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Post by lionpaw on Feb 12, 2011 17:56:34 GMT -5
NAME// Conrad
AGE// 30 moons
GENDER// tom
CLAN// Delirium
DESIRED POSITION// technically a warrior, but acts as an advisor
SHORT DESCRIPTION// a charming witty, narrowly-built and light ginger tom with golden eyes.
DESCRIPTION// Conrad is a sleek, narrowly built tom. His chest is wider than the rest of him, but he is definitely built with the body of a runner or a climber. He can move quickly and smoothly, able to tire out his enemy easily with witty and intelligent battle maneuvers. His legs are long with medium sized paws, but very long and sharp claws. His face has very sharp and very well-structured bones, with intelligent and bright gold eyes. His coat is primarily white, with white on his belly, legs, throat, face, and the tip of his tail. The rest of the tail is completely ginger, along with a large patch on his back and on his head that covers his ears and both his eyes and most of his face. There is another very small patch on his right front leg, just above his paw. Conrad's ears are average in size and solid in color, and his tail is a very long length, providing excellent balance. His light frame and the way he carries himself (confident, quirky, light-footed) provides obvious evidence that he has a smooth grace and talent in battle.
PERSONALITY// Conrad shows determination and has a slightly comical, exasparated personality, along with the compassionate and strong ways of a leader or advisor. He can come off as gruff and rude to some due to his blatant nature, not usually knowing when to shut his mouth. Though there are also many other times when he can come off as charming and quite pleasing to many cats.
Conrad's distinctive way of speaking to others includes a lot of colorful language, with a cocky twist on his words creating some of the most inventive and interesting quotes in the forest. He tends to bluntly say what is on his mind, regardless of the consequences, and seems to enjoy getting into minor trouble. If he were to ever start a real fight though, it would usually be with witty remarks and a cocky smile, never breaking his cool. However, Conrad is a realistic cat, not a glorified perfect hero. He has heroic qualities, but he's also a tom. He sometimes gets involved in tussles he shouldn't, usually fighting over some she-cat that never liked him in the first place, or defending his "pride", or something else very "tom-like" and not exactly smart. Other flaws of his that he tends to get a bit touchy over is his flippant nature and how he lets his heart rule over his head. Other cats in Delirium enjoy poking fun at him for such things, but he tries not to let it get to him. He knows he has an advantage over them with his impeccable wit and adept skill in profiling others.
In tough situations, it's not often he will panic. Conrad has never been the sort of cat to let bad news ruin his day. Rather he tries to take in the news, absorb it, accept it, and adapt to whatever the news is. His favorite motto? Improvise, adapt, overcome. He's always been the kind of cat who always comes up with new ways to overcome hardships, constantly thriving in difficult situations and performing magnificently under pressure. Through his first training session in Delirium when he’d first arrived in the camp, it was shown that he could invent new ways to get what he wanted if the way presented to him seemed too difficult, especially when he’s facing others. This way he handles things always comes to Conrad as a second nature. It's easy for him, as easy as swimming is for fish, or flying is for birds.
He is very protective of those he loves and fiercely loyal. He retains the idea that you never leave someone behind and, once you are a part of his group of loved ones, you are assured his protection. He treats an attack on a member of his “family” as being tantamount to a direct assault on him and would not stand for it. He is also a natural leader, inspiring loyalty that has been reciprocated as has been shown in both his battle experiences and in his relationship to his friends and family.
Now, while all of this makes Conrad seem very strange and difficult to deal with, those who know him well can see past all this quirkiness and unlikeliness. He often surprises Delirium with intelligence and wit and that surpasses many, pulling through for Shard just when he's needed and calculating with 99.9% accuracy what the enemy’s next move will be. He can give up this flippant way of handling things when the situation gets really serious and treats things seriously with a face of stone. It's not often Conrad will show this rough and tough side, but it comes through. He may be an unlikely cat, but through many moons of proving himself over and over without fail, he can be seen as a valiant tom and a valuable asset to Delirium.
Now, even though Conrad can be a pain in the butt to deal with sometimes, he really is a passionate and loving tom at heart. He's got an undying love for his surrogate family, and would die to protect any of them. He has a big heart (though he doesn't like to show it), and will do anything for someone who really needs him. He has high morals and hates killing, but will if he absolutely must. But only if he must. He tries to convince himself that aiding Delirium has nothing to do with actually killing anyone, and keeps himself away from direct involvement in the killing. Though he values truth and honesty, he lies to himself often and tells himself that because Delirium offers him a home and protection, he is only paying them back. He also has very high intelligence and an amazing amount of wit, with an incredible ability to improvise at any given moment. While he doesn't flaunt these qualities openly (mostly because he has trouble getting close to others and doesn't like to seem appealing), he does possess these qualities and it makes him a wonderful asset to Delirium. This is the sole reason why he was accepted to the group of rogues and loners. Generally, he isn’t very well likes because of his unaccepted morals and irritating way of being.
EXPERIENCE// KITTENHOOD As a kit, he was born into a happy family. He had two brothers, no sisters. Carter and Jon. His mother was a feisty, dark ginger she-cat with a loving nature and a stern paw, his father a much larger black and white tom with bright green eyes and witty, con-like nature. That's most likely where Condrad's wily and quirky demeanor came from, along with the jade-green eyes of his. His older brother, Jon, was a rougher sort, very aggressive but also affection towards the two younger twins, with a very dark ginger coat with one white patch. His other brother, Carter, is often referred to a twin to Conrad, sharing similar green eyes (Carter's are more moss than jade), with light ginger and white pelts. The two kits were well known and liked in the group of loners that took care of each other for coming up with new and fun ways to scare the queens out of their furs, or to get into some kind of trouble. Conrad would come up with the plans and lead them, while Carter did all the technical things and often came up with ways to keep everyone safe while executing these plans. Jon always disapproved, constantly worrying for his younger brothers' safety.
He would keep them in line where he needed to, but he also watched over them like a protective, hovering hawk. He almost left their mother without a job. Conrad quite looked up to Jon and loved him fiercely, along with Carter. Their mother, Mink, never played a very large part in their upbringing. She was an active, fiery she-cat that hated being stuck in a nest with all the other mushy she-cats she didn't get along with all day, and was constantly out hunting with their father. She did love her kits dearly, but she just wasn't the motherly type. It was their father, Max, who was the nurturing of the two parents. He often brought them treats such as mice and even honeycomb once in a while. Jon and Conrad were both very close to their father, and so was Carter, but ultimately, Carter looked up to their mother. A strong and fierce she-cat, valued greatly by the small and mostly weak gathering of loners... Carter wanted to be just like her. He'd follow her around camp and spy on her when she wasn't in the nursing den, and was tempted to beg her to train him. Conrad thought his brother had bees in his brains for wanting one of their parents to train them rather than a stronger, trained fighter. But he didn't mind. Conrad didn't pester his brother much about it and aspired to be the best cat the forest has ever seen.
APPRENTICESHIP When Conrad finally reached about four and half moons old along with his brothers, he though he'd never be as excited as he was on that day, along with his very clever and mischievous brother, Carter, and his compassionate and aggressive brother, Jon. The three tight-knit brothers earned their first hunting trip with their mother and father. Conrad had never been more proud of himself or more eager to prove himself to his father. His father, who had taken to training him more than his mother had, had been a passed leader of a group called Coterie. He was a quick-witted and sharp-minded tom, small and agile. Conrad took to him immediately, desperate to catch his first prey before Carter or Jon. Now sleeping in the common den with the rest of the group, he met a few cats he'd only known by name before, all a moon or more older than him. One in particular caught his eye, though. Her name was Swallowpaw, a run-away from the Clans. She was a pretty she-cat with round, bright blue eyes and a dark, silky brown pelt. She was sleek and slender, with a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Conrad wasn't sure why, but he wanted to spend every possible moment with her. They got along wonderfully, joking together and playing together and training together. They were soon best friends. Carter and Jon didn't like Swallowpaw though. They said she was trouble, that Conrad would be left in the dust by a she-cat like her. He refused to believe his brothers and went on spending as much time as he ccould with the beautiful she-cat. His brothers were just jealous that he was spending more time with a she-cat than he was with them.
Then everything was sent reeling. That leaf-bare, there was an outbreak of whitecough. Carter and Mink both caught whitecough, along with Conrad's dear Swallowpaw. Swallowpaw recovered quickly, but Conrad's family, on the other hand? When neither his brother or mother recovered from whitecough, it finally turned to greencough. Without a healer around and no known cure, things weren't looking too bright. Conrad took a real reality check at this time, choosing to spend all of his free time with his mother and his twin, along with his older brother and father. He stopped spending free time with Swallowpaw altogether, and she wasn't too taken to that. He never noticed though. Conrad had been frantic with worry, completely distraught over his sick, closest brother and his sick, beloved mother. Almost a moon passed before Carter began to show improvement, but Mink, on the other hand? She took a turn for the worst. As Conrad's brother finally started to recover, they all turned sick with worry for Mink. She stayed strong for a long time, but she eventually passed, surrounded by her entire family. Conrad was reeling from the loss, but took comfort in his healing brother and his healthy brother and father. When he eventually went to look for comfort from Swallowpaw, he learned she was angry with him. He didn't understand why, but he didn't push it, as hurt as he was. Instead, he threw everything he had into his training, suddenly wanting to loose himself in taking care of his family and friends. He still got up to trouble once in a while with Carter, but ultimately, he was right alongside Jon in overworking himself, while Carter still did what was required of him, but nothing more.
Through this, Conrad began to grow closer to the older brother he realized he never got to know. He realized Jon was much more than he let on, always analyzing everything with an open mind, constantly trying to figure everything out. He was a noble tom who constantly put others before himself, and always tried to help everyone. Jon was always more than willing to help out the older and less able cats in their surrogate family or anyone else for that matter. Conrad found that he admired his brother, and wanted to be a little more like him. He began to help others more, and have a more open mind rather than a stubborn one. He followed his larger, dark ginger brother in many ways. Carter was a little hurt, but he never told Conrad that. He was too loyal to take away his best friend's and his brother's happiness. For a long time things went like this, and Conrad often went above and beyond just to impress Jon or Max, but it soon moved even beyond that. Conrad found that he enjoyed doing everything for the adopted family he'd come to love. After a while of forcing himself to have a better altitude about things, the more enjoyable it became. He started to like changing beddings, or spending time with the kittens, or helping keep the nursing den clean. He took pride in being a part of the family's inner workings. He often proved himself in finding new and innovative ways to do things around camp, and even hunting.
Soon, Carter started to catch on. He got sick and tired of watching his brothers thrive without him, and soon, they became an inseparable trio again. Carter soon learned of the enjoyment Jon and Conrad took in their work. They all threw themselves head first into the service of the Family, their loyalties growing stronger than ever, with each other and with the rest of the Family. Soon, though, their loyalty was put to the test. A badger set was found near by. Two of the she-cats, Claire and Willow, were attacked. When word was sent back to the common area, the three brothers were chosen to go to the rescue along with their father. They were fearful, but exhilarated. When they got there, Jon showed a fierce, battle-hungry side of him none had seen before, while Carter used his natural quick and speedy feet to tire out and then defeat his foe. Conrad, on the other hand, was at a loss. Battle was certainly not his strong point. The ginger-and-white tom held his ground alright, but he wasn't sure what to do to be as sure as his brothers. He was afraid he would fail his Family. It wasn't until a particularly large badger attacked Max along with his original opponent did it click. Seeing his father in obvious distress, Conrad leaped into action, using his wits to adapt and improvise with the situation. When Jon was finally able to jump in, the team of three was unstoppable. They had each other's back, and they would kill for each other if they had to. Carter, having driven back his own adversary, joined. These brothers had a stronger bond than anyone could, and it showed when they fought together.
Though they drove back the final and largest badger, it wasn't without a price. When the battle was finally over and they had successfully rescued both Claire and Willow, Conrad noticed something dreadful: his father was wounded, and wounded badly. Though the Family did all they could to save the beloved father than had become a kind of leader to the small and loving group, Max eventually perished from his wounds. Two days after the attack, it had been Conrad who sat by his father's side as he slipped into the void. To this day, he has never spoken about that moment to any single cat.
ADULTHOOD The next day, someone Conrad had almost completely forgotten about spoke to him. Swallowpaw, now just Swallow, was the first to console him when he got back into the common den that morning. The young tom was stunned, to say the least, but took this greatfully. Conrad ended up giving up his day off for sleep to spend the whole day with Swallow. They spent the whole day hunting and walking and grooming together, catching up news, and she gave an apology for being angry with him all those moons ago. She said she had been selfish. Conrad accepted this apology in a heartbeat, mostly because he was in a daze, spending the whole day with her. He was riveted by her extreme beauty that seemed to flower since their training days together. He was exhausted for the next quarter moon, but in his mind it had been worth it. This time around, he divided his time as evenly as he could between taking care of the Family, spending time with his brothers, and spending time with Swallow. He tried to get Swallow and his brothers to become friends so they could all spend time together, but for whatever reason, Carter and Jon just didn't like Swallow, and Swallow didn't like them. Conrad was discouraged by it, but refused to sacrifice any relationship for another.
For a long time things were going well this way, and Conrad soon realized he had fallen blindly in love with Swallow. While he still never let up on his duties, often going further than he needed to in doing them, he was daydreaming the whole time with thoughts of the beautiful silver she-cat from his childhood. Conrad had become a love-sick fool, young and obsessed with the idea of this pretty cat being his mate for the rest of his days. He was entirely convinced that Swallow was his soul-mate. Then came a day when Carter and Jon pulled him aside and tried to tell him she was nothing but trouble again. Conrad was furious and hurt, hardly able to believe that his brothers would still be bringing this up, after all they'd gone through, and after how much Conrad had proven that his family meant more. They told him to follow Swallow after they go to bed that night. They asked if he ever wondered why she smelled a little funny when she was curled up in his nest with him the next morning. He never did. They asked him if he ever wondered what she was doing when he wasn't with her. He said he trusted her word. They left him with that, and Conrad tried to shake it off. For days, he was still with Swallow as if nothing happened, acting as if they were already mates. They shared a nest, often went out alone together, and shared intimate moments together often. When she finally confessed loving him, and he did in return, there was hardly any turning back. They were mates. His brothers had planted a seed of doubt, though, and that was all it took.
About a moon after that conversation with his brothers, and half moon after becoming Swallow's happy mate, he decided to only pretend to sleep one night. Sure enough, Swallow got up in the middle of the night and crept out of camp. Following a few heartbeats after her, using wit and stealth to stay under her radar, he followed her all the way to the border of some Clan. He was completely confused at first, watching her sit just outside the edge of the forest, almost eagerly. It wasn't until a ragged, large looking tom that reeked of the Clans approached, and they greeted each other more affectionately than she had ever greeted him did he understand. He only had to watch for a few moments that he had been used by this beautiful she-cat. She had used him as a cover-up to the rest of the Family while she was off tramping around with some Clancat she had sworn long ago she'd left behind. Furious, Conrad came out of the shadows, demanding an explanation, though he didn't need one. When Swallow had begun stammering in fear, the warrior thought she needed protection, and lunged at Conrad. Conrad fought with him for what seemed like only a few heartbeats, getting nothing but a small scratch on his shoulder before Swallow finally told the warrior, whose name was Sharpclaw, to leave. She would come for him later. Conrad had been shaking with rage as the sorry excuse for a tomcat ran off. He immediately whirled on the she-cat he had called his mate who was now trembling in tears. "I trusted you!" he shouted at her. "I gave you everything!" She didn't say anything accept that she was sorry. He was silent, glaring at her for what seemed like forever. He couldn't take his eyes off her face. Her face had once been so enchanting to him. Now he was repulsed by it. She begged him not to tell anyone. He considered this for a moment and decided on something. "Leave. Leave with your warrior and never come back." he spat at her, as if she was a low-life kittypet. "And never come back."
She left that night without word to the rest of the Family. When he got back to camp that morning, he explained that he tried to stop her, but she ran away to live the life of a kittypet. Everyone gave him sympathy, but he didn't want it. For days he moped around, doing what he had to half-heartedly. He was heartbroken and humiliated, hardly able to believe some she-cat had been able to play him life that, as if he were some kind of mousebrain. She'd taken advantage of him. After about a quarter moon of moping like this, he asked his brothers to meet him at an ancient tree, and it was there he admitted to them being right, that he was wrong, and that he was sorry for ever doubting them. They forgave him, and agreed they wished they hadn't been right. From then on, though, their brotherhood was back to normal. Though Conrad became a little more obnoxious than he had been in the past, it didn't matter. They were brothers, and nothing would change that. At least, that's what they thought.
After many moons of Max being dead, the Family all agreed they needed to appoint an official leader of them. Without someone to organize hunting parties or herb-gathering parties, things were disorganized and messy. It was none other than Jon that the Family chose. Conrad and Carter were ecstatic that their brother was leader, and there was not a single amount of jealousy. The brothers all went out and celebrated together with a small bit of honeycomb they found and a dip in the stream by the ancient tree. From then on, things were going wonderfully. Life was going well, and everything in the Family was running smoothly. It was finally green-leaf, and prey was plentiful and everyone was happy. That is, until Jon accompanied a young she-cat who was becoming the Family's first healer for protection to the edge of Clan territory so she could gather more rare herbs. Carter and Conrad had been sharing prey when the distinctive scent of blood came to them. They sprang up immediately only to see the Cara, the healer, come staggering into camp, dragging a bloodied body with her; Jon.
Carter and Conrad sprang over to the pair, eyes wide with terror. They were only greeted with the news that despite the healer's best efforts under the circumstances, Jon had been killed by a confused, young rogue. While Carter and Conrad were reeling with shock at the loss of their brother, Conrad feeling sick with disbelief, Cara explained that it had been a misunderstanding on the rogue's part. He hadn't realized that Jon had been accompanying a healer simply for herbs and not prey on his territory, and hadn't meant to kill him. Everyone was in a state of shock at the loss, but along with that, Carter and Conrad's hearts were filled with a sense of hate for the rogue for this crime.
For a long time, both he and Carter shared the responsibility for caring for the Family. Times were hard, though, and with a large group of other rogues and loners expanding their territory, the Family was struggling to stay together. As Conrad became more of the leader and Carter his second in command, Conrad would often send his more fleet-footed brother to spy on this large group of cats and gather intelligence. Through his brother's skillful spying, he learned that this group of cats was made up of mostly ruthless, strong, and battle-hungry cats, lead by a particularly chilling tom called Shard. The group was growing quickly, taking copious amounts of prey and herbs. Conrad could see his Family was beginning to starve. The only remaining queens, two, were having trouble providing for their kits who were growing weak and sickly. There were hardly any young cats in training, and the working parts of the Family were weak and tired. The healer didn't have the right supply of herbs to aid the sick and dying. Conrad's family was falling apart, all due to the move in of this group called Delirium. After three moons of this suffering, Conrad took Carter, Willow, and Teller on a small patrol to confront the group. It was the worst mistake Conrad ever made.
Immediately upon entering their well protected camp, they were given no time to speak. Conrad tried to desperately explain they came in peace, that they only wanted to talk to Shard, but it was no use; they were attacked. It was a bloodbath, and with the Family being so weak, it was no wonder they didn't survive. As the whole party was taken down, Conrad watched in helpless horror as his surrogate aunt, Willow, had her belly slit and her innards spilled across the ground, while his surrogate nephow, Sayer, had his body beaten before his throat was slit. And while a particularly strong tom held Conrad's face in the dirt, the Delirium killer made sure he could easily see as his brother was taken down agonizingly slow. Conrad watched as his closest and only remaining blood relative fought for his life, only to have his bones broken, ears shredded, tail shattered, and flesh ripped, until finally some viscous tom smacked Carter's handsome face hard enough that his head swung around to actually look Conrad right in the eyes as his neck snapped. Right then, Conrad's whole world fell apart. Everything after that was a blur. The ginger-and-white tom beat the tom holding him down to the ground before he demanded the right to see their leader. They denied him. Rather than killing him, though, one of the she-cats there dragged him far enough away from their camp and roughed him up enough to disorient him. She left him there to die.
It was a full day before one of his Family found him. One of the only three left, including him. A queen by the name of Charlotte. She told him that Anya, the other queen, had left to go to the kittypet place for survival after her only kit finally perished. She said she was going to do to the same after Conrad explained to her what became of Sayer, her mate, and her friend Willow, and also his own brother, Carter. Conrad understood. For moons after that, seven at least, he struggled to stay alive. He was scrounging for food where he could, trying to fight the infection that was building up in his shoulder from a wound, he finally knew what he had to do. He had to go back to Delirium, despite his intense hatred for them, to seek save haven. He hated killing, and he hated those scum-bags for what they did, but he had no other choice. The Clans were too far for him to travel, and he would die if he didn't get help from a healer soon. Perhaps he could convince Shard to let him in by explaining his skill at profiling others, predicting their next move. Conrad often berated himself for not trying to get inside Shard's head himself rather than Carter's before he lead the diplomatic party.
Conrad hated the fact that he had to, but with constant fevers and a festering wound and hardly any food, he had no other choice. Shard saw that Conrad could be of use and allowed him to join the group of bloodthirsty cats, and thankfully didn't know it was in fact his Family that Shard's warriors had killed. Conrad joined under the condition that he would never take part in any of the actual killing, but he would aid the Clan in hunting and herb gathering and general chores, and also in analyzing cats wheneven Shard asked it of him. He wasn't well liked in Delirium, and he got into many fights and quarrels with other cats when they insulted him. Thankfully, none recognized him. There was one she-cat, though, that didn't hate him. Her name was Fate, a gorgeous and graceful black she-cat with a white spotlight on her chest and twinkling, star-like yellow eyes. While quiet and often very "brooding", Conrad took comfort in this she-cat. She provided a friendship and warmth he hadn't felt in almost a year since his Family's death, and despite her being apart of Delirium, he fell in love with her.
He was very happy with Fate. She provided a bright, warm light for him to hang onto in all the darkness that surrounded him Delirium. With her and the healer both, he recovered from his infected wound quickly, and soon gained satisfactory fat and muscle mass. He was a valued asset to Delirium, and he was starting to make a life with her. He treated her like a princess, seeing that she very obviously had never had kind treatment like that before. She didn't have to tell him for him to see that she was badly hurt in the past, and obviously wasn't happy there in Delirium. It was then he had a ground-breaking idea. He asked her to run away with him. They would run away to the farthest place they could get to away from Delirium and the Clans, where they could build their own Family and live in peace. She denied him, though. He was confused, shocked even. Why wouldn't she want to run away with him? Neither of them were happy in Delirium, and they loved each other, so why not? He was deeply hurt by the sting of rejection, taking this as a hard blow. He had a deep, roiling hatred for Delirium, and Fate or not, he couldn't take being apart of the group that ruined his life any longer.
So Conrad left. Yes, he was a deserter, and yes, he had to out-run a warrior or two, but he made it. He made it into Clan territory, knowing that if Delirium ever came looking for him, he wouldn't be able to defend himself alone. They would never look for him in Clan territory, though. He made sure to stay away from VirtigoClan where he knew Swallow had run off to and soon learned he was in CelestialClan territory. He has been hiding out in a hallowed tree trunk and taking prey for a moon now, and has had to come up with witty ways to scare any cats that got to close to him away without revealing himself. Conrad knows they're looking for him, though, and is only praying he won't be caught.
OTHER// Apart of a coming miniplot for CelestialClan.
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