Saffronshine

Character art by Speed

## Description

Saffronshine is a russet she-cat with thick, silky fur, golden-yellow eyes, dark brown stripes on her face, black ears, and a dark brown back and tail which fades to black at the tip.

## Personality

Saffronshine is assertive, strong-willed, playful, practical, spontaneous, and doesn't care much about what others think of her. She is very free-spirited with a passion for adventure and trying new things. She is also very straightforward and isn't very good at keeping secrets. She has no problem bending the rules when it suits her. She can also be somewhat self-absorbed and impulsive. While she has a tough outer shell and a sharp tongue at times, she has a caring and protective side.

## History

Saffronshine is a CavernClan warrior who has lived under Curlingstar's and Lynxstar's leaderships.

Saffronshine was born to Brooksplash and Howlshine along with her brother, Hawthornpaw. Growing up, she knew of her mixed-clan ancestry and took much pride in it. But she had no idea that her brother was the reincarnation of Hawthornstar, a past ReedClan leader. She gradually realized that something was going on as Hawthornkit's behavior changed due to the presence of Hawthornstar's voice in his head. Despite this, Saffronkit never understood why other cats-- even their own grandparents, Reefshine and Lotusflame-- treated Hawthornkit with caution and hostility. Although Saffronkit often fought and competed with Hawthornkit, she always felt protective toward him.

As Saffronpaw, she was apprenticed to her first mentor, Foggydream. Despite being a strong fighter, Saffronpaw often played hooky and neglected her training in pursuit of fun and adventurous experiences. Moreover, she longed to explore her ancestral roots and see what lay beyond CavernClan's borders.

Saffronpaw's curiosity drove her a bit too close to the DustClan border and she accidentally crossed over, jumping into her first encounter with Dashingpaw (later Dashingwinds). The DustClan apprentice attacked, accusing her of stealing prey. Naturally Saffronpaw fought back, denying his accusations, and they clashed before parting ways. Despite their initial hostility, Saffronpaw was intrigued by the handsome DustClan tom, and had a feeling they would meet again soon.

Meanwhile, tensions in Saffronpaw's family escalated after Hawthornpaw beat up a different DustClan apprentice at the border while under the influence of Hawthornstar's spirit. Upon witnessing the aftermath, Saffronpaw watched in disbelief as Reefshine turned on Hawthornpaw, calling him dangerous. Brooksplash angrily defended Hawthornpaw, and Reefshine split from the family. Saffronpaw stayed by Hawthornpaw's side, but deep down she shared his fear that one day he would lose control of himself and end up hurting his family. But she assured Hawthornpaw that they wouldn't let that happen.

On her own, Saffronpaw wandered to the borders more frequently. Sure enough, she ran into Dashingpaw again and again, and each time they spoke with contempt and exchanged petty insults. But their arguments fizzled out, giving way to a more playful banter as they began to show romantic feelings for each other. Being part DustClan herself, Saffronpaw couldn't ignore the intrigue and excitement she felt whenever she saw Dashingpaw, and she never thought twice about their meetings.

After Foggydream became a queen, Saffronpaw was apprenticed to Hazeygaze. She lagged behind in her training as she continued to spend time away to meet with Dashingwinds, and Hazeygaze ultimately discovered her. Luckily for Saffronpaw, Hazeygaze had been in love with a GladeClan cat herself, and she kept Saffronpaw's secret-- but she warned her apprentice of the danger she was putting herself in.

Although she wasn't as concerned, Saffronpaw began to take her relationship a bit more seriously and reluctantly tried to keep it a secret. She was unable to hide her secret from Hawthornpaw, but to her relief he supported her. He also revealed to her that he was Hawthornstar's reincarnation, and that this was the cause of his episodes. Despite her initial confusion, Saffronpaw felt closer to Hawthornpaw knowing what had been happening to him all along, and she promised to help him. Unfortunately, as the two of them were play-fighting afterwards, Hawthornpaw fell under Hawthornstar's influence and wounded Saffronpaw. Thankfully she survived, but she became even more protective and cautious toward her brother, not wanting to fight him again.

Saffronpaw's irresponsibility had delayed her from becoming a warrior, and she decided to put more effort into her training with Hazeygaze. At the same time, in order to keep her secret, she asked Foxswipe to teach her how to be sneaky.

After several moons, Saffronpaw finally earned her warrior name, Saffronshine. At last, she felt as if she had true freedom. One night while she met with Dashingwinds, the two of them were discovered by Wolfpaw, who gave them a dire warning against their actions. Nevertheless, Saffronshine and Dashingwinds insisted they knew what they were doing, and they confessed their love for each other. At that moment, they made plans to go on adventures together. After asking Hawthornpaw and Hazeygaze to cover for her, Saffronshine set out with Dashingwinds, and they traveled for a while.

Unfortunately, Saffronshine lost track of time while she was gone. She realized she hadn't thought things through when she returned home to face the anger of her apprentice, Splitpaw, who fell behind in her training as a result of Saffronshine's absence. Despite also being angry with Saffronshine, Hawthornpaw effectively covered for his sister and lied that he sent her to find herbs. Not only did Splitpaw clash with Hawthornpaw over his secrecy regarding Saffronshine's disappearance, but also regarding rumors of his "outbursts" of violence. Hawthornpaw grew defensive of his secret and the arguing nearly escalated into a fight before Saffronshine intervened. She took the blame for Splitpaw's anger, feeling guilty that her carelessness had caused so much distress.

## Other Details

- Saffronshine is Speed's 50th character on the server.

- She and Hawthornpaw have ancestry in ReedClan, CavernClan, DustClan, GladeClan, and the gangs. Saffronshine is quite proud of it, but often feels conflicted about her identity and her loyalties.

- Saffronshine is very adventurous when it comes to food and will eat practically anything. Whenever she has the chance, she often hunts at the borders in order to try prey that comes from the other clans.

Saffronshine - Art by SpeedDashingwinds and Saffronshine - Art collab by Woof and SpeedSaffronshine & Dashingwinds - Art by Speed