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BASICS
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NAME: Deathberrykit
→ DEATHBERRY- given by Cicadabuzz, a poisonous reminder of the ThunderClan medicine cat just over the thunderpath... (alternatives: Foxglovekit, Pythonkit, or Rattlesnakekit)
→ -KIT suffix indicative of her age and presence within a clan
AGE: unborn
RANK: kit
→ since birth
GENDER: DFAB ( she / her )
SEXUALITY: to be determined
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APPEARANCE
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CHOCOLATE TORTOISESHELL WITH LOW WHITE, UNNATURAL PURPLE EYES
→ Deathberrykit is a kit born during the change of seasons, and her swirling coat is a reflection of such. Her fur is a smattering of autumnal fiery oranges, earthy browns, and stark whites. When she is born, one might easily mistake her for leaf litter, stiff and camouflaged against a leaf-fall backdrop. Her fur is an evenly split patchwork of chocolate and red splotches, mosaiced over every angle and line of her body. There are small drizzles of white, too, mostly finding themselves pooled onto her tailtip, toes, and a small dash on her chest.
Perhaps most remarkable about her appearance is her face. Deathberrykit has facial markings that look remarkably similar to a pearl crescent butterfly. The edges of the mock-imagery of wings crest symmetrically from the bridge of her nose to well near her ear fur. Intricate patterns of chocolate weave themselves into the orange blaze of Deathberry's face, looping back down to complete the butterfly shape over her muzzle. Flecks of white intersperse themselves like freckles at the bottom of the butterfly's "wings", decorating her mouth and snout. Perhaps sharpest of all are the bright purple she possesses, with a pupil that is a light lavender shade.
From a young age, Deathberry is gaunt. Made of sharp angles and dry skin that seems too tight. She might appear shocking to some, especially as she sprouts long legs with age. She holds herself with a low, slouching posture. She slinks around the pocosin as if bearing some great secret, burdened by an invisible weight that nearly squashes her. As she reaches warriorhood, she will fill out and become more billowy and sinewy than gaunt, but one might be hard-pressed to quickly forget the unsightliness of her youth.
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PERSONALITY
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( + ) INTELLIGENT, POLISHED, DILIGENT
( / ) DISCREET, MORALISTIC, OBSERVANT
( - ) DESPERATE, INCONSIDERATE, SUPERFICIAL
Do not mistake Deathberry's quiet nature for uncaring. Beneath her fur there is a steady thrum of DESPERATION that wraps itself around her heart like a thicket. In kithood and apprenticeship she has frequent emotional outbursts, seeking the attention of her parents, but quickly learns this is ineffective. She retains clinginess, but becomes more like a shadow than a gnat. She becomes dogged, obsessive, and erratic. She puts herself above others morally so that she can stand out, so she can get some semblance of recognition from her parents. She does not care for the caretakers in the nursery. Deathberry knows what drives her. She knows what she wants. She is often INCONSIDERATE of others, especially the caretakers and her siblings, and is not above stepping on their backs to get to the notoriety she seeks. She will claim victories that are not her own, and will control her image and environment as fiercely as she can.
In a way that is not unlike her sire, Deathberrykit is extremely INTELLIGENT. She uses her smarts as an adept problem solver, and possesses a keenness for adaptability. Though perhaps unlike Cicadabuzz, she is more curious than she is analytical. Throughout kithood and apprenticeship, she will be likely to stick her nose where it doesn't belong when no one is looking. She is driven to understand how and why things are the way they are. In this way, she is also DILIGENT. Though this trait develops as she grows closer to adulthood and gets chastised a time or two. She becomes methodical and organized, and once she has found something to drive her purpose she is hard to stop. Though not so much elegant, Deathberrykit does also possess a POLISHED air about herself. She is subtle and thoughtful, and thinks before she speaks- which often leads to silence and bitten tongues more often than not. Because of Cicadabuzz's rather clinical way of child-rearing she is highly focused on being organized and well-kept. Which inadvertently leads her to appear very well put together. Occasionally, this does lend itself to a SUPERFICIAL tendency for Deathberry. She will avoid difficult conversations and uncomfortable scenes just to make herself appear as polished as possible.
In a way that is similar to her thoughtful nature, Deathberry can also be described as DISCREET. She is quiet and subtle, never at the front of any crowd. She has close-kept body language and tries to make herself small in the name of distant observation. Despite her dogged hard work, she does not seek out recognition from her clanmates- at least not outwardly- and believes that actions mean multitudes against words. This silent observation in tangent to her discipline makes her rather MORALISTIC. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and this self-possessed compass comes from completely within her own beliefs over anyone else's. She is vaguely dogmatic, looking down her nose at others without them even realizing. Though Cicadabuzz is an unreachable parent, Deathberry will form her entire belief system and moral code around the actions and words of her parent. She becomes as rigid as a carapace, and is not above squashing others to elevate herself.
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RELATIONSHIPS
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CICADABUZZ x NPC
→ other relations here
Sibling to: tbd, Cloudberrypaw, Mistletoepaw, and Hemlockpaw
Other relations: here
Relationship notes: within the plots and tropes header!
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PLOTS + TROPES
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→ Themes of desperation, fear of being forgotten. A need to be accepted and loved, and not just any love will do. She is likely to have a few superficial relationships to try and fill these gaps, but nothing makes her feel satisfied.
→ RELATIONSHIP TO CICADABUZZ: Deathberry sharply seeks approval and affection from Cicadabuzz. She frequently reaches for bug as if reaching paws into shade- felt, but impossible to hold onto. She models her morals after the ones that they teach, and is quick to squander any method of raising or living otherwise. She may linger near the medicine cat den and often try to do things outside of her own line of duty just to maintain a closeness and usefulness to them. I imagine she might have a strong sense of jealousy against Magpiepaw for being their apprentice, or really any of her siblings who could be held in favor over her.
→ MIMICRY: Deathberrykit possesses the curse of mimicry. She discovers this during her apprenticeship when she uses it to gain some resource- either physical or political- for the benefit of ShadowClan. Though it isn't until she has used it a few times that she realizes it comes with a cost. Though Deathberrykit will use it as sparingly as possible because of the pain it causes her, she can easily be convinced by Cicadabuzz or some other similarly esteemed authority figure. Evenually, her voice will be reduced to a whisper, and she may eventually become silent altogether.
→ ALETHEIA: As Cicadabuzz teaches Deathberrykit and her siblings right from wrong, she comes to understand that truth is more meaningful than most other things. And she will also come to realize that every lie told to her is met with a sharp blinding pain. She's likely to use this power for more 'evil' than good per se, often using it as a 'confidant' motive. Her power of truth discernment will be rendered obsolete, though, when the curse laid upon her makes her silent.
→ RELATIONSHIP TO HER SIBLINGS: Deathberrykit is as familial to her siblings as two berries are that grow on the same yew bush. That is, she is related to them, but that is about where her closeness with them ends. She is unafraid to usurp her siblings and to squander them for her own gain. She is a tattle tale and a a gossip. Though she would never be outright cruel towards her siblings, that doesn't mean she will be kind to them either. They will quickly learn that there are very few things that she is interested in, and they are not one of them.
