Coalflame

> "*It doesn't matter if I'm a good cat or a bad cat, when you're alone, it doesn't matter who you are.*"
> ― Coalflame to Marblepaw
>
>

## Affiliations

### Past:

Kittypet, Loner, ThunderClan, Rogue, StarClan, The Place of No Stars

## Education

### Dark Forest Mentor(s):

Rosethorn

**Coalflame** is a black-and-white tom with blue eyes. He has a broken jaw that's partially lopsided, a missing ear, and a scarred up hind right leg. His entire body is covered in battle scars.

## History

**Coalflame** was born as **Coda** to a she-cat named Valarie and an unnamed tom. His mother was a kittypet and his father was a rogue. His mother was close friends with a she-cat named Bree, who partially raised him for a bit before he was found alone in ThunderClan territory after he ran from his previously abusive twolegs.

Coda was let into ThunderClan by Wolfstar, who renamed him **Coalpaw** due to how close his kittypet name sounded to it and also for the black parts of his pelt. He was assigned Gingerstrike as a mentor, noted as a particularly bad choice due to Gingerstrike's hatred of cats who broke the code and contempt of cats with mixed or non-clan blood.

### The Plague Arc

Coalpaw first shows up near the end of The Plague Arc, witnessing Silverfeather having to get his dislocated leg reset after he and Coppersun were attacked by dogs. He eyes Coppersun's body for a moment before deciding to leave camp, unable to handle it. He's caught by Nightingalenose, however, reminding him that he shouldn't leave camp alone and that the dogs could be out there still. Coalpaw accepts this, realising they might need cats in camp to keep it safe.

Later, when Larkclaw is killed by Mapleleaf in camp, Coalpaw arrives at camp with his mentor after hunting. The brutality of his execution causes Coalpaw to leave camp when nobody else is looking. He begins to leave ThunderClan territory, the brutality of clan life having terrified him too much to stay. However, before he can leave, a loner named Chamberlain notices him and stops him, concerned about how scared he looked. When Coalpaw tells him that the brutality of clan life scared him too much to stay, Chamberlain tells him that it was normal for clan cats to be brutal, but the life of a rogue would be tougher, and that he'd have to toughen up regardless. Despite this, Chamberlain offers to let Coalpaw travel with him for a bit so he can become used to loner life at his young age, and the two leave ThunderClan territory together.

### The BloodClan Arc

Coalpaw appears again after two moons pass, at the beginning of The BloodClan Arc. He's spotted by Mapleleaf when she notices a black-and-white tom spying on ThunderClan camp from one of the bushes at the top of the ravine, and when she rushes toward him to call him out on it, Coalpaw slips, falling into the ravine, hitting the side of his head against an outcrop on the wall of the ravine before he hits the ground. The fall breaks Coalpaw's jaw, and he's found to be covered in scars from living as a rogue. ThunderClan takes Coalpaw in due to his injuries and also due to thinking he'd been taken by rogues due to his wounds.

When Coalpaw wakes up, he finds that his jaw had been somewhat pushed back into place so it could hopefully heal. Mapleleaf gives him a half-chewed mouse to eat due to his broken jaw, and when Mapleleaf asks him if he's Coalpaw he taps his tail in response due to not being able to speak. She gives him water before letting him go back to sleep.

The next day, Coalpaw wakes up, though due to the pain from his jaw all he does is groan in response to Mapleleaf's questions, though when Mapleleaf reminds him that she can't give him poppyseed without him having eaten first, he taps his tail on the ground, watching Mapleleaf order Dawnbreeze to catch him something before resting once more. When he's given a partially chewed squirrel to eat he eats it. When Wolfstar later comes to visit, Coalpaw looks visibly frightened, afraid that Wolfstar would kick him out of ThunderClan, though when she simply wants to tell him that she'd been worried about where he'd been when he left ThunderClan, Coalpaw relaxes. He informs her that he does plan on staying in ThunderClan now that he was back in camp. Once she leaves, he takes a mixture of dandelion and poppy seeds from Mapleleaf before resting again.

The day after, Coalpaw is allowed to sit outside and watch cats move about the camp for a little bit by Creekwhisper, who helps him go outside. Creekwhisper sits with him, and Nightingalenose notices him and greets him, though Coalpaw doesn't respond for a while, eventually mentioning how terrified of everything he was to Creekwhisper due to remembering how Larkclaw had died in camp. He brings up that not only Larkclaw's brutal death had scarred him, but his former twoleg's treatment of him as well.

As a half-moon passes, Coalpaw physically begins to improve physically, though he continues to stay in the medicine den due to preference, still struggling to speak. It's noted that he would sleep most the time during the half-moon. When he asks Mapleleaf if he'll be able to start training again soon, he also mentions that he was tired of not being able to help the clan that had saved his life. Though Creekwhisper tells him that he wasn't being a burden by healing in the medicine den, Coalpaw seems to disagree, though he doesn't argue. He goes to sleep a little bit afterwards.

While sleeping, Coalpaw finds himself waking up within The Place of No Stars, and he's introduced to Rosethorn, who pretends to sympathise with him over his want to provide for his clan despite his anxiety and offers to train him so he could become the warrior he wanted to become. Rosethorn manipulates Coalpaw into believing that his clanmates only saw him as useless because of his broken jaw and tells him that she'll teach him how to fight and hunt with his claws over his teeth as long as he stays loyal to her. Rosethorn tells him that she'll bring him back to The Dark Forest when he goes to sleep that night and promises him that he'll be good enough to become a warrior when he begins to train again before she disappears.

When he wakes up, Coalpaw finds Mapleleaf hovering over him, and when she tells him that she knows what he was doing, Coalpaw immediately grows frightened, and when Creekwhisper realises what Mapleleaf is talking about and tries to push Coalpaw away from The Dark Forest's clutches as well, which only proceeds to terrify Coalpaw, and when Mapleleaf proceeds to warn him more, he assumes that she was going to kill him like she did to Larkclaw, and he bolts out of the medicine den and out of camp out of anxiety. He runs all the way to the lake, and when he realises that Creekwhisper and Wolfstar had chased him he begins backing into the lake, and when Creekwhisper grabs his scruff to pull him out he begins to panic, yowling out in fear despite it hurting his jaw. Wolfstar grabs him then and pulls him out of the water, the two desperately trying to calm him down when Coalpaw suddenly snaps out of it, looking confused as he looks around before asking why he was at the lake, which meant that one of the spirits inside Coalflame, Bluetuft, had taken over his body, however, he, nor Wolfstar or Creekwhisper knew of that at the time. Though Wolfstar and Creekwhisper tell him that they believe in his future as a warrior of ThunderClan, Coalpaw insists that he won't ever be able to do it, and it takes a decent amount of insisting that they have faith in him for him to eventually concede and go back to camp with them.

At night, while Coalpaw is sleeping, he once again visits The Dark Forest, and he's seen training with Rosethorn. She's harsh with him, having no issue with berating and insulting Coalpaw as she pushes him to train harder, though almost as soon as she loses her temper with him she goes back to being nice to him so that he won't want to stop training with her. When Coalpaw leaps at Rosethorn to try and take her to the ground, Rosethorn suddenly thrusts herself upwards despite that not being the move they were practising, knocking him onto his back and biting his throat despite Coalpaw's protests. Though she doesn't bite down hard enough to kill him, it terrifies Coalpaw, despite her telling him that it was all because she was trying to teach him that in battle opponents wouldn't tell him what moves they were about to use. When Coalpaw doesn't get up afterwards, too tired, shocked, and winded to get up immediately, Rosethorn loses her temper again and attacks Coalpaw, clawing down his sides until the tom rolls away and fades to wake up. When he wakes up, he finds the medicine cat empty due to Mapleleaf having run off with Lynxheart after Flintstorm attacked Wolfstar, Creekwhisper still trying to stop the bleeding on Wolfstar. When Mapleleaf returns and helps Creekwhisper, she goes back into the medicine den to grab some supplies before noticing Coalpaw's bloodied state and makes it clear that if he continues to train in The Dark Forest that she wouldn't help heal his wounds, telling him that although he may learn from The Dark Forest, he couldn't betray ThunderClan in the process. Shockingly, however, Coalpaw manages to retort that he knows what he's doing with little fear, keeping his gaze locked on her as she tells him to get out of her den if he didn't need her help. Having wanted to leave for a while now, Coalpaw confidently walks to the apprentice den, seemingly having changed personalities overnight, which meant that Darkfang had likely taken control of his body. However, as soon as Coalpaw enters the apprentice den, Darkfang loses control, and because of it, he begins to immediately grow anxious once more, whether it be from his normal personality or from Bluetuft regaining control. He goes back to Mapleleaf and admits that he doesn't want to train with Rosethorn due to how cruel the she-cat was despite how much she told him he matters. He admits that he didn't want to admit this to Mapleleaf due to fearing she'd see him as disloyal. Mapleleaf tells him she knows how he feels, but reminds him that the way to earn loyalty in ThunderClan is to train amongst his clanmates, but also makes it clear that his choices were his own, not her's. When he asks if he can go to the Moonpool to speak to StarClan to get help, Mapleleaf gives him the badger skull she was given by Creekwhisper to ward off Dark Forest spirits, making it clear it'd keep them away, despite his anxiety about Mapleleaf getting pulled into The Dark Forest again because of it, Mapleleaf insists, and though Coalpaw does take the skull so he can rest, he tells Mapleleaf to kill Rosethorn again if she sees her in The Dark Forest.

Coalpaw appears again a few days later, visibly well-rested as he brings the badger skull to Mapleleaf's den. He asks her if he can help her out in the medicine den when Mapleleaf mentions that a patrol of ThunderClan warriors had gone to WindClan to help due to rumours that BloodClan would attack their camp, and Mapleleaf allows him to help her make bundles of herbs to give to the warriors that returned to camp. When Shrikethroat and Spidereyes arrive in camp, the RiverClan deputy having come with Shrikethroat to check if BloodClan had tried to attack ThunderClan or not, Coalpaw goes to soak moss to help wash the blood off the two she-cats. He comes back later with an herb bundle for Mapleleaf so she could begin working on a gash on Spidereyes' flank, overhearing Spidereyes mention that Hazelstar had been killed in the fight. He listens to Spidereyes and Mapleleaf talk for a bit longer before leaving camp to go hunt for the injured cats.

While out hunting, Coalpaw notices that he smells crows along with a slowly rising crowfood smell, and he suspiciously follows the scent, finding the body of a dead she-cat in a dip in the ground within ThunderClan territory. Shocked, Coalpaw notices that he'd never seen the she-cat before, realising that it had to have been a loner, and he leans down to try and see what happened to her when a kit suddenly slams into his legs, knocking him backwards. He tries to ask the kit if the she-cat was her mother, though she doesn't respond and simply bites Coalpaw's forepaw, and he leaps into the air, sending the kit tumbling. Coalpaw bolts after that, suddenly frightened due to the kit attacking him, and the kit runs after him, following him into ThunderClan camp. Mapleleaf hears him wailing due to the kit having latched onto his leg and pulls her off of him, and Coalpaw explains that he had found the kit near a dead she-cat, and asks if the kit can stay, the kit revealing that her name was Cheerio. After the kit is accepted into ThunderClan, Coalpaw leaves camp again to hunt and to bury the loner he'd found as well. He buries the loner while out, and returns to camp after not catching two mice.

The next day, Coalpaw is seen sunning himself in the clearing when Cheerio begins to bother him about how she was going to eat a mouse for the first time, and, feeling overwhelmed, Coalpaw announces that he was going to leave can go hunting, and before anyone can stop him he bolts out of camp. He returns later with no prey.

A day after, Coalpaw can be seen having woken up when Newtstorm and Littlerock come into ThunderClan after Newtstorm had attacked Nightingalenose on the border, accusing her of having murdered his daughter, Beetlekit. He appears shocked at first, however, Newtstorm's continuous insistence that someone in ThunderClan had killed his kit begins to anger Coalpaw and he snaps that if Newtstorm had kept a better eye on Beetlekit he wouldn't be in their camp and tells him to leave before another rogue goes after another one of his kits, causing Newtstorm to rush over and claw Coalpaw's shoulder and spit in his face, insulting his crooked muzzle before Coalpaw snaps and lunges for him, tearing his ear, and when he tries to lunge at Newtstorm again he's shoved away by Shrikethroat when she gets between the two. Coalpaw angrily insists that they should let him fight Newtstorm, working his claws into the ground angrily. When Shrikethroat shoves her muzzle into Newtstorm's face and tells him to get out, Coalpaw makes it clear that if Newtstorm attacks her that he'd attack him again. When Newtstorm does leave he snarls after the tom before he stalks back into the apprentice den despite his bleeding shoulder. When Cheerio follows him to try and see if he was okay, though Coalpaw, too angry to care, snaps at Cheerio to leave him alone.

The next morning, Coalpaw wakes up with a torn pelt, insinuating that he'd begun to revisit the Dark Forest once again. He's woken up by Mapleleaf and Cheerio, the kit having noticed his bleeding pelt and having gone to the medicine cat so she could heal him. Though she praises Coalpaw for having defended Nightingalenose, Coalpaw doesn't really react to it, simply insisting that it was what he should've done, and he offers to help Mapleleaf pick herbs due to the she-cat complaining about the low stock of marigold and cobweb under her breath, though Mapleleaf refuses to let him go out alone and makes him go find Shrikethroat to go with him. When he leaves the apprentice den to go find the warrior, Lavenderstar arrives in ThunderClan camp alone. While she's insisting that ShadowClan and ThunderClan should go to war due to Beetlekit's death still being blamed on ThunderClan, Coalpaw begins to throw threats at the leader, and when Lavenderstar leaves after breaking ThunderClan and ShadowClan's alliance, Coalpaw mentions that he wouldn't mind clawing a few ShadowClan cats under his breath. He forgets to ask Shrikethroat to take him out to get herbs because of this and is seen pacing around the apprentice den angrily while cats begin wondering what was going to happen in the future.

Later that day, Coalpaw sneaks out of camp through the dirtplace tunnel and goes to the ThunderClan training clearing to train by himself, not wanting to try and deal with Gingerstrike. He returns when a patrol of ShadowClan warriors are in camp talking to Wolfstar about how they disagree with Lavenderstar's choices, assuming that the camp might be under attack, though he doesn't do anything other than voice his concerns.

A few days later, Coalpaw can be seen sneaking out of camp again, not wanting to deal with a warrior taking him out of camp. He goes to the ShadowClan border to patrol it by himself and, to his horror, begins to smell fear scent and blood, and when he finds a spot on the ShadowClan border with torn shrubbery and blood on the ground he realises he can also smell Creekwhisper's scent and realises that ShadowClan had taken the medicine cat. He runs back to camp and yowls that Creekwhisper had been taken hostage before leaving camp with Mapleleaf and Dawnheart to go get her back. When they reach ShadowClan's camp, Coalpaw runs in first and impulsively flings himself at the first warrior he sees, Bumblesplash. He's thrown aside by the tom after they go tumbling into camp clawing at each other, though before he can try to attack again Dawnheart stops him, along with Creekwhisper as she reveals that only Daisyfawn had harmed her and that the she-cat was dead, executed by her own clan. He snarls insults and insists that ShadowClan was still in the wrong before leaving with Mapleleaf, Dawnheart, and Creekwhisper. Only minutes after being back in ThunderClan camp, however, Coalpaw leaves camp again, unable to contain his fury.

Coalpaw ends up at the ShadowClan border again when he leaves, having walked around mindlessly, and he sits there, taking a moment to breathe and relax in the silence. After a bit, he gets up and begins to head back before screeching, a fox snare catching his hind leg a few pawsteps into ThunderClan territory. Realising quickly that struggling more would just get his paw in a worse state, Coalpaw sits, deciding to wait for a patrol angrily. However, instead of a patrol, the same ShadowClan warrior he'd attacked in their camp, Bumblesplash appears at the border, and upon spotting him Coalpaw tells him to go away, knowing he wouldn't help. Bumblesplash begins nearing the border threateningly before Coalpaw reminds him that if he stepped across the border he'd get himself killed, and Bumblesplash reveals that he didn't care if Lavenderstar caught him, that he didn't care about how ShadowClan was falling apart, and that due to Coalpaw hurting his pride he was going to kill him. Bumblesplash then lunges at Coalpaw and knocks him down. The snare tightens as Coalpaw desperately claws at Bumblesplash to get him off, the tom biting his shoulder until Coalpaw manages to kick him off with his free hind leg. When Bumblesplash lunges at him one more time to try and kill him, Coalpaw suddenly throws his weight upward, accidentally biting into Bumblesplash's throat and tearing it, causing Bumblesplash to fall and bleed out. Coalpaw panics, having not intended on killing him, and beings to have a panic attack, screaming for someone to help him before he gives up, crouching and waiting for someone to find him, hoping it'd be someone of his own clan.

Coalpaw is eventually found by Pineheart, who was wandering around the border hoping that Creekwhisper would show up on coincidence. He finds Coalpaw shuddering still and rushes over to try and help, listening to Coalpaw when he insists that Bumblesplash attacked him and that he accidentally bit his throat, showing that he'd been trapped in the fox snare and couldn't have run away. Due to his closeness with ThunderClan and his willingness to listen, Pineheart believes Coalpaw and even rolls Bumblesplash in ShadowClan scent to try and make it so his clan wouldn't assume ThunderClan had killed one of their own again. Once he gets Coalpaw free from the trap, Coalpaw finds he can't walk on his injured paw and assumes it might be broken. He panics, assuming he'd never become a warrior at the rate he was at, and insists he can walk when Pineheart tries to lift him to take him back to ThunderClan camp, and the two slowly head to ThunderClan's camp together.

Once arriving in ThunderClan camp, while Pineheart explains what happened to Coalpaw, Mapleleaf tries to get Coalpaw to explain what happened, and when the tom barely responds Mapleleaf simply grabs him by the scruff and carries him into the medicine den. She once again asks him for an explanation when he's set in a nest, and Coalpaw tries to explain but refuses to say Bumblesplash's name, slightly relieved when Mapleleaf says that he was okay since he killed out of self-defence. He's visibly relieved when it's revealed that his leg was only twisted and that it wasn't broken. Cheerio soon comes into the medicine den to see Coalpaw and rambles at him, and, becoming overwhelmed again, Coalpaw fakes falling asleep until she leaves. When she does leave, Coalpaw reveals to Mapleleaf that he was thinking about leaving ThunderClan again because of how violent he'd been lately, mentioning attacking Newtstorm along with killing Bumblesplash. Mapleleaf makes it clear that he'd done nothing wrong in either of those situations and mentions that she thought he was finally making something of himself before also warning Coalpaw that if he left again he wouldn't be allowed back. Coalpaw spends a moment of silence thinking about what would be best for ThunderClan before finally promising that he wouldn't get hurt again to Mapleleaf before laying down.

The next day, Coalpaw, to his surprise, is called forward by Wolfstar after she calls a clan meeting. She reveals that she thought he was ready to become a warrior due to Mapleleaf letting her know that he'd managed to fend for himself against a warrior despite being trapped in a fox snare, and she names him **Coalflame** for his determination and spirit. Coalflame is shocked, though he accepts it. He watches happily as well as Cheerio is renamed to Brindlekit moments later.

Later that day, however, when ShadowClan suddenly attacks ThunderClan's camp, Coalflame helps get the kits into the nursery before rushing into battle. He's seen fighting Nightfern, Bumblesplash's mate. While fighting, Cedarpaw, one of her sons, attempts to fight him as well. Coalflame begins to grow severely injured with the two both fighting him, and when Brindlekit races out of the nursery to try and save him only to get kicked in the head and sent flying across camp, Coalflame grows enraged and tackles Cedarpaw, tearing open his throat in revenge. He's then forced to fight not only a now grieving Nightfern, but Newtstorm as well. When Mapleleaf tackles Nightfern to help Coalflame, Coalflame pins Newtstorm down on his belly and forces him to look at what he caused by starting the war, Newtstorm refuses to believe it's his fault, and before Coalflame can claw him again Brinkpaw, Nightfern's other son, tackles him, and him and Newtstorm attempt to pin Coalflame down. They claw him severely, and though Brinkpaw backs away, Coalflame hears Newtstorm telling him to leave him to bleed out. He gets up moments late and stumbles over to Brindlekit, who weakly tells him goodbye before she dies from the blow to her head. In rage and grief, Coalflame turns and attacks Brinkpaw mercilessly, rendering the tom unrecognisable before killing him with a belly wound before he lunges for more ShadowClan warriors, eventually ending up fighting Rustedcall until Lavenderstar calls her clan to retreat. Once all the ShadowClan warriors have fled, Coalflame goes to rest by Brindlekit's side, grieving. He attempts to beg Mapleleaf and Creekwhisper for help, though when the latter tells him that there's nothing they can do, he lets Lynxheart and Miraclesky grieve over her.

Later, when Nightfern stumbles back into ThunderClan camp, followed by Snailrose, Coalflame snarls at them to leave, though when they explain that they're only there to get Brinkpaw and Cedarpaw's bodies for burial, stating that they'd left ShadowClan to become loners, he backs off. He feels sick to his stomach as they leave, beginning to regret how brutal he'd been in causing both apprentice's deaths. He soon leaves camp, forgetting that he was going to help Lynxheart and Miraclesky bury Brindlekit. He goes to the lake to be alone and reflect over what happened in the battle, realising that he'd become a murderer, something he hadn't wanted to ever become. He lays down, memories of his kithood flashing in his head until he finally gets up and goes back to camp. Once he gets back to camp, he goes straight to the warrior's den, not wanting to talk to anyone.

The next day, after having not sat vigil, Coalflame exits the warrior's den, ignoring the glares sent toward him from Creekwhisper and Dawnbreeze, though when the two begin to talk about how freaked out over Brinkpaw's death Creekwhisper was, he begins to eavesdrop, and he overhears Dawnbreeze offer to take Creekwhisper to the border to see Pineheart. He accuses Creekwhisper of being a spy for ShadowClan, scorning her for breaking the code. Creekwhisper retorts by stating that he's nowhere near innocent either due to him killing Cedarpaw and Brinkpaw, however, Coalflame makes it clear that them both causing Brindlekit's death gave him enough reason to do it. Dappledrop tries to barge her way into the argument by making it clear that it's against the code to kill in battle, in which Coalflame reminds them of Brindlekit's death once again. When they all disperse, Coalflame snarls at Creekwhisper and Dappledrop before going back to the warrior's den. Dawnheart attempts to confront him inside, stating that she assumed Creekwhisper and Dawnbreeze were only gathering herbs, though when Coalflame insists that they were just going to go see Pineheart, she mentions that she could simply follow them to make sure. He ponders this for a moment before deciding to follow them, unaware that Dappledrop was watching him as he left.

While in ThunderClan territory, though he was on the way to the border, Coalflame suddenly stops, freezing and losing focus for a long while. Dappledrop finds him sitting and staring off into space, and when she confronts him, Coalflame acts oblivious and innocent, as if he hadn't been snapping before in camp. Whether that meant that Darkfang had control of him in camp and he'd regained control outside is unconfirmed.

Once arriving back at camp after hunting on the way back, Coalflame goes to talk to Mapleleaf, speaking warmly toward the medicine cat as he offers to go look for herbs for her while hunting once again. Due to Creekwhisper not wanting anything to do with Coalflame anymore, however, Mapleleaf wants nothing to do with him either and declines his offer, also declining his offer to get her new bedding after making it clear she didn't want anything from him. Going back into the clearing, confused, Emberdusk decides to call him over to chat, noticing how confused the tom looked. Though Emberdusk tries to ask him what's wrong, Coalflame brushes him off, stating that he likely wouldn't understand what was wrong with him. He later leaves the warrior's den and leaves camp, leaving ThunderClan territory. It's unknown what he did when he left.

When Coalflame returns to camp, having hidden his scent, he goes to Mapleleaf and finally confesses to her that he feels like he's sharing bodies with one or two more cats. He brings up Darkfang mainly, likely not knowing about Bluetuft yet, revealing that Darkfang had been in control when he'd killed Cedarpaw and Brinkpaw and also revealing that Darkfang was the reason he'd antagonised Newtstorm when the tom had first come in camp and the reason why he'd wanted to leave ThunderClan. He brings up how the "real" Coalflame was the Coalflame who was afraid of Brindlekit and Wolfstar. He tells her clearly that the next time he was acting aggressively to talk to him, mentioning that Darkfang didn't like her. He also makes her promise to kill him if he killed anyone else, which she hesitantly agrees to.

The next day, Coalflame can be seen scolding Firekit for playing with pieces of fresh kill, making it clear that warriors were supposed to treat prey with respect. When he raises his voice when Firekit doesn't stop, Firekit calls him a bully, and when Mapleleaf tells him to back off, Coalflame stalks off to go hunt angrily, not realising that Mapleleaf was following him. He goes to the Ancient Oak to lay in one of the branches, questioning in his head if he hated Creekwhisper. Darkfang's part of his head answers with yes, making it clear that she was a traitor, however either his own or Bluetuft's side says that he didn't truly hate Creekwhisper, and when he asks the same question about Newtstorm he's met with the same responses. It fills Coalflame with despair, and he wonders what might be wrong with him when Mapleleaf appears nearby, asking him which cat was in control of him at the moment. Coalflame asks her what cat she'd like to speak to, and when Mapleleaf answers with the aggressive one, Darkfang takes over to make it clear that he didn't want to speak with her. Despite Darkfang's attempts to get Mapleleaf to forget Coalflame's mention about the cats in his head, Mapleleaf refuses, making it clear that if he didn't talk to her that she'd keep him stuck in the tree. He claims to be the only thing giving the "real" Coalflame courage. Mapleleaf makes it clear that she believed the true Coalflame could fight him off and warns him to watch his claws after a little more bickering before she leaves. He doesn't return for a long while.

When Coalflame arrives back in camp, he snaps at Dappledrop for accusing him of going to Twolegplace to eat kittypet food. Only a little while later, Coalflame leaves camp again after growing restless, not realising that Dappledrop was following him out of camp. He heads for the border that leads toward loner's land, though Dappledrop runs ahead of him and gets in front of him, confronting him and accusing him of being disloyal to ThunderClan due to him sneaking off once again. She calls him a murderer for what he did during the ShadowClan vs. ThunderClan battle, and though Coalflame calls her a hypocrite when she states that she'd kill him if he had to, Dappledrop still attempts to attack him, insisting that it was the only way to stop his bloodlust. Dappledrop manages to tear part of his ear off, and begins to severely wound Coalflame as he attempts to flee, though when Dappledrop barrels into him one more time, Darkfang takes control once again, and Coalflame mercilessly bites her throat when she stumbles, killing her. As soon as Dappledrop dies, Coalflame regains control of himself, and he panics before leaving ThunderClan territory out of fear. He's seen passing through the Moonpool before he heads to Twolegplace.

When he makes it to a burned down den in Twolegplace, Coalflame runs into Bree, his mother figure as a kit in Twolegplace. The she-cat asks him what happened while she attempts to clean a wound on his shoulder, and when he explains what happened, Bree pities him, making it clear that he could stay in Twolegplace with her, and that if anyone from ThunderClan tried to come find him, she'd keep them away. Coalflame grows comforted by this and asks Bree if his mother ever had voices in her head, and when Bree answers that she had and that she'd grown to control them, Coalflame seems more comforted, though grows pained when Bree asks him about Brindlekit, revealing that he'd met with her before since he'd joined ThunderClan. Bree offers to have him travel with her, mentioning that she knew a good place to get food and shelter, though Coalflame declines, not wanting to get Bree roped into the situation he'd gotten himself into. Bree attempts to argue, however, they're interrupted by Nightfern and Snailrose when the two recognise Coalflame. Nightfern immediately grows angered and aggressive toward Coalflame, and when she steps closer and reveals that he killed her mate and two sons in front of Bree, Bree is shocked and upset, though when Snailrose attempts to attack Coalflame, she intercepts it, tackling the grey she-cat. Bree fights off both Nightfern and Snailrose before they can attack Coalflame, though Coalflame ends up fleeing and disappearing before Bree can turn around and confront him.

Coalflame appears again a day later, starving from not getting any food since he'd run off. Sitting in an alley, he beings to grow panicked, likely from Bluetuft taking over, though to try and keep the panic down, he decides to lay down and sleep. Not long into it, however, he's woken up by a young ginger-and-white tom, who introduces himself as Kylo. Kylo talks to him a bit about where he came from before offering to help him hunt, and the two head further into Twolegplace before stopping at a twoleg den. Kylo lets the twoleg scratch between his ears while Coalflame watches until it brings out food; chicken. Kylo lets Coalflame eat it all and Coalflame thanks him. Kylo helps teach Coalflame how to climb up onto twoleg den roofs and lets him drink before leaving to go get something. Coalflame lounges on the roof while he waits until Kylo comes back with herbs to help treat his wounds. While Kylo works on his wounds, Coalflame asks him about his past, and Kylo reveals that his mother had been killed by BloodClan and his father had disappeared. They talk about BloodClan's whereabouts and their plans before Coalflame decides to rest for the night.

The next day, Mapleleaf and Marblepaw, Dappledrop's daughter, find Coalflame sleeping in a box on the same roof after asking Kylo for his whereabouts. Coaflame wakes up when the two arrive, and when Mapleleaf asks him how much he remembers the day he killed Dappledrop, and Coalflame answers that all he remembered was leaving camp and Dappledrop following him and then attacking him. He states that he only killed Dappledrop because he had no other choice. Mapleleaf asks him to remember the promise he made her keep, and as Coalflame begins to panic, she reminds him that she didn't want to have to kill him, but she also makes it clear that he couldn't ever return to ThunderClan now. Coalflame tells her that he's trying his best to control the spirits in him. He finally tells Mapleleaf to tell the clan that he was dead, which she agrees to. Once they finish talking, he gets up and follows Kylo.

The next day, Coalflame is seen leaving Kylo when the tom falls asleep, deciding that the young tom didn't need a murderer around him, and he disappears.

Two days later, Coalflame is seen wandering in BloodClan's territory, and he's attacked by Beezle and Pammy. Due to being weakened from starvation and exhaustion, he's unable to fight at his full strength and is easily pinned down by Beezle. He begs for his life, and Beezle and Pammy both taunt him before Pammy tells Beezle to put him out of his misery. Beezle hesitates when Coalflame begins to plead for his life again, and before he can do anything Darkfang takes over, making Coalflame fling himself up and knock Beezle off of him. He bites Beezle's throat, though not enough to kill him, before Pammy tackles him, though before she can do anything Coalflame kicks her in the face before running away, disappearing into Twolegplace.

After the BloodClan vs. RiverClan battle, when Marblepaw is injured and left in RiverClan territory after ThunderClan goes to help RiverClan, it's revealed that Coalflame was the one who found her and took her back to the burned down den he'd found Bree at. He begins to treat her wounds when Marblepaw wakes up. Coalflame explains what happened to her before she loses consciousness again, and when she wakes up again, he feeds her and provides her with water, letting her stay to rest. Later, Coalflame apologises to Marblepaw for killing Dappledrop, Cedarpaw, and Brinkpaw, explaining that he felt horrible for causing their deaths. Marblepaw slowly sits up after a moment and reveals to Coalflame that Dappledrop wasn't a good parent to her and that she hadn't really felt much toward her death. Though Marblepaw says she doesn't believe Coalflame is bad, Coalflame says that it didn't matter what he was to him anymore. He tells her to rest before leaving the den again, returning after several hours of hunting with nothing with him. He ponders why he hadn't died yet, wondering what his purpose was.

A day later, Coalflame insists Marblepaw stay one more day so her wounds could heal before going out to hunt again.

Another day later, Coalflame finally helps Marblepaw head home after he feeds her. He takes her to ThunderClan territory before stopping, knowing that if he went any further he'd likely be killed. Marblepaw thanks him and wishes him good luck before heading home.

After a few days, Coalflame shows up at Horseplace, seeking shelter in the barn there. He attempts to rest, however, he's attacked suddenly by a large BloodClan warrior who'd been nearby, revealed to be Harvey later on. He doesn't kill Coalflame, however, realising the tom was slowly starving to death. Harvey realises that the tom had to have battle experience due to his scarred foot and his broken jaw, and tries to offer him a place in BloodClan, though Coalflame refuses, making it clear that he wasn't afraid of BloodClan and wanted nothing to do with them. Harvey attacks him because of this, though Coalflame easily dodges, however, Harvey grabs him by the tail before he can run out of the barn, pinning him on his belly. He attempts to make a killing bite, though before he can, Kylo appears and attacks Harvey to rescue Coalflame. Coalflame uses the distraction to flee, leaving Kylo and Harvey to fight one another alone in the barn.

In the next few days following this, Sunny, Bean, and Speck are spotted in ThunderClan territory at around a moon old, implying that Coalflame had met Milo three moons prior at the very least, though due to the interaction not being shown it's not known when or how they met. Though due to Speck mentioning that he knew Coalflame and that he had mentioned ThunderClan before, he had to at least had some time spent raising them.

The same day his kits arrive in ThunderClan, Coalflame is seen next within ThunderClan territory, likely having followed his kits to make sure that ThunderClan had taken them in. He appears, however, when overhearing Stormheart talking to himself about how he didn't think the kits could be trusted due to his father within the territory. He confronts Stormheart. After a short confrontation, Coalflame tells Stormheart that he can't allow cats that won't trust or could harm his kits in ThunderClan, and Stormheart attacks first. Coalflame manages to roll on top of him and declares that his kits deserved a chance to prove themselves before slicing open Stormheart's belly and leaving him to bleed out.

Several days later, Coalflame appears again in ThunderClan territory. Marblepaw finds him and rushes over to chase him off the territory before noticing that he was mumbling to himself, Darkfang having taken control over him again. Before she could run away, Coalflame attacks her, though he regains control before he can kill her and leaves her after injuring her heavily, bolting away from the territory. He runs into RiverClan territory, crazed from Darkfang's control, and ends up attacking a lone warrior in the territory, Duskrock, injuring him severely before he runs off again, running to Horseplace before he collapses, regaining control of his body. In a frenzy, Coalflame begs Darkfang to get out of his head, before he suddenly begins to writhe around violently, as if fighting for control of his own body. He doesn't notice Beezle watching him, or Wren, Wysteria, and Fireeyes when the three arrive at Horseplace soon after. He screeches at Beezle to not touch him before, panicking, he asks them all where he is. He's visibly confused as they all respond, before Coalflame suddenly laughs, realising that, in the internal struggle, that Darkfang was finally gone. He snaps at Wysteria when she snarls at him, still impatient, and when the she-cat attempts to attack him he uses Beezle throwing himself in front of him to run, disappearing.

Coalflame appears a day later on the Gathering Island, assuming he could rest there and not be bothered, not realising that Mapleleaf had been pursuing him to finally put an end to his murderous run. She notices that Coalflame isn't the same cat he was, and Coalflame is still acting crazed as if the final struggle with Darkfang had finally caused him to snap. He flings himself at Mapleleaf when the she-cat makes it clear that she was going to kill him, the two wrestling with one another until Mapleleaf manages to get him onto his back so she could rake her claws down his chest and throat. When Coalflame tries to stun her by smacking her with one of his forepaws, Mapleleaf bites his jaw in an attempt to break it again, though she fails, and Coalflame bites her muzzle instead, and Mapleleaf responds by clawing down his belly with both paws. Rolling free, Coalflame grows shaky due to the severe wound but continues to taunt Mapleleaf regardless, which makes her jump onto his back and tear it open before he can run off. She grabs him by the head and hits it on the ground over and over until she hears a crack and leaves his motionless body where the lake would be able to wash him away before leaving. After hours, however, Coalflame stirs, revealing that Mapleleaf hadn't broken his neck, but had broken his foreleg instead. He slowly limps his way off the island, heading back to Twolegplace.

Once in Twolegplace, Coalflame collapses in an alleyway from exhaustion and blood loss. He's found by Acorn, who chases him off, and he continues limping until he collapses again by a twoleg den, being found by a kittypet living there, a tom named Ginger. Ginger notices his injured state and gets his twolegs to come and get him, and Coalflame is taken in by them and is taken to the vet. The next day, he's left in Ginger's nest inside the twoleg den, and though he tries to leave, Ginger stops him, making it clear that he thought he should stay due to his state and because he could tell his injuries were caused by cats that could hurt him again. After being asked what happened, Coalflame doesn't answer Ginger for a while before finally explaining what he did, and he's surprised when Ginger doesn't fear him when he mentions the cats he'd killed. He stays at Ginger's until the BloodClan Arc's end.

### The SkyClan Arc

Coalflame is still living with Ginger after a moon passes and the SkyClan Arc begins, and the two have become mates. He mentions how happy he was with the tom and how good it felt to have someone caring for him for once, and his story starts on the fence of their twoleg's nest. He and Ginger chat for a bit before a loner comes over, a black-and-white tom named Paint. He asks Ginger to get him something to eat, claiming he was starving, and though Coalflame and Ginger tease him, Ginger heads off to go get his twolegs. While he's gone, Coalflame chats with Paint for a bit until he notices that Ginger had been gone for a while, and goes to look for him inside. He doesn't find him, but as he begins to search around the house, Paint suddenly shrieks in horror outside and Coalflame races out to find him. He sees Paint running away from the twoleg den before he rounds a corner and finds blood all over the ground, and, upon following it, finds Ginger lying dead, his stomach torn open. When he collapses by the tom after screeching in grief, he notices ThunderClan scent all over his body, and, in a complete rage, he promises to kill every last ThunderClan warrior. He grooms Ginger's body one last time before leaping over the fence, leaving his twolegs behind to find Paint.

Later, unknown whether he had found or spoken to Paint or not, Coalflame appears in ThunderClan territory and attacks Wolfstar in a frenzied rage while she was out training Beezle, who'd recently joined ThunderClan. Coalflame fights savagely, intending to kill as he tears into the leader, though not without getting injured in turn. Coalflame aims either for the belly or throat in almost every hit, while Wolfstar continues to try and stun him or knock him off his paws. When Wolfstar manages to grab him and begins to slam him into the ground over and over again, Coalflame bites her cheek and tears it. She drops him after he goes still, assuming she'd knocked him out or killed him, not realising that Coalflame had simply played dead until it was too late, and Coalflame lunges up, tearing open her throat with his fangs. Wolfstar collapses, and Coalflame attacks Beezle next, throwing him into a tree trunk to keep him stunned. When Wolfstar attempts to get back up, Coalflame walks back over and shoves her back down, making it clear that he was going to avenge Ginger until he died before giving her throat the killing bite, ripping away one of Wolfstar's lives. Before he can attack Beezle again, however, Lynxheart races into the clearing, having heard the screeching, and lunges for Coalflame, narrowly missing him as the tom turns and flees, the deputy on his heels. He manages to evade Lynxheart and disappears.

A couple of days later, when Daisykit and Saffronkit sneak out of camp, Coalflame is in the territory, and he catches them. They don't recognise him, but he doesn't show any hostility to his kits, simply sitting and expressing sadness when his kits don't remember him, though when they guess that it's their father he seems happy. He reveals that he had been watching camp to keep an eye on his kits, and he tells them to go back to Snowcloud since she'd likely e worrying about them. When Saffronkit asks Coalflame why he left them, Coalflame tells them the truth, that he had wanted them, but he knew that keeping them would endanger them, and he reveals that Milo hadn't trusted him around their kits as well. He tells them not to trust Mapleleaf either and warns them to keep out of his way as well. He leaves after affectionately nosing both kit's heads, though when hearing his kits scream out for help moments later and smelling fox suddenly, Coalflame turns around and races toward them, leaping for the fox's back before it could hurt Saffronkit. Though he manages to injure the fox well, he misplaces his footing suddenly and gets slammed into the ground, and before he can retaliate the fox bites his belly and tears it open, and though Coalflame manages to claw it so badly it backs up, before he can get up the fox bites his head and shakes him, attempting to break his neck, though when Snowcloud suddenly appears, having looked for the kits, the fox drops Coalflame and runs, leaving Coalflame soaked in his own blood and missing one of his ears. His breathing grows unsteady as Leopardwing also runs in, and when Saffronkit at first refuses to go with him back to camp because of her father's state but ends up giving in when Snowcloud begs her to, Coalflame mentions that Saffronkit was very similar to her mother. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to run anymore, he tells Snowcloud bluntly that Mapleleaf would likely just kill him instead of heal him, and he asks Snowcloud to watch over and take care of his kits for him. He sits up in a crouched position despite the blood loss as Mapleleaf comes in, simply shaking his head and smiling at her when she snarls at him. Sure enough, after looking over Daisykit, Mapleleaf tries to get Snowcloud to move so that she could finish what the fox started, though Snowcloud refuses. Coalflame notices that this is his last chance to get away, and he realises that all he wanted to do now was lay with his twolegs, still having the collar around his neck. He makes it clear to her that he didn't want her to kill him for his kit's own sakes, and he breathes out in relief when Mapleleaf decides to let him go, and he turns, disappearing for the last time.

Coalflame next appears in StarClan, confirming that he'd likely bled out from the wounds from the fox. It's unknown where he died, though it's likely he died trying to get back to his twolegs. He wakes in StarClan first, however, thinking he was still alive due to losing consciousness before he died, he continues wandering, not realising that he'd passed the border into The Place of No Stars until it was too late. He bumps into Galestar in the forest within its depths, and at first assumes he might have passed into another clan's territory on accident, though when she gives him the truth that he was in The Place of No Stars, Coalflame realises that he was dead, and refuses to believe it, insisting that he had to keep the promise he made to his kits to meet them when they were older. It only takes a little bit for him to grow defeated, however, and after a little more conversation with Galestar, he decides to travel alone despite her offer to join him, slipping into the gloom without a word. He doesn't try to cross the border back into StarClan and becomes trapped in The Dark Forest.

Coalflame reappears a few days later, finding Palekit in The Dark Forest after she ends up dreaming herself there. He tells her that she shouldn't be there, not wanting her to end up like he did with Rosethorn, and manages to get her to wake up quickly, to his relief.

Coalflame is next seen listening to Galestar vent about being trapped in The Dark Forest since she had been in StarClan first similar to Coalflame. He listens and offers her sympathy, though when he hears noises near the cliffs, he pads off, leaving her be. He finds Daisykit at the cliffs, speaking with Rosethorn, who was beginning to promise the she-kit training. Coalflame forbids her from coming to the Dark Forest, and when Rosethorn comments that Daisykit wouldn't last and that she was mixed up in reference to her gender, Coalflame snarls at her angrily, telling Daisykit to wake up, which she does after she realises that Coalflame was dead. Once she vanishes, Coalflame launches himself at Rosethorn in absolute rage. The two fight savagely, tearing into each other before finally separating, Coalflame realising he was losing quick. Rosethorn tells him to leave, and he forces himself to, knowing that if he died, his kits would have nobody to protect them from Rosethorn.

A few days later, after Marblepaw is killed by Rosethorn but the death is framed on him in ThunderClan, Coalflame sees Mapleleaf appear in The Dark Forest. He calls her over to talk despite the medicine cat's hostility toward him, and he tells her that Darkfang and Bluetuft are gone first and that he feels at peace despite his disappointment in his actions in life. When Mapleleaf asks him about Marblepaw, Coalflame looks visibly confused, having had no idea she'd died, explaining that although he wanted Marblepaw dead, he hadn't seen her since he'd died. Mapleleaf also reveals to Coalflame that when Wolfstar had attempted to come to the Dark Forest to look for him, she'd lost an eye thanks to Rosethorn, and Coalflame informs Mapleleaf that Rosethorn was trying to mess with his own kits, much to Mapleleaf's distaste. She makes it clear to him that those who harm kits don't live long in the Dark Forest, much to his relief, and Coalflame then asks if Marblepaw's death had been painful, expressing slight disappointment when he found out it likely hadn't been as painful as she'd done to Ginger. Coalflame also reveals that he isn't strong enough to combat Rosethorn, and Mapleleaf tells him to seek out Redcloud if she tried to hurt his kits anymore, making it clear that the she-cat would help him if kits were in danger. She also promises to keep watch over Frostkit, Saffronkit, and Daisykit, and after he wishes her good luck, Coalflame disappears.

### The Strife Arc

Coalflame shows up around the beginning of the Strife Arc, simply contemplating himself in a tree in The Place of No Stars. He wonders why Darkfang and Bluetuft were given another chance, and why he was chosen to hold them within himself, remarking how peaceful he now felt thanks to the two now being gone. He wonders why StarClan cared more about the spirits than himself, though regrets questioning his warrior ancestors, remembering that they'd helped him meet ThunderClan. He worries over his kits, especially Frostkit, who was already beginning to follow in his pawsteps, and Coalflame grows determined to steer his son away from the life he lived. Coalflame quickly realises that, truly, all he wanted, was to have lived the normal life of a warrior, to return from the forest territory of ThunderClan with a mouth full of prey for his mate or friend, to have been able to climb the steps a warrior would have climbed. He grows frustrated, remembering that all he was now was a rogue worth nothing in his eyes, and he disappears again after leaping down the tree.

Several days later, Coalflame is seen when Creekwhisper wakes up in The Place of No Stars in her dreams. When the she-cat begins to panic over being there, Coalflame appears to try and comfort her, explaining that he'd brought her there to talk about Frostkit. He explains that he's not sure if there's a way to help him, also revealing to Creekwhisper that she likely never spoke to the "true" Coalflame when he was alive. He also reveals that Frostkit had many more spirits in him than Coalflame had, some being aggressive and some being passive. He asks Creekwhisper to apologise to Wolfstar for him and expresses slight surprise when Creekwhisper admits that she'd have to apologise to Mapleleaf for assuming the Dark Forest was entirely full of horrible cats. Coalflame agrees, and as he mentions that there were still horrible cats around, Rosethorn appears suddenly, and Coalflame immediately gets in front of Creekwhisper, telling Rosethorn to leave them alone. Rosethorn doesn't listen and instead tackles Coalflame, sending them both rolling across the ground in a brutal ball of teeth and claws. When they break apart, Rosethorn only as a single scratch, while Coalflame, however, was clearly more injured. Rosethorn headbutts him and knocks him to the ground, pinning him down with a paw on his throat, and she bites the part of Coalflame's face over his left eye. Creekwhisper ends up making Rosethorn lose her footing by knocking herself into her hind legs, and Coalflame is left stunned with blood in his eyes while Rosethorn lunges for Creekwhisper, knocking her unconscious from a blow to her head. Before Rosethorn can bite her face, however, Coalflame yanks her back by her tail and manages, after a moment to throw her into the dark river. He desperately tries to get Creekwhisper to wake up, and, when noticing more Dark Forest warriors beginning to watch, he drags her to another area in the Dark Forest.

Coalflame drags her to a fake version of twolegplace to resemble the one in the actual lake, a burned down version of it, and drags her into an abandoned den until she wakes up. Coalflame cleans the mud off her fur while he waits, cleaning his own wounds while he waits for them to slowly heal. When she wakes up, Coalflame tells her to wake up in the real world, though Creekwhisper is unsure of if she can, wondering if because she was knocked out in The Dark Forest if she could even go back. To pass the time to see if Creekwhisper will eventually stir in the living world, Coalflame asks her about her own kits until she finally wakes up.

### The Tempest Arc

Coalflame only shows up once in this Arc, arriving too late after Frostkit accidentally kills Saffronkit, the kits already having woken up. He yowls in despair before running back in the forest to try and find Rosethorn.

### The Reaping Arc

Coalflame shows up during this arc after Frostflame earns his warrior name, having summoned the tom to The Dark Forest to speak with him. Coalflame is visibly proud of his son, stating that he was incredibly proud of both of his kits for becoming warriors. Coalflame asks Frostflame if he could tell Daisybreeze that he was proud of her too, and he says he will. Coalflame realises verbally that Frostflame was nearing the age he was when he died, and thought Frostflame assures his father that he didn't plan on dying, Coalflame seems to still be wary, and grows quiet for a moment. When he speaks again, he brings up how his clanmates in ThunderClan didn't seem to trust him, and though Frostflame assures his father that Wolfstar trusted him, Coalflame shakes his head and tells him that he shouldn't trust any of his clanmates. Frostflame argues though Coalflame interrupts him angrily, stating that due to them walking similar paths if Frostflame wanted to stay in ThunderClan he'd have to get used to not trusting his clanmates and accepting that they'd let him die if given the chance. He also brings up Daisybreeze's clear scorn of Frostflame, which angers Frostflame, who makes it clear that despite Daisybreeze's scorn over him that he'd die to keep her safe. Coalflame shakes his head and makes it clear to Frostflame to learn to control his mind, not wanting him in the same forest he was now trapped in before the tom fades out.

## Personality

As a young cat, Coalflame was an extremely anxious, paranoid, and skeptical tom. He didn't trust many cats, and the experiences he'd had not only with his old twolegs but with the frequent death in the clans made him afraid of almost everything in life. Though stubborn, he would easily give up at certain things at times, and he was a very insecure cat who didn't partially believe most the cats in ThunderClan even wanted him there, even when Wolfstar clearly had faith in him. He was a charitable, kind tom, however, and he didn't like to not be of use to ThunderClan, even when injured. Some reasoning toward this could be that most of the time as an apprentice, Bluetuft might have been in control of his body from time to time.

As he grew, however, and as the spirits in him grew more active, Coalflame became extremely jaded, not trusting nearly everyone around him, and when Darkfang took over control over his body, Coalflame became an incredibly violent, impulsive, and merciless cat, having no issue with killing others who got in his way or hurt him in any way. He became snappish, easily angered, and due to the two spirits inside him fighting for control, very scatterbrained and unpredictable. Coalflame was capable of love, as seen with care for his mates, Ginger and Milo, though held grudges to an end, seen with his skewed relationship with ThunderClan after he finally left the clan permanently. Once being intensely injured a few moons before his death, Coalflame lost Darkfang and Bluetuft suddenly, which, for a bit, sent him into a craze until he'd managed to calm himself down after the fight with Mapleleaf, finally freeing him of being a volatile character, and he spent the rest of his time alive quiet, mellowing out and trying to redeem himself for what he did. Despite his faults, Coalflame was a troubled cat, though loved his own kits dearly, seen as he risked his life moving close to ThunderClan territory to attempt to watch over them as kits, and seen when he sacrificed himself to save not only his own kits but their foster mother, Snowcloud, as well from a fox. Despite being put in StarClan due to the spirits being the main reason why Coalflame's life was ruined, Coalflame doesn't believe he belongs among StarClan, and even though he ended up in The Place of No Stars on accident, he doesn't regret ending up there. He wanted to be a guide for his kits beyond death and is a proud father, still protective over his kits, though he harbours immense grief over his actions when he was alive due to the spirits inside him having left him upon his death.

## Relationships

### Darkfang

The side he truly feared and despised, Coalflame was both scared and angered with Darkfang in his lifetime, the spirit in his head feeling as if him being there was the only reason Coalflame could be brave, making it clear that without him, he'd be nothing but a coward. He was the reason Coalflame killed as many cats as he did, and because of it, Coalflame despises him, continuing to do so even after his death.

### Mapleleaf

As an apprentice, Coalflame had been intimidated by Mapleleaf though had a noticeable amount of respect toward the medicine cat, though due to her intimidating personality and appearance he still held an immense amount of anxiety regarding her. He'd try to be kind to the medicine cat regardless, however, and seemed to enjoy helping her out when he could. However, as he'd grown up and become a warrior, and as the spirits within his body began to take over more and more, he and Mapleleaf's relationship grew strained, to the point where they became enemies once Coalflame finally left ThunderClan for good due to him killing his own clanmates multiple times because of the spirits within him taking over. Now that he's free of the spirits and is in the afterlife, he feels sorrow for how his relationship with Mapleleaf plummeted but knows there's not much he can do but apologise to her for it.

### Creekwhisper

Coalflame liked Creekwhisper more than Mapleleaf, it was clear by how more relaxed he was around her before he'd gotten close to Mapleleaf for a short period of time. He found the molly easier to talk to and more gentle and held a very high amount of respect toward her. Though they hardly talked after he became a warrior due to their relationship becoming rocky due to his violent nature beginning to form and because of the time he accused her of being a spy due to her relationship with Pineheart, Coalflame knew, once he died, that Creekwhisper would understand what he'd been through, which is why he brought her to The Dark Forest to talk to her, and when she accepted his apology and told him that she understood what happened to him, he felt happy knowing the she-cat at least didn't think he was as bad as everyone else did.

### Wolfstar

Though Wolfstar viewed Coalflame as her own son, Coalflame had little opinion on Wolfstar outside of respect when he still lived in ThunderClan. Once he became a rogue, however, and especially after he accused all of ThunderClan of causing Ginger's death, all Coalflame felt for Wolfstar was simple disdain or hatred.

### Brindlekit

Coalflame, though annoyed by Brindlekit at times due to her obnoxious nature, did care for Brindlekit almost like she was a younger sibling of his, and when she suddenly died to enraged him so much that he ended up killing the ShadowClan cat that had accidentally killed her, and he expressed an overbearing amount of grief at her passing.

### Rosethorn

His former Dark Forest mentor, though Coalflame trusted Rosethorn at first, he had hated how cruel the she-cat was to him during their training very quickly into their relationship as mentor and apprentice. It got to the point where Coalflame was desperately trying to get away from Rosethorn, becoming frightened of her and desiring her to die a second time. Once he died and appeared in the Dark Forest, the two became enemies once she attempted to go after Frostkit, Daisykit, and Saffronkit, and he'd nearly killed her multiple times to keep her away from them, even going so far as to nearly risk his second life when Rosethorn also attacked Creekwhisper when he brought her to the Dark Forest to talk.

### Gingerstrike

Though not shown at all in the story, it's mentioned that Gingerstrike and Coalflame's relationship was extremely rocky due to Gingerstrike's hatred of non-clan born cats. Part of Coalflame's anxiety as an apprentice came from Gingerstrike's brutal and abusive style of training toward him, and Coalflame hasn't said a word to him despite Gingerstrike now being in the Dark Forest with him due to his death in The Tempest Arc.

### Marblepaw

Coalflame and Marblepaw's relationship was always rocky. Though Coalflame pitied her for how Dappledrop had treated her, and the two had a possible almost friendship after he rescued her from dying in RiverClan territory, after Marblepaw killed Ginger in revenge for Stormheart, Coalflame wanted her dead but died before he could get that. He didn't seem to be that upset when she died either, stating bluntly that she deserved it.

### Bree

Coalflame clearly loves Bree, viewing her as a mother figure due to not knowing his mother very well from her death having happened early into his life. He's comforted by her care toward him and is grateful for the things she does for him, though due to his care for her he also doesn't want her to get roped into the thing's he's caused for himself, not wanting her to end up dead because of him.

### Ginger

Ginger was Coalflame's second and last mate, and it was clearly obvious that he loved him much more than he ever did love Milo. Ginger showed Coalflame care he'd never experienced before, and he felt a strong, loving bond toward him because of it, his being killing his desire to be another rogue on the streets. Ginger was the only cat who could successfully wake Coalflame up when he was dreaming as well. When Ginger was killed by Marblepaw out of pure revenge for Stormheart, Coalflame lost every last bit of what he considered humanity in him, and his death was the cause of Coalflame's final vendetta against ThunderClan.

### Milo

Nothing is really known about Coalflame and Milo's relationship, and with how quickly it lasted and ended, it likely was just a one-time fling of sorts, and though Coalflame might have cared for her, he likely didn't stay with her very long, especially due to her own mistrust of him.

### Frostflame

Though it's known that Coalflame was present for at least parts of the first moon of Frostflame's childhood, and it's known that Coalflame did care about his son, Coalflame knew, as he did with Daisybreeze and Saffronkit, that his presence would only cause more pain for his kits, and he knew ThunderClan, despite what they did to him, would be their best chance at having a possibly happy life. Coalflame knew once he died that Frostflame had the same thing he did, and though he tried his best to sway his son away from Rosethorn's clutches and to lead him on the right path, he failed. He loves his son dearly, as he does all his kits, and regrets that he hadn't been able to show it properly.

### Daisybreeze

Just like Frostflame, Coalflame loves Daisybreeze genuinely, but felt like being there for them would cause them more trouble than good. He openly tried to keep her away from Rosethorn's clutches as well, getting so angry when Rosethorn misgendered his daughter that he tried to kill her in The Dark Forest along with her reasoning for trying to train the kits. Being his only living child, he still tries to watch over her from The Dark Forest, happy that she's gotten the peaceful life she wanted.

### Saffronkit

Coalflame loves Saffronkit as much as he loves his other kits and having to watch his daughter die accidentally from Frostflame's claws when he'd lost control of his body hurt more than ever. Coalflame was the reason Saffronkit didn't end up trapped in the Dark Forest once she died there, some claiming that he'd managed to get her body over the StarClan border before she'd passed on.

## Killed Victims

* Bumblesplash *(Accidental)*
* Cedarpaw *(Caused)*
* Brinkpaw *(Caused)*
* Dappledrop *(Caused)*
* Stormheart *(Caused)*
* Wolfstar *(5th life, caused)*

## Trivia

### Interesting Facts

* Coalflame named the two spirits that reside in his body back when he was a kittypet. He named the more anxious one Meek, and the hateful one Zeph, after names he heard in a dream as a kit.
	+ Meek is actually an ancient warrior named Bluetuft, who spent her entire life terrified of battle, running anytime her clan fought. She died at a young age, fleeing from a battle right into a monster's path on the thunderpath. Being reincarnated into Coalflame was her chance at finally facing her fears.
	+ Zeph is an ancient warrior named Darkfang. He was full of anger at the world, and he killed in battle and even attempted to kill his own sibling when they broke the warrior code. His anger caused him to die young by execution, and even though his heart was good, his clanmates had only ever seen anger and corruption. He was reincarnated into Coalflame to find peace within himself.
		- It's confirmed that Darkfang was in control when Coalflame mutilated and killed Brinkpaw.
	+ However, neither of the spirits found their peace, and it cost Coalflame his clan and his future.
* Coalflame lost both the spirits inside him at some point after he got seriously injured.
* Coalflame is bisexual.
* Coalflame sounds like JD from Heathers: The Musical.
* Due to having been in StarClan before getting trapped in The Place of No Stars, Coalflame has smudged out stars in his pelt and he's one of the few cats in the Dark Forest who have healed scars instead of still bleeding death wounds, his being the belly wound that killed him.

## Kin

### Members

**Mates:**

* Milo (formerly): Deceased, residence unknown
* Ginger: Deceased, residence unknown

**Daughters:**

* Daisybreeze: Living
* Saffronkit: Deceased, verified StarClan member

**Son:**

* Frostflame: Deceased, no residence

**Mother:**

* Valarie: Deceased, residence unknown

**Foster Mother:**

* Bree: Living

**Granddaughters:**

* Speckpaw: Living
* Fernpaw: Living
* Saffronpaw: Living

## Quotes

"*There's...there's death...everywhere," Coalpaw breathed out after his long period of silence, his words slurred and his voice hoarse from not only speaking with his broken jaw, but from not having spoken in a long time. "I'm so afraid...of everything, not just because of how Larkclaw died...my twolegs were just as monstrous as that. When I finally got away from them, I never looked back, and," his voice cracked as he slowly looked into Creekwhisper's eyes. "I guess I thought to do the same thing when Larkclaw was killed the way he was."* -Coalpaw to Creekwhisper.

*“.....Yes, Bean, Sunny, I wanted you. I named you two. I was there when you were born but I doubt you’d remember. I wanted you more than anything. But your mother didn’t trust me. And I couldn’t stay. You must know by now that a lot of your clan mates want me dead. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. They’ve done their fair share of crimes. All of them. Especially Mapleleaf. Don’t trust her. You should know, so long as you stay out of my way, no harm will come to you.”* -Coalflame to Daisykit and Saffronkit.

*“....for the sake of you and my kits, I ask that you don't. I won’t fight you...if you do...but...I don’t want them to fall onto a road of vengeance. And I don’t want it to be your blood they seek.”* -Coalflame to Mapleleaf when she threatens to kill him.

**Frostflame:** *“Daisybreeze is a kind and responsible warrior-”*

**Coalflame:** *“But since you killed Saffronkit, she has been alone. She feels the effects of our actions. They look bad on her. That’s why she scorns you no matter how hard you try. And you know what Frostflame? She’d let you die too.”* - Coalflame to Frostflame about not trusting anyone in ThunderClan.