#runningredtiger

[egretwing]

redrunningtiger: the basics

ok so. for those interested in my divorced redrunningtiger polycule thoughts . . .

hi there @snailchaser-the-medicinecat (this amazing fanart) — i'm a slow reblogger too but here! my rambles on their origin story, since i wanted to write it anyway :)

** fair warning for brief discussion of Thistleclaw and Spottedleaf, as I'm keeping at least the gist of SPH in my rewrite **

find the immediate reworked family tree and notes in this post

my runningredtiger thoughts are under this tag

starting off with redtiger...

These two were the first to get together. They were apprentices at the same time for about a moon before Tigerclaw earned his full name. While Whitepaw and Tigerpaw were best friends, it didn't take long for Redpaw and Tigerpaw to grow close too. Within three moons of Redtail and Willowpelt's warrior ceremony, the toms quietly but happily became mates.

Redtail admired Tigerclaw's strength and vision, while Tigerclaw was drawn to Redtail's intentional optimisim and dedication to his family. They brought out each other's best qualities (cheesy, I know). Tigerclaw tended to focus too much on a glorious future while Redtail was full of anxious what-ifs — but they kept each other grounded in the present.

They were together only a few moons when the truth about Thistleclaw was revealed to the Clan. Whitestorm, Tigerclaw, and the three siblings had become warriors within the past year and were still close enough. They closed ranks quickly; as Thistleclaw’s son, apprentice, victim, and siblings . . . there were eyes on all of them. Thistleclaw was put immediately under strict and constant supervision while ThunderClan decided what to do with him, and he still,, managed to get in a skirmish and die like a loser before anything happened. (Not going into too much detail about this, but I will at some point because it's important to me and the gang's story)

And they lived happily ever after until the divorce :)) more on that later :))

now for runningred(tiger)...

While Redtail was attracted to Tigerclaw first because of his character, it was different with Runningwind. Redtail realized one day that huh, that lanky tabby is actually sort of cute, couldn't stop the thought from developing, had a bit of a crisis, then talked to Tigerclaw.

Long story short (bear with me, I'm still working on Runningwind's character pre-Sandstorm) — Redtail intentionally pursued and got to know Runningwind with Tigerclaw's blessing. Of course, there were challenges as Runningwind reciprocated Redtail's feelings and a new dynamic developed. But they were all happy, and Runningwind and Tigerclaw maintained a good friendship over their mutual partner.

the rest <3

Eight moons before Rusty joined ThunderClan, Redtail gave birth to Sandkit and her littermates. Unfortunately, only Sandkit survived, which was hardest on Tigerclaw. Redtail stayed in the nursery with her until she was weaned enough for him to return to his deputy duties, at which point Runningwind took over as nursery parent.

All seemed to be going well from the outside, but Tigerclaw and Redtail started fighting more after Sandkit was born. Redtail was never fully blind to Tigerclaw's more violent tendencies, but trusted and encouraged his mate to do what was good. Especially after seeing what came of Thistleclaw. Still, having a kit of their own opened Redtail's eyes to what Tigerclaw was truly becoming, even with Redtail and Runningwind at his side — and it scared him.

When Sandkit was only four moons old, Redtail was surprised to find that he was pregnant again. This spurred him to truly break it off with Tigerclaw. He still loved him, very much so, but the relationship was not good for either of them at that point. Redtail did not keep Tigerclaw from their kits, but he did make the stipulation that their time together had to be under supervision.

Time passed, and Sandkit became Sandpaw around the same time her brothers were born. Swiftkit (named by Runningwind, clearly) and Lynxkit were certainly bulkier than their older sister and both survived until apprenticehood — but that's a topic for a later date.

Also for later is the, y'know, murder. Because Runningwind may be spared from Tigerclaw's teeth, but Redtail was not. Still, they were happy while they lasted, and their legacy, both good and bad, continues on through their kits.

aight that's all for now ^^ i've got descriptions of the three kits plus a leopardfoot design queued up so be on the lookout for those! byee

[egretwing]

Sandstorm, Lynxtail, Swiftpaw

let's talk about what the runningredtiger babs look like! uhh i don't have art to share yet, and some specifics are yet to be figured out buuut let's go

Sandstorm

She takes most clearly from Redtail and Runningwind. She's a lithe mackerel tabby with thin stripes and green eyes like Runningwind, and has thick ginger fur from Redtail. Her dilute ginger fur is similar to her aunt Willowpelt's dilute torbie coat.

Lynxtail

He takes more after Tigerclaw and Redtail. He's large, stocky, and has big paws like Tigerclaw, although cats also argue that his heavyset features are from Sparrowpelt. Lynxtail's black-and-ginger torbie coat is from Redtail.

Swiftpaw

Although Swiftpaw is big like Tigerclaw, he's slender like Runningwind. He and Redtail both have thick, short fur, and matching amber eyes with a splash of black under their right. He's actually a mottled black cat, like Leopardfoot, but has harlequin-patterned white spotting (idk if this is accurate genetics but it's my AU lol)

[egretwing]

!! it's my runningredtiger family tree! it's part of my bigger warriors rewrite idea, which mostly focuses on family bonds <3

uhh some notes on the tree:

running and tiger are with red but not each other

i'm undecided on the name changes of halftail, one-eye, etc. so i'm using their og names for now

the three loves have their canon littermates, but are not related to their other canon siblings (e.g. red, spotted, and willow's parent has been changed to dapple and they're not related to patchpelt and leopardfoot)

yes i know lynx was named by su susann but look at him. he's so pretty. and sand deserves a younger brother before bramble and the rest come along <3

i also realize that swift was bramble and tawny's half-brother through goldenflower but. i love my family so-

bramble and tawny are still goldentiger kits! they get together sometime following redtail's, uh, untimely demise

hawk, moth, and tadpole exist as canon too, so sand is the oldest of like,, eight kits sksks

finally lynx survives because once again, i love him. also he asked to be named -tail in honor of the father he barely got the chance to know

aight that's all for now folks :) don't worry tho, i'll be back soon enough with my brain rot

(also feel free to send asks if anything piques your interest!)