Podfern

Chase the Night Away

Podfern was a ShadowClan warrior who served under Hopestar's and Sageflower/star's leadership, living from Twelfth Generation through Twenty-First Generation. He was born to Daisyspeckle and Iceclaw alongside his sisters Firekit and Spikekit. He was mentored by Ryesnow and mentored Rainleaf. He was mates with Stormcurl and Rippleshine. With Stormcurl, he fathered Larkkit and Icykit, and with Rippleshine he had Alderkit, Stonekit, and Smallkit. He died from choking on fresh-kill.

# Appearance

Lithe speckled ginger tabby tom with a white underbelly.

# History

Podpaw grew up well-loved by his mother and especially his father, who told him he loved him and his siblings nearly every day, and spent all his time with his kits. Podpaw was a bit of a nervous tom, but with his father's love and encouragement, he came out of his shell and lived every day to its fullest, just like his father taught him. He played often with his sisters, Firepaw and Spikepaw, rough-housing and being as close as siblings could be. But his world came crashing down after his mother and father's death at the hands of BoneClan warriors- and Twolegs took Iceclaw's body away so the clan couldn't even bury the kind-hearted and noble warrior.

Podpaw was wracked with grief for days after his parents' death. He and his sister, Firepaw, spent all their days depressed and lonely together, while Spikepaw retreated into anger and bitterness, lashing out at anyone who got too close, and mocking her siblings' for being so 'weak-hearted' and 'mopey.' Podpaw soon lost his other sister's comfort as the she-cat turned to a forbidden relationship with a she-cat outside the clans, none other than Blackpaw of BoneClan, the same group of rogues that had killed their parents. Podpaw didn't approve of this, at all, but for his sister's sake, he kept quiet about it, but he soon drifted away from Firepaw.

But he still had his mentor, and friends, one such friend being a she-cat named Stormcurl, who helped him through his grief, and offered him fresh-kill everyday and wanted to go on walks through the forest with him. He soon found himself falling in love with the young warrior, who had been made a warrior right as he became an apprentice. Soon, he became a warrior, and asked Stormcurl to be his mate, to which she eagerly accepted. The two were deeply in love, spending every moment together. They had kits young, with Stormcurl giving birth to Icykit- named after Iceclaw, and Larkkit- a name Stormcurl loved. Podfern vowed to be a father just as loving as his own, and doted over his kits, spoiling them to no ends.

Tragedy struck when the kits became apprentices. It was like watching the same thing that had happened to him as an apprentice happen to his kits- Stormcurl was killed by BoneClan warriors after attacking them for being too close to the border alongside their clanmate, Fallenrock, following the orders Sagestar had given the clan to fight off BoneClan rogues close to the borders. Podfern was both angry and hollow. He comforted his children, but felt like a void had opened inside him, disconnecting them from him. Life was like that for a while before he found comfort in a younger, newly-made warrior named Rippleshine, who had suffered at the claws of BoneClan just like him. They clicked quickly, but it wasn't that passionate, honeymoon love that he had with Stormcurl- it was a slow, quiet love, of having comfort in the person beside you, rather than the bouncing, laughter-filled love he once had.

When Rippleshine found herself pregnant, Podfern was happy, but not ecstatic as he had been with Stormcurl's kits. He would love them, he knew, but would he ever love them like he loved Icypaw and Larkpaw? Even now, he found his love for his kits drifting as he yearned for Stormcurl to return, staring at the stars every night and pretending she was beside him. And it seemed tragedy followed him everywhere, as Icypaw was slain by BoneClan rogues, and Podfern was devastated. He wanted to be angry and loud, but all he felt was emptiness and sorrow, and he realized he couldn't love again. Even when Rippleshine's kits were born, it all felt like a sick act of loving and caring for them. He did love them, he did care for them, but... He was already preparing for their inevitable deaths, to be slaughtered by BoneClan rogues like everyone else in his life. He let Rippleshine name them all, only giving light approval to the names- Alderkit, Smallkit, and Stonekit. It was obvious he was a distant father to them, unlike he was for Icypaw and Larkbright. But Rippleshine made up for it, loving her kits fiercely and seeming to accept, although sadly, that her mate would never love them like he loved Stormcurl and their kits.

When they became apprentices, Podfern could almost laugh when Rippleshine became sick, having eaten disguised crowfood placed in the fresh-kill pile by some BoneClan spy. He watched distantly and sadly as she died in a matter of days. It was almost harder, having to watch her die slowly in camp, coughing painfully, while the rest of his family had died swiftly and violently in battle, and been dragged back to camp for him to hear the announcement. When Wolfheart and Tigershine, the medicine cats, announced that Rippleshine would most likely be passing soon, her breathing and heartbeat slowing, Podfern dragged himself to the den to say goodbye and one final 'I love you.' Smallpaw, Alderpaw, and Rippleshine's sister, Webwing, joined them, and Stonepaw was already there, having been curled up by his mother's side through her entire sickness. They all watched her take her final breath, and Podfern was the first to leave, followed by Alderpaw. He saw the way Stonepaw especially wailed and cried for his mother, and it broke Podfern's heart, but he didn't do anything to comfort his son.

Podfern was surprised his children survived their time as apprentices, becoming happy and proud warriors, but even they weren't free from his 'curse,' as Smallbear passed from greencough one leaf-bare. Podfern had up and down days from then on- somedays, he enjoyed the company of his clanmates, and felt proud of his living children, Larkbright, Alderflip, and Stoneflower. Other days, all he could think about was the ones he had lost and who he might lose again. Podfern always thought he might die of his sadness himself one day (darker thoughts lurked in his head, telling him to do it himself), but he always thought his curse would have him killed by BoneClan rogues, even if they had moved away and been 'reformed' under their new leader, Puppystar. Instead, he choked unexpectedly on a frog bone leg one day, the bone lodged in his throat. Panic erupted in camp when they realized their clanmate was choking, but no one was able to unlodge the bone before Podfern died and ascended to StarClan.

# Fun Facts

* He has kittypet blood through his mother, Daisyspeckle.
* He has loner and MoonClan blood through his grandmother, Unknown, on his mother's side, as well as through his grandmother, Softdapple, on his father's side, along with BloodClan blood from Softdapple. He also has loner blood through his great-grandfather, Storm, on his father's side.
* He has ThunderClan blood through his great-great-grandfather, Ashstar, on his father's side.
* He has distant SkyClan and WindClan blood through his great-great-great-grandparents, Thistlesong and Driftleap respectively, on his father's side.
* He has distant kittypet blood through his great-great-great-grandfather, Deerflame, on his father's side.