Little Fires
(which is also available on Archive of Our Own) is a Warriors fanfic by TheJaguar. It stars an OC named Emberpaw.
Emberpaw is the only daughter of two ThunderClan cats named Eelfoot and Leopardwhisker. She's a shy, sensitive young tortoiseshell and there's one thing very unusual about her: her clanmates consider her a tom. Emberpaw never saw herself as a tom but she tries her best to hide it.
Little Fires explores the concept of trans characters and gender roles in Warriors.
Little Fires provides examples of:
- Animal Gender-Bender: It's noted that tortoiseshell toms are both rare and they tend to be weaker than other cats. It's heavily implied Emberpaw is intersex.
- Cool Old Guy: Tornface is an elder who tells stories to the kits. Emberkit is fond of him.
- Dead Fic: Little Fires hasn't been updated since September 2013.
- Death Is a Sad Thing: In chapter 5, Emberkit's younger friend Duckkit dies of illness. The experience teaches her about life and death for the first time.
- Disappeared Dad: Emberkit's father Leopardwhisker died prior to the story.
- Intersex Tribulations: Little Fires is a Warriors fanfic about a transgender tortoiseshell she-cat. It is heavily implied that, like most tortie toms, Emberpaw is intersex. The Clans don't fully understand the condition but they do know that tortoiseshell toms are both very rare and oftentimes sickly. Emberpaw herself was weak as a young kit.
- Meaningful Name: Lampshaded with Tornface:Emberkit: "How come your face looks like that?"
Tornface: "My name is Tornface, son. Take a guess."
Emberkit: "It got... torn?"
Tornface: "Aha! StarClan has blessed him with a brain!" - Meaningful Rename: Tornface was known as "Gorsefang" until he received his face injury falling out of a tree.
- Older Than They Look: At 3 moons old, Emberkit doesn't quite look that old.
- One-Steve Limit: It's noted that cats from the same Clan aren't normally supposed to have the same prefix, but it happens sometimes anyway. Emberpaw's father Leopardwhisker shares one with Leopardstar because he was a WindClan deserter. Tawnypaw also worries that she'll end up with the same name as Tawnyfur (another WindClan born cat).
- Original Character: The fanfic features the four Clans but several characters are new cats.
- Parental Title Characterization: At 3 months, Emberkit is "too old" to call her mother "Mama" instead of her name. But, she still likes using it, showing off her sensitive nature.
- Passed in Their Sleep: Invoked with Duckkit, who is given poppy seeds so he won't be in pain as he dies.
- Practically Different Generations: Beechfur was an adult when his mother Mousestep became pregnant. When Mousestep died in childbirth, Beechfur took over as his sister Goosekit's guardian.
- Royal Inbreeding: ThunderClan has become very inbred, with most of its members being related to one another and looking a lot alike as well. This has resulted in several stillbirths and ill kittens, and they've begun letting in cats from out of the Clan in order to bring in new blood.
- Tragic Stillbirth:
- Eelfoot was expected to have a large litter of five kits, but only Emberkit was born successfully. The other four were stillbirths. As a result of the tragedy, she coddles her only child.
- Goosepaw's mother Mousefur gave birth to several stillborns and then died. Goosepaw was the only survivor of the litter. With no father, her brother Beechfur took over as her father figure.
- It's suspected that ThunderClan has "bad blood" (due to inbreeding), resulting in several sickly kits and stillbirths.
