Post by Braid on Aug 13, 2015 4:00:22 GMT
Character Name: Steelfur
Age: 35 moons
Gender: Tom
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Clan: Windclan
Rank: Medicine Cat
Appearance: Steelfur is a cat that looks the part of a warrior. Huge in size, especially in comparison to most WindClan cats, he has a lithe, yet muscular frame with large paws and long tail, all equipped for speed and strength. With two long, obvious scars across his chest, a ripped ear, and a fair few scattered scars across his right side and left hind leg. He's a cat bruised and battered with what some would think was battle, and in a way it was. Just not with an enemy cats usually pick a fight with. His pelt is a mix of light gray tabby, with splashes of white across his chest and other parts of his fur, making the scars stand out further against his fur. Bright green eyes highlight the rest of his face, and in truth contain the most hart about this tom and clearly lead to the conclusion he's not some brute that needs to be worried about.
Personality: Steelfur has always been the type of rock some cats need, and not just because he's gray. Calm is the first trait anyone seems to notice on him as it is a huge part of who he is. It is hard to ruffle the tom up in a negative way. He's always been the steady, calming one, the one who's stopped everyone else from collapsing or attacking around him and he's not about to stop. In many ways, Steelfur is a pacifist, he doesn't like fighting or cats being angry with each other but that being said, if he's riled up or feels it's for the right cause he'll fly in with all claws out.
This tom is beyond patient that is for sure. He will sit and wait for someone as long as it takes and there is rarely any sort of limit on how long he can wait for someone to get something right or come and meet him. it makes him a good medicine cat and a good cat for those who are always running late. What works well with this though is his empathy, his ability to understand what others are feeling and give them leeway for their emotions where other cats wouldn't. Compassionate is another word often used for this tom.
Steelfur is at his very soul and caring cat which no matter the feline he just can't shake free. There is rarely a cat he dislikes so much that he won't do a thing for them. Even complete strangers, he'll put aside everything to offer a paw to help then when they need it or simply as a cat to chat and listen to. However, this leaves him open to those less good-hearted than himself taking advantage. This isn't anything new though. Steelfur as always been a cat who believes everyone deserves trust. He gives it easily and when it's broken, he's known to give second chances, especially to those he believed he was close to.
This medicine cat has always had an odd sort of innocent air about him. Despite how much he's seen and experienced, and how well he knows how to work clan politics and debates around him, he tends to have a kittish appeal to him. he doesn't like talking about mature subjects or fighting all the time, he'd much rather talk about the future and recite the old stories to the kits. While he understands sarcasm, he doesn't use it often and most of the time, it'll go straight over his head unless it's coming from cats he knows well or is obvious.
Despite this, he is an oddly wise tom. He doesn't know how half the time, he just understand experiences and can point most cats, especially she-cats in the right direction. In fact, the opposite gender are the cats he gets along best with, the she-cats being a lot easier to talk with and share his views with than head-strong toms. Despite his soft-hearted nature, he has the natural quality of intimidation. Should a cat come up to him willingly, he'll laugh and mess about till the cows come home. But simply his huge size, his threatening scars and his default stern expression have most cats running in the opposite direction unless they desperately need his attention.
This he could easily use this to his advantage but, he doesn't if anything he's sensitive about about. Then again, Steelfur is a relatively sensitive cat in general. Insecure, he doesn't feel like he belongs, towering over most of WindClan and with his intimidating appearance, and anyone to point out his size or just how different he looks to past medicine cats while working with the clan has him on edge and usually upset. He doesn't like insults and tends to stick on them, any doubts or questioning toward him just have the tom feeling he isn't worthy a thing and trying to work harder for a clan he doesn't quite feel he's welcome in at times.
Yet, he's hard to anger. He takes more the depressed route when it comes to insults and criticism, but that's not to say he won't crack. There are a few ways to get under this tom's fur. Disrespect other cats, break major rules in the warrior code or touching his clan-mates are good ways to get him on edge and riled up, but even when, he'll hold his tongue and still show respect, maybe snap and use more sarcasm than he usually would. However, if someone were to say, touch his family, well that's the end of it. He'll snap like a firecracker, and while his temper isn't usually much more than yelling and pinning to the ground, well, if you were a tiny cat with a huge gray rock with sharp hawk eyes staring down at you, would you be scared? I'd think so.
When to comes down to the crunch though, Steelfur is a relatively distant cat most of the time. He's not quite sure he belongs in the medicine cat position and isn't sure how to really interact with his clan, despite having lived in the role for a good deal of time now. As it goes on and as his confidence picks up however, there's a promising and capable medicine cat, hidden under all doubts.
History: Born in a season of warmth and prosperity, there was no bother to the clan at the time, especially not to Steelkit's very much in love parents, Ashfleck and Blacksoot. He was the only kit in the couple's second litter, his older siblings only a few moons from their warrior ceremonies. Even so, Steelkit grew up a little spoilt for attention, with Ashfleck always fussing over him, Blacksoot sitting with them whenever he was free of duties, Cloudpaw and Woodpaw never far behind their father. He had all the attention and love he could have ever asked for. Despite having an adventurous flare to him, Steelkit mostly stayed out of trouble, happier to listen to elders and his family, rather than go out of his way to break the rules. Other kits in the nursery found it a bit odd, but none held it against him, which was all the cheerful young tom could ask for, especially as he started growling into one of the bigger kits in the nursery. While it meant that he couldn't always join in on the games smaller kits were playing, he was happy just to watch from his mother's side.
It was after Cloudstep and Woodchip's warrior ceremony that Ashfleck decided she needed to have a trip outside of camp, to stretch her legs and start getting back into shape, given Steelkit was getting close to becoming an apprentice himself. With a bounce and a wave, she left the camp without anyone saying anything more than a cheerful goodbye. While it was a bit odd for the she-cat to go alone, no one questioned it. This only became a problem when the she-cat never returned. It was two days later on an official search that they found her body, torn apart and reeking of fox. It hit the small family hard, as they were forced to sit and mourn for a life that shouldn't have gone so quickly. No one understood why or how it had happened, Ashfleck was one of the fastest warriors, and could have fled if not fought her way through the situation. Cloudstep and Blacksoot were beyond devastated, both withdrawing into themselves as the clan moved on. However, Woodchip was angry, furious even, and left sitting with Steelkit, his urge for vengeance rubbed off on the almost-apprentice. The fox needed to be found and killed for what it did. The brothers made a pact. As soon as Steelkit could fight, they'd track it down and end it.
...
Steelpaw was placed under the guidance of a loud and proud tom, an older warrior by the name of Nightflare. While initially, the two had some troubles communicating, with Steelpaw being quiet and thoughtful, while his mentor was very much... not, the two bonded, especially when the young tom's passion and natural talent for fighting started to surface. He wanted to train, and wanted to work hard, which was just the way Nightflare wanted it. They spent as much time training as was possible, and when Steelpaw wasn't wrapped up with his mentor, he was out with Woodchip, tracking the fox as it moved along the border, not close enough to be a threat to the clan, but still there. Here, they trained in private, his brother able to show moves that Steelpaw didn't yet know, speeding his learning further along. While it left him exhausted most of the time outside of the training, it was progress, his mentor and the leader, both impressed with his progress.
Slowly though, things started to repair themselves. Blacksoot pulled himself to his paws, and started to fall for another she-cat. Cloudstep started focusing on her clan duties, and taking more time with Steelpaw and Woodchip. It was her influence, that started to soothe the anger that had been burning in the two toms, particularly in Woodchip. They were still alive after all, still fighting on and hadn't lost everything. However, Steelpaw wasn't as affected, still focused on the goal and determined to make things right, even if his brother started sleeping more, and finding less time to go track the fox. It frustrated him, after all the time they'd spent working toward their goal, that Woodchip was suddenly ready to give it all up. Eventually, he snapped at one of their late night training sessions. Confronting his brother, the other tom admitted he didn't want revenge anymore. While Steelpaw tried to remind him of all the reasons they were doing it, the reasons Woodchip himself had used in the beginning. But the warrior had given up on it.
He deemed their night activities over, and left a frustrated, angry Steelpaw sitting out in the field, only more sure than ever that he was the one who was going to have to take down that fox.
...
Steelfur was the name he ended up dressed in, when his day finally came. Without looking at Woodchip, he took his night of silence without complaint, preparing himself for the task he had set. While his brother might have given up, he hadn't forgotten what had happened, and their mother deserved to have the fox killed for what it had done. He didn't get a chance to go track the creature for another three moons, until he was fourteen moons old, but when he did, it was the time to strike. He left early morning, not making any big deal about leaving camp, even when his father questioned it. The tom was preoccupied with how close his new mate was to having her kits though, and quickly scampered off at his mate's calling. He didn't think anymore of it, just staying thankful that Woodchip remained out of sight as he left the camp. It took him half the day to find the creature, and when he did, he was immediately taken aback by just how big of a fox it exactly... was. It was only then, hidden in the shadows of the gorse that he had doubts about his whole mission.
However, the creature was alone, and Steelfur had a heart filled with anger than he needed to use. He'd been working toward the goal all his life, he needed to kill the fox. Charging out of cover and straight for the creature, the large warrior didn't think twice, just let his anger get the better of him as he threw himself at the creature. It was a long, savage fight, his first outside of training and messing around, and for the most part, it was something he wasn't prepared for in the slightest. It was through luck alone, that he succeeded in his goal, managing to tear at the animal's neck and end it's life. However, it wasn't without causing damage to himself. Steelfur barely made it back to camp alive, covered in lashed from the foxes claws and teeth, two particularly deep strikes across his chest. One of his limbs refused to work, his left ear ripped and sides aching more than he could have imagined. It was Creekdance's skill that saved him, and while he never told anyone that he sought out the fox himself, he learned a lot from it, and was forced to ponder on what he'd done and why in the medicine cat's den, as his broken body tried to repair itself. Woodchip managed to keep it to himself, but the two didn't talk for the entire period he was in the den to heal.
It was during this time he actually started to converse with the medicine cat, Creekdance. She was a delicate and careful little creature, yet, she continued to scold and tease him the whole time he was there. In early days, it offendeed him. But as time passed it became endearing, and he took an interest in what she was working on. He watched her organise her herbs, patch up his wounds and that of the other cats that came rumbling through, and slowly, the idea became more and more appealing as he continued to probe himself. Killing definitely was not the way to do something, and the longer he thought on the fox and his life, the more bitter he grew toward Woodchip and at himself. he needed to redeem himself, and the best way he came to see, was to go down the path of the medicine cat. He didn't really even get the chance to ask, really, as the morning after he'd decided, Creekdance stumbled upon something, jutting out of the ground just outside of camp after a downpour. a piece of steel, sticking up out of the dirt. The medicine cat covered it so as to stop anyone hurting themselves, but returned, and asked Steelfur himself. Was he ready for a different path?
...
For a good six moons the two trained, Steelfur focused completely on his new job and learning all he could from the elderly medicine cat. They were a good team, despite the occasional bickering. Soon enough, he was standing at the moonstone, and being named a full medicine cat, even if his actual name didn't change. It was a nice feeling, at 20 moons. They continued to work side-by-side for the moons after, until he was thirty moons old, and the she-cat passed away in her sleep. While Steelfur mourned the loss, he was capable enough to take over, and stepped fully into the role. Five moons later, while he confidence is still low, he's settled into the position, and continues to focus on the one goal of helping his clan.
