Brackenstar - Leader of WindClan

Name:
Brackenstar (claw)
Gender:
Tom
Age:
46 Moons

Appearance:
Brackenstar's mother once described him as, "Lightning falling upon the bark of golden trees." This fits his pelt very well; his fur has a nice golden-brown color to it, russet but not quite -- more golden-colored. In sunlight, it burns as if it were the sun colliding with a million stars. Aside from the bright, eye-catching color of his golden pelt, Brackenstar has lightning-like stripes that shower over his whole body as darker streaks. The WindClan leader's pelt is smooth and normally clean, despite that, at times, it looks ruffled and ragged; but normally it's very soft and well-groomed. Even though you can get dirty in the forest, it's not an excuse to look dirty, is it?

Eyes are indeed worth a thousand words; Brackenstar's eyes are worth even more. They are simple, green eyes, but they will remind you of a cold, icy ocean, even if they are not blue. His stare often holds respect, but suspicion and strange frustration as well. Though it is a simple, bright green color that reminds one of the warmest seasons, they go much deeper and colder than that shallow warmth. You can only see the true life of these green orbs if you allow yourself to drown in their depths; they will hide many emotions, such as depression, anger, and happiness, but they are hard to find, as the flaming-red teller usually keeps them hidden and only shows them in his voice. The usual emotions that show, well, seem to show, are, as stated before, respect, suspicion and frustration. Most WindClan cats are used to this stare and show no fear, but to-bes and cats of other tribes will sometimes regret looking into them; if, of course, Brackenstar will allow them to.

Every cat is born with powerful weapons; no, not the violent weapons of Twolegs, but weapons that cats throughout generations are born with and use respectively. This effects Brackenstar just like any other feline. His claws are always kept sharp and battle-ready, prepared to tear through fur and to open flesh, but most of the time Brackenstar is a responsible leader and keeps them hidden in his paws; as he tells his tribe, there is no reason to create battle unless absolutely necessary and needed. His fangs are kept inside his mouth, too, unless he is, of course, eating, lapping up water, or in the storm of a raging battle. These respected, violent, and careful weapons are used responsibly by the young tom, though he is thankful to WindClan for allowing him to be born with these tools; a cat would not be a true cat without them, but most importantly, they are needed to protect your Clan. And that is exactly what the tom uses them for.

Persona:
Three simple words can explain Brackenstar's usual personality: Brave, reckless, and loyal. These simple words can describe so much about a cat, no matter the combination. Let us start off with brave; the tom is brave and daring, and willing to do anything. From jumping off high rocks (with the price of landing on others) as an apprentice to storming into battle without thought as a careless warrior, Brackenstar's willing to do it! His courage is often uses to protect his tribe more than to supply him exhilaration and fun, but he uses it for both nonetheless. This bravery, as well as using it to protect his tribe, is used in words as well as actions. He often speaks his mind with no hesitation, though with respect, because he has the freedom of speech and it can be used for the better. This bravery makes him demanding, which can be fortunate and unfortunate, and he often gives out orders and accepts no lack of respect.

As you may have noticed before, it has mentioned that Brackenstar has used his bravery to jump off high rocks with the risk of landing on others. This shows how he is reckless and how this could lead to danger and injury. Being reckless can be good, for it makes him fight stronger and protect his Clan better, but it can be very bad as well. This could have led to his death and it could have led to a lot of blood. And trust me, his recklessness has landed him in difficult situations before; when some ShadowClan apprentices chased a mouse until they made it to WindClan territory, he did not hesitate to attack and, being a powerful warrior, he spilt plenty of their blood. The young apprentices did not come close to death, but it certainly gave him a punishment; for he could have chased them off with a few scratches instead of a full-fledged attack. Though the golden-brown leader has learned from his recklessness, that does not mean that he has learned not to be reckless and daring and adventurous. It simply tells him to not do it again; who knows what this young tom will do next, and who knows if he can recover from it?

Now one of his most memorable traits. Loyalty means more to Brackenstar than mostly anything, so he expects loyalty from his cats and will punish them for disloyalty. Though he has landed himself in sticky situations before, he has remained loyal to WindClan throughout them, and sometimes he was reckless and daring for the Clan and not for himself. When he chased off the apprentices, he was loyal as possible, and when he threw himself into battle many times before, it was out of pure loyalty. Though he is the leader and expects ultimate loyalty from all the WindClan cats, he is also loyal himself, obviously. He may be free to give commands and shows it off clearly, his loyalty will never fade away by ambition; hey may be a fool sometimes, but he is a loyal fool, which is why the previous leader has chosen him to take the position of deputy when he died.

The three previous traits were only his usual ones, and he has many more traits to his personality as well. Respect can often be seen in his gaze and heard in his voice. Brackenstar always respects others, as long as they have reason. Almost every cat gains respect from him, and most respect comes when they respect him back. However, if a cat puts ambition in front of loyalty and speaks with no politeness, he automatically shows no respect whatsoever. Why would a foolish, ambitious and disloyal cat get any respect at all? A true cat shows respect and politeness when he speaks; and a true cat like that gains respect when others speak.

The previous leader put Brackenstar in his position, did he not? This means that Brackenstar must have shown good leadership - and he still does. The teller is often more wise than foolish and makes decisions that are only for the good of the tribe; an attack out of cold blood is certainly not something that a good leader would do. No; every decision that he makes, hard or easy, is usually good judgment, despite that he can be foolish; but everyone can! Leadership may not be natural to Brackenstar and he was not born for it, but that does not excuse him for a leader. Brackenstar leads with compassion, wisdom, bravery, and loyalty; all very good traits for tellers. Being a good leader is important for the golden-brown tom; even though temptation can wash over his soul, he keeps on going instead of drowning in ambition and chances. After all, there's a difference between good chances and bad chances, good choices and bad choices, and he sees that. There's hardly no cat in WindClan, perhaps the other Clans as well, who doubt his leadership over his Clan.