Roxierose

## Appearance & Personality

Roxierose is a slim golden she-cat with long, soft fur. Her chest, paws and belly share a creamy white color, while her back is dotted in pale ginger spots. She has clear light blue eyes, short ears and a bushy tail.

Roxierose is a confident, easy-going cat with quite the sizable ego. She often makes offhand comments or cocky remarks that could be perceived as rude, but frankly doesn't see it that way herself. Due to her casual nature and way of speaking, Roxierose is able to hide her true emotions well, as well as the fact that she's not as dumb and giggly as she may seem. She's not that mature but can stay calm in most situations. No cat's opinion can truly affect her, but if she starts to doubt herself first it's relatively easy to influence and sway her, and all her nerve is lost at the sight of a real confrontation. Roxierose refuses to let other cats see her down, and instead grows snappy and cynical when mourning a loss.

## Brief History

Roxie joined SkyClan as a Daylight apprentice shortly before Widowstar was appointed leader, becoming Roxiepaw. Not long after, she participated in the rebellion against her, after which she decided to become a full apprentice of SkyClan. She trained with Wishstream for about a moon before Ashdust took her on as a medicine cat apprentice, and later gave her the name Roxierose. The medicine cat certainly didn't take the loss of Ashdust and Perchstar well, but she did her best to stay strong for SkyClan, and made Grapepaw her apprentice.

## Detailed History

Born a stray cat in the twolegplace, Roxie spent her first few moons wandering around with no place to call home. She was eventually found and adopted by a pair of twolegs, who showered her with love and treated her, in her own words, like an actual deity. Though she'd always be grateful for them, Roxie soon grew used to the special treatment, leading to her heightened sense of self-worth.

She stumbled upon SkyClan one day and was immediately interested in them, joining their ranks as a Daylight apprentice so she could still return to her housefolks at night. Mere days later, Darkstar and Mellowbug were killed, Widowstar took over, and Roxiepaw found herself no longer enjoying life in SkyClan. She watched in horror as Foxcatcher spoke up against the tyrant and was promptly murdered in front of the entire Clan, her fear only growing when she was assigned the job of burying him alongside Perchlily. While burying the body, the warrior revealed to her that WindClan was going to assist SkyClan in overthrowing Widowstar, and despite her fear, Roxiepaw tried to stay strong as the plan was explained to her. Perchlily left for WindClan and told Roxiepaw to gather trustworthy SkyClan warriors for the rebellion, which she gladly did. Vapourpaw was one the first cats to join this band of rebels, and Roxiepaw came to be on quite friendly terms with the tom.

During the battle, Roxiepaw was pinned down on the highledge by Widowstar, who threatened to kill her if Perchlily didn't return to SkyClan's side. She came out of the fight in good shape though, and with a newfound appreciation for her Clan. After the Median's true identity was revealed at the gathering and things began to calm down, Roxiepaw finally made the decision to leave kittypet life behind her and join SkyClan as a normal apprentice.

Roxiepaw was surprised to see that, even though the circumstances had improved, her performance in training hadn't. What she'd previously chalked up to pressure from being trapped in SkyClan with a tyrannical leader was now becoming clear was her own fault. She started to struggle with hunting, and after the whole Widowstar ordeal, frankly had no desire to fight. Roxiepaw grew increasingly worried, not wanting to admit that she may not be the perfect warrior, until she eventually confided her fears to the medicine cat, Ashdust, who she'd gotten quite close to. The medicine cat listened to her worries and got an idea. She suggested that Roxiepaw become her apprentice and train as a medicine cat, and after a heartbeat of confusion, Roxiepaw eagerly accepted.

She greatly enjoyed her training with Ashdust and how peaceful SkyClan was during it, until BloodClan decided to raid them for resources. They stole a good amount of SkyClan's herb stock, leaving Roxiepaw furious and disappointed in herself that she couldn't be useful in the fight. Her anger didn't last long, though, as SkyClan had more important things to worry about, such as the unbearable heat and its effect on their camp. Roxiepaw had also reached the age of a full grown medicine cat, and after representing her Clan at a gathering, Ashdust acknowledged this and gave Roxiepaw her full name, Roxierose.

BloodClan's aggression continued, tensions skyrocketing when SkyClan discovered them stealing water while returning from the Gathering. Roxierose was astonished to see that instead of chasing them out, Perchstar proposed an alliance to Shadow. BloodClan would be allowed to drink from their lake, and in return SkyClan could request that they raid Clans and hand over half the resources. Neither term seemed like a benefit to Roxierose. She couldn't possibly understand how Perchstar could stand back and allow Shadow to raid WindClan, the very cats who'd helped them dispose of Widow, let alone claim half the loot as their own! When she finally did get her paws on the stolen herbs though, Roxierose had a change of mind. It didn't matter how she'd acquired the medicine, she and Ashdust could now properly heal their Clan again. She tried to forget about how much they owed to WindClan, and instead often preoccupied herself with visiting Cobraswirl and Vapourtrail's litter of kits to push the guilt to the back of her mind.

After a long conversation with Steelpaw, Cobraswirl's son, Roxierose realized that there was more than dishonor to be worried about. SkyClan may not have been directly responsible for BloodClan's raids, but Perchstar's portion of the deal clearly stated that the battles were for their sake. If WindClan ever found out they would not take it well. Roxierose spent a long time thinking this over, guilt and fear sparking up inside of her whenever she looked at the stolen supplies. She'd practically made up her mind regarding her feelings on the alliance, and was gathering up the courage to speak to someone about it, when BloodClan showed up at their camp one day. Since no other highranks were around, Shadow approached Roxierose and informed her of what had happened. RiverClan apprentices had been spotted hunting in SkyClan's territory, prompting the BloodClan leader to conduct a hasty raid on their camp. They took the stolen prey, as well as tons of RiverClan's stock, and brought it back to SkyClan expecting gratitude. Roxierose was horrified, but she didn't dare speak up. BloodClan warriors practically surrounded her and they felt like anything but allies. She laughed her shock off and thanked Shadow, wanting the cats out of SkyClan camp as soon as possible. Now she was sure this alliance meant trouble.

All of her worries were confirmed when Shadow and her cats showed up at the next Gathering. All Clans were considerably upset by this, and Roxierose in particular was outraged. She'd never felt this much shame before. As the Gathering went on, and Shadow made BloodClan's alliance with SkyClan public to all, she sunk back and quietly watched the leaders talk. Pinestar and Woolystar now knew it was them who was behind the raids on their Clans, and she wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if they decided to retaliate by attacking them right back. Perchstar finally recognized her mistake though, after receiving criticism from the other Clan leaders, and called the alliance off on the spot. It was clear BloodClan didn't take the action kindly, which resulted in Roxierose feeling anything but relieved. SkyClan may not have been on the enemy's side anymore, but they were back on the market to be raided. And so they were.

Upon hearing Shadow's battle cry, Roxierose's first instinct was to defend the herb supply alongside Ashdust, knowing from previous raids that BloodClan would come for it. Sure enough, a warrior of the name Essence appeared and began to threaten the medicine cats. Roxierose protested, but it was only when Thunderbird came to their defense that she began to calm down. That is, until the BloodClanner decided to attack Ashdust instead, and as an older cat, her mentor collapsed instantly. Without a second thought, Roxierose left the herb stock unguarded and rushed to Ashdust with any medicine she had the time to grab. Despite her best efforts, Ashdust was losing blood fast, and Roxierose had to reluctantly leave the den to fulfill her mentor's last wish; bringing Fanglily over to see her. Though she didn't know the warrior's connection to Ashdust, disappointing her mentor in her final moments was the last thing Roxierose wanted, and so she searched the battlefield for the she-cat. When she did finally return with Fanglily, Ashdust's wounds had worsened, and she soon passed away at her mate's side. Roxierose couldn't bare to watch or listen, and had already curled up in a ball at the corner of the den to calm down. Even as Shadow announced the death of their leader from outside, and Thunderbird continued to brawl with Essence, Roxierose quietly whimpered and tried to collect herself. She didn't want any cat to see her break down, not now that she was SkyClan's only healer.

Following the destructive raid, Roxierose started working extra hard to bring SkyClan to its former glory, including putting on a happy facade to keep everyone's spirits up. This clashed with her actual internal feelings and often resulted in a forced, almost aggressively cheery attitude, snapping at any cat who questioned or doubted her. She spent a lot of her free time away from the medicine cat den and became good friends with Grapepaw, Cobraswirl's mute daughter during this time, even if she was mostly talking to herself most of the time, as well as frequently visiting the she-cat's younger litter of kits in the nursery, which included a quiet tom named Raggedkit.