Nightflare

[december]

GENERAL

Name: Nightflare.
Name Explanation: With a pelt remniscent of a starless night and eyes that flare with the intensity of young indignation, Nightflare's name suits her well.
Gender: She-cat.
Age: 19 moons.
Clan: ShadowClan.
Rank: Warrior.

APPEARANCE

Body Type: Though not exactly gifted with height, Nightflare is not short of muscle by any means. Although she isn't bulky, she will probably never be seen as lean.
Fur: Her fur is a deep, unmarked black. Though occasionally tinted dark brown in ample lighting, she's indisputably categorized as black-pelted.
Eyes: Intense and the color of the summer sun, Nightflare's clear yellow eyes are something of envy.
Markings: A single scar is present on her front right paw that reaches from her ankle all the way to her middle toe, pink and vicious, from an all but forgotten about hunting incident as an apprentice. Aside from that, there is nothing that strays from the singular blackness of her pelt.
Overall: click. Nightflare is like a little black hole of negativity and quiet confidence, occasionally accompanied by a bit of a determined swagger. However silent she may be when barriers go uncrossed, it's obvious that she has an opinion, even if it goes unsaid. Her ears are constantly erect, no matter how alert she's feeling, betraying her uncanny attention to detail. Her eyes are easily the most expressive part of her body, displaying displeasure openly and being very effective in getting across her particular brand of thinking in ways words cannot. She's almost blunt because of them, no matter her social habits; she has little skill in physically regulating herself.

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits:

• Nightflare is courageous and daring when she feels she needs to be; passion abounds.
  
• She picks things up very easily and is adept at most things she attempts.
  
• A tactician at heart, Nightflare is quite logical and strong of mind. She notices things with ease.
  
• Nightflare is polite and obedient, giving respect every time respect is due and rarely faltering.
  
• When Nightflare loves something, she is unwaveringly loyal towards it -- whether it's her clan or a friend.
  
• The she-cat is methodical and organized, never straying far of her path or becoming overwhelmed. She does most things similarly every day to prevent conflict.
  
• Though perhaps she seems a mite insensitive, she really is an empathetic cat who wouldn't typically belittle another or their problems.
  
• She is not easily swayed in her opinions of things, and she presents them freely when they are asked for.
  
• Her habit of being careful with her heart certainly prevents it from being shattered.

Flaws:

• Nightflare is a true pessimist.
  
• Nightflare sees barriers between herself and others that are not there, making her come across as cold-hearted at the best of times.
  
• She tends to believe that she can do anything because of her genetic predisposition to be good at most everything.
  
• Selfishly and arrogantly thinking of herself as someone who sees cats for what they truly are, she feels like she is "above" the rest, despite her age.
  
• Her judgmental tendency to profile her clanmates on impressions alone is unmatched by most, although she is often correct in her assumptions.
  
• Although she is a rational cat, she can be quick to jump to conclusions.
  
• Her fuse is short and easily manipulated. Arguments abound at clan meetings when she feels things aren't going the right way.
  
• The only time she truly speaks openly is when she is arguing. Other than that, most everything is a veiled facade except for her emotion-betraying eyes.

Fears:

• A fear of death keeps Nightflare on her toes.
  
• Despite the fact that she often makes a fool of herself arguing with senior members of the clan, she despises being seen as naive.
  
• Nightflare simply hates being proven wrong and will do everything to get around it.
  

Quirks:

• She speaks to her deceased sister, Rainkit, in her thoughts though she knows she is not there.
  
• She is the type of cat that can be so immersed in something that it is difficult to singlehandedly bring her back into reality.
  
• Sometimes the she-cat is nervous around social settings and comforts herself by rocking side-to-side softly.
  

Ideals:

• Nightflare values honesty above all else, though she personally does not excel at the trait. Nevertheless, she'd rather be aware of what someone else thinks of her and angry at them for it than unaware and neutral.
  
• She still holds on to the fragile, largely kit-like hope that she will become leader of ShadowClan one day.

Overall: Nightflare seems to be a complex individual, one filled with facets so many that no one would take the time to unravel. However, Nightflare really is a cat easily figured out. She merely gives the impression of being difficult; largely in part because she wants to be that way, and to an extent things that she is. She is quiet, nearly silent at times because of her careful reserve of words, but she is fiery when defending her own or a loved one's honor or her own beliefs. This leads into her arrogance -- she tends to not see other sides of an opinion, blindly fighting for her own. Underneath it all, however, lies a more warm-hearted individual. Though she is intimidating to some, she really is of a soft heart. Anything she says to another cat while not in her more uncontrolled state of anger is all in good will. It shows through by the kind things she orchestrates for others and unceasing politeness, though many overlook it in favor of finding her a shy (and perhaps less-than-sane) cat.

HISTORY

Family:

• Juniperheart (brown tabby she-cat with green eyes and a protective, stubborn soul) -- mother. Juniperheart was essentially a queen from the moment she had her warrior ceremony until she joined the elder den, having many litters from several suitors throughout her life. Her relationship with Nightflare was just what it was like with all of her other kits -- loving, but strict and fair.
  
• Wrenflight (small, black and white tom with golden eyes and a reputation for being mischievous and promiscuous) -- father. Wrenflight's relationships with others tended to consist of flirting and kit-making. Juniperheart was no exception. They were together barely a half-moon before she became pregnant. Nightflare hates him for both his personality and his actions towards Rainkit. He is currently an elder nearing death.
  
• Rainkit (pale brown tabby she-cat with dark green eyes and rambunctious tendencies) -- deceased sister. Rainkit was discovered to be deaf at 2 moons of age and Wrenflight, panicked at the thought of perfection not being born from him, disposed of her by breaking her spinal cord at the neck.

History: Nightflare was born to a respected member of ShadowClan, Juniperheart, and a less-than-respected one, Wrenflight. She loved her mother dearly from birth, always questioning her about the world around her with the curiosity only a kit could possess. She never really connected with her father, baring a bit of resentment towards him after seeing him wooing another she-cat at a very young age frequently. Nightflare's sister, Rainkit, got along with her very well. Though Nightflare was always the more subdued one of the two, they had fun unmatched by anything else. They weren't the type of siblings who would intentionally get on each other's nerves or get into fights. Nightflare always sensed that something was wrong with her, though -- she rarely responded to her voice or spoke. After a while, Juniperheart approached the medicine cat. She knew exactly what was wrong with her and knew what her fate would be -- a life condemned to being an elder -- but didn't keep it a secret, as that would only make things worse. The medicine cat told her just what she thought she would, and they sadly spoke about her fate. When Juniperheart told Wrenflight, he panicked instantly ended Rainkit's life when he got back to the nursery. Nightflare was there to witness her death. She fell into a state of denial and spoke to her illusions of Rainkit. At 5 moons she started confining their conversations to her head. Her apprenticeship was one made falsely happy by what she began to realize didn't exist, and she got through it quickly. As a warrior, she now has a slightly altered view of the world due to her sister's murder, but she prevailed through a brief stage of depression.

RP SAMPLE

The brightness of the leaf-bare day was almost unheard of and was a cause of alarm to the worrying, or perhaps merely bored, cats of ShadowClan. Nightflare's keen eyes watched the fretting of obviously stiff-legged queens devoid of kits and whining elders with a disinterested eye, a hint of distaste coloring her apathetic expression. It was amusing to see her clanmates so petty as a byproduct of a day the sun showed its face and bathed everything in white light. It seemed contradictory that the clan members were moaning about the clear day. I suppose they all are desperate to locate the negativity of a situation.

Nightflare observed the needles of the pine trees that dotted the landscape of the territory blowing unashamed into the camp, littering the spongy earth with their uniformity. The layer that it made stung on the pads of cats unaccustomed to the harshness of the marsh, a natural territory marker between ShadowClan and the likes of RiverClan or ThunderClan. A hindrance that didn't have to be created by ShadowClan's negative image, for once. Nightflare looked about idly, waiting to be approached because she had forgotten to attend a patrol, or something similar. Leaf-bare was the lazy season; though there was more incentive to work hard, many days the conditions were deemed unsuitable for hunting. This definitely was not one of those days -- Nightflare's thick black pelt trapped heat easily, and she felt like it was at least green leaf she was baking up so fast -- but many warriors were trading in their duties in for sunbathing or socialization.

Alas, her self-imposed exile was not approached. The day wore on without the burden of interruptions. Loneliness birthed the occasional knot in her young throat; swallowing it was difficult, but she knew that she could never be one of the cats gossiping and having fun with their friends. "Fun" was no longer recognized as a word in her mind for reasons that should have been long resolved. A single claw from her left paw scratched tiny pseudo-intricacies in the blanket of straw, scratching at the mud that lay submerged less than half a mouse tail underneath.

words: 362. other: I typically hit 500-600, but I was feeling uninspired. x-x

[Administrator]

Accepted.

For future reference, in the subject we ask for simply the unformatted name; nothing else is required. I’ve edited it for you this time.

I really like her personality. At first she comes across as one of the cold-hearted, fierce she-cats but her positive traits change her enough to make her truly unique. She’s the perfect balance of warmth and coldness. The history and her family’s characters are very interesting, and the RP Sample is done well.

xx Duskfrost