Personality
Aspenstar is an outgoing, energetic cat, unafraid to make conversation with strangers and passerby. At home in camp, he can often be seen socializing in his downtime, making his rounds to each group of cats during their meals and having a laugh. He is full of one-liners that he often barks across camp to "liven the place up". Apprentices and kits often find themselves in his company, as he has served a big brother role throughout his life.
He teases everyone and everything, and unfortunately his jokes don't always come off as such. He does not harbor malicious intent and will avoid certain jokes if spoken to. It's not that he isn't smart, it's just... hard to catch everything when you've got a million things going on in your head already. Think of him as a big jock with a heart of gold. Though his large stature can be intimidating, he prefers diplomatic negotiation to fighting.
Having been only recently appointed, he is insecure about his abilities as a leader--not to mention his experience with the rogues and the fact that he's had to move homes twice in his short life. He is weary of rogues; he does not want to have to take any more lives for the sake of his clanmates being safe, sound, and settled. There is no way he is relocating for a third time. As a leader and role model to his clan, however, he maintains civility during his (limited) interactions with outsiders.
Some cats may find him sitting outside his den late at night, looking up to the sky in silent contemplation. He is quick to bounce back into his friendly demeanor if his attention is caught by a fellow clan member. He rarely confides in cats who are close to him. Aspenstar only wants to live up to the expectations of his clan.
Appearance
A large cat by nature, with long fur that only serves to exaggerate his size. A soft ginger color covers the majority of his pelt, and white fur runs from his chin to his belly. Over these base colors, dark red-orange classic tabby stripes swirl and slash through his fur, forming an arrow-like mask around his green eyes. A pale white star on his nose denotes his leader status. He has a muscular build underneath his soft pelt, and he has large paws that are perfect for digging and climbing in the rough Gorseclan terrain. His right ear is nicked and he has a scar running across his shoulders from long-forgotten accidents as an apprentice. A newly-made scar zigzags across his cheek from his fight with Rainier. Tucked into the base of his tail is a red feather, a keepsake from a more peaceful time.
Scars / Injuries
- clawmarks on cheek | fight with rainier
- large scratch across shoulder/back | accident during the journey
History
[-kit] • [-paw] • [-breeze]
Kithood
Aspenstar was born outside of Valeclan territory to a loner named Twig. The tom that sired the litter, Pikefur, was himself a clan warrior. Soon after the kits were born, Twig gave Aspenkit and Ashkit to Pikefur as a farewell gift. The tortoiseshell queen took her other two kits with her and they were never heard from again. The current leader of Valeclan faced Pikefur with a look of incredible disdain when presented with two kits that bore the scent of a loner. Reluctantly, he allowed the kits to stay, and Pikefur watched his only children grow from afar with a distant fondness.
Aspenkit's foster mother treated him like one of her own and he became stronger and stronger with each passing day. While he was not of pure clan ancestry, he was popular with his other denmates and included as many of them in his games as he could. When it came time for his apprenticeship, a senior warrior named Swansnap was assigned to him as his mentor. The stoic she-cat worked him to the bone, wanting him to earn the respect of his fellow warriors. Throughout all the tasks she gave him and all the hours they spent sparring and hunting, Aspenpaw's friendly and easy-going personality never wavered, especially when tensions flared within his own camp.
Settling Snow
Aspenpaw and Ashpaw's lives carried on. He was named Aspenbreeze for his personality. Very soon after being named, his sister could not stand the judgement radiating off their clanmates' pelts, so she moved to Peakclan; Aspenbreeze followed reluctantly. The two grew apart a couple moons after Ashlight had her kits. Her personality became one that he hadn't grown to recognize, and eventually it started affecting her friendship with fellow warrior Blackmoon. As far as he knew, the two had kits simply because they were both strong warriors, but after his nieces and nephews were born, Ashlight began acting... different. Possessive. He figured it was best if he didn't directly confront Ashlight, so he slowly distanced himself from the grey queen.
Things were relatively stable apart from his sister - Aspenbreeze was given his first apprentice, Weaselpaw. The two grew close, and Aspenbreeze was able to apply both the teaching skills he had seen in Swansnap and his own way of relating to younger cats. By the time Weaselpaw graduated and became Weaselwhirl, it was apparent that Aspenbreeze was an excellent role model and teacher. Everything was good and he finally felt settled, happy to have a permanent home.
Then the Twolegs arrived.
Starbound
The clans were thrown into turmoil as disaster and plague struck, seemingly with everything stacked against them, and Aspenbreeze defended his clanmates as best as he could. After an exhausting era of injury and death, no clans remained; only a ragtag group of survivors whose names were the only thing that bound them to their former lifestyle. One night, the survivors fell into a trance-like dream, a voice whispering to them all:
"Follow the clawmarks in the night. The stars are bound to your paws and will bring you home."
Upon waking, in a confused stupor, Aspenbreeze looked to the skies and was greeted with the glorious sight of a meteor shower. These showers lasted for the next moon and, invigorated at the thought that their ancestors were still looking after them, he pursued these streaks of light with a group of clan cats. For once, they reluctantly put aside their differences and found kinship in their shared cultures, a contrast to how separated they seemed before. They walked together, every other night for a moon until they stumbled upon a peaceful valley, untouched by two-legs and theirs for the taking.
It seemed that way, at least. Aspenbreeze took the cats that he had traveled with and headed towards the dry shrublands, which reminded him of a livelier version of his first home, of Valeclan. They scouted a place that could serve as a camp, but as they approached, they realized it smelled of foreign cats, and it became apparent that these cats were not welcoming of outsiders.
Bleed & Bloom
Aspenbreeze and his clan cats rested in another part of the territory, tensions high with the other group. He tried going up to them individually while hunting to talk; at first to get to know the original residents of the territory, then to see if they could reach a compromise. Some of the loners were a lot friendlier or tolerant than others, but it was clear they thought he should not be in their land. This went on for about a quarter-moon, until one night, the rogues attacked them in their sleep.
He wasn't sure if it was an act driven purely by hatred of clan cats or out of desperation for them to leave. Regardless, Aspenbreeze could not stand the thought of having to find a third home. He tried his own way. Now he would play the rogues' game.
Aspenbreeze roared into battle with a ferocity rarely seen from him. Within the blur of the fight, with adrenaline rushing through his veins, he killed the leader of the rogues, Rainier. As the dust settled and the fighting ceased at the drop of a body, the rogues realized that Rainier had died at Aspenbreeze's paws. He stared coldly at the rogues, angered that they hadn't found peace before all of this, and claimed the entire territory as the clan's. Those who wanted to stay were free to so long as they adopted the clan's ways; otherwise they would leave the territory by the next sundown. And those who didn't like the thought of doing either? They could die with Rainier.
It was the first and only time Aspenbreeze had taken another cat's life. He wants it to stay that way.
Aspenbreeze was then selected to become the clan's leader and receive his nine lives. He since has taken the time to integrate the loners who decided to join the clan and train them in the ways of a warrior. The bloodshed that happened that night would not become a stain on his legacy, so when he established Gorseclan, he named it for the yellow flowers that bloomed across the land - a symbol of hope and new beginnings.
