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a large long-furred red and white tomcat with yellow eyes.

+ gentle | +/- SERIOUS | - defensive

Current Title: Deputy of TimberClan
SP: 6

PLOT INTEGRATION:
Made deputy about eleven moons ago, Cherrydawn still considers himself relatively new to the position. He's been maneuvering it about as well as you expect while trying to help Goosestar shoulder his new burden. The tomcat finds it a struggle to share tongues with the Clan on a daily basis when all he wants to do is slink away and hide. Sometimes he manages to do so, but most of the time Goosestar finds him. He's a bit weary of the turbulence and strife that TimberClan has gone through, and doesn't trust the other Clans. Cherrydawn is more than willing to dawn a mask to get the information they need, even though it's a mask he despises.
FAMILY:
Mother: Emberfeather(Elder; npc)
Father: Thrushwing (Elder; npc)
Mentor: Gorsepelt (Deceased)
Sibling(s): Fireflicker (Sister; Warrior; 56 moons; ADOPTABLE) 
HISTORY:

TW: neglect; child abuse; gaslighting; grooming; murder attempt
Cherrydawn was always serious, even as a kit. He was also defiant, strongly standing up for what he believed in even when all he wanted to do was observe. He couldn't just let some things go. Efforts from his flame-pelted sister to get him to play were frequent and extremely annoying. He tried his best not to complain, as he often instead smacked her down as fast as possible before sitting on her. Half the time, she won. Sometimes he sat on her. Firekit was a lot smaller than him. She was also a lot more talkative, and more interested in getting the other kits to play. Himself? Not so much. While she was definitely a daddy's girl, he was more of a mommy's boy through and through. He resembled Emberfeather the most, with her beautiful long fur and warm yellow eyes. 

When he became an apprentice, he didn't really emerge from his shell much. All he did was what his mentor told him to do, though he often bickered with Gorsepelt when their views differed. In the privacy of their sessions, Gorsepelt taught him how to worship the stars and spirits. His mentor also pushed him into perfecting everything he did. If he got one thing wrong, asked too many questions, or argued with Gorsepelt, he was punished by doing more repetitions. Sometimes he was told to go without meals. Other times, he was told to stay up all night out by a fox's den they'd recently discovered. Those were some of the most terrifying moments. He was always, always watched to make sure he was actually doing it. The first time he didn't do it, he got a beating. Yet, when those were over Gorsepelt would shower him with praise and gush over how well he was doing in camp. He would deliver him a pity meal if he heard his stomach growling two days into a punishment for 

Cherrypaw did his best to keep it to himself, as all he wanted was to get through his apprenticeship. So what if his mentor was being a bully? Weren't all the mentors bullies like this? It wasn't until he was listening to a couple of his den-mates gush about their mentors and share stories with each other that he realized something was wrong. They had asked him, "Hey, what cool things have you done with your mentor?" Cherrypaw's blood had run cold, and he had ducked his head as he spotted his sister coming into the den. Her return had been a blessing, as she had suddenly answered the question while he scuttled out.

A cold chill had washed over him, stomach cramping and his teeth clacking together in his bone dry mouth. Gorsepelt was sharing tongues with another feline across the clearing, laughing and clearly enjoying the company. Suddenly, he couldn't stand being in the camp anymore. It was too big, too wide open, there were too many cats... Cherrypaw had calmly made his way out of the camp, before snaking his way up the trees and trying to ignore the hiccupping coming from him and the weakness of his body. It didn't take long until he properly met one of the older apprentices for the first time: Goosepaw. 

After a period of time when Cherrypaw had similar experiences, Goosepaw kept randomly showing up. Cherrypaw didn't really understand this. He didn't have any particular close friends. It was more he knew his fellow apprentices, but didn't bother getting close to them despite some of their attempts. All he needed was himself, right? Gorsepelt demanded so much of his time anyways. There wasn't enough time in the day to make friends, not when his mentor needed him to do something. Their attempts to befriend him eventually stopped. Goosepaw, however, stubbornly chatted at him after his experiences even when Cherrypaw didn't respond. 

Cherrypaw didn't become a warrior until he was almost twenty-two moons old. Gorsepelt claimed it was because 'he wasn't ready yet,' but the red and white-furred apprentice wasn't quite sure what that meant. Nor was he sure that's what it was. He didn't like the gleam in the older tom's eyes. It made him want to hurl. It wasn't until Gorsepelt had told him that his assessment would be within the week that dread began to unfurl in his stomach. His sister had earned her warrior name several moons ago- Fireflicker. In fact, she was one of the warriors on the assessing team, much to his astonishment.

Even though they weren't close, she was still family and they were still raised together. Cherrypaw had seen the unease on her face. He doesn't remember much of his assessment. All his memory can give him is the image of an edge of a cliff; the feeling of sheer terror; dangling over the edge, maybe? A gleam of predatory pale green eyes. Bright ginger fur, almost slipping... and then blood. So much blood. Fireflicker had brought him back to camp, the two of them soaked in blood and her positively feral whenever somebody got too close to her little brother. Cherrypaw did get his name the next day, but he felt it wasn't properly earned. 

It didn't matter what happened after that, Fireflicker was scarily protective of her brother and would snap whenever anyone got close. Where-ever that defiance and passion went, it disappeared. It took a long time for Cherrydawn to get to where he is today, including the moments where he would escape when everything felt too big or too small. He became more confident in himself, less anxious than he was before. It just took time and effort. It was a noticeable change, too. Goosebreeze continued to show up until he was named deputy, and the two got closer. When Sorrelstar succumbed to the Sickness and Goosebreeze became leader, he named Cherrydawn as his deputy. He still thinks Goosestar lost his catnip the day he received his lives.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:
DEATH DEATH DEATH. Make it as dramatic as possible.
SHOP PURCHASES:
N/A
OTHER:
Plotted with mossxolotl for the leader/deputy friendship!