Allegiances
ShadowClan
Leader: Smokestar (they/them) 💛🤍💜🖤 | ❤️🧡🤍🩷💜
Deputy: Hollystep (he/him) 💚💛🤍🩵💙 | 💚💛🤍🩶🖤 (demi)
Medicine cat: Frolicwisp (she/he/they)🩷🤍💜🖤💙 | 🩷💜💙
Apprentice: Fallowslip (she/her)🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Warriors:
Rushskip (he/they)🖤🩶🤍🩵🩶🤍🖤 | 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Fawnlight (she/her)💚💛🤍🩶🖤 | 🩷💜🖤💙🩵
Apprentice: Tailorpaw
Rowanlark (she/her) 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Starlingfeather (he/him)🩷💜💙
Skyclaw (it/its) 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤 | 🩷💚💙
Apprentice: Frondpaw
Mallowwhisper (he/xe)🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵
Finchwhisker (she/her)❤️🧡🤍🩷💜 | 🖤🩶🤍💜 (demi)
Apprentice: Ternpaw
Stingtail (nullprominal)💜🤍💚
Honeywing (she/they)🖤🩶🤍🩷🤍🩶🖤Allegiances
ShadowClan
Leader: Smokestar (they/them) 💛🤍💜🖤 | ❤️🧡🤍🩷💜
Deputy: Hollystep (he/him) 💚💛🤍🩵💙 | 💚💛🤍🩶🖤 (demi)
Medicine cat: Frolicwisp (she/he/they)🩷🤍💜🖤💙 | 🩷💜💙
Apprentice: Fallowslip (she/her)🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Warriors:
Rushskip (he/they)🖤🩶🤍🩵🩶🤍🖤 | 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Fawnlight (she/her)💚💛🤍🩶🖤 | 🩷💜🖤💙🩵
Apprentice: Tailorpaw
Rowanlark (she/her) 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Starlingfeather (he/him)🩷💜💙
Skyclaw (it/its) 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤 | 🩷💚💙
Apprentice: Frondpaw
Mallowwhisper (he/xe)🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵
Finchwhisker (she/her)❤️🧡🤍🩷💜 | 🖤🩶🤍💜 (demi)
Apprentice: Ternpaw
Stingtail (nullprominal)💜🤍💚
Honeywing (she/they)🖤🩶🤍🩷🤍🩶🖤
Apprentice: Friskpaw
Apprentices:
Tailorpaw (he/him)🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Frondpaw (she/her)🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵
Ternpaw (she/they)🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Friskpaw (he/him)💚💛🤍🩵💙
Kits:
Snowkit (he/him)🩷💛🩵
ThunderClan
Leader: Flashstar (she/her) 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Deputy: Frondsplash (he/him) (insert)
Medicine cat: Sunwillow (xi/xer) (insert)
Apprentice: Palmpaw (they/them) (insert)
Warriors:
Badgerstep (he/him) (insert)
StarClan
Pinemist (she/her) 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Sandykit (he/him)
Foxkit (he/him)
Tabbykit (she/her)
Prologue
Snowtuft stood atop the dark valley, staring ominously into the black depths of the ShadowClan camp whilst cold night air swirled around him. The peaceful breathing of his clanmates echoed softly around the hollow, screaming into the tom's white ears, ripping into his eardrums, and causing him to shudder violently. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled himself into a ball on the prickly pine needle-covered ground, his ears pinned backwards and his face twisted in agony. And as usual the voice returned, brought on by the soft sounds of the cats of ShadowClan sleeping peacefully, as it did almost every night, whispering into his ears. The whispers grew louder and louder, urging him, beckoning him. A yowl of anguish escaped his jaws as he tried to fight it, as he tried to scramble further into the forest away from camp. But the voices piercing through the seemingly silent night were persistent. And as Snowtuft collapsed back onto the ground from exhaustion and pain, It came. Snowtuft suddenly whipped over onto his back and stared up through the gap in the canopy at the stars with his heterochromatic eyes. He let out a maniacal choked laugh as he saw his clanmates’ faces in the sky, with stars in their fur and fear in their gazes. Eyes wide, he grinned, unsheathing his claws and digging them into his sides, his mouth twisted into a cruel grin. But no longer was this Snowtuft. Its yowl split through the night, cracking through the silence, like poison ivy through a thorn barrier. cunning, deliberate, and dangerous.
Chapter 1
Snowkit stared up at his father Starlingfeather, as the large tom begrudgingly ripped off a chunk of the vole he was eating and tossed it over to Snowkit. He padded over to it and crouched down to sink his small sharp teeth into its warm flesh. As he chewed he glanced back at his father, whose face was twisted into a scowl. Snowkit sighed sadly. Ever since he was born his father had been extremely distant and cold towards him. His other clanmates all pretended that was just how he usually is, but Snowkit knew it was because of him. His mother had died while birthing him and his littermates, and his siblings had also died shortly after being born. Starlingfeather had always resented Snowkit for it, and Snowkit couldn’t blame him. It was Snowkit that killed his mother Pinemist, he was the biggest of the litter and the last to be born. And although the rest of ShadowClan tried to reassure him, he couldn’t shake the guilt of it all. Snowkit pushed the rest of the vole aside and began to groom himself. His apprentice ceremony would be today, and the least he could do was look the part. After licking his pelt clean, rejuvenated with the excitement of seeing the territory and beginning his training, he trotted across the camp and over to his foster mother Rowanlark, who was sunbathing just outside the warriors den.
Rowanlark had been the one to feed and take care of him before he could eat solid food, and she was who he trusted most in ShadowClan. Her kits were slightly older than him and had been apprenticed a moon earlier, so the past month in the nursery had been lonelier than usual. Upon seeing his foster son, Rowanlark’s eyes lit up.
“Ready for your apprentice ceremony Snowkit?” she asked, smiling at the young cat.
“You bet I'm ready!” Snowkit replied determinedly, squaring his shoulders and puffing out his chest a little. Rowanlark grinned.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be an apprentice already! It seems like only yesterday you were just a little mewling scrap in the nursery.” She flicked her tail at him good humouredly. Snowkit batted at it with a soft white forepaw before pouncing on it and pinning it to the ground as if it was a piece of prey. Rowanlark chuckled.
“Your mentor’s going to have their paws full with you furball” she joked. Snowkit glanced around the camp where his clanmates milled about.
“Who do you think Smokestar will choose as my mentor?” he queried nervously.
“Probably a warrior who hasn’t had an apprentice before. You know Smokestar, they always try to make sure everyone has a fair go.” Rowanlark remarked.
“Yeah, probably.” Snowkit began to consider all the warriors who hadn’t taken an apprentice yet. Fawnlight, Skyclaw, Finchwhisher, and Honeywing all had Rowanlark’s kits as their apprentices, leaving Rushskip, Rowanlark, Starlingfeather, Stingtail, and Mallowwhisker without apprentices. However, both Rushskip and Starlingfeather have had apprentices before. So if Smokestar stuck to their usual principles, Snowkit would get apprenticed to either Rowanlark, Mallowwhisker, or Stingtail. Snowkit looked at Rowanlark with hope in his heterochromatic gaze.
“Surely Smokestar will make you my mentor? They know how close we are.” But Snowkit could tell Rowanlark was trying to hide her doubtful gaze.
“Hopefully.” she said. Snowkit’s stomach churned nervously. Rowanlark rested her tail on the kit’s shoulder
“Don’t worry, Snowkit. I'm sure Smokestar will choose whoever is best for you.”
“Yeah, I guess. And at least Starlingfeather has had an apprentice before. I couldn’t imagine being stuck with him training me. I’d never get to be a warrior then.” Snowkit grumbled. Rowanlark nudged him.
“I know it's hard Snowkit, but try not to worry about it. After your apprentice ceremony you’ll be able to leave camp and get away from him for a while.” she said reassuringly. Snowkit opened his mouth to agree with her but before he had the chance, the ShadowClan leader Smokestar leaped up onto the Clanrock.
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own pry join here beneath the Clanrock for a meeting!” they called.
“Come on Snowkit!” Rowanlark whispered, bouncing off towards the rock Smokestar was sitting on. Snowkit took a deep breath and followed suit, joining the rest of the clan in the centre of the camp.
“As some of you may know, a kit in our clan has recently passed the six moon mark in his life,” Smokestar began. Snowkit’s clanmates turned and looked at him expectantly. He smiled awkwardly.
“Snowkit, come up to the clan rock, it is time for you to be apprenticed.” The leader went on. “From this day on, you will be known as Snowpaw.” Snowpaw inhaled deeply and looked from Mallowwhisker to Stingtail and finally to Rowanlark
Come on Smokestar! Who will it be?
“Snowpaw, your mentor will be Starlingfeather.” Snowpaw’s stomach dropped.
Oh no. He thought. His heartrate began to speed up as Smokestar turned to the new apprentice’s father and spoke to him.
“Starlingfeather, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Hollystep…” The rest of Smokestar’s words were drowned out by the blood rushing in Snowpaw’s ears. He held back tears until his leader finished speaking. The rest of ShadowClan chanted out Snowpaw’s new name, and when they finished he leaped off the Clanrock and padded over to Rowanlark, who gazed at Snowpaw sympathetically.
“Oh Snowpaw,” she began, but was cut off by her kits bounding over to them.
“Congratulations Snowki- er I mean Snowpaw!” Ternpaw said. Their brother Friskpaw pushed past them.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to train with you!” He said. Snowpaw couldn’t help but smile a little at his foster siblings’ enthusiasm.