Mistysand

**Mistysand** is a round, soft silver, tan and white she-cat with green eyes.

## Life

### Kithood

Mistykit was born as the only kit to Sunface. Both her and her mother are different from the usual Duneclan build- they have thin skin and fluffy soft fur, compared to the standard thick skin and coarse fur that is commonplace. Not long into her kithood, Sunface adopted another kit named Shiningkit from an old friend whose mate passed away. The two of them were so close and looked so similar that cats made jokes that they were from the same litter. Shiningkit took a strong liking to Mistykit and was a very protective brother.

As a kit she was very withdrawn and jumpy. She felt safest when she was in the shade, playing pebble toss with her brother and her friend Warmkit. She was easily spooked by the older apprentices, and was bullied by a few of them for being a "cotton ball". She got this nickname from her fur.

The apprentice Shimmerpaw teased and bullied her as a kit, but would back off as soon as Sunface came running with a bristling pelt- while Mistykit couldn't stand up for herself, her very protective family and friend would do so in a heartbeat.

### Apprenticeship

Due to her timid personality, Mistypaw wouldn't have done well with a harsher mentor, so Straystar made her mentor Chervilpelt. The tom was pretty calm as a mentor, if a little unsure of himself, so the two of them got along well at a slower pace. She never really believed the whole cursed one thing, though she kept it to herself.

Mistypaw didn't have many friends outside of her brother and Warmpaw. Many cats were much older than her, but she was okay with her small friend group. However, during her apprenticeship she caught the attention of Shimmerclaw's littermate Hickoryfall. She thought he was nice, if a little intimidating, and thought he had a good chance of becoming deputy, even if his father wasn't leader.

### Warriorship

Mistysand wasn't a warrior for very long, as almost a moon after her warrior ceremony Hickoryfall had begun to court her. She was very flustered by the attention from the older tom, though he was always very gentle with her and would shower her with small gifts and gestures. It was like a love story come true- despite the times when his temper shone through and he began to act oddly and aggressively.

She showed him comfort after the mysterious death of his parents. Her brother told her he had a bad feeling about Hickorystar when he asked her to be his mate, but she shrugged it off. He was okay! He just had a little bit of a temper... because he was stressed! He was just stressed because he was so busy!

### Queen

Not long after Hickorystar became leader, Mistysand became pregnant and the pair of them were over the moon for it. Mistysand had always wanted to be a mother, as she was inspired by her mother and her willingness to love any kit regardless of it was hers. Hickorystar was a bit clingy during her pregnancy, but she was okay with that. He was just excited, just like her!

The day came and she went into labor, giving birth to two kits... but everything fell apart when she saw the she-kit. The kit was pure black, and almost didn't look like them at all. Mistysand panicked- *was it just a trick of the light? Maybe she was just dirty! He couldn't take her!* When Hickorystar came to see their kits she attempted to hide the kit from him and say it was just a birthing sack when he asked why the medicine cat said there was two kits. When he found the kit he lost it- he shouted at her, frightening the already stressed queen. She tried desperately to keep her kit, trying to find any reason to not loose her beautiful baby girl. He accused her of cheating on him and told her he would throw both kits if she didn't give up the she-kit. Mistysand was forced to let her mate take her kit or loose both of them.

Hickorystar pressured her to forget the kit ever existed, as anytime she would bring it up he would shout her down and force her to stop talking about it. She started to forget she even had a second kit, though the sadness and grief of loosing a kit still haunted her. She had to focus on their son Sharpkit, but her relationship with Hickorystar was never the same. He regarded her coldly for a long time after the incident, still accusing her of cheating with someone else. Now she felt like she was constantly walking on eggshells around him and meekly agreeing with him for the sake of peace. She loved her son dearly, but she would often think of what it would have been like if she'd gotten to keep her daughter.

After Sharpkit became an apprentice, she stayed in the nursery- mostly because Hickorystar wouldn't let her leave camp very often. He slowly got over his accusations of cheating and became affectionate towards her again, though she was less than eager. Around the time Sharpfall became a warrior, he had started to notice the way his father had treated his mother and the two of them began to butt heads constantly, though Hickorystar never raised a hand to his kit or mate.

Mistysand had a lot of anxiety when she found out she was having a second litter- she was afraid that she would have to loose another kit, or Hickorystar would start treating her coldly again. She became very quiet and withdrawn, often disassociating entirely when her mate would come to visit. Things felt a little better when she found out she would be sharing the nursery with her best friend, who was expecting her brother's kits.

When she had her second litter, she was genuinely hoping that if any cursed ones were born, they would be stillborn. She didn't know if she could handle loosing another kit over the dunes. The first two kits, perfectly fine- they looked just like their parents. But the third kit... She had more white than the last kit, but Mistysand lost all hope when her mate came in and called her a whore. It wasn't enough. The medicine cat Sunnyrivulet tried to defend the kit, but was no match for the rage filled leader. All Mistysand could do was give her daughter a kiss goodbye- before giving her over to Hickorystar to get rid of. When he came back he was kinder and congratulated her on their **two** kits.

Mistysand tried to be a good mother to Thornkit and Needlekit, and she did well for the most part. However she felt... small. Very small, as whenever Hickorystar came to visit he always seemed to talk over her unless it was to use her presence for something, such as scolding Sharpfall for making his mother cry after he found out what became of the third kit. She loved her kits very much, and both her kits loved her as well. She should have been happy...

When the famine first hit, Mistysand and Warmdawn were the center of attention. They and their kits were the future of the clans, so in order to keep them safe, Hickorystar made a pact with Caveclan to take the queens and kits in during the famine. Mistysand panicked when she found out- he was sending them into an enemy clan! Full of cats that Hickorystar and his warriors have damned and attempted to kill on multiple occasions! The fear for herself and her children caused her to argue with him, but like every argument he shouted her down.

The day they moved to Caveclab wasn't fun for Mistysand. Hickorystar was cold to her for the whole trip, giving their kits more concern than he did his mate. Mistysand was also very scared by the barely veiled hostility from cats like Coldrock and Frosttuft- she knew very well how cats felt about her mate, and was terrified that cats would use this opportunity to hurt Hickorystar by hurting her or her kits.