Rivaille

Rivaille is an incredibly small black tomcat with narrow steel gray eyes.

## Personality

Rivaille has a presence about him that makes even the bravest of cats take a step back and reassess their life. More specifically, why they were approaching him in the first place. He is often acknowledged as one of the strongest and most skilled cats in the lands, though it certainly doesn't excuse his attitude. When it comes to intelligence, Rivaille is brilliant, able to swiftly assess a situation and come up with a strategy befitting his faith in his group. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of every cat in the group, and he knows the names of cats from other groups that he's not even met. This sort of categorizing is excellent when the groups in the lands are in a time of hostility, as he is able to know exactly the strengths of whichever group they would face in battle, and from there can deduce what sort of strategy they will execute on the field, allowing him to come up with a quick and effective counter-attack to take them out. However, as useful as it is in battle, it makes him absolutely dreadful at personal relationships, and he finds even simple pleasantries difficult to exchange on a bad day. That's not to say he simply can't talk to others. No, he simply doesn't care for mindless conversation. He would much rather speak on things that matter, to the cats that matter, than waste his days talking to those who won't listen, with words that will be forgotten by morning. He is quick to discipline and slow to reward, and he does not tolerate any sort of slacking off or rule-breaking on his watch. Those outside of his circle would call him harsh and cold, but those in his group know him to be fair if nothing else. He's not very good at discussing emotions, has gotten very good at hiding them, in fact, and he's more likely to freeze up and smoothly flee the conversation than wait it out. He also hates to talk about his past, and any who bring it up are promptly shut up with the threat of cleaning something until it sparkles. Despite all of this, however, he holds a deep-seated fondness for certain members of his group, though usually even they don't know that they've achieved that status. When it comes to the group and battles, he knows some sacrifices must be made, as much as he hates it, and so he has learned to remain emotionally detached to most of them. Those that have worked their way past his shell, however, he would easily and readily lay down his life for, refusing to lose them unless he goes first. It is not impossible to reach this point with him, just very difficult. After losing a member of the group, he is known to be snappish and even more rule-driven than before, though he has a strange, certain way of comforting the fallen cat's loved ones that somehow works. He seems to have a bit of a stigma for dirt, and when he isn't out doing things in the territory, he is cleaning something up in the camp. Whether it's a den or the clearing, he makes sure that not a twig is out of place. For this reason, his nest is far away from any others, and perfectly arranged so it shines. Everyone knows not to touch his nest. That would mean certain death for them, unless he's feeling merciful that day, in which case they may just be subjected to cleaning something. Again.