Jaggedthistle

## Appearance

Jaggedthistle is a thin, scrawny gray tabby tom with pale green eyes, short matted fur, a torn ear, and a bent tail. His voice is raspy and quiet.

## Personality

*POSITIVE | Observant, Resourceful, Patient, Gentle*

*NEUTRAL | Quiet, Guarded, Contemplative, Secretive*

*NEGATIVE | Vengeful, Attention-seeking, Easily jealous, Quick-tempered*

## History

***Ivy:** Ivy was born into the Clan of the Indifferent’s Blessing alongside his brother Larch. Ivy was the runt of the small litter; he was born rather sickly, and his parents Dapplefrost and Junipercloud didn’t expect him to survive more than a quarter moon. As such, they focused more attention on Larch and bonded with him more than Ivy. Even when Ivy showed signs of improvement and was expected to have a normal lifespan and health from then on out, he still found it hard to bond with his parents when they spent so much time with Larch. He felt left out of the closely bonded family, and he spent much of his time playing with leaves and bugs alone as a result. Larch noticed this and began to tease Ivy for having more bug friends than cat friends, prompting Ivy to lash out and start fights between the two that had to be broken up.*

***Ivystep:** Ivystep was made a healer apprentice alongside Larchstep. The teasing and fights between the two didn’t stop for a long time. Though Larchstep was regarded as an instigator and kept away from Ivystep whenever possible, Ivystep gained a reputation for being irritable and generally unpleasant to be around, so others tended not to spend time with him if they could avoid it. No amount of Ivystep butting into conversations or offering to join patrols made the others want to spend time with him more. Dapplefrost and Junipercloud still praised Larchstep’s training accomplishments more than Ivystep’s, not realizing how much Ivystep hated the lack of attention he got compared to his brother.*

*Ivystep soon took a deep interest in poisons and venoms, and he wanted to learn about every single one. His mentor was concerned about his interest, but he justified it by claiming he wanted to better understand the bugs he watched so often in his free time. His mentor seemed satisfied with that answer and taught him about poisons and antidotes, but they still kept an eye on him just as a precaution. Ivystep soon became Ivywhisper, named for his quiet, raspy voice and secretive nature. Larchstep became Larchfall at the same time.*

***Ivywhisper:** Some time after the two brothers became healers, Larchfall apologized to Ivywhisper; he realized how immature and awful he’d been to instigate and tease during their youth, and he hoped to make it up to his brother by properly bonding with him and being his friend. Ivywhisper acted like he accepted the apology, but he still resented Larchfall for taking away all the attention when they were younger and rubbing it in his face. On top of that, he resented his parents for giving up on him so quickly and not giving him the attention he needed growing up. With no one to talk to about his emotions and refusing to open up to Larchfall, they were left to fester inside him as they slowly turned into bottled rage over the seasons. He was regarded as a brooding loner, and other cats still refused to talk to him unless absolutely necessary. Of course, since he researched and specialized in poison and venom antidotes, the others had to go to him reluctantly. Eventually, he seemed to calm down a bit and not be so snappy with others. What they failed to realize was he was formulating a plan to finally deal with the sources of his crippling loneliness.*

*Soon before he enacted his plan, Ivywhisper gained an apprentice: Drizzlestep, a dense young she-cat with a runny nose and a head full of strange dreams. He found himself frustrated with Drizzlestep’s inattentiveness and lack of potential when it came to healing, but he knew being cross with her would only make her feel unappreciated, so he tried his best to be constructive and helpful. He also found a young kit, Reef, hanging around him often. The kit often complained about his daily troubles involving his parents and allergies, and Ivywhisper found him annoying. However, he realized the kit was merely frustrated and lonely just like he was, so he let him stick around. These connections made his Clanmates realize he had a soft spot for young cats. Had his plan not gone through, they might’ve given him more apprentices after Drizzlestep.*

*One morning, the Clan woke up to find Dapplefrost, Junipercloud, and Larchfall all dead at the edge of camp. They quickly realized their cause of death was hemlock, so they assigned Ivywhisper to figure out what happened to his family. Ivywhisper acted confused as to why his family would eat hemlock of all things, so he wrote it off as a mystery. His former mentor, now in their old age, quickly realized he was lying about his lack of knowledge. They confronted him privately, and as the only adult in the Clan he had any connection with, they managed to trick him into admitting he force-fed his family the hemlock as revenge for ostracizing him. They immediately grabbed him to drag him out to the center of camp, and Ivywhisper’s ear was torn and his tail was broken in his futile attempt to get away. The Clan was not entirely surprised to learn about Ivywhisper’s crimes. The leader promptly exiled him, renaming him Jaggedthistle to represent his crooked scheme and his prickly nature.*

***Jaggedthistle:** When the Voided discovered Jaggedthistle at their border, they were immediately unsettled. Discovering he was a former healer with an unusual amount of poison knowledge, they were able to put two and two together and understand why he was there. They were unsure if they could trust him to be a proper healer, but they were also in dire need of a new healer since their last one died of an illness not too long prior. In addition, they could tell he had very little strength or endurance, so he couldn't be retrained as a warrior or messenger anyway. They accepted him, warning him not to get any ideas, and they informed the rest of the Clan to pay attention to what herbs they were being given.*

*Three moons later, Jaggedthistle has made no meaningful connections in the Voided. Outside of general healing, everyone is reluctant to engage with him for their own safety no matter how much he inserts himself into conversations. Without Drizzlesnout or Reef there to bring him out of his shell, he’s left alone to stew in his own bottled emotions just like he was with the Indifferent. In a way, he supposes, this is a fitting punishment for him. He got the attention he wanted in the worst way possible, so now he’s condemned to the isolation he hates so much.*