Crescentgaze // Med. Cat

[Crescent]

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THE BASICS;;
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Name; Crescentgaze

Position; Medicine Cat

Age; 36 Moons

Gender; She-cat
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THE REST;;
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Description;

As expected of all WindClan cats, Crescentgaze's body is wiry, obviously built for running long distances. At the same time, her long legs -- a common trait of most of those in her Clan, adding to her speediness -- give her a slender, graceful look. A rather petite she-cat, but then, most WindClanners are, right? Her body is not a compact, well-muscled one; she would not be a formidable opponent in battle. Crescentgaze's fur still retains its youthful softness; mostly due to her young age; but also credited to the fact that as a medicine cat, she does not partake in battles very often. As such, she has no scars on her body, with the exception of one she attained as a young kit. It is located on her nape, where her scruff was located while she was younger, and she received it in an unpleasant encounter with an adder. Further explained in her history, but moving on.
Her neck is thick and short, sustaining a round head with likewise rounded ears. Her whiskers are long and her nose is pink, giving her an even less threatening appearance, if there was any to begin with. Most often Crescentgaze has a gentle way about her and a soft smile gracing her features; she has a naturally kind demeanor and an innate geniality. But perhaps the most noticeable feature about the she-cat are her eyes. They are wide and a rather pale shade of blue. Usually they carry a lively sparkle and a friendly gaze. But the medicine cat's pale eyes often provoke a sense of mystery, as if she knows more than she is telling when immersed in a conversation with another cat.

Now on to her coloring. Crescentgaze is actually colored quite oddly for a tortoiseshell; one might even compare her to a calico. It's because like the majority of the forest cats she has a mixed lineage. Her coat is a blend of dusky orange and black. All four paws are white, and her chest has a patch of the same alabaster hue, starting from her lower jaw. The most interesting markings on her body would have to be her right hind leg and her left front leg. They both seem to have made up their minds on what colors they are: her right hind leg is completely orange tabby (and white), while her left front leg is completely black (and white). On her face she has orange tabby markings starting from above her eyes -- forehead, so to speak -- and reaching down to the tip of her muzzle. The rest of her face is onyx colored.
An odd blend of pelt colors for an odd little she-cat. Crescentgaze isn't the type of cat that could surpass, say, Spottedleaf in radiance, but she's nothing to sneeze at either. And despite her reluctance to fight or even learn many battle strategies, Crescentgaze's greatest weapons would have to be her claws, which are longer than usual -- not quite like Tigerclaw's, but close -- though they are almost always sheathed.

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Personality;

Crescentgaze is your typical medicine cat. Spottedleaf-esque, she's very calm, caring and balanced even in the most nerve-wracking of situations. Not to say that she's perfect; the tortoiseshell has, admittedly, freaked out before, but learned that usually those actions have dire consequences. So, mostly, Crescentgaze learned to retain a collected posture, even when she feels as if a burden is being placed on her shoulders; as a medicine cat, she partly represents the Clan, and what example is she setting by being a fretful worrywart? But Crescentgaze may come across as far too friendly for some cats. As a medicine cat, she is exempt from the rule of "No cats may cross boundaries" in the warrior code; with just reason she will not hesitate to step over the border. She also has no problem with befriending cats of other Clans and, when attacking or being attacked, often finds herself unable to stop her feelings of sympathy for that cat and its Clan. Crescentgaze isn't disloyal, and isn't trying to be; she's just very amicable, and won't hesitate to show it.
She's not very flamboyant either; Crescentgaze is mostly modest, but on the days when she feels full of energy she's not afraid to show off what she's got. And though she can be considered a harmonious cat, even medicine cats get impatient sometimes. When pushed to her limit Crescentgaze's fierce temper will emerge, and she can get crabby and snappy for no reason. Which is why she often tries to remain peaceful in aggravating situations. She won't bite your head off or anything -- everyone gets a little exasperated sometimes, and she's no exception.

As an apprentice Crescentgaze had inherited most of her mother's nosy nature. So naturally she likes butting into other cats' business; she can be seen as a nuisance that way, constantly trying to solve everyone else's problems. The medicine cat is secretive, though not the type to lurch off in the corner while every other cat is celebrating a victory or something. She can be a social butterfly... when she wants to be. Though many cats view her as quiet or antisocial, the truth is, Crescentgaze doesn't talk until she thinks she has something worth saying. And -- albeit a bit arrogant -- she sometimes wishes other cats would do the same.
Not like she'll ignore a cat if it comes up for a pleasant conversation, but Crescentgaze is dedicated to her work and position as medicine cat so most often limits chats to just idle greetings and a sentence or two. When she has free time, she likes to reminisce, hunt or practice battle moves. Her most trustworthy friends -- in her eyes -- would have to be the other medicine cats. Crescentgaze's blithe personality doesn't exactly have other cats running in fear, but she speaks her mind, and can unintentionally repel a cat or shatter a friendship with an accidental insult. When it comes to Gatherings and such, Crescentgaze takes all the time in the world to socialize with cats from other Clans. Despite what cats think, she's not sizing up her future enemies; Crescentgaze secretly thinks that if all cats act so alike, why can't they just live in peace? But she knows it is a mere fantasy.

In terms of love, Crescentgaze sticks to the warrior code like glue, and tries to almost never break it. Hey, she'll seize that chance to flirt here or there, but often restricts romantic gestures to friendly purrs or something. She's not a sultry she-cat and doesn't want to be viewed like one, so the tortoiseshell remains loyal to the warrior code in any and every way possible. Her upbeat nature be

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History;

Crescentgaze's mother, Palmfrond, was a bright, inquisitive WindClan she-cat. Palmfrond was bursting with energy and always rushing off to new places and new things. Some cats even considered her to be annoying; as an apprentice Palmpaw often begged the warriors to go out on patrols, and usually got her way. Especially if the warrior was a tom -- at 12 moons, almost ready to become a warrior, Palmpaw was actually quite beautiful. And because of this she was also quite popular. Most cats ignored Palmpaw's mean streak -- she gossiped, she loved to pull pranks, and she also teased cats excessively. But when forced into a stressful situation, she was often confused and unable to take charge, showing a weak foundation of character and a lack of confidence in what she could really do.
Now a timeskip. Palmfrond, a seasoned she-cat, flamboyant and mature but still having a bit of a wild side. She often hung around the medicine cat den -- she liked the medicine cat, Shadeclaw, and was sure her affections were mutual. It was breaking the warrior code, but the she-cat had always lived dangerously. She confessed to Shadeclaw when they had a moment alone, and then found out the terrible truth: he didn't love her. He loved her sister, Pepperpelt, who always happened to be around whenever she went to the medicine cat den. As an unrequited love, Palmfrond grew bitter and pessimistic, but could not bring herself to hate her sister. Or Shadeclaw; he had saved both hers and her kins' lives many times over.

Palmfrond tried to convince herself she didn't love Shadeclaw by taking another tom, Badgerstripe, and bearing his kits after some amount of moons. She'd been hunting when they'd come, and by the time she was finished kitting, nighttime had fallen. Afraid of attracting predators, Palmfrond hushed the kit's first squeals and nuzzled them into her belly. Fortunately there were no problems. The she-cat looked up at the moon -- a crescent -- and down at her kits. A she-kit and a tomkit. The she-kit will be Crescentkit, and the tom will be Ravenkit, she decided.
The next day, Pepperpelt motioned her away from the nursery. There, her sister revealed to her news in an excited voice: she was having kits! With growing horror, Palmfrond asked if they were Shadeclaw's. But Pepperpelt said no -- she loved him (and her feelings were shared), but she knew it was wrong. So she'd moved on to another tom, Mudstream. Palmfrond was speechless. Pepperpelt was sounding as if she'd been leading Shadeclaw on all along -- after all that time they spent together, she just rejected him? Palmfrond was angry; she'd wanted Shadeclaw to be happy. Now she knew he would always be miserable. She stalked away from Pepperpelt, her tail lashing, and refused to talk to her for many moons.

But Pepperpelt was no pushover. She started saying mean things behind her sister's back, and by the time their leader put an end to the internal conflict, the damage had been done. Palmfrond, enraged, had gone hunting to clear her mind on a warm greenleaf day; she returned to find her sister just behind the camp. Pepperpelt was kitting! But something was going wrong -- there was too much blood, and the kits weren't coming out. Her sister gasped some distorted words at her. Was she saying help? Palmfrond raced away to get the medicine cat, but he wasn't there; by the time she returned, Pepperpelt was gone. Filled with remorse and shame, Palmfrond sorrowfully began dragging her body to the entrance to the camp, but then remembered her kits.
Were they alive? She went over and prodded each of them softly. Yes, they were! One was unresponsive, though; Palmfrond quietly buried him. By now, a cat had to have noticed the blood stench. If she didn't get a move on, some cat would think she'd left Pepperpelt to die, or worse! Quickly, Palmfrond raced to her sister's body and buried it next to the kit. She regretted that she couldn't hold a proper vigil, but if the Clan found out that she'd abandoned her sister in her greatest time of need...
Of course, Palmfrond had done all she could've done to try and get the birth going normally, but Pepperpelt had been too far along when she'd arrived. When Palmfrond returned to camp, she made up some story about how she'd found these kits abandoned in the forest and they were probably loner kits. However, she couldn't leave them to starve, and so she'd nurse them. She'd had plenty of milk left over -- Ravenkit and Crescentkit insisted on being weaned early, and she'd had no problem with that. Three kits out of four were left over; all toms. Palmfrond took them under her wing and cared for them as if they were her own.

Search parties were sent out for Pepperpelt, but they never found her. And they never would. After many moons of silence, Palmfrond finally told Crescentpaw what had gone on that day. Crescentpaw was stunned; why hadn't she just told the truth in the first place? But she knew for the sake of her mother she had to keep quiet. And so she did. Pepperpelt's death was the initial reason Crescentpaw started hanging around by the medicine cat den more often. As such, she soon became the medicine cat apprentice by request -- she never wanted to be as helpless as her mother had been in that situation. Although she wasn't there to see it with her own eyes, Crescentpaw's mother's experience shaped her own future.
Her mother, busy with Pepperpelt's kits, was not there when Crescentpaw was announced the Clan medicine cat. Crescentgaze held a childish grudge against her aunt's kits from that moment; she still resents her mother for that small instance. But now, Crescentgaze has matured, and through her own mistakes and triumphs has learned what it really means to be a medicine cat.

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Roleplaying Example;

An obsidian shroud of darkness veiled the land. Widespread mist danced over the open moors. It thinned quickly; any experienced warrior would know that this meant dawn was arriving soon. The moon, casting silvery rays over the four Clan territories, began to descend as the sun rose to take her place. For a minute -- or half -- the land was locked in the period between night and sunrise. At this moment in time, everything seemed pristine, fragile. Then time went on and the sun pierced the early morning fog with bright golden sunshine. Early rising cats shivered at the sudden shift from the nightly chill to the morning warmth. A few clouds drifted lazily across the sky, signaling a hazy day; and it smelled of rain. Well the season was changing from greenleaf to leaf-fall so that was to be expected.
Not many cats were awake at this hour -- they'd be able to rest for a significant amount of time yet before the dawn patrol was sent out. But any cat with ears would be able to hear the low moans of pain that sounded from the nursery. In there, a cat was giving birth. A respected WindClan queen was kitting for the first time, but she was not alone; a tortoiseshell cat was by her side, helping her along. A loyal WindClanner would've recognized the slender tortoiseshell as the medicine cat Crescentgaze.

[/color]"Come on, Lotustail, you're almost there." Crescentgaze didn't want to give her any poppy seeds or vervain; the medications relieved mild pain, but they also could cause complications. Lotustail was beginning to breath in an uneven pattern; quickly the medicine cat pushed crushed iris petals up to the queen. "Eat this, now," she commanded firmly, and the gasping Lotustail obliged. An hour flew by like a minute, and then three beautiful bundles were lying near their mother. Crescentgaze looked down upon the trio of newborn kits, her eyes softening. If only I could have kits... But she reminded herself sternly that being a medicine cat was the path she took, and mates were forbidden.
"Help, Crescentgaze," wailed Lotustail pitifully, and Crescentgaze had to do all she could just to stifle an exasperated sigh. Lotustail was a beneficial warrior and a good attribute to WindClan, but sometimes she could very whiny. And quite annoying, like now. But she'd just given birth, and though it must be a wonderful experience, it must also be frightening. So Crescentgaze pushed away her irritation and looked curiously at the she-cat. "What seems to be the problem?"

But the exhausted she-cat could only motion dully to her kits, and Crescentgaze realized her milk wasn't coming. She gave Lotustail a brief nod as if to say I'll be right back, and swiftly raced across the clearing. Relieved to see that the herb she was looking for, blessed thistle, was fully stocked, she grabbed a few stalks and headed back to the queen. More cats were beginning to emerge now, and Crescentgaze greeted them with a brisk nod as she hurried back to her patient.
Lotustail consumed the blessed thistle without any objection, and Crescentgaze was relieved as the kits' hungry cries turned to soft mews of contentment. She smiled wearily at the wiry WindClan she-cat and softly nosed each kit, checking for problems. They appeared to be healthy, even the runt; an unusual but fortunate case. "They're in perfect shape. They're beautiful," she commented gently. "What are you going to name them?" But Lotustail's delighted mew was cut short by a cat who rushed into the nursery. It was a tom. Lotustail's mate?

Evidently, for as soon as he spotted the kits, he dropped into a crouch and licked Lotustail's head affectionately. They began murmuring to each other, and Crescentgaze quietly slipped out, giving the couple some privacy. A warrior rushed up to tell her about some sort of ache he had in his paw; the tortoiseshell she-cat nodded in acknowledgment. But if anyone happened to be watching as she padded back to her den, Crescentgaze gave one last glance back at the nursery, and in her pale blue eyes was an almost wistful look.
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