DEERPAW

REDWOODCLAN

Brown tabby tom with green eyes

Character Stature: long-legged and sturdy, Deerpaw is just slightly above average in size for his age with lean muscles that come only with time and training

Character Pelt: Deerpaw has a short and thick, dusky brown tabby pelt that is just beginning to finally smooth out and lose its kit softness

Character Face: Deerpaw has a broad head and short muzzle, short ears, and light green eyes

Determined: Eager to please and achieve from the start, Deerpaw is never long put off by failure, seeing his shortfalls as ways to improve and grow in every manner of his apprenticeship. His determination gives him to the strength and resolve to continue putting one paw in front of the other despite some of the pitfalls that have occurred in young life.

Loyal: unwavering, firm, dutiful. Deerpaw has always been intense in his loyalty to the cats who raised, guided, and cared for him until he was capable of doing so for them in return. He understands that loyalty is not the same as being agreeable to every cats way of thinking. It’s born of following in the pawsteps of the cats who have gone before, whose devotion to each other determine what a clan truly is.

Distrustful: Raised by militant parents who were very vocal in disagreeing with Redwoodclan’s aid to refugees and rogues alike, Deerpaw has always struggled with his distrust of newcomers who were not born into his clan. This can often times come off as hostile and has earned him more than a little ire from certain clan mates who are more welcoming.

Abrasive: Taking after his father, Deerpaw has always been brash, his sharp tongue and strong opinions offending many senior warriors and fellow apprentices. So focused on his training and so desperate to prove himself, he is often brusque in how he approaches other cats and and is constantly at war with himself, knowing full well that how he acts sometimes is wrong.

Kithood:
Deerkit was born, along with his two sisters, to very stern parents who showed little affection for them. For Deerkit, this turned into the desire to be best at every kithood game, if only to earn his parents praise for a little while. Independence was encouraged in all three siblings from a very young age, as soon as they could eat fresh kill and get by without their mothers milk, she went back to her warrior duties, only returning to the nursery at night. While his sisters were saddened by their mothers lack of concern for her kits, Deerkit was still very proud of his parents devotion to their clan, despite his mixed feelings on whether he and his sisters were every truly wanted or not. He longed for the day he would be apprenticed and would be able to hunt and fight in service to his clan, which seemed to grow more turbulent the older he grew.

Adolescence: 
The beginning of Deerpaw’s apprenticeship was a markedly turbulent time. Not only was it a time of learning to channel his intense personality, but it also came with the tragedy of losing both of his parents in one fell swoop. A skirmish gone wrong, was what he understood it to be. Already very close to the vest with his feelings due to upbringing, Deerpaw shut down for a short while. He became temperamental and sullen when prodded. While his parents had been far from affectionate, they were still his parents and it was difficult for such a young cat to process. Time heals all, is what everyone told him. True to himself though, he gritted his teeth and once again plunged himself into his training. If time was all that would bring him peace, he would spend that time trying to become the cat his parents had wanted.