Toast

**Toast** is a flame point cat with gray-blue eyes.

**Toast** was born as a kittypet to unknown parents.

## Appearance

Toast is a lanky short-furred flame point cat with round blue-gray eyes. The orange-brown tabby color on his face is strongest at the tip of his muzzle and fades radially. His tail is completely orange-brown tabby, and the rest of his body is a dirty white. A few light scars on his flanks mark moments where he had been a little too slow to get away from hostile rogues as a kit. Having gotten more proficient at scavenging, he looks much sleeker and well-postured than he used to be, energized by seasons of good pickings around his Twolegplace.

## Personality

A naturally withdrawn personality, Toast is an idealist, heavily avoidant of unnecessary confrontation and violence. Despite his light-colored pelt and tall frame, Toast is surprisingly elusive. He usually keeps stealthily to the nooks and crannies of the little Twolegplace where he lives, preferring to observe strangers from a safe distance behind a street corner or rot-pile.

The few times he engages in conversations with unknown cats are when he is spoken to or confronted directly, conversing in his usual awkward yet friendly demeanor. Once he gets to know them, however, things come much easier for him, freely sharing his thoughts on a wide variety of topics he had picked up over the course of his adventures. He is still uncomfortable in group settings, usually keeping quiet as a mouse in order not to interrupt anything. Still, he remains secretly proud with his growing social skills, considering how fearful of a kit he used to be when he started his new life.

Prior to becoming a loner, Toast had been kittypet born and bred, having been bought from a breeder when he was a moon and a half old. For most of his kithood, he lived a comfortable life with his housefolk. He had been happy then, albeit not the brightest or most self-aware. His first mentor and former housemate was an older cat named Mango, who had recounted countless stories about the wild cats living just outside the Twolegplace. His overexcitement led him to daydream and "practice" becoming a "warrior."

This had indirectly led to his greatest regret as his constant intrusive thoughts led him to attack his housefolks' kit, who had been nothing but sweet and kind to him. He had been thrown out immediately that leaf-fall, crushing guilt leading his paws far away from his home. The painful memory burned itself deeply into his heart, affecting him even many moons after the incident. For a long time afterwards, he was unable to bring himself to hunt live prey or fight head-on, as it reminded him of the warrior life he used to dream of and the self-loathing it dredged up, remembering the subsequent pain it caused his young friend and their parents.

Moons of scavenging in Twolegplace have honed his focus and will, helped along by the inspiration Fallowdust had imprinted on him as a young loner. His kithood impulsivity no longer manifests itself as strongly as it used to. While still pacifistic, he does not hesitate to use his inherent strengths to the same extent he used to, now able to defend himself well against hostile cats with his long claws and flexibility if backed into a corner. His newfound enjoyment in exploration and adventure is something he enjoys a lot, often happening with fellow Twolegplace-dweller Coke, who had become his best friend over the leaf-fall season. To a similar level, he enjoys quiet moments, those when he can rest up and reflect on his complicated emotions.

To get to this point, Toast had cut down on many of his old hopes and aspirations. He no longer seeks his biological family, instead wishing them a good life wherever they were as he pursues new endeavors himself. Even the wariness he used to feel for Clan life has begun to fade, replaced with an appreciation for the EmberClan cats who have helped him along. He has learned a lot, and he has more to learn still. All he hopes is that it will lead him to happiness someday, to a future surrounded with friends and loved ones.