The Eterna

Miragewatcher is a rather lean cat, long and lanky in every aspect with light bones and tall ears. They stand at 10 inches tall, are 19 inches long excluding their tail, and are quite light at only 6 pounds.

In color, Miragewatcher is mostly silver and white, blending together almost seamlessly. They are patterned with black and dark red-brown striping patched across their pelt, and their fur is long and silky, but very light with no undercoat. Their appearance is tied together with a black nose, not unlike their darker stripes, and fire-like amber eyes.

Miragewatcher is a quick and graceful cat, relying more on speed, precision and agility than they do on strength or power. Their tendency toward more sporadic actions makes them less predictable, and they are a rather good swimmer. Their insensitivity to pain may make them more resilient and harder to disaude in battle, but it leaves an impact on their health and results in them unknowingly pushing too far.

+ Observant + Calm + Patient + Conscientious + Resourceful

Much like their name, there is no doubting Miragewatcher is an enigma. They seem as though they might hail from another reality, with their minimal acknowledgment of what should be pleasurable and little emotion expressed. While there is no apparent maliciousness in their gaze, and they rarely express active intent to harm, their sheer inactivity in trying to prevent harm can be alarming. Their disinterest in the upset or distress of others proves only more unsettling.

This is not to say they express nothing; Miragewatcher is no empty, haunting shell. But many might suggest it would be better if they were. Miragewatcher has been known to show great curiosity and unpredictability, but the focus of this has always been no less concerning than their detachment.

Their curiosity is often morbid, or at the least concerning, experimental. Displays of affection are rarely more than Miragewatcher trying to figure out what others enjoy about them so much, and their interest in the darker sides of life has gotten them into compromising situations. They may not seek to harm, but they are not opposed to watching it. In fact, such things bring about a rarer show of fascination.

But Miragewatcher is not all bad; not necessarily. They may be unpredictable and see rules as more of a suggestion than anything, but they are hard-working and will not leave a job unfinished. They may be disinterested in socializing and certainly lack the social skills to make it pleasant, but they show a surprising dedication and loyalty to those who worm themselves in. Skills of observation earned Miragewatcher their name, and their calm, patience, and resourcefulness can make the best of any situation.

Over the moons, Miragewatcher has distanced themself from certain clan traditions and formalities. One of these is the insistence of calling themself simply by Mirage, and the encouragement of others to do the same. Although Miragewatcher will still respond to their full warrior name, at least not much less than their tendency to respond at all, their self-introduction rarely surpasses Mirage, unless their full warrior name is demanded.

Miragekit, Hyacinthkit, and their three littermates were born of a rather intentional breach of the warrior code. Having come together during the Saber-Coyote alliance of the Great War, Squirrelpool of Coyoteclan and Pantherfang of Saberclan deemed each other the perfect candidates for strong offspring. It was not a love match, and this had never troubled them. The breach in code was discovered early on, a fact neither parent made an effort to deny, and it was decided between the leaders that the kits would be split between the two clans at the age of two moons. It was to strengthen the alliance, they had said; but as her direct kin, Ivystar saw claiming the kits as her right, while Tigerstar saw his rights to bolster his ranks through the fact they were born within his borders.

It was hardly a moon and a half into their life that Eagleclan attacked. It should have been a normal raid, weakening Coyoteclan through a direct attack on hopefully sleeping warriors and precious herb stores. But Rapidstar's rogues were not glued to the same path, and two targetted the nursery instead. Two kits were killed, and the remaining three were seized. Miragekit was left in silent shock in an unfamiliar place, watching her third sibling fade with the understanding she too would never wake. The only words she spoke from then and on for a moon were to her remaining brother.

"Are you going to sleep forever too?"

Upon their rescue, the two kits were rushed immediately to the medicine den. Where Hyacinthkit suffered horrid nightmares in the wake of the attack, Miragekit spent her time in the medicine den in eerily calm silence. Her non-reactance to the surface wounds she had acquired were attributed to shock, but little did anyone know something more was hidden beneath the surface.

A little more than a quarter moon into their recovery, Squirrelpool's anxiety and paranoia over the attack spiked to the point that she stole the kits away as the clan slept. The next moon of their lives was spent being moved all about Coyoteclan territory, with even the occasional straying beyond the borders. Certain that no one else could be trusted, only her sister Voleheart was privy to her nesting sites, upholding a promise to bring prey and help transport the kits in secret. But this was not a promise Voleheart could keep forever. Noticing the worsening stress and malnourishment of the kits, she made the difficult choice to go against her sister's wishes, bringing her apprentice along to retrieve the kits under the pretense of guarding them for Squirrelpool. The kits were hurried to the medicine den for a second time.

Catering to kits had never been Yarrowpelt's intention, so by the age of three moons, she made certain to put the siblings to good use. What began as simple tasks with hints of manipulation became full exploitation over the two coming moons. Having grown into her words and out of mindless obedience, Miragekit found herself skipping out on her supposed "duties" more and more often to observe the apprentices and entertain her other, less practical curiosities. Consequences and opinions had become something insignificant to Miragekit, and by her fifth moon, it was clear to Yarrowpelt that there was little she could do to keep the kit under her claw.

There were many possible reasons to why Ivystar chose to claim Miragekit, from the practical reason of Hyacinthkit seeming more invested in healing, to the shallower reason of her silvered pelt better reflecting Ivystar's own; but whatever that reason, Miragekit was collected by her father and brought to Saberclan. Not even her wilful nature or desire to remain with her brother could divert this fate, but Pantherfang's promise to keep the siblings in touch abated her resistance.

With little knowledge of the kit’s past and what she had been through, and only a moon of her being within Saberclan’s borders, Miragepaw’s mentor had little warning for the strange and wilful youth he was assigned. However, with some effort to decipher their apprentice's strange moods and actions as well as they could, Miragepaw's mentor found her to be hard-working, observant, and surprisingly resourceful. Even so, the apprentice remained an enigma, the first few moons of training showing sporadic attendance, strange interests, and an increasingly detached demeanor.

Miragepaw was seven moons old when Pantherfang finally made good on his promise. Refusing to take no for an answer, he brought his daughter along on an alliance patrol to Saberclan's camp, allowing Miragepaw the opportunity to slip away. While the young apprentice showed little interest in greeting her mother, she was quick to seek out her brother, and just as quick to find out how much he had changed. She had already known in their later kithood that he was quite different from her, but by then it was clear she was not the only one with more beneath the surface. For Hyacinthpaw, it seemed that was truly literal.

By nine moons, Miragepaw had truly settled into their own self, with the revelation of their new pronouns being made known first to Hyacinthpaw and all they consisted of, before being revealed in turn to their mentor and father. Although it was more of an adjustment for the other two toms in their life, they both came to terms with it, and Miragepaw's refusal to respond to feminine terms soon set this change in permanence for the rest of the clan. Miragepaw was not one to shy away from being themself.

It was another moon before the incidents alluding to Miragepaw's strange pain insensitivity culminated into something undeniable. A curiosity-driven excursion beyond the border, following the scent of a recently departed coyote, resulted in a scene that would surely haunt any sane cat. Miragepaw successfully located the coyote, but their intention to merely observe ended in an attack that could have cost them their life had the apprentice trailing along in hopes of dissuading them not intervened. With pure morbid curiosity, Miragepaw had found themself watching the scene of their denmate's death with fascination, not feeling their own injuries and undisturbed by the blood.

Miragepaw was found weak from blood loss and sporting an injury that ought to have had them howling in pain, yet it was with calm detail that they attempted to recite the scene before passing out, sparing their clanmates the goriest details. Miragepaw was returned to camp unconscious and denied the request to see the body upon waking on account of their injuries, and the disturbing clarity that it was curiosity and not guilt or mourning that drove their intention. It took some effort to keep Miragepaw confined to the medicine den for healing, the apprentice insistent upon the clearing over their head that they felt perfectly fine. They ought to have been in a lot of pain, never once having requested poppy seeds.

As Miragepaw grew into their warrior rank as Miragewatcher, it became clear that this insensitivity to pain was more of a curse than a blessing. Not feeling their injuries and unphased by blood or a little muscle resistance, the warrior required frequent checks to make sure they were in good condition. Alongside that, other cats would monitor their eating, aware of their inability to feel hunger pains and tendency to get carried away with their tasks. There were even those that would draw Miragewatcher into shelter when the heat or cold got too risky for their sleeker pelt and light frame.

In the end, however, it was only their sibling that Miragewatcher would willingly meet regularly for inspection. Truthfully, it was an excuse to see the one cat they cared about; especially considering Saberclan was not without their own medicine cat. But their sibling in all their alters were the only ones who could acquire nearly total cooperation from Miragewatcher. It was this fact that resulted in some leniency toward the visits, if only for the sake of avoiding a strong warrior disregarding their wellbeing.