Post by rhian on May 17, 2020 15:26:16 GMT -6
Blackbriar
Redwoodclan
black classic tabby
elder
Tom
118 moons
Appearance
Blackbriar is like most Redwoodclan cats, big and buff. When he was younger, he looked ready to fight a fox at any moment, with muscle built over an already big boned frame. After moons of training climbing and leaping, his hindquarters were wide and powerful (dummy thick as his mate used to say). But it wasnt even his body which made him look big, but his fur, which was thick and ridiculously long. Even now though it has gotten thinner and more patchy with age he has a distinct mane around his neck, almost a halo radiating out from his face down his chest. His fur even sprouts out from between his toes on his wide paws, a constant nuisance requiring grooming.
But while he was quite the fierce warrior in his youth, his face and body have begun to show his age, taking on a bit of extra weight on his face and jowls, giving him a wide droopy look, and his long face fur doesnt help. In fact in comparison to the rest of his face, his eyes look small, although they still glint an intelligent green-yellow hazel. Along with his eyes, his ears look small as well, set wide apart on his head to give him an even wider face shape.
In pattern he is a classic tabby, but since each cat is unique, his tabby stripes are thicker and darker. In fact they are so think on his front legs, that they are almost solid black, with only a few patches of the lighter undercoat showing through. This is also true along his back and tail, although the dark is balanced by the lighter tan color of his belly and neck ruff. His facial patterns are the closest to typical with the classic dark m on his forehead and stripes around and below the eyes. A small bit of rufousing circles his pinkish nose, and though most of the rest of his exposed skin is the same color, the pads of his toes are black like his fur.
340 words
But while he was quite the fierce warrior in his youth, his face and body have begun to show his age, taking on a bit of extra weight on his face and jowls, giving him a wide droopy look, and his long face fur doesnt help. In fact in comparison to the rest of his face, his eyes look small, although they still glint an intelligent green-yellow hazel. Along with his eyes, his ears look small as well, set wide apart on his head to give him an even wider face shape.
In pattern he is a classic tabby, but since each cat is unique, his tabby stripes are thicker and darker. In fact they are so think on his front legs, that they are almost solid black, with only a few patches of the lighter undercoat showing through. This is also true along his back and tail, although the dark is balanced by the lighter tan color of his belly and neck ruff. His facial patterns are the closest to typical with the classic dark m on his forehead and stripes around and below the eyes. A small bit of rufousing circles his pinkish nose, and though most of the rest of his exposed skin is the same color, the pads of his toes are black like his fur.
340 words
Personality
Caring - Gentle
Despite his reputation, Blackbriar is generally a decent cat to talk to, and he has a soft spot for young cats. To young cats he is especially calming and soothing, and absolutely loves to tell stories and play games with the young ones. While he can sometimes be stern, he has never once raised his voice, and takes great care to be seen as an authority figure younger cats can trust will back them up if necessary.
Experienced
Blackbriar has lived a long long life. In his many moons he has experienced many things, and has seen just as much. He may not know everything, but he can probably give you decent advice, especially with affairs of the heart and fighting prowess. He had extra experience with those. He certainly wouldn't say he is wise though, no, that's just common sense of course.
Gossipy - Crabby
If a cat has lived through a couple winters they should have learned their lesson by now, and Blackbriar does not tolerate petty whiners. He has lived through a lot and he's still here! You better not complain about not getting able to eat your favorite prey or being stuck on patrol duty, he will tear you apart with words. And not jsut to your face, oh no, he has no shame in spreading tales (always true! even if maybe they should be private) about warriors who just been extremely stupid.
237 words
Despite his reputation, Blackbriar is generally a decent cat to talk to, and he has a soft spot for young cats. To young cats he is especially calming and soothing, and absolutely loves to tell stories and play games with the young ones. While he can sometimes be stern, he has never once raised his voice, and takes great care to be seen as an authority figure younger cats can trust will back them up if necessary.
Experienced
Blackbriar has lived a long long life. In his many moons he has experienced many things, and has seen just as much. He may not know everything, but he can probably give you decent advice, especially with affairs of the heart and fighting prowess. He had extra experience with those. He certainly wouldn't say he is wise though, no, that's just common sense of course.
Gossipy - Crabby
If a cat has lived through a couple winters they should have learned their lesson by now, and Blackbriar does not tolerate petty whiners. He has lived through a lot and he's still here! You better not complain about not getting able to eat your favorite prey or being stuck on patrol duty, he will tear you apart with words. And not jsut to your face, oh no, he has no shame in spreading tales (always true! even if maybe they should be private) about warriors who just been extremely stupid.
237 words
History
Blackbriar is an old Tom, and after many moons of his life, has forgotten more than most of his clanmates even know. One of the things he has forgotten, or at least set aside, are his parents. Oh sure he remembered their names, lovely mottled Duskflower, and staunch Stonejaw, but little of their deeds and accomplishments remain.
Most of his memory is dedicated to his mate, Waspsting. To this day, he vividly remembers their first encounter, sparring as kits. Waspkit was a bit of a mean kit, playing too roughly with everyone in the nursery. But Blackkit stood up to her, fought her at her own strength. They clashed for a while, until they earned each other's respect.
As apprentices, their rivalry is more friendly, but no less intense, as they jockey to be better than the other. They go extra hard on each other when sparring, have to out catch each other in hunting, and sleep in nests side by side to "keep an eye on each other." Its a source of amusement for clanmates, to hear their bickering, but it made them very productive apprentices, and no one was getting hurt, so no one stopped them. In the end their actions got them their suffixes, Waspsting and Blackbriar. That was mildly annoying to them, leading them to join forces and occasionally set their sharp tongues towards their clanmates instead. After another sparring match ends in a heated position, they both realize that... oh, they have feelings for each other!
Of course neither of them are willing to admit it, so they spend the next several moons dodging around the whole thing, before they are forced to acknowledge their feelings. They become mates, much to the relief of clanmates who were getting annoyed of how long it was taking.
Despite their names and their reputation, neither of them was particularly mean, and now that they had accepted their feelings, they wanted to start a family. Sadly, they were very unlucky.
As the moons dragged on, all their attempts to have kits failed, twice miserably when Waspsting lost the litter early on. But the pair was resilient, and even though each new failure was a fresh pain, they persevered. They had been alive nearly six winters before that finally had some success. As soon as she realized she was expecting, Blackbriar insisted she move to the nursery, for her own safety and that of her kits. He knew it was terribly difficult for her, she had always been an active warrior. But it was a good thing she did, because even having stayed as still as possible, the birth was still very difficult, and only two of their four kits survived it. But two was better than none, and Waspsting made it through as well. The parents rejoiced at their two living children, and named them Daisykit and Phloxkit, flower names in thanks and hopes of growth.
Parenting was the greatest part of Blackbriar's life, and he has never lost his love for young cats. He spent as much time with his kits as Waspsting did, allowing her to recover from her moons cooped up and spend some time to herself, and he extra time with his children. While he and Waspsting never stopped their sharp but friendly words, Blackbriar never once raised his voice or directed annoyance to his children. They were beyond precious to him.
When they became apprentices and then later warriors, he felt sad, like he was letting them go somehow. But let go he did, and he was able to watch fondly as his kits continued on with their lives.
Sadly, tensions were getting higher and higher between the clans, and there could be no peace, not anymore. Battles between Redwoodclan and Lichenclan rage, and Waspsting and Blackbriar fight side by side. They are on the older end of the senior warriors, but not that old, or so they insisted on saying. But where a younger Waspsting could rebound from any battle, she is suddenly struck down not even in battle, but after it, by an infected wound which had no help. Blackbriar is devastated, he feels like half of himself is gone.
That winter he spends nearly all his time hunting or with his family, as he struggles to grieve. When the spring comes, his clanmates suggest he not fight, and he is stricken with guilt when they return with Heatherstar's body. Maybe if he had been there, Heatherstar wouldnt have lost her last life. He feels like he failed the clan, and insists on doing what he can. He doesnt fight, but he hunts constantly. But by the time the next winter rolls around, he struggles to get up in the morning due to sore overworked muscles and joints. Eventually he is asked to retire for the sake of his own health. At first this is excruciating for him, boring and lonely beyond compare, until he gets news that his daughter is pregnant.
A breath of life is returned to him, and he does his best to support Daisystorm throughout her pregnancy. He is ecstatic when she has two healthy kits, and grieves with her and tells her the story of her own two stillborn siblings. He tries to become perhaps too involved with ehr and her kits, and is forced to step back a bit when he realizes he is making things more complicated with Batpelt. But he never turns down a chance to see and care for his grandkits, even as they become apprentices. He welcomes them and any other kits and apprentices to the elder's den, always happy to entertain and tell them stories. He tries to make any of their duties to him fun rather than boring, because it makes him feel young.
That's his secret you see. He's finally starting to feel old. He gets winded after walking just past the camp, his joints ache, and his eyesight is growing bleary... and it terrifies him.
997 words
Most of his memory is dedicated to his mate, Waspsting. To this day, he vividly remembers their first encounter, sparring as kits. Waspkit was a bit of a mean kit, playing too roughly with everyone in the nursery. But Blackkit stood up to her, fought her at her own strength. They clashed for a while, until they earned each other's respect.
As apprentices, their rivalry is more friendly, but no less intense, as they jockey to be better than the other. They go extra hard on each other when sparring, have to out catch each other in hunting, and sleep in nests side by side to "keep an eye on each other." Its a source of amusement for clanmates, to hear their bickering, but it made them very productive apprentices, and no one was getting hurt, so no one stopped them. In the end their actions got them their suffixes, Waspsting and Blackbriar. That was mildly annoying to them, leading them to join forces and occasionally set their sharp tongues towards their clanmates instead. After another sparring match ends in a heated position, they both realize that... oh, they have feelings for each other!
Of course neither of them are willing to admit it, so they spend the next several moons dodging around the whole thing, before they are forced to acknowledge their feelings. They become mates, much to the relief of clanmates who were getting annoyed of how long it was taking.
Despite their names and their reputation, neither of them was particularly mean, and now that they had accepted their feelings, they wanted to start a family. Sadly, they were very unlucky.
As the moons dragged on, all their attempts to have kits failed, twice miserably when Waspsting lost the litter early on. But the pair was resilient, and even though each new failure was a fresh pain, they persevered. They had been alive nearly six winters before that finally had some success. As soon as she realized she was expecting, Blackbriar insisted she move to the nursery, for her own safety and that of her kits. He knew it was terribly difficult for her, she had always been an active warrior. But it was a good thing she did, because even having stayed as still as possible, the birth was still very difficult, and only two of their four kits survived it. But two was better than none, and Waspsting made it through as well. The parents rejoiced at their two living children, and named them Daisykit and Phloxkit, flower names in thanks and hopes of growth.
Parenting was the greatest part of Blackbriar's life, and he has never lost his love for young cats. He spent as much time with his kits as Waspsting did, allowing her to recover from her moons cooped up and spend some time to herself, and he extra time with his children. While he and Waspsting never stopped their sharp but friendly words, Blackbriar never once raised his voice or directed annoyance to his children. They were beyond precious to him.
When they became apprentices and then later warriors, he felt sad, like he was letting them go somehow. But let go he did, and he was able to watch fondly as his kits continued on with their lives.
Sadly, tensions were getting higher and higher between the clans, and there could be no peace, not anymore. Battles between Redwoodclan and Lichenclan rage, and Waspsting and Blackbriar fight side by side. They are on the older end of the senior warriors, but not that old, or so they insisted on saying. But where a younger Waspsting could rebound from any battle, she is suddenly struck down not even in battle, but after it, by an infected wound which had no help. Blackbriar is devastated, he feels like half of himself is gone.
That winter he spends nearly all his time hunting or with his family, as he struggles to grieve. When the spring comes, his clanmates suggest he not fight, and he is stricken with guilt when they return with Heatherstar's body. Maybe if he had been there, Heatherstar wouldnt have lost her last life. He feels like he failed the clan, and insists on doing what he can. He doesnt fight, but he hunts constantly. But by the time the next winter rolls around, he struggles to get up in the morning due to sore overworked muscles and joints. Eventually he is asked to retire for the sake of his own health. At first this is excruciating for him, boring and lonely beyond compare, until he gets news that his daughter is pregnant.
A breath of life is returned to him, and he does his best to support Daisystorm throughout her pregnancy. He is ecstatic when she has two healthy kits, and grieves with her and tells her the story of her own two stillborn siblings. He tries to become perhaps too involved with ehr and her kits, and is forced to step back a bit when he realizes he is making things more complicated with Batpelt. But he never turns down a chance to see and care for his grandkits, even as they become apprentices. He welcomes them and any other kits and apprentices to the elder's den, always happy to entertain and tell them stories. He tries to make any of their duties to him fun rather than boring, because it makes him feel young.
That's his secret you see. He's finally starting to feel old. He gets winded after walking just past the camp, his joints ache, and his eyesight is growing bleary... and it terrifies him.
997 words
