Emberstar

> “The world isn't going to wait for you to get your act together and start working on the messes you've made.”
>
>

## Emberstar

### Immediate Family

Galewind (mate), Ravengale (son), Blazefoot (son), Kestrelsong (daughter)

## Birth and Death

### Cause of Death

Drowning in Cloud Lake in WindClan territory

## Physical Description

###### Art by wyverlyn on Scratch and is from this page: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/341471886/

Emberstar resembled a cross between a somali cat and a tabby. She had a dark tail and primarily auburn fur that faded to light tan before the white on her chest, paws and chin. She had a small tear in her left ear and one fading scar across the bridge of her nose that was given to her by Galewind during the confusion of a battle in RiverClan camp.

## Personality

Emberstar used to be a shy, often quiet cat who preferred to stay in the back and watch rather than engage. Over time, she became very outspoken about her opinion on what she saw, and she had a strong temper that could cloud her judgment and make her very stubborn when she made up her mind. She distanced herself from her loved ones when she was hurting or overwhelmed - she enjoyed her solitude and she needed time to think some things through, but sometimes she could sink too far into her thoughts and struggle to climb out. Emberstar was a rather lax leader, and allowed cats to leave and join if they felt they must. She was generally empathetic and cared for the well being of her clan and all cats outside it strongly, and was willing to put aside tradition to make a decision in the way that she saw fit.

## Skills and Weaknesses

Emberstar thought of orders and tradition as more of suggestions than rules. When it came down to forbidden love, leaving and joining a clan, and other things that are questionable by clan standards, Emberstar was more likely to follow her own morals than tradition. She was originally a rogue and struggled with the idea of being a warrior solely for her clan rather than for all cats. She didn’t see any difference between the clan cats and was hesitant to lead her warriors against another clan without a very strong reason.

However, her strong affinity towards her set morals made her both a reliable and predictable cat. She cared for everyone around her deeply, though she rarely showed it.

Emberstar was a decent hunter and fighter, but she was easily unbalanced. She could be stealthy, but needed adequate cover to hide her bright pelt.

## Life

### Kithood

Ember was born to unknown parents outside of Clan territory. Trunk, the old loner tom who raised her, was very old and died before she saw her fifth moon. Trunk had prepared her for the day he would leave her, but she was still grief-stricken. She nearly starved during this time and wasn't faring well on her own. As the weather got colder and colder, she began traveling in search of a better place. Eventually, she ran across WindClan territory and joined without much thought. Seeing so many cats working in unison was like a dream come true to her, and she loved the idea of working with them to do what Trunk had done for her.

### Apprentice

Emberpaw was apprenticed to Nutmegseed, and the two got along well. Emberpaw was present when Lionstorm, the relatively new WindClan deputy, was attacked by a wolverine. She did her best to help him and Galepaw, who eventually led the wolverine to the Thunderpath where it was hit by a monster and killed. Soon after, Galepaw's brother Feathergorse died. She desperately wished that she could've been there for Galepaw through this time, but was unable to be, as the two didn't talk much anymore. She was made a warrior when she reached her 16th moon and was named Emberheart.

### Warrior

Soon after becoming a warrior, Emberheart participated in her first battle in RiverClan camp. She had previously talked with Badgersong and Emberdawn, then Badgerpaw and Emberpaw, about trying to stop the fighting, and made an effort to stop the cats. She soon realized that what she was doing would do nothing, and instead tried to help the wounded warriors. StarClan did not approve of the battle, and struck down a tree with lightning, burning down the camp and ultimately ending the fight. Emberheart was upset about the battle for a very long time and wished that she could've done more to help the RiverClan cats.

The battle led to questions. Emberheart had joined the clans to help other cats, not to sack their homes. What if clan life wasn't really meant for her? Besides that, she began to question her own loyalty to the clan. Mudstar had asked her to fight, and she didn't. She felt guilty for this. Was she supposed to follow her leader blindly? After all, the word of a leader was the warrior code. After a while of considering this, she came to her previous mentor, Nutmegseed, and asked her if she had been disloyal when she refused to fight. Nutmegseed told her that this wasn't so. Emberheart felt better after talking to her, but still felt uneasy about herself as a warrior.

Not long after the battle, Swiftstar came onto WindClan territory and attempted to take one of Mudstar's lives but failed, losing one of his own to Lionstorm. Emberheart had been out hunting at this time and only heard about this later. Swiftstar later tried again and succeeded, having one of his warriors push Mudstar off of the Rock during a Gathering. Emberheart encountered Swiftstar and Sunstreak in the heart of WindClan territory soon after. Emberheart, despite knowing their offenses towards her clan, refused to attack Swiftstar and Sunstreak even when Lionstorm ordered her to move. She believed that Swiftstar was only passing through and that Lionstorm had no real right to attack them. After a long, tense verbal and somewhat physical battle, Mudstar came and took Swiftstar and his warrior to the Gathering Place to speak privately. Emberheart and Lionstorm talked about this soon after, and Emberheart learned that Swiftstar had tormented Lionstorm and his family and friends for a very long time. She reluctantly accepted that Swiftstar was not a good cat and couldn’t be saved, though she was still upset to hear of his death not long after.

Emberheart was given Wasppaw, Lionstorm’s daughter, as an apprentice a few moons later. Wasppaw was an ambitious and outspoken apprentice, and Emberheart and her had quickly became close friends while Wasppaw was still a kit. They had a blast together and had a relatively normal mentorship.

Around this time, Emberheart and Galewind had begun to draw closer again. They had been friends during apprenticeship but had grown apart when they became fully-fledged warriors. After a clan meeting, Galewind had asked Emberheart to take a walk with him. Once out of camp, he confessed that he had a mate outside of WindClan and was worried that he wouldn’t be able to see her or his soon-to-be-born kits. Emberheart was surprised and a bit disappointed, as she had had a small crush on him for a while, but did her best to be supportive, telling him that he didn’t have to go through this alone. On that walk, they discovered Mistclaw, Galewind’s mate, kitting on the border. She died of blood loss, and only one of the kits, Ambercall lived past a moon. Galewind’s mother, Sedgeflower, was extremely disapproving when they brought the kits back, and Emberheart grew angry with her. The fact that these kits were half-clan didn’t need to be discussed at the exact moment that they needed help that they would die without. After some arguing, the kits were taken under Lakedapple’s care, as it had been only a few moons since her kits had been weaned. There was some form of hostility towards Galewind after this, but eventually he and his kits were accepted.

A few moons later, a large dog attacked Dreampaw and Elkpaw, and Emberheart, Galewind, Mudstar and Rusheyes all showed up to protect them. Mudstar was grabbed by his throat and lost his four remaining lives after taking the dog down with him. He was bitterly mourned, and Lionstorm became Lionstar not long after, making Sedgeflower his deputy.

Things had begun to die down in WindClan, and the times ahead seemed prosperous when disaster struck. Skypaw, an orphan apprentice, was forced to blind Galewind by Mistclaw, who was now in the dark forest, under threat of the death of the entire clan. It took the clan moons to figure out who had done it, and Lakedapple had been falsely accused during this time, causing her to leave the clan and become a rogue again before joining ShadowClan. Lionstar and Lakedapple, now Lakeblossom, never really forgave each other for this and their family was split. When Skypaw, now Skynose, was finally discovered, she was exiled on threat of death. Emberheart, now knowing the full story, felt bad for Skynose but at the same time didn’t trust her anymore.

Around the time of Skynose’s exile, Emberheart found that she was with Galewind’s kits. She was afraid that she and her kits would die during the kitting like Mistclaw had, and Lionstar and Galewind were terrified of the prospect of Mistclaw or Skynose trying to kill her in this vulnerable time. Lionstar was concerned to the point that he asked her to stay in his den to be more protected. She politely turned the offer down, saying that the nursery would be just as protected as the leader’s den and that she doubted Skynose would hurt her.

The kitting went well. She named the kits Ravenkit, Kestrelkit, Blazekit and Lichenkit. Lichenkit died soon after being born of an unknown sickness (inactivity) and Emberheart grieved bitterly but shortly. She needed to be there for her remaining kits. Ravenkit was a curious soul and left camp several times, meeting Hawkkit and becoming fast friends with her. He had also become friends with Buzzardkit, whom Lakeblossom and Lionstar had been fighting over at the time. Blazekit constantly collected feathers, and Kestrelkit went on to become the medicine cat apprentice. Ravenkit and Blazekit became apprenticed to Beeskip and (insert warrior name here) respectively.

Soon after her kits became apprentices, fighting broke out at their first gathering, causing StarClan to be angry again and start a fire that ravaged all of the Clans’ territories beyond recognition or livability. They had to move, and thus commenced the Great Journey. During the first few moons, Emberheart, Ravenpaw, Kestrelpaw, Blazepaw, Dreamshine and Galewind had been out hunting when a hawk swooped down to try and kill Ravenpaw. Galewind dove in front of him, killing the hawk but dying in the process. Emberheart was devastated and never truly recovered from his death. They finally reached the territories after a long, tragic journey and Ravenpaw became Ravengale and Blazepaw became Blazefoot.

It had only been a moon after they had gotten to the new territories when Ravengale confessed to his mother that he had fallen in love with Hawkfire, the cat he had met on one of his escapades as a kit and had become fast friends with over the journey. She wasn’t fazed and told him that she would support him through it no matter what. Ravengale tried to apologize for not being normal, and Emberheart laughed and told him that he was far more ‘normal’ than the clan cats were. It wasn’t like she wanted him to be normal anyway. Hawkfire had his kits but one died during kitting. With this and her sister dying, Hawkfire was finally pushed over the edge, and barely two moons afterward, she committed suicide by jumping into the river. Ravengale eventually was allowed to bring back all of his remaining kits once they were old enough to be without a milk-giver. They were named Swiftkit, Leafkit, and Ivykit. Ivykit ran back to RiverClan soon after being brought to WindClan, and Ravengale let them stay there.

Around this time, Emberheart was given another apprentice, Seedpaw. Emberheart was still grieving for Galewind and now Hawkfire and wasn’t very present for her second apprentice. She deeply regretted it afterwards, but Seedheart managed to become an outstanding warrior without much coaching.

Two new rogues, Marsh and Mousey, had joined WindClan recently, and had ties with another rogue that had been acting hostilely towards the clans. Said rogue, Strike, attempted to poison WindClan’s freshkill pile at night with deathberries but was caught by Emberheart, Marsh, Mousey, and Poppyblaze. The rogue fled after an attempted suicide, and Poppyblaze followed him with Emberheart close behind. They lost him in No Clan’s Land after a while and went back to camp. Emberheart was concerned about the rogue - he had been very young at the time, but she resigned herself from doing much, knowing she was unlikely to change his mind.

About 6 moons after this incident, it was announced by Sedgeflower that Lionstar was stepping down to become a warrior again because of an injury that wouldn't heal properly. She then left to receive her nine lives, leaving the clan shocked and wondering who the next deputy would be. During this time, Marshpaw and Mousepaw got into a fight over Mousepaw’s being in ShadowClan to be with Strike, who was now Strikeshade. Strikeshade tried to protect Mousepaw and ended up accidentally reopening Marshpaw’s self-inflicted neck wound. She nearly died, but Emberheart and Lynxpetal managed to bring her back to stability.

When Sedgestar came back, she announced that Emberheart would be deputy of WindClan before bee-lining for her den. Emberheart was shocked, but accepted her new responsibility with a determined outlook. She would protect her entire clan with everything she had.

### Deputy

Emberheart became deputy at 53 moons of age. The day after she was appointed, she had a chat with Mousepaw, now Mousestem, to understand what had happened the day before out on the moor. She found out that Mousestem and Strikeshade were, while not mates yet, interested in one another and that was one of the main reasons why Marshstep had attacked her. Emberheart was not angry over this fact at all, and instead encouraged Mousestem to consider joining ShadowClan to be with Strikeshade. Mousestem was worried that she would make her friend Mudpaw or Marshstep upset, but Emberheart firmly told her that this was about her, not about them, saying that Marshstep "needs to learn that you aren't her only form of support and that you should not have to forever put aside your feelings for hers." After a small discussion, she went back to camp to find the other sister. Marshstep had attacked a clanmate, and Emberheart wasn't going to let that happen without scolding or at least a conversation about it. She approached Marshstep in the warrior's den and attempted to have a 'talk' about what had happened. Marshstep was difficult to get talking and called romances between clans disgusting, which set Emberheart off. Her son and her former mate had lovers in other clans once and she personally didn't see it as wrong. She scolded Marshstep for her actions, but Marshstep appeared to show no remorse, which made Emberheart angrier. The conversation ended with Emberheart telling Marshstep to do something about her faults rather than wallow in self-pity before leaving the den in a rush.

Barely two sunrises later, Marshstep and Dreamshine got into a battle with RiverClan on the border. Emberheart found them near the end of it and immediately assumed that Marshstep had started it (which she practically had by goading the RiverClan warriors on and stepping over the border). She had been irritated with the warrior before, but now she was furious. Dreamshine and Emberheart helped her back to camp as she cried over her kits in her swollen belly. Marshstep threatened to leave the clan during this time, and Emberheart planned to tell Sedgestar and Lynxpetal, Marshstep's mate, but failed to find either before the day was over.

As soon as Marshstep could walk again, she was out on a patrol on RiverClan border with Sedgestar, Quailberry, Dreamshine and Wasptoes. Badgerstrike was waiting by the border, hoping to discuss what had happened at the skirmish. Scout, a relatively new RiverClan cat, stepped over the border in an attempt to give the WindClan warriors what she called ‘a rogue’s hello.’ Badgerstrike suddenly snapped and they fell into another battle. Marshstep nearly killed Scout during this fight, Dreamshine barely pushing her away in time. Marshstep then held down Twig, a RiverClan apprentice, and Wasptoes slashed wildly to protect the now twice-injured queen, ending up killing Twig. Kestrelsong, WindClan’s medicine cat apprentice and Emberheart’s daughter, rushed onto the scene, determined to help heal the bleeding, fighting cats. Badgerstrike saw her as another warrior and kicked her away from him as he rushed to save the already-dead Twig. Kestrelsong was propelled into some stones on the ground with the powerful kick, and her head was crushed. She died instantly. The battle ended soon after, both sides suffering from heavy wounds and dead clanmates.

Wasptoes brought Kestrelsong’s body back to camp, and Emberheart was devastated. She had already lost her mate and Lichenkit, and now she’d lost her daughter too. Marshstep found her grieving and tried to commiserate with her, and Emberheart became absolutely furious. She blamed Kestrelsong’s death on Marshstep because she had started the first skirmish and she assumed she had a large part in starting the second one too. She ordered Marshstep to leave her alone, but Marshstep refused, thinking that Emberheart was trying to exile her instead. Marshstep finally let her be after a heated argument, and Emberheart all but collapsed by her dead daughter’s side. Marshstep ran away with Petalkit not long afterwards.

That night, Kestrelsong and Galewind visited her in a dream. What at first seemed to be a cruel trick of her mind turned into an astonishing reality for Emberheart as she realized she was really seeing her loved ones again. She had doubted StarClan’s existence for a long time, but this encounter changed her into a strong believer. Kestrelsong gave her a prophecy, and overall the meeting gave her new hope.

Not long after the first deadly battle with RiverClan, another skirmish was started by a naive, peace-seeking apprentice named Cedarpaw who had stepped over the border. Emberheart scolded the apprentice and Cedarpaw’s warrior ceremony was postponed because of her actions. Emberheart felt a little bad for the apprentice, as she had only been trying to help, but she decided that she would be safer if she was held in camp at least until this blew over.

Emberheart was out hunting when she found Badgerstrike fighting Poppyblaze on the border. She intervened, but Badgerstrike was already so injured that he practically fainted on the border, bleeding heavily from his fresh wounds and the ones he had gained from a furious Ravengale not long before. Emberheart and Poppyblaze reluctantly brought him back to camp and healed him as best they could with the new WindClan medicine cat, Mapleburn’s help. Once he could stand again, they brought him back to the RiverClan border and waited until Mosslight came by and took him back to his own camp.

A few sunrises later, Emberheart came back to camp from a hunting trip to discover that a WindClan patrol had taken a RiverClan cat prisoner. Emberheart was irritable and scolded all of them before marching the RiverClan cat back to her own territory, sending her home with a half-eaten rabbit, healed wounds and an apology for her warriors’ behavior. This message never seemed to make its way to Badgerstrike or Drizzlestar, but the battles began to die down for a few moons during this time. Marshstep was found dead on RiverClan territory after giving birth to her kits, all but one of them, Coalkit, surviving. The RiverClan cats debated on keeping Coalkit, but eventually gave him to WindClan, where his father Lynxpetal lived. Lynxpetal refused to believe that Marshstep was dead and didn’t accept Coalkit as his son. Mousestem and Poppyblaze took care of him instead. Petalkit found her way home again not long after Coalkit was brought back, and Wasptoes introduced her to her other recently adopted kit, Gorsekit.

Around this time, Ravengale got bitten by a snake and died with Emberheart and Wasptoes by his side. Emberheart, knowing then that StarClan is real and that she would see him again, grieved more for his kits that he had left behind than for Ravengale himself. His death was bittersweet rather than devastating, and she decided that she would do her best to be there for his orphaned kits as one of their last close family members. She also gained a strengthened friendship with Wasptoes and an increased awareness of how fragile life truly is.

As tensions showed no signs of lessening, Badgerstrike finally led an attack on WindClan camp. Emberheart tried to talk the RiverClan deputy down, quickly realizing that the patrol was not one with the intent to discuss peace. Badgerstrike 'politely' waited for more warriors to arrive but attacked anyway a few heartbeats later. She was furious with him, but continued trying to get him to leave peacefully until he dealt a heavy blow to the side of her head. She struggled to fight him, but she was much smaller than he was and it wasn’t long before he had a deadly hold on the scruff of her neck. Poppyblaze pushed him off of her, and the two giants dueled while Emberheart tried to keep two RiverClan apprentices from aiding Badgerstrike.

Coalkit dashed onto the scene, and Badgerstrike rushed for him only to put him out of the fighting range before coming back to battle Poppyblaze. Coalkit tried again to stop the huge cats from fighting, and one of the RiverClan apprentices, Oakpaw, placed him out of harm’s way again. Badgerstrike suddenly left the battlefield and ran towards WindClan camp on an unseen mission, and Poppyblaze and Emberheart were forced to turn their attention to the multitude of warriors that followed him. The apprentices, Oakpaw and Beechpaw, and Scout didn’t want to fight either and began trying to get Emberheart to stop. She found this extremely offensive, as it was their clan that was invading her camp and she and her warriors were defending their home. The standoff was mostly talking at this point, and it wasn’t until Poppyblaze finally pinned a reappeared Badgerstrike under her that Scout managed to call to the RiverClan warriors and get them to retreat. Emberheart was tired, wounded and angry, but quietly thankful for the young she-cat’s efforts. After RiverClan left their territory, she came back to camp to discover that Badgerstrike had killed Dreamshine as well by pushing her into the river. She already held a strong hate for the RiverClan deputy, and this only strengthened it.

Distraught over the death of her sister and feeling lost, Wasptoes, Emberheart’s closest friend among the clan, soon left to be with her mother, Lakeblossom, now Lakestar, in ShadowClan. Emberheart was quietly bitter over this, as Wasptoes, who soon became Waspstrike, had also left behind the distraught siblings Gorsekit and Petalpaw, who was now a medicine cat apprentice. She began to withdraw again, taking her duties as deputy more seriously and becoming more strict and abrasive.

Silvercloud, Blazefoot’s mate and Emberheart’s daughter-in-law, and Poppyblaze gave birth to their first litters of kits. Emberheart’s tension was slightly alleviated by the presence of so many kits, and she couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic as she watched them grow. Poppyblaze’s Redkit and Rainkit hated each other from the moment they could open their eyes, and for several moons they had a sort of competition to see who could get the other eaten by another cat first. It soon devolved into something much worse than it had appeared at first, with Rainkit nearly killing Quailberry by poisoning her when she jokingly agreed to eat Rainkit. Rainkit and Redkit ran away not long after to try and see their distant relative, Lakestar. Redkit made it, Rainkit failed to do so, and both caused Poppyblaze plenty of stress and worry while they were absent.

Lakestar came to WindClan to warn them about an apprentice that she had recently exiled for killing a kit. Poppyblaze later discovered this apprentice on the border and took her to camp, much to Emberheart’s dismay. Emberheart was at first adamant that Fuyu, as the apprentice was now calling herself, be thrown out of WindClan as well, but Poppyblaze convinced her to at least give her a trial period. Emberheart went to talk to Sedgestar about this, but discovered that her leader was falling deathly ill with greencough and was to be confined to the medicine cat den while she healed. She was in no state to make the decision, so Emberheart decided that she and Poppyblaze would watch Fuyu closely for two moons while Sedgestar recovered.

Strikeshade, who had recently left ShadowClan to join WindClan, was suddenly attacked out in WindClan territory by an unknown clanmate with green eyes. Emberheart feared that another situation similar to Skynose and Galewind’s fiasco was imminent, and insisted that Gorsepaw, Seedheart and Orchidpaw refrain from accusing anycat, but rather they tell her if they had suspicions. She promised Strikeshade that she would find whoever had attacked him, and that she wouldn’t let them near him again. She planned to appoint a warrior to stay by his side at all times, but wasn’t sure who just yet.

Later that day, she ran across Smallpaw in the territory who was in a panic. Mousestem, Smallpaw’s mentor, had fallen from a tree and wasn’t waking up. Emberheart helped Smallpaw carry the unconscious she-cat back to camp. She didn’t seem to be fatally injured, but still wasn’t waking up. Little did they know, Mousestem had slipped into a coma and wasn’t going to wake for many sunrises after her accident.

Redkit, Poppyblaze’s son, was attacked by the same unknown clanmate with green eyes, and Fuyu and Lightningfang were attacked soon after. Emberheart angrily called a clan meeting, challenging the assailant to step forward on threat of death. When nothing happened, she ordered the clan to stay in groups at all times so no cat would be left alone, as the attacker seemed to favor cats that were vulnerable. Emberheart also cautioned that no cat accuse another when they thought they had clues, but rather they should bring their suspicions to her so that she could solve it quickly and quietly. They couldn’t let this cat tear the clan apart. She heavily suspected Quailberry, but made no move to confront her. She needed evidence for that.

Only three sunrises later did Petalpaw tell Emberheart that Quailberry had died the day before and that Quailberry had indeed been the attacker. Emberheart was furious that she hadn’t told her sooner, but relieved to learn that the attacks were finally over. Sedgestar recovered from her greencough after losing a life, and life went back to being semi-normal.

Then Silvercloud passed away from an unknown cause. This was the second daughter in-law that Emberheart had lost, and she was grief-stricken, though she tried hard not to show it. She made herself busy with hunting and patrolling, keeping to herself most of the time. Not long after, Lakestar was usurped by an exile, Crowbite. Cedarsoul and Fuyu had aided him in leading badgers into ShadowClan, and the warriors were overwhelmed and forced to flee, leaving more than half of their clan behind as captives held under Crowbite. Lakestar led her injured warriors to WindClan, and Sedgestar let them hunker down in WindClan territory until they were strong enough to retaliate. Sedgestar also offered to help in the unavoidable battle to gain back ShadowClan, but Lakestar already had a plan that included only her and a few others and didn't want to put any others in danger. She was also angry at her sister's clan for harboring the kit-murderer and exile, Fuyu, who had turned and helped overthrow her, and didn't seem to want any further help from WindClan anyway.

A moon after Silvercloud’s death, Sedgestar discovered a young kittypet and brought him back to camp, where he quickly and enthusiastically befriended Emberheart, discussing names and his plans to become a leader one day. During their lively conversation, Poppyblaze ran into camp, her muzzle streaked with tears. Emberheart was shocked and furious to learn that two ThunderClan warriors, Cranewing and Rabbitfoot, had taken Rosekit from Poppyblaze when they found her in No Clan’s Land and planned on adopting her despite Poppyblaze’s attempts to get her daughter back. Emberheart quickly put together a patrol after gaining Sedgestar’s permission and headed towards ThunderClan territory with Poppyblaze, Strikeshade, Wolfstep, and Mousestem, intent on bringing her friend’s daughter back home.

When they arrived, they were met with a ThunderClan patrol that was amicable at first and began to escort them to their camp to speak with Sunstar. Once their aim to bring Rosekit home was brought up, however, the conversation grew heated. The ThunderClan warriors, one of them being Rabbitfoot, refused to acknowledge that Rosekit was a kit and wasn't old enough to decide where she was to live for the rest of her life. One in particular, Rosehaze, began ironically telling Poppyblaze that she was a traitor for leaving ShadowClan, something she had done as a full-fledged warrior and not as a kit. Emberheart felt disgusted at what she viewed as immature behavior and made it very clear to the ThunderClan warriors that she thought they were being unreasonable. As they argued, Sunstar himself dropped down from a tree to join in on the conversation. Emberheart, at first relieved, was deeply frustrated when she found that Sunstar agreed with his warriors. Even after Emberheart threatened war if Rosekit was not returned, Sunstar was apathetic. Rosekit had been sent for by one of the warriors but was still not present, and tensions were only rising.

Suddenly, Poppyblaze darted away from the group and towards the nearby stream. Confused, Emberheart followed, only to find Poppyblaze hunched over Rosekit's drowned body and Rabbitfoot standing a few feet away. Poppyblaze attacked Rabbitfoot, blaming him for her daughter's death. A ThunderClan StarClan cat, Burnstripe, appeared and tried to tell Poppyblaze off. Emberheart shouted right back, telling the StarClan cat to get out of her queen's face and leave her be. Burnstripe didn't seem to have a response to this. After a few more bitter words and another warning of oncoming war, they brought Rosekit's limp body back to WindClan to mourn.

ShadowClan was still staying in WindClan territory when Emberheart caught Fuyu trespassing on the border despite Bouncestream's attempt to hide her. She pinned her and was very tempted to finish her herself for her betrayal of WindClan's kindness, but held herself back, knowing Lakestar would want to do the job herself. She was angry at Bouncestream, who continually got confused about her and Poppyblaze's, who was with her, warnings to back away and leave the situation to them. At one point, he even thought that Emberheart's explanation of why Fuyu was dangerous was a threat to Birdkit, who had suddenly appeared by them. He eventually left with the confused kit and headed back to ShadowClan's temporary camp. Fuyu, Poppyblaze, and Emberheart ended up striking a very reluctant deal, where Fuyu would go and rescue Buzzardstorm from Crowbite's prisons and bring him back to WindClan territory and meet Poppyblaze or Emberheart on the border to pass along any helpful information. Of course, neither of these things actually happened, as Fuyu was immediately captured upon returning to Crowbite's ShadowClan and was thrown in the prisons for a long time. When she escaped, she ran into Brokenpaw in WindClan territory and was killed. Lakestar was not angry with the apprentice, and Fuyu's body was buried on a far edge of WindClan territory.

Both of the other clans came to offer Lakestar help and were both refused. While RiverClan was present, the long-awaited peace meeting to settle RiverClan and WindClan's differences took place, and RiverClan and WindClan were on neutral terms with one another once again. Badgerstar was among them, and he and Emberheart had a bit of a talk as well. Badgerstar finally apologized for what he'd done during the war, and though Emberheart didn't outwardly forgive him, her hostility towards him began to fade. Eventually, Lakestar brought her warriors back to ShadowClan and succeeded in killing and/or removing the tyrants and traitors, and life once again went back to being semi-normal.

Redpaw to Redflower yay

Sedge dies ;w;

Poppyblaze as dep

### Leader

Nine lives:

Rainfrost - stubbornness

Dreamshine - self-assurance

Buzzardstripe - patience

Mudstar - tireless energy

Eaglesong - peace

Kestrelsong - compassion

Skynose - forgiveness

Emberdawn - hope

Sedgestar - perseverance

Lightningfang dying ;w;

Wasp has kits!

Petal has kits too woah!

## Friends and Family

*Trunk**- Deceased Rogue, tom, old friend / caretaker*

*Galewind* *- StarClan, tom, former mate*

*Ravengale* *- StarClan, tom, son*

*Hawkfire - StarClan, she-cat, daughter-in-law*

Blazefoot - WindClan, tom, son

*Silvercloud* *- StarClan, she-cat, daughter-in-law*

*Kestrelsong**- StarClan, she-cat, daughter*

*Ambercall - StarClan, she-cat, stepdaughter*

*Leafpaw - StarClan, she-cat, granddaughter*

Swiftbreeze - WindClan, tom, grandson and apprentice

Ivyrose - RiverClan, non-binary, grandchild

*Brindlecloud* *- StarClan, she-cat, adopted granddaughter*

*Finchpaw* *- StarClan, she-cat, adopted granddaughter*

Goldmist - WindClan, she-cat, granddaughter

Fidgetspark - WindClan, tom, grandson

Appleblossom - WindClan, she-cat, granddaughter

Goosewillow - WindClan, tom, grandson

*Emberdawn - StarClan, she-cat, friend*

*Eaglesong - StarClan, tom, friend*

Wasptoes - WindClan, she-cat, apprentice and friend

Poppyblaze - WindClan, she-cat, friend and deputy

Redflower - WindClan, tom, apprentice

Seedheart - WindClan, she-cat, apprentice

Lakestar - ShadowClan, she-cat, friend

*Skynose* *- StarClan, she-cat, friend*

## Notable Quotes

Emberpaw blinks, then looks up at the tall, grey-furred warrior (Falconstorm). "Just thinking," she smiles shyly, curling her tail tightly around herself.

Emberheart hesitated, then touched his (Galewind) shoulder with the tip of her tail. "I'm sorry. I wish I could bear this weight for you." Her voice trembles a little. "I know what losing someone is like. Not as much as you I'm sure, but it's happened. If you ever need to..talk more, or have someone at your side with these...things...I'm here. If you want me to just listen, I'll do it. You don't have t-to be alone, y'know?" she laughed weakly, voice wavering slightly. "It doesn't have to be me. You deserve to smile, despite what stupid old 'fate' has told you so far." She pawed at her nose, sniffled a little, then shook out her fur. "You'll meet those kits. I'm sure you will."

Emberheart gave Sedgeflower a look that screamed irritation, her tail lashing and her fur on end. "Sedgeflower," she growled softly. "Whatever you may think of Galewind, hold your tongue for a better time, if there is ever one. These kits, your *grandchildren*, might I add, are starving right in front of you. Put aside your petty belief in the warrior code and *help* these innocent kits before they perish."

 Emberheart snorted. "You're more normal than the rest of those clan-obsessed cats. We were all rogues once. Our only differences are that we live in different places and under different leaders. So why should I care when the cat you love is from a different clan?" She gave a small chuckle. "I knew your father was in love with Mistclaw before the clan did. I only worried that he wouldn't get to watch his kits grow. I'm far from what the clan cats call normal too, little bird." (to Ravengale)

 Emberheart pulled him closer again, licking his ears. "No, thank you. You and your siblings have made this place a whole lot brighter. I love you, kiddo. No matter what." Her lashes were damp with tears that refused to fall, but her eyes were bright. (To Ravengale)

"It's complicated for sure," Emberheart sighed. "But if you do feel bad, just remember that it isn't your responsibility to keep others happy. It's great if you want to and can, but ultimately it's on them to seek out help and change themselves when they're in trouble, not on you. And if they're expecting you to help without them asking and without any regard for your feelings, they're not being fair to you. Does that make sense?" (To Mousestem on the subject of leaving)

Emberheart sighed. "We're letting her go, no ifs, ands, or buts. We're already working towards a peaceful resolution, and I don't need StarClan to tell me that taking a cat prisoner will simply serve to worsen the tensions between our clans." She shot a pointed look at Mapleburn before padding towards the RiverClan cat. (When Shadewhisper was taken prisoner)

Leafpaw felt comforted when she remembered she still had a piece of her family that loved her very much, but that didn’t stop her sobbing. “What do w-we do now?” she whimpered, looking at Emberheart with large, wet eyes.

"We grieve," she whispered, pulling her closer. "And we continue to live with those we still have while remembering those who have left us." (After Ravengale died)

"Don't tell me the what-ifs," Emberheart huffed. "Actually do it. And don't try to defend that fox-heart. I know he's emotional, but by StarClan he has killed my daughter and shows no remorse. On the border, he told me he did nothing wrong by killing her. And the fact that he has disobeyed his leader and has taken advantage of all of the angriest and least informed cats in RiverClan to prove an unprovable point by spilling WindClan blood makes him very unforgivable. Don't worry though, we aren't going to stoop to his level and kill him for it. StarClan can do that." (To Scout during the battle, about peace and Badgerstrike)

"I'm going to give the assailant a chance to step forward, but if they refuse, we'll exile them once we find them. This has happened before, yes," she said quietly. "And it lasted for far too long and affected too many cats. I'm not planning on letting that happen again. Don't go around accusing everycat with green eyes - if you have suspicions, talk to me or Sedgestar. We don't need to let this tear our clan apart." She leveled a stern look at each of the apprentices and Seedheart. "Alright?" (To Gorsepaw, Orchidpaw, and Seedheart when the first cat was attacked)

As the rest of the clan began to join them, Emberheart began to speak. “As many of you have noticed,” she called out over the crowd. “Several of our clanmates have been attacked. Strikeshade, Redkit, Lightningfang - somecat has brutally mauled each of them. Redkit is in critical condition because of this cat - a cat who bears the scent of WindClan.” Her gaze swept over her clanmates, eyes burning with a cold fury. “Whoever you are, I’m giving you *one chance.* Step forward now, and when I find you - and I *will* find you - perhaps I won’t leave your body rotting in a ditch for the crows to pick away," she spat, scraping her claws along the rock to emphasize her words. (To WindClan about the mystery assailant)

"Do you have no care for your clanmates' lives?" she snarled. "Wake up a little, would you? The world isn't going to wait for you to get your act together and start working on the messes you've made. Now tell me, are you refusing to comply? Or are you simply stalling so you won't have to answer?" (To Sunstar on his apathy about the threat of war if Rosekit wasn't returned)

 "Resolved?" Emberheart growled, stepping closer. "How can you say it is resolved? Rosekit is dead! And you had us wait for a queen to bring Rosekit to us, and before, Cranewing and that other tom wouldn't let Poppyblaze take her kit back. If that's not stopping us, I don't know what is. And I would *never* allow a WindClan cat to emotionally manipulate a kit into leaving her mother. If Sedgestar declares war because of this, know that you and your ignorant warriors brought it upon yourself." (To Sunstar upon finding Rosekit's body)

 "As most of you know," Emberheart finally began, her voice a little stronger than before. "Sedgestar lost her lives to the Endless Lake. She died protecting her clanmates." Emberheart glanced at Shadebriar, but didn't let her gaze linger on him. "She was a strong leader, a loving mother and aunt, and a good friend. She led us through war, welcomed many newcomers into our clan, and stayed steady by our sides through grief and joy alike. Her spirit-" she faltered slightly, but continued on. "I hope that her spirit finds the peace in StarClan that she so strongly deserves." (Clan meeting after Sedgestar's death)