[Fawn]

Name: Brackenkit -> Brackenpaw -> Brackenstride
Age: 9 Moons
Gender: Tom
Clan: TreeClan
Rank: Apprentice


mr b by Sally Scott-Robinson, on Flickr

Grown Up #1, Grown Up #2

Description

In coat color and body-shape, Bracken is a happy medium between both parents. Though he lack's the fuller semi-long coat of Lionstar, he has the same ticked fur harkening back to moons upon moons of ancestors with the same genetic patterning (though colors have been known to vary from silvery-white to rich reddish-brown).

Bracken is golden-toned, leaning towards sorrel the more he matures his coloring fully develops. The fur is short and close-lying, shimmering when he moves or simply lounges just right in the sunlight. Though he is not as large as his father in terms of height and muscle-mass, Bracken's body is clearly that of an athlete, and he has been blessed with large paws to aid him in both combat and tree-climbing.

Well coordinated and strong, Bracken is a contender for one of the more successful warriors, and intends to follow in Feathercloud's pawsteps to become one of TreeClan's best climbers. Attacks from the trees will be his specialty.

In keeping with his warm color scheme, Bracken's eyes are a rich gold, lined in off-white that matches his chin and just under his nose. Paw pads, nose-leather and the insides of his ears are all solid pink. Though overshadowed by the fluffier, larger Maine-Coon-type cats in the Clan, Bracken is neither diminutive nor lacking in strength.

Any scars or interesting wounds will be added later, as they happen on the site.

Description Summary

Broad-shouldered golden tom with short fur and amber eyes.

Personality

"Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing"

Proud, Competitive, Bullheaded, Immature, Wily, Egocentric

Now well into his adolescent moons, Brackenpaw’s become egocentric as he discovers more and more of who he is growing up. He’ll no doubt suffer some serious growing pains that come with being the Clan leader’s son, and his own competitiveness towards his sister, Ivypaw. Bullheaded and proud, he doesn’t take failure lightly, and tries to greet every new challenge with a can-do mindset.

Brackenpaw hates being told ‘no, you can’t do it’, and will obsessively practice a skill or move until he can, and no one can tell him he’s not good enough. Brackenpaw has a habit of sneaking off during hunting parties to practice battle moves, and in particular, tree-climbing.

He’s not at all above breaking the rules if he deems it ‘for a good reason’.

High expectations of himself and his future, he feels competitive with his denmates, not just his littermate, Ivypaw. A budding rivalry with a young warrior called Tigerstripe will push him to become smarter, more savvy about his behaviors and about what he chooses to react to. Not wanting to be a tom that gets riled up at every little word, he’s going to learn how to pick his battles.

With an obvious fondness for the spotlight, Brackenpaw is unafraid to step on toes to get what he wants (in his eyes, he can justify anything if his reasons are benign or harmless enough). Even though he has no dreams of becoming deputy, he occasionally flatters himself with the idea of one day climbing the ranks all the way to Brackenstar. However, that kind of achievement wouldn’t be able to happen without great loss; the deaths of both Lionstar, his father, and Gorsetail, a cat he views as an uncle or older brother of sorts.

Instead, Brackenpaw’s interested in carving his own path, becoming distinctive through feats that are unique to him. Not stupid enough to go looking for danger, Brackenpaw may take advantage of an opportunity if it presents itself.

He has a typical relationship with his siblings: to Ivypaw, they bicker and banter. To Lilypaw, he is patient and kind. To Falconstorm, his older brother, he treats him with respect and even tries to tease a little. Brackenpaw has a stronger relationship with his mother than his father; Lionstar often plays the role of stern disciplinarian, which makes it all to easy to favor Honeysong’s soothing maternal ways instead.
​

History

Just when Lionstar of TreeClan thought he would never have the family he'd always wanted, the stars aligned. Love bloomed in earnest between Lionstar and Honeysong, a she-cat he had foolishly failed to appreciate until now. They became mates, and from there, the next step was kits. Even with her previous fears that she would not be able to have them, the stars aligned again.

The lives of Brackenkit, Lilykit and Ivykit were destined to be exciting, even when their mother still carried them in her belly. An old mate and enemy of Honeysong's launched an attack on their mother when she was well into her pregnancy; their tiny lives were nearly jeopardized, had it not been Lionstar's timely arrival to put an end to the assault.

The kits were safe, but their next big hurdle had quickly approached; Honeysong's kitting. The first kit, Ivykit, was born normally. Brackenkit, the second, followed suit. It was the third kit, Lilykit, that proved anything but normal. She was born backwards, and not breathing. With the diligent work of Falconstorm (their medicine cat, and the 'older brother' to the litter), Lilykit pulled through. Honeysong, though greatly weakened, survived the kitting as well.

It would be discovered a season later that Lilykit was blind.

For young Brackenkit, life inside the nursery is a mixture of boring and familiar. He values the companionship of the two other litters in the nursery (Mockingbird's litter of three, Feathercloud's litter of two), but he's curious about the rest of life within TreeClan. He enjoys spending time with kin (and getting a bit under paw as a result), and has been known to climb the ancient stump to see what life might be like through his father's eyes. He aspires to be a good warrior, nothing more. Not yet.

Discovering who his mentor will be is a major source of excitement for Brackenkit.

Apprenticeship

Brackenpaw’s mentor turned out to be none other than Feathercloud, one of his father’s cherished apprentices from the old days. With Lilypaw gaining Lionstar as a mentor and Ivypaw getting Gorsetail… Brackenpaw’s a little disappointed. Why had Ivypaw gotten Gorsetail and not him? Used to Lilypaw getting special treatment, Brackenpaw’s less surprised over her choice of mentor. Feathercloud was a great warrior, but she wasn’t a ranked cat, or considered one in all but title like Skyfall. He’d almost expected to be named Falconstorm’s apprentice at that ceremony - it made sense, a Lionstar kit for every ranked cat - but that didn’t happen.

He was with an ordinary senior warrior. Did that make him ordinary too?

Warriorhood
TBA

RP Example: N/A

Other: ]Bio Version #2.
Bracken’s song is High Hopes by P!ATD