Hoot

Hoot is the second member of the group to join Foxglove’s personal party. He is carefree and easy going, but overall a bit closed off emotionally. He is reluctant to talk a lot about himself and favors having a good laugh with the others above all.

### Finding your Place

Hoot is exceptionally worried about the opinion of the only cat he knew from birth; an older she-cat who refused to allow him to call her “Mother.” He knows she must be his, but she rejects him entirely, so it's hard for him to know for sure. He feels responsible for her unhappiness and tries to make it up to her by staying out of her way at every turn, though he often fails. She requires him call her by her name, Thorn, and will become hostile if he slips up or refuses.

She verbally cuts him down at any given opportunity and tells him that he is useless to her; at the time he believes it to be true. He wishes to make it up to her for existing, and tries his best to make himself worth something.

It goes badly for him when he is too far away to catch her from slipping off the edge of a cliff. Rushing towards her as she claws at the edge, he barely misses her and screams as she plunges to the ground below, dead. He stays there staring at her for days, feeling responsible and hating himself for being too weak to help her when she needed him most, but eventually hunger drives him to wander away.

Hoot struggles to make friends with anyone he meets, feeling that he will be too weak to help them when they need him the most as well.

### Someone Strong Enough

Hoot is impressed by Foxglove’s adept fighting skill, and quickly finds himself trying to talk to the strange cat. Foxglove seems uninterested, but Hoot is used to that and doesn't seem to mind being a bit persistent. He follows Foxglove around and asks to learn from him, to which Foxglove turns him down again and again. Foxglove finally brings Hoot back to a sketchy cat named Rhyolite, and Hoot finds himself wondering if this was a bad idea. He doesn't think he has the right to say anything to Foxglove, but inside he is very worried about these cats Foxglove is with, and hopes he can find the inner strength needed to help Foxglove escape. For now, he would wait and support him where he could.

At first, Hoot is skeptical when Mulberry cat joins the party. He is a naturally isolated cat himself, so large groups already made him uneasy... but something about this cat made him curious. He seemed laid back and calm, but Hoot could tell there was a deeply rooted negativity that had seeded itself inside of all of them. While Foxglove is out on a mission, Hoot seeks out Mulberry to talk to and slowly gets to know him better. They bond over their mutual distrust of Rhyolite and Hoot feels like he finally might have found a second friend in the band. He thanks Mulberry for listening to his worries and Mulberry agrees to help any way he can. They hope that together, soon, they could tell Foxglove their worries as well.

Sunflower is introduced and right away, Hoot can tell this cat knows what he wants and is not afraid to say so. Sunflower makes almost no effort to talk to Rhyolite or any of his band, and instead stays glued to Foxglove. Hoot immediately wants to find out how he feels about the whole thing. Sunflower confesses that Rhyolite reminds him of his old mentor Weaver, and that he doesn't understand why Foxglove, or any of them for that matter, would put up with someone like that. Hoot agrees, and with Mulberry there, they find hope for a future without the lying Rhyolite and his manipulation. They only hope that they can take Foxglove away with them. Sunflower refuses to leave him behind, and Hoot agrees with that.

### The Final Member

Foxglove is more and more stressed, and Hoot along with the others are growing more and more worried. He is sneaking out a lot by this point, and Hoot is more than a little concerned with the fact that his injury was completely dismissed by Rhyolite. He was lucky he didn't lose his eye, he told Foxglove over and over again, but Foxglove seemed almost not to hear him. It seemed like Foxglove was distracted daily, and before long, enough was enough. He and the others followed Foxglove, finding something none of them expected. A very protective Foxglove, and a very tiny little kitten named Apple. All at once, Hoot felt his chest burn with happiness and immediately he realized he found his place with these cats. He wanted nothing more than to stay with them forever, to make this a world worth living in... He vowed to help Foxglove protect Apple no matter what.

Happiness was short-lived as they returned to Rhyolite and realized he and Foxglove were having an intense argument. Walking up right as Rhyolite struck out against Foxglove, Hoot could see the scene unfolding in slow motion. Apple was pinned under Ametrine, crying for help, and his mind went fuzzy with rage and protective impulses.

The second Mulberry launched at Rhyolite, Hoot was on Ametrine. She was not expecting it, and Hoot pinned her down with ease. She mocked him for being weak and betraying Rhyolite, to which Hoot scoffed and claimed his loyalties to Foxglove instead. Ametrine struggled and threatened to murder Apple, and for that Hoot removed her from the picture. One threat down. Two more to go.

Hoot glances over just in time to see Mulberry pull himself from the rocks his head hit, and watches as Sumac flees the battle. He walks over to Sunflower and watches as Apple clings to Mulberry, crying that she was glad he was okay. Relief is short lived however, because Sunflower’s scream cuts the joyous sounds. Foxglove and Rhyolite tumble over the edge, and at once Sunflower and Hoot dash off to try and drag him out of the water.