[fancypost borderwidth=0px; text-align: justify][size=8]Backstory, 0 moons — 16 moons:
Mere moments behind his brother Hornetkit, Nightkit was born into SkyClan, an ordinary kitten. His parents were Thistlemask and Spiderfoot, both decent warriors and, in the eyes of some, decent cats as well. For three moons, he lived a largely uneventful life; then, with no warning whatsoever, Spiderfoot took Hornetkit and vanished, turning the universe as he knew it on its ear. Nightkit was left in SkyClan with his distraught father. Though he begged Thistlemask to track Hornetkit down, Thistlemask was unwilling to leave Nightkit alone, nor was he able to, so Nightkit undertook the search for his brother by himself. He tried to gather as much information as he could without leaving the confines of the camp, but those who listened knew nothing.
Three moons passed in this manner, and Nightkit, now Nightpaw, was apprenticed to a warrior by the name of Ratfoot. Ratfoot was a laid-back mentor, inexperienced in teaching; Nightpaw approached his training with a half-hearted attitude. Most of his efforts were dedicated to finding Hornetkit. Apprenticeship brought the freedom to leave the camp, and Nightpaw used it to search the whole territory and then some, learning more about the world outside SkyClan as he did.
Shortly after, Thistlemask disappeared. Lax though she was, Ratfoot left little time for mourning in her training routine. She finally got a handle on what she was meant to do, and Nightpaw's list of tasks and lessons multiplied dramatically, leaving him too exhausted to do much of anything other than crash in his nest. Coupled with the loss of Thistlemask, this took its toll on him: A mere moon into his apprenticeship, he was forced to give up looking for his sole littermate. Regret ate at him, but he smothered it by throwing himself into his training with an enthusiasm he had never had before. Ratfoot seemed to appreciate the change.
On a cold day in early newleaf, Nightpaw's entire life changed once again. When the dawn patrol returned, they did so with the mangled gray body of Ratfoot trailing behind them. Later, Nightpaw pieces the story together — how Ratfoot had been hunting solo when she'd found the badger; how bravely she'd fought and how badly wounded she'd been when the patrol found her, cornered; how her paws, though swift, hadn't been enough to save her. His first mentor's apparent bravery gave him no solace. He was eight moons old.
A new mentor was promptly assigned to him: half-Clan, an unsuitable replacement. Her name was Foxdancer. Nightpaw was still upset about Ratfoot, and Foxdancer's half-Clan blood did her no favors in his eyes. He made his apprenticeship under her a battle, opposing her in every decision, ignoring her advice, only using her tactics when they were time and time again proven to be superior. Still, he somehow remained on schedule. All signs pointed to him becoming a warrior at twelve moons.
Days after his warrior ceremony, Nightstream went onto SkyClan's border and found a fox. He was by himself, as he'd planned; he was trying to prove a point. But six moons of training was not enough. The last thing he saw before pain robbed him of consciousness was the blurry form of Foxdancer.
Nightstream made a full recovery, bearing only a deep, jagged scar on his chest to remind him of his foolishness. While in the medicine den, he learned Foxdancer had saved his life, and he was finally forced to see her in a new light. Gradually, as he grew into his warrior duties and -stream suffix, he began to respect her; at the same time, worried she was holding a grudge for how he'd treated her, Nightstream started to avoid his former mentor.
16 moons — present day:
When Nightstream was sixteen moons old, BloodClan attacked, burning part of SkyClan's territory to the ground to avenge their leader Sheogorath's death. Fearing another attack and already running out of prey due to the approaching leaf-bare, SkyClan was forced to seek shelter with ThunderClan. Thrushstar searched for a new camp; she found one fairly quickly, and they returned to SkyClan's territory to begin the trek to their new home. SkyClan wanted revenge, and Nightstream couldn't claim he didn't want it, too. But in the midst of their battle plans came the violent death of Minkpaw at a coyote's fangs. Nightstream had seen corpses before; he'd never watched someone die until that moment. With time, he recovered, but the memory stuck with him.
The preparations for war against BloodClan began.
