Brackenfur & Cruxpaw Streammouse

[Bracken]

Name: Cruxpaw (krucks-paw) and Brackenfur Streammouse
Gender: Both appear male
Age: Crux: 10; Bracken: 19
Species: bank voles
Occupation: Brothers/Wanderers

Physical Appearance:
Cruxpaw: Better known as Crux, this ten-year-old is quite thin for his age. With long, almost spindly limbs, he can appear sickly at first glance. But he's definitely in for a growth spurt. His paws are quite large for his body, and so are his short, rounded ears. His dark, mottled fur is rather coarse to the touch. He has dark eyes, almost black, which seem too big for his head most of the time, usually because he's fascinated with something. His tail is too long, slightly furred, and often trips him up. Despite his skinny build and somewhat disproportionate features (or perhaps because of these) Crux can appear positively adorable if he really wants to. His too-wide smile suggests that he's either horribly guilty and hopes you'll forgive him, or he's in a complete euphoria due to a new fascination of something in his immediate surroundings. The latter is most often the case.
Cruxpaw's clothing: Crux wears as little as possible in the way of clothing. He's most often seen in a pair of dark brown, threadbare breeches. He'll begrudgingly wear a shirt and jacket during the cooler months, though. And he never takes off his thick black leather belt, since it matches Bracken's, and is a kind of symbol of their brotherhood. He has never worn shoes in his life, and he doesn't plan to, holding a firm belief that bare feet are meant to be touching the ground at all times while the body is in forward motion. (Unless of course the body is in a cart, tree, river, etc.)

Brackenfur: Nicknamed Bracken by his younger brother, this vole is also quite skinny. But one can definitely see the rippling muscles beneath that taut skin. Bracken is also extremely tall for a vole, and his tail is about the same length as his height, just slightly shorter. Unlike Crux, Bracken has grown into his once-overlarge paws very nicely. His snubbed snout sports one thin scar along his right cheek and jawline, but his rounded ears are virtually intact, barring the minor tear in the peak of the right one. The skin of the ear folded back with the scab and never returned to an upright position. His fur is dense and quite coarse. It lays pretty flat against his skin, and it's a mottled black, brown, tan, and possibly copper in color. He has the same black eyes as Crux. They get it from their father. 
Brackenfur's clothing: Bracken wears more clothing than his brother, for modesty's sake, and because he doesn't like messing up his fur. It's an absolute pain to put back in order, and when it's mussed, it chafes in a most uncomfortable manner. So, Bracken can normally be seen in a thin, black, skin-tight long-sleeved shirt with a turtleneck collar. His blue pants aren't as tight as his shirt, and they're actually quite baggy, and reach a little past his feet, which have never felt the covering of shoes of any kind. He also wears a thick black leather belt through the belt loops of his breeches. The belt is nearly identical to his little brother's, even sporting a similar silver buckle. He also wears tan leather fingerless gloves on his paws. 

Possessions:
Crux is rarely seen without his double-lucky blue stone hanging from a long length of twine around his neck. The oval stone has two holes worn completely through it. Crux found it that way, and declared that it was doubly lucky, since he'd once heard that a stone with one hole worn through it was lucky. Many times he carries a set of wooden figures, carved by his brother. The one figure he always has with him is a small hummingbird, barely bigger than his paw. 
Bracken wears a piece of red glass threaded on a much shorter length of twine, and this hangs next to an unidentifiable tooth of some sort. Bracken thinks it might be a wildcat tooth, but he's not sure. He also carries an old staff, mostly for walking, but it has an oddly-shaped, rather sharp and pokey mass of protrusions at the end, which almost resemble the roots, or bare branches, of a tree. (Think Gandalf the Grey's staff from LoTR.)  Brackenfur is never without his trusty knife, which he rarely uses for fighting, mostly whittling or woodcarving, and a small rucksack to carry food. 

Personality:
Cruxpaw: A sweet, boisterous, playful ten-year-old, Crux is every inch a boy. He loves to wrestle, race, and be outside. He hates sitting still, and actually does not possess the ability to do so. Loud and fun-loving, he prefers to climb trees and break out into clumsy dance at random times. 
Crux also appears to have ADD, to a certain extent. His attention span is . . . nonexistent when it comes to matters that do not involve having fun in some way. He's a complete klutz, due to his overlarge tail and paws. He trips. A lot. And has developed the skill to fall flat on his face on the flattest of surfaces. It's an aggravating talent, but entertaining, nonetheless. He usually laughs it off, except when he's in a race or rushing to his next destination. That's when it becomes a great inconvenience, because who wants to stumble over their own tail when there's a race to win or a flock of magpies to startle? 
And that's another thing about Crux. He's fascinated with nature, especially fast-moving creatures like hummingbirds, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. He will often chase one of these creatures until he either catches it or loses track of it. And without Bracken, this activity would most likely get him lost, since he also has no sense if direction whatsoever. 
And I lied. Crux isn't every inch a boy. Cruxpaw is a girl. But he much prefers being a boy to being some silly girl, because his big brother Bracken is such an amazing boy in Crux's eyes. Crux, short-tempered on a good day, can get quite vehement about his femininity whenever the subject comes up. And by vehement, I mean he proclaims, loudly, and often with his face as red as strawberries, that he is in fact a boy. When anatomy is brought into the argument, Crux isn't quite sure how to react, but he usually reacts with a lot more yelling. Normally, these arguments end with Cruxpaw blushing to his ear tips, his voice quite hoarse from yelling, and the other party giving up in exasperation. Bottom line, Cruxpaw is a boy in his own eyes, and there's nothing that will ever change that. And I will never refer to him as a girl, either, since it's actually a very well-kept secret between him and his brother. Nobeast really knows outside their family, so for the rest of the world, Crux is a boy.

Brackenfur: Far mellower than his little 'brother', Bracken is just as fun-loving, but a little more prone to "sitting this one out" in favor of indulging in his favorite pastime: woodcarving. He's made many wooden figurines, which he sometimes sells, and sometimes keeps, mostly for Crux to play with. Bracken is a master woodcarver, and he could make a pretty good living out of it if he wanted. But he dismisses it as a simple hobby, something to pass the time. 
He seems pretty reserved, but it's actually fairly easy to get to know him. Generally friendly and upbeat, Bracken can come across a little flat, sometimes. Not very well-rounded. But he's really just shy. He prefers to give you a rehearsed reply of "Good," when you ask him how he's doing. He doesn't like to talk much, because when he does, it's usually about woodcarving, which is his passion, no matter how much he dismisses it. When he's not talking about carving, he'll talk about Cruxpaw, the weather, or anything that doesn't really pertain to him. But again, he doesn't talk much. He prefers to listen to other beasts talk, since he has a strange fascination with voices. 
When first meeting somebeast, Bracken doesn't pay attention to how they look as much as how they sound. He's an expert at listening to tone of voice, rising and lowering of pitch, and so on. He can pretty much tell what a beast is really thinking based on the tone of their voice. As such, he can often tell when somebeast is lying, or trying to be polite when they really think you look hideous in that outfit.
Bracken is also a fiercely overprotective big brother. He loves Cruxpaw to pieces, and if anything poses even a slight threat, Bracken is on high alert. He is a decent fighter with his staff, and is usually able to fend off most threats. He's very accepting of Crux's being a boy, even though he loved his little sister Cruxpaw before she declared herself male. Bracken always calls Crux his little brother, and refers to the younger vole as a male. He even defends Crux when the subject of his little sibling's gender is brought up. 
In contrast of Crux's ability to stand his ground in arguments, Bracken tends more on the side of submissiveness. He'll back down from fights he knows he can't win, unless Crux's or his own life is in danger. That's when he becomes a completely different beast. Easily angered and quite violent, this fighting-mode Bracken is a glimpse of his real personality that he doesn't like to show around other beasts. Only Crux knows what his big brother is truly capable of, and it's quite frightening. Bracken is not possessed by Bloodwrath, but this battle-driven side of him comes awfully close. 

Strengths:
Cruxpaw: 
Sweet
Friendly
Stands his ground
Able to laugh at his own clumsiness

Brackenfur:
Easy to get along with
Ability to read other beasts' voices
Master woodcarver
Decent fighter
Protective of Cruxpaw
Responsible older brother

Weaknesses:
Cruxpaw:
Unwilling to accept femininity
Clumsy
Inattentive
Short-tempered
Easily distracted
No fighting skills

Brackenfur:
Shy
Submissive
A little reserved
Unpredictable when angered
Slightly paranoid
Often has trouble keeping his fur in order

History:
Born on the long and lovely River Moss, Brackenfur and Cruxpaw learned the hard way how to fend for themselves. Their father Stonepaw lived up to his name. Hard, cold, and rough, just like a rock, Stonepaw showed little love for anybeast besides himself and his beautiful wife Songbird. Why he even decided to bring children into the world is still a mystery, since he really can't stand anybeast younger than the age of, oh, maybe thirty? But, that aside, to Stonepaw Streammouse was born his first son Brackenfur, who was the apple of his mother's eye. Until Cruxpaw came along. Then Songbird fawned all over her little daughter day and night. Bracken didn't mind. Crux was adorable and deserving of the attention, in his eyes. 
The siblings grew close, as siblings do, and Cruxpaw looked up to her brother in every way. So much so that she wanted to be a boy, just like him. Songbird didn't like her daughter's yearning to be of the male persuasion, so the vole mum constantly dressed little Crux in as many dresses as she could get her paws on. However, this only made Crux want to be a boy all the more, since dresses were uncomfortable. Bracken would only look on and smile. 
Bracken grew up fast in a home where he didn't really communicate well with his father. Stonepaw regularly voiced his deepest wish: that Brackenfur and Cruxpaw would grow up and get out of the house, already. Bracken shared his father's wish, but obviously for different reasons. Crux remained the playful little kid of the household, but even she, with her tiny attention span, could sense the tension between Stonepaw and Brackenfur. She didn't like seeing her brother and father fight, but there really was nothing she could do about it. The fights could turn physical fast, and it was during one of these fights that Bracken discovered his 'fighting-mode'. Unable to control himself, Bracken nearly strangled his father. But Stonepaw had a knife and carved the scar on Brackenfur's face that he still owns to this day. 
Because of their father's loathing of their presence, and their mother's mindless doting, the young vole siblings found they had to teach themselves quite a bit. Like fishing, swimming, and other such skills. Bracken developed his talent for woodcarving around the age of twelve. Crux discovered her love for nature at the age of three. The two would spend countless days by the river, Bracken whittling wooden figures and Crux chasing dragonflies. Minus Bracken's fights with their father that would eventually ensure later in the evenings, these days are some of the fondest memories for the vole siblings.
Then uncle Oakclaw came for a visit. Bracken was eighteen at the time, and Crux was nine. Oakclaw and Stonepaw had never gotten along as brothers, but Stonepaw's health was failing, and Oakclaw felt obligated to visit. As it turned out, Uncle Oak was just waiting for his brother to die. Oak had always been infatuated with the beautiful Songbird, and if Stonepaw died, she would be single. Unfortunately for Uncle Oak, Stonepaw was quickly recovering. But Oak simply would not have it. So, on the last night of his visit, he decided to kill off his brother himself. 
Bracken had noticed during the day that his uncle seemed a bit . . . edgy. The young vole could tell from his uncle's tone of voice and general demeanor that something was off. So, that night, Bracken was up late, finishing a wood carving, when he heard a noise coming from the guest room. He got out of bed and saw his uncle quietly sneaking down the hallway to his parents' room. Curious, Bracken followed, and he was startled to see the bright glint of a silver knife in the moonlight streaming through the windows. Bracken was more than smart enough to figure out what might happen next, so he wrestled Oakclaw to the floor.
In the ensuing scuffle, the knife cut Bracken's ear. The commotion woke Stonepaw and Songbird, who ran out into the hallway and saw Oakclaw attacking Brackenfur with a knife. Natural paternal instinct kicked in, and Stonepaw tried to intervene. But Oakclaw was as good as dead. He'd kindled the fighting rage within Bracken. The knife entered Oakclaw's chest, breaking two ribs as it was thrust into his heart. Bracken reeled away from the dead body, realizing what he'd just done. His parents were stunned. Bracken stood up, vomited once, and then ran out of the house. 
The next morning, Stonepaw and Songbird found Brackenfur by the river, carving a small wooden figure. He was still quite shaken, and he couldn't even explain it all to Cruxpaw, who had slept through the whole thing. Songbird gently let her daughter know what had happened. Crux was shocked, but she only admired her brother all the more for what he'd done to save their father.
That evening, Brackenfur decided to leave home. He was overcome with guilt, and he also knew that, no matter if his father was grateful or not, Stonepaw and Brackenfur could not live in the same house, anymore. Crux found her brother packing his things and begged to go with him. He told her to stay home, since Songbird loved her so much, and because it would be dangerous for a little girl out in the woods. Cruxpaw took off her dress and tugged on some breeches, saying, "No, Bracken, look! I'mma big boy! Jus' like yew!" Brackenfur realized he didn't want to leave her here with Stonepaw. But he didn't want to put her life in danger as he wandered Mossflower. So, from that moment on, Cruxpaw was a boy. 
Now the siblings wander Mossflower. Bracken sells his wood carvings whenever they need provisions. Crux generally has as much fun as 'he' possibly can in the wide woods. 

Relationships:
Stonepaw and Songbird Streammouse- parents- alive
Oakclaw Streammouse- uncle- deceased

Other:
Bracken's red glass and tooth necklace was something he traded for one of his wood figures.
I really don't have much to say. I'm sure the history needs more work, but I just wanted to get this profile finished.

[Tracy]

Accepted.