MARIGOLDLEAP

REDWOODCLAN

ELEGANT GINGER AND WHITE SHE-CAT WITH amber EYES

Marigoldleap is slightly taller than average, with long legs. Like most RedwoodClan cats, her stature is muscular as well, but this is hidden beneath her long, thick pelt. The ginger consumes most of her head, back, sides, and her tail, but the red is overtaken by white on her mouth, the inside of her ears, neck, legs, and stomach. Shades of medium and deep ginger streak her fur like a flame. Her pelt remains long from the tufts of fur coming out of her ears to the strands peaking through her paw pads.

Marigoldleap's muzzle is shorter than her brothers, making her face look slightly more round. This is further accentuated by her big, round amber eyes. The white fur on her muzzle and mouth are complimented by a pink nose and long white whiskers. She bears a much stronger resemblance to Foxfire and Gingerfang than Sycamoretail and Woodfrost.

While she is strong, she is also agile. Her frame is less muscular than her brothers, as she focuses more on climbing trees and running through them instead of brute strength. Sacrificing some strength for agility, she is leaner and her movements are usually graceful, due to her training. 

She may look less intimidating than the average RedwoodClan warrior, but when she can, she uses this to her advantage. And despite Woodfrost's teasing when they were kits, she still likes to keep up her appearance, even if he might find it to be 'prissy girl' behavior. She would just never admit it.

Although she has a softer personality than her brothers, this does not mean much. Marigoldleap may be sweet, but she is blunt and will speak her mind when asked - as well as when she isn't. Her loyalty to RedwoodClan is strong, but it does rival her sense of curiosity. When she wants to find something out, she will, even if it costs bending the rules a little (or a lot). She also has the tendency to get stuck on things, not being able to let it go, whether it is a snide remark that a fellow warrior made or her desire to find the answer to a question she has thought up.

While she admires Icesong's initiative to train, she does not have a strong opinion on the war. She simply wants it to end. She does not give Finchstar much thought, but what she does ruminate on are her father and LichenClan. Due to her knowledge of Foxfire, she does not hate LichenClan; she dislikes the tension, but finds them very intriguing.

Gingerfang is the current member of her family that she is closest too. Unlike Woodfrost, he was willing to play with her. As they grew older, she never grew as close to Woodfrost, especially after their fight. Marigoldleap often felt outcasted by her mother; she seemed much more invested in her brothers to her. At least she had her father. When he was alive, she admired him and enjoyed her time with him.

Not outgoing and bubbly, but quiet and warm is how she would describe herself. She tries her best to be kind and friendly, and likes to meet new cats. However, she does find herself needing alone time to think. Marigoldleap can also hold a grudge.

Marigoldleap was born to Sycamoretail and Foxfire with her siblings, Gingerfang and Woodfrost. She was more fascinated by her father than her brothers, always trying to trail behind him. The distance made him mysterious and intriguing to her, especially because he began to tell her stories and let her follow him around. While her brothers often stayed around Sycamoretail, she grew very close to Foxfire. She felt as though Sycamoretail favored Gingerkit and especially Woodkit, but Foxfire gave her the attention she wanted. He became her hero, and she looked up to him. When her dad was out on his warrior duties, Marigoldkit loved to explore. Curiosity was a trait that she was born with, and she spent spare time wandering around camp. Sometimes Gingerkit would join her; however, Woodkit was not allowed to accompany her. Even in her kithood she was not close to Woodfrost; he would not let her rough-house with him and Gingerkit, deriding her about her crying. She hated this, so she would not let Woodkit come on any adventures with her - only Gingerkit was invited.

When she grew old enough, Cherrywing was assigned to mentor Marigoldpaw. She was very satisfied - she had always looked up to Cherrywing. Becoming her apprentice only intensified this, as Marigoldpaw idolized her, but would also tell her everything. Cherrywing was a good confidant, and a good teacher as well. As their training progressed, she helped Marigoldpaw become more secure in herself. 

A few moons into her training, Sycamoretail told her and her siblings that her father was a traitor. Marigoldpaw tried to ask questions, but her mother refused to answer. Avoidant of conflict, she kept her distance from Foxfire, but her mother's silence caused her to not entirely believe her. Her father had been acting strange, she did not deny that, but such a bold accusation without any information pricked her curiosity. Too nervous to approach him about it, Marigoldpaw sometimes watched him from afar, wondering what was really going on.

At thirteen moons, she was given her warrior name of Marigoldleap, for her ability to jump through the trees. This accomplishment boosted her self-esteem a little, especially after seeing her father chant her warrior name. Although he was busy, she thought that he must care. She had yet to confront him, but she began to defend him when her brothers spoke poorly about him. At twenty-four moons, Woodfrost accused her of being a traitor like Foxfire, due to her sympathy towards him. Marigoldleap had had enough of her brother's cold and critical ways, and they threw insults back at each other until it escalated into a fight. Enraged, Marigoldleap has not talked to Woodfrost since.

After the fight, Marigoldleap reached out to Foxfire. She was sick of all the quiet tension and unanswered questions. Meeting in secret, Foxfire confessed his relationship with Molefur, the LichenClan deputy, to her. To his surprise, she sympathized with him; Marigoldleap was moved to tears. All of those moons she had spent apart from her father, for what she thought was some horrible crime. She did not care that it was a forbidden relationship, she was just happy to know that Foxfire had done no physical harm, and she was overjoyed to reconnect with her father. In secret, away from the scorn of Sycamoretail, Gingerfang, and Woodfrost, they spent time together.

When news of Foxfire's passing reached Marigoldleap, she was devastated. After a long period of grieving, she realized that Foxfire's death occured not shortly after Molefur's. This drew her suspicions, and she began to fixate on Foxfire, Molefur, and LichenClan. She craved the answers to her questions; she wanted to know if they were connected, what Molefur was like, how he passed, and several more. Through love and grief, she became determined to know more.

At fifty-one moons, Sycamoretail passed away due to sickness. She was sad, but the circumstances of her mother's death do not weigh on her mind like her father's does. Marigoldleap had always felt somewhat ignored by her mother in favor of her brothers, so a strong bond between them had never been forged. Instead, Marigoldleap focused on consoling Gingerfang, whom she was close to. 

At the moment, Marigoldleap searches for the answers to her questions. She bears no hatred for LichenClan, but a deep curiosity instead. In her spare time, she attempts to grow closer to the LichenClan refugees without drawing too much suspicion, hoping that one day they can give her the answers that she so desperately desires.