Ianthe ⚖️🦅

Ianthe is a cat that lacks any sunny disposition, with an attitude that anyone would want to avoid. It isn’t hard to get them riled up and spitting curses at you — telling many to “piss off” and mind their own damn business.

It’s hard to look at them without a glare being sent back; they’re spiteful, unpredictable. All to shove others away. If they don’t look beneath the surface, they won’t see how truly fragile they are. After experiencing losses and being manipulated to commit horrendous acts, they don’t want any other cats close to them — and when they try, Ianthe snaps, attacking vulnerable points to get them to back down.

They don’t enjoy being awful; they weren’t always like this, after all. How they wish they could simply return to their mother’s side…

Looking past their temperamental nature, though, they exhibit incredible talent and motivation, making them an incredible tactician. With their muscle and technique, they also make a formidable foe in combat — a dangerous combination indeed. Though, they prefer to avoid using claws unless in situations that they deem called for; but others simply see them and unpredictable.
Ianthe, though, is a devoted cat. It’s hard to see them quit mid-way through, even when the odds are against them. This devotion can apply to actions that some may see as immoral, but Ianthe follows a simple mantra: “the end justifies the means.”

In simple terms, Ianthe’s history is quite a troubled one.

At the start, Ianthe was like their two other siblings; they were the most quiet of the three, but still innocent and playful. They often spent their time around their mother, Circe, meaning she often told them stories and adventures from her past as a former outside cat. It definitely enthralled and captivated Ianthe — outside life sounded fun, so why was their mother a housecat now? Of course, they asked this question, and was met with hesitation.

Their mother dictated that when they were old enough, she’d tell them. And so, when they reached the age of 10 cycles, she decided Ianthe was old enough to hear the answer. That is when Ianthe found out about their father, and how manipulative he was towards her, let alone the group he belonged to was not the best. She had to leave once she realized she was expecting her kits, and found safety away from being found by their father with the human they lived with now.

And that is when the spark of wanting to give payback towards their father for what he did.

Eventually, through neighbors and others, they find out how to find their father — and of course, go locate him. They approached the territory of The Watchers, a location found within the more “shady” and abandoned parts of the human community, finding a patrol rather easily. The patrol was defensive at first, staring at this weird 13-cycle old cat like they were living dead or something — before deciding to take Ianthe to Ivor.

Ianthe stares for a moment, looking at the thin tom ahead of them — this pathetic excuse of a cat was their father? Ivor seems curious, and asks simply who their mother was. When they reply, Ivor is elated, speaking about how he was curious what his kits looked like, inviting Ianthe to talk more in his area.

Over the seasons, Ianthe would sneak out to see their father, gaining his trust through sucking up to him — as much as they hated it — but he eventually proposed that they train for combat when they hit 18 cycles. Of course, they had obliged. Maybe they could get revenge through more than just ruining his life…

Ianthe trained under Gunnar, one of those in charge of training younger cats in fighting techniques in order to become guards or patrollers. Gunnar, surprisingly, wasn’t cruel as they expected — but definitely did not hold back on training, resulting in being covered in scratches by the time they returned home. This worried Circe, but Ianthe claims that it was just scrapes from failing at hunting or tripping over things. (Excuses only last for so long though. They knew this.)

Through the training though, Ianthe meets a duo of golden cats named Midas and Ambrosia, who were more than happy to try to befriend them. Ianthe tried to keep them a ways away from getting close to them, wanting to focus on their one goal, but those damn two were extremely determined — especially Ambrosia.

Ambrosia soon became closer to Ianthe, more than Midas. Ianthe hated to admit it, but Ambrosia was something special to them, despite trying so hard to push her away, it just didn’t happen. She practically infiltrated their defenses, causing them to feel things they didn’t want to feel. So they shoved those away, but every now and again they’d bubble back up, much to Ambrosia’s delight.
Shame they didn’t act on their feelings, though. They’d come to regret it.

Ianthe soon finds themselves tasked by Ivor to do his dirty work. And they take it on, despite the acknowledgement of the sins they would have to commit. Unfortunately as well, Ivor started spinning his own story about how their mother was the one who betrayed him and that she kept him from knowing his kits — and the more time Ianthe spent with him, the more this manipulation worked. They were conflicted on who was true to their word; and decided to continue playing Ivor’s game in order to gain his trust before deciding what to do.

It was first a simple guard; a loyal cat to Zanza, the leader of The Watchers, who was a bit too loud for Ivor’s liking — if his plan were to go well, it would require this cat to be gone. Ianthe pulled it off without much issue, finding him unaware and alone before hiding away for others to find his body, where the cause of death was chopped up to be a rogue with a grudge.

The next target was Gunnar — the same cat who trained them; while Ivor loved his friend, Gunnar was also too close to Zanza for comfort. When Ianthe lunged for his throat, Gunnar was a formidable foe, slicing a single scratch on their eye before Ianthe used their size to their advantage to overcome the obstacle. They thought they’d feel awful for it, but instead they felt nothing. Numb to it. All a part of the mission.

Circe noticed the way Ianthe was growing more and more cold, coming home scratched up and tired. She decided to follow Ianthe, but lost sight of her kit — and before she knew it, a car snuck up on the road and killed her. When Ianthe found out, they were crushed — and thus, their mission became clear again.

Ambrosia and Ianthe were still “close”; at least as close as Ianthe would let her. Either way, they both spent time together, a lot more now that Ianthe felt like there was no reason to really return home — sure, their siblings were there, but they weren’t close at all. Instead, Ambrosia was their rock, as much as they hated to admit it. But even rocks erode away.

The final assignment: getting rid of Zanza. He was a tyrant, according to Ivor; a cat that had no reason to stay in power other than desire of control. And Ianthe was ready for the task — at least they thought.

When they tried to get the jump on Zanza, it was almost like he was warned for their attack, and he whipped around and intercepted their lunge, pinning them down. A struggle ensued, where Ianthe managed to wriggle out of the pin, but still couldn’t land a killing blow on him. Instead, Zanza got the blow on them. They knew they had to run away from this fight; they wouldn’t make it out alive if they kept it up, if they were even going to survive this wound.

And so, they fled.

Ianthe didn’t know where they were going except for away from The Watchers — the alert was up now, patrollers and guards hurriedly trying to follow them. They knew only when they could exit the range of the territory would they be safe. Luckily, once out of the zone, they found an old fox den under a tree to rest in.

Footsteps sounded, and Ianthe dreaded each crunch of the leaves that sounded closer to their location. However, it wasn’t growling they were met with, but a familiar gold. Ambrosia peeped in and didn’t say a word, but got to work on putting pressure on the wound and treating them.

Unfortunately for Ianthe, that silence wouldn’t stay forever. Ambrosia asked why they would try to assassinate the fucking leader of all things and that they ruined the chance of themselves staying with The Watchers. Ianthe got upset at this, telling Ambrosia that they weren’t staying — that they never planned on staying. They eventually got into a heated argument, where Ianthe snapped, telling Ambrosia to get out and move on; where she exited and left Ianthe alone yet again.

Now weakened and more fragile than ever, Ianthe goes back home to see their mother’s grave. Emotion overwhelmed them and they apologized to her, guilt over not being able to get revenge for her and that they didn’t want to be a disappointment to her like this — not realizing this wasn’t what she would have wanted in the first place.

They left, lost wandering and getting in spats with some strays, their wound started to become more and more irritated. But luckily for them, they overheard something about a new colony nearby. Maybe they would be able to help them recover, and even be able to complete their goal after all…

TRIVIA

• Ianthe is Greek for "violet flower" — their mother would often affectionately call them "her little violet".
• They look much more like their father than their mother. This is why their mother always looked distant at first when they tried to interact with her (though it did change for the better).
• They don't care for labels of sexuality, but for simplicity of their preference: They would be demisexual with a more sapphic lean, but is panromantic. They aren't actively seeking any sort of relationship, though; it's too distracting, and creates too much vulnerability for their liking.
• Animals they are associated with: Great Horned Owls, Cecropia Moths, and Stoats.
• Associated plants: Deadly nightshade, Purple hyacinth, and Tiger lily.