Dawnheart

Physical Description: Reddish orange long haired striped tom with green eyes and mottled nose

Scars: 1x across left eye, 2x across left side of his neck, 1x bite mark on left shoulder 2x on back, 1x near belly, 2x on right paw, 1x left

Accessories: none

Bans: none

Personality

+Resourceful, Loyal, Resilient

=Quiet, Introverted, Familial

-Secretive, Blunt, Critical

Timberstrike has always been resourceful, using whatever hr could be whatever means needed or necessary to get whatever he wanted done. Out in the forest, you needed to be able to make due. Sometimes that meant you may not always succeed, but Timber has never let failure deter him. Quick to jump back into action even after falling, his resilience is admirable. As admirable as his loyalty to Leafclan and all the hold dear. He believes in his clan’s ideologies and the faith that Starclan stands with them.

Once boisterous in youth, age has definitely turned Timber into a quiet cat. The fights between Leafclan and Soaringclan definitely affected him and his extroverted behaviors as a child turned introverted. It isn’t to say he wouldn’t interact, he’s just not always quick to. But regardless of that, family is important to him, and he holds family dear to him. Perhaps one day he will have his own family to hold close.

Quiet and introversion bring on many secrets. Timber is not one to divulge much about himself to anyone quickly. There are something’s better left unsaid as well. When he does speak, he is quite blunt and speaks rather abrasively about whatever seems to be on his mind. He doesn’t mean harm, and he's quick to apologize should he cause harm. He can be a bit too critical of things and other cats for one's liking, but being critical can mean being cautious and safe for him… just not to his extremes.

Kithood 0-5 Moons

“I was born the kit of Mossmeadow and Spruceslip. My littermates, Vinekit and Elmki were my best friends in the whole world. We did everything together. Explore and play.. we dreamed of becoming Paladins like our parents. Life was good for us as we were young and unaware. Our mother was pregnant at the time of discovery of The Headlights. We were... Mostly spared the beginnings of the arguments between our clans. Our father, Spruceslip was part of the patrols that tried to reach the Headlights. He would tell us how Soaringclan would selfishly fend them off, not allowing Leafclan entry to commune with the ancestors. He always seemed so… upset by it all.

My parents fought tooth and claw, they would tell us, trying to reach a place their believed was in their right to visit. ‘No cat should have full claim over such a sacred place.’ Mossmeadow would say. I was too young to understand then as I do now. Despite them both helping with the push towards The Headlights, Mossmeadow and Spruceslip did their best to raise us with as much love as they could. While I and my littermates wished they didn’t have to fight so much, I didn’t feel I could rightfully complain. I wish now that I had...

The skirmish between Leafclan and Soaringclan at the Gathering reached a head when Cloud refused Leafclan access to the sacred place even still. It…it was a bloody sight from what I was told and by the end of it…only Spruceslip remained. Mossmeadow.. our mother lay amongst the dead. We were lucky to be off mother’s milk by then, but our family had been broken… and I felt a particular shift in myself as I grow quieter and less….outgoing. My determination however was unwavering. A Paladin I would become, as promised and expected.”

Apprenticehood 6-11 Moons

“Spruceslip managed to raise up until we reached 6 moons, and I and my littermates were given our apprentice names of Vinepaw, Timberpaw and Elmpaw. Naturally, we all took up the rank of Paladin novices. Training was hard, especially under the guidance of my mentor, Hawkscar. He was a rough and rugged tom; one who pushed me not only to my limits but beyond them at times. At first, I thought it was because he hated me. I realize now, it’s because he believed in me entirely. I had always shown some promise. The biggest and eldest of my parents kits, he believed my size gave me both advantage and disadvantage… I just needed to learn how to utilize one and minimize the other. And so, I learned and advanced and grew. My losses against my mentor became less devastating and he worked for his wins more and more. I was growing to become a fine Paladin in the eyes of the clan… and my last remaining parent. My littermates were growing too, but there were times… I could sense a jealousy in how far I seemed to be advancing. I didn’t know how their mentors were teaching them. Perhaps they weren’t as intense as Hawkscar was with me. I could feel a rift growing between us. One I was desperate to close if possible.

I was young when I went to my first Gathering. It was the first time my faith in Leafstar was… shaken. Cloudstar warned him of the floods. I don’t understand why he didn’t heed it. Perhaps it was because of pride… perhaps Leafstar’s skirmishes and fights with Cloudstar clouded his judgement. It would not take long for that warning to become truth. The downpour flooded our camp, claiming many cats of all types. I had always been… cautious. Since the Gathering, I had thought of ways to potentially escape the waters and get to high ground or safety. My… Elmpaw was always small, skittish and froze in fear. It was a miracle he made it to Paladin novice. When the floods hit and we all ran… I tried to save him. But he was swallowed by the waters and I was made to keep moving by Hawk. My attempt was seen as noble by Spruceslip, who was heavily injured and forced into Elderhood a bit early…but my failure was condemned by Vinepaw. The rift widened and she would walk away if I came near or hiss in anger if I tried to speak to her.

When all was said and done, we had to journey to Soaringclan and ask for help… something they didn’t deny. In a new place, and with a new dynamic between me and Vinepaw, I did my best to not…cause myself more stress. I didn’t make much effort to speak with the Soaringclan cats, and they in turn seemed to do the same. The floods devastated us all… Leafstar unfortunately lost all his lives and succumbed to death. Starclan light his path to them. Timberthorn takes lead, becoming Timberstar. It still makes me grin, how we shared part of a name.. and yet he was just as foolishly obsessed with The Headlights. It was then we discovered The Headlights also suffered flooding, most cats were horrified…. I was…secretly relieved. Perhaps this would end the fighting, it was all senseless. We shared faith in Starclan, at least this way no one cat could claim sole ownership over them. But it also meant our new leader could not receive his lives. It made us all question, some out loud… others silently. Cloudstar, however discovered a new way to commune with Starclan. Crystals in the mountains? Hmm I wasn’t so sure, but Timberstar eagerly set off for them. By then we had returned home, the floods receding. I… tried to find Elmpaw’s body, but couldn’t… yet another failure in Vinepaws’s eyes. I could feel myself growing resentment towards her. I had to stop myself. She was still family.

Timberstar grew upset when the crystals couldn’t give him his lives. His… understandable upset seemed to anger Cloudstar who once agains forbade Leafclan to journey to The Headlights… once against starting a fused between our clans. Gatherings stopped as no one could meet without fighting, Vinepaw included. Life seemed…difficult.”

Warriorhood (12-31 Moons)

Everything changed the day Timberstar told us for a dream he had.. of eyes leading to the coveted lands. He set out once more… and came back.. with his lives and tales of wolves who let him in, but kept Cloudstar out as she tried to stop him. Good. She needed to be knocked down I thought to myself. Desperately. Maybe these wolves..these newly dubbed Starclan’s Claws would keep her and anyone else from claiming The Headlights. I see it as a message from Starclan. We will not be owned.

I’m getting ahead of myself… I was soon now old enough to take my drills and finally be named a true Paladin.. and given my clan name. Hawkscar’s rigorous training paid off… my strikes hard and swift, I was blessed with the name Timberstrike. Vinepaw was also named a Paladin an gifted the name Vineflight, for their speed. I tried to congratulate them. They walked away. Spruceslip comforted me best he could. Hawkscar told me to look towards the future.

There as word that Cloudstar’s health was declining after a while.. I suppose old cats gets sick, but she had several lives left.. I didn’t think much of it. Life in Leafclan went on and Vineflight and I grew further apart. I took my new position seriously, patrolling and defending as needed, my skills sharp and honed. After a point, Vineflight’s dismissal of me seemed trivial. I had other things to focus on and new responsibilities I enjoyed. Her jabs got less a reaction, and should she instigate, I made sure skirmishes were swiftly dealt with. The She-cat hated being pinned under my paw, but if she was gonna act brutish, she would be treated like a brute. Littermates or no, I wasn’t having it anymore and was quick to say as much.

Her issues were the least of my concerns anyway. Cloudstar, as would have it, died, losing her final life and joining Starclan. Muddyfoot… or Muddystar had taken over and with it, became a nuisance to us once more. Soaringclan was encroaching and Leafclan was intolerant to it. Timberstar told us to fight back, making our own scent markers. It was stupid… but I can admit.. it was needed. I participated without much a fuss, even going so far as to do so in front of Soaringclan cats. I earned many scars that way, but they did not leave unscathed.

Muddystar’s encroachment reached critical mass when war seemed imminent. We were to storm Soaringclan, a point I admit was well-deserved… but my goal was to deal with the tyrant and keeps the other cats from…too many casualties. Upon the journey to Serpent’s Overpass, Timberstar….fell. When we heard no word nor movement… it shook us all, but Fogwatcher urged us to continue. And so I marched on. The fight war bloody… a Massacre ensued. It didn’t matter if you liked your fellow Paladin or not… you fought with them. So I took to Vineflight’s side, protecting and attacking any cat who dared try to harm her. Deep down.. we were family.

But I was outnumbered… and she was so fast… but not fast enough. She lay among the casualties and I wept for the loss of my last littermates…so much I had no tears left when Spruceslip’s heart couldn’t handle the grief and he too, took to the stars… At least Muddystar also lay dead.

Fogwatcher…or Fogstar took over now… and after so long, Soaringclan now has a new leader, Stonestar. Hopefully he doesn’t suck as horribly as his predecessor…”