Flare [COMPLETED]

Flare is compassionate and selfless, perhaps a little too much. All he wants to do is take care of others, even at the detriment of himself. When he knows somebody is in danger, he can't just sit back and do nothing! He'll fight off a fox to protect a stranger by himself if he has to!

Flare has this unfortunate habit of making decisions for others. He has good intentions and always has their best interests at heart! It's just. Sometimes he takes the phrase 'what they don't know can't hurt them' a little too close to heart. If he knows something or THINKS he knows something that he knows or THINKS he knows will hurt somebody, he'll keep it to himself and try to solve the problem by himself.

He hates seeing others tense or upset. If it's not a problem he can immediately fix, he tries to lighten things up with bad jokes. For not being a dad, he has the dad jokes on lock and key! We're talking bad puns, goofy facial expressions and gestures, the whole lot!

In short: Flare's a himbo. A goofy lovable himbo.

Flare's mother was named Violet, a former kittypet. His father, Jay, once a traveling loner. Violet's housefolk were the kind that took in injured strays until they healed, then released them. That's how she met Jay!

Jay had gotten into a fight with a couple of alley cats and Violet found him dragging himself to safety. She brought him to her housefolk. Jay was the prideful kind of loner though, and refused to touch the kittypet slop the housefolk fed him. He wasn't very nice to Violet either, always dismissing her or ignoring her.

That changed when she brought him fresh-kill and threw a bloody mouse at his face. Literally.

Their relationship warmed up after that, and grew warmer with every piece of prey Violet brought him. Jay wasn't the kind of cat to verbalize his feelings. He also wasn't the physically affectionate type of cat. No, Jay expressed his feelings through stories. He'd been a traveler since he was old enough TO travel, and he told stories of everything he'd seen.

Jay told Violet about mountains that were taller than the tallest tree, cats the size of monsters, and even a body of water so large you couldn't see the other side. And when he healed enough to move around, he trained her. He improved her hunting and even started teaching her some fighting moves, though it was clear her heart wasn't in that. Killing prey was one thing. Hurting another cat was a different story.

Oddly enough, he didn't mind. He liked the idea of protecting her.

They inevitably became mates, and Violet became pregnant. She thought her housefolk would take care of her. She thought their kits would be raised kittypets in the neighborhood. She was wrong.

Her housefolk abandoned the two cats in the middle of a forest and left them there, her noticeably pregnant and him still healing. It was a good thing Jay had healed enough to hunt because Violet was in no shape to, physically or mentally.

When the time came, Violet gave birth to a single tomkit. They named him Flare, for his coat. Flare was a regular kit for the first couple moons of his life. He was curious about the world and wanted to get his paws on everything. Violet didn't let him leave the clearing they lived in for three moons, even when Jay was there to keep him out of trouble.

When he was weaned, Jay started teaching him to hunt. Flare got the hang of it fairly quickly, soon becoming an even better hunter than Violet. And when his mother deemed him old enough, Jay started teaching him to fight.

This, Flare had troubles with. It wasn't like with Violet, not wanting to hurt other cats. Flare WANTED to learn! It just. Didn't come easily to him. And it frustrated him to no end because if he couldn't fight then he couldn't protect Violet. If he couldn't protect Violet then what good was he?

When he felt old enough he left his childhood home to move into his own den. It wasn't too far though! He could still see his parents every day if he wanted. But he wanted his own independence, his own freedom, his own privacy!

And well. His parents got enough privacy of their own that less than a full turn of the seasons later they welcomed their second litter. Three kits, two ginger toms like him and a little tortoiseshell she-kit. He was given the honor of naming the first born. Flare named his oldest baby brother Gale, after the way he squealed when Flare nudged him with his nose.

Violet named the next eldest Spider, after his long legs. Jay took a few heartbeats to name his only daughter, and simply said, "Melody. Her name is Melody."

With the new kits, Flare moved his den closer than before. He took turns with Jay on who was hunting and who was guarding the vulnerable kits. And when the kits could eat fresh-kill, he watched over them by himself.

When the kits were three moons old and he was watching over them, a fox came upon the family, and Flare fought it off while his siblings hid. Luckily his parents weren't too far away and heard the commotion. Jay helped Flare fight the fox while Violet guarded where the kits were hiding.

Since then the three of them had a bit of hero worship for their big brother, and. Well. Flare can't say it bothers him when they beg him for stories or training or just to stick around. Since then not a day has gone by that he hasn't seen his family.

Fluffy ginger tabby tom
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