Ironclaw [Eisenkralle]

Ironclaw is a tall and powerfully built tom with broad shoulders. His intimidating size as well as his muscular appearance makes him seem as if he was built for battle with his medium-length fur making him look even bigger. In addition to this, he has big paws and especially well-muscled legs giving him a trait that is usually observed in SkyClan cats which might remind an attentive observer of the SkyClan blood that flows in his veins.

His tabby coat is uneven in length and becomes gradually longer on his back, at the tail, and towards his belly. It’s usually well-groomed and has a silver-grayish color which is darker at his back and head but gradually gets lighter towards his belly and the insides of his legs where it becomes nearly completely white. His coat is covered with black stripes forming a mackerel tabby pattern as found in most feral cats. His heavily furred tail is long and ends with a black tip. Like other warriors, he has some scars as reminders of the battles he fought to defend his clan but his thick fur usually covers them up.

His head is slightly longer than wide with high cheekbones and a square muzzle that ends in a brick-red nose. The ears are big and set high on the head. They are pointed with black lynx-like tufts at the tips as well as inner tufts that extend beyond the edge of the ears. His eyes are large, wide-set, and round in shape. They have a light green color and seem to show a friendly and welcoming expression most of the time.

Ironclaw is a courageous and loyal tom who’d defend the clan but especially his friends, his mate Elderpelt and their kits with his life. He would rather die than watch those close to him lose their lives and will fight with every breath in his body to protect them. The warrior code is very important to him since he believes it helps clan cats live a good life without inflicting unnecessary damage upon themselves and other cats. He holds deep-rooted respect for his elders and would never defy an order given to him by a higher-ranked cat since he believes that everyone has earned their rank for a reason.

Usually, Ironclaw is a very friendly tom whose calm nature leads to others feeling welcome in his presence. Since he knows the pain and difficulties caused by wrong accusations as his brother still holds against him he prefers to access all information given to him closely instead of jumping to conclusions. If he is faced with accusations or an actual mistake made by one of his clanmates he’s patient and not usually the one putting pressure on others. Instead, he tries to encourage them to stick with the truth and if necessary make up for mistakes already made since he believes strongly in second chances. As patient as Ironclaw is, he can also be on himself when it comes to his actual mistakes. He doesn’t want to see himself making the same mistake twice and if faced with his wrongdoings he seeks forgiveness and tries his best to make up for the damage he has done. Even when he is unsure if he can do better next time he can always be trusted to try his best. When faced with cats who still blame him for old failures as well as with cats who don’t understand the importance of owning and making up for one's mistakes his patience starts to fade. Repeatedly bringing up his shortcomings and failures as his brother Colorchaser does at times provokes Ironclaw and might make him snap or show his defensive side.

As long as he doesn’t have to judge others he’s a quick thinker who can make fast decisions based on the information at paw. He’s very attentive and takes in a lot of information which leads to him being a bit wary around other cats when he doesn’t know anything about them yet. But even in those situations he remains calm and will try his best not to judge too fast or let the other cat know. In general, he likes to be around other cats and appreciates what they do for him. He's good at working with others and his honesty helps him form close relationships even when his uncertainty about past mistakes sometimes still holds him back at times making him feel as if he has to convince others of his good intentions constantly even when that’s not the case. The harsh and perfectionistic way he treats himself doesn’t help with those insecurities and leads to him sometimes needing a great deal of affirmation from his mate and friends. Still, he enjoys the time he shares with others and makes for a nice and affectionate companion most of the time who listens without judgment and always has an encouraging word to say if needed.

Ironkit was born during Newleaf to the young queen Bridleflower. When her mate Platinumfoot died soon after the birth of his kits in a border skirmish with ShadowClan the three kittens didn’t have any close connection to him. Soon their memories of him faded from their heads as the siblings discovered the world around them together. The first moons of their life passed by without any noteworthy incidents since there was enough food and ThunderClan soon settled their fight with ShadowClan. With six moons all three of them were apprenticed and Ironkit started training with his mentor Firesun.

The day that would become the turning point for Ironpaw started rather normally. He went out to train and hunt with Firesun before doing his apprentice tasks. When his mother asked him and Sunpaw to join her for a walk in the forest he happily agreed. But as soon as they were outside camp his sister started to run ahead towards Thunderpath. Up to now, she had only heard her brothers and denmates stories of the stinky path and the thundering monsters since her mentor had kept her away from the place up to that point saying it was too dangerous to go there with an inexperienced apprentice. Forgetting all danger Sunpaw leaped onto the hard surface of the Thunderpath ignoring her mother who tried to call her back. Bridleflower followed her daughter but before she could get her back to safety a roaring monster came up the path. Sunpaw escaped the situation unharmed but Ironpaw could do nothing more than watch as the monster hit Bridleflower. Realizing his mother was hurt badly he ordered his shocked sister to stay by her side while he made his way back to camp to get help. But when the apprentice returned to the place of the incident alongside Echosound who was ThunderClan's medicine cat at the time he found Sunpaw crouching next to Bridleflowers lifeless body. The warrior had died way before Ironpaw had even arrived at camp. When Colorpaw heard what happened he became angry and blamed Ironpaw for the death of their mother. The situation wasn’t helped by Sunpaw deciding to leave ThunderClan shortly after the incident choosing to become a kittypet and to spend the rest of her life in the safety of a twoleg’s nest and garden. The rest of the brother’s apprenticeship was shaped by the quarrel between them which became even worse now that Colorpaw blamed Ironpaw for the loss of their sister as well.

Anger had turned into hate by the time Thunderstar gave them their warrior names and for a while, Ironclaw wasn’t sure how to deal with his brother. Soon he was chosen to mentor a young she-cat called Rosepaw and they formed a close relationship. Sadly Rosepaw died from a sickness way before she acquired her warrior name. Ironclaw had a hard time understanding why he StarClan would now take his apprentice from him too while at the same time dealing with Colorchaser's constant accusations. It was during this time that he came closer to a she-cat called Elderpelt who helped him to bring fun and happiness back into his life that was shaped by his duties towards the clan, his loss, and his brother's hate towards him. Soon he fell in love with her and they became mates. But some time before Elderpelt moved to the nursery expecting Ironclaws kits things became chaotic. After another fight with his brother Ironclaw searched for his mate to comfort him but she had gone for a walk with a friend. In this situation, the warrior turned to Shimmerpool a white she-cat he had fallen in love with during his apprentice time. She held feelings for him too and tried to comfort him the best she could. They began exchanging affections but soon things went out of control and as hormones took over Ironclaw found himself cheating on his mate with his crush from apprentice days. He deeply regretted his mistake the moment he realized what had happened and confessed to Elderpelt soon after. But it was already too late. Soon the warrior learned that Shimmerpool was pregnant with his kits. The white she-cat was happy to be expecting even though she wasn’t Ironclaws primary mate but he didn’t want to make things worse and minimized contact with her. Things became even harder for him when she gave birth to Weaslekit and Snowkit since in his mind his mistake was now visible to everyone. He couldn’t accept those unwanted kittens as his own and pushed them as well as their mother away, hurting them deeply in the process. He was lucky to have found a forgiving and loving mate in Elderpelt who was willing to look past his mistakes way before Ironclaw was able to do it himself. Soon she too gave birth and had two daughters named Saphirekit and Blackkit. Their father was very thankful for them and their mothers loving forgiveness even though he didn’t think he deserved it for a long time. Still he didn’t want his family to suffer unnecessarily from his mistakes which lead him to try to prevent the contact between the kittens from the two litters.

To top it all when the kittens where apprenticed Thunderstar decided it would be best to appoint Ironclaw as mentor to Shimmerpool's son Weaslepaw. This proved to be challenging for the warrior since he still couldn’t accept the young tom has his son or be a father to him and was constantly reminded of his mistake. He tried to establish a less personal mentor-apprentice-relationship which Weaslepaw wasn’t happy with. But there wasn’t much the apprentice could do other than voicing a passive-aggressive comment now and then.

When Shimmerpool died during the battle against ShadowClan and RiverClan that drove ThunderClan out of their territory Ironclaw realized that he never managed to reconcile with the white she-cat and she probably never thought that he would miss her after her death. He regretted his behavior towards her and decided to try to be a father for Weaslepaw even though he still worried he’d have less time for Elderpelt and their daughters. His mate didn’t have any problems with that though. It was Ironclaw who struggled to love his son which made this self-imposed task very hard for him. The fact that that Weaslepaws desire for revenge on his mother’s murderer reminded Ironclaw of his own brother’s hatred lead to him trying especially hard to be there for his son even though he didn’t think he was worth being seen as his father.

By the time Weaslepaw got his warrior name and ThunderClan took back their territory from ShadowClan and RiverClan with the help of WindClan Ironclaw had nearly come around to honestly apologize to Shimmerpool's kits but was interrupted by Colorchaser picking a fight with him. His brothers provoking actions lead to a fight between the two warriors when Ironclaw was assigning duties to repair the camp’s dens under Thunderstar's order. The fight was broken up by the leader himself and both toms got punished. Soon after he was occupied by Elderpelt having a second litter of kits this time two little toms, who were soon joined by a third brother when Nettlewisker asked the parents to take in his son Gentiankit who had been born to the clan’s deputy Fernpool in secret. Even though Ironclaw knew about the tragedy of refusing to be involved into a kittens life he and Elderpelt choose to adopt Gentiankit as their own planing to provide him with a loving family. He shouldn’t have to grow up without a real family as Ironclaw had forced Shimmerpool's kits to. When the litter was apprenticed the warrior finally got around and honestly apologized to Shimmerpool's kits. While Weaslefang was more willing to make up for the time Ironclaw missed during his kitten and apprentice days, Snowowl refused to accept her producer`s apology. Her refusal to forgive him saddened the warrior but he knew he couldn’t force her and instead started to finally form a better relationship with her brother who he finally learned to see as his oldest son.