Clay is a very well-mannered not-cat, who goes to great lengths to help those around her feel happy and comfortable. Because she is observant and disciplined, she quickly picks up new skills and talents. Though she is far too polite to brag, the sheer confidence with which she takes on new challenges makes it clear she has excellent self-esteem.
She works as the town baker and is hugely popular for it. She happily shares all the little tips and tricks she uses to give her breads and pastries that little bit of extra "oomph", though she insists the most important ingredient is love. She is always happy for anyone to come help her out at the bakery, whether for the sake of improving their own skills, or even just for fun!
Though prim and proper on the surface, she secretly enjoys reading weird, trashy romance novels. She has a big pile of them stashed away somewhere in the village. Hopefully no one randomly happens upon her signed edition of The Mercat's Lagoon while she's busy elsewhere ...
She works as the town baker and is hugely popular for it. She happily shares all the little tips and tricks she uses to give her breads and pastries that little bit of extra "oomph", though she insists the most important ingredient is love. She is always happy for anyone to come help her out at the bakery, whether for the sake of improving their own skills, or even just for fun!
Though prim and proper on the surface, she secretly enjoys reading weird, trashy romance novels. She has a big pile of them stashed away somewhere in the village. Hopefully no one randomly happens upon her signed edition of The Mercat's Lagoon while she's busy elsewhere ...
Background:
Clay was born in the village of Strawberry, one of the firstborn children of Ulli and Gundula, alongside her littermate, Finn. The two soon became the older siblings of many more little babies, and although Clay enjoyed the liveliness and good cheer in the ever-expanding family, the responsibilities of being an older sibling began to wear on her a little bit after a while, and she found herself daydreaming about moving somewhere quieter, where she could focus on herself and forge her own adult identity.
Once she was ready, she posted an ad on the recruitment board in Gardenhome Town Hall, where she asked to be relocated to somewhere nice and quiet. Doe soon invited her to come live in Little Respite, a small village located a little out of the way, which was quite young and growing slowly. Clay thought this sounded delightful, and the very next day, she took her little suitcase in her mouth and was on her way.
In Little Respite, Clay learned to live on her own for the very first time. The cozy smalltown atmosphere gave her time for reflection and truly getting to know herself outside of who she was to her family. For a while, she felt a little bit aimless, drifting between jobs and hobbies, but she soon found she had a passion for baking! As Little Respite did not yet have a bakery at the time, Clay was excited to be the first to bring fresh bread and tasty pastries to all of her neighbors. Her baked goods quickly became very popoular, and Clay finally felt like she had truly found her place in her new home.
While Clay had been testing out different jobs, she had also met Goldmoon, who worked in the community garden, and the two fell in love. When the other not-cats of Little Respite started talking about having kittens, Clay and Goldmoon decided to join in, and among the first generation of the town's kittens appeared little Garden and Frostmorn. Clay's life became a little less calm again with the two of them around, but now that she had found her own way in life and was no longer just someone's big sister, she found that she was ready to hear the sound of little kitten paws pitter-pattering after her wherever she went once again!
Clay eventually acquired an apprentice at the bakery in the form of Beth, an extremely anxious not-cat from the Twinkling Clearing, who came to stay at Little Respite for a while to catch a breather from all the goings-on in their home village - and maybe even make some friends. Clay did her very best to not only be a good mentor to Beth, but also a friend to rely on for anything they would need during their stay. When Beth fell in love with someone in Little Respite, they decided to extend their stay to raise a litter of beans with their new partner, and Clay promised they could remain as her apprentice at the bakery for as long as they'd like. Clay also helped Beth and their partner out with babysitting and childcare as often as they needed, drawing on her own experience as a first-time parent.
Unfortunately, her time with Beth was cut short, as upon reaching adolescence, Frostmorn attempted to run away from home in search of information about Goldmoon's mysterious hometown of Bugsville. All their life, Clay and Goldmoon had attempted to dissuade them from taking any interest in the place, as the locals were terribly reclusive - and according to legend, even dangerous - but Frostmorn had made up their mind. Not about to let her child walk such a treacherous path alone, Clay decided to go with them and remain by their side, come what may.
After traveling all over and encountering many a dead end in their research, Frostmorn managed to talk Clay into allowing them to visit some of the towns a little closer to the depths of the forest where Bugsville lay. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Frostmorn happened to bump into someone who had recently left the village at a tavern in the area, and after hearing a firstpaw account of the village and why the stranger had left - from someone far more brutally honest about the whole ordeal than Goldmoon had ever dared to be - the gravity of the situation finally seemed to dawn on Frostmorn. They sheepishly told Clay they had heard enough and asked her to take them home. Clay breathed a sigh of relief.
On the way home, the two of them bumped into Frostmorn's childhood friends, as well as Garden. While Clay and Frostmorn had been on the road, Frostmorn had grown up, and their littermate and friends had as well, and the little group was now headed out to see the world. Frostmorn jumped at the chance to join them, ready for another (much less scary) adventure! Clay said her farewells to both of her children, and returned home alone to reunite with Goldmoon and Beth.
Clay was born in the village of Strawberry, one of the firstborn children of Ulli and Gundula, alongside her littermate, Finn. The two soon became the older siblings of many more little babies, and although Clay enjoyed the liveliness and good cheer in the ever-expanding family, the responsibilities of being an older sibling began to wear on her a little bit after a while, and she found herself daydreaming about moving somewhere quieter, where she could focus on herself and forge her own adult identity.
Once she was ready, she posted an ad on the recruitment board in Gardenhome Town Hall, where she asked to be relocated to somewhere nice and quiet. Doe soon invited her to come live in Little Respite, a small village located a little out of the way, which was quite young and growing slowly. Clay thought this sounded delightful, and the very next day, she took her little suitcase in her mouth and was on her way.
In Little Respite, Clay learned to live on her own for the very first time. The cozy smalltown atmosphere gave her time for reflection and truly getting to know herself outside of who she was to her family. For a while, she felt a little bit aimless, drifting between jobs and hobbies, but she soon found she had a passion for baking! As Little Respite did not yet have a bakery at the time, Clay was excited to be the first to bring fresh bread and tasty pastries to all of her neighbors. Her baked goods quickly became very popoular, and Clay finally felt like she had truly found her place in her new home.
While Clay had been testing out different jobs, she had also met Goldmoon, who worked in the community garden, and the two fell in love. When the other not-cats of Little Respite started talking about having kittens, Clay and Goldmoon decided to join in, and among the first generation of the town's kittens appeared little Garden and Frostmorn. Clay's life became a little less calm again with the two of them around, but now that she had found her own way in life and was no longer just someone's big sister, she found that she was ready to hear the sound of little kitten paws pitter-pattering after her wherever she went once again!
Clay eventually acquired an apprentice at the bakery in the form of Beth, an extremely anxious not-cat from the Twinkling Clearing, who came to stay at Little Respite for a while to catch a breather from all the goings-on in their home village - and maybe even make some friends. Clay did her very best to not only be a good mentor to Beth, but also a friend to rely on for anything they would need during their stay. When Beth fell in love with someone in Little Respite, they decided to extend their stay to raise a litter of beans with their new partner, and Clay promised they could remain as her apprentice at the bakery for as long as they'd like. Clay also helped Beth and their partner out with babysitting and childcare as often as they needed, drawing on her own experience as a first-time parent.
Unfortunately, her time with Beth was cut short, as upon reaching adolescence, Frostmorn attempted to run away from home in search of information about Goldmoon's mysterious hometown of Bugsville. All their life, Clay and Goldmoon had attempted to dissuade them from taking any interest in the place, as the locals were terribly reclusive - and according to legend, even dangerous - but Frostmorn had made up their mind. Not about to let her child walk such a treacherous path alone, Clay decided to go with them and remain by their side, come what may.
After traveling all over and encountering many a dead end in their research, Frostmorn managed to talk Clay into allowing them to visit some of the towns a little closer to the depths of the forest where Bugsville lay. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Frostmorn happened to bump into someone who had recently left the village at a tavern in the area, and after hearing a firstpaw account of the village and why the stranger had left - from someone far more brutally honest about the whole ordeal than Goldmoon had ever dared to be - the gravity of the situation finally seemed to dawn on Frostmorn. They sheepishly told Clay they had heard enough and asked her to take them home. Clay breathed a sigh of relief.
On the way home, the two of them bumped into Frostmorn's childhood friends, as well as Garden. While Clay and Frostmorn had been on the road, Frostmorn had grown up, and their littermate and friends had as well, and the little group was now headed out to see the world. Frostmorn jumped at the chance to join them, ready for another (much less scary) adventure! Clay said her farewells to both of her children, and returned home alone to reunite with Goldmoon and Beth.
Social circle: [The Book Club]
- Goldmoon: Clay's partner. Clay's confidence and strength of character helps to soothe Goldmoon's nervous tendencies, and the two are very soft and sweet with each other. They are both hopeless romantics, and will often send each other love letters, even though they live in the same house. Goldmoon always includes pressed flowers in xyr letters to Clay, and Clay keeps all of them framed on the wall over her bed.
- Beth: Clay's best friend and apprentice at the bakery, who lives in the Twinkling Clearing. Clay helped Beth come out of their shell a bit, and she continues to be there for them whenever they need her. The two of them enjoy many of the same activities, and can easily pass an afternoon just baking boatloads of cookies and chatting about life.
- Garden: Clay and Goldmoon's child. Garden has always looked up to both of them a great deal and tried to imitate them, wanting to do them proud. Meanwhile, the two of them have always felt like Garden put too much pressure on aerself, and so they both take a little extra care of Garden in turn.
- Frostmorn: Another of Clay and Goldmoon's children. They both treated Frostmorn with a lot of patience and kindness growing up, and they were very paws-on about teaching them things in a way they found fun and exciting. Goldmoon was their teacher during their school years, and because xe knew them so well, they were able to do excellent in school, despite their low dedication. They will also always be grateful to Clay for coming with them on their travels during their adolescence. Though Frostmorn has grown independent over the years and they don't spend much time with their parents anymore, they know the two of them will always be there for them when they need them, and Goldmoon and Clay know they're always welcome to come bother Frostmorn for attention anytime if they miss them.
- Finn, Ulli, and Clay's younger family members back home: Although Clay appreciates the little bit of space between herself and her big, chaotic family, she is still very close with them and loves them dearly. She makes sure to come home on visits at least a few times a season, and always drops by close to the holidays with gifts for everybody. She has lots of little paintings of her family hung up around her home, including a few she brought from her parents' place when she moved out. She often brings Goldmoon and her own children with her on visits, relishing in having all the not-cats she loves the most in the same place.
- Gundula and other family members: Although many of Clay's family members have moved out from home, just like her - including one of her parents, Gundula, who separated from Ulli after Clay moved out - she has made it her mission to stay in contact with every single one, as well as be present in the lives of new half-siblings and niblings. As her family grows, it becomes harder and harder to keep track of everyone, but Clay thinks the challenge is fun. She sets a few hours off a week to write letters to family members in distant places, and sometimes she goes on little tours around Nestor's Wood to visit as many of them as she can.
Notes:
- Recruited from the board in summer, year 9, to be Goldmoon's partner.
- Likes her mossy moose figurine very much, but wouldn't mind another trinket.
- Made her partners with Goldmoon in summer, year 9, because Goldmoon gave me hopeless romantic vibes and I felt a cute partnership would fit xyr character well.
- Had her first litter in summer, year 9.
- Made best friends with Beth through scenarios in winter, year 9.
- Favored job: baker.
- [C][NS][SL][BBFD2][NNTT][YN2L][??][BL]
Plans:
- Let her and Goldmoon have at least one more litter.
