Sootstar//Mountainclan//Leader
Mar 8, 2010 20:58:36 GMT -5
Post by Lawly-Pop on Mar 8, 2010 20:58:36 GMT -5
Name: Sootstar
Age: 50 moons
Honors: SkyClan
Mate: -
Kits: -
Gender: Tom
Clan: MountainClan
Rank: Leader
Appearance:
Age: 50 moons
Honors: SkyClan
Mate: -
Kits: -
Gender: Tom
Clan: MountainClan
Rank: Leader
Appearance:
He stepped through the tall grass, flattening the thin green stalks under his paws. His clean white claws protruded just slightly, even though he had them sheathed. They dug into the dirt, leaving claw marks rather than simply pawprints. The grass ended abruptly, brushing against his lean belly one final time as he stepped out onto the rock. His claws made a soft tapping noise against the hard surface.Personality:
The tom looked out onto the ledge, the wind barely ruffling his short pelt. His blue eyes were steely, his torn ear and his good one both flicking rapidly. He was poised, ready for a fight like so many that had dotted his pelt with scars.
His face was a charcoal color, extending just below his ears. The rest of his pelt was various shades of dark browns with a slight hint of cream. He extended a long, soot-colored leg before him, flicking his tail of the same color gently. He tilted his head into the air, black nose twitching. His long, white whiskers, only gracing one side of his face, were still.
Then, suddenly, the great tom was still, melding with the shadows and highlights of the mountain. The bird didn't see him, and he pounced, nearly flinging himself off of the ledge. He regained his footing quickly, scrambling onto the rock with the bird in his jaws.
It was a great catch for Sootstar, leader of MountainClan.
It is no secret that Sootface was quite a feisty warrior. His pelt is littered with scars, one of his eyes is vision-impaired, and one of his ears is torn from battle. He was always willing to fight, even his own Clanmates. He never was caught fighting his own Clanmates, but it is widely rumored that, as a warrior, Sootstar broke this part of the warrior code more than once.History:
He will not deny, if asked, that he fought his Clanmates. Sootstar is stubborn, yes, but he has learned from his mistakes. He is honorable, and vowed to the most important cat in his life that he wouldn't keep secrets anymore. He only breaks this vow when he feels the secret isn't his to tell.
He has learned from the mistakes of Badgerstar, MountainClan's former leader. He has vowed not to let his Clan fall into disarray, no matter how old or unfit to be leader he becomes. He tries his best to be fair and diplomatic, but he has always been prejudiced, judging cats by the way they look. He tries to look beyond appearances, but years of prejudice still influence him.
He's always had a temper, even as a kit. Now, however, instead of fighting out his anger, he will storm off and fume. He tends to complain to his friends, and will sometimes go off on a tangent, ranting about every little thing that bothers him. Ranting helps him to keep his temper under control, however, so his friends will tolerate it.
Sootstar is afraid to lose control again. He keeps a hold on his temper, but in the past he was a loose cannon. He hurt a cat that he loved, and he fought his Clanmates and broke the warrior code. The tom is ashamed of his temper, and he does not ever want that to happen again. He keeps his distance from his Clanmates, and will sometimes stalk away in the middle of a conversation when he feels his temper creeping again.
He loves kits, but keeps away from the nursery unless he is having a very good day. If he were to lose his temper and hurt a kitten or a queen, he would never forgive himself. After all, he hasn't even forgiven himself for all of the other Clanmates he has hurt.
Kithood: Sootkit had a sister, that much he knows. His mother, Blacktail, refused to talk about Sootkit's sister. He never even knew her name. The only reason he even knew he had a sister was that he overheard two of the elders gossiping.Roleplay Example:
"He just walked right into camp and took her away. He didn't say a word to Blacktail. She's lucky that she hid Sootkit, she is."
"To think such a pretty thing like her could have mated with him."
When the elders finally noticed Sootkit standing at the mouth of their den, it was too late. He'd already heard enough. He ran from them, shaking in anger. How could his mother have done that? She'd told him that his father had died before he was born. She'd told him that he was a miracle kit, her only kit. She'd lied to him.
A gentle warrior, already beginning to get on in age, found him crying. Rainflower had never been able to turn away a cat in need. Her comforting presence was enough to keep Sootkit from leaving his mother forever.
Still, he refused to listen to Blacktail afterward. In fact, he wouldn't listen to any queen. When he play-fought, he fought to hurt. He fought to release his pent-up frustration and anger. it became a coping mechanism. He hurt the other kits, and soon the queens refused to let him play with their kits.
His closest friend at that point was Rainflower. He could rant to her when he was upset, and she always listened to him. He never laid a claw on her.
Apprenticeship: Sootkit wanted more than anything to be apprenticed to Rainflower, but Badgerstar knew of his nature, and wanted him to be mentored by a cat who would be tough on him. Badgerstar knew that Rainflower was gentle, and she didn't want Sootkit's mentor to be gentle with him.
Adderclaw was a tough, no-nonsense tom. He started Sootpaw's first training session with a list of rules for the feisty tom to memorize, which Sootpaw immediately ignored. He had wanted Rainflower as his mentor, not this crotchety old cat. The gentle she-cat told Sootpaw to listen to his mentor, and he really tried for her.
Tigerpaw hated Sootpaw. At every turn the older apprentice was bothering the young tom. He picked on everything about Sootpaw, from his looks to his past. Sootpaw tried not to fight him again, Rainflower coaching him through his temper, but he snapped. While the two apprentices were training, he started to fight. He left Tigerpaw injured and bleeding, while the striped apprentice had torn off most of one of his ears.
He was proud of himself for standing up to Tigerpaw, even with his Clanmates dissapproval. He was punished harshly for the fight, but he didn't care. He didn't mind taking care of the elders and the queens, even when they gossiped about him.
The one punishment that he couldn't stand was Rainflower's disapproval. He hated to feel the senior warrior's disappointment in him, and promised himself that he wouldn't fight again. It had hurt Rainflower too much.
Tigerpaw didn't bother him again. None of the apprentices did. As far as they were concerned, Sootpaw didn't exist. Again he found himself friendless, a nobody. Rainflower didn't forget the incident with Tigerpaw, he knew, but she forgave him. Her friendship was what he needed.
When Sootpaw was twelve moons old, a she-kit by the name of Cloudkit was born. Somehow, the young tom just knew that she was special. Despite the queens' general dislike for him, he managed to visit her constantly. When his apprenticeship was delayed for his bad behavior and for Adderclaw's strict standards, spending time in the nursery watching Cloudkit was enough to calm him.
During those three moons that Sootpaw waited for his warrior ceremony, he rarely even had the urge to fight. Something about Cloudkit had changed him. He visited her every day, and the queens grew tolerant of him. They could see that he had changed.
Finally, when Sootpaw was fifteen moons old, the time came. He was to become a warrior.
Warriorhood: Despite Adderclaw's tough standards, Sootpaw proudly became Sootface. He was fifteen moons old, older than most apprentices became warriors, but he was happy enough to become a warrior. Adderclaw had been a difficult mentor, and Sootface hadn't exactly been a model apprentice.
His first few moons of warriorhood were uneventful. He was excited at first, but his excitement soon turned into a sense of normalcy. He developed a routine as a warrior. The tom got in the occasional argument, and more than once had a scuffle with a Clanmate. At no point, however, did he fight as hard as he had fought Tigerpaw when he was an apprentice.
Cloudkit became Cloudpaw three moons after Sootface received his warrior name. She was apprenticed to Tigerpaw, who had become Tigerpelt. When Sootface heard this, he froze. Anyone but Tigerpelt!
The tabby warrior still gave him a dirty look every time they saw each other, and more than once got very close to fighting again. He saw Cloudpaw whenever he could, as nothing could keep him from her. She grew to think of him as an older brother and a best friend, oblivious to the feelings he was developing for her.
When Sootface was twenty-two moons old, he received his first apprentice. Wrenpaw was quite a witty young she-cat, and Sootface found himself constantly laughing during their training sessions. Even with their new friendship, the Siamese only ever had eyes for one little she-cat.
Cloudpaw was twelve moons old and Sootface twenty-four when the white apprentice became Cloudfur. The two remained friends, and poor oblivious Sootface was beginning to think that she felt the same way for him as he did for her.
When he finally confessed, he knew immediately that he had been wrong. Cloudfur didn't want to hurt him, not at all. She didn't know what to do, and tried to let him down gently. Sootface... you're like a brother to me.
Those words shattered poor Sootface and he stormed off, more upset than angry. How could he have been such a fool? He tried to be as kind to Cloudfur as he had before, but something always held him back. The white she-cat was upset by his actions, but tried to be understanding. Above all, she wanted him to find a new she-cat to love. She tried to set him up with Wrenpaw, now Wrenflight, but the relationship didn't work out and Sootface remained just friends with his former apprentice.
Then, one day, Sootface just exploded. He couldn't take bottling his emotions anymore. He went after Cloudfur, claws unsheathed, and the she-cat had no choice but to defend herself. Even as the tom cried, letting his feelings out into the open, he fought her. She hadn't wanted to do any permanent damage, but she cut one of his eyes when he tore at her fur.
He realized what he was doing then, and he ran. How could he have hurt Cloudfur? He loved her. Even after his injured were healed and he spent a long moon in the medicine cat's den for his eye, he could hardly bear to look at her. Eventually, he caught her alone after she had gone hunting. He mumbled an apology, despite his stubborn, proud nature. Sootface was so ashamed that nearly cried as he apologized for what he had done. Cloudfur had always been the forgiving type, and she could see that Sootface was remorseful. She could see how his actions were tearing him up inside.
After that event, Sootface was a model warrior. He never lost control again, and somehow managed to rebuild his friendship with Cloudfur. He never did blame her for the vision impairment in his eye. In his opinion, it was his own fault.
Deputyship: Badgerstar's deputy, Longface, retired to the elders den when Sootface was thirty-eight moons old. He didn't expect to be chosen due to his reputation and his disability, which he had spent many moons conquering. The dark-faced tom was amazed at Badgerstar's words, and somewhat skeptical. It was no secret that, in her older age, Badgerstar had an even looser hold on reality than before. She never had been a very good leader, always sneaking around and letting her Clanmates walk all over her.
In reality, Badgerstar was more lucid than she had ever been. She knew that she wasn't a fit leader, and she knew that she was due to die before long. She wanted a deputy who was strong and capable, and who wouldn't let other cats make decisions for him. She wanted Sootface.
The tom spent seven moons as deputy, during which time he mentored another apprentice. His second apprentice graduated as Stormcloud.
Leadership: Badgerstar lost her last life when she fell off of a cliff. She had always had incredible balance, and cats were surprised by her death. Some even said that she "fell" on purpose, but Sootface had quickly quashed those rumors. Whether they were true or not, he didn't like when cats spoke ill of the dead.
Soon after, he journeyed to the Skypool and became Sootstar.
...Pictures:
Ooar.Codeword:
Blegh
