Kithood

Moonkit was born to Sleetwhisker of WindClan with no known father in sight. But, there was no reason to question where the silver kitten's sire was when there was a war to be fought. Her memories of her mother are fuzzy, almost as if the kindly molly had never really existed, just a fleeting dream.

It was at the age of four moons that Sleetwhisker was killed by a ShadowClan warrior. An invasion that went far enough to have the nursery targetted. It was while defending the nursery that Sleetwhisker fell, the image that stuck in her head of her mother being her torn, bloody corpse. Sleetwhisker was there one day and gone the next, whisked away in the carnage of war. But, there was someone there for her... her aunt, Ashjump.

When Ashjump wasn't training Houndpaw or going out on her secrety missions, she was spending her time with Moonkit. She would tell the young kitten of StarClan, the evil of ShadowClan, and to be wary of Lightningstar. Why should she be wary of their leader, she wondered. To which Ashjump would tell her that "nine lives don't make a cat truly wise or good".

Apprenticeship

Moonpaw was apprenticed to a grizzled tom named Boartooth, a tom that spent a lot of time padding around near her aunt. To Moonpaw, this was great! She got to spend more time with Ashjump, even if Houndpaw was hanging around with them. It didn't matter, she got to spend time with her only remaining family! Too bad she realized too late that this wasn't a good thing.

Boartooth would take her to meetings of a group called the Moonstone Alliance, led by her aunt. A lot of the cats around her there were also apprentices, either with the mentors or parents. And Ashjump would preach, her performance riling the crowds into righteous frenzies as they called their dedication to StarClan. The energy whipped her up into it all as well, her calls and devotion unwavering and unquestioning as she followed her aunt's teachings.

As time went on, however, Moonpaw did begin to ask questions. Every time she asked about something she'd seen or heard, Ashjump would be quick to correct her. She'd seen or heard it wrong, that was all. A cat saying that Ashjump was crazy? No, no, they were too busy listening to Lightningstar to understand the truth was all. What about Houndpaw's scars? She hadn't seen him get them in battle... but he must have, right? Why would Ashjump lie about something like that?

For moons this went on, the twisting of words and thoughts swimming in her head and having her question reality. Until... cats seemed to break away from the Moonstone Alliance. Strange... but things started to fall into place in Moonpaw's head, and it made her stomach churn with horror.

In a bid to get some space, Moonpaw started patrolling the gorge more than anywhere else, earning a reputation for her skills in navigating it and her ability to observe the river and understand it better than most WindClan cats.

Warrior

Moonriver was named for her knowledge of the gorge. Her new name brought with it an immense relief. Boartooth was no longer in charge of her, and Mothbelly was more than happy to put her on patrols that didn't involved him or Ashjump. And these moons proved to be a good chance for personal healing, outside of the war, of course. It was while chatting with Mothbelly on a patrol that she came to understand just how messed up her apprenticeship had been. But... she just couldn't bring herself to say anything. There were still a large number of cats loyal to Ashjump, and it scared her.

The war ending brought even more freedom to Moonriver, and she felt herself slowly relaxing more and more. She hoped that with ShadowClan no longer clawing down their necks, Ashjump would stop her Moonstone Alliance... she couldn't have been more wrong, and it was kind Mothbelly who paid the price.

The deputy's death shook Moonriver and shook her even more when Houndkick revealed that it was Ashjump who'd killed him. And then... it hit her. Ashjump had been poisoning the Clan for seasons and so many cats had been blind to it. Young cats growing radicalised? Some with scars that couldn't be explained, meek, unchallenging personalities that obeyed without question. How had no one seen the damage? It frustrated her, and she wanted to scream. Why did it have to take the death of dear Mothbelly for anyone to notice... no, not notice. But be TOLD what was happening. It wasn't good enough to Moonriver.

Her horror grew when poor, terrified Houndkick was named deputy. What was lightningstar thinking? Did he even understand what Ashjump had subjected nearly an entire generation of cats to? Clearly not. Still too terrified of her aunt, Moonriver could only watch as Houndkick slowly crumbled until he left, and Lightningstar opted to exile cats who had problems with Graytalon or Fogstone. Selfishness in her eyes, and a deflection of blame. WindClan needed healing and this was not healing, it was tearing it apart.

Stuck at a crossroad, Moonriver found herself faced with a choice. Did she bend the knee and go along with Lightningstar's seemingly pointless plans? Or take action, earn those nine lives herself and take down the monster that had ruined WindClan once and for all. No matter what, Ashjump was going to fall to her claws... she just needed to figure out the best way to do it.