Skylark
sunacra
- Created
- 1 year, 7 months ago
- Creator
- vvinternights
- Favorites
- 1
Profile
But your world isn't real
Skylark is a slender brown molly with medium length fur that is noticably longer on her cheeks and neck. She resembles her mother, Quail, quite strongly. She always seems to keep to herself, focusing on her own success rather than bothering with the world around her.
Appearance
Skylark is a dusty brown tabby molly of an average height and slender build. Her pattern is distincitive, with her chest being pale and stripeless and darkening towards her flank where the striping appears in full. All her legs are dark, as well as her tail and face. She has a white chest, front paws, and tail tip. Her eyes are a soft blue, and she always seems to be looking at something other than the cat she's speaking to.
- Skylark has no scars
- Skylark wears a candytuft bloom and a single pansy on her tail, as well as a few more candy tuft petals in her fur on the back of the neck
- Skylark has no bans
- Her fur grows quite similarly to her mother's. Mostly uniform length except in her longer cheek and seeming mane and tail.
Personality
Brilliant - Mature - Balanced - Dedicated
Judgemental - Methodical - Solitary - Persuasive
Deceitful - Faithless - Confidential - Suspicous
Skylark has always been a quiet one. But some say it's the quiet ones you should look out for- and perhaps this isn't entirely untrue where Skylark is concerned. Quick wit and a sharp mind, and the ability to make decisions with little information. Leaps in logic aren't entirely unheard of in Skylark's case- though she would most often prefer the term educated guess. She has an uncanny ability of being the bigger person- of not letting things get to her. Or if they do, moving past them with seeming ease. Or maybe that's simply her separating her personal matters from her public ones. Regardless- the image she leaves behind is that of a focused hard-working molly who keeps her head down and face forward. No one will slow her down.
That said, Skylark is not exaclty kind. No, of course not. She doesn't relate to others- maybe simply doesn't care to. It makes making fair judgements easier- but leaves her lacking in the friends department. Though her true opinions likely don't help- because once Skylark see's what she thinks one is capable of, she'll certainly keep it tabbed in her mind. Never expect more out of others than what they can give, after all. Yet.. Her standoffish nature has that certain mysterious lure to it. Enough that there is some appeal in speaking to her- in getting pulled into the confidence of her words that she'll back up with seemingly hard facts. It's no doubt which family she's descended from.
Yet it isn't the real Skylark, could never be. Every practiced smile or comforting words are surface levels that she chooses to share with others, that she lets them see. Because truthfully Skylark does not want to be seen or understood. She keeps her true self under deep wraps so that she may never come under scrutiny- never to be discarded like her siblings before her. Never hurt by those around her. Because she does seem to believe that others will hurt her- that every interaction is a transaction where someone stands to gain something. Innocence is not something she seems to believe in- only fools who just havent realized that. Her lack of belief stands in strong regard. Her lack of desire for a legacy to follow her. She's seen a legacy, been the legacy. It isn't anything special.
Trivia
- Skylark doesn't have a strong interest in the family legacy, or in bringing in a mate to continue it. (She'll never admit it, but she doesn't see the appeal of living a lie like Jackdaw and Quail seem to)
- Though visibly like Quail, she takes after Jackdaw more in terms of personality.
- Doesn't seem to hold much attachment to her siblings- whether this is true to her character or a front she puts up is yet to be known.
- The Candytuft represents indifference, while the white pansy represents thoughtfulness, but as a white pansy it can represent innnocence or be used when the sender is unsure of what to convey- or, in Skylark's case, a lack of choosing one way or the other/indecision and also taintedness as the flower has dark roots.
Likes
- She's a big fan of stargazing, just to see something twinkle
- Exploring outside the Garden, she'll never admit she likes the lack of responsbility.
- Speaking about things that interest her- even if it's just about how the garden is cared for
- Independence
Dislikes
- Being under scrutiny
- Her family
- Being expected to do or act in a certain way
- Rain and overcast days. It keeps her from seing anything truly interesting.
Skills & Abilities
History
Content Warning for ???
Skylark was born third in her litter to the pair of Jackdaw and Quail. Given her families traditional bird-themed naming- and a match to the names of her siblings. Shrike, Dove, and Wren. Early life was simple, with many cats looking after her and her littermates wellbeing. Nothing seemed wrong in the world, even if little Skylark always seemed less interested in playing with her siblings and more interested in digging in the dirt to see what she'll find.
Her exploration as a child is intermittenly interrupted by the visiting of her parents. Always separately. The overbearing affection of Quail, who seemed to fawn over all of them (Skylark always pressed herself into the back of the pack. Where licks were fewer and the coddling less suffocating-) But she did not grow a particular fondness for her mother as her siblings seemed to. She spent more time with the lilies, after all. Spent her nights nestled to other warm bellies and under the watchful eyes of cats who she knew were not family, yet always seemed closer.
But when Quail was torn back to her rose duties, it was Jackdaw's turn for admittedly also overbearing parenting. Though his was less affectionate and more... Well. Skylark wasn't sure. But he was, at least, more interesting. Always speaking of messengers, and how they would all be one someday. That it was in their blood. How he would teach them all that he knew so that they could be great and carry on the family legacy.
Skylark wasn't all that interested in the legacy but... This messenger thing sounded more interesting than anything else she'd heard about. And during the day, while she peered up at a garden wall, Skylark decided that she, too, would one day climb that wall for herself. To see just what lay on the other side.
As a clover, Skylark got to see more of both of her parents. Likely now that she was free from the constant watch of the Lilies. Skylark, for one, relished in the newfound freedoms. Following after the older cats who allowed her to tag along. To get to fully explore the garden and and it's endless supply of herbs and flowers. She absorbed whatever information she could, her endless curiosity supplying her with an endless amount of questions, too.
Yet quickly Jackdaw was also there. Guiding her and her siblings paths. So many lessons on becoming a messenger. Though perhaps a bit more insistent than Skylark truly liked- she couldn't deny the fact that she wanted to learn. So she listened and she followed. Watching as some of her siblings struggled- and as Jackdaw gave them even more lessons. There was only one path, it seemed. But it didn't bother her- not when it was the path she wanted.
Though she saw them struggling, Skylark didn't particularly care too much. If they wanted it, they would have to work for it. Wasn't that what Jackdaw had told them? Yet Wren and Shrike didn't seem to be faring any better. Skylark even watching her brother sneak off to get training from others. Though... It wasn't a terrible idea. Wouldn't she get more experience from multiple sources?
With the thought in mind, Skylark trailed after the other messengers too. Though she didn't turn her nose at anyone who offered her knowledge. She was confident in her abilities, and she knew that her father saw that, too. She and Dove weren't the ones he was worrying about. And as their assessment neared... Well. Skylark wasn't surprised at the result.
As Skylark expected. She and Dove passed the assessment. While Shrike and Wren.. Well. Jackdaw's dissapointment spoke volumes. Though she couldn't quite fathom why he seemed so bothered by it. Wasn't it a long time coming? Surely he'd seen Shrike slacking off and seeking out others? Yet she said nothing. It didn't change anything, certainly wouldn't change her father's mind. And it certainly wasn't going to make her siblings Messengers. If they had wanted the position then.. Well. They should have worked harder for it.
She didn't miss the change in dynamics, eithjer. Jackdaw certainly wasn't subtle in his dissaproval of Shrike and Wren. Certainly didn't leave much to have to wonder about when he'd barely acknowledged them. Not for the first time she noticed the gap in Jackdaw and Quail's own relationship. Though now she finally understood it more clearly. Means to an end. And now that it was all over.. Well. Skylark turned away from it. Instead she focused on her own path. Ignoring the murmurs of her father that it was nearing the time that she should begin thinking of her future and her legacy. That could wait until she finally got out on her own.
She spent the first few moons of being a Messenger with familiarizing herself with the path to the Village. Of learning the streets, and a few of the cats who inhabited them. Skylark liked to learn about them- and sometimes she fogot that she had an actual task for being out here that wasn't connected to finding answers to all the questions she had. It was time to earn her keep, and she'd certainly not fail.
When she began on hre tasks truly, she spent a bit more time at home in the garden. Noticing now the bigger rift in the family. How Quail did not look her way or coo at her like she had when she was a clover. Yet how she still seemed to fawn over Shrike and Wren... And her siblings did not escape her notice either. How angrier Shrike seemed, how withered Wren was. Even Quail seemed more withdrawn. And she was quickly catching the pieces of why.
It was hard not to. When wherever she went, the stares would follow. It seemed everyone knew of the growing rift before she did. The rumors of Jackdaw trying to keep the family together, of Quail's growing unrest. The probing questions that some of the more shameless cats prodded her with, thinking they were being slick. The openness of it all grated her, and Skylark found herself turning to the outside again. She wanted no part in this- whatever this was.
But there wasn't any staying out of it. Thinking Jackdaw wouldn't approach her while she was in the garden was a rookie mistake, she'll admit. A major oversight. Though she felt no pull for his words, nor the game he was playing, she felt no need to reject him as Quail and Shrike were doing. It wouldn't change anything- just cause another fight or rift that she wanted no part in. But when he started talking about her future and her kits... Skylark was wondering if anything was ever in her control to begin wtih.
Yet that wasn't stopping her. She wanted to be a messenger. And, well. Jackdaw liked Dove more, anyways. If she wanted to carry on this legacy, then Skylark would very well let her. Honestly, she couldn't quite find the desire in her to repeat the mateship she'd watched Jackdaw have with Quail. Yet it still wasn't worth the argument. She'd let Jackdaw think she was looking- she was sure once Dove brought someone home then he'd focus on them and their kits instead. She just had to lie in wait.
TBA
