Burrsprout

LichenClan

fluffy cream cat with amber eyes

Her small frame and lean body are buffed by a thick coat of fur, making Brackenpaw imposing for an apprentice. At 16 moons, she’s fully grown but is shorter than other apprentices and even her sister. Brackenpaw is horizontally built but vertically challenged. That’s why despite her abnormal fluff, she’s still able to navigate LichenClan’s land easily. Her face is broad, with whimsical fur peeking out at every end. It ends in a narrow muzzle, giving it a triangular shape overall.



The blend of white and cream fur is nearly seamless, making Brackenpaw look bland and markless. Her paws and legs contain a hidden mixture of the two colours but seem completely white from afar. Brackenpaw has markings of a typical classic tabby, but they are carefully hidden by her messy and long fur. Only long stripes show up among the chaos.



Perhaps the only thing that gives away her blood relation to Briarpaw is a pair of stunning eyes. Slanted and narrow, Brackenpaw is far from the large, naive eyes of her sister. Yet the deep amber is unmistakable, and it shines in the same way as her sister.

Brackenpaw is introverted. She finds social interactions in LichenClan exhausting and would often prefer to be alone with her thoughts. When talking with others, Brackenpaw is constantly trying and failing to understand the hidden emotions behind words; This helps her fit in with LichenClan more than she realizes. Brackenpaw’s quietness and hesitance to talk blends nicely with the cats who sit quietly to contemplate their words.



Brackenpaw is bold and idiotically brave. In other words, she’s sacrificial. Brackenpaw won’t hesitate to save someone in trouble, regardless of who they are. She’ll take any wound and bear any weight if it means helping others. Her willingness to lay her life down for others is one thing that redeems her.



Brackenpaw can easily spot or track prey, but she’s unable to notice social cues. Subtle body language such as tail flicks or eye movements completely escapes her notice. Brackenpaw prefers to use large, bold gestures to communicate but usually refrains from doing so.



Brackenpaw is naive and takes everything at face value. She wholly believes in the kit-hood tales of StarClan she grew up with and takes words at face value. Her naivete is the reason Brackenpaw finds it so hard to connect with other LichenClan cats who thread their words with metaphors and hidden meanings.

Brackenkit was born alongside her sister Briarkit to a pair of warriors who filled their minds with horrible tales and woes about StarClan. Mind festering with fears of not being good enough for StarClan, Brackenkit could only seek out more stories. She feared doing something wrong without realizing it and sought out more legends and tales about the mysterious cats in the sky. Each new tale further confined Brackenkit to her mind. She bundled up her feelings and thoughts and only let pure devotion to StarClan and LichenClan show.



As an apprentice, Brackenpaw started to learn about what life as a warrior would be; she found herself more inadequate than she could ever imagine as a kit. While cats communicated with subtle words and careful body language, Brackenpaw only understood bunt and physical communication signs. She was strong, fast, but not cunning like her peers. Left in the dark about StarClan, Brackenpaw grew up fearing and revering her ancestors. She grew up constantly suppressing traits she thought were unfavourable while trying to devote herself the best she could.



She’s been moved from mentor to mentor, with little success. Brackenpaw craves the deep emotional relationship a mentor and apprentice have. She wants to learn and shape herself in the image of her teacher, yet no matter how hard cats try to teach her to be sly, smart and observant, it never works. Brackenpaw quickly picks up on fighting skills and can watch for prey like a warrior, but she’s deaf to the whims of LichenClan society. Her devotion puts off mentors in on the rebellion, and those on the other side can’t connect to her dull mind.



Many cats question why Brackenpaw is not yet a warrior, regardless of her ever-changing mentor. She’ll never admit it to anyone, but the ceremony scares her more than anything. She’s had chances in the past to prove herself ready, but much to the annoyance of her mentors, she purposely failed each one. Deep down, Brackenpaw feels inadequate. She’s unlike her peers; she isn’t careful, smart and cunning. If she tried to do her ceremony now, she’d be stricken down by StarClan as unworthy of her beloved LichenClan. In her mind, the only way she can redeem herself enough to become a warrior is to take on an immeasurable challenge or sacrifice. Her ears will perk up whenever she overhears gossip about border strife or clan trouble. If there ever is a chance to throw herself in danger for Minnowstar or LichenClan, Brackenpaw will run willingly into the fire.