Post by kelshii on Mar 23, 2009 17:42:01 GMT -5
Name |
Graystar. [9 of 9 lives remaining.]
Gender |
She-cat.
Age |
Thirty-six moons. [Four years.]
Rank |
Leader.
Clan |
FogClan.
Beliefs|
Graystar firmly believes in StarClan, and will be forever unchanged in this. How can she not believe, when she has gone to recieve her nine lives, and seen them for herself? She thinks of them as mentors and helpers in times of need, not controllers of fate.
At first, she was a bit unsure, when she first heard of them, but she kept an open mind. The idea appealed to her. Now, she puts her faith with them, and feels glad to have unearthly cats to guide her pawsteps.
Even the fiercely independent Graystar will admit that having spirits at you side is useful.
She does, for the most part, understand why and how other cats can disbelieve in StarClan, and is perfectly content to let them continue doing so (they have their own wills, afterall), however she will not tolerate excessive bad-mouthing against the starry ancestors of the past Clans.
Parents | [NP]
A pair of rogues, by the names of Loud [father] and Bones [mother]. Both are dead.
Siblings | [NP]
There were lots, but in Graystar's litter, along with her, there was Flow [tom] and Crush [tom]. All are dead.
Other Kin | [NP]
Only three. Cousins, the kits of one of her father's litter mates. She doesn't know where they are now.
Mate |
Not yet.
Crush |
Not yet.
Kits |
Not yet.
Apprentice/Mentor |
Not yet, however she has taught cats to fight. [See history]
Appearance |
Graystar's medium-length pelt is a cloudy gray in base, fairly light in color. No white, not many varying shades, just gray. (The picture isn't entirely accurate - I need a new one...) She does, however, have darker gray (nearly black) stripes flowing over it, in the pleasing patterns of a tabby. It's shiny and healthy, usually, and well taken care of.
Her eyes are a simple, pale shade of gold, much like any other cat's and always seem to have some mischievous or alert spark in them. Her whiskers are a tad long and bendy.
Graystar is a little larger than average (as FogClan's cats tend to be), and her pelt has a few more scars than is usual even for Clan cats. They're scattered all over, in varying sizes and shapes, but none are particularly disfiguring... They are very noticeable, however.
Her build isn't unlike other FogClan cats'. She's largish, yes, but her form is strong and evenly built, giving her well-rounded physical attributes. A jack-of-all-trades of a sort, she's fast, but not the fastest, strong, but not the strongest, etc.
Personality |
To give you an idea of Graystar... well, let me just say that she's one of the few cats who will argue with a Medicine Cat.
She absolutely despises being told what to do, by anyone, and it's one of the few things that get her truly riled up if it's pressed and someone tries to control her. (Usually she's pretty mellow.) She will take opinions into mind with those she respects, and obey them when it comes down to it, but if they're friends she's more likely to do it willingly. That does not mean she isn't a worker, however; she won't hesitate to go after something that catches her eye, or is important, but she wouldn't be considered overly ambitious by a long shot.
She would definitely had been one of the Apprentices who spent a lot of time looking after Elders or doing some other punishment, had she grown up a Clan cat.
Graystar has a high capacity for mischief, excitement, adventure, action... She loves being in the midst of drama, or even on the outside of it looking in. She isn't looking at it all with rose-tint, either; she knows that horrible things can happen, even all of the sudden (and they have happened to her), but that's just how she is. She's blunt and honest with absolutely everyone, and runs at life full-tilt, even when she can see she's about to trip and take a roll down the hill.
She values her relationships with others very deeply indeed, even those from other Clans, and often has trouble putting her own Clan's well-being first and putting friends of her own Clan first when it comes down to it. She is highly loyal (generally without being blinded by it, but she can be played), and always looks out for those she cares about, whether they like her or not, and whether they want it or not. (She can be a little suffocating sometimes.) She's one of those cats who would actually consider (do more than consider, in some cases) breaking the Warrior Code if it meant she would save or improve the life of a friend.
Graystar is a strategist, as odd as that seems. However, her plans, though mostly brilliant, are made on-the-fly more often than not, and some end up rather badly. She has and will gotten/get better with time, of course, but still.
As Leader of the Clan, Graystar hasn't much to worry about in the way of others trying to tell her what to do. She relishes in this, and also in the fact that she is in the midst of most things happening - her love for drama and excitement flourishes. She isn't trying to create or encourage any of it (right now), but she'll be right there when signs of it come up.
However, she has to reign in any friendships with Clan cats other than her own that she has, which is not easy for her. She knows that as Leader she cannot have divided loyalties - period. It's difficult, but she will manage, somehow... Not that she'll push her friends away. She is, however, noticeably more distant, though no less friendly. There's a wall between them now, and it's hard to miss, despite how normally she behaves with them.
Graystar does love being Leader. A part of her is still amazed at how far she's come, from being a streetcat in a Twolegplace to this - having so much on her shoulders, the lives of so many cats so entangled in her own... But instead of dragging her down, it lifts her up. She likes being able to care for so many, and they are beginning to heal the remnants of pain that her late family left. She's Leading a group of her own, as her father did before her.
Graystar also cannot lie to herself - she does like the power she wields now, as well as the fact that she has more than one life.
Skills |
Graystar's one of the few FogClan cats who is not a super-terrific hunter or tracker (good enough to suffice), but is incredible when fighting, and she has been since longer than most Clan cats. [See history.] Graystar has a unique mind for battle techniques, and her style is constantly shifting and changing. Those who have had her as a teacher or received tips from her all agree that she can teach you to fight like no one else can.
She is not bloodthirsty, per se, but she loves to fight. She's always willing to spar with anyone, even those from other Clans, at any time and any place. It's what she does, her calling, her forte; even her every movement is swift, fluid and smooth, as if she was dodging an opponent or getting into place to attack.
Graystar isn't particularly strong, fast, agile or enduring (though she is a fair bit of each of those) - it's just how she uses her body that counts. She thinks of every part of her as a potential weapon, not just her claws or teeth.
History |
Graystar was born as Strike, a she-cat in a rather large Twolegplace not too far from the one near the Clans now.
The part of the Twolegplace that her mother and father had staked out as their own was not in one of the best areas. It was overcrowded with animals - cats, dogs, vermin, pigeons and crows were all prevalent among them. The vermin and birds provided ample food, but dogs and other cats were a large problem. Not to mention the twolegs, who were doing plenty of things to get rid of their overabundance of critters.
Loud and Bones holed up in the walls of an abandoned building. It was 'owned' by Loud's family (Bones ' was unaccounted for), and was one of the safest places available for raising a littler of kits, which they were determined to do.
Strike grew up in a sort-of clan, though not a very organized one. There were no real laws, positions or traditions, only whoever was in charge at the time (squabbles for the position did happen now and then, for whatever reason) and what they decided would happen. One thing always remained unchanged, however: they all took care of each other.
No one was left to starve or die from their wounds, and kits were taught to be able to fend for themselves at young ages, just in case (they had a lot to worry about, between unfriendly groups of cats, packs of dogs, and twoleg tricks and contraptions). When they were old enough, they started to help with hunting and teaching the other young ones about survival.
It was not easy to come out alive some days, young, old or in between.
It was never boring, at any rate.
Strike was nearly two years and a few moons old when everything came crashing down - literally.
They were scraping by pretty well - more than scraping by, in fact - and everything was going swell. Then something they never expected happened, and they didn't know until it was too late.
The building they lived in was scheduled for demolition.
Strike and her brothers were on a patrol, as were one other set of three cats, when their home was destroyed. They heard the noise from the wrecking balls and machinery (though they didn't know that's what it was called) from where they were, on the outer reaches of their land. They turned and went back, meeting up with the others, and when they arrived they saw rubble and smoke and bodies...
Everyone went together and hid in one of the cubbyholes on a part of their territory, in shock, to wait out the night and figure out what to do in the morning.
The other three cats decided to go and join some other group, but Strike, Flow and Crush all made the choice to leave the Twolegplace and travel on their own. They were sort of tired of their life style and wanted adventure - Strike especially. Not to mention, they would need time to heal from the wounds in their hearts, and the Twolegplace was not the best place to go about doing that in.
Nothing but misfortune befell them, even still.
They wandered for a long time, several moons, and in that time they had little rest. It was not easy on their own, moving from place to place, as they discovered very quickly. Wild dogs, Twoleg monsters, the actual occasional twoleg, birds of prey, badgers, foxes, terrible storms, deep rivers...
By the time they had reached the area that would become the homes of the four Clans, Flow had been injured by an owl and his wound had become infected, thus dealing him a slow, painful death and Crush had been in a tree when it had been hit by lightning, as unlikely as it would be that that would happen... Strike was left alone.
As callous as it sounds, she had come out stronger for it all.
She was three years and some moons when she came across the newly-begun FogClan and joined it gladly, eager for a life like the one she had had seemingly so long ago, and yet also somewhat different. She wanted family and familiarity so badly it ached in her chest, and needed something to distract her from the consuming grief of loosing all of her close family. (She never really got to deal with her emotions while wandering with her brothers, for all the hassle they went through.) Learning how to be a Warrior of FogClan seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
She gladly gave up her rogue name and became Grayclaw. Shortly after she joined, as the ranks were being filled, she was chosen to be Leader, to her surprise. She wasn't unprepared for such a position, however. She had seen her father and his family rule, and seen their mistakes - she wouldn't make those, but she had little doubt that she would make her own.
Now, she has sorted everything out, for the most part and is focusing on Clanlife. It's still painful to talk or think about them, but that's only to be expected. It will get better in time, like all, or most, things do. And it has gotten a great deal better, considering, mostly because of the friends she has now, the responsibilities placed on her and the things she now does and can do.
Role Play Sample |
What a day to be on patrol.
It was overcast and very cloudy overhead, giving everything a darkened, almost heavy effect. The clouds were huge, rolling in all their puffiness and bulkiness across the sky, threatening to dump positive oceans of water on them all at any moment.
Strike twitched an ear uneasily, a shiver running up her spine as she drew her gaze back down to earth, just as Flow tapped her on the shoulder with his tail.
"You still awake, sister? It does no good to keep your eyes trained so high, when we're being threatened down here." He chided her quietly, before turning away and moving to the head of their small group, past Crush, and jumping to the top of a giant twoleg crowfood holder to get a look around.
Those never made much sense to Strike; why did the twolegs keep their carrion for periods of time? Why didn't they do away with it, bury it right away, like the cats did?
Then again, why did twolegs do any of those strange things they did...
Anyway, their crowfood holders made good scout posts. And the big black spidery things on the walls, but there weren't any here.
Crush chuckled, his deep voice resonating in the alleyway they were moving through. "Flow has a point," he titled his head at her, smirking. "We're too close to hostile territory here. Pay attention."
"Well, sorry," Strike mewed, a bit snippy. "Something's just bothering me, that's all." She gazed around them briefly, spine still tingling. "The weather isn't good. Not at all..."
"So? We'll just have to stick it out." Crush meowed, moving on as Flow gracefully leaped down to them, shaking his head. They were clear, for the moment. "It's not like you to complain... Is something wrong?"
That brought both of their attentions to her, and she laid her ears back and stalked forward, brushing past them. She bumped Crush's shoulder with her own as she did, maybe a bit harder than necessary.
"Yes, something's wrong," she grumbled, more irritated at the situation than her brothers. "I can't land my paw on it... I suppose it could be the weather -"
"No," Flow interrupted brusquely. "I feel it too. It feels like we're being watched, but I didn't see or smell anyone."
That was it. And the weather, too. It really was making her uneasy. Rain was never good, especially on patrols; it washed away scents and made it harder to hear and see.
Strike resolved to pay more attention to their surroundings. She knew they were being watched, and so did Flow... that had to count for something.
"I think you're both just over-sensitive mousebrains." Crush meowed good-naturedly, and bounded ahead carelessly.
"Crush!" They both hissed at once, moving forward to halt him -
Too late.
From around the corner of the mouth of the alley - the corner that Flow probably hadn't been able to see as well - came five cats from their neighboring family, each moving swiftly and aggressively, obviously looking for a fight. There were three she-cats and two toms of varying colors and sizes, all as young or a little younger than Strike and her brothers.
Good. Maybe that would mean they weren't very experienced fighters... Not all of the families worked the same way as Strike's, rotating teachers and having cats help teach as young as they did. It gave them advantages.
Two of them went for Crush, a tom and a she-cat, and the other three came for her and her brother. The remaining tom went for her and the she-cats for Flow.
Strike tuned out the hissing, spitting and yowling going on around her and sank into a crouch, moving smoothly along the ground and circling her opponent. The tom stayed tall, lips pulled back in a snarl, growling as deeply as Crush did. He had short black fur and was almost the same size as her, maybe a little bigger. No problem. She'd seen him before, too; his reactions were somewhat slow...
He lunged for Strike, aiming a blow at her face. Strike waited a split second and then surged forward right at him, turning her head so the blow grazed her shoulder instead, and tackled the tom full-force, putting her weight into the blow.
She wouldn't be able to hold him down, but she could knock them both into the rough, unforgiving wall, which she did. The tom hit the wall with a small thud, and Strike bit an ear viciously, tearing it.
He muscled her off surprisingly fast, and Strike darted back before he could try to pin her. She jumped at him, trying grab his back, but he squirmed away, hissing, blood streaming sluggishly down the side of his face and neck.
Strike changed track without missing a beat, expecting the dodge, and bowled into his side, slamming him into a wall again, the opposite one this time. The air rushed from his lungs with a soft whooshing sound, stunning him, and Strike landed a quick bite into his shoulder without remorse. Luckily he was a shorter-furred cat, so it was easier to do damage.
She moved away from him while he was still wheezing, casting a swift gaze over at her brothers, but keeping alert.
Crush was doing well. He'd knocked one cat unconscious and seemed to be playing with the other, teasing it. Flow was currently diving off of the crowfood holder at his frazzled-looking enemies, but he was bleeding in several places.
Strike didn't have time to watch, however. She hit the ground as her own attacker rushed at her, and lunged to meet him from underneath, throwing him off with her shoulder, before whipping around and lashing with her claws, scoring a hit over a flank. He yowled and jumped on her, pinning her flat. She wriggled energetically, but he held her and bit her shoulder. Hard.
Strike finally made a sound. She hissed in pain and annoyance, then brought her hind legs up and clawed his belly. He'd been anticipating this, apparently, because he jumped away before she could get a deep hit in.
Then a yowl of retreat sounded from one of the cats who Flow had been battling, and they were gone, dragging their unconscious teammate rather roughly.
The three of them instantly glanced around at each other, checking for serious wounds.
Flow had a slash on his flank and a smaller one on his tail, and Crush had one long, shallow one over his side, but they were all right. Strike relaxed, relieved. She hadn't really been worried, but you never know...
"Well," Crush meowed finally, as they started back toward their home, "I'm never calling either of you two oversensitive mousebrains again."
We have a cbox again and we're opening the place up as a closed, members only rp