Post by fabrication on Jul 30, 2022 12:18:15 GMT -8
ASTERSTORM
WARRIOR OF ELKCLAN
36 MOONS | CISGENDER TOM |
HE/HIM | BISEXUAL |
■ Positive ■ Obliging ■ Confident ■ Emotional ■ Loyal ■ Honourable ■ Honest | ■ Competitive ■ Unsociable ■ Opinionated ■ Combative ■ Stubborn ■ Strict ■ Holds a grudge |
PERSONALITY
Asterstorm is entirely willing to work as a team with other cats, so long as he understands what it is they want him to do. He is unlikely to resist going along with something purely for the sake of his own pride and always puts his own ego aside for the sake of moving forward. The only time he will offer resistance is when he genuinely believes what the other cats want to do is wrong, won't work, or is otherwise idiotic. His awareness of his own differences growing up have given him the tendency to watch out for young cats especially. If he notices a particular apprentice or kit is left out or struggling, he feels obligated to approach and support them. He knows what it's like to be the "weird kit" or the one other cats did not believe in, so is always determined to help support others through their own challenges.
Growing up, Apricotshade mistakingly assumed he did not listen because he didn't want to, which gave him the reputation of a "naughty kit", unwilling to listen to the wishes of other cats. This was not true, however, and he would have fallen under the definition of "well-behaved" if he could hear when instructions are given. He does not go out of his way to cause trouble or disobey orders, and he has a lot of respect for authority.
Asterstorm is very positive and never lets anything bring him down. If he gets knocked down, he'll hop right back up again and no matter how many times he fails, he's still willing to try again. Growing up and playing with his littermates, his siblings always beat him but he never gave up. Sometimes, this positivity can veer into the toxic range, and he may refuse to accept when another cat genuinely cannot succeed at a task. He fails to recognise that there are limits to everyone's abilities, and can be seen as pushing others way too far with little understanding that you can't make a fish climb a tree.
Asterstorm has a bit of a need to be the best at anything and everything. His desire to prove himself stemmed from his small stature in youth and the special attention he received from his mother. He felt indignant every time she scooped him up and wanted nothing more than to prove how he was every bit the equal of his littermates. This competitive nature pours into every aspect of his life, from hunting to training and even scent-marking. Despite wanting to be the best, he's a good sport when he fails and isn't prone to sulking. At least not for long.
Asterstorm can only really see things his way. Though he is willing to compromise, he just can't understand alternate points of view and there are times when he does his own thing even if every other cat disagrees with him, so long as it doesn't go directly against the orders of an authority figure. This works out very well if yours and his views fall into line, but if they differ he can be a bit frustrating to convince otherwise. He also can't see much beyond his narrow point of view and isn't very good at coming up with alternative ideas. Asterstorm is not one to approach other cats frequently, and he mostly prefers to keep to himself. It is difficult to build a relationship with him beyond being kin, and he is very unwilling to push for friendship. Asterstorm can seem distant and aloof, but his dislike of interacting with new cats mostly stems from how difficult it is for him to understand what it is they are saying to him and his struggles to express his own thoughts clearly, which deeply frustrate him.
A long-furred, lanky white tom with striking blue eyes. |
APPEARANCE
The first thing that most cats notice about Asterstorm are his large, tufted ears. They sit erect on his head, still as stone, never so much as a flicker unless some outside force such as a breeze or a paw touches them. The small tufts at the apex of his ears give him a regal, handsome look, but despite their beauty Asterstorm's ears are otherwise useless, for he was born deaf. The tom has a long muzzle and an angular facial structure, which looks more awkward and strange as a kit. As he grows, it will give him a powerful, royal appearance. His large muzzle ends with a small pink nose, with wiry whiskers extending out from above his mouth. His build was rather awkwardly thrown together as a kit, but Asterstorm has grown into his lanky body and now holds himself with confidence. Once rather clumsy in manoeuvring his way around camp on his clunky paws, he has become an elegant and graceful tom. He is a tall, lean-muscled tom who started off awkward and gangly, but certainly found his paws with time. He has long, slim limbs and a fluffy tail.
His fur is medium-length and smooth, standing out in tufts of spikes on his head, limbs and rump. His pelt is pure white, with no blemishes or unique markings. His eyes are wide, round and haunting. They are very alert, always darting around him to take in his surroundings. Their irises are a shocking shade of blue, mesmerising in their iridescence. Asterstorm seems to stare around because he relies heavily on his other senses, mainly sight, touch and smell. He keeps his paws firmly on the ground, the vibrations in the earth are mainly what alert him to the presence of something he cannot see. He can be seen to open his mouth to taste the air more often than other cats naturally would, and is highly sensitive to the scents around him. As a result, he is easily displeased by any unwanted aroma, and tends to avoid the medicine den due to his dislike of the pungent smell of herbs.
Father | Skycloud | Mother | Apricotshade | |||
Brother(s) | Aspenfrost | Sister(s) | Snowbranch | |||
Mate(s) | None | Interest(s) | None | |||
Son(s) | None | Daughter(s) | None | |||
Former mentor | Duskstar | Apprentice(s) | [blank] |
HISTORY
Asterkit was the last born kit in a litter of three to Skycloud and Apricotshade of ElkClan. He was born into the world as blind and deaf as his siblings, but as time went on his hearing never developed. Not knowing his littermates possessed a sense he would never experience, Asterkit grew up as energetic as any of his littermates, if a little bewildered when other cats were confused by his strange behaviour. His mother always attempted to brush off his bewildering inattentiveness to him just being a unique little tom. But the medicine cat soon discovered that Asterkit was, in fact, born without the ability to hear. Quailstar rushed in to attempt to accommodate Asterkit's path to becoming a warrior.
Asterpaw was apprenticed to Duskfeather, a stubborn and tough she-cat who certainly rose to the challenge of the difficult apprenticeship. Asterpaw soon learned that Duskfeather's method of teaching involved a lot of tough love. She did not pull her swipes and her determination to not go easy on Asterpaw strengthened him and embued him with the determination to succeed, if only to make his mentor and parents proud of him.
Asterpaw's first venture with Duskfeather was an interesting one. The warrior had to struggle to reach a level of communication with her deaf apprentice, and misunderstandings were abundant. Asterpaw had yet to learn how to lip-read with reliable accuracy and he found it extremely difficult to understand what she was trying to tell him. Eventually, Duskfeather realised that Asterpaw interpreted the world in a very different way than she did, and figured out a method to teach him. She would first teach him to navigate the territory and identify prey by scent, demonstrating to him directly by showing him the droppings of various animals on ElkClan territory, or taking him to the borders to take a whiff of enemy scent.
She also took the time to focus on practicing lip-reading with him, emphasising the words she was saying by pointing at the various items around them and naming them to him while he watched her mouth and face closely. It took a long time, a much longer time than the average apprentice would take in training. But, in the end, Duskfeather's methods paid off and Asterpaw proved himself to be able to go paw-to-paw with his hearing clanmates.
Asterpaw's apprenticeship brought with it potential friendship. He met a young tom named Icepaw, whose nest was right next to his. Whether or not Asterpaw's curiosity for this lanky grey and white apprentice would blossom into a warm friendship, no cat could tell. But a friend might be just what Asterpaw needed to give him a sense of security and belonging in ElkClan. Icepaw was with him when he witnessed the first falling of snow as an apprentice, and the two shared great excitement in the beauty and magnificence of the chilling weather.
However, the following day, this childlike innocence would be shattered after Asterpaw, Icepaw and their mentors encountered hostile warriors along BearClan's border. The warriors launched a vicious attack on the unprepared patrol after hostilities escalated too far. Terrified at the sudden and unexplained violence erupting around him, Asterpaw still was not ready for combat and felt unable to help his clanmates. He was attacked and wounded by a BearClan warrior, a moment that shattered his understanding of the peaceful life they lived in ElkClan forever. He and Icepaw both ended up in the medicine den, but thankfully, did not sustain life-threatening injuries. Still, Asterpaw had been sure that his friend had passed in the night, and once shook him awake just to be certain that he was still breathing.
Once Asterpaw recovered, his failure in combat made Duskfeather increase the intensity of his battle training, and Asterpaw often felt beaten and exhausted with each passing day. The sessions were difficult and frustrating, but no matter how many times Asterpaw found himself being flung from his mentor's back, he scrambled to his paws each time and read her feedback carefully. He would not be beaten in a fight again. The first time he managed to pin his mentor, he was overjoyed to see the flash of pride in her eyes.
The day that Asterstorm finally earned his warrior name was one that was long overdue, but he had earned beyond a shadow of a doubt. After moons of hard work and dedication, he earned his name alongside Icespring, who had requested that his own naming ceremony be delayed until his friend was ready to move to the warrior's den with him.
Asterstorm was given his own apprentice at twenty-two moons old. The reasoning behind why Quailstar gave him the guardianship of this particular young cat would become clear once you got to know her. Heatherpaw had always been a pawful, even for her parents. As a young kit, she would constantly cause trouble and get into arguments with even senior warriors in ElkClan. Her total lack of respect and charmlessness convinced Quailstar that a tough but fair Asterstorm was the right pick for her. Heatherpaw was instantly devastated. Out of all cats that could have been given to her as a mentor, it had to be the deaf one?! Initially, she would torment her mentor by gleefully talking about him behind his back, spewing insults and other disrespect at her unsuspecting tutor. Asterstorm was only made aware of this by an apologetic Icespring, who had overheard Heatherpaw calling Asterstorm a "fox-dung brain" out loud behind his back.
Asterstorm would frequently find himself issuing punishments to the haughty young cat, including confining her largely to the elder's den for over half her apprenticeship. But still, Heatherpaw's superiority over Asterstorm persisted.
One day, while they were out training on the open plains, Heatherpaw was rolling her eyes and refusing to pay attention to her mentor once again. But Asterstorm, vulnerable as he found himself without being able to hear threats, always kept his eyes, paws and nose alert for danger around him. Unlike Heatherpaw, whose only focus was to hurl sarcasm. This focus on the senses that he did possess was likely what saved Heatherpaw from the eagle he spotted mere moments before it dove. Asterstorm hurled himself into his apprentice and bowled her over, pinning her low to the ground. Seeing that it had lost the element of surprise, the bird barely managed to pull up. Asterstorm struck out at it and managed to claw out a feather or two before it wheeled away. Asterstorm shoved Heatherpaw towards a rocky crag, where he ushered her to hide deep in the crevice while the eagle swooped again. Asterstorm himself had nowhere to shelter, and braced himself to attempt to fight the large animal off. Thank StarClan there happened to be a hunting patrol passing by. The patrol frightened off the bird for good, leaving Asterstorm and Heatherpaw uninjured.
Asterstorm's rescue of Heatherpaw was finally the moment he earned the respect and admiration of his apprentice. To his surprise and amusement, Heatherpaw finally began to take his training seriously. The two built a far stronger bond than before, and Heatherpaw proudly took the name Heatherclaw. Asterstorm's first mentorship was a success, and both teacher and student learned a lot from their moons working together.
Asterstorm was deeply heartbroken by the passing of Gingerspot, but proud to watch Duskfeather take his place. She was the right choice for ElkClan's deputy, and Asterstorm knew that she would fit the role very nicely. It seemed far too soon when Quailstar began to weaken and her seasons slowly pulled her away from the Clan. Asterstorm bore witness to the sorrow of his Clan in the aftermath of Quailstar's passing, and took it upon himself to gather flowers to lay at her side during her vigil. Quailstar had been leader since before the time of his own parents, and it felt as though the world had stopped turning. Even his pride at seeing Duskstar take her leader's name and nine lives felt muffled by the loss of such a vital part of ElkClan's lifeblood. Only time will tell if Duskstar can rise to the pressure of becoming leader so quickly, and how ElkClan will cope under its new warden.
original character by FABRICATION.
