Carppaw (Profile)

Carpkit was born to two LynxClan warriors at the end of moon 498. They were one of two almost identical kittens born to Brightwing and her mate, Russetsplash, though Carpkit nor Dacekit would ever get to meet their parents. Russetsplash had passed away before they were even born, a nasty bite from a sturgeon turned sour mere days after Brightwing announced the good news. Brightwing had never been the strongest cat, sickly throughout all her life. Her mate's passing, a hard birth, an illness easily taking hold amid stress and grief, Brightwing passed not long after she got to see a glimpse of the color of her children's eyes, leaving them behind with nothing but names that honored their father's love of the water and a nest with her fading smell. Carpkit and Dacekit were just over 2 weeks old.

Not yet weaned, the pair was passed off to one of the few still-nursing queens at the time that had milk to spare; while the queen was happy enough to take them in, her own kits were just about weaned and unruly, meaning that she only had enough to feed them just about up until they were weaned--and the minute they were they were left to their own devices, the queen's time spent up chasing after her own disobedient litter.

The task of watching over the twins was shared amongst the nursery queens; none laid claim to them, the torch being passed as to who would chaperone them for that day. In some cases it meant Carpkit and Dacekit were socialites, with one group of kits one day and in another the next, but some of their denmates weren't so eager to share their time with the kits with no mother so they were being forced to share theirs. The pair didn't seem to mind too much, happy as long as they were together.

As they began to age out, the queens found it less and less necessary to give them a chaperone, leaving the two to to their own devices as their apprentice ceremony inched ever closer. They weren't the worst behaved, but certainly not the best either, Carpkit in particular always seeming to sneak into places they weren't supposed to be, but not much more than any almost-apprentice would; they were simply itching to get out there and see what they could find. Even as they aged though, they stayed by Dacekit, the two sharing a nest in a nursery all the way up to their apprentice ceremony--and showing no signs of changing that once they finally received their apprentice names at the end moon 504. During the last two or so moon of their kithood, Soaring Embers takes place, creating a foundation for Carpkit's fear (they'd call it 'distaste') for dry weather, though the fire and smoke itself is still something she has a healthy amount of curiosity for. Nonetheless, the fire is what ends up forcing LynxClan out of their camp; still kits, Carpkit and Dacekit were allowed to stay in RavenClan camp despite the rest of LynxClan staying by the Burnt Tree after the RavenClan warrior Honeyhawk was killed by Logbellow; it is there they met a few kits from other clans, namely that of Adderkit, Basskit, and Emberkit. The five made fast friends and Carpkit looked forward to seeing them once she became an apprentice.

At 6 months old, Carpkit became Carppaw, apprenticed to Tigerfrost. The first few moons went off without a hitch; she caught some fish, sparred, met a funny SnakeClan cat named Emberpaw while she and Dacepaw were trespassing and explored the other clan's territory. It was nice, really.

A shame that one day, out with a fellow apprentice Badgerpaw, she heard the beating wings of an eagle too late.

The last thing Carppaw felt on that day during moon 507 was the sting of talons piercing her fur, the last thing she saw the terrified face of Badgerpaw--and then nothing.

They awoke not in the medicine den, or beside their sibling in the apprentice's den from the odd of nightmare. Instead, it was to the sight of two unfamiliar cats, water-eyed and smiling. They seemed disappointed but not unsuprised at her lack of recognition, and introduced themselves as Brightwing and Russetsplash, names she recognized as her parents. They were here to take her to StarClan. They said they weren't ready, their life was just beginning, they wanted their warrior name, a mate, a kit--but they told them that unfortunately there was nothing they could do. They beckoned her, trying to lead her to the starry fields--

But Carppaw refused. She didn't care how perfect StarClan was, how much prey was there, how warm it was--it wasn't perfect if Dacepaw wasn't there. Her parents said he'd come in time, but Carppaw refused. They wouldn't be happy, not if they couldn't be where Dacepaw was. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They weren't supposed to die first.

So, she let herself fall, impervious to the cries of Brightwing and Russetsplash. They weren't her family; Dacepaw was.

It wasn't quite the same, but Carppaw opted to walk among the afterlife of rogues, wandering the valley and trying to mimic a normal life and walking dutifully alongside her brother, even if they couldn't see her. She'd go to StarClan eventually, but not until she could see it alongside her sibling.

This part of the story is still being written.

This part of the story is still being written.

This part of the story is still being written.

This part of the story is still being written.

This part of the story is still being written.