Hidden Drips! AU

## Introduction

The Drips! AU is an AU where the characters in the Hidden series have different coloured blood, based on their personality. They also get slightly altered designs in this AU, where the characters‘ saturation is turned up, as well as some minor design changes (depending on the character).

The idea of this AU is that cats use each other’s blood to tell what kind of personality they have, as well as whether they can be classified as an important cat to the Clan, Clans, and/or Starclan. Blood colours are also useful in Warrior ceremonies, as this allows for the correct virtues to passed onto the Clan cat. Rogues, Loners and Kittypets also apply to this AU.

## Meanings and Symbolism

### **Shininess**

The shininess of a cat‘s blood is specifically used to tell how important a cat is to the Clan, Clans and/or Starclan. The level of shininess can change throughout the cat’s life, as they experience new experiences and learn, grow and change, whether it be for the better or worse. Once a cat dies, they only has one of two levels of shininess that their blood can be: extra shiny or dull. Extra shiny blood is for StarClan cats and other good cats, while dull blood is used for cats that reside in the Dark Forest and other evil cats.

#### **Extra Shiny**

Cats with the extra shiny blood trait are either Starclan cats or Prophecy cats (not all Starclan cats have this trait, though this is touched upon on later in this section, as well as in the ‘Shiny’ section). These cats are noted to be ‘one with the stars‘ and generally perceived to be good luck for the Clans.

Good cats which die and go to Starclan receive this trait as soon as they enter Starclan (the only exception to this rule are Starclan cats which have done a few questionable things while they were alive, though they were good enough to enter Starclan). Starclan cats with this trait tend to have really sparkly fur and eyes and can be identified in the night sky as very bright stars. Particularly noble cats which reside in Starclan are seen in the night sky as the brightest stars, as their fur and eyes sparkle even more than a regular Starclan cat’s does.

Examples of Starclan cats with this trait include Whitedove, Heatherlight and Blizzardstorm.

Examples of Starclan cats which were also Prophecy cats include Hiddenstar, Blizzardstar, Meadowstar and Fallenstar.

Prophecy cats obtain this trait as soon as the Prophecy has been delivered. After this point, their extra shiny blood trait is unable to change, unless they visit the Dark Forest, which in this case, their blood is purposely dulled out so that they are not vulnerable whilst training/visiting, as Dark Forest cats tend to like to take advantage of the extra shiny blood trait. Prophecy cats will have sparklier eyes than their other Clanmates, but they’re not as shiny as a Starclan cat’s eyes. Prophecy cats also tend to have quite glossy fur.

An example of a currently alive Prophecy cat is Shimmerstar.

#### **Shiny**

Cats with the shiny blood trait are pretty important when it comes to Clan life. They helped keep the Clan stable and are generally well-liked among the Clans. When they die, some particularly important cats can have the privilege of having their now extra shiny blood be shinier than an average Starclan cat’s blood.

Leaders, Deputies, Medicine Cats and Mediators in Clans automatically get this trait as soon as they gain their position, with only a few rare exceptions, such as Hollowstar, who killed both the Leader and the Deputy in order to receive the Leader position.

Some examples of ways that a cat can be considered as ‘important’ are:

* Allowing cats in need into your Clan
* Being a good influence within your Clan
* Being an exceptionally good mentor to cats
* Honouring the Warrior Code

Cats with this trait include Shydream, Riversong, Skywing and Moonwhisper.

#### **Normal**

This is the category that most cats fall under. Their importance to their Clan is equal to the importance of any other average Clan cat. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad in any way, but simply that they do not specifically stand out. Kittypets, Loners and Non-Hostile Rogues also possess this blood trait.

Cats with this trait include Willowshine, Squirreltuft, Adderfang, Mapleleaf, Alderpaw and Amberpaw.

#### **Dull**

All cats which are Dark Forest apprentices, Dark Forest mentors or Dark Forest residents remain with this blood type until they stop affiliating with the Dark Forest. Cats with this blood type are considered to be evil and not to be trusted by the cats of the Clans.

Cats with blood type include Spiderstalker, Wildscar, Hollowstar and Ravenflight.