A small tortoiseshell with a largely black fur and green eyes.

Dappledfern's most striking feature is her face. The color is split near perfectly in two, one half orange and one black. There are splotches of color on the opposite side, but the line is striking. Even her the color of her nose is split, one side black and the other a pale pink.

Aside from her face, little of Dappledfern carries that distinct orange color. There are splotches of it peeking up throughout the rest of her black coat, but nowhere near as densely packed.  

She's a little shorter than her clanmates, with short fur that does nothing to hide her lean figure and small stature. 

Late leaf-bare welcomes a litter of little kits. Three bundles of black and orange, only one with a splash of white, like the snow outside had stained the kit's coat. Dappledkit is not that kit. Her coat is muted, her face oddly split between colors. But her family doesn't mind, and neither does she.

It's easy growing up for the trio, at first.  Cinderkit and Turklekit are her best friends. They watch future playmates who've barely entered the world slowly grow up. Dappledkit eagerly awaits the day Mink-kit and Littlekit are big enough to play.

And the Cinderkit changes.

It's sudden. One second she's happily one of three and the next she's certain she's in charge and better. Just for being born first. Dappledkit is confused and hurt. It's not fun to spend time with Cinderkit anymore, and she and Turtlekit spend more time together. Just the two of them.

It doesn't get easier to spend time with Cinderkit. But eventually Mink-kit and Littlekit are big enough to play. They're nice. While their company doesn't replace the hole left by her sister's new attitude, it helps.

When she hears about the fight between Cinderkit and Dusk-kit, Dappledkit isn't surprised. Just disappointed. They're all practically the same age. Why was there a difference between a cat a few moments or moons older than another?

Despite the change it made in Cinderkit, adults still talk about how mature the trio is. Espeically Dappledkit. She rarely cried or threw fits and played nice with the younger kits. Some start to say it's almost odd how calm the kit is, how little she shows her emotions. 

Then it's time for the trio to be apprenticed. Dappledpaw was sad to see her friends stay behind, but knows it won't be long before they join her. 

Dappledpaw half hoped that Cinderpaw would come around more now that they were all apprentices together. And eventually she does. The trio train under their mentors and grow both stronger and closer. 

And when Littlepaw and Minkpaw join the den, it's even better. Things are good. The tension of the nursery is replaced with the calm and comradery of the apprentice den. 

Until Duskpaw joins. 

It's miserable once more to be around the two. Duskpaw and Cinderpaw on their own are still fine, but together they bicker and nearly come to blows.

Dappledpaw does her best to avoid the whole kerfuffle. It's silly. Petty. They need to work it out, as clan mates who will have to spend the rest of their lives living in the same camp.

As she gets older she continues to invest time in her friends and other sister. While she's not the best conversationalist, she's always there to listen and offer advice. 

She also catches the eye of tunnelers around this time. It makes sense. Dappledpaw is small, known to have a level head, and a good worker. All things the tunnelers would want. But she turns them down, preferring to stay aboveground and close to her friends and family.

It's so easy to get caught up in training and socializing. She doesn't see the fight coming. Doesn't realize until it's already over, too late to salvage anything from it.

From what she hears Duskpaw drew blood first, but Cinderpaw ended the fight. Ended it brutally. While she knows her sister likely never intended to hurt Duskpaw that badly, it doesn't change what comes next.

Cinderpaw begins tunneler training, and once more the trio are divided. The new future tunneler learns to live underground and out of sight. It helps calm things in the apprentice den, but Dappledpaw misses how close they had become. And hates how easily it all fell apart.

Rather than linger on the swirl of emotions she feels towards her distant sister, Dappledpaw throws herself into training. She's a decent fighter, and a good hunter. With effort she becomes even better.

But even as she focuses on her studies, she makes sure to have time for the other cats in her life. They share prey and tongues and she listens to them. The last thing she wants is to be the one who causes conflict in the apprentice den. It's not easy to juggle, but she manages.

At thirteen moons Dappledfern and Turtlewhisker are named. A moon later Minkfrost and Littlewing join. The four build their dens near each other, and fall into a comfortable rhythm. A few moons later when Cindersong is named, she hopes her sister will find a place in their lives once more.

Instead Cindersong barely sees anyone who isn't a fellow tunneler. The rift between them is larger than ever. They might as well be a separate clan with how separated they are.

When she tries to confront her sister, all she gets is complaints about how hard it is to be out of the tunnels. Turtlewhisker stopped bothering. Dappledfern tries to enjoy the occasional meal with her, but ultimately stops putting in anymore effort to the relationship.

When she's 18 moons old, Littlewing starts seeing a she-cat. Petalnose, younger than the four, but sweet. The she-cat can't quite seem to find a place in the group with Dappled, Turtle, and Mink. But everyone does their best to support the relationship, even if the couple seems to be moving a little fast.

Only a few moons later Petalnose announces her pregnancy. Littlewing is thrilled. Dappledfern watches as her friend pulls away to spend more time preparing for his new family, wondering if he'll be as distant as her sister.

And much to her surprise, neither are. Cindersong has an apprentice, who seems to have dragged her sister from the tunnels for once. Even Turtlewhisker comes around. Dappledfern is glad to have her back, things seem to be on track once more.

Then Petalnose gives birth. One of the two kits survive, as does Petalnose. But she's weak. Littlewing is heartbroken. And the flood occurs, shaking the clan's faith in the tunnels. Dappledsfern tells Cindersong to be careful, and focuses her attention on the young grieving couple. She can do something there. Help them. Tunnels are beyond anyone's control.

Dappledfern leads her friends in their attempts to make things easier on the two. They bring the plumpest prey, babysit the kittens, and sometimes just sit with the young parents. While she struggles to say it out loud, she hops the message is clear. "We're here for you, we care about you."

Despite attention from the friends and the medicine cat, Petalnose grows weaker with each passing day. Other queens have to nurse the kit, Lilykit.

Dappledfern spends more time babysitting, as Petalnose tries to rest. At first she jokes about how this will certainly be her last litter, and talks about how fast her daughters are growing. As the days pass she starts to struggle to walk, to talk, to breathe. And one day, she simply stops. 

Lilykit is two moons old. Weaned, but she still needs a mother. There are queens in the den, but Littlewing asks Dappledfern if she would step in. The kit knows her, and he knows he can trust her. She agrees.

It's odd, she's not quite a queen, not quite a warrior. Most of her time is spend watching Lilykit, with the occasion moments where she heads out on patrol. She sleeps in the nursery every other night, taking shifts with Littlewing.

The kits grow, and while Dappledfern knows she can't replace their mother, she tries to be there for them. Listens to their problems, offers solutions or an ear to talk off. Littlewing appreciates the help.

Before long Lilykit is an apprentice, off making memories and annoying her mentor. It's weird, going back to being a full-time warrior. Eventually she's able to place the feeling. She misses it. Being in the nursery, caring for kits.

From then on she makes it a point to stop by the nursery and babysit  any kits regularly. 

Not long after Lilypaw is named, Littlewing starts to act... strange. Dappledfern doesn't get it. They were close. They raised a kit together. He asked her to help.

One day she confronts him. And he admits the truth. That he likes her as more than a friend. But it feels like he's betraying Petalnose if he takes a new mate. Dappledfern listens, and explains they don't have to be mates. They don't have to be anything. But she would like the explore the possibility of being more than friends, and is willing to take it as slow as he needs. And if he changes his mind, no hard feelings.

They spend more time together, slowly growing closer. Dappledfern stays true to her word, willing to wait however long Littlewing needs. Eventually he's comfortable saying they're mates.

Lilyshine is named at twelve moons old. A light in the dark, truly. And there is dark. There are worries about Ridgeclan, about war on the horizon. While she and her mate had briefly talked about having a litter, both agree to wait. Things will calm down, and Littlewing simply won't feel comfortable having kits until things are.

But things only get worse. The war is sudden. In leaf-bare of all moons. Cruel truly. It's Cindersong she follows into the tunnels, towards war. 

The battle is a blur. Dappledfern keeps calm, focusing on fighting near her friends. They grew up together, they should fight together.

Someone no one is lost. There are bodies everywhere. But they're not her friends and family.

Life limps on, the lost are buried and the war seems over. And Cindersong is named deputy. It's a surprise to many, including Dappledfern. But she celebrates her sister's success, and congratulates her when not long after she receives a new apprentice. 

Once more Littlewing and Dappledfern discuss having children. But once more they decide to wait. Dappledfern is the one who decides this time. She's fairly certain once she has a little, she'll stay in the nursery. So she wants to make sure the clan is in a good place first.

Rogues move into the barn, and Dappledfern does her best to focus on providing for the clan and observing. The clan is stronger than the other two after the battle, but if weakened by squabbling with outsiders, they may become at risk of gathering Ridgeclan's attention.

And then Graypaw is lost. Cindersong is devastated. Dappledfern tries to be there for her.

Not long after Dappledfern receives her first apprentice. Sparkpaw. The she-cat had been born in Mistclan and brought to Praireclan. Dappledfern is surprised, her near constant flirting with the idea of becoming a permaqueen seemed to have made her a poor choice of mentor, given how old she was and only just having received her first. 

Sparkpaw fits her name. A little spitfire. Not thrilled to be here, at all. Bouncing between angry and moody. Dappledfern does her best to tame the fire, to act as a mentor and somewhat of a friend. She can't help but see the youngster as endearing, and her lashing out as a result of circumstances, not an inherent flaw in the cat. 

And maybe once Sparkpaw gets her name, maybe then she can finally settle down and join the nursery. 

Dappledfern is a reserved cat. On the outside she appears cold and distant. And it's easy for her to come off that way. Even as a kit she struggled to show her emotions, and tended to remain calm even in difficult situations. But in reality, Dappledfern cares deeply about those near to her. She just doesn't always know how to say that, and does better showing it through her actions.

Pre-Plotting: Dappledfern was adopted from Cindersong's wanted ad. She's Cindersong's sister. In the Priareclan plot adoptables, she falls closet to Sage, but overlaps with Peony. While she doesn't fully trust the other clans, she doesn't see a point in being cruel to them or risking war when offering aid or simply remaining indifferent could prevent further bloodshed.

Family: Dappled is close with her family.
Friends: Dappled is fiercely loyal to her friends, even if she struggles to tell them that. 
Romance: Dappled is mates with Littlewing, adoptable here.