Post by cosmic on Feb 17, 2024 22:27:33 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/tPo6r5U~png
character name
basic information
NAME: Bristleback
AGE: 23 moons
CLAN: RidgeClan
RANK: Guardian
GENDER: Molly [she/her]
INTERESTED IN: Any [panromantic demi-pansexual]
MATE: Soft-Open
→ Cranewind
MENTOR: Minkpelt ♰
APPRENTICE: Open
→ None
PREFIX: Bristle - for her dark fur
SUFFIX: Back - for her unkempt fur along her spine. Could be a nod to her tenacity as a guardian, watching the backs of her comrades from the attack of hawks.
AGE: 23 moons
CLAN: RidgeClan
RANK: Guardian
GENDER: Molly [she/her]
INTERESTED IN: Any [panromantic demi-pansexual]
MATE: Soft-Open
→ Cranewind
MENTOR: Minkpelt ♰
APPRENTICE: Open
→ None
PREFIX: Bristle - for her dark fur
SUFFIX: Back - for her unkempt fur along her spine. Could be a nod to her tenacity as a guardian, watching the backs of her comrades from the attack of hawks.
appearance
A large, tall dark-tabby she-cat with unkempt fur, green eyes, and polydactyl toes.
Despite not being as close to him, she is built like her father, through and through. Bristleback is built strong, with no room for anything other than muscles. Her pelt is long and rough, often unkempt and tangled. It's not uncommon for her to be found with a few twigs or leaves in her fur from her adventures. The she-cat has polydactyl toes. Bristleback is a dark tabby, which helps her blend in when helping patrols at night from hawks. Her eyes are a soft green color. She has a couple of scars on her left shoulder from the war, along with other minor scars across her body that come and go from her aggressive tendencies.
Despite not being as close to him, she is built like her father, through and through. Bristleback is built strong, with no room for anything other than muscles. Her pelt is long and rough, often unkempt and tangled. It's not uncommon for her to be found with a few twigs or leaves in her fur from her adventures. The she-cat has polydactyl toes. Bristleback is a dark tabby, which helps her blend in when helping patrols at night from hawks. Her eyes are a soft green color. She has a couple of scars on her left shoulder from the war, along with other minor scars across her body that come and go from her aggressive tendencies.
description
kithood [0 moons to 6 moons ]
A loveless unity is what she was born to. Really, she couldn't tell at first. They were a big, happy family. Perhaps StarClan had blessed Cougarcloud and Wolfstar with such a big litter, because of his status as a leader. It would make sense.
Bristlekit, she was called. Not only for her dark fur, but how fluffy and poofy it would get. Cougarcloud liked to spend extra time cleaning her unkempt fur, often with bits of grass and leaves in it from the days activities. It was pointless, honestly, as the tiny kit would just get it dirty all over again.
"You're so cool, Bristlekit! You are the leader's kit, that's so awesome!" her closest circle of friends would say. Bristlekit's fur fluffied up in confidence. Of course she was.
How great it was to be the leader's daughter.
With it came a lot to balance on her head. It made her sick sometimes on having to try to keep up a reputation that wasn't hers. All she really cared about was being a kit, not having to worry about how the warriors across the clearing would think of her. But, eventually, Bristlekit was able to use it to her advantage.
Bristlekit was closest to her mother. Perhaps all the time that Cougarcloud spent grooming the unruly kit's pelt was the reason for it. The dark kit would ask her mom to tell her ancient stories about the warriors of the past, most likely to help distract her from the pains of knots in her fur. Of course, the mother would oblige, and sometimes Bristlekit would stay for a while to continue listening, even after her grooming was complete and the other kits were ready to play.
apprenticeship [6 moons to 12 moons]
It was the day that she was finally waiting for. Cougarcloud did her best to try to tame her wild coat, but as soon as she started to run toward the clan meeting, all of her mother's work was undone.
Bristlekit lined up along her siblings, in which she was on the end. It ran Batkit, Ravenkit, Coyotekit, and her. This would be the order. Oh, why did she have to choose to be on the end? The last one to get their name and their mentor?
First was Batpaw. She was given the mentor of Spiderstorm of all cats! It wasn't fair! The deputy was the godfather to all of them... just because Batpaw was named after Batflower, that means she gets to have a strong mentor in the deputy? StarClan, she was going to have to work so hard.
Next was Ravenpaw, who was given Sunstorm. Oh great, another strong warrior. He was the father of Dawnpaw and Duskpaw, who were proving to be great apprentices around the camp.
Coyotepaw got a mentor of Garlicspring. Another cat in Wolfsong's circle... At this time, Bristlekit couldn't help but knead her paws in anxiety. The number of available cats were dwindling, and she had to get a great mentor!
"From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bristlepaw. Your mentor will be... Minkpelt."
What. The. Fuck.
Eagerly, Minkpelt ran over to touch noses with the newly-appointed apprentice. If Bristlepaw wasn't the leader's daughter, and didn't have all eyes on her, she would have rejected the greeting outright and distastefully. How could her father placed her with that young warrior, when all her other siblings got great, courageous warriors. Minkpelt, while being a devoted cat to the clan, was so young. Only around 20 moons or so. The jealousy of her siblings getting better mentors began to burn in her belly, as Minkpelt ushered the apprentice to join her on a tour of the territory.
The training started off as normal as possible. Minkpelt was teaching, and Bristlepaw was learning at a consistent pace. However, any warrior could tell there was a weird air when the two were around each other. Bristlepaw was short, almost cut-throat in her responses to the other she-cat. Minkpelt, having the same sass, would retort back. One day, there was a rather large argument that made the apprentice storm off.
That night, Minkpelt asked the apprentice to walk with her and talk. "Look," Minkpelt shrugged with a sharpness in the air, "You don't have to like me. I hear the whispers in the apprentice den. You wanted another mentor, a mentor that was closer to Wolfstar. But we are stuck together, as there is so many warriors that either have apprentices already or Wolfstar needs them for his patrols near MistClan."
Bristlepaw thought about it long and hard, with the older she-cat shaking her fur. "Just get through your training, and you can be one of the cats next to your father." She was right. That's all she had to do. Rely on herself to get better than her siblings, and then she can find her rightful place with Wolfstar's circle.
Bristlepaw took her training seriously, even more serious that she had previously. It caused her to become reclusive, even towards her own siblings. Still, she maintained a relationship with her mother, somehow.
Minkpelt and Bristlepaw then became closer, almost as if Minkpelt was an older sibling to her. As much as they didn't get along at first, than began to as the apprentice got older. Bristlepaw's skill for fighting impressed her mentor, but Minkpelt couldn't help but notice how withdrawn the she-cat was. It bothered the young warrior, as she knew that the lack of social interaction could only mean terrible things later on.
Minkpelt tried to introduce her to other cats, but nothing stuck for the apprentice. She was just focused on being good. Until, that is, that Minkpelt joined with a guardian and apprentice duo. They were Icewind and Cranepaw. Cranepaw was the first to strike a conversation, but Bristlepaw had nothing to do with it.
That is, until Cranepaw kept talking to her day after day. Bristlepaw was polite at first, but it began to get old fast.
"Just what exactly do you want with me?" The unkempt she-cat finally snapped when they were tasked to find moss outside of camp together.
"You're like a nut," Cranepaw said simply.
"Excuse me, what?" Bristlepaw wanted nothing more than to allow her anger to get the best of her.
"You're hard to crack, like a nut or acorn. You have such a hard exterior, but I want to get to know the real you. So, I'll keep talking to you until I do." Cranepaw smiled, with Bristlepaw taking a stunned moment before rolling her eyes.
But, eventually, the other apprentice grew on her. They were kind and gentle, but not timid and anxious like Batpaw. They were strong and determined, but not opinionated like Ravenpaw. They were Cranepaw, a breath of fresh air. They began to actually get close to the apprentice, just as Minkpelt breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can I train to be a guardian, just like Cranepaw?" Bristlepaw beamed.
"I don't see why not," Minkpelt replied.
She grew close to Cranepaw. More close than she had to any other cat. Was this how... love feels? What were these feelings?
She was doing so well with her guardian training, but then the damn tree fell over the river.
Her father began to speak in hysterics, at least to her, as the bellowing rumors of war circled the camp from within. "Do you think we will really have to attack the other clans soon?" Cranepaw muttered.
"I'm not sure. I don't know," Bristlepaw replied back, with Cranepaw looking at her funny.
"But you are Wolfstar's daughter, shouldn't you know?"
Should she know?
She didn't until it was her eleventh moon, and she stood with the first wave of warriors, ready to attack the cats of the misty forest. Spiderstorm was whispering something to Batpaw, Ravenpaw was gearing up to rush into the camp.
Bristlepaw was scared. Terrified. Did she want to fight? Of course, she wanted to fight. It was her father's plan. But why did her heart want her to run? But her claws were out and ready to slash any MistClan scum. What was happening to her mind? Why was she so torn? Why was she-
"Hey," a voice said softly next to her. It was her mentor. "Just remember everything you learned, and you will come back a guardian."
She was right. This was her ultimate assessment. Her father would have no choice but to make her a guardian, well before she was due for a name. No one would stop her from being the best.
The first waves ran, as Bristlepaw's large form somehow kept up. Adrenaline, she presumed. With the RidgeClan cats catching the other clan by surprise, all she remembers wet blurs of memories after the initial screeching of both sides.
The only thing that stuck out in her mind, however, was when the PrairieClan patrol swarmed the camp, and a warrior wasted no time in slicing Minkpelt's throat.
Before she knew it, a slice of pain landed on her shoulder as she collapsed on the floor. Blood drew from a large wound on her, before Cranepaw ran to her side. "Come on, we have to go!" It was Cranepaw that helped her get back to camp, before she found herself collapsing in the medicine cat's den.
Time moved slower in the medicine cat's den, she told herself. Despite Cranepaw not leaving her side, she found it lonesome. It was here that she found out about the passing of Minkpelt and Wolfstar. Two cats that were so influential to her. She mourned for days, especially since she didn't have the physical strength to carry herself to any of their vigils.
guardian [12 moons to present]
Named alongside her siblings and Cranewind, who asked to take her late mentor's name, she was named Bristleback. She wasn't sure whether to be honored or offended at the name, as her fur was not any less messy.
But, the change of name didn't bring back her attitude. Bristleback had come to realize that she had lost all her motivation, all the ambition that she had once had. She achieved her goal as a guardian, but what now? It now served as a legacy of the clan's wrongdoing. As the children of the "corrupted" leader still stand to serve.
Despite her attitude, she still wanted to feel things for Cranewind, and she tried her best to emulate the same emotions as the cat that she fell in love with before the war. Cranewind asked her to be their mate when they were both 14 moons, and she said yes... reluctantly. Not because she didn't want to love her, but because she knew she couldn't be there emotionally. Plus, they were so young...
She began more withdrawn from her clan, more angry, especially her friends and family. The longing looks of her mother and siblings made her sick. Their family heritage was destroyed by their father's ambition, and she wished for nothing else than to rid herself of the name.
"I can't believe who you've become," Cranewind told their mate one night on a patrol.
"Well, get a good look at it, because this is who I am now."
"What happened to you? You used to be so ambitious and honorable. Now, you are just like your father," the gray cat retorted.
"I am nothing like my father! I don't want anything to do with my father! I want nothing more than to leave that part of me behind!"
"Yeah, well, good luck with that! I can't help you if you can't see what is in front of you, Bristleback. And to think I liked you..." Bristleback's mate, now ex-mate, bounded off as she stood alone.
How "great" it was to be the leader's daughter.
personality
Positives
| Negatives
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relations
Pre-Plotting: Bristleback is a canon adoptable, Bristleclaw. Bristleback is the daughter of Wolfstar and Cougarcloud, and the sister to Batsong and Ravenheart.
Desperate to rid herself of her family tree and her past involvement with the war, Bristleback would identify as a mix of Saturn and Uranus with the RidgeClan plot views. Overall, her ambition and desire to live a courageous life has fallen with the lives of her father and mentor. Now, she simply tries to go through the motions of being a guardian until her life comes to a end.
Bristleback has a romantic and/or friendship and/or rivalry wanted ad with Cranewind. The two broke off from one another after the war when Bristleback became reclusive and resentful towards everyone. However, with the tides changing constantly in the valley, there could be a chance for the two to rekindle their love, or become lifelong enemies.
Desperate to rid herself of her family tree and her past involvement with the war, Bristleback would identify as a mix of Saturn and Uranus with the RidgeClan plot views. Overall, her ambition and desire to live a courageous life has fallen with the lives of her father and mentor. Now, she simply tries to go through the motions of being a guardian until her life comes to a end.
Bristleback has a romantic and/or friendship and/or rivalry wanted ad with Cranewind. The two broke off from one another after the war when Bristleback became reclusive and resentful towards everyone. However, with the tides changing constantly in the valley, there could be a chance for the two to rekindle their love, or become lifelong enemies.
Family
| Friends
| Rivals
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