Ashstar

[attr="class","arrgenMAINTEXT"]Everything wasn't so dark and hopeless in the beginning for Ashfoot. Truth be told, in the beginning, he wanted the same as every other kitten and wasn't much different than any of his clanmates. As a youth, his personality was built on the foundations of his confidence which seemed to beam from his very pores. The tom had always been a thinker eager to sit on ponder on strategy instead of brute force that some cats relied on. Not every cat could be born strong and full of thick muscles but they could still their mind to learn the best methods of getting a battle to turn in their favor. It was something any cat could learn but a skill that not many chose to bother with. Paired with his adaptable nature he learned to change tactics on the drop of a claw which made him formidable in his early years of battle. Over the moons, the tom never lost these skills or personality traits but instead earned some that have soured him.

As the tom aged he learned that not all battles are won in the name of honor some are won with cunning and deceit. Being a master over one's emotions and learning to hide things become as easy as cracking a smile over time. Some of the peace won may have been paid in the blood of others at the choice of his deceit but it's merely a piece of the puzzle to make ShadowClan great. Ashstar does want ShadowClan to climb out of the pits which they have found themselves in. To do this they have to become strong and strengthen themselves. Weakness is no longer to be tolerated but instead to be defeated. Cats even within his own clan may find the tom to be extremely bad-tempered especially where weakness is concerned. The male's social skills leave mountains worth be desired but that is the least of his issues.

During his reign as leader of ShadowClan, Ashstar got it into his skull that he would bring ShadowClan from the dirt and make them the best of all the clans. He set forth plans to steal more territory even if it took moons to come to fruition. He was going to make the other clans' grovel at the might that was ShadowClan. They would no longer be regarded as the weak, dreary, marsh cats who barely lived through leaf-bare. The tom uses about every vulgar word or expression that starclan gave them with ease and no hesitation. Queens have been known to ask about to make sure he's not around before bringing kittens out for their first walk around the camp. However, one way or another, a cat is bound to come across his crass words now and again.

[attr="class","arrgenMAINTEXT"]

KITHOOD:
Life was bright and extremely loud - a sensory overload that none after would ever quite compare. The mother to bring Ashkit into the world was no first-time mother this was her third litter leaving her kits with many siblings to look up to. Among his litter-mates, there was Frogkit, Swankit, Lark-kit. Lichenfur loved her kittens dearly and they learned of their older siblings not much later once they could walk and wander. The season was green-leaf so things could have been easy. They remembered nothing but an abundance of feathers, moss balls, and toad legs getting tossed around playfully between each other. There is words of their territory under assault by unknown rogues so the camp is under heavy lockdown. The kittens seem none the wiser about the restrictions but recall a frantic queen passing out after her kitten goes missing one evening and never returns. 


APPRENTICESHIP:
Ashkit is made an apprentice on time with all of his siblings. The nursery remained sober after the missing Iriskit disappearance and the kittens are grateful to be set free from nursery's shackles. Ashpaw finds great difficulty in besting opponents that are larger than himself with brute force. He often returns from battle training flecked with cuts of claws and bites down his flanks. His mentor Boarfang refuses to approach training with any other method than sheer brawn. Ashpaw's lithe size and grace simply doesn't match the style. Lichenfur presses Cypress-star to assist in lessons himself. The leader merely gives Ashpaw some pointers that just because his mentor wants him to use brawn doesn't mean he must that if his mind is fast perhaps it's better to rely on his wit and speedy paws. 

Ashpaw decides to employ this new tact against his larger sibling Frogpaw in the next battle training and while not flawless he ends up less wounded than ever. Even giving his brother some well earned scars to remind him that Ashpaw isn't just the scrawny sibling after all. After that day the tom squared his shoulders and stood taller. It could be said that is when he attracted the eyes of Maplepaw who was just a few moons younger than himself with a startling orange pelt. It was a shock to the entire clan when word came back that Fidgetear had been discovered on the territory murdered at the hands of the no good rogues who occupied their lands. Something in Cypress-star breaks that Ashpaw never paid any mind to until now. He still to this day can't quite put his paw on it. The next few moons are spent rallying the clan to prepare for the worst. Battle. 


WARRIORHOOD:
Ashpaw earned his warrior name quickly due to his persistence to endure. He never backed down from a fight and used his head with each battle to prove himself a formidable opponent even if he didn't have the mass to back it up. He had his wit to keep himself in the game. His speed gave him the name Ashfoot because he was a blur on the battlefield along with patrols. Despite his young age he was often selected to follow along with nearly every night patrol because he blended in like a fog. Most cats liked him well enough but those who traveled beside him knew who he truly was and that was out for himself. That wit and speed was for him alone. If it came down to himself and them, he'd always choose himself. No one was foolishness enough to think otherwise because they'd seen it with their own eyes. They knew they couldn't blame him for it. They were all young, all just trying to survive in a forest bent on tearing them all limb from limb. 

Before the final assault against the rogues at the Carrion Place, Ashfoot approached Mapleleap and asked for her paw formally to be mates going forward. He expected her to say yes, and she did. With that he was ready to fight. The fight was intense and blood flew across the battlefield of rats and two-leg trash. Cats dove under paper and metal rolling with claws drawn. Cypress-star held two cats at bay but another was aimed for his back Ashfoot aimed himself for one at his side but was too late with his warning and thus Cypress-star lost a life. Luck or perhaps StarClan was with them because no other warriors were lost although the same could not be same for the rogue scum that now laid rotting in shallow graves of their last home. 

Two moons of peace pass before WindClan warrior dies on the ShadowClan border over a minor dispute caused by a loud-mouth apprentice. Two moons pass before tensions rise and another spat rises on the border between the two but luckily Ashfoot isn't involved in either. Ashfoot is disappointed to find that Mapleleap didn't become pregnant after mating before the rogue battle. Swanflight instead earns an injured paw missing one toe. 8 moons after chasing away the disease of the rogues they find them back at the carrion place tensions run high and their is an immediate clash which results in many injured and dead cats. Cypress-star himself loses 3 lives during the confrontation alone. It takes 3 moons to finally gain control of Carrion place again but this time they capture some rogues. 

Owleyes names a rogue(Hawk) the new medicine cat apprentice to the shock of the entire clan. It it then revealed that Cypress-star is declining in health due to a tumor growth on his side. It seems he will not have long. 


DEPUTYSHIP:
To the surprise of all, Bristlethorn, decides to retire and Cypress-star chooses Ashfoot to take up the role of deputy. The tom finds himself filling large paw prints but does his best to remain confident that he can do all he can. Less than four moons later, Mapleleap gives birth to Lionkit, fogkit, tulipkit, pumpkinkit. Ashfoot begins to feel the strain of leadership dig deeper into his spine as he grapples with handling Cypress-star's responsiblities on top of his own along with becoming a new father. Managing patrols, handling hunting, dishing out punishments, training assessments. The weight begins to weigh on the tom making him begin to lash out at others. The stress of being the only decision maker wears thin the tom and soon he is not much more than skin and fur. Owleyes sudden death does him no favors because now he must rely on a rogue healer for starclan's wisdom. The stars have never seemed darker to him than now. 

Hawkflight takes on Lionpaw as his new medicine cat apprentice to the distaste of Ashfoot, but he cannot control his daughter. He knows she is talented with the herb and would not hold back her wishes.  Cypress-star dies due to old age or the effects of his disease no one knows for certain but his mind has been dead to the clan for a long time. Only his body is returning to starclan now. 


LEADERSHIP - PRESENT:

Unfortunately, a rogue presence lurks on their territory again and patrols increase but otherwise cats are forbid to leave the camp alone. Ashstar watches from the sidelines as his children become warriors. No longer kittens but strong and wise. Lionfire, Fogstep, Tuliptail, Pumpkinfur, each one unique in their own rights. Ashstar's mind is bent under the strain of dealing with the strain of the rogues doubled with the prey shortage they have now caused his clan. Ashstar learns that Fogstep has sired a kitten with a thunderclan queen(Swallow-wing), he threatens her to never return. Takes in Hailkit who he "found" at the borders(hostage of Swallow-wing).  Despite the season they lose some of their youngest and oldest members it is not a good time for shadowclan and Ashstar will never forget it for all his days. Dark times do not end here. Merely eight moons later, a sickness washes over the clan. The herbal stores are wiped out early in the season and despite Ashstar's nature he allows Hawkflight and Lionfire to ask Cherrystar for aid only to be turned away. Ashstar's hatred for ThunderClan only burns deeper with this knowledge and he is reminded of his bargaining chip. The losses to ShadowClan wipe out majority of the clan leaving them to even welcome rogues in the coming days ahead. 

Foxkit and Tigerkit are found abandoned within the territory and while Ashstar has his reservation he allowed them entrance. ShadowClan is weaker than ever and must grow. Hawkflight perished due to a stray lightning bolt hitting a branch but Ashstar doesn't seem to mind much. He never cared much for the former rogue and he finds Lionfire's mourning a bit distasteful for his like but he allows her the space she needs as long as she can do her job. Finchclaw his noble deputy who managed to keep him somewhat together passes due to a wayward monster and Ashstar finds himself alone once more. He finds himself drawn to the cynical mind of Onyxfeather who he believes after his own death will manage to rally ShadowClan toward the greatness they are due of course if he doesn't manage it in his own lifetime.