I’ve always headcanonned that when Mapleshade’s kits entered StarClan, Birchface looked after them since Mapleshade wouldn’t be able to (since she went to the dark forest) and because he would never get the chance to raise kits of his own - does Birchface have any relevance to your story other than being someone for Petalkit to look up to up until her life got uprooted?
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.
Now, in StarClan Appledusk is evasive around the kits, both out of guilt, avoidance of responsibility or any obligation to them. He considers Reedshine's kits his true kits, and who he will watch over from StarClan, even if they will never meet him. He is bitter at Mapleshade and still pins all the blame on her, and refers to Larchkit and Patchkit as "Mapleshade's kits".
But Appledusk isn't bitter at the kits themselves, doesn't even hate them, he just wants to be paws off as possible, and just avoids them. He did genuinely feel love when he first met them and cared for them—when it was convenient and it didn't cost him.
He didn’t want to put in any work for these kits when he is already dedicating himself to Reedshine's kits, being his true mate, and this is how he is showing his loyalty to her, especially when he cheated on her, and doesn’t like the kits reminding him.
This pisses Birchface off.
Birchface doesn't even care that Appledusk indirectly caused his death. He is angry about the kits and that Appledusk betrayed Mapleshade. He believed Mapleshade deserved better, and Appledusk is the one that caused all this grief in the first place. As far as Birchface is concerned Appledusk is responsible for breaking Mapleshade enough to go on a murderous rampage, firmly believing that Appledusk should be in the Dark Forest instead of Frecklewish. He is devastated to learn his sister has been killed by Mapleshade, and not in StarClan with him.
Birchface believes the least he can do is love these kits with everything he is. His only connection to Frecklewish and Mapleshade.These kits deserved a father, so he will be theirs.
Appledusk was fine with that, but he’s very self-preserving. So when he first noticed there are only two kits instead of the three he remembers, he doesn’t bother mentioning one is missing. No one in StarClan ever met the kits but him, so only he, Larchkit and Patchkit know about Petalkit.
Patchkit and Larchkit are still traumatized from drowning and being away from Mapleshade. They don’t really want to talk about it much, but eventually questions are asked. Where is their sister? Appledusk would discourage this, telling them to never talk about Petalkit again.
But Birchface catches on and confronts him. Appledusk denies there is a third kit. Larchkit and Patchkit are just confused. But when Birchface is able to fact check this, there is no kit to be found. StarClan can’t even find her because she is a time anomaly, thanks to the Affliction. Unfortunately this just proves Appledusk right and everything is tipped in his favor. Appledusk leans on this, and basically tries to gaslight the kits that they never had a sister, and insist to StarClan there were only two kits. Birchface still feels some suspension, but keeps it to himself because all the other StarClan cats believed Appledusk, and Oakstar (whenever he dies) even goes along with this confirming there were only two kits he exiled. He isn’t proud of what he did, and doesn't want to be blamed or have his reputation tarnished, so he keeps Appledusk blamed.
Birchface still isn’t convinced, he actually believes the kits, but unfortunately can’t do anything about it. So he just focuses all his love onto the kits.
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Do Larchkit and Patchkit assume Petalkit survived despite being unable to track them?
Are they at all resentful towards cats like Oakstar and Appledusk?
Love your au, makes sense to me the kits had they not died right away would also be bitter
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.
For the most part, Patchkit and Larchkit’s last memories of Appledusk was when they first met him by the river. To them he was a nice Warrior who helped them when Patchkit swam too far, and gave the impression he was a beacon of hope when Mapleshade said he’d be happy to see them during their Exile. There was no sense of betrayal to be had when they were alive, so when Appledusk is distant in StarClan, they are more confused and sad than resentful.
For Patchkit, this hurt the most. He was the most dazed and subdued after death. He was so traumatized that he could barely speak anymore for a good while, and suffered memory loss. Barely remembers the Exile, or his life in the nursery with his siblings.
In the nursery, Patchkit was very self absorbed and wasn’t very observant of the world around him. Mainly because Mapleshade was the center of his universe. So he didn’t exactly absorb anything else beyond his memories with Mapleshade. He didn’t really understand the significance of Clan life, or who Oakstar even was bc he never thought about life beyond being with his mother forever. He was the most anxious and would just cling onto Mapleshade as his haven, where he could safely watch others and engage on his own terms. He also didn't seem very interested in playing with his own siblings. He preferred staying close to Mapleshade.
Patchkit’s encounter with Appledusk was when he found his confidence for the first time, which makes Appledusk more significant to him in memory and seen as good. Especially when that was a big day for him outside his usual comfort zone. He even got praised by Appledusk, being told he was very brave and a good swimmer, and the one Appledusk carried. He prided himself in this. So he’s incredibly insecure when Appledusk doesn’t seem to care about him, believing he's just not enough. Was it because he wasn’t brave enough or swim well enough to survive? Bc when he did, Appledusk liked him. He remembers that moment, but not the Exile itself.
The day of the exile everything happened way too fast for him to process. Patchkit’s mindset was more set on what he was currently experiencing and the emotions he felt.
In canon, Patchkit asks “Why don’t they like us anymore?”
But Petalkit asks “What were they saying about our father? Don’t they like Birchface either?”
Patchkit was also the most alarmed seeing Mapleshade was taking them to RiverClan to see their real father, Appledusk.
Larchkit questions the logic and says “I thought our father was dead!” Followed by "But that doesn't make sense. Our father can't be from RiverClan. We're ThunderClan cats!"
It’s subtle, but there is a distinction!
While Patchkit did ask why, it was based on what was happening to them, and how it was affecting them directly. So all of his core memories are centered around his emotional experiences. Petalkit and Larchkit were more focused on why this was happening and what was causing it, because nothing made sense.
When they were told they were half clan, Petalkit connects the dots first and says “So that’s why our Clanmates are mad at us?”
But she protests about crossing the river. Patchkit doesn’t resist and just needs the reassurance from Mapleshade that he will be fine, because at this age, parents are basically gods. So if mama promises, well then it will come true bc Mapleshade is the god of his world. Well… we all know how that went ;_;
Anyways, his brain couldn’t handle the pure trauma, pain and fear of drowning. It was so unfathomable that the memory of that got wiped. He just remembers the emotions and Mapleshade being his home then taken away, and suddenly he’s in StarClan.
Larchkit is traumatized too, but being more observant like Petalkit, he still retained the memory of being puzzled realizing their dad wasn’t Birchface. This was the most impactful thing to him, so Oakstar sending them to Exile was the least of his concerns. He has a dad! And He’s alive! They can have a new and maybe better life in RiverClan with his actual dad. Or so he hoped. The rest of the Exile is fuzzy to him, but the whole Appledusk is his dad revelation shook him. So he only paid attention to reality changing on him. His memory of Appledusk was still based on that single encounter where Appledusk was a figure of kindness and not consequences, especially when he originally thought they were going to be in trouble. Appledusk helped Patchkit, and to Larchkit that meant safety, so he had the luxury of asking Patchkit what it was like to swim so far.
So when Appledusk is evasive and aloof, Larchkit is disappointed that Appledusk wasn’t as cool as he remembered him to be. But what made him bitter was Appledusk’s narrative of Mapleshade, he gets very angry and upset when Appledusk says their mother killed him and she is a murderer. He straight up calls Appledusk a liar and doesn’t talk to him. Full silent treatment. But when he realizes it’s TRUE Larchkit is devastated bc how can this be true? But he can’t argue against facts.
This discovery also makes Patchkit more insecure, thinking Appledusk does not like him bc he looks like Mapleshade, who is a murderer. So he kinda has an identity crisis. A part of him still wants Appledusk to like him too.
In regards to Petalkit, Larchkit, who was closer to Petalkit, is the first to ask about Petalkit's absence while Patchkit stays silent, and not too concerned. This upsets Larchkit when Patchkit admits he doesn't really remember Petalkit very well, and even questions her existence bc Appledusk insisted there were only two kits that drowned, which bewilders and frustrates Larchkit. The problem is, StarClan can't track Petalkit due to being a time anomaly, so he can’t even prove Petalkit existed. So this poor kit is being gaslit.
Birchface is the only one who genuinely believes him, because he thinks it’s impossible for Larchkit to have such explicit memories, and something feels off despite the lack of evidence. The best, logical explanation to Larchkit is that Petalkit must be lost and still finding her way to StarClan, which Birchface supported. He even managed to convince Patchkit that Petalkit will come home, but Patchkit sorta already accepted she was gone since his memory is so poor. Larchkit is still hopeful, but eventually just accepts reality. Petalkit may be gone forever, and he doesn’t like thinking about that.
Larchkit confides in Birchface a lot, who talks fondly and positively about his mother. He also validates Larchkit’s thoughts and feelings, making him trust Birchface. It helps that Birchface also knows exactly what it feels like to drown. The agony and fear of it, and just a horrible experience and way to die. So he can relate and help Larchkit and Patchkit process their trauma better than any cat.
Appledusk doesn’t. Which just makes Birchface angrier at Appledusk for neglecting his kits, especially after knowing what they went through. Larchkit bonds with Birchface and trusts him deeply, taking whatever Birchface says as truth and the only authority he listens to.
Sadly, as time goes on, years and years, even Larchkit eventually forgets what Petalkit’s face looked like.
Now, the biggest reason Larchkit and Patckit are not nearly as resentful of Petalkit?
They’re not alone like Petalkit is. They don’t live long enough to be angry at life and the unfairness of everything. They don’t live long enough to hate and blame someone. Plus the whole, being personally and directly betrayed by Frecklewish and Ravenwing, almost saving Patchkit to the point his paw was within reach but failed, seeing Appledusk attack her mother, thinking maybe he killed her, and then trying (key word is try) to bury Mapleshade’s body.
Petalkit had a lot of faces to hate (and grieve) and are seared into her memory. Her emotions are bigger than her body, so she can’t let go of them, and has no where to put them, or any adult to soothe her and help process everything in a healthy way. So Petalkit remembers everything, and the Dark Forest keeps feeding that hatred to her to make sure she never forgets why she’s hateful and so angry. So tragically, out of all three kits, she has the most explicit and thorough memory. She’s a little fluffy ball of rage lol
Gotta ask tho, why did Ravenwing end up in the Dark Forest in this AU? Just curious
I haven't gone into depth about it, but I have Ravenwing with a lot more malicious intent when he exposed the kits.
A lot of this is the personal betrayal he feels towards Mapleshade, because he actually liked those kits. He felt as medicine cat, he should have known from the start without StarClan showing him the "obvious". And HE helped bring those kits into the world. A lot of this is fueled by his anxiety and stress from the pressures of being a new medicine cat. He's in Oakspeckle's shadow now and there are expectations to meet. Expectations he was ill-equipped to handle with no guidance other the knowledge that was passed down to him.
He feels even more ashamed, foolish and insecure that he let himself get attached to abominations. He and Frecklewish were basically an aunt and uncle to the kits, family. Petalkit was the closest to him.
You could say he overcorrected. He did it out of loyalty for the Clan and Warrior Code, firmly believing he was doing his duty.
But he wanted them gone ASAP. Quickly before the guilt of destroying a family sunk in. Before he lets his emotions get the better of him. He didn't want to face the emotional consequences.
He justified this that the Clan is the family and Mapleshade betrayed all of them in the time of great grief. He is close to Frecklewish so he knows how much those kits meant to her. How much they helped her cope with her brother's death. Justice is needed.
So how does Ravenwing do this? He tells Oakstar the truth when a storm is starting. He knew Oakstar well enough that the leader would cast the traitors out in the middle of it, not even waiting for it to pass.
Ravenwing was also present with Frecklewish when they saw the drowning. They watched coldly, Ravenwing was ensuring his mistakes were corrected.
So Petalkit, the one kit who liked him most, grabs onto the ledge in front of them crying, he did nothing.
They made eye contact. Pertalkit reached for his paw begging for help.
Frecklewish keeps staring.
Ravenwing pulls his paw away and leaves.
So like Frecklewish, he's in the Dark Forest because he broke the code with her.
Ok, I am really curious. What does Mapleshade and Bloodpetal do to pass the time? Their hobbies, you could say. (Other than causing chaos and destruction.) I know that the Dark Forest doesn't have much to offer to pass the time, so what do they do?
Sorry this took a while! I was thinking about this a lot. It's a good question!
For Bloodpetal, she has way more to do than Mapleshade and is busier in her waking hours. Aside from just surviving, practicing battle moves and spying on the clans and Tigerclaw(fav), she likes to collect bones of the prey she's proud of killing. Kinda like trophies. These bones will usually be from foxes, various birds of prey, and maybe the occasional badger. She vows one day she will add Tallear to her collection. For those unfamiliar, Tallear is a rabbit she named and is her nemesis bc she can't catch traditional prey worth shit lol. She has NEVER caught a rabbit. EVER. Still hasn't.
Foxes are the majority of her collection, and she has a favorite fox skull she plays with, or honestly just use as a prop trying to practice how to talk to Tigerclaw. Or sometimes yell and vent at (no socialization and living in isolation. Thanks Thistleclaw, ya asshole!).
She also likes to collect feathers and often what she used for a quick nest. Even when not hunting, she likes to find other predators to fight and mess around with, and honestly troll them lol. She can be a little chaos gremlin sometimes.
As for Mapleshade, a lot of her time is committed to watching Crookedpaw/jaw and wanting to ruin his life. She mentors and trains but that’s more of a duty.
However she does sometimes gather various types of fungi in the Dark Forest. They can often be mixed together or consumed for various effects. Some can be used for dulling pain, or satisfying phantom hunger or help with healing to be less painful for spirits. She's by no means an expert, but she did have some time to experiment here and there, trial and error. They are fairly valuable resources.
Ironically, in this AU Ravenwing is in the Dark Forest and still uses his medicine cat expertise to create various mixes, which makes him valuable to keep alive and unharmed by other Dark Forest spirits. Mapleshade is aware he is around, but isn't too interested in going after him. She's just pleased knowing he is miserable and bitter thinking he doesn't deserve to be in the Dark Forest, so she enjoys the fact he's tormented and being a threat to him. Besides, she's too busy with Crookedpaw. And it's funny knowing he often moves locations to avoid being near her.
One type of fungi has a very bright glowing liquid, that does nothing other than glow brighter than others and stains. Kinda like glow-in-the-dark paint. This is useful for marking and identifying things, drawing out maps for strategy when scratching at the ground or bark. Sometimes these are good for creating trail paths with their pawprints. Or whatever other usage they can find.
They are fairly rare to find, so when Mapleshade finds some, she hoards it away lol. And okay, she won't admit it but it's kinda fun. When no one is watching she just messes around with it drawing random stuff or 'decorating' areas she has claimed as hers.
What was petalkit’s warrior name before bloodpetal? Or was it always bloodpetal?
A very good question!
Technically it was always Bloodpetal.
She didn't exactly have a warrior name prior, more like stage names or nicknames. Thistleclaw would refer to her as just Petal, even when she was technically Petalpaw. Eventually, she grew frustrated with having such a soft name, so Thistleclaw gave her the stage name ‘Petalripper’ whenever she performed in his arena fights. This was inspired by the Dark Forest cats calling her "The Ripper" whenever her reputation grew and she was genuinely feared.
Over time, Thistleclaw would just call her "Ripper" for the most part. However, he reserved that name only for praise and for when she fought. If he disapproved in any way or needed to assert his authority, he would call her 'Petal' as a derogatory.
Her warrior name would have to be earned whenever Thistleclaw deemed her truly ready without his guidance, which of course, meant never. Even as an adult, he kept her under his control by claiming she wasn't ready.
That is until she finally recognized it was all a lie.
Bloodpetal was a self-given name to sever ties to Thistleclaw's control completely and permanently when she left the Dark Forest. It was also a giant fuck you to Warrior tradition, as she did not see herself as a Warrior.
But there was still a part of her that wanted to keep the name her mother gave her. She just didn't want to be associated with something so delicate on first impression. She had already left that softness behind and buried it long ago. So she changed Petal into a suffix instead. Now she just wants to make all the Clans (and StarClan) bleed for what they have taken from her.
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Does Bloodpetal know that Whitestorm is Thistleclaw's son? I'm also really curious if Snowfur is aware of what her ex husband has been up to
Thistleclaw probably would have mentioned him to Bloodpetal, so yes, but unfortunately with Thistleclaw’s narrative.
Thistleclaw’s is all about control. If he controls the narrative, then he controls everything to secure his power and authority.
Soooo he was totally fine throwing Whitestorm under the bus. Thistleclaw is greatly disappointed in Whitestorm and sees his softness as a corruption from Bluestar and the code itself. If anything, he saw Tigerclaw more as his son, bc he's shitty like that. He did genuinely love his son, but he loves power significantly more.
So he uses his own son as a story prop. Telling Petalkit/Bloodpetal how ThunderClan has manipulated his son into unquestionable obedience and how Bluestar specifically targeted his son. Convinced Petalkit that Bluestar was feeding him lies and ensuring Whitestorm would never question the code, even if it involved the death of half-clan kits. How Whitestorm would have been among the cats calling her an abomination.
Of course we know this bs and his own projection, but to Bloodpetal as Petalkit? That checks out, considering her experience with Oakstar. Phrasing it like StarClan has taken from him too, just like her. He victimized himself and told her how the code took away his son and mate. It was StarClan’s will to destroy her family because he understands how she feels. Understands the grief of being unable to save loved ones and how grateful to have Tigerpaw as his apprentice bc it was like being given back a son.
Now, add that to Petalkit’s perspective of Appledusk, and now you have Thistleclaw as her father figure. Seeing him as an example of what a father should be instead of the traitor she got.
Because that’s what Thistleclaw does.
He makes his victims feel special, understood and isolates them with a tightly controlled narrative.
As for Snowfur? Honestly I haven’t really thought about that lol. Just that she was able to watch him only when he was alive, so she witnessed how he trained Tigerpaw.
Now, my take on Snowfur is she was actually a lot more blood thirsty than people give her credit for. She was into violence, heck, her pursuit of it is what got her killed. Thistleclaw liked her for a reason, and it was that embrace of violence. She has her own darkness brewing in there, it’s just more dormant, and not as unhinged lol. She was still a loving sister and showed tenderness, but that was just one side of the coin. (I’m basing this off of her portrayal in Bluestar’s Prophecy.)
So she would have thought Thistleclaw was mentoring Tigerpaw the ‘right’ and traditional way. Harsh but, being a cat who loves battle, she saw no real problem with this. If anything she saw this as the true method of training, tough love, and that the Clan simply shies away from it only because they are uncomfortable with intense, older and more ancient methods. Sees it as normal as just a generational difference.
Think of it like training with a true master swordsman who has been in war. REAL war. Traditionally, the training involves real swords instead of wooden, bc the master needs the student to be prepared for how brutal real battle is, and you can’t habituate yourself to feel comfortable during a fight with expected safety rails. It’s VERY different to fight under relentless pressure vs the familiarity of sparring with a Clanmate.
Is it a little intense? Sure. But is it wrong? No. Not to Snowfur.
Her only real upset is him neglecting their son and his behavior towards Bluestar. But she is grateful that Bluestar is mentoring her son, who she is proud of. She’s fine if Bluestar is uncomfortable with traditional training, and categorizes it as a matter of preference.
That’s all she observes and knows about him until his death. She knows nothing more than that. So she never recognized him as an abuser. Never saw the real monster he is.
TLDR: THISTLECLAW IS A PIECE SHIT!
BUT if she did know and discovers the truth. I expand on this here.
Do you have any headcanon of mapleshade having a mother or any parents when she was a kit in this au?
I actually haven't really thought about that to be honest lol.
But I like the idea that her parents were very large cats and fairly well respected. Mapleshade was the only surviving kit of their litter, so she was the "miracle baby" that the Clan fawned over, which contributed to Mapleshade having too much fate in the Clan to accept her kits. Perhaps expecting them to be glorified like she was or given exceptions.
Mapleshade seemed well liked among the Clan before she was exposed. Her parents died early and Mapleshade was the only link the Clan had to remember them by.
So in addition to the Clan feeling betrayed that were lied to/Mapleshade breaking the code (espscially in the wake of Birchface's death), it was also an insult to the memory of her parents.
I think it’s really cool how petal looked like her dad at first and then slowly started to look more like maple
Thank you! Aside from the symbolism of her corruption, I always thought the irony of her looking so much like Appledusk was very interesting, and the idea of her hating it with every fiber of her being.
I also really like how, in the novella, she was the one out of the three to express her desire to be as strong as Birchface, who she thought was her father at the time. She barely had ANY father in her life, but she's heard enough of Birchface to set a standard for herself. She was the one who insisted she wanted to keep practicing like she was already determined to prove herself.
Even more ironic in my AU, she was a little upset she looked like neither her mother of her "father". So subconsciously, there was a little insecurity that she felt less belonging than her brothers. At least she's heard Birchface was a dark, brown tabby and Larchkit's pelt was dark enough for her to assume he looked like Birchface. She wished she was "As pretty as mama." Despite Mapleshade saying she was perfect as she was. Petalkit still expressed "When I grow up I want to be like you!"
So when Petalkit realizes who her father really is in exile, and that she looks just like Appledusk—only to later discover he betrayed her mother. She felt betrayed and angered that she resembled a traitor, felt even more displaced and even offended she "belonged" more to him than Mapleshade. So there was even more of a sense of othering. She barely knew Birchface and Appledusk, but she knew she wanted nothing to do with either of them as she deemed all ThunderClan cats traitors just like Appledusk. RiverClan and ThunderClan. Both of them. She hated them.
Even more so that she feels Appledusk didn't even care about looking for her or helping her mother or even know her name, and because of him, Petalkit blames him for her mother's death, who was her whole world. She resents it so much she rejects him fiercely, rejects his blood and anyrhing associated with him. Feeling cursed she has to carry his pelt.
So after she's falls into the Dark Lake and gains The Affliction that you can read more about here, she's relieved when she realizes her coat color is changing. She's slowly getting her wish to finally look like Mapleshade, seeing it purification rather than corruption, and feels proud.
But...mama is gone and Petalkit can never tell Mapleshade "Mama look! I grew up! I'm just like you now!"
So she embraces any resemblance she has to her mother even more, particularly her ears. She would often bite Mapleshade's ears so has a very explicit memory what they look like, and often looks at them whenever she catches her reflection. It makes her feel closer.
