Irispurr

Irispaw is very sociable, and likes being the center of attention. He is friendly and easy to get along with, but he’s not overly energetic and likes to take it easy when there’s no work to be done. Despite his more outwardly relaxed and playful personality, Irispaw is dedicated and hardworking when he needs to be, and has proven to be a skilled apprentice--or so he thought.

Irispaw has been on a slow, steady downward spiral for a long time, and it’s clear to anyone who knows him that he’s really struggling. He sleeps less, is either working overtime or appearing careless, and having a harder and harder time pretending that he’s doing okay. He used to think finally earning his warrior name would make it all better, but now he’s not sure if it’ll change anything at all.

Irispaw is loyal and sticks by his friends and family--he loves CreekClan, and when push comes to shove, he’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to protect them all. But when he feels like he’s putting in more work than is being returned, he often takes it as a personal betrayal and grows resentful, leading to avoidance or uncharacteristic outbursts. Perhaps that’s why he’s struggling so much with his position, knowing he has given CreekClan his all, and feeling as though they’ve given him nothing in return.

Irispaw is very much influenced by the emotions and opinions of those around him, particularly so with cats he likes a lot, and can sometimes hold unfair grudges and opinions as a result. Part of it comes from his drive to prove himself and always be likable, which can land him into mischievous or rebellious streaks.

Iriskit was born in CreekClan alongside his siblings, Towheekit, Otterkit, and Turtlekit to Sweetwillow and Wulf, though he would not meet Wulf for many more moons. He was born just after the war ended, when CreekClan had not even been a year old yet.

His life as a kitten was good: in the comfort of CreekClan, he was raised with always a warm nest, a full belly, and plenty of cats around to shower him in attention, though he always preferred that of his mother’s.

He had always been a friendly, bright kitten, energetic and very optimistic.

Irispaw has had a… complicated apprenticeship, to say the least. When he was first apprenticed, Irispaw was just as eager and dedicated as all of his siblings. He enjoyed those first moons—training sessions were made all the more fun with the partnership and, often, competition from his siblings, and Irispaw was greedy to learn all he could about a warrior’s life.

He started to question himself as his apprenticeship went on—Cinderthorn fled CreekClan and Gale and Lionthroat, who he looked up to, had killed her parents; Magpiescreech’s family was falling apart all around them; Justin was going to stop being a warrior—and then he made a stupid mistake, one that had him in the healer’s den for quite a time.

A bear and her cubs had found their way into CreekClan’s territory, and Irispaw ran into one of the lost cubs on his own. The cub, hungry and desperate, stole Irispaw’s prey, and he didn’t let it go. Trying to get a mallard feather for Magpiescreech, the bear turned and attacked him, slashing him right across the face.

Irispaw doesn’t talk about that very often—it embarrasses him, having acted the way he did, but that conflict about what makes a good warrior never really left him.

For a while, Irispaw was embarrassed, angry, and confused. Even after he recovered, he struggled with emotion he wasn’t sure how to cope with. Bitter towards Wildspirit for his decision to look after Blueberry, betrayed by cats he’d come to trust and admire, ashamed of himself for his own choices.

It was only made worse when he failed his apprentice assessment.

Irispaw hadn’t seen it coming—for all his emotional turmoil, he thought he was still on track to earn his name, regardless of his time spent in the healer’s den. He’d done all his training, even won the Test of Endurance, and all of his siblings had passed their tests. But he hadn’t.

The first night after that was one of the worst night’s he’s had. Irispaw almost never slept on his own. There was always at least one cat piled on top of him, leeching off of his warmth and soft pelt. But suddenly the den was completely empty.

And it would stay that way for several long moons, at least for the most part.

Though his family always tried to keep him engaged, his already turbulent thoughts took a turn for the darker, as he grappled with the shame and embarrassment of failing his assessment. He could barely sort through all the thoughts that kept him up at night—how badly he wanted to be a warrior, how scared he was that he somehow didn’t deserve it, what even made a good warrior in the first place.

With the arrival of two new litters of apprentices, the den became lively again. Irispaw’s feelings on them were mixed, because on the one paw they reminded him of his own failures, but on the other he had the opportunity to be what Magpiescreech had been for him so many moons ago, one he would not have gotten if he got his name alongside his siblings.

But now he’s been an apprentice twice over, and Irispaw isn’t even sure what he wants anymore. CreekClan has been through so much during this leafbare, and Irispaw almost feels… forgotten.

Irispaw is a fawn and white classic tabby with long, soft fur and baby blue eyes. He has wispy fur like his mother, and a scar across his face from a “fight” with a bear.

VC: N/A