Post by yoko on Mar 5, 2012 18:15:09 GMT -5
B AT F L I G H T
need to know
»clan: ThunderClan
» age: 56 moons
» gender: Tom
» rank: Warrior
» status: Healthy
» mentor/apprentice: (reserved for Shadekit please?)
» description: large black-furred tom with yellow-green eyes.[/ul]
deeper
Batflight was a small cat when he was young but hit a rather large growth spurt in apprentice years. As if in response to his new found willpower, he grew to height that was about two inches above average. After many moons of harsh training with Ravenclaw, his body bulked up, filling his thin frame with hard muscles. His legs in particular have become thick and strong. Over this powerful exterior is a coat of long, sleek, black fur which is often mistaken for the reason he is that size. There's not a single spot or stripe on his entire body. His fur is glossy in the Sunlight, hardly visible in the shadows of the night.
Batflight has rather attractive facial features, strong and confident. His snout isn't pointed, it juts out in a squarish way with white whiskers sprouting all around his solid black nose. He's the cat that one can look at and know that he will get the job done by the daylight. But at night, his face appears to be made of shadows itself. His bright yellow eyes seem to float in the darkness. Combined with his large pointed ears hardly appears to be a cat at all, more similar to a bat.
» personality: Calculating. Brooding. Fierce, Determined
Batflight's soul has been darkened by the events of his past. The death of his parents inspires an eternal rage that he has worked the rest of his life to bury. The one cat who understood that rage has betrayed him, further angering him. But his feelings of anger and grief have been slightly curtailed by his relationships with four very special cats. Each like a son to him, and one literally being his son, he feels a great deal of pride for them and is determined to continue setting a good example.
As such, he has a strict moral code for himself, one that he wishes that they would each follow. First and foremost he is loyal to his own Clan. Next there was binding of the Warrior Code, all of it, though it is a struggle for even him to stick with it. Finally, there was mercy to his enemies, no matter how cruel and evil they may be. This last one is part of the Warrior Code, but is especially important to Batflight because he fears that if he should ever give in and kill the murderer of his parents, then he will lose himself in the mass of fiery rage beneath his brooding exterior.
Despite Batflight's morbid thoughts and dedication to work, Batflight is not a neutered male. He has quite the habit of falling hard and fast in love. He has issues trusting she-cats, or any cat for that matter, with his heart. But he knows how to be the charming gentlemen that his father once was.
Aside from romance, Batflight is more likely to sit in a corner and think of his past that spark up a new friendship. He's a good listener, gives logical advice, but he might be blunt if he thinks the cat he's speaking to is being petty. Tact is not his strong suit.
Finally, Batflight has always been an intelligent cat. He can be rather cold and calculating. In fact he's becoming more so with every passing day. He's a detective at heart. His innocent curiosity has morphed into a desire to know everything and use that knowledge to protect his Clan.
» background:
Batkit was born in a warm comfy nest despite the fact that it was late winter and there was a light snowfall. He was an only kit, which was fortunate because his young and delicate mother might not have been able to bear two. He was small and thin, but not sickly. His mother tended to him day and night to keep him safe and healthy. The winter ended shortly after his birth.
Right from the start, Batkit proved to be bright and curious. His parents encouraged him to explore and learn as much as possible before he took up his apprentice duties.
"But never forget that your duties are first and foremost to your Clan, always," Lionheart told his son.
Batkit looked up to his father. How could he not? Lionheart was the ideal warrior, a hard worker, kind, generous, brave, loyal and helpful. Although his father had told him that it was arrogant, Batkit often thought that his father ought to be the leader of the whole Clan. When he was five moons of age, his father was made Deputy.
Batpaw was a proud and dedicated apprentice. His mentor was Ravenclaw, a rather harsh cat who insisted that no matter what a good job Batpaw did he was capable of doing better. Batpaw swore that he would never become as harsh and bitter as Ravenclaw, that he would become the warrior that his father was. But all that changed on a dark night in leaf-green. Batpaw had gone out to make dirt and on his way back to the apprentice den, he spotted his parents heading out of the main entrance with their tails entwined. He had an ache in his chest. He missed being in the nursery where the three of them had been together more often. They were slipping away, and Batpaw made the split-second decision to follow them. He bounded out the entrance.
"Hold on, where are you going Batpaw?" called his clanmate on guard duty.
Batpaw looked forward to his parents who were giving him an odd look. Then his father gave him a grin.
"It's alright Foxtail. Batpaw is walking with us tonight. We'll be back very soon, don't worry."
Foxtail looked reluctant but he and Lionheart were old friends. He flicked his tail towards Batpaw to go. Batpaw bounded forward gladly and squeezed between his parents. The three of them walked shoulder to shoulder deep into ThunderClan territory. His parents wanted to know all about his training and his friends. They smiled proudly at him and assured him that he would be a fine warrior some day. Soon they were near the Two Leg place and decided that it was time to take Batpaw back home to sleep.
Suddenly, a strange cat stepped from the shadows. He reeked of two-leg garbage and didn't smell a whiff like a Clan-cat. But he was too large and muscular to be a kittypet either. Speckledleaf curled around Batpaw protectively.
"What do you want?!" Lionheart demanded.
The cat made no reply. He leapt at Speckledleaf and Batpaw. Lionheart tackled him out of the air. They scuffled and Speckledleaf screamed. As much as Batpaw loved his mother, she was a born queen and unaccustomed to fighting. She and Batpaw watched the struggle, horrified. Batpaw tried to squirm around his mother and help his father, but she held him down, afraid that her darling son might be hurt.
"RUN!" Lionheart yowled as the murderous cat struck a heavy blow to his neck.
Speckledheart tried to escape with Batpaw but he resisted and tried to get to his badly wounded father. Soon it was too late, the cat stepped away from Lionheart and lunged at his mother. Speckledleaf screeched flailed at the beast fiercely. Batpaw charged at the cat, but was swatted away like a fly. He was hardly to his paws before his mother's cries faded. She was gone. Horrified and numb, Batpaw stood shivering as the cat brushed past him, not sparing the thin cat a single glance.
Behind him, his Lionheart gasped. Batpaw jumped and hurried over to him. There was a lot of blood flowing from his neck. Batpaw feebly pressed his paws on the wound. His father murmured some barely audible words. Batpaw heard "I love you" and "Beware" but beyond that he had no luck deciphering the message.
Batpaw returned to camp a broken soul, aware of the cruel ways of the world. He tried to numb himself to the tragedy that had befallen him, but Ravenclaw would not allow it. He berated Batpaw for being too weak to defend his family and told him that his father was more pathetic for failing as well. Furious, Batpaw threw himself into training, determined to prove Ravenclaw wrong. Batpaw became a proficient fighter even before he had the body to back it up. For good measure, Ravenclaw taught him how to fight in the dark as well, taught him to fight even if he was blind as a bat. He also trained Batpaw how to fight in the mush of the rain and the heights of the trees.
Batpaw never had much patience for hunting, his mind was always on other things, but he was not terrible at it. It was during this time that Batpaw began to realize that the cat who attacked his parents could not have acted on his own. He began investigating the case in whatever spare moment he could find.
He overcame his fear and returned to the two-leg place. Batpaw questioned every kittypet and loner that he could find, but few had seen the cat he described and those that did insisted that he didn't live around the area. Upon accompanying the Medicine Cat to Mothermouth, as required by all apprentices before they can become warriors, Batpaw paid a short visit to the Loner's Barn. He asked again about the cat responsible for the deaths of his parents. This time he was informed that the cat was part of a group of terrible cats that wandered through from time to time. They had left a few moons ago, but when they were last at the Loner's Barn one of the loner's had seen a massive black cat talking to the cat that Batpaw had described. With a sinking feeling in his gut, Batpaw asked no more.
Even while he enveloped himself in Ravenclaw's training, steadily mastered the skills that were given to him, Batpaw never lost memory of his father. He wanted to be a strong good cat, follow the Warrior Code and carry out StarClan's will. But his dedication to his father's morals upset Ravenclaw to no end, and he threatened to not allow him to have a warrior name until his morals were relinquished.
It was in that moment, in that threat, that the last piece of his greatest mystery fell into place. Ravenclaw had ordered the murder of his parents. Whoever that cat was didn't matter, it was all Ravenclaw's doing! In a fit of fury, Batpaw attacked his mentor but had clearly forgotten who was more skilled. He was 13 moons old at the time and much larger and stronger than he used to be. The two had a fairly even match, but Ravenclaw was different, brutal and ruthless. He pinned Batpaw to the ground with a claw on his throat and hissed that he was worthless. The noise of their battle had carried to a hunting patrol and Ravenclaw heard their approach. After a long moment of thought, Ravenclaw released his apprentice and fled. Batpaw explained all that had happened to the Clan.
Batflight spent many moons attempting to live a normal life. He flirted with she-cats and became a rather productive member of the Clan. He tried to be everything his father was, honest and kind and loyal. But every day he spent like that felt like a lie. In truth, he was very bitter about the death of his parents and even more so with his inability to avenge them. By the time he was ready for his first apprentice, he had already become more of a solemn brooding cat.
One day he ran into Firestripe as she was tearing through camp. She was very upset and informed him that she had lost track of her son, Nightkit. Batflight had been assigned to a hunting patrol at the time, but assured her that he would keep an eye out for him. He was bothered the entire patrol, wondering where the kit might be. Although he kept his eyes and ears wide open for him, there wasn't the slightest sign, no pawprints. At least, there were none in the area that he was hunting in. He returned to the camp and was surprised to find that Nightkit was still missing and now his parents had vanished as well. Batflight agreed to lead a patrol to find them. Having hunted on one side of the forest, Batflight led the patrol on the other half. When the search party began to near the Thunderpath Batflight was certain that they had lost their trail, but then the scent of blood grazed his nose just below the burning stench of Thunderpath. Batflight beckoned the patrol with his tail. They discovered the broken and twisted bodies of Nightkit's parents. It was a shock for everyone, but Batflight shoved his horror away to search for Nightkit who was not among his parent's bodies. He soon located the kit in a nearby tree and climbed up to get him. Batflight comforted the traumatized kit as best he could and returned him to the nursery, feeling a strong sense of Deja Vu.
A few days later, Batflight was informed by the leader that he was the only suitable mentor left for the sullen and broken kit. Despite his earlier assertions, Batflight became very much the cat that his mentor was. He was very harsh. He accepted no excuses from Nightpaw and expected only the best for him. Yet at the same time he was protective, always watching out for Nightpaw even when he wasn't looking. He watched as his apprentice became more open, confident, and witty. His sense of humor even forced a smile out of Batflight every once in a while. The day Nightpaw became Nightwing was a proud day indeed. He felt as if he was watching his own son be presented to the Clan as a mature, responsible, warrior.
Nearly four seasons after Nightwing became a warrior, Batflight was presented with a more difficult task. A troubled youth by the name of Redkit had reached apprentice age. The Clan Leader asked if Batflight would be up to this task, He assured the leader that he was and was given the apprentice Redpaw. Redpaw proved to be a more difficult apprentice than Nightwing had ever been. He was argumentative, disobedient, and short-tempered. He actually reminded Batflight quite a bit of Ravenclaw. But as the moons passed, and Batflight's methods of discipline became harsher, Redpaw learned to restrain himself. They started to talk and slowly come to understand each other. Redpaw didn't agree with everything that Batflight believed and knowing that made it difficult for Batflight to give up on Redpaw as an apprentice. But in the end, they had learned to respect each other and Batflight had to trust that Redpaw would do the right thing (with a little guidance from Nightwing).
Batflight declined taking on another apprentice for a while. He was trying to get his own life together again. He passed the time solving problems for his friends and his Clan, but he tried to garden a social life as well. Strangely, a small red-kit stumbled into that social life. Robinkit was a bright curious cat who loved to listen to Batflight's stories. He was also rather nosy and determined to fix himself into Batflight's life. Batflight, worried that being near him would somehow corrupt Robinkit's happy life, declined to formally be his mentor but that did not stop Redpaw from coming to Batflight constantly for advice and tips in training.
Meanwhile, Batflight had finally met a she-cat who seemed to be his match. She was clever, beautiful, and skilled in combat. The problem was that she was not a Clan Cat. His father would have disapproved, but then maybe he wouldn't have. His parents had always wanted him to be happy too. His affair with her was on and off. She traveled a lot with a group of cats that she refused to introduce him too. But despite their brief passionate meetings, Batflight was quite convinced he was in love with her. Until one day he discovered a terrible secret about her. The more she revealed, the more their differences were clear. Batflight tried to change her mind, tried to convince her that her way of life was wrong. He wanted her to straighten up and join ThunderClan, even though he knew it would be a fight to get the approval of his leader. But she refused to change and they had a solemn mutual break up. There was however, a small complication in their splitting up. Something that she wanted him to keep in remembrance of her. Determined to keep and protect what she had given him, he asked a favor of an old friend, resigned to never see his lover again.
Shortly after that he became a father. Although he had a fondness of Kestrelflower as a kind and gentle cat, he did not love her in quite the same way. Their son, Shadekit, was already proving to be quite a handful and Batflight is determined to be the one that mentors him.
immediate kin
» mate: Many/Open
» sons: Shadekit
» daughters: None[/ul]
extended kin
» mother: Speckledleaf
» brothers: None
» sisters: None
» honorary sons: Bluebird, Redfang, Robinpaw
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