.:SotF: Cindergaze, Creekclan

Traits.

Proud 
[ As much as she has to not be proud of, Cindergaze has this attitude about her that shows she really thinks she's hot stuff. It  can be very disagreeable for some cats, and easilys create problems in friendships and when recognizing where she's wrong. She'd never believe any of this if you were to tell her, though. ]

Condescending
[ To join in with her pride, Cindergaze can be quite condescending to cats, especially apprentices, she's interacting with. This can be unintentional at times, or very intentional. Just like her pride, many rifts in relationships can occur thanks to this trait. ]

Insecure
[ Underneath her dozen layers of disdainful, patronizing arrogance, Cindergaze holds some deep insecurities about her warrior abilities, appearences, and personality. She still holds guilt that came on for feeling useless when recovering in the medicine cat's den, and questions her worth on occasion. ]

Caring 
[ Despite her tendency to think so highly of herself, Cindergaze has a geniune concern for others and she always wants to help them and be a considerate friend. Her kind and compassionate personality is one of the main reasons she is able to be likeable. ]

Creative
[ Probably aided somewhat with her injury, her ability to come up with new, crafty ways to learn or fix something leads her to be a useful clan member to have. This ability is a large reason she was able to continue her apprenticeship to become a warrior. ]

Secretive 
[ From her mischevious kithood to her guilt and insecurities, Cindergaze has always held some covertness to herself. She doesn't often tell others what is going on with her life, whether its mentally, physically or just in general. Her insecurities and fearfullness play a part into this trait. ]

Adventurous 
[ The single trait that nearly ended her life, Cindergaze is ultimately adventurous. She is restless in getting out and doing activities, learning information, and getting hands on with things she's passionate about. Her curiosity and thirst for something new and open will probably always be with her, if it doesn't kill her first. ]

Enjoys: Talking with her clanmates, grooming, exploring, hunting, kits

Dislikes: Humid or hot days, meeting [other] condescending cats

Fears: Cats thinking shes ugly, twolegs, being stuck somewhere, restrictions, fire

[Most facts are on visual application, will be added later if necessary.]

Family

Parents:

[ Stonefang | Father | NPC | Alive ]

[ Silverfawn | Mother | NPC | Alive ]

Siblings:

[ Scorchwhisker | Brother | Bailey-Bales | Alive ]

[ Smokefeather | Sister | MysteryKittenThe1st  | Alive ]

Offspring:  None

History.

Beginnings

     As a kit, from the moment she could open her eyes, Cinderkit always wanted to leave the nursery den, anxious to explore the rest of the camp. She often got scolded with her brother for constantly disobeying and wandering where they shouldn't, while her sister, Smokekit, was often transfixed on the medicine cat's den and learning new herbs, remedies, pastes, and techniques. Smokekit kept out of trouble and stayed quiet, keeping herself occupied by always escaping into that den to absorb as much information as she could. On the other hand, Cinderkit was dazzled by the adventurous life of a warrior, fighting, hunting, defending her clan, building up the camp, mentoring, patrolling, scaring off whatever may threaten the ones she loved. It was her goal from the very beginning to become an excellent apprentice, the best Creekclan had ever seen (and in her mind, perhaps the apprentice with the best fur). 

Ruins [Tw: eye trauma, burns, injury] 

     The day Cinderpaw became an apprentice was what she considered the best day of her life. She stood with her littermates, two becoming loyal students to fellow warriors, and the other dedicated to saving and healing as many cats as she could, learning from the best and only medicine cat mentor there was in Creekclan. Excitement zipped through her as she thought of all the training and experiences she'd possess, and every lesson she was excited to get out and explore. She steadily got better, and as she improved she started going on more patrols and more hunting missions.

     She was so close to becoming a warrior, she could taste it, she almost felt like one already. It seemed she was the most happy when she could go on patrols with her family members, and often she would go hunting with her brother or mentor. During greenleaf of one year, she was feeling extra brave and adventurous, dragging her brother with her to explore some of the clan territory. "Are you sure apprentices are allowed to go out all alone like this?" the tom asked doubtfully. "Yeah, sure! We're basically warriors anyway, in just a few moons we'll have our warrior names, after all. No harm in a little exploring. If any animal shows up, I'll protect you for sure!" she purred, swishing her tail and pausing a moment to groom her ears and cheeks.

     A pop and strange noises of something she'd never heard of came from an area past the shrubs and rocks she was standing nearby. "Woah! Did you hear that?" she slowly slid closer to the noises, her brother standing behind her, still unsure. "Hey, I'm not even sure that’s part of our territory. Our mentors definitely wouldn't want us back there." he meowed sensibly, getting more concerned. "What, do you think it's anything we can't take on? We're just as good as any other cats." She hopped on top of the rock and slowly crept towards the clearing, the rock looming over the fire and strange beings, watching as two-legs moved around, and younger ones sat on the grass, messing with whatever two-legs do. A spikey figure like the sun sat in the center of them, heat radiating from the center. "No, Cinderpaw. This is not for us to mess with." "No, it's fine! It's just two-legs, they can't see me, and I've never seen them before."

    She felt drawn towards the warmth provided by the brightly colored centerpiece, smelling a strange smoky scent as she inched farther on the rock above the clearing. A two-leg grabbed some strange black tool to poke the red creature with, and the sudden flaring of the object startled the she-cat as she sat on the smooth rock. She gasped as her claws extended, gripped onto anything it could, but gravity dragged her downwards, scrapeing helplessly against the stone. "CINDERPAW!" her brother yelled suddenly, but she had already landed inches from the object, far too close for comfort. The heat, at this point, was far more than she'd ever wanted. 

     The two legs screamed, and the one holding the dark pole instinctively slung it towards her. She got to her legs to bolt off, but it had already scorched her eye, cutting into her face and knocking her head. Hot, fiery blood drained from her face and she could only feel fear as she was stuck in this clearing, knocked senseless a foot or so away. Her whole face seemed to light up and she saw nothing else but infectious heat from one side. The world felt like agony as teeth sunk into the back of her neck, yanking her backwards. "I've got you, Cinderpaw" huffed her brother as he put all his energy into taking her up a path back to where they came from. As much pain as she was in, she was relieved that she wasn't stuck alone in that place with no way to climb back up. The right side of her face throbbed as blood leaked from it and painted the rocks and grass underneath her scarlet; She payed no attention the world as her brother did everything he could to return her home.

     Her mind had gone numb, all senses shutting down, but she vaguely remembered the tom finding a hunting patrol to assist him. "We'll get you to Smokepaw, I swear." Her joints ached from the fall, and she felt like a piece of meat only hanging onto life. Blurred ideas of what happened next were all she had until she returned to the den in camp, and even still, felt her comprehension going in and out. She strained to even hear what was being talked about, could she even live from this? "They're getting herbs...' "why aren't they here?" "..fix it?" "i want to.." "hold your.." be still" "...get me moss." "find this for.." "..i cant do this.." Most of anything else was just orders not even directed at her. She hadn't even considered the punishment she'd get for trailing off from not only camp, but territory as well. The agonizing pain in her face and body was far too distracting. 

Recovery & Redemption

     Mornings after the accident, Cinderpaw still wasn't sure what was happening or how many days had passed. Most medicines drugged her and the few times she was awake, no one was around to answer questions. The first solid memories she had was seeing her paw in a splint, assuming that was from the fall. She regretted every time she had to lean over to lap up some of the water offered to her, gazing at the red mass that infected the side of her beautiful face. Her face? She would never be becoming a warrior after this, and even if she did, it would take moons and moons. Her siblings would surpass her by ages. Maybe she'd be promoted straight to the seniors den, living as forever useless cat. Or worse, exiled. Her splint was taken off before she could even fully recover mentally, and by that time she was slowly starting to accept what had happened, since it was her life, the only thing on her mind when she was awake. The oh-so confident, appealing she-cat that was going to be the most 'successful warrior' seemed anything but that now.

     "When will I be able to go out of the den?" she mumbled at Smokepaw, who was organizing herbs in the corner. They both agreed that as long as her paw was fine, she could at least get her own fresh kill from the pile next to the den entrance. She made a habit of getting food for herself, and eventually walking felt natural again. Whenever someone consulted her about her plans as a warrior now, she was firm that she still wanted to finish her apprenticeship and become a warrior if she was able. They always would give a doubtful smile, and leave it at that.

     Days passed, and she asked Smokepaw again for an answer. "When will I be able to open my eye again?" the question sent a jolt through her sister and she almost regretted it as soon as she asked it. She never asked again, the answer being obvious, and started planning ways to train her remaining eyesight to a usable condition. She was embarrassed when clanmates would visit her, knowing her reputation was the cocky apprentice who nearly killed herself messing with a two-leg invention, most likely to never be helpful for the clan. Guilt ate at her every day she didn't contribute or finish her apprenticeship, as much as she longed to.

     Eventually, her mentor informed her that she'd be able to start attempting to regain some strength the next sunrise. She couldn't believe they were still giving her a shot, but she took it either way. Her brother tried to help guide her with recovery, but it didn't feel that helpful since he had already graduated to a warrior. She worked relentlessly, trying to target objects and increase flexibility, but time passed and Smokepaw became Smokefeather, while Cinderpaw remained Cinderpaw.

     Her shame spurred her to try harder, and she could hardly believe the day she was offered her final assessment by her mentor. She struggled to use every aspect of what she'd learned about herself and the techniques she'd discovered, and the long furred she-cat felt like she could die happily when she was told her warrior ceremony would be planned. Cinderpaw, the cat with only one eye, would be as useful of a warrior as every other cat in the clan. She hadn't really realized the progress she had made since she started, but she had competed fairly well with the other apprentices. It seemed she wasn't as useless as she once thought, and as she was crowned her warrior name, Cindergaze, she realized that recovering from a setback makes her a stronger warrior that she ever would've been without it. “Cindergaze: the coolest, bravest warrior, and only with one eye.” She purred to herself. 

Roleplay sample: As Cindergaze quietly gave her paw a few quick licks, her ears twitched in alert of a vole scuttling around the roots of a small tree nearby. Despite other's beliefs, the she-cat very well believed she was an excellent hunter, even with the loss of her eye. Her eyes glued to the twitching leaves that surrounded the root, she slowly crouched lower to the ground, preparing to leap forward and pin the animal down. She parted her jaws slightly and tasted the autumn air, definitely getting the hints of vole she had detected earlier. She launched forward, landing on top of the squirming animal. She had slightly miscalculated where to jump, and it darted out slightly from her paw; she immediately captured it back and fit her jaws around the neck, killing it while she had the chance. Hah! Can't hunt, they say. She collected her third kill for that evening and raised her head as she heard the rustling behind her, sensing it to be far heavier than just prey squabbling along; it was the rest of her hunting patrol. She proudly laid her kill out to her clanmates. "What do you think about that?" she purred, curling her tail.


Thanks to MysteryKittenThe1st for letting me apply as Smokefeather's sister