Fenkit

[Wolf]

So unaffectionate
So insecure
You claim to know, a thing or two about heartache
and what it’s like, to have your insides pulled out.

[Fenkit]

[ fenkit, fenpaw, fenshadows, fenstar ]
[ low land covered wholly or partially with water; boggy marshland ]
[ 3-moon-old tomkit of Brightclan. Watch him work. ]
[ this portrait of ghosts was painted by aurora ]

And I believe you!

I see it every time; your pallbearer’s pallor is
obscured by the darkness (The darkness)
dancing across your face (Across your face),
and when the blackness veils, your eyes, in pain.
I know what it’s like when memories make you wince
and love letters read like obituaries
and photo albums, are the books of the dead.
I need no reminders (No more reminders).
I’ll forget the past and lay it to rest!

He was named for his fur, a dark thing that seemed to be crafted from the tannin-filled waters that irrigated riverside bald cypresses. However, he is blacker than even that, not the dark-chocolate hue of the previous analogy. Fenkit is a sable kitten, pure as a vacuum. The only hue that variates from this non-existant part of the rainbow is the innards of his ears and the depths of his eyes. If you manage to spy this kitten hiding among the cattails and dark ferns, you will see that he is not an easy one to catch. Slenderly-built and gentle of foot, he makes a point to just slip out of your reach the instant he thinks an attempt to catch him is being made.

Now, what could he be made of that makes him so difficult to catch, you ask? Well now, let's start to describe him. Fenkit stands on lissome limbs that end in little paws. At the end of those paws are small toes with hooked nails that are sharper and more like needles than their adult counterparts. These appendages make him extremely fast and agile. Also, his senses are acute. They're not fully matured yet but even as a kitten, he has a wonderful sense of smell, hearing, and sight. His nose is black and twitchy like a rabbit's. He tends to stick that out first before he is self-assured that it's safe. Then, his expressive ears come out. They're large but they fit him quite well. Then you have his sight. Fenkit's eyes are pretty, like most cats' eyes are. They are a simple pale green color.

However, we've only been focusing mainly on his head. What about the rest of his body? Yeah, we've talked about his legs but you can't have a cat with only legs, eyes, ears, and a nose, right? Alright, let's finish Fenkit off. He's not the biggest cat in the world, rather average actually. His head isn't too big for it either, and it perches right at the beginning of Fenkit's spine, which, by the way, ends with his somewhat-sort tail. It'll probably grow in time, just the rest of him.

If I had my way I’d cut
the calluses off your,
off your breaking heart.
If I could get past the sternum...
Cauterize those wounds with every kiss I could give to you.
I’m holding your heart in my hands...
The reason it still beats!

Fenkit is a practical slapstick joker, the very essence of Schadenfreude (enjoyment taken from the misfortune of others). He can't help but laugh when cats trip over their own paws, fall out of a tree, or miss their kill. Being a kit, he doesn't understand yet when things have gone too far. However, he'll have to be careful when he gets older. He could become quite sadistic if his humor is unattended and let get out of hand. He doesn't really mean to be mean; to him, it's all in good fun. He's quite a playful chap but he can become quite sad when other kittens don't want to play with him because he laughs at their faults. In his eyes, he doesn't take anything seriously. Otherwise, he'd be an adult! He thinks that laughing at one's faults is a way to get over things. Cats who take their faults personally will never mature, is what he thinks.

He is certainly mischievous, but you can't help but love him. He loves the attention and will do just about anything to get it. However, because of this, Fenkit has sort of developed a scapegoat personality. He'll take the blame for just about anything, even when every single cat knows that there is no way in DeathClan he could've commited the offense. He just doesn't like to see his friends in trouble, that's all. He's loyal to a fault.

Fenkit is quite the charmer, so it's no surprise that he knows A LOT about what's going on. He tends to act snobby about it sometimes but it's only because it seems like a stupid question to him. For example, if some cat was just killed by a fox and brought in, Fenkit would be the first on the case. He's an expert at conning information out of people. Well, anyway, back to the example. If someone would ask what happened, he'd turn slowly to them and be like "Well it's rather obvious that the cat's been killed by a fox". If you come across as ignorant to Fenkit, chances are you'll be disrespected until you manage to earn some points with him. He can be nice but it's only towards cats that match his level.

Am I being too cryptic?
Am I being too obscure?
Am I being too cryptic?
Am I being too obscure?

Our story begins with a cat named Santiago. He was apart of a group similar to the Clans of Black River, except they did not follow StarClan's Warrior Code. They had their one style of leadership. Santiago's 'pack', for lack of a better word, was named Las Sombras, The Shadows in English. A cat named Erica led Las Sombras, and she did not like her brother Santiago one bit.

One day, a group of BrightClan warriors came to see Las Sombras about an issue. A black cat had been chased from the Clan earlier that night, having stolen a piece of the MoonShard that their leader Ghostlystar kept in his den with some other valuable artifacts. Erica immediately places the blame on the black tom, her brother Santiago. Given his background as a dangerous rogue before joining Las Sombras and his misfit behavior within the Clan once Erica accepted him, Santiago's accusers do not believe his protestations of innocence. Santiago's and Erica's separated-at-birth brother Pumastrike intervenes, offering to stay imprisoned in Santiago's place while Santiago quests to recover the shard; if Santiago cannot recover the shard and does not return in the time alotted for his quest, Pumastrike will receive Erica's verdict for Santiago--the death penalty--and will be executed in his place. Initially, Santiago would prefer to flee to the far corners of the world rather than undertake such a dangerous quest, hoping that Ghostlystar will find some way to save his loyal compatriot; however, Santiago discovers that Mistlight, Pumastrike's crush, has been following him the entire time, determined to ensure that Santiago fulfills his obligation to his brother, her crush. Prodded by her (and his own conscience), Santiago ultimately decides to undertake the quest: a journey to the Red Tower, where all cats of the Las Sombras get their guidance. From there, he will find out where the shard is located.

After a run-in with Two-leg police and a massive eagle, and then a fling with Mistlight that leaves her pregnant and clingy to Santiago, they ultimately reach the Red Tower. They are intercepted by Erica, who has had the shard the entire time, and Santiago realizes that her true goal in the theft was to prod Pumastrike into surrendering his life for Santiago's--as she despises both of her brothers and believes that they are out to get her.

Santiago begins to bargain for the piece of the Shard now that he realizes Erica's paranoia and her danger to the Los Sombras. Erica agrees to surrender the shard if Santiago truthfully answers a question: if he cannot gain possession of the Shard, will he fulfill his promise and return to die in his brother's place instead? Santiago says he will return, but Erica accuses him of lying and sends him and Mistlight out of the Red Tower without the shard piece. Santiago admits to Mistlight that he was lying, and that he did not intend to keep his word and die, even to save the life of his own brother. Mistlight begs him to flee, hoping to return alone to Las Sombras and somehow save both Pumastrike and Santiago. Santiago, however now knows that neither he nor she could live with themselves if Santiago abandoned Pumastrike to die.

Out of good conscience, he travels back to Las Sombras, where he embraces the death penalty. Before the executioner can kill him, Erica comes out of nowhere and intervenes, furious at Santiago for his actions. Santiago quickly realizes that, despite doubting himself earlier, he has indeed kept his word to return to Las Sombras and surrender his life for Pumastrike, and that Erica, because she made her promise in the sacred Red Tower, is bound to hold true to her promise to give him the Shard. She gives him the Shard and runs off. Santiago returns the shard to BrightClan. Having saved the day, Santiago bids good-bye to BrightClan, to go back to Las Sombras, leaving the pregnant Mistlight behind, despite their burgeoning romance. Pumastrike, however, has realized that Santiago and Mistlight have fallen in love, and begs him to stay with Marina while he stays in Las Sombras. The cats have come to like his merciful ways and prefer him over Erica as their leader. Mistlight and Santiago stay at BrightClan and raise their single child, who Santiago--now Shardchaser--names Fenkit. Fenkit was raised in a loving family and continues to be so, even as he nears apprenticeship in the next few moons.

Love kills! Romance is dead!
And I don’t even trust myself, but I love you!
And you can pull my wings apart
and pin me down under glass until the end of days!
If it can help you discover that we share the same pain!
I just hope you write your thesis before
your subject is dead.
No life after death!

Santiago/Shardchaser - father
Pumastrike/Puma - uncle
Erica - aunt
Mistlight - mother

If I had my way I’d cut
the calluses off your,
off your breaking heart.
If I could get past the sternum...
Cauterize those wounds with every kiss I could give to you.
I’m holding your heart in my hands...
The reason it still beats!

If I had my way I’d cut
the calluses off your,
off your breaking heart.
If I could get past the sternum....
Cauterize those wounds with every kiss I could give to you.
I’m holding your heart in my hands...
The reason it still beats!

Painting Portraits Of Ghosts

[(aurora) of the problematique]

[/sub]Accepted[/sub]