#echoburn

Aliases / Nicknames: Kit-Killer, Horrible, Pathetic, Skyclan’s Best Father

Gender: tom

Sexuality: bisexual

Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, unnamed mate, Burcoat (daughter)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, unnamed apprentice

Clan: Skyclan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: kills to harm the other Clans, kills for pleasure

Number of Victims: 16

Number of Murders: 16

Murder Method: shaking, snapping spine, blunt force, hunting

Known Victims: Burkit, Bumblekit, Ashkit, Mallowkit, Frondkit, Troutkit, Stonekit, Icekit, Badgerkit, Spotkit, Goosekit, Tawnykit, Flutterkit, Shellkit, Sharpkit, Bushkit

Victim Profile: kits from other Clans

Cause of Death: blood loss, tortured to death, ears torn off, claws ripped out, teeth ripped out, killed by Pinelip and Echoburn

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

You would think he was strange after all he’s done, a kit grown in isolation, an apprentice that played with his prey.

But Berrygaze was quite the opposite. He was the popular one, always in charge of games and the one ahead of everyone else in lessons.

He first got the idea as a youngling, He was at his first gathering, and could tell that in spite of the good will that was shared at the news, the warriors were displeased by the announcement of new kits in another Clan.

When he inquired, he was told that it was because although kits are always a blessing, being from another Clan means gaining new enemies. Berrypaw then asked why they didn’t just get rid of the things, and his mentor responded in surprise that it would be cruel.

Time passed, and the question was chalked up to ‘little kid doesn’t understand what he’s saying.’ Berrypaw decided not to ask anyone else, knowing it would only lead to another bad reaction, but still he wondered.

Sure, kits were cute. But then they grew into cats that just might kill you, or someone you care about. Maybe the kits will one day kill your kits.

The first kits were given right to him by Thunderclan warrior, Curlfleck, who he knew to be having relations with his Clanmate. Curlfleck had misjudged timing, and had given birth by the border. Now, she passed them to Berrygaze, begging him to take them to their father so that he may raise them.

Sure, they would have grown to fight on Skyclan’s side, but Berrygaze needed a test. Something to see just how ‘horrible’ it was. 

Waiting until the she-cat was well away, he took the kits one-by-one, holding them by the scruff before shaking vigorously. 

He felt nothing.

No, he realized as he left them there and began to pad away. 

He felt great.

Screw whatever everyone else thought. He could destroy the other Clans by destroying their futures. And maybe, just maybe, in the private corners of his mind, he could enjoy it, too.

The next set were two little kits from Shadowclan. On a stormy night, rainy enough to surely hide his scent, he snuck into the camp and took the kits away. He cracked their heads on a rock and threw them down a small incline. Ran away to have an adventure in a storm and had an accident, poor little things.

Then Shadowclan and Thunderclan took too long to reproduce, so he traveled around the lake, keeping on the outsides rather than by the lake to ensure he wouldn’t be seen. 

Windclan was first. They were easy, two kits already out in the field. He befriended them, convinced them to sneak out again at least once every two nights, and would return to play with them. He wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe he didn’t want to kill them just yet. Maybe he wanted to play it out.

Maybe he enjoyed the happiness they felt, innocently unaware of the fate that was just moments away from befalling them, enjoyed the fact that at any moment, he could switch his cuddly paws to slashing claws.

After some time, he asked them if they were any other kits in the Clan that could join their games.

Excitedly, they brought back another kit, much younger than them. So he asked them if they wanted to play another game. 

Who wants to play ‘can you get to camp in time?’ With that, he stomped down on the littlest one’s head, crushing its neck. Then he chased the screaming kits. He ran slowly, gaining up to spark terror before slowing down again, grabbing them by the tails and tossing them around before going to the other one, bouncing between them, letting their screams and his responding laughs fill the air, well aware that they were too far away to be heard by anyone.

Not too shortly after, his mate fell pregnant with his kit. He was overjoyed, or was it just another act? When she was born, he supported his mate, and named her Burkit, after one of the kits he had ‘played’ with. It wasn’t out of honour, he simply liked the name. Besides, no one was using it anymore anyway.

He doted on his daughter so much so that their Clanmates referred to him as the Clan’s best father. He could appreciate the dark irony.

He wondered if he really did love his daughter. He certainly felt more affection for the little thing than he did any other kit, and definitely did not want to hurt her, but did he feel love? Or was it just warmth? Just fondness because she was his? Was he capable of something such as love?

Even through these thoughts and having a kit of his own, he continued to haunt the other Clans.

He found that he greatly enjoyed the hunting process. It became habit to gain their trust, get them to bring their friends or littermates if there were more of them, before chasing them around wildly, playing it out while making sure they didn’t stray too far.

Their high-pitched shrieks like prey.

On his last night, he snuck out and followed the sounds of a wailing kit, only to be thrown to the ground by a full warrior. Pinelip tore into him, clawing at him until he could hardly move. 

Then Echoburn padded over, and it was she who explained that they knew what he had done, and that it was their kits he stole. In response, he laughed, and in response to that, they took his teeth. 

Then his claws.

Then his ears. 

Then they asked him if he wanted to play a game. How fast can he run?

Additonal Information: 

--He died on the night of his daughter’s silent vigil.

--Maybe his daughter found out and told Echoburn and Pinelip....?