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Description
NEW REFF SHEET

UPDATED 05.17.2013
Changed application art
Updated design (lighter markings on her legs & tail to better mimic actual breed)

UPDATED 03.20.2013 :
Changed application art
Updated age/tattoo color
Added to backstory

UPDATED 03.16.2013 :
Added apprentice

UPDATED 01.02.2013 :
Changed application art
Updated design (new markings under eyes | shorter mane-cut | ears entirely black)
Added to backstory
Updated personality traits
Added physique description
Added relationships

Note RP : Available
Skype RP (username -- ShhItsDark) : Available
Chat RP : Ask for Availability

Name : Sooka (Sue - KAH)

Kit name : River

Gender : Female ; she-cat

Breed : Egyptian Mau

Age : Eighteen moons

Tribe : Water Tribe

Tattoo : Orange-Water

Rank : Warrior

Ability : Primary

Soulbond : N/A

Apprentice/Mentor : Tuari

Skills : Water Walking | Basic Water Control | Rising Water | Freezing Water | Rising Water 2

Physique :
Sooka's build is very thin and lean. Her legs appear longer than most cats, but she is actually just slightly under the average size of a she-cat. Her paws are small to match her slender frame. As a warrior, she is strong and muscular. However, her strength is better served for running and climbing than it is for fighting. Her small build makes her easy to knock off balance. When it comes to balancing on branches or small stones in the river, however, Sooka is an expert. Her tail is very long, giving her an advantage. It allows her to balance her weight and tread easily across thin branches or wobbly stones. When it comes to fighting, she uses her speed and nimble paws to her advantage rather than trying to match her opponent's strength. In addition, she prefers to flat out chase down her prey instead of stalking it; she can often outrun her meals. Despite her very thin look, which sometimes is mistaken for starvation, she considers herself well-fed and in-shape.

To match her speedy frame, Sooka's fur is thin and smooth, lying flat across her skin. It is pale silvery, save for the few exceptions: her paws, chest, belly, and muzzle are white, blending carefully to a light grey; and her ears, back, and tip of her tail are a dark grey, almost black. Her pelt is speckled with spots of white, grey, and black giving her pelt an almost sparkly look in the sun. Stripes appear underneath her eyes, on her cheeks, on most of her tail, and on her legs. Also, she has a dark grey 'mane' which stretches from the back of her head down her neck and over part of her upper back. The fur there grows thicker and longer than the rest of her body.

For most of the the year, her coat is sleek and shiny from her diet of fish in the Water Tribe. This makes her coat water repellent and more aerodynamic under the water. However, in the Winter, her fur becomes thicker over her slender frame, giving her the appearance of a more well-fed cat. It also loses most of its sheen due to a different diet when the rivers and lakes freeze over.

Accessories : Eye-brow piercing over her right eye | Industrial barbell owl feather piercing on left ear (given to her by the Green-Air, Seraphiel )

Scars : N/A

Personality : Loyal | Rash | Insecure | Intelligent | Over-thinker | Playful

Loyal : Sooka is as loyal as they come. Despite her usual quiet and reserved disposition, she finds it difficult to stay back and keep to herself when a friend or tribe mate is in need. She is a fierce defender who isn't afraid to use sharp words or even claws to protect someone. She is quick to jump to someone's defense, even if there's a chance they may be wrong. Her loyalty can be difficult to come by as she tends to judge another's character upon her first impressions of them, deciding whether or not they could be considered a friend. However, once gained, her devotion is unwavering, even if someone is to do her wrong. She often gives multiple chances to someone she considered a friend at one point in time and continues to have faith in them even after many moons of uncertainty on their friendship. This sometimes can come back to bite her though, as it isn't uncommon for her to end up continuing to trust someone even when it's obvious they do not have her best intentions at heart. She leaves no good dead unpaid and would even risk her life for a cat she only met in passing.

On the flip side, once she labels someone as an enemy or someone not to be trusted, she rarely goes back on her decision. She is cold and indifferent to those she dislikes, but her shy nature prevents her from being outright rude. She does her best to ignore them and usually resorts to avoiding them if they happen to be within her vicinity. She dislikes outright confrontation with them being as insecure as she is, but when push comes to shove, she will stand up to them, especially if it concerns defending the honor of a friend. She tends to be better at standing up with others than for herself.

Rash : Although she considers herself to be a 'thinker', Sooka hates to make tough decisions -- or any decision really. She constantly worries about making the wrong choice or accidentally picking the less successful option. When she can, she tries to push it on someone else, hoping they don't mind choosing, and praying they choose the better answer. However, more often than not, there's no one else around and she has no choice but to come to her own conclusion. Her indecisiveness makes her anxious and frustrated, resulting in her making a quick decision in the end, throwing all caution out the window. She knows being rash is a recipe for disaster, but would rather just get the whole deciding process over and done with.

Her inability to choose makes her a poor choice for anything objective, such as being the third party to settle an argument. It also makes her a bit on the impatient side, preferring to get things done quickly instead of the right way. Her work can sometimes be sloppy and rushed as a result, but if it's a more straightforward task that leaves little room for making her own decision on the matter, she can preform wonderfully. This makes her an excellent choice for being part of sometimes as a follower, but terrible for anything involving leadership. When she's forced to be a leader, she becomes more susceptible to embarrassment and mistakes. Although she would like to someday gain the confidence of a figurehead, she struggles with the thought of making the wrong decision.

Insecure : Deep down, Sooka is rather insecure. She lacks confidence in herself and always worries about making a fool of herself, especially in social situations. She has poor communication skills, sometimes becoming lost in her own thoughts and daydreams right in the middle of a conversation. She is always anxious when first meeting another cat, fearing she'll give them a bad first impression of herself. As a result, she easily comes off as shy and awkward at first glance. However, once one gets passed her initial reserved shell, Sooka actually proves to be quite the talkative and friendly she-cat. Her self-doubt sometimes stretches beyond interactions with others to her confidence in herself as a tribe cat. As she's still quite new to tribe life, she worries she doesn't know enough about their traditions and ways. She constantly doubts her actions, especially outside of her boarders when she runs into strangers from other tribes. However, more often than not, she ends up pushes away her nagging anxiety about breaking tribe rules, realizing the strangers aren't so different from her own tribemates.

Her insecurities make her a more modest cat than most. She dislikes showing off or bragging about herself in any way, but with enough prodding, she may give a display of her abilities. She shrinks away from attention and being in the spotlight as it makes her nervous, not so much for herself, but that others might judge her for it. Above all else, she wants to be accepted by others -- especially her fellow Water Tribe cats -- and fears that by drawing too much attention to herself, she might only meet their disapproval.

Intelligent : Sooka has a very calculating mind. She takes pride in being able to discern the outcome of a situation based off the the tiniest, least significant detail. She rarely exhibits this pride in herself though, afraid to come off as arrogant or overconfident in her abilities. Instead, she settles for challenging herself with types of puzzles or other various activities that would test her limits. She constantly strides to improve herself and relishes the opportunity to do so. Her quick wits and attention to detail make her quite good at planning and figuring things out, but as she's too insecure to share her thoughts, she hardly ever offers up her opinion.

Since she enjoys learning anything new, her intelligent mind makes her curious and adventurous. She wants to go everywhere, see everything, and do it all. If something new is thrown her way, she's quick to give it a go and often eager to do it again. Her desire for adventure usually finds her wandering about, hoping to find something new or interesting. 'Boring' isn't a word she even considers as she's always finding something to do. She is easily entertained and finds herself content doing anything -- even something she's done a million times before.

Over-thinker : One of the draw backs to her calculating mind is her habit of over-thinking. More often than not, Sooka comes up with multiple solutions to something -- which doesn't do her indecisiveness any good. She can usually be found lost in thought, even while in the middle of a conversation. She does her best to stay grounded instead of floating off into her overactive mind, but it does her little good since practically everything sets her brain off. Her overactive imagination often goes into overdrive while she's listening to another cat speak, picturing bits and pieces of their conversation. Even on her own, Sooka's imagination gets the better of her. She finds it difficult to keep herself from thinking of things that happened earlier in the day or from imagining what might happen the next day, whether it be good or bad.

Because her mind is so often in overdrive, she easily becomes anxious and worried, especially when it concerns the welfare of another. She dislikes leaving others alone in places she's unfamiliar with even if her company is unwanted. This attribute can make her seems rather nosy and clingy at times, but she always has their best intentions at heart, even if she does come off as worrisome nag.

Playful : Although she's reserved upon first meeting, Sooka is quick to warm up to those she judges as friends. She will often resort to playful bats of her paw or gentle flicks of her tail to express her affection towards them. Sometimes, she'll even full out tackle them like a kit might. Partly because she's still young, she likes to play and romp around, but she also does it to express her feelings of comfort; it's her way of letting another cat know she's comfortable and relaxed around them. When she's at ease with another, she lets go of all her insecurities completely, becoming much more social. Sometimes it comes as a surprise to other cats when she suddenly changes from her initial reserved approach.

More than anything else though, she enjoys teasing her friends -- all in good fun of course. She likes to poke fun and be able to joke with them as laughter tends to make her feel the most comfortable as she's discovered. At first, she used to associate laughter with ridicule and embarrassment, but as she's gotten to know more tribe cats, she finds herself associating it with friendship instead. However, it takes some time to warm up to someone before she'll begin her usual teasing. She still has the slight fear of insulting someone with her antics, and is always quick to apologize should she feel they're upset.

Backstory :

[ Kithood ]

Tartok and Anyu had both been born into exile during the first war with the Golden Butterfly. Both were rather serious cats, as they had been raised to be so by their own parents, hardened by the turn of events. When they met and started their own family, they raised their kits to be the same.

Because of the constant fighting between the tribes, and the bitterness of being an exile, Tartok was a harsh and cold father to his kits. Anyu's litter of four daughters and a single son did nothing to melt the ice in his heart either; he had been hoping for a stronger bunch. He worried for his daughters, fearing they'd never be able to fend for themselves or be swept away by the war if it were to continue much longer. However, he had a funny way of showing it. Instead of being protective, Tartok neglected them, even to the point of pushing them away. His mate Anyu always noticed how distant and short he was with them, but like Tartok, she felt the same pangs of fear for her daughters and said nothing.

For most of Sooka's early kithood, she spent her time wandering through the area with her sisters. Tartok never supervised them as he was too busy vigorously training his only son, Tulok, whom he had high hopes for. Unfortunately, Tulok had a weak body due to the lack of nourishment Anyu had received while she was pregnant because of the scarceness of food. Coupled with the intense training from his father, Tulok's weak body didn't last long and he was the first of the kits to pass away.

Undaunted, Tartok turned to the strongest of his daughters - Sooka. He separated her from her sisters nearly night and day, forcing her to become a strong and quick footed cat. While Sooka saw his intensity with her as punishment, Tartok viewed it differently. He didn't want to lose any more of his family to weakness, and was determined to give his daughter the best chance of survival he could give. As a result, Sooka grew into a rather closed off cat herself, never learning how to properly communicate with others and despising every moment she spent learning with her father.

Sooka's other sisters fared no better. They resented her for being Tartok's new 'favorite', and often refused to speak with her. They felt she had betrayed them since she had used to play with them, but now only had time for her father, unaware that it was not her own choice. Instead they stayed close to Anyu, learning from her instead. Despite that, not all of her sisters survived the exile. Like Tulok, they suffered from Anyu's undernourishment during her pregnancy. Slowly, disease and starvation eventually picked off her sisters, and in the end it was only Tikaani left.

[ Adolescence ]

As Sooka grew older into adolescence, she found she could no longer stand her usual routine. She and Tartok were the only ones to provide food as Anyu never quite recovered from her weakness during pregnancy, and Tikaani had little training when it came to hunting. Eventually Tartok began trusting Sooka to do it alone, choosing to stay with his mate and other daughter out of worry of attack from enemy cats or something worse. His paranoia even drove him to begin taking watch at night, despite Anyu's insistence that they were in no danger. Forced to do the hunting herself for her parents and remaining sister, Sooka felt as if she were being used - something Tikaani had planted in her mind out of bitterness and envy. Tikaani poisoned Sooka against the family, finally driving her to slip away on her own to travel back into the various tribes' territories. Since then, Sooka has never seen nor heard from her remaining family, although she remains convinced that they're still surviving out there despite Tartok's increasing insanity. It wasn't long before Sooka found herself in Water Tribe territory, gaining entry and becoming a formidable warrior for them - no doubt because of her father's insistence on training her. Being surrounded by other cats sometimes makes her nervous and she remains closed off from them, but despite that, she feels secure within the tribe and has chosen to remain with them.

[ Since Returning to the Tribes ]

Although she was nervous being around so many strange cats at first, Sooka has grown used to them. She no longer shies away from the cats within her tribe, and even gives them shy smiles in passing. She feels at ease in the camp, no longer fidgeting around her tribemates or staying away late at night to avoid sleeping in the dens with them. She finds comfort in being near them now and considers them all her family -- even those she has yet to interact with. No matter what, she has vowed to protect any cat bearing the mark of the Water Tribe to the best of her ability. To her, being loyal to them is everything these days and always her first priority. She spends her free time searching for every ounce of prey to bring back to them, worried for the soon to occur migration and for the health of the tribe now that Winter has set in.

Now that a few moons have passed since she gained the proper colors of her tattoo, Sooka has begun to get a handle on her powers. She started off rather shakily at them, having no confidence in herself, but with the help of a few fellow Water Tribers, she's begun to learn more and more -- even a few fancy tricks of her own! While she still won't use them for hunting, preferring her claws and teeth, she continues to practice using them every chance she gets.

Outside of her boarders, Sooka has also found herself more at ease with cats of other tribes, particularly Air Tribe cats. She's still nervous and anxious when it comes to meeting strangers, but she's slowly growing used to crossing their paths in the Neutral Lands. However, she still has much to learn -- especially concerning other tribes' boundaries. She has yet to learn the scents of all the other tribes and still finds herself occasionally getting lost in the land outside her Water Tribe boarders. Despite her occasional mistakes, she's grown used to the land of Nandryx, especially her own tribe territory. She feels attached to it now, and the thought of leaving it so soon brings her pangs of saddness.

[ Moving to the New Land ]

The minute it was decided that the tribes would leave, Sooka hated the idea. She dreaded the day of the migration, hoping that somehow it would be cancelled and they would all stay in Nandryx. Most of all she was worried about losing touch with all the friends she had made - the Green-Air Seraphiel in particular. What if she never saw them again in the new land? The very thought of losing touch with anyone - even those she had met only briefly - frightened her.

However, the migration went as smoothly as any such move can go, and she soon found herself settled into the Water Tribe's new territory. Much to her shock and regret though, all the healers of her tribe were gone; Light Tribe had its own territory now. Even though it was open to all cats and she could easily visit, she found herself feeling pangs of regret for never having spoke to her tribe's healers. Now she finds herself glancing at her former tribe mates from a distance whenever she happens to pass by one of the Light Tribers. Despite them being in a new tribe though, Sooka has sworn to still see them as Water Tribe in her eyes.

So far, she has met little to none of the new cats that returned to the tribes in the new land. For some reason they make her nervous, and she finds herself shying away from them. She prefers the company of her tribe and those she has already met. Perhaps once she gets use to the idea of them, she'll warm up to them. She knows she'll have to eventually, especially considering some of the new tribe cats are even in Water Tribe. Despite that, she has chosen to keep to herself instead of interact with them just yet. She isn't quite ready to make new acquaintances, which could be in part due to her grief over the death of a friend - Ross from the Air Tribe. Although she only met him once before the move, his sudden and untimely death has affected her more than she's willing to admit. Death is something she is uncomfortable with, and something she fears. Ross's death has only reaffirmed that for her, as well as shaken her up quite a bit. She is unwilling to believe he's dead until further notice.

However, as time has went on, Sooka has found herself growing into an adult. Her tattoo no longer has the slight pink hue of an adolescence, but is no fully orange. She misses the pink, but with her steadily increasing confidence in herself, the orange seems to almost suit her. Much to her surprise, she hasn't been the only one noticing herself growing both maturity wise and physically. Her own leader and friend, Vitani, recently assigned the young beauty, Tuari, as her very own apprentice. Although she was worried and nervous at first, Sooka has found herself unusally comfortable being a teacher - a leader. Sometimes it even surprises herself. She hopes her new responsibilities as a mentor will give her even more confidence to the point where she can take up new leadership opportunities. With Vitani's faith in her to guide a young adolescence, Sooka's social anxiety and self-doubt slowly seem to be ebbing away - just slightly.

Family :

Father : Tartok ; Exile
Mother : Anyu ; Exile
Brother(s) : Tulok
Sister(s) : Nukka ; Exile (deceased) | Panik ; Exile (deceased) | Tikaani ; Exile
Uncle(s) : Calais ; Exile
Aunt(s) : Reua ; Exile (deceased)
Cousin(s) : Akida ; Pink-Orange Earth

Relationships : Sooka's Heartchart

Tumblr : Ask Sooka!

Roleplay example (taken from #The-Golden-Butterfly )

The colder the Winter had become, the more snow had fallen, covering the already frozen earth and sending what was left of the prey scurrying into their burrows. The pile of fresh kill in the Water Tribe was scarce of late, as its warriors were finding it harder and harder to hunt with the lack of prey.

One such warrior, a rather younger and slender she-cat, Sooka, had taken to wandering far in the Neutral Lands in her desperate search for food to bring back. Often her trips were fruitless and only resulted in sore paws and a soaked through pelt; her thin coat wasn't much good in the Winter. And with the rivers nearby her territory frozen over, she hadn't eaten any of it's silvery fish in moons, causing her once sleek fur to be losing its normal sheen.

The spotted she-cat suddenly paused, looking around carefully, her amber eyes narrowed. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had wandered even farther than usual, finding herself in an unfamiliar forest. The needle trees were blanketed with frost and snow and the whole place seemed dead -- silent as a graveyard. She kneaded her paws against the snow uncertainly, debating whether to turn around or move forward.

There could be prey here, she reminded herself. With a heavy sigh, she padded onward, deeper into the pine forest. She had little trouble walking over the snow as her paws were light and rather smaller than usual. Her thin body was supported effortlessly on the snow, enabling her to move quicker than would be expected. She kept her pawsteps silent as she moved and her mouth slightly open, hoping for the scent of prey. Little did she know as she padded onward that she was not the only cat in the forest, and that somewhere hidden within the branches of the pine trees lurked a young apprentice.

Featured in :

Informing the Tribes
Water Walker
TGB Headshots
TGB Stocking Cats
TGB Assignment - What?
Promise
All the TGB Cats
Seraphiel's Hypokits
Caelum's Hypokits
Kehri's Hypokits
Stuck
Water Tribe
Sooka :: Request
Cats Remembered : Part 2
Water Tribe Headshots
TGB Sketches 5

Roleplays :
A Fresh Start (Part 1) - Sooka & Tuari
A Fresh Start (Part 2) - Sooka & Tuari

Assignments :

Assignment #1 : Fish Hunt

Fun facts :

Egyptian Mau's are the fastest domestic cat. As a result, Sooka is unusually fast for a Water Triber and often wonders why she was not placed in Air Tribe and given Secondary Abilities. She loves to run most of all and would gladly trade her Primary water abilities for an Air Triber's speed. Despite her secret wish, she still values Water Tribe more than anything.

Mau's are very vocal cats and often 'chirrup'. Their meows are a bit on the weird side - but it's been likened to a kind of 'singing'. Sooka herself as a decent voice when it comes to singing, but despite her breed's love for chattering, she is more on the quiet side and hardly ever engages in conversation willingly - let alone sings in front of anyone.

Mau's have a strange flap of skin on their back legs that allows them to put on random bursts of speed and accelerate quickly. Cheetah's have the same flap of skin, which enables them to chase down prey. Similarly, Sooka prefers to flat out chase prey rather than stalk it. However, because of her speedy frame, her legs appear long and slender, despite her slightly shorter than average height. This gives her proportions a bit of a weird look, but it's something she's willing to sacrifice for speed.

Sooka & Co. (c) ~ShhItsDark
#The-Golden-Butterfly (c) *Tzurai & ~Atalae

Description
NEW REFF SHEET

UPDATED 05.17.2013
Changed application art
Updated design (lighter markings on her legs & tail to better mimic actual breed)

UPDATED 03.20.2013 :
Changed application art
Updated age/tattoo color
Added to backstory

UPDATED 03.16.2013 :
Added apprentice

UPDATED 01.02.2013 :
Changed application art
Updated design (new markings under eyes | shorter mane-cut | ears entirely black)
Added to backstory
Updated personality traits
Added physique description
Added relationships

Note RP : Available
Skype RP (username -- ShhItsDark) : Available
Chat RP : Ask for Availability

Name : Sooka (Sue - KAH)

Kit name : River

Gender : Female ; she-cat

Breed : Egyptian Mau

Age : Eighteen moons

Tribe : Water Tribe

Tattoo : Orange-Water

Rank : Warrior

Ability : Primary

Soulbond : N/A

Apprentice/Mentor : Tuari

Skills : Water Walking | Basic Water Control | Rising Water | Freezing Water | Rising Water 2

Physique :
Sooka's build is very thin and lean. Her legs appear longer than most cats, but she is actually just slightly under the average size of a she-cat. Her paws are small to match her slender frame. As a warrior, she is strong and muscular. However, her strength is better served for running and climbing than it is for fighting. Her small build makes her easy to knock off balance. When it comes to balancing on branches or small stones in the river, however, Sooka is an expert. Her tail is very long, giving her an advantage. It allows her to balance her weight and tread easily across thin branches or wobbly stones. When it comes to fighting, she uses her speed and nimble paws to her advantage rather than trying to match her opponent's strength. In addition, she prefers to flat out chase down her prey instead of stalking it; she can often outrun her meals. Despite her very thin look, which sometimes is mistaken for starvation, she considers herself well-fed and in-shape.

To match her speedy frame, Sooka's fur is thin and smooth, lying flat across her skin. It is pale silvery, save for the few exceptions: her paws, chest, belly, and muzzle are white, blending carefully to a light grey; and her ears, back, and tip of her tail are a dark grey, almost black. Her pelt is speckled with spots of white, grey, and black giving her pelt an almost sparkly look in the sun. Stripes appear underneath her eyes, on her cheeks, on most of her tail, and on her legs. Also, she has a dark grey 'mane' which stretches from the back of her head down her neck and over part of her upper back. The fur there grows thicker and longer than the rest of her body.

For most of the the year, her coat is sleek and shiny from her diet of fish in the Water Tribe. This makes her coat water repellent and more aerodynamic under the water. However, in the Winter, her fur becomes thicker over her slender frame, giving her the appearance of a more well-fed cat. It also loses most of its sheen due to a different diet when the rivers and lakes freeze over.

Accessories : Eye-brow piercing over her right eye | Industrial barbell owl feather piercing on left ear (given to her by the Green-Air, Seraphiel )

Scars : N/A

Personality : Loyal | Rash | Insecure | Intelligent | Over-thinker | Playful

Loyal : Sooka is as loyal as they come. Despite her usual quiet and reserved disposition, she finds it difficult to stay back and keep to herself when a friend or tribe mate is in need. She is a fierce defender who isn't afraid to use sharp words or even claws to protect someone. She is quick to jump to someone's defense, even if there's a chance they may be wrong. Her loyalty can be difficult to come by as she tends to judge another's character upon her first impressions of them, deciding whether or not they could be considered a friend. However, once gained, her devotion is unwavering, even if someone is to do her wrong. She often gives multiple chances to someone she considered a friend at one point in time and continues to have faith in them even after many moons of uncertainty on their friendship. This sometimes can come back to bite her though, as it isn't uncommon for her to end up continuing to trust someone even when it's obvious they do not have her best intentions at heart. She leaves no good dead unpaid and would even risk her life for a cat she only met in passing.

On the flip side, once she labels someone as an enemy or someone not to be trusted, she rarely goes back on her decision. She is cold and indifferent to those she dislikes, but her shy nature prevents her from being outright rude. She does her best to ignore them and usually resorts to avoiding them if they happen to be within her vicinity. She dislikes outright confrontation with them being as insecure as she is, but when push comes to shove, she will stand up to them, especially if it concerns defending the honor of a friend. She tends to be better at standing up with others than for herself.

Rash : Although she considers herself to be a 'thinker', Sooka hates to make tough decisions -- or any decision really. She constantly worries about making the wrong choice or accidentally picking the less successful option. When she can, she tries to push it on someone else, hoping they don't mind choosing, and praying they choose the better answer. However, more often than not, there's no one else around and she has no choice but to come to her own conclusion. Her indecisiveness makes her anxious and frustrated, resulting in her making a quick decision in the end, throwing all caution out the window. She knows being rash is a recipe for disaster, but would rather just get the whole deciding process over and done with.

Her inability to choose makes her a poor choice for anything objective, such as being the third party to settle an argument. It also makes her a bit on the impatient side, preferring to get things done quickly instead of the right way. Her work can sometimes be sloppy and rushed as a result, but if it's a more straightforward task that leaves little room for making her own decision on the matter, she can preform wonderfully. This makes her an excellent choice for being part of sometimes as a follower, but terrible for anything involving leadership. When she's forced to be a leader, she becomes more susceptible to embarrassment and mistakes. Although she would like to someday gain the confidence of a figurehead, she struggles with the thought of making the wrong decision.

Insecure : Deep down, Sooka is rather insecure. She lacks confidence in herself and always worries about making a fool of herself, especially in social situations. She has poor communication skills, sometimes becoming lost in her own thoughts and daydreams right in the middle of a conversation. She is always anxious when first meeting another cat, fearing she'll give them a bad first impression of herself. As a result, she easily comes off as shy and awkward at first glance. However, once one gets passed her initial reserved shell, Sooka actually proves to be quite the talkative and friendly she-cat. Her self-doubt sometimes stretches beyond interactions with others to her confidence in herself as a tribe cat. As she's still quite new to tribe life, she worries she doesn't know enough about their traditions and ways. She constantly doubts her actions, especially outside of her boarders when she runs into strangers from other tribes. However, more often than not, she ends up pushes away her nagging anxiety about breaking tribe rules, realizing the strangers aren't so different from her own tribemates.

Her insecurities make her a more modest cat than most. She dislikes showing off or bragging about herself in any way, but with enough prodding, she may give a display of her abilities. She shrinks away from attention and being in the spotlight as it makes her nervous, not so much for herself, but that others might judge her for it. Above all else, she wants to be accepted by others -- especially her fellow Water Tribe cats -- and fears that by drawing too much attention to herself, she might only meet their disapproval.

Intelligent : Sooka has a very calculating mind. She takes pride in being able to discern the outcome of a situation based off the the tiniest, least significant detail. She rarely exhibits this pride in herself though, afraid to come off as arrogant or overconfident in her abilities. Instead, she settles for challenging herself with types of puzzles or other various activities that would test her limits. She constantly strides to improve herself and relishes the opportunity to do so. Her quick wits and attention to detail make her quite good at planning and figuring things out, but as she's too insecure to share her thoughts, she hardly ever offers up her opinion.

Since she enjoys learning anything new, her intelligent mind makes her curious and adventurous. She wants to go everywhere, see everything, and do it all. If something new is thrown her way, she's quick to give it a go and often eager to do it again. Her desire for adventure usually finds her wandering about, hoping to find something new or interesting. 'Boring' isn't a word she even considers as she's always finding something to do. She is easily entertained and finds herself content doing anything -- even something she's done a million times before.

Over-thinker : One of the draw backs to her calculating mind is her habit of over-thinking. More often than not, Sooka comes up with multiple solutions to something -- which doesn't do her indecisiveness any good. She can usually be found lost in thought, even while in the middle of a conversation. She does her best to stay grounded instead of floating off into her overactive mind, but it does her little good since practically everything sets her brain off. Her overactive imagination often goes into overdrive while she's listening to another cat speak, picturing bits and pieces of their conversation. Even on her own, Sooka's imagination gets the better of her. She finds it difficult to keep herself from thinking of things that happened earlier in the day or from imagining what might happen the next day, whether it be good or bad.

Because her mind is so often in overdrive, she easily becomes anxious and worried, especially when it concerns the welfare of another. She dislikes leaving others alone in places she's unfamiliar with even if her company is unwanted. This attribute can make her seems rather nosy and clingy at times, but she always has their best intentions at heart, even if she does come off as worrisome nag.

Playful : Although she's reserved upon first meeting, Sooka is quick to warm up to those she judges as friends. She will often resort to playful bats of her paw or gentle flicks of her tail to express her affection towards them. Sometimes, she'll even full out tackle them like a kit might. Partly because she's still young, she likes to play and romp around, but she also does it to express her feelings of comfort; it's her way of letting another cat know she's comfortable and relaxed around them. When she's at ease with another, she lets go of all her insecurities completely, becoming much more social. Sometimes it comes as a surprise to other cats when she suddenly changes from her initial reserved approach.

More than anything else though, she enjoys teasing her friends -- all in good fun of course. She likes to poke fun and be able to joke with them as laughter tends to make her feel the most comfortable as she's discovered. At first, she used to associate laughter with ridicule and embarrassment, but as she's gotten to know more tribe cats, she finds herself associating it with friendship instead. However, it takes some time to warm up to someone before she'll begin her usual teasing. She still has the slight fear of insulting someone with her antics, and is always quick to apologize should she feel they're upset.

Backstory :

[ Kithood ]

Tartok and Anyu had both been born into exile during the first war with the Golden Butterfly. Both were rather serious cats, as they had been raised to be so by their own parents, hardened by the turn of events. When they met and started their own family, they raised their kits to be the same.

Because of the constant fighting between the tribes, and the bitterness of being an exile, Tartok was a harsh and cold father to his kits. Anyu's litter of four daughters and a single son did nothing to melt the ice in his heart either; he had been hoping for a stronger bunch. He worried for his daughters, fearing they'd never be able to fend for themselves or be swept away by the war if it were to continue much longer. However, he had a funny way of showing it. Instead of being protective, Tartok neglected them, even to the point of pushing them away. His mate Anyu always noticed how distant and short he was with them, but like Tartok, she felt the same pangs of fear for her daughters and said nothing.

For most of Sooka's early kithood, she spent her time wandering through the area with her sisters. Tartok never supervised them as he was too busy vigorously training his only son, Tulok, whom he had high hopes for. Unfortunately, Tulok had a weak body due to the lack of nourishment Anyu had received while she was pregnant because of the scarceness of food. Coupled with the intense training from his father, Tulok's weak body didn't last long and he was the first of the kits to pass away.

Undaunted, Tartok turned to the strongest of his daughters - Sooka. He separated her from her sisters nearly night and day, forcing her to become a strong and quick footed cat. While Sooka saw his intensity with her as punishment, Tartok viewed it differently. He didn't want to lose any more of his family to weakness, and was determined to give his daughter the best chance of survival he could give. As a result, Sooka grew into a rather closed off cat herself, never learning how to properly communicate with others and despising every moment she spent learning with her father.

Sooka's other sisters fared no better. They resented her for being Tartok's new 'favorite', and often refused to speak with her. They felt she had betrayed them since she had used to play with them, but now only had time for her father, unaware that it was not her own choice. Instead they stayed close to Anyu, learning from her instead. Despite that, not all of her sisters survived the exile. Like Tulok, they suffered from Anyu's undernourishment during her pregnancy. Slowly, disease and starvation eventually picked off her sisters, and in the end it was only Tikaani left.

[ Adolescence ]

As Sooka grew older into adolescence, she found she could no longer stand her usual routine. She and Tartok were the only ones to provide food as Anyu never quite recovered from her weakness during pregnancy, and Tikaani had little training when it came to hunting. Eventually Tartok began trusting Sooka to do it alone, choosing to stay with his mate and other daughter out of worry of attack from enemy cats or something worse. His paranoia even drove him to begin taking watch at night, despite Anyu's insistence that they were in no danger. Forced to do the hunting herself for her parents and remaining sister, Sooka felt as if she were being used - something Tikaani had planted in her mind out of bitterness and envy. Tikaani poisoned Sooka against the family, finally driving her to slip away on her own to travel back into the various tribes' territories. Since then, Sooka has never seen nor heard from her remaining family, although she remains convinced that they're still surviving out there despite Tartok's increasing insanity. It wasn't long before Sooka found herself in Water Tribe territory, gaining entry and becoming a formidable warrior for them - no doubt because of her father's insistence on training her. Being surrounded by other cats sometimes makes her nervous and she remains closed off from them, but despite that, she feels secure within the tribe and has chosen to remain with them.

[ Since Returning to the Tribes ]

Although she was nervous being around so many strange cats at first, Sooka has grown used to them. She no longer shies away from the cats within her tribe, and even gives them shy smiles in passing. She feels at ease in the camp, no longer fidgeting around her tribemates or staying away late at night to avoid sleeping in the dens with them. She finds comfort in being near them now and considers them all her family -- even those she has yet to interact with. No matter what, she has vowed to protect any cat bearing the mark of the Water Tribe to the best of her ability. To her, being loyal to them is everything these days and always her first priority. She spends her free time searching for every ounce of prey to bring back to them, worried for the soon to occur migration and for the health of the tribe now that Winter has set in.

Now that a few moons have passed since she gained the proper colors of her tattoo, Sooka has begun to get a handle on her powers. She started off rather shakily at them, having no confidence in herself, but with the help of a few fellow Water Tribers, she's begun to learn more and more -- even a few fancy tricks of her own! While she still won't use them for hunting, preferring her claws and teeth, she continues to practice using them every chance she gets.

Outside of her boarders, Sooka has also found herself more at ease with cats of other tribes, particularly Air Tribe cats. She's still nervous and anxious when it comes to meeting strangers, but she's slowly growing used to crossing their paths in the Neutral Lands. However, she still has much to learn -- especially concerning other tribes' boundaries. She has yet to learn the scents of all the other tribes and still finds herself occasionally getting lost in the land outside her Water Tribe boarders. Despite her occasional mistakes, she's grown used to the land of Nandryx, especially her own tribe territory. She feels attached to it now, and the thought of leaving it so soon brings her pangs of saddness.

[ Moving to the New Land ]

The minute it was decided that the tribes would leave, Sooka hated the idea. She dreaded the day of the migration, hoping that somehow it would be cancelled and they would all stay in Nandryx. Most of all she was worried about losing touch with all the friends she had made - the Green-Air Seraphiel in particular. What if she never saw them again in the new land? The very thought of losing touch with anyone - even those she had met only briefly - frightened her.

However, the migration went as smoothly as any such move can go, and she soon found herself settled into the Water Tribe's new territory. Much to her shock and regret though, all the healers of her tribe were gone; Light Tribe had its own territory now. Even though it was open to all cats and she could easily visit, she found herself feeling pangs of regret for never having spoke to her tribe's healers. Now she finds herself glancing at her former tribe mates from a distance whenever she happens to pass by one of the Light Tribers. Despite them being in a new tribe though, Sooka has sworn to still see them as Water Tribe in her eyes.

So far, she has met little to none of the new cats that returned to the tribes in the new land. For some reason they make her nervous, and she finds herself shying away from them. She prefers the company of her tribe and those she has already met. Perhaps once she gets use to the idea of them, she'll warm up to them. She knows she'll have to eventually, especially considering some of the new tribe cats are even in Water Tribe. Despite that, she has chosen to keep to herself instead of interact with them just yet. She isn't quite ready to make new acquaintances, which could be in part due to her grief over the death of a friend - Ross from the Air Tribe. Although she only met him once before the move, his sudden and untimely death has affected her more than she's willing to admit. Death is something she is uncomfortable with, and something she fears. Ross's death has only reaffirmed that for her, as well as shaken her up quite a bit. She is unwilling to believe he's dead until further notice.

However, as time has went on, Sooka has found herself growing into an adult. Her tattoo no longer has the slight pink hue of an adolescence, but is no fully orange. She misses the pink, but with her steadily increasing confidence in herself, the orange seems to almost suit her. Much to her surprise, she hasn't been the only one noticing herself growing both maturity wise and physically. Her own leader and friend, Vitani, recently assigned the young beauty, Tuari, as her very own apprentice. Although she was worried and nervous at first, Sooka has found herself unusally comfortable being a teacher - a leader. Sometimes it even surprises herself. She hopes her new responsibilities as a mentor will give her even more confidence to the point where she can take up new leadership opportunities. With Vitani's faith in her to guide a young adolescence, Sooka's social anxiety and self-doubt slowly seem to be ebbing away - just slightly.

Family :

Father : Tartok ; Exile
Mother : Anyu ; Exile
Brother(s) : Tulok
Sister(s) : Nukka ; Exile (deceased) | Panik ; Exile (deceased) | Tikaani ; Exile
Uncle(s) : Calais ; Exile
Aunt(s) : Reua ; Exile (deceased)
Cousin(s) : Akida ; Pink-Orange Earth

Relationships : Sooka's Heartchart

Tumblr : Ask Sooka!

Roleplay example (taken from #The-Golden-Butterfly )

The colder the Winter had become, the more snow had fallen, covering the already frozen earth and sending what was left of the prey scurrying into their burrows. The pile of fresh kill in the Water Tribe was scarce of late, as its warriors were finding it harder and harder to hunt with the lack of prey.

One such warrior, a rather younger and slender she-cat, Sooka, had taken to wandering far in the Neutral Lands in her desperate search for food to bring back. Often her trips were fruitless and only resulted in sore paws and a soaked through pelt; her thin coat wasn't much good in the Winter. And with the rivers nearby her territory frozen over, she hadn't eaten any of it's silvery fish in moons, causing her once sleek fur to be losing its normal sheen.

The spotted she-cat suddenly paused, looking around carefully, her amber eyes narrowed. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had wandered even farther than usual, finding herself in an unfamiliar forest. The needle trees were blanketed with frost and snow and the whole place seemed dead -- silent as a graveyard. She kneaded her paws against the snow uncertainly, debating whether to turn around or move forward.

There could be prey here, she reminded herself. With a heavy sigh, she padded onward, deeper into the pine forest. She had little trouble walking over the snow as her paws were light and rather smaller than usual. Her thin body was supported effortlessly on the snow, enabling her to move quicker than would be expected. She kept her pawsteps silent as she moved and her mouth slightly open, hoping for the scent of prey. Little did she know as she padded onward that she was not the only cat in the forest, and that somewhere hidden within the branches of the pine trees lurked a young apprentice.

Featured in :

Informing the Tribes
Water Walker
TGB Headshots
TGB Stocking Cats
TGB Assignment - What?
Promise
All the TGB Cats
Seraphiel's Hypokits
Caelum's Hypokits
Kehri's Hypokits
Stuck
Water Tribe
Sooka :: Request
Cats Remembered : Part 2
Water Tribe Headshots
TGB Sketches 5

Roleplays :
A Fresh Start (Part 1) - Sooka & Tuari
A Fresh Start (Part 2) - Sooka & Tuari

Assignments :

Assignment #1 : Fish Hunt

Fun facts :

Egyptian Mau's are the fastest domestic cat. As a result, Sooka is unusually fast for a Water Triber and often wonders why she was not placed in Air Tribe and given Secondary Abilities. She loves to run most of all and would gladly trade her Primary water abilities for an Air Triber's speed. Despite her secret wish, she still values Water Tribe more than anything.

Mau's are very vocal cats and often 'chirrup'. Their meows are a bit on the weird side - but it's been likened to a kind of 'singing'. Sooka herself as a decent voice when it comes to singing, but despite her breed's love for chattering, she is more on the quiet side and hardly ever engages in conversation willingly - let alone sings in front of anyone.

Mau's have a strange flap of skin on their back legs that allows them to put on random bursts of speed and accelerate quickly. Cheetah's have the same flap of skin, which enables them to chase down prey. Similarly, Sooka prefers to flat out chase prey rather than stalk it. However, because of her speedy frame, her legs appear long and slender, despite her slightly shorter than average height. This gives her proportions a bit of a weird look, but it's something she's willing to sacrifice for speed.

Sooka & Co. (c) ~ShhItsDark
#The-Golden-Butterfly (c) *Tzurai & ~Atalae