Mottledpaw -- ||AN OPEN HEART;;||

[Poi]

[bg=f2f2e5][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=border,0,true] Name Mottledkit Mottledpaw Gender She-cat Age Seven moons Rank Medicine Cat Apprentice Beliefs Mottledpaw is a strong believer in Starclan, though some of her beliefs differ from that of the avid believers she has seen. She has grown up surrounded by believers, and was taught through their ways. Most of what she thinks lines up with the Forestclan cats; she is of the understanding that Starclan exists and watches over all cats - they send Omens and know the future. What sets Mottledpaw apart from the others is that she does not agree that Starclan can control the future nor any cat. Starclan is simply a clan of guidance and is useful in knowledge of the future, present, and past. There is an ultimate path for every cat, and Starclan knows that path and helps cats to follow it, but does not have control over any cat. If Starclan had power to control, there could not be evil or destructive cats, and there would never be fighting. Therefore, Starclan must not have that ability, but only retain the possibility of contacting a few select cats and granting lives as well as sending signs. Mottledpaw views Pineclan rather indifferently. The way she sees it, there is no need to convert those in disbelief to belief. She personally believes in Starclan, but as there is no proof, she accepts others' rights to think differently. She respects Pineclan and its members just as she respects the other clans. Maybe even a little more for voicing their thoughts and standing by them. The Dark Forest is a separate issue on it's own. Mottledpaw does not stand on either side of this belief. Maybe it exists, maybe it doesn't. She used to ponder and spend time trying to decide, but has now come to the conclusion that it really makes no difference to her if it exists or not. Just so long as the omens she interprets are true and just, she sees no reason to bother with the Dark Forest. Clan Meadowclan Parents Spottedtail - mother (NP) Ashclaw - father (NP) Siblings Emberpaw - brother (NP) Dapplekit - sister (NP) Tawnypaw - sister (NP) Other Kin None Mate None Crush None Kits None Apprentice/Mentor The Medicine Cat of Meadowclan Appearance Mottledpaw is a cat of small stature. Among the other she-cats in her clan, she is only slightly smaller, though her size compared to males and the other clans is vastly different. She's built pretty square; her proportions work - she's neither extremely long nor tall. Many muscles are hidden below the surface as Mottledpaw appears on the slightly fragile side. She's robust enough to look as though she can hold her own in a fight against another of the same size, but not full enough to make it seem like she could take on someone bigger. That, of course, only accounts for sheer strength and brute; it discounts agility, flexibility, speed, and especially wit. She's not too thin, but rather compact; she appears to be the right size for herself, not anorexic or malnourished. The She-cat is content with her size; she actually enjoys it. She finds it allows her to cram into places others do not fit. She can shimmy into small spaces to retrieve certain herbs and medicines. It also lets her cover a large distance quickly, which is needed in healing injured cats. She doesn't have long strides, so her steps are shorter and there are more of them, though being low to the ground increases her aerodynamics. Mottledpaw's pelt is short and on the fluffier side. It puffs out just slightly and never looks sleek and smooth. It's soft to the touch, only differing slightly from a young kit's fur in that it is much thinner. The main color is a sandy orange that could be considered ginger. Also scattered throughout her pelt is black and a little white. Her most distinct marking is the black splotch on her face from which she got her name. It consumes part of her left eye and muzzle; it even engulfs her nose. It's one of the features Mottledpaw is surprised to see in her reflection; it always seems to her like she was tossed in a fire and burned up like ash. The black spot is not alone; there are many more splotches that run along her spine and down her tail. There's one that covers the tip of her tail, and a few on her ears. And if that's not enough, her chin and front paws are white. The splashes of white contrast the black and create for an interesting look. Mottledpaw herself doesn't find herself attractive - strange, but not pretty. Once all of the above has been seen, the finest details of the she-cat's appearance begin to stand out. Her white whiskers are longer near her nose, and decrease in length as they reach her chin. They don't start to droop until about halfway. Mottledpaw's eyes are typically a soft olive green tone, though they can very from a brighter jade green to a more dull gray-green depending on the light. When she's in a sad mood, her eyes seem to droop and only open about halfway. It almost appears as though she's half asleep. The only other thing to be noticed is her tail. It's a medium length and typically falls with very little curve at the tip. When happy, it will curl over to look like more of a"U" shape. The amount of curve identifies the degree of happiness, making Mottledpaw a fairly easy cat to read. Those who know her well look straight to her eyes and tail to determine her mood. Personality The name Mottledpaw doesn't fit this she-cat's personality, as it far from mottled or disarranged. In fact, Mottledpaw is one of the most gentle, caring cats anyone could ever stumble across. If asked, she will always credit her mother with her caring and sympathetic nature, while she passes off her curiosity as being from her father. She seems to have only picked up their good qualities, as she observed her siblings bickering about what they disliked about their mother and father and took note of it. All of her poorer characteristics, therefore, have been gained through clanmates and siblings. Although Mottledpaw is extremely kind, she finds that many think her slightly on the annoying side, while others have a great respect for her. She assumes both opinions are due to her extreme curiosity and desire to aid in the situation by adding her thoughts, which are sometimes welcome and other times are not as appreciated. Mottledpaw loves listening to other cats' problems and sticky situations as well as their past and digging into why they are the way they are. Listening is one of her favorite things to do, and she even seeks it out. She asks questions when really they shouldn't be asked. If a cat snaps at her, her response might be a calm "What made you so bitter?" She realizes many cats don't enjoy her prodding, but she cares very little. She doesn't force cats to answer her questions, but she feels it necessary to be asked. To go along with her curiosity, she's protective. Give her the chance to befriend a cat and she'll back them up as long as she agrees with them and thinks they're being truthful. Mottledpaw is exactly what she's cracked up to be. Very little of her is hidden from her clan. If they ask, they will get an honest answer. Every cat in Meadowclan is aware of the apprentices distaste for Elders. Not the rank itself, but rather the cats who hold that rank. They are often either sarcastic and bitter, or gentle, sweet, and coated in sugar. They've lost all of their innocence, and don't even have a purpose in living. But the Elders are the cats she'll have to tend to most often, and she treats them as she would treat any other. When opinions come about, Mottledpaw lands on the stubborn side of the line. She sticks to her opinion ninety eight percent of the time, yet she doesn't appear a bully because of the way she goes about herself. She'll see another cat out, and really does take the time to listen. But after everything is done, she still has her opinion and the other cat still has theirs. She's biased in the fact that she's far more easily swayed by a warrior rather than an Elder. The she-cat is naturally a care-taker, and therefore her job comes with ease. Not entire ease, of course, but it is in her general nature to care and help her clan. Yet even with her natural ability, Mottledpaw's greatest fear is failure. She always does her best, but is concerned the clan might see her as a failure if she were to do wrong. This fear causes her to be indecisive when it comes to close calls and situations that aren't very clear cut. It puts a lot of stress on her, which slowly ebbs out through her curiosity, but builds up over time and eventually explodes. Mottledpaw is extremely slow to anger, and she owes her sister Dapplekit, who was the best teacher of patience. Although, once angry, the she-cat is slightly ballistic. Once she reaches her boiling point, all she needs is a cocky Elder to make a small comment that throws her over the edge. After she has a very loud and annoying fit, she'll often disappear from camp for about half of the day, but always returns cool and collected, ready to move forward with the day's work. She gets her respect from the same place she gets her disrespect, and that would be her curiosity. Each cat has their own take on her, and she leaves them to it, not giving a beavers bottom what any of her clan thinks of her personality. Where it gets nitty gritty is when it comes down to their opinion of the success of her job. She can stay cool for a long time, but has an overflow of energy when she's mad. She's predictable when she's calm. She's caring, courteous, and curious. Those three words just about sum her up. Skills In the way of ability, Mottledpaw has found she has a few in addition to her care. Her compact body size some might think slows her down, but in reality she is quick on her feet, and low to the ground. She's got quite a bit of speed for her size and short legs in comparison to others. The she-cat wouldn't qualify the next ability as a skill, as it has taken and will continue to take quite a lot of effort on her part. She's a good fighter, but has honed this ability by much observing. She'll watch the training hollow, and practice the skills herself. And she observes apprentices as they come back from training, still testing new moves themselves. This is one thing not many know about her, and she'd be surprised if anyone knew of her ability to fight. On the other side of things, the she-cat is a terrible hunter. There are multiple reasons for the, the first being that she doesn't remain still, and makes far too much noise. Her tail twitches, she steps on a twig, she starts to growl, she parades through brush, all scaring the animal away. Also, contrary to with cats, Mottledpaw is impatient. She stalks too quickly, eager to be nose-to-nose with her prey. Mottledpaw would consider herself a good follower. She's loyal enough, and takes direction well. She's an extremely good adviser. She listens to a cat's issues and gives her opinion, but her thoughts often make sense and are the most obvious thing to do. For example, if a cat tells her that their sibling is mad at them for narking them out, her most likely response would be to say sorry. She uses her common sense, and voices her thoughts, which makes for a good trait. History At Birth;; It was your near-typical birth - Medicine cat and a queen or two in the nursery, most every other cat minding their own business. The one cat that was expected to be waiting outside the nursery, eager and restless, was not found their, but rather out on patrol. There was no way that Mottledpaw could've known at the time that her father Ashclaw was negligent. Not to his mate, no, he loved her deeply, but there was no soft spot in his heart for kits, not even his own. The birthing process was long, but went well and there were no specific difficulties. Spottedtail birthed four healthy kits: Emberkit, Dapplekit, Tawnykit, and Mottledkit. Kithood;; Ashclaw wasn't the worst father in the world. He interacted with the kits, and showed them his affection when he was around, but was not found around them often. All of the kits admired their father for his bravery, and looked up to him, which is why Mottledkit always took it so poorly when he scolded her. It seemed to her she was the only one getting in trouble, and sometimes she couldn't even help it. This will be explained a little later. As far as Mottledkit herself, she was a curious kit, taking after her father in that nature, always asking questions, always getting snapped at by the elders. But the worst thing of all of her kithood, is the looks the others would give her. Everyone would stare at her face, and she always wondered why. Until one day, at about three moons old, when her mother took all of the kits with her to the stream. Spottedtail was eager to get out of camp, and their were no other queens to watch the kits, so she brought them with. It was there at the stream that Mottledkit saw the reflection of her own face, and the meaning of her own name dawned on her. It's a curious thing this she-cat isn't a bitter snapper, but that's what comes next. Mottledkit looked up to her mother greatly, and took to her ways. She would copy her mother's actions, do as she did, and cherish all that she said. Therefore the fact that her mother's last words to Mottledkit before they went to bed were, "You're different, but I love you." and every morning the she-cat would wake up to these words whispered in her ear, "Be strong today, my child" put great hope and love in Mottledkit's heart. She faced the cats that stared at her face boldly, and ignored their whispering behind her back. Mottledkit yearned to be like her mother, and soon became the most mature among her siblings. Despite her apparent maturity, Mottledkit would often wander into the medicine cat den. Not as a matter of mischief, she never once aimed to get into trouble, she just thought the herbs and leaves were wondrous. She would try to guess which was which, but didn't always remember very well. For some reason, her father didn't like it. He didn't approve of it in the slightest. When he found her in there, he would apologize to the medicine cat politely, then remove Mottledkit from the den and reprimand her. She never understood what she had done wrong, and thus began her fear of failure. At a little under five moons, the kits began to be left alone for very short periods of time, like five minutes or so, always with Mottledkit in charge. No one had a problem with it, even the she-cat's siblings knew she was the most mature among them. Soon enough it was obvious that the most childish kit was Dapplekit, and that she would need the most attention. Mottledkit would try desperately to keep watch on her siblings and keep them out of trouble, but when they would get in trouble, Ashclaw would come tearing into camp, seeking only one of his kits: Mottledkit. He would scold her, yell at her, and all she could do is crouch low and apologize. This went on for the rest of kithood, building Mottledkit's fear of failure, but Spottedtail's words always kept Mottledkit strong enough to handle it. There was an incident once, a quite bad one. It occurred at five and a half moons, only a half-moon from apprenticeship, and all of the kits were excited. The kits were left alone for a little while, and told to stay put. But of course, a certain Dapplekit didn't do as mother had said. Instead, she sneaked her way outside of camp and found herself alone and lost in the forest. Mottledkit noticed her absence, and immediately told Cederstar of her disappearance, but she didn't wait for her leader to make a search party. Right after telling him, she darted out of camp, and attempted to follow her sister's trail, trusting her brothers would be safe at camp. Not only was her mouse brained sister lost, but she had gotten caught in a fallen tree on the outskirts of the territory. Mottledpaw stayed with her sister until the others got there, unable to help her free from the knots. When Ashclaw found out about the accident, he spoke to Cederstar and saw to it that Dapplekit's apprenticeship be delayed. It was Rabbitstep who suggested to Cedarstar that Mottledkit might be fit for the rank of medicine cat apprentice, and so at six moons her brothers were made into apprentices, she was made into Mottledpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, and her sister remained a kit. Apprenticeship;; Since her apprenticeship, Mottledpaw began learning of the herbs and experimenting with different remedies. She drew herself away from her father at six moons, thinking it best if she didn't interact with him as her father anymore, but simply as a clan mate. She had gotten a thorough scolding after the accident with Dapplekit, and no longer wanted to deal with him. She was her own cat now, and she needed her space. He did leave his imprint on her, though. Her fear carried over to her apprenticeship, and she often sought the approval of her mentor before giving her thoughts on a cat's medical condition. A little bit of nerves lead you to do the right thing, but a full out fear is not necessary and certainly not appreciated. Being indecisive is not one of the qualities smiled upon for a medicine cat. Role Play Example Mottledpaw filtered through the stash of herbs, not searching for anything in particular. Her sage eyes flicked from the leaves to the seeds, followed by the berries. A sense of boredom crawled through the she-cat's fur, and she set out to the training hollow in hopes that a young apprentice might be learning a few moves and that she could observe. Her hopes were crushed as she approached and saw no movement, nor heard any sounds. Disappointment fell on Mottledpaws face, her eyes beginning to droop. Her gaze dropped to the ground as she re-evaluated her options. A noise hit her ears, and they perked, listening to the tweeting of a bird overhead. Suddenly, a young warrior leaped out from behind and snatched the unsuspecting bird from a tree. Mottledpaw watched as the tom hit the ground, and immediately saw the red blood ooze from his thigh. A look of concern passed her face as she trotted over, peering at the small scrape, which didn't appear to have bothered the tom. Mottledpaw nodded and turned, heading back to her den to fetch a few cobwebs. She retrieved the a ball of the yarn and leaped from the owl nest, her compact body landing lightly on the ground. She made her way back to the warrior, who had followed her back from the training hollow. Her step was light and even, creating a series of rhythmic thuds. She placed the webs on the ground in a ball, "Here you are," she nosed the wad. She straightened, awaiting a sincere "thanks" which never came. So be it. She'd rather not receive any thanks than to hear an insincere excuse for thankfulness. She ducked her head once before leaving, her tail flicking. She peered at the cats in camp, which were not many at this hour. The sun was still low in the sky and there was plenty of daylight left, the dawn only just having begun to break. A sudden feeling of fatigue gripped Mottledpaw, and she stumbled back to her den. She curled up next to her mentor and shut her eyes, the light of the coming day fading into blackness. "Goodnight," she mumbled to herself, "You're different, but I love you." She quietly repeated the words her mother would say before bed. It was soothing, relaxing. It never seemed to fail when given the task of calming Mottledpaw. The sounds of nature died as the darkness of sleep engulfed the young apprentice. Speaking