Post by Glowy on Jun 21, 2011 14:51:24 GMT -10
Rainpaw
Name |
Rainpaw
Gender |
Tom
Age |
Thirty-eight moons
Rank |
Apprentice
Clan |
PineClan
Beliefs |
Having never heard of StarClan in his entire life, Rain will most certainly not believe in them. In fact, he's hard pressed to even believe in any sort of higher power. He was not raised to believe in anything but the feel of the wind in his fur and the scent of the good earth beneath his paws.
He does believe in an afterlife, though. He believes that when cats die, their souls stick around on earth to finish what needed to be finished before they can be at peace. Yeah, he believes in ghosts. But at least the ghosts get something nice after they do what needs to be done.
Parents |
James, kittypet, father (NP); Lilly, loner, mother (NP)
Siblings |
Mate |
Gingerstar, current, totally canon (Whiskers)
Crush |
Gingerstar (Whiskers)
Kits |
Apprentice/Mentor |
Gingerstar (Whiskers)
Appearance |
Rain is a very handsome tom. Broad chest and shoulders display this cat as being very powerful, a formidable opponent in battle should he choose to fight. His face is, at the very least, regal in appearance, with long fur framing the edges. In fact, all of Rain's fur is exceptionally long, and he keeps it very well groomed.
His pelt is made up of a prismatic array of grays, arranged in tabby splotches and stripes. He has a stripe of darker fur that runs down part of his back, beginning above his shoulders and continuing down until it blends into the rest of his base color. White fur begins at the top of his raspberry colored nose and extends, well, all the way down his belly.
Rain's eyes are something spectacular in themselves. They are framed ever so slightly with pale brown fur. Inside the fur, before the actual eye is reached, there is a rim of bold black. The combination of these elements works wonders to bring out the different shades in his mossy green eyes. Rain's eyes would be something wonderful indeed were they not so often filled with anger.
Personality |
The first thing that anybody should know about Rain is that he likes giving nicknames. A lot. It's actually a favorite pastime of his. The more he likes you, the less offensive or bizarre the nicknames will get. Then, maybe, just maybe, if he likes you enough, he'll call you by your real name. That is a special thing indeed, and should not be taken for granted.
Rain is a very angry and standoffish cat. After all, why should he open his heart to anyone or allow himself to be happy? The last time he did that, his entire world got torn out from underneath his paws, starting with the cats he loved more than himself. The tom can find a reason to be angry with practically anything he comes into contact with, for the simple reason that deep down, he's angry at himself. You see, when Rain truly cares about someone else, he will give his life to preserve theirs, to protect them. He wasn't able to protect his family, and so he is angry. It's just that he takes it out on everyone else, see.
However, beneath the gruff exterior is a cat who cares. It's probably not easy to tell, considering how he glares at most cats and finds some way to mock the rest, but he does care. If there's one thing in the whole world that Rain doesn't want, it's for anybody to end up like he has, especially not kits. He's just been alone for so long that he's forgotten how to express it. He's afraid to, because then somebody might see him for how he truly is. That terrifies him. He doesn't want anybody to see past the angry front because then he'd be forced to be nice to them, and we all know where being nice gets us. It's the first step toward attachment. The long solitude has also given him a strange habit of talking to himself. It's the only way to fill up the silence.
If one has the good fortune to catch him in a pensive mood, say, when he's thinking about Analucia, there's a very good chance that his angry front will be dissolved. He might even display some actual tenderness. If you bring it up later, he'll likely deny it, of course, but he can only endure so many denials. Enough episodes like that and he'd be honor bound to tell the truth.
Despite the fact that he doesn't think he deserves happiness, Rain is searching for it. He gave up the search for his family long ago, so happiness is really the only thing left to search for. He can't help but hope that when he finds happiness he'll also be rid of his guilt. Wishful thinking never hurts, right? He'll never give up his hope. It's the only thing he has left.
Skills |
Having never fought a real battle before in his entire life, Rain isn't quite sure what to do in a combat situation. He mostly relies on instinct and his size, but that can only go so far. If he ever got in a fight with somebody who'd trained, it would be an easy victory for the other cat. He prefers verbal battle tactics to tooth and claw. At least he's good at hunting.
A strange talent he has is telling stories. He loves making them up or telling ones he's already heard and committed to memory. Once he hears a story, he never forgets it. It's like he has auditory photographic memory or something.
History|
Rain and his sister Sunny were born to two very proud, very loving parents. Unfortunately, Sunny did not survive more than a couple days. Nobody knew why. This caused his parents to be insanely protective of him. They were not going to lose another kit.
When Rain was strong enough to make a long journey, his parents ran away together with him in tow. James wanted to be with his family, which he couldn't be if he remained a kittypet. His owners wouldn't allow Lilly and Rain anywhere near the house. "They'll infest you with fleas and germs! Ew." So he ran away. Eventually, the happy little family made their home just outside of a ranch. It was here that Rain made his first friend ever, a pretty little she-cat called Analucia.
Analucia and Rain spent practically every waking moment together. They became fast friends and went on many adventures. Sometimes they would even sneak onto the ranch and watch the cowboys do their work; the stories they told were always so much fun to listen to. After a while, Analucia and Rain started sneaking out in the nighttime to see each other. This is where the nicknames started. He would call her Ana-lu-lu and she'd call him Sawyer, after Tom Sawyer. To make a long story short, they fell in love.
One day, something wonderful happened. Analucia was having Rain's kits! They were both overjoyed, and fully expected their families to feel the same way. It wasn't so. Analucia's family had never really liked Rain very much, and now that their beloved daughter was bearing his kits, she couldn't be gone fast enough. Rain's family wasn't any help either. They refused flat out to let Analucia into their sight. They'd always thought that she was a bad influence on their darling boy. However, they'd had no idea how much influence she actually had over him, so they permitted him to see her so long as they didn't detect a huge change in him. Protective as they were, they still wanted their son to be happy, and Analucia obviously made him happy. The sudden realization of Rain's romance stunned them both, and they grew angry. Rain now had to choose between them or her.
"The best cowboys always have family issues," were Rain's last words to his parents. He never saw them again, and couldn't care less if he did. He was going to take care of Analucia and his children, no matter what it took.
Analucia and Rain had two healthy daughters. They named them Clementine and Willow. They lived happily together for many moons until Rain started to feel guilty about his harsh treatment of his parents. He decided to return to them and apologize, but refused to let his family come along. This was something he had to do himself. Unfortunately, his parents had both left some time ago, which he learned from Analucia's family. He returned to discover that Analucia and his kits were gone. There was no trace of them whatsoever. There were, however, signs of a struggle, and lines in the dirt where it appeared that bodied has been dragged. Had his family been catnapped? He set out at once to track down the culprits, and hopefully find his family in the process.
Though he searched for over a year, Rain came no closer to finding his family. He'd lost the trail some miles back, but he'd forced himself to keep walking, convinced that if he just looked for one more hour, just one more minute, he'd find the trail again. He never did. Eventually, he resigned himself to the fact that he was never going to see his love again. It was too much to hope for his family anymore. It was killing him little by little. He became bitter and resentful toward himself, but still he kept on walking. There was nothing left to do anymore.
For months, he woke up in the morning, ate a quick breakfast, and then set off in a random direction, not to be swayed from his path until exhaustion threatened to knock him into a tree
He never could have imagined joining forces with such a source for his amusement, nor could he have imagined her insistence upon training him, a choice brought about by her suspicion. And he certainly did not anticipate finding a new family, a better one, within the territory of PineClan. The last thing he could have imagined, though, was his growing to care about gingerstar... as more than a Leader. How could he have forseen the gradual, nearly invisible softening on both sides of their relationship? He learned her fighting style, she learned to praise him genuinely. He learned to fish, she learned that she could laugh around him. He learned to admire her fire, she learned to trust him, bit by bit, though her entire past screamed at her not to do it. He learned to stand up for what he cared about (for once), and she learned that he cared.
Currently, he is still devoted to earning her respect, and... dare he think it? - perhaps more. Because despite everything, he has learned to love Gingerstar. He would give his life to protect what she cared about, and that, my friends, is something he never thought would happen.