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Rattail — Description

i haven't posted anything about this guy in a long time, but i remembered him recently and decided to update him a little!

Rattail was born into a very dark time for Marshclan. their leader was tyrannical and cruel, running the clan like a violent cult.

Rattail became an apprentice at ~3-4 moons old and was expected to constantly compete with the other apprentices for every scrap of food, care, and praise he ever got. winners get to go to the medicine den, failures fend for themselves. he was harshly punished for mistakes, and had to constantly push himself to exceed expectations if he wanted anything better than being ignored.
He was only given his warrior name after his first kill in battle, as that had become the new tradition. he spent the rest of his life chasing the high of his clan cheering for him at his ceremony.

Rattail became one of the clans most valuable tools, though they'd never express that to him, he was skilled, unquestioningly loyal, and desperate to please. they pushed him to the edge of burnout, then gave him just enough praise and rest to recover before doing it all over again.

the other clans finally had enough, rallying together and even gaining aid from rogues who'd been hunted like prey in the name of training Marshclan apprentices. Marshclan was unprepared for an attack, especially in the dead of night in their own camp. Rattail did not survive the battle.

now a member of the Dark Forest, Rattail is struggling to adapt. it's hard to tell exactly who he should be taking orders from, and he can't just start making his own decisions out of nowhere!
he's desperate for someone to latch onto, someone who will use him and praise him when he does well- it doesn't feel right to just be told he's good without bleeding to earn it. he seeks out charismatic, dangerous cats and follows them like a lost duckling- though his unquestioning loyalty is reserved for his former leader and mentor, he can provide his new leaders with blind obedience.