Goldenpelt

Appearance
Goldenpelt is a lean and large yellow tabby tom with golden-yellow eyes. He has a few paler markings and his stripes are sharp and a tad orange-tinted. He has the stereotypical "hero" body type, with a big, broad chest and a smaller waist. He is visibly muscular, having an angular, wide face, defined cheek bones with wide, pointed tufts of fluff, a prominent muzzle, and long, tufted ears. He has long, thick neck fur that stands up in spikes, with more weight on the upper spikes. The top of his head is smooth, his eyebrows are long and thin, his feet are square-shaped, and he has a punchable handsome face.

Personality
Goldenpelt is Field Colony’s prized envoy and a magnificently skilled ranger. It only seems natural that Goldenpelt will one day lead his Colony; Hazelfur and Forestleaf are getting up there in age, and they have already given the golden tom his fair share responsibilities. He is intelligent, charming, and charismatic, excelling in almost every field. Goldenpelt is the perfect role model to most, and while he is looked up to by many, he can’t help but feel like there are hardly any cats who are on his level. He appreciates their trust in him all the same, however, and hopes to live up to their expectations of him.

On a less positive note, Goldenpelt is also very ambitious and rather entitled — if he feels as though he deserves something, he will go after it no matter what... even if that something is another cat. He tries to do what he thinks is right, but being treated well and conditioned for success his whole life has warped his judgement. While noble and virtuous on the outside, Goldenpelt is in fact sly, arrogant, and keenly manipulative when it comes to getting what he wants, and will lie to himself as well as others to justify his own actions.

Pre-Series
Coming soon...

Synopsis
In Shifting Roots: Chapter 1, Goldenpelt does not have a speaking role or any major appearances. Near the beginning, as Field Colony makes their way across the tree bridge for the Moonlight Gathering, he can be seen walking beside and slightly ahead of Clayfur. He also makes an appearance at the end, and is the focus of the final shot, glaring coldly after Spottedshadow and Peach as they race each other off of the island, resenting the time Spottedshadow had gotten to spend with Wildfur and Dawnfrost.

Spottedshadow
Spottedshadow, born as Raven, has a very complicated and frequently-changing relationship with Goldenpelt. The two were both born in Field Colony, only one moon apart, as the youngest of their generation — and so, naturally, they spent a lot of time together during their kittenhood. Golden came to like Raven, as she was sweet and easygoing; a nice balance to his own bold passion and ambition. They befriended one another fairly quickly and remained close until they moved out of the nursery.

As new-claws, Golden and Raven were neck-to-neck in skill, and together they could ace any challenge. Golden’s mentor, Blackpelt, was Raven’s father, and so Golden and Raven trained together quite often. Their mentors liked making them compete to challenge each other. They enjoyed their little competitions, and while they were certainly rivals, they also considered themselves to be best friends. When Golden started taking advantage of his skill to get power and respect, however, Raven wasn't impressed. Raven’s ambivalence was the primary thing that kept Golden grounded, although he never would have admitted it aloud.

Golden was one of the first cats to notice the white spots appearing on Raven’s fur and point them out. She was briefly quarantined in the herb store, and while Golden was disappointed to lose his training partner for a short time, he wasn’t too concerned; he was confident that she’d be back in no time. After Raven’s mother died and she began regularly visiting the herb store despite her quarantine being lifted, however, Golden became worried. For weeks on end, he watched her grow closer and closer with the herbalist, Mistysnow, and fall behind on her training. He was upset about it, and it was really getting to him. He couldn’t bear the thought of Raven leaving him to train as an herbalist and the two of them never becoming rangers together. And so, finally accepting that he was developing strong feelings for her, he confronted her one day as she fetched herbs for Mistysnow. He confessed that he couldn't bear to live in a Colony where Raven wasn't a ranger beside him to help him be better and stay by his side. Raven was taken aback, but his words touched her, and she agreed to continue training as a ranger new-claw. She stopped helping Mistysnow and returned to her old duties. Golden was thrilled and relieved to have her with him again, but the impression it gave him was ultimately a bad thing — it gave Golden a feeling of control over Raven, and he now felt as though he could tell Raven to do anything and she would listen to him. She was his best friend, after all, and she’d already given up herbalist training for him; surely that was what it meant, right?

As time went on, however, things only went downhill. At Moonlight Gatherings, Raven began growing close with cats from other Colonies like Wild and Dawn. Golden was dismayed upon noticing this, disliking the concept that he alone was not good enough for her, and deciding that Raven was just too naive to understand the risks of inter-Colony friendships. He came to the conclusion that he would have to save her from herself, whether she liked it or not. This is when he began enlisting his friends to help him in his goal— to cut Raven off from her “dangerous” associates and keep her where he could have an eye on her at all times. He’d almost lost her once already, and he didn’t want her slipping out of his grasp again.

So, using the fact that he was looked up to and respected to get what he wanted, he told Fern, Jagged, and Vole to work for him, and the three other new-claws would spy on Raven, both during Moonlight Gatherings and on normal days. They would report back to Golden everything they saw or heard that they found to be worth noting. Raven caught onto his ploys quickly, however, and she was angry with him for it. They finally broke into a bitter and intense argument near the Oak Colony border that was only stopped once Dawn saw them and intervened. Dawn sent Golden back to his own base, but this event only steeled his resolve and doubled his belief that he was right. He’d been trying to do what was best for Raven, and yet her meddling Oak Colony friend had stepped in and turned him away without even knowing what they were fighting about. Golden and Raven’s relationship had soured drastically by the end of their time as new-claws, but Golden was still determined to “help” her regardless of what it took. He loved her, after all.

After earning their ranger names, there was still a long period of tension and uncertainty between Goldenpelt and the renamed Spottedshadow. Goldenpelt had himself convinced that he had her best interest at heart, but Spottedshadow was made uncomfortable by his advances and the strange, possessive mindset he seemed to hold over her. Once they each received a new-claw of their own, however— Goldenpelt with Timber and Spottedshadow with Night— they both decided to turn over a new leaf and try to be friends again. It was hard at first, especially for Spottedshadow, but Goldenpelt kept insisting that he cared about her and wanted only what was best for her, and she hesitantly allowed herself to open up to him again, forgiving him for his prior offenses.

Despite that, the brief spell of peace did not last long. On one occasion soon after Timberleg and Nightpool’s ranger ceremonies, Goldenpelt was following Spottedshadow and caught her meeting up once again with Dawnfrost at the border — something he had trusted that she would no longer do. Infuriated at his failure to contain her and frightened for her inability to comprehend what she was doing, he went straight to the Colony’s Second, Forestleaf, and told her what he had seen. He did not like going to such great measures, but he felt as though he had been left with no choice — and so he requested that Spottedshadow be prohibited from attending Gatherings until she had proven herself to be a loyal member of Field Colony. Forestleaf agreed to his suggestion, and Spottedshadow was banned from Gatherings for many moons to come.

Needless to say, this plunged their relationship into the rocks, and what they’d managed to mend was broken all over again. After that, Goldenpelt and Spottedshadow were barely even on speaking terms, and it was hard for them to so much as exchange words without devolving into a fight. Goldenpelt is unbothered by how unhappy he is making her, and he is positive that he is doing the right thing for the right reasons. He believes he is doing what is best for her, even though she can’t see it, and that she will thank him for it one day.

Goldenpelt truly does love Spottedshadow, but the things he admires about her (her kindness, thoughtfulness, and intellect) are also the things that threaten him. Both are kindred spirits, but want completely different things. Their ideologies contrast each other glaringly, and it’s a difference that neither one of them is prepared to overcome. If they were to ever get together, they would both have to do a lot of learning and growing first. Deep down, Spottedshadow still loves him, too — just not in the way he wants her to. She doesn’t return his romantic affections, and chances are that she never will. Goldenpelt, feeling like he deserves her love and should have earned Spottedshadow as his mate by now, will most likely never accept that of his own accord. It has been said that he would start a riot if Spottedshadow became mates with anyone else, even in Field Colony.

Missingfoot
Missingfoot was Golden’s original mentor, at that time named Blackpelt. Golden got along well with him, liking his relaxed training style and the fact that it meant he got to work more often with Raven.

When Blackpelt was mauled by a fox and lost his leg, Golden was very shaken and afraid that he would lose his mentor due to the severity of his injuries; but luckily, Mistysnow and Raven managed to keep him alive. Unfortunately, though, ‘alive’ wasn’t quite enough. He lost his right foreleg, and was unable to continue his duties as a ranger. He instead retired to the elders’ den with his name changed to Missingfoot, and Golden’s mentor was changed to Forestleaf.

Forestleaf’s training was harsh, and Golden missed the time that he’d spent with Missingfoot as his mentor. He never stopped visiting him in the elders’ den, though, even after earning his ranger name. Missingfoot is proud of the cat Goldenpelt is today, and Goldenpelt is always happy to keep him company and listen to his tales.

Forestleaf
When Missingfoot retired, Forestleaf took over Golden’s training, having been impressed by his skills. Since her first new-claw had left the Colony before completing his own training, she saw working with Golden as an opportunity to prove herself as an efficient mentor. Her training was strict and brutal with no room for failure. Forestleaf expected nothing less than perfection from the golden tom.

Golden missed the good old days, but he also knew that getting on Forestleaf’s good side would allow him to quickly advance his status in the Colony. Forestleaf was the Second, after all. He did his absolute best in training, and sure enough, his charm soon won her over and she became less tyrannical for the rest of his time as her new-claw.

After becoming a ranger, Goldenpelt found that Forestleaf still held him to very high standards — and he was pleased by it. It was a compliment, and it meant she thought highly of him. She has remained an “ally” of his if not necessarily a friend, and he was easily able to sway her into banning Spottedshadow from Gatherings.

Jaggedstripe
Jaggedstripe is one of Goldenpelt’s best friends and has been since they were kittens. Goldenpelt knows that Jaggedstripe idolizes him, and he takes it to heart. He does care about Jaggedstripe as a friend, but can’t help but think of him as somewhat beneath him — in intellect and in physical capacity, among other things.

And in spite of their seemingly tight friendship, Jaggedstripe has still fallen into the category of cats that Goldenpelt has manipulated and taken advantage of. When they were new-claws, Golden had no qualms using Jagged to spy on Raven under the guise that it was genuinely for her protection, and he later monopolized Jaggedstripe’s feelings for Fernface, compelling them to become mates in order to make himself and his supporters look better. Jaggedstripe is unaware of how he is being controlled, and only sees the good qualities in Goldenpelt. Goldenpelt knows this and does not feel any guilt for it. He doesn’t see why he should have to. What Jaggedstripe doesn’t realize can’t hurt him, can it?

Volefur
Volefur is another member of Goldenpelt’s inner circle of friends that he grew up with and now uses to further his own goals. There aren’t many details on their relationship specifically, as Volefur tends to hang mostly around Fernface, his sister, and lets her do most of the talking.

Volefur is also mates with Goldenpelt’s sister, Ambereyes. Their relationship is vague and complex, and it is unknown how Goldenpelt feels about it. He is the father of Timberleg, too, although he took little part in raising his son and likely does not feel one way or another about Goldenpelt having mentored him.

Fernface
Fernface is one of Goldenpelt’s closest and oldest companions. He may or may not be aware of her romantic feelings for him, but if he is, he doesn’t care; he simply regards her as a good and loyal friend. She is angered by how much he fawns over Spottedshadow, however, and has argued with him on a few occasions, trying to convince him to set her aside. He has always disregarded these complaints, though; how could Fernface possibly understand his feelings?

Those are not the only times she has pushed at the borders he’s set up for her, though. Sometimes Fernface will decide that she knows Goldenpelt so well that she’s aware of "what he really needs" even when he isn’t (coincidentally in a similar manner to how Goldenpelt feels about Spottedshadow), so she will set up something without him knowing. She was also unhappy when Goldenpelt told her to become mates with Jaggedstripe, but she did so anyways — ultimately, she always obeys him. So even though they clash a bit, as Fernface likes to take a more active role rather than staying as a follower, when all things are taken into account, she is the most loyal and effective of his supporters. He acknowledges that and is grateful for it, respecting and trusting her to get his jobs done well.

Ambereyes
Ambereyes is Goldenpelt’s sister, Volefur’s mate, and Timberleg’s mother. They are not at all on poor terms, but they aren’t particularly close, either. Amber and Golden were likely tighter as kittens, but Amber began distancing herself from her brother as a new-claw after seeing how he was manipulating others and pulling other cats into messes that weren’t theirs. She does not find his worrisome ways to be particularly harmful, but she recognizes the risk and prefers to stay at a safe tail’s length from Goldenpelt and his drama.

In spite of this, Goldenpelt and Ambereyes still love each other, and Goldenpelt was the best mentor he could be to her son, Timberleg. The fact that she keeps a healthy distance from him does not mean that the two of them don’t get along. They are on good speaking terms, and both want the best for each other, but they just don't have much in common.

Swift-tail
Swift-tail is Goldenpelt’s mother. Due to the early death of his father, she raised him and his sister alone, most likely doting on each of them and giving Golden good reason to respect her. She retired to the elders’ den before long, and Goldenpelt goes to see her often. She has been said to be extremely proud of him, and she loves him very much, glad that he was able to live up to his father’s name.

Timberleg
Timberleg was Goldenpelt's first new-claw as well as his nephew. He was trained mostly between Goldenpelt and Spottedshadow and is said to be close with both of them, wishing that they could overcome their differences and thinking that they could do much more good for the Colony together rather than apart.

Dawnfrost
Dawnfrost is an Oak Colony envoy and a close friend of Spottedshadow’s. While her relationship with Spottedshadow is not romantic as with Wildfur, in many ways Goldenpelt still sees her as just a much of a threat. In some cases, he's even more wary of Dawnfrost — she lives closer, has Spottedshadow's complete trust, and is more ambitious and clever than Wildfur. He considers Dawnfrost to be dangerous to his chances with Spottedshadow.

Their few interactions have not been pretty, either; as new-claws, it was Dawn who broke up the first major argument between Golden and Raven, and later on, it was a meeting between Spottedshadow and Dawnfrost that Goldenpelt spied on that pushed him to get her prohibited from Moonlight Gatherings.

Wildfur
Wildfur is a Marsh Colony tom whom Spottedshadow is very clearly in love with. Goldenpelt despises him and considers him a threat to both Spottedshadow and his own chances with her. He thinks Wildfur is “annoying” and wants to keep Spottedshadow away from him. As a new-claw, Golden heard from Marsh Colony new-claws that Wild had been responsible/murdered his own Colonymate, so when Golden sees Raven alone with him, he freaks out. No specific interactions between them have ever been mentioned or shown, but Wildfur has been said to hate Goldenpelt just as strongly.

Trivia

 * Goldenpelt has some of the most in-depth relationships out of all of the cats.
 * Goldenpelt is respected deeply, despite being a young ranger.
 * Tennelle originally created Goldenpelt simply as someone to give Spottedshadow’s character more depth, but since then he has become “sort of the villain of the whole thing”.