Specklenose

A longhaired, silver lentigo broken mackerel tabby and white tom with blue eyes

Specklenose is a silver, broken mackerel tabby tom. His fur is long, and the shimmery silver colour always reminded his mother of the moon. Their facial features, although thought to be quite sharp by Specklenose himself, blend together in a way that his mother calls perfect. He has blue eyes which are rimmed with white underneath and black on top connecting to whatever pattern that flows from the eyes. His build is that of an average cat, though it is slightly on the leaner side. His tail is longer than the average, along with being quite plumed. Specklenose has a condition called lentigo, which means their skin contains speckles of black. For Specklenose, these speckles appear on their nose, hence the name, along with being on their paw pads, and a few stray speckles on his ears. His ears are large and tufted, becoming dark at the tips just as his tabby markings do. Specklenose’s silver fur gradually blends to white as it reaches his muzzle and chest.

Specklenose is a slightly reserved, yet primarily open and friendly cat. He constantly tries his best to please others, often putting others before himself. They are quite devoted towards ShadowClan, but are able to uphold their own morals, knowing when something doesn’t feel quite right, and being able to refuse it, even if another asks him to do it. When he is comfortable with others, he finds himself quite playful, ready for mischief; still retaining a youthful personality which they hope to keep. They contains both optimism and sarcasm, though his snarky comments usually come from a lighthearted place. He takes good care of himself, such as when injured, but also likes the thrill of adventure and danger, to an extent. This creates a slight rift inside himself, as their heart might want to do something reckless – but his brain says no!

Although energetic, unlike some cats, they don’t have boundless energy, and might need to spend some time alone to recharge. During these times he will finish his warrior duties the best he can before retreating back to his nest, resting without wanting to be interrupted so he can return to their cheery self the next day.

• Born in the Moon of Lion's Glory (2019) 124

KITHOOD

Specklenose was born as Specklekit to two ShadowClan warriors, Pebbleshine and Rubblegaze. He was born alongside one other kitten, though he was definitely the biggest of the two, with his brother being slightly undersized. They were a pushy kit, often shoving his sibling out of the way to get milk during his first few weeks, but as he matured and gained proper thought, he found comfort in their brother, often seen sleeping on top of him. Pebbleshine primarily took a gentle approach in raising her kits, though she knew when she had to be stern. Specklekit learnt well from her, grasping an understanding of how to respect rules and authority early on while still remaining slightly mischievous. During Specklekit’s kithood, he was always surrounded by other litters, giving them good development in their social skills and allowing him to make friends early on. Rubblegaze checked in on his kits every now and then, happy to see them growing well. He wasn’t a super active father, but Specklekit loved him nonetheless. During the same moon they were born, Pebbleshine adopted Brackenkit, giving Specklekit another sibling.

APPRENTICESHIP

Specklepaw was hard-working during his apprenticeship, doing everything he could to prove himself, particularly to his mentor, who he became quite fond of as the moons went by. He shared his apprenticeship with many, spending good time with their brother along with some of the others which he considered his friends. He found he had little preference for what his did during his apprentice days, not minding if he was training, doing a chore or hanging out with the other apprentices. It was merely the beginning of his life and he was loving it!

Their training went smoothly, though there was one instance during their 9th moon where his brother dared him to sneak out with him during the night across the Thunderpath and onto ThunderClan’s territory. Specklepaw agreed, not overly enthusiastic as he felt horrible for going against everything he had been taught, but the thrill told him to do it, so one night they snuck out with their brother during the darkest part of the night, crossing the road with ease and heading into the depths of ThunderClan’s territory. The two chatted and bickered the entire time, eyes ablaze within the weak moonlight. They were distracted, not paying attention to their surroundings – too focused on each other and their excitement. At one point, Specklepaw’s brother raced ahead, calling for Specklepaw to chase after him, but all Specklepaw could hear a second later was the pained yowl of his brother, who he raced towards. Finding him on the ground with a horribly bent paw. Their brother, much lighter than he was, was easy to carry home, but as Specklepaw raced back to ShadowClan carrying his brother, he couldn’t help but blame himself, for he hadn’t even tried to convince them to not go out into unknown territory, and he had been the one to encourage his brother to run off.

Tumbling into camp, practically yowling for help as his brother sobbed from pain within his grasp, he begged for help. Flutterdream woke up nearly instantly, and took their brother into her care. Specklepaw’s brother had broken the bone that connected his leg and paw. Flutterdream did her best, but Specklepaw’s brother never completely healed. His paw is no longer broken, but it curves slightly inwards, and lacks the strength it used to have. To this day, Specklenose still blames himself for his brother’s injury, despite their brother’s protests.

WARRIORHOOD

Only having been a warrior for a few moons, the whole thing is still quite new for Specklenose, but he likes his newfound freedom, and sense of responsibility. He enjoys his time by spending it with others, while also checking in on his mother in the elders den. Not long after they earned their warrior name, Rubblegaze perished to an unknown sickness, disheartening the young warrior. He was never overly close to Rubblegaze, but the tom was always proud of his kits, so Specklenose was hoping that seeing as he was a warrior now, he might be able to spend more time with his father and really make him proud.

He stills remains close with his old mentor, though mainly finds himself hanging out with those he shared apprenticeship with, finding comfort in old memories, along with being excited about sharing a future with them.

• Bouncing Clouds (19FW'20)
• Dusk-time Leisure (27TL'20)
• Elegant as Ever (2FW'20)
• Trudge and Tramp (4LR'20)

Brackenwing – Adoptive sibling

‘Non-binary’ – Specklenose doesn’t really care if someone sees him as a tom or something different, not minding if a cat uses he or they.