leave, returning to their respective camps.

Arriving back at camp, Darkspring and Ivytooth field questions from the alarmed Toadpaw and Sappaw as they enter Birchthroat's den. Birchthroat shooes the two apprentices before telling Ivytooth to wait in a nest as he tends to Darkspring's injured shoulder, applying a poultice of marigold and some cobwebs. While he does so, Darkspring recalls the home they had left behind and asks if Birchthroat ever misses it. Birchthroat remarks that he thinks everyone misses it, except for perhaps the young apprentices, which Darkspring says would be for the best. She agrees when he offers to bring in the apprentices.

Thinking of their old territory, Darkspring is distracted when she sees Ivytooth having a panic attack, and asks if everything is alright. Birchthroat returns and asks Darkspring to speak to her gently while he calms her down. Darkspring does so, and as Ivytooth calms down, mistakenly assumes the source of her fear to be the fox and tries to assure her. Ivytooth corrects her and explains to Birchthroat their encounter with the GrimeClan patrol, and Darkspring says that they won't know what to expect until the sundown meeting, so they should try not to worry until then. When Toadpaw returns, Darkspring agrees with Ivytooth's suggestion that they tell him what happened as well. Later, Sappaw enters Birchthroat's den to ask Darkspring about her patrol.

The next morning, Darkspring watches the apprentices leave with Stagleap and Merlinmist, glad that they are finally able to leave camp again. She takes a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile and enters the warriors' den to ask Ivytooth if she would like to share it. Leaving the warriors' den together, Darkspring notices Mothdust and suggests that they join her. When they go over, Mothdust says that she would love the company and asks how they're doing after their battle with the fox. Darkspring plays down her injury so she doesn't worry Mothdust, and turns the conversation to the old CedarClan territory and their apprenticeships. She recalls the birth of Burnetfang and Cricketpaw to Swiftleap during Darkspring's apprenticeship, and feels pity for Duskwhisker as she sees him leave the warriors' den.

They move on to the topic of what Toadpaw and Frostpaw's warrior names might be, and then what Sappaw's might be. Darkspring suggests he might earn the name Sapheart, although adds that it's hardly a sure thing at such an early stage in his apprenticeship. She asks Ivytooth and Mothdust if they would like to mentor apprentices of their own someday.