sharksong

Description sentence:
A large and sleek dark gray-and-white tom with green eyes.

Appearance:
Sharksong is a large tom with a dark gray pelt intersected strikingly by white. The white covers his underbelly and his paws, and it wraps up his chest and muzzle. His eyes are a bright, striking green that seems to almost glow in the low light. Despite being large, he isn’t broad, and as such he’s more built for maneuverability. This is matched by his agility because his paws are large, and they allow him to grip surfaces well. His sleekness doesn’t bode well when it comes to swimming, and he’d do anything to hide that fact.

Personality: 
Sharksong can be troublesome to figure out. His personality is as striking as his appearance, but what is seen isn’t always what is true. His confidence paves the way for him in many ways—he isn’t afraid to go for what he wants, and he always makes sure his opinion is known. He doesn’t sugarcoat his words, and neither does he beat around the bush. This highlights his tendency towards honesty, but it also puts the spotlight on his arrogance. It isn’t uncommon to see him talking like he’s the most qualified cat around, and he isn’t always receptive to being challenged or told he’s wrong. However, he’s aware enough when he crosses boundaries, and he will do his best to mend broken bridges.

From the moment he could walk and think on his own, he was praised for his strength. His eyes opened before his sister’s, he could move around before her, he was weaned before her, and he was out and playing before her. This put him leap and strides above Ivorykit in his father’s eyes, and it wasn’t long before Wavestep was almost solely devoted to seeing Sharkkit succeed. His father would take him around the camp and instruct him before he was even a fledgling. Naturally, this gave him an edge when he did become Sharkpaw, and the wedge between himself and Ivorypaw was apparent. This was reflected in the relationship between his mother, Shellheart, and Wavestep. Whatever was between their parents fractured, and Sharkpaw sided with Wavestep. It was black and white for him—because of the strangled relationships, he could no longer associate with Shellheart or Ivorypaw—and Wavestep did everything to encourage this line of thinking.

As his training continued, he began to associate strength with apparent size, much to his father’s delight. He could overpower smaller cats, according to Wavestep, and what was better than that? However, one problem became sorely obvious to Sharkpaw as he grew older—he wasn’t broad, and he wasn’t bulky. Just because he was large, it didn’t mean he could readily overcome cats smaller than him. This self-perceived and paternally taught flaw began to weigh on him, and he did all he could to surpass it. The rude awakening came quickly when he realized he could not change this aspect about himself, and his self-confidence took a huge blow. He passed his fighter assessment and became Sharksong, but he couldn’t shake the uselessness he felt.

Almost by accident, he discovered his aptitude for movement and silence when he was wandering the territory thoughtlessly—he snuck up and almost stepped on a foraging bird without it or himself realizing. Sharksong couldn’t easily repeat the feat until he realized that he had to change his entire way of thinking and approaching. Instead of charging right in, he had to be patient, and he had to consciously reform who he thought he was and who he actually was. It took moons of practice, but he managed to grow comfortable in his body. Wavestep noticed the change and quickly grew distant, and with the shorn relationships between his mother and sister, Sharksong wasn’t talking to any of his family. He has played with the idea of closing the gaps between him and Shellheart and Ivorysplash, but so much time has passed that he doesn’t know where to start.