Swiftleap

Swiftleap is a thin, young molly with a silver tabby pelt and turquoise eyes.

## Personality

Swiftleap is very observant (sometimes) and opinionated. Swiftleap tries to be friendly with the other apprentices, but often finds herself missing obvious social cues such as a change in the tone of voice. She has fairly low emotional intelligence, despite her overall friendly disposition.

She is generally very serious and concise, but can also be sarcastic and witty at times, even playfully jabbing at the other apprentices. She rarely recognizes when other cats are joking, however. In addition, it can sometimes be hard for others to tell when she is joking, as she speaks in a relatively flat tone almost all of the time. It is difficult for her to convey meaning with certain things, and she may accidentally convey one message when she meant the opposite.

For example, Swiftleap may try to help another apprentice fix a battle move they performed wrong by telling them what was wrong with it, but she might leave out information on how they should improve it. This left out detail might make it seem like she is just insulting them, rather than trying to help.

Swiftleap is very opinionated, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. This goes too for typically "taboo" topics, which she will speak about no matter who is listening. She can be blunt to the point where she seems rude, though she often doesn't understand why she might be reprimanded.

She tries not to let things get to her, but she can be very sensitive, sometimes over what may seem small to others. Despite this, she can be cocky, sarcastic or sassy, and is confident in herself and her abilities-- perhaps overly so.

Sometimes, she may be envious of another cat gets praise for something she can do, not understanding why. For example, if a younger apprentice is learning a complicated battle technique, she may feel confused as to why they are getting the praise instead of her,even though she was taught it moons prior. She might not understand that they need the praise to build their confidence and convince them to keep going.

That's not to say that she is unempathetic, however. She simply has a hard time, sometimes, swing things from another person's perspective. She can be very empathetic, treating inanimate objects as well as she would treat another cat, or whispering apologies to prey after she kills them and taking a moment to grieve even though she's killed hundreds of time before. She may hear that someone she never met passed away and feel grief for them. If someone around her is feeling a strong emotion, it is likely to wear off on her.

Swiftleap is generally very perceptive and sometimes hyper-aware of her surroundings, making her quick to notice something amiss, but sometimes also making it easy for her to get distracted. At times, she can get overwhelmed with sights, sound, or smells around her. She doesn't like some textures, like the feel of wet sand or mud in her paws, and the slightest scent sometimes-- like the very faint smell of something carried on the wind from miles away-- can drive her mad when others barely notice them.

Because of this, she can find it incredibly difficult to fit in with her clanmates, despite her best efforts. She tries to match the moods of those around her-- which can be hard when she lives surrounded by so many others-- and often finds it hard to focus on one thing. If someone is talking to her in the middle of camp, she might be unable to filter out background conversations of those around her.

Swiftleap wants to fit in, and wants to have friends, but finds it incredibly difficult. She needs someone who doesn't care and who makes an effort to really get past her struggles.

Swiftleap also really likes patterns. Water and ice are some of her favorite things, with the way that waves and ripples move and the way ice can sometimes look up close. She loves tortoiseshell coats, leaf veins, pinecones, and more.

She also loves movement, from helicopter seeds and the way they fall toward the earth, to the flash of lightning in the sky that seemingly appears and disappears at once.

She can be very sensitive, and hates being yelled at, but she also really loves heated and passionate debates, or any argument she perceives as being good-natured, even if the other cat doesn't.

## History

I [Shadow] imagine that Swiftleap is a tiny bit older than Houndbelly, an unrelated apprentice, and was the one who opened her eyes and began to move around first. If he was the only ther young kitten at the time, she may have prodded him with her paw and asked why he didn't look like the older cats, since young kittens have very different proportions.

Was mentored by Stormblaze.

Swiftleap received her warrior name after her passion and drive.

When Blackwind became a warrior and received an apprentice almost immediately after, Swiftleap wondered why, and accidentally spoke her thoughts aloud without thinking through how they could be perceived. Blackwind's apprentice was a former loner, and Swiftleap was quickly called out by Cloudstar for speaking out of turn.