Aniu/Sootsmear

Aniu/Sootsmear | She/her | lesbian 

Born and raised in the city Aniu grew up only knowing that the strongest survive and you need to take what you can when you can. On the street, being selfish was the only way to stay alive. With her mother dead; being struck by a car and her father nowhere to be seen Aniu and her siblings tried their best to look out for one another. Sadly, one by one her brothers and sisters began to die off from disease, injury to lack of food until Aniu was left alone. To survive she fed off the roaches that hung around the alleys until she was big enough to take down rats. She was on her own for a while until she ran into Obsidian; despite living in such a dirty city Obsidian looked well fed, well kept. It was like she wasn’t a stray at all. Obsidian looked at the skinny pale cat before her and for the first time she felt sympathy but she also saw potential, Aniu didn’t cower in fear when she was gazed upon by the she-cat. That was when Obsidian offered to take Aniu in as one of the group. 

Aniu quickly began to climb the ranks. she had shown to be quite useful to Obsidian who took notice of her abilities. she was a fast learner, picking up fighting skills along the way and her plans to steal food from the twolegs were that of a genius. Obsidian truly began to trust her when a rival group attempted to kill her. Anui happened to be there when five cats attempted to take down Obsidian and instead of running she jumped in to fight alongside her leader. A bond formed that day between the two. Aniu became Obsidian’s right hand and she began to lead alongside her. The two were unstoppable. 

Things changed one day when Aniu found herself trapped in the back of a supply truck that was parked outside a grocery store. She was in there trying to steal some of the food from inside when the door slammed closed, trapping her in. The truck drove for miles till the drivers stopped to refill the gas. They opened the door only to watch a white cat bolt out. Aniu was scared and disoriented, she kept running, overwhelmed by all the new smells. She had no idea where she was. She finally stopped, exhausted from all the running she began to look around, there were no tall buildings or cars honking. Instead there were birds chirping in trees above her. It was calm, relaxing even. Aniu had no clue what this place was, she didn’t even know there was a world outside the city. The she-cat came across a large field full of flowers and butterflies, she was taking it all in until she spotted a rabbit, it was the first one she had ever seen in her life. It looked like an overgrown rat so Aniu gave chase. She didn’t realize how hungry she actually was until she sunk her jaws into it but what she didn’t realize was that she was being watched.

Before Aniu could enjoy her meal young Pigeonpaw of Breezeclan sprung out of the grass, pouncing on the white molly. Aniu quickly sprung into fight mode, flinging the apprentice off of her and that was when she spotted Honeyfreckle for the first time. Aniu stood over her rabbit, hissing as loudly as she could till she realized these were two cats like her. What are cats doing out here she wondered. Honeyfreckle had apologized for her little cousin’s actions and explained that they ment no harm, introducing herself and Pigeon. Aniu began to ask many questions about why they were there and if there were more cats which made Honeyfreckle realize that this white she-cat probably wasn’t from here. She explained all about the clans and how they have different territories and beliefs. Aniu’s eyes lit up, she never heard of clan cats before so this information was astonishing. Ainu then decided to introduce herself, she explained her situation to Honey who offered to take Aniu back to camp to get rest until they could help her find her way home.

Breezeclan’s leader was reluctant but decided to allow Aniu to stay for a few days to regain her strength and Honey would help her get home. Honeyfreckle taught Aniu how to build a nest and Aniu couldn’t wrap her head around how nice she was. A cat who barely knew her was helping her out. Each day Honeyfreckle would come by to check on Aniu, offering to show her around the territory and each day they grew closer. Aniu even began to get to know the other members in the clan. What was supposed to be only a few days turned into moons. Aniu fit in with the clan perfectly, she even helped out with hunting and patrols. Breezeclan’s leader took notice to Aniu’s dedication and offered her a warrior name along with inviting her to join the clan. Aniu accepted, she felt like she finally found a place she belonged. A family she had yearned for all her life was here. Honeyfreckle made her feel special and loved, something she wasn’t used to, it gave her butterflies. Aniu was finally home and with that she was renamed Sootsmear for her smokey eyeshadow like markings around her eyes.