Name: Thistleclaw (can only be called Thistle by whoever he deems a friend to him)

Sex: Male

Age: 9 yrs old.

Breed: European Badger

Parents: Sharpclaw and Sweet-Leaves

Siblings: Many

Mates: Many

Cubs: Bark, many others

Friends: Buckeye

Allies: Hazel and the Watership Down Warren

Enemies: General Woundwort

Movie/Series: Series

Personality: Think of a crotchedy old man, and you have a good idea of who Thistleclaw is. He takes no sass from anyone and is more than happy to deliver one or several sarcastic bites back. He is a loner, preferring to help no one and not asking help from anyone. If he has difficulty with a task and he can't solve it, he would prefer to give it up rather than ask for help from anyone. Because his behavior goes against how badgers typically behave, he's looked upon as an outcast to his community, but that barely registers in Thistle's mind. He could care less whether he's a part of his community or not.

Though he is difficult to handle at first, once you gain his trust you see that, yes, he is a jerk, but he does have a heart of gold layered beneath all the ice. He is loyal to those he thinks is worth his time, and he does show compassion but tries to be as subtle as possible because he doesn't want to be looked upon as a weakling. No, he would rather die than be made vulnerable by anyone.

There is one thing age has not slowed down on him and that's his love for fighting. Though he really will only attack when he feels threatened, when he is in attack-mode, Thistle makes sure that the job is so well-done that no one will ever want to bother him ever again. A loner at heart he may be, Thistle won't hesitate to stick up for the little guys, and is absolutely against the bullying of those who can't defend themselves.

History: Thistleclaw's community was comprised of many badgers, reaching capacity of at least eighteen. His father, Sharpclaw, was a dominant badger within the community, and that meant that he had more power. Though he set the ways of the weaker males and did not want to be seen as a bully, there was no denying there was aggression within Sharpclaw, threatened or not. Thistleclaw's mother, Sweet-Leaves, was also a dominant in the community, but she believed she was doing good in keeping the weaker females in line by not having them breed. And it was known that Sharpclaw had a soft spot for Sweet-Leaves, so it was little surprise to anyone when Sweet-Leaves beared Thistleclaw that following spring.

Even from a young age, Thistleclaw knew he was different from the other badgers within the community. European badgers are very social, but Thistle wanted no part in it. He preferred to keep to himself and often wandered off for no particular reason other than to do so. His parents tried to keep him in line, but it proved little use. Sharpclaw was afraid he had fathered a subordinate male in Thistle, so he began to neglect his own son and tended to his other cubs. Sweet-Leaves began to grow distant with Thistle as well, though not because she was afraid he was subordinate, but because she had to tend to the other females who were trying to sneak behind her back.

So little time was devoted to Thistle, which he did not mind at all. When he matured at a year old, he left his community in a huff. There were no goodbyes exchanged between he and his parents.

Thistle wandered and lived as a lone badger, living in smaller badger communities long enough to breed before moving on. Whether most of his kin survived or not mattered little to Thistle, as he was a lone badger by heart, and lone badger he would stay. One of his known kin who survived into adulthood was Bark, but she and Thistle know little of each other's existences.

Later in life Thistle finds a burrow near Efrafa where he has little conflict with the Chief Rabbit of the warren. At least, until Woundwort ascends to power. Powerhungry and aggressive, Woundwort rubs Thistle the wrong way and even forces Thistle from his home (the effort leads to a confrontation where Woundwort goes blind in one eye because of Thistle). However, Thistle does leave Efrafa, promising to find a better home for himself.

He is successful in finding a new burrow not far from Efrafa, and has little to do with Woundwort afterwards. Then he meets Buckeye, a deserter from the Sandleford warren who was left injured after escaping a trap. Though Thistle is reluctant to help Buckeye at first, he does feel sorry enough for the injured buck to allow him to stay in his den. After all badgers have little issues with rabbits. And even though Thistle makes a huge muck over having to share his home with a rabbit, he never tries to demean, fight, or kick Buckeye from his den, and the pair become good friends.

Buckeye does not stay too long with Thistle, only until his wound is healed. By this point, Thistle grows fond enough of Buckeye that he decides to also travel with the buck. However, when Buckeye finds Watership Down, Thistle disappears briefly. Buckeye believes that Thistle abandons him, but later he finds the aging badger digging himself a new burrow not far from the warren. "You can't get rid of me that easily," Thistleclaw huffs.

With Buckeye settling into life at Watership Down, Thistle decides to make nice with Hazel, the leader of the warren, and proclaim that he is not their enemy, but for now he is no ally of theirs either. He just happens to live nearby because of Buckeye. Hazel agrees to allow Thistle to neighbor with them because he promises not to be a threat to any of the rabbits (though Thistle mumbles underneath his breath, "As long as they leave me in piece").

Relation to WD: Ally to Watership Down; friend of Buckeye, who is the half-brother of Bigwig; had an altercation with Woundwort in the past

*FEATURED AS A MUST-SEE CHARACTER*