Leaf Mossfeather

[carlia]

Name: Leaf Mossfeather. Gender: Male. Date of Birth: April 17, 2007. Height: 21 cm. Sexual Preference: Undecided- probably straight, though. Status: Neutered. Coat Color: Gray. Coat Pattern: White Splotch- nose, spot on chest, all paws. Eye Color: Hazel. Fur Length: Short. Appearance Extra: N/A- unless being mute counts as 'appearance?' History: Squirming wildly, the kitten opened its mouth to protest the treatment that the Big Hands were giving him. "Hmm? Why don't you mew like the others?" The little grey opened his mouth again, letting out a silent protest. "Oh, is he a little mute? Poor thing," a pair of Smaller Hands exclaimed, taking him away from the Big Hands. "A little boy mute. What a sweet little thing," The Big Warmth meowed at the hands, and the Smaller Hands put him down, chuckling happily. "Now, Momma, you make sure to keep that youngster close at hand. He doesn't look like a runt, but he'll probably be harder to hear than the others." The Big Warmth licked his head and chest and all over, washing the Hands' scent off. "Of course I'll keep a close eye on you, my little Leaf. You shall grow up, and tell no lies. You shall make the world a better place." The Big Warmth, his mother, was named Lark Fernstep, and his father was named Slate Mossfeather. Lark was a house cat to a professor and his librarian wife, who called her Jennyanydots (or just Jenny) after the gumbie cat in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and Slate was a feral (whom the professor named Jemima). Needless to say, the professor thought that Slate was a she-cat, until he realized that his Malkin was pregnant. Malkin gave birth to four kittens, two girls and two boys. Dove, the eldest, was a silver tabby, who always managed to be more aloof than her younger siblings, even when she fell off the couch on her first try to jump up there. Next was Otter, who inherited his mother's tabby pelt and was the most outgoing and playful of the four. Then there was Leaf, the ever quiet one, but he was never left out of any games- he even managed to work out a simple 'talking' system, using mainly body language. And lastly there was Bramble, the tortoiseshell who always managed to crack a joke, no matter the situation. They were a happy family, Slate stuck around to look after his kits, the professor always made sure to feed them, and found loving homes for the youngest three (they wanted to keep Dove, whom they called Rum Tum Tia, the Curious Cat- another Possum's Book reference) through his students. Lark had told them that this might happen, especially since the Professor and his wife were an aging couple, so, although sad, they were not completely taken by surprise. Leaf was even adopted specifically because he was a mute- the two newlyweds didn't want a caterwauling chorus in the middle of the night, especially since the woman was pregnant. Again, Leaf had a nice home. He was well fed, well-liked, and they played with him often, even after the baby was born. Leaf found the baby very interesting, and would often sit in high places- out of little hands that grabbed for his tail- and watch the little thing, wondering at how something that was slightly bigger than his father could make so much noise. The two adults laughed at how intently Leaf watched over their child, and called him Robin's (the baby's) little guardian angel (they named him Angel by the way, because he was so sweet. Feminine, but it fit him.). Then Robin got sick, and the grandmother came. Leaf was the first to notice that something was off- cats' intuition. But the mother wasn't that far behind, and the grandmother showed up only a day after that, toting along a sackful of all that stuff that worked when she was young, and her superstitious beliefs. Unfortunately, one of those beliefs was that cats 'suck the souls' from babies, and therefore she was very adamant about not letting Leaf near the baby. She was so (mistakenly) afraid for Robin, in fact, that, one night, she caught Leaf, piled him in the car, and drove him out to the Old Road, quickly dumping him out before driving off again and disappearing into the night. Personality: Quiet. Well, this one's a bit of a given, seeing as he can't talk. But, it's more than that. He has self-confidence issues, low self-esteem, is shy, and has a lot of fears, especially loud things (his inability to talk gives him acute hearing- better than most cats). Because of all that, he is also very nervous, as he isn't sure how other cats would react to a cat that can't talk (the only other cats he's seen has been his family- the waiting room was empty when they took him to the vets). He is also a very passive cat, with a great dislike for fighting, preferring to run instead, since he can't 'talk things out' like other cats. He likes to sit and watch things, not doing anything, except maybe occasionally twitching his tail. His siblings and the newlyweds often forgot he was there when he did this, which was fine by him. Sweet. Despite having issues with his self-confidence and such, Leaf is very much a darling tom. He refuses to judge anyone by outward appearance or handicaps, because of his own fear of being called dumb due to his inability. He is always willing to give any cat a second chance, no matter how mean the cat was to him in the past. He is an innocent, and trusts everyone, because he hasn't met someone who was downright mean to him. Even the grandmother was somewhat nice, she just didn't want him to be around the baby, and he understands that, even though he did think it's a little silly. But, as he always says (thinks? O.o;) everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and we must try our best to respect them. Intelligent. His mother was the cat of a professor and a librarian, and an old library cat herself- what more could you expect? He can read, and is very well-versed in literature, especially on cat-related subjects, and mourned the loss of the professor's library, only having the young man's college textbooks and the little picture-books they bought for the baby. He loves riddles and puzzles, and was also the one who figured out the 'talking' system when he was with the professor, along with his mother. He is very fast, and picks up on things quickly, although it might not always seem so. However, he is naive of the world. So, book-smart, but not street-smart, I guess. Hyper. Well, he is still a kitten, so he does have his frantic, oh-so-kitten-ish moments, running about like a cat on fire. However, these moments are perhaps fewer than most kittens, because of his quiet nature. They are also a bit toned down than the happy-go-lucky ADD spree that most kittens run. Its more of a 'oh-yay-be-happy' kind of thing than a 'I-need-to-get-these-excessive-amounts-of-energy-out- by-doing-something-probably-destructive' kind of thing. Image: Your OOC Name: Carlia. Other Characters On the Site: None.