Switchgrass

### Scars

Distinctive scar running from her nose to her chin, and a few hard to spot scars on her back

### Accessories

A red scarf, a little bone through her ear, and an earring with a bit of Beetle shell

## Appearance

Switchgrass is a pretty, bengal she cat who still has relatively kitten like features. She has green eyes, and dainty paws. She is a daintily built cat. Switch has weak lungs and can’t strain that too much otherwise she risks getting out of breath. She has a few scars on her back from a burn, however these barely shown beneath her slick fur, and a scar on her muzzle that goes from her nose around her chin.

She wears an earring with a bit of beetle shell attached, and one little bone through her ear. She has a red scarf that she uses to cover her face below her eyes most of the time.

## Personality

Switch is resourceful and quick thinking in a crisis, she acts before she thinks and this can get her into all sorts of messes. She is relatively closed off from other cats, and can quite often snap at others if they try and talk to her. For being relatively impulsive, she quite often sticks back and doesn’t act, preferring to have others do the jobs she isn’t brave enough to take.

## Backstory (Pre Tests)

When she was very young, Switch was found by a group of cats just sitting alone. It was the height of Magla, and the group decided to take the kitten in to protect her from the awful heat. They were a strange group called the True Cats, very religious, following a god they called the Life Deity, or Bentimoba. Switch remained nameless for quite a while as was the custom of the True Cats, she would not get a name until her first kill, she was simply referred to as Spotted kitten or, Foundling. Her naming came before she really expected it, she just saw a beetle crawling across the ground, and filled with boredom, she pounced and killed it. The cat who was acting as her mother, Daffodil was incredibly surprised, but took her straight to their leader, Sycamore. They had a small naming ceremony, and little 1 month old Switch got her first name, Beetle. The other kitten around her age, a tom who was often referred to as the Wild One, was incredibly happy for her, but also a little bit jealous. So, he went out to and kill something for himself. Shockingly, he managed to corner and a lemming and force to fall off a cliff of cracked ground. It took a bit of discussion to decide whether that counted but eventually they did agree to name him Lemming. Lemming and Beetle were best friends from the moment they had met each other, and they did everything together. They were so excited for when their 7th month of life would come, and they could finally become proper worshipers of Bentimoba. Beetle took more to her studies than Lemming did, he was a complete wild card, running around recklessly and not listening to a word he was told. On the other hand Beetle was somewhat of a leaders pet, somehow keeping her wild side in check when the eyes of elder cats were following her. Lemming was obsessed with the idea of getting his proper name in the ceremony at 7 moons, he talked about it non stop. Beetle was sure he didn’t care about becoming a proper worshipper, he just wanted the glory of a plant name like Daffodil and the rest of the group had. He always said that he wanted to be called Switchgrass, something he had heard of in Daffodil’s stories. Beetle didn’t like to think forward to her name, she only really cared about pleasing Bentimoba with how devoted she was. Eventually the day came, and the fire was set. The ceremony was that the cat had to walk into the fire, and Bentimoba should protect them and show them the plant that truly represented themselves. Unlike the previous ceremony, they were told to enter the flames separately. Lemming protested, he wanted to go in with Beetle like the previous two, Allium and Bulrush had. But the leaders who oversaw it shook their heads, and gestured for Lemming to go in first. He looked panicked, and as the fire closed around him he screamed out. All the cats were told to leave whilst he took part in the ceremony by himself.
Later that day Beetle was told to take part. She went into the fire, and the flames closed around her. She began to panic, but taking deep breaths, she kept bounding between the gaps in the flames, looking for any signs of her name, and the way out. But suddenly. another cat appeared. It was Hibiscus, an old member of the group. They told Beetle to follow them, but Beetle protested, surely the Life Deity wanted them to get through this on their own. Hibiscus just commanded her to follow, telling her that the Life Deity told the True Cats which cats xe wanted to pass the ceremony, and it was up to the True Cats to make sure that happened. Hibiscus lead the way out of the fire, and as Beetle followed she felt a hint of worry go through her. Just above the flames she could make out cats still watching her trial. That hadn’t happened for Lemming. She asked Hibiscus where Lemming was, and just as they finally raced out of the fire, Hibiscus turned around and told her that Lemming had never been meant to pass the trial, and it was the Life Deity’s choice that he would never have a chance to escape the flames. Beetle was shocked. She had wanted to spend her days with her friend but now he was dead because of this stupid trial. Sycamore came and asked her what she wanted her name to be, and to honour Lemming, she replied with Switchgrass. Everything was turned on its head after that. But all of a sudden Bulrush started to show an interest in her. Switch fell head over heels for the beautiful white she cat, who never seemed to do anything but lead her on
Switch became the one who would lead chosen kittens out of the fire, and leave others to die. Bulrush always told Switch how proud of her she was and how Switch was doing so great, and these words of encouragement stopped Switch for doing what was right. Eventually the impressionable Switch became almost like an assassin for the True Cats, killing those who had little faith in Bentimoba. It all changed when another kitten came along, found outside just like Switch had been. Switch began to act as a mother figure for this kitten, and tried to encourage Bulrush to as well. In her third month the kitten took the name Butterfly, and as the trial grew nearer, and the leaders began to show signs that they did not want Butterfy to pass the trial, and just as Switchgrass set the fires, Bulrush came and gave her the worst news. Butterfly was to be left to die in the flames. However Bulrush did not seem to mourn the way Switchgrass did, and Switch confronted her on that, accidentally letting out her feelings for Bulrush in the process. Bulrush was shocked, and told Switch she didn’t feel the same way, before racing away back to the leaders. The time of the trial came and just as the other cats went to leave, Switch cried out telling them to stop it. Sycamore hissed at her, and when Switch refused to back down, she pushed her back towards the flames. Hanging on to the edge of a ruined building, Switch cried out to Bulrush, who took a step back in shock. Sycamore leapt at Switchgrass again, shoving her down into the fire with Butterfly. The two cats only just managed to escape without very many injuries. Just as they were getting out of the True Cats land, Daffodil catches up to them. She says she does not want to kill Switchgrass, and begs her to come back and answer for her crimes. Switch tries to run past but Daffodil pins her down, giving her a scar all the way from her nose to down her chin. Switch expects Daffodil to kill her but the she cat lets her go free and says that if she was to survive she will have to run, and never return and if any cat sees her with that scar she will be killed. Switch and Butterfly flee. They try and rest out in the plains one night but a cat from the True Cats attacks them. After that event they flee to Haninga. The Haninga guards tell them that they have heard of cats fleeing from the True Cats before, and will offer the two of them sanctuary. They provide Switch with a scarf that covers her face to hide the scar, and help her learn how to groom her fur in a way that covers the scar on her back. Butterfly is incredibly happy at Haninga and takes a new name, Chick, but Switchgrass is not content. When Pilate came to her she was unhappy and felt as if she would spend her whole life fleeing. Maybe if she was able to get god like powers, and fix the world she could finally escape her past. Or maybe not but at least these tests would be a way out of her awful life.

## During the Tests

Switch was approached by Jiajun, and then Addie practically fell on top of her. After an intial aggression, she began to form attachments to these cats, much to her annoyance.

She did very little during the first Test, just skulking around the edges, unwilling to take part.

## Other Facts

- She is bisexual

- She definitely does NOT have a thing for cats with pale fur why on earth would anyone ever suggest such a thing