Cherrycheek

## General Info

### Appearance

Cherrycheek is a large, fluffy and thick-set tom with creamy colored fur. He has a darker part of his face, tips of his ears, toes, and his tail. An even darker color speckles the end of his tail, his toe-tips, and the tips of his ears, as well as freckles flecked across the marking on his face. His eyes are a scarlet red.

### Personality

Cherrycheek is friendly, kind, and loving if you already know him, but his demeanor is pretty quiet and docile. Ever since he was rehabilitated from the *incident*, he's become a lot more quiet and isn't as outgoing or approachable anymore. He's actually a little more anxious and tired-looking, but manages, thankfully. Cherrycheek is also not good with his trauma and controlling his feelings. He'll either bottle everything up and try his best to seem normal, or cry daily and get sensitive about things. The poor dude needs some therapy or something.

## Backstory

### Kithood

Cherrykit was born an only kit to Tidespring and Raspberrysong. Cherrykit was an accident, but they didn't dare tell him about it and treated him well. He was slightly spoiled, due to it being Tidespring and Raspberrysong's first kit and not knowing how to parent as well as others, but it doesn't show. He was a fairly happy kit and didn't have any problems or tragic events.

When he was three moons old, his parents pulled him aside and said they were expecting kits. On purpose this time. He was overjoyed to have a sibling, to play with and protect as the noble older brother. When he was five moons old, a single she-kit was born, and she was named Boysenberrykit, due to her purple berry-colored eyes. He loved his sister with all his heart, brough her trinkets, and talked to her a lot, even if she couldn't talk back at the time.

### Apprenticeship

Cherrypaw was apprenticed to a quiet she-cat named Quietrunner. He didn't understand her or get along with her well at first, but it worked out somehow as he got older and they grew quite a bit closer with her.

When he was seven moons old, he found he was den-mates with a pretty she-cat his age called Turtlepaw. She was spunky, clever and witty, and he found himself drawn to her somehow. He approached her and talked to her for a bit, and he ended up becoming rivals with her somehow. It stayed like this for a while.

When Cherrypaw was nine moons old, he found himself liking Turtlepaw a lot. Not liking as in a friendly rival banter, but he found himself developing feelings for her. Their playful banters and especially the pretty calico's charm reeled him in, and he eventually fell head over heels for her.

He decided one day to give her some gifts anonymously. He was pretty good at making flower wreaths at the time, so he sent out for some flowers. He found a flower bush with berries on it, and picked some of those flowers, weaving them into a crown for Turtlepaw. He picked some more to make more wreaths in the future, but left them where he had found them so he could bring them back later. With the wreath and a nice mouse he had picked from the fresh-kill pile, he gave Turtlepaw her gifts when she was asleep on a rock she rested on often, and busied himself with training until she woke up. When he saw she enjoyed the gifts, he was very happy, but at that time remembered the extra flowers he left. Not wanting to leave them after seeing his crush's positive reaction, he went out for them and brought them back.

When he got back, he noticed Turtlepaw was on her rock, and awake. When she looked over at him after he stared at her helplessly, he quickly shoved the flowers in his mouth to hide them. Like an idiot.

Once she went off to do her own thing, Cherrypaw spat them out, but didn't feel too good a bit after. Turns out the flowers he had given her were yew flowers, which grew alongside yew berries. AKA Deathberries. Good job, Cherrypaw. The tom ended up poisoning himself and falling unconcious, and was lucky Turtlepaw found him and helped him to the medicine den.

He had to stay in the medicine den overnight, but wandered out in the middle of the night for some fresh air. He found Turtlepaw asleep on her rock instead of in the apprentices' den. He talked to her even though she wouldn't reply, telling her about his feelings and how he gave her the gift. Feeling bummed now, he headed back to the medicine den to sleep. Poor man.

A couple days after, since Turtlepaw's mentor wasn't feeling well and sent himself to the medicine den, she asked Cherrypaw to spar with her. He obviously accepted, desperate to spend time with her after the incident. That and his feelings were growing very quickly. He wasn't very subtle about it but somehow Turtlepaw didn't notice.

When they were about to spar, though, he felt a sudden sense of unease. His feelings for her prevented him from doing anything. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was supposed to. Silently battling himself, instead of saying something he acted perfectly fine like a buffoon. When she finally attacked him and bowled him over, he stopped her though, and she stepped off, confused. He said that he didn't want to hurt her, and after an oblivious response from Turtlepaw, he grabbed her by the shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and blurted out his feelings for her.

When she stuttered, his hopes sank and he mumbled a few more words to her before turning to leave, but to his surprise, Turtlepaw didn't let him. She leapt over and pinned him down, to his confusion. He found that she was surprised he liked her and after a few moments of awkwardness, she let him up and back to camp.

Like a dork, he got happy, because of Turtlepaw's flustered reaction, and asked his mentor to train with Turtlepaw so he could tell his sister all about it. After a bit, while teaching his sister to make flower crowns, he made a new one for Turtlepaw since the other one didn't fit well and gave it to her when she came back, not knowing she had lost the other one while training yet. He went red as a beet, like he usually did around her, when she accepted it and told him she had lost the other one. He dismissed it quickly, telling her it was fine, but things quickly got awkward.

They sorted some things out and were cool with each other now, and when she left he was very happy. She knew about his feelings, and it wasn't a bad reaction. That was good. Later, a warrior requested he replaced some moss, so he obeyed. But while he was exiting the den with it, Turtlepaw and her mentor Sparkchargewere playing mossball, and Sparkcharge fell on him while walking backwards to try and catch it. Being a large, one of the largest warriors, that didn't end up well, and Cherrypaw ended up with a dislocated leg. Ouch.

He was taken to the medicine den by some warriors who had gathered around after hearing him scream like a banshee. His leg was popped back into place though and he was fine, but still in a bit of pain. He didn't notice Turtlepaw who had come in before the medicine cat popped his leg back into place, and when she ran over to him crying, he was obviously surprised. They reunited with a few flustered moments and moments of crying, all was fine, and after she left he was very happy, the happiest he'd been before.

After that, Cherrypaw went outside to get fresh air, and saw Turtlepaw outside with Sparkcharge. When Sparkcharge left Turtlepaw his heart sank as he saw her dispose of the flowers in the water. He suddenly felt like a fool for thinking Turtlepaw could ever like him. How did he not get her signals? With a broken heart, he padded away, and eventually went back to camp.

When he saw her in the apprentices' den, he quietly but surprisingly slightly angrily confronted Turtlepaw. During that he broke down, still torn up over it, and emotions were all over the place. Once Turtlepaw didn't respond and silently left, he curled up in his nest and cried himself to sleep. Poor guy.

After that, he had a little chat and friendly little walk with Crowpaw, and she made him feel a little better, but not much. He went to bed after that.

He woke up to something wet on his paw, but after a few moments of staring at it he saw it was the wreath that was put into the sea. Taking it the wrong way, he thought it was a sick joke by Turtlepaw, so he dropped it in front of her while she was sleeping and stormed out of the den. Yikes.

Fortunately, he did a bit of thinking, and even though it had made him mad, he decided to fix it. He was taught well, to be kind to even your enemies, so he went to his flower stock and started weaving Turtlepaw a new flower crown so she wouldn't have to wear the torn and wet one. He dropped it by her then went back to sleep again.

When he woke up, he sat in his nest to wait for Turtlepaw. He timidly asked her if she liked the new crown once she woke up, and it resulted in an awkward but relatively calmer and happier chat. They made up and all was well. After that, he awkwardly asked her to take his paw, and he led her to a pretty meadow where he went with Crowpaw on their walk, on a cute little date. One of the cutest moments, I'm telling you.

After that, they went swimming, and then Cherrypaw began to catch a little cold, so they went back. He recovered quickly.

He just trained for a bit, until he was approximately ten moons old. He saw a lot of warriors flooding in from a dog attack, and was especially worried about Turtlepaw when he saw her. Her leg had been injured, but she didn't want any attention, so he bound it up for her so she could wait. Which, was a bad decision. He let Turtlepaw go talk to her, fairly angry mentor at the moment, and when she told him what happened, Cherrypaw suggested apologizing. Making up an excuse to go talk to Sparkcharge, he left and went to talk to him about it. That helped a bit.

When he was eleven moons old, he visited Turtlepaw in the medicine den, who seemed to be doing a bit better. They chatted and joked for a bit before he left to let her get some rest.

When both apprentices were nearing twelve moons of age, they went to take their final assessment. They passed the hunting section, but both apprentices ended up getting injured during the sparring, with Cherrypaw hitting his head on a tree stump and gashing it open, and Turtlepaw's leg acting up again.

They were both taken to get healed, and they both healed up pretty well, but it took a bit of time.

After that, they took their assessment again after being fully healed, and they passed with flying colors. They went to eat and rest, then were finally made warriors.

### Warrior Life

Cherrypaw had received the name Cherrycheek, from when he gets flustered easily and also, the small, round freckles on his cheeks. He thought Turtlespring's name was much cooler, but didn't comment much about it.

After the ceremony, he pulled Turtlespring aside and after a cute little speech, he offered her some flowers he picked and asked her to be his mate. After a long, meaningful talk, she said yes, and he was overjoyed. Turtlespring said to keep it quiet though, and though he didn't know why, he agreed anyways.

After, they chatted with Sparkcharge a bit, where they proceeded to get overly flustered when asked about their relationship and be dumb and dishonest about it. That caused Sparkcharge to leave, and not long after they apologized.

The next few hours, they chilled on Turtlespring's rock for a bit and napped, but woke up to it beginning to rain, so they went to sleep. They woke up, and Turtlespring suggested going on a walk, so he complied.

They went to the same meadow they did as apprentices and had a cute little date there again, before going back to camp.

When he was thirteen moons old, he decided to pay a visit to Kelppaw in the medicine den, hearing what happened with her sneaking out with Salmonspots and figuring she needed some company. He found her gloomy and after a bit of convincing, she said she wanted to apologize to her mentor, Coralswipe about it. He helped her do it and then pulled Coralswipe aside to talk to her about overly fussing about the situation and being so rude to Salmonspots, who was just trying to help the poor apprentice have some fun. Being stuck in the medicine den wasn't fun, and he knew all about that.

The confrontation ended up escalating into a full blown claws-out fight due to Coralswipe's hot headed nature and she ended up breaking his nose. After heading to the medicine den with some warriors who helped him, he was patched up but it still hurt.

His heart broke when he heard that Coralswipe had gone on a rampage and killed Quietrunner, his former mentor. She had also injured Kelppaw and didn't stop until Sandstar had finished her off. He sunk into a depression of some sort, and luckily his mate cheered him up. She didn't push him to talk about what happened and she took him on a walk to a meadow, where he wandered into the flowers and enjoyed the view on a high rock. He got down eventually and they talked to each other for a bit until going back to camp.

A half-moon after the incident, Kelprunner visited Cherrycheek in the medicine den. She wanted to see how he was doing, and he wasn't feeling pretty well mentally, so she tried to talk to him. He dismissed the conversation, so she left and came back with a fish, determined to talk to him. The fish was unfortunately filled with worms, so they went to the prey pile to get another one.

They ate in silence until they both saw Sharksnap whisper something to his son, Crabkit, and the tom-kit started to screech. Cherrycheek raised a brow, confused but was not happy when he saw cats whispering about Kelprunner. He got up and confronted them, telling them to leave Kelprunner alone. It got slightly more heated and Cherrycheek ended up smacking Sharksnap square in the face. Dang.

He left to usher Kelprunner in the warriors' den, and make sure she was okay. He had to comfort the she-cat and they both had a talk for a while until Kelprunner suggested they play with the kits in the nursery to cheer up. They talked with Crabkit for a little bit, and he was pretty uncomfortable around him but he knew it wasn't his fault. His dad was just telling him things that were untrue.

Cherrycheek, trying to get the kit to stop yelling (his dad said he was "naturally loud" smh), made up a game to try and get the tom to speak at a normal voice level. It worked, surprisingly. Once he gave Crabkit a pebble as a point, Crabkit wanted to give back, so he grabbed a shell he found with three pawprints on it and handed it to him. Cherrycheek thought it was pretty cool, but was confused on why Kelprunner looked so emotional. Kelprunner dismissed him, and to cheer up, he chanted along with Crabkit and they waddled around like goofballs. It was really funny.

They started to play mossball, and Cherrycheek was still a little confused on why Kelprunner was so distracted, but he didn't push her to say anything. The mossball game went fine until the mossball bounced backwards, and Crabkit caught it and landed beside Valleyspirit, a tom who was nearby. Kelprunner and Valleyspirit were acting weirdly around each other, and Cherrycheek and Crabkit were getting pretty confused.

Valleyspirit joined the game after a few tense moments, and Cherrycheek was growing unhappy that Kelprunner was obviously upset and Valleyspirit was being very nervous, but neither would talk about it or sort it out. So, finally deciding to do something, Cherrycheek told Crabkit to come with him so the two could "sort things out". He left them in the nursery and took Crabkit, and they were about to speak to each other until he heard yelling coming from the nursery.

He found that Kelprunner was hugging Valleyspirit very tightly. Awkwardly, Cherrycheek went back and guessed it was sorted out rather quickly. He was explained to what happened by Valleyspirit, and after a bit of thinking, felt absolutely terrible for fighting with Coralswipe. She was obviously having issues, and he had drove her to the edge. He couldn't handle all the guilt downpouring onto him.

When he was asked if he was okay, he hastily explained he just needed a moment and rushed out of the nursery, trying to head towards the shore to do some thinking, but Kelprunner chased after him, trying to stop him and reassure him, but he kept pushing on. Kelprunner eventually got to him and he stopped and rapidly apologized tearfully, and Kelprunner convinced him to go back to camp with her. He reluctantly followed.

She tried to make him eat, but he didn't feel hungry. He eventually decided to go to sleep.

Coralswipe, dead, and now a Dark Forest warrior, invaded his dreams. He demanded what she was doing in his dreams, and she threatened Kelprunner if he didn't do what she said. Cherrycheek, trying to stay brave, told him he'd rather die than listen to her, and they ended up fighting. During the fight, he seemed fine, but inside was very panicked. He thought Coralswipe couldn't hurt anyone anymore. He thought Coralswipe couldn't hurt *him* anymore. He was placing Kelprunner's life in danger and it was all his fault.

When he woke up, he was traumatized. Wounds were all over his pelt from the fight with Coralswipe and he earned many more scars. He was treated and left to rest, but wouldn't speak to either Kelprunner or Crabkit. He wouldn't talk to anyone. Not even Turtlespring, when she approached him.

His family is very worried about him, as is Sparkcharge, Kelprunner, and Turtlespring. Kelprunner was the only one who seemed to have a brief understanding what happened to him, but of course she didn't tell anyone.

Cherrycheek was too frightened to talk. He was afraid of slipping up and putting more lives in danger. He rarely left the warriors' den, but was trying desperately to get better because he knew he was drifting away from the cats he loved. He left the warriors' den once, but when he was prompted to talk, he fled back. He was just so tired, and frightened. He would barely eat, drink, or get up, and had trouble sleeping. He just needed so much support, but unfortunately cats thought it was best to leave him alone.

So...he was fighting this battle alone, wasn't he?

In a desperate attempt to feel just a little bit loved by anyone, he slipped out of camp at the crack of dawn and was making his way to the place where he and Turtlespring had went on several little dates. While walking, he got his fur caught in a branch and snapped it off. When he made it to the place, he sat in the clearing for a few moments and toyed with the flowers, trying really hard to get his memories of Turtlespring to deliver at *least* a little bit of serotonin to him. But...it didn't.

He sat defeated for a moment, petals scattered in his fur, until he heard some calls coming from the thickest part of the meadow. He thought it was a loner at first, but he recognized that scent sharply when it reached his nose.

Turtlespring.

He just....sat there. He waited for her to emerge from the flowers, and when she did, an impulse, a strong urge, flooded over him. To say something to her, after all those moons of being silent. It was what she needed. It was what *he* needed. To see her happy.

So, he did. He spoke. His voice was dry and quiet, but it was there. He hadn't spoke in ages, and seeing that small light in her eyes flicker on was a wonderful rush of feeling for a moment. But sadness quickly overcame it. He tried to explain why he was gone, and Turtlespring seemed distraught and started to cat-hug him. He felt shock and surprise, she wasn't supposed to be sad! She was supposed to be happy. Why was he making everything worse?

Cherrycheek, of course, broke down in his mate's paws and just wished, hoped that he'd disappear in that moment. He'd vanish into nothing. He was only making everything worse for everyone. He was being selfish for wanting what little happiness he could find. And he made everyone worry. But Turtlespring's words pierced him like claws in his skin. She explained how much happiness he provided her, how that even in her darkest days, Cherrycheek was the one to make her smile. And he noticed how much she loved him, despite leaving him alone. (Due to that, he's now got pretty bad abandonment issues.)

He nuzzled her fiercely, telling her how stupid he was for leaving her and that he loved her so much. He swore he'd never, ever leave her. They sat there, taking in all the emotion mingled with one another, and then Cherrycheek told her they had probably needed to get back to camp a long time ago. The cats were already freaking out about him.

When they got to camp, Cherrycheek was immediately hug-tackled by his sister. His parents stood awkwardly to the side, and he realized how happy everyone was to see him back. Maybe...he wasn't a waste of space after all. After all the excitement that he was back, he realized how tired he was. He wouldn't let himself sleep, after all. So, he went to the warriors' den.

And for the first time in moons, Cherrycheek slept.

## Other

### Other Info

* Cherrycheek comes from a long line of wack eye colors. He got his eyes from his grandfather Scarletsight. His mother's eyes are magenta, his father's eyes are cyan, and his sister's eyes are purple.
* Cherrycheek is already almost one of the biggest warriors. He's only thirteen moons old. *Thirteen.*
* This is the longest thing I've ever wrote in a while. My hands hurt.
* Cherrycheek x therapy confirmed???
* Cherrycheek's early life was really dramatic because i loved action roleplays and apparently, making my characters cry. I'm trying to do better, I promise X(

### Quotes

*"...you still looked like a fish, though."*

*- Cherrypaw to Turtlepaw*

*"I wish I could tell you why I choked on those flowers like a fool. I just wanted to do something nice. I've admired you for a while, but...well, it's obvious you don't like me. I still like you though, so...you know, if you ever change your mind, that's cool, I guess."*

*- Cherrypaw, to a sleeping Turtlepaw*

*"I was the one who left those flowers and the prey! I got sick so I didn't look like a fool in front of you! I...I love you, Turtlepaw! So please realize this is why I can't train with you!"*

- *A very flustered Cherrypaw, to Turtlepaw*

*"Yes you do! Don't pretend I don't know it, Turtlepaw! You ridiculed me. You didn't care for me. And just as I was starting to become your friend you go out of your way to destroy the one thing that made me feel better about it!"*

*- An upset Cherrypaw, confronting Turtlepaw*

*"I didn't try to die! I coughed on water once and you decided I was sick."*

- *Cherrypaw to Turtlepaw*

*"I love it. I'll never take it off."*

*- Cherrypaw*

*"L-Look. We've been best friends...o-or rivals, for a really long time. And...I know that feeling in my heart. And I'm not gonna deny it, so...would you..be my mate?"*

- *Cherrycheek, to Turtlespring*
*"Please, just stop. I know you're trying to be nice but it's not helping."*

*- Cherrycheek to Kelprunner*

*"It's the sentiment that counts. I appreciate the kindness."*

*- Cherrycheek to Kelprunner*

*"Shut up! You know nothing about this! You're simply a bystander! You have not the slightest idea what she went through!"*

*- Cherrycheek, angrily, to Sharksnap*

*"Kelprunner, I know. You loved your mentor despite her being terrible to you. You can't...you can't help it. Anyone who judges you for being mentally abused is terrible."*

*- Cherrycheek comforting Kelprunner*

*"Shiny shell! Shiny shell!"*

*- Cherrycheek being a doofus with his buddy Crabkit*

*"Oh, StarClan. Crabkit, let's go play out of the nursery.* These two *need to sort something out."*

*- Cherrycheek to Crabkit about Valleyspirit and Kelprunner*

*"You're* still *harassing her? I guess things never change."*

*- Cherrycheek to Coralswipe*

*"No. Go back to the filth you came from, Coralswipe.*

*- Cherrycheek to Coralswipe*

*"I just wanted to...You guys really never talked to me when I.....I missed you. I wanted to come back here to kind of....feel loved again."*

*- Cherrycheek speaking to Turtlespring for one of the first times in moons*

*"You aren't....you aren't supposed to be sad. I'm making everyone worse."*

*- Cherrycheek to Turtlespring*

*"I'm so sorry. I didn't want her to hurt you, by my stupid words. I've already put Kelprunner in danger. I'm so stupid to leave you behind like that. I love you, I love you too, so much, my darling. I promise, I won't leave. Never again. Never."*

*- Cherrycheek to Turtlespring*

### Gallery

Cherrycheek's original reference sheet.Cherrycheek Prime. This was before all of his trauma happened.Cherrycheek Downfall. This is when he was at his worst and his trauma had really gotten to him.Cherrycheek now! He's doing better, thank the stars. If I had made him worse I would've have barking died.The apprentices!TurtleCherry moment <3Cherrycheek right after Coralswipe's attack.Turtlespring trying to comfort her mate.