Dandelionshine

Siblings: Hickorypaw, Mistypaw

> *"The Code is what keeps us safe. It what makes us the clans. How could you break it?"* ~Dandelionpaw to Lightflare
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## Physical Description

Dandelionshine is a short, slightly stocky cat with fluffy fur, a long tail and dainty paws. She has

## Personality

Throughout her time as a kit, Dandelionkit was relentlessly optimistic and enthusiastic, leaping into anything that she had her heart set on that particular day with impressive zeal, outgoing and determined to make friends. She was often too talkative, and didn't understand the concept of 'boundaries' very well. She was quite rebellious, rarely listening to what others had to say and often disobeying the rules, seeing the Warrior Code as something useless, to be broken.

As an apprentice, Dandelionpaw matured slightly more. The freedom allowed to her by her mentor, coupled with her naturally rebellious nature, got her into several close shaves throughout her early apprenticeship. She was empathetic and friendly to those that she met, but with the sharp bite of wit. After many difficult situations, she became more cautious and responsible, and closed herself from many of her friends and family. She began bottling up her emotions, an unhealthy habit that followed her into adulthood.

Growing into adulthood, Dandelionshine kept her wit and intelligence, but developed the maturity to know how and when to use them well. She always strove to put others before herself, ensuring that her clan was okay before giving consideration to her own state.

## Skills and Weaknesses

[+] Dandelionpaw is very intelligent and articulate.

[+] Dandelionpaw is brave.

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[=] Dandelionpaw is self-sacrificing, which can be good or bad depending on the situation.

[=] Dandelionpaw is a decent swimmer.

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[-] Dandelionpaw is very bad at communicating her emotions, not wanting to bother people with them.

[-] Dandelionpaw is not a very good hunter of land-based prey.

[-]

## Life

### Kithood

Dandelionkit was born to Duckhaze in Riverclan territory, the eldest of four siblings. Though her father wasn't present for her birth, a wandering loner named Messenger helped her mother through the kitting. Her father, Goosestrike, arrived soon after, helping Duckhaze choose the names - Dandelionkit, Mistykit, Hickorykit and Owlkit, the last being the single stillborn. Dandelionkit was given a practical, hardy name, rooting her to life and with the intention of making her strong.

She was the first of her siblings to open her eyes, quickly joining in with the games of other kits and making her first best friend, Dewkit; the pair decided that having alliterative names and being born near to each other made them destined to be friends, and enjoyed a game of mossball together. Determined to explore all of the camp, she met a cat confined to the medicine cat's den named Beechstorm, who had been paralysed saving her now deceased daughter from a tree. She badgered Beechstorm until the older she-cat told her about her daughter's death, surprising the young kit; most cats tried to keep her and her siblings away from the tragedies that were happening in Riverclan, but she appreciated not being treated like a helpless fool. Beechstorm also introduced her to the concept of Starclan, prompting Dandelionkit to reveal that she sometimes thought that she could see her brother's ghost. Leaving the medicine cat's den, she had a similar talk with Sparkpaw though, unlike, Beechstorm, the apprentice refused to tell Dandelionkit anything other than that she was feeling sad, not wanting to burden the kit with any of her problems.

A few sunrises later, Dewkit and Dandelionkit decided to learn how to swim in the Duck Pond in camp. Though Dewkit was cautious, Dandelionkit was much more bold. She took to rather naturally, though Dewkit struggled initially. Returning to the nursery, Dandelionkit encouraged her brother, Mistykit, to socialise more, and he was reluctantly coaxed into playing a game of mossball. She then hung out with Sparkpaw, talking about sibling drama and what they both hoped warrior life would be like.

She was ecstatic when, at two moons, Hickorykit finally got over the cold that ailed him and woke up, introducing him to her best friend, Dewkit. She also made friends with a new apprentice, Cloudpaw, meeting her just before her apprentice ceremony and encouraging her during it. She then went to hang out with Lionpaw, talking to her about a cat named Brokenrose who always seemed to be hanging around camp, catching fish for the clan.

She then went to hang out with Sparkpaw, and met the friend that had gone missing - once called Blazepaw, Stingpaw had now returned, and brought a cat named Silver with him. She grilled them with questions about Windclan and the outside, before leaving them alone to talk to Dewkit. She decided to make an effort to include Nightkit, who she had only seem around a few times, in their group, inviting him to join them. The group played hide and seek.

Dandelionkit talked to a sad-looking kit named Pitchkit. Though she didn't find out what was making her sad at first, she attempted to cheer her up, and played a new game with Pitchkit that the latter had invented.

Turning four moons, she chatted with her friends, Ivykit and Dewkit, about who they wanted for mentors, and what they expected their apprenticeships to be like. Whilst Ivykit had Sparksong in mind as a mentor, Dandelionkit admitted that she didn't really mind who she was assigned to as long as they were true to the code and helped her to become a better warrior, claiming that she'd probably disobey them, whoever they were. True to her rebellious nature, she promptly sneaked out of camp to see what was beyond the walls. Making her way towards the Adder River, she met a cat named Ravenflame. After questioning the intruder about what she was doing in Riverclan territory, and lying about being an apprentice, the pair got talking. Dandelionkit expressed her desire for freedom and joked about becoming a rogue, but was quickly dissuaded by Ravenflame. She talked to Pitchkit - now Pitchpaw - about the disappearance of her brother, Pouncepaw, and promised that she would help find him as soon as she became an apprentice.

At five moons, she made fast friends with a recently born kit named Lilykit, who tried to convince Dandelionkit to take her outside. In an oddly responsible move, Dandelionkit refused, both to protect Lilykit and avoid getting herself into trouble. She then learnt a few battle moves from Sparksong to prepare her for training. She also met a Starclan cat - Mosspetal, formerly of Riverclan - and badgered her with questions about Starclan, eager to learn more about everything.

### Apprenticeship

Turning six moons, she was apprenticed to Shellberry. She was ecstatic that Shellberry let her have a good sense of freedom, and used it to leave camp quite often. Shellberry's first lesson was about territories and borders, where she revealed that she had once had a friend in Windclan. Dandelionpaw considered how common this seemed to be, and wondered if it was against the Code. Noticing that Pitchpaw still looked miserable, she assured her that she would make good on her promise to find her brother. The pair created a plan to retrace Pouncepaw's movements and conversations, finding out who he had talked to and where he had been before his disappearance.

At seven moons, she noticed that she and Dewpaw were beginning to grow apart. Their ambitious personalities and competitive spirit began to drive a wedge between the pair that had been so close as kits. Hoping to save their friendship, she happily accepted Dewpaw's invitation to sneak out of camp, investigating near other clans. She admitted that she felt let down that her parents hadn't been at her apprentice ceremony, but knew that her father had been on a patrol. She was, however, worried by her mother's prolonged absence. Sneaking out to No Clan's Land, she met an elder named Noname, who had walked into a tree. Returning to camp, she saw Lionpaw crying over the body of her brother, Ripplepaw. She attempted to comfort Lilykit and Lionpaw, assuring the apprentice that it wasn't her fault, but choosing not to hide the truth of death from Lilykit, respecting the kit enough to tell her the facts as they were. Wanting to relax after such a horrible experience, she went out on a hunting trip. Upon returning however, she discovered that yet another cat was dead; Wingpond, discovered and brought back to camp by a rogue, had been killed by falling off a cliff. This, she decided, was just too much. She went and hid away in the apprentice's den, eventually drifting off to sleep. She was awoken by shouting and quickly rushed out, seeing Dewpaw's injured body lying on the ground after being carried in by Heatpaw of Shadowclan and Nightpaw. She argued with the pair, specifically Heatpaw, saying that they were acting far too suspiciously and that she believed that they were hiding something. She challenged Heatpaw on what he had been doing so close to the border, and accused him of covering up for someone.

Deciding that this was far, far too much, she left camp to clear her head. Stumbling, lost, through the edge of the forest, she met a loner kit named Morning. They got along well, and Dandelionpaw explained the concept of the clans to her. Feeling more certain of what she had to do, she returned home to Riverclan, and trained with Shellberry, Lightflare and Nightpaw. Before their training began, Nightpaw told Dandelionpaw who had put Dewpaw into her coma; a loner named Night. He made her promise not to tell anyone of her own accord, leading her to think of other ways to inform her friends of the news. Dandelionpaw remained distracted until their return to camp, eager to share the news. She craftily weaved her words, getting her friends to ask her if she knew anything, allowing her to tell them but still keep her word to Nightpaw. Just before the team left, a cat named Ravenflame entered camp, confessing to the murder of Pouncepaw. Dandelionpaw, angry and heartbroken for her best friend's brother, yelled at Ravenflame, and accused Lightflare of being Ravenflame's mate and breaking the code. Boiling with anger, she, Lionpaw and Quilldawn made their way towards No Clan's Land to fight Night, bringing her to justice for Dewpaw's injuries. Nightpaw, who had followed the group, leapt into the fight to aid Night and ended up being injured, causing Dandelionpaw to feel incredibly guilty. In an attempt to help to make amends, she convinced Lionpaw to bring back Night for treatment, as well as Nightpaw. Entering camp, she passed out almost immediately, having not slept since Dewpaw's coma began. Tells Pitch about Pounce. Gets washed down river. Meets Duckhaze in TC. Goes to NCL and meets Messenger. Chats to Silver. Returns to RC.

Upon her return to Riverclan, after two moons away, nine moon old Dandelionpaw was relieved to see that Dewpaw had awoken from her coma.

Throwing herself into her training, Dandelionpaw attracted the attention of Shinekit, who she offered to train in the basics of warriorhood. Despite trying to close herself off, she got along well with the kit and half-hoped that she would be able to train her for real one day.

Chosen to attend the Gathering, Dandelionpaw had her first proper exposure to each different clan. Witnessing an argument between Peachskip of Shadowclan and Spottedpaw of Thunderclan about the current war, she became confused as to why there were so many rules of the code broken in the battles. Surely they should be followed?

The next day, she apologised to Dewpaw for being so cold to her upon her return, and the pair made amends. Soon after, Ivypaw made her way in after being attacked by Night - Dandelionpaw tried to help Dewpaw fix her up, but her limited knowledge of medicine meant that she was barely good for anything more than fetching herbs for Dewpaw to use. Noting how affectionately Dewpaw looked at Ivypaw, she began to feel colder than before; her friends had all drifted away from her from the moment that she had been swept away, and she wasn't sure what she could possibly do to win them back.

Deciding to go to Thunderclan territory in hopes of seeing her mother, Dandelionpaw met Smokepaw, her half-brother. They bonded over their shared dislike of Duckhaze  (now Duckblaze) - Dandelionpaw for her abandonment, Smokepaw for her overbearing nature. Despite the shock of the revelation, Dandelionpaw couldn't help but feel slightly happy that she had more family members, even if they did come from an affair that had been going on since before she was even born. Returning to Riverclan, she talked with her father about how Duckblaze's abandonment had affected both of them. Goosestrike was a shell of himself, and Dandelionpaw began to feel that her family was, slowly, falling apart. She talked to Pitchpaw, appreciating that the older she-cat bothered to ask how she was.

Going on a hunting trip with Shellberry, she managed to catch her first bird - a pigeon. With her warrior ceremony coming up soon, she mused over what her name was likely to be. Upon her return to camp, she chatted with Shinepaw, now an apprentice, and attended Pitchpool's warrior ceremony, beginning to realise that she might have feelings for her. She and Lilypaw joked around about which of them was the better apprentice, before she left camp to patrol the territory. Absent-mindedly, she found herself crossing over the gathering place towards Thunderclan, where she met with Duckblaze. Her mother informed her that Smokepaw had disappeared, likely having been swept away by the river, causing Dandelionpaw to feel even worse about her family life.

Returning to Riverclan territory, Dandelionpaw actually met Smokepaw, who seemed to have been attacked by foxes. She assured him that he would always have a place as her brother in Riverclan, before returning to camp. Working hard to train to be the best warrior that she could, she threw herself into her duties, ending up forgoing sleep for several days. She and Nighthawk talked about her impending Deciding to find where her missing friend, Sparksong, had gone, she travelled to No Clan's Land and found her there, raising kits. She encouraged them to return before making her way back to Riverclan camp, where she was made a warrior and given the suffix '-shine'.

### Adult Life

Dandelionshine started her warrior life off well, offering to train an apprentice named Willowpaw in hunting after a successful patrol. Deciding that she deserved some rest after moons of relentless practice and training, she finally relaxed near the Duck Pond.

## Relationships

### Family

* Goosestrike - Riverclan warrior, tom, father
* Hickorypaw - Riverclan apprentice, tom, littermate
* Mistypaw - Riverclan apprentice, trans she-cat, littermate
* Owlkit - Riverclan kit, tom, brother **(deceased)**
* Cranepaw - Thunderclan apprentice, tom, half-brother
* Smokepaw - Thunderclan medicine cat apprentice, tom, half-brother
* Briarpaw - Thunderclan apprentice, she-cat, half-sister
* Havenpaw - Thunderclan apprentice, she-cat, half-sister

### Friends

* Pitchpool - Riverclan warrior, she-cat, crush and best friend
* Dewpaw - Riverclan medicine cat apprentice, she-cat, best friend
* Lionstep - Riverclan warrior, she-cat, friend
* Lynxstone - Riverclan warrior, tom, friend
* Sparksong - Riverclan warrior, she-cat, confidante
* Nighthawk - Riverclan warrior, tom, friend
* Ivypaw - Riverclan apprentice, she-cat, friend
* Shinepaw - Riverclan kit, she-cat, friend
* Lilypaw - Riverclan apprentice, she-cat, friend
* Shellberry - Riverclan warrior, she-cat, mentor
* Messenger - loner, she-cat, ally

### Enemies

* Duckhaze - Thunderclan medicine cat, she-cat, mother

## Notable Quotes

> *"Yeah! I want to see all around! I'm absolutely positive we've got the best camp ever - you could tell tonnes of stories about here! Ooh, like... like how Dandelionstar, Greatest Leader Ever, won the final victory over the dastardly Thunderclan!" She looked up at Duckhaze with enthusiasm. "Onwards!"* ~Dandelionkit to Duckhaze on her first trip around camp.
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> *"I get that you don't want to tell me anything because I'm a child, but I'm not stupid!"* ~Dandelionkit to Sparkpaw.
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> '*Dandelionkit took a deep breath, coughing slightly as she inhaled some of the water but quickly getting over it. There was a rhythm to swimming, she realised; find the rhythm and you won't sink.'*
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> *"Suuure. But you don't know anyone, do you? So you'll need me, your more charming and charismatic sister, to make the introductions!"* ~Dandelionkit to Hickorykit after his recovery from illness.
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> *"Even if you don't want to practice hunting, you'll still come along with us, of course," she assured Ivykit. "You're our friend, and no friend of mine will be left behind."* ~Dandelionkit to Ivykit, talking about apprenticeships.
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> '*She nodded, smiling; she was proud to be from a clan, proud to represent Riverclan in whatever she did. It was important to her, this kinship that she felt with the other cats in her group. "Riverclan, to be exact," she replied.'* ~Dandelionpaw, upon being asked by Noname whether she was a clan cat.
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> *'Her stomach dropped when she saw Dewpaw’s body and she quickly rushed over, trying desperately not to panic. Suddenly, she knew exactly how Lionpaw had felt when Ripplepaw had died. ‘You should have been there,’ a voice in her head told her. ‘If you were there, you could have stopped this. But you weren’t, and you didn’t.’ “NO!” she yelled, looking from cat to cat, eyes begging them to tell her that this wasn’t real.'*
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> *“I’m assuming that we’re not all gathered around to talk about how the prey’s running,” she said wryly.* ~Dandelionpaw greeting the revenge team consisting of Quilldawn and Lionpaw.
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> *"Do you know what my friend has been through?" she asked Ravenflame quietly. "Pitchpaw has been worrying, searching for her brother, since the day that he went missing. I have worried for her, I have stood by her, I have tried to work out what happened. And now you saunter back in here and say that /you/ are the reason for my dear friend's troubles? I hope that Badgerstar devises some brave punishment for you, Ravenflame. I hope to Starclan that you get even a fraction of what you deserve. This camp is too good for you to even set foot in, these people - my friends, my clan - too good for you to even think of. I cannot even /begin/ to articulate how angry I am. But don't think for a single second that I'm the worst you're going to get. I'm not even going to lift a finger because, no matter what I do to you, Pitchpaw will do worse. And Badgerstar will do one worse than that." She had raised her voice to a shout, and was breathing heavily.'* ~Dandelionpaw to Ravenflame after hearing her admit to killing Pitchpaw.
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> *"The Code is what keeps us safe. It what makes us the clans. How could you break it?"* ~Dandelionpaw to Lightflare.
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> *"You put love above honour? Above the Code?"* ~Dandelionpaw to Lightflare.
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> *'Dandelionpaw hadn't slept since her return, instead spending every second of her free time training as much as possible. Maybe, just maybe, if she practised enough, she'd become the best. And then, just maybe, she wouldn't be tossed aside again.'*
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> *"Sometimes, people make choices that we can't understand."* ~Dandelionpaw to her father, Goosestrike, about Duckhaze cheating.
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> *"Dandelionpaw, form this moment on you will be known as Dandelionshine. Starclan honours you for your intelligence and kindness and we welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan."* ~Blazingwing to Dandelionshine at her ceremony.
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## Trivia

* Dandelionpaw was originally meant to be a mean character.