RUEFEATHER

Redwoodclan

large black and white tom with chartreuse eyes

Even for a Redwoodclan warrior, Ruefeather is a massive warrior. This is not unusual for a redwood tom, as most boast thick frames, well-developed muscle, and a stature as tall as the redwood trees that populate their land. While tall, the tom also carries a long and lithe frame. His build is much more rectangular than square. The bulk of his muscles rope around his powerful legs. This causes Ruefeather to appear much more noble and aristocratic in appearance than terrifying or fierce, since his frame is more slender than stout.

His aristocratic demeanor is further emphasized by his lustrous and silky pelt. His fur hangs elegantly from his frame and feathers from his stomach, legs, and tail. Ruefeather is not necessarily fluffy, but rather slim and wispy in appearance. The way his hair falls from his coat only adds to his elegant aura. The undersides of his coat is predominately white in color. While Large splotches of black cover both of his ears, back and flank, tail, and his legs, giving him a bicolor coat pattern. The rich, dark charcoal adds to his overall aloofness and mysterious aura.

Ruefeather carries an elegant crown atop his lithe and slender body. He has a more narrow face, elongated by his triangular tufts of fur extending from his cheeks and ears. A large swath of white covers the bottom half of his face, particularly his maws, where the color crawls up and cuts into the middle of his forehead. The rest of his visage is black, almost in a masked pattern. The most extraordinary feature Ruefeather possesses are his eerily chartreuse eyes. They are the same color as the evergreen subshrubs he was named after and carefully conceal his every muse and desire.

An introvert at heart, Ruefeather is rather aloof and a loner by nature, especially compared to his more forthright and friendly den-mates. He prefers to spend his time alone or in close company with his mate or a few close friends. Despite opening up more and finding trust within his Clan, he continues to remain a cool and distant figure, a bit mysterious to those who do not know him. Large groups or conversation can be exhausting for the tom if he's not allowed to slip away and recharge. He is most at home in his own company and thoughts.

Ruefeather is highly introspective and thoughtful. He enjoys learning to a great extent and spent much of his youth assisting the medicine cats with their herbs and exploring the island on his own. He likes cataloging the vast flora and fauna occupying RedwoodClan's forest and carries an impressive memory, not that he would brag about it of course. Passionate in his studies, Ruefeather can lose himself learning about a new herb or species of bird. He is a keen listener and observer. This aided him as an apprentice and makes him a great mentor since he's fond of teaching.

His observational skills led him to be a talented hunter and formidable competitor in battle. He can quickly identify a weakness and use it to his advantage. However, he is not overly aggressive and usually avoids conflict due to his passive nature. Ruefeather is conflict avoidant to a fault and has a long history of making erroneous decisions. He has abandoned battles, refused to train apprentices to fight, and insulted his den-mates due to his convictions. As he is with his interests, Ruefeather is passionate regarding his beliefs and those he cares about.

This is a double edged tooth.

While he strongly fights for his own ideologies, he is stubborn and sometimes unwilling to change. It has taken him a long time to understand the nuance of his Clan's political strifes.

Despite his aloof demeanor, Ruefeather is largely agreeable and polite to his den-mates. A lot of his opinions are kept to himself and his struggles remain internal. Ruefeather does not want to ever cause a scene, preferring to remain in the background. He does not want to be the center of attention. He is disciplined and usually follows orders without complaint, unless pushed or if it goes against his convictions. Even if he does disagree or refuses to listen, his disobedience is evasive and mild-mannered in nature versus a disruptive confrontation or drawn out fight.

While warming up to his clan and carrying a lot of love for those he is close to, Ruefeather remains secretive and cynical. He struggles to remain optimistic due to the heartache he experienced in his youth and the war that has plagued his Clan. It is easier, in his opinion, to assume the worst than anticipate the best. Quiet and distant, he is secretive to a fault and wrestles with opening up to his den-mates and friends. Teamwork and trust has never come natural to the tom. He is only close to a very select few, though he is continuing to work on it.

Tansytoes and Dandelioncloud courted one another for several moons until their relationship came into fruition with the arrival of kits. The two were friends as young apprentices, and soon their friendship blossomed into a bittersweet love and the news of kits. With leaf-bare around the corner, they both were surprised by the unexpected litter, but happy and hopeful nonetheless.

Their hopes quickly dissipated as the clan slowly sunk into a deadly famine. Prey was scarce due to the harsh weather, and with the persistent war with LichenClan, the senior warriors and skilled hunters in the clan rapidly decreased in numbers as well, salughtered in battle. Lichenclan denied their surrender and continued to launch fatal attacks. Near the end of her pregnancy, a skirmish broke out at the southern border and Dandelioncloud, a pacifist at heart, was killed. Distraught, Tansytoes sunk into a deep depression, which was only worsened by her gut-wrenching hunger.

With nothing to lose, the she-cat snuck out of camp one night and dared to venture onto LichenClan territory. They were well fed, due to the lake supplying them with plentiful fish. A LichenClan tom, named Goldenscale, caught her at the border. Ready to die, Tansytoes simply extended her neck to the tom, but he did the unthinkable instead. Noting she was pregnant and starving, he offered to catch her food.

Hungry and out of it, Tansytoes accepted, and to her surprise, they became unexpected friends. Goldenscale kept her fed and in the dead of leaf-bare, she gave birth to two toms: Ruekit and Goldenkit, named after her friend.

Compared to his gregarious and charming brother, Ruekit was always more quiet and introspective. Perhaps this manifested due to the dire situation the Clan was in at the time of his birth. It was not exactly a joyful environment for kits. Consequently Ruekit preferred to listen than speak and liked to spend his time in isolation, so he could study the world and its many inhabitants. He very much liked to learn in solitude -- the island an endless opportunity for him.

When he was a moon or so old, his mother secretly led him and Goldenkit to the Lichenclan border to meet Goldenscale for the first time. While Ruekit hardly remembers the impromptu meeting, he does remember the scent of the lake and the open air. Whenever he passes the Lichenclan border, his mind still returns to that very night. With everything he knows about LichenClan and the Great War — Why would a Lichenclan tom risk his life for them?

When Ruekit reached six moons old, he was apprenticed to the new leader Finchstar. The tabby and white tom had been recently appointed as leader and seemed desperate to prove his strength to the clan, since Heatherstar had been so collectively admired and loved. Ruepaw was honestly surprised by his choice — that the actual clan leader would find him worthwhile — but he said little about this to anyone. The black and white tom met his nose with a cold nonchalance.

A few weeks into his apprenticeship, he oddly befriended an older apprentice named Warblepaw. The skinny gray tom was nervous, constantly anxious, and horribly meek. He had trouble interacting with his den-mates and lacked any skill to be a successful warrior. They bullied and teased him. Ruepaw, however, treated him kindly, and seeing their friendship blossom, Finchstar assigned Warblerpaw to become his battle partner.

Warblepaw clung to his side like a nervous shadow. Strangely, the black and white tom tolerated his company and acted like a cold shield. The other apprentices rescinded their insults and jabs and eventually moved onto easier victims. They had an odd respect for Ruepaw, she-cats found him irresistibly attractive, and toms confused his reserved nature for admirable stoicism.

When he was only seven moons old, Ruepaw, Goldenpaw, and the rest of his patrol were attacked near the southern cliffs. To his surprise, he found himself face to face with Goldenscale. The golden tom quickly avoided Ruepaw and launched himself at another redwood cat. Then suddenly his brother Goldenpaw was thrown over the rocky incline and into the treacherous waters below. The redwood warriors watched in horror as his brother bobbed over the surface, the waves too hazardous and cold to brave. Then Goldenscale, a seasoned swimmer, leapt in after him. The tom quickly pulled him to the shore and saved his life.

Ruepaw only became more and more confused.

Was Lichenclan really the enemy?

Around his ninth moon, Warblerpaw was killed in a bloody border skirmish started by a murderous LichenClan patrol. The death devastated Ruepaw. He was only a mere apprentice, his best and only friend, and he was slaughtered for an endless cause. Ruepaw mourned far from the camp, near the Redwood Graveyard, in solitude. He vowed then to never participate in the war, not even for revenge. If RedwoodClan retaliated, it would only make it worse. And then there was Goldenscale too? Not all of them were bad. Perhaps the LichenClan warriors were suffering just as much as they were?

He returned to camp in the morning, only going through the motions to continue his training. Despite Finchstar's best efforts, he couldn't get Ruepaw's spirits up or encourage him to make more friends. His only companion became Goldenpaw, and only at his brother's insistence.

Ruefeather earned his warrior name at thirteen moons alongside Goldensmoke. They climbed the highest redwood tree they could find and sat together until sunrise, Ruefeather secretly vowing to never fight in another battle again.

But soon after earning his warrior name, Ruefeather was sent to go fight at the MoonCave with his Clan. Encouraged by Redfox and wanting to retaliate after the attack on their camp, Finchstar launched a counter strike, fighting to keep the sacred cave neutral. Ruefeather reluctantly followed orders, but as the intensity of the battle increased, and the screams echoed in a chasm, he ran and abandoned his Clan in the middle of a fight.

Only his opponent watched him leave, and it became his terrible secret.

Wanting nothing to do with the war, Ruefeather busied himself with other duties, particularly helping the medicine cats. He liked gathering herbs with them and learning about their healing properties. During his excursions, he spent a lot of time with Orchidshade's apprentice, a young she-cat named Smallpaw. Quiet and astute, her unassuming nature appealed to Ruefeather, as did the forbidden nature of his growing affections for her. Very quickly he became enamored with her, but he also knew it was wrong; unfair of him to fall in love with her and distract her from her duties as a medicine cat.

So he decided to confess his feelings to her, hoping to free himself of his affections. He was in love with her, but refused to act on it. With tears in her eyes, Smallpaw graciously took his confession, but confirmed his doubts. She only liked him as a friend. They quietly drifted apart, and only a few moons later, Smallpaw contracted green-cough and passed.

Seeing his great affections for the she-cat, Orchidshade silently offered her condolences. They shouldered the loss of Smallpaw together, and a respect, perhaps even a friendship, blossomed between the two.

Despite his best efforts to avoid it, training for the war with LichenClan increased, and Ruefeather found himself sent out on several sparring lessons, some that he even refused to participate in. He was also given his first apprentice to train, a young tom named Aspenpaw. Wanting to learn how to fight and grow up to fight in the war, they immediately clashed. Harboring a tense relationship, Ruefeather eventually gave in, only passing Aspenpaw onto warriorhood to rid himself of the responsibility.

Shortly after, his brother and one remaining attachment to the Clan, died in a battle with LichenClan, after they launched an attack on the border. Goldensmoke's death left behind his pregnant mate, Windstorm, and a despondent Ruefeather.

There was nothing for him in RedwoodClan anymore.

Ruefeather began fantasizing about running away, and started taking long, meandering journeys away from camp and far into the furthest reaches of their territory. On one of these treks, he stumbled upon a pretty rogue caught in a two-leg trap. Gaining her trust, he helped her escape, only learning her name in parting: Fayre.

He grew completely enamored with her, despite his better judgment.

Although sparingly, their paths began to cross and he learned of her mother and the group of rogues she joined for protection. A part of him wanted to leave too, but he was unexpectedly assigned another apprentice, a young she-cat named Rookpaw. Unlike Aspenfoot, she reminded him largely of himself and he grew fond of the nervous tabby. They formed a trusting bond with one another. His nephew, Dandelionpaw, also became a cat of interest, and he reached out to Windstorm and offered his support.

He was slowly growing attachments to his Clan again, much to his surprise. But he continued to meet with Fayre. They were falling in love, and he began to feel torn.

As leaf-bare fell upon the island one more, he sought out Fayre one night at their usual meeting place, the falls. She arrived, petrified and nearly despondent. Lily, the rogue's leader, had caused her mother to die and was joining forces with LichenClan. Fayre warned him of a potential attack on RedwoodClan, but he was too busy trying to soothe her and ignored her warning. He returned to camp, only thinking of Fayre, the warning forgotten.

A few moons later, LichenClan attacked their camp aided by rogues. Harboring refugees, Ruefeather was tasked with leading them to safety at the falls, where they spent the night in Fayre's hideaway. Guilt and shame riddled him. He was supposed to warn them. When they returned to camp, Ruefeather learned of their losses, including one of Finchstar's lives. Rookpaw was also forced to fight in the battle, and because of his training, she was barely able to defend herself.

Determined to make amends, Ruefeather began training Rookpaw how to fight and sought out other senior warriors, such as Tigerpool, to learn how to better protect his Clan. Rookpaw soon earned her warrior name, much to Ruefeather's pride. Consequently his visits to Fayre became more infrequent.

As much as he loved her, the guilt of breaking the warrior code was beginning to take its toll, until eventually it became too much. With a heavy heart, he pulled aside Finchstar one night, and confessed his many wrongdoings, anticipating anger or perhaps even a punishment in return. But Finchstar only consoled him and offered Fayre a home. She was welcome to join RedwoodClan.

Fayre was elated at the news, desperately wanting to join his Clan, and so was he. No longer did he have to hide his affections or break the code. Ruefeather returned to camp that night, feeling hopeful for the first time in his life. As soon as the war was over, Fayre could join him in RedwoodClan. He set out to train and help his Clan with preparations.

When the night came, Ruefeather joined Windstorm in protecting their camp during the final battle. They scouted the forest for stragglers or anyone who was hurt, and when the dawn poked over the horizon, he was overjoyed to hear RedwoodClan and the LichenClan rebels were the victors. Minnowstar was dead. At long last, the Great War was over.

As promised, Fayre joined their ranks, and despite the ostracism and sharp comments, Ruefeather could not be happier. For once, his future in his Clan looks bright. RedwoodClan is finally his home.