Brightpaw

**Brightpaw** is a red-and-black shaded polydactyl she-cat.

## Description

### Physical

The she-cat perfect portrays aspects of a graceful fox, with a slim and supple build coupled with medium-length red fur. Her coat is incredibly dense, giving it a somewhat stiff appearance along her lion-like ruff. In reality, Brightpaw's coat is soft to the touch, always well-groomed and carrying hints of mint and juniper from her work in the medicine cat den. Her fur is an unusual color of red for a feline, a rich auburn with compliments of black ticking along her spine. The she-cat lacks any semblance of white spotting, although she does have a paler underbelly and chest, along with a light colored muzzle. For a cat of her bloodline, she is a bit more on the small size, looking somewhat kitten-like compared to most purebred somalis.

Albeit slender and graceful as a medicine cat might expected to be, Brightpaw does come with her faults. Although, they are admittedly adorable "faults". The somali mix wears a pair of ears that are particularly large, disproportionate to her thin physique and therefore looking somewhat goofy. Brightpaw also happens to be a polydactyl, meaning she was born with extra toes on her paws. She considers the deformity to be horrifying and gets very embarrassed when others point it out. Otherwise, Brightpaw is a relatively healthy she-cat with a streamline build and stark, mint-green eyes.

### Personality

As her prefix might suggest, the little feline is filled to the brim with sunshine and optimism. She is bright-minded and generally generous towards her clanmates, although somewhat secluded and less extroverted as one might expect. While she basks in the comfort of company, she's not the most chatty, she struggles to hold conversations and grows flustered with herself when she cannot contribute to a discussion. Brightpaw is a natural born medicine cat, with an attitude most gentle and patient with her clanmates, but perhaps not so much herself. Due to her tendency to grow embarrassed, it's obvious that she's very, very hard on herself. This stress takes its toll, even if she doesn't verbally admit it.

With the medicine cat's quietness comes a great strength: the ability to observe. She's thoughtful, even if sometimes being locked in her own mind isn't the greatest for Brightpaw due to her self-conscious behavior. Regardless, she can look over her clan without bias and take note of the individuals, and tell if they're acting out of sorts. She's very careful with her work, mostly because she loves all of her fellow felines in a unique, personable fashion.

## History

### Background

Brightkit was born somewhat prematurely to a queen of CaveClan named Sunpelt, a daughter of Cavestar rumored to have also been the child of Seastar. Her mother had an accident that instigated the early birth, which cost Sunpelt her life. Brightkit, the sole survivor of the litter, was left to the intense care of the other queens of the nursery. Her father was Emberstar of StormClan, who ended his relationship with the kit's mother as soon as he became leader.

Her lack of friendly immediate family (outside of Ambershade) left the kitten growing up into a quiet individual. Come the day of her apprentice ceremony, moonlight streamed from camp's entrance and rested on Brightpaw, leading the clan to confirm that it was a sign from StarClan: Brightpaw was to become a medicine cat.

She has since been training hard underneath the awkward tutorship of Leafdapple.

### Roleplay

Brightpaw assists Leafdapple with preparing the bodies of dead deputies, hiding her own suspicion after her mentor shuts her down. So instead, the red she-cat finds the company of elder Nightshade, who tells her the story of Badgerpaw and the suspicion surrounding his death. Come the time for the Gathering, Leafdapple encourages her apprentice to go in solo, to get a feel for what it's like to be a full medicine cat. But when the apprentice returns to camp, she finds her mentor missing, and fears for the worst.

## Lineage

**Father:**

Emberstar: Deceased, verified StarClan member
**Mother:**

Sunpelt: Deceased, verified StarClan member
**Grandmother:**

Seastar: Deceased, verified StarClan member
**Grandfather:**

Cavestar: Deceased, verified StarClan member
**Half-aunt:**

Ambershade: Living
**Aunt:**

Amberblaze: Living
**Cousins:**

Wither: Unborn
Spicekit: Unborn
Acantilado: Unborn
## Relationships

### Family

**Sunpelt & Emberstar:**

Brightpaw is completely unfamiliar with both of her parents, as her mother passed away and she learned very minimal about her father through her clanmates. Naturally, they didn't particularly like to speak about him, considering that his relationship with Sunpelt was against the code. Brightpaw therefore likes to believe that both of her parents were good cats, and that she can make them proud through hard work and determination. Although she doesn't admit it, she hopes to one day get to speak through them via medicine cat work and communication with StarClan.

### Other

**Leafdapple:**

Brightpaw and Leafdapple share their similarities- she likes her mentor, but sometimes...things get a little too weird. The apprentice enjoys her peace and quiet, but her mentor likes to blab the whole night away. She doesn't always mind it, but the tortoiseshell she-cat occasionally gets a little too personal and overly sensitive about things. She respects what she learns from Leafdapple, even if not much considering that the feline was born and raised a kittypet.

## Trivia

* Full medicine cat names: Brighteyes, Brightsky, Brightstep, Brightcloud, Brightberry, Brightpool?