Morningshine

Named for her father's belief that their ancestors happiness shone in the morning skies, Morningkit was born into a loving family, though two of her littermates would pass at birth. Luckily she still had her twin, Floweringkit, and sister Slugkit, and the three were as close as could be. But no member of her kin could compare to her relationship with her father, Snailshine. Morningkit loved her father. There was no cat she admired or looked up to more. Snailshine would always help her when she struggled to connect with other kittens or became upset by the loudness of camp, and unlike so many of her clanmates, he was charmed by Morningkit's more "unusual" tendencies and tried to understand. She couldn't have been luckier, having him as her dad.

One day, though, on a bright, sunny evening like any other, Snailshine would take her and her siblings to the pond, and he'd step away for just a moment, but he'd never return. A limp body plastered with blood left in his place.

AFTER SNAILSHINE'S DEATH

Morningkit was crushed. It felt like the light in her life was snuffed out. She begged to know how this happened, unable to believe that anyone could ever do something so horrible to her father. It was revealed that Snailshine had had a harsh arguement with the clan leader, Lionstar, before he was found dead under a cliff. Horrified and shocked with no other suspects, the clan pointed their fingers to Lionstar, Morningkit included, and they sentenced him to death by wolves.

Morningkit would cling to Lionstar's exile for comfort, trying her best to find solace in her father's death being brought to justice, but her grief overcame her. For the last month of her kithood, Morningkit would become gloomy, easily irritable, and tired, constantly getting into arguments and trouble. This would follow her into her apprenticeship, where Morningpaw was given Lionstar's daughter as a mentor, which would only make her more upset, and her new attitude would deeply sever her relationships with her family, especially her siblings. It felt like they moved on so easily, and she resented them for it. Meanwhile, her mother just seemed completely disconnected, taken over by her own grief. And while Morningpaw tried to reach out, her efforts would always prove fruitless. She'd try to talk to Newtshine, her father's former apprentice, but he seemed frantic and guilty whenever he saw her, like he'd been the cause for her grief. With no one else to turn to, Morningpaw would try again to grow close to Falconfrost, the tom who her father loved, but he seemed unimpressed and even upset by her advances. By all means, Morningpaw was completely alone. Her apprenticeship would be one of the worst parts of her life, having to survive both a badger attack, this deathly loneliness, and an avalanche. But they would never compare to what was to come.

TRUTH REVEALED

Things actually began to look up for Morningpaw. She found an unlikely friend in Blazingstar, the new clan leader. And after being given her warriors name, Morningshine, in honor of her father's memory, she began to finally feel the grief settle it's grip on her heart. Sadly, it wouldn't last. After the hectic events of the past few moons, the clan had found their place in their camp again and were settled down. An era of peace seemed to be on it's way. Until Newtshine made one long overdue visit to Blazingstar's den, revealing the truth behind Snailshine's death.

Falconfrost is revealed as the true killer. Completely shaken with shock and disbelief, Morningshine rushes to his side, saying that it can't possibly be true and the killer had been found moons ago. But Falconfrost confirms these accusations, and Morningshine is beyond devestated. The knowledge that her father's killer had been someone he loved, and that she'd been clinging on to the wrong things for comfort, shatters her beyond belief. As Falconfrost is sentenced to death by cliff, she demands to be the one to push him off, but is rejected.

Morningshine falls back to her old ways, finding comfort only in the outskirts of camp, alone. And it's on one of these trips that she meets Ivyfern, a MeadowClan warrior with a few issues of their own. They find a strange interest in each other, and start frequently meeting. Their friendship grows into something more, and they become mates. Despite them both being troubled, they find comfort in one another, and Morningshine feels like she has finally found something to fight for. Little does she know this little fiasco of theres will only lead to more trouble... TBC