Web that

Spiders Weave

Tribe of Floating Stones

Large, medium-haired silver shaded tom with light brown eyes

Muscular and overpowering in his prime, Web was a force to be reckoned with in his Stone-Guarding moons. His tall form and wide set bone structure makes for an imposing cat capable of dealing and taking blows. What was once a muscular frame, Web’s body now resembles that of a deflated water balloon; his skin slightly loose and a bit jiggly from the lack of muscle definition he sported most of his life. Though there is still muscle that remains, much of it is a slim, toned version of the cat he was before his retirement.

Despite his deterioration, Web still stands tall above many cats with his long limbs and a strict determination to keep his posture straight and correct. His age and old leg injury contradict his attempts to keep himself young and mobile, though he spends much of his time ignoring anything that would hold him back or keep him down. Lucky for Web, his meditation and stretching exercises help keep him mentally and physically apt well past many cats who sport his rustic age.

Web’s pelt harbors a delightfully silver shaded fur color that’s excellent for blending into the leaf-bare snow. His coat has the base of an off white with silver and gray peppered across it. With medium-length fur Web is comfortable most of the year as his body produces a thick leaf-fall coat that will shed come new-leaf.

This tom’s face is rectangular in size, his wide set cheek bones making his head rather large to match the rest of his imposing stature. Round, light brown eyes filled with the faint fog of cataracts frame the wide bridge of Web’s nose. White whiskers frame the tom’s big muzzle though there are few to speak of as they fall out and only occasionally grow back. Tall, tufted ears sit atop his crown with several scars scattered across them.

Web has lived a long life filled with many challenges and tribulations, as such he’s become a bit of an impatient badger in his age. His given his whole life to being patient; waiting for his children to grow, plagues to pass, and seasons to turn and now that he’s retired he finds that with what little time he has left certain things just aren’t worth waiting for anymore. It shouldn’t take a prey-hunter all day to get him a meal or for his family to come visit him and will give those that delay his day a healthy scolding when needed.

Despite his lack of patience, Web is still by nature a supportive and charitable cat. He’s lived through many ups and downs for his tribe and will not hesitate to give up his meal to a kit-mother or his den to a family in need. The tribe is stronger when they work together and he’s a firm believer in finding compromises to their collective problems rather than squabbling over them.

Though he is open-minded to how others live their lives, he’s not so gullible to fall in line behind others if he doesn’t share the same values. Web believes in the power of love and can be rather sentimental; going so far as to collect and keep gifts his loved ones have given him over the moons. He’s willing to accept anyone into his life and tribe as long as they have good intentions but isn’t one to be bossed around. If he feels strongly on something he will not be deterred, his stubborn streak coming out when others try to tell him what he can or can’t do.

Above all, Web had been known to be a fibber at heart. He loves a good story and will twist facts to make them more interesting or suspenseful. As such, it can be hard to tell when he’s being honest or not though most just brush it off as him being dramatic.

Family Ties:
Badger who Barks: deceased father
Moss on Soft Forest Floor: deceased mother
Pike who Leaps Near the Shore: deceased mate
Vine that Coils up Stone: mate
Goose with Plume Feathers: son
Duck who Swims with Ease: deceased son
Rook who Flies on Bent Wing: daughter
South: grand-daughter
Leaf: grandchild
Reed: grand-son

Born to Badger and Moss, Web came into the world during the recovery period after the Great Hunger. His parents weren’t overly involved in Tribe affairs, content to live along the outskirts of the Floating Islands with their only son who was raised from an early age to be self sustaining. The couple was older in their moons, too jaded from the losses the tribe had faced to have much hope in Rain’s skills as a Teller despite the turn around in prey numbers.

Although curious about the rest of the Tribe, Web never got to learn much about his tribe-mates until he became a To-be. His parents tried to control much of his training but he yearned to stretch their boundaries and often fought with them on what he could and couldn’t do. It was around his nine moon mark where he began intentionally defying them; fed up with their conservative parenting methods and rebellious in his actions.

He began training under a young prey-hunter named Pike who showed him the territory freely and taught him how to use his large size to his advantage to take down large waterfowl and haul fish from the water. Though happy to spend time with such an eager to-be, Pike eventually pushed Web to train more under the stone-guards as she knew that was where his destiny lied. Web felt frustrated with these turn of events, determined to not be like his parents despite his obvious aptitude for protecting rather than providing.

Only after he met Vine; an older to-be stone-guard, did Web’s tune change. The tom was an amicable free-spirit who still managed to give much of his time and energy to his duties. Web immediately liked Vine, his charm winning the younger to-be over and calming his chaotic energy. It was with Vine’s help that Web was able to see past his parents short-comings and realized their past had scarred the two and made them jaded and untrusting. He vowed to believe in his tribe’s future rather than dwell on the past like his parents and it was with this mindset that he entered into adulthood.

Moons pass and Web grew to be a strong and well respected stone-guard. Every now and then Web would return to his parents den to make sure they were healthy and well fed though he’d moved out from their den around his twenty moon mark to create his own nest closer to the rest of the tribe. Web remained close friends with Pike and Vine and the three were often found together out in the territory or hanging around the Tribe Stone. It was around his twenty-five moons that Web confesses his feelings for both Pike and Vine; both holding a piece of his heart.

Confused by his feelings for both cats, Web’s decision to be honest with Vine and Pike was met with more openness than he expected. Both confirm their feelings for one another and for him and the three quickly decide to move into a den together. They chose Web’s nest to occupy and carve out more space so they may share it. The trio lived amicably as they grew together, content to balance one another out when disagreements surfaced or tensions rose.

Web’s parents eventually passed, their age and seclusion finally catching up to them. He mourned their loss though it’d been moons since they were any resemblance of what one would call ‘close’. It was after their deaths that Web began to feel the need to expand their family and asked Pike how she felt about raising kits. She was hesitant at first, unsure if they’d make good parents but after moons of consideration; she agreed to try. As the three worked on starting a family, Rain took on a new apprentice and Lark was banished for the murder of a fellow tribe member.

Near the beginning of season 2017, Pike gives birth to three kits; Goose, Duck, and Rook. Her age was a concern to the family and both Vine and Web kept a close eye on her to make sure she was well taken care of as they raise the kits. The kits are born in the leaf-bare season and as a new illness began to spread in the tribe, the family did their best to keep Pike and their kits away from other cats in the hopes they'd be spared.

Despite their best efforts Pike began to cough and her health deteriorated rapidly. Too late to stop the spread; Duck contracted the sickness and dies suddenly in the night. Their remaining two kits, now older to-be’s, were moved from their den to keep them healthy though Web refused to leave Pike’s side. Moons went by before Web saw the rest of his family, too scared of loosing them to let Vine or their children near. He took care of Pike as best he could and would bring her what he could catch nearby. He followed the instructions of the Teller on how to sooth her pain to the letter however as he watched over his mate, he knew it was a matter of time before she would leave him. It was a long road for Pike who fought as best she could before eventually succumbing to her illness.

Distraught over the loss; Web was only able to break his depression by reconnecting with the family he’d been absent from for moons. Goose and Rook grew well under Vine’s watchful gaze and had become well rounded individuals. Web did his best to make sure his family is healthy and happy but memories of Pike’s sickness overtook him frequently in his sleep.

Thankfully the arrival of Rook’s kits helped Web focus once more on the future and he began spending a lot of his time looking after the litter with Vine. As his grandkits grew up Web began to feel his age but resisted retiring despite Vine’s efforts to convince him the time to settle had come. Throughout Web's life he'd watched as his tribe grew old around him until eventually it filled with new blood and before too long he'd become one of the oldest among them.

It was only after a nasty fall from a tree did Web finally consent to his mate’s wishes and officially become a Has-been at the ripe age of 98 moons. He resides in his den close to the Tribe Stone now, always looking for an ear to bend for stories and the occasional stone-guard duty to perform.