Basilisk

A scarred seal sepia Bengal tom with aquamarine eyes and one ear

For some, Basilisk’s appearance could warrant something of marvel and awe, as his purebred Bengal genes give him a rosetted coat and prominent black stripes along his tail, his body is mostly pale the rosettes on his his section a brownish color while the stripes that mark his face, legs and tail remain black, giving him his possibly distinct look of a Seal Sepia Bengal. Below the stripes and rosettes, how pelt is rather pale, allowing the rosettes to have a contrast against his base fur.

With a life of mostly surviving on his own, his work of survival earned him lean muscles and well practiced posture, which may give a regal impression to some who see him. In spite of that however, he is not completely intact, from a prior battle, his right ear was nearly torn clean off, leaving him with what was left of his right ear being a jagged flesh that rests close to his head. Other smaller scars came from that battle, however they have long since faded into his coat.

Basilisk’s eyes are a bright aquamarine, an aquatic mix of green and blue that some might say stands out against his mostly pale fur. His nose and paws are a deep pinkish brown, almost black, but there is a visible hue to this who get close enough to see it.

Basilisk may often be considered as a cat of few words, while he does speak, he doesn’t often enjoy the idea of trying to hold a conversation that doesn’t necessarily go anywhere in the first place. However, this does not mean he doesn’t value time spent with other cats. He is usually not the one to seek it out however, so when he comes to seeking out a conversation with another cat, it is almost always something of drastic importance.

In a fight, Basilisk does not often think of long term effects of actions in the moment, often attempting to weaken an opponent down rather than overpower them. Some may find this merciless, but he sees it as strategy, a weak cat is a losing cat.

But in spite of his stand off-ish stern attitude, a soft spot rarely shows for those rejected when they need it the most. Cats who have been betrayed in any way or simply cats who are misunderstood among their peers and stand out negatively from the rest. These cats tend to remind Basilisk of himself, so usually he takes pity on them. But for the cats with no sympathy towards others. He won’t make light of the indiscretion.

Basilisk has experienced the truths of the world at it most true form and acknowledged it as such, he often doesn’t fear death instead, viewing it as a fact of life. And vice versa without negative things that a cat could experience. ‘That is just how the world is’ as he says it, as cruel as it might seem.

• Born in the Moon of Tiger's Wraith (2018) 117

Kithood [0-5 Moons]:

Basilisk was not always on his own, he was once a part of a litter carried by a prize winning queen of a bengal cattery that he would have made a fine sire in. He lived beside a his siblings in the first three weeks of his life. But the pampering didn’t last. Not for long.

A bang sent the young tom darting into a hiding place, but then there was a crash, a massive one that made his ears ring, a haunting sparking sound followed and then heat, almost unbearable heat. A fire had started in his cattery from a stray telephone pole that had toppled onto it. Basilisk was frightened and shaking, he searched near and far for his family while the flames roared, but the smoke the fire caused was too thick to see or smell anything through.

His panic drove him forward, until it didn’t. Basilisk fell into unconsciousness in his frantic search, and yet he never found his mother or siblings, but rather, he was found, by a human with a brightly colored pelt. The human was gentle with him until the moment he had woken up. He was sick and oh so young, the human helped him, fed him, allowed him to stay with him.

Basilisk was taken in to the firefighter’s home, he was cared for over the moons he stayed there. But something felt like it was missing, not simply due to his siblings whereabouts being unknown to him, but something deeper seated that ebbed at him every time he looked outside. As he thought through his options, he began to recall that the strange human was the reason he lived for as long as he did. But eventually, the wilderness seemed… far more tempting than a pampered life as a Firefighter’s cat. He couldn’t explain the urge, but it was present and it didn’t leave him.

Adolescence [6 – 11 Moons]:

And leave Basilisk did, he left his twoleg name behind, almost forgetting it entirely as he decided to venture out into the wilderness. He found the territories of the clans first, while some of the younger cats of the clans, cats his age, met him with curiosity, many of the older cats in the clans, chased him off. It was at this moment, that he didn’t realize what he was going to do for food. He wasn’t knowledgeable on how to hunt, and he knew starvation was in his future if he didn’t find food soon enough.

For the most part, every piece of prey he went after knew he was coming before he could even pounce, mice skittered away, rabbits burst through the grasses and fish flipped out of his helpless paws. He questioned going back to his old home, but something inside him told him to keep going, something that told him that he had a purpose out here… somewhere.

It was on another failing hunt that he met a dashing tom named Fox, his bright ginger pelt gleaming in the sunlight, he had managed to pick up the slack when Basilisk lost the rabbit he was trying to wrangle by killing it with a swift bite to the neck. For a moment, Basilisk hissed and snarled at Fox, claiming a stolen catch, but when he noticed that the massive tom held no threat to him, young Basilisk simmered down. Allowing Fox to assist him in the hunt and defend himself against any cat that tried to harm him.

Basilisk and Fox grew close, and when Fox heard of his namelessness, the ginger bicolor tom took it upon himself to give Basilisk the name that he now knows himself as. The two shared a chats with one another, however, Fox did most of the talking, but then, the two moved on with their lives, newly named Basilisk, walking away with a name he felt like he earned and Fox walking away with a former apprentice under his paws.

However well the new hunting skills came into use, turning Basilisk from a thin, bony cat to one of well fed muscle and filling out proportions. But despite the good, there was also struggle, on a fateful day for a poor cat, a warrior was hit while crossing a black path, Basilisk bore witness as the beast that attacked roared over the cat mercilessly and fled the scene. In a panic, he ran as well, now he realized that starvation was not the only cause of death for him, there were other deathly means, and to avoid them, he would need to harden himself up and make sure that he didn’t get into situations like that often.

Seeing the death of another cat first hand made him realize that, not only death could happen at any moment, that cats were born to die, that death was the cost of life, not every cat made it as far as he did, and he was thankful for Fox, who had helped him survive for the length he did. He promised to make it up to him at some point. Someday, but he had a destiny to find.

Adulthood [12 Moons – Current]:

Adult life came easier after learning to hunt and survive in the climates and different stages of life. He had a few run ins with other rogues and the occasional clan cat. But life then grew mundane, he knew that his purpose wasn’t this, it couldn’t be, it should be something much more worth while. He grew to realise that he had grown rather lonely. So in his rare desperation for company, he attempted to seek out other rogues to meet.

Some cats that Basilisk met has reservations that he respected, as they respected his own, some were kind enough to offer him a few words, but one in particular… was notable aggressive. He wasn’t sure if he had approached this cat at a bad time or if tearing into cats was something of a casual hobby for the rogue he incountered. But at the end of the fight, he escaped badly wounded, and bleeding worse, his right ear left near completely torn off while his pelt bore scars from the battle.

Basilisk found himself in ThunderClan territory, desperate and sputtering in his search for healing, he was bleeding with every pawstep he took, and he was worried their wouldn’t be another. But in his search for help, however, he encountered something worse, Wildcry of ThunderClan. She wasted no time in driving him off of the territory. After the ordeal, he had very little energy left in him to continue on, but just as he was about to collapse, submit to his demise. Then came Kosmo.

Kosmo, the healer he was, treated Basilisk and ensured his survival. At this stage, he wondered to himself whether he had the best of luck or the worst, he had been through many-a near death experience and yet, he was brought out of it to live another day, he owed his life to these cats, a life for a life seemed fair to him. And he would have forever searched for a way to make up for the favors that they have done for him.

Many moons passed since then, a year to be exact, and Basilisk still made it a mission to find Fox or Kosmo and offer his life in loyalty to them, it was the least he could have done for the cost of his life. Kosmo and Fox’s kindness would not go unheeded and unrecognized. And it would definitely not go unpaid for.

And so, when Kosmo approached him after a long time of absence, speaking of an offer to SkyClan, Basilisk gave him an answer, along with several questions. But overall, he owed his life to Kosmo especially, for saving his life and now, for helping him find his purpose.

• No threads have been recorded.

• Dam: Sepia Charcoal Bengal
• Sire: Sepia Silver Charcoal Bengal