Post by TALLPOPPY on Jul 14, 2013 14:47:52 GMT -5
TALLPOPPY
ROSECLAN x DEPUTY
[PROUD] ● [HOSPITABLE] ● [PROTECTIVE]
General Knowledge
AGE: 48 moons
GENDER: she-cat
BREED: Maine coon
SEXUALITY: heterosexual
REASON FOR NAME:Tall - Tallpoppy had significantly longer legs than her siblings, and a long, plumed tail. Her mother rightly assumed that she was going to be a fairly tall cat.
poppy - Tallpoppy has long, reddish fur that reminded her leader of the poppy flower that grows like a weed in their territory.
Appearance
Tallpoppy is, true to her name, a rather tall cat. This is more because of her legs, which are much longer than the average cat, rather than any abnormally large build. Because of this she is lean and streamlined, though one wouldn't be able to tell as much under her thick, long fur. Tallpoppy clearly has maine coon in her blood: her dense pelt is almost hinderingly long, and has a tendency to get tangled in plants or fences. To combat this, Tallpoppy must groom herself frequently to avoid getting mats in her fur. It's lengthy even on her feet, where she has clumps of fur between her toes that insulate her feet in leafbare but do nothing but attract mud and dirt in any other season.
Speaking of her pelt, Tallpoppy's fur is a reddish brown in hue, marked with brown tabby stripes. They are not particularly prominent along her body, the edges soft enough that they only create dappling in her lengthy pelt, but around her face they are the most striking. The dark lines accentuate her wide, rounded eyes that are a rather distinctive color: a very pale shade, somewhere between blue and green. Her ears are wide-set and of a normal length, the tips ending in lynx tufts and the insides lined with long, slightly curled white fur that seems to accentuate her face. Her whiskers are similarly curled, extremely long and pure white in color. The length of her whiskers gives her a surprisingly good ability to feel around in the darkness, and that, alongside her furred paws which allow her to take silent steps, makes her an incredibly skilled night hunter. Her paws are dipped in white and there's a thin, bright white streak down her nose that leads to a pale muzzle and a small white flash right in the middle of her chest.
Personality
Tallpoppy is a very intelligent cat. She is rather skilled at strategizing and can easily map out a plan of action in almost any situation, from simple hunting trips to complex ambush tactics. She is rather farsighted and can make decisions based on the eventual outcome rather than focusing specifically on the short term result. Though she is not the most skilled of hunters or battlers in terms of being graceful or strong, she picks up the slack with a strong mind that theorize possible outcomes surprisingly easily. This ability helps her to hunt and fight much better than sheer power or stealth could ever achieve for her: she has to work much harder to excel at these tasks than many of her Clanmates, but her mental ability seems to help bridge the gap quite a bit.
Most cats are proud of their Clan, but Tallpoppy's pride could be compared to even the snootiest PineClan warrior. Her Clan means everything to her, and even the smallest slight against her Clanmates will have her bristling like nothing else ever could. Even if one of her Clanmates is in the wrong, she will defend them to the end. Thankfully, she is not very physically aggressive and thus hasn't started unnecessary fights, but arguments between her and rival Clan cats have made many Gatherings uncomfortably tense. She knows she should back off, but she just can't bring herself to do it when the time comes: she always keeps pushing it, because she cannot stand to watch someone insult her Clanmates without stepping in.
Though Tallpoppy has yet to have any kits, she has the protectiveness of an angry queen. She is loving towards any RoseClan kit or apprentice and equally fond of her fellow warriors. Every cat in the Clan is like her own flesh and blood, and she is always there to teach the little ones hunting crouches or help apprentices practice for their assessments if their mentors are busy. She brings fresh-kill to sick cats in the medicine den and even helps the elders with ticks and fleas when she has a spare moment after completing her duties. Tallpoppy always wants her Clanmates to know that she loves and appreciates them, and that they will never be alone no matter what is happening. She tries to keep everyone's moods lifted and tries to smooth over any rough patches that can be caused by quarreling. In this way, it is clear that though she never had any kits of her own, she is a mother at heart.
All of these traits add up to reveal a kind, caring warrior whose loyalty to RoseClan defines everything she does. She is not the most skilled hunter, or the fiercest fighter, or the wisest senior warrior, but Tallpoppy works to be all that she can be so that her Clan can flourish. All she wants is for her Clanmates to be happy, healthy and safe, and she will go to any length required to attain that, no matter how dangerous or frowned upon that route may be.
History
FAMILY:Dawndapple - mother
Blacktail - father
Morningmist - sister
Piketalon - brother
Mistkit - brother
No one was surprised when Dawndapple moved into the nursery. The beautiful golden tabby queen had been mooning over a young tom by the name of Blacktail since they'd both been apprentices, and he was just as equally smitten with her. The upcoming litter was a blessing for the Clan, which had held an empty nursery for almost a full season: with no future warriors, the Clan had begun to stagnate. There were excited murmurings about who would get to mentor the kits before they were even born, but they did not have to wait long. Finally, Dawndapple gave birth to three healthy, bright-eyed kits. One of them was a slim, long-legged thing, gangly even in its plump little kitten body; This one was named Tallkit. Her siblings were dubbed Morningkit, Pikekit, and Mistkit. Their birth was cause for celebration throughout RoseClan.
When leafbare came, though, greencough hit the camp. Compared to previous epidemics it was a rather minor bout, but for Mistkit, the smallest of the new litter, it was simply too much to bear. She passed on peacefully with poppy seeds to ease her passage. It was a painful time for the family, but the Clan was lucky to not have lost any other cats, and the rest of the family came out healthy. For that, Blacktail and Dawndapple could count their lucky stars. Tallkit missed her sister dearly, but it was Pikekit who took it the hardest; he and Mistkit had been very close, and Tallkit tried her best to soothe her brother's pain. Death was hard on any cat, but they had to move on, and they were nearing their apprenticeship.
When they reached six moons, Tallkit received her apprentice name and her mentor. Falconstep was a younger warrior, proud on the border of arrogance, but a very skilled hunter and fighter. Tallpaw was pushed hard as an apprentice to succeed in every possible realm. Falconstep was frustrated with her apprentice's lack of raw talent in combat or stealth, except for two shining rays of capability: her skills of strategy and her surprisingly exceptional night hunting abilities. Falconstep took a route that at first made Tallpaw feel like a failure: she worked her apprentice to the bone to improve the skills that she was not naturally gifted in, while barely glossing over Tallpaw's natural capabilities. Though this made it difficult for Tallpaw and made every day a chore, it helped her become better at hunting and fighting than she ever would have with another training regimen. At her twelfth moon Tallpaw passed her assessment with flying colors and earned the name Tallpoppy, becoming a full warrior alongside her siblings, Morningmist and Piketalon.
As a young warrior, Tallpoppy found herself falling for a warrior by the name of Nightwhisker. He was older than her, and kind, and they got along very well together. They would often take walks between patrols together and talk about what they wanted from the future. Many cats in the Clan were absolutely certain that Tallpoppy would soon be moving into the nursery, and gossiped excitedly whenever the pair would pass by. But a run-in with a dog ended their relationship far too soon, and Tallpoppy was forced to watch her dreams be borne away on the shoulders of the elders as they buried her beloved. In response, Tallpoppy threw herself into her duties, coping with her grief by serving her Clan. She was strong throughout the next few moons, deciding for forgo her mourning by being the best warrior she could be, like Nightwhisker had always inspired her to do.
Four moons after Nightwhisker's death, Tallpoppy was surprised with her first apprentice: a tiny she-cat named Featherpaw who was shy of conflict and a skilled hunter. Tallpoppy bonded well with her apprentice, treating her like a daughter as she taught her all she'd learned from Falconstep and Nightwhisker. Featherpaw had a debilitating fear of heights and could not even scale a fence without freezing in terror, but Tallpoppy worked hard with her, gradually exposing her to greater altitudes until the she-cat was barely ruffled by standing on a rooftop. Mentoring was much harder than Tallpoppy expected but she fell into the rhythm of it over time, her naturally kind and friendly demeanor making it easier for her to bond with her apprentice while her good memory provided her with a vast store of skills to pass on. When Featherpaw became Feathersong, Tallpoppy couldn't be any prouder if she'd birthed the she-cat herself.
Since then, Tallpoppy has continued to focus herself entirely on her Clan. She's lost a sister and a lover in the past, but she still has the rest of her family and her beloved Clanmates. She can cope with whatever life throws at her, because nothing could ever take away her love for her Clan and her dedication to serving it until her last breath.
