Kithood The sole child of an unknown father and a young molly who died giving birth to her, Applekit set out into the world without kin. However she was not without luck. Her mother had a friend, another queen in the nursery who had recently had a litter of three. Asterberry and her mate Molebreeze were happy to welcome the orphan into their brood. They named her after her late mother, Applepelt.

The pair became Applekit's adopted mother and father, and their kits her adopted siblings. Hornetkit, Featherkit, and Dustykit were no less than full blooded littermates to her. The only thing that hinted she was not truly their kin was her bright ginger coat, while theirs were painted in browns and greys. They knew she was adopted of course, but they didn't care. If any of the other kits suggested Applekit wasn't their sibling, all four kits would have something to say.

They were too busy wrestling and playing mossball and listening to stories to care about "real siblings." Well, and Applekit was also digging. Asterberry told her stories about her mother, how Applepelt had started off as a warrior apprentice but found she loved tunneling in her later training. She'd switched paths and had to train a few extra moons to earn her name because of it—but she hadn't minded. She was just happy to be doing what she loved.

Applekit was determined to follow in her mother's footsteps. And her Mom and Dad's footsteps! Asterberry and Molebreeze were tunnelers too, and she wanted to be just like them. Though Hornetkit always spoke up about how she wasn't going to dig in some stinky old tunnels just because her ancestors did it, Applekit wanted to continue their legacy. And not just that, it felt... right to her.

The litter overall has a happy, peaceful kithood to grow up in. The nursery is full of kits, what with Cinderkit, Dapplekit, and Turtlekit being born a moon or so after them, plus Minkkit, Littlekit, Brackenkit, Eaglekit, and Nettlekit joining the posse later. Though she boasted as strong a confidence as Hornetkit and Cinderkit, she was more easy-going and less likely to butt heads with her denmates.

This being said, the cat Applekit got along with the best aside from Dustykit was Brackenkit. She would always seek the cream tom out, their personalities meshing nicely as he could rein her in and she could psych him up. They became a duo, even as Applekit expressed her desire to become a tunneler and Brackenkit his want for the sun and warm grasses of a hunter. They'd still see each other, no matter what.

Apprenticehood Sadly, they would be separated for a few moons as Applekit was older than he was, and would become an apprentice first. Despite being a little older than her littermates, she is held back until they reach six moons so she is not apprenticed alone. To her surprise, the cat that steps forward is one she'd never seen before. Which is strange... because he looks so much like her. The red and white tom leads her to a clearing outside of camp and introduces himself as Carrotbelly... Applepaw's grandfather.

She was mad at first, and confused. If he was her kin, how come he'd never spoken to her before? Why was he now? Carrotbelly apologized, and that was the very saddest she had ever seen him. He told her he had lost his mate, her grandmother, only a few moons before losing Applepelt, their only child. The blow of losing them both had been hard on him. He threw himself into his work in the tunnels, avoiding every cat and only coming above ground when absolutely necessary.

He told her he didn't even know one of Applepelt's children had survived until she was two moons old. By then, she had been adopted by Asterberry and Molebreeze, and he didn't want to intrude. He was told the kit looked just like Applepelt, and had been named after her—the idea of seeing the visage of his dead daughter, young once more... he was selfish, and avoided it.

Until Asterberry approached Carrotbelly one day and told him all about her. Her love for the tunnels and her dream to follow in her birth mother's pawsteps. She suggests that they could talk to the leader, and if he wanted, he could be made Applekit's mentor. He found no reason to disagree. He'd realized he shouldn't let his grief take him away from his only surviving descendant, and it wasn't fair to his granddaughter.

And so, here he was. He said that if Applepaw didn't want him, they could reassign her—he understood why she was mad, it was his fault, and he didn't want to force her to do anything. Her anger melted away as he told the story. She'd never lost anyone she knew, even her birth mother she'd only known through story. Carrotbelly had looked so genuinely remorseful. Asterberry and Molebreeze always taught her to be forgiving. They taught her to give second chances.

She stood up and told him she was willing to give him a chance. She was happy to find out she had a grandfather, even if he was... a little late. He chuckled and told her they'd better get a move on then—all her siblings were halfway through the territory tour already! Applepaw likes her grandfather... he is kind, he is wise, but not at all mean when she doesn't know things or asks questions. He tells so many stories, and somehow even more jokes. At the end of the day, he asks her for a hug, and she all but tackles him.

Her parents are extremely happy that she and Carrotbelly are getting along, even if Applepaw is a little upset they kept this secret from her, she can't be too mad. They taught her to have patience, too. She's looking forward even more to her training now, and learning more about her grandfather. She eats with her siblings and friends from the nursery that evening and they all talk about their first days, and when its time for bed Applepaw sleeps soundly in the apprentice's den.

Looking back on it, her apprentice days flew by. Her mentor always kept her paws busy so long as she could still walk on them, and she was happy for the work. He made sure she was familiar with the above-ground world first, as even if she wanted to be a tunneler all Prairieclanners needed to know their territory. She enjoyed hunting and sparring, even if she wasn't as good or as fast as her denmates.

But she really enjoyed tunneling. It was second nature to her, Carrotbelly said he'd never seen such a natural at reinforcing the tunnels. She was growing big and broad like him, able to bring roots and sticks and roll stones into the tunnels to keep the walls and ceilings from caving in. Her big paws were good for digging, and she had a great mental map of the tunnels for one so young.

She loved seeing her siblings flourish too—though Hornetpaw had chosen to remain topside, Featherpaw and Dustypaw were now training to be tunnelers too. Brackenpaw become an apprentice, and she is overjoyed finally get to explore with him. He isn't fond of the underground, so whenever she goes hunting or trains on the plains, she does her best to find a way to include him.

Cinderpaw, who had started as a warrior apprentice, also joins the siblings in tunneler training. Applepaw is happy to help her train, and even if they never become close she quite likes the smart tortoiseshell. She makes friends with some of the younger tunnelers as well, though she still considers Brackenpaw her best friend, nothing's stopping her from making more!

Asterberry and Molebreeze surprise their kits one day with the announcement that they're expecting another litter—they are going to have little siblings! The children have varying reactions, overall positive, but Applepaw is ecstatic. She can't wait for the kits to come, and is often distracted from her duties thinking about how many there will be, how they'll act, what games she can play with and teach them.

Thankfully she doesn't have to imagine for long. Asterberry births three kits without complications. Two little cream tabbies—Palekit and Sandkit—and one brown one, like Molesong, who is named Hazelkit. It is Applepaw who suggests Sandkit's name, for his pelt is a little darker than Palekit's, and she thinks it looks like wet sand. Molesong likes the name and happily takes her suggestion.

The kits open their eyes and begin to cause trouble before Applepaw can receive her warrior name—and are maybe one of the reasons why it takes her so long to. That, and the fact that tunneler 'paws usually train for longer than warrior ones. She often asks Carrotbelly for free time so she can watch her little siblings, which he cannot say no to. He makes certain that she doesn't fall too far behind in her training, though.

To Applepaw's surprise, Hornetpaw asks to wait for her warrior name to be given alongside her siblings. Even though she's going to be a warrior, she says, she is still family. Applepaw agrees, though she butts heads with the torbie, they will always be kin. Even  if some of their grandparents are a little less happy about Hornetpaw not keeping with the family tradition, she's just happy her sister is happy (and maybe also happy she won't have to share the tunnels with her).

Nearing her fifteenth moon—with her littermates a little younger—the four are named. Palekit, Sandkit, and Hazelkit are present for the ceremony, Applepaw can see them peeping through Asterberry and their grandmother's coats. She can't help but picture them becoming warriors, even if it is so far off.

Warriorhood Applepaw is named Appleflame, for her dedication, unquenchable spirit, and the brightness of her fur. Her littermates are named Hornetspring, Featherflame, and Dustyblossom. Brackenpaw and his brother are also given their warrior names, Brackenheart and Eaglefang, both finishing their warrior training at the same time as their older denmates. She finds it a little funny that she and her brother were given the same suffix, but doesn't find time to tease him about it.

Appleflame is so happy to not be leaving her best friend behind—as soon as their vigil is over, she makes a nest right next to his and between her other siblings. She joins Brakenheart and her siblings on a patrol that next morning, but she begins to really appreciate her freedom when she returns to the tunnels. Now that she's a warrior, the older tunnelers respect her a little more—and listen to her ideas.

WIP

> finds her groove in the tunnels, helps to reinforce many old spots, and just enjoys working towards something that her ancestor's paws shaped
> gets her first apprentice fairly young, and has a brush with death due to a tunnel cave-in (is unable to save turtlewhisker's lover, tanglebreeze because she is helping her app). after that they refuse to go in the tunnels and want to train as a warrior so apple spends more time topside than she would. really likes him, but he's a little reckless.
> apprentice strays too far from her patrol when hunting one day and is chased and killed by a coyote. apple feels guilt that she hadn't taught him how to use the tunnels to hide, and that she hadn't kept a closer eye on him. she is very wary of predators after this.
> returns to her tunneler work and focuses on her family. resigned to fix her mistakes and make the tunnels a safe option not just for tunnelers but for everyone
> around 35 moons she is given stonepaw to train, who had been trained as a warrior first but wanted to become a tunneler. she finds him almost eerily similar to her previous apprentice, and makes sure not to make the same mistakes with him. thankfully he is already 12 moons and knows far more than [previous app]
> stonepaw is quite big, maybe a little too big to fit into most tunnels. she's been meaning to expand them for a while, and he gives her as good a reason as any.
> 45 moons or so she realizes she'd like to start a family, but for that you usually need a mate and she has never had any serious relationships. brackenheart mentions kits in passing and she brings it up that maybe they should have a litter to raise together, as friends, since neither of them have mates. he agrees and their kits are born late summer.
> rosekit and streamkit are big and healthy, born just a moon after brackenheart's brother and his mate have their litter and appleflame's parents give birth to a singleton. they split time watching the kits and doing warrior duties. rosekit is very interested in the tunnels, and appleflame sees a lot of herself in him
> when the kits are a few moons old, rosekit goes missing while brackenheart is watching them. his scent leads into the tunnels and eventually it disappears. his body is found a few days later, half eaten and frozen under a bush. a fox or coyote had killed him.
> this divides the parents, bracken blaming the tunnels for his death while apple defends the tunnels but cannot bring herself to blame bracken. their friendship falls apart but they do their best to stay cordial for streamkit. apple very deeply mourns both the loss of her best friend and the loss of their son.
> cinderstar and nettlefang declare that the tunnels are off limits to apprentices and young warriors while the ground thaws and during spring rains. appleflame cannot help but wonder if the death of rosekit was a driving force for the ban
> streamkit becomes an apprentice soon, and brackenheart expresses that he does not want them to get a tunneler mentor. appleflame cannot bring herself to argue, so when streampaw is named they are given an anti-tunnel mentor (turtlewhisker?).
> grubpaw is given to appleflame to mentor at the same time streampaw is apprenticed. the weather is warm and they are finally out of dreaded leafbare. she is determined to do her best to fix the tunnels, they cannot give up on something that has been with prairieclan for generations. what would their ancestors think? what will the tunnelers do if their life's work is banned and deemed to dangerous to use?

Pre-Plotting: Appleflame is Hazelstream's older sister adopted from as numerous as the stars in the sky. She is an odd mix of Prairieclan mindsets, for though she has a deep pride in her clan and their abilities at the same time feels like they cannot stand by while other clans suffer. Prairieclan does not stand to gain from unquestioned kindness, but nor does it from untoward hostility. They can help others, but not stretch themselves too thin—especially with problems inside the clan beginning to rear their heads. Hers has the levelheadedness of a sage, the fiery spirit of an amaryllis, and a touch of the generosity of the peony.

Family: Everything Appleflame does is for her family. She's grateful to have a big one, because it gives her lots to do. Having so many siblings and helping to raise them made her very close with her kin (albeit not being blood related to them, she does not care) and instilled in her a wish to have a family of her own some day. She got that with Brackenheart, but their family is bittersweet, for the loss of Rosekit fractured the both of them as well as changed Streampaw.

Friends: wip

Romance: Appleflame's always liked the idea of a mate, but hasn't ever been in a serious relationship. She's had a few dalliances but nothing ever stuck. Brackenheart was technically her mate, but moreso because he was her best friend and they both wanted kits, not because she had any romantic feelings for him. She does miss the bond they had, and would love to find that with another cat. Any cat she called a mate would be her friend first and foremost, but she is open to less serious situationships as well.

Rivals: For a seemingly easygoing cat, the molly does know how to make an enemy. She never got along well with her littermate Hornetspring, though she wouldn't consider her sister an enemy, she wouldn't consider her a friend, either. She has strong opinions and will not hesitate to defend her beliefs, which cats obviously take issue with. She considers anyone trying to shut down the tunnels in direct opposition to her and her goals.