Sootpaw

A stocky black van tom with yellow eyes
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Sootpaw is a broadly built white tomcat with black markings on his ears and tail. His eyes are golden-yellow and always flitting about, looking for something to chase or pounce on. His markings are completely black, with no additional patterns. He has short fur, which makes grooming easy; a bonus when he spends so much time leaping headfirst into burrs and puddles.

He will eventually grow into his body, but for now he’s gangly and oddly-proportioned.

Sootpaw is a playful and mischievous tomcat who is very opinionated despite his lack of experience. This still doesn’t stop him from speaking his mind for all to hear and he loves to argue his point with anyone who will entertain the notion.

He also loves to explore, and is most at ease during training – he dreams of becoming a warrior before any of the other apprentices. His self-directed training sessions are lacking at best, but his enthusiasm can be infectious. Of course, these self-important ideals are childish and limited. With time, he may mature and eventually become worthy of being a full member of ShadowClan… if he could just focus on any given task.

• Born in the Moon of Leopard's Rest (2019)
• Made an Apprentice as Sootpaw in ShadowClan during the Moon of First Fishing (2020)

Kit: 0-5 Moons

Sootkit was born alongside their sibling Ashkit to the expectant parents Hawkfeather and Dawnflurry. With a steady, strong paw from each parent, the kits were well taken care of.

Once he and his littermate were old enough to explore the camp, they took to accosting warriors about their lives; Sootkit was especially interested in trying to get his clanmates to mentor him despite his status as ‘puffball with legs’. Not to be deterred, he was determined to get a head start on his training so that he could “earn his name early,” according to himself. Sootkit was especially excited to hear that his sire was the Deputy! Surely that meant he was destined to be great.

In the Moon of Promised Prey (2019), it was looking to Sootkit like he was about to get his wish. Hollyclaw, his half-sister had agreed (with a lot of harrassing) to show the kits a thing or two about fighting. They were just simple attacks and blocks with the warning of no claws, but…when it came to Sootkit’s turn to defend, he instinctively lashed out at his brother with a clawed paw. Horrified at his actions, Sootkit ran off to his dame with tears in his eyes.

He was a terrible brother and son for hurting Ashkit and he confessed as such to Hawkfeather. After a stern talking-to, Hawkfeather consoled Sootkit, who, upon the realization that Ashkit was going to be okay, bounced back.

Apprentice: 6 – Current

Sootpaw was apprenticed to Palestar, and was ecstatic for the chance to learn from the Leader herself. Maybe she will have some secret techniques for becoming a warrior even faster!

Palestar turned out to be a patient, knowledgeable cat who put up with Sootpaw’s enthusiastic, kit-like personality with the grace befitting her rank. While his hunting skills left much to be desired, Sootpaw’s personal training (which happened a bit due to Palestar’s responsibilities) left him with good instincts if not the practical knowledge to back them up.

• While learning to hunt ducks, Sootpaw learned how hard swimming is – and resolved to learn to swim so that he would be able to hunt aquatic creatures such as muskrats and ducks with ease.