Post by wish on Aug 20, 2019 23:05:14 GMT -6
MINNOWSTAR
LICHENCLAN
mottled silver she-cat with green eyes
Leader
she-cat
81 moons
Appearance
Minnowstar is not an imitating cat. She is small, thin-boned, and looks rather unhygienic due to her overall disheveled appearance. Her fur hangs from her hide like an old, worn broom; its ends static and cut. Medium in length, her mottled, silver coat tufts from her spine in a voluminous cloud that leaves her legs bare in its wake. Her fur is a mesmerizing myriad of silvers, whites, and greys that wind over her back in a mottled pattern that almost mimics the scaled exterior of a fish. Diluted black stripes descend from her neck and into her coat in a broken mackerel weave, which strengthens her fish-like resemblance. This mottled silver look discontinues as it meets her muzzle, chest, and paws; a blend into white that circles her head like a mane.
Her face comes to an angular point at the muzzle; her chin much more narrow than her crown. While she does not look like a menace, the angular shape does make Minnowstar look rather distinguished; her experience evident in the ticked scars that gouge her coat. She has small, triangular ears, tufted with long, sparse white hairs. The same white hairs shoot from her cheeks and neck like the vanes on a feather. Her muzzle is also white in color and extends up her nose like a peninsula. The most defining feature on her face is her two massive eyes; pale green in color. The shade sometimes found in the skin on a new, re-birthed leaf. Her movements, calculated and swift, are often unmasked in her gaze – a look into her next move – truth evident in a glance.
Her face comes to an angular point at the muzzle; her chin much more narrow than her crown. While she does not look like a menace, the angular shape does make Minnowstar look rather distinguished; her experience evident in the ticked scars that gouge her coat. She has small, triangular ears, tufted with long, sparse white hairs. The same white hairs shoot from her cheeks and neck like the vanes on a feather. Her muzzle is also white in color and extends up her nose like a peninsula. The most defining feature on her face is her two massive eyes; pale green in color. The shade sometimes found in the skin on a new, re-birthed leaf. Her movements, calculated and swift, are often unmasked in her gaze – a look into her next move – truth evident in a glance.
Personality
She is calculated – almost to a fault. Her decisions are established the moment she wakes; and the second her schedule is disrupted – she turns sour until dawn births once more. While she has amended her schedule in the past, she would rather use the tried and successful methods to run her clan. She is habitual in nature and sees no need in attempting an alternative approach. Her system is infallible. Why waste time? This adherence to a schedule has made her an effective leader, who can dictate her clan with relative ease. Her clan members are mere stones on the shore, and she is the water in the lake – the force that decides their evidential fate.
Minnowstar – and this no surprise – has few friends. Her methodical nature reads as uninteresting, and while that could be disastrous for a more social cat, she does not mind. Her brain is so focused that a friend would act as a distraction. Besides, there is no room in her schedule for leisure-based activities and this includes conversation. She is cordial with her clan members, and she leaves it at that. However, her distant disposition does not act as a disservice to her clan. On the contrary, Minnowstar coordinates her schedule with their best interest in mind. Her ancestral blood in the clan can be traced to the first dissenters; and this tie has led her to believe that Lichenclan cats are birthed from the stars themselves, while the other clan cats are absolute heathens.
She inherited this belief from her father and chooses to remind her clan – as often as possible – that their close proximity to the sacred Mooncave has made them rather imperative as well. Minnowstar is a strict devotionist and looks downward at those who are not. She makes several excursions to the Mooncave over the season to reaffirm her devotion to Strarclan and encourages her clan members to do the same. While the Mooncave resides on neutral grounds, Minnowstar has made it evident that the land should be marked as theirs and has established routine measures to reinforce that belief.
Her ancestral line dictates that Lichenclan was born on pacifist grounds. However, Minnowstar is no pacifist. She is a strategic fighter on the battlefield and is not afraid to tear her opponent to shreds. She knows how to manipulate others and has used this to win fights – fairly or not – she will do what is best for her clan. This hidden trait has made her an unexpected force in the Apostles region, and a leader that is feared in battle.
Minnowstar – and this no surprise – has few friends. Her methodical nature reads as uninteresting, and while that could be disastrous for a more social cat, she does not mind. Her brain is so focused that a friend would act as a distraction. Besides, there is no room in her schedule for leisure-based activities and this includes conversation. She is cordial with her clan members, and she leaves it at that. However, her distant disposition does not act as a disservice to her clan. On the contrary, Minnowstar coordinates her schedule with their best interest in mind. Her ancestral blood in the clan can be traced to the first dissenters; and this tie has led her to believe that Lichenclan cats are birthed from the stars themselves, while the other clan cats are absolute heathens.
She inherited this belief from her father and chooses to remind her clan – as often as possible – that their close proximity to the sacred Mooncave has made them rather imperative as well. Minnowstar is a strict devotionist and looks downward at those who are not. She makes several excursions to the Mooncave over the season to reaffirm her devotion to Strarclan and encourages her clan members to do the same. While the Mooncave resides on neutral grounds, Minnowstar has made it evident that the land should be marked as theirs and has established routine measures to reinforce that belief.
Her ancestral line dictates that Lichenclan was born on pacifist grounds. However, Minnowstar is no pacifist. She is a strategic fighter on the battlefield and is not afraid to tear her opponent to shreds. She knows how to manipulate others and has used this to win fights – fairly or not – she will do what is best for her clan. This hidden trait has made her an unexpected force in the Apostles region, and a leader that is feared in battle.
History
“Do you know what happens to cats who don’t believe in Starclan?” Minnowkit shook her head in watchful obedience. Her father leaned into the kit, his breath hot in her face, and murmured, “They go to the dark forest.” Minnowkit widened her gaze. “The dark forest?” Her father continued. “Eternal punishment.” He said no more – but his words manifested like an insidious parasite in her stomach. When Minnowkit closed her eyes at night, her dreams, once a refuge, turned into fitful nightmares that woke her each dawn in an anxious fret. She hurried to the Mooncave more and more. She did not want to go to the dark forest. She did not deserve eternal punishment.
Minnowkit was born to Lilacfoot and Smokemask. Her mother had birthed three kits that new-leaf, and Smokemask had been habitual in his assistance. He would come once in morning bearing a fat, dissected fish for his mate and children. Then he would come once more in the dusk. This was when he would tell stories to his kits – old battles, sacred rituals, and the oath that anchored them to this shoreline. Minnowkit would listen – much more interested in his words than her brother and sister – who both tired and dozed soon after their father would unfold his first tale.
Smokemask took an interest in his obedient daughter, despite her gender; his inclination born from her observant nature. He decided he would do his best to direct her under the same obedience his father had instilled in him. While Minnowkit would never rule the clan, the position already promised to her brother, Stormkit, Smokemask still wanted his children, even his daughter, to learn about the importance of their heritage. He told Minnowkit about their bloodline – that the most powerful leader in Lichenclan history had been their distant grandfather – and Minnowkit internalized this ancestral tie through sheer idolization.
When her great-great-great-grandfather, Heronstar, ruled the clan, Lichenclan was not a mere pacifist collection of dissenters. These were cats who could stand their ground in battle. These were cats that could rule the entire mainland but chose to adhere to the code instead. Minnowkit used this idolization to fuel her ambition: she wanted to rule the clan, even as a she-cat.
Much to her satisfaction, Smokemask was appointed deputy of Lichenclan when Minnowpaw was seven moons old. She had been apprenticed at six moons, and her mentor was an old battle wounded she-cat with a disastrous temper. Her name was Blacktooth. The moment Minnowpaw made an incorrect move or answer to a question – Blacktooth raked a stinging blow across her face.
The first blow had left her startled. Minnowpaw had never been touched like that before; but she grew resilient to the hits and learned to appease her mentor and her high standards. Minnowpaw trained like this for six moons and was given her warrior name, Minnowleap, at twelve moons old.
Her mentor never said another word to her and the congratulations had been few in between. She was not a popular clan cat, and her obedient and observational nature made her too habitual to interact with. Minnowleap was an attractive cat, much like her mother, but the few cats that tried to court her fell flat. She was not interested, and despite her role as the next she-cat to continue the heron line, Minnowstar refused to settle down and have kits. She wanted to be leader instead.
When Minnowleap was almost twenty-four moons, her father was killed in a skirmish near the Mooncave. His death fueled the clan to further extend their borders and increase patrols around the sacred land. This led to numerous battles between Lichenclan and Redwoodclan, since the cave resided between their established borders. Thistleclan demanded that the land remained neutral, but the feud continued nonetheless.
Distraught over her father’s death, Minnowleap used her anger to lead several cats into battle and came out rather unscathed, hoping that her battle prowess would earn her the role of deputy. Sagestar, her grandfather, noticed her determination and skill in battle, but still, Minnowleap was written off due to her gender. It didn't matter. As long as her male heirs were still alive she would never become leader. Molefur, her meek and unassuming uncle, became deputy instead, an act that drove Minnowleap into fitful rage. She was the one who avenged her father's death. She was the one who drove cats into battle, only leaving when they were victorious. She deserved the role, not him.
Two moons later, her brother, Stormfrost died in battle against Redwoodclan, a battle that Minnowleap led. The causality, however, did not affect the silver she-cat in the slightest. Instead, for the first time, a glimmer of hope radiated in her chest. Molefur was the last male heir. Only Minnowleap and her sister remained. It was this night, the night of her brother's vigil, did her sister, Shellstep, approach her for the first time in moons, a weary flicker in her eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" She hissed, her voice barely audible above the sounds of waves on the shore. Minnowleap pursed her brow, choosing to hardly look at the weak, pathetic she-cat, a she-cat who wanted motherhood over power. "I don't know what you mean in the slightest," Minnowleap returned coolly, watching as her clan-mates took turns mourning the loss of their brother. "Don't you care at all that he's dead. He's our brother for Starclan's sake." The hiss erupted from her sister's mouth as an accusation, the words like venom on her tongue. Minnowleap didn't answer. "You're a monster," Shellstep meowed at last, leaving to return to her brother's side.
Minnowleap never spoke to Shellstep ever again, not even when her sister was on her deathbed, her belly heavy with kits. She died of red-cough three sunrises later. That morning, the clan mourned not only the loss of their clan-mate, but the future of the heron line as well.
At thirty-six moons, Minnowleap was appointed deputy. Molefur had been mysteriously found drowned in the lake. His death inconclusive. Minnowleap used his death to fuel hatred toward the other clans, blaming Redwoodclan for his fatal demise. "Cats of Starclan would not fight like this. Cats of Starclan would not use dirty tricks. We are cats of Starclan. Those cats are heathens. Heathens deserve eternal punishment." Despite her gender, the clan rallied behind her, the last living heir.
But Sagestar never carried such admiration for his grand-daughter No, he detested with every last breath, cursing Minnowleap for inability to have kits and continue the heron line. The she-cat grew to hate her grandfather, but still, she followed his demands, knowing that soon, he would be dead, and the clan would be hers. She would become the new leader of Lichenclan.
Two moons later, Sagestar lost his last life in a battle for the Mooncave against Redwoodclan. He was brought to the medicine cat's den, but he was unable to be saved, his wounds too grave. At his side, Minnowleap watched as he died, a ravenous fire beneath her stare. Even his final words, a snarl, demanding that she have kits, could not smother her flame. She was now the leader of Lichenclan, the sole survivor of the heron line. In his passing, Minnowleap traveled to the cave to receive her nine lives – alone. She requested the medicine cat to remain behind.
This was her destiny.
Minnowleap waded into the pool and let the ancestral heavens flood her mind. Deceased clan members came forward, each offering a different life; and near the end, she pressed noses with her father. He gave her the life of devotion, and she roused from the vision with newfound determination lucid in her chest.
She returned to the clan as Minnowstar.
Under her leadership, the clan has increased its devotion to Starclan tenfold. Kits are now asked to be bathed in the Mooncave waters at three moons old to ensure their devotion to their ancestors. The clan caves are littered with sacrificial fish remains. And heathens – heathens have become the force that binds them the most. Heathens deserve eternal punishment. Lichenclan would cleanse the island of sin.
Minnowkit was born to Lilacfoot and Smokemask. Her mother had birthed three kits that new-leaf, and Smokemask had been habitual in his assistance. He would come once in morning bearing a fat, dissected fish for his mate and children. Then he would come once more in the dusk. This was when he would tell stories to his kits – old battles, sacred rituals, and the oath that anchored them to this shoreline. Minnowkit would listen – much more interested in his words than her brother and sister – who both tired and dozed soon after their father would unfold his first tale.
Smokemask took an interest in his obedient daughter, despite her gender; his inclination born from her observant nature. He decided he would do his best to direct her under the same obedience his father had instilled in him. While Minnowkit would never rule the clan, the position already promised to her brother, Stormkit, Smokemask still wanted his children, even his daughter, to learn about the importance of their heritage. He told Minnowkit about their bloodline – that the most powerful leader in Lichenclan history had been their distant grandfather – and Minnowkit internalized this ancestral tie through sheer idolization.
When her great-great-great-grandfather, Heronstar, ruled the clan, Lichenclan was not a mere pacifist collection of dissenters. These were cats who could stand their ground in battle. These were cats that could rule the entire mainland but chose to adhere to the code instead. Minnowkit used this idolization to fuel her ambition: she wanted to rule the clan, even as a she-cat.
Much to her satisfaction, Smokemask was appointed deputy of Lichenclan when Minnowpaw was seven moons old. She had been apprenticed at six moons, and her mentor was an old battle wounded she-cat with a disastrous temper. Her name was Blacktooth. The moment Minnowpaw made an incorrect move or answer to a question – Blacktooth raked a stinging blow across her face.
The first blow had left her startled. Minnowpaw had never been touched like that before; but she grew resilient to the hits and learned to appease her mentor and her high standards. Minnowpaw trained like this for six moons and was given her warrior name, Minnowleap, at twelve moons old.
Her mentor never said another word to her and the congratulations had been few in between. She was not a popular clan cat, and her obedient and observational nature made her too habitual to interact with. Minnowleap was an attractive cat, much like her mother, but the few cats that tried to court her fell flat. She was not interested, and despite her role as the next she-cat to continue the heron line, Minnowstar refused to settle down and have kits. She wanted to be leader instead.
When Minnowleap was almost twenty-four moons, her father was killed in a skirmish near the Mooncave. His death fueled the clan to further extend their borders and increase patrols around the sacred land. This led to numerous battles between Lichenclan and Redwoodclan, since the cave resided between their established borders. Thistleclan demanded that the land remained neutral, but the feud continued nonetheless.
Distraught over her father’s death, Minnowleap used her anger to lead several cats into battle and came out rather unscathed, hoping that her battle prowess would earn her the role of deputy. Sagestar, her grandfather, noticed her determination and skill in battle, but still, Minnowleap was written off due to her gender. It didn't matter. As long as her male heirs were still alive she would never become leader. Molefur, her meek and unassuming uncle, became deputy instead, an act that drove Minnowleap into fitful rage. She was the one who avenged her father's death. She was the one who drove cats into battle, only leaving when they were victorious. She deserved the role, not him.
Two moons later, her brother, Stormfrost died in battle against Redwoodclan, a battle that Minnowleap led. The causality, however, did not affect the silver she-cat in the slightest. Instead, for the first time, a glimmer of hope radiated in her chest. Molefur was the last male heir. Only Minnowleap and her sister remained. It was this night, the night of her brother's vigil, did her sister, Shellstep, approach her for the first time in moons, a weary flicker in her eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" She hissed, her voice barely audible above the sounds of waves on the shore. Minnowleap pursed her brow, choosing to hardly look at the weak, pathetic she-cat, a she-cat who wanted motherhood over power. "I don't know what you mean in the slightest," Minnowleap returned coolly, watching as her clan-mates took turns mourning the loss of their brother. "Don't you care at all that he's dead. He's our brother for Starclan's sake." The hiss erupted from her sister's mouth as an accusation, the words like venom on her tongue. Minnowleap didn't answer. "You're a monster," Shellstep meowed at last, leaving to return to her brother's side.
Minnowleap never spoke to Shellstep ever again, not even when her sister was on her deathbed, her belly heavy with kits. She died of red-cough three sunrises later. That morning, the clan mourned not only the loss of their clan-mate, but the future of the heron line as well.
At thirty-six moons, Minnowleap was appointed deputy. Molefur had been mysteriously found drowned in the lake. His death inconclusive. Minnowleap used his death to fuel hatred toward the other clans, blaming Redwoodclan for his fatal demise. "Cats of Starclan would not fight like this. Cats of Starclan would not use dirty tricks. We are cats of Starclan. Those cats are heathens. Heathens deserve eternal punishment." Despite her gender, the clan rallied behind her, the last living heir.
But Sagestar never carried such admiration for his grand-daughter No, he detested with every last breath, cursing Minnowleap for inability to have kits and continue the heron line. The she-cat grew to hate her grandfather, but still, she followed his demands, knowing that soon, he would be dead, and the clan would be hers. She would become the new leader of Lichenclan.
Two moons later, Sagestar lost his last life in a battle for the Mooncave against Redwoodclan. He was brought to the medicine cat's den, but he was unable to be saved, his wounds too grave. At his side, Minnowleap watched as he died, a ravenous fire beneath her stare. Even his final words, a snarl, demanding that she have kits, could not smother her flame. She was now the leader of Lichenclan, the sole survivor of the heron line. In his passing, Minnowleap traveled to the cave to receive her nine lives – alone. She requested the medicine cat to remain behind.
This was her destiny.
Minnowleap waded into the pool and let the ancestral heavens flood her mind. Deceased clan members came forward, each offering a different life; and near the end, she pressed noses with her father. He gave her the life of devotion, and she roused from the vision with newfound determination lucid in her chest.
She returned to the clan as Minnowstar.
Under her leadership, the clan has increased its devotion to Starclan tenfold. Kits are now asked to be bathed in the Mooncave waters at three moons old to ensure their devotion to their ancestors. The clan caves are littered with sacrificial fish remains. And heathens – heathens have become the force that binds them the most. Heathens deserve eternal punishment. Lichenclan would cleanse the island of sin.
