Creekwhisper - Tumblr Posts
Woe, cats be upon ye
Have a bunch of headshots of my oc clan I made for their toy houses! They’re all part of The Ever Snow (all the clans are named after seasons) and their names will be in the tags in order if you’re curiouse :3
What is this, me giving background characters actual personalities? No way. I tried applying some tarot symbolism and assigned each character a card based on looking up what they meant and some bits that stood out to me, but I’m not involved in the tarot so don’t read too much into it I suppose.
[read more below bc there’s a lot of story; also content warning for Oakclaw generally being an abusive piece of shit.]
Oakclaw sort of always had this vibe of being a more “traditionalist” and antagonistic character. Basically, Tigerstar. He was always sort of suspicious of Emberdusk, and didn’t like that outsiders such as he and Windsong were welcomed into the clan. It makes more sense now with the lore of quarry cats believing those born in the forest are cursed by Barkstar.
Ahh, Barkstar. Speaking of her, Oakclaw was her biggest supporter, and in fact they’re actually kin. She always wanted things to be more like the old clans, with a stricter adherence to the warrior code and all its aggressive territorialism, closed-minded ideologies, and total loyalty to the leader and StarClan. To her, the old clans fell apart because they lost sight of that, when in fact the opposite was true. When a separate group of cats decided to inhabit the nearby cove, it was mistaken as a threat and war was waged. Many were killed, Barkstar herself included.
Oakclaw in all his self-absorption thinks he’s their last chance. He still feels anger and betrayal that Barkstar picked that runt to be next in line over him. It must’ve been a lapse in judgement. He peers over the other cats at gatherings, how awfully friendly they all are. If he was leader, he’d have driven out the cove cats and claimed their land. His eyes rest on one in particular: Sootear. His involvement with their medicine cat irritates him. Ryestar’s youngest has always been soft, just like his father. Though it was startling to see the look of absolute fury on Ryestar’s face and the threat to exile him for suggesting that Mallowcloud be punished (Oakclaw’s exact words were more extreme, not that he’d admit it).
It’s a wonder that a cat so passive and quiet would take to someone like him, but perhaps that’s why he likes Fawnspot: she won’t argue against his opinions. Whether or not she agrees with him, she won’t say. She’s more content to be a rule-abiding follower than try to come up with her own ideas. Fawnspot is stressed by the change in order, and frequently joins patrols and hunting parties because a part of her is afraid at the idea of having free time to just do... nothing. She doesn’t know what she even likes because she’s never stopped to ask herself that.
As a result, her three kits don’t have much of a relationship with her. Which, sadly, is better than what they have with their father. Oakclaw is varying degrees of disappointed with all his children, and by extension believes that their mentors are bad influences, unfit to teach them.
Foxpaw is the simplest case: he’s pretty ‘no thoughts, head empty’. He is surprisingly happy-go-lucky and doesn’t particularly care about his father’s goals, if he’s even aware of them. Oakclaw deems him lazy and a failure, and doesn’t even bother with him.
Where Oakclaw is Tigerstar, Hickorypaw is Brambleclaw... Well, the whole “cats assuming I’m like my dad because we look similar and having to step out from under his shadow” thing they had going on originally with him and then dropped the ball on, anyway. He’s a big soft fluffball who is kind out of pure spite, though he feels the most pressure from his father to challenge the current leadership in his stead. Oakclaw knows he’s not getting younger and that his chance has just about passed.
Creekpaw suffers from the same flaw as her mother: staying silent. She knows of her father’s disinterest towards her (but why? she’s done nothing to offend him) and is afraid to speak up for herself. Combined with her distant relationship with her detached mentor, she’s left confused and wondering what’s going on. Creekpaw takes the role of an observer, watching everything that goes on from the background, until certain events force her to take action.
When Hickoryheart’s life is in sudden danger at his father’s claws, Creekwhisper may finally have to break her silence.
The sun was starting to sink in the sky as they made their way through the field, its colors washing the earth and their pelts in a deep orange like that of flames. Times like this made Emberdusk think his name very befitting of his appearance, with his bright orange pelt and amber eyes. Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear Smokestep's scoff as he continued talking about... whatever it was.
"Eh, I don't believe that whole thing about "Barkstar's Curse". It's just a tale to get kits to behave."
Emberdusk wanted to forget about the curse that hung over his head like a storm cloud. Any cat expecting kits was reminded of it as a warning: do not have your kits in the woods, or they will end up like Barkstar's. Emberdusk was born in the woods; would he meet the same fate? Or worse, was everyone he held too dearly doomed to die? "I don't know... What about my parents? Whitefern's father...?"
Just then, he felt the molly's paw on his shoulder. Her fur was dappled by the setting sun casting shadows through the high stalks around them. She was a radiant, soft cloud, no matter the weather. "Emberdusk, none of that was your fault. Kits' tale or not, I don't think you're cursed."
He found he had nothing to say.
"We're out here to hunt, so let's look around!"
"Okay..." He found that gloom could not cling to his pelt when she was around. "Thanks, Whitefern."
She perked up when his mood slowly changed. "It's nothing!"
Having walked ahead of them, Smokestep stopped to turn around. "Ugh..." He rolled his eyes. "You guys! Get over here."
As her mentor and the cat he clearly held affection for dashed to catch up, Creekpaw quietly hung behind, wondering about this curse. Could it really be true? Perhaps this was why Emberdusk was so avoidant of her and kept shoving off his duties to train her on other cats. Whatever it was, her father certainly complained on his irresponsibility. Oakclaw had already been mad enough when the outsider had been appointed her mentor. It must be a lonely life to be an outcast, Creekpaw thought. Will that be my life, too?