Post by Yellowstar on Aug 28, 2010 13:31:25 GMT -5
.: Name .:. Foxclaw
.: Gender .:. Tom
.: Age .:.
.: Clan .:. ShadowClan
.: Rank .:. Warrior
.: Apprentice .:. Open for a RiverClan kit apprenticed IC.
.: Love Interest .:. KOLKOLKOL- I mean, Amber and I have plans, yes.
.: Kin .:.
Heatherfeather of ShadowClan - Mother (NPC/Deceased)
Crowsnow of RiverClan - Father (NPC/Deceased)
Cherryfur of RiverClan - Sister (Amber)
.: Description .:.
Maybe it's that expression, that dark, brooding look he gives that seems to imply he was thinking nasty things about you, or maybe the way he can stare at you with a gaze both critical and emotionless that makes Foxclaw look intimidating. Upon first glance most assume he is quite an average warrior, no strikingly unusual markings or scars- although he does have quite a few of those, obtained through training and battles-, no limp or skip in the purposeful way he walks, but after being around him for a bit it's easy to see there is more to him than that. This tom radiates power, arrogance and skill in battle, and expresses it in the way he carries himself.
Onto his actual appearance, Foxclaw is by no means a large cat. His stature is one of average size, and he has a modest frame that seems to allude to a cat of normal strength and skill. His fur is unremarkable, a pale ginger color that's not too rare among toms, even among the usual dark colored pelts of ShadowClan cats. But underneath his ordinary looking appearance is a fighter. His muscles are strong and defined, having regularly worked to their limits since his apprentice days. His claws are sharp and deadly, showing no mercy in battle no matter what the circumstances. And he has more than enough stamina than would be expected, able to last long patrols and battles.
Then there are those eyes. Green/yellow in color, round and seeming to stand out from his reddish fur. Seeming to be quite average, but look into them for too long and you'll soon find their owner glaring back at you, smoldering gaze boring into your fur with an expression that simply makes you look away.
.: Personality .:.
Reserved, quiet, intense, dislikes authority, not easily irked, ambitious, doesn't care for the warrior code, critical, pessimistic
If the impression you get just by looking at him is that he's not a nice cat, you would be correct.
Quiet, reserved and put together, Foxclaw seems to be a cat that is always in control. He has a large amount of self-control and restriction and always makes sure he has good reason to act before he does anything at all. He doesn't speak unless he needs to, and if he speaks there is always something significant about what he says. Never one to run his mouth, he chooses his words carefully and only comments if the situation calls for it. That's not to say he won't have an opinion on a matter; provoking thoughts and unkind judgments often lurk in his mind but he keeps them there. However even though he doesn't often speak up and tends to go along with things, he refuses to let himself be pushed around. He will protest if he's being ordered to do something he doesn't want to do, and be prepared for quite a fight if he's continually pushed. He has quite a bit of patience but it runs short when some cat thinks they have authority over him. He makes his own decisions and when he does something, it's because he wants to, not because some other cat of high rank wants him to.
Foxclaw is detached and difficult to reach, thus not easily irked by anyone who might try to annoy him such as kits or apprentices, but once you are on his bad side be warned, you have gained a long time enemy. Foxclaw doesn't take lightly cats he deems a threat or disgraceful, and he will not hesitate to kill out of necessity or if the situation can benefit from it. That rule of 'don't kill in battle unless it is self defense' holds almost no importance for him, much as many of the other rules of the warrior code. He knows of the code, yes, and the former deputy Rainfur's efforts to reform ShadowClan have left an impression him. Just not a good one. He is greedy to a degree and will most often hunt for himself before it occurs to him to take back food to the Clan. He adheres to only his own rules and will not waver no matter what anyone tells him.
An air of disapproval and pessimism surrounds him, making him come off as a just plain unhappy and stubborn cat. This leaves him with few cats who truly try to befriend him, save for the few dense and oblivious ones who can't take a hint when they're being irritating. He forms few close connections with other cats, knowing full well that they could die any day, and always considers those he approves of with respect instead of endearment. Perhaps one day there will be a cat who can truly look past his unfriendly and hardened exterior, or otherwise make him lighten up a bit. But as it is that doesn't seem likely.
.: History .:.
In a time when the warrior code was so readily forgotten or disregarded, it isn't unusual to see cats breaking the rules. Eating their prey instead of giving it to their Clan, leaving and joining other Clans at will, not to mention the ridiculous number of half-Clan cats. Foxclaw is one of these cats. Born to Heatherfeather and Crowsnow, of ShadowClan and RiverClan respectively, he was the result of his parents breaking the code, and would eventually follow in their pawsteps. But see, Foxclaw has a bit of an unusual past, and a secret that even he doesn't know about. He was born not in the nursery, but on the border between his parents' Clans, and the result had been an agreement that Heatherfeather and Crowsnow made as soon as he was born. That chilly leaf-fall day, when he was less than hours old, his sister Cherrykit was handed off to his father, to be raised in RiverClan without his knowing. As he grew up, Foxkit was never told of his sister. Either Heatherfeather had been too ashamed and regretful of her choice to tell him, or she hadn't wanted her son to doubt his loyalty to his birth Clan, no one knows. But Foxclaw has lived his whole life thinking he was an only kit.
Foxkit grew up in a time of chaos, uncertainty and bloodshed, and learned from a very early age how tough you must be in order to survive Clan life. The weeks after he was born were plagued by violent battles with ThunderClan that took the lives of Thornstar and countless ShadowClan cats, though he was too young to remember. But as he opened his eyes and began to take in the world around him, some of the first things he remembers seeing were warriors grieving and mourning the dead, nursing healing wounds and apprentices being assigned new mentors because theirs had perished in battle. And as it drew closer to leafbare, many ShadowClan cats showed signs of sickness and eventually succumbed to greencough. This was the world he knew. Death and hardship were everyday parts of Clan life, and soon after learning this Foxkit began to grow up a very serious cat. While he occasionally still had bouts of play and roughhousing with the other kits, most of the time he was solemn and grim, knowing that the very cats he grew up around may one day simply die.
And so even though he was a kit who didn't seem to know happiness or hope, what he did seem to look forward to was being a warrior. They were the staple of the Clan, held all ShadowClan cats together, and were the toughest of the tough. Only the strongest survived each battle and wave of sickness, and he knew it was his destiny to test himself against the odds. It was what all Clan cats did. And he admired Longstar as well, for even when ShadowClan was in shambles she still held them together and faced each day bravely. He wanted to be a warrior under her, who in his eyes was the only worthy leader in the four Clans. So on the day of his sixth moon he stood in front of Longstar and was named Foxpaw, assigned to Blackstorm as an apprentice.
Training began right away and Foxpaw faced it head on. Blackstorm was a merciless cat, just as cruel in mentoring as he was on the battlefield. He taught by experience and believed in 'learning on the job', most of the time ambushing Foxpaw in surprise attacks to test his reflexes and quick-thinking. He taught his apprentice no special techniques or strategies, instead letting Foxpaw learn on his own what style of fighting worked best for him. Of course this meant plenty of injuries along the way, and Foxpaw frequently had to visit the medicine cat after training sessions with Blackstorm. But he thrived while learning with Blackstorm's teaching methods, believing them to be effective and a more realistic simulation of battle than the guided, structured ways other mentors taught. But what he liked best about being Blackstorm's apprentice was their shared belief in and admiration of Longstar's leadership. Blackstorm fed Foxpaw tall tales of ShadowClan's greatness, of days when they were the strongest Clan around the lake and when the other Clans cowered in fear of them. And even though Foxpaw had aged beyond his moons he was naive enough to take these stories to heart. Even more so than he had when he was a kit, he was determined to be one of the best among ShadowClan warriors.
As he neared the end of his apprenticeship, the time came for ShadowClan to prove its strength and superiority over the other Clans. Longstar ordered an attack on the RiverClan border, and along with the rest of his Clan Foxpaw sprang eagerly into the fight. Everything that he had learned and figured out on his own in the past five moons came to use as he was suddenly in the midst of his first real battle. RiverClan was strong but ShadowClan was stronger, and they were pushing RiverClan back further into their territory when a sudden yowl broke through the air, louder than the others. Foxpaw spared a brief moment to investigate and was horrified to see the body of his mother, lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. That sight was all it took for the ginger tom to enter a full out rage, leaping on and killing the nearest cat that was unfortunate enough to be in the area. There was little struggle, as the RiverClan tom had been staring in shock at the limp form of Heatherfeather and died soon after a wound to the throat.
The battle was won and ShadowClan celebrated their victory. Blackstorm had witnessed Foxpaw's act of fierceness and bravery in the slaying of his first cat and commended him for it. The moon after the battle was filled with the remainder of his training, and a new-found respect and companionship between the two toms. They didn't consider themselves 'friends', more like comrades who shared the same beliefs. On the day of his 12th moon Longstar named him Foxclaw and he was filled with pride, having finally became a warrior that ShadowClan and Longstar were proud of.
ShadowClan didn't gloat in their victory forever, though, because two moons after the attack on RiverClan, the defeated grew angry and set on revenge. ShadowClan was taken by surprise by the sudden attack of RiverClan but quickly retaliated, and a second bloody fight ensued. It was during this battle that Blackstorm was killed and ShadowClan was defeated shamefully, forced to cede its territory back to RiverClan. Upon the deaths of his old mentor and his mother, Foxclaw didn't grieve or wallow. Instead it seemed the deaths only hardened him more. For a cat who was born in times of death and suffering, two more- even if they were cats he was close to- didn't faze him.
It was the succession of Rainfur as ShadowClan's new deputy, however, that irritated the battle-hardened tom. He didn't understand Longstar's choice of this cat, who was so different from the majority of ShadowClan cats and seemed to want to work them all until they saw things the way he wanted them to. Foxclaw viewed the tom, although older than him, as a foolish pest who was trying to change things from the way they had been for ages. These 'reforms', as much as he disliked calling them that, turned him into a pessimistic, critical cat, even more so than he had been before. Longstar's death and Rainstar's taking over of the Clan have put him in a rotten mood for the past few days, and presently he is seriously considering whether or not he should just leave. Longstar was ShadowClan; it wouldn't be ShadowClan any more under Rainstar's leadership.
.: Other .:.
...Probably the most badass character I've ever had, I'm so proud of myself. I guess we'll see if he's even capable of love. X3
.: Timeline .:.
26 moons ago; Foxkit and Cherrykit born (age 0)
20 moons ago; Foxkit is apprenticed to Blackstorm (age 6)
15 moons ago; Foxpaw fights in the attack on RiverClan, Heatherfeather dies, Crowsnow is killed (age 11)
14 moons ago; Foxpaw becomes a warrior (age 12)
13 moons ago; Foxclaw fights in the battle with RiverClan, Heatherfeather and Blackstorm are killed (age 13)
0 moons ago; Foxclaw leaves ShadowClan with intentions of joining RiverClan (age 26)
.: Roleplay sample .:.
Not needed
