Sunstrike

An angular, red ticked bicolor she-cat with copper eyes
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Thin-boned she-cat with an angular face and sloped nose. Her ears are triangular with slight notches out of the bottom of them. Her feet are webbed and her eyes are copper. Her upper body is white, while her back half is a red agouti tabby, fading to cream towards her paws and tail.

Stern, quiet and no-nonsense; she seems cold and arrogant towards the other clans. Her standoffish-ness stems from her empathetic nature, and sense of duty to her Clan which she puts above all else.

• Despite her attitude, Sunstrike is exceptionally empathetic; a trait she sees as not valued or wanted by the Clans. She does her best to tamp out this weakness – avoiding other clans like the plague and distancing herself from her peers.

She decided long ago she doesn’t have to be liked to be irreplaceable, yet she longs for validation from her peers. Due to past inaction, she has a very polarizing opinion of herself; she is either good or bad, helpful or lazy, skilled or useless. There is no in-between in her eyes – this drives her to greater and greater lengths to prove herself.

• Sunstrike considers her feelings to be private, and she keeps her opinions close to her chest; even cats within her own clan are not trusted with her feelings or opinions.

Despite the airs she puts on, Sunstrike tries to be a teacher and reliable warrior to her clan. She is the first to offer her support, and the last to leave a comrade in danger, even at her own expense. She rarely resorts to extreme violence, choosing to use words and warning shots to drive away those who she deems weaker than her. She is slow to trust, and even slower to open up to her peers due to past loss – but once she has, she would be willing to lay down her life.

• Born in the Moon of First Green (2019)
• Made an Apprentice as Sunpaw in ThunderClan during the Moon of Cheetah's Flight (2019)
• Named a Warrior as Sunstrike in ThunderClan during the Moon of First Green (2020)

Kit: 0 moons – 6 moons

Sunkit was born alongside her sibling Sparrowkit, the two of them very close. She was never the most rambunctious kit and rarely got in trouble. But she was the thinker behind her litter mate’s schemes.  She wasn’t one to take risks but would provide Sparrowkit with unending opportunities and ideas for troublemaking.

Because of this Sunkit became comfortable with allowing others to act in her stead, essentially becoming unable to act, only accumulating knowledge while having no drive to bring her ideas to fruition.

Apprentice: 6 moons – 14 moons

Sunpaw and Sparrowpaw were apprenticed in their 6^th moon. The siblings stood tall as they took their oaths, excited at the prospect of working together to better their clan.

Sunpaw was apprenticed to Greenfang. The two did not get along because Sunpaw was much more willing to learn than act upon her knowledge. She could tell you the best hunting spots but couldn’t stalk a mouse silently. She knew the herbs used for field medicine by rote but was unable to recognize them on sight. She knew the vulnerabilities of a cat but couldn’t protect her throat or utilize an enemy’s weakness. She argued that there were so many cats in the clan – why did she have to know how to *do* any of the skills that she learned about?

Sunpaw’s first gathering was a few moons into her apprenticeship. She enjoyed the atmosphere of the gathering, but disliked spending time with cats that she knew she would likely have to face in combat later in life. The less she knew about her opponents the better. She still does not like attending Gatherings for this reason.

Sunpaw’s inaction came to a head on her 10^th moon when Sparrowpaw was struck by a monster on Thunderpath chasing a loner from their territory. Sunpaw, frozen with indecision, watched her kin bleed out before fleeing to camp – distraught and overwhelmed.

While she never admitted it, she carried the weight of her guilt and the loss of her brother many moons after his death. It is not ambition that drove her, but rather the need to become what he would never be – to live her life how he could not. She couldn’t forgive herself for her hesitation and threw herself into her training. Greenfang remained concerned, but rather than about her apprentice’s lack of drive, she would often have to order Sunpaw home to stop her from injuring herself.

Prior her visit to high stones. Greenfang sat Sunpaw down and had a long conversation with her about her future. The two cats had never really agreed on anything but Greenfang was willing to put all their quarrelling aside because, to Sunpaw’s surprise, she was afraid that the young she-cat would get herself killed. She stressed to her that being reckless was not the way to honour her sibling, having taken notice in her personality change after his death. No one expected Sunpaw to become Sparrowpaw.

• Sunpaw quietly hoped that she would see her brother when she visited Highstones. She’s never spoken of her experience, although most cats are not aware of her wish.

Sunpaw took her assessment, passed, and took Greenfang’s advice to heart. She no longer lived as her sibling, but rather strove to be a warrior he could be proud of. She still struggles with guilt, but no longer acts in ways that are contrary to her quiet, observant nature.

Warrior: 14 moons – 20 moons

Sunstrike was given her Warrior name on her 14^th moon. Her vigil was cold and lonely, but she spent the quiet night praying to Starclan, hoping that she could protect those she cared about from suffering as she had. She took a personal vow to never take a life unnecessarily; she does not want anyone else to suffer loss the same way she did without due cause.

Sunstrike spent her first moon as a warrior riddled with anxiety. She had never been one to make friends and her attempts to reach out to others were pitiful at best. Eventually she settled for being dependable, if unlikable. Her clanmates did not need to like her to trust her to have their backs – although deep in her heart she longs for a friendship like she had with Sparrowpaw.

With the increase of strange occurrences in the forest, Sunstrike concluded that she does not care if people like her or not; she will defend and protect them regardless – even (and especially) if they refuse her help.

[Genealogy Details]

• Her right eye has melanosis, which will develop as she ages, causing her pupil to appear as if it was shaped like an 8
• Sunstrike has her eye set on the position of Deputy; she feels it is the best place to watch out for her fellow warriors, and she worries that without someone to watch his back, the ever personable Moosestar will find himself on the business end of other Clan’s claws.