#emberthorn

Personality

charismatic, comedic, sarcastic, clever, strategic, cautious, loyal, ruthless, cold

Above all else, Emberthorn is extremely charismatic. They maintain an amiable and easy to get along with exterior, often cracking jokes and doing their best to get on the good side of their Clanmates. Early on, Emberthorn decided that when hard things happen, you could look at it and find it all to be tragic and terrible, you could decide that it’s mostly funny. As such, they tend to often crack jokes, trying their best to lighten situations with humour or sarcasm, depending on what it calls for. They also tend to hide behind their humour when they are truly upset, unwilling to let others attempt to help them and unable to stand the concept of what they view as pity.

Beneath the goofy exterior however, Emberthorn is shockingly clever and intelligent, in an analytical sort of way. When jobs need to be done, they tend to find a clear way to do them quicker than most, and has described it as ‘seeing the bright clear line’. They excel in strategic thinking, and even before their promotion, tried to get themself into strategy meetings, whether their input was wanted or not. Their strategies tend to be somewhat cautious, doing what needs to be done but trying to have as little casualty as possible. However, despite their analytical nature, Emberthorn also seems to have a hard time factoring emotion into their equation, and can sometimes blunder right over someone’s feelings without realising it.

To their family and clanmates, Emberthorn is unwaveringly loyal. Betrayal is a concept that is foreign to them, and they cannot forgive someone who betrays their own trust. They hold grudges, and can and will do their best to get revenge on those they feel have wronged them, or someone close to them. When faced with someone they have little to no care for, Emberthorn is incredibly cold, their charismatic mask melting off once they’re alone. This, combined with their intelligence and lack of empathy, gives them a wicked ruthless streak. Their ‘clear line’ aids this, and can make them a fearsome enemy.

A pitfall of Emberthorn is notably their inability to connect emotionally to their peers. While they love their Clanmates and family in their own unique way, the further you get from their inner circle, the more expendable you become in their eyes. They are very much a "hurt the many for the needs of the one", in scenarios where the 'one' is someone (or a group of someones, usually their Clanmates) they care deeply about, and the 'many' are those they... well. Don't.

Relationships

Father - Redstar - deceased Mother - Turtlefur - status unknown

Sibling - Sablesnake - SkyClan warrior - played by Yazsh Sibling - Cherryspots - SkyClan warrior - played by Sunshine Sibling - Foamlily(?) - SkyClan warrior - played by Blitzy

Mentor - Icetail - SkyClan warrior Apprentice - Brindlefox - SkyClan warrior

Best friend - Brackenheart - SkyClan warrior - played by Cherry Friend - Honeysucklefang - SkyClan warrior - played by Mink Friend - Tigerbrook - SkyClan warrior - played by Cheshire Friend - Rainfoot - SkyClan warrior Friend - Hawkwhisker - SkyClan warrior - played by Hyaline

Timeline

0 MOONS: Born to Redstar and Turtlefur alongside two siblings.

2 MOONS: Turtlefur disappears while out on a hunting patrol. Multiple search parties are sent out, but there is no trace of her. Emberkit and their siblings are understandably upset, but something in Redstar changes.

2 MOONS: Emberkit begins to receive special attention from Redstar. At first, this makes them feel good and important - however when they notice the negative impact it has on their siblings, they start to resent this attention.

4 MOONS: Still upset and troubled over their mother’s disappearance, Emberkit tries to convince their siblings to come looking for her with them. However, they all brush him off, citing that Redstar might actually punish them. Emberkit, frustrated with them, resolves to go out on his own - however other (slightly older) kits in the nursery, Brackenkit and Honeysucklekit, say they’ll come out and look with them. The three don’t get very far before they’re caught by a patrol, and Brackenkit and Honeysucklekit get their apprenticeships (which were supposed to begin the following morning) delayed – but Emberkit is so enamoured with their denmates that they begin following them around like a shadow.

6 MOONS: Emberkit is made an apprentice alongside their siblings. They receive a family friend, Icetail, as their mentor. The two of them butt heads regularly, as Icetail is determined to make Emberpaw back up all the overconfident comments that they make. Overall, however, the two of them keep a good rapport. Emberpaw learns the values of being charming in order to get on well with others.

7 MOONS: Emberpaw makes friends easily in the apprentice den, though cats sometimes seem intimidated by how closely Redstar pays attention to them. Emberpaw’s resentment against their father grows for him being so interested in their life, while simultaneously not providing the same attention for their siblings. Despite this, Emberpaw forms a close circle of friends and tries to include their siblings in it - though they tend to brush them off. Them, Brackenpaw, and Honeysucklepaw grow even closer, and Emberpaw begins getting to know their other friends.

9 MOONS: Emberpaw seems to constantly butt heads with their friend Tigerpaw. The two have extremely opposing ideals, Emberpaw thinking more with their head, and Tigerpaw thinking more with their heart, that lead to a few explosive arguments. Brackenpaw tries his best to play peacekeeper, and insists that they could work well as a duo if they could learn to respect the other’s traits. Eventually, Emberpaw takes his words seriously and begins planning out scenarios that improve on both their talents, and the two of them slowly start to get along.

10 MOONS: Rumours of ThunderClan imploding due to rogues reach SkyClan, and the proof is displayed by the activity (and lackthereof) on the border. Redstar makes no move to claim any of the new territory, citing that they should stay out of that mess to avoid making dangerous enemies in the form of the rogues. Instead, Redstar welcomes ThunderClan refugees into SkyClan easily, a choice that Emberpaw agrees with begrudgingly.

11 MOONS: Emberpaw is made a warrior, Emberthorn, early for seemingly no reason. They try to speak out against this, but their father will hear none of it. They do, however, prove themselves to be quick thinking and ruthless on the battlefield when they aid Brackenheart, Honeysucklefang, and the rest of their patrol in taking down a hungry badger.

12 MOONS: Rumours of spirits begin to crop up, and some cats (namely the former ThunderClanners) begin spouting things about ghosts. Emberthorn privately wonders if the trauma is just getting to them, though does begin paying a bit more attention to their surroundings than they might have in the past.

14 MOONS: Emberthorn is given an apprentice, much too early in their opinion, something that breaks their father's own policy. They bring this up to Redstar, but he responds that everything happens for a reason. They do their best regardless, and the small space in age makes it easy for them to form a connection with Brindlepaw.

20 MOONS: Right on time, Brindlepaw becomes Brindlefox, and Emberthorn can't help but feel overwhelming pride for their apprentice. Not that there was any doubt - Redstar has still been keeping a paw involved in everything Emberthorn does.

20 MOONS: Hawkstrike dies during a patrol, and Redstar shocks everyone (Emberthorn included) when he selects a former ThunderClan cat as his deputy. Dustfoot is, objectively, a good option, and Emberthorn can see the value in such a choice. Their praise for their father's choice dies in his throat, though, when they learn that they'll be working closely with Dustfoot to 'prepare him for what StarClan has planned', whatever that means. (It's very obvious what that means). Despite themself, Emberthorn finds themself enjoying Dustfoot's company and begins a comfortable working relationship with the older cat. There's something about him that nags at him… but that just makes it better to stay close.

21 MOONS | SITE MOON 1: Redstar dies suddenly from an illness he'd somehow kept secret from everyone in the Clan. Emberthorn finds it difficult to mourn someone they never really respected, and doesn't quite get the chance - Dustfoot is far too busy naming them his deputy in the wake of his father's death. It's somehow both surprising and not, and they accept the position with all the cockiness and self-assuredness that their Clanmates have come to expect from them. No one would suspect how unprepared and unsure they feel, beneath that mask.

Extras

Emberthorn is loosely based off of Marco from Animorphs.

Emberthorn's perk (a boon system used by Thistle in the Weeds) is as follows: Sly Fox: In their mind, this cat comes first. They want what they want, and they're not above telling white lies to get it. This cat is adept at persuasion and trickery, or even just blending into a crowd to escape consequences for their actions. +2 Charisma, +2 Knowledge

Other Iterations

Bones Like Bare Roots