Post by gray on Aug 16, 2011 20:16:09 GMT -6
and a lovely picture by the amazing Reason
Name:
Shadowkit -> Shadowpaw -> Shadownose
Originally named for his black fur, which was as dark as the shadows that the trees cast on bright days, the suffix -nose came from Shadownose's sharp sense of smell and his tracking abilities.
Gender:
Male
Clan:
RiverClan
Rank:
Medicine Cat
Age:
27 moons
Description:
A small, lithe black tom with sharp blue eyes and a sensitive nose.
Personality:
The most obvious trait about Shadownose is probably his curiosity. He asks a lot of questions, especially when he's listening to stories. This comes in handy as a Medicine Cat because it means that Shadownose often gets the full story because he'll ask questions about seemingly insignificant details that can be very important about a cat's injury or sickness or even about a sign from StarClan that a fellow medicine cat received. Shadownose likes to know everything. He'll pry into business that definitely isn't his, and Shadownose will inquire into every scrap of gossip that enters his den. Shadownose likes to know the gossip of RiverClan, for sure, and he likes even more to know if the rumors are true. He isn't above approaching a cat that he heard another talking about and asking if it's true, in fact. Shadownose has an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and he doesn't bother trying to hide it or be subtle about it.
Mostly due to his experience with interpreting signs from StarClan, Shadownose is very insightful. He is practiced and skilled at reading between the lines. Things that seem small to other cats provide a wealth of detail to the tom. This is part of why Shadownose asks so many questions. He learns a lot from the smaller details and from things that aren't expressly said.
Though being a Medicine Cat definitely emphasized the fact that Shadownose obeys the rules and would never break them, Shadownose always obeyed the rules, even as a kit. Now that Shadownose is an adult, he lives the life that StarClan planned for him. He doesn't break the laws that a Medicine Cat must live by. Shadownose has never glanced twice at a female cat, no matter how pretty she might be, because that above all is forbidden to Medicine Cats. He will never willingly break a rule, because they are in place for a reason, and that reason is to keep cats safe. Shadownose respects that. If Jadestar or the deputy of RiverClan were to tell him to do something, Shadownose would obey them, just as he would if StarClan ever told him to do something. For Shadownose, rules are rules, no matter who they are set by.
Enjoying helping others isn't an essential trait for a medicine cat, but it certainly helps if a cat should wish to become one, and Shadownose definitely has that trait. He loves helping others, whether he does it by dispensing wisdom, giving them just the right herb or sending them out of his den, healed from a bad injury. Shadownose actively enjoys helping, and whenever a cat approaches him, he will do his best to help them. Of course, if he decides that a cat looks like they need help and they haven't approached him, Shadownose will take it upon himself to approach them and he won't leave them alone until he's figured out what their problem is and how Shadownose can help them. This can definitely be annoying, but honestly, Shadownose doesn't care. He figures that he can be annoying, as long as he gets to do what he loves, and that's helping other cats.It's part of why he loves being a Medicine Cat so much.
At the end of the day, Shadownose is a very peaceful cat. He will mediate conflict whenever it occurs within his Clan, and will do his best to avoid it in his personal life. Should conflict arise near Shadownose that isn't something like a kit spat, the tom will get involved. He doesn't really have a sense of 'some things aren't your business,' in all honesty. Shadownose is of the opinion that if your conflict is obvious to him, it's his business because it is detrimental to the Clan and ought to be fixed before it escalates to the point where it's obvious to others. Mostly because of his more observant and insightful personality, Shadownose typically notices conflict before everyone around him does. Perhaps he isn't always the first to notice conflict, but Shadownose is rarely the last, and he always does his best to mediate conflict and ensure that conflict is avoided as much as possible.
History (optional):
Stripeclaw - Father, Elder
Mousetail - Mother, Elder
Voletooth - Brother, Warrior
Stripeclaw and Mousetail were a very odd looking pair. Mousetail was a muscular brown tabby who was much larger than her small, gray tabby mate. While Mousetail's fur was largely unmarred, however, Stripeclaw was heavily scarred, which was a silent testament to the many battles that he had survived. He was older than his mate, Mousetail, but that didn't really stop him from loving her, though it was certainly arguable that Mousetail was the only cat that Stripeclaw had ever loved. After all, Stripeclaw was a cold, distant tom. By contrast, Mousetail was happy and outgoing and always had a smile on her feline face. They were a couple made of contradictions, but they were a perfect picture of 'opposites attract.'
Mousetail's birthing was a fairly easy one. She brought two little kits into the world and hardly needed any help from RiverClan's medicine cat. Volekit was a large brown tabby that took after his mother in both size and coloration. Shadowkit seemed to take after his paternal grandfather, who had also been black. In terms of build, however, Shadowkit very clearly took after his father. He was small and slender, almost unhealthily skinny. His bones were evident against his sleek black fur. Shadowkit was definitely his father's son, while Volekit obviously took after their mother.
As kits, Volekit was the one who caused most of the trouble. Shadowkit did like to explore outside of the den some, but mostly he was a pretty tame kit. He liked to sniff around at the medicine cat's den a lot and inhale the sharp scents of the herbs. Sometimes, when no one was looking, the ever curious Shadowkit would lurk around the entrance of the Medicine Cat's den and try to figure out what each herb was used for as well as he could without actually breaking any rules. Shadowkit was always very rule-conscious. He never sneaked out of camp. That was all Volekit. Shadowkit never left the den unless he had permission from Mousetail or Stripeclaw to head into camp.
When Volekit and Shadowkit were six moons old, their apprentice ceremony rolled around. Mousetail spent hours chasing Volekit around and then she spent almost as long trying to get Volekit's fur to lay flat. Stripeclaw was the one who got Shadowkit presentable, which barely took a few moments. Shadowkit had already tried to groom himself a bit, as he was eager for this ceremony. They were both ready for the apprentice ceremony when it began, though it had taken a lot of effort to get the rambunctious Volekit to settle down and act sane enough for the ceremony to begin. Perhaps recognizing the fact that Volekit was an impatient kit, Runningstar summoned Volekit up first, giving him his apprentice name of Volepaw. Next, he summoned Shadowkit up to him. Shadowkit's mentor would be special, Runningstar said, because Shadowkit's compassionate personality and his inquisitive nature were a special kind of combination. When Runningstar declared that Shadowkit's new mentor would be Silverheart, the Medicine Cat of RiverClan, Shadowkit was shocked. Sure, he'd lurked around the Medicine Cat's den and had wanted to know about what she did, Shadowkit had never expected anyone to notice that he was so interested in what Silverheart did, and now that Shadowkit was newly named Shadowpaw and studying under Silverheart, memorizing the herbs and how they could help cats was something that passed the time surprisingly well. Shadowpaw was best at finding herbs, quickly surpassing Silverheart in terms of being able to find herbs. He also learned how to interpret signs from StarClan and how to treat cats. Shadowpaw learned that giving a cat some herbs wasn't the only facet of treating them.
When Shadowpaw had completed his training, Silverheart was still alive and kicking, but that didn't stop him from receiving the name Shadownose in honor of his abilities to find herbs and in honor of his skills at tracking. He was still technically an apprentice medicine cat, despite the fact that he no longer had an apprentice name, and it was kind of awkward. However, that wasn't going to last long. Silverheart came down with a sickness from eating a rotting fish at the bottom of the freshkill pile and never recovered. Though Silverheart had been healthy, she was old, and her body never managed to fight off the sickness, leaving Shadownose as the medicine cat at barely 18 moons old.
Shadownose mourned when Runningstar died, especially since a good chunk of the Clan seemed to suspect that Runningstar's death had not been of natural causes. Shadownose, who still remembered his apprenticeship ceremony and Runningstar's kind words to him, was upset to see RiverClan's leader go. However, he knew that Jadestar would be a good leader. She wouldn't have become the deputy otherwise, after all.
It was only when he was 27 moons old that he chose an apprentice - a young she-cat named Cherrypaw. Her never-ending questions rather reminded him of when he was a kit. She had never seemed like she'd be much of a warrior, and her interest into StarClan and its history did not go unnoticed by Shadownose. When it came time for Cherrypaw to be apprenticed, Shadownose expressed an interest in having her become his apprentice, and was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked out.
Other:
