Mapletail

Mapletail is a large golden tabby she-cat with green eyes.

## Personality

Mapletail is easily the most energetic and outgoing of her litter. She is friendly and social, prepared to greet others with a smile nearly every day, and always seeming to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She greets each day cheerfully and is definitely a "glass half full" sort of cat, always looking on the bright side and looking for silver linings in everything. Though she doesn't often crack jokes simply for the sake of it, she'll engage in gentle teasing and banter with cats once she's comfortable with them, and they're equally comfortable with her. She's more than willing to make conversation with anyone within her Clan, but she tends to stay away from socializing with cats outside of WaveClan. Though she is lighthearted, easygoing, and sweet on the surface, she is also very emotional; she's absolutely awful at hiding her feelings (it makes her a terrible liar), is very sentimental, and feels most of her emotions a shade more intensely than others might. A minor annoyance might get her seething, or a small disappointment could leave her feeling despondent all day. It is easy for her to get attached to others, making her a good and loyal friend, but also opening her up to be taken advantage of by others if she isn't careful – and she isn't always the best judge of character. She tends to avoid socializing with cats from other Clans for this exact reason, fearing that it would lead to being manipulated. Her emotional nature also makes her something of a hopeless romantic, wanting nothing more than for someone to woo her with compliments, acts of chivalry, gifts, pet names, and even a *pearl*, if she really allows herself to dream big. However, she is extremely cautious about romance, despite her other traits perhaps suggesting the contrary. While fear of being manipulated is part of this, it really has more to do with her worries for the future; while she is a bit of a dreamer and can get ahead of herself sometimes, she takes her love life very seriously – she knows that she wants to have a family and be a mother someday, but her own experiences with her family make her anxious to do so. She wants the experience of motherhood, but she does not want to be a single mother, and wants to be mates with someone who will treat her *and* their future kits well. Though perhaps easily charmed, she tries to make sure she isn't swept off her feet to make serious commitments hastily. When it comes to a *mate*, she is quite particular: they mustn't be too much older or younger than her, they can't teach their future kits bad habits, they should be dedicated to their duties but not *too* dedicated that they can't make time for their family, etc. etc. Her specifications go on. One might call her a bit of a perfectionist, but she really isn't: she knows things can't really be perfect, but she is *deeply* against making any future kits of hers go through what she went through when she lost her own parents. *No*cat should go through that, as far as she's concerned, and cats who have seen tragedy in general tend to attract her sympathy very easily. Though she is truly and utterly awful at hiding her feelings, she tends to avoid talking about her insecurities. She'll usually deflect or politely insist that she doesn't want to talk about it if questioned, but may lash out to get someone to lay off the subject if she gets agitated enough about it. Bottling things up and her usual emotional behavior make her self-image a little unstable, and her self-esteem tends to deplete if left alone with her thoughts too long.

## History

Born and raised in WaveClan, Mapletail was an energetic and rowdy kit, more outgoing than either of her siblings. Her bold and social nature helped her to grow quickly and take necessary risks to learn throughout her youth. However, shortly after her, Swansong, and Icebreeze got their warrior names, their mother passed away due to sickness, followed shortly by their father dying of old age. Losing them both unexpectedly in such a short span of time affected Mapletail badly, and she withdrew into herself a lot during that time, really only speaking to Icebreeze and Swansong as she grieved. Eventually, she began to recover and open back up, but she was never quite the same boisterous, happy-go-lucky cat that she once was.