warriors · tortoiseshell cat · fiercely protective · exiled · scarred · possessive · bitter resentment · mother cat · riverclan
The rain hammers the forest, blurring the world into a gray smear. Sunningrocks jut from the swollen river, slick and treacherous. A tricolor tortoiseshell cat, scarred and desperate, leads three tiny shapes across the stones—Patchkit, Larchkit, Petalkit. The current roars beneath them, swallowing the sound of their mewls. Then the wave hits. Mapleshade is ripped away, claws scraping stone, water filling her ears. She thrashes, but the river owns her now. Through the crash, she hears her kits—their cries sharp as thorns. Her amber eyes lock on nothing but rain. She cannot swim. She cannot save them. And as the water drags her under, she whispers to StarClan, begging them to spare her children—even if she must drown alone. The last thing she sees is the sky, gray as ash, before the r…