Duckpuddle

lichenclan

Pretty dilute smoke tortoiseshell she-cat with mossy green eyes

She holds herself with dignity and grace, but upon closer inspection, it’s easy to tell Duckpuddle is a hardened warrior. Beneath her short fur lies battle scars from forgotten battles and strong muscle from moons of training. Duckpuddle’s far from the innocent she-cat she once was. She always looks slightly tired and displeased. Her critical eyes watch cats with a tang of displeasure.

Her coat is covered in splotches of dark grey and light cream fur. Like ripples in a puddle, her cream fur goes down in stripes down her back. Despite her age, Duckpuddle is still a very pretty warrior and can easily catch the eye of any tom or she-cat. She's got short, mostly thin fur.

Duckpuddle stands above most toms. She's above average height for a LichenClan cat, but you'll never catch her hitting her head on the cave ceiling. She's light, thin and lean from a delicate diet and well-practiced restraint.

Her face is narrow and fox-like with sharp ridges, tight features and long skinny ears. Her eyes are a deep green, like bright moss growing on the cave walls.

Judgmental
Duckpuddle was raised to expect the best. She will judge any new cat she meets with a glance and decide if they are worth her time. If a cat is unsatisfactory, Duckpuddle will give them little attention. She’s given up on apprentices before after deeming them weak. It’s rare for Duckpuddle to change her mind on someone.

Despondent
Duckpuddle has little faith in anything but her clan. She goes through the motions of clan life like a drone.

Self-assured
Duckpuddle knows her abilities and is quick to make judgement calls. She knows when to back down from a fight and when to push herself harder to win.

Passionate.
Duckpuddle shows little interest in most things. The one thing she’s always passionate about is being a good warrior. Duckpuddle will defend her clan with the spirit of a religious zealot and is willing to make any sacrifices necessary. The only thing that has kept her sane is her love for LichenClan and the warrior code.

Duckpuddle was a bit of a black sheep in her family. Her parents, obsessed with pure bloodlines and strong kits, had an arranged marriage for the sake of kits. Passing on their line was their only concern and Duckpuddle was their only chance. Without any siblings, Duckpuddle was their pride and joy. However, she was a dreamer. Duckpuddle loved the idea of pure love and was attracted to the stories of brave warriors.

Her parents knew she was eager to learn to fight and hunt and worried. They didn't want their only kit to die in battle. So, the night after Duckpuddle was made an apprentice, her mother pulled her aside.

“You don’t have to worry about doing well, just be proud and show you are worthy of our status.” Her mother urged. “All you need to do is become a warrior so you can settle down with a strong, brave tom of a good bloodline and have kits with him.

Duckpuddle didn't care. She wanted to be a strong warrior. Her mentor had other ideas. Being assigned to a former queen, Duckpuddle's mentor was eager to teach her how to take care of kits and gossip in camp. Duckpuddle, annoyed with her mentor and parents, snuck out to train with the other apprentices and their mentors. Duckpuddle and her apprentice friends were a rowdy bunch. They dared each other to do stupid things and challenged each other to battles. Duckpuddle loved every moment of it.
16
When Duckpuddle received her warrior name, she was pretty annoyed. While her demands were honoured for their strength or bravery, Duckpuddle was named for her calm nature and peaceful attitude. Duckpuddle seethed.

As a young warrior, Duckpuddle pushed her own path through life. She didn't care about having kits, she wanted to fight. That all changed when she met Fashfang. He was a strong, brave warrior. Duckpuddle admired his passion and loved teasing him and urging him into fights. Surprisingly her parents approved. Flashfang was perfect for her. She had the love story she always wanted and her parents were finally happy. Everything fell apart when she discovered Flashfang with another she-cat.

Furious and in pain, Duckpuddle left him and the life they had planned together. Her parents shunned her and chided her for leaving Flashfang. They knew of his ways but insisted Duckpuddle stick with him till they had kits of their own. They feared Duckpuddle wouldn’t be able to find anyone else.

Despite her parent's disapproval, Duckpuddle focused on her life as a warrior. She gave up any plans to retire to the nursery and sought ways to be stronger. In that haze of grief and pain, she met Frogeye. Frogeye was a soft tom. He didn’t fight and dreamed of raising kits in the nursery with other queens. Often Duckpuddle and he would lie together and dream of their future. He could raise their kits and she’d protect them and bring them prey. It was an unconventional relationship and Duckpuddle could feel her clanmates mocking them. However, she didn’t care. She would bear all of the pain for both of them. Duckpuddle had given up on having a happy life and pleasing her parents. She could settle for just a mate she loved.

But Duckpuddle soon realized she couldn’t even have that much. While pregnant in the nursery, Frogeye died in a border skirmish with RedwoodClan. Duckpuddle cried all night, and the stress got to her. Duckpuddle never got to learn if she could handle being a mother. In a single, painful night Duckpuddle was alone once more. She'd never have kits after all.

In a haze of grief, Duckpuddle stayed beside the other queens. She gave up on her warrior duties and tended to the kits and queens. It was just like her mother had always wanted. Moons later, after the death of her parents, Duckpuddle is haunted by their demands for her to have a little and keep the family alive.

Duckpuddle starts to pick up her old habits and settles back into life as a warrior. Her skills are as strong as ever, and she quickly earns her place as a respected warrior. It's hard to pinpoint when Duckpuddle stopped believing in StarClan, but after all of her losses, she simply gave up on them. No higher power would make her suffer so much. She still knew how to act like she believed in them, and kept her lack of faith close to her heart, never letting another soul know.

Showing strength on the battlefield, and unwavering loyalty to the clan Duckpuddle got into Minnowstar's good graces. She is invited into private conversations with the leader, as they prepare for battle after battle. All this goes to Duckpuddle's head and she starts expecting more in return for her loyalty. All Minnowstar promises is StarClan's good graces, but Duckpuddle wants more. She wants to rule over land, to take RedwoodClan as her own. So she sticks beside Minnowstar till the bitter end.

While the war is ongoing, Duckpuddle finds comfort in Sootpelt another warrior. They agree to be mates, but Duckpuddle fears losing everything. She cheats on him with a pretty RedwoodClan tom who sires her kits. Stubbornly, Duckpuddle fights in the final battle but a hit to her stomach sends the queen into early labour. And on the night that Minnowstar is slain, four kits are born. Out of the four kits, only two survive. Little Bonekit is the spitting image of his father Sootpelt, but the rest are clearly another toms. She names the other three Ghostkit, Antkit and Tick-kit. Only Ghostkit survives to haunt Duckpuddle.


Duckpuddle's place within the clan is tepid. She's one of the few loyalists who stuck with Minnowstar to the end and her recent confession about not believing in StarClan has only made things worse.