swannose, riverclan warrior

SWANNOSE


AGE ~13 moons
GENDER female
CLAN riverclan
RANK warrior

SHORT DESCRIPTION small, fluffy white she-cat with a black tail and blue eyes

PERSONALITY
positive - focused, intelligent, analytical, caring
neutral - outwardly 'tough' and cool-headed, reserved, somewhat antisocial, stubborn, firm in her beliefs
negative - paranoid, has very poor self esteem, problems with harming other cats (so poor in battle), overly wary, overthinks nearly everything, can come across as aloof and even annoying

swannose is, in some ways, sort of an enigma - a cat who often portrays an entirely different outward persona than the one she truly holds. though most of these falsities have faded with her warrior name, as an apprentice, at least, she was outwardly boastful, brash, and apparently eager to tag along with her rambunctious sister wherever they went, often causing mischief or acting recklessly. she acted and spoke in a tough manner, careful to make herself appear formidable and 'rough around the edges' like her littermate - but much like the scorpion for which her mother was named, swanpaw was never truly very deadly at all, if one were to get past appearances.

reserved by nature and even a little antisocial, swannose has never truly enjoyed spending much time in the company of a lot of other cats; crowds unnerve her, and she would much rather be off somewhere on her own, hunting for her clan or simply listening to the sounds of the forest. this may be because she simply isn't very prone to trusting others - she's very wary of other cats, sometimes even her own clanmates, and seems to worry near-constantly about their intentions toward her, even though she does her best to try and subdue these overly-wary thought processes. this caution comes from a place of deep distaste towards her own self - she has very poor self esteem, though this is something she is working on, and tends to think the worst of others when it comes to their thoughts about her simply because she believes it makes sense. in her eyes, it would only be logical for some cat to dislike her or to speak behind her back - because who wouldn't?

logic is another high priority in swannose's life - she likes things to make sense, and she categorizes her world through her own apparent manner of logic. she isn't likely to see others' point of view when it comes to these matters, simply because she is so set in these ways. (what do you mean you want to go have a wash before the hunting patrol? no, that simply isn't logical, you're only going to get dirty on the hunt. nevermind that other cats have a different way of going about things - it's logic, to swannose.)

swannose focuses a lot on the things she likes doing, and is very intent upon them. in a way, this is what earned her her warrior name, as she had always enjoyed hunting - she can simply listen to the forest then as she does so, and concentrate on what she is doing, without any other distractions. (and at least it isn't combat, which she has never been quite so intent on.) though most of her boastfulness has faded over time and with the severance of her bond with her sister, swannose still at least on some level does put forth a more 'hardcore' and tough-worded persona on account of her own insecurities and lack of belief in herself; she'll speak proudly of her accomplishments, and also may at times act in a somewhat bossy manner among friends, when she's particularly trying to come off as 'cool' and 'in-charge.' (other times, she may withdraw completely upon herself, remaining quiet and off in her own, reserved little bubble.)

she would like to think that she puts up a convincing enough facade of the tough, cool, aloof warrior that others might believe her - but at best, it's likely many just see her as an abrasive tryhard. despite her aversion to social contact, she isn't completely foreign to the idea of making friends - she does have a certain charm to her, even if it comes from her oddities, almost making her pitiable and interesting in that respect instead of because of any amount of charisma. for this reason, it may at times be other 'oddballs' like herself that she would be more prone to befriend.

swannose also has some issues with her conscience and her morality, which might contribute to her self-worth – she isn’t very “warrior-like" in that she has difficulties actually hurting other cats. the idea of combat and of fighting unnerves her - not really because she outwardly would admit to any moral objections, but simply because the thought of blood and of causing pain to another cat makes her feel very uneasy. she will fight when she has to, but as a result, she can sometimes be a little too hesitant, and she is not the best fighter in the clan by any stretch of the word. 

HISTORY born to the riverclan warriors badgerfoot and scorpionfang, swankit was the larger of a litter of two she-kits, named for her fluffy white pelt and larger size. it would not be long, however, before swankit's sister starlingkit would grow to be much bigger than she was. starlingkit would also, fittingly enough, soon dwarf her sister personality-wise as well, growing to be no less than a force of nature as she neared her apprentice days. starlingkit was bold, loud, and very outgoing, even in kithood; she seemed to bark out everything she said, and she had a streak of mischief unrivaled by any kitten who had set paw in the nursery in a long while.

swankit, in turn, was her shadow; putting on her own front of boisterousness and cheek, but deep down an entirely different character than she willed herself to come across as. their parents tried their hardest to keep the two in line - scorpionfang succeeding more than her mate, as she could be a very forceful mother when she tried to be, managing to keep her kits from the worst of their potential mischief. their father, on the other hand, was a little aloof, and though he did seem to care deeply for his daughters, it seemed they were perhaps just a little more than he could handle.

the little duo only grew more daring once they had become 'paws. starlingpaw was always doing something brash - whether it was proudly boasting about the prey she could catch that day, or participating in the typical reckless apprentice dares, she was loud and proud of who she was and not afraid to show it. swanpaw, in turn, followed her sister dutifully, and always did her best to act as closely to her as she could, even though she was quieter by nature. the two were a rambunctious pair, and often found themselves in trouble for various minor slights and rule-bendings - though starlingpaw seemed, at least, to care enough about her training not to throw it all away. no rules or punishments seemed able to put an end to their boundless energy and cheek, though swanpaw became more and more uneasy with each scolding they received.

it did not help that her mentor, ploverfang - the littermate of her father badgerfoot - was a cat that swanpaw would have, if allowed to make her own decisions, admired greatly. and to be honest, she did admire her - which made it all the more difficult to disappoint her, such as when her own littermate insisted one day that the two of them skipped training to go climb the tallest tree in riverclan territory, in order to improve their climbing and get the jump on thunderclan. their first moon of training was spent much like this - starlingpaw leading, acting generally rambunctious and brash, but meaning well, and her sister following her every pawstep in her attempts to mirror her.

but not long after the apprentices had reached seven moons, everything changed. scorpionfang was injured in a battle, out of practice from six long moons in the nursery - and though at first her wounds seemed slight, they soon became infected. by the time a quarter moon had passed, their mother had gone to join starclan. left alone with only themselves and a grieving father for company, the two sisters began to change, both affected in different ways by their grief. their antics started to ebb - after all, it was hard to find something to smile or laugh about in the face of such a loss.

instead, both apprentices seemed to focus more on training; starlingpaw on becoming better and better at her combat skills (perhaps even to feel closer to her mother), and swanpaw pouring nearly all of her effort into her hunting. still, the two did not lose their 'duo' status - they still begged to go training together as often as possible, and took careful effort to work and act as a pair whenever they could, even when there was no mischief to be had.

less than two moons after, when the two were nearing nine moons old, a single kit became an apprentice and thusly the two's denmate - sleetpaw. a reserved and aloof-seeming apprentice, starlingpaw quickly took an obvious disliking to her, and it soon became clear just how much her mother's loss had affected the once-well-meaning she-cat. all at once, it became no longer about their training or honing their skills - starlingpaw's mischievous and even somewhat mean-spirited streak took a centerstage, and she began to bully sleetpaw near relentlessly. she targeted the younger apprentice for whatever she could think of, mocking her for not speaking, for her parentage, for how she did in training - truly anything she could dream up.

these words were spoke only out of earshot of adults, of course; starlingpaw (and swanpaw) had a reputation to maintain, as, in spite of their rambunctious nature, most of their clanmates seemed to believe that the two were going to make good, if rowdy, warriors one day. sleetpaw's impassive reactions - or lack thereof, even - to this teasing only appeared to make starlingpaw try harder to egg her on, and further infuriate her through the younger cat's lack of reaction. during training, starlingpaw was at least not afraid to make her rivalry with the other she-cat obvious; she openly challenged her in training sessions, and encouraged swanpaw to do the same, though it likely seemed to be more playful than it truly was to outsiders.

time passed like this, but eventually, enough was enough. made unhappy by her constant efforts at putting up a facade of a persona, fed up by her littermate's behavior, and encouraged by her mentor, ploverfang, to be truer to herself, swanpaw finally put her foot down. one day when starlingpaw was laying into sleetpaw, swanpaw did not stay silent as she usually did or even join in as she did very rarely - instead, she fought back, snapping at her sister with a pent up rage that could only come from 10 moons of quiet seething. "i don't want to be your lackey anymore, starlingpaw!" she had said to her sibling. "i'm my own cat, and ever since scorpionfang died, you've been nothing but a bully!"

in an instant, all bonds the two sisters had shared were apparently severed; starlingpaw turned her nose up at her sister then, and seemed never to have put it back down. soon sleetpaw wasn't the only one being bullied; starlingpaw's sights were set on two targets now, one of whom was her very own littermate. though swanpaw was saddened by the breaking of the bond she'd had since kithood, in the very least, she wasn't alone - in the loss of one ally, she seemed to have gained another, as she and sleetpaw now had a common enemy of sorts. the two grew close over the course of swanpaw's remaining two moons of training, even as she poured almost all her effort into the things she was learning now. (the two often helped each other in their training, and in doing the best they could to excel - and surpass their now common rival, starlingpaw.)

now that her focus was truly on her training, swanpaw was able to discover her true talent in hunting and in particular tracking; while she was a decent fighter, and could hold her own in combat if need be, her pacifistic nature meant that she held back just a little too much, a problem she never faced when it came to hunting. she seemed to excel at it - in fact, far more than starlingpaw could even come close - and as a result, she earned her warrior name of swannose for her excellent hunting and tracking skills. 

though she has not even been a warrior for a full moon yet, swannose has already taken to helping out her former denmate sleetpaw whenever she can in her training, even though the two no longer train together. swannose has not reconciled with her sister, though her teasing has stopped, at least, now that they are warriors; instead of enemies or bitter rivals, the two only seem to act as somewhat cool acquaintances, the way any two clanmates who did not hold a strong bond might act towards each other. still, swannose feels the hurt behind this - while starlingheart may act simply detached and distant around her, she knows that this is likely in an attempt still to upset her, as if to remind her more than ever of the bond that she lost.

OTHER originally a homestuck fantroll oops