"Why, look at that little red nose! It looks like a cherry from a bush!" The medicine cat stated, tending to the little kit that nuzzled their mother, Fernwind, for milk. "Why, her name should be Cherrykit. What do you think, love?" asked the brute known as Owlflight. He was still out of breath from running to see his kits being born. Fernbreeze licked her mate's cheek, "Yes, that's perfect. And the other shall be known as Runningkit, since he rushed over to me as he was born. He'll be able to run all the way to Mistclan camp faster than a bird can fly." Both the parents chuckled, while looking over their children.

It wasn't that long before the two kits were being bothersome in the camp, much like those that came before them. They would always go into the elders den to hear stories of hawk-hunting, as they both aspired to be guardians. "But, Cherrykit, the hawk will just snatch you up before you can even get a claw out," Runningkit joked. Cherrykit, while she loved her brother, got super upset by her brother always teasing her about her size.

She went to her mom one day, and she said, "Cherrykit, there are going to be situations that are going to bring you down. Now, you can burrow like a rabbit and hide away from this... or you can spring up like a hawk and seize what is yours to claim." Those words spoke tremendously to little Cherrykit, and she held onto those words as she made it to her apprentice ceremony.


Cherrykit and Runningkit became Cherrypaw and Runningpaw. In addition to this ceremony, another kit named Rockkit was made an apprentice at the same time and renamed to Rockpaw.

Cherrypaw was given the mentor of Silentcloud. Silentcloud was a respected member of the clan and had served many moons as a guardian after being a warrior first. Cherrypaw would be his last apprentice before many guessed that it was his time to join the elder's den. However, this would prove to be a challenging apprentice to end his career on.

As their training began, Cherrypaw seemed to not be interested in being a warrior or a guardian. She had the attitude that she already knew everything. This caused a lot of issues between the mentor and apprentices. Cherrypaw then began to abandon her duties, not show up to practices or trainings.

The she-cat took an interest in doing her own thing, and flirting with the other apprentices when she started to mature. It seemed to many that Cherrypaw would be kicked out of Ridgeclan for insubordination.

However, it suddenly changed one night when Rockpaw called the she-cat out in the apprentice den. "Cherrypaw, you are an embarrassment to the clan. Flouting around and acting like you are the prettiest one here... you can never be a guardian." This angered Cherrypaw. She did care about the clan and becoming a guardian! The tussle between the apprentices after the argument only began the feud.

Each day, Silentcloud saw a completely different apprentice. Cherrypaw woke up early to take care of the elders, train during the day, and watch over the kits in the evening. The apprentice eventually migrated to guardian training, despite her small size. But that didn't stop her, just like her mother said. Cherrypaw would fight with integrity and grace, often leaving Rockpaw in the dust, literally.

Cherrypaw became especially trained in being able to track hawks, learning a general schedule that some hawks seemed to follow.

The rivalry grew between the two apprentices, especially when Rockpaw was named Rockbelly. Even as a warrior versus an apprentice, many fights had to be broken up between the two.

Eventually, when she was around 15 moons old, she was named a guardian Her name was Cherrynose, for her ability to track hawks.


Just as her younger brother, Longkit, was born when she was 20 moons old, Cherrynose had become a whole different cat than when she was an apprentice. The she-cat was focused on her hawk tracking abilities and hardly had time for rest. The only time that she had was to guard patrols, eat, sleep, and talk with her family.

However, that changed one night. There had been more recent sighting of hawks then normal, but nothing to be alarmed about. As a precaution, Cherrynose was assigned to watch over camp to make sure there were not any deciding to nest nearby.

They assigned a warrior as well to be there to guard the camp, and it was... Rockbelly?!

The she-cat spat in disgust when she heard the name. They had not had a full blown argument in a while, just bickering. They were both too busy and on different schedules to hurl insults at each other.

Cherrynose watched the last of the warriors go into the den, before Rockbelly emerged. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite guardian in camp," he snickered, winking at the she-cat. "Bah! I wouldn't want to be your favorite if you were the last Ridgeclan cat in this land," Cherrynose growled. It only made the tom laugh, before they continued to bicker.

However, as the night continued, it got colder. Cherrynose was shivering while looking at the sky from a flat rock in camp. "Hey there, Shivernose. Why don't you get a hawk to make dirt on you? That'll warm you up," she heard, seeing Rockbelly jump on the rock with her.

"Ha! You just want to see that so you have a story to tell."

Rockbelly chuckled, sitting next to the gray she-cat, saying, "Of course, I do. I have no stories to share to the kits."

"You have no stories? Surely, you have to have one."

"Nope, not at all. How about you tell me a guardian story that I can steal?" Rockbelly asked, nudging the she-cat's shoulder.

Cherrynose mewed, "Well, why not the classic story of Brighthawk?"

"Brighthawk? I never heard that one."

"Seriously? Are you that mouse-brained? That's a story every Ridgeclan kit knows."

"Well, if it is, then why don't you tell it too me?" Rockbelly teased, causing Cherrynose to sigh in defeat. The two sat on the rock exchanging small stories after the story of Brighthawk, and before they knew it, the sunrise was upon them.

After that night, the clan cats noticed another change. No more bickering was happening between Cherrynose and Rockbelly. It started with them teasing each other... then, they would stop to have conversations... then, the negative comments stopped and they became positive... and then, they started to share tongues. Before long, it was clear to everyone what happened. The rivals became the lovers.

"You are only 24 moons old, Cherrynose. This was not going to be an easy journey," the medicine cat said, giving the she-cat something for pain. Cherrynose and Rockbelly had fallen quick for each other, and it wasn't long until she was pregnant with his kits. She had woken up that morning with severe pain, resulting in the determination that she was birthing her kits early. It wasn't long before she had to start bringing her kits to the world, with Rockbelly by her side.

However, something was really wrong. With each kit, Cherrynose kept loosing more and more blood. More than normal. It was a struggle for her to stay awake to birth all four of her children. Rockbelly held her head up with his teeth, as the medicine cat worked diligently to get the kits out quickly.

The last thing Cherrynose remembered is birthing her last kit, before black.

Cherrynose woke up dizzy, with Rockbelly happy to see her wake up. The she-cat smiled, as her mate licked her head. But she knew something was wrong. There was only one kit when she looked down. "Rockbelly, what happened to-" she stopped, seeing the tom's face change drastically.

The she-cat's eyes welled up with tears, as she mourned the loss of her three kits. Three precious lives that didn't deserve to leave to go to Starclan early. As she ran out of tears to cry into her mate's shoulder, she looked out of the nursery, seeing a moth near the entrance.

"Oh, little Moth. Little Mothkit. Nothing will ever happen to you. Your mom has got you," she cooed, curling up with her little one.

Wolfstar declared war on Mistclan, as the cats headed out to attack. Cherrynose stayed close to her family. They were all there. Rockbelly, Fernwind, Owlflight, Runningstrike, and Longleap, who had just recently been made into a guardian like his big sister. Mothpaw, her daughter, had a recent bout of sickness, so she was still at camp. As the Ridgeclan cats sprang into action, Cherrynose did as well.

She was doing the right thing. Wolfstar had told them this needed to happen.

It was a long, bloody battle. But it wasn't before long that Cherrynose's life fell before her eyes. First was her brother, Runningstrike, who was thrown by a Mistclan cat against a tree. The she-cat tried to help her brother, but her ankles were caught by a large brute. Just then, the Mistclan camp flooded with Prairieclan cats.

'This is the end,' Cherrynose thought, before deciding she would fight like hell.

A large brute had climbed on top of her, fixing to strike, when two cats rushed him to the ground. Her parents. Cherrynose was too out of breath and in pain to run away, as her eyes seemed frozen on her parents. Against the large tom, they didn't last long. Horrified, Cherrynose desperately looked for her mate, Rockbelly. It was too late. In the corner of camp, she saw his body mangled. Blood splattered around him.

It seemed like the world stopped. Cherrynose just sat there, until the retreat call was made by Ridgeclan. It took Longleap to get her to move. How would she tell Mothpaw?

Now that the new Ridgeclan has been formed after the war, Cherrynose struggles to face the reality of her circumstances. The she-cat saw her entire family, her love, murdered in front of her eyes, all because of one cat. All she had left is her daughter and her younger brother. Her mind wanders, no longer believing in the sanctuary of her birth clan.

Mothflight left RidgeClan, without a word spoken. Cherrynose feared that she had run away only to be killed by a rogue or hawk just outside the border. However, she managed to find her daughter in the sanctuary of PrairieClan. Obviously, the mother was upset at her daughter just running off and leaving without a word, but she couldn't blame her. Cherrynose knew that she was going to do the same thing if given the chance. However, after her daughter offered for her mother to join PrairieClan, the gray she-cat knew she couldn't abandon her clan yet. In hopes that somehow, something new would rise from the horizon.

As her time was nothing more than torment to her, she found solace in spending time at her family's gravesite. There, she met Quillfeather. Quillfeather was different than most RidgeClan cats. He was timid, questioned his every move, and kept his voice silent among the loud, boisterous clan. However, they had one thing in common: loss. They bonded over their lost families and then slowly became friends soon afterward. It was something that Cherrynose had lacked for so long, and it was a massive pull for her to stay in RidgeClan.

Cherrynose was also given her first apprentice, Shrikepaw.

However, quickly after it felt warm for Cherrynose in RidgeClan, a spat with Pigeonscreech sent all her feelings away. Discouraged, she ran to the island for solitude to collect her thoughts. But she was then interrupted by Laurelfern. A she-cat that she didn't know as well as other warriors in the clan. Laurelfern gave Cherrynose a proposition that she couldn't deny. A new way of life, far beyond the valley and up in the mountains.

Cherrynose knew she needed to think about her choice to run from RidgeClan, but at the next gathering, Laurelfern announced that The Kingdom was born. Cherrynose panicked, as she didn't know what direction to choose herself in. However, RidgeClan would never be home, she knew that much. In front of all the clans, she pledged her allegiance to this newfound group.


As Laurelfern, Cherrynose, and all the other cats joining the Kingdom made their departure, Laurelfern pulled Cherrynose aside and proposed that she lead one of the three factions of the Kingdom. Cherrynose was dumbfounded, as she believed she had no qualities to be a leader. However, she trusted Laurelfern, but denounced any relation to the clans from that point forth. As such, she expected the other cats of Nightwalkers to do the same. A place where any cats would feel comfortable leaving their old lives behind. As such, she renamed herself. She was to be known as simply Cherry.

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