SPRUCESHADE

THISTLECLAN

large long-haired seal point mink tom with blue eyes

Character Stature: Hulking and hunched, Spruceshade is the tallest of his siblings. He is muscular and strong, built like a tree.

Character Pelt: His fur is long and silky, with a dark chocolate point on an ivory base. His tail is especially bushy and thick, somewhat resembling a spruce tree.

Character Face: Spruceshade has a fairly round, soft face, his features hidden by the thick fur on his cheeks. What his face lacks in severity, his eyes make up for. A brilliant blue, his gaze is always dark and brooding, as if he is harboring a dark secret. His expression is stony, and it is rare for him to crack a smile unless he's teasing his brother, Yewthorn.

Trustworthy (+): It is quite possible that Spruce has never told a lie in his life. He is dependable, reliable, and supportive of his Clan. He is immensely proud of this reputation.

Patient (+): Spruceshade works well with others and has the patience of a saint. It takes a lot for him to get frustrated with other Clanmates, especially his notoriously annoying brother Yewthorn. He is gifted at training wayward apprentices because of this.

Reserved (~): He is quiet and serious, preferring to keep his opinions and words to himself rather than express them. He is often under the impression that his own words are of less importance than others. He is a bad conversationalist but an excellent listener.

Haunted (-): Spruceshade's gaze is dark, with a haunted look about him. He blames himself for his father's death, which affects him greatly. Spruce's rather severe look makes him a bit off-putting, and cats sometimes avoid him because of this. He always looks like he's lost in thought, and not for a good reason. Spruce's guilt has consumed him, and he refuses to get help for it.

Stubborn (-): Spruce's will is like a solid rock wall. Once he has set his mind on something, he will not budge, believing his judgement is correct above others'. He is hard to reason with, and has frequently annoyed his siblings with his aversion to conceding.

Kithood: Sprucekit was born to Daisythorn and Minkfur, the largest out of an enormous litter. Despite his size, his brother Yewkit quickly became the most dominant, and Sprucekit was often left out of playtime due to his more reserved nature. Yewkit had a way with words, a way that Sprucekit didn't possess, so he found himself hanging around his darker brother. He both humored his incessant chattering, and hoped to learn from him.

Adolescence: At the age of 6 moons, Sprucekit and his siblings became apprentices. Sprucepaw was apprenticed to a typical ThistleClan warrior, gruff, blunt, and sarcastic. Sprucepaw kept up with his duties easily, and never minded cleaning the elders' den or the other unsavory jobs that apprentices were made to do. It was simply his duty, and it would instill good character in him. At least, that's what his mentor said.

A few moons into his apprenticeship, a fox attacked the camp, diving into the nursery. Yewpaw jumped to the rescue, with Sprucepaw and Firpaw in tow. Together, they drove the fox back out into camp, but Sprucepaw hung behind just long enough to notice that one of the kits was mortally wounded. Torn between his duty to battle and the traumatized queen, he rose his voice as he exited the nursery, hissing at the queen to make sure her kit was okay. Yewpaw and Firpaw had charged out without seeming to notice.

Later, the brothers learned the kit had died from its wounds. Sprucepaw felt a bit sick to his stomach, but believed he did what he could.

Adulthood: Sprucepaw earned his warrior name at 13 moons, becoming Sprucshade. He felt his name fit him nicely, and he set to work immediately on digging his den. He hardly stopped to rest, and eventually connected his den up with his siblings'.

While Yewthorn was out flirting with she-cats, Spruceshade spent his time honing his skills, devoting his life to the Clan. Green-cough ravaged ThistleClan that winter after the Clan lost their medicine cat Yarrowfrost, taking Frostfur and Daisythorn with them. While Spruceshade was still mourning the loss of his mother, he and Cherrybite protected the Clan from a fox attack, but failed to save their father, Minkfur. The sight of Minkfur taking his last breath in a pool of his own blood haunted his nightmares for moons, and he still blames himself for not doing enough, not being enough. Spruceshade wasn't particularly religious, but he always clung to the hope that Daisythorn and Minkfur were together and happy up in StarClan's endless paradise.

Spruceshade took his time to mourn, doing his best to keep up with his duties while ThistleClan came under the command of Thievingstar. Immediately, Spruceshade had a bad feeling about their new leader. She seemed overly emotional nd paranoid, and Spruceshade didn't trust her. He followed her orders out of respect, but prefers to stay away from her if he can. Spruceshade's reliability was rewarded with an apprentice, Turtlepaw. Turtlepaw was chipper and bright, a place of light amidst ThistleClan's normally darker demeanor. He was very out of place, and Spruceshade saw that in himself. Spruceshade was patient but strict, and made sure Turtlepaw was kept in line without dampening the tom's spirits. ThistleClan needed someone like Turtlepaw, even if the Clan didn't think so.

Turtlepaw was finally made a warrior, becoming Turtledove, and Spruceshade couldn't have been prouder. Spruceshade's devotion to training and perfection of his skills and others' gave him a chance to rise in leadership, and he found himself leading patrols and hunting parties.

The flooding in ThistleClan and subsequent camp change upset Spruceshade greatly. His shared den with his siblings now destroyed, their livelihood stripped away, the place where Minkfur fell lost forever, Spruceshade became even more reclusive. At the knowledge that rogues had taken over the place ThistleClan called home, Spruceshade, for once, was enraged. He threw himself into battle against the rogues time and time again, and finally, ThistleClan triumphed.

Finally, ThistleClan could return home.

With the Clan rebuilding, Spruceshade has fallen into a familiar pattern of life, one he is content with for now. He mourns the loss of his dear sister Birchsong, and hopes that soon she will return to them. Never a particularly religious cat before, Spruceshade occasionally offers up sparce prayers to StarClan in hopes that they will heed his call.