Chillstep the Rootless ~ RushClan

Age: 45 moons
Sex: Female
Gender: Female
Clan: RushClan
Rank: Warrior

|Personality|
(At least three good, three bad. Elaborate in at least three sentences each trait)
|Calm| |Diplomatic| |Generous| |Mysterious| |Secretive| |Wary/Skittish|

|Calm|
Chillstep doesn't get riled up very easily. She maintains a very calm demeanor at all times and is a relaxing presence. She doesn't let anything get to her and tries to maintain an air of peace and civility at all times.

|Diplomatic|
Chillstep knows how to talk to just about everyone. Higher-ups, subordinates, equals. She can speak to all of them with a soothing, non-aggressive voice. She would make a wonderful leader but lacks the ability to discipline sometimes.

|Generous|
She likes to give to just about everyone. Whether it's giving her time, services, love, food, or anything else someone might need, she will happily give it. She doesn't take the time to think about herself very often

|Mysterious| 
It's all in the word: mysterious. She has this air of intrigue and mystery about her due to the deep and rich life she has led. It can be very alluring and interesting to other cats, especially males.

|Secretive|
Chillstep keeps all of her secrets close to her chest. Only one other cat knows just about everything about her, and she knows he would take it to his grave. This secretiveness lends to her mysterious nature as well.

|Wary/Skittish|
Chillstep's wariness goes hand in hand with her secretive nature. She is not trusting of many cats, and of those that she does trust, only one or two may know everything about her. She is extremely wary of almost everyone around her.


|History|
(At least five sentences per life stage)
|Before Birth|
Chillstep's mother, Damsel, was one of the most prestigious show cats on the scene during her golden years. She'd won several blue ribbons and was well-known for her palpable personality on stage, as well as her pristine lineage. Damsel was a witty cat, and would tear down suitors as soon as they came near, including a particularly disgusting tom named Rainy Days who was also a pretty decent show cat. However, Rainy Days was far from being a perfect cat, and Damsel had often heard horrific stories from the she-cats in town that would tell of his terrible escapades with the females there. Damsel completely ignored the sleazy tom after hearing these rumors.

However, it became difficult to ignore Rainy Days as Damsel drew closer to her retirement to an easy life with her handler. Her owner was putting her on the market to dam some litters, figuring that Damsel might as well get some money out of her young, kit-bearing body before it was impossible for her to pass on her fantastic show cat genes. The highest bidder happened to be Rainy Days' owner and so the unwilling she-cat was forced to mate with the tom while she was in her heat. It wasn't an unfamiliar practice in the show cat world, but that didn't mean that she liked it or bothered to be kind to the father of her kits. She would often beat him or leave Rainy Days with scratches all over his muzzle if he came near her during her pregnancy.

After that fateful day, Damsel was able to briefly escape her handler to roam around town to clear her head. The attractive young she-cat ran into a kind tom that she had seen before in the show cat business, and he comforted her with her dilemma of her new "mate". Damsel eventually came to a vengeful decision that she knew would eventually come to shame the horrible cat she had to mate with. She convinced the kind tom, Gaston, into mating with her as well and returned home without her owner ever noticing her absence. Her plan would take years to take affect, but she would be sure to exact revenge on the scum that dared father her first litter. If his lineage were to be called into question, then no dam would be willing to mate with him and no owner would let him near them. Once her kits grew and had children of their own, it would be found that some are clearly not of pure blood and Rainy Days' reputation would be ruined.
 

|Kithood|
Once Damsel had her litter, she bloomed into a much more caring and nurturing cat, fitting in perfectly with her new mothership role. Chillstep, then named Wind Chill, was the largest kit of the litter and it was apparent that she was a bit different than her four siblings. Her pelt was already showing signs of unique markings that were very rare for her breed, and she was noticeably larger than the others. Rainy Days would come to visit his kits every once in a while, but each time he came, Damsel would only allow his presence for a few seconds before clawing at his eyes and chasing him away. Other than this, Wind Chill led a relatively calm kithood and was privileged enough to be chosen to be kept by Damsel's owner for his next show cat. Even at that young age, Chill was showing signs of possessing the exemplary show skills that her mother had. Her siblings were sold for a high price, and in the future, Wind Chill would see them competing at shows and they'd exchange warm hellos.


|Apprenticeship|
Once Wind Chill had reached the tender age of six moons, Damsel started to train her daughter in the ways of pageantry and showmanship. Wind Chill was already a willowy little cat, with graceful legs and a noble head, so Damsel just had to refine Chill's skills and ensure her mannerisms were perfectly tuned for winning competitions. Eventually, Wind Chill grew tired of the well-worn lessons and she would sneak out to tour around the town, often getting into good-natured scuffles with the city cats. These little spats proved that her natural poise and grace also had a place on the battlefield. Soon enough, Chill learned how to fight without gaining scratches or bumps, because Damsel would scold her harshly if she was caught fighting. No one wanted to pick a scarred cat for a blue ribbon, after all. During her young adult life, Chill was quite the spitfire, much like her mother, and would constantly chastise or beat down any cat that dared speak out against her. It was this fiery personality that attracted an attractive young Russian blue tom named Earnest.

Earnest and Chill became fast friends and even faster lovers, and would often adventure together. It was young love in every sense of the word, even though neither cat knew quite what that meant yet. It wasn't long before Chill found herself pregnant at a young age, finding that her unnaturally large size had caused her body to mature faster than would a normal sized cat. Not by much--but by 11 moons, Chill was pregnant with her first litter, an illegitimate litter with a cat that was not of her breed. Her mother was furious, and chased her out of the house. She told her daughter that her reckless behavior had finally caught up with her, and that the great cats in the sky were punishing her for her sinful behavior. Damsel loved her daughter, but in her eyes, Wind Chill had thrown away a good life and reputation all for a stupid romance. It was unforgivable for a show cat, and since Wind Chill had mated outside her breed, there was no way to make it look like Rainy Days had bad lineage! Wind Chill had ruined Damsel's chances at revenge, and she was so furious that it momentarily blinded her judgment.

Wind Chill shrugged this off and went to live with Earnest and his owners for a while, not believing for a minute that she was being punished. Kits were adorable anyways, and she'd won enough shows to last her a lifetime. She loved her kittens too--she would often lay on the grass of Earnest's back yard and smooth her paws over her belly to count the precious bundles inside. One, two, three, four perfect little kittens that were all hers to hog until their birth. She was elated to meet her children, but even more elated to love and care for them as she remembered Damsel caring for her.


|Adulthood|
Wind Chill grew bigger and bigger until eventually, Earnest couldn't keep sneaking food to her without notice. He begged her to reveal herself to his owners, but her pride got in the way and she refused. She was a well-known show cat, his owners would immediately recognize and return her to her handler, and by proxy, to Damsel. Wind Chill had already gotten a taste of independence, and would rather live as a loner than return to the smothering environment in her mother's household. So she decided to birth her kits in a safe little copse of trees that she had found on the edge of the city during one of her daily walks. It was so scenic and peaceful--she just knew that it was the perfect place to bring her kits into the world. A world of love and acceptance, one that Wind Chill wasn't privy to at first, but one she wanted to provide for her children. 

It was on a gorgeous day in May that Wind Chill found herself in this copse of trees, stroking her swollen belly with a paw, smiling as she counted. One, two, three, four kittens just waiting to meet her in person. But her smile seized into an 'O' of pain as labor pains suddenly struck her and the large she-cat set to nine hours of hard, fruitless childbirth. The sun had set on the morning that Chill first started her labor, and still no kits were born. The pain was excruciating, and the poor young mother yowled for her mate, but the place she had chosen to give birth was too far from his home for him to hear her.  Something was terribly wrong with the birth, and Chill just knew that her kits lives were at risk. Wind Chill held out for one more hour and strained to bring her kittens into the world, but eventually the pain won out and the exhausted she-cat blacked out.

It was mere luck that a local veterinarian had heard Chill's yowls as he was passing by her chosen copse of trees on a stroll through the park. He plucked her gently from the ground and delivered her to his clinic where an emergency C-section had to be performed. All the kits miraculously survived and were brought to another young mother to feed so that Wind Chill could recover from the surgery and anesthesia.

Wind Chill awoke in a strange clinic, feeling like someone had run her over with a bus. Her head was fuzzy, her eyes were crusty...and her belly hurt. A squeal of despair and anguish ripped through her as her paw brushed past the scar that now rested on her stomach, but Wind Chill ignored the pain and desperately felt around for her kits. She counted off the first number in her head: One... She felt her belly where One should be. Nothing. Tears threatened. ONE. She insisted in her mind, feeling again, this time more aggressively. Still nothing. Her tears spilled over and she wailed, realizing all at once that her kits were gone. Not a single one left. 

The confused she-cat hurled herself at her cage in confused fury and, unluckily, found out that her lock was loose by falling straight through the cage door. This elicited another howl of pain and grief before she stumbled away into the night. The clinic's small office space meant that the animal cages were housed outside under a short overhang, protected by a small gate that Wind Chill was able to escape by scrambling over it and into the woods beyond. Her wound had re-opened during her escape and she cried out with pain and sorrow well into the late hours of the night. All she could think was that her mother was right. She was punished for her pride and selfish actions. The great cats above ripped her kits clean out of her as payment for her greed. Wind Chill wholeheartedly believed that the loss of her kits was all her fault. If she had been a little less confident...less sassy...less promiscuous...less stubborn. Her kits would be alive, or they wouldn't exist at all. But either option was better than the hurt in her heart, and she threw herself to the ground, crying and praying for the great cats' forgiveness, and for them to bring back her one, two, three, four children. The injured she-cat eventually passed out under the relative safety of a large tree, close to bleeding out.

Once again, she awoke in a strange setting. She was too exhausted and depressed to move, and even slight twitches sent waves of agony pulsing through her belly, which she noticed had been covered in leaves and what looked to be chewed up berries. As she began to stir, a skinny, gray old female stepped into the cavern that the tree roots created and explained that Wind Chill was her new patient and she had better deal with it. The old loner's name was Twig and as the moons passed, she nursed Chill back to health and tried to dissuade the now silent-spoken cat from believing that her kits' disappearance was due to some spirits in the sky. It was no use. Wind Chill was convinced that the great cats were punishing her for her rash behavior of her youth. She resolved to never behave in such a way again, so she would never tempt their wrath. She knew firsthand what that could bring, and the thought petrified her. Her body recovered, but her mind was deeply impacted by her experience and misunderstanding of what had happened. She was no longer sassy and flirty, but a calm, reserved, and pacifist cat. After about a year of recovery and companionship with Twig, the elderly cat passed away in her sleep and Wind Chill found it was time to move on.

The she-cat traveled for several moons, visiting mountains and lakes, seeing cities and farms and great expanses of land as far as the eye could see. She found that she enjoyed the bodies of water the most and would go for a swim as often as she could. It seemed that her fur naturally wicked off the water and she slid effortlessly through the water as she swam. It was one such lucky day that Wind Chill came across a magnificent waterfall, the first she'd ever seen. The large she-cat slipped through it quite by accident and stumbled upon a camp full of cats. Her eyes widened. One...a thick mink and gray furred tom. Two...another tom, this one black as night. Three...a rosy she-cat with a beatific face. Four...a bright, blazing flame point female. 

Wind Chill immediately surrendered and offered her services to the group, taking the number as a sign from the great cats. This was to be her new family, one that she was sure to protect with her life. Her second chance. Brightstar agreed, seeing the calm nature of the large she-cat and her impressive grace and size. She was accepted into RushClan on a probationary period, and is now serving to prove that she could be a worthy addition to the clan. It wasn't long before she was extended permanent stay in RushClan due to her dedicated service and great help with keeping the clan fed and maintained.

But Chillstep was in despair. Several of her clanmates still hated and disrespected her purely on the basis that she was a former outsider. It didn't matter how non-threatening and helpful she tried to be, some cats just despised her. Chillstep started to become more closed off and sheltered from her clanmates, but her days brightened when she met a rogue on the borders, a tom named Rapidstreak. The two became fast friends and shared a close bond, sharing secrets that no one else knew and enjoying quiet, peaceful moments together that she couldn't achieve in RushClan nor he in his lonesome dark mind. Chillstep cherished every moment with him. That was until RushClan deemed his presence too dangerous to keep around. Upon a few violent encounters between Rapidstreak and her warriors, Brightstar decided to take a patrol to Rapidstreak's camp outside of the borders and pass down an edict that he leave once the kit he was caring for (Gold) reached the age of six moons. Chillstep tried to vouch for him and reason with Brightstar that her ruling was too harsh, but she was immediately cut off and put in her place. Because of her already shaky standing with her clanmates, Chillstep had to tearfully turn back to RushClan. 

Chillstep's meetings with Rapidstreak came farther and fewer between, with the eyes of the clan on her, she couldn't slip out as easily as before. But when she could meet with Rapidstreak, she noticed his demeanor becoming more and more dark, depressed, and gloomy. She worried for him, but could only bring solace with her presence, which came with longer and longer wait times between visits. Even though this was a bad situation for Chillstep and her friend, it forced her to spend more time in the clan, which caused her to make more friends and feel more welcome. It was actually the brothers of her most fervent aggressor that extended their paws in friendship to her (Lioncall and Windpath), as well as a young former outsider named Coralshard. Her bonds in RushClan grew stronger, and possibly distracted her even more from her ailing outsider friend.

And so the time came for RushClan to drive out Rapidstreak and ensure he had left the unclaimed territory near their borders. Chillstep had managed to get herself on the patrol, to protect Rapidstreak if her clanmates decided to attack, but when they arrived, he was already gone. Chillstep was forced to return to RushClan with her clanmates and wait a few nights before she was able to return to Rapidstreak's camp by herself. She wanted to track his scent trail and find him to make sure he was okay, but when she peered into the cave where he slept, all she saw was dried blood. A lot of blood, too much blood to have been safe without immediate medical attention. And in the middle of all this blood were two dried up berries. Death berries. Chillstep started to wail in grief, believing that her friend had killed himself, coughed up his body weight in blood, and then slunk off to die somewhere. While the she-cat keened in the cave, a tom heard her and stepped into the cave. Rapidstreak. He had come down from his new home in order to see her and scout out other outsiders that may have felt persecuted by the clans to come join him. The two shared a joyous reunion, and Chillstep vowed to direct former outsiders in the clans in his direction if they felt like they didn't belong in the clans. Ever since then, Chillstep has been happy that her friend is alive, but morose that he lived so far away now. Some feelings have stirred in her now that she can't explain, awakened ever since the night that she thought Rapidstreak had died. But... he could only ever be her friend in their situation....


|Family Information|
Mother: Damsel
Father: Gaston
Siblings:

• Half Brothers: Eye of the Hurricane, Thunder Storm
• Half Sisters: Flash Flood, Stormy Skies

|Relationship Info|
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Relationship Status: Open, but work will need to be done. Her past was quite scarring
Mate:

• Past Mate(s): Earnest

Preferences-

• Personality-Wise: Funny, genuine, understanding, persistent, flexible.
• Physically: A fan of tabbies and ginger pelts, especially lighter markings.