Post by Silverfire on Nov 25, 2020 19:06:50 GMT -6
Sparkspirit
ThistleClan
Small, scarred, ginger mackerel tabby tom with white markings and brown eyes
Warrior
Tom
57 moons
Appearance
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To say Sparkspirit is small would be an understatement. He stands at a diminutive 6” at the shoulder, making him one of the smallest cats on the island. Not only is he short, but he’s also thin, no matter what the season is. He looks almost frail. That, however, couldn’t be father from the truth.
Beneath his pelt lies hard, lean muscle. What he lacks in size and girth, he makes up in sheer agility. With long, sharp claws and a jaw that can clamp onto something and not let go, it’s not uncommon for Sparkspirit to fight by grabbing onto his opponent’s back and not letting go, no matter what they do. Small paws make going for precise strikes on ears, eyes, and other vulnerable parts a breeze, and a thin frame makes weaving in-between legs and enemies kit’s play.
Sparkspirit has a brilliant, ginger mackerel tabby pelt. One that stands out like a flame amongst the foliage. His oddly bright pelt clashes with the other cats in ThistleClan, leaving him as one of a few cats in the clan who have a ginger pelt. It acts as a bright marker of his heritage, showing others of the clan that he doesn’t really belong with them. He doesn’t fit the typical ThistleClan look, and it’s not something he’s proud of.
Among his ginger fur are spots of white that make it seem as if snow is clinging to his pelt. White stockings decorate his back legs, going all the way up to his ankles. His front left paw is white, though less so. The amount of blood that stains his paw has tinted it an almost eggshell color. His right wrist is encircled with white, forming an almost bracelet like marking. His tail tip looks like it had been dipped in snow, cutting off the rings of stripes that encircle his tail. On his chest sits a splash of white, one that almost looks like one of the flames that took his family from him.
Those flames left their own markers on his pelt as well. Skin, pink and leathery, is visible in multiple spots on his body. Scars that will never allow fur to grow on them again. His hind legs bear the brunt of his scars, stemming from the flames that licked them while his father carried him. The bottom of his front paws are scarred, the skin mottled from the searing heat. His neck sports a rather large burn scar, stretching form one side of his throat the other. On his back, right on top of his shoulders, sits another large scar. These two scars are nearly impossible to cover. For the longest time, he attempted to hide them from the world, acting as if they were shameful. Now, he bears them with pride.
Beyond the scars left by the fire, the tom also has a long scar on his side, as well as a split ear, curtesy of Woodfrost during an attempt by ThistleClan to regain control of Bear Stones.
Despite the scars that mar his pelt, his fur is actually incredibly soft and plush. Despite its shortness, it is actually fairly thick, though it does thin around his scars. On his forehead, situated between his ears, are two small tufts of fur that refuse to stay down. They stick up like a pair of horns, no matter how much he grooms them.
Dark amber eyes sit on his face, so dark that they no longer appear amber. Instead, the appear to be brown. Almost like dark chocolate. After accidentally killing Songbird, he began to develop bags under his eyes. But ever since he invited Turtledove to share his den, he’s been sleeping better, and the bags are starting to vanish. At the end of his muzzle sits a small, pink nose.
To say Sparkspirit is small would be an understatement. He stands at a diminutive 6” at the shoulder, making him one of the smallest cats on the island. Not only is he short, but he’s also thin, no matter what the season is. He looks almost frail. That, however, couldn’t be father from the truth.
Beneath his pelt lies hard, lean muscle. What he lacks in size and girth, he makes up in sheer agility. With long, sharp claws and a jaw that can clamp onto something and not let go, it’s not uncommon for Sparkspirit to fight by grabbing onto his opponent’s back and not letting go, no matter what they do. Small paws make going for precise strikes on ears, eyes, and other vulnerable parts a breeze, and a thin frame makes weaving in-between legs and enemies kit’s play.
Sparkspirit has a brilliant, ginger mackerel tabby pelt. One that stands out like a flame amongst the foliage. His oddly bright pelt clashes with the other cats in ThistleClan, leaving him as one of a few cats in the clan who have a ginger pelt. It acts as a bright marker of his heritage, showing others of the clan that he doesn’t really belong with them. He doesn’t fit the typical ThistleClan look, and it’s not something he’s proud of.
Among his ginger fur are spots of white that make it seem as if snow is clinging to his pelt. White stockings decorate his back legs, going all the way up to his ankles. His front left paw is white, though less so. The amount of blood that stains his paw has tinted it an almost eggshell color. His right wrist is encircled with white, forming an almost bracelet like marking. His tail tip looks like it had been dipped in snow, cutting off the rings of stripes that encircle his tail. On his chest sits a splash of white, one that almost looks like one of the flames that took his family from him.
Those flames left their own markers on his pelt as well. Skin, pink and leathery, is visible in multiple spots on his body. Scars that will never allow fur to grow on them again. His hind legs bear the brunt of his scars, stemming from the flames that licked them while his father carried him. The bottom of his front paws are scarred, the skin mottled from the searing heat. His neck sports a rather large burn scar, stretching form one side of his throat the other. On his back, right on top of his shoulders, sits another large scar. These two scars are nearly impossible to cover. For the longest time, he attempted to hide them from the world, acting as if they were shameful. Now, he bears them with pride.
Beyond the scars left by the fire, the tom also has a long scar on his side, as well as a split ear, curtesy of Woodfrost during an attempt by ThistleClan to regain control of Bear Stones.
Despite the scars that mar his pelt, his fur is actually incredibly soft and plush. Despite its shortness, it is actually fairly thick, though it does thin around his scars. On his forehead, situated between his ears, are two small tufts of fur that refuse to stay down. They stick up like a pair of horns, no matter how much he grooms them.
Dark amber eyes sit on his face, so dark that they no longer appear amber. Instead, the appear to be brown. Almost like dark chocolate. After accidentally killing Songbird, he began to develop bags under his eyes. But ever since he invited Turtledove to share his den, he’s been sleeping better, and the bags are starting to vanish. At the end of his muzzle sits a small, pink nose.
Personality
+ Determined- Despite the changes that Sparkspirit has gone through over the seasons, his determination has never wavered. He may have become a bit more confident in his place in the clan, but that has done nothing to damper his determination to prove himself. In fact, it has almost done the opposite. Teaching Turtledove and Slushpaw has awoken a fire within him. One that causes him to want to see everything through to the end. He might be harsh, but he will fight tooth and claw to see their training through to the end, no matter what it takes.
+ Patient- As the moons ticked away, the impulsive of his youth has waned, leaving him to be much more patient than he used to be. Able to take a breath when things don’t go his way, he no longer feels the need to snap at cats who cause delays or who aren’t getting something immediately. This patience has come in handy when teaching Slushpaw and, more specifically, Turtledove. Perhaps it has more to do with his love towards the tortoiseshell tom than his newfound patience, but he doesn’t feel upset when the tom messes up a move. He’d rather teach than yell.
+ Protective- With Songbird’s rediscovery and subsequent death at his paws, Sparkspirit has realized just how fragile life truly is. He’s always known that life was fragile, but their death shook him to his core. His fear of loss has transformed into a burning need to protect those he cares about. This has translated into many forms, though the biggest of all is the fact that Sparkspirit has opted to have Turtledove move into his den instead of allowing him to sleep in the cold.
+ Loyal- Despite the fact that, for a good chunk of his formative moons, he was treated poorly by others his age for his rogue blood, Sparkspirit’s loyalty towards ThistleClan has never wavered. He will give his life for the clan. It doesn’t matter how cats in the clan treat him. They saved his life, and therefore, he will give them his life. In particular, he’d give his life for both -spirit and Turtledove.
- Workaholic- While he has calmed down a bit since he was a new warrior, Sparkspirit is still a massive workaholic. He may no longer get up before dawn and work until moonhigh, but he still pushes himself farther than he really should. He rarely takes breaks to nap or unwind unless he’s certain there’s nothing he can do to help out. His fears of being kicked out of the clan for not being good enough have waned slightly, but it’s not uncommon for him to return to the den with his tail dragging and head down because he’s worked himself so hard.
- Hot-headed- If there is one thing that has yet to change about Sparkspirit, it’s his short temper. Quick to anger, it’s not exactly hard to get him to yell at you. Usually, all you have to do is say something that might imply you think less of him, Turtledove, or -spirit and he’ll fly off the handle, spitting and hissing like you had clawed him. He’s not as willing to jump at someone with claws unsheathed for insulting him, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to let anything slide.
- Perfectionist- His fear of being exiled for taking a single wrong step may have faded, but that has done nothing to temper Sparkspirit’s need for everything he does to be perfect. He doesn’t force others to be perfect, but he will beat himself up if he decides that he has done anything less than perfectly. From battle moves to hunting, he’s always practicing in order to make himself as close to perfect as possible.
- Sharp-tongued- Sparkspirit is rarely a cat to hold back what he thinks. This, most of the time, results in him spitting insults. This especially comes out during battles. Part of his battling style is hurling insults, in part because it feels good to do so, and in part because it could lead to his opponent getting distracted. Of course, it’s not just on the battlefield he has these moments. He’s willing to give anyone who speaks ill or him or his mate a tongue lashing.
History
Despite his name, Sparkspirit’s life did not start with him in ThistleClan. Actually, it did not start with him in any clan.
Instead, his life started on the beaches of the Northern Peninsula. Born to a rogue molly named Feather and a rogue tom named Zeus alongside his sister Sparrow (captain ), Sparkspirit started his life as a rogue named Robin.
Most of his first two moons are hazy. Memories of them amount to little more than brief glimpses of faces, names, and moments.
He doesn’t remember the den he lived in, nor how it would overlook the lake. He doesn’t remember the way his parents would tell him about the sunset. He doesn’t remember the stories of the gods and goddesses that created everything they could ever know. He doesn’t remember when his parents took him and Sparrow to the lakeshore for the first time, and how he squealed at the feeling of water lapping at his legs. He doesn’t remember the days spent wrestling with his father, nor the hushed, worried whispers about his size that his parents would exchange when they believed him to be asleep.
He doesn’t remember the way his father smiled at him and comforted him the night before the fire broke out after he became scared of the thunderstorm.
He does remember the scent of his parents. The milky, warm, earthen scent of his mother. The cool, salty, watery scent of his father. He remembers their voices. He remembers how his father sounded like faint thunder, his voice deep, quiet, and smooth. He remembers how his mother sounded like a bird’s song, her voice light, melodious, and airy. He remembers the way their fur felt. How Zeus’ pelt was glossy, thick, and almost silky. How it never seemed to stay wet for long. How Feather’s pelt was long, thick, and soft. How it felt like he was snuggling up to actual feathers.
He remembers how he and Sparrow were close. He remembers promising her how he’d always protect her no matter what happened.
However, what he remembers most about his family- specifically his parents, are the songs. Both Zeus and Feather were outstanding singers, singing Robin and Sparrow to sleep almost nightly. The songs would vary depending on who sang it, yet there was one that his mother would sing that has been seared into Sparkspirit’s memory.
It’s probably the clearest memory he has of before the little family was shattered.
Robin was well loved by his parents, and no amount of foggy memories can prevent him from knowing that for a fact. He was cherished, and he was happy. He never knew hunger or cold, being born in the middle of greenleaf. Pain was healed quickly with snuggles from Feather or Zeus and gentle licks to the boo-boos.
Sadly, this perfect family was never destined to last. A few days after he reached two moons old, a storm brewed over the lake. There hadn’t been much rain lately in the area, and all it took was a stray bolt of lightning for the small area Robin called home to light up in flames.
The fire is the first, truly clear memory that Sparkspirit has.
Out of the entire family, Robin was the first one to be awoken by the fire. He smelt the smoke and woke his father up to ask him what the yucky smell was. Zeus screamed for Feather and Sparrow to wake up and shot to his paws, much to the confusion and fear of Robin. Moments after he woke his father up, he was being grabbed by the scruff and taken out of the den.
Flames covered the area, blocking all but one path of escape. He remembers being told to do his best to hold his breath before he and Zues plunged into the fire, Feather and Sparrow hot on their heels.
They barely got two fox lengths from the den before a branch crashed to the ground behind him and his father, cutting them off from Feather and Sparrow. He remembers screams coming from the other side of the branch
Before he was even able to process the fact that his mother and sister were gone, he was being taken away from the branch. The smoke was thick in the air, and Robin found himself holding his breath not just because his father told him to, but also because inhaling hurt.
Most of the run blurred together. Flames licked at their escape route, and more than once, Robin was burned from flaming bushes Zeus was forced to leap over. The flames burned away kitten fluff on his hind legs, licking at the skin and searing it.
Before long, Robin found himself being all but thrown forwards as his father collapsed. He staggered to his paws and turned around to see Zeus on the ground, lungs heaving from the smoke inhalation. He begged his father to stand back up- to continue to run. But Zeus knew he wasn’t going to make it out alive.
To this day, Sparkspirit doesn’t know what killed him. The smoke, or the fire, though he chooses to believe it was the former.
Robin was told he needed to run and to not look back. That his father would be right behind him. So, believing his father’s words, he turned and he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him.
He ran under a burning bush, the flames managing to eat away at the fur and skin on his shoulders. He ran over cinders and ashes that burned his paw pads. He nearly ran into a wall of flames, getting close enough to the inferno that is all but branded his neck. He ran and ran and ran.
He ran out of the area that the fire was in, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he kept running. He ran past cliffs. He ran past bizarre wooden dens. He ran until exhaustion caught up to him, causing him to trip over his own paws and land in a small puddle.
He remembers how the cool water felt amazing on his burned, bleeding paws. How he turned around and tried to tell his dad that they made it. But his father was gone, never having risen from where he had fallen.
Unable to really walk, he pulled himself out of the puddle and began to loudly call for his father, brown eyes focused on the flames that flickered in the distance.
Eventually, the flames died out, and with it, his hope for his father coming to retrieve him. He cried for most of the night, eventually falling asleep in that small ditch.
The next morning, Robin was awoken by the sound of unknown voices. He let out a weak cry, and was quickly found by a patrol that consisted of Cinderpaw, her mentor, and Ratwhisker (Egotistic ).
He didn’t know them, and being so young, he barely knew what the clans were. So he did what any injured, terrified kit would do. He asked them if they knew where his father was. They, of course, didn’t know, but with his extreme injuries, Ratwhisker decided to bring him back to camp.
Convincing Thievingstar (Bandit ) was apparently a hard task, but even she took pity on the small, burned scrap of fur that was Robin.
She sent patrols to look for his father, but Robin was never told the results of the patrols. Despite his rogue heritage, the patrol had apparently taken enough pity on him to not mention they had found Zeus’ charred corpse.
Realizing he was completely on his own, Thievingstar made the decision to accept Robin as a ThistleClan cat. Renamed to Sparkkit after the fact the sparks that burned him, he was officially made a member of ThistleClan.
He spent his first two moons in and out of the medicine cat den. His burns were severe, and they got infected fairly quickly. The one on his neck took a particularly long time to heal. This led to him barely being able to eat during those formative moons, which later led to him being quite small.
During his time in the nursery, he found himself surrounded by kits who saw him as an easy target. No queen would take him in since he had already been weaned, leaving him mostly alone, except for one kit.
-kit was really the only kit in the nursery who wouldn’t make fun of him. In fact he was the only one that would actually spend time with him. Because of this, -kit and Sparkkit became incredibly close, incredibly fast.
Sparkkit’s last two moons in the nursery were great. There was still the bullying from other kits, and there were still sneers from some of the queens, but at least now he had a friend. It didn’t matter that he was still extremely small and that -kit could bowl him over with little effort. All that mattered was he was no longer alone.
Apprenticed to Rushbriar (Storm ), Sparkpaw‘a apprenticeship was not one to be envied. His rogue origins alone were enough to draw the attention of apprentices who wanted to do nothing but bully him, but adding in his bright pelt and small stature? It was a miracle if he went a day without being yelled at.
One of his worst detractors was a young molly named Fallenpaw (rain ). The pair never got along well, with verbal fights being not entirely uncommon. However, it never came to a head. Until one day, after a harsh training session, Fallenpaw shoved Sparkpaw into a puddle.
Furious, and done taking it, the tom leapt, locking the pair in a scuffle until some warriors came to break it up, realizing that this was no spar for bragging rights. Angered and bleeding, Sparkpaw did nothing but try to get back into the fray.
For this, he was forced to care for the elders, a task he became frustrated with quite quickly do their views on him, but he still will say it was worth it. Because, from then on, the bullying was far less physical. It still happened, sure, but it was mostly relegated to words.
By the age he was twelve moons, Sparkpaw had proved himself as quite the loyal cat. While he still hated his treatment, he started shifting towards an attitude of “they will never change their minds so constantly fighting them isn’t worth it- I need to show them I’m loyal”, which resulted in him spending his days working from dawn to dusk. Around this shift is when he was given his warrior name, alongside -paw. Sparkpaw was named Sparkspirit for his intense stubbornness and determination, something he’s still proud of.
He dug his nest directly next to -spirit’s, the two toms close enough to hear each other’s snores. It wasn’t the most grandiose den, though it wasn’t bad.
The first half-season of his warriorhood were about as usual as they came. He patrolled, hunted, and trained daily like the rest of the warriors in the clan. He always took it further than them, keeping his habit of working until he felt like he would drop. The only real break he took was the first anniversary of the fire, where he went and created a shrine to honor his family at the edge of the territory.
This normality changed when he was eighteen moons, however. One night, he awoke to part of his den collapsing. A flood swept through the camp, causing him to have to swim in order to get to safety. From there, the clan was forced to go to the Owl Tree, and then to the Abandoned Campgrounds.
That leaf-bare was brutal, one of the worst Sparkspirit could remember. Morale was low, prey was scarce, and herbs were almost nonexistent. To make matters worse, it was reported that rogues had taken over the camp, meaning they couldn’t return home.
He spent the next few moons working his tail off to help the clan, doing his best to hunt in these unfamiliar territories. He barely ate and barely slept. Taking no breaks until one day during the beginning of that new-leaf.
He had gone to check on his family’s shrine, and it was there that he met a strange rogue. What was strange about them was the fact that they were familiar… somehow.
He did his best to ignore the meeting for the next few moons, figuring he’d never meet them again. However, towards the end of that greenleaf, ThistleClan attacked the rogues that had invaded their camp, driving them out. While not chosen to fight, Sparkspirit refused to stay in camp, instead opting to return to the shrine, as the battle happened during the second anniversary of the fire.
That decision led to him meeting the rogue again, only this time… he recognized them as his sibling. Sparrow.
They ran before he could say much, but that night, he returned home with the knowledge his sibling had survived the fire. He eventually learned that they went by Songbird now, a name that Sparkspirit found fitting.
The next half-season was completely uneventful, with Sparkspirit doing little of note. He would spar with his clanmates in between helping rebuild camp, but there was little that happened that was out of the ordinary.
Until the beginning of greenleaf rolled around, and the camp was attacked by not just rogues, but by LichenClan as well. Pairing himself up with a tom that he knew, Sparkspirit fought tooth and claw, somehow managing to escape without a single claw mark on his pelt.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Thievingstar, who was killed by Lily (rain ) in battle. The deputy, Stagflight (budgie ) became Stagstar after that.
The next major thing that happened to Sparkspirit happened later that season, during the middle of leaf-fall. He had gone out to hunt, when he stumbled across Turtledove (captain ), hiding from an owl.
Said hiding quickly devolved into a request to train, which the ginger tom granted. Soon, one session became two, which became three, which eventually evolved into the pair becoming friends.
The next moon, ThistleClan joined the battle against LichenClan and the rogues. Sparkspirit was told to defend the border with Wrentooth, which he obliged. However, one of the rogues that came towards him, was Songbird.
Sparkspirit attacked the other rogue of the two, not yet ready to attack his own sibling. Unfortunately, when he looked over and saw them trying to kill Wrentooth, he had no choice. He tackled Songbird off of his clanmate, only to discover that he had dealt a fatal blow to them. He tried to save them, but it proved far too much.
Songbird bled out in front of him.
Horrified by what he had done, Sparkspirit began the exhausting task of bringing Songbird’s body to the shrine. Unfortunately, he became too exhausted and the moment he reached the shrine, he collapse. That’s when Turtledove found him and offered to help bury his sibling.
That was the night that Sparkspirit truly realized how good of a friend Turtledove was. He began talking to him for reasons other than training. However, it wasn’t very long before Stagstar granted both him and Turtledove apprentices, with the former rogue getting Slushpaw.
A moon later, he and Turtledove were in camp during a blizzard, and decided to sparin order to keep themselves warm. It went well, for the most part. It was towards the end, when Sparkspirit threw the tortoiseshell tom that something went wrong.
Weakened by the weight of snow, Turtledove’s den collapsed. Without really thinking, Sparkspirit offered his den for the pair to share until the weather warmed up. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Two moons later, a second flood swept through the forest, causing the clan to leave their camp again and evacuate to RedwoodClan’s territory. However, instead of evacuating with the rest of the clan, Sparkspirit chose to return to the markers. Turtledove came with him and, luckily, the pair survived.
After reuniting with the clan, Sparkspirit learned his apprentice had been lost to the waves.
Moons passed as he and Turtledove continued to share a nest, long after needing to. He learned that his apprentice had survived, abandoning the clan to become a rogue, which he completely ignored, instead stating that his apprentice was dead to him.
Then, towards the end of leaf-fall… he and Turtledove took a walk. This walk turned into a spar, which eventually turned into Sparkspirit accidentally confessing his feelings.
To his shock, Turtledove reciprocated the feelings. The pair became mates, something that Sparkspirit had never expected would ever happen to him. They spent the leafbare together, and Sparkspirit couldn’t have been happier.
Unfortunately, that peace didn’t last, as a few moons later, the clan was attacked by RedwoodClan in the middle of the night. Sparkspirit did his best to fight the attackers off, but the clan was forced to retreat.
The next moon was spent training for the next battle, which happened a moon after that. Sparkspirit and Turtledove were both picked to fight, and Sparkspirit was determined to stay next to his mate. However, he soon found himself pulled away to join Firfoot and attacking a tom twice his size.
The battle was hard, and Sparkspirit did not come out unscathed, but fortunately, both he and Turtledove came out alive.
Now, Sparkspirit is preparing for the next battle. He knows that there’s no way there will not be another attack, and while he’s happy with his performance during the last battle, he wants to get stronger. He wants Turtledove to get stronger.
He may not understand why Stagstar wants the stones so badly, but he’ll follow the tom’s orders no matter what.
Instead, his life started on the beaches of the Northern Peninsula. Born to a rogue molly named Feather and a rogue tom named Zeus alongside his sister Sparrow (captain ), Sparkspirit started his life as a rogue named Robin.
Most of his first two moons are hazy. Memories of them amount to little more than brief glimpses of faces, names, and moments.
He doesn’t remember the den he lived in, nor how it would overlook the lake. He doesn’t remember the way his parents would tell him about the sunset. He doesn’t remember the stories of the gods and goddesses that created everything they could ever know. He doesn’t remember when his parents took him and Sparrow to the lakeshore for the first time, and how he squealed at the feeling of water lapping at his legs. He doesn’t remember the days spent wrestling with his father, nor the hushed, worried whispers about his size that his parents would exchange when they believed him to be asleep.
He doesn’t remember the way his father smiled at him and comforted him the night before the fire broke out after he became scared of the thunderstorm.
He does remember the scent of his parents. The milky, warm, earthen scent of his mother. The cool, salty, watery scent of his father. He remembers their voices. He remembers how his father sounded like faint thunder, his voice deep, quiet, and smooth. He remembers how his mother sounded like a bird’s song, her voice light, melodious, and airy. He remembers the way their fur felt. How Zeus’ pelt was glossy, thick, and almost silky. How it never seemed to stay wet for long. How Feather’s pelt was long, thick, and soft. How it felt like he was snuggling up to actual feathers.
He remembers how he and Sparrow were close. He remembers promising her how he’d always protect her no matter what happened.
However, what he remembers most about his family- specifically his parents, are the songs. Both Zeus and Feather were outstanding singers, singing Robin and Sparrow to sleep almost nightly. The songs would vary depending on who sang it, yet there was one that his mother would sing that has been seared into Sparkspirit’s memory.
It’s probably the clearest memory he has of before the little family was shattered.
Robin was well loved by his parents, and no amount of foggy memories can prevent him from knowing that for a fact. He was cherished, and he was happy. He never knew hunger or cold, being born in the middle of greenleaf. Pain was healed quickly with snuggles from Feather or Zeus and gentle licks to the boo-boos.
Sadly, this perfect family was never destined to last. A few days after he reached two moons old, a storm brewed over the lake. There hadn’t been much rain lately in the area, and all it took was a stray bolt of lightning for the small area Robin called home to light up in flames.
The fire is the first, truly clear memory that Sparkspirit has.
Out of the entire family, Robin was the first one to be awoken by the fire. He smelt the smoke and woke his father up to ask him what the yucky smell was. Zeus screamed for Feather and Sparrow to wake up and shot to his paws, much to the confusion and fear of Robin. Moments after he woke his father up, he was being grabbed by the scruff and taken out of the den.
Flames covered the area, blocking all but one path of escape. He remembers being told to do his best to hold his breath before he and Zues plunged into the fire, Feather and Sparrow hot on their heels.
They barely got two fox lengths from the den before a branch crashed to the ground behind him and his father, cutting them off from Feather and Sparrow. He remembers screams coming from the other side of the branch
Before he was even able to process the fact that his mother and sister were gone, he was being taken away from the branch. The smoke was thick in the air, and Robin found himself holding his breath not just because his father told him to, but also because inhaling hurt.
Most of the run blurred together. Flames licked at their escape route, and more than once, Robin was burned from flaming bushes Zeus was forced to leap over. The flames burned away kitten fluff on his hind legs, licking at the skin and searing it.
Before long, Robin found himself being all but thrown forwards as his father collapsed. He staggered to his paws and turned around to see Zeus on the ground, lungs heaving from the smoke inhalation. He begged his father to stand back up- to continue to run. But Zeus knew he wasn’t going to make it out alive.
To this day, Sparkspirit doesn’t know what killed him. The smoke, or the fire, though he chooses to believe it was the former.
Robin was told he needed to run and to not look back. That his father would be right behind him. So, believing his father’s words, he turned and he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him.
He ran under a burning bush, the flames managing to eat away at the fur and skin on his shoulders. He ran over cinders and ashes that burned his paw pads. He nearly ran into a wall of flames, getting close enough to the inferno that is all but branded his neck. He ran and ran and ran.
He ran out of the area that the fire was in, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he kept running. He ran past cliffs. He ran past bizarre wooden dens. He ran until exhaustion caught up to him, causing him to trip over his own paws and land in a small puddle.
He remembers how the cool water felt amazing on his burned, bleeding paws. How he turned around and tried to tell his dad that they made it. But his father was gone, never having risen from where he had fallen.
Unable to really walk, he pulled himself out of the puddle and began to loudly call for his father, brown eyes focused on the flames that flickered in the distance.
Eventually, the flames died out, and with it, his hope for his father coming to retrieve him. He cried for most of the night, eventually falling asleep in that small ditch.
The next morning, Robin was awoken by the sound of unknown voices. He let out a weak cry, and was quickly found by a patrol that consisted of Cinderpaw, her mentor, and Ratwhisker (Egotistic ).
He didn’t know them, and being so young, he barely knew what the clans were. So he did what any injured, terrified kit would do. He asked them if they knew where his father was. They, of course, didn’t know, but with his extreme injuries, Ratwhisker decided to bring him back to camp.
Convincing Thievingstar (Bandit ) was apparently a hard task, but even she took pity on the small, burned scrap of fur that was Robin.
She sent patrols to look for his father, but Robin was never told the results of the patrols. Despite his rogue heritage, the patrol had apparently taken enough pity on him to not mention they had found Zeus’ charred corpse.
Realizing he was completely on his own, Thievingstar made the decision to accept Robin as a ThistleClan cat. Renamed to Sparkkit after the fact the sparks that burned him, he was officially made a member of ThistleClan.
He spent his first two moons in and out of the medicine cat den. His burns were severe, and they got infected fairly quickly. The one on his neck took a particularly long time to heal. This led to him barely being able to eat during those formative moons, which later led to him being quite small.
During his time in the nursery, he found himself surrounded by kits who saw him as an easy target. No queen would take him in since he had already been weaned, leaving him mostly alone, except for one kit.
-kit was really the only kit in the nursery who wouldn’t make fun of him. In fact he was the only one that would actually spend time with him. Because of this, -kit and Sparkkit became incredibly close, incredibly fast.
Sparkkit’s last two moons in the nursery were great. There was still the bullying from other kits, and there were still sneers from some of the queens, but at least now he had a friend. It didn’t matter that he was still extremely small and that -kit could bowl him over with little effort. All that mattered was he was no longer alone.
Apprenticed to Rushbriar (Storm ), Sparkpaw‘a apprenticeship was not one to be envied. His rogue origins alone were enough to draw the attention of apprentices who wanted to do nothing but bully him, but adding in his bright pelt and small stature? It was a miracle if he went a day without being yelled at.
One of his worst detractors was a young molly named Fallenpaw (rain ). The pair never got along well, with verbal fights being not entirely uncommon. However, it never came to a head. Until one day, after a harsh training session, Fallenpaw shoved Sparkpaw into a puddle.
Furious, and done taking it, the tom leapt, locking the pair in a scuffle until some warriors came to break it up, realizing that this was no spar for bragging rights. Angered and bleeding, Sparkpaw did nothing but try to get back into the fray.
For this, he was forced to care for the elders, a task he became frustrated with quite quickly do their views on him, but he still will say it was worth it. Because, from then on, the bullying was far less physical. It still happened, sure, but it was mostly relegated to words.
By the age he was twelve moons, Sparkpaw had proved himself as quite the loyal cat. While he still hated his treatment, he started shifting towards an attitude of “they will never change their minds so constantly fighting them isn’t worth it- I need to show them I’m loyal”, which resulted in him spending his days working from dawn to dusk. Around this shift is when he was given his warrior name, alongside -paw. Sparkpaw was named Sparkspirit for his intense stubbornness and determination, something he’s still proud of.
He dug his nest directly next to -spirit’s, the two toms close enough to hear each other’s snores. It wasn’t the most grandiose den, though it wasn’t bad.
The first half-season of his warriorhood were about as usual as they came. He patrolled, hunted, and trained daily like the rest of the warriors in the clan. He always took it further than them, keeping his habit of working until he felt like he would drop. The only real break he took was the first anniversary of the fire, where he went and created a shrine to honor his family at the edge of the territory.
This normality changed when he was eighteen moons, however. One night, he awoke to part of his den collapsing. A flood swept through the camp, causing him to have to swim in order to get to safety. From there, the clan was forced to go to the Owl Tree, and then to the Abandoned Campgrounds.
That leaf-bare was brutal, one of the worst Sparkspirit could remember. Morale was low, prey was scarce, and herbs were almost nonexistent. To make matters worse, it was reported that rogues had taken over the camp, meaning they couldn’t return home.
He spent the next few moons working his tail off to help the clan, doing his best to hunt in these unfamiliar territories. He barely ate and barely slept. Taking no breaks until one day during the beginning of that new-leaf.
He had gone to check on his family’s shrine, and it was there that he met a strange rogue. What was strange about them was the fact that they were familiar… somehow.
He did his best to ignore the meeting for the next few moons, figuring he’d never meet them again. However, towards the end of that greenleaf, ThistleClan attacked the rogues that had invaded their camp, driving them out. While not chosen to fight, Sparkspirit refused to stay in camp, instead opting to return to the shrine, as the battle happened during the second anniversary of the fire.
That decision led to him meeting the rogue again, only this time… he recognized them as his sibling. Sparrow.
They ran before he could say much, but that night, he returned home with the knowledge his sibling had survived the fire. He eventually learned that they went by Songbird now, a name that Sparkspirit found fitting.
The next half-season was completely uneventful, with Sparkspirit doing little of note. He would spar with his clanmates in between helping rebuild camp, but there was little that happened that was out of the ordinary.
Until the beginning of greenleaf rolled around, and the camp was attacked by not just rogues, but by LichenClan as well. Pairing himself up with a tom that he knew, Sparkspirit fought tooth and claw, somehow managing to escape without a single claw mark on his pelt.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Thievingstar, who was killed by Lily (rain ) in battle. The deputy, Stagflight (budgie ) became Stagstar after that.
The next major thing that happened to Sparkspirit happened later that season, during the middle of leaf-fall. He had gone out to hunt, when he stumbled across Turtledove (captain ), hiding from an owl.
Said hiding quickly devolved into a request to train, which the ginger tom granted. Soon, one session became two, which became three, which eventually evolved into the pair becoming friends.
The next moon, ThistleClan joined the battle against LichenClan and the rogues. Sparkspirit was told to defend the border with Wrentooth, which he obliged. However, one of the rogues that came towards him, was Songbird.
Sparkspirit attacked the other rogue of the two, not yet ready to attack his own sibling. Unfortunately, when he looked over and saw them trying to kill Wrentooth, he had no choice. He tackled Songbird off of his clanmate, only to discover that he had dealt a fatal blow to them. He tried to save them, but it proved far too much.
Songbird bled out in front of him.
Horrified by what he had done, Sparkspirit began the exhausting task of bringing Songbird’s body to the shrine. Unfortunately, he became too exhausted and the moment he reached the shrine, he collapse. That’s when Turtledove found him and offered to help bury his sibling.
That was the night that Sparkspirit truly realized how good of a friend Turtledove was. He began talking to him for reasons other than training. However, it wasn’t very long before Stagstar granted both him and Turtledove apprentices, with the former rogue getting Slushpaw.
A moon later, he and Turtledove were in camp during a blizzard, and decided to sparin order to keep themselves warm. It went well, for the most part. It was towards the end, when Sparkspirit threw the tortoiseshell tom that something went wrong.
Weakened by the weight of snow, Turtledove’s den collapsed. Without really thinking, Sparkspirit offered his den for the pair to share until the weather warmed up. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Two moons later, a second flood swept through the forest, causing the clan to leave their camp again and evacuate to RedwoodClan’s territory. However, instead of evacuating with the rest of the clan, Sparkspirit chose to return to the markers. Turtledove came with him and, luckily, the pair survived.
After reuniting with the clan, Sparkspirit learned his apprentice had been lost to the waves.
Moons passed as he and Turtledove continued to share a nest, long after needing to. He learned that his apprentice had survived, abandoning the clan to become a rogue, which he completely ignored, instead stating that his apprentice was dead to him.
Then, towards the end of leaf-fall… he and Turtledove took a walk. This walk turned into a spar, which eventually turned into Sparkspirit accidentally confessing his feelings.
To his shock, Turtledove reciprocated the feelings. The pair became mates, something that Sparkspirit had never expected would ever happen to him. They spent the leafbare together, and Sparkspirit couldn’t have been happier.
Unfortunately, that peace didn’t last, as a few moons later, the clan was attacked by RedwoodClan in the middle of the night. Sparkspirit did his best to fight the attackers off, but the clan was forced to retreat.
The next moon was spent training for the next battle, which happened a moon after that. Sparkspirit and Turtledove were both picked to fight, and Sparkspirit was determined to stay next to his mate. However, he soon found himself pulled away to join Firfoot and attacking a tom twice his size.
The battle was hard, and Sparkspirit did not come out unscathed, but fortunately, both he and Turtledove came out alive.
Now, Sparkspirit is preparing for the next battle. He knows that there’s no way there will not be another attack, and while he’s happy with his performance during the last battle, he wants to get stronger. He wants Turtledove to get stronger.
He may not understand why Stagstar wants the stones so badly, but he’ll follow the tom’s orders no matter what.