Flashfang

LichenClan

a bulky red tabby tom with green eyes

Flashfang's stature is that of a powerful warrior and a skilled fighter. He is tall and bulky, even if much of his muscular form is hidden beneath his long fur. He is big boned, but his height prevents this from making him look too stocky. Instead, his size and stature is formidable and intimidating in combat. It is one of the traits he prides himself the most on, and when he gets the chance he is never afraid to show his athletic, strong body off.

Flashfang's appearance is not only enhanced by his size, but by his long, well-kept fur. If he took better care of his pelt, it would perhaps make him look quite handsome. However, he only ever takes the time to groom it thoroughly when he wants to show himself off, usually to pretty she-cats. The color of his pelt is bright red, and he boasts classic tabby strikes that bring out the variety of colors hidden in his long fur. He also has white spotting on his chest and belly, his muzzle, and all four of his feet.

Flashfang has a somewhat boxy head due to the tufts of fur on his cheeks and his tall ears. He has quite a prominent nose, and big, yellow-green eyes. A white spot covers half his nose and a sliver of his muzzle, ruining the possibility of a symmetrical appearance. In his age, the red of Flashfang's muzzle has silvered noticeably, and his fur lacks the luster of his youth.

In recent moons, Flashfang has received a series of scars. These include: 
- a thin slash down his chest dealt by Cressclaw during training
- scars and missing fur on his tail dealt with by icesong
- a scar that goes from his cheek to under his jaw delivered by cardinalthroat
- a patch of missing fur and a scar on his neck from a bite from merlintail
-a concussion and damage from fighting merlintail, leading one eye to be partially closed for several months afterward. This has been exacerbated by a slam to the floor delivered by Tigerpool and a paw to the face delivered by Graygaze
-a jagged wound in his belly from a back-kick by Graygaze
-a facial scar from his left ear to his brow from Patchstrike
-chest bite wound from Patchstrike
-a split left ear from Wispfang

Flashfang's temper fits his name. He is quick to leap to violence, and his aggressive streak can sometimes get him in trouble. In combat, he fights with all of his power. It is there that he can truly unleash his fury. However, when he is interacting with his clanmates, his aggression usually only escapes him as argumentativeness. He picks fights often and can be quite quarrelsome if it's a topic he is passionate about, such as LichenClan's social standing or the importance of StarClan. Because of this, he can be hard to get along with.


Despite this, he is quite social and spends most of his time surrounded by others whenever possible. He is observant enough to notice how best to deal with most social situations but is too impulsive to make the best use of most of this information. He makes a point of getting to know the various members of his clan and often spends his free days joining patrols he wasn't necessarily assigned to.


The tom has struggled with understanding and managing his feelings. He follows the whims of his heart, and he has a lot of self-loathing regarding the negative emotions that cloud it. Whenever he is feeling particularly down on himself, he goes in search of she-cats that can fill the void, even when he is in monogamous relationships. This has led to turmoil in past relationships, which leads to more guilt and feelings of hatred towards himself. Ultimately, this cycle feeds him like an addiction, and he desperately hopes that one day he will find the right mate and stop his need for committing these sins.

Mother: Rosepetal
Father: Voleleap
Step-father: Tallfern
Younger Sibling: Pearbloom
Children: Rosebriar, Riverheart, Lilacmist
Mate: Tidechaser
Ex-mates: Duckpuddle, Sturgeonstone


Rosepetal was thrilled to become pregnant, and with her mate Voleleap, she knew that she would be capable of raising strong, loyal kits with deep ties to StarClan. However, Voleleap passed shortly before she gave birth in conflict with RedwoodClan, and when she gave birth only one of her three kits was alive when the sun rose the next day. The scenario made it clear that Flashkit would be fawned over for a significant portion of his kithood. However, when the kitten was nearly four moons old, his mother was swayed away from him by a meek tom known as Tallfern. The tom was able to give Rosepetal the love she craved, and the two quickly became mates.

Flashkit felt betrayed by his mother for choosing a new mate so soon after his father had died and shunned her despite her best efforts to stay close to him. He hated his stepfather. The tom was everything that Flashkit refused to become. He was quiet and weak, a poor fighter and capable fighter at best. He had a warm heart, but the kindness was gone from his eyes every time he looked at his stepson. It was clear that the hatred was mutual.

By the time Flashkit was an apprentice, he had forsaken his family name and considered himself alone whenever possible. His mother cried quietly from the sidelines as he became an apprentice, and his step-father comforted her.

Flashpaw was assigned a strong, powerful tom as a mentor, and he knew immediately that this cat would be someone he could aspire to become. Flashpaw's stubborn and argumentative nature was drawn out further as he mirrored his mentor's attitude.

It was also at this time that he began to find himself becoming quite a flirt. He found himself often drawn to the other apprentices, particularly the she-cats, and would do his best to impress them. He was not particularly talented at smooth-talking, and few of the she-cats would give him a second glance.


It became evident during his apprenticeship that he was destined to become a powerful fighter. His mentor focused on combat during their training, and the extra push was what it took for Flashpaw to truly shine as a fighter. It was after a border skirmish with RedwoodClan that he earned his warrior name, Flashfang, for his battle prowess.

The tom managed to attract a mate shortly after he was named a warrior, a pretty she-cat named Duckpuddle. She was in love with him, and he thought he loved her as well. However, he always ended up drifting away and had consistent flings with other she-cats in the clan. After Duckpuddle found out about his cheating, she dumped him. He was deeply saddened by this event, despite how much he deserved it. For a time he wallowed in self-pity, desperately trying to win her back. However, she quickly moved on after realizing that Flashfang was a lost cause.

During his period of depression, his mother became pregnant again with Tallfern as the father of the litter. She gave birth to a single kit and named him Pearkit. Flashfang found himself curious about his new sibling, but could only bring himself to visit when his mother and step-father were occupied. He never grew particularly close to the young tom, as he believed that his step-father's weak genes must have surely been passed down to the kit. However, it was evident that Pearkit was just as curious as Flashfang was. As Pearkit aged, it was not uncommon for Flashfang to wake up only to find Pearkit staring at him from the entrance of the warrior's den. Flashfang did his best to ignore it, but in his avoidance of the nursery, he only fostered more interest from the young kit.

Eventually, Flashfang grew to leave Duckpuddle alone. After all, it was clear time and time again that she had no interest in him. Instead, Flashfang turned to other she-cats in the clan. By then, many of them still knew him as a serial cheater, and he rarely was given the time of day.


When Flashfang was 23 moons old, his mother passed away from an unknown illness. Flashfang had mixed feelings about the event. Somewhere in his heart he still cared for the she-cat, but he had buried that love so deep down that he felt lost in his grief. A moon after, Pearkit was made an apprentice. Flashfang and Tallfern watched the ceremony with interest from opposite sides of the camp.

As he aged, he found himself drawn more and more to the moon cave. He found himself lost after his mother's death, and hoped to find consolation in prayer. However, he found the opposite. For moons after his mother's death, he was plagued by nightmares. He assumed that this was his punishment for not spending time with his family while he had the chance. His grief escalated, but it was not for his late mother. Instead, he grieved for himself.

The large ginger tom watched from the sidelines as Pearpaw became a warrior. Much to Flashfang's surprise, the younger tom had overcome his father's weak genes and earned a respectable name: Pearpaw. Flashfang celebrated the tom's success from the anonymity of the crowd as to not draw too much attention to himself. The two half-brothers found themselves both connected and distant, and Flashfang was too weak to make something more of their relationship. This weakness haunted him, as he knew it was another sin that StarClan would find in him. He repented at the moon cave, but he struggled to find solace in the stillness.

What finally sent Flashfang over the edge occurred on his 32nd moon. He discovered that his ex-partner, Duckpuddle, had taken a mate and was pregnant with his kits. The tom was another weakling, a brown tabby named Frogeye. He was kind and thoughtful but incapable of defending himself without calling upon his clan. Why would Duckpuddle ever consider him as a suitor when he was such a pathetic excuse of a warrior? Flashfang spent several moons trapped in his jealousy. When he should have been focusing on his duties, he couldn't help but daydream about Frogeye's death. Flashfang would never kill a clanmate. To do so would be the greatest sin he could commit, besides not believing in StarClan. However, he could not stop thinking about it. He communed frequently with StarClan at the moon cave, hoping for a sign that his prayers were heard and his sins absolved, but the lack of response drove him to obsess even further.


Frogeye managed to get himself killed in combat with the heretic neighbors, and Flashfang pretended to grieve a fallen comrade. However, he couldn't help but feel the sinful relief at the pit of his stomach.

Flashfang was nearly 40 moons by the time he mentored his first apprentice. His younger years were full of inner turmoil, and he would never have been suitable as a mentor. However, as the moons passed, his obsession with his past lover faded to a distant regret.

His apprentice's training went well and Flashfang was able to find satisfaction in following StarClan's way. While his apprentice didn't share Flashfang's disposition for fighting, much to his disappointment, he was able to make a well-balanced warrior out of the young cat.


Flashfang's life was on the upswing, but something was still wrong. He was weighed down by his guilt and sin and knew that the only way to heal would be to settle down with a she-cat. Luckily for him, time was on his side. Much of the clan had forgotten his unfaithful habits outside of Duckpuddle and her inner circle. Because of this, the athletic and attractive tom began to court the various she-cats within LichenClan's borders. None seemed to be able to hold his attention long enough to make something of the relationship.

He continues his search, all the while avoiding Duckpuddle, Pearbloom, and Tallfern. He tries to ignore them, as they only remind him of his past sins. Eventually, he will set his sights on the right cat. He just hopes it sticks.


On his 64th moon, Flashfang finally managed to catch a she-cat's gaze in a way that caused him to linger. Sturgeonstone was a formal and strict she-cat of higher birth. Upon hearing each other's sins at the moonpool, there was a quick attraction forged as it seemed as though each was the cure for the other's transgressions. After courting for the greenleaf and leaffall season, their matehood was made official in his 68th moon on a night of dancing lights.

Despite Sturgeonstone's prior issues with infertility, she gave birth to three unhealthy but alive kittens the night RedwoodClan launched their raid upon LichenClan's camp. Flashfang fought off the deputy by Minnowstar and Lily's side before being summoned to witness the birth of his children - two daughters and a son.

The daughters were named for hardy flowers, Rosekit and Lilackit. The son, for the power held within the water and a nod to the moonpool, was named Riverkit.


When LichenClan launches a counterattack, Flashfang is sent to ThistleClan's camp with the purpose of assisting in slaying Thievingstar. He faced Graygaze in battle. In the combat, an old head injury was once again brought to the surface. After the battle, swaying and unable to soothe the pain of his head, he found solace in the embrace of Mizar, a rogue she-cat eager to raise kittens. That night, Flashfang once again cheated on his mate while she rested with his own kittens in the nursery with none other than a low-born rogue.

He has not seen Mizar since that night, but the guilt is enough to eat him from the inside out. He no longer is able to meet Sturgeonstone's gaze and avoids her at all costs. He continues to seek solace in the nests of others, only driving him deeper into his spiraling guilt. He and Sturgeonstone finally break up under the light of the blood moon, a few days after their kits became apprentices.

The rebellion within LichenClan comes to a head. While he is guarding Minnowstar's den, exile Patchstrike, and rebellion leader Quickstrike attack in an attempt to reach the leader and slay her. After a series of blows, Minnowstar runs, leaving Patchstrike dead in her wake. Flashfang runs into the tunnels with Wispfang to assist in the fighting within but is blindsided by Wispfang who had recently joined the rebellion. He was knocked unconscious in the fray, returning to reality just in time to see Yarrowstar, a friend from his youth, take his place as leader of LichenClan.


In the aftermath of the battle, Flashfang's attention shifted. Realizing that none of his children would be capable of providing him with grandchildren worthy of his name and lineage, he sought to couple with Tidechaser - the daughter of his mentor who had also recently come to a similar conclusion after the death of her sole son.

He also took on another apprentice - Palepaw. The young tom had been rescued as a rogue after his mother had died in the conflict, resulting in the cat being brought up as a LichenClan apprentice. Despite his heritage, Flashfang worked the tom hard to develop him into a capable warrior, eventually earning the name Paleheart.

Flashfang's relationship with Tidechaser shifted and flowed like her namesake. Eventually, they met on the shore and came to the final conclusion that they must restart their line and find new heirs for their name. Flashfang, having doubts about being capable of bearing more offspring before he retired, agreed wholeheartedly, silently swearing to continue to involve himself in his children's lives so that he could hopefully shape them into the young warrior and queen that he could give his honorable legacy to. He searched for proper, well-bred mate for his daughter despite her open distaste for the practice, hoping to find a pairing fit for her to produce him grand children before his age caught up to him.

At the very end of the season, he took on a new apprentice, Vervainpaw. At 93 moons, Flashfang brought the young tom into his tutalage knowing that Vervainpaw would likely be the last of his apprentices, having mentored five others throughout his life.


At the beginning of the 2024 season, Flashfang feels content in his successes. He looked upon his children and vows to correct his mistakes while continuing to try for a litter with Tidechaser, just in case a miracle takes place.