Spiderstar of ThornClan

[Sunny]

 Name:

Spiderstar

*Age:

 59 moons

*Gender:

She-cat

*Appearance:

Spiderstar is a jet-black she-cat with piercing yellow-green eyes. Her head structure is neither broad nor skinny. She has a handsome square jaw, a jet-black nose that blends in with her pelt, long whiskers, and a very long tail. She also has tall legs. Spiderstar is slender and lithe.

*Personality:

 Though she wants to be a great leader, Spiderstar can be a little too snappish or brisk. She knows this, and tries to control her sternness and order-like atmosphere. These personalities mostly come from her vows to keep her Clan organized and straight-forward, like herself, but they cause her to sometimes be unsympathetic and unaffectionate to her Clanmates, though she does care for them. Despite how much Spiderstar wants to protect her Clan, she does not usually try to calm her Clanmates' fears. Instead, she just tells them the truth honestly, using her straight-forward trait to help her through her speeches. However, she does not enjoy her Clan becoming fearful, as that would create havoc among her Clan. In that way, she is careful of how she breaks news and gives speeches. Knowing, or feeling as though, she is a great leader, Spiderstar refrains from feeling ambition. Though sometimes she wants more power than she has, she won't disobey the warrior code to achieve it. Along with her seemingly uncaring personalities, she isn't that optimistic, expecting an attack at any moment or thinking ahead of time to ponder if the prey will suddenly disappear. In other words, she never thinks of all the positive things that have happened, such as the rapidly- recovering cat that had come down with greencough. Spiderstar's life has not been lonely or unfortunate, but she still has highly- emotional troubles. But she hides her emotions from her Clan, wanting to stay strong for them. She loves to run, and feels enclosed by the thorns covering her territory. She is completely loyal to ThornClan, but is never comfortable among the thorns. Her whole life, she wished she had been brought up in SunClan, where the sun shined down on her back, and she could run free without having to dodge prickly thorns.  But Spiderstar vows to live and die in ThornClan, a worthy ThornClan cat right to the very end.

*+

Organized, Straight-forward, Caring, Honest, Careful, Loyal

*-

Snappish, Unsympathetic, Unaffectionate, Not calming, Unoptimistic

*;

Brisk, Stern, Not ambitious, Hides her emotions

*~

Due to her long legs, Spiderstar is a natural runner, despite the ThornClan terrain. She is a powerful climber, and loves to hunt songbirds in trees. But she is not that good at hunting on land; despite her lithe, skinny shape, she is not good at maneuvering through the thorns without brushing against them and alerting her quarry. Spiderstar is not a strong fighter, but her flexibility allows her to dodge easily, and it gives her quick reflexes.

Likes:

Running, Climbing, SunClan territory

Dislikes:

Being enclosed by thorns in her territory, ThornClan territory

Fears:

The destruction of her Clan, Losing an important battle

Goals: Continue to be a great leader

*History:

When Spiderpaw was young in apprenticeship, she was visited by a strange cat in a dark, dank, stuffy place with tall, slimy pines and no leaves or undergrowth. Panicking, she barged through the strange woods, wondering if it was ShadeClan territory and when she would get out of it. Finally, Spiderpaw reached a misty, blurred barrier. Confused, she reached out a paw and pressed it against the strange, shimmering barrier. It made an underwater-like sound, and the barrier rippled at Spiderpaw's touch. Slightly frightened, the she-cat pressed harder; but the barrier stayed as sturdy as ever.

Thoroughly bewildered and scared, Spiderpaw turned around in circles, staring at all the tall pines. Realizing that if she climbed one of the pines she might be able to see past the impassable barrier, she padded nervously over to one of the large roots. She hesitantly wrapped her forelegs around the trunk of the tree, and, using her forequarter strength, hauled herself up onto the trunk. It was hard going climbing up the trunk, as there were no branches until about half-way to the top.

But finally, Spiderpaw reached the lowest branch and clung on, trying to see past the border-like barrier. But it was as tall as she had climbed up the tree so far, and she knew she would have to climb higher. When she reached the top of the tree, the barrier was still strangely at her height, even though it had seemed as though the barrier had ended the last time she tried to look over it.

Exhausted, the young she-cat admitted that it would be impossible to cross the border, and she carefully climbed back down the pine tree. Spiderpaw stared around her again, knowing she was most definitely not in ShadeClan territory. "Someone help!" she cried as loud as she could. But no one came.

Feeling as if she was at her final break-down, she slumped to the ground. She closed her eyes, feeling a whirlpool of mist and stars fill her vision and mind. Moments later, the underwater-like noise filled her ears again. But she was too tired to wake up. A quiet popping sound followed the underwater-like noise, and Spiderpaw heard light paws pad toward her. Now she woke up. Before her stood a beautiful she-cat with a starlight-speckled pelt. 

"W-who are you?" Spiderpaw stammered nervously, sizing this cat up, wondering if she would be able to fight her.

The she-cat replied calmly, "I am Sunhawk. And I know you are Spiderpaw. I've been watching over you." Sunhawk purred.

Spiderpaw stared in amazement, once again noticing the stars shimmering in Sunhawk's pelt. "Are you a StarClan cat?" she breathed.

Sunhawk nodded, and leaned toward Spiderpaw. "I come here with the permission of StarClan. We must go back now."

The young ThornClan apprentice took a step back. "What do you mean?" Spiderpaw questioned. "Why did you need permission from StarClan? And what do you mean 'we must go back now'? You mean this isn't StarClan territory?"

The transparent StarClan cat shook her head and held out a paw. "All will be explained in time. Now come with me." Sunhawk turned, and headed toward the impassable barrier.

"But I can't go through there!" Spiderpaw protested, staring indignantly at Sunhawk.

"If you are to suffer your destiny, you must go through. Do not take the wrong path." Sunhawk stared intently at Spiderpaw with an intense amber gaze, as if she was willing the living apprentice to understand.

Spiderpaw shook her head in confusion, but nevertheless stepped toward the barrier. I don't want to suffer my destiny! I want to live my destiny! How can you suffer your destiny? As she poked her claw into the barrier, she realized with amazement that it has broke through. Sunhawk purred, but the sound was muffled by the separation of the barrier. Spiderpaw walked through the barrier, feeling as though icy claws her gripping her pelt. Then she was through, and warm, greenleaf air washed over her. She relished the off-season feeling. She turned confusedly to Sunhawk. "Why is it greenleaf here when it is leaf-bare at home?"

But the StarClan warrior did not respond. Instead, she started walking along the border, occasionally giving nervous glance through the barrier.

"Sunhawk, where are we? Why is that barrier there? And why is it so different over there than here?" But still, Sunhawk did not answer Spiderpaw's questions. Growing frustrated, Spiderpaw stomped on after the StarClan cat, not asking or saying anything else until the two cats reached a small hollow with a large pool in the middle.

Finally, Sunhawk spoke. "Spiderpaw, I have answers to all your questions. But here, you may only ask one of them."

"That's no answer!" Spiderpaw clawed, frustrated, at the ground, digging up lush, green grass.

"You haven't asked your question yet," Sunhawk retorted gently.

Spiderpaw held back a snarl of impatience. This is a StarClan cat. I have to show respect. She took a deep breath to hide her emotions. "Okay," she began slowly. "What is my destiny?" I think that's my most important question of all, she thought hesitantly, staring uncertainly at Sunhawk.

But the StarClan warrior was fading. When only the faint outline of her head showed, Sunhawk tipped her muzzle to the side, pointing to the pool. "Take a look," she invited, her voice an echo in Spiderpaw's thoughts.

Spiderpaw turned away from the disappearing cat and stared into the pool. Sunhawk's voice sounded softly in her ear, but when the apprentice turned her head to see sparkling fur there was nothing except air. She listened more closely to Sunhawk's voice. "Your destiny is great, young Spiderpaw. But many hardships will you have to face. With my guidance, you will live through your dangerous path to achieve what you deserve. Good bye, Spiderpaw. Good luck. Your destiny shows great promise."

The ThornClan apprentice was frozen to the spot. She dragged her gaze to the pool, and saw a black wave coming from the opposite end. Slowly, as if in slow motion, the wave changed its shape to a long-legged jet-black cat. The cat was bounded happily across the surface of the pool. But suddenly, another wave came rushing toward it. Except it wasn't black; it was red. Blood! Spiderpaw gasped as the red wave came crashing down on the black cat, immediately pushing it under the water. Frightened and confused, Spiderpaw watched, waiting for the black cat's head to break the water. But the harder she stared the darker the pool got, and soon it was nothing but a black sheet of calmly rippling water.

Desperate to help the black cat, Spiderpaw braced herself to jump into the water. But before she could push herself off, she felt water clogging her senses. Waves crashed into her ears, filled her nose, and choked her throat. Forgetting the black cat, she clawed desperately at the water, using her back legs to heave her to the surface.

Finally, her head broke the surface. She paddled desperately, trying to reach the shore of the pool. When her pads scraped the pebbles beside the shore, she hauled herself up. But only then did she see herself staring at her from the opposite side of the shore, where she had been crouching not long ago. Thoroughly confused, Spiderpaw stared back into her own eyes.

Then, as quickly as her vision of drowning had come, she was back in the body on the opposite shore, staring at herself. "Sunhawk, what's happening?" Spiderpaw wailed.

Though she didn't expect it, Sunhawk's voice sounded in her ear, and her 'other' body disappeared. "Oh, don't be frightened, Spiderpaw. This is a prophecy. You had a vision. You will become great one day...," Sunhawk's voice told her.  

"How can I not be frightened?" Spiderpaw cried, the sweat glands between her pads growing damp. But Sunhawk did not reply.

Spiderpaw woke up in the apprentices den in the ThornClan camp. 

~TIME SKIP~

When Spiderleaf was deputy to Larchstar, Sunhawk still watched over her, acting as her guardian. When Larchstar lost her last life, Spiderstar was given her nine lives by StarClan. Her last life was given to her by Sunhawk. Spiderstar's guardian told her, "With this life I give you courage. Use it to help you through your dangerous path to greatness." Sunhawk had leaned closer and whispered, "Remember your vision. It means everything."

The night after Spiderstar was given her nine lives, she received a dream from Sunhawk. Her guardian explained the prophecy to her, and told her what she had achieved. Sunhawk began, "Do you remember your vision from when you were an apprentice?"

"Yes," Spiderstar replied.

"Do you remember that barrier that you couldn't pass until you followed in my lead?"

"Yes."

"That barrier was actually a border between the Dark Forest territory and StarClan territory. I cannot explain to you the Dark Forest, but I can tell you it is a terrible place. Never go there again. Anyway, about that prophecy. You have a lot of hardships too go through from this day. That black wave that turned into the cat - that cat was you. You were the one washed over by blood. You were the one drowning. And you were the one watching yourself."

"I knew I was the one watching myself, but I didn't know all the other things!" Spiderstar gasped. She gulped. "Will... will the blood wave come true?"

Sunhawk shook her head firmly. "Not exactly. But you will lose many of your lives due to loss of blood."

At this time, Spiderstar's dream was beginning to fade. "Wait!" the ThornClan leader called. But it was too late.

~TIME SKIP~

Spiderstar lived peacefully, but one day a border patrol came barging into camp. Spiderstar demanded what was wrong. Loudfire explained breathlessly, "There is a battle patrol of ShadeClan warriors coming toward our camp!"

Spiderstar immediately sent out a large patrol of her warriors and apprentices. "Leafslip, Featherwillow, Maggotblaze, Heatherwatcher, Marigoldspring, Shelleye, Mumblewhisker, Hailpool, Stormpaw, Mallowpaw, Brightpaw, Reedpaw, and Ryepaw!" The cats she called looked up at her. "Loudfire and the rest of his patrol will lead you to the ShadeClan patrol." Turning to the other cats, she continued, "Nettlespot, Sandyjaw, Curlflake, Pinenose, Minnowsky, Silversplash, Cherrypaw, Brindlepaw, Plumpaw, and Lizardpaw! You make the back-up patrol. Follow Loudfire's patrol. When he yowls twice in a row, leap into battle." Finally, the ThornClan leader looked at the rest of the Clan. "Perchgorse, Voleleaf, Meadowtail, and Brownfoot, take Tinypaw and Swiftpaw to guard the elders den. Appletuft, Timbershine, and Goldenpaw! You guard the medicine cats den. But Darkfall and Snakepaw, I hope you've practicing your battle moves recently," she added darkly to the two medicine cats. "Amberspots, Leopardpuddle, and Fawnlight, you help Creekfeather and Birchspeck to guard the kits. I want two warriors guarding the entrance of the nursery, one warrior guard the back of the nursery, and I want one queen on each side of it."

"But Spiderstar, won't you join a patrol?" Brownfoot questioned, a hint of a challenge in his voice.

The ThornClan leader hesitated slightly. Sunhawk's echoing voice filled her mind. "It's your destiny, Spiderstar!" Spiderstar sighed,  and nodded reluctantly to Brownfoot. "I'll join Perchgorse's group to protect the elders," she decided determinedly.

She padded over to Perchgorse's cats and settled herself beside her deputy Meadowtail.

~TIME SKIP~

Spiderstar launched herself onto the ShadeClan warrior, hauling him off of  Oddrunner. "You can attack any cat but a DappleClan elder," she hissed into the ShadeClan warrior's ear. The ShadeClan warrior flipped himself over and started clawing at Spiderstar's exposed belly. Spiderstar rolled him over, and battered at his spine.

At that time, another ShadeClan warrior that she knew as Mintbriar ran head-on at her, bowling her over. He started clawing at Spiderstar's back. Using a move that she shouldn't have, Spiderstar flipped over onto her back, exposing her soft underbelly. Mintbriar, still clawing with his back legs, slashed at her belly. Blood poured from Spiderstar's gashes, and she went limp.

Mintbriar was shocked as Spiderstar's first life ebbed away. "I didn't mean to!" Mintbriar wailed shamefully. Spiderstar's body convulsed, but then went still again. This happened five more times, leaving Spiderstar with only two lives left.