Cottonbright

A large white she-cat with small ears and paws and lime eyes

Cottonbright is a sizable she-cat, thick fluff giving her the impression of a larger form which covers her lean muscle. Her coat is a short, dense covering of a single hue of pure white fur. She has small, triangular ears that perk at the slightest disturbance. Unproportionally small paws support her supple frame with pink paw pads and sharp, clear claws. Her rotund face is the portrait for her large, circular eyes – which are a vivid lime green.

Cottonbright is a cat conscious to those of her clan, perhaps even too much as she tends to reflect her emotions outward, which causes her to be self conscious of every action she takes. Despite this she tries hard to accommodate any complaint or might try to keep clanmate disagreements from spiraling out of control if it means keeping the peace. While she’s generally patient and kind-hearted, in her extreme she can become overly concerned about what others might think of her, pushing herself for the approval of her those around her nearing paranoia. Faced with too much attention or responsibility, Cottonbright can become fidgety – a nervous little tick that can distract her from her task at hand. While she prefers the company of others to her own, too much expectation can make her hesitant on top of being an already cautious individual. She prefers to think long and hard about any decision, carefully assessing any cat or situation that crosses her path.

• Born in the Moon of Leopard's Rest (2018) 115

[0-6 moons]

Lilyripple was an aging warrior who wanted to make one last contribution to her clan before retiring to the Elder’s den. She enjoyed spending a lot of time outside of camp, hunting and exploring the borders. Cottonbright never revealed who sired her litter, and when her time came, gave birth to three kits, the first she named Cottonkit, a pure white she-cat, the second was a stillborn, and the third who died shortly after birth.   Cottonkit was a quiet, contented she-kit who became an briefly loud mewler for the smallest of things. She was eager for warmth, suckling, and occasional visitor into the nursery – whose attention was always welcome, even if she was a bit shy to start with strangers.

[6-12 moons]

Cottonkit was apprenticed as Cottonpaw to the newly made leader, Boldstar, who eagerly accepted the young she-cat as his newest apprentice. She couldn’t recall a moment of her life not trying to make an impression. She quickly was forced out of her comfort zone and thrown into the life of lectures and trials, hunting and sparring, and reinforcing the groundwork of the warrior code into her.

While the pressure of his high expectations weighed heavily on her, she always tried her best – even if she faltered with some of his training. Extra care was needed when it came to fighting, especially when it came to quick, spur of the moment decisions in the heat of the moment. Her patience made good for mulling over strategy, and when thought over, could spar adequately enough. Throughout her apprenticeship her indecision and low self-confidence was improved by Boldstar’s persistent tutelage, and while she still was timid, she was practical and especially hard-working. So hard working, that, at times, would forgo her own comfort for just one more lesson if it meant finding approval in their leader, who gave her the room to grow.

[12-18 moons]

Cottonpaw, now Cottonbright, proudly sat vigil that night when she received her warrior name, reflecting on her lessons and how she had gotten where she was now. It seemed a miracle, and yet here she was. She continued to work to provide and protect her clan to the best of her ability, as especially spared particular care to the Elder’s den who housed her aging dame, Lilyripple. Emotionally supportive, her dame had been there through the thick of it, but the recent moons had strained her health. There was nothing she could do as she watched Lilyripple’s vigor decline, slowly losing to a cough that took her life . Daunted by her passing, Cottonbright did everything in her power not to let her mourning temper her duties, as her work brought welcome distraction. She is no stranger to a particularly challenging hunt or the occasional border scuffle between clans, however, she tries her best to avoid open conflict when possible.

She was one of the cats on Boldstar’s patrol and saw her leader save another clanmates life from an eagle attack, where he bravely sacrificed one of his nine lives to preserve the life of one other. Part of which inspired her to become a more self-sacrificing cat, who tries to look out for everyone. In the recent moons of leaf-bare while hunting near the Riverclan border, she spotted a lone figure, noting a scent not of the clans. Presumed a loner of some sort, she spied on the cat and watched as they simply seemed to be crossing over and poking about. No prey had been stolen as far as she could tell, but she wasn’t about to let a clanless cat potentially steal prey. Using all the force she could muster, she firmly talked down the loner, before offering to escort him back across the borderline – to make sure he left with a warning not to come back unless he wished to risk finding one of her more aggressive clanmates. The problem was resolved without a scuffle, and since far hasn’t spotted the intruder since.

At 20 moons she received an apprentice named Mintpaw, and while she took her time with him and gained enough confidence so that the tom could eventually become a warrior, she still doesn’t value herself greatly. During this time she met with a WindClanner named Bayflower who was interested in learning how to swim, and she wonders if she’ll ever cross paths with him again.

She was even more surprised when Boldstar honored her once more with one of his own kits to apprentice, Sturgeonpaw, and was accepted into the leader’s inner circle, becoming a senior warrior in the process. His confidence in her abilities has given her the strength to accept his certainty, and will continue to teach the next generation of RiverClan warriors.

• Currents and waves (27TL'20)
• In dappled moonlight comes the call (14TL'20)
• Mint & Nettle Grow Stronger (2FF'20)