[Katara]

APPEARANCE A thick-furred black tom with orange eyes. As a kit, the young tom’s thick black coat was streaked with beautiful chocolate browns, which earned him the name Spiderkit. As he grew out of his kitten fluff, his fur grew darker and darker, until it turned into the lustrous inky-black that it is today. Spiderbite has very thick, medium-length fur that keeps him marvelously warm during leaf-bare, but has a terrible habit of getting all sorts of woodland paraphernalia in it. Spiderbite’s fur seems to be a magnet for burrs, twigs, brambles, and tiny leaves, which makes him seem like he’s unkept until he’s able to wash himself. In reality, he washes himself a few times a day but it’s all in vain, because it’ll get ruined the next time he goes out on patrol. His build started out slim, lean, and lanky during his time as an apprentice, but after being a warrior for a couple seasons, his figure became stockier and more muscular, much to his delight. Though he’ll never have quite the bulk of his companions like Blackstag and Frostjaw, he’s happy he grew out of his awkward lanky stage. Finally, the most prominent physical feature of Spiderbite’s is his shockingly intense orange eyes, which contain threads of deep ochre and amber, and seem to glow ominously in the night. It can be a little off-putting, considering how much Spiderbite is quite the opposite of ‘ominous’. AGE 41 moons GENDER & SEXUALITY tom CLAN & RANK nightclan warrior FACE CLAIM ronan

SPIDERBITE SPIDERKIT, SPIDERPAW PERSONALITY + Youthful + Opportunist + Charming + Keen + Loyal & Hard-working - Cowardly - Sensitive - Private - Nervous & Submissive - Superficial & Inconsistent Spiderbite is a complex individual, his personality constantly shifting according to how he can best please others, but he does have some consistent personality traits. Starting off with his positive traits, the warrior is quite youthful, and can come off as enthusiastic as an apprentice some days. When he lets this trait shine, he can be difficult to not to like, despite the naivety that can sometimes come from it. He is highly people-pleasing, and does everything he can to get others to like him. While this should generally be a good thing, it has notoriously steered him sideways with those he chooses to keep company with. He has placed all his focus into pleasing Blackstag and his cronies, and is completely unaware he is the victim of a cycle of abuse because of it. However, Spiderbite chooses to continue to participate in the vicious cycle, because he sees worth in what Blackstag’s company can do for his reputation, making him an opportunist. Spiderbite is constantly trying to make himself look good, and as Blackstag is one of the strongest warriors in the Clan, he thinks being part of his circle can only do favors for him. Unbeknownst to him, he has an inferiority complex that causes him to seek out opportunities to make him feel more superior than others, including making himself part of Blackstag’s circle, as well as going along with whatever dubious acts they participate in together. There is quite the charming side to Spiderbite, though. His youthful energy has its own charm, but he also has an innate charm that comes with being naturally good at being sociable with others. When he’s comfortable with someone, there is an ease with which he interacts with them, an unruffled cheerfulness and optimism that’s hard not to like. This side of him most often makes appearances when he’s with his sister, Mothlight, who he’s remained close with throughout his entire life, but it also comes on display exclusively when Blackstag and his cronies are not around. A patrol with Spiderbite unaccompanied by Blackstag, Buckfur, or Frostjaw will see a completely different cat than they might have seen before. Despite his questionable choices, Spiderbite is surprisingly keen, and is usually the cat to come up with outside-the-box ideas—not that he offers them very often. He is an incredibly private individual, and would have to be prompted to someone else in order to offer input in any scenario, simply because he’s afraid his input would be silly or disappointing, when it’s often quite the contrary. However, it will likely take many more seasons before anyone besides Mothlight realizes the quiet, unassuming intelligence within the young tom. No, he’s always been known in NightClan to be the cat that unquestionably obeys, which makes him an effective follower first and foremost. No one likes to see ‘follower’ as a strength, but to Spiderbite, it really is. He excels at being loyal to those he pledges his allegiance to (Blackstag and NightClan, in general), and is completely unwavering in his faith in them. He trusts the stronger warrior implicitly, and believes he could do no wrong. He would do anything that’s asked of him, which makes him a hard-working warrior, and quite reliable at the end of the day. Of course, with all of this, comes Spiderbite’s greatest weaknesses. He is, undoubtedly, a coward, and seeks approval and attention from Blackstag because of it. The idea of upsetting or displeasing anyone is petrifying to him, and Blackstag, to him, is an example of everything you should be in a warrior. He thinks everything he does and says is the right thing to do or say, and always tries to follow in his paw-steps exactly. It could not be more obvious he idolizes the other warrior. Despite being so adoring of him, Spiderbite is constantly terrified of doing something wrong around him for fear of being lashed at—and he has been lashed at, historically. This makes the black tom very nervous, tense, and jumpy; indeed, he’s so light on his paws he could probably dodge any attack from his idol if he wanted, but he doesn’t want to. He usually believes he’s being rightfully punished, and is always submissive in this way. Do his Clanmates see what’s happening? Probably. What they don’t understand is Spiderbite’s reaction to it, and it’s perhaps this that stops others from interfering. Despite acting terrified of Blackstag at times, he’ll talk about him adoringly at other times, which paints a confusing picture for his Clanmates. Even beyond that, he acts like a completely different cat when around Blackstag and his group versus when he's not, which makes him come off as highly superficial and inconsistent to his Clan. Because of this, there are many cats that treat him skeptically, which just makes him even more desperate to please them. This cycle, without question, makes him miserable every single time, but he's been participating in it so long that he no longer knows how to act or what to do without it. INSPIRATION: Peter Pettigrew (Harry Potter), George McFly (Back to the Future), Ravenpaw (pre-loner, Warriors) HISTORY Sablefoot——Marshflower Spiderbite / Mothlight / Roachflight / Antkit KITHOOD Born to a pair of well-respected warriors, Spiderkit and Mothkit had a very loving, strong start to their lives for the first couple moons of their kithood. Spiderkit was highly energetic, hardly able to be contained within the walls of the nursery, and though he never disobeyed his parents, he may have pleaded and charmed his way out of the nursery many times. His parents were amused by him and allowed themselves to be charmed, and after all he was so difficult to resist. His joy was unrivaled when his requests were met with an affirmative answer, as he'd run around in circles with his little tail stuck in the air until he began to stumble - and then he'd zoom off toward the elders' den at a hilarious tilt, as if his paws wanted to carry him into a circle again. Spiderkit enjoyed his time with the elders the most and the elders, for their part, absolutely adored him. He hung on their every word, asked engaging questions with the kind of wide-eyed awe they probably lived to see. The stories of great warriors accomplishing great feats fascinated him the most, and he'd often recount these stories to Mothkit later (even though she was usually present at the time), as if he'd been so absorbed in the story he'd completely forgotten his sister had existed. Despite this, the two siblings were inseparable, and did pretty much everything together. They play-fought outside the nursery like every other kit, but they also enjoyed finding little hiding spots around camp in plain sight with their heads bent together, whispering together and laughing. They were very close, and would remain so throughout their lives, thankfully. Those first moons were peaceful, but the pair of them soon learned of the hardships of Clan life. Their deputy was killed by predators, and shortly following that tragedy, greencough swept through the Clan. The epidemic claimed several lives, including Dimstar's, which felt so surreal to Spiderkit that he wondered whether he was dreaming. He felt exhausted and horrible inside, and associated the heavy, raw feeling within him for what is was - powerlessness. He was afraid for his Clanmates, and afraid for his family too - he stayed inside the nursery at all times, scared to set a paw-step outside and watch someone else get taken by the illness - an invisible enemy the young kit had no way of fighting off like the great warriors in the elders' stories might have. He checked that his parents were alright constantly, and had a habit of making sure some part of him was always touching Mothkit, to reassure himself she was still there, alive and well, as if the illness would kill her within moments instead of slowly. It was because of this he failed to recognize his own symptoms that had set in slowly, starting as whitecough and developing into greencough. He just felt the same as he always did those days except worse; the rawness had an edge to it, and the exhaustion had a weight to it. Fortunately, his parents recognized the symptoms almost immediately and were quick to quarantine him in the medicine den, where he was also treated by Smokefur. Spiderkit remembers nothing of this time except darkness, fear, and powerlessness, and when he'd recovered a quarter-moon later, he had the impression he'd only been knocked out for a day at most. He was horrified he'd missed more time than that, listened in dismay to his sister describing how helpless she felt, how she'd snuck to the medicine den just to check on him, and he'd been completely unaware of it. The feeling of powerlessness he'd felt is something that became internalized within him, and he never wanted to feel that way again. Despite this, his bout of greencough was relatively mild, and he came out of it just fine, physically. Psychologically, he wouldn't ever be the same again. APPRENTICESHIP When at last his sixth moon arrived, Spiderkit was more-or-less acting like his old self, and was so restless the day of his apprentice ceremony that his father joked he ought to do a couple laps around camp to work off his energy, and the young cat obeyed without question. Then came the ceremony, and they became Spiderpaw and Mothpaw. His sister was given to a cat called Paleclaw for her training, and Spiderpaw's appointed mentor was Echobreeze. The she-cat was gentle and kind, if a little nervous and soft-spoken, but Spiderpaw did not mind. He liked her immediately, just as he liked everyone. The first training sessions he had with her were the best, free of pressures and guilt that would darken his thoughts in the future, and he learned quickly and with an endearing eagerness. He listened to everything he was told to do, but he never did what was unspoken he should do. He would clear out the elders' old bedding as he was asked and replace it with fresh bedding, but he would not dispose of the dirty bedding even though the implication should be obvious that he ought to do so. Spiderpaw was a cat that had to be told exactly what to do, unfortunately, and he didn't learn to start working on this pitfall of his until one of the elders (the elders, who had loved him so much as a kit!) scolded him harshly for just leaving their filthy bedding outside their den to be tripped over, and was he a mouse-brain, or couldn't he see that it was obvious he had to get rid of it? The scolding was like a physical blow to the young apprentice, and he felt terrible he'd disappointed someone. He was being a little oversensitive, and was wallowing in feelings of worthlessness until a fellow apprentice called Blackpaw noticed what had happened and trotted over. He praised Spiderpaw for being defiant and leaving the old bedding outside the den for the elders' to trip over - serves them right, if you ask me, I've always thought they're a bit too entitled and always find something to complain about. He told Spiderpaw he had guts and he liked that. Abruptly, his feelings of worthlessness vanished, and he opened like a flower to sunlight, drinking in Blackpaw's praise and attention. There was something about his confidence, the sureness in his words and in his walk that reminded Spiderpaw of the great warriors he'd heard in the stories, and he immediately began to associate that image with the other apprentice. When Blackpaw invited him to eat with his brother Buckpaw and another apprentice, Frostpaw, Spiderpaw happily joined. From that point on, the four cats became thick as thieves. Things were good for their group, at first. Being around Blackpaw made Spiderpaw feel good, especially since he was so liked by others - or so, that was how he saw it. He was amazed at his friend's silver tongue, able to weave an illusion with nothing more than words. It never occurred to him that he would use the same deception on Spiderpaw himself, simply because he trusted him completely. He lived off of Blackpaw's praise, chased it as eagerly as prey, so it's not surprising that the kind of devotion he put on display for him was taken advantage of. Spiderpaw did everything Blackpaw asked of him without stopping to ask questions, and this probably just encouraged the older apprentice's sense of power within the group. Once, when Spiderpaw returned from a training session with Echobreeze, he began to insult her in front of him, saying she was a weak warrior, and it would be a miracle of she managed to teach Spiderpaw anything worthwhile at all. When Spiderpaw tried to defend his mentor, Blackpaw snapped and leaped at him, and the younger cat cowered before him, absolutely petrified. He began to grovel before him, quick to shower Blackpaw with reassurances that he was right: "I was wrong, I'm an idiot, Blackpaw, please forgive me! Echobreeze is such a mouse-brain, I just didn't see it that way before. You're right, you're always right!" When his fur laid flat and Blackpaw looked satisfied, Spiderpaw stopped, but the look Frostpaw and Buckpaw gave him afterward made him feel mortified. Blackpaw treated him a little stiffly the rest of the evening, prompting Spiderpaw to desperately try to win back his attention and praise. When at last Spiderpaw returned with a water vole because Blackpaw had announced he was craving it, he thanked the younger apprentice smoothly, and everything went back to normal. The sense of relief Spiderpaw felt was overwhelming, and for awhile, things were good again. But because of this incident, Blackpaw seemed to realize he had special control over Spiderpaw, and began to abuse this power with him. Thus began a vicious cycle of abuse he became the willing victim of, happily returning to his abuser again and again simply for his silver-tongued charms and the space reserved for him inside his head - a place reserved for an idol. Blackpaw was Spiderpaw's idol. Of course, it didn't escape Mothpaw's attention that the company Spiderpaw kept simply was not good for him. She tried to make him see reason, pleaded with him to stop hanging out with them, especially after witnessing the way Blackpaw treated her brother. But Spiderpaw simply could not - or rather, would not - see things the way Mothpaw did. She didn't understand that being at Blackpaw's side made him feel good, better than he'd felt in his entire life, and that he was fine with groveling or taking a blow to the head if it meant he could stay at his friend's side. Mothpaw looked at him pityingly then, and his heart twisted. She stopped bothering him about it afterward, and he was glad for it, if only because he couldn't bear to lose her. WARRIORHOOD A few moons after Spiderpaw's friends had been named warriors, it was his and Mothpaw's turn at last. They were re-named Spiderbite and Mothlight, and proudly sat vigil together that night. They didn't need to speak to communicate the fierce love and pride they felt for each other as they stood guarding the camp. Spiderbite had been treated rather coolly by Blackstag and the others ever since they'd been made warriors, and he was desperately hoping things would return to normal now that he had his warrior status. And things did, if playing his part at Blackstag's side was considered 'normal'. He settled back in his position, willfully placing himself back in the cycle that had caused him so much misery already. He couldn't help himself, not when it came to Blackstag and the praise he had to drag out of him just to get by. He seemed to sense when Spiderbite was growing distant, quick to prowl to his side and weave palaces of praise for the insecure younger tom. And then he'd be back to his enthusiastic, quick-to-please self, groveling at Blackstag's paws at his will, and chirping about how great he was the rest of the time. Blackstag had him wrapped around his paw, and Frostjaw and Buckfur both coolly ignored the abusive, toxic cycle their 'friend' was tossed into again, and again, and again. This became Spiderbite's normal, the normal he clung to and found impossible to leave. A life without Blackstag was no longer a life he could imagine for himself, and he could find no wrong in his friend's behavior, no flaw within him despite all the wrongs he'd committed against him. It had been so long since Mothlight had told him that keeping Blackstag's company was doing him no favors that he never expected to receive spitting opposition from his baby brother Roachkit, of all cats. His parents' second litter was only a few moons old when he found Roachkit treated him violently differently one day than he had a few days ago. Utterly unaware his brother had witnessed him groveling at Blackstag's paws at one point, he was totally nonplussed at Roachkit's behavior, which continued from kithood into his apprenticeship. Because he could find no words to make Roachpaw like him again, he began to dutifully avoid him, and ignore him particularly when Blackstag, Buckfur, or Frostjaw was nearby. Though it pained him, it wasn't as terrible as it might have been to do the same to Mothlight, and whenever Roachpaw's loathing looks were too much for him, he often swarmed to his sister's side to seek reassurance and the familiar press of her flank to his, to convince him that at least one cat loved him and wanted him there no matter what. Because Spiderbite can count the amount of cats that really, truly love him, on one paw - and if he's being completely honest with himself, he always comes up with Mothlight, Marshflower, and Sablefoot every time. But never Blackstag.