#brackenclaw

Hawkflower was originally going to be named Hawkstripe but it felt too close to Bright’s moms name to be comfy so I changed it literally last minute. I have unused drafts calling him Hawkstripe.

I have “special additions” planned for Ravenwind, Willowthorn, and possibly Smithy and Scrap.

Briarspots has been in love with Smokestripe since they were apprentices.

Addershine and Leafleg were good friends as apprentices, but Leafleg’s treatment of Grayfeather caused a huge rift between the two.

Willowthorn has met Smithy

Brackenclaw will be the last of his family to die

Willowthorn had a very brief crush on Brackenclaw when he was first assigned to her, but that quickly gave way to respect. To this day she wants to impress him.

Maplenose suffers from gigantism

Fallingfeather never moved past Flowerpaw

Antpaw is strategic in ways Willowthorn never could be

Slatestar still trusts Brightfur

Title: Streets of Clover

Summary: In the wake of Berryshade's banishment, Brightfur finds herself more lost than ever. Every attempt to bring Ravenwind to justice has failed, and now even StarClan has turned its back on her- what's left for her to do?

When the mysterious rogue Clover begs for help, Brightfur is plunged into a world of sidewalks, kittypets, and blood feuds. And maybe, just maybe, Ravenwind will finally take things too far.

Willowpaw was far more heartbreaking to look at. The young apprentice, once full of snark and life, was in such a tight bundle it was hard to tell tail from whiskers. She was so brave to come here, Brightfur thought to herself. At her age, Brightfur had spent most of her time following Hawkflower around, trying to keep up with training while Ravenwind stayed in camp and did whatever the medicine cat did in her spare time. Plot more murders? Pray? Pray for good luck with the murders?

Brackenclaw laid down beside her, pressing his muzzle to her side. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

"Is something wrong with me?" Her voice was muffled.

"What? Willowpaw, no-"

Willowpaw lifted her head. Her ears were flat with hurt. "I mean, I always knew I looked bad for a ShadowClan cat, but now even kittypets hate me. Is it... is it really that bad? Is something wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you."

"But I'm half-rogue," she blurted out, confirming Brightfur's suspicions that she knew. "And I look like someone who scared a nice lady that much."

"Rainblaze and Barkfall are the kits of rogues," Brackenclaw replied. "And my niece and nephew are half-rogue too! It doesn't mean anything. Just be the best warrior you can be, and everything will fall into place."

Title: Red Pearls

Summary: Brightfur just wanted to be a medicine cat. Her mentor, Ravenwind, has very different ideas on what that means- for her and for ShadowClan. With Ravenwind controlling her every move and more than willing to kill to keep it that way, Brightfur will need more than just luck to live to tell the tale.

Chapters: 21/22

Chapter Title: IT'S TOO LATE TO 'POLOGIZE

Excerpt:

"I don't see why not," Brightfur meowed, running her paw down Antkit's spine to check for any developmental concerns. The kitten was one of the few well-fed and healthy cats in the Clan right now. "The age difference between this litter and my brother's is certainly small enough to justify it."

"So we can do it?" Willowkit burst in eagerly, bouncing on her paws. "We can be apprentices too?"

Brightfur looked at Slatestep. The deputy hesitated, then gave a minute nod. "That's up to Badgerthroat."

Antkit slipped out from her, squirming into the black and white molly's arms. "Can we, mama? Can we?"

Badgerthroat looked stricken as she studied her kits. "Why not wait that little bit? Won't it feel more special to have your own special ceremony?"

"But Lionkit and Tigerkit get to be apprentices now," Willowkit whined. "We'll never hear the end of it if we don't too!"

This is a very serious chapter with serious stuff going on but I'll be damned if I'll miss a chance to meme while I'm at it akddcod,cscs.

Title: Streets of Clover

Summary: In the wake of Berryshade’s banishment, Brightfur finds herself more lost than ever. Every attempt to bring Ravenwind to justice has failed, and now even StarClan has turned its back on her- what’s left for her to do?

When the mysterious rogue Clover begs for help, Brightfur is plunged into a world of sidewalks, kittypets, and blood feuds. And maybe, just maybe, Ravenwind will finally take things too far.

Chapter Title: Do I look like her?

Warnings: Vomit, drugging, murder. I'm mostly adding this for the vomit part, though; that's not nearly as common in the warriors-verse.

Excerpt:

"Maybe he's meeting someone on the border." "Don't be silly- Brackenclaw would've convinced them to move to ShadowClan by now." She rolled her eyes. "I don't know where he got that loyalty bug from." "Grandpa," Brightfur offered, crunching a bone between her teeth. "There's cats more stubborn than he is, you know." Smokestripe snorted. "I've yet to meet them!" She swallowed in lieu of a response. She wasn't sure how to broach the topic of mates with her mother, being a medicine cat and all- she was supposed to be removed from such conflicts. "Thanks for the fresh-kill, mom. I didn't realize how hungry I was." "Don't thank me," Smokestripe meowed cheerfully. "Thank your mentor. She's the one who gave it to me." Brightfur froze. The sharp flavor on her tongue was familiar now, creeping down the back of her throat. How could I be so stupid? Rotten fresh-kill with no maggots? Some cats had difficulties with getting themselves to vomit, requiring yarrow. Those cats hadn't been force-fed herbs as a kitten. She turned and threw up on Smokestripe's paws, yellow shoulders rattling as they bunched up. Smokestripe yelped and started to pat her on the back.

SO sorry for the massive delay, guys! I've been working really hard to figure out how I wanted to format this chapter. I considered having Brightfur confront Clover before Ravenwind got to her, but it just felt... wrong? Clover's not an idiot. If Brightfur had come to her warning her, even vaguely, she would've skedaddled.

I also debated on how Ravenwind would get the time to do it. Brightfur wouldn't just... not notice her leaving. But then I realized that Ravenwind would need to do a lot better than sneak, considering she's basically at five stars with Slatestar. Then I thought it'd be fun to have her repeat the actions of Brightfur's kithood- a distraction AND a way to make it come full circle.

This has been planned from the start, however! Ravenwind's death. I did consider trying to Ravenwind using various other methods, since she's a drowner at heart, but considering how desperate she'd be to get out and kill after so long with nothing I think sloppy like this fits really well.

We've got one last chapter on this part! Then we're gonna take a lil break from Brightfur to give Ravenwind's backstory! It's super fun to take someone whose been a mostly secretive or mysterious person and rip them apart with backstory. To see exactly what makes them tick. And even though Ravenwind is dead, her life and actions mirror Smithy's quite a lot.

Lemme know what you think! I haven't been this nervous posting a chapter in years. Special shoutout to Scrambles for reading this over to check if it was emotionally impactful.