Post by i z z i e ! on Feb 26, 2012 20:53:24 GMT -5
h a z e l s t o r m
need to know
» number: one
» clan: ShadowClan
» age: thirty-five moons
» gender: she-cat
» rank: leader, anti-StarClan faction
» status: healthy
» apprentice: --
» camp: rebel camp
» description: Long-haired tabby and white she-cat with green eyes.
deeper
» appearance
In terms of objective appearance, Hazelstorm is reasonably good-looking but nothing striking. She's mostly light brown, with black tabby stripes and white face, chest, underbelly, and toes; and she has a round face with pretty green eyes. Her build is more or less average, though she has always been slightly on the smaller side due to her difficult birth. She makes up for her lighter frame with a decent amount of fluff to her fur. That said, most cats might not give her a second glance if not for her personality shining through.
Her fire is genuinely evident in just the way she carries herself. She moves gracefully -- though perhaps it wouldn't be quite accurate to call her elegant. Hazelstorm is too passionate to achieve true detached elegance. Everything she does, she does with all of herself. Her body and movements give an observer the feeling of watching a flame, with her fluid, lively motions. There's a stubborn set to her jaw and a fierceness in her eyes that makes her cut a more intimidating figure than one might expect, and even if the shell of her form is nothing uniquely special, the spirit inside it makes her magnetic.
» personality
charismatic . ambitious . stubborn . outspoken . idealistic . unforgiving . proud
Hazelstorm becoming the leader of a revolution isn't exactly surprising.
From kithood, she has been opinionated, outspoken, and skeptical of tradition. A hurricane of a she-cat who will not be swayed once she's chosen her path, she tends to judge her opponents harshly and almost never offers second chances. Her idealism, in many ways a trait to admire, also makes her dangerous. She rejects compromise and refuses surrender, utterly relentless in pursuit of her goals. What's more, she tends to carry others along with her through sheer force of personality.
Hazelstorm disagrees with the idea of following customs solely for the sake of custom. Always the rebel, she bristles at authority (especially when she feels that those in power haven't earned it) and believes that each and every cat ought to be in charge of their own destiny. And, well, sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in.
In the wake of StarClan's disappearance, it was her pride and ambition that ultimately determined her next step. StarClan, it seemed, had abandoned them all -- and after some moons had passed with no sign of their return, Hazelstorm refused to keep worshiping guardians who had abandoned her. She dreams of a forest with more freedom, more justice, and no one can truly say how far she would go to achieve it.
» history
Hazelkit was born into catastrophe. She was the only surviving kit of ShadowClan's erstwhile leader, Adderstar, and his mate, Littlecloud; the two kits she had shared a womb with were stillborn, and complications from the birth claimed her mother's life.
So tiny Hazelkit was left to be raised by another queen in the nursery. Kestrelflower had recently delivered two kits of her own, Dusk-kit and Tawnykit, and she was willing to take in a third. Hazelkit assimilated into her foster family and grew up thinking of them as essentially her only relatives. Adderstar acknowledged her as his daughter, yet never spent any time with her. His distance could be explained by the fact that Hazelkit reminded him too much of his beloved Littlecloud, but the reason didn't matter much to her.
Moons passed. Her foster sisters became Duskpaw and Tawnypaw, and Hazelkit joined them soon after. Though she would never admit it to any cat save her sisters or Kestrelflower, she still had the smallest hope that if she became a great warrior, Adderstar would have to notice her. Indeed, Hazelpaw had a certain brilliance. She was hard-working and talented, if at a disadvantage in fights due to her smaller size.
However, she also had a mind of her own. Hazelpaw was not one to follow convention without a good reason, and it seemed she never stopped questioning the rules. The Warrior Code stated that the Clan leader's word was law, but Hazelpaw couldn't help but think that a leader could be wrong. And it seemed profoundly unfair to her that she-cats with kits would be passed over for leadership positions -- the queens she knew were no less wise or capable than the toms who fathered their kits. She began to dream less of earning her father's respect and more of surpassing him, with Duskpaw and Tawnypaw by her side.
But before the sisters could become warriors, tragedy struck. While patrolling around the Thunderpath, Tawnypaw was hit and killed by a monster. Their whole family was devastated. Kestrelflower clung to her remaining kits and Duskpaw grew cynical, losing her old faith and optimism. Hazelpaw channeled her grief into more determination. She and Duskpaw were given their warrior names a couple moons later, Duskfang for her new fierceness and Hazelstorm for the sheer force of her personality and convictions.
When Hazelstorm was a young warrior, ShadowClan's deputy, Blacktooth, died of a Carrionplace disease. Adderstar appointed the warrior Shrikefang as his new second-in-command. Somehow, a secret romance bloomed between the deputy and the leader's rebellious daughter, which perhaps even Shrikefang and Hazelstorm didn't fully understand. Their relationship was always intense, somewhat tumultuous, but it remained basically stable.
During greenleaf, Adderstar lost his last life to a sudden illness, and Shrikefang became Shrikestar. That leaf-fall, StarClan's silence began.
The first few moons were tense, but it was in leafbare that the forest truly began to fall apart. A Gathering dissolved into the Battle at Fourtrees -- StarClan still did not intervene, despite the massive bloodshed. Hazelstorm, already predisposed to question authority, became resentful of their missing ancestors, who seemed to have callously abandoned them.
In the early days of newleaf, she gave birth to three kits. The eldest she-kit was dubbed Tawnykit, after her deceased aunt, the little tom Hawk-kit, and the final kit Juniperkit. It might seem that Shrikestar and Hazelstorm's relationship should be at a high point, but on the contrary, it was falling apart. Shrikestar, trying to maintain control of ShadowClan, continued the worship of StarClan and observance of the Code. But Hazelstorm was convinced that a new era was dawning, that they had to break free of the old rules. Their disagreement grew until it threatened to split the Clan in two.
Finally, almost a year after StarClan's disappearance, Hazelstorm had had enough. She gathered her kits, now apprentices, and split from the Clan. With her sister Duskfang as her second-in-command, she and her followers set up a temporary camp near the now-abandoned Highstones.
kin
» father:
» mother:
» brother(s): --
» sister(s): Duskfang &
» mate: Shrikestar (former)
» son(s): Hawkpaw
» daughter(s): Juniperpaw, Tawnypaw