Heronstar

[|| SiLVER]

NAME: Heronstar
GENDER: tom
AGE: fifty-two moons
CLAN: RiverClan
POSITION: leader


APPEARANCE:

PELT COLOR: white
PELT LENGTH: short and sort of wiry
MARKINGS: gray tabby striped tail and ears
EYE COLOR: his right eye is light green with darker green around the pupil, but his left eye is pale blue, darker blue around the pupil
BUILD: very tall and lanky; he's basically all limb and it's almost like he hasn't grown into his legs yet. He's skinny and lean with a body built for speed, which is sort of odd for a RiverClan cat
OTHER: because of his blue eye, he is deaf in his right ear. However, he has enhanced hearing in his left ear

STRENGTHS:

Heronstar excels at running and swimming. His body is practically made more this type of physical activity, and it keeps him fit. When he was younger, he used to take part in friendly races with his peers and siblings; he usually won, but he would sometimes slow down just to give them a chance.
Heronstar is also an above average hunter. He can catch the speedy voles and other land prey that some of his clanmates can't. He's not the best fisher, but he can still contribute to the fresh-kill pile.

WEAKNESSES:

Even though he is quite lean, Heronstar is not very strong. He mostly relies on wit and speed when in battle. If he does get pinned down, he can use his strong back-legs to push back. His fangs work perfectly well; it's his claws that don't have much power behind them. Don't underestimate him though, he's still extremely dangerous in battle and he won't back down from a fight. Be careful when challenging the clan leader. His one other detriment is his stamina is beginning to decrease, but only from age. It's not too noticeable now, only to himself.

PERSONALITY:

POSITIVES:

• fair when it comes to punishment
  
• passionate
  
• open-minded in certain situations
  
• sensible
  
• trustworthy
  
• protective
  
• patient
  
• intelligent and inquisitive
  
• curious
  
• outspoken
  

NEGATIVES:

• arrogant
  
• not a public speaker
  
• slightly conceited
  
• hardheaded
  
• adamant
  
• judgmental
  
• "macho"
  
• sometimes foolish
  
• stubborn
  
• can be absent-minded
  

LIKES:

• feeling "in charge"
  
• patrolling his territory
  
• clan gatherings
  
• the moonpool
  
• having his own den
  
• feathers
  
• having enhanced senses
  
• greenleaf storms
  
• being relaxed
  
• adrenaline rushes
  

DISLIKES:

• obnoxiousness
  
• know it alls
  
• being wrong
  
• embarrassment
  
• petty arguments
  
• undecipherable dreams from StarClan
  
• cruel remarks on his semi-deafness
  
• twolegs
  
• fire
  
• stressful situations
  

Fears:

Everyone has their small little phobias, including Clan leaders. Heronstar has many things that can startle, but he also has one fear that overrules all the other ones. This phobia has formed based on a terrible experience Heronstar had as an apprentice. The fear of fire. He's only seen it once but now it haunts him in his nightmares. He will wake up some nights panting and his heart racing. His nose burns as if he had actually been there smelling the smoke and the flames. He often has to leave his den just to get fresh air and to relieve his body of the burning sensation.

Habits:

Heronstar sometimes has trouble showing his softer side. He tries his best to be a strong, macho leader, but even leaders have their moments when they just need to break down. He tries to avoid these moments because he sees them as weak, and he knows he is not weak. If he was, StarClan never would have chosen him as leader. He thrives everyday to convince his clan and his ancestors that they made the right choice.

Now, down to the littler, more noticeable habits. Heronstar will sometimes slur his words then he gets excited. His whole sentence will just come out at one word. Sometimes the apprentices will laugh at him, but the older warriors know better. They know that Heronstar has always had a small speech impediment, even since he was a kit. Heronstar doesn't get angry when he's laughed at, but he does make sure it doesn't happen again.

Secrets:

Heronstar does have a secret, but it's not one to be taken lightly. No, he didn't murder someone, but he did watch someone die. He was a new warrior, only about twenty something moons. He had been out on patrol with some friends and he decided to do a little bit of hunting on his own. What he ended up finding was a little disturbing. There was a ShadowClan cat on their territory, but she wasn't really a threat. Still, he was a new warrior and launched himself into battle. The queen was up a tree and she didn't even seem to notice the foolish tom, despite all his insults. When she stood up, he braced himself for a sky attack. Instead, he watched as she stepped of the branch on the opposite side and basically fell to her death. The incident freaked him out and his immediately went back to camp to report it. It bothered him for a few days. Not many cats witness suicide, but Heronstar has.

RELATIONSHIPS:

MOTHER: Starkwing- gray tabby she-cat with startling orange eyes, elder
FATHER: Driftstorm- white-and-black tom with blue eyes, hard of hearing, deceased
BROTHER: Beetlefang- black tom with yellow eyes, senior warrior
SISTER: Snowflower- pure white she-cat with green eyes, senior warrior
MENTOR: Rushclaw- brown tabby tom with large green eyes, elder

HISTORY:

It was a nice, quiet Newleaf evening when Heronstar was born. The birth had been rather uneventful. His mother had done extremely well and his father was overbearing or hovering. Everything had been rather... calm.
Starkwing was a natural when it came to mothering and she loved her kits to death. She would have walked all the way to the Dark Forest and back for them. She ate as much fish and borage so she would have enough milk; she did pretty much anything if it would benefit them in the near or far future.
Driftstorm loved his kits too, but he was more subtle about it. He would visit a few times a day, but he wouldn't make a big fuss about them. It confused Starkwing; she didn't understand why her mate wasn't making a huge deal about his children. She never brought it up though, she just quietly tended to her three lovely kittens.

As Heron grew, he also became more mischievous and outgoing. He would get into all sorts of trouble with his brother and sister and ended up hearing a lot of lectures because of it. Soon, though, his mother realized he couldn't hear her as when as Snowkit and Beetlekit did. She confided in the medicine cat. After giving Heronkit a few tests, it became clear that Heron was deaf. Not completely though, only on the one side where his blue eye was. Starkwing didn't care, she was devastated that her kit wasn't as perfect as she thought he was. She fussed over him ten times as much as she did her other two kits and he grew to resent all the attention. Heron started to avoid his mother at all cost. Of coarse, this just made her fuss over him more when she got her paws on him. It was a vicious circle, and he was overjoyed when he turned six moons.

Finally, free of his overbearing and obnoxious mother, Heronpaw was excited to start his training. He was happy with who he got as a mentor, the experienced Rushclaw. The den was roomier than the nursery and he got his own nest. He could finally stretch his long legs! Still, his sort of missed the nursery, but his sadness soon faded away when he went to his first training session.
Rushclaw's first assignment for Heronpaw was a hunting lesson. The young tom learned how to position himself so his shadow didn't reflect into the water and he learned the perfect crouch for stalking voles. It was a very busy day and Heronpaw was exhausted when they returned.

A few moons went by of the same vigorous training sessions. He was now ready for his first battle. It was a fight between RiverClan and WindClan over stolen prey. The WindClan leader had started the whole ordeal and had launched the attack. It took place at dusk during the new moon. There was hardly any light; the only thing Heronpaw could see was gleaming eyes and the dim light of Silverpelt. The fight was rather long and Heronpaw fought at hard as he could. Eventually, he ended up having to flee or else he would've collapsed from exhaustion and from his wounds. He had several shallow wounds, but they were bleeding enough to make him dizzy. After he fled the battle, he hid under a bush until the battle cries ceased. Rushclaw had to go retrieve him because he was too tired to move.

RiverClan had won the battle and WindClan was no longer accusing them of stealing prey. Heronpaw had to stay in the medicine cat's den for the night in case him wounds got infected. Of coarse, this cause Starkwing to come in and fuss over her precious, hard-of-hearing son. Driftstorm had to practically drag her away to give his son some peace.
It wasn't long until his wounds healed enough so he could return to training. Another four moons of tough curriculum passed and Heronpaw became a warrior along with his siblings. He was named Heronfeather because of his habit of collecting feathers. He had a few in his nest that he thought were pretty and he had given a few to the queens. It's a quirky habit, but it's something he enjoys doing in his free time: collecting feathers.

His first moons of being a new warrior were uneventful, but during his third moon, his father passed away. He had been hit by a fallen tree branch during a storm and he died in the camp from a head injury. Starkwing was heartbroken and actually decided to become an elder early because she just "couldn't go on" (she was old enough though, about fifty-three moons). Heronfeather was sad, he can't deny it, but he was thoroughly devastated like his mother. Sure, Driftstorm was his kin, but they didn't have a strong father-son relationship like some kits do with their father. He mourned his father nonetheless, but he didn't spend a good amount of time moping around because of it. Some say he moved on rather fast.

Fast forward two moons and now we're at the part where Heronfeather witnessed the ShadowClan queen's suicide. He had been out on patrol with some friends and he decided to do a little bit of hunting on his own. He found a ShadowClan cat on their territory, but she actually wasn't really a threat. Still, he was a new warrior and a bit foolhardy, so he launched himself into battle. The queen was up a tree sitting on a branch and she didn't seem even to notice the foolish tom, despite all his insults. When she stood up, he braced himself for a sky attack. Instead, he watched as she stepped of the branch on the opposite side and basically fell to her death. The incident freaked him out and his immediately went back to camp to report it. His leader told him to calm down, but Heronfeather was very shaken up. He wasn't even sure what it meant or why she had done it. At first, he thought it was his fault, but he was soon convinced otherwise. He was told to let it go and it would be reported at the gathering. If anyone accused RiverClan was murder, he would have to speak up. Otherwise, it would never be spoken of again. It never was.

A few more uneventful moons later and Heronfeather took part in a second battle, this time with ShadowClan (coincidence?). The battle was more of an attempt to steal territory, but RiverClan managed to fight them off. Heronfeather did a lot better than previously and didn't have to flee. He sent a few warriors off screaming and tore the deputy's ear pretty good.
Even though they won, the night was extremely depressing. The deputy received a nasty belly wound and passed away about an hour after the battle. She had been fairly young and probably could have served as deputy for a few more seasons.
Despite the sad event, a new deputy had to be named. Heronfeather was astonished when it was him.
It took a little while for him to adjust to being the deputy, but soon he got the hang of it. Schedule patrols now, hunt later, patrol at night. He soon developed a technique to it. It was probably the only time in his life when he was organized.

One evening, he decided to patrol the river alone. He was bored and was inquisitive about what took place at night. It was a warm greenleaf night and a few twolegs were out on heir water monsters. Curious, he sat down and decided to watch. At first, nothing happened. Then, the twolegs decided to do something stupid. While they had been driving around, a bit of black liquid had poured into the water. The twolegs drove in next to it, and a male twoleg took out a piece of wood and struck it against another piece of wood. The thing caught fire. Heronfeather watched at the twoleg lit something between his lips, but then he just threw his fire into the lake. The l water caught fire! Heronfeather yowled, his fur standing on end. Water couldn't catch on fire, it was impossible! He didn't know what to do, the whole lake was going to burn! The stench filled his nose and burned his eyes, and he ended of passing out from fear and lack of clean air.
When he woke up the next day, he was in the RiverClan camp and the medicine cat was asking him what had happened. When he explained that the lake had been on fire, he was laughed at. Everyone mocked him, saying water couldn't catch on fire. He must have been dreaming. True, no one but him had seen it. The twolegs had managed to put the flames out before the patrol had found Heronfeather, but he knows the truth. Twolegs have the power to light water on fire, and now he is absolutely terrified of water because he knows nothing can stop it, not even his own element.

A few moons passed. Heron took part in a few more battles, none had much consequence though. He received a couple small scars, but they can't seen under his coat. Overall, he was exceeding in life and he loved it. Then, the leader died. The whole clan was in mourning. Heronfeather didn't even want to leave his clan, he was so grief-stricken. He had to be convinced about a thousand times to go to the moonpool and receive his nine lives. The journey was horrible. His heart felt like it was going to die, it hurt so much. He had been very close to his leader; he had felt like they were partners. Now, he had to run the clan alone. Sure, he would have a deputy, but it wouldn't be the same.

Let's just say the journey home was a lot better. He felt stronger, wiser, and braver. He had seen all the cats he had cared for throughout his life and now he felt like their lives were pulsing through his veins. He almost felt like a new cat. Now, he was coming home to RiverClan, his clan, to lead them through all their perils, hardships, and blessings. He is Heronstar of RiverClan.

OTHER:

yeah, cheesy ending, I know. But I loves him.

[|| SiLVER]

ACCEPTED !!