Willowfern

Willowfern is a pale silvery-gray tabby-and-white she-cat with deep blue eyes.

## Personality

Willowfern is very squeamish and shy, and very, very tidy and specific. There is a certain way she goes about her day, and certain ways for everything to lie. Her fur must be immaculately groomed, her nest must not have a spot out of place, and StarClan forbid she come in contact with mud. She is incredibly anxious because of this, and she finds it difficult to face even her parents and siblings when a single whisker at the wrong angle could send her into a fit. She keeps entirely to herself, keeping her nest isolated in the den and avoiding social interaction at all costs. She'll spend half the day just tidying up before she's ready for training, and then she's very cautious and nervous throughout the rest of the day, especially when they're out in the dirty territory. She despises water and can't even force herself to get in half the time for training. Even the thought of swimming sends her into a panic. It'd mess up her fur and get her dirty, and what if there's something in it that gets her sick? Because she's so particular, it's difficult for her to make friends even if she's in the right headspace to try. If a cat doesn't understand why she needs things to be a certain way or messes something up on accident, she'll hold in irrational fear that they'll do it again if she continues to speak with them. If someone asks why she's so particular, she'll be left floundering for several moments before falling into a panic. It's not as if she know why she needs things a certain way, it just feels so wrong when it's not. She is unlikely to speak even if someone decides to strike up a conversation with her, too distracted by the small imperfections around her to be able to focus fully on what they're saying. She'll often walk away in the middle of a sentence, spend a few minutes fixing something, and then come back and continue as if nothing happened. She is not a fan of bright colors, as they are difficult to match with other colors. Earthy tones and grayscale are okay with her, but anything else is an annoyance and an eyesore. She has a habit of collecting things - leaves, shells, stones, fish scales, twigs, etc. - and everything has a proper order. If someone touches a collection or messes it up by accident or without permission, she'll do her best to reassure them that everything's fine and they needn't worry before rushing away to cry in a dark corner until she can face the problem again. Talking as a whole is difficult for her, as she often finds herself needlessly repeating phrases or stumbling over words. She has certain twitches when she speaks, nodding and blinking quite a lot, and scrunching her nose just as much. She'll pat her paw on the ground, bob her head, click her tongue, and jerk her muzzle to the side every once in a while, or with specific words. Once she gets attached to a cat however, which is no easy feat in and of itself, she never lets them go. She'll express her affection in strange ways, bringing them a dull stone or a pointy leaf with a particularly rich color. To her, this is like gifting them herself. Gifting them her loyalty and attention. She still will find herself unable to look past rumpled fur or a bent whisker, but it will be easier for her to focus on them and nothing else. Her trust is slowly gained and swiftly lost, as one wrong move from someone will send her into distrust and nervousness again, unable to allow them near her things, but too shy to tell them so. She never gets angry, and it's rare to see her well and truly happy, but a few cats are able to pull a smile or a soft giggle from her, and those cats are truly special to her.