Apple

Apple is the child of Rhyolite and Cinnamon. After both of her parents pass, she stays close to Foxglove and his band, who adopt her. She has a naturally hopeful and cheery disposition, and tries to see the bright side of everything where she can.

### The Way Things Are

A very quiet child, Apple is glued to Cinnamon's hip early on. She doesn't like to venture out too far, and the only other cat she interacts with right away is her uncle, Cherry. With them, she is friendly and bubbly. Her mother is kind and Cherry is patient, so with them, she thinks all is right in the world.

It's only when Cherry doesn't come back one day that Apple starts to realize how dangerous the world really is; feelings of dread and fear start to settle into her chest. She asks her mother if Cherry will ever come back. Cinnamon tells her it is unlikely, and that they have to look out for each other now. Apple doesn't understand, but the pain still stays.

### Learning to Sing

Panicked about the loss of her brother, Cinnamon hastily teaches Apple to connect with the cats from the other side. Singing is the best way, she says, and opens her mouth to show Apple how. Sounds and colors emerge and Cinnamon's soul is exposed, leaving her raw in front of the vortex that is ever-present. At first, Apple is confused... but before she can ask anything, Cinnamon senses someone nearby and abruptly stops.

Cinnamon pushes Apple behind her, and is never able to finish. She dies by a sudden attack from Foxglove, and never properly shares the skill with her only child. Apple is devastated and confused, hopelessly lost.

### Adapting to the World

Apple follows a remorse-stricken Foxglove and tries to piece together what to do now. Through their time together, Apple slowly comes to understand that neither Cinnamon nor Cherry would ever be coming back. It takes Apple a while to accept Foxglove, but he doesn't pressure her or even talk about it. He seems reluctant to do so, and she is thankful for that. She stays with him out of necessity at first, but slowly grows to enjoy his company. After a while, the two of them grow closer, and she comes to rely on him and his companions for survival.

After meeting Hoot, Sunflower, and Mulberry, Apple is feeling like maybe she can have a family again. Happy and content with how things were going, she curls into a little ball to sleep. However, when she wakes, a large fluffy purple cat is looming over her. She panics and calls for help, but the cat snatches her up and drags her away to an unknown location. This is further away than Apple has ever been, and she is horribly terrified. The adult leader of this other group looks a lot like her, and that scares her the very most. She tries to stay quiet and prolong her life, but when Foxglove comes over and he and Rhyolite start talking, Apple panics and calls out to him for help. She is hurt at first by Foxglove’s expressions of terror and fear, thinking he might not help her after all... but when he does, she is relieved and escapes from Ametrine and runs towards Sunflower.

The fight continues between the other cats, and Apple tries to stay out of the way, terrified of it all. When Mulberry is hurt, she panics particularly bad and rushes to make sure he is okay. She doesn't want to lose anyone she cares about ever again. She is so preoccupied with him that she does not notice Foxglove take his tumble.