Berrybelly

Berrybelly is a kind but anxious individual who is frequently seen sitting quietly and listening to others speak. She is friendly and extroverted, but often overthinks interactions with others and finds herself seeking some solution to problems that don't exist. She is fiercely loyal to her family and friends, and will do anything she can to protect them, even when terrified for her life.

• Sociable: Berrybelly loves to chat and talk and share her thoughts with others. She can make lots of friends very quickly with her captivating smile and friendly demeanor. As a warrior, Berrybelly has grown into this trait in a less talkative sort of way; she is friendly, and loves to be around other cats, but will often take a backseat in conversation where able, preferring to quietly listen over talking.
• Hopeful: Berrybelly is a hopeful cat; she believes in a brighter future and wants to work towards it despite her anxieties. Berry does what she can to find hope in others, looking up to her parents and older siblings, and trying to find the positives in things in order to keep herself calm. She hopes that in the future, the clans can learn to get along; and she hopes she can be a part of that.
• Kind: Berrybelly does her best to be nice to as many cats as she can; she is gentle-hearted and isn't often against speaking to those over borders. She believes cats who are kind recieve kindness in turn, and does her best to live by that every day. Her kindness however will not extend to those threatening to harm her, her family, or her clan; they come first, and scathing words however few will always be extendedtowards those who are unfriendly.

• Hyper-attentive: Berry has grown from being innattentive in conversation, to being too aware of the things around her; as a kit she was absentminded and carefree, but as an adult, Berrybelly has grown to be hyper-aware of her surroundings, listening to little noises and analyzing conversation in great detail. This is helpful for hunting and traveling the territory alone, but it leads to paranoia and anxiety, as well.
• Reserved: In result of her injury and distrust of rogues, Berrybelly has grown to be a good bit more reserved in her age; though she isnt against being friendly with others and chatting with cats from other walks of life, Berry has become wary of others and will often be quiet and unreachable until she's assessed that you are not a threat. This trait is a direct product of growing up during the WOGLES event.

• Flimsy: Berrybelly will normally back down from an argument rather quickly; She sees very little value in her own opinion, and thus, she’s easily swayed. She would rather accept the other person’s opinion than waste time and energy arguing for herself. She is therefore very easy to push around, and she would much rather flee a fight than stay with tooth and claws.
• Insecure: Berry feels as though she is almost useless as a warrior. She isn't the best at hunting, fighting, or fishing; she's a poor swimmer, and she now has lost her ability to affectively communicate. Now surrounded by what she (and many others) considers the strongest clan physically, she finds herself as useless as she was as a kit, and she often discounts the things she IS good at as useless and unhelpful.
• Anxious: Berrybelly overthinks. A LOT. She is often overthinking everything she says or does in an effort to come across as she intends. She worries about what will happen in the future, no matter how hopeful she is, and she frequently gets lost in fits of nervousness and unrest. She has grown used to pulling herself out of these holes she digs in the dark recesses of her mind, but even then, it doesnt stop her from falling right back into them again.

Berrybelly already had a family, before she was ever born. Her mother, Poppyflake, and her father, Saltfang, had already had a litter before she and her siblings came along; but Saltfang treated that litter as friends, because they were unplanned and he was unprepared, and her older siblings began to feel resentment towards their family when Sunkit, Berrykit, and Peachkit were born.

As Berrykit grew up with loving parents, her older siblings shunned her, acting coldly towards her and the other two younger kits, and avoiding them at all costs. Berrykit especially was treated with contempt, for she was the one named after the sibling they lost in apprenticeship, Hollypaw. Berrykit, when she was younger, didn't notice or pay much mind to her siblings absence and avoidance, playing it off as if they were just busy with warrior duties and that they didnt have time to play or say hello. She and her siblings played in the nursery, and her father made frequent visits to see them and watch over them when her mother needed a break. She shared the nursery with many of Beetlestar's grandchildren, who were only a little bit older than her, and became an apprentice alongside her brothers, though not without a short session of crippling fear and an attempt to assasinate Beetlestar so that she wouldn't have to face him during her ceremony.

Upon becoming an apprentice, Berrypaw was assigned Hazeheart as a mentor; She and Haze got along alright, with Hazeheart taking on a sort of "second mother" Position in her life. It was quickly clear that Berrypaw had no talent in fighting, but she wasn't so bad at fishing at the very least, and her hunting was passable. What really stood out was her conversation skills; she was a natural, knowing when to listen and when to talk, and her ability to flow through conversation and give advice and strategy was by far her strong suit. As she learned and grew, she only became better at what she was bad at; but she never fully got the hang of combat training, and Hazeheart was gentle and graceful in dealing with her shortcomings.

All the while, Berrypaw began to take notice of her older sibling's contempt. The way they'd glare when she passed by. The way they never offered to take her onpatrol. The fact that Pikesplash, often, would avoid even looking her direction. She began to wonder what was wrong with her; why did her siblings hate her so? She hadn't asked to be born. She hadn't asked to be named Berrypaw. If they wanted to be angry with someone, why did it have to be her?

And then there was the rogues.

Cats began to be kidnapped. She watched as the clans descended into chaos searching for the cats that they lost. She could only watch. She began to be anxious always, always on her toes. She lost some faith in starclan, wondering why they would allow this to happen to innocent warriors. Hazeheart offered no answers; only that it would work out. Berrypaw went out on a patrol to search for answers, and instead, found only more fear; the rogues wanted them to go out in patrols, so they were easier to pick off and kill or worse. They were playing right into their claws. Shortly after, a cat named dustypaw from her patrol went missing.

For awhile after that, Berrypaw stayed home. It wasn't until Peachpaw went missing, abducted from a patrol, that she drew up her courage, and went out to find him and dustypaw, hoping to prove herself as a capable warrior.

They attacked the camp that clan cats were being held at. She was there for a moment; she called out some sort of plan to action. The Rogue Shriek scored claws across her flank and then threw her head first into a tree. The last thing she remembers of the patrol was her older sister's panicked screams. After a fitful est, listeningto her family murmur over her unconcious form, She came to many days later in the medicine den, her father and her uncle nearby; Peachpaw had been saved in the following days, and Pikesplash was alive and well, but she had suffered serious injuries. She found that her ability to communicate had been shattered during her injury; she spoke in fragments, and words were nearly impossible to make.

They commended her for her bravery. They gave her her warrior name before she was even able to leave camp again. She couldn't help but wonder, do I even deserve this?

After being made a warrior, Berrybelly was a wreck; still anxious, and very self-loathing. Neither of her siblings had earned their names; yet she felt they were more deservng than she had ever been to get them. After a tense conversation with Pikesplash about what happened during the patrol, she and her sister set their relationship on the mend. She recently mad her first real friend; a cat by the name of Weaselpaw across the snakeclan border, who was due to get his warrior name any day now.