Duskheart [&]

[roscoe]

"To be or not to be. That is the question, so they say. But I ask this: Why would you not want to be?"
~Duskheart




Name | Duskheart

Gender | Tom

Age | 51 Moons

Rank | Warrior

Clan | FogClan

Beliefs| StarClan brought the answer to Duskheart’s biggest question: where do cats go when they die? It was the only answer he had ever gotten that seemed believable enough to him; for that he was grateful. So yes, he believes in StarClan. He believes that they watch over all cats and provide a place for all cats to stay when they pass on.

Can StarClan affect the living, though? No, not in his beliefs. Duskheart toys with the thought that they can send warnings and dreams. He did watch his leader get nine lives and he does recognize the medicine cat as having a close connection with them. But asides from the occasional warning, StarClan cannot affect the living in anyway. Beliefs excluded.

For him, PineClan is not that big of a deal. Most of the cats didn’t believe in StarClan at one point, so why are they turning against PineClan now that they do? It’s rather hypocritical or just plain stupid in Duskheart’s mind.

For Duskheart, the only other thing he can truly believe in is his clan. His clan and the clanmates in it. Those cats are what keep him alive as Duskheart and he truly believes that without them, he’d be nothing.

Parents | Titan [father,kittypet] x Luna [mother,kittypet]

Siblings | Dawn [sister,kittypet]{NP} , Night [sister,kittypet]{NP} , Morning [brother,kittypet]{PC}

Other Kin | Lady [aunt,loner,deceased]{NP} , Fred [uncle,loner]{NP}

Mate | None

Crush | Not Yet

Kits | Fantasy [she-cat]{PC}

Apprentice/Mentor | Willowpaw

Appearance | Let’s start with build. Duskheart is a naturally large cat, the largest of his litter. His muscles are spread pretty evenly along his body, slightly more prominent on his back legs. That aids him in battle when he needs to launch himself over to an enemy. His paws are also big, matching up with his body well, and making him surprisingly graceful for a cat his size.

Duskheart’s fur is long in the winter, summer, fall, and spring. It rarely loses its length and brings some cats to wonder how he can stand it. The answer is this: his fur is not thick. While it is long, the strands are very thin and easily allow cold air to reach his skin.

His fur’s color is an odd one. It’s dark, dark brown, looking black most of the time. The only hint of it’s actually color is when it’s hit by light. Then the fur lights up with a reddish tinge. This happens mostly along his chest and stomach, where his fur is longest.

Duskheart’s whisker are average length, a pale gray in color, and don’t drop that much. When he’s upset, though, they seem to droop more than they really do. His eyes are a pale, ghostly green, with almost unnoticeable flecks of brown on them.

Personality | With such a complex personality, can Duskheart really be described? How could someone really list what makes up the tom's personality without leaving something out? Perhaps he could do it himself, if cats could write, but it'd be littered with bias. So trying to explain to you what exactly makes up Duskheart's mind would be a pointless task. You'd get a basic knowledge of this complex tom at the most. But maybe, just maybe, you could try to get a grip on who he is, what makes him tick, why he ticks, and when he ticks.

Just maybe.

Let's start off simple. Duskheart is a kind cat; he's very compassionate. He'll never leave another cat behind, regardless of what the situation is. And even when all evidence points toward one cat as the villain, Duskheart will always try to look deeper into things. Insons insontis insquequo expertus crimen. Innocent until proven guilty. Always. Jumping back to him being a kind cat, the tom will never turn down a chance to help someone- enemies excluded. Once a cat has been asserted as his enemy and there's no way to prove they're innocent, Duskheart turns against them with all the power in his claws.

Duskheart is also respectful. It's not unlikely to find the tom sitting around with the elders and listening to a young warrior speak their woes. And he loves to contribute alongside the elders and watch as the cat seems to get better. He knows one day he'll become an elder, and, unlike most cats, he can't wait. Sure he wants to fight for and defend his clan. And yeah, he likes being young (compared to the elders). But one day Duskheart will make his way to the elder den and take his place completely willingly.

Pull on your scuba masks, we're about to go deeper.

Just because Duskheart believes a cat until he knows for a fact they're guilty does not mean he is easily fooled. He knows when someone's pulling his leg or playing on his sympathy. Those cats are scum to him, of course. Only the lowest of the low would go as far as to play on the trust and compassion of a cat who's done nothing more but show trust and compassion, if that makes sense to you.

His loyalty to things is another plus, he says. Most of his loyalty is to his clan and friends. In fact, Duskheart has a hard time being loyal to himself. Or at least, being loyal to his decisions. The tom forms an opinion or a path to take quickly and loses it even quicker. He just thinks that someone else’s choice is better than his, and switches so he can be on that track. Maybe not a better choice sometimes, but a more interesting one. One that will provide the tom with endless (at least until the problem is over or solved) entertainment.

The tom's mind is full of questions, though. How does one do this? Why does one need this? How will one react to this? If I eat the last mouse, will cats say something? If I sleep outside of the den, how will others take it? His mind is eternally running with questions. And they'll never stop. In a world so big, so bold as the one he lives in, is there anyone who could answer all his questions? No. There's nothing in the world that could satisfy his thirst for knowledge. No cat could answer why crickets don't manage to escape the talons of an approaching bird or why the sun never stops moving.

So he takes it upon himself to get answers to his questions.

Duskheart will deliberately set things up in away so that events play out in a certain way. He can be extremely manipulative doing this, but most of the time doesn't realize it. It almost never hurts the cats he works with. And if it did, someone would tell him, right? Anyway, back to the facts. Duskheart will spend hours sometime just thinking about what he would say in scenarios. He can pick the most random questions (why did you scratch that cat with your left front paw? Is that a strip of bark in your fur?) and compose deep answers to them. Even stupid questions deserve an answer.

The time he spends working out what he will say aids in his overall goal to have his query answer or his theory tested.

Let me give an example of this.

It’s MoonHigh and the deputy approaches Duskheart to inform the tom he will be on Dawn Patrol the next day. Duskheart, wanting to see the extent of his deputy’s leadership, control, and temper, replied with the following words. (the cat’s name for the deputy is purely made-up ‘cause I needed a name)

”I’m sorry, Stormclaw, but I do think I won’t be feeling well in the morn.” His words have been planned and his pale green eyes flash with faux sickness.

“You think or you know?” The deputy replies. Duskheart, having considered this reply long before the exchange took place, merely sits up and begins to weakly wash his ears.

“I think, deputy. There’s no way I can know how I will feel in the morning.” A pause, caws of night birds heard as the two cats stare each other down, one with a look of humor, the other slightly annoyed.

“You’re going on the Dawn Patrol,” the deputy snaps suddenly, hesitating before walking away. The gray tom flicks his tail for a moment then turns back to Duskheart. “See the medicine cat now, however. Leaf-Bare is coming… we can’t lose warriors to any sickness.”

Duskheart purrs with satisfaction, padding off to the medicine cat for some poppy seeds he wouldn’t really need, but would be grateful for. He had gotten his answer to the question he proposed to himself. While not what he was expecting, Duskheart was still glad he had done it. Now he knew exactly (more or less) where Stormclaw stood on ordering “sick” cats.

See what happened there? If this truly happened, Duskheart would have planned out the conversation in his head hours, maybe even days, before. He has no problem with his long (or short, for that matter) term memory. The moment he wondered the result, the tom would’ve planned it out, and waited for a key moment to execute his plan.

Feel the pressure? Turn on your oxygen tanks higher then, it’s just gonna get worse.

With his mind set on question, the only thing that could please him more than getting one answer to a question, is getting two. It’s for this reason Duskheart tends to answer questions with one of his own. He’s fully aware of how it pisses cats off, sure. But it leads him to getting the answers he wants and if no one gets hurt, then it’s all fine to him. (again, the name is simply made-up)

"Duskheart, do you want me to grab you something from the fresh-kill pile?” A she-cat asks, waiting for the tom to respond.

“Why would you do that, Sandflower?” Duskheart replies, studying a nearby tree.

“Because you’ve been training, Duskheart. You should be hungry. I’ll get you a mouse or something.” And she’s gone, slipping through camp to the fresh-kill pile. Duskheart smiles and turns to watch the cat leave. He had gotten his answer, she had answered his question, and she had gotten her answer. With answers in the air, who couldn’t be happy?

Well, why couldn’t they be happy without answers?

And so begins the new scenario. But that’s another story.

What you could say is the biggest part of Duskheart’s personality has now been covered. To a little extent of course, two pages is no where near enough to describe how the tom works when it comes to his questions and his answers.

But there are other aspects to him; let’s move on.

Duskheart.

Dusk- Representing a dark colored fur, but not entirely black. Suiting this tom well with his dark, dark brown long fur, looking red in some lights. The shade of dusk, his mother would say.

-heart A personality suffix. Given to the most worthy cats. Loyal, brave, caring. All of which Duskheart is. But all you’ve really seen to him is his curiosity. Shouldn’t he have been named Dusknose?

StarClan forbid.

It shouldn’t be as hard to understand from here on out. Loosen up the mask a bit, because the rest will be given to you simply.

Mentioned before, Duskheart is extremely loyal- but not to himself. The tom would easily die for his clan. That’s not to say he’ll die easily, oh no. But in the end, if he were to go, it would be for his clan, preferably in battle. To die as an elder in battle his what he wants, even if elders are not allowed to fight.

I’ll just live until a raid then!

So he plans.

FogClan means everything to him. Even if it’s been only five moons, the clan has quickly become his family, the members his brothers and sisters. Figuratively, of course. Unlike some cats that have a soft spot for just one age of cats, Duskheart has found himself having a soft spot for all cats. As long as they’re in FogClan, of course.

His friends (clanmates), like his clan, mean everything to him. Of course he’d be willing to die for them. But Duskheart will admit that if he can avoid dying for his friend in a way that would benefit the clan, he would. And his closest friends know that. In fact, Duskheart would not be surprised if the whole forest knew that.

To his dying breathe he’ll defend and be loyal to his clan, his friends, his family. Why stop there? When he joins the ranks of StarClan he’ll still be looking down on his clan, protecting them anyway he can.

So it’s not secret Duskheart’s loyalty to others is strong. Something that will never change.

But what about his self? It’s already been said that Duskheart has difficulty sticking with one opinion or path. He just wants to go with the one that will answer the most questions. Whether it be (or not be) the one that he wants the most. Of course, in terms of his clan, he’ll pick the choice best for FogClan.

He’ll also have trouble being loyal to his feelings. Duskheart seems incapable of recognizing feelings stronger than friendship, if you get it. So of course, any feeling he does not recognize goes straight to question, leading him to ignore it and eventually get rid of it completely.

In conclusion, loyalty to others, good; loyalty to himself- bad.

His compassion has been covered decently. You’ve seen how sly he can be sometimes; going into more detail about his compassion would give you the illusion that Duskheart is a softy.

So let’s touch on bravery.

Duskheart’s bravery comes more from his cockiness. Since he thinks through things a lot, he also spends time on planning out battles. If a cat twist this way, there’s a high chance they’ll go this way, so Duskheart goes this way, and then strikes. Most likely it’ll hit.

His bravery also comes from his loyalty and his need to defend his clan. When in battle, Duskheart can lose all trace of his composure just because his clan is on the line. So when he fights, it’s not so much that he fighting to stay alive (though that’s a plus of fighting so fiercely), but it’s more like fighting to see his clan victorious.

Of course, Duskheart does have plain old bravery in him. Just a sense doing something because it’s what’s right, even if he’s unprepared.

So there’s that, a basic rundown of Duskheart’s personality. Now you’re thinking things along the lines of “basic?!” aren’t you? Well, is it really possible to get personality written down? It would be expressed more through actions than through words, Duskheart might say to you.

I could spend pages more trying to show you his personality through actions, but what would be the point? Duskheart is like a puzzle. You stare at the pieces for hours waiting to put them right. And when you finally almost finish, you find a piece to be malformed.


Skills | Duskheart is definitely a fighter. He’s built big and his aunt trained his specifically in that aspect. Using his claws has never been a challenge for Duskheart. Fighting is a way he can be useful to his clan, so he trains in it constantly. And while at times he may seem like one to talk things out rather than fight them, Duskheart would prefer to end things in battle.

Duskheart is also a thinker. He’ll always think things through, even going as far to plan out whole conversation in his head. Being prepared for anything and everything is one way he can benefit his clan, so Duskheart takes it in all seriousness.

Hunting has never been his strong point, but he does try. He’s not the best hunter in the clan, maybe even going as far to say he’s one of the worst. But he tries, and that effort is going to benefit the clan. That’s what matters.

History | Titan Thompson Alvery the Second. A large, dark gray Maine Coon tom with a thirst for knowledge and adventure. Born to his parents, Titan the First and Madeline La Rosch, Titan was sure to take the world of the Upwalkers by storm. His mother being an award winning pure as snow Maine Coon with many awards in the show business, and his father being the most sought after cat in what seemed to be the world, Titan had much to look forward to.

That is, if only he wanted to look forward to it.

In the Upwalker neighborhood he lived in, Titan was exposed to pompous cats and unnecessary things. The cats were always gossiping about one another, making rude remarks and falling in a tight hierarchy. And Titan just couldn’t stand it.

So one day he left.

”Bother! I envy those cats that live in the forest daily, their stamina and ability to survive would be wonderful right now!” Titan struggled through the thick undergrowth, trying his best to make it to the other side of the woods. He had heard from his parents that a small, cozier (poorer) Upwalker community lived there. Perhaps he could start anew in a place that didn’t take wealth or status as seriously.

“At this rate it’ll be the Golden Times before I get there!” The thought of walking through the forest until the leaves changed to their golden, red, and orange colors burdened the tom, but he continued on.

Days seemed to pass with no luck of reaching the other side. Only twice had Titan eaten, his bones showing through his once-lush fur, his bright amber eyes now dulled. “At least…” He whispered, “I had one good adventure. I’m sure my parents never had.”

The tom nestled himself into the roots of a tree and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up to the smell of fresh-kill, and the soft voice of a she-cat he had never met.

“Oh, you’re awake.” The small she-cat’s silvery fur gleamed in the night. Soft wind blew ripples in the fur, sending shivers down Titan’s spine.

“Yes…” He murmured. The she-cat smiled and pushed what Titan assumed was a mouse, for it was too dark to tell, toward him. Grateful, he ate it, before drifting back off to sleep.

The two cats played this game for a bit, Titan waking up to find fresh-kill and the she-cat waiting for him, then going back to sleep as the she-cat left. Sometime during this he learned her name and who she was- Luna, from the Upwalker neighborhood Titan had been trying to reach. Luna promised Titan that when he regained strength she would take him there.

Almost two weeks after that Titan was deemed ready by Luna, and the two cats padded off to the neighborhood, tail in tail.

Luna’s Upwalkers took in Titan quickly, seeing how attached he was to their current cat. The old couple treated him well and soon he was in perfect help. The tom preferred this life much more than his old life as a pampered house-cat. This one was real. With real friends, real family, and a real cat to love.

Luna’s owners did not believe in fixing their cats, and Titan was required to produce offspring when he got older, so he was never taken to the vet as well. The Upwalkers were surprised, but glad when Luna had four lovely kits, and it was no secret who the father was. The kits were named after times of day based on their fur, Dawn, Dusk, Morning, and Night.

Two she-cats, two toms.

And now we focus on Dusk, the cat you’ve been reading about. Dusk was a lively kit, yes. Not the liveliest of the bunch but still had enough spirit in him to get him in plenty of trouble as he grew up. Dusk was closest to his brother, Morning and the two toms were practically joined at the hip.

Titan and Luna both agreed that their kits should be raised as outdoor cats. So the parents (as well as Luna’s siblings, Lady and Fred who lived in the neighborhood) each took on a cat to “apprentice”.

Dusk was apprenticed by Lady, his aunt. Lady was a bit obnoxious and not the brightest cat, but she was tough. Built larger than most she-cats, the silver tabby was the perfect mentor for Dusk, who was larger than his siblings as well. The two trained hard in battle most of the time; Dusk slowly losing any reserved Maine Coon traits and becoming as fierce as the large cats that were said to have roamed the land long ago.

But Dusk did retain some soft trait. His curiosity never left him. From the time he was born and wondered why the leaves changed colors to as he grew older and watched the death of his mentor, his aunt, and wondered where cats go after death.

The rain fell. It’s soft pitter-patter keeping the cats from drifting to sleep as they watched their parents and uncle take their aunt’s body away. The kits- no, they were no longer kits, but adults- stood in silence, only one of them having heavy sobs rack her body as her aunts striped tail vanished into the bushes. But it was Lady’s time. She was their mother’s older sister from another litter, and age eventually took her.

Next to the black sobbing she-cat stood Dusk, his dark fur turned black itself with the heavy rain. His pale green eyes were glazed over in sadness for the loss of his mentor, but another thing was held in the eyes. Curiosity.

Where was his aunt now?

At the age of 21 moons, Dusk left his home. His sisters chose to stay behind with their parents, not ready to leave the life of a house cat. Morning, Dusk’s brother, followed with Dusk. The two split up shortly afterwards, Morning realizing that Dusk traveled for answers and adventure, not a new place to call home.

Dusk was sad to see his brother leave, but understood the choice Morning made. For three moons straight Dusk traveled alone, learning about the world and all the little things.

It was near the beginning of the fourth moon that the found the place his father once called home. Of course, Dusk did not know it was where his father once lived. Curious, Dusk made his way to one of the houses, standing outside the door and looking completely regal for the first time ever. It was if just being in such a wealthy neighborhood brought back any traits of the pureblood he may have had.

”Who are you, stranger?” Dusk turned to see a large brown tabby.

“My name is Dusk,” he replied.

“Where are you from?” The brown tabby returned, studying the strange new cat with a burning intensity. Dusk opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. A moment passed and then:

“Where you you from?”

The brown tabby smiled. “Aha! I like you, stranger. I’m from that house,” the tabby’s tail flicked toward a smaller house than the rest, but still gorgeous. “My name’s Paladin, and from your scent you seem like a forest cat! But you don’t look like one either.”

“I am a forest cat, Paladin,” Dusk returned simply.

“Paladin! Who is this… this vagabond you’re talking to?” Dusk looked over to see a sleek black she-cat (who reminded him fondly of his sister, Night) padding over to the both of them. Her green eyes glittered with anger, but also a bit of curiosity pointed at him.

“Holly, vagabond? You’re beginning to sound like one of these pampered furballs who live here.” Paladin snorted, moving so he stood side by side with Dusk. “’Tis named Dusk,” he said, voice dropping with his formality. “And he’s gonna hang with us now. Don’t want another prissy cat living in the forest. ‘Specially not one who’s got such potential.”

Dusk was confused, but said nothing, liking this “Paladin” and wondering what it would be like if he agreed to it all.

Dusk moved in with Paladin and Holly. Their Upwalkers were not so against having another cat, and Dusk did his best to be kind to them. The three became close friends and spent their time bothering the prissy cats in the neighborhood. Not one cat ever recognized Dusk’s heritage, luckily enough.

Whenever a new cat came to the neighborhood (which was quite often with purebreds giving birth left and right) the three would corner the cat and speak to them of life away from the bows and ribbons of being a purebred. They would entice the new cat, and the cat would join their guild. Their guild was simply cats that refused to take part in the purebred acts and spent their free time outside.

"Hey Dusk.”

“Yes, Paladin?”

“You amaze me.” Dusk blinked, looking over the brown tabby slowly before nodding.

“And you me.”

“That’s good to hear.” With a strange look on his face, Paladin walked off, tail raised high. Dusk watched him go for a moment, but was interrupted by another cat coming to speak with him.

“Dusk…” Holly mewed.

“Yes, Holly?”

“I think I’m expecting.”

A few moons later Holly gave birth to one kit, a lovely gray she-cat who she named Fantasy. It was common knowledge that Dusk and Holly were closer than friends, but Dusk swore up and down that Fantasy was not his by blood. The only two who believed him (besides Holly, of course) were Paladin and Dusk’s friend, Marcus.

But he raised the she-kit like she was his kit.

And when Holly passed away during her second birth, the father being asserted as a tom named Dan and the kits being stillborns, Dusk turned all his attention on Fantasy. Losing a friend as close as Holly was scarring.

The next time he had an encounter with death was just a week after Holly’s.

It was almost time for the guild to accept a new member, a young she-cat who broke away from her parent’s wishes for her to become a show-cat. Dusk was frantically searching for Paladin who would be needed to perform the ceremony to have the she-cat accepted. But the brown tabby was no where to be found. In fact, neither was Marcus, another important member of the ceremony.

Dusk turned the corner and launched into the woods, expecting to find the toms in their normally training spot.

And he did.

The first one he saw was Marcus. The tom’s black fur was pulled out everywhere, matted with blood and dirt. Marcus’ eyes were closed, but Dusk knew what he would see in them if they were open.

Death.

Dusk searched for Paladin, hoping, praying that his friend was still alive, somehow managed to escape whatever killed Marcus. But to no luck.

He found Paladin’s body half buried; the tom’s tail ripped off and thrown meters away from Paladin’s body. At that moment Dusk broke down, the pain of losing yet another friend too much.

“Dusk…” Came the hoarse whisper.

“Paladin?” Was there still a chance…? Could there still be a way?

“You still amaze me. How you managed to find me in time… Amazing,” Paladin’s once strong voice was fading quickly. “I shan’t tell you who did this, because revenge would ruin you…”

Dusk nodded in understanding. “I never thought it would end like this, though,” Paladin continued, shaking with each breath. “Take care of the guild, Dusk. And watched over Fantasy. Please.”

“W-where are you going, Paladin?” Dusk asked.

“To see Holly again,” Paladin closed his eyes at the thought of his sister. “And to meet up with Marcus. I don’t want him to get lost wherever we go. See you, Dusk. Just not too soon, I hope.” Paladin’s eyes opened as he smiled, before closing again as he took his last breath.

Two days later Dusk returned to his neighborhood with the bodies and explained to the guild what happened. Sadly the cat buried their two friends.

Dusk then proposed they leave the neighborhood and all the bad memories it held. He was 36 moons when the large group of cats left, traveling through the forest. He was taking them to his old neighborhood. He knew that it was no longer possible for him to stay with these cats, and the guild would have to be passed on. But he knew of one cat who would not mind taking his place in the guild’s council.

When Dusk arrived home, the old neighborhood greeted him kindly as well as the cats he brought with him. From there he appoint the two new leaders, and after speaking with many cats in the guild, it was agreed his brother, Morning would take Dusk’s spot.

At 38 moons he left the neighborhood again; alone.

He traveled for many moons, doing as his father did, and as he did earlier, and learning about the world. His need for answers grew as his knowledge did, and he even earned a slight reputation for ticking cats off when he badgered them with his questions.

At 43 moons he stumbled upon a ranch, a quaint little thing. He felt drawn to it for some reason, and settled down there. For almost a full moon he lived undisturbed. Then they came.

The clan cats came to his attention shortly before his 44th moon. Interested, Dusk took the short journey to where they were speaking and listened to their explanation of “StarClan” and “The Warrior Code”.

And he absolutely loved it.

StarClan provided him with an answer to his ultimate questions: where did cats go when they died? The Warrior Code provided him with a structure for his morals and actions. Plus the group of cats seemed generous and honest, like cats that have truly lost a lot and want nothing more than to start over and continue living.

He joined with FogClan the moment it was formed.

For five moons he played an active role within his clan. Dusk was given the name Duskheart for his fur and how he acted towards all the cats. Quickly the clan became his new family and helped wash away the harsh memories of his previous life.

Now there is only Duskheart. Ever since Paladin’s death there was no one in Dusk’s body, just a cat with no purpose struggling to get some good cats to a new home. But with the clans he has been reborn, living again as he once did.