Shellskip

**Shellskip** is a gentle lilac-and-cream tortoiseshell tomcat with some white markings and soft blue eyes. He is the current medicine cat of SplashClan, succeeding Huntermoon, and has taken Shimmerpaw as his apprentice

## Description

### Appearance

Small, gentle and more than a little hesitant in movement, Shellskip blends into the background and is easily overlooked. His fur is midlength and feathery, soft and fine rather than thick and fluffy although with his busy role it's often to be found unkempt. In colouring he's a rich marbled lilac and cream tortoiseshell. He has a small white 'locket' of fur on his chest and a white chin, and white tips to his paws and tail. His eyes are round and of a soft robin's egg blue colour.
### Character

Shellskip is intensely shy and prefers the company of his herbs and dreams to that of other cats. He tends to stim when stressed, hopping from paw to paw or flicking small objects across the ground. His mentor Huntermoon found this trait endearing and referenced it in his adult name.
Shellskip feels intensely uncomfortable in his body, it's all too delicate and pretty for him to be altogether certain in his masculinity. The pitch of his voice is too high and face too rounded and soft, and everybody knows tortoiseshell cats are female or a birth mistake. While as an apprentice he was fairly cheerful around those he trusted, he has become more withdrawn and quietly sad in adulthood. He has a minor stutter that worsens when he's anxious or under pressure.
The tom is withdrawn and depressed, having never recovered from the death of his mentor and brother barely a half-moon after being given his adult name. He performs his duties capably and without feeling, existing as something of a recluse in the camp.
### Abilities

Shellskip processes information very quickly and has a near-perfect memory for herbs, treatments and other useful information. While very anxious, he's quite capable of entering a sort of automatic mode when dealing with a medical crisis, which is very efficient although he usually needs to crash afterward. His soft-spoken nature lends him a good bedside manner and he's very empathetic and intuitive. He has a strong connection with the dead, lending him closure and insight but also reminding him daily of the losses he's suffered.
## Life/Biography

Shellskip has no real relationship with his mother or half-siblings. Sealblaze preferred the company of her original mate Sandrattle and their litter, leaving Honeywhisker to raise Shellskip, Heronpaw and Wavepaw by himself. Shellskip has a relatively peaceful relationship with Otterthorn out of necessity due to the overlap in their responsibilities, but has little to no contact with his other two half-siblings.
Even as a kit, Shellskip gravitated to the medicine den. He had no head for conflict of any kind and enjoyed the company of the medicine cat at the time, quietly humorous Huntermoon. The stocky black medic handled Shellskip's anxious nature well and when the kit reached six moons old he was requested as an apprentice by Huntermoon. No need to put him through warrior training when it so clearly would not suit him.
Shellskip learned quickly and developed something of a parent-son relationship with the healer, something he'd lacked. Huntermoon was a patient teacher and under their instruction Shellskip grew in confidence and even found the courage to explain to the Clan that he was a tom, not a she-cat as they had first thought. Huntermoon even tried to teach Shellskip to hunt, however on their first shared outing Wavepaw fell from the cliff and was killed, a burden Shellskip carried given his strong connection with the dead.
Shellskip was named at around thirteen moons of age, the suffix '-skip' chosen for his endearing tendency to stim and fidget when anxious or excited. However, tragedy struck merely a half-moon later, when a whirling storm of hard wind and displaced water swept through the camp, killing Heronpaw - he was due to be made a warrior the next day - and Huntermoon, in the same night. All at once Shellskip's support net was gone and he was thrown in the proverbial deep end, having to step up and care for his Clan while grieving for both his brother and mentor. With that loss, Shellskip's shy sense of wit vanished overnight and he became quiet and brooding, keeping mostly to himself and existing in a fog of grief from day to day. Nearly a full sun turn has passed and still he doesn't smile, even new kits barely bring a twitch to his whisker, performing his duties capably before withdrawing to his den, hiding from the world.
Now two moons past, Shellskip was assaulted by a rogue tom (Saber) while out collecting herbs. The blue-and-white rogue tortured him and forced himself on Shellskip repeatedly, resulting in a pregnancy. Shellskip unwillingly carried the kits and has spent the past two moons in a haze of grief, only telling Divestar about a quarter-moon before the kits were born. They were brought into the world at the beginning of newleaf and were fostered by Skyflower after the first essential week. Now at six moons old, Shellskip has taken Shimmerpaw as his apprentice while the other three have been taken on by warrior mentors.
## Lineage

**Mother:**

Sealblaze: Alive
**Father:**

Honeywhisker: Alive
**Siblings:**

Heronpaw: Deceased
Wavepaw: Deceased
**Stepfather:**

Sandrattle: Alive
**Half-siblings:**

Adderflash: Deceased
Otterthorn: Alive
Irontang: Alive
**Kits**

Shimmerpaw: Alive
Shadowpaw: Alive
Glimmerkit: Alive
Sparkpaw: Alive
## Relationships

Sealblaze: Mother-son, estranged. No contact, Sealblaze still refers to him as her daughter if he is acknowledged at all.

Honeywhisker: Father-son, strong relationship. Honeywhisker slips up on his son's identity occasionally but he means well and is a strong influence in Shellskip's life.

Otterthorn: The only half-sibling with which he has any relationship. Comfortable working partnership and, since the birth of his kits, the two have become good friends.

Fawnspots: Close friends and colleagues, Fawnspots helped him closely through his pregnancy and the birth of kits as well as coping with what happened to him.

Skyflower: Very close friends, she fosters his kits. Will develop into casual co-parent relationship later.

### Character Pixels

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