[williams]

Name: Hail from Storm-dark Sky
Age: 48 Moons
Gender: She-cat
Clan: Tribe of Forgotten Waters
Rank: Cave-guard

Description: As a cave-guard, Hail almost matches. Taking her mother’s height into her genes, Hail is a short she-cat. Her head reaches closer to the shoulders of her fellow Cave-guards, rather than at equal with their heads, where she should be. Yet her shoulders are still wide from her father's lineage, her paws large, and when she stands still, that grace hardens and she is as unmovable as the other Cave-Guards. Her pelt is short and dense, perfect for trapping in body heat. It is a dusty white color that hits almost the full pelt. The tip of her tail, and a few toes on her back feet, are black. She also has two spots of black on her forehead, acting as an odd second pair of eyes. Her eyes are a pale green below these spots.
Lastly is her lack of ears. Unable to be saved after the attack, her ears are completely missing. There are a few fading scars along the back of her head that extend down to her shoulders as well to show the extent of what happened. The cross in rough shapes to show the intent was to kill rather than to main. Their dull pinkness is sharp against the white of her pelt, but age has softened the edges and surface to a fuzzy, yet painful memory. Hail has adapted to having no ear to swivel, and grudgingly ignores any looks of curiosity she gets from younger cats.

Description Summary: Stocky white she-cat with green eyes, no ears and scarring across the back of her head to the tops of her shoulders.

Personality: Much like the weather she was named for, Hail can be a blunt cat to interact with. She lets most of her day go by through thinking, speaking up only when called upon or when the situation calls for it. Her words when spoken are clipped, to the point and sometimes without context, requiring her talking partner to piece together the missing context clues.
Under her outwardly stiff persona, Hail has a fierce devotion to those she cares about. While she also cares about her tribe, those she has decided to give her love to are given more support. Her whole being becomes dedicated to them, no injury too great if it means her loved ones are safe. Guilt sits heavy in her heart when they get hurt, as if her job had failed. Her mother’s demise sits like a hard lump, and it will take a long stretch of time for that to heal.
As she recovers from the journey and loss of her home, Hail will return to her mother’s wandering ways. She cannot sit still for long, and privately has enjoyed seeing further than her tribe’s lands had previously provided. It is nice to her, to have a home to return to, but she knows the world is larger than any one tribe can contain.



History

Mother: Night Before Storm
Father: Snow that Falls into Pool
Siblings: adopted brother, Heather Among Stones

Born in similar circumstances as her mother’s birth, Night chose to name her only daughter after the resulting weather that fell on her make-shift den outside of the tribe’s home. Night did not want to be confined to the camp when she gave birth, her spirit more free-floating than some of her tribe-mates would appreciate. Yet she came back soon with her daughter grasped protectively by the scruff, eyes sparkling with pride for the little white kit. Hail was doted on by both parents when she reached the cave and as she grew into a little stocky cat. Her father puffed with pride as she grew, recognizing her Cave-guard future instantly.

As a To-be, Stoneteller confirmed her father’s words. Though she walked, and went through her day like her mother-a bit lost in thoughts and more willing to examine the landscape than make conversation- Hail was a quick and ferocious defender when they traveled outside the camp, paws sticking firm in the snow that hid her perfectly till the last moment. Her To-be moons flew by quickly and with many moments of celebration when their group was saved from a sudden hawk attack. She had obviously picked up her father’s fierce devotion to the Tribe.

In her final moon as a To-be was when Heather Among Stones walked into her life. He was a young Prey-hunter, agile from having two prey-hunter parents and with a confidence that Hail found charming. Tragedy struck his family down, a landslide taking both parents and their Cave-guard protector. He became withdrawn from his tribe-mates, unsure how to proceed without those he cared for most. Hail watched the tom fall into despair, and felt it was her duty to fix that. After talking with Stoneteller, a discovery was made. Night and his mother were sisters, and Hail decided by extension, Heather was her brother. She declared her adoption of him one evening, earning a startled look from the tom but an acceptance once the look faded into appreciation. The pair would be almost inseparable at this point, even more so as Hail became a full cave-guard.

Hail enjoyed wandering further than expected, picking up her mother’s wanderlust. She wasn’t particularly allowed to wander as far as she did, and she received a brutal reminder of this from the prey they hunted. One trip resulted in a hawk attack, two young male hawks defending their turf and swelling their ego with an easy catch. They were fought off, also seriously wounded, but not without consequences. Hail was brought back to camp on her brother’s back, ears torn to shreds and wounds crisscrossing over her skull. The ear remains were bit off to prevent infection, her head wrapped in cobweb for several long moons as everything healed.

Life moved on at a good pace with both cats in their full ranks. Several seasons passed once she was healed, and nothing besides the mysterious greencough had hurt her tribe since. Yet, nature had a different idea. The collapse of her home almost broke the she-cat, not particularly young by this point. She lost her father in the rock fall, and later on during the journey her mother was lost by a deep sadness that invaded her heart. A guilt grew in her belly at her mother’s death, since her mother wanted to stay but Hail voted to leave. With Heather as her only family relation in their new home, Hail promises to all the ancestors watching on that she will protect him against anything, even at the cost of her life.

Other: using my MOTS prize to buy her <3