Blossomstar

Blossomstar is one of the oldest cats in the Dark Forest; the oldest, and some would say the least-deserving of the torment that comes with living in the Forest. Or- well, she certainly would.

Many moons ago, too many for a normal cat to count, Blossomstar was the leader of a clan back when the concept of clans was still new. Back then, StarClan was a far more active participant in cats' lives than they are now; they had the final say in many decisions, set the rules that governed the budding clans, and expected to be respected and revered as any heavenly body should. As a warrior, Blossomwing had no doubts as to the existence of StarClan, with their ghostly forms and glowing, starry messengers, she just couldn't stand the way they treated the living. Their 'prophecies' were vague and cryptic enough that any turn of events could satisfy them, they only allowed clan cats to address them when it suited them, and they acted as if they, themselves, hadn't once been creatures of flesh and blood as well.

Blossomwing waited until she was safely in the running for the leadership position before making her displeasure with Starclan known. Quietly, at first, spread through word of mouth and covert whispers: "Why should they have any say in our lives? Their time is in the past, our time is now! We should be in control of our own fate, shouldn't we?"

Any other cat might've been cast out for such hearsay, but Blossomwing's charisma and natural ability to rile her peers up kept her Clanmates from speaking out against her. Each of them believed they were the only ones she'd told, and so each of them felt blessed with such a devious secret. It all came to public light when Blossomwing refused to accept nine lives from StarClan upon becoming leader. And when they told her she couldn't take on the -star suffix without them, she did it anyway simply to spite them. Those were grounds enough for Blossomstar to be heavenly smote, and many of her Clanmates were expecting it, however she had figured out the truth of the matter- StarClan had no direct influence over them. They could send threats and make rules and offer prophecies of doom and apperate ghostly figures into her den to scream into her ear as she slept, but they could not directly harm her- though, nor could she do anything to them except denounce them whenever she could.

Despite only having a single life, Blossomstar lived a full and prosperous life as a leader; she was fair, kind, just, and courageous. Her clan thrived under her leadership, and her contributions to developing the warrior code and the ranking system were many. With her mate, she bore many kits, mentored many apprentices, and bestowed full warrior names to many eager young cats. When Blossomstar finally reached the end of her life, she had mellowed into a contented, wise old molly whose hatred of StarClan had receded into the back of her mind, and she died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones.

But StarClan hadn't forgotten.

Immortal as they were, the disrespect and the trouble she had caused them was still fresh in their memories; Blossomstar had caused plenty of clan cats to question their own faith, and further than that, she had brought her clan away from StarClan and into their own means of governing. In these times, the notion of a Dark Forest was largely a myth- one never saw the Dark Forest cats as they saw StarClan, and Blossomstar had come to the conclusion that it was a fairytale to scare them with, nothing more than that.

On that day, StarClan cast her into the Dark Forest for her hearsay and her direct mockery of her ancestors. More than that, Blossomstar was promised that her mate and kits, once it was their time, would follow her down due to her own transgression.

Now, Blossomstar is one of the oldest shadowy figures that patrols the Forest, and perhaps the least grotesque of them all, as her life was not spent living in evil or cruelty. Her life was spent giving her clan her best and leading them to happiness, yet she was punished for not doing it the way StarClan preferred it to be done: without them. Once a loving, caring, if a bit silvertongued cat, her moons upon moons upon moons in the Dark Forest, knowing exactly how she was wronged and why have turned her into something spiteful, something twisted, something unfathomably bitter. Above all else, Blossomstar has learned two things in her time imprisoned: that she was right, and that if given the opportunity, she will raze Starclan to the ground.

(story credit to pocketwatch!)