Mistyleaf

A large, longhaired classic torbie she-cat with hazel eyes and ear tufts

Mistyleaf is a black silver classic tortoiseshell-tabby with hazel eyes. If one only saw her face and upper chest, they might think her coat was wholly silver, but the little stripes on her head, face, and chest include orange and black. They grow and flow down her back and sides in a blend of orange and black, broken up by swirls of silver fur. They then continue as thick stripes on her legs and tail. Her broad chest, fluffy underbelly, and large paws are all silver.

She has a long, tall frame, but she isn’t lanky or lithe. Mistyleaf is large and muscular. Her medium-long fur can hide her sturdy shape and easily make her look bigger. It thickens in leaf-bare and thins somewhat during greenleaf. Consequently, Mistyleaf sheds a lot and her fur is prone to matting if she doesn’t groom it thoroughly enough. It ruffs at her neck like a little mane and it gets shaggier towards her back legs. There are little tufts of fur atop her ears and even between her toes. Her lengthy tail is a big plume of very fluffy fur. She jokes that it’s a cat unto itself, but she greatly appreciates the extra warmth during leaf-bare.

Mistyleaf thinks herself a steady and contemplative cat. She doesn’t care for competitions. She thinks they’re silly. As long as everyone does their part and the Clan is well, what does it matter who caught the most prey in one hunt and suchlike? There was more to life than that.

She’d be happy just napping on a warm rock. If and when she becomes an elder, her plan is to sit in the sun all day, listening to the trees rustle in the wind. In her everyday life, hunting is nice, but she prefers border patrols. She feels like they let her fully enjoy her presence in the forest and she doesn’t have to shrink herself down.

She tends to be cautious and slow to anger. When it comes to actual conflict, she would rather have words than come to blows. Bloodlust is completely foreign to her. Fighting to protect one’s home and Clan is one thing, but wanting to fight for the sake of fighting is a feeling she can’t imagine. Differences like that and other abstract things get her lost in thought, and she is ever curious about the world and its inhabitants. She’s also always been happy to learn about herbs and healing.

• Born in the Moon of Melting Waters (2018) 106
• Made an Apprentice as Mistypaw during the Moon of Cheetah's Flight (2018) 112
• Named a Warrior as Mistyleaf during the Moon of First Green (2019) 119

Mistykit was born to Ferntail in the Moon of Melting Waters (2018), alongside a stillborn tortoiseshell tomkit. Her mother left the kits’ sire unnamed, as was her right. Mistykit grew to take after Ferntail in appearance and size, but not in temperament. Mistykit wanted to know everything about everything.

She loved hearing the stories and legends of the Clans and their traditions, but she ultimately had more questions about them than her mother could stand. There were only so many straightforward answers and Mistykit was often chided for not paying attention to the practical point of what she’d been told. To her mother, she was distracted by and asked about the most inane things, and her thought process was like a stream split by too many rocks. Mistykit was also fascinated by herbs and healing. She had no end of questions about it for Brightflower, but warrior apprenticeship found Mistykit first. Ferntail was relieved when Mistykit got a mentor.

Mistykit was apprenticed as Mistypaw in the Moon of Cheetah’s Flight (2018), and her thirst for knowledge continued. Apprenticeship frustrated her at first. She would do her chores, train, and perform adequately in her opinion, but her mentor would still scold her for being unmotivated and unfocused. She spent too much time in her mind and not enough in her body. It was especially a problem in combat training.

Mistypaw would stay too defensive and not give her all when attacking. It wasn’t bad that she could dodge, but she wasted openings in which to strike and wouldn’t take advantage of her size. Her mentor explained that hesitation in battle could kill her, but she would argue that they could’ve avoided the battle in the first place. Her mentor stressed that what they could have done didn’t matter. What mattered was what they did in the present moment, because that would decide their future. Ferntail told her the same.

After trial and error, her mentor found a way to focus her by offering more in-depth answers and explanations, but only when Mistypaw emptied her mind and fully committed to their lesson as a warrior-in-training, not a knowledge seeker. She needed to not merely carry herself well when stalking and know how to dash at prey. She needed know how to use her reach to snatch birds from the air without wasting power. In a sparring match, she needed to be acutely aware of her body and move in ways unique to her, not just going through the motions well enough to pass evaluation. To teach that, her mentor made her work slowly and would have her start over if she got distracted. When she could do something confidently and without thinking, they added more. It worked.

By the time she journeyed to Highstones with her mentor, Mistypaw could bring herself back into the present and react reliably. She had to actively do just that when they arrived and entered Mothermouth. Beholding the Moonstone in all its glory sent a torrent of wonder and awe crashing through her. Shining in the moonlight, there was so much she wanted to know and knew not to ask, but had the light been water, she would have gladly drowned in it.

Deep down, even though she knew it was a vital responsibility of theirs and not something whimsical, Mistypaw envied leaders and medicine cats for their privilege of communing with StarClan. After much thought moons later, Mistyleaf decided that because of that envy, she would not have made a good medicine cat.

After they left the tunnels and stepped back into the night air, Mistypaw felt like a brand new cat. She could still think deeply and have as many questions as there were stars in Silverpelt, but for the rest of that night, her mind felt effortlessly tranquil. In the Moon of First Green (2019), she was made a warrior and given the name Mistyleaf.

In the moons since, there’s been more than one significant event for her. First, there was a battle against a fox around the Moon of First White (2019). Mistyleaf had joined Bravesong (then Jaysong) and his apprentice on their hunting patrol and they were attacked. Everything happened so fast after Bravesong tackled it to get it away from his apprentice. Mistyleaf remembers looking back to make sure the apprentice was safe before she reached Bravesong and the fox.

She still privately worries that she had actually hesitated from fear when she took that glance and that she might’ve reached Bravesong sooner if she hadn’t. At the same time, Mistyleaf knows they’ll never find out. She also doesn’t remember feeling paralyzing fear when she threw herself into the fray. What she felt in that moment was fear transformed into fury, guided by training that had become instinctive.

Mistyleaf brought her full strength and size to bear against the fox, and she and Bravesong laid it low. She thanked StarClan that he was still alive and able to move enough to get back to camp. If what she had felt was the rush of battle, Mistyleaf found it terrifying and exhausting. She couldn’t grasp how anyone could ever enjoy it.

The next event was the blackcough outbreak that began in the Moon of First White (2019). Mistyleaf herself was spared of the illness, but her mother was not. When it was clear she wouldn’t recover, Ferntail had no regrets and was content to leave the physical world behind. In the early Moon of Long Nights (2019), she did so. Mistyleaf mourned her and the rest of their lost Clanmates, but her specific grief for Ferntail was easier to deal with than she expected. Her mother had lived a good life, would no longer be sick, and they’d see each other again in StarClan. There wasn’t much to stay sad about.

In the Moon of First Fishing (2020), to her great surprise, Mistyleaf was named Dovepaw’s mentor. On the 11th of the Moon of Lion’s Glory (2020), she met an odd rogue with half a tail. They met again on the 13th.

• Here Comes the Sun (13FG'20)
• High Above Our Rivals (13LG'20)
• Mossy Breeze & Prickly Dreams (13FG'20)
• Reynard’s Fall (26RP'20)
• Sun-Baked Therapy (11LG'20)

Her appearance is based off of Maine Coons. Through Cedarfang’s mother Moorspeck, she’s a distant descendant of former ShadowClan leader Elmstar and through Ferntail, she’s a distant descendant of ThunderClan’s Flurrytail.