[Celestine]

Haven Found Beyond Treacherous Peaks

	Haven ("Malyshka") Tribe Cave-Guard 31 Moons Cis Molly (she/her) Demisexual

Appearance

a black classic tabby bicolor molly with yellow eyes.

Although not towering, Haven is a larger-than-average and reasonably well-muscled cat, her semi-long, dense fur only adding a greater illusion of bulk. Although on the heftier side compared to her prey-hunting tribemates, Haven is built for agility as well as strength, with powerful hindquarters for skillful leaping and climbing. Her fur is almost a half-and-half mix of white and color, with black tabby patches draped across her head, back, and encircling her brush-like tail. These patches of color are stripes and swirls of black upon golden brown, with the thinnest of stripes leading to and outlining bold yellow eyes.

Personality

+ Reliable + Industrius + Efficient + Rational + Patient

: Practical : Candid : Cautious : Attentive

- Indelicate - Distrustful - Stubborn - Resentful - Envious

If there was one thing Haven learned above all when she was known as Malyshka, it was that everyone is out for themselves. While some may see this as untrue, especially those in the valley, for Haven this was something proven time and time again. For this reason, she travels through life cautiously, with an ear to the ground and an ear to the sky. Every cat has the potential to be a threat until proven otherwise, and while she is not aggressive and prefers to stay out of the lion’s den, her wariness is thinly veiled at best. She has learned to hold herself with confidence and carry through with her decisions even when she has doubts. Being cocky is too far, but hesitance and cowering have always been flags of vulnerability in her eyes.

Alongside Haven’s caution and suspicion were born a strong work ethic and efficiency. When things are hard to come by without effort and a plan, thinking with a clear and practical mind was key, and nothing good was earned without putting in the effort to get it. She learned to be tactical, to think openly but rationally and realistically. Haven would no more follow flights of fancy than she would proceed with nonchalance. Everything good she has is of immense value, from a trickle of clean water to her closest companions, and each is regarded with the gratitude they deserve.

While Haven is not the most sociable cat, preferring to keep the majority at tail’s length, there are certain cats she dislikes more than others. Among these are cats who disregard or brag about the good things they have, and those who treat others cruelly without cause. She is especially resentful of those who do needless harm to cats she cares about, her protective and caring sides rising against this. Haven does not take threats lightly, and when one proves untrustworthy, she will likely never accept them. Little means more to Haven than family.

When socializing is necessary, one will generally find Haven to be grounded and candid. Her honesty is a blessing and a curse, teetering between something reliable and trustworthy, or somewhat indelicate. Situations that require delicacy and dancing around the truth are far from Haven’s forte, and dishonesty is not within her nature. This is not to mean she does not care how others feel, or that she wants to upset or harm them; she simply sees lies as more harm than good, and dancing around the point as inefficient and confusing. Haven says what she means and generally gets right to the point — the more clear and concise an exchange is made, the better. Beyond this and alongside her reliability is a tendency to always keep her word. Promises are not given easily, but a promise made is a promise kept unless she is no longer able. But her word is given no less lightly than her trust, and so a promise made is also often a promise earned.

History

Mother: "Mother"
Father: Unknown
Littermate: Kotik ("brother")

Among cobblestone streets and towering dens of stone, two kits were born to a loving but struggling mother, all nameless to the world. The closest the kits came to something to call each other by were their mother’s endearments, given when she would try to call or comfort them. Malyshka and Kotik. Not quite names, not reserved solely for them, but something they cherished all the same.

In their world, everything was to be cherished. Where water could make a cat ill or be used as a trap, one learned to treasure the rainfalls for the freshwater they brought. Where prey was scarce and smart, one learned to appreciate every morsel that reached their bellies. When the streets grew cold and unforgiving, one basked in the warmth and love that was family. That was to be the most cherished thing of all.

The family trio was small and close-knit, brother and sister were rarely seen apart. Mother could not offer as much milk to keep them plump and full, but she was quick to teach her kits to beg and scavenge as soon as they could stomach meat. Over the moons, she imparted on them every trick she knew; where to scavenge and where to avoid, what cats were approachable and which were not, even the best way to appeal to the lyudi in hopes of food. And what mother could not teach, there was the occasional fellow cat who would lend a paw.

One such cat among their vague semi-colony was an older tom, nicknamed Medved for his almost bear-like appearance. In trying times, he taught her the best ways to steal food from where it was most abundant. This included how to sneak into lyudi dens and slip past dogs without waking them, in order to take the food lyudi would give to their den animals. Stealing had never been something she was comfortable with, but he assured her that the lyudi had endless supplies, and what she took was easily replaced. When Malyshka learned many den-cats took their blessings for granted, she could push most of the guilt aside.

Around her eleventh moon, Malyshka heard of a place where the lyudi lay food out freely for the street cats. With some company and input from Medved and another young member of their pseudo-colony, Malyshka watched this place for sunrises to see if it was safe, even testing it herself. On the fifth sunrise, she deemed it secure and honest enough to bring her brother. Less cautious than herself, it was a risk to bring Kotik where she sensed there may be danger; but after such careful observation, Malyshka decided she could keep her brother safe here. She had not expected it to change so suddenly.

The mission had begun as expected. They arrived to see the food laid out as expected, one lyudi watching over and greeting any of the cats bold enough to approach. What Malyshka had not accounted for was the strange silver contraptions the food had been laid in. However, the tempting food along with the allure of a safe enclosed space still drew her in. But she would make the first move. Having told Kotik to wait for the all-clear, Malyshka approached the food. It was a trap. Lulled into a false sense of security by the lyudi, she had been tricked.

For all Malyshka’s pleas for her brother to keep his distance, to not get caught as well, she was guiltily relieved when he disregarded them. She was taken away from the only home she had ever known, but she was not alone. She still had family.

The den the siblings were brought to was like nothing they had ever truly known. It was warm and fully sheltered, with water whenever they were thirsty and food offered regularly. For two moons they stayed there, the lyudi patient yet persistent as they insisted on a strange allorubbing practice in exchange for food. Although wary, Malyshka reluctantly allowed it, slowly letting part of her guard down around them. But just as she was accepting her new life, albeit missing her freedom, things changed again.

The last meal in that den made the siblings drowsy and relaxed. They fell asleep, together, and warm. They woke up apart. Still regaining her bearings, Malyshka had not quite registered Kotik’s absence at first, but when she did, she panicked. A pinprick to her scruff, and she fell into a controversial calm. The trip was long and strange after that, surrounded by calming scents and enclosed in a soft casing that blocked out most of the fast-paced world. Eventually, she reached her new home.

The new den was just as nice as the former one, but it lacked any hint of familiarity. The streets outside looked cleaner and smoother than those she was born and raised on, but she was not allowed outside. Not until the warmest season was almost upon them two moons later, and even then, her sense of freedom was questionable. Malyshka, or ‘Freya’ as they had called her, welcomed the fresh air and new scents — but she had no choice in what to explore or where to go. Straps wrapped around her neck and chest, the lyudi guided her along by their long vine, not unlike other lyudi with their dogs. It was demoralizing, but it was better than staying inside. So she allowed it.

As the air began to cool toward the leaf-changing season, just a quarter moon away from her nineteenth moon, Malyshka’s lyudi took her toward the mountains. She was not sure of the purpose, but when they were not in the small den of too many scents, they were exploring. Switching her between her walking straps and a strange carrier upon their backs, the pair seemed inclined to take her almost everywhere, and Malyshka welcomed the change. With each trip, she realized more and more that there were other cats somewhere near; by the scents, perhaps even a whole colony. Cats she would meet sooner than she ever expected.

When the earth shook and cracked, it was nothing short of terrifying. Wanting to find somewhere sturdy and enclosed to shelter, Malyshka fled the moment her lyudi dropped the vine. Unfortunately, she did not account for its trailing handle. As the vine snagged and her body straps got her further tangled as she tried to free it, Malyshka was forced to wait out the quake alone and vulnerable. Waiting out the quake turned into waiting out the rest of the day, and the night that followed. By the time she was found and freed, Malyshka was exhausted; adorned in scrapes with patches rubbed raw. It was not her lyudi who found her.

Too tired for her usual distrust, Malyshka gave minimal resistance before following the strange mountain cats to their home. What she found was so much more than a colony. More cats than she had ever seen in one place, all living and working together, acting like a family. They called themselves a ‘Tribe’ and welcomed her with open paws and soothing herbs. They sympathized with her over being tangled during the quake; even gave her food, water, healing, and a place to sleep, without asking a single thing in return. As the sunrises turned to a moon and then to three, Malyshka found herself more and more reluctant to leave these generous cats. They may not have demanded any repayment, but that only left her more inclined to give back what they gave.

By her twenty-second moon, having spent almost three learning their ways in gratitude for their hospitality, Malyshka made a decision. She would stay. Some time spent with the Skyteller led to a new name and a nest all her own. Haven Found Beyond Treacherous Peeks. Her journey, her reality, became her name.

While never officially labeled a to-be, Haven took her Rite of Passage like any other. After four more moons of learning and assimilating among the tribe, she became a cave-guard in full. It still took plenty of effort to push down her heightened survival instincts and learn to trust her tribemates, but after everything they did for her, Haven would readily offer her claws in their defense.

Other

Adopted From: Xvinn
Purchased Items: None
Notes: None

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