[murk]

Name: Otterbite
Age: 48
Gender: tom
Clan: GorgeClan (formerly TreeClan)
Rank: Warrior

Picture: link

Description: 

Even his critics agree Otterbite is a nice-looking cat. He has been told he resembles his late father, Blueflame, more than any of his siblings. His thick, creamy pelt disguises any past battle scars from minor wounds, and the gentle transition from cream fur to gray on his face and legs is subtle and harmonious. Unlike his siblings Minktoes and Weaselnose, Otterbite's siamese-type coloration lacks the dramatic contrast of dark and light-- instead, he bears a mask the color of river stone, the perfect backdrop to a pair of brilliant blue eyes. 

Otterbite has a slightly elongated, narrow muzzle, but lacks the other sometimes 'extreme' angular features that tend to go with Siamese cats. The shape of his head and ears is "standard" and symmetrical, making him visually appealing but also perhaps boring or typical in the way that a catalog model lacks distinctive features apart from being pretty. His fur is well-groomed and he clearly takes care of himself, though he's the type to naturally just "wake up with perfect hair" rather than putting any real effort into his appearance. Why bother, when you naturally look good?

Otterbite is tall, with long, powerful blue-gray legs and an equally long, powerful tail like an otter's rudder. He bears the absolute faintest stripes on his gray tail, which is slightly darker than the rest of him. His build suites him well as a former warrior of TreeClan, with powerful muscles for jumping and climbing in his front and back legs. Despite his strong limbs, Otterbite's general build lacks any kind of broad chest or shoulders-- think "basketball player" instead of "rugby jock." You would never think he looks scary or tough despite presenting as definitely masculine.

Description Summary: Handsome, long-legged blue point siamese tom with vibrant blue eyes

Personality:

Otterbite has always seemed possessed of unshakable confidence. Some would call it arrogance, to which he would innocently say "Only if it's not true." From his good looks to his ability as a warrior, Otterbite seems to have been gifted with the full spectrum of talents, including his own personal posse (some would call them his family, but really, what are family except your biggest supporters?)

Ever-conscious of his role in the former TreeClan, Otterbite has always been a little embarrassed by his "silly" sister, Minktoes, and his "soft" brother, Volecloud. Despite his loyalty to them and love for his kin, Otterbite has always been careful to scoff at his "less popular" siblings and treat conversations about them with mild amusement. While he doesn't actually scorn or deride the two of them, seldom does he bring them up without rolling his eyes or looking like he's hiding a secret joke behind his smirk. It's not the nicest habit, but he has to show he's the best in the family, and he knows it.

His brother Weaselnose has always been his wingman and best friend, and Otterbite is secretly hurt and frustrated that the pair have drifted apart. He blames Brackenstride, his rival (?) for "stealing" his brother away from him, and has a curiously possessive reaction to seeing the two of them together. His sister Minktoes' clear interest in the old leader's son is equally frustrating, though he gets some relief in teasing her about it.

Otterbite has a difficult time expressing himself sincerely. He has difficulty facing that he might have problems at all, much less admitting them to another cat. When he tries, he usually disguises it as "his friend's problem" and aggressively denies it if anyone suggests he might be talking about himself. Otterbite has always had a not-so-secret temper, which may sometimes cause other cats to tread carefully around him and further feed into his self-righteousness. He often makes snide comments that he thinks are clever and gets irritated if nobody laughs or backs him up. Since he doesn't know how to sincerely give anyone credit except himself, he shows his jealousy and (possible) insecurities through sarcasm and dismissiveness of other points of view.

In day-to-day life, Otterbite is charismatic, if a little forceful and oblivious when (what he thinks is smooth) conversation isn't landing as well as he hopes. He's particularly fond of flirting and testing his "natural magentism" on unsuspecting she-cats, though the number of "unsuspecting" ones seems to have dwindled in recent years as cats got used to his advances (that doesn't mean interest has waned). Otterbite takes rejection very badly in any context and tends to snap and throw insults when faced with it.

Fortunately, he doesn't hold grudges for long. Otterbite tends to view himself in the most positive light and assume other cats share his vision. It's not completely undeserved, but his ego is certainly larger than his actual significance in the Clan, particularly after the merge into GorgeClan.

Otterbite is uncertain about his place in the new Clan. The security and identity he felt as a warrior of TreeClan seems to have been turned on its head since the merge, and he's grown more and more self-conscious of himself and how he appears to his new Clanmates from the old StoneClan. He doesn't see himself as a "competitive" cat-- that would mean he had something to prove, which he doesn't-- but he's unsettled by the sudden wealth of rival toms and "taken" she-cats. He still defaults to old TreeClan loyalties and will side with former Clanmates over new ones, but is also desperate to impress the rest of the Clan and reclaim his (supposed) status. 

Competition for mates in the new Clan is also higher, and as he sees old flings settling down and starting families, he's begun to wonder (uncomfortably) how he's avoided having any kits of his own over the years. While he hasn't actually had as many partners as he'd like his Clanmates to believe, it is worrying to him that no little surprises with his DNA have ever turned up despite his rampant Cassanova lifestyle. Is he just lucky? Or did all those she-cats looking for a good time realize something he didn't?


History:

Blueflame and Crowsong, Otterbite's parents, were a former mentor-apprentice couple with a very sweet getting-together story. Crowsong had grown up with a massive crush on her mentor, almost twice her age, who finally reciprocated her love almost two seasons after she finished her apprenticeship under him. They had their first and only litter of kits, in which the four siblings were born. 

Otterkit and Weaselkit, the biggest in the litter, were immediately attached at the hip. They played together, got into trouble together, and were basically inseparable. "Blueflame's boys," as their Clanmates called them affectionately (conveniently forgetting about Volekit, who was more shy and usually kept to himself) were always roughhousing, pretending they were full-grown warriors, and playing "Leader and Deputy" (Otterkit was usually the leader. Even then, he always considered Weaselkit kind of his sidekick.)

Even when all four kits became apprentices, the brothers were close. Their mentors recognized that they would probably benefit from mutual competition/cooperation and drive one another to become better warriors, so they often trained together as well. They took their assessments at the same time and became warriors moons before Minkpaw and Volepaw, who took a slower, perhaps more thoughtful approach to training.

It was always a given that Otterpaw and Weaselpaw would pass their assessment. There was some concern over how he would react if he somehow failed-- he'd never gotten in serious trouble for it, but when he was younger, he tended to snap at his fellow apprentices or even his mentor whenever given criticism. Only his siblings could get away with making comments about him without him lashing out. Fortunately, most of the time, he didn't need much critique. He excelled at his training, though the elders never appreciated his snide comments when he and Weaselpaw were assigned to camp chores.

Lionstar's kits, Brackenpaw, Ivypaw, and Lilypaw, were also in the apprentice den at that time, and the brothers were convinced they were destined to have a rivalry with the lone tom out of the three. Otterpaw was particularly eager to prove that the leader's cocky young son was no better than they were. Otterpaw thought Brackenpaw was only popular because he was Lionstar's kin and was convinced the young tom's father would make him a warrior before the others in the den out of favoritism. His comments on the subject (labeled 'jealousy') became a source of soreness in the apprentice den, which would follow them into warriorhood.

Otterbite was too focused on becoming a warrior before Brackenpaw during his apprenticeship to really notice any she-cats, but after receiving his warrior name (the suffix "bite" possibly chosen to reflect his sharp tongue or quick temper) he was able to sit back and bask in the glow of his popularity. He'd been approached several times by other apprentices while he'd been training, but he'd been too busy to notice many of them at the time. Now, he set out to reclaim what he'd foolishly overlooked.

The "chase" was addictive-- flirting, wooing a she-cat, moonlit walks with a happy ending and no strings attached. He made no effort to disguise the fact that he was not exclusive, and for the most part, it didn't matter. His clanmates seemed happy enough to have the attention of a handsome young tom. It never seemed strange to Otterbite that none of them ever bore his kits, even after years of casual hookups. He had no interest in starting a family, just flirting and having fun. He was just lucky like that. 

It was almost expected that his siblings would soon follow in his footsteps and start padding after potential mates. He just didn't expect it to be Brackenstride, his long-term rival, who his sister took a shine to. Despite his attempts to tease her out of it, Otterbite eventually had to give up on her as a lost cause. Weaselnose was still on his side, anyway.

But nothing ever lasts forever. As the Clans sheltered with the Tribe, seeking to knit themselves back together after the earthquake which had devastated the valley, the sign from StarClan came: five must become three. It was the end of the TreeClan Otterbite had always known, and his identity within it was altered forever. For the first time, Otterbite's confidence was deeply shaken. He lacked even the decisiveness to choose which new Clan he would join for himself-- he just followed his family and the shattered remnants of his Clan, seeking refuge with anything left that was familiar.

Weaselnose seemed to understand the old TreeClan had to stick together. Perhaps that was why he started hanging out with Brackenstride in the new GorgeClan under his co-deputyship with Whitehawk. Otterbite felt betrayed, but also torn. He wasn't willing to admit he needed his sibling's support, and especially not the support of his rival. How could he let go of all the old pettiness from their life in TreeClan? But with the merged Clan, didn't he and Brackenstride have more in common now than they used to? Was it worth giving up his pride now, after all this time?


Other: Adopted from Ghost