Colour's Art

Mudsplash was born... well she doesn’t actually know where. She also never knew her parents, and no one would ever tell her about them when she asked. Her only memories are from FogClan. Having no parents, she became very attached to her older brother Lichenpatch (pictured in the top image). She admired her older brother, but she never saw all the struggles he went through with his own mental health. 

Until, when Mudpaw was a new apprentice, his troubles showed themselves.  Lichenpatch travelled to the barren cliffs at the base of the mountains and killed himself. Mudpaw noticed Lichenpatch was absent from camp, and so she went to find him. She discovered his body (pictured in the bottom right image) and her world was shattered. Just like that, her only family and only friend was gone. 

Mudpaw became distant, just drifting through training. She felt isolated from her Clan, and she became bitter toward them. Why should she help the Clan who didn’t notice her brother’s struggles and help him? But also why should her Clan help her, who also didn’t notice Lichenpatch’s struggles and help him? Plus, she swore she would catch sight of her brother’s pelt flashing through brush when she was in the forest... she was being haunted by her brother’s spirit.  She became a warrior, Mudsplash, though that didn’t bring her much excitement. She was still just an angry, prickly cat. Jaded far beyond her years. She drove away any potential friends, and spent much time alone in the forest. She almost stayed behind when FogClan moved territories, ready to just let herself be mauled by some wild animal or starve to death.

But she saw... Lichenpatch? Or at least, a wraith-like version of himself. He guided Mudsplash back to her Clanmates. She got the message - Lichenpatch wanted her to go. So she did, but her attitude didn’t improve.

In the new territory, nothing much happened for Mudsplash until Sequoiastripe showed up, and it was revealed his aunt was Lotusflower. Mudsplash never knew Lotusflower, but she heard stories from the cats who did know her (Quickbreeze and Briarthorn specifically). Mudsplash starts to hate Sequiastripe. This loner with an evil family shows up and fits in better than her, a cat raised in FogClan? She was bitter.

She bonded with Quickbreeze and Briarthorn over their hatred of Sequoiastripe. Turns out the three actually had a lot in common. Their friendship blossomed, and Mudsplash finally started to feel a bit less lonely.

A bit.

Then one day, she wanders beyond FogClan’s territory just to think. She meets a cat who calls herself the Grey Reaper (pictured in the bottom left image)  The Grey Reaper talks to Mudsplash, who opens up to this stranger about how isolated she felt. The Grey Reaper offered her a new start in the Tribe of Ash and Smoke. Mudsplash says she can’t - she’s a member of FogClan. The Grey Reaper says her offer remains open, and Mudsplash is free to visit any time.

Which she does. Mudsplash, after seeing the spirit of her brother again and being haunted by her loneliness once more, runs to the Tribe. Her visits become more and more frequent, and eventually she’s initiated. She gets the scar. The Grey Reaper is using Mudsplash’s vulnerability, making her dependent on her. She used this dependency to get Mudsplash to do whatever she wanted to please the Grey Reaper. 

One day, Briarthorn and Quickbreeze notice Mudsplash sneaking off, and berate her for being disloyal. She shred her a new one. This just makes Mudsplash run to Grey Reaper even more. This isn’t what the two wanted, so they decide not to tell of Mudsplash’s disloyalty. They hope maybe there’s still w chance she’ll come back to them. 

Mudsplash is absent from camp for days, and people start to worry. In the meantime, though, the Grey Reaper reveals her plan to attack FogClan. This shatters Mudsplash’s reality. She deep down still loved her home. She tries to convince the Grey Reaper not to, but she doesn’t listen. That night, Mudsplash returned to FogClan. She spills everything to the leaders. They’re outraged, but Quickbreeze and Briarthorn stick up for her. They’d both been manipulated before. This convinces the Clan to forgive Mudsplash.

But Mudsplash doesn’t forgive herself, so she becomes a spy for FogClan to gather intel on the Tribe. With a new purpose, she’s driven. She finds out when the attack is and warns the Clan. This gives them a much needed advantage (they were outnumbered). The rest of the battle plays out like I detailed in Sequoiastripe’s story. 

Mudsplash opens up to Briarthorn and Quickbreeze since they vouched for her, and they understand her better than any other cats. It’s not instant, but slowly her mental health starts to improve. She starts to open up, and actually have a social life. She no longer sees figments of her brother haunting her. She’s her own person who’s moved on.