Post by brimstonemoth on Apr 22, 2018 2:21:44 GMT
Spiderstep
Chriss Haight Pagani
The Basics
Name • Spiderkit – Spiderpaw - Spiderstep
Nickname • None
Age • 63 moons
Gender • Cis male
Sexuality • Bisexual
Rank • Counselor
The Looks
Short description • Black mackerel tabby tom with short fur, a dented and scarred ear, and green-yellow eyes
Body type• Semi-cobby
Overall looks • Spiderstep was the runt of his litter, which is likely why he is so small in adulthood. Despite his small size, he takes after his wildcat ancestors in looks, with his dark coat and thick, bushy tail. He tends to walk along close to the ground, slinking along with his tail trailing. He’s skinny and lean, with dull fur. His face is diamond-shaped, with a small, white-tinged muzzle and white, sparse whiskers. Whilst his right-hand ear stands tall and pointed, his left-hand ear is stumpy and scarred from a hawk attack when he was the Counselor’s apprentice. His nose is a bright berry-red, much like his cracked and calloused paws, and his eyes are oblong and a washed out green yellow colouration. His fur is thick and fluffy. Especially on his stomach, which is very warm and soft.
The Personality
Likes
-Silence to think and inwardly reflect
-Learning new things
- Dark and damp spaces
- The moon
Dislikes
-Unneeded conflict
-Long and sunny days
-Birds
-Seeing others in pain
Strengths
-Patient
-Imaginative and good at memorising stuff
Weaknesses
-Very physically weak and sickly
-Can come across as creepy
Dreams
-To make a real difference to some cat in the world, to make at least some cat's life btter
Fears
-Being paralysed and then eaten slowly by scavengers
Overall personality • Spiderstep is a reserved and quiet cat, only speaking when needed. This does not make him antisocial or aloof to social situations, however. No, he much prefers to watch these situations play out. With an amazing skill in reading body language and simple, unconscious gestures, he is almost able to predict what a cat will say before they even say it. To some, this makes him unnerving. To others, it can be rather comforting. He’s got a good idea of every single cat in camp and finds it very interesting watching them grow and develop over time.
Spiderstep is pacifistic by nature, with a great hatred of needless bloodshed. Whenever a decision is made regarding aggressive or defensive force, he likes to make sure that his voice is heard. Whilst he does not agree with the practice of sending spies out of Moorclan (he worries excessively about the safety of these spies) he accepts that it’s simply how things are now. All he can do is watch.
Ever since he was a kit, Spiderstep has had an incredibly vivid and deep imagination. When he is alone, he enjoys simply sitting still and descending into the complex imaginative world he has created. Most of this imaginative world consists of the rich and expansive history of Moorclan. Some of the stories he has are even from before the clan was founded, relics from the wildcat society that existed beforehand. He has an amazing memory for these things, and meticulously recites the memories to himself to ensure he never forgets. However, he often spends too much time pursuing this venture and forgets to eat or sleep. As a result of this, he looks aged beyond his years.
His strange and silent demeanour, however, has earned him to be viewed as a strange and slightly disturbing cat. Outside of Moorclan, many young cats like to jokes about the ‘creepy one-eared cat’ who watches them at gatherings. If this talk crops up within the borders of Moorclan, it is quickly and hurriedly hushed by older cats. He is respected, but not fully understood.
He has a strange, slightly-morbid fascination with the fae. Being Moorclan, he rarely gets a chance to interact with fae, although Loireag once visited him when he first gained the counselor position. But the old stories about them always fascinated him. In a locked-away, unadmitted part of himself, he intensely despises the decision made by his ancestors to lock them out of their territory. But he won’t ever admit this belief to himself, let alone any other cat, due to its sheer absurdity. So, he remains curious and strangely hopeful that, one day, he may cross paths with a fae again.
The History
Mother • Ivystorm, warrior of Moorclan, 93 moons when deceased (Shortfurred large solid chocolate and white molly with yellow eyes)
Parent • Vetchclaw, elder of Moorclan 121 moons (shortfurred red mackerel tabby non-binary cat with one green eye) (Coming Soon)
Siblings • Unnamed kit, deceased at 2 sunrises (shortfurred solid black tom) Dawnstone, nurse of Moorclan, 63 moons (Large tabico molly with little black and a lot of white and yellow eyes) (UFA)
Other important people • Lichenpaw, apprentice of Moorclan, Dawnstone’s son, 7 moons (shortfurrred white and black tabby with warm undertones and copper eyes) (UFA) Oatsong, former counselor of Moorclan, 141 moons when deceased (Longfurred cream classic tabby molly with runny green eyes)
Overall history •
Kithood
The three kits were born in the depths of Leafbare. The kit that was to be Spiderkit was the runt of his litter, but that’s not what worried his parents, Ivystorm and Vetchclaw. No, what worried them was the small black kitten that had been birthed just before him. His arrival sent Ivystorm into a distressed panic. Simply the thought that this thing had been inside her womb terrified her. She refused to nurse him, or his sister and brother until the evil kit had been taken away. As is with the birth of a black kit, the high-ranking cats of Moorclan took the young tom away into the wilderness only a few sunrises after he had been born. But not even the absence of this kitten could fully bring back Ivystorm’s love for her kits, and it most certainly couldn’t bring back her colostrum.
Whilst his stronger sister had managed to keep warm and full against the belly of another nurse, weak, scrawny future-Spiderkit didn’t have the strength to compete with all the older kits in the nursery. As a result, he was hungry and cold when Ivystorm did eventually return to her two remaining kits. It was no surprise when, at only half a moon, he became incredibly ill. He wasn’t expected to survive. However, due to countless missed naps and a lot fo hard work from the herbalist of Moorclan, he somehow managed to pull through.
The cycle of catching every single cough, cold or infection passing through the nursery would haunt Spiderkit through his entire kithood. In fact, he probably spent more time in the herbalist’s den than the nursery. Another cat who tended to visit the herbalist’s den often was the old counselor, Oatsong. From Oatsong’s frequent visits Spiderkit learnt of the history of Moorclan, and of the fae, of which enamoured and obsessed him. He’d spend hours drifting in a dreamlike state of consciousness, his mind fully focused on the stories he heard whilst his body is wracked with fever.
During one of his times of lucidity in the herbalist’s den, a small white kitten came to visit. This kitten was only a few sunrises old and seemed to not be responding to her mother’s stimuli. Spiderkit, who enjoyed cat-watching even at that young age, kept an eye on her as she stayed for a few sunrises. Then she was sent back to the nursery.
During Spiderkit’s stays in the nursery, he would see the little white kit (later called Valeriankit). She did not speak, even when her sibling was chatting happily with the other kits. Nobody chose to play with her, or even interact with her. He didn’t understand; her body language was clear, and she always seemed kind and eager to join in… He always made sure to spend time with Valeriankit whilst he wasn’t contagious. When he spoke to the herbalist about it, they said that she couldn’t hear, and that she’d likely be taken as their apprentice.
Apprenticehood
Eventually, after a very long drawn out kithood, Spiderkit was made Spiderpaw and became a warrior apprentice. Whilst he still was prone to illness, he’d managed to strengthen himself enough to show that he actually was a capable cat. He began to make a name for himself outside of ‘Ivycloud’s runt.’
Much to his surprise, a way into his own apprenticehood, little Valerianpaw walked into the apprentice den. Glad to see a familiar face, Spiderpaw immediately took her under his wing, translating stuff for her and standing up for her when other apprentices doubted her abilities. He’d learnt to read her emotions pretty well – body language is particularly fluent when you take away distractions like voice – and through watching her, he’d learnt to accurately read the body language of most cats in camp. This is where his knack of simply knowing what a cat is going to say before they say it comes from.
Whilst he still loved to spend time in his imagination, time for this became less and less available. He never forgot about it, though. Just like he never forgot about the fae. He simply didn’t think about it as often. Just like he didn’t get as sick as often.
Spiderpaw was named Spiderstep for the quiet, slinking way he walked and his everwatching beady eyes. A few moons after, Valerianpaw was made a warrior too, with the name of Valeriancloud. And whilst they did spend a few moons together as young warriors, their paths would soon part ways
The Counselor's Apprentice
A few moons into Spiderstep’s training, Oatsong’s apprentice died mysteriously. Oatsong, remembering how pleasant she’d found little Spiderkit, called for him to be her next apprentice. And he took the role up well. This was around the time when the Trial of Seconds was called, and Valeriancloud participated in that. They didn’t really have time to spend with each other anymore, Spiderstep had his hands full helping Oatsong with her duties. She was very old – her joints were sore, her eyes were runny, she’d be sneezing after the rain, and of course, as apprentice, it was Spiderstep’s job to make sure she was happy and cared for. Hearing that Valeriancloud had beaten the Trial of Seconds made him happy, but he didn’t have to dwindle on the achievement. He had a lot of stories to learn.
This was where Spiderstep’s imagination really came into play. He could store the stories in there; mould them to make them his and add them to his internal monologue. Oatsong was very impressed with his memorisation skills, happy that she would be succeeded by such a capable young tom.
He really showed his capability when Oatsong and Spiderstep had stepped out for a walk. Whilst they had been discussing a particularly violent battle of the past, a juvenile golden eagle spotted them and attempted to dive. Despite Spiderstep’s small size, he managed to scare the predator off with only his ear shredded. But that didn’t matter. Oatsong was safe.
But their mentor-apprentice bond was not to last.
The Counselor
The Counselor
Twelve moons into Spiderstep’s training, Oatsong died. She had been old, and sick, and tired. It was no surprise that she died. Still, it hurt Spiderstep. He was on his own now. Saddened, he turned back to his childhood friend – Valeriancloud, - for support. Truth be told, he’d developed quite a crush on her. She helped him get over his grief and move towards the future he’d set up for himself. He purred the loudest when she was made their leader, his heart exploding with joy. He continued on with his duties, and even when his mother died, crushed to death by falling rocks, he didn’t let it get him down. She’d never been that close to him, anyways. Yes, he was still sickly and often frail. But that didn’t matter anymore, because he had a fire in his chest.
He was the counselor of Moorclan. He was the keeper of stories.
The Genes
(Sex-coat length-devon rex-donskoy-cornish rex-dutch rex-laperm-oregon rex-selkirk rex-wirehair-black-dilute-dilute modifier-white masking-amber-agouti-ticked-tabby-spotted-white spotting-albinism-japanese bobtail-kurilian bobtail-manx-curled ear-folded ear-brachyury-brachycephaly-polydactyly-munchkin
Basic appearance • XoY-LL-RERE-hrhr-RR-rdrd-lplp-RoRo-rsrs-whwh-bB-DD-dmdm-ww-EE-aA-tata-McMc-spsp-ss-Ccs-jbjb-kurkur-mm-cucu-fdfd-Chch-BrBr-pp-mkmk
The Role Player
OOC name • Moth
Experience • On and off 6 yrs
Other characters • Shellflower
