Geckotongue

Brief Description: A pale almond, spotted bicolor tabby with folded ears and copper eyes.
• Scars: None

Accessories: N/A
Banned Traits: Miosis - Partially Blind

Voice: Nolan North
• Example:
https://youtu.be/CzXoQXrp618

Height: 12 in
Weight: 7 lb

Scent: Brooks and streams

✦ Stat Sheet ✦

Religious Beliefs: ★★☆☆☆

• - "When I was a kit, I used to pray every night for a fancy, new moss ball. Then I realized that StarClan doesn't work that way, so I stole one and asked them to forgive me."

Outsider Views:

• - "Not everyone has to like me. I can't force them to have good taste."

| Before Birth |

Newthowler and Roseblush’s budding romance was a whirlwind of passion and excitement. Although RiverClan wasn’t directly affected, times of war between ThunderClan and ShadowClan had many on edge. More importantly, it reminded everyone of their mortality; life was short, and Newthowler intended to make the most of it. After only two moons of courting he asked Roseblush to be his mate, and she accepted.

Roseblush had always been what some may call a ‘stick in the mud’. Her desire for structure, order and control directly conflicted with Newthowler’s fun-loving, wild nature. Their differences often brought balance, but not always. Chaos accented by witty quips was fun at first, but when Rose wished to talk about anything serious Newt had trouble doing so. His focus on seeing all the good in the world often downplayed any negative emotions Rose felt. As a result, feelings of invalidation caused a wedge in the young relationship, and Newt’s brother Lizardcoo took full advantage of it.

Lizard too was a lot like Newt in his love of thrills and self-indulgent pleasures, although his enjoyment came from impulses of a more sadistic nature. In a moment of weakness after a fight with Newthowler, Roseblush had run into Lizardcoo out in the territory. The two spoke for some time, and with his silver tongue Lizard said all the right pleasantries to convince Rose for a single night of passion. Despite blowing off some steam, guilt began to eat away at her.

Not long after, the medicine cat affirmed she was pregnant. She had always wanted a family, but her affair left her with a lingering sense of dread; which brother was the sire? With no way to know for sure, and with Newt always shutting down any chance she tried to speak about how she was feeling, she repressed that fear until her litter arrived.

| Kitten |

Two kittens were born, and upon Newt’s insistence they were both named after a type of reptile they resembled; Geckokit and Skinkkit. For the first two weeks Roseblush and Newthowler lived in ignorant bliss of what awaited them. Rose was elated. They had the family they wanted, and both kittens resembled Newt – no one would piece together what happened that one fateful night with Lizardcoo. She could move past this.

That was, until the kittens began to open their eyes. Geckokit began to show signs of nearsightedness, and upon inspection was revealed to have a form of permanent miosis, a condition where his pupils were always constricted; the same kind of condition Lizardcoo had. Initially Newthowler had no issue with this. Surely it was just something that ran in the family, and it was no deeper than that.

Roseblush, however, having been crumbling under her mistake, couldn't hold in her secret any longer. She couldn’t bring herself to agree it was simply coincidence. There was a very strong chance one if not both kittens were sired by Newt’s brother. As she confessed, for the first time that Rose had ever seen Newt was quiet. There was no brushing off her feelings this time, there was no positive to find here. He had been betrayed by his family and his mate, yet he did not utter anything other than, ‘We’re done’ and left.

Geckokit didn’t see Newt around much after that, but Roseblush simply assured him, ‘Daddy just needs some time to himself.’ Gecko decided this was normal of all families, and didn’t think much of it at the time. He had much more pressing matters, like exploring and playing every new game he heard of. Completely unaware Newt might not have been his father, or that his parents had broken up and decided to co-parent, he focused on all things fun.

Skink lagged behind somewhat when it came to language development, but Gecko didn’t mind; he could do enough talking for both of them. As he got older, his miosis began to give him a hard time with seeing in dark or dimly lit areas, and anything far away was a bit blurry. The eye strain occasionally led to headaches, resulting in more naps for the young kit.

Skink was able to easily accommodate for this when the two were together which created a strong bond between them. It was only reinforced further when some of the other kits teased him for his strange eyes. His pupils were always constricted which gave him a wild look, and with Skink’s cryptid energy the siblings were like two peas in a pod.

By the time he was two moons old, he started to notice the differences between his family dynamic and that of others. The leader’s family at the time, Hawkstar and his children, were on the other end of the spectrum. His kittens were showered with love and affection every waking moment from their parents, extended family and even family friends. In contrast, Gecko and his sister mostly had their mother, and whenever Newthowler did come around Roseblush always had to leave. Gecko grew envious, and his parents could do little to quell it.

The most he got out of his father once was that life was random; sometimes there wasn’t any reason for the chaos around them, and all they could do was try to rise to the challenge of making the most of what they had. With what little direction this provided, Gecko did his best to embrace it. This was especially true when his sister began a trend of falling ill with various respiratory infections.

Not being able to hang around her as she was in quarantine distressed him, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to do things to cheer her up from a distance. This included goofy routines and skits from the entrance of the medicine cat den, to giving – what he felt – were motivational speeches. Try as he might though, her health didn’t improve.

Growing more desperate for a fix, his eye laid on one of Hawkstar’s children’s newest toys; a moss ball adorned with glittering scales. It was perfect! Surely those kits wouldn’t miss one less toy. After all, they got so many, and were due to become apprentices any day. Under his father’s not so watchful eye, he attempted to steal a toy, only to be thwarted by one of the kits he was trying to steal from; Mistykit.

At first he blatantly tried to deny what he was doing, but the older kit saw through it. She threatened to rat him out to the adults, which quickly prompted him to urge that his sister needed it more than she did. With her strongly principled upbringing, she still denied him stealing one of her toys, but instead offered to help him make one to give to Skink. With no other options he reluctantly agreed, which sparked the beginning of their long rivalry.

Whether it be kithood games or otherwise, they both always tried to outdo the other whenever given the opportunity. With her older age, Mistykit left to become an apprentice, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to compete with her around camp.

Thankfully his sister eventually recovered from her illness, but her lungs were permanently damaged which gave her a raspy, gravelly voice. Gecko thought it made her more badass – like a battle worn warrior – despite what others had to say. With such a close bond, by the time they approached apprentice age the two were almost inseparable.

| Apprentice |

Apprenticeship finally came. His paws had been itching to get out of camp and into the wilds for as long as he could walk, so when he became an apprentice he was over the moon. He was assigned to a she-cat named Paletorrent who was a lot like his mother in many ways; she craved structure and rules, and expected obedience from a rather authority adverse apprentice.

After a couple moons of butting heads, the mentor apprentice duo eventually worked out their differences – albeit begrudgingly on both sides. At a base level, they reached an understanding the quicker they worked together the quicker they could be apart. Gecko’s sister on the other hand was having an even rougher start to her apprenticeship.

Skinkpaw’s mentor was a vain cat not really interested in her due to her strange – and sometimes morbid – tendencies. She was regularly offloaded onto other mentors for ‘group training’ while her mentor was complaining Skink wasn’t good enough to have been their first apprentice. While this angered Gecko, he took the opportunity for Paletorrent to let Skinkpaw tag along on their training sessions as often as she’d allow.

When he wasn’t training and under the surveillance of his mentor, Mistypaw was never far behind. The older, more lawful apprentice was the foil to many of his shenanigans; he’d wonder what he did to deserve being surrounded by so many strict, rule-abiding cats. In light of her fun-busting antics, if there was ever any chance for the two to compete Gecko was ready. Anything to put the ‘perfect princess’ in her place.

• Meanwhile, after the death of a patient, Lotuspaw abdicated from being a Medicine Cat Apprentice. He went on to become a warrior apprentice instead, and spent a modified training period under Hailhowler to learn the skills he needed to serve his clan.

Geckopaw didn’t have a strong opinion on the matter either way, and ultimately felt it was of little consequence to him what Lotuspaw chose. If anything, it was just another affirmation that life was chaos.

By the time Gecko was around nine moons, Mistypaw, now Mistyshore, and her litter mates finally graduated. At last his antics in the apprentice den could resume. Although despite their differences, Geckopaw was among those cheering her new name. They may have had a rivalry since they were young, but by no means did he despise the she-cat. If only she was more willing to play along with his pranks and games, maybe they would have been close friends.

• A moon later, Duskwind and Twilightdancer returned to camp injured after a fighting off a badger in the outsider territories. Hawkstar sent a patrol to search for Sagesplash and the badger that attacked them, but all that could be found was evidence of a vicious fight. Her trail was lost in the havoc and the patrol returned empty pawed.

The thought of fighting off a badger was exhilarating to Geckopaw, despite the fear and despair surrounding the missing deputy. Whenever he died, he wanted to go out in a blazing ball of glory and showmanship; to die young meant to die beautiful after all.

• After another moon of the deputy missing, Sagesplash returned to camp with the help of Dawnshimmer and Asterpool.

No matter how unrealistic the goal, Geckopaw’s brief idea of if he powered through apprenticeship and into warriorhood he could become the next deputy was squashed. In his mind, if he could rule the clan there’d be no more rules – everything could reflect the chaotic nature of life. Mistyshore was quick to berate how naive he was when she caught wind of his hope. Gecko snottily retorted he was better off not having anything to do with her rule obsessed family anyhow.

By this point Gecko and Skink’s warrior assessments were around the corner. Undoubtedly Gecko would still be watched by the more wary of his clan mates, but that next stage of freedom was enough to push him through his assessments with flying colors. When he used all his smarts on something productive instead of destructive he was actually quite skilled. While that wasn’t necessarily untrue of his sister, the relationship with her mentor had only worsened.

Eventually Skinkpaw confronted her mentor about his apathetic attitude towards her. Unfortunately for her, Gecko got all the social graces of the duo, and she badly lacked the proper means to convey her upset. Quickly the conversation was going nowhere productive, and the moons of pent up anger resulted in Skinkpaw clawing her mentor. In Gecko’s eyes it was nothing her mentor didn’t deserve, but Hawkstar saw things differently.

Skinkpaw was reassigned to a different mentor, but was also held back due to a combination of being behind in her training and as punishment. Hoping to cheer her up, Geckopaw would take it upon himself to play more mean spirited pranks on her old mentor; nothing extreme and he was never caught, but mostly small inconveniences to ruin their day.

| Warrior |

Paletorrent had to relent his training’s end eventually, and Gecko was definitely ready. If there was anything he perfected more than any other skill, it was his silver tongue. Be it talking his way out of trouble or convincing others to take part in it, he was aptly named Geckotongue as a result. Sitting vigil that night didn’t feel as complete as it could have without Skink graduating by his side. Instead of fulfilling his sentry duty, he spent most of the night trying to finesse a fish bone necklace for his sister.

It was… an attempt. Nothing special aside from the caring thought behind it, and it did at least somewhat cheer Skinkpaw up. Gecko tried to take more time to see what interested her the most, no matter how morbid or strange. Digging of all things was a particular fascination of hers; lots of strange trinkets could be found underground.

• A few moons go by, and cats began to fall ill in RiverClan. Hawkstar discovered the sick felines were exposed to the river that now carried a strange, sickly sweet scent in the shallows. Cats were ordered to hunt only land prey until the issue was resolved.

This new substance intrigued Geckotongue; perhaps some of Skink’s darker curiosities were rubbing off on him. Where could such a poison have come from, and could it potentially be used if ever in a pinch? He kept most of this line of questioning to himself though as he didn't want any morally righteous cats like Mistyshore giving him a hard time about it.

• Sickness ran rampant. Left with no other choice, Freckleshimmer, RiverClan's medicine cat, and Silkyflower went to seek aide in ThunderClan. Thankfully, Fernstar and Wrenwater agreed to help, and most of the sick warriors began to recover. Over the next few days all of the ill cats were treated and expected to make a full recovery aside from an unfortunate few who succumbed to their illness. Despite being a warrior, Silkyflower played an instrumental part in the treatment of many.

Gecko was mostly indifferent to the ordeal. He wasn’t sick, and his family was fine. Instead he’d simply wonder what it was like in ThunderClan, or offer some entertainment to those who needed their days brightened; he’d never say no to some attention after all.

With good news in abundance, his sister finally passed her warrior assessments. It only made sense her warrior name was as eerie as she was; Skinkfog. Gecko screeched her name from the top of his lungs. No one was gonna out cheer him on his sister’s big day, perhaps to her chagrin.

• Freckleshimmer, impressed with all their help during the recent outbreak of sickness, decided to accept Silkyflower as her new medicine cat apprentice a moon later.

While having a new medicine cat held little significance to Gecko, he would take any opportunity to party and celebrate. If something could be twisted to be about him and his whims, he'd take it.

As time wore on, Geckotongue and Mistyshore’s little competitive rivalry continued to grow into adulthood, although Gecko seemed more invested in it than she did. Nevertheless, he was content to be the nattering fly in her ear if it meant getting a reaction out of her. While not the most apparent in his conscience, he found comfort in her presence even if he was only gaining her ire.

• Moons pass, and suddenly cats from across all the clans and outside it simply vanished. Their trails ran cold, and no one could pick up any clues. Strange scents were discovered in the territories, and whispers began that the two legs could have possibly been behind the disappearances.

The idea of tall, hairless creatures lumbering about and snatching up cats had Gecko on his high alert, although he couldn’t deny his inquisitive mind wishing for the thrill of seeing one in the flesh. He’d have no such luck though, and thankfully no one he was close with was among the missing.

• Some of the missing cats found their way home and spoke of horrible tales. They were captured and taken to a strange twoleg nest where they were put to sleep, and had woken up with a strange scar on their abdomens. A kittypet by the name of Petroleum was free within this nest, and explained to the cats that they had been 'cut' in order to control their populations. They were now unable to have kits.

The horrifying tales aside, Gecko would have tried to cheer up any of those afflicted by looking on the bright side; now they could have as many romantic encounters as they wished without the risk of pregnancy! Depending on who he said this to, some were less than thrilled with this take than others. If the process didn't sound so unpleasant he would have stormed the forest looking to sign up for the procedure.

• Soon enough, the rest of the missing cats returned home, except for Aspenstorm of ThunderClan, Coyotedawn of WindClan, and Flamestep of ShadowClan. Cats from across the clans were made aware of the Twoleg traps, and were taught how to avoid them lest they suffer the same fate as the others. Amon, an outsider who was also caught by Twolegs, joins WindClan.

It was no surprise to Gecko all of the RiverClan cats made it back. As for the traps, it did keep his attention for a little while, but soon enough he was off to bug others still trying to learn; often by narrating their every move to be as distracting as possible.

• The twoleg influence wasn’t finished yet. A large, destructive monster near the dense thickets destroyed the riverbank causing Hawkstar to fall into the rapids. His brother, Grouseclaw, attempted to save him but both toms were carried downriver. Grouseclaw drowned during his bid to escape from the caverns they were swept into, and Hawkstar returned to camp alone to inform everyone of Grouse’s sacrifice.

Had Geckotongue not been so invested in Mistyshore, he would have nonchalantly shrugged off the event as yet another act of chaos by nature. Instead, he allowed Misty and her family some peace from his shenanigans in their time of mourning. A little part of him was jealous of all the heroism that surrounded Grouseclaw; maybe one day he’d bask in such glory. Preferably still alive.

• Moons went by before all of the clans noticed increasing badger and coyote sightings in the territories – even in the outside lands didn’t go uneffected. The clan leaders suspected it had to do with the strange increase of twoleg activity.

Gecko supposed he should be careful what he wished for, as the risky encounter with one of these hairless things was becoming increasingly more likely – not to mention the predators as well. He’d stick closer to Skinkfog in the moons following for a little extra peace of mind.

• With the coming of Leafbare, prey that was already scarce during the season had become even more hard to come by due to twoleg disturbances. Both clan cats and outsiders alike had become desperate with the severe lack of food. Tempers started to flare within the clans between clanmates. Sightings of outsiders hunting on clan land had increased, which led to battles between the clan cats and outsiders.

RiverClan wasn’t affected quite as badly with their combination of water and land prey, but Gecko didn’t deny he put off a few pounds. With less fat clinging to him however, it gave him the opportunity to really show off his muscles to any who would humor him.

• A moon later, Rimescale, Albatrosswing and Sootflame found the warrior Weaselwhisker ensnared by a fox trap and partially-submerged in the river. Carefully, Albatrosswing was able to weaken the trap enough for the patrol to retrieve Weaselwhisker's body and returned her to camp, but her condition was gruesome. The clan was on edge from the discovery.

The pesky traps were at it again, but fortunately for Geckotongue, he was quick witted enough to avoid getting himself stuck in such a precarious position. He didn’t know Weaselwhisker well, and decided to himself it was simply nature’s way of culling the unobservant.

• At the border between WindClan and ThunderClan, a fight broke out leaving both sides wounded; Windclan took the victory in the end. Tensions between the two clans were high for the foreseeable future.

Not his clan, not his problem, as Gecko would so eloquently put.

• During one of the following Gatherings, Wrenwater and Hydrangeawhisper of ThunderClan demonstrated to everyone how to disarm twoleg fox snares, so no cat could fall victim to one again.

Geckotongue on the other hand was too busy schmoozing with those he rarely got to see and catching up on the latest clan gossip. He already knew how to disarm other kinds of traps from earlier in the year, how much harder could these ones be?

• In a sudden turn for the worst, Hawkstar was poisoned and lost a life to deathberries. Sagesplash, the deputy, and Silkyflower both saw that it was the herbs Freckleshimmer had prepared for him, and Sagesplash took this to mean that she intentionally poisoned him. While Hawkstar was still unconscious and recovering, she held a clan meeting and trial. Freckleshimmer was banished from the clan for the murder of Hawkstar. When Hawkstar woke, he upheld Sagesplash's decision. With Freckleshimmer now exiled, Silkyflower traveled to the Starlit Cavern to be made a full medicine cat by StarClan.

The theatrics; the drama. A murder mystery of the highest caliber. He’d been indulging in the details with his sister when Mistyshore had overhead; he was quickly catching Misty's vexation over making light of the event. He never quite apologized, but he did shut up given her father had just lost a life.

• Almost two moons later, it was revealed by Twilightdancer that it was Vixenshadow who poisoned Hawkstar and framed Freckleshimmer for the crime. She had long terrorized Twilightdancer and her family, and after receiving an omen from her father Ridgefrost, Freckleshimmer raced to join the confrontation. Vixenshadow was eventually apprehended, though not before she took the eye of Sweetbriar and threatened the warrior Tadpolefin. She confessed to all she was guilty of, and she was sentenced to death by Hawkstar. In the caverns, Vixenshadow was executed by Hawkstar and Sagesplash with the warriors Bogbones, Dewdropmoon and Reedtide as witnesses. Silkyflower proclaimed the wicked molly dead, and the patrol buried her body face-down before they departed back to RiverClan land.

Gecko hadn’t thought it possible for the plot to thicken, yet here he was. When it was announced who was to witness the death, both he and Skink were disappointed not to be chosen. Not because they felt any overwhelming sense of justice, but more so a grisly intrigue.

For a few moons most of the drama settled, which gave Geckotongue an opportunity to continue his rivalry with Mistyshore. This time around, however, his pranks and tricks were kicked up a notch and started to bring out the worst rather than the best in each other. Unbeknownst to him, in his marginally more mature mind, he was actually growing to admire Misty; he enjoyed their time bantering and competing more than his other activities and other cats. Very much still like an emotionally stunted child, this converted into more tiresome pranks as he knew no other outlet to express this budding affection.

More and more, Mistyshore was spending time with Tidepool. What they were talking about on their strolls in the territory was lost on him, but jealousy brewed beneath the surface. Time spent with Tide was time not spent with Gecko, and that just wouldn’t stand.

With tender care, Geckotongue set up an inconspicuous branch along Misty and Tide’s regular walking path. It wasn’t the most well conceived idea, but the goal was to have Mistyshore slip and fall in the mud and mess up her perfectly groomed pelt in front of the other warrior. Harmless really, aside from some old fashioned humiliation. That wasn’t how things played out though.

When the duo came through the trap, Mistyshore landed poorly in the mud and ended up injuring her shoulder in the process. Immediately Gecko made himself known to make sure she was okay, only to quickly be slapped with, ‘What the hell were you thinking?!’ from Misty. His idea backfired stupendously.

Once she had cooled off, and healed, he – for once in his life – actually came to apologize. His antics were getting out of hand, and he never wanted to see her genuinely hurt. She was the Batman to his Joker, and one without the other was never quite complete. Through luck, or Misty’s sheer exhaustion, he got her to confide her fall wasn’t the only thing causing her grief; her mother’s health was on the decline, and no one was certain how long Briarlily had left.

For what remained of Briarlily’s life, Gecko and Misty stayed up talking the night away – sometimes even until the sun was beginning to rise. Their once shallow, idle chatter had transformed into a more significant bond beneath Gecko’s quippy exterior, and he tried to embrace this new experience for what thrill he could find in it. He even divulged his own fears of having no legacy; something his parents were often on his case about for all the goofing around and 'playing the field' that he did. When Mistyshore’s mother did pass, he was there to provide her with whatever comfort her family could not.

• Just as the Greenleaf season previous, cats from all clans have vanished. It was assumed they had been taken by the twolegs like their clanmates were before them. The clans could do nothing but wait.

Just as before, Geckotongue tried to assure those concerned they’d return just like last time - maybe even with the same added bonus of being able to have flings without risk of kittens.

• At the following Gathering, the four leaders announced that the Warrior Code had been amended to allow the clan's Medicine Cats to have mates and start families. Many were happy for the healers who were once forbidden from love, others jaded by the change to what was meant to be an inflexible code of honor.

Gecko couldn't be bothered by the old sticks in the mud; let the medicine cats enjoy the more stimulating kind of fun like everyone else! If there was one thing he'd always stand by, it was the self indulgent pleasures.

• Shortly after, the missing cats taken by the twolegs were returned, sans Nerinenectar, who was kept by them. Petroleum, the same kittypet from before, delivered a message via the returned; In three to four moons, a threat to the clans will appear unlike any other they've ever faced.

Ominous. Gecko loved a good mystery, and appreciated the sense of showmanship this 'Petroleum' had to deliver his message this way. Maybe one day he’d meet the like minded tom.

• A few days later, Twilightdancer found Hydrangeawhisper, the ThunderClan medicine cat, unconscious and badly-injured after a fight with a rogue, so she brought him back to camp and sought medical attention for his injuries. Silkyflower took over his care, and he eventually recovered in RiverClan, but not before Silkyflower and a patrol of warriors went out to search for Hydrangeawhisper's companion Robinwish, whom he said was injured too. Instead, they met the ThunderClan patrol looking for Hydrangeawhisper. ThunderClan was assured to know their medicine cat was recovering in RiverClan, and would be sent home as soon as he was able.

Gecko couldn’t be bothered over the foreign medicine cat, but he did wonder what the rogue was like that did this to him.

• Finally well enough to return, Hydrangeawhisper was escorted to the Gatheringplace by a RiverClan patrol, and bid farewell to the clan that saved his life.

Great. Gecko thought maybe ThunderClan would send RiverClan some cool reward or something, but all they got was ‘praise’. Lame.

• As foretold, at a later Gathering everyone was made aware of the threat the Twolegs posed by the leaders who had privately met with Petroleum. The strange tom wanted the clans to work together with outsiders to destroy the Twolegs' monsters so they couldn’t succeed in 'developing' the forest into a new Twolegplace. The proposal of collaboration was met with outright fury and denial until Hawkstar of Riverclan spoke up. The clans seemed to be somewhat placated and begrudgingly decided to accept the kittypet's offer of help.

‘WOO, let's get those fuckers!’ Geckotongue would have shouted during the gathering, much to the displeasure of those around him. It was likely this lack of taking the matter seriously that he was not chosen to help with the dismantling.

• The outsiders and selected groups of warriors were brought together to disable the twoleg monsters under Petroleum's guidance. Several warriors were injured; Huckleberry of Shadowclan and Snowbear of Thunderclan perished. Every leader lost at least one life, and Racoonstar and Silverstar two. Nevertheless, the monsters had been stopped and the clans and outsiders were assured by Petroleum that the twolegs wouldn’t try again.

Whatever details he could get out of those that returned he sucked in with great interest until Mistyshore told him to knock it off and let cats rest from their trip. If only her father had chosen him to attend, he wouldn't have needed to pester those that did go.

Despite their clashing personalities, Geckotongue and Mistyshore had only continued to grow closer as friends – more than either truly realized. He’d flirt with her during their banter, as he did with many, but there was another she-cat that had caught his eye. She was intoxicating, and as a result Gecko spent less time with Misty to pursue the other cat into potentially courting.

This time around, it was Mistyshore’s turn to feel jealous. In a deeper part of her mind she was worried he’d leave her behind; throw away the life long friendship they’d been cultivating for a thrill of the week. In not her proudest moment, she decided to sabotage the budding romance. When she had a moment alone with the other she-cat, Misty told her the reason Gecko’s eyes were always constricted was a side effect of a disease. Additionally, that he’d emotionally use her and leave her; Misty was simply looking out for her. Needless to say, the mission was successful.

Geckotongue had never been so genuinely outraged with another cat before. Fun and games aside, Mistyshore knew his miosis condition was a sore spot and it deeply hurt him to have it weaponized against him. To add insult to injury, his mother only furthered his hurt by agreeing he was being too flippant with his time, ‘No one wants to be with someone who doesn’t take his life seriously.’

No matter how much Misty apologized, Geckotongue was not having it. She’d crossed a line he’d not thought possible, and he never wanted to risk feeling it again. The two stopped hanging out almost entirely, and Gecko went to focus on his other acquaintances and sister.

• Trouble was on the horizon, however, as Mintleaf and Hawkstrike were attacked by an outsider. Strangely it seemed this outsider was a kittypet; a rare occurrence in the territories. Confusion was sparked in RiverClan.

Geckotongue welcomed the challenge and drama new cats hanging around their borders may bring.

• Not long after, a small patrol of ThunderClan and ShadowClan cats discovered a Twolegplace that had been built near the clan territories, forever altering the forest. Word spread rapidly through all four clans of the discovery, with many realizing the futility of their previous mission to stop the twolegs. The twolegs had already succeeded.

‘Why do the other clans get to have all the fun in discoveries?’ Gecko would whinge to an indifferent audience.

• It had been a long time coming when Hawkstar finally passed away peacefully in his sleep, losing his final life to old age. He was buried on the river, his body floating with tokens of his clan. Sagesplash departed for the Starlit Cavern for her Nine Lives Ceremony. Upon her return, Sagestar chose Cloudyrose to be her first deputy.

Without question this was a hard time for Mistyshore, but even in one of her lowest moments he did not reach out to her as he had when her mother passed. His previous hurt still struck his heart, and in his bitterness he hoped she felt as he had.

In her pained state, Misty confronted him, demanding to know how he could be so cold in her time of need. He stood by his convictions, and their arguing quickly got heated. All of it paled in comparison, however, when Mistyshore said, ‘You know your mother was right about you – you're nothing but a washed up deadbeat that peaked in apprenticehood.’

He wanted her to hurt, and he wanted her to hurt badly. Taking what he’d learned of how much she idolized her mother, and her fears of never living up to being a mother like her, he short back, ‘You are so insufferable – even if you trap some vapid idiot with kits, you'll never be the kind of mother Briarlily was.’ With that died any last chances for the two to repair their friendship. He began to avoid her and her family like the plague after that.

• Things could always be worse, and they were for Somberspark. After catching Somberspark attempting to torture and kill a rogue at the RiverClan border, Sagestar confronted her clanmate and was forced to kill him when they began to fight. Unbeknownst to the clan, she lost a life in the process. She brought Somberspark's body back to camp for his children to decide what was to be done, but she chose not to inform RiverClan that she had lost a life. Ultimately, Somberspark's body was left for crowfood.

The air of secrecy and uncertainty around the event kept Geckotongue’s attention, but he ultimately shrugged it off once all was said and done.

• At the following Gathering, Dixie, a kittypet, revealed herself to be at the head of a formidable force of outsiders, and charged the ShadowClan elder Blackstag with the murder of her kin during the Great War many moons past – the war the clans waged with rogues to save StarClan. She was chased from the Gathering by ThunderClan Branchers, but her demands divided the four clans. Would they sacrifice the life of an honoured elder to avoid another war with the outsider cats?

Geckotongue was too enamored with Dixie herself to worry much about what another clan did with their elders. Sure, she was villainous and threatening war, but in his eyes she just made his life a hell of a lot more interesting; a perfect distraction from Mistyshore.

• The elder Paleshine and her kin encountered kittypets on RiverClan territory. Roman, a tom with the ability to command and control dogs grievously injured the family, who rushed back to camp. Paleshine eventually died from internal bleeding sustained from fighting off the dogs. The prospect of a kittypet being able to command dogs was nigh-unheard of. The last time a rogue could command dogs was during the Great War many moons past.

Again his intrigue was piqued that a cat could control another animal so easily. For the next moon or so Gecko tried to command the fish in the river by any means necessary, but nothing beyond herding them was achieved.

• Galesigh was attacked – harassed and mutilated – by members of the kittypet gang before being set free to return home to camp in a panic.

Only Skinkfog might have noticed a slight shift in Gecko’s demeanor at this point. This Dixie character wasn’t messing around with her promises of revenge, and his hide might actually be on the line for once.

• Twilightdancer and Duskwind decided to leave RiverClan, to join their father's birth clan, ThunderClan. Upon informing Sagestar, she exiled them and branded them traitors, never to return if ThunderClan didn’t accept them.

Spoiler alert, they did. Geckotongue made sure to follow up with other cats to find out if it was true, although once the novelty of the situation wore off he too forgot about it.

• At the next Gathering, Dixie and Roman, with their gang of Kittypets, attacked the four clans by causing an old construction monster to roll into the Gatheringplace. All four leaders lost a life, and countless cats were injured to varying degrees. The monster later exploded, causing even more death and destruction. Only rains sent by StarClan could quell the fires. The four clans returned home utterly defeated, with little hope on the horizon.

For the first time in his life, someone close to him was actually affected by the tragedy; his parents. Sure, he and Skink had long grown distant from his trainwreck of a family, but they were his only family. Newthowler and Roseblush both perished in the secondary blast of the monster with nothing left to be buried aside from charred remains. He was silent on the journey home.

• Several moons later, just after dusk RiverClan was attacked by dogs controlled by the Kittypet Gang. Diving to the river, the clan tried to evacuate to the islands in the dense thickets; Echostep, Ripplebear and Bogbones were killed, and Lilykit and Lotuskit perished alongside them, with many more casualties. Sagestar lost a life holding off the horde of dogs so her clan could reach the islands safely, and later posthumously named the dead kittens as Lilyshade and Lotuscloud, declaring them to be warriors. Eventually RiverClan returned home to their partially-destroyed camp once the dogs had left. They were left to bury their dead, triage their injured and repair their dens and walls.

Gecko stuck closely to his sister’s side, both for a means of protection and a strong battle partner should he need it. The aftermath was grotesque, and with the many that died he reeled in his usual humorous self.

• Matters had settled for a while before a RiverClan patrol found Flamestar and Martensmirk, the leader and deputy of WindClan, at the borders requesting an audience with Sagestar. RiverClan's leader left to meet with them, and learned that WindClan had also fallen to rebels the way ShadowClan did some moons past. She agreed to harbor the loyalists of WindClan in her camp, and RiverClan welcomed the WindClan refugees to their camp and territory.

As if the kittypet’s weren’t enough as it was. Unlike some of his clan mates, Geckotongue was happy to welcome the fresh blood to their camp. So many new faces to meet, enjoy and entertain! The possibilities of rebels flying under the radar in RiverClan didn’t entirely slip his mind, but he dismissed it for the most part.

• In true soap opera fashion, the WindClan refugee Aphidflight revealed that the three 'rogue' kits adopted by the medicine cat Silkyflower were actually sired by him, as he had several flings with Mallowbrook of RiverClan. The kits were the products of a cross-clan tryst. The proclamation jostled all of camp, as Sagestar immediately punished her daughter by stripping her of her warrior name— reducing her to 'Mallow' —and forced her to live in the outsider lands for six moons.

If popcorn was available to cats Gecko would have been right there with a big ole bucket as everything went down. Aside from enjoying the show, it did stir something else unexpected within him; what if it had happened to him? He was rather promiscuous after all – although strictly within RiverClan’s borders. It was a miracle he wasn’t a father already. Was that something he wanted one day? Frankly, he wasn’t sure. The deeply rooted desire to have a legacy still lingered, but given life’s chaos if it happened it happened and he’d simply enjoy the ride.

• Two moons later, the WindClan refugee, Pansybee, returned to RiverClan camp in the company of Icestep, her mate-to-be, and a known WindClan rebel. Sagestar and Flamestar were immediately on alert due to his presence within camp, though Sagestar – brusquely – heard the caretaker out as she insisted that Icestep killed the rebel Coyotecoo in her defense, and that Icestep was willing to give whatever information he could to Sagestar and Flamestar to prove his loyalty. Flamestar was not convinced by Icestep, but Sagestar agreed to offer him asylum in RiverClan regardless. Until Flamestar decided otherwise, he was not considered a true WindClan cat.

Had Icestep not been so, well, icey and standoffish Geckotongue would have tried to get some more information out of him. His clan mates frowned upon Gecko’s attempts so he let matters be and tried to put together the pieces through more friendly WindClan cats.

• Another two moons later, Sagestar and a force of RiverClan warriors assisted in the takeback of WindClan camp from the rebels occupying it, marking the first retaliation against the rebel forces. They fought alongside Flamestar, Martensmirk, and the loyalist WindClan force. Following WindClan tunnelers, they infiltrated WindClan territory by going underground and attacked the rebel-occupied camp. However, in the chaos of the attack, many of the RiverClan warriors were revealed to actually be rebels themselves, and they turned on their clanmates and the WindClanners in the heat of the battle.

Geckotongue was happy to go as he was eager to put his skills to the test. Aside from a few shallow wounds he sustained nothing severe, although the whiplash of RiverClan rebels definitely caught him by surprise.

• Oakstar, the rebel leader of WindClan, was killed by his daughter Martensmirk, the loyalist deputy, in the battle to retake WindClan. Other rebels, notably Begonialeaf, Weaselface, Shrikeclaw, Pythonsmirk of ShadowClan, and Frostmoon of RiverClan also perished, and the loyalists lost the warrior Sunpuddle. Oakstar's deputy Snapdragonfrost and the warriors Icestep, Moorstripe, Flurryfreeze, Leopardshine, Lambpetal, and Infernostorm were captured and tried for their crimes by Flamestar. The RiverClan traitors; Mushroomshade, Ibisstrike, Sandpiper, and Viperspots were tried by Sagestar.
  
  The combined forces of RiverClan and loyalist WindClan succeed in taking back WindClan camp from the rebel force, after eight moons of occupation. WindClan leadership was officially restored to Flamestar and Martensmirk, and the kits, apprentices and elders that were held hostage by the rebels were freed at last. With this success, an attack was expected on Starlingstar and ShadowClan's rebels any day. They stood as the last bastion of the rebel cause.
  
  Following the takeback of WindClan, Sagestar called for a clan meeting to address the RiverClan traitors who sided with the rebels. Frostmoon was dead, though the others — Viperspots, Sandpiper, Ibisstrike, Cricketcoo and Mushroomshade — were captured alive in the battle, and taken back to RiverClan to face Sagestar's judgment. Their punishments were all exile, stripped of their warrior names, though 'Ibis', 'Cricket' and 'Mushroom' were given lesser sentences, and would be allowed to return to RiverClan after six months of exile, and were ineligible to be Divers or to lead patrols upon return. 'Viper' and 'Sand' were exiled permanently.

To see so many cats’ true colors was fascinating. A more sadistic side of him got a kick out of seeing Ibisstrike from Hawkstar’s lineage be temporarily exiled for her crimes, though he kept that part to himself.

• The time finally came for ThunderClan and ShadowClan to unite to defeat the last bastion of the rebellion; Starlingmoon, the rebel leader of ShadowClan, and her stronghold of rebels that held ShadowClan camp.
  
  Stonestar and Fernstar battled alongside their loyalist warriors to root out the last of the clans' rebels in ShadowClan. Starlingstar was captured by loyalist deputy, Smokefeather, and his former apprentice, Minkhiss, whilst the rebels Rookstone, Roandune, Aldersnap, Alligatorgrin, Swiftbound, Barkhowl, Firfrost, and Goldenheart were killed. Constellationwatcher, one of the more passive ThunderClan rebels, was exiled permanently by Fernstar for siding with the rebels. And Starlingmoon was executed by Stonestar, ending the clans' rebellion once and for all.

Been there, done that. Gecko supposed being fashionably late was passable, but ThunderClan and ShadowClan missed their opportunity to do it first as RiverClan had.

• The rebellion of many from across all four clans was finally over. The control they all held over the clans— especially ShadowClan and WindClan — was now broken at last with the clans' rightful leaders restored once more. Though the clans were able to recover the threat of Dixie, Roman and the kittypet gang still loomed. They were content to let the clans try and tear eachother apart, but what laid ahead was unknown.
  
  All of the kits and apprentices once held hostage in ShadowClan and WindClan had resumed their training in their respective clans. Cats who were unable to complete their specialized rank training were able to attain their new rank. Things had truly begun to feel normal again to the survivors of the rebellion.

Normal was such a relative term, one Geckotongue never cared for. More chaos would follow as it always did, and he’d be there, waiting to see what laid ahead.

• The cross-clan kits born of Mallowbrook of RiverClan and Aphidflight of WindClan become apprentices. Two stayed in RiverClan, but Shinepaw accepted Sagestar's offer of allowing him to leave RiverClan and join WindClan to be with his sire's family. Shinepaw was taken to WindClan, and apprenticed there by Flamestar, leaving his RiverClan family behind.

Geckotongue commended the youngster for following his sense of adventure and intrigue out into WindClan.

• Not long after, Sagestar sent runners to the other three clans to carry a message only for the ears of the other leaders. The runners returned home just as swiftly, with rumors abound in each clan about what RiverClan wanted.

Nevermind what the other clans thought, Geckotongue wanted to know what Sagestar had to say herself.

--- Roleplay Start ---

Mother
Roseblush | Deceased | RiverClan | NPC

Adoptive Father
Newthowler | Deceased | RiverClan | NPC

Biological Father
Lizardcoo | Deceased | RiverClan | NPC

Siblings
Skinkfog | Alive | RiverClan | WhenDuskFalls

Offspring
None

Mate: None
Previous Mates: Previous Flings but no mates
Attraction to: Mistyshore
Looking for: Anything

Likes

• - Someone he can banter with
• - Individuals who are honest with others and themselves
• - Spontaneity in his day to day

Dislikes

• - Overly rigid or highly structured cats
• - Those afraid or who refuse to take risks
• - Someone who takes themselves too seriously

• Log surfing in greenleaf
• Swinging from the willow tree branches
• Teasing those who take themselves too seriously
• Flirtatious or sarcastic banter
• Going for a swim to cool off

• Stuck with one task for an extended period of time
• Being cooped up around camp all day
• When someone lectures or scolds him
• The taste of birds
• The chilling weather of leafbare