Axel

loner

black ticked tabby with green eyes

Axel boasts a small build, his slight frame lined with lean, wiry muscle formed from years of fending for himself. The tom is longer than he is tall, with short, compact legs; these limbs taper off into small, deceptively dainty paws, sheathing well honed claws—their thorny sharpness attributed to the lack of action they see.

The male's pelt is neither soft nor coarse in its texture, but is dense and double coated—Axel sports fur thick enough to almost double his diminutive size, giving him a more heavily muscled appearance than is accurate. His black ticked tabby markings darken his legs and back, leaving his muzzle, chest, and underbelly a lighter, dusty brown; these are markings of practicality, helping Axel blend with his surroundings, sinking him even deeper into the already shadowy world he inhabits.

Axel's face is small yet wide, angular in structure, giving him an inviting, if not a bit sharp, appearance; two pointily tufted ears are planted firmly atop his skull and from his round muzzle sprays a series of splayed whiskers, framing a bright coral nose. Axel's eyes are his most notable feature, as his mother's were, a gentle, spring green gaze that is paradoxically fierce with intelligence and soft with kindness.

The loner's posture is generally relaxed, yet still possesses the stiff composure of a cat who must constantly be on the lookout for danger.

Axel's existence seems to serve the sole purpose of counterbalancing his mother, exhibiting the very essence of everything that Isla was not—be that for better or worse, only time will tell.

A reserved cat, Axel keeps to himself out of an express interest in preserving the integrity of his sensitive feelings and easily broken heart; at his roots, he is a kind cat, an absolutely hopeless romantic left to fend for himself against the cruel clutches of solitude. Axel is intrinsically familial, and living alone for so long has left him stunted socially, making for a timid and insecure disposition when faced with other cats—because of this, he prefers to avoid both verbal and physical conflict whenever possible.

While his isolation acted as a hindrance to the loner's capacity to communicate his thoughts and feelings, it did wonders for his survival abilities; Axel is a smart cat, his already inventive and resourceful nature sharpened to a keen edge by the need to live on his own—he is a well honed tool, created for the express purpose of survival.

Axel possesses a great capacity to love, if only he'd let down his guard long enough for another cat to slip between the chinks in his heart's armor.

Mother: Isla played by wish
Father: unknown
Half siblings: Ursa, Lupus played by immortes, Lynx played by Silverfire, Fayre played by maxx, and Poppy played by lightning

Axel came quietly and unobtrusively into the world at the tail end of new-leaf, almost as if he'd known anything less than the optimal circumstances would've resulted in his death; even these prime conditions weren't enough to provide for his siblings, none of whom made it past infancy. Born to a detached molly named Isla and a father he'd never know, Axel's youth was a loveless affair and, as he struck out on his own after nine moons of neglect, he realized his time with the molly he'd called mother had resulted in only one memorable lesson: never trust a clan cat. Despite his lack of training, the tom quickly learned to fend for himself, wandering as he pleased and hunting when necessary, with only one constant in his ever-shifting lifestyle—he travelled alone.

This avoidant way of life resulted in two things: a distinct lack of social skills and, despite his mothers fanatic warnings against them, a fascination with the clan cats.

Axel's travels led him on a winding journey through the northern lands, stumbling across the paths of many different cats as he moved aimlessly through life; the tom would lend a helping paw where he could, a shoulder to lean on temporarily, but these one-off encounters never amounted to anything more than just that, isolated singular meetings. For the better part of four years he lived like this, his nerves surrounding intimacy and social situations rendering him incapable of forming meaningful relationships—regardless of how badly he'd have like to.

Of these chance meetings, his favorites were with the clan cats—despite, or possibly in response to, his mother's loathing of the community-based felines, Axel couldn't help but long for the kind of close-knit familial bond that they clearly shared. Though he'd never dare tell a soul, Axel wishes to be part of a clan, to love and be loved in turn.

For now, however, Axel wanders aimlessly, out of touch with both himself and the world around him.

799 word count as of july 21, 2021