[Fawn]

Name: Dark-kit → Darkpaw → Darkcloud
Age: 63 Moons
Gender: Tom
Clan: LightningClan
Rank: Senior Warrior

Picture:
Snickers by loco's photos, on Flickr

Additional Image
Additional Image #2

Description: As one of the more senior warriors of NightClan, the lithe black and white tom did not make it to the age of 63 moons without obtaining a few scars. He had what's left of a gash cutting diagonally through the left side of his dark nose, and his ears show signs of wear and tear along the edges - as if he has always been able to partially dodge and avoid any serious damage. His shoulders are scarred, and he has various marks beneath that short, bicolor pelt of his; a nasty wound on his chin that never healed properly has left him with a bit of an unpleasantly looking scar that runs from the right side of his jaw and twists down across the hollow of his throat. The fur will not grow over it completely, and it's grayish pink in color. Darkcloud's 'pattern' can be loosely classified as tuxedo, with white starting at the top of his muzzle, flowing down both sides of his jaw (though his actual chin is black) and spilling onto his chest and underbelly. His paws are 'mitted', as in he has white toes but black legs, flank, back and tail. A 'black diamond' of fur starts at the edge of his black nose-leather and goes all the way between his eyes until it ends at a point, this peculiar facial marking not at all unattractive so much as distinctive in a crowd, though Darkcloud has a habit of blending in when necessary.

Though his forte is battling against worthy opponents and keeping an eye on his family, Darkcloud is actually quite the skilled hunter - leggier than most of his Clanmates, he is exceptionally agile on his paws, and the bane of LightningClan's hares. Like pale jade or the skin shed by a grass snake, Darkcloud's eyes are an unusually pale shade of green, as though to mimic the shallowness of his emotions. The color is not dull, exactly, it's more along the lines of unnaturally light, appearing almost grayish-yellow depending on the angle.


Description Summary: A tall handsome black and white tom with eerily pale green eyes.

Personality:

How peculiar it is, that Darkcloud should be the opposite in personality to his beloved mate, Firebird; the ice to her inferno, he is a collected, rather aloof kind of tom who has improved in demeanor and skill with age. Not quite so quick to lose his temper or find fault with his Clanmates upon reaching 50+ moons, Darkcloud views them in perhaps a better light than before, but that doesn't completely eradicate the fact that he separates 'work' from 'family' with no room for mixing.

While it can be said that Darkcloud is a loyal LightningClan warrior - the cowardice of others is enough to make his hackles raise - it is the kind of loyalty that comes not out of some kind of sense of duty or devotion to a bunch of cats he feels very little, if nothing for. It is the kind of loyalty that is synonymous with being 'useful'. They're good for each other, him and the Clan.

So long as he continues to be a faultless, outstanding member of LightningClan, his family will be safe, his kits will be looked after, his world carefully divided into 'what you can do for me' and 'family'. Those that end up in the seclusive, untouchable zone of 'loved ones' are entitled to certain privileges he would never bestow upon his regular Clanmates. Though civil with them and quite good at keeping up appearances, he would bend the heavens and earth for his immediate family, whereas it's a little harder to work up the effort to even care about the issues and troubles of the other LightningClanners.

Despite being a fullblooded LightningClan tom, Darkcloud things in terms of 'us' and 'them'. Us being the family he has allied himself with completely, his elitist, 'I take care of my own' view is extremely difficult to detect, however, as Darkcloud has always been the best at presenting himself as a trustworthy, stalwart warrior. Besides his heavily family oriented nature, Darkcloud has quite a few more prominent character traits that make him one of the more interesting cats in LightningClan (that's certainly saying something, considering the company LightningClan keeps).

A skilled battle tactician, Darkcloud has always possessed a certain finesse and fondness for well-delivered attacks, and while he does happen to have a kill record, he indulges in his habit of getting a little carried away only minimally, careful not to call too much attention to himself by having an unusually high body count. He never kills targets that are so noticeably weaker than himself that it seems more like murder than a fair fight; he refrains from doing so partially because it's a waste of time and because he has a preference for fighting against an opponent he can wholly and properly attack with nothing held back. If so worthy an opponent ends up dead as a result, then so be it.

Though it may seem unusual or uncharacteristic of a tom with a lack of remorse, a knack for bloodshed and a selfish, family-absorbed and arrogant personality, Darkcloud earnestly loves his mate, Firebird. Though he may be of looser morals than some of his Clanmates, the affection he has for her - though he may sometimes have difficulty showing it, being rather of the aloof sort - is completely real. Love is actually an underlying motivator behind most of his behavior - the love he has for his five kits, Flameshadow, Shadewhisker, Brightpaw, Kindlepaw and Nightpaw - and the lack of love he has for the rest of the Clan. He doesn't hate them, he is simply distant in terms of genuine feelings and a sense of 'community unity'.

He can be fond of the apprentices he trains, but this fondness is more of a mild like and a recognition that they could be useful to him in the future. Darkcloud, interestingly enough, has an odd dislike of wood pigeons and birds with particularly beady eyes. Their fidgety movements annoy him, and he has little patience for bird catching - preferring to use his long legs and lightning-fast reflexes in the pursuit of hares, rabbits, mice and enemies of his Clan or family.

Unwaveringly devoted to his family, one would think that with how much he cares about them, he'd have a stronger presence within the family unit, but that's not necessarily the case. While he loves his kits deeply enough that nothing is impossible if it's for their behalf, he tends to give them their space, not looming over their shoulders, preferring to check up on them when convenient. He makes himself available for conversations and heart-to-hearts, as he actually cares about their problems, though he is neither overbearing or bossy in his approach to fatherhood. Some might see him as somewhat of a lacking parent, but this isn't the case at all. He keeps tabs on his kits and on who they hang out with, he simply does it from afar and with little interference.

History: Darkcloud was born the healthier of two kits, to Wrentail (a pretty dark brownish-black tabby) and Birchbark (a solid white tom), beside a littermate by the name of Robinkit. Though they were extremely different, the black and white tom with the pale green eyes, and little Robinkit, the pretty brown tabby and white she-cat with bright blue eyes, their differences were what made them so close as siblings. Always feeling the need to watch out for his sister ever since her apprentice ceremony had been delayed by two moons for health reasons, throughout his life, Darkpaw has always been keeping one eye open for the sister he's come to adore despite his severely cold, distant disposition.

As an apprentice, Darkpaw excelled in things he had a natural talent for - though hunting birds always proved a point of frustration for him - and worked hard in areas that he didn't. Given to the then LightningClan deputy, Haretooth, Darkpaw had a bit of an estranged relationship with his mentor; on one paw, Haretooth was a very intelligent, very tactical kind of she-cat who could relate to and nurture Darkpaw's talents like no one else could. On the other paw, Haretooth was a strong believer in proper socialization was as crucial to warriorhood as any hunting or battle training was, and she would often try to push him out of his comfort zone (more like his zone of tolerance), get him to socialize with other cats his own age.
It wasn't that he was antisocial, it was more along the lines of the fact that he appreciated solitude more than the company of others who were 'unnecessary' to him at that moment, the only exception being his sister, Robinpaw.

During one such instance, in which Haretooth was going well out of her way to force him to be more social, Darkpaw met - unknown to him at the time - his future mate, Firepaw. She was a good friend to Robinpaw's, which made her slightly more tolerable then the other apprentices and cats within his age range, but her outspoken, feisty personality was grating to the aloof, icy-hearted tom who was only interested in what was useful and ignored what wasn't. Despite the tension this caused, Darkpaw put up with her because it made Robinpaw happy, and that was all he truly cared about in the end.

At the age of 10 moons, Darkpaw took his very first life in battle. Fighting over sun stones for what felt like the umpteenth time, Darkpaw grappled with a she-cat by the name of Whitepaw - she had boasted that sending him squealing back to his mother would be what granted the she-cat her warrior name, as she was a full 2 moons older than him - agitated by the idea that his loss would be so strong a gain for her, Darkpaw threw himself into battle. No longer pacing himself, no longer behaving in a way that was considered 'fair', he attacked her with the ferocity of a full grown warrior, using his natural skill at dodging and agility to run circles around the heavier, more muscular opponent. It had not been his intention to kill her, but that was the way the chips had fallen. Locked in a power struggle, Whitepaw's head collided with a protruding piece of rock.

Only Haretooth noticed that Darkpaw was more shocked over the fact that it had almost been him then the death he had caused so unnecessarily. Showing his true colors could be dangerous, he knew, and Darkpaw's cold-bloodedness was promptly packed away for more appropriate times, and Darkpaw put on a good show of being 'shaken up' over the senseless death of Whitepaw. Had it really been an accident though?

It was hard to imagine that any advantages he could have gleaned from the terrain had been missed by someone so perceptive...

In contrast to that particularly 'eventful' first real battle, his warrior ceremony was exceptionally quiet by contrast, Darkpaw earning his place as a warrior after being assessed by the LightningClan leader and determined worthy. He was given the name Darkcloud, and none cheered louder than his sister, Robinpaw, and her friend Firepaw, who were still two whole moons behind him.

Shortly after his warrior ceremony, Haretooth was killed by a StoneClan warrior by the name of Smokeface, and a new cat rose up as Deputy in her place.

The most significant event in his life upon being made a warrior, however, was the time Firepaw, his future mate and mother of his kits, saved the life of the cat most precious to him. During an exploration of the tunnels networking all throughout the territory, the three cats - two apprentices and one warrior - experienced a cave-in. After getting separated from the group, Darkcloud had dug his way through what felt like piles upon piles of earth, already counting his sister as dead even as he continued to dig. After several hours of relentless digging, Darkcloud was able to reach the other side of the tunnel, but Firepaw and Robinpaw were nowhere to be found. Following the tracks, Darkcloud eventually found the two apprentices huddled around some sort of underground stream, Robinpaw bleeding from a severe scratch on her flank, and Firepaw's front paws were covered in a mixture of blood and mud. After leading both she-cats out of the tunnels, it wasn't until Robinpaw had made it to the Medicine Cat's den that Darkcloud finally understood what had happened.

Apparently, Robinpaw had been buried under a portion of the tunnel, but Firepaw had dug until her paws bled to free her friend, even partially carrying her to a water source with no idea when or if they'd be rescued. Impressed beyond measure by the courage the previously annoying, feisty she-cat had displayed by saving the life of his sister, Darkcloud began to pay her more attention, growing to like and soon enough love the brave, dainty little ginger she-cat who had gone above and beyond his expectations to save someone so important to him.

At 26 moons, his first litter of kits with his mate, Firebird, were born. A tom and a she-kit, the male, Flamepaw bore his mother's coloring, while Shadekit more closely resembled her grandmother, Wrentail, who had long since joined the elders' den with Birchbark.

27 Moons later, his second litter of three kits were born - Nightpaw (a tuxedo tom much like his father), Kindlepaw (a ginger and white she-cat like her mother) and Brightpaw, (a solid white she-cat like her grandfather, Birchbark) and Darkcloud couldn't be happier.

In between the first litter and his current age of 75 moons, Darkcloud has trained a total of 6 apprentices.
Emberpaw, who became Embersong. (15 moons to 21 Moons)
Quailpaw who became Quailflutter. (21 Moons to 27 Moons)
Jaggedpaw, who never made it to warriorhood, due to Darkcloud having to 'get rid of him' after a serious LightningClan betrayal. (27 Moons to 31 Moons)
Thunderpaw who became Thunderflower. (31 Moons to 37 Moons)
Mistypaw who became Mistypelt, dying during a fire on the moorland. (37 moons to 43 Moons)
The last apprentice he trained was a particularly cold-blooded warrior by the name of Venomtongue.
Darkcloud was actually quite fond of that one. (43 Moons to 49 Moons)
Owlpaw, who became Owlcry. (63 Moons to 69 Moons)
Gustpaw, (71 Moons to)


Other:
Song: Dangerous Mind by Within Temptation.
Adopted from Ravenstar! <3