Table of Contents
Physique and Personality
MangroveClan cats are unusually long-legged and have generally slender builds. Their fur is water-resistant and has a shiny sheen to it. All true-born MangroveClan cats have webbed paws and slightly hooked claws, perfect for swimming and fishing, though some cats of rogue descent lack these particular traits.
Though most MangroveClan cats appear to be dark-furred, they can be any color. Their appearance simply comes from their penchant for rolling in mud and algae (see Camouflage).
Most MangroveClan cats are relatively laidback, though they’re reserved around strangers. Due to the isolation of their tree and submerged territory, they rarely have a conflict with other Clans and, as such, tend to have good relationships with them. However, don’t be fooled by MangroveClan’s relaxed and friendly demeanor – they can become fiercely aggressive when the lives of their Clanmates are on the line. They also tend to be exceedingly prideful of their Clan and will instantly dislike anyone who says anything negative about it.
Territory
MangroveClan is situated in an area of submerged swamp. Massive cypress and tupelo trees create an interconnected series of branches and trunks that MangroveClan uses to traverse their territory, though many cats prefer to swim or root-hop, a game that consists of jumping from the roots of one tree to the other, trying to avoid getting wet. Many young cats enjoy this game, but many older warriors will participate in order to keep their muscles strong.
The camp is suspended from the trees of three bald cypresses that had grown so close together that their branches, interlaced with vines, became a platform-like area. MangroveClan cats take special pains in order to keep their camp trees healthy (see Traditions) and the first thing many apprentices are taught is how to repair the damaged camp with vines, branches, and other materials.
Because MangroveClan cats are adept at hunting both in trees and in the water, their main prey is waterfowl. Ducks, geese, grebes, and even the occasional swan if the cats are lucky. They also enjoy alligator eggs as a rare treat, though oftentimes it’s too dangerous to get ahold of the eggs at all. Strangely, MangroveClan cats will eat fruits as well as prey. Black alder, blueberries, and elderberries are popular treats for kits and apprentices.
Traditions
MangroveClan takes great pride in its heritage. Every night, every cat from the strongest warrior to the smallest kit will gather around the elders as they tell stories of MangroveClan’s past. Often apprentices will compete with each other to try and catch the favored prey of a certain elder so they will tell the apprentice’s favorite story.
Small disked frogs are kept in MangrvoeClan as pets of sorts. Warriors will tend to the little frogs and protect them from predators while the frogs will eat spiders and other pests that might harm kits, as well as release loud alarm calls when birds of prey, snakes, or invading cats appear.
The cats of MangroveClan also tend to the trees of their camp with religious zeal. They prune the dead leaves and use them for nests, hunt down any parasites to feed their nest frogs, and bury the innards of fish at the roots of the tree to fertilize it.
Camouflage
Because the swamp MangroveClan calls home is mostly dark brown and green, the cats will roll in mud and algae to disguise themselves while hunting and fighting. Due to this, their fur becomes sleek and shiny underneath, though many cats prefer to keep the camouflage on at all times. It’s not uncommon for a MangroveClan cat to be constantly plastered in mud.
Many MangroveClan cats use their camouflage as an artistic statement, though cats outside the Clan most likely cannot tell the subtle differences or meanings. Carefully using mud as the backdrop, cats will arrange algae around their fur to create designs unique to each cat. Mentors will often do designs for their apprentices, as will mothers for their kits, and mates will occasionally decide to match their designs.
Apprenticeship
Compared to other Clans, MangroveClan apprentices lead a relatively easy life. They spend much of their early apprenticeship collecting fruit, building material, and occasionally fishing for minnows. If they’re needed for patrols, they’ll gladly go along, but many warriors would prefer to go on double patrols than endanger young apprentices.
Once an apprentice reaches about three moons of training, they’re expected to start partaking in hunting patrols. They’ll have to prove to their Clanmates that they’re not afraid of their duties and can work well in a group. This phase of apprenticeship consists of learning to dive and hold their breath, tracking which fish and waterfowl are dangerous but tasty, and marking borders.
Nearing the end of the apprenticeship, young cats are expected to take part in fighting patrols. They’ll hone their skills, often learning the more dangerous moves like the Alligator Grip (see Fighting Style), and help their Clanmates chase off dangerous enemies like rogues, birds of prey, and snakes.
Becoming a warrior requires the apprentice to dive to the bottom of the swamp and seek out an alligator tooth. They’ll take the tooth and travel to the Star Flame, where they’ll have their first StarClan dream, and leave the tooth in the fire. When they return home, they will undergo a series of tests: correctly identifying poisonous versus edible berries, dive and catch large fish like trout and pike, and prove their strength in an exhibition match against their littermates or denmates. If they complete each task, the leader will name them as a warrior.
Mating Ceremony
MangroveClan cats see the swan as a sacred symbol of love. Long ago, Swanflight and Mangrovestar formed the Clan as a family and helped grow, pledging their eternal love to one another. In order to honor their legacy, modern-day MangroveClan cats will seek out swan feathers as gifts for their beloved.
Once a cat (usually the tom, though she-cats have also been known to do this) obtains the swan feather, they will seek out the fruit of a bobwood tree (alligator apples, though they’re also sometimes called love fruits by MangroveClan). Once the cat has both the fruit and the feather, they will present it to the cat they fancy underneath a clear night sky and ask them to be their mate.
If the cat accepts the proposal, the pair will share the alligator apple and then use the swan feather as the base of their nest. Once kits are born, the couple will place the feather in the nursery in order to introduce their kits into the world with love.
Kit Rearing
MangroveClan treasures their kits like nothing else. Family is extremely important to them, as the first cats of MangroveClan were one family – Mangrovestar, his mate Swanflight, and their kits Frecklefur, Icewhisker, and Lichenfrost. The Clan grew from there, each of the kits finding mates outside of the Clan and bringing them home to help build the Clan.
On the day a litter is born, each cat will bring a gift of some sort to the parents: feathers, berries, occasionally an alligator egg if the cats are particularly close. These gifts are to help the parents focus on each other and the kits rather than the mundane chores. Older apprentices will often take the place of a parent in patrols so they’re not risking themselves.
Both the mother and father are expected to care for the kits and be role models, even if the parents are no longer mates. Abandoning kits is considered one of the most despicable things someone can do. It’s not unusual for a cat who refuses to care for their kit to be shunned entirely out of the Clan, as family is one of the core values MangroveClan stands by.
Once a kit becomes an apprentice, the parental duties are shifted to the mentor, though parents are still expected to help their kit out. Mentors will often turn to the parents for advice on how to handle a stubborn apprentice and they generally work together as a unified team.
Fighting Style
MangroveClan has a deceptive fighting style, preferring ambush tactics from both the trees and the water. They use their camouflage to draw as close to their enemy as possible before striking, then deal as much damage as possible before disappearing underwater again.
A unique attack of MangroveClan is called the Alligator Grip. While lurking underwater, warriors will identify possible enemies on the shore and drift closer, careful not to disturb the water too much and give away their location. Once they’re directly under the enemy, they will lunge out of the water, hook their claws into the intruder, and drag them down.
The claws of a MangroveClan cat are slightly hooked and perfect for clinging to the enemy. While the enemy is struggling and likely running out of air, the warrior will bite down fiercely on the back of their neck until the enemy is rendered unconscious. Then it’s expected of the MangroveClan cat to bring the other cat out of the water, though many intruders have lost their lives this way.
Holy Practices
MangroveClan is unusual about their religious practices. While they believe in StarClan and seek their guidance, they also have a few peculiar beliefs about trees and alligators.
Trees, to MangroveClan, each have their own spirit just like cats. Each tree has a personality based on what kind they are: cypress trees are wise, oaks are prideful, birches are cunning, and so on. Additionally, if trees aren’t treated right they become wicked and rain down misfortune on cats who happen to displease them.
In order to prevent a tree from becoming wicked, a cat must never pluck a living branch off of it. They must never take fruit that has fallen on the ground (as it shall now become fertilizer for the tree’s roots) and they absolutely cannot dig underneath a tree or risk toppling it over. Trees that have water on their roots (like the ones in the swamp) are more resistant to becoming wicked, whereas trees with no water (like the ones in the forests) are more prone to being wicked.
Cats who have died are wrapped in the leaves of their favorite tree (usually cypress, as most MangroveClan cats adore their home tree) and placed at the roots, held down by rocks until they become fertilizer for the tree. This sometimes will “catch” the spirit of the cat, who will watch over the living cats for fifteen moons before returning to StarClan forever.
Alligators also play an important role in MangroveClan religion, but for a different reason. Unlike the trees, who are innately gentle but can be swayed, alligators are absolute and morally ambiguous. They kill only when necessary to punish cats, but can also seemingly destroy heroes and villains alike.
It’s said that when alligators eat cats, the cat will be trapped in the water until they themselves are reborn as an alligator. This is why when MangroveClan cats find a dead alligator, they remove the head and tend to it like they would another cat: wrapping it in leaves (willow and birch, usually) and laying it to rest under the nearest tree.
Though alligators are violent creatures, they’re also providers. Sickly kits will eat alligator eggs to regain strength and the meat of an alligator tail is rich and hearty. The teeth are used for apprentices to show their courage as well, and oftentimes cats will design their camouflage after a gator’s markings.
MangroveClan Legends
Icewhisker’s Journey
When MangroveClan was a fledgling Clan, Icewhisker was the only daughter of Swanflight and Mangrovestar. Unlike her brothers, she had no interest in settling down with a mate or having kits. No tom or she-cat ever caught her eye and each treated her with such mind-numbing respect and awe that she felt she could never just be herself.
It was Frecklefur’s mate, Frogslip, that finally pushed Icewhisker to leave. The she-cat wouldn’t stop gushing about her newest litter of kits and how it was such a shame that Icewhisker wasn’t “pretty enough to attract a good mate.” Icewhisker was furious, but Frecklefur was too scared to correct his mate. Thus, under the cover of darkness, Icewhisker left MangroveClan.
Icewhisker wandered for moons, never finding the place where she was meant to be. After settling for a few days, she would quickly grow restless and want to move again. She could never find whatever she was looking for, though she wasn’t even sure what that was in the first place, so she continued to wander.
One day, Icewhisker came to the den of a rogue. Unlike others, who preened and praised her, this tom was different. He gave Icewhisker a wary look and told her bluntly that she needed to leave.
Icewhisker was affronted and, after a brief argument, they began to fight. She had never been at such a disadvantage before: she was tall and muscular, but the tom was larger and stronger. Their fight was exhausting, stretching into the dusk and then into the next dawn. By the time sunhigh came again, both cats collapsed and were unable to fight.
Impressed by Icewhisker’s strength, the tom brought her to his den and introduced himself as Darky. He and Icewhisker lived together for a little while, hunting and fighting side by side, until one day they were attacked by a fox. Darky was wounded terribly and, knowing she had no other choice, Icewhisker carried Darky home to MangroveClan so the medicine cat could heal him.
Mangrovestar welcomed them immediately, acting as if Icewhisker had never left. The Clan praised Darky’s power and he joined the Clan as Darkbriar. Unlike the others, Darkbriar never pushed or insisted on becoming mates with Icewhisker. He was always brutally honest with her and, to her surprise, she found she’d fallen in love with him.
Icewhisker, with Darkbriar at her side, was finally where she wanted to be: in MangroveClan, with a mate who treated her like a real cat rather than perfection.
Lichenfrost’s Loyalty
Lichenfrost was a simple cat. He loved his mate, Pinestorm, and he loved his Clan. Unlike Frecklefur or Icewhisker, he wasn’t known as good or bad: he was just simply Lichenfrost.
However, Lichenfrost had one undeniable trait that made many cats admire him. He was unceasingly loyal to those he believed in. When Shademask, Pinestorm’s rival, attempted to sway him away from his mate with pretty words, he demanded she leave him alone. When cats demanded that Frecklefur be exiled, Lichenfrost stood beside his brother and refused. Thus Lichenfrost was known to be the most loyal cat in the swamps.
This loyalty would lead the poor cat to his demise.
Lichenfrost had four kits: Tansyheart, Dovefeather, Breezeheart, and Mooneye. He loved each of them fiercely and would stand by their side no matter what. However, Tansyheart was a wicked tom. He watched Darkbriar become deputy and then leader, envy and hate growing in his heart. Eventually, even Lichenfrost became an obstacle in his own son’s way: the tom had become deputy under Darkstar.
Together with Mooneye and several other cats, Tansyheart staged a coup. He attacked and brutally killed his own kin. Unable to lift a claw against his son, Lichenfrost could only watch in horror as Tansyheart ripped open his throat. Even as he fell and died, his last words to both Tansyheart and Mooneye were that he loved them.
Tansyheart’s plan failed and he fled, taking Mooneye with him. He treated his sister with the same scornful carelessness as he did the others, refusing to acknowledge her as his sister.
Meanwhile, Dovefeather and Breezeheart were left to pick up the pieces of their family. Pinestorm was so filled with grief that she died shortly after the battle, most likely due to a broken heart. Dovefeather was so filled with rage and thoughts of vengeance that he refused to rest until he could track down Tansyheart and kill him. Breezeheart begged for him to consider forgiveness, but Dovefeather knew his brother would never be satisfied and both of their hate would only grow.
Moons turned into seasons, and finally, Tansyheart returned. He brought with him rogues and traitors of every color, intent on killing Darkstar and taking control of MangroveClan. The battle was bloody and hard, and only after a long day of fighting was Dovefeather able to locate his brother. Blinded by rage, he raced after his former Clanmate. However, Tansyheart was cunning. He lured Dovefeather into a trap and, alongside three rogues, attacked!
Yet Mooneye, who had long suffered in silence, broke from the ranks. She shoved Dovefeather out of danger and, turning on Tansyheart, shouted that she wasn’t scared of him any longer and attacked him! Dovefeather could only watch hopelessly as his sister was killed at the claws of his brother and rogues.
Mooneye’s sacrifice was not in vain – MangroveClan reinforcements arrived and chased away the rogues. In the end, no cat killed Tansyheart. Dovefeather, weakened by his sister’s death, was unable to follow. Instead, as Tansyheart stepped in the water, he was pulled into the jaws of a waiting alligator and eaten alive.
Dovefeather finally listened to Breezeheart and forgave both his littermates for what they had done and, eventually, Darkstar saw his heart was free of hate once more and made him deputy.
Legendary Cats
Mangrovestar: The first leader of MangroveClan. Symbolizes courage and tenacity in stories
Swanflight: Mangrovestar’s leader. Symbolizes love and motherhood in stories
Frecklefur: Son of Mangrovestar. Symbolizes cowardice, considered an insult (“he’s nothing but a Frecklefur”)
Icewhisker: Daughter of Mangrovestar. Symbolizes someone who isn’t like the others, not an insult (“she’s just like Icewhisker – needs some time to find herself”)
Lichenfrost: Son of Mangrovestar. Symbolizes tragedy and loyalty
Frogslip: Mate of Frecklefur. Symbolizes someone who gossips constantly, considered an insult (“has Frogslip gotten into your blood or are you gonna shut up?”)
Darkstar: Mate of Icewhisker, the second leader of MangroveClan. Symbolizes honesty and integrity
Tansyheart: Son of Lichenfrost. Symbolizes betrayal
Dovestar: Son of Lichenfrost, third MangroveClan leader. Symbolizes revenge
Breezeheart: Daughter of Lichenfrost. Symbolizes forgiveness
Mooneye: Daughter of Lichenfrost. Symbolizes redemption