I just realized that I never really revealed the REASON why Squirrel was abandoned and why she has so many insecurities. When Squirreldawn was a kit, she was actually a loner. Living with her father, Quiethare (who was at the time named Pebble) and her mother, Perch (who later became Perchfeather). Her parents had tried for so long for a litter of their own, however they had no luck or miscarried kittens. So, when Squirreldawn was finally born they were overjoiced, except...when they took a better look at her face. They noticed she was born without an eye completely, and that part of her face was marked raw around the eye. This disgusted her mother, and so she abandoned her. Pebble couldn't bring himself to do it. And to stop the eye from becoming infected, he made herself a poultice eyepatch that helped her survive her kithood up until they joined ScarClan. As Squirreldawn aged, her fur became longer and more elegant, much like her mother's. So, she eventually could hide the eye with her pelt to keep other cats from seeing her eye. However, soon after she became a warrior, she was in a border battle with CreekClan and one of the warriors noticed she was blind on that side, and attacked her, clawing her face and leaving her scarred. At this point, Bright was the only one to see her face. She assured her that she was beautiful. However, Squirreldawn still chose to keep it hidden. Eventually, she fell pregnant, and throughout the pregnancy she was worried one of her kits would end up like her. Luckily, they didn't, but she still cannot imagine what might happen to her kits and her relationship with her mate if they found out about her face. She opens up to Sappaw at the gathering, and they relate to their disabilities, finding comfort in each other. Sappaw assures her that she's beautiful, with or without an eye. And Squirreldawn smiles. Characters: Squirreldawn, Sappaw (by me!) Art: Also by me! Song - Mrs. Potato Head by Melanie Martinez
