Quint

The Mouse Catchers' ultra-skilled pariah with everything to prove and little to lose. One of the main characters of Clowders & Claws.

Basic Info

Name: Quint

Age & Birthdate: Adult (>2 years)

Identity: Genderqueer demisexual intersex cat

Vi Color: Orange (fear)

Allegiances & Ranks: Mouse Catchers (Hunter)

Personality & History

Personality

Quint is polite on the surface, but quite judgemental underneath it. He likes to use rules to his advantage (such as stopping a friend from being attacked by bringing up the "no battles" rule) but is just as frequently on the punishing end. Quint carries deep anger and fear within him, though he tries his best to appear calm and in control. He can be very stubborn and is skilled at holding grudges.

Hobbies and Interests

• Tree climbing
• Hunting

Mannerisms

• Quint rarely moves his tail. Others view him as cold or having a flat affect because of this, and complain that he is hard to read.
• Quint speaks formally even when with close friends. His speech pattern is generally dramatic.

History

Summary

Quint was born in the Mouse Catchers and raised by Eklis, one of their Heads at the time. After making a deal with Tabith to secure leadership of the clowder, she betrayed him, exploiting Mouse Catcher Law to prevent him from ever receiving a leadership position. Quint vowed to take his rightful position and get revenge on Tabith, but as his plans caused more and more harm, he learned that some things are more important than power.

Detailed History

• When Quint was born, something off about him was noticed right away. He was to be culled, but Eklis stopped the Healers before it could happen. She chose him as a successor, assuming that because he didn't smell like a tomcat or a mollie, he wouldn't have heats or desire sex, and would be an impartial judge for matchmaking. She trained him harshly and discouraged him from associating with other cats.
• Despite Eklis's discouragement, Quint made one close friend: a dark-furred kitten named Keth. They met in secret.
• After Eklis's death, Quint approached Nik, knowing that he was meant to take her position. Nik refused. Enraged, Quint brought a deal to Tabith, who Nik had recently ordered to kill her only son: they would kill Nik and blame it on the other clowders, then rule together. After killing Nik, Tabith betrayed him, exploiting Mouse Catcher Law to prevent him from ever becoming a Head. Keth, who aided in the plan, stood by Tabith, who by this point was her unofficial mate. Quint disavowed both of them and swore vengeance.
• When Snobal, Tabith's son, had an illicit affair that resulted in the birth of a litter, Quint was one of the first to find out. He approached Tabith, attempting to blackmail her. He aided in the recovery of the kittens when their mother, Aster, fled with them, but it came at a cost: Aster and Snobal's lives.
• Because the altercation involved all three clowders, an Interclowder Trial was held. It was ruled that the three kittens would be split up among the three clowders. Quint took in the Mouse Catchers' kitten, Tinel, as his blackmail-gained prize.

Relationships

Allies

• Eklis: Eklis saved Quint from being culled and raised him. He owes his life to her. But as time passes, he doubts what she taught him.
• Keth: Quint and Keth used to be friends until she chose Tabith over him. He still brings her feathers sometimes, but he knows he can never trust her unless she leaves Tabith.
• Tinel: Quint thought little when he blackmailed Tabith into letting him raise the next Head-to-be. But when he looked into Tinel's eyes after watching her mother drown, the true responsibility he had taken on hit him. Despite trying to use Eklis's training methods on her, he was unable to follow through. Instead, he decided to become the cat he wished he knew as a kitten.

Foes

• Tabith: Quint holds a strong grudge against Tabith for betraying him after the coup. He viewed her as irrational and overly-trusting due to her relationship with Nik, so it came as a shock. Now, he knows she's a lying traitor.

Misc

• Quint is on the agenital spectrum! Specifically, he has ovarian aplasia and fallopian hypoplasia (basically: he has no ovaries and his fallopian tubes are small). This is why he doesn't have a 'tom' or 'mollie' smell. His clowder decided to consider him a 'tom' because they had no idea what to do, and figured that since he never went into heat, he "couldn't be considered a mollie." (Yikes!)
• Quint himself identifies strictly as a cat, rather than as a tom or mollie. He has no actual pronoun preference, but is used to being referred to by he/him.
• I associate him with Never Good Enough by Citizen Soldier and Alligator Blood by Nicole Dollanganger.