crescentbloom

lichenclan

dainty and longhaired tortoiseshell molly with mid white and missing eyes

    Neither too large nor too small, Crescentbloom is a Goldilocks, standing just above average height at 9 inches (23 cm) tall. She appears to be daintily built, like the butterfly she was named for. She is not particularly long-legged nor elegant looking, but she carries herself in a confident way that adds to her innate charm. As her health has never been particularly hearty, she is slim, and only weighs 7 lbs (3.2 kg). She's filled out more during her apprentice moons, building strength.

    Her coat is a fairly evenly mottled mix of traditional tortoiseshell black and ginger, with a moderate amount of white gloving her paws and spilling from her throat to her underbelly. She has a small blaze, coming up to a blunt stop between her closed eyes. The striking colors dashed through her fur are uncommon amongst the monochromes of her clan, being one of Lichenclan's few non-dilute tortoiseshells. Her fur length, however, suits the norm quite well—being semi-long, yet thin, it smooths her edges and makes her appear soft and fluffy.

    Of course, one of the first things you notice about Crescentbloom is that her eyelids are perpetually closed, as if shut in eternal slumber. This is because she was born without eyes, and is blind [september 2021 scavenger hunt rare trait]. The molly doesn't see this as a negative at all, and keeps up with her peers by utilizing the senses they often overlook. She has dainty, pointed ears, with gently swooping ear fur. Her tail is long and tastefully plumed. She has a peach pink nose with a pair of black beauty marks sitting just above and just below on the right side. That all, combined with her long face and delicate muzzle, makes her quite the looker.

    Smelling of sun-dried grasses and subtly of something sweet, it's a little like milk and honey. Crescentbloom moves with a steady, loping gait, always with more confidence than even many sighted cats move with. Her voice is singsong, but don't be fooled—the lilting melody can be raised to a much higher volume, if desired. She has the tiniest of scars on the inside of one of her forelegs when she tussled with another kit a little bit too hard.

+ affable, sanguine, charismatic
    An amiable cat, Crescentbloom is rather pleasant to every stranger she meets. She doesn't hold a grudge, and does her best to involve cats less outgoing than herself in conversation. How friendly she is is almost doglike, uncharacteristic of the more poised Lichenclan, but her genial attitude rarely encompasses those outside her clanmates. The calico is also very optimistic, finding the light in dire situations and offering hope when times are rough. Some cats may see her diehard hopefulness as grating, but most know that she always means well.
    Charisma is something that comes naturally to Crescentbloom. She always had a kind of magnetism, and though she may not be privy to it, she uses it unconsciously. And pretty well. Both her bright personality and her coat make her stick out like a daisy in a field of grass, but her faith in her clan and in Starclan is unyielding and her tongue is wrought in silver.

- impressionable, foolhardy, impish
    It's hard to forget that Crescentbloom is still in her suggestible youth. She has been influenced by her clan's extreme and astringent beliefs, and will preach them up and down before she ever begins to doubt them. Another symptom of her age is how reckless she is, despite her mother doing her best to shelter her and her brother, she has a nose for getting into things. With her perceptual go-get-em attitude, there's no time to waste on thinking when there's things to do!
    When trouble happens around Lichenclan, you can be almost certain that Crescentbloom had some paw in it. Her mischievous demeanor is something that can easily be punished, if you can catch her. She's more than willing to participate in any and all practical jokes, and a lot of her headspace is dedicated to that at all times. Few of her pranks are malicious, however, and all seem to have the goal of making someone laugh.

loves: Her brother and mother, running really fast, Starclan, flat grassy areas.
likes: Being underestimated (so she can prove them wrong), navigating caves, Minnowstar, making cats she likes happy.
dislikes: Whoever her dad is, soggy bedding, non-Lichenclanners, whenever it rains.
hates: Sinners, random roots and trees and rocks who put those there??, most anything related to water, being told what things look like—like she cares.
secrets: None...?
fears: Water—specifically of drowning, and getting lost.
dreams: Exploring and maybe becoming a queen one day. And making lots of friends!

    Born first to Vervainthroat in a litter of three, Crescentkit was the only molly contrasting her two brothers, but not the only tortoiseshell. Second born Monarchkit also bore a red and black coat, intertwined beautifully with patterns of white. Briarfall confirmed that he was, in fact, male—which was unusual but not impossible. In fact, there were multiple torbie toms in Thistleclan. Skipperkit was the darkest and only tabby of his siblings, but also the weakest. Their mother feared that he would not make the night, but thank Starclan he did.

    Whispers had already been circulating the clan on who the kits' sire was. No tom had come forth to claim them on the eve of their birth, despite the pride a father often took in his offspring. And Vervainthroat had not spoken a word about his identity, unless the rumors strayed to their father having come from outside the clan—then she would adamantly meow that he was certainly one of Lichenclan's warriors. It was uncommon these days for parentage to be unknown in kits, but most of her clan respected the mother's choice to keep the identity of the father a mystery. They assumed she had her reasons.

    And reasons she did. A few seasons prior, the molly had stuck up a friendship with a well-to-do Lichenclan tom, Viceroybite. That friendship quickly blossomed into more, which would not be a problem under most circumstances. But the issue was that Viceroybite already had a mate, Mantisflame, and a litter of apprentice-aged kits with her. He implied that he would leave his current mate for his new lover eventually, and they were happy in secret for a while.

    That was, until Vervainthroat told him that she was pregnant. She thought he would be delighted—but instead, it was like a switch flipped, and the tom that had been so kind to her before was suddenly cruel. He said leaving Mantisflame was never his plan, loving her truly had never been his plan, and made the molly swear that the clan would never know the true father of her kits. Vervainthroat indignantly agreed, saying furiously that she had never loved him either.

    That was a lie. But a new fire burned within her. The fire of a mother to protect her children—and the fire to eventually see Viceroybite brought down. He had more to lose than she did by a reveal, this kind of scandal could undo him. She would bide her time as her kittens grew, and maybe one day, cats would know the truth. But in the meantime, the clan seemed content with a nonanswer and she raised her kits as a single mother.

    There was a large brood in the nursery that soon joined Crescentkit and her littermates, so she grew up with plenty of playmates around. But her brother's coat wasn't the only thing peculiar about the siblings. Her mother began to worry when Skipperkit and Monarchkit's eyes opened, but her daughter's still refused to. After further inspection by Briarfall and the other queens, they said to give her time. Some kittens just took longer than the others.

    But Crescentkit grew into her first moon, and was able to totter around and play with the other kits, but still she had no sight. Otherwise, she was developing as normal, her lack of vision didn't seem to be holding her back. Yet another visit to the medicine den, and Briarfall concluded that... she simply might not have been born with any eyes. So if they never opened, she was effectively blind. And they never did.

    Crescentkit didn't get why this was such a problem. She had never been able to see—though it was considered abnormal by many, it was her normal. The real oddity was the fact that Perchkit was blind too, and there was a young blind warrior named Spiderfrost in the clan. None of the other clans had any blind cats that Lichenclanners knew of, much less two born in the same season. Perhaps, they whispered, Starclan had a message they wanted the clan to hear.

    Despite her clanmates perceiving drawbacks due to the kitten's lack of sight, Crescentkit was able to navigate her den and the camp very well. She enjoyed playing mossball, and pounced on stray tails like any other kit did. If anything, it fueled her mischievousness even more. Monarchkit was never far behind—after Skipperkit's death at three moons the kittens stuck closer than ever and their mum kept an even closer eye.

    Their mother's old mentor and friend, Flashfang, often came to help kitsit them whenever Valerianthroat needed to stretch her legs. The pair linked him a lot, and he instilled some of the strong beliefs they both have about Starclan and Lichenclan itself. He spoke of the war with Redwoodclan when they were a little older, and that they must grow strong to vanquish the isle from sin. Flashfang and Monarchkit seemed to be closer, her brother seeing him as an idol figure, but Crescentkit never really caught on.

    A freshly made apprentice along with her littermate, Crescentpaw is extremely excited to learn how to hunt and fight and climb and all the things her mother didn't like her to do before. She's intrigued by the sinners of the other clans, but more fascinated at the prospect of exploring the new world outside the caverns. With her brother, new mentor, and soon, her friends, by her side... she's ready to prove to anyone and everyone that her lack of sight isn't a weakness, but her strength.