Lightningfall

Lightningkit's first memories were of starry skies, her two siblings, and two cats that she somehow knew were her parents. Her father, Barnum and her mother, Willowbrook, were unable to have kits on their own, so they asked StarClan for a litter. Lightningkit was named by the pair alongside her siblings Galekit and Thunderkit. Lightningkit was always curious about how she was made: did all kits come out of the stars like Big Sis Rex? No, her mother said, this was the blessing of StarClan. So, Lightningkit convinced herself she was a starborn kit, created for a purpose.

Lightningkit had an odd blessing from StarClan: claws that were much longer than normal. Along with that came hunger and thirst that was more intense than her siblings', and while the Herbalists had some herbs to keep those symptoms more in check, her claws stubbornly stayed to the point where she couldn't retract the ones on her front paws easily. (Though she couldn't possibly know this, hyperthyroidism was the cause.) This caused several accidental scrapes when play-fighting with other kits. It was a good trait to have in battle, but when sparring? Not quite. It was here that she started to believe that StarClan had given this to her BECAUSE they wanted her to be a strong cat that hurt baddies, even if that power meant possibly hurting those she liked. Not that she would do that. Her claws were meant for protecting! ...Even if she got easily overexcited and slipped up, earning herself a lecture...

Lightningkit often got into shenanigans with Galekit and Thunderkit. As the largest and """oldest""" of the trio, Lightningkit saw herself as the big sister and often plotted escapades, much to the worry of the adults. However, she always made sure to keep her siblings safe, since that was her "responsibility."

She sought comfort and guidance from Rex, especially after Rex became an Herbalist. Her big half-sister (although she saw her as a regular sister) was in direct contact with the StarClan that blessed Lightningkit! That gave them a common subject, alongside their mutual love of their father's stories about dinosaurs from long ago. Lightningkit had even convinced herself that Rex was the reincarnation of a t-rex and Lightningkit was once a velociraptor countless ages ago! (Really, it was just her kit imagination being overactive, but this kinship with dinosaurs was a big part of her identity even if it wasn't real).

Fire began ravaging the valley when she was 4 moons old. Lightningkit declared that she'd beat up the fire, but she never got the chance since SnakeClan had to evacuate to RavenClan due to the smoke. LynxClan was also there, and she had a great time playing with all the other kits! She insisted that they'd all be fine, and the awesome warriors would beat up that big scary fire! This was her way of comforting herself and the other kits. After all, if all the missing cats that had been lost to the scary smoke came back fine, then she just had to hold out hope! In the end, her optimism pulled through and strange metal birds sprayed water all over the fire to stop it! Though she had to leave her new playmates behind, she was happy to return to the soot-covered SnakeClan camp.

Lightningkit was apprenticed to Ashtail and immediately the newly-named Lightningpaw got into training. She had to work hard if she wanted to become a great warrior and help her Clan recover from the wildfires. The only problem with her mentor? Ashtail was a former mutineer. A murderer, some cats said. Lightningpaw was very upset about that but despite her disdain, she eventually realized that Ashtail wasn't being an evil mentor figure or anything. In fact, Ashtail didn't push her to betray anyone or murder cats or anything her imagination cooked up. She was just there to help Lightningpaw get the skills needed to be a warrior. Ashtail took no pride in being a mutineer, and she told Lightningpaw about how it was a long journey to change into a better cat, spurred on by a spirit named Featherpaw.

Ashtail supported Lightningpaw's belief that she was destined for greatness. Lightningpaw was meant for something, even if she was uncertain what it was. Though the ego boost was probably not exactly the healthiest thing to have, it did make Lightningpaw a very hard-working apprentice (to the point where she'd sometimes wake up Ashtail for training instead of the other way around). However, when Lightningpaw would claim that she was better than others due to her star-blessed nature, Ashtail would be quick to shut her down and remind her that no cat was better than anyone else.

Ashtail also helped Lightningfall come to terms somewhat with her long claws. Ashtail's daughter, Batbristle, apparently had similar worries about hurting her siblings by accident with her long claws and fangs, but Ashtail had told her that StarClan likely gave her those weapons to protect those she cared about. Lightningpaw took that to heart and resolved to learn to fight well so she could use them properly.

At some point later in her apprenticeship, the river was frozen over and she decided to slide around on it. This was fun at first, but eventually the ice broke under her weight and she fell into the icy water. Though she survived and only came out of it with a case of whitecough, the experience was terrifying. The cold, the helplessness... she didn't want to feel that again.

She graduated and earned her warrior name, Lightningfall. It took all her willpower to not speak excitedly to her siblings during their vigil. With her apprentice days over, Lightningfall began her escapades anew, now with training and freedom as her boons!