Sparrowstar

[ Cw; This contains themes of general abuse, murder, death, talk of gore and bodies ... subjects along those lines!! Its not a really happy one to start out with, so be aware ]

Sparrowkit was the son of Blizzardstar and Goldenhawk- being the only kit of the pair. His first memories were of his parents arguing, yelling and upon opening his eyes…witnessing his father strike his mother in anger. It was more than obvious to the kit that the love he felt for them was not shared between the two and Goldenhawk disliked Blizzardstar greatly. Despite their relationship, Goldenhawk loved her kit more than anything in the world and often sat up late with him to talk about the stars and flowers.

Upon becoming an apprentice Sparrowpaw was terrified of his father and to no surprise, was made his apprentice by him in order to follow him in leadership. Sparrowpaw was a fearful, kind and weak apprentice and Blizzardstar thought he could change him into his splitting image- often enjoying knocking him across the field during training or subjecting him to harsh punishments for failing certain tasks. One of the worst punishments was forcing Sparrowpaw to do patrols alone on the Brookclan border, knowing Brookclan would stop at nothing to kill the son of their leader due to the constant war that sparked between the tow clans. Sparrowpaw was often attacked, beaten or chased back to Caveclan because of this. Sparrowpaw did improve in his ability to escape danger and fight due to those, but didn’t see it worth the pain and suffering like his father did.

Early on in his apprenticeship Goldenhawk was killed in battle after she tried saving a family of rogues from the bloodthirsty leader (The rogues mistook her for an aggressor and wanted to protect their kits, resulting in the murder.) This impacted Sparrowstar greatly as he lost the only cat close to him. Sparrowpaw had to bury her alone as Blizzardstar obviously had no love for his “mate”. During this time a cat by the name of Starling was brought into the clan and Sparrowpaw took a quick liking to him as he was an outsider and unlike anyone he’d known. The two grew close super fast due to both losing their parents and became almost like brothers...to the point of calling themselves brothers at times.

As Sparrowpaw became a warrior called Sparrowflight, Blizzardstar almost immediately made him deputy which frightened the warrior as he was still the same anxious and terrified cat as before- only now just better at hiding it. After being made deputy, Blizzardstar led a battle on Brookclan which ended up taking the leader's last life. Sparrowflight was upset by his fathers death, but felt it was more a blessing than anything else. Maybe he could improve things despite being handed a broken clan in shambles from its harsh and brutal leader.

After receiving his 9 lives from his mother- Sparrowstar appointed Starlingsky as his deputy as the two were closer than ever- He greatly looked up to Starlingsky and leaned on him alot for both support and help running the clan. Unfortunately Blizzardstars abuse and pain left lasting impressions on Sparrowstar forever; not to mention the damage it did to his clan and clanmates. Sparrowstar’s leadership brought much needed peace for the clan but he struggled to lead confidently.

During this time, one of Brookclan’s healers was attacked during the gathering and the current leader, Tidalstar, accused Caveclan of their old ways. Sparrowstar trusted his own clanmates to believe they didn’t do this…but relations were still broken and it seemed like peace was still never destined for these clans. Little did either of them know, this small encounter would be a large drop in some bigger underlying issue hidden deep within the shadows

Rumors of rogues taking over the abandoned house on Caveclan territory had made their way to the leader. Gathering Starlingsky to investigate, Sparrowstar had hoped that they could ask the rogues to move on but that's not what happened. Unfortunately for the leader, he was attacked by two toms and violently killed. Starlingsky during this attack had become preoccupied by a sick she-cat and her kits; unaware the leader had been killed and needed help.

Upon death, Sparrowstar received a warning from Starclan “Stars can be deceiving”. Not understanding what it meant or who it was about- Sparrowstar lost a life and woke up. This spooked the cats and in a moment of anger, Sparrowstar banished all the rogues off the territory in fear they’d kill someone else. This also included…the sick she-cat and her kits, Sparrowstar wasn't aware of until it was too late. Starlingsky was angry about this choice and held it against him.

It wasn't long before the rogues returned, leaving Starlingsky at the border with a single surviving kit. Due to being tossed into the winter's snow, the sick mother and kits had died and the rogues could not care for the kit anymore. Sparrowstar seemed a little hesitant on having him join- but of course, accepted him like always. The leader's actions from then on, while having no malice, only fueled Starlingsky’s hatred of him more and more.

As Sparrowstar was nodding off to sleep one night, Starlingsky snuck in his den and attacked him- seemingly out of the blue for Sparrowstar- Although the hate Starlingsky held had been bubbling for a long time. The leader put up no fight against the cat he looked up to as a brother…ending with Starlingsky killing him and taking a life. Starlingsky was going to take the rest of his lives but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Much to Sparrowstars dismay when he awoke, the leader banished Starlingsky from the clan.

A gathering had been called as Sparrowstar wished to make amends with Brookclan and warn them of Starlingsky- but just as both clans arrived, flames engulfed the leaders tree and surrounding areas as a group of rogues made their presence known. The group was led by a cat called Crows-call- now revealed to be that scarred she-cat behind Sparrowstars murder. She was also accompanied by Starlingsky and the pair swore war on both the clans; wanting them to suffer as they have made the rogues do for many generations. This of course…did huge damage to Sparrowstars mental health. Having not fully recovered from Starling’s betrayal, the clans were now both plunged into a war the leader had been trying so hard to avoid. Sparrowstar still put on a strong face for his clan, making sure to do everything he could to keep them safe.

As time went on and stakes heightened, Sparrowstar found a lone kit in the Caveclan fields. Finding this strange, he investigated but was soon swarmed by a group of rogues and their leader- Crows-call. After being attacked and dragged to the edge of a cliff, Sparrowstar was thrown off and hit his head hard on the rocks below. The leader never got back up after that nor looked to be breathing. Being satisfied with the leader's death, the rogues went on to attack and kill off Caveclan members forcing them to retreat from their homes. Any dead bodies from the clan were chucked with Sparrowstar, shielding his own from hungry crows and critters.

Sparrowstar didn't die from this but was in a brief coma before waking up surrounded by his head clan-mates. Horrified both at what happened to his clan, Sparrowstar spent moons tracking them down to a small Junkyard where he was greeted with gasps and cries. Having thought he was dead and losing their home…the clan almost lost hope. Sparrowstar promised everyone he’d do anything to help them get back home, seemingly more confident and driven than anyone had ever seen him.

Starlingsky, who’d come to regret the death and horror the rogues had brung, felt wracked with guilt over Sparrowstar’s death. After a while, he noticed the leader's body was gone and soon followed the leader's scent to the Junkyard. Surprisingly…The two brothers made amends. Sparrowstar…forgave him? He could never forget, could never unsee the blood and death caused by his paws, but one thing that stayed true to Sparrowstar through all this was believing the best in everyone. Even those who’d done the most harm.

Hatching a plan between the two, Caveclan agreed to head back and team up with Brookclan as the rogues planned their camp to be the next target. Starlingsky headed back to the rogues while Caveclan got their spirit back and returned just in time for the battle. Cats who could fight met with Brookclan patrols on the border and raced to assist the clan to chase the rogues out. During the fight, Sparrowstar almost was killed by Crows-call pushing a boulder on him but was pushed out of the way by Starlingsky and saved. The rogues became overwhelmed by the clans and had to make their retreat, now banished from Caveclan territory too.

Caveclan quickly settled back to their home and repaired the damage caused by the rogues. Everyone tried to get back on with their lives, especially Sparrowstar who did his best to remain in good spirits…although he was quite worried about Starlingsky who’d return to the rogues after the battle.

It was moons before anyone heard anything back from the rogues and Starlingsky eventually met up with Sparrowstar at the borders of the territory. He felt relieved to see his brother again, although still instinctively a bit hesitant to trust. As fate had it, it turns out Starlingsky had killed Crows-call after a fight and most rogues either left or supported him in that action. Starclan wanted Starlingsky to lead a new clan; Mireclan and help those who need home and direction. Sparrowstar couldn't be happier for Starlingsky- or, Starlingstar as his name now was. After a gathering, the two made amends and Sparrowstar always offered his assistance to Mireclan despite everything, because in the end, Starlingstar was proof that maybe you can change for the better.

Sparrowstar’s story ends with him being content in life, hoping someday for a family of his own and grateful for the peace that seemed to sweep the lands. With everything that happened, Sparrowstar is still plagued with nightmares and great sadness following everything, something that can never truly go away, but days are starting to feel much easier to get through.