Alder

Alder is a tiny, lithe, splotchy, gray-and-white she-kit with short, fluffy fur.

Thunder Rising

 * Alder, along with her brother, Birch, is born to a rogue named Misty and an unknown tom.


 * Thunder finds not yet named Alder and Birch in their den, having just witnessed Clear Sky killing their mother, Misty. He calls for Clear Sky, who curses to himself when he realizes he just killed a mother with kits. The two take them out of the den, and Thunder stays between the kits and their dead mother so they can't see Misty's body. Clear Sky suggests that they kill them as it is the kindest thing to do, but Thunder and Petal object, Petal stating that she'll look after the kits.


 * Clear Sky is shocked, as Petal has hated Misty, but Petal says that she knows how it feels to be defenseless without a mother, with no one to help. Thunder decides to help Petal look after them, and she steps over the kits, murmuring that they'll be in a warm nest soon. She picks up Alder, whilst Thunder picks up Birch. Thunder wonders if Clear Sky would have really killed Alder and Birch, if Petal hadn't decided to take care of them.


 * On the moor, Wind Runner and Gorse Fur report to Gray Wing and his cats that Clear Sky is expanding his territory. They reveal what happened to Misty, and they searched her nest but couldn't find Alder or Birch, and Wind Runner and Gorse Fur think that Clear Sky has killed them. When Bumble is found, dying, Clear Sky reveals himself. Wind Runner demands if he killed Alder and Birch, but he replies that they are fine, being cared for by Petal.


 * Thunder takes a squirrel to Petal and the kits. She thanks him, and Thunder hopes to himself that Alder and Birch will grow into healthy cats. He asks what Petal has called them, and she replies that she has named them Alder and Birch. Thunder says that they are good names. Petal chews up some of the squirrel and begins to persuade Alder and Birch to eat some. Alder tries to go to Petal for milk, but she says that they must start eating prey as they are older now. Alder squeaks that they are big kits now, and goes back to lapping up the squirrel pulp.

The First Battle

 * When Falling Feather argues with Clear Sky, Clear Sky brings up Birch and Alder, noting that they were kits, and there would be more in the future. Afterwards, Clear Sky calls for a meeting, and Petal heads over to join him, with Birch and Alder peering after her, eyes shining. Petal tells Alder to stay where they were, and make sure Birch was with her. When Petal comes up to greet him, Clear Sky barely hears her, as he intently watches Birch and Alder from the yew, and it is noted that Petal had taken them in after Clear Sky had killed their mother, Misty. During the meeting, Clear Sky notices that Alder tugs Birch's tail between her teeth, trying to haul him back beneath the yew branches. When Quick Water brings up the possibility of fighting Gray Wing, Clear Sky denies being Bumble's murderer, and flicks his tail toward Alder and Birch, saying that he rescues cats. As they shift to a battle training session, Birch asks if they could watch, with Alder tugging on his tail, and Clear Sky permits them, stepping aside as the two kits hurtle forward, and skid to a halt beside Petal. As the training session goes on, Alder and Birch stare as Nettle careens toward them, and Petal commands them to move, making the two shriek, and scatter like mice before Nettle collapses onto the ground beside them.


 * As Clear Sky takes out Birch and Alder for some hunting training, he tells the latter she-kit to hurry up. She races behind Birch, half-running, half-slithering, and is noted to be only the size of a baby rabbit, making Clear Sky think that she would have to grow up eventually. Clear Sky pushes on, and it is said that Petal begged him not to take the kits out training, but Clear Sky had done so anyway. Alder then calls for Birch to help her, prompting Clear Sky to turn around, only for Alder to be gone. Birch leans into a ditch, tugging his sister out by the scruff, and let go. He asks if she was okay, and Alder scrambles to her paws, shakes out her fur, and confirms that she was fine. A moment later, the two hurtle from a fern clump, and scramble up the slope, pelts slick against their bodies, and ears pressed to their heads. Alder stops a tail-length behind Birch, and complains that they couldn't run faster. Clear Sky pads around the kits as they catch their breath, and tells Birch to wait, prompting Alder to ask if he would be by himself. Clear Sky replies that he would be, thrusting his muzzle close to Alder's, making her leap back in surprise, and adds that she would come with him, as they would be playing hide-and-seek. Alder questions his choice, and Clear Sky reasons that it would be useful in the future.


 * Alder asks if they were to hide as Birch waited, and Clear Sky confirms it, calling her a smart kit. He then tells Alder to find a place Birch would never think to look with him, and Alder asks if he had any ideas. Clear Sky tells her to hush, and slows down so that Alder will have some energy for the next part of the session. As they look for a spot, Alder catches up to him, and complains that there was no place to hide, and that they should have stopped in the ferns. Clear Sky informs her to crouch behind a tree, so that when Birch arrives, she would have space to attack him. Alder, confused, questions his command, as she thought they were playing hide-and-seek, only for Clear Sky to reply that they were training, who wonders why she argues with him. Alder refuses, as he didn't warn Birch, and Clear Sky reasons that he needed to learn. Alder adds that it wasn't fair, as he wouldn't be ready, and that it would feel wrong. Clear Sky admires her bravery, but believes she has growing up to do, and responds that although her instinct tells her to stalk her enemy, times were changing, so they must outgrow those instincts. Alder glances at her paws as Clear Sky goes on to speak of being ahead of their enemies, making her inquire if they had any.


 * Clear Sky explains that every cat that wished to steal prey from their territory is an enemy, and suggests for Alder to roll in the mud. Alder asks why, and he reasons that it would disguise her scent. She wrinkles her nose, and complains that the muddy dip smelled of rotting leaves, only for Clear Sky to respond for her to roll herself in it. Alder wriggles onto her back, and flops to her side. Once she is done, she complains how she smells, but Clear Sky points out that she lost her scent, and suggests for her to pick a tree to hide behind. He tells her to hurry, and her fur ripples along her spine, and pads uneasily to the next drunk, twisting suddenly to dig her nose into her flank. Clear Sky tells her to hide, but Alder complains that her pelt felt weird, and Clear Sky tells her to crouch into a gap between two roots, and to stay low, so that Birch wouldn't see her. Despite doing so, she still complains that it felt wrong, as he thought they were playing hide-and-seek, yet he wanted her to attack him. Clear Sky replies that he wanted to see if she could surprise him, and she responds that she could do so without smelling like rotting leaves. She presses her belly to the floor, and Clear Sky reasons that smelling like leaves could be the best weapon she has if Birch was a real enemy, but she points out that he wasn't, and sits up.


 * She asks why they all couldn't get along, as despite living in different places, they didn't have to fight. Clear Sky swipes a paw at her, sheathing his claws before he strikes her ear, but Alder staggers from the blow, tripping over a root. Clear Sky argues that he was trying to help her win if she ever got into a fight, and Alder scrambles to her paws, backing away. Clear Sky scolds her for being frightened, and Alder freezes like a rabbit when he lands in front of her, staring up at her and trembling as he touches his muzzle to her head. A dog's bark rings throughout the area, and Alder ducks out beneath him, pointing out that Birch would be by himself near the big beech. She hares away from him, Clear Sky following her until he pulls past, and Alder squeals for him to save Birch. Alder, horrified, shrieks that the dog would kill him, and adds that Clear Sky would have to save him. Suddenly, Petal arrives, and Alder wails her name. Afterwards, Petal calls for the two kits, and they huddle in the crook of the lowest branch, pressed together like fledglings. Clear Sky informs them that it was safe to come down, and Alder lowers herself tail-first, trembling as she reaches the ground. Petal licks her roughly, and Alder shakes out her fur, shuddering as the mud sprinkles onto the floor, and decides that she had enough of training.


 * Petal agrees and decides to take them home, leading them down a slope. Alder presses closer to Petal, and explains how they were to be learning how to attack other cats. Petal slows to lick some of the mud from Alder's pelt, and the latter adds that Clear Sky wanted her to jump out at Birch when he came to look for them. After meeting Jackdaw's Cry and Thunder, Clear Sky reflects on Misty's death, mentioning that he would've gone easier on her had he known Misty was protecting Alder and Birch. He then calls to Petal, who sits near the yew with her kits at her side. After he encounters Tom, Alder and Birch greet Clear Sky when he returns, eyes shining happily. Alder and Birch ask if they could train, skipping around him. When Thunder and Lightning Tail arrive to look for Turtle Tail and her kits, Clear Sky thinks of Alder and Birch waiting for him in the hollow, and how they would run to him when they arrived, as well as how they wanted to be with him. During the meeting at the four oaks, Petal reasons that Jackdaw's Cry was brought along because they couldn't leave him with Birch and Alder.

The Blazing Star

 * Alder appears alongside Birch, Petal, and Clear Sky when they come to investigate what is happening between the moor cats and One Eye. They ignore Thunder's warning to stay away from the bird and curiously bound up to it.


 * Thunder gives his father a look and Clear Sky tells the kits to come back, and they go back to their foster mother. He soon tells them to go back to camp with their mother and One Eye, and Petal leads them back into the undergrowth.



Members
Mother:
 * Misty:

Brother:
 * Birch:

Foster Mother:
 * Petal: