RC MEDICINE CAT TRYOUTS

[Amber]

Well RiverClan is officially needing a new medicine cat. It seems our previous one poofed. So if you would like to audition for the slot post up your bio here, and I'll decide who will be the newest medicine cat.

The only prerequisite I have is that the medicine cat must be at least thirty (30) moons.

YOU HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 11TH TO POST. I WILL PICK FROM THE SELECTION AT THE END OF THAT DAY.

[Heathclaw]

Name: Tigerheart
Gender: Male
Age: 30 Moons
Clan: RiverClan
Rank: Medicine Cat
Apprentice: Open.
Love Interest: Forbidden.
Kin:
Mother: Rainfeather - NPC
Father: Stoneheart - NPC
Brother: Stormkit / Deceased
Sister: Daisykit / Deceased

Description: Tigerheart is a handsome looking tom with short fur, colored a deep dark brown with black stripes running across his back and the tabby M on his forehead. His shoulders are broad and strong, and his paws are thickset and heavy. His tail is thicker and a bit shorter than those of other cats. However, even though Tigerheart seems to have the build of a powerful warrior, his back legs seem significantly weaker than his front, and his ability to jump, run, and swim is subpar at best.

Tigerheart has an expressive face. His eyes are like a warm fire, gentle, amber in color, but able to blaze up in determination when he has a life in his paws. His ears are extra-large and flexible, and his whiskers are longer and more sensitive than most. His nose is a bit broad.

Tigerheart could be considered a gentle giant- despite his size, he typically holds himself in a quiet and unassuming manner. He's most likely to be seen head down, ears up, working around the camp, and is prone to flinching at loud, unexpected noises.


Personality: Tigerheart might as well have been born in the wrong body. His temperament is completely different than one would assume by his appearance. Indeed, Tigerheart may be as gentle and serene a cat as can be. Because of a traumatic incident in his past, he is a bit hypersensitive, and thus is not very comfortable in large crowds. However, he is very approachable in one on one conversations, although he probably won't be the first one to talk.

Tigerheart is a very intelligent cat. He has an exceptional memory, rarely needing to have information repeated twice. Although soft spoken, Tigerheart is a great listener, taking in words before forming judgments, and eager to help other cats with their problems, but only if they want to share them. Tigerheart isn't the nosy type.

Modest, quiet, yet still approachable, Tigerheart was never meant to be a warrior. In fact, Tigerheart doesn't handle battle very well at all. His weak back legs are an obvious cause, but the problem goes deeper than that. To this hypersensitive tom, the sounds, smells, and rapid motions of conflict are overwhelming- and would leave him paralyzed on any battlefield.

But, then again, Tigerheart is not a warrior. He is an experienced medicine cat and when a clanmate's life is on the line, the kit gloves come off, and this cat will use all of his focus, authority, and medical knowledge to help them.

History: Tigerkit was born the middle kit of a litter of three, to Stoneheart and Rainfeather. Like all kits, he started off as just a wriggling mass of fur, with nothing to distinguish him from his littermates than the dark tabby fur that he was named for. After their second moon, personalities started to emerge.

The biggest kit, Stormkit, thought he was already ready to become a warrior. He challenged his littermates to play fights all the time, and Rainfeather was forever keeping him from trying to leave the nursery. The smallest kit, Daisykit, was strong-willed and stubborn. She was another terror in the nursery; she had a big voice that belied her petite appearance.

Tigerkit on the other hand was as quiet and shy as his littermates were loud and boistorous. He stayed by his mother's side for a full moon while the other two started bounding around the nursery with the other kits. At this point, his legs were still strong, and his oversensitivity wasn't as acute, so he could still tussle with Stormkit and outwit the bigger cat, even if he couldn’t outfight him.

Time went on. By their fourth moon, Stormkit was having a fit of the "Terrible Twos". Bored of the nursery and longing to see the outside world, Stormkit’s attempts to leave had become increasingly inventive, and he grew ever grumpier each time he was denied.

Then, one night, Stormkit left the nursery while everyone else was sleeping. Tigerkit was the first to notice, waking up a few minutes after and sensing Stormkit's absence. He woke Daisykit, and the two of them snuck after him.

It was to be a dark night for all three of them. Tigerkit went in front, tracking his brother's scent, while Daisykit brought up the rear, searching through the shadows. An image appeared out of the night. Tigerkit's muscles seized up in horror. Daisykit screamed. Stormkit's body was at the edge of the river. He had been killed.

One thought pierced Tigerkit's numb brain. They had to get out. Whatever killed Stormkit might still be here, somewhere close by.

"Go! We've got to get back to camp!" Tigerkit hissed.

"But what about-"

"Just go!"

As Tigerkit turned and bolted, adrenaline pumped through his young body, raising his senses to a sharp edge. He could feel his heart hamming in his chest, hear Daisykit's ragged breathing as she bolted along beside him, and smell a strange sour scent all around him, the scent that lingered around Stormkit's body.

It struck suddenly, appearing from Tigerkit's right, a young fox kit three times their size. It lunged, Daisykit screamed again, and the air grew thick with the scent of blood. Tigerkit had a moment's indecision, and then he jumped forward, attempting to distract the fox, senses on high alert. There was nothing he could do for Stormkit, but he wouldn't run off and leave Daisykit to die. At the same time, he was filled with an unspeakable terror as he dodged away from the fox's blows. One strike, one fatal hit, and it would be all over.

It was Daisykit who saved them. Tigerkit hadn't lasted long, and he was tiring, his body almost at the breaking point, when a patrol of Riverclan warriors arrived on the scene, drawn by Daisykit's screams. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was his father's voice, strangely magnified.

"It's okay, Tigerkit. Everything's going to be fine."

Stormkit was dead. Daisykit died later at camp; there was nothing the current medicine cat could do for her, she'd lost too much blood. And Tigerkit... well, his senses never came down from that hypersensitive level, and his back legs never fully recovered from the strain of running and fighting for his life.

Time went on. Tigerkit tried desperately to block the event from his mind, but failed miserably, with remnants of the horror following him both in dreams and in waking. He became ever more withdrawn and timid, and hoped that he could become a medicine cat apprentice- anything to avoid fighting. When he was made a warrior apprentice, his mentor noted that he was the most difficult case that he'd ever had to work with. Tigerpaw couldn't bring back as much prey as the other cats, but he worked as hard as he could at his other apprentice tasks, and, in his spare time, he gathered herbs on the sly and passed them onto the medicine cat apprentice, Minnowpaw, whom he'd developed a fast friendship with.

Then, one day, Minnowpaw went to the Moonpool and never returned, leaving Tigerpaw devastated. He was made medicine cat apprentice a moon later, once it was clear that she wasn't coming back. Tigerpaw blossomed in this new position, and he achieved the name of Tigerheart, for his quiet, helpful nature nature.

His mentor, Streamheart, died unexpectedly when Tigerheart was twenty moons old, throwing the full burden of medicine cat on his shoulders. That was Tigerheart's loneliest hour- his kin were dead, his parents were in the elder's den, moons away from StarClan, his best friend and his mentor, gone. But in that darkest hour, Tigerheart found his strength.

He was alone, yes, but he was the lone medicine cat. No one could help his clan like he could- the responsibility was all his. And so he threw himself into his work, gleaning medical knowledge from whichever cats he could- gathering herbs, practicing his techniques, and now, at 30 moons, Tigerheart has become a cat who he himself could be proud of. No longer does he dwell sadly on his past- his traumas are all pushed to the back of his mind, still there, still remembered, but unable to affect him as profoundly as before.

Other: Due to his kithood trauma, Tigerheart suffers from one or two psychological disorders. The clumsiness/weakness of his back legs is caused by a conversion disorder- there's nothing actually wrong with them, it's all in his head. He may also have dissociation identity disorder, otherwise known as multiple personality disorder- the kind where neither identity remembers what the other is up to.

Roleplay Example: It had been a quiet day so far. Calm, peaceful, just him and the herbs, and that was just the way that Tigerheart liked it. He took in a deep, relaxing breath, blew it out gently, and then stiffened up as his ears detected a high-pitched yowl.

There was some cat in pain out there… an apprentice by the pitch of the yowl, and probably just a little ways away from camp. Tigerheart rolled out of his den, pulling down the medicines that he’d most likely need: Thyme for shock, poppy seed for pain, cobwebs for bleeding. Thus prepared, he padded quickly as he could over to the front of the den to greet the new patient.

“Tigerheart! It’s Twigpaw. He went and got his paw sprained in a rabbit hole.”

Tigerheart sighed inwardly- this was the third time he’d seen Twigpaw this moon. At least he wasn’t bleeding this time. “Well, come in Twigpaw,” he said in a gentle tone. “You too, Falconwhisker- I might need your help. Now, where does it hurt? Can you sit?”

“Yeow! No! No I can’t!”

“Hm… troubling. Let’s see…” Tigerheart tapped the apprentice’s shoulder lightly with his paw, and watched as the cat collapsed onto the den floor, screeching in pain.

“This is worse than a sprain,” said Tigerheart gravely. “It looks like a dislocation to me. Alright, Twigpaw- we’re going to have you take a poppy seed.”

He moved as he spoke, picking up one of the seeds he’d gotten earlier and putting it near the apprentice’s mouth. He then motioned to Falconpaw to come help hold his apprentice down, and whispered something into Twigpaw’s ear: “This is still going to hurt. Be brave.”

While he spoke, he placed a paw on either end of the dislocated limb, and yanked, hard, prompting a final caterwaul from the apprentice. “There we go,” he said, satisfied. “You can leave him with me for a while longer. He should rest for a day or two. Have another poppy seed, Twigpaw.”

In due time, the apprentice was out cold, and the mentor was out the door, prompting a contented sigh from the medicine cat. It was calm and quiet again. Just as it should be.