oakheart

Mapleblaze, a former rogue and the deputy of CloudClan at the time, and Flowergrace, a Clan-born cat, fell in love after Flowergrace had ended her relationship with Swallowstar, the leader of CloudClan. Flowergrace put her broken heart behind her and moved on, and soon the two were expecting kits.

On September 16th, nearing the end of greenleaf, Flowergrace gave birth to Mapleblaze's kits: Oakkit, Foxkit, and Willowkit. Oakkit, the firstborn, was curious, plucky, excitable, and bold. He ached to explore the CloudClan camp and make a name for himself early on in his life. He developed close relationships with his parents, littermates, and cousins. Oakkit viewed his aunt Leopardstrike, as well as his parents and uncle, with extreme respect. He and his siblings, Foxkit and Willowkit, grew to be best friends and were practically inseparable. In addition, he became close friends with the apprentice Scorchpaw before she was tragically killed on the Thunderpath.

From the very moment he was made an apprentice, Oakpaw was ready to put his all into his education. He trained hard under Cedarbranch's instruction, and learned much about how to become an asset to his Clan.

When Oakpaw and his siblings were eight moons old, their mother, Flowergrace, was murdered by Nettlepaw. In her devastation over Flowergrace's death, Willowpaw ran away from CloudClan, leaving Mapleblaze to care for Foxpaw and Oakpaw. The toms were already reeling from the sudden and undignified loss of their mother and mate, but losing two family members at once left Mapleblaze crumbling from the impact. Seeing their mighty father weakened so profoundly left Oakpaw and Foxpaw feeling even more scarred by the tragedy.

At Oakpaw's first (and last) Gathering as an apprentice, soon after Leopardstrike had become CloudClan's leader following Swallowstar's demise at the paws of a dog infected with the White Death (rabies), Willowpaw finally found her way home. But she bore a terrible curse: The Wicked was upon the Clans! At this news a terrible battle erupted, sparking chaos in the forest. Oakpaw earned his warrior name, Oakheart, at the Gathering, but since the night he earned it was shrouded in darkness and fear, it was not recognized among the Clans until a day or two later.

Despite getting off to a rocky start due to the Wicked's interference, Oakheart's time as a CloudClan warrior began pleasantly. Even though he, Willowbreeze, and Foxstrike were all starting to pursue their own lives, they remained very close and spent a great deal of time together. On a brief walk one day, Oakheart and Willowbreeze encountered a stray kitten named Scorch (whose name was eerily reminiscent of his kithood friend Scorchpaw). With Leopardstar's permission, Willowbreeze took Scorch in and raised him along with her newborn kits, although Oakheart thought of Scorchkit more as a little brother than a nephew. Shortly after Oakheart became an uncle, he began to develop romantic feelings for Hazelpaw, his kithood friend; the day after her warrior ceremony, at which she was given the name Hazelgrace, he confessed his love to her.

Oakheart quickly became the mentor of a plucky young she-kit named Sandpaw. However, Oakheart only got to train his new apprentice for a short while: the Wicked returned in full force and spread their corruption everywhere! It was discovered by the Clans that the RippleClan leader was allied with the Wicked, and within days of the discovery chaos had broken out among the Clans. In the havoc that ensued, several cats were killed in massive battles — Mapleblaze and Foxstrike included — and several other notable warriors like Leopardstar went missing in action, never to be heard from again. Desperate to evade the collapse of the forest Clans, Oakheart, Hazelgrace, Willowbreeze, and Scorchkit embarked on a journey to find a new home.

For moons, Oakheart and his remaining family have been fleeing the destruction of their former lives. He, Willowbreeze, and Hazelgrace have been taking turns teaching Scorchkit the basics of hunting and fighting, hoping that the kitten will grow into an equally capable provider the group. They will need to fight on this journey, after all — recently a fox tried to attack Scorchkit, but Oakheart fought it off and managed to stay in one piece with the exception of his shredded ears.

The four cats have grown even closer than before through all of the traumas they have endured. They've decided that even if they never find another set of Clans to join they will be happy for the rest of their days if they stick together. And their numbers might grow: Oakheart and Hazelgrace are trying for kits....