Galerunner

A scrawny grey tom with darker grey points on his legs, a dark stripe down his back with a swirl on his sides, and amber eyes. He has scars along his back, front leg, muzzle, and across one of his eyes—though is able to see out of that eye, and a torn ear. He’s got a long tail and legs.

He wasn’t born Windclan but he was raised there from birth and has fought for his clan, making him very loyal to his home. Has some ptsd from the battles, which has resulted in nightmares and at times during skirmishes taking the fight too far. He tends to get grumpy when there are loud cats or a lot of them being noisy and prefers solitude and listening to nature instead. Sometimes during leafbare, the cold makes his scars ache.

PRE-RP(55 moons at start of rp)

Galerunner’s past is fairly murky. Unknown to him and his two littermates, his mother was a Thunderclan warrior named Doveheart and his father was a Riverclanner named Creekstep. While Doveheart lived under Mallowstar’s rule and her forbidden relationship would’ve been forgiven by the leader, she feared it would cause tension or worse, war, with Riverclan should Creekstep decide he wanted the kits to live with him—or another Riverclan cat learn of them and decide to escalate the situation.

Hiding she was pregnant for as long as possible, Doveheart fled the clan when her time to have her litter neared. Her scent would be disguised by rainfall as she fled toward Fourtress, trying to make it to the barn she’d heard was on the way to the moonstone beyond Windclan. Her kits would come at the edges of Windclan’s territory. Doveheart, would have an unfortunate run-in with a fox while attempting to continue onward to the barn. The warrior sacrificed herself, hiding the four kits before baiting the fox into chasing her to what would lead to her death.

A Windclan patrol would find the kits the next morning, though there wasn’t much of a scent to the litter to suggest who they belonged to. Following the code, they’d be taken back to Windclan where Kitestar would declare the surviving three blessings from Star Clan. A queen who’d recently lost her kits took them in to nurse and gave the kits their names: Galekit, Quailkit, and Echokit.

Galekit was the runt of his litter but had a fierce will to live. He was raised as a Windclan kit in a peaceful camp—once the worry their kin would come looking and start trouble passed. It wasn’t until he was five moons that trouble would start brewing between Windclan and Shadowclan at the border.

At six moons he and his siblings were made apprentices. His mentor, Waspstrike, immediately made sure he’d be able to fight should the fighting continue. Galepaw was scrawny, almost like a Windclan-blooded cat, but quick on his paws. His agility helped him outspeed stronger training opponents like his bulkier siblings. While he could’ve had worse, he’d receive his first scar along his back along with a badly torn ear and clawed muzzle in his first real battle.

Galepaw would gain his warrior name, Galerunner, alongside his siblings Quailtalon and Echocry only a few moons before Kitestar would claim Lightningspark would become leader. The war continued even after Lightningstar took leadership. His mentor lost his life in the war while he fought to keep himself alive. Galerunner felt relief when the war finally ended with the gruesome death of Shadowclan’s deputy. His pelt was littered with scars from the fighting and the peace after was something he hadn’t experienced since kithood.

Galerunner now prefers the quiet days and can get grumpy when cats are too loud. He tends to keep his distance from Windclan’s border with Shadowclan unless on a border patrol. Solitary hunting trips are common for him just to give him time to clear his head.

DURING RP

The warrior spent most of the time doing his warrior duties for Windclan. As usual, he avoided going to the gathering to avoid the mass of cats. After hearing about the spat between the deputies from those who had gone, he worries for Windclan’s safety. It doesn’t help that a fox has been scented near the border with Shadowclan.

Deciding to check the border for any signs the fox was sticking around, Galerunner would find himself in Ferretclaw's company. He found it nice talking with her. Not finding the fox, the two would hunt instead. He managed to chase down a rabbit scared by a mis-step by Ferretclaw and she managed to catch a second one soon after. The two would head back to camp and Galerunner would share the sentiment that perhaps patrols wouldn't be so bad if they did them together more often—perhaps he'd managed to make a friend.

His recent ability to make a friend encouraged him to take another step and go to the gathering. Galerunner stuck close to Ferretclaw the whole time. The two making small talk, though he was briefly unnerved by Shadowclan's arrival. Forgetting for a moment that the war was long over with. Relaxing again, he'd follow his clanmate over to a Thunderclanner named Blizzardbite but only chatted briefly before the announcements began. He returned home exhausted from the social interactions but quietly proud of himself for doing so well around so many cats.

The next moon had the clan see one of their apprentices in need of rescue from a coyote lingering near the barn on the edges of the territory. Knowing better than to fight it alone, Galerunner would wait until a patrol was organized before even thinking of doing any of his solo hunts over there. Instead, he'd set off into the foggy morning and chance across Ferretclaw's friend, Dacewhiskers racing rabbits. She asked him to join her and the two raced and caught a few more as they made their way to the Shadowclan border—a place it seemed he was at a lot more in these recent moons. They would chat as they patroled, noting the fox scent that came from across the border but not finding any signs of the predators on their own territory.

Later on in the moon, Lightningstar would announce the return of the cats sent on a journey from Star Clan, though it seemed they and Windclan's deputy, Houndkick, left that same day. However, that same announcement spurred a demand that cats who had issues with Lightningstar, his mate Fogstone, or their medicine cat Graytalon leave and for anyone else to speak their grievance. It saw several other cats leave that day. Both Dacewhiskers and Ferretclaw spoke up boldly, making Galerunner nervous. However, fearing for his friends, would stand up with them, occasionally tossing in what he hoped were words that didn't seem accusatory. The meeting was spiraled into chaos when Sandpaw's yowl from the medicine cat's den rang out. Falconpaw and another cat he'd never seen fled the camp. With Graytalon out of camp, Galerunner tried to help his friends make the apprentice more comfortable by giving the apprentice one of the poppy seeds from his own stores he usually saved for days where his scars hurt or nightmares were too persistant.

Another meeting was called soon after. Lightningstar announced that there would be no new deputy named for the time being. Instead, cats would take turns with it for a moon each while Moonriver volunteered to act as a stand-in deputy for gatherings. Galerunner is nervous he might be asked to take a turn but the Crescent Council where the clan could meet and discuss things within the clan sounded helpful. He certainly hopes it can prevent more cats from leaving in the future.

The coyote on the edges of Windclan's territory would be dealt with just as he anticipated. A patrol was sent and the predator was driven off before more damage could be done.

Once again, he decided to join Ferretclaw and Dacewhiskers at the gathering. This time, he briefly spoke with a Shadowclanner named Sunsetglow after some initial caution. He would listen to the announcements as they revealed the drama within all the clans that moon. A lightning strike against a tree saw the gathering end and he happily went home with the clan, not wanting to be caught in the storm.

As leafbare grew colder, Galerunner's scars would ache more often than not. However, so far he's been doing well despite his naturally thin frame and short fur. Keeping busy and watching the skies during the patrols to fend off raptors and owls has become easier than hunting with his dark pelt giving him away from a greater distance. Not every cat would be unharmed by their flying foes. Ferretclaw would be injured saving another clanmate from the large birds. Galerunner has kept her company during her recovery between his other hunting trips and border patrols.

His enstranged sister, Quailtalon, would be found murdered by the border. Although no one could point to who'd done it, there were plenty of rumors going around from Ashjump to the newest rogue, Leopardstalk. Galerunner never wished her ill but considering they hadn't been close in a long time, it wasn't a loss he grieved deeply. He had more concerns over the safety of Windclan as a whole considering the killer was still out there.