Yellowstar

[attr="class","arrgenMAINTEXT"]Yellowstar is a complex creature. Nothing in this world is in black and white, and neither is this brute of a tom. While there are a few negative drawbacks to his character, he also is matched with several redeeming qualities. From fiercely honoring his clan in battle, ruthless and calculated — to being gentle, and tender toward kits, this tom has both seen and been both sides of the spectrum of good versus evil.

Loyal: Loyalty comes in many forms, and Yellowstar is a cat that fits the broad definition of what loyalty defines. To his clan, he would lay his life down for them. He would never betray them, not after how they rescued and saved him from certain death as a kit. To his friends, he is the same. He is good at listening and secret keeping for those he cares about. His interactions are genuine toward others.

Intelligent: His gullible, and innocent nature was quickly extinguished early on in life. Now he is a cat capable of reading in between the lines, and seeing things past face value. He is constantly questioning, learning, and evolving in his mindset. His intelligence helped him catch onto the duties of his role as a medicine cat: saving lives and interpreting signs from StarClan. As a warrior his intelligence helped him be quick on his feet, reacting fast to situations and being aware of his surroundings.As a leader, it will help him adapt to this role that he was suddenly thrown into.

Confident: Since being introduced to clan life at a young age, Yellowstar has become a confident and capable cat. He adapted well, and even succeeded in every aspect of this new life, inspiring a sense of confidence within him. Now his confidence bleeds through in his demeanor, even coming off as arrogance at times. 

Diligent: As with most things in his life, Yellowstar executes any task with diligence. He is extremely careful in the things he sets out to do, especially during his time as a medicine cat. The tom is extremely hard working and consistent in any of his pursuits. As a warrior this had lead to him being very trusted as a patrol leader, as slacking off is not part of his nature. 

Ambitious: Yellowstar has always been of a more ambitious nature than some. Perhaps it is due in part to him wanting to prove himself since the fact he is not clan-born is always somewhere in the back of his mind. As a medicine cat, he did his best to deny the part of him that longed for a different life as a warrior. He threw himself into his work and duties and gave his best effort into having a decent bedside manner as much as it was out of his nature. Once he was granted his status as a warrior, he became even more ambitious, hungrily seeking any opportunity to prove himself suited for this change in lifestyle. This has consequently made him rather ruthless in battle as he vies for ways to prove himself as a formidable warrior for RiverClan.

Cynical: Many don't make it through traumatic experiences and rough beginnings without some sort of drawback, and Yellowstar is no exception to this. As an intelligent tom, he sees the world for what it is, and while there are good things about it, it's not a pretty place. This has caused a deeply cynical nature within the tom that he is very outspoken about. Many view him as a gruff brute, with a dry, and even twisted, dark sense of humor. Truth be told though, cynicism and dark humor have been his coping mechanisms in response to the trauma he was never able to come to terms with but buried within.

Abrasive: Being abrasive was a trait Yellowstar tried desperately to work on while he was a medicine cat, usually to little avail. While some cats may view his words as sharp and cutting, he merely believes himself to be transparent and honest. Where others see a lack of tact, Yellowstar sees himself as being straightforward, always telling a situation as it is. Though this is a quality that can be off-putting, to some it is appreciated.

Hot-Headed: Perhaps one of his most outright and noticeable traits is how hot-headed this tom can be at times. Yellowstar is not known for being the most patient cat, and when his patience is tested he can lash out in a mix of irritation and frustration. Relevant to his also abrasive nature, this spitfire tom has a way with his words when he is angered.

Stubborn: Set in his ways, Yellowstar is a stubborn cat. Once he sets his mind on something, that is what he's going to do. While this can be a good trait, it often makes him come across as a very insistent cat with a very fixed mindset. Once he holds an idea about something, it is hard to almost impossible to convince him into a different way of thinking. The only time he finds himself with a change in mindset is when he feels personally motivated to do so for one reason or another.

Reckless: Perhaps this is a trait that goes hand-in-hand with his ambition, but the tom, for as intelligent as he is, has a natural disposition for being reckless. In the heat of the moment during a battle he can take risks that others would often shy away from, putting his life in danger. When faced with a predator like a dog, fox, or badger he has a tendency to charge at them in an attempt to scare them off their territory. While he is wise to know he would not survive facing these creatures head-on, he still makes an attempt to keep his clan safe. Others often view these bold tactics of his as crazy and daring.

[attr="class","arrgenMAINTEXT"]Yellowstar doesn't remember much about the early moons of his life, and for the most part it is due to him not wanting to think about it. What is known is that the tom was born to a kittypet named Sammi, along with a brother and sister. The first three moons of his life were uneventful. The days were spent playing with his siblings in the two-legs nest, and spending nights curled up with their mother.

Eventually the kits were weaned off of Sammi's milk as they were getting older. Not long after they started eating the dry, hard pellets did the kittens notice strange twolegs were starting to visit them. One by one he noticed as each of his siblings were selected by these twolegs, taken away, where he would never see them again.

At first this made the young tom very upset. His mother soothed, and consoled him, telling him that this was just a part of life that happened to every cat. Sammi spoke about her mother and her siblings, revisiting memories of the earliest days of her own life. She told her son that although he would be sad at first, he would come to love his new house-folk family more than anything.

At his mother's reassurance the young tom started to come to terms with the idea. A moon later he was still patiently waiting to be brought to his new family. It was around this time that one of the twolegs that they lived with had picked him up, placing him in a burlap sack.

Although it was strange, the tom didn't panic. He trusted his twolegs, and assumed he was being brought to his new home. He mewed his goodbyes to Sammi through the bag as they were taking him out, telling her how much he loved her and always would. While he felt saddened to leave her, another part of him was anxiously awaiting his new family as his mind started forming ideas on what his new two-legs would be like, and if they'd have other cats he could become friends with.

In the darkness of the bag he could tell they were making a long drive. Excitement built up inside of him as he could feel the car stop and could tell they were getting out. From there he remembers the footsteps of the twolegs, carrying him in the bag toward the destination. He was so sure he was being brought to his new family.

Suddenly he could feel the bag he was in fall. Confusion set in, why had they accidentally dropped him? He quickly became alarmed as water started to seep into the sack. Panicked, he started crying and clawing at the insides of the burlap sack to no avail. His cries and efforts were quickly muffled out by the sound of rushing water that had now filled the entire bag. Everything went black.

As fate would have it, he was dumped in what is RiverClan's territory, into the river. The whole ordeal was witnessed by a passing RiverClan patrol. As the twoleg quickly left the scene, the patrol went straight for the bag that was dumped into the river. Known for being strong swimmers, the patrol dove into the depths, dragging the wretched sack out. The cats quickly tore into it, and dragged out the little tabby kit who was now limp and unconscious.

Acting quickly, they took him to the clan's medicine cat, Bluefrost. Bluefrost was a skilled, old she-cat. If anyone could resuscitate the young kit, it would be her. After reacting quickly, and calmly to the situation, she was able to revive the small kit. Every cat in RiverClan ended up hearing about the atrocious event, and to no surprise they were all disgusted anyone could do that to a kit. The kit was staying with them, that was something that no one even needed to discuss, he was a part of RiverClan now. RiverClan would be his new family.

His presence immediately drew the attention of a young she-cat in the clan named Silvermist. The young molly had lost her only litter consisting of a single kit who was a stillborn. She would become a mother figure of sorts for him, often visiting him in the medicine den while he recovered. She was also the she-cat in the clan who had named him Yellowkit, in honor of his striking yellow eyes.

Silvermist would visit him after all her patrols, and taught him most of what he knows about clan life, and StarClan. Yellowkit was mystified by this completely alternate lifestyle a cat could have away from two-legs. Eventually, he began to regard his heritage as strictly RiverClan, doing his best to ignore and forget his kittypet roots that he was slowly becoming ashamed of. Given the fact he didn't ever speak about the tragedy that haunts his early moons of life, and how utterly evil what had happened was, most cats in RiverClan are unaware of this part of Yellowstar's history. It isn't something that is talked about, and is only known about by the senior warriors who were alive when the tom was first brought into the clan.

As a fully accepted member of RiverClan, Yellowkit was looking forward to his apprenticeship. He was on the brink of the first six moons of his life approaching. So many thoughts about being a warrior filled his head, and his excitement made it hard to sleep at times the closer he was coming to be six moons old. Although he was fully recovered, he never left Bluefrost's den. The medicine cat let the little tom stay with her until he was able to be apprenticed when he came of age. Being he was so young, she wanted to be there to help him get acquainted with and adjust to clan life.

Yellowkit didn't mind this. He loved being around Bluefrost all day, except for the moments where Silvermist would come and visit. Often he would help her sort through and organize her herbs. His young, inquisitive mind asked plenty of questions every time the medicine cat would come back from gathering more herbs.

It should have been no surprise to him when Bluefrost had approached him about being her successor. However, it did. In his mind he only wanted to be a warrior for the clan. He loved helping Bluefrost out around the medicine den all day, but he knew that was not where his heart was. As much as he wanted to be a warrior apprentice though, he could not turn the old she-cat down. He graciously accepted her offer, and was honored she would pick him.

You see, Bluefrost was getting old, and would surely retire not far off into the future. A moon before Yellowkit was taken into the clan her former apprentice Badgerpaw had drown in the river. In a way, having a kit in the den with her all the time had helped her cope with her grief of the loss of her apprentice. For these two reasons alone, Yellowkit felt it his duty to pursue this path.

At six moons of age, he was named Yellowpaw, and was made RiverClan's medicine cat apprentice. He tried his best to forget about wanting to be a warrior as he adapted to his new role. Silvermist was proud of him, and he did not want to let her down, either.

The moons were passing, and he was learning quickly. Although his desire to be a warrior never truly left him, he was becoming a skilled, and capable medicine cat. At 15 moons of age he was finally named Yellowstrike, with Bluefrost bestowing the honor upon him for becoming a fully fledged medicine cat. Three moons later, feeling satisfied with her long run as the clan's medicine cat, Bluefrost retired to the elder's den passing the sole responsibility of the role onto Yellowstrike.

At first the tom was nervous to take over this role himself, but that quickly faded away. He was skilled at what he did, and took his work seriously. Near the end of one leaf-fall, these skills would be tested as a sickness broke out through the camp. One of the queens of RiverClan caught the illness, and Yellowstrike immediately quarantined her to his den, fearful of it spreading to the rest of the nursery.

Her kits were only three moons of age, so Yellowstrike was extra vigilant in constantly checking the status of their health, terrified they would succumb to the illness because of how young they were. Yellowstrike kept them under his care until they were six moons of age, when they were finally healthy and ready to become apprentices.

Soon the outbreak of green cough was becoming a distant memory, and everyone was returning to life as usual, even Yellowstrike himself. The thought of taking on an apprentice wasn't even on his mind when the signs started coming. At first, they were subtle. He didn't feel ready so he did his best to ignore them. Nettle leaves were popping up and appearing everywhere. He kept ignoring the signs until it started driving him crazy. Could StarClan really mean for Nettlepaw to be his apprentice? He thought one day as he was picking out nettle leaves from his nest, perplexed as to how they got there.

The young tom was 7 moons old when Yellowstrike first started receiving the signs. He was one of the kits under his care during the green cough outbreak, and although Nettlekit had always left an impression on him, there was no way he wanted to take him away from the life of a warrior. Yellowstrike himself always wondered how different his life could have been if he were on a different path, and he hated the idea of putting another cat through that.

Eventually the signs could not be ignored, the will of StarClan was glaringly obvious. When Nettlepaw was eleven moons old Yellowstrike approached him with the offer. He would leave his path up to the tom himself. If Nettlepaw accepted, he chose his own fate. If he declined, then maybe StarClan would leave him alone already and Yellowstrike could go on without an apprentice for a while. To his surprise, Nettlepaw accepted, and Yellowstrike went on to make the arrangements to transition the young tom into his new role a moon before he was supposed to become a warrior.

As much as the prospect of now having an apprentice made him nervous, the two toms got along well. Yellowstrike was self aware of having a rather rough disposition after the hand he had been dealt in life, as well as a dry, dark sense of humor that he simply dismissed as part of his coping mechanisms. While he worried about how compatible he'd be with Nettlepaw at first, he soon became comfortable around him, as he found out how similar they both were.

Over the moons Nettlepaw was proving to be a very tolerable presence in his den, one he was growing fond of. They bonded over similar interests. While both of them appreciated the art of healing, they also appreciated the art of war. It was during these conversations that Yellowstrike opened up to his apprentice about how he always wanted to be a warrior. Something he was sure resonated with Nettlepaw.

When Nettlepaw reached 19 moons of age, and Yellowstrike was confident in his abilities, he awarded the tom his medicine cat name of Nettleheart in witness of StarClan at the half-moon meeting, one of the most sacred and ancient traditions of clan structure. With Nettleheart taking on the role, Yellowstrike was feeling confident at last to pursue the one calling he spent his entire life ignoring for the sake of duty.

With his former apprentice's support and understanding, the tom finally made the switch to follow the life he dreamed of. After consulting for a bit with RiverClan's current leader, Whitestar, he finally made the request to become a warrior and was approved. The first night retreating to the warrior's den after a long day had been surreal, but it felt amazing to finally be where he desired all along.

For a couple moons all was well. Yellowstrike quickly adapted to his new role in the clan, knowing he made the right choice by how natural it felt being a warrior. Not long after him and Dovecloud would start spending time together and before he even knew what was happening, they were in love and he was euphoric. Love was something he had never given much thought to as he assumed he'd always be a medicine cat. This... this was amazing.

Not long after RiverClan became blindsided when Falconfeather died suddenly in his sleep. To his greatest surprise, and probably that of everyone around him, Yellowstrike was selected as RiverClan's next deputy. In shock, he vowed to serve his clan as best as he possibly could. Three moons later conflict with WindClan would lead to the death of Whitestar: RiverClan's frail, old leader who was on his last life.

Yellowstrike became Yellowstar. The tom found himself yet again thrust into a role with little preparation, testing his ability to adapt and roll with the changes. While he was beginning to feel uncertain about himself, he buried those fears and insecurities deep down inside, displaying to his clan a cat who was only confident in his abilities to lead them. After receiving his nine lives he came back to RiverClan, quickly promoting Violetdawn as his next deputy. To him, there was no other choice. Her moons of experience and personality for the role were unmatched in his opinion, combined with the fact she was one of the cats on the patrol that saved him as a kit — he couldn't think of a better cat than her for deputy.

In the days to follow RiverClan could not catch a break. Emberstar's followers formed as a group of rogues who continue to plot and seek revenge on both WindClan and RiverClan for how their lives were uprooted and their leader was slain. These cats continue to attack their borders, keeping RiverClan's high ranks on their toes. It hardly surprises Yellowstar that his rise to power would not be an easy one. Currently he is doing his best to quickly shift into his duties as leader while also protecting his clan from harm by any means possible. StarClan be damned, these lawless cats would not threatened his clan's safety unpunished. RiverClan will prevail.