Twistedclaw | ShadowClan | Warrior

[Yoko]

Name: Twistedclaw
Gender: Tom
Clan: ShadowClan
Status: Warrior

Appearance: Twistedclaw is the smallest of his litter. His size is made up for by close packed muscles. His leg muscles are especially impressive. He has not an ounce of fat on his body, and it's certainly not from lack of eating. He has a firm middle, narrow chest, and broad shoulders. He's a tabby. He has a pelt that is three shades of brown. A splotch of white stretches from his chin to his chest front like a glacier. Each of his paws is dipped white as frost. His tabby markings are inky black stripes like a shadow’s claw marks. He has pale green eyes, bright with a fierce desire to live, sharp with murderous intent, and marked with soul-less pupils. His claws are very long, not literally twisted. He has rough brown pads underpaw. He has a normal-sized tail, which is oddly big on his small frame, white-tipped. White hair grows out of his rounded ears. On his short muzzle, sits a dark pink nose. He has several battle marks, but the most noticeable is the nick on his tail. The one that pains him most is the slash mark running from the base of his tail to his upper-throat, earned in his battle as an apprentice. This is not usually visible unless his fur is matted down from rain.

Personality: Now, there are many rumors about the horrible things that ShadowClan cats do. Unfortunately, Twistedclaw is the nightmare that proves those rumors could be true and spurns new ones. He is a rather merciless cat towards other Clans, towards non-kin, and especially to any cat above the age of six moons. He has no sympathy for trespassers, whatever their reason, and will give any cat daring to cross the border a good clawing just for the sake of it. He’s not a cat above torturing for information, leader’s permission or not. Most importantly, he is not a cat above killing. The only thing standing between a death blow and his enemy is a brother’s word.

Ever the bad boy, Twistedclaw is rarely expected to actually work outside of battle. Even the Leader seems reluctant to give him direct orders, better to address all three siblings at once. Only moons ago, Twistedclaw outright refused to help repair damaged dens, or go hunting, or on patrol. He liked to do what he wanted on his time, and if any cat had a problem with it they could kiss his twisted ass, his brothers being the exception to that rule. Twistedclaw pays close attention to his brother Lizardeye, the brains of the litter. He's easily influenced by his either of his brothers' opinions.

He's the best fighter of the bunch though and good with battle strategy. He's very aggressive, but respectful of cats who give him a good battle (Not many of them live to be respected). Strangely enough, despite his outspokenness and boldness, he's bashful around she-cats. Most importantly, he believes that StarClan exists...He just doesn't care about them. He does stick to the Warrior Code, though he "forgets" that he doesn't have to kill his rivals in battle.

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History: Unlike most cats, their history does not start with birth. No. Their history goes back many moons before they were born. As one could probably guess, their family has been pure blooded ShadowClan for many generations. This was managed through the strategic weaving of distant kin (within the Clan) mating. Although it appeared that the family had a small society all on its own, it was not until the birth of a certain three brothers that the strength of family bonds were truly shown. Rather than wasting time and energy competing with his siblings, Frostkit forged a bond with Flamekit and Rainkit stronger than any Clan loyalty could ever be.

The family watched in awe as during their apprenticeship, their bond grew stronger. They demanded to be punished together. They refused to accept individual praise. And when it seemed as if Flamepaw would fall short of his warrior name, the Frostpaw and Rainpaw threatened to walk out of the Clan right by Flamepaw’s side. Their friendship was well-known among the Clans, and the worst of their enemies claimed they were incestuous. But their fame only grew as they aged.

Rainpaw became Rainwhisker, a medicine Cat apprentice after receiving her warrior name. Shortly after completing her training, her mentor was “discovered” to be a fraud and she took on an apprentice of her own. Flamepaw became Flamefoot, a Deputy of great speed, courage, and ferocity. He had no trouble in obtaining the position as the former Deputy had become leader. Froststar had become a leader with a Heart of Ice. His love extended only to his family first, and no further. For ShadowClan, his reign was one of great prosperity, but many warriors of the other Clans were fearful that Froststar would wage war with them. After all, ShadowClan was large, prey-full, and rumors had it that it was stocked with plenty of herbs. And so the time came for an act of great evil to be committed by the other three Clans. Although no cat knows for sure what happened, the family has been told for many generations that Froststar was murdered in secret, by one cat from each of the other Clans. It took all three of them to bring him down and that night the three cats vanished without a trace. Flamestar unleashed a deadly wrath upon the other Clans, battles raged for many nights but there was no sign of his brother’s murderers. In desperation to locate the rogue assassains Flamefoot vanished as well, leaving the Clan temporarily leaderless. Rainwhisker visited Froststar’s kits, two small she-kits who were told this tale in the dead of night. They were also told how to ensure that they’re bond as siblings could be as strong as their father’s with theirs.

“You must say these words and make a Pact, and by the will of your father’s spirit, the Pact will never break, ever.”

Rainwhisker disappeared as well, although there were reports of her crossing the moor a few mornings later. Perhaps a last visit to Moonstone? Who knows… And so the three great siblings were gone, and gone with them were many tales of their friendship.

This will be about the same thing for all of the brothers. Twistedkit, Lizardkit, and Snakekit were all born in the same litter. Snakekit was named for his long striped tail, Lizardkit was named for his fur. But their mother could never explain Twistedkit's name. "It just seemed to fit." she'd reply when asked. The kits, being Newleaf born, suffered little hardship. They were all very rough when playing. And, most importantly, they were all very close.

As the moons passed the strength of their bond grew. The night they became apprentices was the very same night they made the Pact that no cat shall come before their own blood, ever. But they were assigned three very different mentors. Snakepaw was extremely disappointed by his careless mentor and often took charge himself, doing chores that needed to be done such as cleaning the elder's den and fetching prey for the nursery or Medicine Cat. Lizardpaw was given a she-cat mentor and though he learned more than the average apprentice at that time, he did so as he pleased and on a rather unpredictable schedule. The quiet tom would often ignore when and where he should meet with his mentor and sometimes be cynical and claim that she wouldn't show up anyway, as she often did not. Twistedpaw was the wildest of the three. He was appointed his own father as a mentor which may have been the worst mistake the leader at the time could have made. Twistedpaw listened attentively to his father's every word and had a total disrespect for any other cat, and a complete disregard for the Warrior Code. He harassed his fellow apprentices and ignored many of his chores. Their mentors attempted to separate them, fearing that their bond would weaken them as individuals, but the three proved that their strengths were no worse for the wear. Lizardpaw became a proficient hunter, a skilled tree-climber, and a strategic fighter. Twistedpaw remained a poor hunter, but became an incredible fighter, and if need be a stealthy assassain... Snakepaw had the quality of his work to show for his moons of training. He had his eagerness and skill in accomplishing tasks. He was thorough and tireless and knew his moves well. He was a good leader, to his brothers and friends. But in terms of natural ability he might have been brushed over. Still, it was Froststar’s decision to make him the family’s head, and that decision still stands.

At 8 moons, the three siblings stumbled across a fox. With no warrior present, they felt they could deal with it themselves, especially Twistedpaw, who wasted no time charging at the large and deadly creature. Lizardpaw called out orders to his siblings, while scaling a nearby tree. As his siblings wore the beast down, targeting its legs, Lizardeye dropped from the sky and landed rather squarely on its back. The other two tabbies leapt to join him, fangs entrenched in the red fur as blood gushed until the fox died. They did not exactly escape uninjured, but they were certainly well enough to drag the body back to camp.

At 11 moons old, they got their first real taste of battle. They were sent out into battle to defend the RiverClan territory ShadowClan had claimed only two moons before, Snakepaw and Lizardpaw that is. Twistedpaw had not been chosen to go, and for this reason their father was furious but left the vicious son back at camp. Of course, Twistedpaw did not accept this and as soon as the patrol was out of sight he crept after them. And a good thing he did too! He saw his larger brother, Snakepaw, pitifully trying to defend himself against a muscular RiverClan she-cat. He watched for a few moments. Snakepaw was good, but he wasn't that good! And just as he was preparing to step in, Twistedpaw felt a paw prod his fur. Leaping back, he saw the shining green eyes of his brother Lizardpaw. Quietly, Lizardpaw murmured a simple plan of action to which Twistedpaw quickly agreed. Using all of his strength, the fierce tom leaped over the head of Snakepaw and tackled the she-cat to the ground. In moments, his brothers were attacking either side of the she-cat and he was going head-to-head with her. No clever tricks of hers could break their formation, and Twistedpaw realized at once how good this felt, to battle with his brothers side by side. At the height of his excitement, he felt the she-cat weaken and began to back off. Snakepaw looked nervous, but Twistedpaw just raised a claw. “Don't worry...She won't escape!” Twistedpaw dealt the killing blow, expertly slashing her throat open as his father had taught him.

Twistedpaw returned to camp that night proud and triumphant, despite the fact that it was an overall loss for ShadowClan. After all, his father was proud of him and his brothers. What more did they need. But Snakepaw looked rather miserable about something. Perhaps he had wanted the glory of the kill himself? Lizardpaw was busy consoling Snakepaw, and as always Twistedpaw was left with only his father to revel in the family triumph. The ShadowClan Leader commended their strength in battle by giving them their warrior names. That must have really said something about them, because ShadowClan was utterly defeated and still she gave them their praise!

Roleplay example:

Truth be told, he was never a very skilled hunter. From apprenticeship he knew that this would be his least favorite warrior duty. Why couldn’t these cats eat rats from Carrion Place and be done with it? Stupider still, what made the Deputy assume he'd hunt better in the dead of night with a thunderstorm fast approaching?

He had hoped that his siblings had other reasons for choosing to do this, but both had been as silent as he was. Lizardeye and Snaketail went their own ways to find hunt. Reluctantly, Twistedclaw parted his jaws to do the same. It would be disgustingly pitiful if he returned with nothing at all. He trailed to the outskirts of the area around the Burnt Sycamore. The steady hiss of a snake caught his ear before his nose. It was probably out hunting too. How unfortunate...He smiled hungrily. Tracking the slithering creature, Twistedclaw moved in quick quiet steps. His paw brushed its side, it whipped around to bite and being unable to see it, he could only jump back and hope that it would miss. It knocked against his forepaw hard, but he didn't feel teeth sink in. Now this would be a great fight, he grinned with a rather sick chuckle.