THE OVERVIEW — Ghoulmask meets a young she-cat that seems too good to be true. He’s his usual grumpy self but she takes it in stride, seeming to surprise him at every turn. Despite himself, she worms her way into his heart; before he knows it, he’s taken her as his mate and not long after that, she’s expecting. Everything’s surprisingly... blissful. He never thought he’d be one for domestic bliss, but with her, he knows he can be a better soldier, mate, father, leader. She encourages him to accept his new title with honor and the desire to better his clan, rather than looking at it as a punishment. With her urging, he accepts. What he doesn’t realize is his beautiful mate has a few secrets tucked away in her heart, tidbits of information that, in the end, will lead him to further heartbreak. It isn’t until their children are born that he finds her out in the snow laden territory, having cleared a small patch to uncover the frozen earth underneath a copse of pine trees that she reveals her truth: she had to do what was right by her mother. Her mother was a feline that had been scorned by a WinterClan tom many moons ago; in her aging and crumbling mind, she believed Ghoulmask was the reincarnation of that tom. Having sent out her daughter to curse him so he wouldn’t have the power to resurface again, she had managed to gain power over his heart, a most powerful weapon, but when she discovered she was pregnant she no longer wished to fulfill her mother’s dark desires. She had gone out into the frozen forest to ask for those of the Underground to watch over and protect her young, knowing in the end she would have no power to go against her mother. Believing her to be tricking and manipulating him, he banishes her from the land. She’s desperate for him to see reason, but he, worried about the fate of his children, orders her to sever her ties to his children. She, in anger, swears to curse him until the end of his days and reclaim her children at some point. Ghoulmask, paranoid she’ll follow through, becomes far more protective of this litter than his other children, causing his other children to slowly turn to a dark path. This litter, however, is relatively innocent, except for the internal darkness swirling within them, different for each. Each is mentored by a dark entity that goes by different names with each of them, despite being the same. This entity is a Dark Forest cat who, having witnessed Valleyswirl’s fall from grace, took advantage of the crack in the clan’s armor and snuck in, hiding in the shadows and the dreams of these kits. The kits, upon being old enough to learn about their mother from the clan Witch, Mistyveil, discover that they have more in common with the Witch than they realize: namely, they’ve had interactions with the dead, too. Thus, partly out of fun and partly out of purpose, form a group: the Ghost Hunting Squad. Together, they investigate claims of the supernatural within WinterClan’s territory and, as they get older, begin to look into other claims in the other clan and rogue territories. Through their adventures, they continue to pick up clues that lead them to their mother — or, what they believe to be their mother. AVAILABLE ROLES — She-cat that falls in love with Ghoul. The ‘antagonist’ of the plot. DUALWIELDING GHOSTKIT — ♀/ ♂lead investigator & founder of the crew. SINFUL SPECTERKIT — ♀/ ♂investigator. TEARDROPS PHANTOMKIT — ♀/ ♂investigator. GOLDCREST WRAITHKIT — ♀/ ♂psychic medium. UNIQCRIM SHADOWKIT — ♀/ ♂inventor. FOX SPOOKKIT — ♀/ ♂historian. SPIDERHEART