Hackberrytoe

basic description > Black and white tuxedo cat with freckles

build > Average
fur description > Sleek thin fur
breeds > Moggy

height > 24 cm
weight > 8.3 lbs
voice >xx
scent > Raspberry and sage leaves

scars > xxx
accessories > xxx
banned traits > xxx

positive >
    >> Forthright > Straightforward and direct, Hackberry doesn't mince words and finds that in general, honestly is the best policy. He's clear about his feelings and intentions and is very open to sharing his opinions and thoughts.

    >> Energetic > Up-beat with energy to spare. He's always ready for action and wanting to get up and do things.

    >> Resourceful > While not the most conventional, Hackberry can often find ways around a situation or use what he has to his advantage. At times his methods can seem silly or strange, but they do tend to work out for him more often than not.

neutral >
    >> Competitive > Loves games and doing everything he can to win. He will give things his all and makes almost everything a competition.

    >> Spontaneous > Acts upon his own whims and can often be rather unpredictable. He tries out many different things and loves going off-script and improvising things instead.

    >> Stubborn > Once he has decided something, he will stand by it. While plans are negotiable, his ideals and stances are not. He won't back down and won't admit when he's wrong.

negative >
    >> Uncooperative > You can't make him listen if he doesn't want to. He will more often than not do his own thing regardless of the wishes or best interest of others.

    >> Rough > No sense of subtly or care, he can often be much more harsh than needed and tends to use excess force. He doesn't seem to know his own strength or consider the harm he could potentially cause to others.

    >> Boisterous > Loud and over the top, Hackberry can be a lot to handle. He doesn't hold anything back.

 parents >
    >> Frostheart > Parent > Torbie genderfluid cat with yellow eyes
    >> Rogue donor > Unknown

siblings >
    >> Cloverpaw > Sister > Ginger and white molly with green eyes

extended >

  >> Hackberrytail > Grandfather > Black tom-cat with yellow eyes (deceased)
  >> Dappletalon > Grandmother > Calico she-cat with blue eyes (deceased)

kithood [ 0 - 6 moons ] >
    Hackberrykit and his sister Cloverkit were born to Frostheart, a single parent who chose to have kits using a donor. Their family was rather small but very loving. Right away, Frostheart was his world, his idol. He wanted to do everything just like his parent. Cloverkit was his best friend and the two did everything together.
Aside from his family, there were lots of other cats and kittens in the nursery too. One was the deputy or something? A high-ranked cat in the clan. Well, that was cool and all, but he was sure Frostheart was even cooler than that. His parent probably outranked the deputy by a long shot.

There was never a dull moment in the nursery as kits went on excited for the day they would-be apprentices and new kits were born. First it had been Seaheart and her three kits to leave, then the twins and Hartkit, and finally Lightkit was made an apprentice too, leaving just his family and a few newborn mewling things. No matter, he had his best friend in the whole world by his side. He didn't need anything else.

Tales of ghosts and bobcats were so cool. Hackberrykit couldn't wait till he got to face off against such villains, he was going to be the greatest warrior the clan had ever seen.
He learned the clan leader had died and Seaheart was now leader, that was so weird to think about. So Seastar was gonna be the one to give him his mentor and new name?
Hackberry was just so excited for the future adventures he would have when he was no longer a kit. He would talk to Cloverkit for hours about the things he would do and discover outside of camp.

apprenticeship  [6 - 12 moons] >
  Hackberrykit was named Hackberrypaw and was given Gelidstorm for his mentor. At last, he was an adult! He needed to stop acting like a kit, so he stopped talking with his kithood friends and looked forward to making new grown-up connections.
No hard feelings sis, it's just time for him to make a new best friend!

His mentor was pretty cool, though they didn't really agree with his attitude a lot of the time. Gelidstorm seemed to think he was making a mistake in pulling away from his childhood and loved ones, but Hackberrypaw wasn't pulling away completely, he was just making room for all the new experiences that awaited him now that he was older.
It wasn't much later that he learned how wrong her really was. Leafbare hit the clan hard, and during a snowstorm, a kit had gotten lost. The poor thing was frozen to death by the time they found him. And Cloverpaw- she had gone missing during the search.
Everyone held out hope for her return. For a while, all Hackberrypaw could think about was the last thing he'd said to her... That... he didn't need her anymore and that they were both moving on separately in life. She'd been so crushed back then but he'd refused to see it or listen. He'd just... thrown his only sister away, and now... Would he ever see her again?

Hackberrypaw had a hard time moving on from this, and he didn't even really know who to confide in about his feelings. He berated himself in his head and just imagined all those cats who'd told him he was wrong, how they'd tell him "I told you so" and rub his mistakes in his face further.
Finally when he prepared himself for that and just told Gelidstorm to get it over with- she told him something completely different.
She said she was glad he learned much sooner than she had, but sorry for his loss all the same. There was still a chance Cloverpaw was out there somewhere. But for now, he'd have to learn how to cope and live his life without her.
In the meantime, Hackberrypaw tried to make amends with their parent and other kithood friends. It hadn't been long, and it seemed they were quick to forgive him. It was nice, he should have done this sooner. He just wished... It hadn't taken the loss of his sister to make him realize it.

Training with Gelidstorm was going well. He was having so much fun racing around with his mentor, practicing hunting crouches, fighting, climbing trees, all of it! There was so much to learn and practice, and it was never boring. Gelidstorm often got together with other mentors so Hackberrypaw could do joint training sessions with other apprentices. It was nice.

Seastar died suddenly of hypothermia. Another kit in danger, but this time the kitten was saved. Seastar had dove into the freezing water after her, and thanks to that Splashkit was able to be brought to the medicine den. But it meant the leader's death.
Hackberrypaw looked at this with awe and horror. The sacrifice of their clan's leader was a noble one, but to lose Seastar... It was a tragedy. Roachheart was made leader after her.

Cats around them continued to fall victim to disease and hunger. One of these cats was Gelidstorm's littermate Raventuft. It was hard seeing his mentor in pain, not to mention the number of other clanmates dealing with their own losses. It was such a rough time for the whole clan, Hackberrypaw heard that other seasons were much less harsh and hoped that would be true.
But if anything, all of this strife and loss, taught him to live more in the moment. Focus on today and live his life without regrets.
You never knew when things would change and you'd lose the ones you took for granted.

Waspcatcher was promoted to deputy after the loss of his own mate and apprentice. The clan cheered, Hackberrypaw too, but it was such a strange thing to think about all the cats coping with their own losses, even while working so much to serve the clan.

warriorhood  [12 - present moons] >
   Hackberrytoe was named for his agility and balance. He was beyond thrilled to finally be made a warrior. A part of him looked at this milestone and wondered how things would change. But really, nothing had to change, did it? He didn't need to stop spending time with his mentor or the younger apprentices, he could still do everything he used to as an apprentice.
He wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes as last time.