MARIGOLDLEAP

REDWOODCLAN

long-haired ginger-and-white she-cat with golden yellow eyes

marigoldleap takes pride in the fact that she embodies the stature most associated with redwoodclan cats: tall and large, with muscles that are well-hidden beneath her feathered coat. her broad shoulders and thick paws make for a beautifully intimidating first impression, although she has gone a tad soft in recent moons due to her taking a backseat to the war. even so, she is still considered an unsuspecting force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

she largely resembles her father in appearance, which she believes to be the sole reason sycamoretail gave her such grief. she carries his signature rich red coat, broken through by large patches of white. the majority of her underside is the color of snow, whereas her back, shoulders, and tail manages to retain a brilliant red. she makes sure to keep her feathered coat well-groomed, especially during leaf-bare — it becomes thicker than normal and, in doing so, is more susceptible to lose its downy softness and become tangled.

marigoldleap has never believed her face to be her best feature. much like the rest of her coat, a radiant red begins from the tips of her ears and stretches downward to mask the top half of her face, broken apart by a small strip of stark white in the middle of her forehead, which widens to cover the length of her nose bridge, and encompasses the entire bottom half of her face. in her opinion, the only thing she has going for her are her eyes — with their walnut-shape and inviting, golden yellow hue, it's a shame she's been made into the clan leper.

to those that "know" her, marigoldleap is about as social as a crotchety elder. her unpleasant experiences with her brothers — woodfrost in particular — when they were mere kits effectively dampened any hankering she'd had at making friends outside the family. if her own flesh and blood scarcely wanted any dealings with her, why on earth would anyone else?

her former mentor's influence became clearer with each moon that passed after her violent death, noticeable in the way she'd been in agreement — shockingly, might one add — with finchstar once he'd made his decision to help those tribe cats in their time of need. she'd volunteered to help out herself, if only to keep away from some of her clanmate's more suspicious gazes — as far as they were concerned, she'd been far too curious about their visitors, yet it had been a welcome change to be around cats that didn't know her as foxfire's daughter.

to those that wish to know her, marigoldleap has always said that it's her barely perceptible sadness, deep in the midst of the warmth in her golden yellow eyes, is what draws other cats in; draws them in despite her appearance, which has often left others under the impression that she's... unapproachable. even so, she makes it a point to keep her clanmates at a distance... unless their emotions are so strong that they begin to affect her own.

it had been the situation with her father that pushed her to become more in tune with the emotions of those around her. perhaps, if she'd learned to do so at an earlier age, she wouldn't have lost so much precious time with him. yet it's precisely the lost time that has her listening to that roiling feeling in the pit of her stomach, even if they lead her to unpleasant revelations... especially when they lead her to unpleasant revelations.

to those that know of her, she will never be more than what they've branded her: a pariah; the offspring of a traitor; a spy. yet, it's a traitor's daughter that has learned to speak in such a way that it leaves those against her feeling... inferior. in situations where she previously would've beaten around the bush, she speaks plainly, even if her words sting the recipient — or herself, for that matter.

she has her late mother to thank for that, for she was among the first cat marigoldleap had been brave enough to stand against, and it was sycamoretail's very public, very cruel retaliation that made her vow to never allow anyone to make her feel the way her mother did ever again.

with that being said, she also came to realize that words were not always the appropriate reaction; sometimes words must be answered with claws, hence the vicious physical altercation with her brother, woodfrost. since that very incident, she has worked extremely hard to not allow herself to get to that point again because... well, because she's rather terrified of the cat she'll find lurking beneath if she does.

and to those that believe they have her all worked out, remember this: there's much more to a cat than the rumors that surround them.

mother: sycamoretail (deceased)
father: foxfire (deceased)
littermates: gingerstep (brother) & woodfrost (brother)

mate(s): not applicable
offspring: not applicable

others: cherrywing (deceased mentor)
fennelpaw (deceased apprentice)
hawthornsnake (former apprentice)

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"don't you have anything better to do?" she did not, in fact, have anything better to do. sycamoretail had been too swallowed up in her bitterness to pay her much attention. she was either always talking about how those starclan fanatics would be the first to break the peace, or ranting to her fellow queens about how her mate's wandering eyes were causing one too many issues between them.

her brothers were out of the question, too. neither of them were all too interested in her, although gingerkit indulged her in her adventurous spirit far more than woodkit. the latter of her two brothers would snap at her the second she suggested they play just a bit gentler. she was fed up with seeing her fur between his claws and ending up with a nick in her ear, or a mark across her nose. "crybaby," he would call her, but the truth was that he was simply too rough with her.

she found it more of a relief than a punishment when he called himself "forbidding" her from playing with them.

"... you're all i've got." she had stopped her father in his tracks then, and though he sat her down and drew her in close with his feathered tail, she hadn't missed the heartbroken expression that had flitted across his face at her words. determined to distract his daughter from the discontent she felt at being the odd one out among her littermates, foxfire proceeded to tell her stories of the world just beyond her reach.

a world that was closing in all around her, and closing in fast.


"...what?" marigoldpaw had stared at her mother in disbelief, face contorted in confusion. gingerpaw had gone stiff beside her, silent as their irate brother called for their father's exile. with mere words, sycamoretail had branded her father a traitor, without so much as a whisker of evidence to back up her claims.

and coming from a dedicated warrior such as herself, no one felt the need to question her.

"no. no, no, no. you're lying. you're lying." she'd trailed after her mother weeks after her confession, unable to accept that her father didn't want them anymore — that he didn't want her.

he was never around anymore, and the one time she managed to lay eyes on him, he'd been sporting new scars across his face.

"he doesn't want you, marigoldpaw; he never wanted you!" sycamoretail, tired of her daughter's relentless questioning, snapped at her for all to see. the young apprentice, almost a spitting image of her father, then, had staggered backwards as though she'd been struck.

marigoldpaw had never questioned her mother again after that.


the remainder of marigoldpaw's time as an apprentice seemed to pass her by in an almost mind-numbing blur. just as her mother had predicted, lichenclan more than spat on the tentative peace between the clans, effectively shattering it when sagestar launched an attack on them. bluetail had fallen victim to their brutality, and was soon replaced with a well-respected warrior known as gorseheart.

if it hadn't been for her mentor, cherrywing, marigoldpaw would have been another casualty of lichenclan's cruelty.

the seasoned warrior had become like a mother to her. steadfast, self-assured, and always willing to lend a paw to those in need, cherrywing was the best role model a self-conscious apprentice such as marigoldpaw could ask for. yet, despite cherrywing becoming one of her only confidants, the absence of her father left her to retreat within herself.

she wouldn't speak to cherrywing much, if at all, and would focus all her attention on her training. she became determined to prove herself to her clan — and her mother — that she held just as much promise as her brothers; that she would be an asset to redwoodclan, not a disgrace.

the utter disappointment gingerpaw had felt at being disowned had been replaced with reckless behavior that only worsened with age, and woodpaw... well, he seemed to be just fine.


at thirteen moons old, marigoldpaw earned her warrior name: marigoldleap, so named for her ability to leap powerfully through trees in the midst of battle.

woodpaw had earned his warrior name, as well — something about him winning a duel with gorseheart, of all cats; woodfrost was his name now, and gingerpaw... well, it seemed he wouldn't be receiving his name until he managed to reign in his rebelliousness.

two moons later and her brother — appropriately named gingerstep — now had free reign to really show everyone just how reckless he could be.

marigoldleap, fresh-faced as she was, found herself at the forefront of every battle against lichenclan. time and again, cherrywing attempted to reason with her, warning her that her hunger for battle would mold her into precisely what her mother wanted, and what her brothers were already becoming: war-hungry, and hateful, and suspicious; true soldiers of war.

but marigoldleap was young, and the young were arrogant enough to believe they knew better.


"you left us. you left me... why?" she was nearly twenty-one moons when she mustered up the courage to approach her father. she no longer threw herself on the front lines when it came to battle, thanks to cherrywing and her words of wisdom.

too bad that it took her former mentor bleeding out before her very eyes for her to understand.

the fresh wound of losing her mentor had reopened the wound that had hardly healed from losing her father, who came clean about the real reason he'd taken a step back from her life: for seasons, he'd been one half of a forbidden relationship with lichenclan's deputy, molefur. sycamoretail had gone as far as to threaten to turn him in for treason if he ever attempted to interact with his kits and, even worse, despite him respecting her demand, she'd branded him a traitor to all who would listen.

marigoldleap sat in silence for several heartbeats, her mind attempting to wrap itself around all he'd just revealed to her. she found herself pressing her nose to his cheek and weeping, for his pain and her own, and for the time her mother had stolen from them.

she vowed, then and there, that she would carry his secret with her as though it were her own, and future time spent with him was done so in secrecy.


"he was a traitor, marigoldleap."

"that's enough, mother."

"you know where they found him. he-"

"i said enough!" marigoldleap had known that the moment they'd announced molefur's death at the next gathering, she would lose her father. even so, his loss didn't seem real until they'd carried his seawater drenched, lifeless body into camp.

among foxfire's kits, it was marigoldleap who remained at his side the entire night, her body pressed against his lifeless form. gingerstep had shown his face for a brief moment, touching his nose to his sister's ear. woodfrost had been nowhere to be found, but marigoldleap was certain that he would've spat on their father's body had he shown his face. and sycamoretail...

she'd shown her face solely to besmirch her former mate's name more than she already had, which resulted in a heated verbal argument with her daughter that left their already strained relationship hanging by a whisker.


lichenclan had become relentless in their attacks, skirmishes and battles in which marigoldleap found herself taking pleasure in far more than she should've. it was gorseheart who soon fell to their rival's ferocity, and it was a heartbroken heatherstar who, with so few senior warriors to choose from, was left to replace him with finchtail.

"mind your tongue, woodfrost." in the midst of all that was happening within the clans, her brother dared to approach her late one evening, mouthing off about their "treacherous" father and how, seeing as she had always been quite sympathetic towards him, she was a traitor, too.

marigoldleap had been enduring his reckless mouth since they were kits, and nothing he'd ever said had bothered her quite as much than the lunacy he was spouting about her and her father. the large hearted she-cat could overlook many things, but speaking ill of her beloved father was not one of them.

woodfrost had never given his sister much thought, which meant that he grossly underestimated her, but marigoldleap was a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the battlefield. gingerstep had tried to calm the two of them down, fearful of where the progressively heated argument was headed, but it was no use.

at twenty-four moons old, the differences between marigoldleap and woodfrost had finally — and violently — come to a head.

neither has spoken to one another since.


"...i-i don't understand. how can they just be gone?" though the wintry chill blessed redwoodclan with a brief reprieve from lichenclan's constant attacks, it brought with it starvation and more loss than marigoldleap was prepared to endure.

marsh-heart had broken the news to her as gently as he could, but she'd found trouble understanding how the lives that had been growing inside her had just disappeared, almost as if they'd never been there at all. she had come to him for a fever — a fever — so how was it that she was leaving without her kits?

moons passed where the world around her didn't matter. all was muffled, never quite breaking through the cloud of grief that had cloaked itself around her, thick as her own coat, suffocating her.

heatherstar was among the first to lose her life when lichenclan's assaults rose to the forefront of their lives again, leaving finchtail to ascend into leadership and name a former kitty-pet — a former. kitty-pet. — as his deputy.

once her grief had released its hold on her life, marigoldleap re-entered a world she no longer understood. redwoodclan had accepted a desperate tribe cat into their midst. redfox had risen to replace minkfur, who'd perished in a sudden mudslide, and lichenclan... lichenclan had officially declared war.


"...like father, like daughter."

"she fought her own brother. i mean-"

"to be expected — a traitor's blood runs deep."

"how long before she turns on all of us?" foxfire had become a pariah of his own volition, though sycamoretail's accusations certainly hadn't helped matters, and it seemed marigoldleap was following in her father's footsteps.

she'd long since voiced her dissatisfaction with finchstar's leadership, accusing him of being just as weak-willed as his predecessors. they were at war, for starclan's sake, and they were losing. he needed to do more than send his warriors into battle and hope for the best, because from where she was sitting, all he was doing was sending them to their deaths.

she was growing older, and with age came the realization that she had grown rather tired of participating in a war in which her clanmates were dropping like flies around her.

which made it all the more difficult for her when fennelpaw became her responsibility. the apprentice had been all but seven moons when she came to her, still kit-faced and wide-eyed and... terrified. she'd been a timid young thing, scarred — as many of them had been at this point — by the losses suffered from lichenclan's violent antics. her former mentor had been an unfortunate casualty of this up-and-coming war with lichenclan, and it was their young who were suffering.

fennelpaw had become akin to a daughter to marigoldthorn, and with hemlockheart's merciless assault on redwoodclan, she became yet another young victim of this terrible, insatiable beast they called war.


"your wickedness has finally caught up to you... mother." she was fifty-one moons when sycamoretail passed, succumbing to the infectious illness that had spread through their clan like wildfire. unlike her brothers, who couldn't be bothered enough to pay respects to their own father by attending his vigil, she found herself sitting tail-lengths away from her mother's body, and felt... empty.

sycamoretail hadn't been a mother, not to her, and perhaps the sickness had been her punishment for having such a cruel and bitter heart.

in the moons following the countless losses caused by the illness contracted from the tribe — an unfortunate repercussion for helping those in need — it seemed redwoodclan would have to suffer one more loss before their luck would change.

redfox.

a devastated finchstar named icesong as her successor, which, in marigoldleap's opinion, was probably one of the best decisions he'd made in quite some time. the fresh-faced deputy made quick work of training the lot of them under a new battle regime, a project that yielded encouraging results when the clan emerged victorious against their enemies.

though she would've much preferred redwoodclan had shown their strength much sooner in her lifetime, she was beyond proud that they were showing those overtly pious lichenclanners just how much of a threat they were. even so, she hoped that this senseless fighting would release its grip on their beloved clans sooner rather than seasons later.


"hawthornpaw, move!" becoming responsible for yet another young life hadn't been in marigoldleap's plans, and yet finchstar had planted hawthornpaw — as mean-spirited and rude as she was — into her capable paws. marigoldleap was flabbergasted at her leader's decision, had wondered how she was meant to train another young soul whose only purpose seemed to be giving their life to this war.

despite her misgivings, she swallowed the dread that seemed intent on making a coward out of her and, smidst the training finchstar and icesong were putting the lot of the clan through, found that the tension between herself and hawthornpaw increased with each passing day. marigoldthorn's patience with her full-of-herself apprentice ran thin, and oftentimes she would find herself having the young one pick ticks from the elders' pelts and gather fresh moss for their bedding.

well into new-leaf, the night they were to attack lichenclan descended upon them. she had insisted that hawthornpaw was too young, too eager and arrogant to participate in such an attack, but finchstar had been confident that the extra training she had undergone left her [ as intended ] well-prepared.

yet she was marigoldleap's apprentice, and the she-cat knew better.

hawthornpaw's involvement in the infiltration of lichenclan's camp is how marigoldleap soon found herself with her claws soaked in the blood of a young rogue that had been hellbent on her apprentice. even as icesong yowled for the lot of them to retreat, even as she shouldered her apprentice into following their clanmates, marigoldleap knew that the feel of flesh tearing beneath her claws would haunt her for moon's to come.

the price of saving one of her own, she guessed.


"i'm here, little one." the lichenclan and rogue attack had left the clan wrestling to find solid footing in the war. finchstar had lost a life. icesong had suffered the loss of gorseflame and frozenpaw, and marigoldleap couldn't even imagine the pain she was going through.

and poor hawthornpaw...

the young she-cat had been made an orphan, and marigoldleap knew nothing more to do but curl herself around her grieving apprentice when she was unable to pull herself from her nest. the senior warrior knew a thing or two about grief, which meant she couldn't allow hawthornpaw to wallow in it for too long, lest it swallow her whole.

and so, day by agonizing day, she eased her apprentice from her nest. she cared for hawthornpaw as she wished her own mother would have, cared for her as she would've done had she not miscarried seasons ago. and though there were still days where her apprentice struggled to accept her new reality, she eventually fell back into a comfortable training routine.


"hawthornsnake! hawthornsnake!" her apprentice soon earned her warrior name, and marigoldleap couldn't have been prouder. the senior she-cat had grown to care for hawthornsnake as though she had brought her into this world herself. yet war still loomed over the clans, and she could only hope that the fresh-faced warrior wouldn't be ripped away from her as fennelpaw had been.

marigoldleap finds that, with all that is transpiring, she'd no time for herself.

it isn't long before those capable enough to fight are infiltrating lichenclan's shores, marigoldleap included. she finds herself locked in battle in the mooncave and, if she were being honest with herself, most of it had been a blur well-into the sunrise. she'd moved on instinct alone, and found herself exhausted when the war was, at last, declared victorious for redwoodclan.


the clan honored the death of thornfall, a well-respected warrior that marigoldleap had brief conversation with once or twice. the unrelenting war with lichenclan had been a brutal ordeal, and the senior warrior was a bit uncertain how best to return to a world post-war... post minnowstar.

the senior warrior finds herself among the pawful of warriors to brave the blizzard that, more or less, had redwoodclan on lockdown, in search of prey. in the midst of such a trying time for the clan, a tribe cat known as fog is stumbled upon by a hunting patrol and welcomed into the clan without a hitch. bouncefire, to marigoldleap's astonishment, takes off and leaves orchidshade without an apprentice.

it isn't long before the melting snow results in heavy flooding for thistleclan, lichenclan, and the tunnel cats, all of whom are offered shelter and resources in such a difficult time. though she can't seem to fault finchstar for his bleeding heart, she struggles to remain comfortable in her own home when their are so many new faces at every turn.

thistleclan proves themselves selfish when it comes to resources, even going as far as drawing harsher borders at the bear stones, and marigoldleap struggles to find any pity for the lot of them and their situation. with the flood waters receding, the tunnel cat return to their home, with icesong trailing after them. orchidshade disappears soon after, leaving asterstorm as redwoodclan's sole medicine cat, and the senior warrior finds herself on several search parties in attempts to find the lost she-cat.

marigoldleap finds that, while the war may be over, the battle to return to normalcy has only just begun.


thread here. — location w. cat(s)
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