stoneheart

the basics

full name • stoneheart
nicknames • stone
name reasoning • 'stone' for his grey pelt and 'heart' for his undying loyalty; together his name alludes to his stoic personality and lack of emotional depth
age • 45 moons
clan • thornclan
rank • deputy
gender • tom
sexuality • hetero

the appearance

face claim • realistic version
face claim • drawn version
height and weight • 17inch & 27 lbs
identifying features • many small scars on the flank, tail, face, and legs; wide scar on the left of his muzzle and a long gash on his left flank
first glace • large silver tabby tom with piercing yellow eyes
overall appearance • stoneheart's most notable characteristic is his large stature. being a maine coon mix, his long fur only adds to his intimidating appearance. his silver fur is marked with a classic tabby pattern in an ash-grey color that is often mistaken as black. a lighter grey, nearly white, runs from his muzzle, down his chest, underbelly, and stems to the back of his legs to cover his massive paws. his face is marked with the familiar tabby patterns seen on the rest of his pelt, along with the lighter grey color highlighting some of his features. for instance, his piercing yellow gaze is further emphasized by the ghostly underlining of his wide orbs. also, the tabby sports average-sized ears that rest upon a somewhat broad face. finally, stoneheart's proudest feature is his myriad of scars obtained from moons of training and fighting. many claw marks litter his flank, tail, face, and legs. most predominately is a wide scar sitting on the left of his muzzle and a healed-over, long gash on his left flank.

the personality

likes • solitude, teaching
dislikes • crowds, incompetence
strengths • fighting, instructing apprentices, grace
weaknesses • swimming, socializing, callousness
dreams • reuniting with his siblings, finding a mate and having kits of his own
fears • losing his sense of self, never connecting with someone
overall personality • stoneheart lives up to name to the point where it's a bit humorous. cold and calculating are the most used terms for describing him. with a frown set on his face, straight posture, and the slight narrowing of his eyes it is no wonder kits and apprentices would find him to be frightening (plus with the gigantic size and all...). he usually dislikes speaking with others, often a bit rigid and intense even if the conversation is merely about the weather. but, as a thornclan tom through and through, his lack of speaking and more quiet aura often deems him as a wise and intelligent cat among others -- someone who only speaks when there is a matter of importance and does so with articulate elegance.
    stoneheart maintains a calm and undisturbed demeanor in most situations. his temperament is well maintained and, even if he is annoyed by an obnoxious kit or two, he is always a gentlemen. he was raised as a traditional cat, and thus believes in many mottos of what a clan cat should act like. The values he holds on duty, strength, and loyalty allow him to stand out as a leader amongst his clan.
    having a difficult time understanding his emotions, stoneheart keeps them to himself. some cats joke that he has the emotional range of a rock, but admire how it allows him to be ruthless on the battlefield. on the other paw, stone himself is rather disturbed by his numbness and wonders if someone -- or something -- can make him feel whole again. and so he keeps fighting and battling with precision and grace in the hopes that, maybe, he'll start to feel guilty someday.
    on that battle field, the tom is brave but never reckless. he's the type others would refer to as a gallant tom -- albeit a grumpy a one. he's observant, often noticing little details about other cats that stick with him. hnd, perhaps most importantly, stoneheart is loyal to the bone. he would do anything to protect his clan and those that reside in it -- even if they are annoying furballs sometimes.
    surprisingly, despite his heart of stone, this tabby does care for a select few, such as his former apprentices. and although he tries to ignore the more caring side of his personality (the weaker side, as he calls it), it isn't difficult to see his affection for thornclan and those that reside in it.

the history

father • jaggedgaze (deceased brown tabby tom with yellow eyes)
mother • silvertail (deceased silver she-cat with long fur and green eyes)
siblings • ashstorm (brother, large black tom with white spotting and yellow eyes); frostcloud (sister, large silver she-cat with green eyes)
important people • adderstripe (former mentor, deceased); flower- (former apprentice, she-cat), appleblaze (former apprentice, tom, Sov)
overall history • silvertail was a calm and gentle she-cat with no shortage of honor and capability. jaggedgaze was similarly honor-bound and dutiful, but far more snappish and rude. the two had grown up together, but only really became close as warriors -- opposites truly attracted in this situation. their bonding was encouraged, for both were talented in battle technique. eventually, they fell for each other (though a bit of peer pressure was certainly at play), and as a couple who were near being senior warriors, they were well respected for their partnership.
    within a few moons, silvertail was pregnant. the sweet she-cat was thrilled when she gave birth to her three kits. first came stonekit, a large tom that had her grey pelt. another tom, ashkit, with a black coat with white spots that she had never seen before (vitiligo), and a fluffy she-cat called frostkit. the birth was difficult and left silvertail weakened, but all three kits were healthy. all of them looked closer to their mother's misty coat, but jaggedgaze didn't mind the lack of similarity between his kits. because he had kits. his own kits! he too took a change to his personality, smiling more and finding a newfound compassion for the little bundles.
    stonekit was a quiet, curious kit. he loved listening to his mother's stories about her warriorhood and learning the basic battle techniques from his father so that he would be prepared as an apprentice. ashkit shared his brother's enthusiasm for battling but was far more vocal about it. He was a little leader out of the three kits, though his plans for playtime or adventuring almost always gotten them in trouble. ashkit was often scolded by his father and mother, but silvertail was always loving towards her other son. frostkit shared stonekit's quietness, but also had the same longing for adventure (or breaking the rules, as stonekit would argue) as ashkit.
   stonepaw, ashpaw, and frostpaw eventually became the newest apprentices of thornclan. stonepaw felt prepared for training having been lectured by his father for moons prior. his mentor was a dashing young tom named adderstripe. the mentor was far more goofy than had been expected, and stone started to even give a sarcastic quip or two in retaliation to adderstripe's awful jokes. but then, of course, life took a turn. silvertail became ill, and although the family was worried for her, they weren't overly concerned. after all, she was their mother -- she'd be fine. she had to be. and so life went on for a few more days until the medicine cat explained that Silvertail was unlikely to recover from such an intense illness, especially at her age. overflowing with panic, the family spent the next day sitting by her nest and praying that she would miraculously heal. that night, silvertail took her last breath.
    stonepaw would remember that moment very vividly for the rest of his days. they all would.
    jaggedgaze could not bear to be near his kits. he had lost his love, and now he was expected to help them when he himself was broken? he simply could not do it, no matter how much he wanted too. so he went on patrols and hardly ever spoke to the children he once adored, preferring to admire their growth from a distance so they wouldn't see the hurt in his eyes. stonepaw retreated from the rest of his family as well, but also retreated from the rest of the world. he would not speak. he woke up in the mornings, trained by himself, trained with adderstripe, and then trained some more until nightfall. stonepaw was hurt, but he didn't understand his feelings or the reality of the situation, so he shut down. ashpaw was angry at the world for taking away his mother, the one who supported his personality. the only cat he had was frostpaw, considering his brother and father were cowards. he spent much of his time being obnoxious and reckless, often creating new ideas and, although many deemed him to be acting out, they couldn't help but admire the hint of twistedness in the tom's ideals. frostpaw wanted to make the world hurt in the same way she was hurting. a combination of stone and ash's reactions to their mother's death. she stood by Ashpaw's side and eloquently defended them with her manipulative tongue, but kept much of her plans to herself.
    adderstripe was kind and stepped up as fatherly-figure when stonepaw felt alone, still goofing around but understanding stonepaw's silence. stone finished his apprenticeship as a tom filled with a lot of emotion that he didn't know how to process, but that was perfectly alright with most of his clanmates. after all, he was a talented tom who was far more convenient than his siblings. and so, alongside the siblings he seldom knew, stonepaw became stoneheart, ashpaw became ashstorm, and frostpaw became frostcloud.
    the fighting started soon after. stoneheart was in many, many battles for moons. He killed and bore the scars to show that he had almost died himself. his siblings were well-known for their cruel passion of the fighting, but stoneheart didn't feel anything. not when jaggedgaze died in a skrimish. not when adderstripe died next. there was nothing, but wasn't that strength? no one said otherwise, so surely it had to be.
    the only thing that kept him tethered were the apprentices he taught. he had to protect them. not directly, but if he taught them well enough, they would live. and that was the best protection he could offer.
    stoneheart's first apprentice, flowerpaw, was quiet and cold -- it reminded him of his sister. the two understood each other and stone molded her into an incredible fighter. later, he was given applepaw as an apprentice. when the tom was a kit, stoneheart had saved him when he escaped from camp to explore. applepaw was abrasive and rash, and indignant to stoneheart's instruction. through a lot of hard work, the two started to understand one another, and the training was successful.
    but now, with new leadership in place, perhaps stoneheart will start to feel again. he was chosen as the new deputy under the leadership of bearstar. he does not know much about her, and he wonders if the fighting will continue to be bloody and cruel with her in charge. either way, he knows his duty to his clan. he'll do what he must with a respectful dip of his head. 
    but one day, maybe he will feel again. feel for the mother who cared so strongly, for the father that taught him dedication, for the mentor -- no, the friend -- who left him too early, for the apprentices he taught all that he knew, for the siblings he knew nothing about and longed to know, for a partner to love and cherish...
    but if that time never comes, so be it.

the role player

alias • short
pronouns • she/her
code • tracker. plotter, wanted ads
other characters • yewbranch