#lightningspring

Named so because 'Red' and 'Kindle' (their daughter) both connote fire, and 'Lightning' has a visual similar to a burst (it also matches Redbloom's bursts of anger). 

Also because it's fun, decided they live in a blackened tree, as if it had been burnt by fire and/or a burst of lightning.

(was originally gonna be FireStorm Family, but one of their kits has the 'storm' suffix and I felt that would make it odd)

Thoughts?

“You.”

Cedarstar looked up from grooming his pelt, his eyes focusing on a certain tortie pelt. Kindlepaw. Her voice was laced with hatred, fear, and her amber eyes were wide like golden moons. “You as well.” The former leader adjusted his position, looking down upon Kindlepaw who glared back. It was a couple of seconds before either said anything, the two just silently staring as the scent of smoke filled the air, burning at their nose and eyes before finally Cedarstar spoke again. “I’m simultaneously surprised and not surprised that you found your way down here.” He said, his gaze narrowed. “It was a mistake I’m here!” Kindlepaw protested as she unsheathed her claws, “I’m a hero- You would’ve ruined Gladeclan!” the she-cat hissed with complete venom in her voice. Cedarstar rolled his eyes at Kindlepaw’s growls, sitting down comfortably. Or at least as comfortably you could be in the Dark Forest. 

“You ruined my life- You ruined Hillpaw’s future, you ruined evERYONE-”

“‘Ruined’ is a strong word, you little arsonist.” He growled as he stood up after such a short rest, taking a couple strides forward. “If anything, you ruined Gladeclan with your little fire plan.” “Wh- You.. Liar! We were the only cats hurt!” Cedarstar’s fur bristled. “Really? Explain that to your mother, because the flames kept her from being able to escape a falling log.” He hissed, watching the apprentice freeze. “Or your brother who nearly burned alive trying to save what was left of her.” He circled around Kindlepaw, who kept a terrified glare. “I…” “What about your clanmates? Did you not hear their screams?”

Cedarstar was normally a very calm cat, but seeing Kindlepaw get so caught up in her hero complex… It made him angry. The she-cat crouched in place, her voice a quiet hiss. Cedarstar glared down at Kindlepaw. “T.. I thought they were just panicking!” “You killed innocent cats, Kindlepaw. You killed more than I ever did.” He crouched down to be eye-to-eye, hissing the words as Kindlepaw covered her face in her paws- Choked sobs starting to come from the shaky tortoiseshell as Cedarstar glared. Quite pathetic for a murderer. “You deserve to be here just as much as I do.-” He finished, but before he could even breathe in- Kindlepaw suddenly screamed, raising her face to the sky with a mournful shriek.

Cedarstar flinched and took a step back, staring at the screaming apprentice before noticing shivering leaves, the sound of rustling coming closer frantically. ‘Whatever happens to you, happens,’ He thought as he turned tail, rushing through the trees. ‘You killed them, and now you’ll pay the price.’

————————————————————–

Leopardshock! plus a look at how cluttered his ref was

@starfalcon555

—

Redbloom: you’re probably gonna find out anyway, so hear it from me. I killed an apprentice once

Kindlepaw: w-what?

Redbloom: well it was an accident

Kindlepaw: o-okay. okayokay

Redbloom: I wouldn’t kill you though. Not unless you annoy me.

Kindlepaw: okay great yeah thanks okay

Lightningspring: babe, please

Kindlepaw’s breath came short and quick, emitting from a chest rising and falling like the wings of a panicking butterfly as her heart thumped painfully. She had to remind herself to hold onto her sharp stick, clamped in her jaws as she was carried off. She bit down so hard that bits of it splintered in her mouth, poking painfully at her tongue, or it would, if she wasn’t so distracted by the knowledge that she was surely going to die again.

She had only just picked it up when the colourful she-cat came out of the bushes and picked the younger cat up. She was so tall that Kindlepaw, in spite of her size as an apprentice, barely skimmed the ground. She would have fought, if not for the incapacitation being carried by her scruff caused her. 

Her mind whirled. What would happen to her? Surely the she-cat wouldn’t simply kill her after bothering to carry her all this way? She gulped, causing the splinters to slither down her throat. No, no, they were definitely going to torture her. 

Her whirling thoughts came to a sudden, terrible freeze when she realized that the she-cat halted. Ahead, movement came from a claw-shaped hole in a crooked, blackened tree. A red cat emerged, one eye narrowed, the other missing. Blood dripped from deep scars along her sides, trailing the ground as she jumped gracefully from the tree and padded closer.

Kindlepaw flinched back at the sound of the she-cat’s voice, coming like a rumbling monster’s growl. “Light, sweetheart, who is this?”

“Uh..” Kindlepaw felt the she-cat holding her pause. “I forgot to ask,” she mumbled around fur.

“Dear, you’re giving the little thing a heart attack.”

“Am I?” Suddenly, Kindlepaw fell, thumping onto the ground with an oof. 

Kindlepaw knew she should run, but her legs only buckled. One cat was in front of her while the other behind, and she had no idea where to look. She didn’t know what ‘Light’ looked like aside from the colourful fur she could see as she was carried, and the fact that she was rather tall. She found that she didn’t want to see what she looked like. She didn’t want to know the kind of cat that would affiliate with someone like the one in front of her, more muscular than any of Kindlepaw’s Clanmates had been, including Cedarstar, with fur scruffy from many scraps. 

The pink pupil of the red cat sharpened, burning into Kindlepaw, making her feel as though eyes were on her every inch, including inside, viewing any thoughts she had of wanting to escape. “New resident?”

“I assume so. Hey, are you new?” A paw nudged Kindlepaw’s side. It pushed her into action. She remembered the stick in her jaws and swung her head, aiming to scratch the red she-cat closest to it. The she-cat dodged easily, then gripped the stick in her own jaws and tore it from Kindlepaw’s easily, tossing it behind her. “Feisty one, ain’t she?” she asked through a spine-curling smile.

“Poor thing’s scared.”

“Well, I don’t think picking her up without introduction helped.”

What was happening? How come they weren’t hurting her yet? She swallowed. They were playing this out, weren’t they?

“Oh yeah!” A paw gripped Kindlepaw’s chin–strangely gentle–and made Kindlepaw look at ‘Light.’ She was surprised to find the eyes warm and friendly. A trick, surely. “I’m Lightningspring! This is my mate, Redbloom. She’s strong!”

“That I am,” Redbloom agreed. “I’m also afraid this thing’ll take up all the air, the way she’s breathing. Why did you bring her here?”

Lightningspring tucked her head down between her shoulders, looking like a kit begging their parent rather than a Dark Forest resident speaking to another. “I felt bad. She looked so scared.”

“You didn’t exactly help, did you?”

“I still can!”

They wanted to help her? That can’t be true! This was the Dark Forest, the Place of No Stars, the place where bad cats go!

But it’s also where she went. Sne she wasn’t evil. She was a hero.

“And how do you want to do that?”

“Umm..” Lightningspring stepped over Kindlepaw–making her heart freeze up once more–and whispered into his mate’s ear. Kindlepaw should run. She should take the chance and leave. But she didn’t, and only Stars know why.

“N–” Redbloom began roughly, but cut herself off. Her gaze shifted in what was probably thought, her brows furrowed. After a long moment, she looked once again at Kindlepaw. “Yes or no: do you want to stay with us?”

Kindlepaw was taken aback by the question, and too by the bluntness by which it was delivered. Her instinct was to answer ‘no,’ after realizing what the question meant, but she paused. These cats hadn’t hurt her, they were talking about feeling bad for her, and now were offering to take her in. Would it be best to take the offer up? What if she didn’t, and the next resident she ran into wasn’t so…well not kind, but…more ruthless. “D-Does it have to be forever?” She flinched. That was a stupid question.

“Of course not!” Lightningspring answered cheerfully. “But I was thinking, maybe you could be our–”

“We’ll decide on that later,” Redbloom cut in harshly. “I want to know just who I’m putting myself up with first.” To Kindlepaw, she said, “our den is up there”--she nodded to the tree hollow she had come out of– “the tree is big, as you can see. It will probably fit all of us just fine.”

“Uhm..” Kindlepaw followed her motion. The tree–no, trees, she realized, seeing the line following from the base to the twisted twigs, opening once to make the hollow–was large. It was also dark, and reminded her of the gaping jaws of a fox. But then the freezing air shifted, digging further into Kindlepaw’s skin. She glanced around at the brown undergrowth, the harsh whispers of the leaves, the shadows that could contain a wicked warrior hidden in every corner. She found that she did not want to be here alone, not when there was shelter here and–possibly–nicer cats.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I will stay with you.”

=====================

--Redbloom doesn’t like kids, and likely only bothered to offer Kindlepaw to stay with them at all to make Lightning happy. She will come around eventually! And yeah she’s rather blunt.

--I can’t remember if it’s true, but I believe cats can’t move if you pick them up by the scruff.

--I imagine Red and Lightning’s den as a  hollow created by two large trees that grew together as one (a reason why there’s so much room even though they both big). It opens on only one side (where the den opening is) but is closed everywhere else, making it a good shelter.

It’s also possibly that there are smaller holes at the top of the den, allowing Kindlepaw’s smoky scent to waft out and not fill the space up.

--Yes, they forgot to ask Kindlepaw what her name even was. She probably told them after she joined them in the den.