Cat Name : Hollowpaw → Hollowgrove
Clan : Shadowclan
What are the duties of a medicine cat? : In-character, the primary duties of a medicine cat are to help the weak and mend the broken of their Clan, and any cat for that matter. They are bound by oath to assist those who need it, and share tongues with Starclan regularly in order to be warned of misfortune that may be coming. They also take apprentices to the moonstone to allow them to receive the wisdom of their ancestors before they receive their warrior name. They also give up a life of having a mate and kits to be able to prioritize their Clan and their needs, setting aside familial bonds to the maximum that they can to give impartial treatment to all clanmates. It is up to them to interpret omens and prophecies from StarClan, and tell their leadership of whatever news they learn. They are also there to manage a Clan's herb stores, and are able to act as a neutral ambassador between Clans as they are given amnesty to travel across borders.
Out-of-character, a medicine cat is a member of the clan's HR team. They are expected to attend monthly medicine cat meetings with their character on the 15th of every month, as well as attend the normal gatherings, and post regularly in activity checks. It is also a large part of a medicine cat's duty to be available for plotting purposes. These plotting purposes can include simple topics with characters in the medicine den after they've been injured or reacting to some troublesome kits deciding they would like to invade. Additionally, part of being available for plotting purposes means that the roleplayer gives a bit of sacrifice on the freedom of their character as they are required for these plot roles as a high rank. Some of that control must be relinquished in order for approved plots to play out, such as a medicine cat receiving a certain prophecy or acting in a way they may not typically do so. Furthermore, they are expected to post moonstone journeys in a timely manner for apprentices, as it is their version of "ceremony" management. Ultimately, a medicine cat will also take on an apprentice, and will teach their MCA the systems that come with being a High Rank. Some clan HR teams may also delegate responsibilities to the roleplayer such as maintaining a visual allegiance list or HR surveys.
What would you do with this position? : At this time, my biggest draw for applying Hollowpaw to be Shadowclan's medicine cat apprentice is the in-character drama that it would involve. As far as Hollowpaw knows, she is a kit born to Swiftheart and Shadowclan's deputy, Sablestrike. As far as Leopardstar knows, her entire litter was rogue-born, and taken in by the aforementioned cats. Though, in reality, she is the daughter of the current Shadowclan medicine cat, Heatherberry. There has not yet been a true in-character reveal to the rest of the Clan about this litter's heritage, and I think it would be extremely interesting to roleplay this out in-character. How would Heatherberry react to having her daughter called to be her apprentice? How long would it be until StarClan gave Hollowpaw the truth about her lineage? How would the reveal impact Shadowclan? There is a lot of in-character tension that this mentor-apprentice pair has that I think would continue to strengthen Shadowclan's in-character "spice," and continue to give the Clan a bit of life following the Clanwide.
Outside of the in-character fun, personally, I would do my best to continue in Fly's footsteps and make Hollowpaw a fun, worthy medicine cat. I would make Hollowpaw as available as possible for plotting purposes and development topics, as I believe that a Clan is only as active as its leadership team. I think that Medicine Cats haven't had a true chance to shine in awhile, and I would like to create some fun with this role. I think that not many medicine cats end up revealing their prophecies to leadership, and that would be one of the biggest things that I would do with Hollowpaw: reveal prophecies. Getting to carry out the in-character investigation to fully comprehend what prophecy was received has the opportunity to involve many roleplayers of the site, and I would love to be able to do so. I would also be sure to post moonstone journeys on-time, as that is the biggest part of the role that can impact other roleplayers and gridlock them.
Why you think you deserve this position? : To keep it short and sweet: This isn't my first rodeo. My most recent high rank was Mottlestar of Thunderclan, in which I stepped down as I realized that it was becoming a conflict of interest in being on staff for the site, and that I had lost muse for Mottlestar. I would also like to bring that up as another reason: I will not hold onto a role if I am no longer fit for it. I know we have all experienced, in one way or another, a somewhat-inactive HR team that has made it extremely hard to progress characters. If I fell into a pattern of being unable to uphold my duties, I would cede them immediately to give way to someone who can actually upkeep them. I have particularly high standards for myself and in terms of what I accept, and this role would be no different. My last medicine cat, Myrtledove, was sacrificed during the Dark Forest sitewide. I particularly want to have a medicine cat as I missed out on getting to enjoy the Starclan element of the role the last time I held the position, as Starclan was gone the entire time Myrtledove was a medicine cat apprentice and a medicine cat.
I know that I have just stepped down as an administrator from the site, and I fully welcome that as reason to be asking "are you sure you want to go for medicine cat already?" to which I say - yes! In being trusted enough to become a site administrator, I feel that I can be trusted with the role of medicine cat. There would be a short amount of time (as is with any appointed medicine cat apprentice) between the time I am (hopefully) chosen, and when Hollowpaw would officially step into the role. That window of time would mean that I would be fully past graduation and able to give the site my full focus as I set Hollowpaw and Shadowclan up for success! Having stepped down from staff and taken the time to process what I needed to, there are several lessons that I have learned and can apply to being a high rank for Shadowclan.
I also know that I already work well with the rest of Shadowclan's HR team. Given that it is currently comprised of Holly, Romantica, and Flybot, I have worked alongside all of them in the past as members of staff! It's important to a Clan to also get along with the rest of your HR team, and that is something that I know for sure for Shadowclan!
Thank you for taking the time to read this essay! Whoever gets chosen as Shadowclan's medicine cat apprentice, I look forward to seeing what they do with the role!
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