CHerryleap

thistleclan

longhaired seal point she-cat with fierce blue eyes

Cherryleap has always been on the small side, as is typical of a ThistleClan cat. However, she's a lot stockier than her Clan's average warrior. She adorns well-developed muscles all across her body, from her neck even to her thick tail and everywhere in between. She is so robust that even with a cover of long fur, it's plain to see the ripples of her muscles in even a fraction of movement. Cherryleap finds a lot of pride in her body, and works to keep it conditioned. She focuses on a healthy diet, never eating more than she needs to, and has minimal body fat because of it.

Cherryleap's pelt is a dark mixture of browns and creams. It is also thick and long, protecting her well from the weather and requiring her enemies to have to dig deeper to puncture her skin. It is long and sleek when groomed, but she doesn't care much for appearances. She keeps her pelt groomed enough that it doesn't get knotted or hold nettles, but anymore than the bare minimum and it would have to be an incredibly special occasion for her. So, for the most part, her fur has a consistently unkempt and even muddy appearance.

A face like a wolf is often what others have described it as. The seal markings on her head are so dark that they appear black in the right lighting. Her muzzle is longer than the average cat's. Her ears are small, but sharp at the ends and very expressive. In brilliant contrast to the deep colors of her mask, Cherryleap's eyes are a shade of blue that is piercing and cold - never warm.

She takes the world by storm wherever she sets her claws. She loves to take charge; to give directions; to turn questions into answers; and, perhaps most of all, to lead others into a well-fought battle. There will never be a moment where Cherryleap doesn't know what to do - or what others should be doing, either. The gears of her mind are always turning in an attempt to assess a given situation. She is perpetually ready to seize the moment, to take an opportunity.

She is not so independent that she will refuse help; she knows very well the limits of her own abilities. However, she is confident in herself and her skills. In fact, she usually trusts herself more than others. She's the type to do things herself in order to make sure they get done the right way. If she doesn't need help, she will not accept it by any stretch of the word. Encouragement and flattery never cease to annoy her.

Cherryleap earned her warrior name for her attitude as an apprentice and it only takes knowing her for a brief amount of time to know that it's true. She is always the first to leap into battle, to leap into any situation, really. She is bold and fearless and always has her claws ready - to the point that it definitely draws some concern to herself. But she's never let that stop her and she remains stubbornly combative. She can be this way with words, as well, when someone questions her judgement or leadership.

There is one undeniable fault with Cherryleap, and that is her sadistic nature. The fact that she derives pleasure from inflicting any kind of pain onto others is a stain on her otherwise brave character. She lacks the psychopathy or any other mental disorder that goes along with most sadists. Buried underneath all of this, lies a heart somewhere. That is why she tends to feel a sense of guilt or even just a drop in mood after hurting someone else, even if in the moment she felt stimulated by her aggression.

Cherryleap was born as one of six kits in her mother's first litter. It was the only litter, as well. As a kit, she was in constant competition with her litter-mates. She tended to assert herself more forcefully and more aggressively than the others, which was an aspect of her character that stuck with her well into apprenticeship - and later, adulthood.

She cared little for Yewthorn's flashy use of words or Firfoot's strange desire to be better than his brother, she finds Juniperfang's entire personality tiresome and bordering on cowardly, and so on and so forth. To say the least, Cherryleap's siblings don't impress her much. Which is typically true of most, so it's not like it's personal. As she grew, she also grew apart from her siblings and latched onto her individualism readily.

Her mentor was an open-minded warrior named Stormheart. Stormheart, as a mentor, was more-or-less accepting of the way that Cherryleap was. He understood through trial and error that there was no changing her at her core. So, he did his best to shape her personality into something great. She became an apprentice that others either feared, hated, or admired.

She earned her warrior name with gusto, proving herself more than worthy. During her assessment, a badger had attacked a nearby mentor and apprentice pair. As if the forces of nature themselves had given her the golden opportunity to prove herself, she leaped into the fray without hesitation - even when Stormheart tried to call her back. She ignored everything else around her and gave that badger the beating of its life. The others joined her in chasing off the badger. It was not long after that she was given her warrior name, no more assessments required.

Cherryleap has spent many of her warrior days vying for battle, and when it comes, she treats her enemies just the same as she treated that badger. The rogues are merely a challenge that her Clan must overcome; a difficult enemy is the best kind of enemy, in her mind. She respects their power, but knows in the end that ThistleClan will beat them. If they don't, she will die trying.