Post by Wisp on Apr 8, 2017 23:11:50 GMT
by Tetsu Yamazuki
- Name-
Otter - for her brown and white coloration and slim build
Paw - for her rank as apprentice
[li]Age-[/li]
Twelve Moons
[li]Rank-[/li]
Medicine Cat Apprentice
[li]Clan-[/li]
WaveClan
[li]Description-[/li]
Oriental chocolate classic tabby with brown eyes.
[li]Appearance-[/li]
Inherited from her mother's side of the family, Otterpaw has a very slim, whip-like tail. Her long, thin tail is what makes her most recognizable for being her mother's daughter. As a young cat, Otterpaw has a hard time remembering how long her tail is and will sometimes over-estimate its length and end up slapping herself in the face with it when she turns too quickly. Her tail is notable for being a perfect rudder when she's swimming in the water. Otterpaw's tail is very expressive in nature and will always be on the move in some way or another. It isn't uncommon to see Otterpaw hiding her face behind her tail when she's embarrassed or paw at it when she's nervous. The rest of Otterpaw's body type also follows after her late mother. Otterpaw is noticeably slender and slinky, making her look like nothing more than skin and bones. Her body is a beautiful arch-shape and flows elegantly from nose to tail. Her most outstanding feature is her huge ears. Otterpaw is actually quite self-conscious of how big her ears are. They are tall and stick out of her head distinctly. She tries to keep her ears pinned to her head to make them less prominent. As a medicine cat, she has no real need for bulky muscles and tough fur, so she likes to put an effort into her appearance. She grooms her fur whenever she has the free time and keeps it shiny and smooth.
Otterpaw's pelt is a base cinnamon colour with darker earth-brown stripes in classic pattern. Her neck and underbelly are free of any markings. Her eyes are a rather unremarkable brown. Overall, Otterpaw's appearance is very average in WaveClan and doesn't make her stand out at all. The only reason Otterpaw would really catch someone's eye is because of her scars. Otterpaw has very prominent lichtenberg figure scar down her left foreleg. This scar is a bright, inflamed looking red colour that completely prevents any fur from growing in the area. The scar stretches from the top of her shoulder down to her wrist. The scar is approximately four moons old and is finally starting to fade somewhat. The injury causes her to limp slightly, but it is more of a psychotraumatic symptom than physical ailment.
[li]Personality-[/li]
On the surface, Otterpaw is a cat with far too many secrets. There is a look in her eyes, a look of "I-know-something-you-don't". There is something off with her smile, in the way she speak in half-truths, that leaves you with more questions than answers. Those receiving their first impression of Otterpaw find she is difficult to gauge. She always gives off the impression she is testing you or maybe she's just toying with you? Either way, Otterpaw never gives anyone straight answers and seems to take delight in frustrating others with her riddles and half-truths. She never speaks of her past or even expresses her thoughts most of the time, instead remains a neutral party until the last moment to reveal her hand.
Otterpaw acts a lot older than her age, making her seem like an old soul inside a young body. She rational and always the voice of reason in any situation. She is very cautious of unknown situations and has a certain wisdom that is only seen in cats three times her age. Otterpaw has the uncanny abilty to know when to hold her tongue and let others figure out a problem without her input, letting them learn from their mistakes. Her enigmatic tendencies drive people up the wall but ultimately, Otterpaw always has the best advice for those who need it.
Otterpaw is a cat with a heart of gold and has a saccharine personality. She believes in second chances and is the main driving force behind the movement in her clan to rehabilitate law breakers rather than punish them. Altruism is at the very core of Otterpaw's soul and she tries her hardest to make those around her smile and be happy. She has a caring heart and truly finds joy in helping others whenever she can. Otterpaw prides herself on being polite and chivalrous at all times. Ultimately, Otterpaw has a very motherly outlook on those around her. She loves her clan mates like they are her littermates, or kits. Despite all the problems she might have with them, her love for her clan is truly unconditional.
Otterpaw's truly biggest down fall is her emotions. Otterpaw is very sensitive to the words and feelings of others. She hates being yelled at and will flinch if someone so much as yells in her general vicinity. She will always take what you say at face value and never suspect someone is not telling her the truth. She has an innate trust in everyone that they will act as pure and nice as she does. Her sensitivity to those around her is the worst because of her spirit affinity. Otterpaw suffers from a very high spirit affinity. She sees the spirit of the dead all around her and hears their voices in her ears at night. Due to this, Otterpaw is likely to suffer for their sins. She is young and has yet to suffer the fate of those with high spirit affinity, but it is only a matter of time before things start to take a turn for the worst.
[li]History-[/li]
Otterkit could see spirits from the moment she opened her eyes. She was born into the WaveClan nursery on the very same night her father was killed during a rockslide. Eelstripe was torn between laying her mate's body to rest and caring for her lone, surviving kit. The stress she had endured between giving birth and Beavertail's death lead to one of her kits being stillborn. It was a hard choice for the she cat but in the end, she remained with her kit.
Otterkit opened her eyes almost a moon after she was born, which was unusually late. Eelstripe and the WaveClan medicine cat fretted over her, worried that Otterkit would pass like her stillborn siblings. Eelstripe spent many sleepless nights licking her kit's fur, and praying feverishly to StarClan for Otterkit's health. Eventually, Eelstripe passed out from exhaustion one day and when she woke up it was to the sight of Otterkit standing over her with a calm smile and her eye brown eyes twinkling merrily. Otterkit had just grinned at her mother and wished her a good morning. Eelstripe burst into joyous tears and embraced her kit.
Otterkit brushed off her mother's oddness and focused her attention on her denmates. Seeing as she had no littermates, Otterkit was content with playing with the other kits in the nursery as substitute. With her more laid back attitude, Otterkit could fit in with just about any of the other kits in the den. Only Eelstripe noticed the way Otterkit's eyes would follow invisible figures and witnessed Otterkit talking in her sleep, whispering the names of cats long since dead.
On one fateful, rainy day, Eelstripe decided to tell Otterkit the truth of her father's absence. She pulled her kit into her nest, nestling her close to her chest and told her tales of Beavertail's bravery and strength. Once she fell silent, Otterkit gave her a strange look. "But momma," She said. "Daddy is here with us! He always has been." She turned to look to the empty spot next to Eelstripe and smile. "He's right there! He has always been next to you momma. He says he loves you lots and that he'll always be there for us." Eelstripe looked between her kit and the empty space where the spirit of Bevertail lay. She eventually chuckled, her eyes wet with emotions. "Of course my kit, how could I be so silly." The next day, she brought Otterkit before the medicine cat and told them what had happened.
When asked, Otterkit was annoyed to explain once more that her father was clearly alive, he was standing right next to her! He had always been there. The medicine cat exchanged looks with Eelstripe before sending Otterkit on her way. Such high spirit affinity was especially rare and it set the medicine cat on edge. They told Eelstripe tales of medicine cats from the time before, those who had such high spirit affinity and went mad from the power. Those with such power never lived happy lives.
Otterkit's destiny was torn between Eelstripe's desire to protect her only living kit and the demands of StarClan. Eelstripe was not going to let even the word of the Ancient Ones put her little kit in danger. She turned her back on the medicine cat's warnings; her warrior ancestors; and even the warnings of the medicine cat to shield Otterkit from the potential danger her powers brought her. Through her efforts, Eelstripe managed to keep Otterkit ignorant of anything strange about her powers. As far as she was concerned, everybody could see the spirits of the dead wander around the camp freely. So she continued to converse with the spirit of her father and play with her fellow kits in the nursery.
Things came to a head when Otterkit became old enough to be named an apprentice. Eelstripe had become delirious in her efforts to conceal her daughter from the truth of her destiny. She venomously refused to let Otterkit become an apprentice, spitting and hissing at anyone who so much as suggested the very idea. It was clear to the rest of the clan that Eelstripe was beginning to descend into her own form of madness just to shield Otterkit from her destiny. All of her clan mates tried to convince Eelstripe to let her kit begin her life as an apprentice of the clan; they tried everything to reassure her that nothing would happen to Otterkit, but Eelstripe was past the point of convincing. She spent her days in the crevices of the rock face in the back of camp, Otterkit always within arm reach. Otterkit was confused by her mother's behavior but trusted her mother's judgement over the rest of the clan. Besides, she had her mother and the spirit of her father to keep her company. What more could she want in life?
Eventually, the clan had to put their foot down.The tension between Eelstripe and the rest of the clan was at a breaking point. Something had to change. It started with bargains, the clan would refuse to bring Eelstripe and Otterkit food but Eelstripe stubbornly said she'd rather starve to death than let harm come to her kit. Then the clan tried force, several warriors came together to try and pry Otterkit out of Eelstripe's grips but a she cat backed into the corner with nothing left to lose was a formidable opponent. Running out of options, the leader eventually approached Eelstripe to try and coax her out on her own. This was the last straw for Eelstripe. In the middle of the night, she picked up Otterkit by her scruff and left the camp. She traveled to the Farm Field cats who welcomed her with open arms. Eelstripe was wary of them at first, but when it became obvious that no one was going to separate her from her kit, she relaxed. She told Otterkit this was their new home now.
It seemed like this was the end of their journey, but the Ancient Ones had a different opinion. They were angered by Eelstripe's abandonment of the clans and the loss of Otterkit's gifts. They were not going to let such a powerful cat go to waste. Not long after Otter and Eel (as the farm cats called them) arrived in the farm fields, Otter was awoken by the sound of someone calling her name. She awoke to see the spirit of her father out in the farm fields, perched on top a lone tree and looking like he was in distress. Despite the storm raging outside, Otter was quick to go to Beavertail's rescue. She made her way to the base of the tree, following Beavertail's calls. She tried to peer through the branches to find her father but she could not see him, only hear him. Ignoring the feeling of dread in her gut, Otter scaled the tree, climbing as high as she could. She got to the top of the tree but still could not find the source of Beavertail's voice. That was how Eel found her daughter several moments later. Panicked, Eel called out for Otter to stay still while she climbed up to help her down. She was furious that Otter had left her in the middle of the night. She spat and snarled at Otter, claiming she was betraying her and trying to go back to the clans. Otter tried to deny her mother's claims, but Eel was so overcome with her madness, she did not even acknowledge Otter. The argument escalated between the two she cats, both of them throwing out harmful words and things they didn't truly mean. Otter would never get the chance to apologize to her mother. At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck the tree the two she cats were in. Otter could only remember feeling excruciating pain before nothing.
Otter woke the next morning to the anxious faces of some Farm cats crowding around her. She was barely able to move through her pain but she managed to ask them what happened to her mother. Their faces dropped as they sadly told Otter her mother had died from the impact of the lightning. Grieving and confused, Otter felt like she had no other choice but to return to the clans. The farm cats helped Otter limp back to WaveClan where the solemn medicine cat took her back in with no questions asked. Otter - now Otterpaw - recovered from her wounds and trauma slowly, but eventually she was left with nothing but enormous Lichtenberg figure scars to remember the night her mother died. She was shaken up by the whole event but grateful that WaveClan had taken her back in and didn't make a fuss when the medicine cat declared Otterpaw as their apprentice.
Otterpaw took to her training rather well, she had a decent memory that let her memorize herbs and medicines quickly and she did not shy away from blood and gore. Eventually, her mentor got around to explaining her high spirit affinity and the origin of the spirits Otterpaw could see. Otterpaw was appalled to learn the spirits she could see were dead. They were so life-like! How could anyone think they're spirits of their warrior ancestors?! But that did mean one good thing, Otterpaw could see her mother again! Despite this, her mother's spirit nor her father's spirit came to her. She searched and searched, but found no trace of either of them. Otterpaw was eventually forced to expand her search.
The most obvious place to search was the Farm Fields where Otterpaw and Eelstripe had stayed for several days. Otterpaw took the first opportunity she saw to escape her mentor and made her war to the fields. It was here she was confronted by the spirit of her mother; or, what used to be the spirit of her mother. Eelstripe was barely recognizable now. Her entire figure was grotesque, faded around the edges and just had this feeling of being not right. Otterpaw was so frozen by the sight that she did nothing when the malicious spirit of her mother attacked her. The struggle was very one sided, Eelstripe bested her so easily and showed no recognition of Otterpaw. Moment away from death, she was saved by a Guardian who had been tracking down the scent of the malicious spirit. The Guardian, who later introduced herself as Lotus-stone, fought the spirit of her mother until she eventually defeated her. Lotus-stone said a little prayer before banishing the malicious spirit. The Guardian guided Otterpaw back to her clan, completely ignoring all her questions.
Just as they reached WaveClan camp, Lotus-stone turned to Otterpaw. "You would do well to forget your ties to the dead." The Guardian advised her. "Those with powers like ours, they are only hindered by the bonds we share with those that have passed. Be wary, little healer." Otterpaw turned to the Guardian, her teeth bared.
"That was my mother you killed!" She retorted.
Lotus-stone snorted, dismissing Otterpaw's words with a wave of her tail. "That thing was not your mother. Not any more, at least." The Guardian looked towards the horizon, lost in thought. "Sometimes, when bad things happen, the spirits of our warrior ancestors turn... rotten. They become twisted in ways we cannot heal. The only way we can help them is by ridding them of this world."
"No!" Otterpaw protested, shaking her head furiously to rid herself of her tears. "You didn't have to do that! You should have saved her! She could have been saved!" The she cat pushed at the Guardian's shoulder, tears freely falling down her face now. "What kind of Guardian are you if you can't even save my mother!"
Lotus-stone gave Otterpaw a pitying look. "Be wary of your heart, little healer." She repeated before making her exit.
Otterpaw used her run-in with the Guardian as an excuse for her being out so late. She went to her nest that night, trying to hide her sobbing and hate filling her chest for the Guardians. The next morning, Otterpaw returned to her regular training with a little less enthusiasm than usual. She is still hurting over the perminant loss of her mother and father.
[li]Family-[/li]
Mother: Eelstripe
Father: Beavertail
[li]Genetics-
Chocolate; classic tabby; carries spotted tabby; brown eyes
[/li]
[/ul]