Swallowflight / Medicine Cat

IMAGE SET / It can be quite a surprise when a stranger without much of a nose finds out that this calico is a tomcat. His short and smooth pelt is made up of three colors: white, orange, and black. The white occupied his chest, lower jaw, paws, underbelly, the inside fur of his ears, and parts of his hind legs. The orange and black splotch across the rest of his fur, sticking to his back, legs, tail, and the rest of his face. His eyes are round and orange, outlined in black. He sports a rosy nose and long whiskers. His tail, mostly dominated by different shades of black and some orange, is much fluffier than the rest of his pelt. His build is on the smaller side for a male. His fur remains soft and well-groomed, though this is partially because he often overgrooms himself when alone and anxious. It is also a little known fact that he is sterile, but at least he won't have to worry about kits with his position.

Swallowflight is not the kind of cat you would expect to be ranking in any clan. He is soft-spoken, and he rarely raises his voice above his gentle volume. When he does, it is more like he would be speaking normally to someone. You could say it is his form of 'yelling', though raising his voice to such a volume would require enough stress and pressure to be near breaking for the tomcat. He walks through life with slow, cautious steps. He sweeps his paws over the ground, making sure nothing is hidden in plain sight to hinder him. Despite this, he has a tendency to trip over his own paws on the clearest of surfaces.

The fight-or-flight system in Swallowflight is almost always set to flight. He avoids conflict like the plague, beating around the bush whenever pressing questions are asked or if he is told to do something he would rather not. He is definitely not a fighter, and his combat skills are on par with that of a newborn kit's. A fly could probably do better in battle than he could. He runs the first moment the air turns hostile. He will, however, bat other cats out of his business if they pester him while he is doing his job.

Swallowflight is more capable for his position than some would think. He was a skilled pupil when he was still just an apprentice, and he has become a fine Medicine Cat. He can rapidly list herbs and their meanings as well as their appearances, he can patch up a wounded warrior within moments (the duration of those 'moments' depends on the wound), and he can find the smallest herb among the foliage. Wide orange eyes are always on the lookout, be it for danger or a chance for new knowledge. He loves learning, adores it to a fault. His curiosity will probably be one of his downfalls as he progresses through the seasons. After all, curiosity killed the cat.

Swallowflight is empathetic and kind. His ears are always open to those who require them. He prefers to remain as neutral as possible, putting aside clan loyalties if it means helping a cat in need. This definitely gets on the nerves of his clanmates when they find him patching someone up near the border.

His kithood was as nice as it could get for the runt of the litter. He was often bullied by his larger littermates, and he would huddle close to his mother's side for warmth and support. It was there he stayed for the first few moons. He rarely ventured out into the clearing to roughhouse with his siblings and the other kits. He stayed as far away from trouble as he could, and he only left the nursery with his mother by his side. She worried for his future, but his father did not seem too bothered by how the kitten acted. He was more focused on the other kits, certain that they would be strapping, young warriors one day.

He was named Swallowpaw along with his littermates by the time they were of age. His first mentor was frustrated with him in a matter of days. Of course he would when the Duskclan apprentice refused to even harm the prey while it was still alive. There were times when his mentor decided he wasn't even going to try that day. This left Swallowpaw to find something to busy himself with during the day. He wasn't allowed outside of the camp without an older clan member accompanying him, and his parents were often out training their own apprentices, hunting, or on patrols. Not even his siblings bothered to spare a glance his way. He began spending his 'days off' in the Medicine Cats' Den. He was uninvited at first, but the old cat soon warmed up to him as he grew accustomed to his presence.

Swallowpaw definitely enjoyed his time with the Medicine Cat more than his own mentor. He was eager to learn what he could just by watching the cat, and he soon gathered the courage to ask the Medicine Cat questions. After about a moon, the Medicine Cat went to request that Swallowpaw be made a Medicine Cat Apprentice, claiming to have been given a sign from Starclan. Whether or not that was true did not matter. His old mentor was more than happy to oblige, and the old leader soon agreed as well. With a new title and less of a chance for combat, he was taken under the wing of the Medicine Cat. Many moons passed. His littermates had all become fledgling Warriors while he was still stuck as Swallowpaw. He did not mind it too much, enjoying his time with the old Medicine Cat while it lasted.

However, he soon noticed a shift in the old cat. During one of the halfmoon meetings of the Medicine Cats, when he was eighteen moons old, his mentor announced that it was time for Swallowpaw to receive his proper name. He was dubbed Swallowflight. Not even a moon after he was granted the full title of Medicine Cat, his mentor passed away. Not even he was certain why the older cat passed away, but he hypothesized that it might have either been old age (the more likely reason) or stress. After all, he understood how much stress their job gave as soon as he was left alone to tend to the entire clan. Either way, his mentor knew it was their time and had accepted it long before anyone could catch on.

The tomcat was anxious at first, not knowing how he would handle the clan on his own. However, when the time came, he slipped into his role as naturally as a fish to water and dealt with the pressure of the sick and injured with ease.