Post by lightning on Jun 1, 2021 17:27:12 GMT -6
Gorseflame
RedwoodClan
a battle-scarred cream tom with green eyes
warrior
male (he/him)
47 moons
Appearance
Gorseflame is rather unassuming in appearance. He's average in size but does have the fit of a warrior. He is muscular, like any of his clanmates, but still lacks the bulk of some of his clanmates. His pelt is short, revealing the battle scars that litter his pelt. Some are fresher, but most of them he earned well over 30 moons ago. He wears them with pride and keeps his pelt clean in order to show them off.
His pelt is a pale sand color. Without the fire and passion that would be implied with a more intense red coat, his coat suits his cold, calculating nature. Adorning his pelt are faint mackerel tabby stripes, a trait attributed to his father. He also has white spotting on his belly, chest, muzzle, and all four paws (40%).
The tom's rather lackluster coat and build hardly make him stand out. However, he boasts stunning blue-green eyes that stand out against his otherwise pale form. His gaze is often distant and cold but can soften when he is trying to get what he wants. His ears are rather small and pointed, and he has long white whiskers. His nose is a warm pink color.
His pelt is a pale sand color. Without the fire and passion that would be implied with a more intense red coat, his coat suits his cold, calculating nature. Adorning his pelt are faint mackerel tabby stripes, a trait attributed to his father. He also has white spotting on his belly, chest, muzzle, and all four paws (40%).
The tom's rather lackluster coat and build hardly make him stand out. However, he boasts stunning blue-green eyes that stand out against his otherwise pale form. His gaze is often distant and cold but can soften when he is trying to get what he wants. His ears are rather small and pointed, and he has long white whiskers. His nose is a warm pink color.
Personality
+ determined & intense -
Gorseflame, to some extent, keeps himself on two sides of a coin. He has an image that he wants to clan to recognize and associate with him, a trustworthy cat who can get the job done, a cat who is confident and loyal and determined to protect his clan. However, hidden under this exterior is a cold loner that craves power. He is manipulative and willing to go to dark measures if it ensures his reputation is upheld. He can be rather intense, whether it be in combat or when he is not in the mood to humor those that he does not like.
- aloof & patient +
The tom is cold and distant, but he does have a fondness for kits. Although he doesn't always admit it to himself, he does have a desire to nurture the younger generation. He wants to help the clan stay strong, and does what he can to help it do so. He is patient with those that are young or weak, but he does not tolerate otherwise capable individuals slacking off.
+ diplomatic & power-hungry -
This tom has a silver tongue and will use it to achieve his own goals. He has a drive pushing him towards power, and often finds himself believing that if he were given more power, he could push Redwoodclan into a brighter, stronger future. He does acknowledge that this attitude is not one that many of his clanmates share, and instead spends some time gaining attention from cats who might be able to give him a taste of that power he craves.
History
Mother - Acornfur (f)
Father - Fishleg (m)
Littermates - Daisyblaze (f), Marigoldsong (f)
Siblings - Asterpaw (m), Daffodilpaw (f)
Born to the queen Acornfur and her mate Fishleg, Gorsekit, Daisykit, and Marigoldkit were all beautiful tiny newborns. None were born unhealthy, but Marigoldkit was almost immediately singled out as the weakest. She was the first and only to get kitten-cough in the winter, she never won when the three tussled, and she was the kit most babied by mom. While Marigoldkit preferred to not play more physical games, Daisykit and Gorsekit loved to wrestle and play fight. They both showed signs of being talented at it from a young age and often would have small sparring matches with the apprentices when they were willing to play with kits.
Apprenticeship was when he really blossomed into a cool, confident cat. His mentor matched his intensity, much to Gorsepaw's pleasure. He had very difficult goals to beat, and he pushed himself hard. His training was going fairly well until it got to fighting. Oakbreeze tried to teach him to fight like a proper warrior. How to protect yourself while fighting, and what moves he could use to attack while still covering his weak points. Gorsepaw did not like this strategy. When fighting, the tom often used attacks that opened himself up to taking massive blows in return. His mentor tried to teach him that this was a poor style when training, that putting himself in danger was a horrendous idea, but Gorsepaw did not listen. His recklessness was too powerful to give up, for, even if he took damage when he struck, he could do massive damage to his opponent. This was less noticeable when he was training with his mentor or other apprentices, as claws were sheathed and he could not actively try to injure them other than being sore in the morning. His mentor tried to stress that his logic was flawed. Sometimes he seemed as though he was trying to lose the fight. Gorsepaw knew that everyone was wrong. When claws flashed and blood was spilled, he would be the one who would be surviving the onslaught.
During his training, because he began to focus less on winning and more on lasting as long as possible, he became very good at enduring hits. He didn't have the bulk of a big cat, nor the sleek speed of those smaller, so he created his own style of fighting that is characterized by sending as many cats to the medicine cat as one cat can.
As a young apprentice, he tasted battle for the first time in a border skirmish with Lichenclan. He fought as if his life depended on it, and his claws were soon slick with the blood of the Lichenclan apprentice he was attacking. His ear was torn quite badly, and deep scratches had been carved through his chest. He was rushed to the medicine cat's den. His mentor insisted that he avoid attacking so recklessly. After nearly a moon in the medicine cat's den, he began to think that perhaps his mentor was right. This changed when he caught wind that the apprentice had been very badly injured as well.
Socially, Gorsepaw was an enigma. He was a friend to many, but deeply close to very few. He oozed charisma, and many found him likable and easy to get along with. Despite this, few truly understood him. Only a couple of apprentices could swear to know the real him, and both were his sisters. What made things more complicated was that they had deeply different understandings of him.
Daisypaw found him heroic in a way she did not see in other cats. He was willing to accept pain to protect his clan. He was brave, and confident, and a wonderful leader. Marigoldkit knew a different Gorsepaw that Daisypaw could not or would not speak of. He was manipulative to their parents and to Daisypaw. He cared only for himself, and he fought not to protect RedwoodClan, but to claim some part of it as his. If he won a fight on RedwoodClan's behalf, he owned a little piece of it, and this slow gain of power was exactly what Marigoldpaw thought he was after. He always seemed eager to pressure her into fights she didn't want to have.
He was in another battle later into his apprenticeship, right around the time he was going to become a warrior. He wasn't assigned to the fighting patrol, especially because of his reckless attitude that still characterized the fighting style his mentor had observed during his fighting assessment. He snuck off to fight anyways, desperate for the scents and sounds of combat. He arrived during the peak of the conflict. Two apprentices had just finished chasing off Gorsepaw's sister, Marigoldpaw, when they noticed a very similar looking cat arriving. They thought that Gorsepaw would be easy pickings. Gorsepaw didn't just do what he thought he had to do to win when he saw two cats coming at him with ill intent. His claws impacted the brown tabby's eyes, and he ripped as deep as he could. Shouts of pain followed, and he had a sick grin on his face even when claws dug deep into his side, right through old scars. The now blinded cat thrashed about, hitting Gorsepaw with some attacks and missing him with others, though he was much less of a threat to the apprentice now.
All that was left was the other, who seemed a little bit shocked. The warrior code spoke against using unnecessary force, and everything had happened so fast that this act of brutality seemed out of place. Little did he know, Gorsepaw wanted to make a much stronger statement with this tom. He lunged at the other cat with ferocity, and, though the other cat attempted to defend himself, Gorsepaw's jaws still ended up wrapped around his throat. The blind cat was forced to retreat, not knowing that his brother was still trapped in the battle. Gorsepaw felt claws rip through his belly, and he instantly felt sick. But he held on, pushing through the pain and accepting it, as he knew the reward would be too great.
That was until Oakbreeze ripped him off of the other cat by the scruff. Gorsepaw released the other apprentice, and he watched as the Lichenclan cat scurried away. Gorsepaw's warrior ceremony was delayed after it was discovered that he snuck out of the camp to participate in the skirmish. He watched his sisters receive their warrior names from the sidelines. Daisyblaze and Marigoldsong celebrated with the clan, while Gorsepaw was fussed over, once again, by the medicine cat.
Gorsepaw eventually was named a warrior a few moons afterward. He was named Gorseflame for his ferocity in battle, something that he reveled in. His mentor was caught between being proud of Gorseflame's accomplishments and worried that his reckless nature would be his fatal flaw.
Gorseflame continued to train with his sisters to get better at fighting, despite one of them not showing any interest anymore. Marigoldsong had been able to rationalize her siblings dragging her into their tussles as a way to get tutored during their apprenticeship. She was a poor fighter, but, with her brother and sister's help, she got better and better. Even though they were both a pain in the butt (especially Gorseflame), she still loved them. But, now that she was done with her apprentice training, she saw no purpose in it. But because she loved him, she would go with Gorseflame to train with him.
This time, Daisyblaze was wanting a view. They climbed into the boughs of the redwoods. Gorseflame was right when he said that the way the sunset light filtered through the leaves was like no other. It was a perfect evening to get together and play like kits again. At first, all three siblings were having a good time hanging out, play wrestling, and just bonding in general. The gentle wrestling got out of hand, and in moments Marigoldsong started to feel cornered. She told them to stop, to not gang up on her as they had as kits, but Gorseflame and Daisyblaze pushed on anyway. Marigoldsong dodged as Gorseflame took a swipe at her, managed to flip Daisyblaze off of her when the she-cat leaped onto her back. This move would turn to be Daisyblaze's downfall, and she slipped across the bark and then tumbled off of the branch. She free fell and landed with a thump. Marigoldsong was terrified. She had killed her sister! She was filled with absolute sadness, and then rage. She screamed at Gorseflame, saying that if he hadn't pressured them to go out then she wouldn't have died. If he had only been more careful, then Daisyblaze would have thought before leaping. Gorseflame shrugged and cooly suggested they check on Daisyblaze to see if she was alright. Marigoldsong was outraged. Did he even care?! Gorseflame tried to climb down the tree without becoming too annoyed. He had always gotten along with Daisyblaze, and the two often spent time together because they enjoyed the other's company. But Mothflower was childish and pathetic. All she did was whine, and when Daisyblaze and he tried to include her, she just got more upset.
When the pair finally reached the bottom of the tree, Daisyblaze was struggling to stand but was definitely still alive. It became apparent that she landed wrong and had probably broken something. Gorseflame and Marigoldsong helped Daisyblaze limp back to the camp, but Marigoldsong spent significantly less time with her brother after that days. She had no way to know how this event had changed Gorseflame's philosophy. He was suddenly aware of how fragile life could be in the moment that he thought his sister might have died due to something that he was involved with. He swore to take more precautions, if not for his own wellbeing, then for those around him. Daisyblaze spent several moons recovering, and still retained her limp after all that recovery, but she was still able to maintain her warrior duties after the event.
He mentored his first apprentice several moons later. Willowpaw was already a hyperactive, reckless apprentice, and Gorseflame's training style did not discourage it. Willowpaw trained hard, knowing Gorseflame's skill when in combat and wanting to learn from what he had decided was the best. Overall, Gorseflame was actually an adequate mentor. He taught a broad range of skills and allowed Willowpaw to explore and develop. He did nothing to prevent Willowpaw's curiosity and reckless nature from driving him into trouble though. Willowpaw excelled, and Gorseflame grew more and more proud each time they spent their time practicing for battle. Willowblaze grew to be a bit of a hyper young warrior, but he was skilled.
It was the night after Willowblaze received his warrior name that Acornfur, Gorseflame's mother, told her family that she was pregnant. He was proud. He was sure that he could make his siblings just as strong as he could be. They would be powerful assets to him. The birth was hard, and Acornfur died during birth. Only two kits survived, small and pathetic. Yellowkit and Flowerkit were named by Ivyfoot, and then given to another queen to raise with her litter. Gorseflame grieved with his family, including Marigoldsong, who had not spoken to him in over ten moons.
Gorseflame had to admit that he was disappointed that his newest siblings were so weak, but he vowed to be a good brother nonetheless. He spent as much time with them as he could, knowing that the sooner he was able to teach them about how to be a good clanmate the better the results would be for the clan. He watched fondly as they grew into capable apprentices, despite their initial weakness, and still joins them to practice hunting or fighting when he gets the chance.
Father - Fishleg (m)
Littermates - Daisyblaze (f), Marigoldsong (f)
Siblings - Asterpaw (m), Daffodilpaw (f)
Born to the queen Acornfur and her mate Fishleg, Gorsekit, Daisykit, and Marigoldkit were all beautiful tiny newborns. None were born unhealthy, but Marigoldkit was almost immediately singled out as the weakest. She was the first and only to get kitten-cough in the winter, she never won when the three tussled, and she was the kit most babied by mom. While Marigoldkit preferred to not play more physical games, Daisykit and Gorsekit loved to wrestle and play fight. They both showed signs of being talented at it from a young age and often would have small sparring matches with the apprentices when they were willing to play with kits.
Apprenticeship was when he really blossomed into a cool, confident cat. His mentor matched his intensity, much to Gorsepaw's pleasure. He had very difficult goals to beat, and he pushed himself hard. His training was going fairly well until it got to fighting. Oakbreeze tried to teach him to fight like a proper warrior. How to protect yourself while fighting, and what moves he could use to attack while still covering his weak points. Gorsepaw did not like this strategy. When fighting, the tom often used attacks that opened himself up to taking massive blows in return. His mentor tried to teach him that this was a poor style when training, that putting himself in danger was a horrendous idea, but Gorsepaw did not listen. His recklessness was too powerful to give up, for, even if he took damage when he struck, he could do massive damage to his opponent. This was less noticeable when he was training with his mentor or other apprentices, as claws were sheathed and he could not actively try to injure them other than being sore in the morning. His mentor tried to stress that his logic was flawed. Sometimes he seemed as though he was trying to lose the fight. Gorsepaw knew that everyone was wrong. When claws flashed and blood was spilled, he would be the one who would be surviving the onslaught.
During his training, because he began to focus less on winning and more on lasting as long as possible, he became very good at enduring hits. He didn't have the bulk of a big cat, nor the sleek speed of those smaller, so he created his own style of fighting that is characterized by sending as many cats to the medicine cat as one cat can.
As a young apprentice, he tasted battle for the first time in a border skirmish with Lichenclan. He fought as if his life depended on it, and his claws were soon slick with the blood of the Lichenclan apprentice he was attacking. His ear was torn quite badly, and deep scratches had been carved through his chest. He was rushed to the medicine cat's den. His mentor insisted that he avoid attacking so recklessly. After nearly a moon in the medicine cat's den, he began to think that perhaps his mentor was right. This changed when he caught wind that the apprentice had been very badly injured as well.
Socially, Gorsepaw was an enigma. He was a friend to many, but deeply close to very few. He oozed charisma, and many found him likable and easy to get along with. Despite this, few truly understood him. Only a couple of apprentices could swear to know the real him, and both were his sisters. What made things more complicated was that they had deeply different understandings of him.
Daisypaw found him heroic in a way she did not see in other cats. He was willing to accept pain to protect his clan. He was brave, and confident, and a wonderful leader. Marigoldkit knew a different Gorsepaw that Daisypaw could not or would not speak of. He was manipulative to their parents and to Daisypaw. He cared only for himself, and he fought not to protect RedwoodClan, but to claim some part of it as his. If he won a fight on RedwoodClan's behalf, he owned a little piece of it, and this slow gain of power was exactly what Marigoldpaw thought he was after. He always seemed eager to pressure her into fights she didn't want to have.
He was in another battle later into his apprenticeship, right around the time he was going to become a warrior. He wasn't assigned to the fighting patrol, especially because of his reckless attitude that still characterized the fighting style his mentor had observed during his fighting assessment. He snuck off to fight anyways, desperate for the scents and sounds of combat. He arrived during the peak of the conflict. Two apprentices had just finished chasing off Gorsepaw's sister, Marigoldpaw, when they noticed a very similar looking cat arriving. They thought that Gorsepaw would be easy pickings. Gorsepaw didn't just do what he thought he had to do to win when he saw two cats coming at him with ill intent. His claws impacted the brown tabby's eyes, and he ripped as deep as he could. Shouts of pain followed, and he had a sick grin on his face even when claws dug deep into his side, right through old scars. The now blinded cat thrashed about, hitting Gorsepaw with some attacks and missing him with others, though he was much less of a threat to the apprentice now.
All that was left was the other, who seemed a little bit shocked. The warrior code spoke against using unnecessary force, and everything had happened so fast that this act of brutality seemed out of place. Little did he know, Gorsepaw wanted to make a much stronger statement with this tom. He lunged at the other cat with ferocity, and, though the other cat attempted to defend himself, Gorsepaw's jaws still ended up wrapped around his throat. The blind cat was forced to retreat, not knowing that his brother was still trapped in the battle. Gorsepaw felt claws rip through his belly, and he instantly felt sick. But he held on, pushing through the pain and accepting it, as he knew the reward would be too great.
That was until Oakbreeze ripped him off of the other cat by the scruff. Gorsepaw released the other apprentice, and he watched as the Lichenclan cat scurried away. Gorsepaw's warrior ceremony was delayed after it was discovered that he snuck out of the camp to participate in the skirmish. He watched his sisters receive their warrior names from the sidelines. Daisyblaze and Marigoldsong celebrated with the clan, while Gorsepaw was fussed over, once again, by the medicine cat.
Gorsepaw eventually was named a warrior a few moons afterward. He was named Gorseflame for his ferocity in battle, something that he reveled in. His mentor was caught between being proud of Gorseflame's accomplishments and worried that his reckless nature would be his fatal flaw.
Gorseflame continued to train with his sisters to get better at fighting, despite one of them not showing any interest anymore. Marigoldsong had been able to rationalize her siblings dragging her into their tussles as a way to get tutored during their apprenticeship. She was a poor fighter, but, with her brother and sister's help, she got better and better. Even though they were both a pain in the butt (especially Gorseflame), she still loved them. But, now that she was done with her apprentice training, she saw no purpose in it. But because she loved him, she would go with Gorseflame to train with him.
This time, Daisyblaze was wanting a view. They climbed into the boughs of the redwoods. Gorseflame was right when he said that the way the sunset light filtered through the leaves was like no other. It was a perfect evening to get together and play like kits again. At first, all three siblings were having a good time hanging out, play wrestling, and just bonding in general. The gentle wrestling got out of hand, and in moments Marigoldsong started to feel cornered. She told them to stop, to not gang up on her as they had as kits, but Gorseflame and Daisyblaze pushed on anyway. Marigoldsong dodged as Gorseflame took a swipe at her, managed to flip Daisyblaze off of her when the she-cat leaped onto her back. This move would turn to be Daisyblaze's downfall, and she slipped across the bark and then tumbled off of the branch. She free fell and landed with a thump. Marigoldsong was terrified. She had killed her sister! She was filled with absolute sadness, and then rage. She screamed at Gorseflame, saying that if he hadn't pressured them to go out then she wouldn't have died. If he had only been more careful, then Daisyblaze would have thought before leaping. Gorseflame shrugged and cooly suggested they check on Daisyblaze to see if she was alright. Marigoldsong was outraged. Did he even care?! Gorseflame tried to climb down the tree without becoming too annoyed. He had always gotten along with Daisyblaze, and the two often spent time together because they enjoyed the other's company. But Mothflower was childish and pathetic. All she did was whine, and when Daisyblaze and he tried to include her, she just got more upset.
When the pair finally reached the bottom of the tree, Daisyblaze was struggling to stand but was definitely still alive. It became apparent that she landed wrong and had probably broken something. Gorseflame and Marigoldsong helped Daisyblaze limp back to the camp, but Marigoldsong spent significantly less time with her brother after that days. She had no way to know how this event had changed Gorseflame's philosophy. He was suddenly aware of how fragile life could be in the moment that he thought his sister might have died due to something that he was involved with. He swore to take more precautions, if not for his own wellbeing, then for those around him. Daisyblaze spent several moons recovering, and still retained her limp after all that recovery, but she was still able to maintain her warrior duties after the event.
He mentored his first apprentice several moons later. Willowpaw was already a hyperactive, reckless apprentice, and Gorseflame's training style did not discourage it. Willowpaw trained hard, knowing Gorseflame's skill when in combat and wanting to learn from what he had decided was the best. Overall, Gorseflame was actually an adequate mentor. He taught a broad range of skills and allowed Willowpaw to explore and develop. He did nothing to prevent Willowpaw's curiosity and reckless nature from driving him into trouble though. Willowpaw excelled, and Gorseflame grew more and more proud each time they spent their time practicing for battle. Willowblaze grew to be a bit of a hyper young warrior, but he was skilled.
It was the night after Willowblaze received his warrior name that Acornfur, Gorseflame's mother, told her family that she was pregnant. He was proud. He was sure that he could make his siblings just as strong as he could be. They would be powerful assets to him. The birth was hard, and Acornfur died during birth. Only two kits survived, small and pathetic. Yellowkit and Flowerkit were named by Ivyfoot, and then given to another queen to raise with her litter. Gorseflame grieved with his family, including Marigoldsong, who had not spoken to him in over ten moons.
Gorseflame had to admit that he was disappointed that his newest siblings were so weak, but he vowed to be a good brother nonetheless. He spent as much time with them as he could, knowing that the sooner he was able to teach them about how to be a good clanmate the better the results would be for the clan. He watched fondly as they grew into capable apprentices, despite their initial weakness, and still joins them to practice hunting or fighting when he gets the chance.
