snake's personal theater

a long, long time ago, spindlepaw was a medicine cat apprentice who never liked to behave. he was always sneaking around, doing as he pleased- and what he loved most was swimming under the moon. this was before silkclan had a name, back when it consisted of just a few pairs of cats living out of a rotting shipwreck at the base of the cliffs they now call home.

one day, the water vanished. every cat could walk out into the ocean for miles without seeing a single drop. then the earth quaked and trembled with a terrible roar, and all at once, the ocean came rushing back- a massive wall of water so black it blocked out the sun as it reclaimed its territory.

most cats survived, thanks to spindlepaw’s quick thinking- even the smallest kits, barely old enough to walk, let alone run. but as the world flooded, spindlepaw refused to climb to safety. instead, he dove into the filthy waters to save one last kit.

no one remembers the name of that kit anymore. but they all remember spindlepaw, and the horror of his corpse washing up on the shore weeks later- impaled and battered beyond recognition, ruined in ways not even starclan could mend.

he never earned his name in life, never stood before starclan to receive it- for he was only seven moons old at the time of the drowning moon. but after the flood ended, when everyone was accounted for and the clan had begun to rebuild their new home beneath the sky, the survivors gathered to honor the small apprentice who gave his life for theirs.

among the dead, he was the only one to receive a warrior name. it was spoken to the stars with pride, under the full moon, and he became known as spindlewing. he was named for his swiftness, his selflessness, and his trust that- starclan willing- all would turn out well in the end. it was the only gift his clan could give to match the one he had given them.