Post by senti on Aug 12, 2023 10:28:45 GMT -6
CREEKWHISKER
REDWOODCLAN
longhaired red classic tabby and white tom with orange eyes.
warrior
male
18 moons
Appearance
As is typical for a RedwoodClanner, Creekwhisker boasts a bulky and heavyset frame, perhaps imposing to some but certainly not out of the ordinary amongst his fellow RedwoodClanners. A thick coat lends itself to this build, making him seem larger as a result of the long fur that hangs off his frame. As testament to his shy and reserved nature, however, he rarely carries himself at his full height, instead often holding himself slightly ducked, shoulders pulled back in most social situations as if in an attempt to take up less space wherever he is situated.
From some angles, Creekwhisker’s head may seem disproportionately small for his body, though this is largely a result of his narrow, somewhat pointed muzzle. Tall, wide ears sit atop his head, almost constantly in motion in his state of consistent alertness. To round out his face, Creekwhisker’s eyes are a deep orange, often bright and as mobile as his ears are, belying the inquisitive nature that earned him his suffix.
Vibrant red stretches across his body, patterned with darker classic tabby markings. This colouration only extends across the top half of his body, however, with white fur coating his legs, stomach, and covering his neck and face up to the point where it cuts off at a point between his eyes. Despite his long fur and the white that takes up much of his body, Creekwhisker rarely appears dirty. Living amongst the redwoods means that he often collects debris from the forest floor, particularly as he spends more time in the underbrush than in the trees themselves, but he takes care to remain clean and can often be found picking leaves and other dirt from his pelt.
From some angles, Creekwhisker’s head may seem disproportionately small for his body, though this is largely a result of his narrow, somewhat pointed muzzle. Tall, wide ears sit atop his head, almost constantly in motion in his state of consistent alertness. To round out his face, Creekwhisker’s eyes are a deep orange, often bright and as mobile as his ears are, belying the inquisitive nature that earned him his suffix.
Vibrant red stretches across his body, patterned with darker classic tabby markings. This colouration only extends across the top half of his body, however, with white fur coating his legs, stomach, and covering his neck and face up to the point where it cuts off at a point between his eyes. Despite his long fur and the white that takes up much of his body, Creekwhisker rarely appears dirty. Living amongst the redwoods means that he often collects debris from the forest floor, particularly as he spends more time in the underbrush than in the trees themselves, but he takes care to remain clean and can often be found picking leaves and other dirt from his pelt.
Personality
Creekwhisker has always felt like he has big paws to fill, his lineage stretching all the way back to Ginger displaying a trend of strength that he feels is far more evident in his sisters than himself. Growing up as the mediator between his two sisters has made him tactful and considerate, well-versed in the art of choosing the right words and pairing them with the right time to speak. Though he may not speak much, when Creekwhisker does speak, he considers his words carefully, his tone often sounding stilted and filled with pauses as he rolls over his thoughts in his head in search of the best way to express them.
However, growing up this way hasn’t only taught him skills that can be beneficial to him. Creekwhisker is painfully shy, and anti-confrontational to the point of becoming passive enough that he fails to speak up even when others take advantage of him. He has few accidents, but this is only due to the fact that he is risk-averse and takes few opportunities, especially if they exist outside of his comfort zone. The space that Creekwhisker occupies is a safe one, though it is also a small one, and although he dislikes taking risks, he still acknowledges that he restricts himself in this way, which is a topic of significant internal strife.
Alongside this however, and perhaps paradoxically, is an eagerness to prove himself. Creekwhisker feels a strong sense of guilt about the fact that he earned his warrior name before his sisters, particularly because he feels responsible for them getting into trouble and having their ceremonies delayed, and he hasn’t yet been able to shake the feeling that he didn’t deserve it as much as his stronger-willed sisters. This is used to his advantage though, making him driven and motivated to prove to others and himself that he has something to offer RedwoodClan.
In relation to his clan, Creekwhisker is a solid pacifist, earnestly believing that violence breeds violence and that the best path for RedwoodClan to take is one of open-mindedness. He is not particularly outspoken about these beliefs, but his discomfort towards talk of more intense militance within the clan is evident - for all his tact with words, Creekwhisker struggles to mask his body language, and often gives his feelings away as a result. His moral compass is strong, and he often struggles with wanting to oppose the more militant within the clan but not knowing how to go about it without appearing disrespectful or fanning the flames of a potential argument. But he steadfastly supports Finchstar’s goal of peace through alliances, and believes that this is the way to maintain peace in the long-term.
History
Born into a loving family, Creek-kit was never starved of affection or support. Flickersight and Frecklewing were good parents to Creek-kit and his sisters, and his aunt, Flowerfang, was a frequent face throughout his kithood. The absence of his grandfather, Rowanleap, was a pit of curiosity for Creek-kit, though his trust in Flickerwing’s judgement prevented him from actively questioning the situation surrounding Rowanleap’s distance. Furthermore, Creek-kit found that his sisters gave him plenty to occupy himself with. Both having far stronger and louder personalities than he did, Creek-kit found it difficult to reach their level of boisterous energy, and so he easily settled into the role of mediator between him, further spurred by their sometimes explosive relationship with one another.
Despite Brook-kit and Splashkit’s tumultuous relationship with one another (which, at this point, was little more than typical kitten rivalry), Creek-kit fostered consistently positive relationships with each of them. He rarely played with them or the other kits in the nursery, instead preferring solitary games or passing the hours with his parents or listening to stories from the elders, but he was often enlisted to listen to his sisters’ troubles with one another and found himself frequently acting as the objective advisor to each of them. One of his favourite activities in his early kithood was listening to stories of his ancestor, Ginger, relayed to him by his great-grandfather, Oatscar. To Creek-kit’s great upset, Oatscar passed away when Creek-kit was three moons old.
Upon reaching his sixth moon and becoming an apprentice, Creekpaw was apprenticed to Ruefeather. Though anxious about apprenticeship and uncertain about whether he would ever be able to bring pride to his lineage, Creekpaw found that he got along extremely well with Ruefeather, who shared his quiet thoughtfulness. Given the space to learn in a way that benefitted him, Creekpaw found that he took to training well, picking up the skills he was taught quickly and finding creative ways to implement them. Ruefeather’s training often engaged his mind just as much as it did his body, and Creekpaw was able to find satisfaction in his progress, even as he struggled with combat training. Not a natural fighter, he disliked being in the canopy as is typical for a RedwoodClan warrior, but when Flickersight offered to help with his training, Creekpaw took to his father’s lessons about fighting stealthily from the underbrush. To this end, Creekpaw found that he had significant promise as a future spy for the clan.
When Creekpaw was seven moons, war took the island in its clutches. As his family left to go to battle, Creekpaw remained in camp with Splashpaw, nervously awaiting news throughout the night. When the battle party returned, Creekpaw searched the crowd intensely, ticking off his family members in his mind as he saw them, but failed to spot his mother amongst those who had returned. He found out that Frecklewing had died in the fight, and thus found himself suddenly and intimately acquainted with the violence and heartache that the death of a close loved one in such a situation brings.
Like his father, Creekpaw fell into a deep depression following his mother’s death, unable to understand how any fight could be worth this. It took a few moons, but with the support of Ruefeather and Brookpaw, Creekpaw eventually managed to process his grief and returned to his training with a newfound energy. If this was the way life could go, then he would do all he could to aid his clan in preventing it from happening again. It was during this time that Creekpaw fully aligned himself with the pacifist side of RedwoodClan, the certainty that his mother needn’t have died driving him to believe that the way forward was through peace.
This period of time was difficult in more than one way, though. Having always been a shy and reserved tom, Creekpaw had few friends to speak of, and struggled to truly get close to anyone outside of his family and Ruefeather. As a result of how easily he fell into the background of his sisters’ loud personalities, Creekpaw always felt as though he lacked the ability to put himself in social situations, and so he rarely tried. Despite this, he always had a deep longing to form connections, knowing from an early age that he one day wanted a family of his own. He simply doesn’t know how to put aside his shyness and open himself up to the possibility of being enough for another cat.
When he reached his twelfth moon, and right before his warrior ceremony, the blizzard struck the island. The night before his ceremony arrived, and though Creekpaw had always dreamed of gaining his warrior name alongside his sisters, both Brookpaw and Splashpaw disappeared and went missing as the storm raged. Engulfed by panic and worried for their safety, Creekpaw told his father that they had gone, and Flickersight left to find them. When he returned with both of them in tow, Brookpaw and Splashpaw had their naming ceremonies delayed as punishment, and Creekpaw stood alone as he became a warrior, ravaged by guilt at having told their father but unable to be truly sorry for it. They were safe, and that was the most important thing. Creekpaw became Creekwhisker, a name that he was able to find some pride in.
Still a young warrior, Creekwhisker continues to show promise as he further trains in his stealthy mode of fighting from the underbrush, and he has fully accepted his position as a steadfast supporter of Finchstar’s quest for peace through alliance. He still finds himself acting as a mediator for his sister, though he hopes that with age they will develop the ability to deal with their problems independently of him. Despite loving them both fiercely, Creekwhisker has begun to dream of more for himself and wishes to make a name for himself outside of the context of his sisters’ stronger personalities. Still quiet and shy, he continues to struggle making friends, but he maintains a good relationship with Ruefeather and has some developing relationships with clanmates that he hopes will blossom further.
Despite Brook-kit and Splashkit’s tumultuous relationship with one another (which, at this point, was little more than typical kitten rivalry), Creek-kit fostered consistently positive relationships with each of them. He rarely played with them or the other kits in the nursery, instead preferring solitary games or passing the hours with his parents or listening to stories from the elders, but he was often enlisted to listen to his sisters’ troubles with one another and found himself frequently acting as the objective advisor to each of them. One of his favourite activities in his early kithood was listening to stories of his ancestor, Ginger, relayed to him by his great-grandfather, Oatscar. To Creek-kit’s great upset, Oatscar passed away when Creek-kit was three moons old.
Upon reaching his sixth moon and becoming an apprentice, Creekpaw was apprenticed to Ruefeather. Though anxious about apprenticeship and uncertain about whether he would ever be able to bring pride to his lineage, Creekpaw found that he got along extremely well with Ruefeather, who shared his quiet thoughtfulness. Given the space to learn in a way that benefitted him, Creekpaw found that he took to training well, picking up the skills he was taught quickly and finding creative ways to implement them. Ruefeather’s training often engaged his mind just as much as it did his body, and Creekpaw was able to find satisfaction in his progress, even as he struggled with combat training. Not a natural fighter, he disliked being in the canopy as is typical for a RedwoodClan warrior, but when Flickersight offered to help with his training, Creekpaw took to his father’s lessons about fighting stealthily from the underbrush. To this end, Creekpaw found that he had significant promise as a future spy for the clan.
When Creekpaw was seven moons, war took the island in its clutches. As his family left to go to battle, Creekpaw remained in camp with Splashpaw, nervously awaiting news throughout the night. When the battle party returned, Creekpaw searched the crowd intensely, ticking off his family members in his mind as he saw them, but failed to spot his mother amongst those who had returned. He found out that Frecklewing had died in the fight, and thus found himself suddenly and intimately acquainted with the violence and heartache that the death of a close loved one in such a situation brings.
Like his father, Creekpaw fell into a deep depression following his mother’s death, unable to understand how any fight could be worth this. It took a few moons, but with the support of Ruefeather and Brookpaw, Creekpaw eventually managed to process his grief and returned to his training with a newfound energy. If this was the way life could go, then he would do all he could to aid his clan in preventing it from happening again. It was during this time that Creekpaw fully aligned himself with the pacifist side of RedwoodClan, the certainty that his mother needn’t have died driving him to believe that the way forward was through peace.
This period of time was difficult in more than one way, though. Having always been a shy and reserved tom, Creekpaw had few friends to speak of, and struggled to truly get close to anyone outside of his family and Ruefeather. As a result of how easily he fell into the background of his sisters’ loud personalities, Creekpaw always felt as though he lacked the ability to put himself in social situations, and so he rarely tried. Despite this, he always had a deep longing to form connections, knowing from an early age that he one day wanted a family of his own. He simply doesn’t know how to put aside his shyness and open himself up to the possibility of being enough for another cat.
When he reached his twelfth moon, and right before his warrior ceremony, the blizzard struck the island. The night before his ceremony arrived, and though Creekpaw had always dreamed of gaining his warrior name alongside his sisters, both Brookpaw and Splashpaw disappeared and went missing as the storm raged. Engulfed by panic and worried for their safety, Creekpaw told his father that they had gone, and Flickersight left to find them. When he returned with both of them in tow, Brookpaw and Splashpaw had their naming ceremonies delayed as punishment, and Creekpaw stood alone as he became a warrior, ravaged by guilt at having told their father but unable to be truly sorry for it. They were safe, and that was the most important thing. Creekpaw became Creekwhisker, a name that he was able to find some pride in.
Still a young warrior, Creekwhisker continues to show promise as he further trains in his stealthy mode of fighting from the underbrush, and he has fully accepted his position as a steadfast supporter of Finchstar’s quest for peace through alliance. He still finds himself acting as a mediator for his sister, though he hopes that with age they will develop the ability to deal with their problems independently of him. Despite loving them both fiercely, Creekwhisker has begun to dream of more for himself and wishes to make a name for himself outside of the context of his sisters’ stronger personalities. Still quiet and shy, he continues to struggle making friends, but he maintains a good relationship with Ruefeather and has some developing relationships with clanmates that he hopes will blossom further.
