HOME | DD

Description
GENERAL INFO
Name | Shatterstar

Former Names | Shatterkit, Shatterpaw, Shattersmoke

Gender |tom/male

Age |36 moons (3 season cycles)

Clan | DewClan

Rank | leader

Apprentice | none, at the moment

Description

Body Build and Physical Features: He is a lithe tom, with cheekbones that curve in slightly. He has a large scar that shows bare flesh and goes slightly above his right eye. His right eye is a shade greener than his normal left eye, and the pupil is slightly larger. He has a long, thin tail and big, pointy ears. His shoulder blades are also quite large.

Fur: He is referred to as a black smoke tabby. This means his stripes are the darkest hue of black, and his main fur color is a shade slightly lighter. His muzzle and chest, all the way to his underbelly, are white.

Fighting Stats: He is almost well rounded, but has a slightly better than average stamina and a slightly lower than average defense. His counter attacks are sharp witted, and he still has a little rouge fighting style left over from his vigorous youth.

Personality

/wise/: Even though he isn't really old, Shatterstar knows more than any cat could imagine. He rules with this wisdom, and it comes in handy with many things, including the state of war. His wisdom makes him quite the peacemaker, so he tries to do what is right before jumping paws-first into a bloody battle.
/adamant/: Once Shatterstar makes up his mind, there's no going back. You can try to convince him with hard core persuasion, and he might waver just a little, but it's a fat chance he will. And there is almost absolutely any chance he will give in.

fair: In the end, everyone walks away with an equal fraction of something, thanks to Shatterstar. With his strong persuasion, he can get all the clans to agree with him for some things. At least this concept works with cats who are willing to take his advice. Foolish cats who are quick to anger may not take his advice, but will regret it later on. For their actions may soon get them into trouble as well as greed, and they will be surely punished.

/witty/: As he learned from his past experience, with wisdom comes knowledge, as well as charm and wit. Shatterstar is extremely witty, and is often getting into word battles more than ones with tooth and claw. His clan loves him for his wit and charm, and he is one leader who spends much time with his clan. You can see him often going on walks with the new apprentices or making up jokes with an old friend of his.

/mysterious/: It may be challenging to grasp the fact, but Shatterstar is very mysterious on occasions. Every new moon, he spends almost the whole day in his den, with his eyes closed, or escaping to the woods by himself. No one knows why, but if some cat is brave enough to grasp for Shatterstar's earlier life, they are sure to find out.

Backstory
{Kithood ~ 0-6 moons}

Shatterstar was born and raised in DewClan, along with two other littermates: Eaglekit and Shinekit. Shinekit died shortly after birth. Eaglekit, however, stayed strong with Shatterkit, who was named for his elaborate coat of fur, which looked like the night sky broken into a million pieces. Their mother was a sweet, tender cat who was very protective of them. Her fur was black, like Shatterkit's. Unfortuantely, the kit's father had died before birth, and Nightwhisp, his mother, had recently been hanging around a tom named Weedsmoke.
Shatterkit didn't like Weedsmoke, and Weedsmoke definitely did not like Shatterkit. The reason Weedsmoke loved Nightwhisp for the fact that her kits looked a lot like him, and he could easily pretend to be their father. Well, most of the kits looked like him. Except for Shatterkit. Shatterkit favored his dead father much better, because he died a hero, and, as for Weedsmoke, well... He was a jerk. A dirty, cowardly excuse of a warrior. He had cheated off of his mother to get revenge on his ex mate, who was from a different clan.

When Nightwhisp found out the ugly truth, she was mysteriously killed. Weedsmoke threatened Shatterkit not to tell anyone about his mother, or he would kill Shatterkit as well. And knowing the tom, Shatterkit kept quiet... For now.

Shatterkit became frequently bored in the nursery, and often played with his fluffy brother Eaglekit. They would pretend to be warriors and protected their made up clan from "predators" like Weedsmoke, who did not like playing in the kits' games one teensy bit. One day, unfortunately, Eaglekit and Shatterkit were led too far in their discoveries.

The two had started playing near the edge of a thorn briar, and had gotten lost where the path through was unnaturally narrow.
"Come on!" Eaglekit had coaxed his brother. "The opening is not too far ahead!"
"I-I'm not sure," Shatterkit had replied. "It looks... Dangerous."
"No it isn't!" said Eaglekit. "What? Are you a chicken?" He raised an eyebrow accusingly. "Bawk! Shatterkit's a chicken!" Shatterkit, alarmed and upset in his brother's teasing, jumped onto his brother and began to playfight loudly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an angry fox appeared from what seemed like an abandoned home, near the path's edge. Coming from where the kits had came, it chased them playfully, thinking of what play toys these two would be, and what joy it would have tearing them apart.Screaming, the two fled, down the path quicker than comets. Hope sailed in their chests as light got bearer and nearer, and trees began to disappear.
"We're... Almost... There," panted Eaglekit. But to awful grief, the path came to a dead end, and the brambles at the end were thicker than ever. Eaglekit, in a panic, ran blindly through the brambles, ruining his pelt and seriously maiming this throat. Shatterkit, the coward he was, hid in a rabbit hole and prayed to StarClan that his brother was okay. And after what seemed like an eternity, a patrol came and saved the kits from the fox.

To the kits' surprise, the one leading the patrol was none other than the jerk Weedsmoke. He had "realized how much the toms used to be to Nightwhisp and couldn't let her fade from his memory". (But in reality, he wanted to use the kits later on for his own plan.)

When Shatterkit was back safely at camp, he realized that Eaglekit was alive. Although, his voice was permanently ruined and now sounded like rusty nails, and his pelt was ruined as well, which was torn in such a manor that it could never grow back in many places. Shatterkit spent the last days of his kithood in the medicine den, trying to comfort his brother as Eaglekit recovered.

Important things that happened...

Shatterkit is born

Nightwhisp dies; is killed by Weedsmoke with deathberries

Eaglekit and Shatterkit are chased by a fox; Eaglekit is maimed for life

{ Apprenticehood ~ 6-12 moons }

At last, Shatterkit was apprenticed. His mentor was by choice, although it was not allowed, Weedsmoke. Shatterpaw now saw Weedsmoke in a new light. He was now someone the young cat looked up to; his father by blood blown to the back of his mind. Weedsmoke took him out into the apprentice training field one day and gave him a lecture:
"Shatterpaw. Now that you're getting older, you should learn about a few things."
"Yes sir-"
"Don't call me that! Call me Weedsmoke. Besides, that's all apart of this lecture. Sure, you have the warrior code and all, but you should be able to do whatever you want to do. You should be your own person. Don't let anyone push you around." Nervously looking around, Weedsmoke said in a hushed voice,
"Now, I'm going to go away for a while. I have arranged someone else to substitute as mentor for me. Now when I get back, I want you to show me your new and improved way of life. Okay? Because you're the only thing that matters in life. You come first! Okay?"

Confused, all Shatterpaw did was nod. Why was Weedsmoke going away? How long would it be? But for now he would just follow these directions and listen to what Weedsmoke had given him as advice.

So he did. Shatterpaw had become very rude, annoying, and arrogant. He became greedy and sharp clawed, and far too battle hungry. He wanted to be leader above everything else, and he wanted to be first. The only cat who could see past that was Lakepaw, a fellow apprentice. So the two began to hang out often, and soon, Shatterpaw began to respect Lakepaw, unlike any other cat he had known. And Shatterpaw just acted around Lakepaw this way because Lakepaw was... Different. He was bubbly and über friendly and didn't care when he was insulted. And Shatterpaw just let that slide... For now. The two stayed up past moonhigh, sneaked out at night, had night adventures, and much more. At this time he was 10 moons.

At the same time, Eaglekit was never apprenticed. Instead, the leader took pity on the cat for his awkward appearance and let him become an elder instead, by the name of Twitch, a loner's name, for the leader did not know what to become of this strange looking apprentice.
Twitch knew he was mistreated from the get-go. On top of that, his own brother seemed to be finding a replacement for him! He was thrown into a depression, and found himself become a reckloose. He also stared become glutinous, and began to eat too much to try and calm his nerves and to lower his depression. Of course it never worked, but it became addiction. The leader never minded, for the clan had plenty of prey at the time and Twitch always was taking half of it, anyway. So Twitch tripled in size and weight, and just got more sideways glances and creepy stares. His voice became very deep and his body became unreckognizable from when he was a kit. And so on he went, wallowing in depression, while Shatterpaw was having the time of his life.

Important things that happened...

Shatterkit becomes Shatterpaw; has new relationship with Weedsmoke

Weedsmoke goes away, saying he will come back soon

Eaglekit becomes Twitch, the awkward, young, strange elder who was dejected by Shatterpaw

Shatterpaw starts a friendship with Lakepaw

Twitch begins to triple in size and weight due to gluttony

Weedsmoke (who ran away and hoped to come back to see Shatterpaw his spitting image, and would then reveal a plan of destruction) has died from a dog attack while he is in twolegplace; no one knows of his death, but he is presumed dead in the 11th moon of Shatterstar's life

{ Warrior Youth ~ 12- 16 moons }

As time went on, Shatterpaw eventually earned his warrior name, Shattersmoke, after the name of Weedsmoke. He was still quite snobby and very disrespectful. He has also grown quite the ambition for leader at this point. His friend, now Lakefang, and him had grown a tight bond. And that bond would be put to the ultimate test when they went on another one of heir adventures in the 15th moon of Shattersmoke's life.

It all happened on a balmy morning. Lakefang's cheeky persuasion had won Shattersmoke over, and they secretly had gone out of camp, playing hooky. They had decided to go and find the snake hole that a large snake lived in, and kill it, so that when they came back to camp with the predator in their clutches, they would be heroes.

When they arrived at the bottom of a stony gorge where the snake hole was, there was not a living soul in sight (except for the ghostly and ancient tree that seemed to be frozen in time trying to crawl up the side of the gorge). Lakefang had seemed to realize how terrified he was of this eerie place.
"Sh-shattersmoke," he said shakily, "I think we should go back."
"No way!" snarled Shattersmoke. "You're the one who got me into this mess. You will be the one getting us out!" He opened his mouth to sniff the air. "Hold on. I smell something." Slowly and cautiously, he edged his way over to the angled tree in the corner of the narrow yet bright clearing. A hole seemed to be naturally eroded into the roots of the tree! "Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had whispered excitedly. "I think I've found it!"
"That's great," Lakefang had said nervously. "Can we go now?"
"No way!" growled Shattersmoke. "Not in a million moons! Not until that snake is dead and hanging in your mouth!" Lakefang looked taken aback. He tried to say,
"Shattersmoke, I-"

But he was interrupted by a multitude of sharp hissing noises. Suddenly, an average sized snake came out, the rattle at the end of its tail shaking happily. Shattersmoke had unsheathed his claws. "Lakefang." His paws he kept planted firmly in the old stone earth. "You go for it first. I'll go for it next. Now!"
Lakefang kept still.
"Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had hissed. "Lakefang, now!"

Lakefang edged forward nervously. He lunged for the snake, but it moved too quickly. Instead, he hit his head on stone. Ears ringing, he sat back up, his vision blurry. Just then, another snake, identical to the first appeared. And then another. And another! Just as it seemed as if things could not get worse, a large snake- two times the size of the others!- came out last, with large, long fangs glinting in the heat of the noonday sun.

Shattersmoke watched as it slowly slithered toward Lakefang, waiting for the cat to move so he could go in for the kill.

Lakefang watched as a large blurry snake came up to him. Its eyes looked like stars. The large fangs dripped with poison.
"Lakefaaaaang," a slithery voice breathed. "Don't stay with Shattersmoke. He'll get what he deserves. And when he's gone, the clan will think you killed him. And you will be killed."
"What sh-should I do?" said Lakefang, his eyes the size of apples. The snake lashed its log purple tongue and said,
"Disssssappear. Never returrnnnn...."

"Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had said. "What's going on over there?" Lakefang gave Shattersmoke a creepy, vacant look and turned foot, running out the way the two came. He would never come back, and he would be a loner the rest of his life, insane.

The snakes turned on Shattersmoke, who was now horrified. The small ones writhed around the tom. The largest snake circled Shattersmoke viciously. Then, he lunged, aiming at his throat. The warrior batted the snake aside. The reptile came back a second time, and was successful. Shattersmoke fell to the ground, blood filling up his vision in his right eye. He yowled in pain as the snake tore at the flesh of his face. Tail between his legs, he ran out of the gorge, his heart sounding louder than the cries of cats in battle. He collapsed outside of camp, dizzy from blood loss, and everything went black.

When he finally came to, he was in the medicine den, having wet moss wrung out on his forehead. He couldn't remember really how to do anything, for the shock from the attack had not worn off yet even after his four day coma. The medicine cat said his near death experience had kept her up all night... But Shattersmoke could not listen. He was already being tugged back into a long, deep sleep.

For the rest of this time period Shattersmoke spent coming in and out of consciousness. He was not fully snapped out of his daze until later.

Important things that happened...

Shatterpaw becomes Shattersmoke, a warrior

Shattersmoke is attacked and almost dies from poisonous snakes in the stony gorge

Lakefang goes insane from a head wound and flees his clan; his current location is unknown

Shattersmoke goes in and out of consciousness from the snake attack

{ Recovery and Tragedy ~ Age 17-20 moons }

When Shattersmoke had finally came to full awareness, he was finally able to walk around camp. He was bitterly confused, and when his cobwebs were taken off, he got awful stares. The strangest of all was that the vision in his right eye's vision seemed... Always darker than his other eye's vision. He finally got the answer he was searching for: "Go look for yourself!"

So Shattersmoke walked over to a puddle and took a look. But what he thought he would see wasn't there at all. His right eye pupil was permanently swollen. The scar on his face was wide enough to cover all behind his right eye, and long enough to stretch past it, up beyond the bridge of his nose. As he was trying to wrap his mind around how this could have happened, his brother, Twitch came out. The plump cat walked up to his brother, and said,
"Listen, I know what you're feeling and-"
"Leave me alone," Shattersmoke had interrupted. He hissed and turned his shoulder. But his brother tried again:
"Shattersmoke, you don't understand-"
"What?" the enraged and grief stricken warrior interrupted again. "That I have to become fat and ugly like to to make myself feel better? I don't think so!" But Twitch wasn't giving up.
"Brother, please-"
That final feather broke the camel's back. Shattersmoke unsheathed his claws.
"I may be a lot of things," he said, his tone so soft for an angry cat it was scary, "but I will never. Ever. EVER be your BROTHER!" He turned on Twitch with a cry and slashed at the young elder's face. Blood welled from a long cut on Twitch's cheek. Sadness filled his eyes.
"Turn your life around, Shattersmoke," Twitch had spoken painfully, "or you will end up like me." He turned and headed off to the medicine den, ignoring all questions of what happened. Shattersmoke watched him go and felt regret for a few heartbeats...

But only a few heartbeats.

A moon or two passed. Shattersmoke became a reckloose. He became cruel and mean. They almost suggested kicking him out of the clan. But of course, they didn't. So the cats steered clear of Shattersmoke and just hoped he would steer clear of them. He didn't. So one day, an apprentice decided to find some hot charcoal embers and light fire to Shattersmoke's tail to teach him a lesson. When the black tabby was sleeping, the apprentice came into his den, tied on the pieces of coal, and blew on them after rubbing them together for a very, very long time until his paws ached. Instantly, a small flame appeared. The apprentice knew he was going to be spotted and tried to make a quick and soundless escape. Bad move on his part, for Shattersmoke had woken up, yowling in pain. His tail was on fire! He saw the apprentice and instantly, he looked ready to kill.
"You tried to fool me!" he hissed, unsheathing his claws. "But this time, I'll fool you- by killing you!" He lunged for the apprentice's throat and pined him to the ground.

The deputy was watching guard when she heard commotion. She ran into the camp and charged into the warrior's den. She saw the dark tabby and hissed.
"Shattersmoke! What-" She saw the apprentice, whose eyes were wide with fear and shock.
"H-Help... Me..." the smaller cat had coughed, through the blood and spit coming up his throat. The deputy hissed at Shattersmoke.
"I knew you were a traitor ever since you ruined your eye!" She lunged at the cat who had his tail on fire. Shattersmoke jumped out of the way and headed for the camp exit. He saw the tunnel get closer and closer until- his paws stopped moving. He was stuck on the protective bramble bush near the entrance! Gasping, he wreathed and wriggled, trying to get free. The deputy saw what he was trying to do.
"Shattersmoke!" she had yowled. "Stop!"

But it was no use. Shattersmoke continued to move about and finally freed himself, leaving a few tufts of fur behind.
"There!" he grumbled. He walked toward the apprentice, who was still coughing on the ground and trying to wrap his ming around the attack. "Now where was I?"

The deputy charged in the way, her back arched. Even though she was getting older, she was still vigorous and had a spark of youth about her.
"You're going nowhere!" she snarled. "He is my nephew and my kin, and I won't see his blood spill anymore! But yours? I'd likely protect my clan from you, you... You rouge!"
"Rouge?" Shattersmoke laughed maniaclly. "No. I'm a warrior. The real kind. Now get out of the way, old she-cat!"
"Real warriors don't kill to win their battles," replied the worn-out deputy. "You're no warrior. You're a lying, stealing-"

She was interrupted by a large crashing sound. A branch fell down from on top of the elder's den. Twitch scurried out with the other elders, their pelts blackened, their throats burning.
"The camp is on fire!" cried the deputy. She raised her head and yowled, "Everyone! Evacuate! Meet up later! Move, move, move!"

The rest of the scene was a blur. Pelts whooshing by, dizzying heads leaving camp. Shattersmoke felt confused. Smoke began to fill his lungs, and he felt woozy. THe shadow of death-a large curtain of smoke-whovered over the camp, getting lower and lower by the second. Soon it was barely above Shattersmoke. He fell down on the ground and took in one, last, raspy breath. His name was Shattersmoke. He would live up to his namesake by dying of smoke inhalation. This would be the end. He should have listened. To his mother. His friend. His brother. Everyone. Everyone except the one person he thought he could trust: Weedsmoke. What did his brother say to him, a few moons before?
Turn your life around Shattersmoke, or you will end up like me.
What had Twitch meant by that, that he would end up like him? Overweight? Panicked? Ugly? No, that wasn't the case. He knew what it had meant...
Twitch had meant Shattersmoke would end up dead- first on the inside, and then on the outside.
But how could he turn his life around?
Shattersmoke wanted to ponder this question more but he could feel the heat closing in on him, and he closed his eyes for what seemed like the last time.

Let's put some emphasis on "What Seemed Like", shall we?

Important Things That Happened...

Shattersmoke completely breaks a bond between him and Twitch

Shattersmoke becomes cruel-hearted and mean

The clan's camp is burned down

{ Turning His Life Around ~ 20-25 moons }

To be continued!

Description
GENERAL INFO
Name | Shatterstar

Former Names | Shatterkit, Shatterpaw, Shattersmoke

Gender |tom/male

Age |36 moons (3 season cycles)

Clan | DewClan

Rank | leader

Apprentice | none, at the moment

Description

Body Build and Physical Features: He is a lithe tom, with cheekbones that curve in slightly. He has a large scar that shows bare flesh and goes slightly above his right eye. His right eye is a shade greener than his normal left eye, and the pupil is slightly larger. He has a long, thin tail and big, pointy ears. His shoulder blades are also quite large.

Fur: He is referred to as a black smoke tabby. This means his stripes are the darkest hue of black, and his main fur color is a shade slightly lighter. His muzzle and chest, all the way to his underbelly, are white.

Fighting Stats: He is almost well rounded, but has a slightly better than average stamina and a slightly lower than average defense. His counter attacks are sharp witted, and he still has a little rouge fighting style left over from his vigorous youth.

Personality

/wise/: Even though he isn't really old, Shatterstar knows more than any cat could imagine. He rules with this wisdom, and it comes in handy with many things, including the state of war. His wisdom makes him quite the peacemaker, so he tries to do what is right before jumping paws-first into a bloody battle.
/adamant/: Once Shatterstar makes up his mind, there's no going back. You can try to convince him with hard core persuasion, and he might waver just a little, but it's a fat chance he will. And there is almost absolutely any chance he will give in.

fair: In the end, everyone walks away with an equal fraction of something, thanks to Shatterstar. With his strong persuasion, he can get all the clans to agree with him for some things. At least this concept works with cats who are willing to take his advice. Foolish cats who are quick to anger may not take his advice, but will regret it later on. For their actions may soon get them into trouble as well as greed, and they will be surely punished.

/witty/: As he learned from his past experience, with wisdom comes knowledge, as well as charm and wit. Shatterstar is extremely witty, and is often getting into word battles more than ones with tooth and claw. His clan loves him for his wit and charm, and he is one leader who spends much time with his clan. You can see him often going on walks with the new apprentices or making up jokes with an old friend of his.

/mysterious/: It may be challenging to grasp the fact, but Shatterstar is very mysterious on occasions. Every new moon, he spends almost the whole day in his den, with his eyes closed, or escaping to the woods by himself. No one knows why, but if some cat is brave enough to grasp for Shatterstar's earlier life, they are sure to find out.

Backstory
{Kithood ~ 0-6 moons}

Shatterstar was born and raised in DewClan, along with two other littermates: Eaglekit and Shinekit. Shinekit died shortly after birth. Eaglekit, however, stayed strong with Shatterkit, who was named for his elaborate coat of fur, which looked like the night sky broken into a million pieces. Their mother was a sweet, tender cat who was very protective of them. Her fur was black, like Shatterkit's. Unfortuantely, the kit's father had died before birth, and Nightwhisp, his mother, had recently been hanging around a tom named Weedsmoke.
Shatterkit didn't like Weedsmoke, and Weedsmoke definitely did not like Shatterkit. The reason Weedsmoke loved Nightwhisp for the fact that her kits looked a lot like him, and he could easily pretend to be their father. Well, most of the kits looked like him. Except for Shatterkit. Shatterkit favored his dead father much better, because he died a hero, and, as for Weedsmoke, well... He was a jerk. A dirty, cowardly excuse of a warrior. He had cheated off of his mother to get revenge on his ex mate, who was from a different clan.

When Nightwhisp found out the ugly truth, she was mysteriously killed. Weedsmoke threatened Shatterkit not to tell anyone about his mother, or he would kill Shatterkit as well. And knowing the tom, Shatterkit kept quiet... For now.

Shatterkit became frequently bored in the nursery, and often played with his fluffy brother Eaglekit. They would pretend to be warriors and protected their made up clan from "predators" like Weedsmoke, who did not like playing in the kits' games one teensy bit. One day, unfortunately, Eaglekit and Shatterkit were led too far in their discoveries.

The two had started playing near the edge of a thorn briar, and had gotten lost where the path through was unnaturally narrow.
"Come on!" Eaglekit had coaxed his brother. "The opening is not too far ahead!"
"I-I'm not sure," Shatterkit had replied. "It looks... Dangerous."
"No it isn't!" said Eaglekit. "What? Are you a chicken?" He raised an eyebrow accusingly. "Bawk! Shatterkit's a chicken!" Shatterkit, alarmed and upset in his brother's teasing, jumped onto his brother and began to playfight loudly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an angry fox appeared from what seemed like an abandoned home, near the path's edge. Coming from where the kits had came, it chased them playfully, thinking of what play toys these two would be, and what joy it would have tearing them apart.Screaming, the two fled, down the path quicker than comets. Hope sailed in their chests as light got bearer and nearer, and trees began to disappear.
"We're... Almost... There," panted Eaglekit. But to awful grief, the path came to a dead end, and the brambles at the end were thicker than ever. Eaglekit, in a panic, ran blindly through the brambles, ruining his pelt and seriously maiming this throat. Shatterkit, the coward he was, hid in a rabbit hole and prayed to StarClan that his brother was okay. And after what seemed like an eternity, a patrol came and saved the kits from the fox.

To the kits' surprise, the one leading the patrol was none other than the jerk Weedsmoke. He had "realized how much the toms used to be to Nightwhisp and couldn't let her fade from his memory". (But in reality, he wanted to use the kits later on for his own plan.)

When Shatterkit was back safely at camp, he realized that Eaglekit was alive. Although, his voice was permanently ruined and now sounded like rusty nails, and his pelt was ruined as well, which was torn in such a manor that it could never grow back in many places. Shatterkit spent the last days of his kithood in the medicine den, trying to comfort his brother as Eaglekit recovered.

Important things that happened...

Shatterkit is born

Nightwhisp dies; is killed by Weedsmoke with deathberries

Eaglekit and Shatterkit are chased by a fox; Eaglekit is maimed for life

{ Apprenticehood ~ 6-12 moons }

At last, Shatterkit was apprenticed. His mentor was by choice, although it was not allowed, Weedsmoke. Shatterpaw now saw Weedsmoke in a new light. He was now someone the young cat looked up to; his father by blood blown to the back of his mind. Weedsmoke took him out into the apprentice training field one day and gave him a lecture:
"Shatterpaw. Now that you're getting older, you should learn about a few things."
"Yes sir-"
"Don't call me that! Call me Weedsmoke. Besides, that's all apart of this lecture. Sure, you have the warrior code and all, but you should be able to do whatever you want to do. You should be your own person. Don't let anyone push you around." Nervously looking around, Weedsmoke said in a hushed voice,
"Now, I'm going to go away for a while. I have arranged someone else to substitute as mentor for me. Now when I get back, I want you to show me your new and improved way of life. Okay? Because you're the only thing that matters in life. You come first! Okay?"

Confused, all Shatterpaw did was nod. Why was Weedsmoke going away? How long would it be? But for now he would just follow these directions and listen to what Weedsmoke had given him as advice.

So he did. Shatterpaw had become very rude, annoying, and arrogant. He became greedy and sharp clawed, and far too battle hungry. He wanted to be leader above everything else, and he wanted to be first. The only cat who could see past that was Lakepaw, a fellow apprentice. So the two began to hang out often, and soon, Shatterpaw began to respect Lakepaw, unlike any other cat he had known. And Shatterpaw just acted around Lakepaw this way because Lakepaw was... Different. He was bubbly and über friendly and didn't care when he was insulted. And Shatterpaw just let that slide... For now. The two stayed up past moonhigh, sneaked out at night, had night adventures, and much more. At this time he was 10 moons.

At the same time, Eaglekit was never apprenticed. Instead, the leader took pity on the cat for his awkward appearance and let him become an elder instead, by the name of Twitch, a loner's name, for the leader did not know what to become of this strange looking apprentice.
Twitch knew he was mistreated from the get-go. On top of that, his own brother seemed to be finding a replacement for him! He was thrown into a depression, and found himself become a reckloose. He also stared become glutinous, and began to eat too much to try and calm his nerves and to lower his depression. Of course it never worked, but it became addiction. The leader never minded, for the clan had plenty of prey at the time and Twitch always was taking half of it, anyway. So Twitch tripled in size and weight, and just got more sideways glances and creepy stares. His voice became very deep and his body became unreckognizable from when he was a kit. And so on he went, wallowing in depression, while Shatterpaw was having the time of his life.

Important things that happened...

Shatterkit becomes Shatterpaw; has new relationship with Weedsmoke

Weedsmoke goes away, saying he will come back soon

Eaglekit becomes Twitch, the awkward, young, strange elder who was dejected by Shatterpaw

Shatterpaw starts a friendship with Lakepaw

Twitch begins to triple in size and weight due to gluttony

Weedsmoke (who ran away and hoped to come back to see Shatterpaw his spitting image, and would then reveal a plan of destruction) has died from a dog attack while he is in twolegplace; no one knows of his death, but he is presumed dead in the 11th moon of Shatterstar's life

{ Warrior Youth ~ 12- 16 moons }

As time went on, Shatterpaw eventually earned his warrior name, Shattersmoke, after the name of Weedsmoke. He was still quite snobby and very disrespectful. He has also grown quite the ambition for leader at this point. His friend, now Lakefang, and him had grown a tight bond. And that bond would be put to the ultimate test when they went on another one of heir adventures in the 15th moon of Shattersmoke's life.

It all happened on a balmy morning. Lakefang's cheeky persuasion had won Shattersmoke over, and they secretly had gone out of camp, playing hooky. They had decided to go and find the snake hole that a large snake lived in, and kill it, so that when they came back to camp with the predator in their clutches, they would be heroes.

When they arrived at the bottom of a stony gorge where the snake hole was, there was not a living soul in sight (except for the ghostly and ancient tree that seemed to be frozen in time trying to crawl up the side of the gorge). Lakefang had seemed to realize how terrified he was of this eerie place.
"Sh-shattersmoke," he said shakily, "I think we should go back."
"No way!" snarled Shattersmoke. "You're the one who got me into this mess. You will be the one getting us out!" He opened his mouth to sniff the air. "Hold on. I smell something." Slowly and cautiously, he edged his way over to the angled tree in the corner of the narrow yet bright clearing. A hole seemed to be naturally eroded into the roots of the tree! "Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had whispered excitedly. "I think I've found it!"
"That's great," Lakefang had said nervously. "Can we go now?"
"No way!" growled Shattersmoke. "Not in a million moons! Not until that snake is dead and hanging in your mouth!" Lakefang looked taken aback. He tried to say,
"Shattersmoke, I-"

But he was interrupted by a multitude of sharp hissing noises. Suddenly, an average sized snake came out, the rattle at the end of its tail shaking happily. Shattersmoke had unsheathed his claws. "Lakefang." His paws he kept planted firmly in the old stone earth. "You go for it first. I'll go for it next. Now!"
Lakefang kept still.
"Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had hissed. "Lakefang, now!"

Lakefang edged forward nervously. He lunged for the snake, but it moved too quickly. Instead, he hit his head on stone. Ears ringing, he sat back up, his vision blurry. Just then, another snake, identical to the first appeared. And then another. And another! Just as it seemed as if things could not get worse, a large snake- two times the size of the others!- came out last, with large, long fangs glinting in the heat of the noonday sun.

Shattersmoke watched as it slowly slithered toward Lakefang, waiting for the cat to move so he could go in for the kill.

Lakefang watched as a large blurry snake came up to him. Its eyes looked like stars. The large fangs dripped with poison.
"Lakefaaaaang," a slithery voice breathed. "Don't stay with Shattersmoke. He'll get what he deserves. And when he's gone, the clan will think you killed him. And you will be killed."
"What sh-should I do?" said Lakefang, his eyes the size of apples. The snake lashed its log purple tongue and said,
"Disssssappear. Never returrnnnn...."

"Lakefang!" Shattersmoke had said. "What's going on over there?" Lakefang gave Shattersmoke a creepy, vacant look and turned foot, running out the way the two came. He would never come back, and he would be a loner the rest of his life, insane.

The snakes turned on Shattersmoke, who was now horrified. The small ones writhed around the tom. The largest snake circled Shattersmoke viciously. Then, he lunged, aiming at his throat. The warrior batted the snake aside. The reptile came back a second time, and was successful. Shattersmoke fell to the ground, blood filling up his vision in his right eye. He yowled in pain as the snake tore at the flesh of his face. Tail between his legs, he ran out of the gorge, his heart sounding louder than the cries of cats in battle. He collapsed outside of camp, dizzy from blood loss, and everything went black.

When he finally came to, he was in the medicine den, having wet moss wrung out on his forehead. He couldn't remember really how to do anything, for the shock from the attack had not worn off yet even after his four day coma. The medicine cat said his near death experience had kept her up all night... But Shattersmoke could not listen. He was already being tugged back into a long, deep sleep.

For the rest of this time period Shattersmoke spent coming in and out of consciousness. He was not fully snapped out of his daze until later.

Important things that happened...

Shatterpaw becomes Shattersmoke, a warrior

Shattersmoke is attacked and almost dies from poisonous snakes in the stony gorge

Lakefang goes insane from a head wound and flees his clan; his current location is unknown

Shattersmoke goes in and out of consciousness from the snake attack

{ Recovery and Tragedy ~ Age 17-20 moons }

When Shattersmoke had finally came to full awareness, he was finally able to walk around camp. He was bitterly confused, and when his cobwebs were taken off, he got awful stares. The strangest of all was that the vision in his right eye's vision seemed... Always darker than his other eye's vision. He finally got the answer he was searching for: "Go look for yourself!"

So Shattersmoke walked over to a puddle and took a look. But what he thought he would see wasn't there at all. His right eye pupil was permanently swollen. The scar on his face was wide enough to cover all behind his right eye, and long enough to stretch past it, up beyond the bridge of his nose. As he was trying to wrap his mind around how this could have happened, his brother, Twitch came out. The plump cat walked up to his brother, and said,
"Listen, I know what you're feeling and-"
"Leave me alone," Shattersmoke had interrupted. He hissed and turned his shoulder. But his brother tried again:
"Shattersmoke, you don't understand-"
"What?" the enraged and grief stricken warrior interrupted again. "That I have to become fat and ugly like to to make myself feel better? I don't think so!" But Twitch wasn't giving up.
"Brother, please-"
That final feather broke the camel's back. Shattersmoke unsheathed his claws.
"I may be a lot of things," he said, his tone so soft for an angry cat it was scary, "but I will never. Ever. EVER be your BROTHER!" He turned on Twitch with a cry and slashed at the young elder's face. Blood welled from a long cut on Twitch's cheek. Sadness filled his eyes.
"Turn your life around, Shattersmoke," Twitch had spoken painfully, "or you will end up like me." He turned and headed off to the medicine den, ignoring all questions of what happened. Shattersmoke watched him go and felt regret for a few heartbeats...

But only a few heartbeats.

A moon or two passed. Shattersmoke became a reckloose. He became cruel and mean. They almost suggested kicking him out of the clan. But of course, they didn't. So the cats steered clear of Shattersmoke and just hoped he would steer clear of them. He didn't. So one day, an apprentice decided to find some hot charcoal embers and light fire to Shattersmoke's tail to teach him a lesson. When the black tabby was sleeping, the apprentice came into his den, tied on the pieces of coal, and blew on them after rubbing them together for a very, very long time until his paws ached. Instantly, a small flame appeared. The apprentice knew he was going to be spotted and tried to make a quick and soundless escape. Bad move on his part, for Shattersmoke had woken up, yowling in pain. His tail was on fire! He saw the apprentice and instantly, he looked ready to kill.
"You tried to fool me!" he hissed, unsheathing his claws. "But this time, I'll fool you- by killing you!" He lunged for the apprentice's throat and pined him to the ground.

The deputy was watching guard when she heard commotion. She ran into the camp and charged into the warrior's den. She saw the dark tabby and hissed.
"Shattersmoke! What-" She saw the apprentice, whose eyes were wide with fear and shock.
"H-Help... Me..." the smaller cat had coughed, through the blood and spit coming up his throat. The deputy hissed at Shattersmoke.
"I knew you were a traitor ever since you ruined your eye!" She lunged at the cat who had his tail on fire. Shattersmoke jumped out of the way and headed for the camp exit. He saw the tunnel get closer and closer until- his paws stopped moving. He was stuck on the protective bramble bush near the entrance! Gasping, he wreathed and wriggled, trying to get free. The deputy saw what he was trying to do.
"Shattersmoke!" she had yowled. "Stop!"

But it was no use. Shattersmoke continued to move about and finally freed himself, leaving a few tufts of fur behind.
"There!" he grumbled. He walked toward the apprentice, who was still coughing on the ground and trying to wrap his ming around the attack. "Now where was I?"

The deputy charged in the way, her back arched. Even though she was getting older, she was still vigorous and had a spark of youth about her.
"You're going nowhere!" she snarled. "He is my nephew and my kin, and I won't see his blood spill anymore! But yours? I'd likely protect my clan from you, you... You rouge!"
"Rouge?" Shattersmoke laughed maniaclly. "No. I'm a warrior. The real kind. Now get out of the way, old she-cat!"
"Real warriors don't kill to win their battles," replied the worn-out deputy. "You're no warrior. You're a lying, stealing-"

She was interrupted by a large crashing sound. A branch fell down from on top of the elder's den. Twitch scurried out with the other elders, their pelts blackened, their throats burning.
"The camp is on fire!" cried the deputy. She raised her head and yowled, "Everyone! Evacuate! Meet up later! Move, move, move!"

The rest of the scene was a blur. Pelts whooshing by, dizzying heads leaving camp. Shattersmoke felt confused. Smoke began to fill his lungs, and he felt woozy. THe shadow of death-a large curtain of smoke-whovered over the camp, getting lower and lower by the second. Soon it was barely above Shattersmoke. He fell down on the ground and took in one, last, raspy breath. His name was Shattersmoke. He would live up to his namesake by dying of smoke inhalation. This would be the end. He should have listened. To his mother. His friend. His brother. Everyone. Everyone except the one person he thought he could trust: Weedsmoke. What did his brother say to him, a few moons before?
Turn your life around Shattersmoke, or you will end up like me.
What had Twitch meant by that, that he would end up like him? Overweight? Panicked? Ugly? No, that wasn't the case. He knew what it had meant...
Twitch had meant Shattersmoke would end up dead- first on the inside, and then on the outside.
But how could he turn his life around?
Shattersmoke wanted to ponder this question more but he could feel the heat closing in on him, and he closed his eyes for what seemed like the last time.

Let's put some emphasis on "What Seemed Like", shall we?

Important Things That Happened...

Shattersmoke completely breaks a bond between him and Twitch

Shattersmoke becomes cruel-hearted and mean

The clan's camp is burned down

{ Turning His Life Around ~ 20-25 moons }

To be continued!