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[ 0 MOONS - 5 MOONS ] Moosekit was born into a large family, started by his paternal grandfather, Oakleap, and his paternal grandmother, Poppyfeather. They had many children and Moosekit’s father, Larksong, and aunt, Appletail, were part of their third litter. Moons later, Oakleap and Poppyfeather had their fifth and final litter, which was made up of a single kit, a daughter they named Falconkit. Just a couple moons after Falconkit was born, Appletail became a mother to a single she-kit she called Russetkit. She told anyone who asked that the father didn’t want to be involved in Russetkit’s life and refused to share his identity. A couple moons later, Larksong and his mate, Nightberry, welcomed Moosekit and Rook-kit into the family. Rook-kit was stillborn, but her parents named her anyway so their ancestors would have something to greet her by when they arrived to guide her to the stars.

Partially due to all the losses they’d experienced, Moosekit’s family was tight-knit. Oakleap and Poppyfeather had outlived their first two litters and they’d miscarried their fourth litter. Kin was very important to them and they were beyond pleased when Moosekit, Falconkit, and Russetkit gravitated to each other. Russetkit was a rambunctious kit who pestered apprentices into teaching her battle techniques and got under the paws of warriors trying to complete their chores. Falconkit spent much of her time chasing after Russetkit, trying to keep her from finding trouble, and Moosekit usually just trailed behind them. Falconkit was apprenticed first, long before Moosekit would be, and Russetkit followed her just a couple moons later. They didn’t have as much time for him anymore, so he set out to find more friends to spend his time with.

Shellkit and Troutkit were born just days apart from Moosekit. They’d never really become close, because Moosekit’s family were so bound together that he’d never thought of spending time with anyone besides Russetpaw and Falconpaw. But Shellkit and Troutkit were awesome. Shellkit adventurous and ambitious, with big dreams she was determined to achieve. Troutkit was always cool and composed, the calmest kit in the nursery. Moosekit fit right in and they bonded so quickly and strongly that his parents, along with Shellkit’s parents, would comment about how cute they looked together and how they’d make a lovely couple one day. Eventually, Moosekit and Shellkit embraced the idea and would even play a game where they pretended to be a family - Troutkit included, of course.

[ 6 MOONS - 12 MOONS ] As soon as he was apprenticed, Moosepaw merged his two friend groups and he was thrilled when everyone got along. In their free time, he could almost always be found with one or more of his friends. Early into his apprenticeship, he started to feel shy around Troutpaw, which he’d never had a problem with before. Both Russetpaw and Falconpaw noticed his change in behavior, and approached him one day to persuade him to tell Troutpaw about his crush. Moosepaw denied liking Troutpaw and claimed he was too focused on becoming an accomplished warrior like his kin before him to develop a crush. He had lied. Unfortunately, when Shellpaw began acting strange around Moosepaw, Troutpaw started teasing them about her crush on him. Russetpaw and Falconpaw continued to try convincing Moosepaw to reveal his crush, but he refused.

Moosepaw was terribly jealous when Troutpaw began spending more time with a younger apprentice, Irispaw. He cherished what time Troutpaw put aside for his kithood friends, but it never felt like enough. It hurt to see Troutpaw and Irispaw together, knowing what their families intended for them, so Moosepaw started spending more time with Shellpaw, as if he could force feelings for her. Falconpaw and Russetpaw never stopped encouraging Moosepaw to tell Troutpaw about his crush, but he’d shut them down and say he liked Shellpaw, not Troutpaw. He didn’t think they believed him, seeing how they repeatedly tried to push him to talk to Troutpaw throughout his apprenticeship. And they were right not to. No matter how much effort he put into trying to develop a crush on Shellpaw, it just wasn’t happening. He still liked Troutpaw.

As for training, Moosepaw worked relentlessly to become a skilled warrior. He came from a long line of accomplished MistClan warriors and he was determined not to disappoint. He proved to be a decent hunter, nothing special, but he wasn’t terrible, either. Combat training, however, was a challenge for him. The idea of hurting someone, even a cat from a rival clan, made him feel sick. His favorite part of training was when their mentors paired him and Troutpaw together for a mock battle. Troutpaw always reassured Moosepaw before they started, claiming Moosepaw couldn’t ever hurt him. Moosepaw was bigger and stronger, but Troutpaw was faster and easily evaded most of his blows. Their training sessions typically ended in a draw and on the way back to camp, they laughed about how instead of training, they’d just played a game of tag.

When Falconpaw was named Falconwing, Moosepaw thought how far away his own graduation ceremony was. When Russetpaw became Russetbelly, he started wondering what his warrior name would be. When his assessment came around, Moosepaw failed. He’d been paired with Shellpaw for a mock battle. She was so small and looked so delicate, even though he knew she wasn’t. He’d been terrified he’d accidentally hurt her, so he hadn’t put much effort into fighting against her. Moosepaw’s graduation was delayed by a moon while he worked to improve. His parents and grandparents were incredibly displeased with him. Larksong was furious while his other kin were just disappointed. It was upsetting, especially since he’d worked so hard to impress them, but he managed to cheer up enough to congratulate his friends when they became Troutstream and Shellnose.

[ 13 MOONS - 15 MOONS ] Shortly after his warrior ceremony, Moosespring asked Shellnose to be his mate. He knew he’d never have a chance with Troutstream, who was definitely going to ask Irispaw to be his mate once she graduated. Besides, his parents and grandparents had always liked Shellnose, and after making his kin unhappy by unintentionally delaying his warrior ceremony, he wanted nothing more than to make them proud again. Larksong and Nightberry had always said Moosespring and Shellnose would make a good couple anyway. Shellnose was delighted and eagerly accepted his proposal. She rarely left his side in the days following and whenever he looked at her, he was reminded of their relationship status. It made him feel sick. He knew he’d made a horrible mistake. Moosespring had only ever liked Shellnose as a friend.

Just a week later, Shellnose had finally left Moosespring’s side to join a patrol. Troutstream took advantage of the opportunity and confronted Moosespring, asking why he’d been acting so odd since becoming a warrior. He couldn’t hide it anymore. Being mates with Shellnose felt so wrong and their relationship just made Moosespring think about Troutstream even more. Finally, after moons of harboring feelings for him, Moosespring revealed he liked Troutstream. Troutstream was silent for a moment and Moosespring worried he’d just destroyed their friendship. Just as he was about to apologize profusely and run off, Troutstream told him that he had feelings for him, too. From that point on, they started acting on their feelings, but only in secret. Moosespring tried not to be too upset when Troutstream became mates with Irisfrost. He had to remind himself that it was expected of Troutstream and not doing it could’ve led to them being exposed.

[ 16 MOONS ] Moosespring was too busy defending the elders’ den in the midst of RidgeClan’s attack on MistClan to pay attention to where his friends were. Only once the dust settled did he realize Troutstream lied with the dead. He struggled to manage his grief and often found himself just going through the motions. He distanced himself from everyone and when Russetbelly, Falconwing, and Shellnose expressed their concerns, he lashed out at them. Irisfrost moved into the nursery not long after the war, plump with Troutstream’s kits, and Moosespring’s condition worsened. He could rarely be found in camp and barely acknowledged anything. Shellnose confronted Moosespring and she must’ve caught him at the worst time, because he broke down. He told her all about his relationship with Troutstream. Despite feeling hurt and betrayed, Shellnose decided to stay with him and try to work through their problems.

[ 17 MOONS - 20 MOONS ] Shellnose told Russetbelly and Falconwing about Moosespring’s affair with Troutstream, and both she-cats were incredibly disappointed with him. They’d wanted Moosespring and Troutstream to get together, but not like that. Falconwing was particularly upset with him. She scolded him and then stormed off, and though Russetbelly reassured him that she’d forgive him eventually, he had a hard time believing it. Falconwing took too long to return to camp and Moosespring worried something awful had happened to her. With Russetbelly at his side, they tracked Falconwing’s scent all the way to the eastern border, but didn’t find her. There were many rumors about what happened to her, whether she left MistClan willingly or unwillingly, whether she was alive or dead, but Moosespring ignored them all and held onto hope that she’d return to them one day. He’d look for her forever if he had to.

A few moons of constant arguing later, Shellnose left Moosespring, unable to forget what he’d done. However, she might’ve been embarrassed or didn’t want to tarnish Troutstream’s memory, or maybe both, but she didn’t expose Moosespring to the rest of the clan. His parents and grandparents were, once again, disappointed in him. They weren’t aware of his affair with Troutstream, but they didn’t approve of how he’d been unable to maintain his relationship with Shellnose. Family was, after all, the most important thing to them, and they believed Moosespring could’ve done more to keep his mate from leaving him. When Irisfrost’s kits disappeared, his family’s disappointment became the least of his concerns. He joined as many search parties as possible and even when the search slowed, he didn’t stop. He wanted to see Troutstream’s children grow up and become as respected as their father. And a large part of him felt like he owed Irisfrost for having an affair with her mate, something he felt very guilty about.

[ 21 MOONS - 25 MOONS ] Moosespring spent a few moons wallowing in self-pity, broken up only by his daily chores. One day, Russetbelly rushed up to him and told him she knew where Falconwing went. She’d been secretly venturing over the border to look for Falconwing ever since she disappeared, and found what she thought to be a lead. She led him over the border into unclaimed territory, near a twoleg camp, and showed him a trap set by twolegs. She explained she’d seen a cat walk right into one and then a twoleg came along and took them away. The same thing must’ve happened to Falconwing. They just had to see where the twolegs took the traps. Russetbelly told Moosespring her plan and after a brief argument, he finally approved it, albeit reluctantly. She walked right into one of those traps and yowled loudly until a twoleg arrived and carried her away. Moosespring hoped he’d made the right decision in letting Russetbelly get captured.

[ 26 MOONS - PRESENT ] After Russetbelly left to find Falconwing, Moosespring had never felt so alone. Russetbelly was gone, Falconwing was gone, Troutstream was dead, and Shellnose wanted nothing to do with them. So when Russetbelly strolled into camp with Falconwing by her side, Moosespring nearly wept tears of joy. Falconwing told the clan how she’d been taken by twolegs and turned into a kittypet. The twolegs didn’t let her leave their nest, but she tried many times to escape. She’d been lucky Russetbelly had found her, helped her escape, and brought her home, because she’d lost hope that she’d ever see any of her clanmates ever again. Russetbelly had also been taken by twolegs, though she’d gone willingly, and she’d escaped them upon reaching twolegplace. She’d found and freed Falconwing, and they made their way home with kind rogues giving them directions to the valley. Moosespring was just overjoyed to have them both back, and they were thrilled to see him again, too.

Once Moosespring, Falconwing, and Russetbelly finally got time alone, Falconwing revealed she had news. Russetbelly looked a bit sad and Moosespring looked confused, and it took him a moment to register Falconwing’s news. She told him she was going to return to twolegplace, because she’d fallen in love with a kittypet there, but she’d wanted to find him to tell him he didn’t need to worry about her. Moosespring was angry at first, but Russetbelly scolded him and reminded him about how no cat gets to choose who they fall in love with. Moosespring and Russetbelly walked Falconwing to the border, promised to tell the clan she was safe and happy, and exchanged farewells. When he returned to camp with Russetbelly, Moosespring felt content for the first time in a while.

Pre-Plotting: Moosespring best relates to Branches in [MistClan’s Plot Ad], simply because he believes MistClan made a mistake in distancing themselves from the other clans. Maybe if the clans had been more involved with each other, Wolfstar’s extremism wouldn’t have gone as far as it had. Moosespring believes that MistClan and PrairieClan are only isolating RidgeClan and guiding all three clans down a path of repeated history.

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