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residents-of-the-darkforest · 2 years ago

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Dark Forest Resident: Applecreek

Aliases / Nicknames: Bestie, Johnny Appleseed, Applejack

Gender: intersex trans tom

Sexuality: polysexual, biromantic

Family: Petalnose (mother), Goldenshade (father), Mapleheart (sister), Stormberry, Icefeather (brothers)

Other Relations: Sparkwhisker (mentor), Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, Cedarmoon (best friends/crushes)

Clan: Treeclan

Rank: warrior, loner

Characteristics: kills to impress crushes, goofy, reckless, loves pulling off pranks, skilled at growing plants

Number of Victims: 15

Number of Murders: 5

Murder Method: placing large amounts of apple seeds in fresh-kill

Known Victims: Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, Cedarmoon, Sparrowthroat, Seedclaw (killed), Basiltail, Darkpetal, Feathertuft, Thornbreeze, Redbelly, Gorsepounce, Brindledusk, Crookedeye, Juniperstripe, Lizardleaf (poisoned)

Victim Profile: best friends/crushes, senior warriors who his crushes disliked, other senior warriors (accidentally), elders (accidentally)

Cause of Death: decapitated by falling tree branch

Cautionary Tale: N/A

Story:

Applecreek was a normal cat for most of his life. He was a skilled tracker with a keen knack for sniffing out plants. He had a fondness for the fruit he was named after in particular, and even figured out how to grow apple trees. He was a good son, a good brother, a good apprentice, and a devoted friend. Maybe a little too devoted of a friend.

Applecreek, Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, and Cedarmoon had been as thick as thieves from the ripe age of one moon old. They were almost never seen apart, and they only seemed to grow closer as they grew older. This was especially true for Applecreek, who eventually developed crushes on his three friends-- crushes that were incredibly obvious to every cat in all five Clans except for the actual objects of Applecreek's affection.

He tried so hard to show them his true feelings. The idea of growing apple trees originally came about as an idea to impress them. Again and again, Applecreek tried to show how he felt, with almost no success.

These hapless attempts of trying to impress Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, and Cedarmoon often came at the expense of their Clanmates, who Applecreek would prank in hopes of seeing his friends laugh. Most of the time, it was brushed off, as the targeted Clanmate simply stared at Applecreek with pity and sympathy.

But with how hard Applecreek tried, he was bound to go too far eventually.

Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, and Cedarmoon had been complaining about Sparrowthroat and Seedclaw, two older warriors, constantly interrupting all of their games. Naturally, Applecreek felt that the perfect solution to this was a good old prank. Maybe this would be the one that got his friends to notice him!

He knew apple seeds were quite bitter, so he tore down all of the fruit he had grown that season, tore out their seeds, and stuffed as many seeds as he could in as many pieces of fresh-kill as possible. Sparrowthroat and Seedclaw were bound to eat at least one, and the disgusted expressions on their faces as they tried to remove the taste of the seeds from their mouths would be priceless!

Applecreek went to sleep that night feeling excited about tomorrow. He woke up the next morning to the sound of multiple cats throwing up just outside of the warriors' den. Snickering, he stepped outside to see Sparrowthroat and Seedclaw's reactions... only to see that it wasn't them vomiting.

It was Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, and Cedarmoon. Sparrowthroat and Seedclaw were instead lying in the middle of camp, vomit caking their mouths, their eyes glazed over, and their families sobbing over their lifeless corpses.

Horrified, Applecreek guided his friends into the medicine den. But it was too late. Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, and Cedarmoon soon began having violent seizures, and in mere minute-long intervals, they passed away one by one.

Applecreek had only just let out his caterwaul of pure grief when unsheathed claws cuffed his shoulder. He whirled around to see the deputy--Sparrowthroat-- and Seedclaw's sister, Hawkbush, her teeth bared and her face tearstained. She screamed that Applecreek was a murderer, that she should kill him right there and then.

The only reason why Hawkbush didn't kill Applecreek right then and there was the timely intervention of the leader, Wheatstar. Wheatstar did, however, sadly inform Applecreek that he would have to be exiled. He knew that Applecreek hadn't meant any real harm, but the harm he had done would almost certainly bring doom to nearly half of the Clan.

When Applecreek demanded to know what Wheatstar meant by that, the leader flicked his tail outside of the medicine den. Poking his head out, Applecreek saw almost all of the senior warriors and even a few of the elders staggering around shakily, vomiting, clutching their heads in pain, panting, and overall suffering... suffering because of him.

Applecreek didn't need to be told twice. He ran out of camp and never looked back. He spent the rest of his life a wandering loner. Other loners, rogues, and kittypets spoke in hushed whispers of the cat they called Johnny Appleseed, of how he did his best to spread seeds throughout the land, but strangely avoided apples and apple trees.

More than that, they spoke of the way he always seemed to be crying, how he always seemed to be muttering the names "Liondust, Kestrelwhisper, Cedarmoon" under his breath over and over, and how, when threatened, he always just stood there, as if waiting for them to give him what he deserved.

He did this even as the apple branch splintered off of the tree, falling down and cleaving right through his neck.

Additional Information:

--Submission by @starfalcon555

--As you can tell by the last paragraph, this guy is loosely based on the folklore tale of Johnny Appleseed!

--The other cats that fell victim to apple seed-induced cyanide poisoning were cured by the combined efforts of all of the medicine cats, hence why Applecreek only has five murders under his belt.

--I feel like this guy would be besties with Fleathistle and Fadingstar for obvious reasons, lol

--With the deaths of Sparrowthroat and Seedclaw, Hawkbush is the only surviving kit of Snailstar. Snailstar and their family just keep going through it, huh?

--Hawkbush does eventually become Hawkstar, though! So that's a plus :D

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residents-of-the-darkforest · 2 years ago

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Dark Forest Residences: Cloudface & Pinedusk

Cloudface

Aliases / Nicknames: N/A

Gender: molly

Sexuality: bisexual

Family: Snailstar (parent), Leafwhisker, Shadetuft (fathers), Hawkbush, Seedclaw (sisters), Sparrowthroat, Pinedusk, Marshtooth (brothers), Astersnow (mate), Ratpool (son), Robindawn, Rabbitwing, Rainleaf (daughters)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor

Clan: Treeclan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: kills under pressure, insecure about her appearance, dislikes bullies

Number of Victims: 2

Number of Murders: 2

Murder Method: bashing heads in with rocks

Known Victims: Violetsong, Amberlight

Victim Profile: vain she-cats who bullied her and others

Cause of Death: face slammed into rock, killed in battle, killed by Pearbreath

Cautionary Tale: N/A

Story:

Ever since she was a kit, Cloudface had felt insecure about her appearance. She was the only cat she knew with strange, darker-colored markings on certain parts of her body.

Her parents, especially her parent Snailstar, tried to comfort her, saying how it was a normal thing, that Snailstar and Cloudkit's sister and brother, Hawkkit and Marshkit, also shared these traits. But it was different. Their patches blended in with their bodies. Hers stood out.

Things became worse when she became an apprentice and she went to her first Gathering. She instantly became the targets of two sisters from Prairieclan, Violetpaw and Amberpaw, who thought they were "all that" because of their soft, luxurious fur and bright, glittering eyes.

Violetpaw and Amberpaw bullied her endlessly. Not even her sisters and brothers ganging up on them could get them to stop. It got to the point where she would purposefully skip gatherings just to avoid seeing them.

When it was time for her warrior ceremony, she was named Cloudface, for her uniqueness and her beauty. This did not help quell her frustrations in the least. What helped even less was the leader insisting that Cloudface be brought to the next gathering, to "show off all of Treeclan's new warriors."

She trailed into the gathering behind all of her siblings, hanging out towards the back of the group as announcements were shared, including those of Violetpaw and Amberpaw's warrior names, Violetsong and Amberlight. Very pretty names. Those foxhearts didn't deserve them.

When the gathering ended, Cloudface once again trailed at the back, only to feel claws on her tail, and she turned around to see Violetsong and Amberlight smirking at her. They then proceeded to mock her about her warrior name, calling it "vapid" and "silly."

She didn't mean to kill them. She only meant to scare them off. But she brought the rock down a little too hard on both of their heads, and the crack was a little too loud, and they were both just laying there, blood oozing from their heads.

Cloudface had stared in horror at the bodies before turning tail and running back to camp as fast as she could. When she got back to camp, her family instantly swarmed her in worry, but she brushed them off.

Cloudface spent the rest of her life trying to forget about the incident. And she kind of did. She found a wonderful mate who praised her constantly and had four lovely kits, with two of them having the same markings as she did. She taught them that they were more beautiful than any other cat, and the teachings kind of brought up her self esteem too.

All was well up until Treeclan went into battle with Prairieclan again. She was engaged in combat with a younger warrior, Pearbreath, when she tripped over a small twig.

Taking advantage of the situation, Pearbreath whirled behind Cloudface, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and slammed her face against a large rock.

Cloudface could immediately feel all of the bones in her face crack, and as she slumped to the floor, her head swelling and her vision darkening, the last thing she thought of was the irony of the situation. She spent so long trying to believe she was pretty, and when she finally gained that belief, she was killed by having her face ruined.

At least the ugliness would disappear after death... or so she thought.

Pinedusk

Aliases / Nicknames: N/A

Gender: tom

Sexuality: heterosexual, demiromantic

Family: Snailstar (parent), Leafwhisker, Shadetuft (fathers), Hawkbush, Seedclaw, Cloudface (sisters), Sparrowthroat, Marshtooth (brothers), Crowdust (mate), Hornetnose, Hailfang, Hickoryshade (sons), Hazeleyes (daughter)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor

Clan: Treeclan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: kills when provoked, quick tempered, falls for goading easily

Number of Victims: 3

Number of Murders: 3

Murder Method: ripping out throat

Known Victims: Whiteflight, Patchsky, Flarebelly

Victim Profile: overconfident toms that taunted their opponents in battle

Cause of Death: belly split open, killed in battle, killed by Sorrelstalk

Cautionary Tale: N/A

Story:

Pinedusk was always a little sensitive, even as a kit. Whenever his siblings, the older apprentices, or even his own parents made a joke involving him, Pinekit was quick to either attack them or screech about how mean they were being.

His parents, especially Snailstar, tried their hardest to get him to calm down, often taking him aside to talk with him. But no matter what they did, he just kept on lashing out.

This behavior got Pinepaw into a lot of trouble when he became an apprentice, as apprentices from other Clans quickly caught onto his tantrum-throwing tendencies and began agitating him just to get a rise out of him. He got into so many spats because of this, the leader often prohibited him from going to Gatherings just because they didn't want him "embarrassing the other leaders.”

This all came to a head for the first time soon after Pinepaw recieves his warrior name, Pinedusk. Tensions between Treeclan and Prairieclan had been escalating for a while, and the leader finally ordered an attack on Prairieclan's camp.

Pinedusk had been super excited for his first battle, and it progressed normally at first. A bit into the battle, however, Pinedusk engaged in combat with a Prairieclan warrior named Whiteflight, who he had gotten into spats with many times before at gatherings.

Whiteflight taunted Pinedusk, saying his fighting style was "just as wimpy as his words were.” Almost immediately, Pinedusk saw red.

He tore Whiteflight's throat out like it was a wet sheet of paper. Immediately, when he looked down, the only sight was the sheer amount of blood and Whiteflight's lifeless eyes.

Thankfully, the battle ended very soon with no more casualties. But Pinedusk still felt very sick, brushing off any question from his family. He only wished that he never had to do that again.

Of course, this hope was dashed just a few days later, when Prairieclan retaliated by attacking Treeclan's camp. This time, Pinedusk was confronted by an older warrior named Patchsky, who taunted him for not even being able to outpace him, a warrior close to retirement, his muscles aching even as they fought. Once again, Pinedusk saw red, and once again, he tore out Patchsky's throat effortlessly.

Pinedusk was filled with so much regret, and yet he still couldn't hold himself back. Treeclan and Prairieclan met for one final battle, and Pinedusk faced another one of his bullies, Flarebelly, in combat.

Flarebelly taunted Pinedusk about "being weaker than Whiteflight and Patchsky's killer", and soon afterwards, he met the exact same fate as Whiteflight and Patchsky, same killer and all.

Thankfully, soon after that, Treeclan and Prairieclan declared a truce, so there were to be no more battles. Pinedusk decided to try and move on from this bloodshed-filled period of his life. He found a wonderful mate who helped him to keep his temper in check and had four wonderful kits he loved more than anything.

However, the truce between Treeclan and Prairieclan eventually dissolved, and the two Clans met in battle once again.

Pinedusk made the mistake of getting cocky, just as his victims once did, and taunted a young warrior named Sorrelstalk about how clumsy he was in battle, like a kit just taking its first steps.

The anger that burned in Sorrelstalk's eyes was stronger than any anger Pinedusk had ever felt before, and before he knew it, Sorrelstalk had knocked him over, ripping his belly open as if it was wet paper.

As the blood dribbled down Pinedusk's side and his vision became darker, Pinedusk's last thought was to pray to StarClan to show him mercy, that he had been a different cat when he killed, that he was a better cat now.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of Starclan, once a murderer, always a murderer.

Additional Information:

--Submission by @starfalcon555

--Cloudface and Pinedusk were killed in the same battle.

--Neither one of them knew that the other had killed cats. They definitely did the Spider-Man pointing meme when they entered the Dark Forest at the same time.

On that note, neither one of them knew about what Marshtooth did, or that Snailstar was also in the Dark Forest. They were absolutely HORRIFIED when they found out, and regretted being too absorbed in their own problems to stop him.

--They both still love Snailstar deeply, believing that they tried their best, and was not to blame for what them or their brother did. They're by her side a LOT in the Dark Forest.

--Yes, the Ratpool and Hornetnose mentioned here as Cloudface's and Pinedusk's respective sons ARE the same Ratpool and Hornetnose who mentored Oakberry and Hollygorse.

--Cloudface and Pinedusk didn't know Oakberry and Hollygorse very well in life, but they are very apologetic towards them, and the four kind of form an uncle and aunt/nephew and niece dynamic after a bit.

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