Post by Egotistic on May 9, 2021 16:39:25 GMT -6
Softstep
ThistleClan
a small, disheveled silver-and-white tom w/ green eyes.
warrior
male | tom
27 moons
Appearance
Markedly small, even for a ThistleClanner, Softstep’s short stature and lean build are far from the covetous broadness and stockiness of his peers. Instead he maintains an austere severirty about his countenance and sacrificed broadness in favor of long limbs and effeminate graces. His endowed with limp silver tabby furs, broken by white only at the face and throat. He walks with a noticeable limp, for his left hind limb is badly mangled from an incident in his youth and drags with every, lurching step. Even so, it does not seem to hinder him too greatly, and he has since learned to maneuver around it.
Personality
Generally presenting as a stoic and detached individual, Softstep has always seemingly possessed a gloomy and somewhat pessimistic disposition. He views the world with a grated bluntness that evokes little in the way of pleasantness in conversation, and seems largely indifferent to the needs and wants of himself and his peers. Yet he is dutiful and does all that is asked of him, with few questioning where his loyalties lied.
After Graygaze’s death, he has since dedicated himself to surpassing his mentor’s legacy, protecting his family and Clan from the evils which lie beyond their border. In order to do this he has grown seemingly ruthless to all those who do not hail from within his own borders. He has dedicated himself to the task of first extinguishing the bloodline that led to his mentor’s death, as well as the rogue that maimed him to ensure the evils of the past are put to rest. Despite this and his apparent cruelness, Softstep clings still to his old compassion. He does not lash upon those who do not deserve, and even to those who earn themselves the brunt of his tongue are not beyond his consideration. Although he would never outright admit his feelings of caring, he shows it in small and secretive ways, and is notably perceptive toward not only his enemies but those he is close to as well.
Ultimately he wishes only for the safety and peace he felt himself denied in his childhood, and though he does not wholly agree with his mentor and his teachings, he does believe there is some merit to the cruelness which he projected.
History
00-05 Moons.
27-22 Moons Ago, A Long Way From Home… Born to Mothfern and Sleetwing, Softkit and his two sisters Ryekit and Ivorykit are born far from ThistleClan’s hunting in the Abandoned Campground. Newly displaced by a sudden fall storm, it is amid creaking cabins, racked full with dreary expressions, hunger and sickness that Softkit was raised, spending many nights without food to fill his belly, and yet still loving those cabins all the same for all the adventures he stirred up in them. It was there, amid the creaking floorboards and season-cycle old cobwebs he found his escape from the sulking of the Clan, planting stinkbugs and making fast friends with the youths of the Clan while those older and wiser made preparations for fighting to reclaim what was rightfully there. Deeply unsettled by the excited murmurings of battle, it is while the Clan makes it preparations that Softkit makes friends with a young she-cat named Jaypaw. Although initially wary of fighting and far from brave, it is only when she views him as such that he looks on warriorhood with anything in the way of fondness. Shortly after, Softkit stumbles into a bedraggled and battle-scarred warrior by name of Graygaze. Despite the tom’s doleful words, Softkit leaves clinging on to one lesson among the myriad of sepulchral statements: to live fearlessly and never question the path he walks.
06 Moons.
21 Moons Ago, Brittle Twine… It was by rare chance that Softpaw was entrusted to Graygaze, yet where Softpaw felt gladdened by the naming of his mentor, such sentiments were quickly dissuaded as all the patience Graygaze spared him as a kit were revoked. Rather than training him, Graygaze denounced him; dubbing him weak and unfit to be trained, it was only through Softpaw’s own stubbornness that the tom seceded, under the condition he run the length of their territory each day for two moons. Taking on the challenge, Softpaw occupied himself with the task, though his ventures were soon interrupted upon coming into contact with a rogue. Despite his efforts to flee, it was not until his hind paw was badly mangled that he escaped at all, later to be found and brought back to camp by a patrol. And so was what was once a promising start stifled by his own recovery as Softpaw waited anxiously for his broken limb to mend.
08-10 Moons.
19-17 Moons Ago, Mercy… Leaf-fall marks ThistleClan’s return to their old camp. Denied the right to fight thanks to the mangling of his paw, Softpaw still manages the journey back to ThistleClan’s old home—a place which is utterly foreign to him and in desperate need of repair. Although injured, he busies himself in repairs, and despite Shadepool’s demands he remain off his paws, goads fights with his peers in an attempt to make up for lost time. However he finds himself greatly hindered by his wounded leg, and when at last he is released from the medicine den, it is to his mentor first that he goes. Tossing a rabbit at his feet, Softpaw again makes the demands to be trained, only this time to coax Graygaze’s ire; the tom beats him brutally and sends him back to the medicine den, more somber and dejected that he could ever recall being before. Only after the worst of the swelling healed does Graygaze take him on for training, in their ventures finding a lone rogue. Although Softpaw fails to best her in combat, Graygaze still confronts Thievingstar about elevating him to warrior status. He is granted the name Softstep, though the title feels bitter and ill-won when even upon the day of his ceremony Graygaze yields little in the way of approval.
11-18 Moons.
15-09 Moons Ago, the Shattering… Mothfern confronts Softstep regarding more information on the cat that fatally wounded him. Despite the desperation in his father’s eyes to avenge him, Softstep protects him instead by feigning ignorance on the cats appearance and whereabouts, unwilling to see him injured. Later on, as tension grow within ThistleClan, strange lights ignite the sky, drawing Softstep and Jaythroat from their nests. Finding one another alone, they share fond moments together beneath the stars, and Softstep learns about her feelings for another tom by name of Starlingstep. Despite his own feelings for the she-cat, Softstep agrees to deliver a message to the tom who she loves, wrestling with his own envy in the process. Shortly after, Starlingstep goes missing, deeply grieving Jaythroat.
Finding it difficult to find time alone with the she-cat, Softstep, dissatisfied with the trajectory of his own life once again confronts Graygaze. Informing him that he needs to live more selfishly, Softstep leaves his mentor, emboldened and newly determined to take for himself all that he desires, starting first with the very cat whom he cares most dearly for. Yet, in confessing his feelings, he is turned down, and Softstep comes to realize that unless Jaythroat can move on, there will be no reaching her. And so, selfishly, he offers to aid her in finding him, though once they do, Jaythroat accuses him of forcing her feelings for him. Unable to dissuade her, Softstep allows her to leave him; from then on the two speak very little to one another.
22 Moons.
05 Moons Ago, an Untimely Demise… As Stagstar and Firfoot lead their warriors to confront the evils manifesting in LichenClan, Softstep is left behind to guard the camp. As the fighting progresses, Blazingstorm returns labored by the weight of his now-dead mentor. Despite his own bitterness relating to his past and Graygaze’s involvement in it, Softstep is surprised by how terribly his mentor’s death moves him, and as he prepares the body, vows to avenge him and succeed hi legacy in his absence, starting first with the line that led to his mentor’s own demise. Grasping upon this newfound purpose in the wake of his grief, Softstep sets upon his duties with a notable change of intensity.
24-27 Moons.
03-00 Moons Ago, the Storm… Softstep’s growing intensity rewards him with an apprentice by name Kestrelpaw as well as further information of the cat that ended the life of his mentor. Learning the tom’s name, Softstep spends ample time pacing the LichenClan border, seeking him out; it is this fixation which ultimately leads him to neglect the apprentice which he has been entrusted, himself leaning into the archaic methods under which he was trained and sending the apprentice off alone and without guidance as he was.
27-22 Moons Ago, A Long Way From Home… Born to Mothfern and Sleetwing, Softkit and his two sisters Ryekit and Ivorykit are born far from ThistleClan’s hunting in the Abandoned Campground. Newly displaced by a sudden fall storm, it is amid creaking cabins, racked full with dreary expressions, hunger and sickness that Softkit was raised, spending many nights without food to fill his belly, and yet still loving those cabins all the same for all the adventures he stirred up in them. It was there, amid the creaking floorboards and season-cycle old cobwebs he found his escape from the sulking of the Clan, planting stinkbugs and making fast friends with the youths of the Clan while those older and wiser made preparations for fighting to reclaim what was rightfully there. Deeply unsettled by the excited murmurings of battle, it is while the Clan makes it preparations that Softkit makes friends with a young she-cat named Jaypaw. Although initially wary of fighting and far from brave, it is only when she views him as such that he looks on warriorhood with anything in the way of fondness. Shortly after, Softkit stumbles into a bedraggled and battle-scarred warrior by name of Graygaze. Despite the tom’s doleful words, Softkit leaves clinging on to one lesson among the myriad of sepulchral statements: to live fearlessly and never question the path he walks.
06 Moons.
21 Moons Ago, Brittle Twine… It was by rare chance that Softpaw was entrusted to Graygaze, yet where Softpaw felt gladdened by the naming of his mentor, such sentiments were quickly dissuaded as all the patience Graygaze spared him as a kit were revoked. Rather than training him, Graygaze denounced him; dubbing him weak and unfit to be trained, it was only through Softpaw’s own stubbornness that the tom seceded, under the condition he run the length of their territory each day for two moons. Taking on the challenge, Softpaw occupied himself with the task, though his ventures were soon interrupted upon coming into contact with a rogue. Despite his efforts to flee, it was not until his hind paw was badly mangled that he escaped at all, later to be found and brought back to camp by a patrol. And so was what was once a promising start stifled by his own recovery as Softpaw waited anxiously for his broken limb to mend.
08-10 Moons.
19-17 Moons Ago, Mercy… Leaf-fall marks ThistleClan’s return to their old camp. Denied the right to fight thanks to the mangling of his paw, Softpaw still manages the journey back to ThistleClan’s old home—a place which is utterly foreign to him and in desperate need of repair. Although injured, he busies himself in repairs, and despite Shadepool’s demands he remain off his paws, goads fights with his peers in an attempt to make up for lost time. However he finds himself greatly hindered by his wounded leg, and when at last he is released from the medicine den, it is to his mentor first that he goes. Tossing a rabbit at his feet, Softpaw again makes the demands to be trained, only this time to coax Graygaze’s ire; the tom beats him brutally and sends him back to the medicine den, more somber and dejected that he could ever recall being before. Only after the worst of the swelling healed does Graygaze take him on for training, in their ventures finding a lone rogue. Although Softpaw fails to best her in combat, Graygaze still confronts Thievingstar about elevating him to warrior status. He is granted the name Softstep, though the title feels bitter and ill-won when even upon the day of his ceremony Graygaze yields little in the way of approval.
11-18 Moons.
15-09 Moons Ago, the Shattering… Mothfern confronts Softstep regarding more information on the cat that fatally wounded him. Despite the desperation in his father’s eyes to avenge him, Softstep protects him instead by feigning ignorance on the cats appearance and whereabouts, unwilling to see him injured. Later on, as tension grow within ThistleClan, strange lights ignite the sky, drawing Softstep and Jaythroat from their nests. Finding one another alone, they share fond moments together beneath the stars, and Softstep learns about her feelings for another tom by name of Starlingstep. Despite his own feelings for the she-cat, Softstep agrees to deliver a message to the tom who she loves, wrestling with his own envy in the process. Shortly after, Starlingstep goes missing, deeply grieving Jaythroat.
Finding it difficult to find time alone with the she-cat, Softstep, dissatisfied with the trajectory of his own life once again confronts Graygaze. Informing him that he needs to live more selfishly, Softstep leaves his mentor, emboldened and newly determined to take for himself all that he desires, starting first with the very cat whom he cares most dearly for. Yet, in confessing his feelings, he is turned down, and Softstep comes to realize that unless Jaythroat can move on, there will be no reaching her. And so, selfishly, he offers to aid her in finding him, though once they do, Jaythroat accuses him of forcing her feelings for him. Unable to dissuade her, Softstep allows her to leave him; from then on the two speak very little to one another.
22 Moons.
05 Moons Ago, an Untimely Demise… As Stagstar and Firfoot lead their warriors to confront the evils manifesting in LichenClan, Softstep is left behind to guard the camp. As the fighting progresses, Blazingstorm returns labored by the weight of his now-dead mentor. Despite his own bitterness relating to his past and Graygaze’s involvement in it, Softstep is surprised by how terribly his mentor’s death moves him, and as he prepares the body, vows to avenge him and succeed hi legacy in his absence, starting first with the line that led to his mentor’s own demise. Grasping upon this newfound purpose in the wake of his grief, Softstep sets upon his duties with a notable change of intensity.
24-27 Moons.
03-00 Moons Ago, the Storm… Softstep’s growing intensity rewards him with an apprentice by name Kestrelpaw as well as further information of the cat that ended the life of his mentor. Learning the tom’s name, Softstep spends ample time pacing the LichenClan border, seeking him out; it is this fixation which ultimately leads him to neglect the apprentice which he has been entrusted, himself leaning into the archaic methods under which he was trained and sending the apprentice off alone and without guidance as he was.
