ospreyfur

outsider

large and shorthaired seal colorpoint molly with high white and grey-blue eyes

    Ospreyfur is on the extra large side by Lichenclan standards, just under 12 inches (30 cm) tall. She does have a bit of extra meat on her bones, in terms of muscle and kitten fat that never seems to disappear. Taking all this into account, she weighs a hefty 11 lbs (5.0 kg). However, she still appears relatively supple and streamlined simply due to her sheer size.

    Her body is sleek and elongated like many of her clanmates, but Ospreyfur does not have the same willowyness. Her legs and neck are lengthy, like a kind of wader bird, but muscles coalesce around her shoulders and legs. Her fur also grants her a cushion that soften out her features, for though the bones underneath may be fine she certainly looks round and robust.

    Lacking the thin and feathered coat characteristic of her clan, Ospreyfur instead sports essentially the opposite: dense, yet short and soft fur. It is kept very clean, even on the white parts. The colorpoint gene that turns her eyes blue is the same that makes her black fur display as a warm seal-brown. Though the color is deeper than many points and unevenly broken apart by white spotting, she still bears the telltale signs that denote a colorpoint.

    Her head looks a little small due to how big her body is, and it seems like her circular eyes take up half of her rounded face. Ospreyfur's expression resembles more that of an owl than the bird she was named for. She has extra loose skin around her cheeks and ruff, almost chipmunk-esque. Her eyes are large and a subdued grey-blue color, best described as the dull sky in winter. She has wide based, oddly rabbit-like ears. Her nose leather is dark seal, and so are her toe beans.

    Ospreyfur's voice is clear and vaguely foreign sounding. Contrary to many other warriors her age, she is decorated with scars. There are numorous nicks along her legs from swimming, she has a duo of thin scars across her muzzle that spill onto her chin, a scar on her lower back, and lastly a wide notch is missing from her left ear. Walking with a loping step, she moves as fluidly as water... though not always as gracefully. For she has large paws even for her size, which aid her in swimming but do make her rather heavy-footed. She always smells of distant rain, and maybe a little bit like fish.

+ composed, prudent, down-to-earth
    Ospreyfur's a calm cat, and it takes a lot for her to get worked up or lose her head. With her go with the flow attitude, she isn't stubborn either. She is notably wise for someone just over two turns of the seasons old, possessing more forethought and a better reasoning mind than many. If Ospreyfur can do anything, it's ponder and plan. Sometimes plagued by overthinking, though most of the time her brain is on her side.
    Ospreyfur is down-to-earth, but that doesn't always mean she's exactly honest. She just has a grounded feeling about her despite her tendency to daydream. Her clanmates can trust her to be rational, and offer a realistic yet fair opinion if she is ever asked. She doesn't often lean into pessimism unless the situation truly is dire.

- aloof, work-shy, picky
    On par with the rest of her clanmates, Ospreyfur isn't the most open of cats. Instead, she's quite distant. She finds it hard to connect with those outside her circle of kin, and many dismiss it as apathy. Tending not to seek out friends either, Ospreyfur is at a bit of a standstill. She isn't the most hardworking or energetic of cats, instead being inclined towards the lazy side. It is strange due to her mentor and family, but she doesn't have the aptitude for work and scrapes by with the bare minimum. Thankfully, she's a bit of a wallflower and is usually overlooked in favor of clanmates who outshine her.
    Ospreyfur is also quite a meticulous cat, despite her tendency to idle. She is careful about detail almost to the point of obsession. Though she is not the best hunter or fighter, she follows the moves and instruction to a tee. Her fur is kept neat and her nest is as well, she has an orderly life and a routine and she likes to keep it that way.

loves: Swimming, her family, caterpillars, greenleaf.
likes: Ferns, puddles, birds, the smell of warm grass, feathers.
dislikes: Overly pushy, religious cats. Eating prey with fur.
hates: The color yellow, for whatever reason.
secrets: She isn't as religious as her clanmates... she wants to believe, but can she?
fears: Everyone finding out.
dreams: To find someone who gets her, like Shiverpaw did.

    Ospreykit was born in the middle of greenleaf in the middle of a three kit litter. She had an older brother and younger sister, and two loving parents named Patchstrike and Warblerpelt. As a newborn, she was the largest and cloaked in almost solid white. Though her name may seem simple and suitable, matching the patches on her coat, it was actually a point of contention for her parents.

    Her father wanted to name her Egretkit, in memory of the fallen warrior named Egretfeather. Egretfeather had been a cat that many wanted to become deputy many moons ago, but Heronstar's descendant Sagestrike was appointed instead. There was widespread outrage at that until Egretfeather was found dead a few days later and the rebellion quieted out of fear. Regardless, many still seethed in silence.

    Patchstrike wanted to name his daughter that so that she would embody the fighter's spirit of the clan hero-turned-martyr, and as a quieter act of rebellion. Warblerpelt would have no part of it, not wanting to involve their newborn kits in clan politics. She was sympathetic to the cause, but worried for her children.

    And so Ospreykit was left without a name for a couple days longer, but eventually her father would back down. He agreed that they should try and protect their kits as best they could, and naming their daughter Egretkit was not the way. By that time, her seal patches had started to emerge, so she was given the name Ospreykit. A middle ground, as it was a strong bird of prey that still embodied a good spirit. Just without the implications of a name like Egretkit.

    Little did Ospreykit know, her name was the first cracks of fissure growing between her parents. You see, her parents had different ideas of what "protecting our kits" meant. Patchstrike wanted to make sure his children were aware of the what was going on in the clan. He felt if they started them young, then they would swim rather than sink. The kit's mother was the opposite, wanting the trio to have a carefree kithood and opting towards sheltering them.

    Again, Warblerpelt's way won out. Patchstrike had warrior duties to complete and thus less time to spend with the kits. So their mother kept the wool over her children's eyes. Despite this, Ospreykit got through her baptism ceremony without a hitch. She didn't mind the water, she had always liked to run about in the rain and stomp in puddles. It was a little different than that, because she had to hold her breath. But the young molly kept her composure despite her confusion at why exactly this mattered.

    Her parents were thankful, but hadn't been worried about her. Though she had bouts of kithood high energy, she was a fairly mellow kitten. Sometimes geared into drive by her older brother, who was go-go-go all the time. Needless to say, all together they were enough of a pawful. Ever since their ears had opened, they were told stories of the brave warriors of Lichenclan's past. Even if they weren't explicitly told about the clan's current tensions, even Warblerpelt didn't want them to be completely ignorant.

    Sparrowkit caused more trouble than his sisters. Outspoken from the moment he tasted words, he let his opinions be heard loud and clear. Whenever Patchstrike was in earshot of one of his outbursts, he would warn his son of the dangers of letting the wrong cats hear. But Warblerpelt was more lax, nobody could hurt a kit for being a bit of a loudmouth. Ospreykit was again confused on why it was such a big deal. She understood Sparrowkit needing to be respectful, but why were the things he was saying bad?

    She never asked, but when they became apprentices, Ospreykit learned the answer. Sure, her parents were believers and had taught her about Starclan, but they were in no way the most "traditional" Lichenclan family. All three were taken aback by just how pious their leader was. After their parents noticed their obvious shock, Patchstrike's composure finally broke and he told his mate off for not informing their kits about the matters of the clan that mattered now. The relationship between Ospreypaw's parents wasn't the same after that, though it had been fraying for moons now.

    Ospreypaw was given Emberscorch as a mentor. The fiery molly had recently lost a litter, and hopefully training an apprentice would prove a right distraction from her grief. Unfortunately for Ospreypaw, it meant braving her harsh temper and intense zealotry. If she hadn't been shocked by Minnowstar, she definitely was in for it with her mentor.

    It was hard being dropped from a sheltered kithood right into the eye of the clan. Thankfully her siblings were going through a similar thing, and she had their and her parents' support. Patchstrike finally told them more about how careful they must be, and what to say and do. Ospreypaw loved her mother, but sometimes wished that she hadn't been so adamant about her and her siblings having a carefree kithood... there was so much to make up for.

    A few moons into her apprenticehood, a couple other kits from the nursery became 'paws. Namely, a tom named Shiverpaw who was prickly as a hedgehog, but Ospreypaw came to learn he just needed someone who would listen. After a couple of meetings they simply seemed to click, and Shiverpaw became Ospreypaw's first friend besides her siblings.

    Ospreypaw grew to be a little envious of her brother, not only for earning their mother's favor despite his tendency to run his mouth, but for having a good relationship with an affable mentor. She worked hard and never disobeyed Emberscorch, but she never got kindness in return, and wouldn't dream of calling her mentor her friend. She always wondered what had made her this way. Couldn't she spare a bit of goodwill for her apprentice?

    Soon, it was time for her to be given her final name. It felt like both years and days since she had become a 'paw. Ospreypaw looked back on the cat she had been six moons ago, and didn't recognize her. She was changed, she was ready. She didn't specialize in hunting or fighting like many of her peers. Instead, Emberscorch's focus on battle training paired with her own inclination towards hunting lead her to being a very well-rounded cat.

    Ospreypaw was given the name Ospreyfur alongside her brother Sparrowheart. It was a simple suffix, not meant to highlight anything extraordinary about her. But she liked it. It meant she was a good warrior, obedient like they wanted her to be. She confessed her sins quietly that same night, saying that sometimes she didn't feel like working or listening but she did it anyways. How sometimes she didn't like her family, but she still loved them. She said it all.

    The new warrior was forgiven, and waited sopping wet beside Sparrowheart until the sun showed its face on the horizon. She didn't mind the cold, she found that her body had already felt numb. Her thoughts turned over and over in her head. She never admitted how much doubt she had in the stars above them, the stars her clan loved so. Could Lichenclan's ancestors really support this hatred they bred and let grow? Could hers? She was afraid of the answer.

    Soon, her friend Shiverpaw would become a warrior too. She was excited for him, though they hadn't seen each other as much since she had become a warrior. What happened that day shocked her. Shiverpaw stood before Minnowstar and denounced the name she gave him, and said he would be leaving Lichenclan. He then turned to Ospreyfur and asked her to come with him. Leave this horrible, awful clan who had done nothing but wrong to him—both of them. She hates that she entertained the thought, but...

    She said no.

    She couldn't leave her family and the place she had known her whole life in favor of the unknown. She wasn't that brave, even with her best friend at her side. The betrayal in his eyes broke her heart. It must have broken his, too. He ran, and she didn't get the chance to speak another word to him. A patrol was sent to chase him down, but thankfully they came back with news that he had gotten away.

    The clan's eyes turned to her now, murmuring that she could be a traitor too. She put her head down and did as she was told. Eventually, with the support of her kin and hard work, the whispers stopped. She still thinks about Shiverpaw, wonders what would have happened if she had said yes. Hopes he is well now. But she knows it is tough living alone... at least she knows her clan might have her back, here. At least she knows the stars still watch over her.

    It has been just over a full turn of the seasons after her ceremony, and fewer since Shiverpaw's departure. Ospreyfur has settled well into the life of a warrior, at least on the surface. For she is undoubtedly alone. Nobody really knows the real her anymore, and she thought she liked it that way. But she's beginning to rethink that. Not just that, but everything, and she's not the only one changing. There's a storm brewing, and Ospreyfur is caught in the eye.