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sparrow: a small old world bird related to the weaverbirds

a lithe brown tabby tom with amber eyes
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Traits

• +decisive
• +perceptive
• +disciplined
• =independent
• =realistic
• =competitive
• -abrasive
• -callous
• -irritable

Personality

Sparrowclaw is a somewhat difficult cat to get along with at first. He is a lone wolf by nature, sharp-tongued and constantly trying to better himself. He is quick to challenge someone to a fight in order to become stronger, which at first can come off quite off-putting and abrasive if he crosses the wrong cat or someone who is overly sensitive, but there is a small part of him deep down that does it so the cats around him are also strong. Still, in the end, he tries to be the strongest fighter and hunter in the forest and among all the Clans so that he can be revered for his talent and skill.[break]
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He values hard work and dedication, but can be quite rude to those who get in the way of that. Sparrowclaw is vastly independent and will often hunt alone so that other cats don't scare off his prey. He'll often be quick to snap at any cat who disturbs his peace and quiet, and can often be found muttering something rather unsavoury under his breath. Despite his own privilege of being a descendent of Galestar, Sparrowclaw will get frustrated on those to fully rely on their bloodline and refuse to work hard to provide for the Clan.[break]
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Of course, underneath Sparrowclaw's hard exterior, he does care deep down. He has a soft spot that is rare to be seen for those who matter most, and will defend them with his life, just as he swore when he received his warrior name. He will not hesitate to jump in front of someone weaker than him in order to protect them from harm's way. He is your classic tsundere personality - showing a harsh exterior with a warm side that he only often reveals to those he trusts most.

Description

A just undersized cat, Sparrowclaw does not let his size get to him. In fact, he often takes pride in the fact that he is as skilled of a warrior as he is as he does not rely on sheer strength and muscle to win a battle. Just like GaleClan cats should be, in his mind, his strength is through toned, lean muscles rather than through a hulking frame. It allows him to be quick but still surprise his opponents who might think him weak just because they can't tell how strong he truly is.[break]
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Sparrowclaw has brown tabby fur, short and sleek, which sometimes proves leaf-bare to be slightly more difficult for the tom, but his refusal to stop moving helps keep his blood constantly running and keep him warm. Simultaneously, he struggles with a permanent injury with one of his back legs. Though he can often get through most day-to-day duties and training, his leg will occasionally act up.[break]
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The most striking thing about Sparrowclaw is his eyes. They are a piercing amber colour, often dark and brooding. His constant expression and body language gives off the vibe of a cat you do not want to bother unless you have something important to talk about. Which, of course, is the way that Sparrowclaw prefers it, as he does not want to be bothered. His amber eyes have been known to (perhaps unintentionally) strike fear into an apprentice or kit as they do not ever carry a soft or gentleness to them. Unfortunately, this can also translate even into some warriors and cats closer to his own age, but he doesn't let it get to him too much. But it is sure to be known that most cats in GaleClan would recognize those amber eyes in particular.

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history

Sparrowkit was born the first great-grandchild of the famed Galestar, something that the kit would not understand the importance of for some time. He was followed in his litter by his three siblings: Swankit, Ravenkit and Tangledkit. They were born in GaleClan to Cactusfruit and a loner by the name of Fledge.[break]
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Though Sparrowkit had been quite young, he looked up to his father. He saw something quite admirable in the tom who held no allegiance to the Clan, yet had worked hard to find a home. It was clear that Fledge loved his family and would do anything to defend them, who perhaps even saw the good in the Warrior Code despite not being a warrior himself. It made his death all the more difficult on the young kit, who, at the time, did not understand how his wounds could have gotten infected. Sure, he was not a true member of GaleClan, but had he not worked hard enough for the medicine cat to work hard to make sure he would survive? What was the point of all he had done for his family if he were to die from something so simple?[break]
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Such thoughts festered poorly in a young mind, and made Sparrowkit draw into himself. It made him feel somewhat bitter towards his Clanmates, though that wasn't quite how it manifested as a kit. In fact, it would not manifest itself more thoroughly until Sparrowkit would get older.[break]
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As an apprentice, Sparrowpaw was assigned to a large tom by the name of Martenfang. He was brutal with the young cat, rarely holding back. Sparrowpaw would often get told that he would not be able to rely on the fact that he was a descendant of Galestar to get him a passing grade through his training. It had not even occurred to the apprentice up until that point that some cats might see him that way, as someone who would simply try and get by on the credentials of his ancestors rather than his own talents. And so, he took Martenfang's words to heart, and everytime even the thought was mentioned that he could be following the tailcoat of his great-grandfather, Sparrowpaw would double down on his training. He became more determined than ever to show that he was an asset to the Clan.[break]
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He wanted to prove that if he got injured, he would be worth saving before his wounds got infected.[break]
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While Sparrowpaw certainly cared for his family members, he drew away from them more and more throughout his apprenticehood. He did not want to be seen as just another member of Galestar's bloodline, he wanted to be seen as independent from his great-grandfather's deeds. Certainly he was not blind to the things he saw going on, especially between Tangledpaw and Frozenpaw, but it was not of concern to him. As far as he had become aware, unless someone was not going to spar with him and help him improve his abilities, they were not worth bothering with. This meant that most of his days he would wake up, train with Martenfang, perform his duties, and then train alone for the rest of the day until he was too tired to continue and close to passing out. Sparrowpaw would often push himself further than was likely healthy, but he did not care to listen to those who warned him that he was going to run himself into the ground. He simply wanted to be strong and prove his worth.[break]
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Pretty early on in his training, Martenfang paired Sparrowpaw up with an older apprentice by the name of Foxpaw under the tutelage of Goldenmane. Foxpaw was also quite noticbly larger than the smaller than average Sparrowpaw, but the younger apprentice still pushed himself, surprising Foxpaw the first time they sparred. Although Sparrowpaw would often speak somewhat rudely to Foxpaw, it seemed as though the older tom almost enjoyed it, and a strange relationship formed between them. Sparrowpaw even found himself congratulating Foxtail to his face upon receiving his warrior name.[break]
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In turn, he could remember his new warrior name being called: Sparrowclaw, for his strength and determination. He held his head high and with pride at the name, and could remember the approval he gained from Martenfang. His now former mentor promised the tom though that though his formal apprentice training was now over, that did not mean he was done training. If he was to continue to be a strong warrior, and potentially even continue until he was the greatest asset any Clan could have, he would need to always train until the day he met StarClan.[break]
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The first two seasons of warriorhood went no different than Sparrowclaw's apprenticehood, though the only difference was that his training was not as closely monitored as it had been before. Now, his days consisted of waking up, figuring out which patrols he would be a part of, performing his duties, and spending any other waking moment training himself to become greater and stronger.[break]
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When leaf-bare hit soon, though, Sparrowclaw's incessant training finally caught up to him. When a chest infection began to rattle him, he tried to push through it, refusing to admit that anything was wrong with him. When he would visit the medicine cat's den for a solution and was met with "rest", he continued to resist and would only listen to solutions that included herbs in hopes that he could continue his duties. Yet, when other cats began to cough, he could feel some guilt. Instead of relenting and finally getting rest, he instead spent more time out of the camp so that others would not catch what he had.[break]
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Sparrowclaw managed to push through his bout of whitecough. His sister, Tangledvine, was not so lucky. Her whitecough turned to greencough, and Sparrowclaw had been out hunting when he returned to the news that she had succummed to her infection and passed. He tried to hide his pain of his sister's passing, especially whenever he heard someone say that she passed with her family and loved ones by her side, when reality was that Sparrowclaw had not even been in the camp when she died.[break]
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Refusing to let it get the better of him, Sparrowclaw threw himself even further into his personal training. Most cats left him alone, save for Foxtail, who often wouldn't leave the tom's side, as much as he tried to push him away. It seemed as though Foxtail didn't want to see Sparrowclaw alone too much, worried about how much blame he was putting on himself for Tangledvine's death, but he continued to get upset with Foxtail, wanting simply to be alone.[break]
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He got his wish one day, though it seemed to almost come at a great cost. Sparrowclaw had gone out on his own, sneaking away from Foxtail, but had not realized that the tom went out on a hunting patrol with his littermate - a tom who Sparrowclaw deeply despised by the name of Adderstrike. While Sparrowclaw was out alone, he came across Foxtail's body, badly damaged and near death. Despite the tom's larger size, Sparrowclaw put everything in him in order to bring Foxtail back to camp in order to be taken care of and saved. For the next two days, Sparrowclaw found himself - for the first time since Tangledvine's death - refusing to leave camp in order to train, not admitting to himself his fear of leaving camp and returning to find out that Foxtail had died in his absense. But one night, while unable to sleep, Sparrowclaw found Adderstrike's nest empty, only to find the large tom trying to sneak his way into the medicine cat's den in order to finish the job he had started in order to try and kill Foxtail.[break]
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Sparrowclaw sounded the alarm, the medicine cat realizing that the fur stuck in Foxtail's claws belonged to Adderstrike. With clear motive, Raccoonstar made the quick decision to exile Adderstrike. Sparrowclaw made sure to be near Foxtail's side for when the tom woke in order to tell him what happened, though he did not admit that he was the one to catch his brother's act, deciding to keep the information to himself in the end.[break]
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When Greenleaf arrived, Sparrowclaw would be given his first apprentice, a rather nervous and shy she-cat by the name of Rabbitpaw. Unfortunately, Sparrowclaw's insistence of how he went about life meant that perhaps mentoring wasn't something that would become his strongest suit - at least, not to a cat like Rabbitpaw. She was terribly timid and jumpy, much like the creature she'd been named for. Whenever Sparrowclaw tried to work on battle training, she clearly seemed scared and intimidated by her mentor and had a difficult time learning under his tutelage. He found himself getting more and more frustrated, unsure of how a cat like Rabbitpaw was supposed to become an asset to GaleClan if she was too afraid to get anywhere near her own mentor.[break]
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One evening, returning from his own patrol, Sparrowclaw witnessed Rabbitpaw outside the apprentice den with her friends, chatting and seemingly an entirely different cat. But when she caught the eye of her mentor, she immediately seemed to freeze up, scared to meet his gaze. The following day, Sparrowclaw tried a different tactic, instead finding a spot with his apprentice to simply relax. He did not force anything on her, and even apologized for his behaviour towards her. He said they would not be expected to learn anything that day, except learn about one another, and learn that they are both members of GaleClan. At the end of the day, when Sparrowclaw told Rabbitpaw that he would not tolerate her talking about him showing a "weaker side", she gave a light giggle and promised she would not say anything.[break]
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The rest of her training went on with a breeze as Sparrowclaw found new tactics, remembering that Rabbitpaw was more than just a future asset to GaleClan, but a cat in her own right with her own skills. Though she would never become the greatest fighter of all time, she would be named Rabbitchirp for her bubbly and rather loud personality.[break]
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Sparrowclaw continued to hold a soft spot for his first apprentice, even after receiving her warrior name. He continued to patrol with her, happy to have someone who saw him as more than some grump. Some moons later, the pair were ambushed and attacked by a fox. In a moment when the fox had turned to snap at Rabbitchirp, Sparrowclaw managed to leap in front of the attack just in time, though not without receiving a terrible wound on one of his back legs. The pair pushed through the fight and managed to chase off the fox, but Sparrowclaw fell to the ground as his leg began to bleed profusely.[break]
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He woke up some time later in the medicine cat's den, evidently having been saved by Rabbitchirp after the fight. Frozengale, his sister's former mate, had become the medicine cat at this point. Things had been tense at first, Sparrowclaw worried about the chance that Frozengale had festered feelings about Sparrowclaw being ill and potentially getting Tangledvine sick, or the fact that Sparrowclaw had not been there for his sister when she finally slipped away and passed on. He could feel himself getting somewhat worried as he thought back to his own father, who had died from an infected wound. Sparrowclaw had worked hard every day, pushing himself in hopes that he would be seen as someone worth saving should he get hurt. Though he always knew Frozengale as someone who would never purposely let Sparrowclaw die, there was still some voice in the back of his mind that worried.[break]
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While Sparrowclaw was incapacitated, Raccoonstar lost his final life and Basilstar would be made leader. He had already been somewhat frustrated that Basilstar had been chosen by Raccoonstar as deputy, but never let it phase him or change how he went about his business. It was a mild inconvenience and nothing more. While he knew that Basilstar would never have chosen him for deputy, being stuck in the medicine cat's den all the same made it an even more convenient reason to bypass him in favour of Wapatofur. It made him even more restless that he could not perform his regular duties and that he was being forced to take a break from his constant training and working on himself.[break]
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Eventually, despite the fact that his leg had not fully healed, Sparrowclaw tried to sneak out of the medicine cat's den, but was swiftly caught by Frozengale. In a short spat with the medicine cat, asking why in StarClan he would care about whether Sparrowclaw pushed himself too far, Frozengale frustratedly told him in response that he had already lost Tangledvine and that he refused to let go of anyone else who loved her as much as he did. When Sparrowclaw reminded him that he wasn't even there when his sister died, Frozengale did not let him forget that it did not mean that he did not miss or love her any less.[break]
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So, with some persuading and a well-deserved scolding, Sparrowclaw returned to the medicine cat's den and let Frozengale continue to care for his leg. Sadly, while it mostly healed, it still sometimes gives him trouble, to which Frozengale will drag him back into his care to make sure he doesn't lose it altogether. Sparrowclaw will still sometimes act quite irritable to the medicine cat's care, but he still will show his thankfulness in odd ways.[break]
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Not long after returning to his regular duties, Sparrowclaw was assigned his second apprentice, the younger sister of the deputy, Nutriapaw. There was a part of him that wondered if this was simply a way to get the warrior out of the way of complaining about being bypassed as deputy, even though he had no intentions of putting up a fuss anyways. Still, he was grateful to be able to get back to sparring immediately by using his new apprentice as an excuse to push himself without Frozengale in his ear.[break]
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Nutriapaw's apprenticehood was, for the most part, rather uneventful. The two often butted heads though over their rather similar personalities that still seemed at odds. Sparrowclaw would see nothing less than the best out of Nutriapaw, especially given that she was certainly quite capable. Despite the she-cat having been born in ShoreClan, he treated her no different than he would any other apprentice he might have had. Though, unlike when he had mentored Rabbitchirp, who had been perhaps a tad bit more sensitive, Sparrowclaw did not bite back his words when it came to Nutriapaw. It came to perhaps a bit of a detriment when during Nutriapaw's final assessment, Sparrowclaw threatened the apprentice with not letting her pass when he didn't think she was truly meeting expectations when he knew that she was better than what she was giving him. After pushing her buttons one last time and seeing what she was truly capable of, Sparrowclaw saw her get her warrior name: Nutriafang.[break]
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When Basilstar disappeared, it meant that Wapatofur would soon be named Wapatostar, and with that, Sparrowclaw would be named his deputy, and for the cat who had fought tirelessly his entire life not to just be seen as the shadow of his great-grandfather, and who fought tirelessly to prove that he was a cat who would be worth saving should something happen so he would not perish in the same way his father had, it felt as though a new era had begun.[break]
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Unfortunately for Sparrowclaw, that new era started off as rough as it could be. Nutriafang had also disappeared, and he had taken it quickly upon himself to begin to start to search for the missing members of GaleClan. Much as the tom was not fond of Basilstar, he still knew it was in his duty as a warrior of GaleClan to look for the missing leader. Soon after receiving his lives, though, Wapatostar called for the end of the search parties, striking suspicion in the deputy. He refused to give up his search for Nutriafang, though, continuing late in the night long after his duties were complete to search for the cat who he had trained. He simply wanted to know what had happened to her - whether she was dead or alive. He'd never held any bad beliefs about cats who did not want to stay with their Clans, and he often preferred it that way. Loyalty meant everything to Sparrowclaw, and if a cat didn't feel they would be loyal to their Clan and would be happier elsewhere, then he believed that's exactly what they should do. But given that Nutriafang had left without a word had him, despite himself, concerned.[break]

Family

[ family tree ][break]
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Cicadashatter - Mother[break]
Fledge - Father (Deceased)[break]
Eaglebone - Sister (silver)[break]
Ravenscreech - Sister (grim)[break]
Tangledvine - Sister (Deceased)[break]
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Galestar - Maternal Great-Grandfather (Deceased)[break]
Desertbreeze - Maternal Great-Grandmother (Deceased)[break]
Rattlesnake - Maternal Grandfather (Deceased)[break]
Lynxlaurel - Maternal Grandmother[break]
Cavernpelt - Maternal Uncle (moss)[break]
Dreamtail - Cousin (kauria)[break]
Shortwave - Cousin (moss)[break]
Ospreypaw - Cousin Once Removed (hati)[break]
Deerpaw - Cousin Once Removed (riley)[break]
Batpaw - Cousin Once Removed (kauria)

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