#petalkit

So here's it is!

Plus her scar map :3

I actually had to sit down and think about this one lol.

I would say drastically different. Different story entirely. There wouldn't even be a Dark Forest arc, bc Petalkit wouldn't be as rage fueled if either or both her brothers were with her. She wouldn't have been hateful or angry enough to get the Dark Forest's attention, or fall into the Dark Lake. She wouldn't get time displaced, so she would have stayed in her natural timeline.

If it was just her and Patchkit, she would have taken a more guardian/parent role and protect him.

If it was just Larchkit, it would be more of a dynamic duo partnership.

With both, she and Larchkit may butt heads about who is leader and making decisions lol. So they would bicker a lot and Patchkit would need to intervene. Surprisingly, with this dynamic Patchkit would be less timid here, and have a better sense of confidence.

There is a high possibility they would have encountered Myler and he would have looked after them. They would live with him for a while and be little barn kitties.

Thank you! I’m happy to hear you have been enjoying my AU!

Would Larchkit and Patchkit be resentful?

A little, but not as intense or deliberate as Petalkit. They had a very different experience and process their trauma differently than her.

I’ll go into deep detail but the the long story short is:

Patchkit

Least resentful, but withdrawn and insecure. Hurt by Appledusk’s aloofness and distance. Internalizes Applesuck's rejection as a result of him not being brave enough or a good swimmer. Doesn’t remember the Exile well and has traumatic amnesia. Has a detached concept of who Oakstar is and what he did to them. Only cares about the present and the pain of not being with Mapleshade. Focuses on attaching himself to Birchface after he opens up and starts talking again, but secretly wants Appledusk’s approval. More accepting of StarClan’s authority and narrative.

Thinks Petalkit is dead and her spirit is lost forever, unable to find StarClan. Doesn’t remember her well.

Thinks Appledusk is just disappointed and unimpressed with him.

Barely remembers Oakstar and doesn’t really care about him.

Larchkit

More bitter than resentful. He is more focused on explanations and challenging things that don’t make sense to him. Dislikes Oakstar, but understands the perceived logic of making a hard decision as leader, who was following the Warrior code and was betrayed by his mother Mapleshade. Gives more benefit of the doubt since Oakstar is Birchface’s father,(who still hasn’t seen his father’s crueler side of things, and can’t imagine him intentionally wanting the kits to be hurt. He is ignorant to the real Oakstar bc he only knows the father version, and frankly, he was Oakstar's Favorite). Birchface assured and insisted Oakstar must not have meant it or known they would get hurt. Upset more aimed at Appledusk for saying his mother is a murderer and doesn't believe him, until presented with facts. He still holds onto the past but understands he has to move on.

Thinks Petalkit is alive despite lack of evidence. Eventually concludes she must be lost too, believing she will find them one day.

Thinks Appledusk is just a jerk and a liar. He is disappointed Appledusk doesn't live up to memory. He doesn’t like him. But he surprisingly doesn’t hate him either. 

Thinks Oakstar didn’t mean to have them killed. Still dislikes him but moves on. 

Now to elaborate!

For both Larchkit and Patchkit, they still had positive association towards Appledusk, because unlike Petalkit, they never saw him attacking Mapleshade, or lived long enough to feel abandoned by him by not being searched for. So they don't hate or feel betrayed by Appledusk the way Petalkit does.

I'm a fan of that headcanon too actually! I haven't fully fleshed out all the details for StarClan's side of things yet, but I do have Birchface pretty much adopt Larchkit and Patchkit. He stepped up for them when Appledusk stepped down.

So now that you got me thinking about it, here is what I cooked!

I like to think Birchface had a very good relationship with Mapleshade, and he actually did have a small crush on her. But he was fine just being a close family friend, seeing she wasn't interested and didn't press (like Thrushpelt and Bluefur).

Frecklewish was also extremely close to Mapleshade, (possibly best friends) and secretly had a crush on Mapleshade too lol. She never let this known, but I like thinking Birchface being close enough to his sister that he can see the signs and would tease her about it. To which Frecklewish would just deny it, deflect and tease back. Anyways, the siblings both loved Mapleshade like kin.

If that happened how do you think Ravenwing would've felt/responded to learning the truth?

Honestly this is such a fun question! 

It would have been possible, yes! But she would change her mind later. 

Petalkit always struck me as a highly competitive kit, and if she felt her brothers were outshining her as warriors, she would shift priorities to become a warrior instead. In canon, she was the one most determined to keep practicing jumping so she could be as good as Birchface. To me, this showed signs of her desire to prove herself, and already setting herself a standard to meet, especially when Rabbitfur talked about Birchface. She was also the most aggressive kit, and I elaborate on this in this post.

I'd say, Petalkit would have gotten as far as being Ravenwing's apprentice, but become envious of her brothers training to be warriors. She would get bored fast and change her mind probably near the end of her apprenticeship, right before the trip to Moonstone. This would surprise and take Ravenwing aback. He'd be a little insecure at first, wondering what he was doing wrong because he was trying so hard to be a medicine cat Oatspeckle would be proud of. He'd be a little disappointed, but understanding in the end, encouraging her to follow what her heart says she should be. Petalkit says she wants to be like Birchface. He would sadly accept it. I mean, it made sense to him. He can be fairly reasonable when he’s not under extreme pressure and feeling the weight of the entire Clan in his paws. 

Coincidentally, Patchkit would have realized he's not as cut out to be a warrior as he thought he’d be, and didn't enjoy it as much as he hoped. So whenever Petalkit would show Patchkit all the things she learned about being a medicine cat, Patchkit would think it's really cool. He would realize this is where he may fit better, so they swap mentors. Ravenwing gets Patchpaw, and Petalpaw gets whoever mentored Patchpaw.This would raise Ravenwing’s spirits again, happy that Patchpaw admired and was inspired by him and his craft. 

So, after Ravenwing learns the truth, he would be incredibly conflicted. Bc now he KNOWS what each kit is like, their hopes, dreams, personalities and goals. They are not just kits anymore. They are young cats. The bond is deeper. At this point he would have had more experience being the new medicine cat, so his nerves at meeting Clan expectations would be less severe and urgent. He would still doubt them, question their loyalty (and Mapleshade’s) and even his own. But he has seen with his own eyes how dedicated the kits are to the Clan, and how highly Birchface is regarded by them. How Petalkit was just like him trying her best to be like Birchface and loyal to the Clan, while Ravenwing tried to be like Oatspeckle.

Ravenwing would spend more time carefully thinking about this instead of rushing to overcorrect himself. His interpretation of the omen may have been less antagonistic, bc with the time that had passed, cats had a chance to process their grief better and not be raw with emotions. He would actually ask himself, what would Oatspeckle have done? 

How Petalkit got to the Dark Forest

Like canon, a cat can dream themselves into the Dark Forest by fixating on dark thoughts, and dwelling on negative emotions such as, anger, hatred, anguish, jealousy and despair.

For Petalkit it was pure hatred. She blamed everything on StarClan and the Warrior Code for ruining her life. She had a lot of dark, explicit thoughts about the cats who betrayed her family, wishing harm upon Oakstar, Ravenwing, Frecklewish, Appledusk and all of ThunderClan. Her rage was so intense that it gained the Dark Forest's attention, and she dreamed herself there.

It didn’t help that Mapleshade’s own rage accidentally contributed to this. They were vowing vengeance against the Clans at the exact same time, which created a powerful link between them and made Petalkit’s dreams easier to be found by the Dark Forest. 

(Origin video of this found here)

Dark Forest Touched

Having fallen into the Dark Lake and being displaced in time, Petalkit has become Dark Forest touched. This means she is now permanently connected to the Dark Forest, and it will always be her fate to return there upon death regardless of her actions in life.

Being Dark Forest touched, she gains the benefits the Affliction gives. She now has obsidian black claws and increased resistances to the elements and healing. This is how she manages to survive in the wild by herself, as any normal, non-Dark Forest touched kit would have died within a couple days. Had Petalkit not gained the Affliction, she would have died shortly after her failed attempt to bury her mother’s body, and her first visit to the Dark Forest (Dreamt herself there). Frankly, she wouldn't have woken up. Or if she had, she wouldn't have lived for very long before starving to death.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Petalkit falling into the Dark Lake is the only reason she’s alive, and survived long enough to be sent forward in time, along with her physical body. 

Petalkit’s pelt color change

Petalkit’s nightly exposure to the Dark Forest, and influence from the Affliction started affecting her appearence. The changes to her pelt color were influenced by her hatred towards Appledusk, and her resemblance of him. She despised this so much that the Affliction fed off this hatred, and caused her fur to darken as she ages, slowly looking more like Mapleshade instead. Petalkit fully embraced and celebrated this. She considered her changing appearance as a way to purge herself of Appledusk's blood, and feel closer to her mother.

Hatred towards Appledusk

Petalkit believes Appledusk to be a cowardly traitor who never bothered to help Mapleshade. She didn’t see him during the flood, and after surviving the trauma of nearly drowning, she had hoped he would have come looking for her. But he never showed up, so Petalkit was in desperate search for her family, not realizing she was the only survivor and unaware of Mapleshade’s murderous rampage. 

When she spots Mapleshade in the distance, Petalkit is bewildered to see her father, Appledusk, attacking her mother. She has no context of what is happening, didn’t even notice Reedshine was there, and by the time she finally reaches the scene, everything is over. She just sees the aftermath of blood, loose fur and strange scents, but she followed Mapleshade's blood trail towards Myler's farm where she found her mother dead. She has no idea that Perchpaw was the one who killed Mapleshade, and that Appledusk had been fighting Mapleshade to protect Reedshine. All she knows is that her mother is dead and it’s Appledusk’s fault. 

Hatred of Medicine and Clan cats

Prior to the discovery of who the kit’s father was, Ravenwing used to be fond of Petalkit. He, along with Frecklewish, had been close and involved enough to be considered family. So when Ravenwing was present with Frecklewish on the day of the storm, they both witnessed the drowning of the kits. Petalkit had managed to cling onto a ledge where they were spectating from, and reached out for them. While Frecklewish did nothing and eventually looked the other way, Ravenwing was within reach, and pulled his paw away from Petalkit. 

This was a profound betrayal to Petalkit that she will never forget. Because of this, she believes all Clan cats, especially Medicine cats, are traitors. They can never be trusted, and Medicine cats are deceptive manipulators who control leaders. They are dangerous liars corrupted by their connection to StarClan. All leaders are mindless, hypocritical slaves to the Warrior Code like Oakstar. 

Hatred of StarClan

Petalkit hates StarClan and firmly believes they are responsible for everything that happened to her, and that the Warrior Code is nothing but true evil. To her, it is reprehensibly unjust that both her father and Oakstar are in StarClan. This is something she strongly feels should be corrected, and vows one day, she will find a way to tear down every single star from Silverpelt. Starting with Oakstar, who took everything from her. Then her treacherous father. 

This is before Bloodpetal gets her mouth scar, and still using the name (Petal)Ripper.

This comic takes place near the end of Arc 1 and a prologue to this comic is found here: Chapter 2

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CW: Implied eye injury