Crabclaw

Crabclaw is a short, stocky dark brown tom with black tabby markings and bright amber eyes.

## Personality

He spends an awful lot of time insulting his friends, and is generally prone to going on long rants about the "unfathomable stupidity" of other cats; he constantly bemoans the pettiness or unreasonable nature of others' actions, despite the fact that he himself can be equally irrational and petty. He is known as the loudmouth of MarshClan, as his raging can quickly turn to loud screeching midway through a rant. He responds to most things that his friends do sarcastically, snarking at them over almost anything that they happen to mess up in front of him, or confide in him about. He's not particularly patient when explaining himself, so even his most sound advice can come out sounding like a jumble of random, unhelpful insults. He can be a bit arrogant in his ambitions to be a great warrior (possibly even Clan leader, someday), but he does have some relatively strong leadership abilities, capable of shepherding even the most dysfunctional group into following some sort of plan. Despite his flippant demeanor, he does genuinely care for his loved ones, wishing to help them however he can, even if he will loudly deny it and complain about doing so all the while. Oftentimes, he shows he cares by quietly and inconspicuously doing things for others, from putting fresh moss or feathers into their bedding to make it softer for them, to going out to catch their favorite prey. He tries to keep his acts of kindness hidden, and tends to get extremely flustered (which often manifests itself as more loud screeching, though there will come a point at which he is too flustered to even speak anymore – but that's hard to get to) if anyone calls him out on being a huge softie, or offers him genuine praise or appreciation for his actions. Though he usually seems like nothing more than a grouch, he's actually deeply insecure; he's very hard on himself, taking all the blame when things go wrong and feeling unnecessary levels of guilt for any part he had in anything he perceives as a failure, not to mention second-guessing himself constantly when it comes to his interpersonal relationships. He tries not to let himself show any "weakness" and always pushes himself to provide for the Clan; he values his loved ones' and Clanmates' lives and wellbeing far more than his own, and would sacrifice himself for others in a heartbeat. Others showing that they care about him just as much as he cares about them completely disarms him; oftentimes, he doesn't fully believe that him being in his loved ones' lives isn't irrevocably damaging them in some way, but if someone can make him shut up and listen enough to get through to him, he'll usually get very quiet and clingy, and is likely to say a lot of sappy stuff or maybe cry a little in his emotional state. He's actually quite the romantic, being loud and unapologetic about his love of very cheesy or clichéd romantic gestures, but the idealized idea of what a romantic relationship should be that he has in his head actually tends to interfere with his ability to form relationships with others.

## History

He was found on the salt marshes by a MarshClan patrol when he was barely a moon old, and was taken in by a warrior named Shellfang. Shellfang was never fully open or honest with his adoptive son about his origins. Crabpaw knew he was adopted all his life, but he was never told the identities of his parents. He always suspected that Shellfang knew more than he let on, but was always met with immovable silence when he asked, so he eventually gave up. He knows he isn't Clanborn, but suspects that his history may have more depth than just that he was an abandoned rogue kit that Shellfang decided to take in. Unfortunately, his adoptive father was found dead on the territory, presumably killed by rogues. Crabpaw is deeply insecure about his origins; he takes great pride in being a MarshClan cat and wants to be the best warrior he can possibly be, which he feels might be impeded by the fact that he doesn't have MarshClan blood, and he's especially insecure about potentially being a rogue kit, since Shellfang was killed by rogues. He hides these insecurities underneath screeching, hostility, and sarcasm, and will never mention his origins to others, and he will loudly deny any implication that he is any less of a MarshClan cat despite his blood if others bring it up for him, despite the fact that he himself is actually not so sure on that point.