#haremaw

Ivoryburn

Aliases / Nicknames: Starclan’s Claws, Dark Leader, Liar

Gender: she-cat

Sexuality: pansexual, grey-panromantic

Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, several unnamed littermates

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, two unnamed apprentices

Clan: Windclan

Rank: deputy, temporary leader

Characteristics: truly believes in what she does

Murder Motive: allows Starclan to take those who are undeserving

Number of Victims: 16

Number of Murders: 12

Murder Method: clawing and biting, then allowing those wounds to go infected

Known Victims: Emberpaw, Cricketpaw, Breezepaw, Applepaw, several unnamed warriors

Victim Profile: those she saw as unworthy or who needed to prove themself

Cause of Death: throat torn out by Kitewillow

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

She first got the idea as a young apprrentice. Her denmate, poor Beechpaw, whispered to her that her father had clawed her. She explained that he wanted Starclan to heal her without the help of herbs, and if she doesn’t get sick, then it is proof they hold her in favour.

Beechpaw passed that same moon. Ivorypaw was upset, to be sure. But she was thinking. What if Beechpaw really was unworthy? She wasn’t the most polite cat in the Clan, maybe the laziest. 

It didn’t help that both of her parents and mentor held the Stars in extremely high favour, deeming anything against the code intolerable. 

When she became the deputy, she knew it must be that Starclan knew the ideas that had been brewing in her mind since her training days. They wanted her to take charge. To implement a new law and set the foolish ones in line.

She didn’t even have to wait until leadership. Her leader, Dewstar, had gotten incredibly sick. 

Ivoryburn knew not to start things suddenly. So she did it slow. Rules gradually became more strict. Cats could talk about certain things and not others, then less of others.

Finally, she could do it. She had heard Emberpaw talk badly about Chickpaw, an apprentice who happened to be Ivoryburn’s niece, and so Ivoryburn whirled around and clawed Emberpaw across the cheek. It was unplanned, but it provided the perfect opportunity. 

She claimed to the shocked Clan that the action had not come from her, simply Starclan guiding her claws. She told the medicine cat, who had rushed over, to leave Emberpaw alone. She had made her choice to badmouth a Clanmate and place her loyalty in question. Starclan is strong. If they want her to heal, she will heal, herbs or no herbs.

Ivoryburn believed it, too. She was the vessel for Starclan to take care of the heretics and code-breakers. Perhaps that is why it was so easy to convince her Clanmates. They weren’t happy, which came to no surprise, but what did surprise her was the supporters. 

She failed to notice how afraid everyone became. They were being respectful, keeping their distance. Or perhaps because of how many cats died, they realized how many cats Starclan deemed unworthy were among them.

Because of this, she kept mostly with her supporters. They agreed with her ways and defended them, even kept one eye on their Clanmates to report back to her. 

But one night, when she was snoring in the Warriors’ den, she realized that not all of those supporters had been true to their word. 

Applepaw

Aliases / Nicknames: Weakling, Foolish Apprentice

Gender: tom

Sexuality: bisexual, demiromantic

Family: Kitewillow (mother), unnamed father, Emberpaw (sister)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, Haremaw (Dark Forest mentor)

Clan: Windclan

Rank: apprentice

Characteristics: only wants to prove himself and survive

Motive to Harm: survival

Number of Victims: N/A

Number of Murders: N/A

Murder Method: N/A

Method of Harm: training in the Dark Forest

Known Victims: N/A

Victim Profile: N/A

Cause of Death: drowned, killed by Haremaw

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

It seemed so fast that everything so horribly turned upside down for Applepaw. He was a bright apprentice who looked forward to his future and played with his equally excited sister.

Then she was gone. Even if she had been laying in her nest, unable to move for a quarter-moon, it felt so sudden. 

Applepaw knew that every eye was on him, was on everyone else. Before he enjoyed pulling jokes on others that weren’t quite pranks and would make them laugh with him. He would try to sneak the biggest prey from the pile, he would hide behind a tree stump to avoid chores.

But now he was terrified. He had watched his sister moan and struggle to breathe for days on end. 

Then he watched as the same thing happened to his best friend, Cricketpaw.

Then their mutual friend, Breezepaw.

Applepaw had to do everything right.

He had to clean the nests so that every strand of fern and moss were fresh and soft. He had to go to his den early and wake up early. He had to catch at least twice as much as the average apprentice normally would. He could never say anything that wasn’t about making the Clan better. Or else he could be the next one wriggling in the nest, denied by Starclan. 

He had even tore his skin on a branch in hopes of building up immunity. 

Warriors died too, and he also feared that one of his parents could be next.

So he went to the only place he knew could help him. He went to the Dark Forest. But he hadn’t expected the training to be as harsh as it was, and her certainly hadn’t expected his mentor to hold his tail as he hanged from a tree, head dunked into the water unless Applepaw could curl his back so that he could bend out. But Haremaw wouldn’t let go, and on and on it went. Applepaw couldn’t fight it anymore.

In a way, he was lucky. His remaining denmates and the medicine cat shook him awake, spluttering and gasping. If he had died there, he would have disappeared completely. 

It was horrible knowing that Starclan had rejected him.

Additional Information:

--Ivoryburn was drawn by and her name was suggested by @saffronscales​

--Applepaw’s ref comes from: https://www.deviantart.com/yarrowleef/art/Free-Cat-Lineart-802898923

--Kitewillow was only a ‘supporter’ to be on the inside and try to help control things so that she could protect her family. She snapped when Ivoryburn didn’t announce the death as a tragedy, but as a victory--Starclan clearly wanted him, why else would he die randomly in the middle of the night?

Applepaw’s back screeched with the effort of holding his head above the water’s surface. Dizziness spread from his ears to the base of his skull as he was hung upside-down. Above him on an outstretched tree branch, his Dark Forest mentor, Haremaw, held his tail firmly with one paw, shouting ‘encouragements.’

“Weakling!” He hissed. “Not ten heartbeats and you’re already struggling? You wouldn’t last one moment in a real battle!” He dug his claws in.

Applepaw clenched his jaws against the pain. He decided against pointing out that he had been in a real battle, and instead focused his slipping energy on keeping his head up. He had to curve his back to avoid the water, and it was beginning to feel as though every crevice in his spine were filling with solid rocks.

Finally, he couldn’t hold on any longer, and straightened, plunging his head into the muddy, black depths with a gasp. Instantly, he lifted himself again, shaking and spitting the bile that clung to the insides of his throat.

“Windclan cats are nimble. They could hold the position all day if they had to. Are you sure you’re not part-kittypet?” Haremaw sniffed. “You’re soft like one.”

“I’m not soft!” Applepaw insisted.

“Oh, really?” Haremaw lifted his paw. Applepaw yowled in terror as he slipped, then jerked in the air when Haremaw held onto his tail again. He was lower now and would have to bend more. He flicked his soaked ears.

At first, Applepaw had thought that this was only meant to scare him–or perhaps challenge his willingness to do what his mentor told him, even if it may seem dangerous. Then he decided that Haremaw was only teasing this out, waiting until Applepaw was close to giving up before he pulled him to safety. 

Every muscle in Applepaw’s body quivered by the time he wondered if Haremaw planned at all to bring him back up again. He had uncurled many times, and every time he was getting slower and slower to return to fresh air–or as fresh as it can be here.

He hardly had enough energy to struggle, letting his body hang as thick water filled his lungs. Instinctively, he tried to cough, only to have more water flow into his mouth. He didn’t want to die like this, he didn’t want to die here. His chest ached and he couldn’t tell if it was because he was dying or terrified of the fact.

Pathetic. He was pathetic. He couldn’t even meet his end with grace.

Was something poking into his side? His body was swaying, like it was being pushed from both sides. Was Haremaw helping him up? 

“Applepaw! Applepaw!”

Applepaw hacked in his nest. Nothing came up, still he couldn’t find air, and writhed in the apprentice’s den as his denmates and the medicine cat stared at him in shock. Heatherspring removed her paws from his side.

“Help him!” Yellowpaw cried.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Heatherspring admitted, voice taut with panic. “Applepaw, what’s happened? Can you breathe?”  

Applepaw shook his head. His vision was growing darker. What a way to die, coughing up nothing in the middle of the night in the apprentice’s den. He was dying because he was weak. Haremaw was right.

Aliases / Nicknames: Loud Snout, Shrieker

Gender: tom

Family: Olivepelt (mate, formerly), Sandfur (son)

Other relations: unnamed mentor, Heatherstone (apprentice), Woollyback (apprentice), Mallowfur (apprentice)

Clan: Thunderclan

Characteristics: abusive to son and apprentice, harms enemy warriors

Number of Victims: 3

Number of Murders: 1

Murder Method: drowning

Known Victims: Sandfur, Mallowpaw, Greenbend

Cause of Death: hole in chest, caused by Sandfur

Cautionary Tale: Young apprentices are told to do well and obey their mentors, otherwise when their dreams sink in, they might find themselves hearing the angered shouts of a disgruntled mentor.

Story:

His parents were tough. Not nearly as tough as their son would become, but certainly enough to influence his behaviour. His mother was disdainful of the other Clans and not afraid of showing it around her son, openly opposing helping a Skyclan warrior who had injured themself near the border.

His father pushed Harekit hard, practically training him at advanced levels as a kit, and being less than proud when he trained him for real only to find that Harepaw had not mastered all the moves yet.

He was a strong and powerful warrior, admired by many but also somewhat feared by them. He lived a normal life.

Fought battles, hunted.

Got an apprentice --> Heatherpaw

Got a mate.

Watched apprentice become a warrior.

Had a son.

Gained another apprentice --> Woolypaw.

Trained his son, co-parenting alongside Olivepelt.

Watched apprentice become a warrior.

Watched son become an apprentice.

Broke up with Olivepelt.

Helped son train.

Watched son become a warrior.

And then he came. Mallowpaw. Windclan.

For the life of him, Haremaw couldn’t understand why his leader would allow some runaway apprentice to join their Clan, even after Windclan’s own leader asked for his return. They had both decided that if Mallowpaw wanted to remain in Windclan, he could.

But how is that Haremaw’s fault? Why should he have his talents wasted on some scrawny, Windclan furball?

He would give the runt a reason to go back home. He pushed him especially hard, letting his claws slip on several occasions, mostly where others couldn’t see the marks too well.

Anger exploded through him when he saw Mallowpaw talking with his old mentor, Greenbend, at a gathering. If he was to stay in Thunderclan, he shouldn’t be hanging around his former allies like some traitor! With every gathering, the two spoke more and more, fueling Haremaw’s anger.

One night he noticed Mallowpaw sneak out of camp. Following him, he spotted Mallowpaw talking to Greenbend at the stream that separated their two Clans. Mallowpaw was sobbing into his fur. Weakling! Traitor!

The next gathering, he heard the pair making plans on their next meeting, and made sure to keep Mallowpaw busy for a while. Greenbend was surprised to see the large warrior, and his slimmer shape was no match for Haremaw’s heavy paws, holding his head beneath the water, then leaving him there for Mallowpaw to find. His scent wouldn’t leave a mark, but hopefully Mallowpaw would be frightened into obedience.

He didn’t know that Sandfur suspected him. He viewed his parenting as, if anything, normal, but Sandfur felt quite the opposite. He remembered the harshness of his father’s words when he failed a move, the way his body ached from hours of training, how he begged to stop but Haremaw wouldn’t let him.

He spoke with Woollyback and Heatherstone as well, and they both agreed that Haremaw was tough, although it was also clear that they recieved much kinder treatment. 

What Sandfur knew for sure was that he would not let another kit, apprentice, or warrior suffer from Haremaw’s abuse.

He meant only to confront his father, but Haremaw reacted violently, and the two got into a vicious fight, ending with Sandfur shoving Haremaw onto a sharpened rock.

Exhausted from the fight, Sandfur didn’t have the energy to drag his father back to camp, so he left him laying half-submerged in the stream between Thunderclan and Windclan.

Additional Information:

--Mallowpaw and Greenbend weren’t mates or anything. Greenbend was always nice to Mallowpaw, and because of all the warriors who didn’t accept him and the abuse from his new mentor, he needed someone to vent to. Greenbend was kinda like a therapist to him.

--Second image is of Mallowpaw, with Haremaw screaming off-screen. I can’t say who it’s by because D.A took away all descriptions on my account?

--Some more recycled old OCs! I changed Haremaw’s name. Not entirely sure how I feel about it.

Poor soul

He’s partially deaf in the DF because of the water clogging his ears. He easily gets dizzy when his head is even the tiniest bit upside down, and he hates the sound of water.

Huh. Wonder what that scar is. Ah, I’m sure it’s not important!

--

yeah Apple went to the Dark Forest because that's where he trained. So far it's not known what he was training for or why he was so motivated to go to the DF for it, and I'm open to ideas.