Once Upon a Time, there was a princess. Except, she wasn't really a princess, she just liked to pretend she was one. Her name was Fathom. She was found laying on a beach as a kit, swept away from her former home by a storm. Without much recollection of her previous life, she started over Shadowclan, cared for by her mama, Rascalcharm, and her mom, Gooseberrycrown. She had a good childhood there, carried away by her dreams and wishes. But every young princess has to experience tragedy. Her mama was swept away by the same waters Fathom had been found by, never to be seen again in life. The princess mourned her mother's life, but continued forward, holding to her faith that she would see her again. The start of her apprenticeship went smoothly, for the most part. She was never the best at listening to her mentors instructions, but she tried her best. Fathom was an obedient apprentice, and eager to please, though that didn't stop her from going on escapades outside of Shadowclan territory. On one of her trips outside of their territory, she met a kittypet named Forest, who would quickly become her closest companion. They shared stories with each other, traded flowers, and went on adventures. At some point, she came to wonder if this was her prince, the one she was destined to find. But he wasn't, and somewhere along the way they lost each other. Still, the moons passed by without much happening. The princess had a happy life. That was, until her warrior ceremony. Something must have snapped in her then. She felt... A lack of belonging. Though she had been happy, or she perceived herself to be, she lacked much of a presence in her clan. Never one to lose faith, she started out on a metaphorical journey to find herself. She spent moons out by the beach, trying to find herself in the ocean and the stars. Sometimes she talked to her mother, or to Forest, but they couldn't make her life make sense. Only she could do that. Eventually, she came upon an epiphany. The reason she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere was because she wasn't /trying/ to belong anywhere. She didn't know anyone in her clan, and rarely even spent anytime there. Fathom made up her mind then and there that she would learn to be a bigger part of her clan. Things went well after that, for the most part. She did well on her goal, and was soon able to at least remember the names of most of the cats in her clan, and had even made a few friends. Her mom adopted two kits--het little sisters--who Fathom welcomed warmly. She'd always loved kits and the nursery, and was overjoyed to have two younger siblings as well as an excuse to visit the nursery again. But good things never can last forever, can they? It was a truth that the princess knew well, even though she'd never admit it to herself. This time, tragedy hit all of the clans. Fathom was forced to watch as her home was engulfed in fire and smoke, knowing that she would never see her precious beaches and flower fields again. The journey was nice, at the very least. It was strange not having a permanent place to call home, but she enjoyed the feeling of the wind on her fur and the everlasting smell of the sea. Honestly, she was disappointed to leave the boats, even though it meant they had finally found their new home. After that, nothing seemed the same for Fathom. She tried to love her new home, believe me, she really did, but it just wasn't the same. She couldn't find the same joy in patrolling the territory as she had before, which made it hard for her to ever get out of camp. Despite her problems, she gained a realization from them. She'd never truly loved her role as a warrior. Sure, she'd enjoyed it, at times, but hunting and patrolling had never been her true passions. From a young age, the princess had always seen the caretakers of the clan with great respect. Perhaps it was their title, as queens, or maybe it was because she'd had two mothers of her own, but being a mother herself was all she had ever truly wanted to be. Unfortunately, she never had the chance. But after a lot of thought, she was determined--or at least she said she was--to find a way to make her dream come true. It was honestly easier than she had expected. It had taken a lot of courage to admit her struggles to the deputy-- despite considering him a close friend--but he was more receptive than she had expected, and something was soon set up so that she could have a permanent role in the nursery. It seemed as if she had finally reached her happy ending. She had a job she loved and was finally at peace again. How could tragedy strike her again, after she'd worked so hard? Yet it struck again, as it always did.She was sitting in a tree, watching the stars, as she so often did. Being high up made her feel closer to Starclan, in a sense. Before, seeing the reflection of the stars in the sea had been her favorite place to reflect, but now this was the closest she could get. continued below...
cont... She thanked Starclan for her good fortune, and everything she had been blessed with. Her family, her friends, a safe home, and so many more. She could have stayed up there all night, but with a new duty to fulfil, she couldn't tear herself from camp for very long. As she leaped down the tree, she happened to jump onto an unsturdy branch. She attempted to correct herself, but it was too late. In a split second, both she and the branch were sent hurtling down to the ground. I'm sorry to say that she died a long and painful death there, stuck under a branch. She had time to reflect on her life before that point, all of the choices she had made, as well as the ones she hadn't. She hadn't expected to die then. A small part of her still hoped that perhaps she wouldn't. Maybe someone would come along and find her, and she would be alright. But no one came. In her last moments, she did realize something, just like she had during and after all of the tragedies of her life. She was proud of herself. She was proud of everything she had accomplished up to that point. Maybe her life hadn't been perfect, but she thought she'd done pretty well with the life she was given. The queen died peacefully. The End. ____________ I can't believe I'm actually writing this. It honestly feels unreal. Fathomcatcher was the second kit I ever won from a litter and roleplayed after Wildflowerspring. I adored the concept I had made for her, and was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to roleplay her. I didn't do as much with her life as I would have hoped, but I feel fulfilled with what I did get to do with her. I will admit, for the past few weeks, maybe months, I've been losing, not exactly attachment, but my will to roleplay Fathomcatcher. I still love her, but it just wasn't as fun to roleplay her anymore. I definitely could have solved this, but given that I have just won a kit from a litter (with a personality i've been wanting to roleplay with for forever!!!) I thought it was time to let her go. Fathomcatcher's accessories and her pearls will be given back to her mom, Gooseberrycrown (with the exception of her flowers, which i'd love to have buried with her oorp. btw Echo, you can do whatever with these, but I think it would be cute if they were given to her younger siblings <3 ) But that's it, that's the end. Thank you so much to everyone whom I got the chance to roleplay with, you all contributed a bunch to my journey with Faith. I'll definitely miss her, but here's to my new chapter in TFCRP! - Mystic