Fang of Striking Snake

Updated Bio and more Infos: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XA2QKe1c1Eewj7fvlq4h4_GSDj-09wrchalUixGtm2Y/edit?usp=sharing

Introduction

 Name: Fang of Striking Snake [Fang]

 Age (Death): 96 moons

 Gender: Male (he/him)

 Orientation: Homoromantic/Homosexual

 Rank: Claw Guard Speaker

Personality: Fang is a really ambitious cat who has way too big of an ego. He is loyal to his tribe and his Path Finder, though he would do some things really differently if he was to be Path Finder in the future. Which will happen of course, there was no doubt about that. For Fang there is no place for a cat above him, though he will tolerate Thorn as the Path Finder since he is already really old and has to retire or die soon anyways. He is an intelligent cat who will change up his views a bit to make them more attractive to the cat he is talking to at the moment. Of course he doesn't mean the changed up things actually, the cat just had to believe that and think he was right in what he does. In his opinion only the strongest cats should survive, the weak ones aren't that important anyways. In a conflict he will always answer first with his claws, though he can hold himself back with Tribe mates.

Positive Traits: 

- Charismatic

- Clever

- Confident

Neutral Traits: 

- Ambitious

- Big-Thinking

- Proud

Negative Traits:                                                                                         

- Narcissistic

- Power-hungry

- Domineering

Family

Father: Claw of Mighty Eagle [Claw], Claw Guard

Mother: Breeze of Passing Storm [Breeze], Prey Hunter

Brother: Rock on which Waves break [Rock], Prey Hunter

Sisters: Song of Birds at Dawn [Dawn], Prey Hunter

   Feather of Herons Wing [Feather], Claw Guard

Stats (1-10 System)

- Strength: 8

- Dexterity: 4

- Constitution: 9

- Intelligence: 8

- Wisdom: 7

- Charisma: 8

- Speed: 3

- Stealth: 4

- Battle Tactics (Offense): 9

- Battle Strategy: 5 (fights dirty if he can)

- Hunting Skills: 5

- Medical Knowledge: 3

- Kit Care Knowledge: 0

- Fishing: 2

- Swimming: 2

Opinions and Beliefs

Religion: In his opinion The Tribe of Endless Hunting is no more and no less then dead cats. He is doubting if they even exist in the first place, but if they do they have no more authority over them then any living cat has.

Superstitious: Fang does believe the stories, after all the force of nature was a great one, but he thinks that some things are a bit exaggerated. Also he would never pray before eating his prey. After a day of working hard he deserved his food and no dead cat spirits were responsible for getting them.

Path Finder: Thorn is an alright tom. A bit too soft maybe if you ask him, he had been a Prey Hunter after all. But Fang thinks the time of Thorns leadership is over and the old tom should really announce an heir soon. 

Who Deserves to Be Heir: All cats should know that there is only one answer to this question. Fang would be a perfect Path Finder, the only one able to do the job really. The Tribe needs a fresh breeze and he can be exactly that.

Prey Hunters: Prey Hunters surely have their use, but he sees them as lesser then Claw Guards. In the end, hunting wasn't that hard if you learned it correctly (which he himself had never cared for doing). It is good and important that they brought them food to the camp, though he thinks they should at least let the Claw Guards choose their prey first. In the end they were doing a harder job then the Prey Hunters.

Claw Guards: Claw Guards are after the Path Finder the most important rank. They have the hardest job to do, which can surely be seen by looking at their many scars. You are no real Claw Guard if you haven't at least one scar on your body. In his opinion the Claw Guards should be praised more by their Tribe for protecting them.

Healers: Healers are important, in the end someone had to know how to get a Claw Guard back on their duty as soon as possible. They didn't need a cat lying around for moons just because their wounds don't heal fast enough. Though he doesn't believes that they are able to talk to dead cats. Maybe they smell so much herbs all day that their imagination sometimes overtakes them a bit too much.

The Tribe As A Whole: The Tribe is a thing to protect. Even if he has no close bond to his family and only few cats he considers true friends, the Tribe is the most important thing to him and he would give his live to protect it from any danger.

History

Kithood: 

As a kit he would often do play-fights with his siblings, though Rock and Dawn would always complain about him playing too rough. He quickly stopped playing with them much, they were too weak for him. Though he would still sometimes play with Feather, she at least didn't complained about a claw or two while fighting. 

Fang didn't really talked much with his mother since she was rather boring in his opinion. 'Fang don't bite your bothers ear so hard, you'll hurt him!' 'Fang no come down from that rock, that's way too high for you!' 'Fang you go to sleep with your siblings, your father will still be out for a while and you're too young to stay up this late' and so on. Typical Prey Hunter, he didn't understood why his father was so entranced by her. 

His father though was a great role model for the small Fang. The young tom would always wait for him to return from his patrols, asking him how it had been and if he could tell them a story about the Claw Guards. Claw was a strong tom with a strong name and Fang was proud that he was his father. Sometimes he could even convince his father to show him some fighting tricks, which his mother didn't approve of in the slightest but who cared?

The Path Finder was another of his role-models, even if he hadn't met the old tom yet. His fathers story about their great Path Finder were always intriguing him and he set himself the goal to become the Path Finder himself one day.

TLDR

- enjoyed play-fights the most as a kid, even if his siblings often complained about him being to rough

- enjoyed playing with his sister Feather the most, as she didn't complained as often as the other two

- his mother Breeze always berated him for his rough behavior and so he avoided her as much as he could

- his father Claw on the other paw was a role model for the little Fang

- he would often stay up late to wait for his father's return from a patrol to listen to his glorious stories

- his father would sometimes show him some fighting tricks, which his mother didn't approve of but Fang didn't really cared about her opinion

- due to his father's stories of their great Path Finder, he also became one of his role models and his mind was set on becoming the Path Finder himself one day

To-Be: 

Since his kithood everyone knew that Fang was choosing to train as a Claw Guard and while training he had never even considered changing to the Prey Hunters or Healers. He had maybe tried out learning to hunt once or twice, but it was just too boring for him and not really what he wanted. His training went great. though he sometimes envied other Claw Guards for their big muscles. Fang himself hadn't been that muscled but with this height, intelligence and willingness to attack he didn't had any disadvantages. 

Stormcloud full of Thunder was one of those cats whose strength he really admired and he liked training with him since he always gave Fang a challenge. Being the same height he didn't had that advantage when they were fighting and he definitely made an effort to stay close and on the good side of Storm, since he saw a strong ally in him. 

In his moons as apprentice he learned to know their Path Finder more then as a kit, obviously and he soon discovered that the old tom was actually not as strong as he had always thought. He was still holding respect for the tom but also discovered many things he probably could handle way better then their Path Finder.

One thing of his time as To-Be still is in his mind to this day. On a patrol, defending the Prey Hunters an eagle had grabbed him with his strong talons and tried to take Fang with him. The Claw Guards hadn't been fast enough and he was quickly out of their reach. Though he wouldn't be worthy of being a Claw Guard if he would get himself killed by simple prey! So he clawed and bit that nasty eagle as fierce as he could and in the end it gave up and let him go. The impact back with the ground hadn't been the softest, which lead to him having to stay in the healers den for longer then he had actually wanted to. When he came back to training, one of the claw marks on his back had stayed, right behind his shoulders. The healers had told him that it would scar and he couldn't have been more proud of his very first scar as a Claw Guard. The words of one of his former mentors Bear that Growls in Cave still stayed with him, every time he looked at his scar: 'Now you are a real Claw Guard.'

-

When it was finally time for his Quest of Belonging he couldn't have waited even a single day more. He finally wanted to be seen as a full Claw Guard by his Tribe with his 19 moons of age. Making his way up together with Storm was easy with cats as strong as them, looking out for dangers an easy thing after training all those moons together. Or at least that's what he had thought would happen, but even if their climb started out pretty easy it became harder the higher they got.

On what should have been their last night before arriving at the crevice, their group was found by a badger. They ended up in a fight and as with the rest of their journey, what Fang had thought would be an easy win got much more complicated. What they thought was one badger, was actually a group of badgers, who joined in on the fight pretty soon. But, Fang had still hope that they could do it and get out of their unharmed. He had been wrong though, which he had to admit the moment one of the badgers tore it's fangs into Stormcloud's side, leaving him with a gaping wound. Fang could see the other Claw Guard still trying to help him in the fight, even though he was heavily wounded but the badgers were now on the winning side of the fight.

The blue-eyed tom looked back for just a moment to see were the others of their group were. He knew the Healers had gone into hiding as soon as the fight broke loose. Maybe already searching for useful herbs. Though, the Prey Hunters of their group, which Fang had thought would have their back, were seen running as soon as it looked like they were loosing. Leaving Stormcloud and him, the only Claw Guards in their group, alone to deal with the dangerous badgers. Fang didn't know what to feel at the sight of their companions behinds running away and leaving them behind. It was a mixture of disappointment, fear, helplessness and anger. He would never admit it to anyone, but at that moment he had thought that Storm and him would die by the claws and teeth of those badgers. Of course, Fang could have still gotten out of there unharmed, but he knew he would never leave someone behind like that. He would stand at Stormcloud's side until they both got out alive or died.

And by some miracle, luck was on their side on that day as a rock slide buried two of the badgers under rubble and earth. Seeing his chance, Fang shut back the helpless feeling and fueled all the anger he felt into his next attacks and was able to hit the badgers badly enough to make them retreat.

Fang had gotten some nasty wounds from the fight, scars were still visible on his right hind leg and face, together with his torn ear. But whatever wounds he had gotten was nothing in comparison to Stormcloud's, because of which they had to rest a few days until the other Claw Guard was healed enough to keep traveling. The Healer's did a fantastic job, as always. But Fang would have liked to claw of the ears of those Prey Hunters in their group more than once after that incident. Eating their prey the morning after the fight and chatting like the night before had not been a big deal. Even going so far as to complain about having to wait so long before they could continue their travel and get back to their tribe. Who had taught them this ungrateful behavior?! And what would they end up teaching the next generations of Prey Hunters? 'Just run and let the others handle it.' How pathetic. If the Healers hadn't tried to keep him calm, those Prey Hunters would have not ended their journey without a few scratches.

The rest of their journey was yet again uneventful. Fang keeping to Stormcloud's side and trying to ignore the Prey Hunters in the front. The night they spend in the crevice was calm, though he didn't really concentrated on their ancestors or thought about them at all while being up there. He just wanted to get back to camp, as a full Claw Guard.
And so they traveled all the way back down into the valley and soon arrived back at camp. Their tribe mates were relieved that they had finally gotten back after being gone for so long. Longer than expected from a Quest of Belonging.

TLDR

- choose to train as a Claw Guard from the beginning, he had no doubt about his decision

- while he admired other Claw Guards for their muscles, he wasn't lacking behind either with his intelligence, height and willingness to attack

- Stormcloud full of Thunder, a fellow To-Be was one of those he admired and greatly enjoyed their training together

- now as a To-Be he got to know the Path Finder more than just from his father's stories and he soon discovered that the old tom wasn't as strong as Fang had always thought

- he got his very first scar on a patrol as he was grabbed and carried away by an eagle, he fought viciously and was let go off by the eagle, leaving a big scar on his shoulders from it's talons

- is very proud of his first scar, as it made him into a real Claw Guard

~

- he went on his Quest of Belonging with Stormcloud and him being the only Claw Guards of their group

- at their last night, their group was attacked by badgers

- the others of their group had left the two to fight the badgers, as they fled without a thought to help them out

- with Stormcloud heavily injured it was on Fang to defeat the badgers and get them out of this situation without any of them ending up dead, as he would never leave the side of his injured friend like the others had

- by sheer luck, he a rock slide buried two of the badgers a bit into the fight and pulling together all his strength Fang managed to make the last of them retreat

- Fang ended up with many scars from that day, as did Stormcloud

- they had to wait a few days for Stormcloud to rest before they could continue their Quest of Belonging, under much complaint of the Prey Hunters

- Fang stayed on Stormcloud's side for the rest of their journey as he tried to push down the anger he felt towards the Prey Hunters

- finally, they managed to return and become full members of the tribe

Claw Guard: 

As a Claw Guard he always defended his Tribe to the best of his abilities. Since Thorn has shown signs of getting too old for his rank as their Path Finder he also tried to impress him and get on his good side. Fang already knew that he was the only right choice, now he only had to also prove it to their Path Finder. His ambitions are high, but he doesn't lets himself get carried away from them, yet.

He is trying to build himself a group of cats that are loyal to him and will support him in becoming the Path Finder. Storm is on his list of those cats as well, though he still has to convince him a bit more that Fang was the only true choice. That tom was still way too much of a lap dog to their Path Finder in his opinion. The tom isn't worried so far of not being chosen though so everything seemed to go as planned so far.

-

One day a patrol found the traces of a giant (cougar) near the camp which put the tribe into an alarmed state. No one was allowed outside of camp without at least one Claw Guard. Than the day came for the tribe to finally chase off the giant and of course Fang volunteered for a patrol to find the beast. He was sent out together with Gentle Rock where Bird Stalks and Pond when Ice Melts to find it and wait until the reinforcement came. Even though the most of the patrol was spent arguing with Ice, they found the giant in the end. It looked exactly like the creature out of the elders nightmare stories, it's paws larger than their heads. The creature was as big as at least three Claw Guards, if not bigger. It had killed a goat and called out in a horrid tongue "C o m e.... O u t."

The three cats stayed in their hiding place, while having to see with horror four more giants coming out of the thicket around them. They were smaller than the other giant, maybe as big as To-Be's. They had a mother and her four kits on their territory and they knew they had to get rid of them. Waiting in hiding without making a sound, they were able to keep the beast in sight until the reinforcement came. When their plan was ready, the attack began.

The Prey Hunters ran out of their hiding places, picking up one kit after another and running away from the mother with them. Fang was the first of the Claw Guards to break out of the thicket and start the attack on the mother. With the giant distracted he managed it to leap onto the giant's face and claw himself in her right eye. He was quickly shaken off of her again, but the damage was already done. He had blinded her in one eye. When he landed elegantly back on his paws, he saw that behind him Ice was still struggling to get a grip on the last kit and stayed were he was to defend the Prey Hunter if necessary. The Claw Guards had the giant surrounded now, Faded Moon At Daybreak had managed to jump onto the back of the beast, holding tight on it's nape. 

Though it seemed that Ice had still not managed to get a grip of the giant's kit, which was now running towards it's mother. Lake That Laps At Shore tried to start an attack on the kit, when the giant hit her and threw her to the ground. Laying there defenseless and still in reach of the creature's claws. Fang knew what he had to do and stopped further attacks on the giant to stand between her and the giant, waiting for her to catch her breath again. When she was able to stand up and fight again, the scared tom wanted to join back in again as well, but than it happened. Faster than he could react.

Rock had came out of his hiding place to help Ice with the kit, still running around near it's mother. While Ice could still escape the jaws of the beast, Rock wasn't so lucky. It's jaws closed around the tom's leg and threw it's head around and sent Rock flying. The tom's body crashed right into Fang, taking away his breath and knocking him to the ground with the other. Before Fang could realize what happened and get back up again, he could feel a heavy weight on his back and large claws sinking into his back. He let out a yowl of pain before he bit down any other sounds. The giant got him, sank it's claws deep in Fang's back and pinned him to the ground. He was cowered in blood. Blood from the giant, blood from Rock and his own blood that was now running down his back. 

His back burned and he felt the terrible wetness. The shock of it all was almost enough to knock him unconscious. His vision was going hazy. Fang could see a trail of red before him. Was this it? The long walk? This path of red through the grass? He almost gave in to the surrounding darkness. Almost. But than he heard his name being called. Almost muffled and far away. He heard a voice in the back of his mind and it made him breathe. Made him struggle and move.

"The long walk awaits us all. But not today. Not today."

Meanwhile, the Claw Guards were fighting now even more intense. Moon managing to attack the giant's left eye, blinding it now on both eyes. The giant kit ran away, Ice let it go to help Rock up and out of the giants reach. But whatever happened the giant didn't seemed to let go of Fangs body underneath it's gigantic paw.

Fang tried to push against the giant's paw holding him down, tried to get away. But even if he managed to lift his body of the ground a little bit, the pain was too much and he broke down again. He didn't knew how it happened, didn't knew that the honking of Ice had distracted the giant. But the paw lifted off of him, he was finally able to breath again.

The giant was confused now, without being able to see anything it called out again with it's horrid voice. And an answer came, the kit Ice let go was still alive. And in favor of her kit, the mother let off of the tribe cats, disappearing in the mountains.

The Prey Hunters who had successfully grabbed the other three giant kits came back, their muzzles bloodied. They saw what happened, saw the heavily injured bodies of Rock and Fang. Both had to be carried back to camp and stay in the healing hut for many days. The new scars on Fangs back where now a reminder of this giant, still out in the mountains. Did it die of the wounds, or was it still alive?

-

With the dangers of the giant eliminated their Tribe returned back to their normal life. Patrols going in and out of camp and To-Be's on their way to their Quest of Belonging. As summer turned into autumn though the heat didn't seemed to die down with it. With how unusually warm it was most of the Tribe kept to the dawn and dusk when it came to their duty and searching for a place to rest during midday. When one of the groups of To-Be's returned from their Quest of Belonging, the reason for this upholding heat seemed to be found, as they had discovered a large forest fire just on the other side of the mountain. 

At such a threat the tribe and even their speakers where split on what to do and even though their pathfinder Thorn reassured them, that there was no threat in the fire as it would stay on the other side of the mountain and not come into their valley, many cats were still nervous about this knowledge. Fang, finding himself agreeing with Buggy, the Prey Hunter speaker, was a rare occurrence, but he couldn't shake the feeling either that they should be doing at least something about this. Have at least a plan of escape if it would come to the worst. But their pathfinder did nothing.

And it turned out to be a huge mistake, as at the beginning of winter, a pair of To-Be's returned from their Quest of Belonging, reporting that the fire had made it's way over the mountain and was quickly moving towards their valley. Buggy, who had seen this coming had previously send out another group of To-Be's to scout out a way of escape and a place to camp on the other side of the river that was splitting their lands, as the flames wouldn't be able to follow them their. A plan at paw, the Tribe quickly began to move, only taking with them the most important of things on their small journey. 

-

Everyone was moving away from the fire, except for a small group of cats. Lead by the Claw Guard Speaker Salmon That Leaps From River, Fang of Striking Snake, Gentle Rock where Bird Sings, Blaze of Heavy Sunrise, Cold of Early Sunrise and the two To-Be's Flicker of Dying Fire and Gentle little Tumbleweed made their way up the mountain and right into the flames. One of the To-Be's from the last Quest of Belonging had gone missing on their hurried escape down the mountain to report their Tribe from the fire moving towards their home and the group had made it their duty to find the missing Healer To-Be Raindrop and bring her home.

As burning embers rained down from the sky and the flames closing in around them, the group kept calling out for the missing cat. Set on finding her before it would be to late for either of them to return down the mountain. After one of the hardest climbs either one of them had done up the mountain, they stopped at a dead end. The rubble and fire cutting of their path and they realized that this must be the place where Raindrop had been cut of from the other two cats of her group.

Fang stood next to Rock, as their group discussed what to do. To climb the rocky cliff seemed to be the only option, definitely better than to jump over the wall of flames as Flicker suggested. Looking at Rock's scarred leg they both knew that the other probably wouldn't be able to manage such a jump, if any of them even could. The two toms had survived the fight with the giant, both of them coming back injured and now they stood again, side by side to face yet another threat to their Tribe. The Claw Guard could see the fear in the others eyes as the gray tom asked "Fang ... Do we have something we'd like to say to others? In case we don't, you know ..." Remembering the fight, the scar on his back made itself known with an itch as Fang answered "The only thing I have to say is that I'm not going to die. Not today." 

At their words, Salmon looked towards them with a hard look and said "You're not going to die today. None of you are,", before he gave them a cheeky look and continued "Me? If I die, I'd going to be a splendid death. Into Sun's jaws."

After their plan was set, the lightest of them was send to start the climb first. Flicker, even though she was a Prey Hunter To-Be, didn't seemed up to the task as she fell only shortly after her start as rocks and soil became lose under her paws and crumbled to the ground. The noise of it seemed to have been heard by someone on top of the cliff, as a weak voice reached their ears "H-Hey!" Raindrop's little face poked out from the top of the cliff, she coughed and squinted at the group through the gathering smoke, "I'm up here!"

It was clear that she wouldn't be able to come down on her own and seeing as no other was up for the task, Fang began to back up and made himself ready to jump. He could see the concerned look of Cold, as the young tom realized what the Claw Guard was about to do, but that didn't scare him away from his plan. 

He bounded forward. It was almost like a wild creature. The grace of a stag over a long field. Somehow, Fang managed to catch onto solid rock and heave himself up in one big, fluid motion. He clawed his way up the cliff face and onto the dry prickly grass above. As he stood there, breathing heavily, Raindrop stared at the large tom with wide eyes at the almost impossible feat he had just pulled off. He wasn't prepared as the little healer pushed her face into his chest fur and he could feel her shivering. The Claw Guard could only imagine how terrifying this must have been for a cat not trained to defend herself and no one else to protect her around. Not knowing if someone would come for her.

Salmon stared up at Fang from the ground in awe as he let out a surprised laugh "Well now, if you'd told me you were part Giant I would've asked you to do that sooner!"

When the large tom looked down to the rest of his group at that, he could see that because of Flicker's failure earlier, it was impossible for him to get back down if he needed to take Raindrop with him, but he trusted in Salmon and the other Claw Guards of his group to find a way to get the two of them down and so he decided to focus his attention on the scared Healer To-Be for now. He put a paw around her small shoulders and said to try and calm her down "I got you. We will get you down and into safety in no time."

Meanwhile the group had made a plan to collapse the rubble and with it make a way down for the two up on the cliff. Salmon and Rock advised them to stay as far back from the cliff as possible as the two began digging together with Blaze and Flicker. Cold stood a bit farther back with the smallest and youngest of their group, Tumble.

Though, the group soon learned that while the idea was a good one, it was also incredibly dangerous as the dirt and rubble sag and began to spill onto the group below it. While Flicker managed to run and dodge out of the way and come to a hold safely beside Cold and Tumble, the rest of their group didn't had as much luck. Rock was half buried under the rubble and from the two ginger toms of the group every trace was missing.

Fang had pulled Rain away from the cliff as soon as it started to collapse and made his way down with her as soon as the earth had settled. He set her down next to Tumble, while he wasn't sure if the small Healer would be up for the task to check on her Tribe mate, it was the most he could do before he took over the command from the missing Salmon and ordered Flicker and Cold to start digging away the earth from Rock. They needed to get him out first before they could search for the other missing cats. While Cold followed his command and helped with the digging, even though his mate Blaze was buried somewhere underneath the rubble, Flicker didn't and instead began to look for the two missing cats.

They managed to free Rock and as soon as the gray Prey Hunter was freed Cold bound towards Flicker to help her in her search. Fang followed suit and joined in on their search as well. Though he couldn't help but look around them towards the approaching flames. While the rock slide had put out some of the flames around them, they still kept coming closer fast and he asked himself how much time they would have before they wouldn't be able to make their way back down any longer.

He was pulled out of his thoughts though as Cold called his name and cried out "Here. I think they're here!" Fang immediately made his way to the other Claw Guard and saw the ginger fur sticking out of the dirt. They had no way of knowing if it belonged to Salmon or Blaze, but whoever it was they needed to get them out now "We need to get his head free first so he can breath. Quickly!" he said before he began digging yet again. He could feel the cat under them shift, a sign that they were still alive, that they could still get them out in time.

As they moved more dirt, ginger splotches appeared. It was Salmon. The three of them managed to dig around the Speaker's head and Fang could see the damage done. Damage only falling earth and stone can do. And yet the old tom was clinging to his life and moved his foreleg, pointing to something. Flicker jumped down into the hole they had dug to help move Salmon, only to find Blaze under the tom's body. The Speaker had shielded the younger tom's body from the falling rubble and Blaze managed to get out from under the Speaker with a bit of help as he coughed and hacked.

Both of the missing Claw Guards were alive, but Fang looked at his Speaker, a cat he had known for all his life and the old tom looked back at him. There was too much broken. Too much battered. The other wouldn't survive the move back down the mountain and as he looked into Salmon's eyes, he knew that the old tom realized this too

”By glory,” Salmon managed to wheeze out, giving Fang the cheeky smile he had always been known for, ”I go into Sun’s jaws.”

His ears lowered and his tail lay on the ground as this realization sat in his stomach heavy like a stone. He gulped at his speaker's words but nodded once. The only thing they could do now was to accept the way the other wanted to go. "Into Sun's jaws." he said silently before he touched the other with his nose on the head and closed his eyes for a last goodbye. Salmon would die an honorable death. Saving a tribe mate. A Claw Guard's death. "You will not be forgotten."

Fang stepped back then from his speaker, looking one last time at him before he let his eyes drift over the rest of the patrol and the flames behind them. He could see that Raindrop and Tumble had begun to check over Rock's injuries, but he could see even without them that the tom wouldn't be able to move back down without someone carrying him. "We need to make our way back down. I will carry Rock." he told the others as he moved towards the injured Prey Hunter. Giving the others the time to give their last goodbye to Salmon.

Cold and Blaze, the only other Claw Guards in their group looked back at Salmon at Fang's words as the Speaker seemed to give them a soft smile. ”Get them out of here,” Salmon raised his voice to the Claw Guards, ”Protect them. Just like we taught you. That’s how you’ll honor me.” The two toms looked at each other before they turned to look at Fang. They understood and with shaky paws they approached their speaker, touching noses to him like Fang had done in a last goodbye. ”We can’t leave you,” Cold mewed. ”But you will,” Salmon grunted, and lay back on the dirt, ”My final order. Get back to our Tribe. And don’t die.”

Though it seemed that the rest of their group didn't quiet realize their situation as they refused to accept the truth and order Fang to carry Salmon instead, as none of the others would be able to lift the heavy tom. While Fang tried to make the others understand the situation they didn't seem like they wanted to give up on the dying tom. 

Rock securely on his back, Fang looked around them. The flames were getting closer and closer and his throat itched with the smoke around them. His eyes just reached Salmon when his head sank down with a smile on his muzzle. His body going completely still now. Fang let out his breath simultaneously without a thought. Seeing the Tumble, the little Healer To-Be, still trying to even drag the Speaker with them herself let him shake his head and break out of his stillness. There would be another moment to ponder about the old tom's death. Now though he knew they needed to move to not follow in his step.

And so he approached the To-Be and said to their group "The flames are getting too close. We need to get down from this mountain." before he nudged the she-cat away from the Speaker's scruff and picked her up by her own as he did not think she or the other To-Be would go willingly. Then he made his way back the way they came from and with no other choice the others followed as Fang let them down the mountain and over the beaver dam to the other side of the river were their Tribe was waiting for them.

-

The news of their dead Claw Guard Speaker shook the tribe and the loss was felt for moons to come. Many other tribe mates died that day or a few days later on the severe wounds they had gathered from the flames. But still they needed to move forward, especially now since they were without proper resources on a territory they knew nothing about and they somehow had to manage to get through the harsh season of winter. The territory was explored and the Claw Guards always kept their eyes open for threats, as they had to manage their work without a Speaker to guide them. Why Thorn hadn't named a new Speaker yet was unknown to the tribe, many began to doubt if the old tom was still fit enough to manage their tribe. But how could he retire without a named heir?

The mission and Salmon's death stayed on Fang's mind for a long time, which might also have caused his visit of Rock in their new Healing hut. He talked to the tom and maybe even began to find a bit of respect in him for the Prey Hunter despite his rank. He could admire the others willingness to face danger in order to protect their tribe from it and they had stood side by side now in these situations often enough that Fang found he could trust the other. More than another Prey Hunter at least.

-

Guarding their new camp one night, Fang heard sounds nearby he had never heard before. Telling the Prey Hunter Snow that covers Willow, who had joined him shortly before the sound was heard, to stay behind he went to investigate. What he found was a creature he had never seen before, huge but not as huge as a giant, with brown fur and folded ears. It had a droopy muzzle and it began to sniff at him with it's big nose. While it was looking at him he could tell that it had no intention to attack him, as it's tongue lolled out of its mouth and licked over its huge jaws, showing off its threatening teeth. Still he kept still.

Seeing the cat as no threat, the creature lay back down. While it didn't looked like a threat he wanted to be sure and moved closer towards the creature. He hears the crack of dried leaves behind him as Willow and the Prey Hunter Speaker Buggy move out of the thicket. Seemed like Willow hadn't followed his orders and had woken the other as a back-up. But even with the three cats now facing down the creature, it didn't seem to mind or want to attack them.

In the end, they decided to just lead the creature far away from their tribe's new camp in the hopes of it not returning. Coming out of this encounter without a fight started and cats getting injured, had both Willow and Fang gaining Buggy's favor. Good to have when you wanted to move up in the tribe, which still was Fang's goal.

-

One day Fang heard that on of their Prey Hunters with the name Daisy has gone missing after going out on a hunt alone. He knew that normally, their Claw Guard Speaker would now gather cats for a search party, but as Thorn still hasn't name a Speaker Fang decided to take it into his own paws. He took his fellow Claw Guard Gourd That Sits On Snow and the Prey Hunter Snow that covers Willow as she would know best were Daisy might have gone to.

While they were able to follow her tracks for a while, in the end they were masked by other tracks that crossed hers. It mixed from fox, to deer, to raccoon and even some dragging marks that let them fear the possibility that Daisy might have fallen prey to another animal. Gourd and him weren't coming any further with the tracks they had found, though Willow soon reported a fish scent in the nearby ferns and Fang decided to investigate it together with her as Gourd continued her search with the tracks. Those fish scent could give them a clue on which prey Daisy might have potentially caught and it might lead them to her after all.

Soon they found the source of the fishy scent, which were some scraps of fish lying around. No predator would waste good fresh-kill like this and it still smelled fresh. The first thought of Fang's was that the predator might still be around, as it couldn't have been Daisy. A tribe cat never wasted food. But soon it turned out, that this was not what they thought as a trap of black vines sprung on Willow, who had been investigating the fish closer. Fang immediately tried to help her out and push open the entrance that had shut right in front of his nose, but it was no use.

He called out towards Gourd, in the hopes that two Claw Guards would be enough to stem the vines open. Fang tried to go around and search for a weakness in the trap, as he has never seen anything like it before but with no use.

Willow, who seemed to recognize her rather helpless situation, told them to leave her behind. But leaving one of his tribe mates behind was not an option for him and so he tried his luck again to pry open the entrance, thinking that Gourd would soon join him and help out. Gourd on the other paw had no problem of leaving Willow behind without remorse and voicing her thoughts on the matter, before she turned tail and was about to go back to the tracks she had found. Gourd's actions immediately made his fur bristle with anger, as it awoke memories from his Quest of Belonging where he had been left behind to die. The she-cat was no better than the Prey Hunter's accompanying him back then and he voiced his thoughts towards her clearly. Even Willow herself as a Prey Hunter seemed more reliable to him at that moment than Gourd.

Though soon, his train of thoughts was interrupted by a voice from the branches of one of the trees around them. It turned out to be a raccoon, able to speak their language. Another thing he has never seen before, never knew even existed, but this new territory seemed to be the home of many strange things. It seemed to know these traps and how to get someone out of them, but it's language was broken and the advise only came out in riddles. Fang and Gourd, who seemed to have stayed after all, continued to try and get Willow out of the black vines, trying to follow the raccoon's advice. But after many tries it still wouldn't budge which irritated Fang.

After a verbal fight between Gourd and him and some threats towards the raccoon, a stick landed in front of his paws together with a warning from the raccoon that they would have to hurry up and get Willow out before the Big Ones came. While he wanted to be angry at this attack with the stick at first, the raccoon soon let them know that it would help in getting the trap open. Out of options. Fang decided to just take the stick and try his luck. So together they tried their hardest to get the trap open and finally succeeded. Seeing as the raccoon had helped them in getting Willow out, he thanked it with a curt nod of his head before he asked it if it maybe had seen Daisy around.

It's answer didn't bode well for the she-cat.

"Chi chi chi. Cats thank me. Strange times we lead. Chi chi chi. Pretty kitty got caught. I know I know. Kept her safe from angry fox. But the Big Ones took her away. The Big Ones don't return cats. No no no. Return Chi Chi yes. But no cats. No beavers. Chi chi chi. Take advice from Chi Chi. Traps hide in the dark. Bait with fish they do. I know I know. They sniff you out they will. Stay together. Dig and roll. Smart."

After that the raccoons eyes watched over them one last time with a warm expression in them, before it scurried back up the tree. Leaving them alone with these new findings and the ever growing dangers these lands were holding out for them.

-

When he was 60 moons old, the Prey Hunter Speaker Bug That Crawls On Tree called all the tribe together at the beaver dam they had used to get into safety on the day of the fire. The rain made the wood slippery, but still they soon sat together as they waited for their Path Finder and the Healer Speaker to arrive. But soon they found out, that the two of them wouldn't be coming. Not even their whole tribe was gathered, as some had preferred to stay behind in camp. Buggy had called for a tribe meeting, away from the thicket that was their new camp. Away from their Path Finder. 

As the meeting started, Buggy brought up the two topics he wanted to discuss, as Thorn didn't seemed to make a move to do it on his own. First of all, the issue of how long they would stay in this strange territory with it's unknown dangers and second of all the question of the new Claw Guard Speaker. 

A discussion soon broke out about which topic to talk about first and a chaos broke lose as the topic changed from one moment to another and back.

As Buggy eventually decided to settle the question of the Claw Guard Speaker at first for now, a young Healer with the name Cry of Brave Bear stepped forward, directly speaking to Fang so everyone could hear him. "... Step forward and suggest yourself" The Healer said as he tried his best to look at the much taller cat face to face, an intimidating cat in Brave's mind, one he would've hoped never to cross "My words aren't a warning but merely a reminder of the things that you will hold if you're Speaker, know Sun shines down on you, but the greater the light the harsher the shadow ... you're a snake guarding your nest, protect the Tribe as best as you can, be a leader ... rise from your shadows Fang ... the tribe will smile at you if you do"

The words were spoken with a the knowledge of a dream the Healer had gotten from the Tribe of Endless Hunting. After Salmon had appeared in the Healer's dreams, telling him that a new Claw Guard Speaker must be chosen, the Healer had stepped on eggs and damaged them with it. Soon he found himself face to face with a golden scaled snake, which coiled protectively around the eggs. Brave woke up then, as the snake struck towards him. 

It had been a snake, protecting it's nest and as the sun had made Fang's pelt spark golden in it's shine, the Healer discovered it's meaning soon. Which led him to speak those words for Fang and the others to hear.

Though Gourd decided to suggest herself as Speaker as well, which let the fury in Fang rise yet again. How this cat could dare to suggest herself after she had nearly abandoned Willow to death not so long ago was beyond Fang's imagination. But even worse for him was, that some of the Claw Guards actually considered to vote for her after all she had done. How could they look beyond her abandoning her duty to vote for her instead of Fang? No Speaker should be willing to abandon a tribe mate in danger!

Still, the voting continued and Fang followed every vote and counted them in his head.

Buggy nodded gently as the Claw Guards voted and as the last vote was counted, he raised his voice again “It’s decided then,” he mewd, rising to his paws. “Fang of Striking Snake, you have been nominated by your peers to the title of Speaker. Do you accept this role, as the voice of the Claw Guards, from this day until your cry is silenced?”

Fang held his head high as he answered "I accept the title of Speaker with great honor. I will be the Claw Guard's voice and will protect our tribe to my last breath."

The gathering was ended soon after and with a slight nudge of Buggy, Fang made his way back to the thicket together with his tribe mates as their new Claw Guard Speaker.

TLDR

- with Thorn only getting older, Fang tried to impress the tom as much as he could to be chosen as the next heir as he saw himself as the only right choice

- is gathering a group of cats around him that support his views and him and tries to convince Stormcloud to join this group someday

~

- one day the tracks of a giant (cougar) are found close to the tribe's camp and a patrol is send out to scout it out

- Fang was together with the Prey Hunter's Rock and Ice on this patrol, which he was annoyed by due to their rank

- they managed to find the giant and as their back-up arrived with more Claw Guards and a few more Prey Hunters they started their attack

- Fang managed to blind the giant early on on one of it's eyes

- later, Fang is knocked down as the giant grabs Rock's leg and sent him flying right into the Claw Guard

- soon the giant was on top of Fang, pinning him down with one of it's huge paws

- Moon, another Claw Guard managed to blind the giant completely but still Fang wasn't able to get out from under the giant's grasp

- confused by a sound made by Ice and the cry of one of her kits in the distance, the giant finally let go of Fang

- he and Rock had to spend several days in the healing hut, both ending up with scars

~

- a fire was seen on the other side of the mountain

- later it was quickly approaching the tribe's home, forcing them to flee over the river

- Fang was on a patrol led by their Speaker Salmon to find a To-Be, left behind on the mountain engulfed in flames before joining their tribe in safety

- while they managed to find the To-Be, Rock and Salmon were severally injured

- they had to leave Salmon behind, as he wouldn't have made it down the mountain alive

- Fang carried to injured Rock on his back as he led the rest of their patrol through the flames and onto the other side of the river to join their tribe

- Thorn failed to name a new Claw Guard Speaker after Salmon's death

- Fang visited Rock in the healing hut after the patrol, finding himself respecting the Prey Hunter a little more than before

~

- guarding their camp one night, Fang happens upon a strange creature the tribe hasn't seen before

- as it didn't seemed threatening, him Willow and the Prey Hunter Speaker Buggy lured the creature farther away from their camp

- both of them gained Buggy's favor, as this encounter didn't ended in any injured cats

~

- Fang set out on a searching patrol together with Gourd and Willow, as the Prey Hunter Daisy has gone missing

- instead of Daisy, they found a trap of black vines that caught Willow

- Fang wasn't able to get her out on his own and Gourd just wanted to leave Willow behind, which left a bitter taste in Fang's mouth and destroying the trust he had in Gourd as a fellow Claw Guard

- a voice then came from the branches of a tree, giving them advise how to get Willow out of the trap

- the voice belonged to a raccoon named Chi Chi

- even with the advise, the trap wouldn't budge until the raccoon gave them a stick and with it's help they were able to free Willow

- raccoon warned them of the Big Ones, who were the makers of these traps

~

- a tribe meeting was called at the beaver dam by the Prey Hunter Speaker Buggy

- neither their Path Finder Thorn, nor their Healer Speaker Reed came to it

- the topics of their current territory situation and the missing role of the Claw Guard Speaker were discussed

- since the first didn't bring them any further, it was decided that they would vote for a Claw Guard Speaker now, even without Thorn's presence

- Fang was suggested by the Healer Brave, before he could do it himself, due to a dream the other had received from the Tribe of Endless Hunting of a golden Snake protecting it's nest

- Gourd suggested herself for Speaker as well, regardless of her latest abandoning of duty when she had wanted to leave Willow behind

- the votes were close but in the end Fang was announced as the new Speaker of the Claw Guards

The rest of his history can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XA2QKe1c1Eewj7fvlq4h4_GSDj-09wrchalUixGtm2Y/edit#heading=h.tgvmim1egr75