Shalepaw

RedwoodClan

A Slipshod Blue-Grey Tabby Tom

Shalepaw is a young tom of modest size, given he is still growing. Although he inherited his mother’s lean, lithesome frame, early climbing lessons with Creekstep endowed the apprentice with a precocious bulk that would serve him well in becoming a warrior. This musculature is focused towards his hindlegs, where strong kicks and lissome forelimbs enable the tom to scale small trees with ease—the product of numerous days spent preparing for his Warrior’s Vigil with his father. Shalepaw’s sloppy, boyish posture discredits his development, heavy paw-falls and slumped-back giving an undisciplined air to the young tom.

Although his bones had yet to catch up to his desired physique, Shalepaw hoped that his angled, willowy face would grow to be large, round, and solid, like his father’s. Until then, he wasted the proudest traits of his mother; what should be long, proud tufts of fur from his ears instead hang limply or jut out at odd angles. His long, regal nose was nigh-always besmirched, dirty from the frequency with which Shalepaw buried it in unknown scents, adding to the wild, unkempt look of the tom’s emerald eyes.

The apprentice has medium-length blue fur, darkened in leaf-bare, with specks and stripes of dull white across his lower body. Long days of climbing and play leave his otherwise-silken coat disheveled and grimy, especially with the sudden-absence of his coddling father. Shalepaw’s average tail hangs proudly in the air, like a flag dedicated to his blissful ignorance.

(+) Compassionate: Inspired by the lessons of his father, Shalepaw considers both sides of a situation, and tries to understand the feelings of everyone involved before he plots action. If harsh words or violence can be avoided, they should be.

(+) Adventurous: Shalepaw has always been captivated by the majesty of the Redwood Forest. A life full of climbing trees and dashing across branches would be a good one, as far as Shalepaw is concerned, and this has led to the young tom becoming accompanied with most of his home territory. He even longs to explore the numerous caves and cliffs dotting The Island, regardless of territory, although he wouldn’t trespass to do so.

(+) Curious: Being reared away from the bloodiness of battle, Shalepaw is uncorrupted by the horrors of war, provoking an eagerness to learn about all things. Creekstep encouraged him to ask questions as soon as they came to mind, and this behavior has carried over into all of his interactions.
(-) Naïve: Although Shalepaw longs to learn about everything, many of the worst parts of life have been kept from him. He is dreadfully unaware of what it is like to have bad parents, to go without, or be subject to the losses of war, until recently.

(-) Undisciplined: Being raised in such an accepting, supportive environment, Shalepaw’s behavior hasn’t matured to the level befitting an apprentice; his fur is often matted and marred with the results of numerous romps through the woods, his meal etiquette is nonexistent, and the young tom can’t help but climb every new tree he sees.

(-) Idealistic: Shalepaw has been brought up with a strong moral code, and struggles to deviate from it. In the longing to understand all sides of a conflict, the apprentice is slow to act when the situation calls for it, a flaw Creekstep would have rectified had he not been taken so soon.

Shalepaw was born to Heathermask, a proud and fiery she-warrior, and Creekstep, a compassionate and temperate tom, both of Redwoodclan. Although he was brought into the world with a brother and sister, Shalepaw, the runt of the litter, was the only one to survive the sudden case of withering that afflicted his kin. He didn’t inherit all of his mother’s milk, however, as Sandpaw, the orphaned son of a queen close to Heathermask, was adopted into the family.

Despite his initial protests to the adopted brother, Heathermask and Creekstep were quick to correct their son, and although the respect was imposed at first, their closeness in age helped to foster a legitimate sense of brotherhood in Shalepaw as moons went by. While the young apprentice truly felt Sandpaw to be family, though, it sometimes felt like the sentiment wasn’t reciprocated.

Born in late Green-Leaf, the boys were reared in the midst of the worst tides of conflict between RedwoodClan and LichenClan. Nevertheless, Heathermask was resolute in keeping her offspring free and pure of the acrimony of war. Even his parents’ disapproval of Finchstar was kept from him. And so, Shalepaw was enabled to fully enjoy every lesson his father gave him, climbing trees and chasing wildlife at sunrise while, unbeknownst to him, Creekstep risked life and limb defending the Clan at sundown. It was not that Shalepaw was ignorant of the war—he knew there was conflict, to be sure—but Creekstep would always gently assure his son that there were good cats on both sides; the Clans were having miscommunications, nothing bad would happen, and peace would be reached soon.

Throughout late kithood, Shalepaw was blessed to tromp through the woods with his brother, or curl up in the long fur of his father, basking in regaled tales of noble cats as blankets of snow accumulated outside. His worldview was challenged in the beginning of leaf-bare, however, when Creekstep was mortally wounded in the battle that ended Minnowstar. Shalepaw was forced to watch as his father, a massive, strong tom, slowly deteriorated over the course of a long moon.

Shalepaw was proud to have his father live to see his apprenticeship begin. He remembers getting alone-time with Creekstep, raving about his anxieties and excitements while his role model died in front of him. It was no surprise to anyone when he finally passed, but it hurt just the same, especially with the blizzard imprisoning Shalepaw inside the den with no escape from his thoughts.

With Creekstep's passing in the first sunrises of Newleaf, Shalepaw's life was left without its light. His undisciplined nature betrayed him; with no structure or organization to keep to, the young apprentice's hygiene and training deteriorated worse and worse as moons wore on.