Kithood

It was a misty morning when mewling reached the ears of a ShadowClan patrol. Thawspring was one of the cats on said patrol, searching for prey for her kits and mate back in the ShadowClan nursery. They found a tiny cream kit, alone in the cold and crying out for parents who would never answer their cries. Thawspring took the kit back with her, bringing the little scrap of fur back to the nursery where she and Duskrose named them Morningkit.

Morningkit and their sibling Swallowkit were like two peas in a pod. The two were always seen together, racing around camp and causing trouble. They frequently found themselves in trouble for attempting to sneak out of camp. Life for Morningkit was almost perfect! The only problem was the occasional whispering about their heritage. Oh… and that crawling feeling that they didn’t quite fit in their own fur.

One day Swallowkit came to them and admitted that she was not a tom, that she wanted him to know. Morningkit, feeling immense relief, readily accepted his sister and told her that he was not a she-cat, but a tom. Both having come to terms with their struggles, and knowing they had each other, they told their mothers.

Thawspring and Duskrose worked quickly. ShadowClan was made fully aware of their kit’s genders and with the love and support from their family, Morningkit and Swallowkit were accepted by ShadowClan, completely.

Apprenticeship

TW: For gore and character death!

Morningpaw was apprentice to Saffronstar himself and he couldn't have been happier! Although, it did mean that he occassionally end up training with the much scarier Midnightscar. Surprisingly, the deputy was actually very patient with him as he learned battle moves and he found himself learning a lot.

Morningpaw found that he was pretty decent at hunting and made it a routine to go around camp every day and make sure everyone had eaten. It was during one of these food deliveries that he walked into the Medicine Cat's den. He tried, and failed, to help Smallfinch make a splint for Littlefang and ended up ducking out of the den when he noticed that Swallowpaw hadn't been around for a while.

When his sister finally returned to camp he found out that she had followed Vultureyawp on one of his hairbrained schemes and ended up in WindClan camp. She was placed under near constant supervision, but Morningpaw was ready for an adventure with her.

He'd heard rumours of a ghost near the WindClan border and had been placing subtle markers around the place in the form of sticks. One night, he and Swallowpaw went out looking for the ghost. In an effort to try and summon it, they built a comfortable nest and decorated it with flowers. What they saw wasn't a ghost... but a WindClan cat covered in white speckles who yelled at them from across the border. Sure, Morningpaw had believed it was the ghost of Wolfcatcher, out to kill them, at first. But now he was determined to keep the strange cat at bay after Swallowpaw fell.

He barely paid attention to what the cat yelled at them, instead waiting for Swallowpaw to let him know she was okay and then they both bolted back towards camp. They stopped only to clean the mud off of Swallowpaw, then attempted to sneak back into camp. They were anything but sublte, but if anyone heard them, they didn't say anything.

Morningpaw was chosen to go to the Gathering with Swallowpaw and Sparkpaw and he was so, so excited to go! He was practically buzzing at the chance to go and meet apprentices from other Clans! Only he froze up and panicked when he actually got there, opting to stay as close to his mum, Duskrose, as possible the entire time. He left feeling afraid of the other Clans and especially of Lightningstar.

For the next moon of his life, things were pretty dull. Or, they would be if it wasn't for the looming threat of a fox in ShadowClan territory. With nothing being done about it for a whole moon, the apprentices decided to take matters into their own paws.

Teaming up with Swallowpaw, Adderpaw and Sparkpaw, Morningpaw headed out into the Nightwood to deal with the fox. With Morningpaw acting as their tactician, he sorted them into two groups with the intent of ambushing the fox. It... didn't go according to plan. Almost instantly, Sparkpaw broke formation. Then, they stumbled across a horrific sight. Smallfinch had been mauled, her body scattered across the forest in a gruesome display by the invading fox. And the fox was still there, but thankfully hadn't seen them.

Thanks to Swallowpaw, Morningpaw and Adderpaw were able to escape with her, but the lost Sparkpaw along the way. Upon returning to camp, they were able to explain what had happened to to Thawspring, Maplegaze and Wildfire. They were left in camp with Wildfire while Maplegaze and Thawspring ran to retrieve Sparkpaw, not knowing that Thawspring would be the only one who would return from the ill fated mission.

Things would change quickly when Thawspring returned. Another patrol, led by Duskrose would set out to rid their territory of the foxes once and for all. Morningpaw stayed close to Adderpaw, comforting his friend as best he could following the death of his mother and the disappearance of his brother. Thankfully, the patrol would return victorious. The only snag? Saffronstar had fled the battle and was missing. That left Duskrose as leader given she was the only deputy they had following the disappearance of Midnightscar. Maybe it was StarClan's will that neither of those cats should lead, or maybe they were both too cowardly to be leader. It didn't matter, now Morningpaw's own mother would be leading them.

He was apprenticed to Stormpath, a cat he had grown to admire. And things finally seemed to be getting back on track for him.