Post by :c a i: on Oct 17, 2011 4:33:32 GMT -6
Name: Shadetooth
Age: 45 moons
Gender: Male
Clan: RiverClan
Apprentice: Ivypaw
Rank: Medicine Cat
M/C: None
Kin:
Silverfang † - [Mother; RiverClan; NPC]
Tallclaw † - [Father; RiverClan; NPC];
Greyfrost - [Sister; RiverClan; NPC]
Stonestripe † - [Brother; RiverClan; NPC]
Streamkit † - [Sister; RiverClan; NPC]
Stormpaw † - [Cousin; RiverClan; NPC]
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Description:
Tall, muscular and imposing, cats are usually very surprised when they discover that Shadetooth is the RiverClan medicine cat. With his powerful build, it would seem a more advantageous use of his strength for him to be a warrior rather than a healer. Indeed, if Shadetooth had not been chosen for the path of medicine, he would probably have been a very strong warrior for the Clan. Shadetooth is handsome in a rugged and rough way, though it is purely subjective whether or not this is deemed attractive. He is at first glance a rather fearsome sight, covered from head to toe in dark grey fur without one hair of a different colour. His eyes are also very striking in a sharp, hawk-like yellow, and often narrowed in scrutiny. He has a lot of self control and can school his features accordingly, though most of the time he doesn't bother to hide what he's feeling. If he is angry, it will most likely show.
Personality:
gruff, strong, t o u g h, sharp, strong morals, grudging
Shadetooth is an unlikely sort to be a medicine cat. He is certainly no gentle doctor and does not have the calm, docile air that one might expect from one. Instead, he is quite a gruff cat of few words, speaking in his deep, gravelly voice only when necessary and possessing a singular aversion to pomp and frivolity. He is gloriously stubborn and all but wages war against sickness in his Clan, meaning that he is a very tough medic for RiverClan. He tends to take it hard if a patient of his does not survive and becomes angry when confronted with a hopeless situation since he refuses to allow any cat to slip away without a fight. He is very masculine and strong and expects to be listened to, and he most certainly will not take cheek from anyone. He is never overawed and acts according to what he thinks is best, at times with a rather stark disregard for authority.
Shadetooth brings an almost military discipline to his duties as a medicine cat. He has an excellent memory and so always knows exactly how much of each herb is in stock, and sticks to a firm training schedule for his apprentice, determined to make sure she knows everything she needs to know as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Though he is usually a hard, apparently scary cat, Shadetooth actually possesses a grudging kindness and a strong conscience that means he will always look after the weak, with tooth and claw if need be. He keeps up a front of being the opposite of gentle and approachable while all the time being a very decent cat.
History:
Moons ago, Shadetooth was born to two tough, battle-hardened senior warriors of RiverClan, Silverfang and Tallclaw. It was the beginning of leaf-bare and the most dangerous time for kits to be born, so the litter suffered with the smallest she-kit, Streamkit, dying as the weather got colder. After this, Shadekit had two remaining siblings: a brother named Stonekit and a sister, Greykit. From the beginning, the three were quite competitive with one another and were never especially close as siblings. Their parents encouraged the competitiveness in the kits, because their family was one of pure fighters. Every one of Shadekit's uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins had gained prestige as an excellent fighter in the Clan. Therefore, it was immediately assumed that all of the kits would go on to become apprentices training to be warriors at six moons just like every other kit in the family. And that was, at first, what happened. Shadekit became Shadepaw and was apprenticed to a no-nonsense tom called Firewhisker, and he began his warrior training. His parents, both of whom had been made warriors before they turned 11 moons, made no secret of the fact that they expected their kits to complete their training within four moons as well. So Shadepaw set to work.
Quickly revealed to be a distinctly talented fighter, Shadepaw was keenly adept at battle-related skills. He was a quicker learner than either of his siblings and all would have gone as expected with Shadepaw receiving a warrior name very rapidly under Firewhisker, had StarClan not had other plans. For some reason, it seemed Shadepaw was not fated to become the esteemed warrior in RiverClan that everyone expected him to be, but instead to abandon the training he fiercely loved and take up an education in medicine. The message did not come directly to the young Shadepaw, but in fact was channelled through his cousin and close friend, Stormpaw. She was a very good, kind and clever cat who one day received a dream in which she saw the RiverClan camp. The day was swelteringly hot and the sun was parching the earth, and so all the plants died, the river dried and cats grew sick. But there was no sign of the then medicine cat, Berrypelt, and things were only getting worse. Next, the dream changed when a great tree with slate grey bark grew up from the baked earth and cast shade over the camp and protected the plants and the river and the Clan itself. The cats grew better in the cooling shade.
Stormpaw recognised the dream to be from StarClan and told Berrypelt, who was at the time getting quite old and actively seeking an apprentice. The old she-cat frowned and asked Stormpaw if she knew of any cats who might be the Shade who seemed suited to the path of a medicine cat. Bewildered, Stormpaw answered that she only knew of her cousin, Shadepaw, who was a cat of war already well into his training to be a warrior. Berrypelt narrowed her eyes and sent Stormpaw away, not explaining any further. The next day, she went out to find Shadepaw and asked him directly and baldly whether he had considered training to be a medicine cat. He laughed outright at the suggestion.
"My family is one of battle, Berrypelt. I'm going to be a warrior - I don't think I'm medicine cat material."
"Well StarClan seems to think otherwise." Berrypelt had replied tersely. "You can try to avoid fate, but the price of such folly will be high, and in the end you won't be able to fight your destiny. I advise you to listen to StarClan now, before their advice turns to warning."
Shadepaw had refused again, as politely as he could manage, and then put it to the back of his mind after that. He didn't want to dabble in herbs and cobwebs and thought no more of the strange calling to be a medicine cat. He was going to be a great warrior, just like his mother and his father and his grandparents before them. So he kept training, day in, day out, until one black day in greenleaf. Stormpaw got very sick, suddenly and inexplicably. There was no plague or pestilence in the Clan, but somehow she was struck down and had to go to the medicine cat den. Shadepaw was deeply worried, and Berrypelt's words came back to haunt him. Was this advice turning to warning? Was StarClan really using his dearest friend to force him to listen? Shadepaw begged Berrypelt to heal Stormpaw, still desperate to avoid StarClan's wrath, but the medicine cat's efforts were in vain and Stormpaw died.
"Are you now ready to listen to StarClan, Shadepaw?" Berrypelt had asked brusquely, and Shadepaw looked at her in horror. How dare they make it seem like it was his fault Stormpaw had died? It wasn't fair; he was supposed to be a great warrior, not a reclusive healer!
He'd been angry after that, and stayed away from the medicine cat den for a week, but every day Berrypelt came to remind him unsympathetically that destiny was destiny, and StarClan had made a choice for him. The guilt grew in Shadepaw, a sickening pain that he might have inadvertently caused the premature death of his cousin. So, when the week had passed, he resigned himself to giving up life as a warrior and agreed to begin training with Berrypelt, afraid that StarClan really was punishing him for ignoring their call. Berrypelt later told him that she didn't really think Stormpaw had died because StarClan was angry and that it was just a coincidence that had been used to persuade him, but Shadetooth could never quite lose the dread that Stormpaw might have died because of his choices.
Several moons later, Shadepaw was deemed ready to serve as a medicine cat and received his full name, Shadetooth. Berrypelt kept going as medicine cat until the day of her death when Shadetooth was 27 moons old. Since then, he has done his duty every day, denying himself the life of a warrior he had expected to have and grudgingly accepting the burdens of being a medicine cat. With it came a slight but distinct separation from his warrior family, who could never understand the life of a medicine cat, and a certain loneliness in living a life he had never asked for.[/blockquote]
Roleplay example:
Herbs:
Other: [/size]
