Post by lark on Aug 19, 2015 22:43:29 GMT
Character Name: Beetlenose
Age: 46 moons
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Clan: ShadowClan
Rank: Medicine Cat
Appearance: Beetlenose looks like you would expect -- a thin dark brown tabby with angular features that match his severe personality. Taking after his ShadowClan mother, he blends well into shadow apart from the spot of white on his chest and front left paw. His right eye is a pale green and his left eye is permanently closed, with a deep scar running down to a slight nick in his lip, giving the impression of a constant sneer. Although he's not large by any means, Beetlenose has an intimidating presence, probably due to the fact that he seems unusually battle-worn for a medicine cat.
Personality:
Perhaps his grandest and most respected trait is his vast knowledge about nature, history, and the private lives of other cats (he's nosy, and hypocritically dislikes anyone else who is). This is due to being a naturally curious and observant cat, who hungers for knowledge above all else. It's this ambition that nurtured his fiercely analytical mindset, causing him to restlessly search for answers and solutions in all walks of life.
Restlessness, too, is a significant trait of his. For several reasons Beetlenose struggles with a regular sleeping schedule -- or sleeping at all, in most cases -- and he will often throw himself into his work to the point of exhaustion. His determination is a force to be reckoned with. Whether it's problem-solving or holding grudges, Beetlenose's applies the same obsessive persistence he does to everything. Truly, it is a core part of who he is. A part of his purpose.
Part of Beetlenose, too, is his reputation for general grumpiness. This reputation can be attributed to his bluntness. It's often just a manner of speaking, as he always has a tone of authority and absoluteness, but sometimes his rudeness (whether intentional or not) lands him in trouble. He doesn't find many reasons not to be brashly honest, but at times he'll catch himself and do his best to backpedal from his mistake. This isn't often, though, and his pride leads him to make it worse rather than fix any offense he may have caused. In the end, Beetlenose says what he means and means what he says.
Unsurprisingly, Beetlenose does not trust others easily. He needs to feel in control at all times and relying on someone else does not suit him. His unwillingness to trust is often returned twofold in his private life, and as a result he has few close friends. His kindness, however, is extended to those he considers like himself -- social outcasts, for one reason or another. This has brought him further criticisms, as he can find himself halfway comfortable with the less desirables.
Beetlenose has indeed been familiar with harsh criticism throughout his life. In turn, it has made him feeling ever unsatisfied and always looking for improvement. It is a powerful driving force, one that will either be his legacy or his undoing. The most noteworthy application of this trait is his approach to teaching.
It may come as unexpected that Beetlenose is generous with his knowledge. Even more shocking is that this grump loves apprentices. He'll take advantage of any opportunity to share his knowledge with others, at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all. But it must be remembered that Beetlenose loves learning and that he must naturally encourage this passion in others. For this reason, Beetlenose often turns routine check-ups into a surprise training session (and often drops in uninvited and unannounced to other warriors' training sessions with their apprentices).
History:
Beetlenose is the result of a former loner and a ShadowClan queen falling in love. His father, the loner, joined ShadowClan after tracking down a fox led him straight to the border -- and the fox too, where a ShadowClan patrol was fighting it off. Up until the day he died, Beetlenose's father never elaborated on his history before that day. His father was never fully trusted by the Clan, but he lived and died for it with all the loyalty of a full-blooded warrior.
Beetlenose's mother had all the ferocity of a mother lion, and the wild that was in her was the same as the wild in his father. It was a curious attraction, but it resulted in a powerful love -- a fierce one, one that resides in Beetlenose today. His father had brought the unseen wild from beyond the borders and his mother had supplied the wild of someone who had grown up being boxed in by the borders.
It caused Beetlenose some difficulty in his life, as he was not always as obedient and soft-spoken as he was expected to be. Being only half ShadowClan meant he only had half of ShadowClan's grace and half of their trust. Any mistake was proof of his outsider heritage. In response to a highly critical childhood, Beetlenose became a hard worker and an ambitious learner. His innate wild, however, drew him to an alternative path, one where borders were not so definite. Halfway through his warrior training, he showed obvious interest in becoming a medicine cat apprentice. The request was granted, after much deliberation, but there were those who doubted if he had the right temperament for the job.
Beetlepaw excelled in the technical aspects of medicine. He had a keen sense of smell and showed an affinity for tracking and nature, all traits which made him good at finding and remembering the many herbs and their uses. His bedside manner, however, leaved something to be desired. His cleverness and natural talent was as prominent as his anger and aggression. Beetlepaw, ever willing to fight, had his face badly injured in a border skirmish he had no business participating in. After receiving medical treatment and an angry lecture from his mentor, Beetlepaw realized he could not see out of his left eye. The deep gashes in his face left him permanently blind on his left side. This was one of the few lessons that did not sink in, unfortunately, as Beetlenose continues to be more of a fighter than a lover.
Beetlenose did eventually receive his full medicine cat name, but the journey there was a troubled one. For all his eagerness to learn the trade, he was still a stubborn and hot-headed apprentice. He became somewhat more acquainted with his Clanmates and began to build relationships with them, and became more of a fretting mother when it came to his job rather than an outsider with a chip on his shoulder. He cares deeply for his Clan, and his harsh manner comes from good intentions. For the most part, his Clanmates have put up with the rougher aspects of his personality because he somewhat makes up for it in his healing ability.
He received the suffix -nose for his keen sense of smell. He became a good tracker, because the reason for his success as a medicine cat came from his knowledge of the territory and nature, both of which can find use in a number of ways. When he was 27 moons old, however, Beetlenose got an unmerciful and ego-shattering taste of failure. A medicine cat is no stranger to death, but he had only recently become ShadowClan's sole medicine cat after his mentor retired. This failure rested on him alone.
Sparrowkit had evaded her mother's watchful eye and wandered out of camp. Overhead, a bad thunderstorm moved in and began a downpour that made the territory dark and confusing. Beetlenose joined the search party, counting on his sense of smell and knowledge of the territory to bring her home safe. And so he searched in the mud and the muck, growing more frantic as the thunder drowned out any sound. It quickly became dangerous to continue searching in these conditions, but Beetlenose stayed with a few who shared his determination. And surely enough, Beetlenose found her.
Crushed under collapsed rubble, her fur had blended in with her surroundings. They brought her body back to camp to mourn the loss, but Beetlenose obsessed over her death and his failure to save her. How many times had he passed by her? Could he have gotten to her sooner? What if he had been there minutes or even seconds earlier? While she was not his patient, Beetlenose considers this his first death and the memory eats at him. Enough to make a restless cat a sleepless one, for his nightmares are always unheard mewls and mud-caked fur. It's been many moons since then, but Beetlenose has learned that there is no "getting over" but only an increased ability to carry a burden.
