Thistlehowl

History

Kithood [0-6 moons] >

Swallowcall and Jaychirp have been long-time mates, undeniably close. And despite the terrible happenings of their lives as of late, they have finally decided to expand their little family even more. Enter Thistlekit and his littermates; born to loving parents and older siblings, Thistlekit felt nothing but softness, warmth, and love on the day of his birth, snuggled up with his littermates.

Not long after Thistlekit was born, a cat named Panthercrow was named the new deputy of the clan, causing many cats to argue about whether or not this was a good idea for the clan. Thistlekit was too young to understand this, really, just watching from the nursery as cats argued about the leadership of their clan. He didn't really get what the big deal was.

Later, his older brother Heronbrook decided to adopt a few kits, including Ravenkit. Thistlekit and his nephew became fast friends, inseperable during their games. He always made sure to invite Ravenkit into his games, along with any other kit who would indulge him.

Some of the young apprentices snuck out of camp on their own around this time, though Thistlekit only knew because they got in a lot of trouble when they got home. He thought it was kind of silly; if he snuck out, he just wouldn't get caught. At least Muffinpaw was okay, though.

Some time passed, and Cheetahstar decided to take a bunch of his clanmates, including his Baba and Auncle Magpiepond, to go on a very important mission, though Thistlekit didn't know what it was. He stayed home with Mama Jay while the cats went out, oblivious to what was going on out there. Until they came back.

Magpiepond and Windrise weren't moving.

Thistlekit was devastated - he didn't know they were fighting out there. Windrise had been a good family friend, and Magpiepond was his family. Worse, Swallowcall looked devastated, wailing over the body of their littermate, and Thistlekit didn't know what to do.

After that, Swallowcall started staying in the nursery more, and they informed their family that they'd be staying there with them until Thistlekit and his siblings became apprentices. They seemed so terribly sad, and Thistlekit didn't mind the presence of both of his parents, but he wanted to find a way to cheer them up. He tried to invite his parents into his games whenever he could, giving Swallowcall the distractions he thought they might need.

One day, everything changed. Panthercrow announced to the clan that not only was she stepping down, but she was leaving the clan, as well. Things erupted into chaos, and Thistlekit didn't understand. Why leave the clan? What was so cool about the world outside that she wouldn't want to come home? Though he was confused, he didn't speak up about it, not quite sure how to phrase whatever questions he had. Maybe she had a really good reason, and he just didn't know what it was.

He wouldn't be dwelling on it for long. Not long after, when he was in the middle of planning a really great game with Cheetahstar and some of the other kits from the nursery, his world was shattered. Those awful Empire cats attacked, and most of the day became a blur of terror and running. His grandma Egretwillow was attacked, and he tried so, so hard to help her, but he wasn't big or strong enough.

Most of the fighting blurred together, and the next thing he knew, he was with his mama Jaychirp, fleeing their home as chaos and bloodshed surrounded him. Egretwillow was hurt, and he huddled close to Lilackit as Jaychirp carried them to the home of one of the other clans.

The next thing he remembered, they were in MarshClan territory, and one of their patrols was asking why they were there. Thistlekit stood up as tall as he could to tell them that they were attacked, and that his grandma needed help. They were allowed to stay with the other clan, and Thistlekit suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar camp, an unfamiliar nursery.

The weather grew cold, and Thistlekit was miserable. He supposed it wasn't all bad; he had made a friend here, a cat named Sundewpaw who was nice to him, willing to help him distract himself. He supposed MarshClan was nice enough. And as time passed, some other cats from his clan were found in the tunnels, including Cheetahstar himself.

Apprenticeship [6-12 moons] >

The rest of his kithood passed by in a blur of feelings and misery, and soon enough, Thistlekit found himself in the middle of his apprentice ceremony, in another clan's camp, with only a small piece of his family. Thistlepaw was granted a new name, a mentor, but he wasn't happy. He didn't get it. This should have been the happiest day of his life, but he was just... miserable.

Not long after he started training, he joined a patrol looking for his clanmates, and they managed to find some of them... but none of them were his family. How long did he have to wait until he found Swallowcall and his other siblings? Thistlepaw grew angrier with every passing day. How dare the Empire ruin his life like this?

And then, finally, some relief. More patrols were sent out to investigate the tunnels, and they had found them. His siblings were here, and Swallowcall was, too. He watched them reunite with his Mama Jaychirp, and he wanted to cry. Finally, things were starting to look up, and though they were in awful shape, they were alive. Maybe things could start to be okay, now. And maybe, hopefully, they could get their home back someday, too.

And then his world collapsed around him again, just as things started to look up. Egretwillow, his grandma, the cat who had told him stories his whole life, had been sick with a cough for a while after falling into the frigid water around the camp, but one day... she was just gone. Thistlepaw wailed when he saw she wasn't moving any more, and though Ravenkit tried to help him, he just couldn't bring himself to feel better. It was like the world was growing colder around him, less light in it without the guidance of Grandma Egretwillow.

Before he knew it, Thistlepaw's life descended into chaos again. Cheetahstar had made the decision to launch another attack on the Empire, this time with the three other clans behind him. It was time to take back their home, once and for all. Thistlepaw wanted so badly to join in, to fight for his clan, but Swallowcall told him to stay back. They were insistent - stay here and keep his siblings safe, they didn't want him to dive in and get hurt. They couldn't lose anyone else.

That day felt like one of the longest days of Thistlepaw's life, but in the end, he learned that they had won. They had gotten their home back, chased the Empire away from their territory, and they could go back when the camp was rebuilt. It felt weird, the idea that he would be leaving MarshClan's camp soon, leaving Sundew and this weird territory he'd spent so much of his life in.

But that wasn't all that was on his mind. Jaychirp, his mother, had been hurt badly in the final battle. More than that, she had been named deputy. He stayed as close to his mother's side as he was allowed, joining Swallowcall in worrying over her. She had to get better, Thistlepaw demanded. She was deputy now, so many cats needed her, and he didn't want to lose her just like he lost his grandma Egretwillow.

As the weather grew warmer, cats started getting sick. It was like a wave had swept over the territories, with cats going to the herbalist den in numbers Thistlepaw had never seen before. One of these cats was his sister, Maplepaw. It felt so sudden - one day, she was fine, and the next she had fallen ill, and would never wake. The herbalists said she had died to an unnoticed sickness, but Thistlepaw only felt angry. How dare the world do this, take another of his family to sickness, after the biggest victory of his life? He growled to himself, to the stars, that he would not forget this. That he would not forget her.

And then, the camp had been rebuilt. Under the light of the sun, Thistlepaw journeyed back to his own territory, surrounded by his clanmates. The camp looked... unfamiliar. Did he even really remember what it used to look like? The memories were hazy, surrounded by a mist that he couldn't seem to part, no matter how hard he thought about it. The wind felt familiar, the grass underpaw and the shining sun overhead. He would just have to get used to it, he supposed.

One day, a border patrol came back with new faces - a rogue he didn't think he'd ever seen before, and their tiny kits. Cheetahstar allowed them to stay until their kits were six moons old, and the group of outsiders became a regular sight. Much of the clan seemed to distrust Prophet, but Thistlepaw didn't see the big deal. They weren't causing any trouble now, so what was wrong? He focused on the final stretch of his training, familiarizing himself with everything he would need to adjust to, having spent the bulk of his apprenticeship over in MarshClan's territory.

Warriorhood [12 - present moons] >

The practice paid off, and Thistlehowl was named a warrior alongside one of his littermates, Lilacdew. He was told his name was to represent his charisma and ability to speak his mind, and though his other littermates had to train some more, Thistlehowl stood tall, feeling proud. It felt like nothing could knock him down, now. He was wrong.

Dogs.

A group of cats were attacked by them on the territory, some injured and some killed. Among them was Swallowcall. Thistlehowl remembered wailing, when he learned they were dead, pressing himself close to the body during their vigil and begging them to wake up. This couldn't be it, they were home, they'd survived so much, they couldn't just leave him, right? They couldn't.

But no matter how much he hated it, Swallowcall was dead. They hunted among the stars, now. Thistlehowl went through life numbly, watching as Ravencackle and Dawncoo were named warriors. Normally, he'd be ecstatic to have Raven join him in the warriors den - his nephew had been his best friend, when they were kits. But he still felt numb, still grieving his parent's death. So, for once, he was quiet. Perhaps someday he would feel like himself again.

And then more tragedy. Crowwish turned up dead when another wave of deaths swept through the clan, and Jaychirp was devastated. Never terribly close to his older sister, Thistlehowl watched his mother's distress, trying to awkwardly comfort her in any way he could. He wasn't great at the whole 'soft emotion' thing, but he tried to assure her that, at least, he was still here. And he didn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.