Profile
Name: Birchmask
Gender: Genderfluid (he/they/she)
Current: Emberclan
Past: Tansyclan
Sexual Orientation: Omnisexual
--☆-- Relationships --☆--
Mother: Kestrelpoppy
Father: Blazehawk
Brother(s): Cedarbranch
Mate: Owlsplash
Adopted Kit: Melodywisp
Adopted Son(s): Riverstorm
Adopted Daughter(s): Cricketflood
Apprentice(s): Adderflight
----☆----
----☆----
Birchmask was born in Tansyclan to Kestrelpoppy and Blazehawk with their brother Cedarbranch. Birchmask and Cedarbranch were always quite close growing up, and had a good relationship with their mother Kestrelpoppy. Their father, Blazehawk, split from Kestrelpoppy when the siblings were young, and so they were never really that close with him.
Starting as an apprentice, Birchpaw felt different than the others. Somedays he felt like a tom, somedays she felt like a she-cat, somedays they felt like neither. Birchpaw asked Cedarpaw to try calling them his brother, sister, sibling, and Cedarpaw obliged, just wanting Birchpaw to feel happy and comfortable. Eventually, Birchpaw brought up their confusion to Kestrelpoppy. She had once, a long time ago, met a loner that was genderfluid, using whatever pronouns that corresponded to how they felt. Birchpaw then realized she was genderfluid, and formally came out to the clan.
Kestrelpoppy and Cedarpaw were supportive of Birchpaw, however the same couldn't be said for the rest of the clan. Tansyclan was at this point led by Amberstar, who led the clan with an iron paw. She was judgemental and critical of the apprentice, and out of fear the rest of the clan went along with opinions. Birchpaw, however, did not let this bother him. They did not care what their clanmates might think, Birchpaw knew who they were. She also encouraged another apprentice, Moorpaw(wing), to come out as transgender.
After earning his warrior name, Birchmask met an Emberclan warrior, Owlsplash, at a Gathering. The two hit it off and began meeting at their clans' border. Birchmask came out to Owlsplash on one of these border meetings, after mentally preparing themselves for the worst response. They had greatly enjoyed Owlsplash's company up until this point, and if things were going to continue, wanted to be open with her. If she rejected them, fine, at least they hadn't gotten too close. But Owlsplash was incredibly supportive, surprising Birchmask. Their relationship deepens into romance after this.
One day, while meeting at the border, Birchmask confesses to Owlsplash, and asks to be mates. Owlsplash enthusiastically agreed, and that's when Emberclan's medicine cat Hazelthorn comes out of the bushes. He confronts the two, dragging them to Emberclan's leader Marblestar, where he then exposes their cross-clan relationship. Much to Birchmask's protests, Marblestar then goes to Amberstar to explain the situation. Amberstar immediately exiles Birchmask, and they have to give a tearful goodbye to their mother and brother. Birchmask asks to join Emberclan, to which Marblestar readily agreed.
Owlsplash and Birchmask live happily as mates in Emberclan. They build their relationship on trust and promising to always be open with one another. Then one day, while patrolling together, they come across a young kittypet who is crying. When they ask what was wrong, the kittypet tells them that their mother had just dropped them off into the woods. They had come out as agender to her, and she didn't want them around anymore. Owlsplash and Birchmask immediately adopt the kit. Melody keeps their kittypet name, becoming Melodykit.
Hazelthorn is called upon by Starclan to form a patrol of two cats from each clan, and journey to find and bring back Sunclan. He takes Dovebreeze with him as the second Emberclan cat. Melodypaw becomes an apprentice, mentored by Marblestar himself. Owlsplash and Birchmask are immensely proud of them, as is Frecklegleam, Owlsplash's mother, who had become quite close with her grandchild. Melodypaw soon demonstrates that they are an exceptional hunter. Birchmask loves Melodywisp with all their heart, and begins daydreaming about having more kits with Owlsplash in the future.
Hazelthorn's patrol returns, victorious in their mission to retrieve Sunclan, but Hazelthorn died on the way back. Owlsplash is crushed by her friend's death, but the grief is somewhat tampered as Owlsplash's long-lost brother Otter also returns with the patrol. Otter joins Emberclan, meeting Birchmask and Melodypaw. Birchmask is supportive of Owlsplash in her grief, however he had never really liked Hazelthorn all that much. Birchmask saw him as petty and obviously harboring a crush on Owlsplash.
Melodywisp earns their warrior name, and their parents are very proud of them. Then the night of the Dark Forest battle came. Melodywisp is cornered by the Dark Forest warrior Hawkthorn, and is about to be killed when Frecklegleam intervenes. She gets killed instead, and the commotion catches the attention of Owlsplash and Birchmask, who fight Hawkthorn, driving him away from Melodywisp. In the fighting Marblestar is also killed by the Dark Forest warrior Honeystep, making Frostberry the new leader of Emberclan. She chooses Fenneljaw, her closest friend, so close they are practically sisters, as deputy. It was only after the battle was over did Birchmask learn that Blazehawk and Cedarbranch had been killed. Amberstar was also dead, with Shadowtail as the new leader. Shadowtail had come out as non-binary right when the battle ended, and offered for Birchmask to come back to Tansyclan. Birchmask was horribly upset at the news of his brother's death, but had made a life for themself in Emberclan, and so turned down Shadowstar's offer. For the record, Shadowstar didn't expect Birchmask to take them up on the offer anyhow.
In the aftermath of the battle, Otter and Dovebreeze become mates, as do Melodywisp and Sunwhisker. Sunwhisker is a Leafclan warrior who had fallen head over heels in love with Melodywisp. They move to Emberclan after the battle so that they can be mates with Melodywisp. Time passes. Otter and Dovebreeze have a litter of three kits; two she-kits, Finchkit(mask) and Songkit(paw), and a tom, Pigeonkit(shade). The clan finds a rogue group on their border, headed by Pikeleap, Fenneljaw's brother. There is a fight, and Pikeleap is killed. Pikeleap was the father of Berrylight, Otter's apprentice, and Parsleystrike, her sister, through Heatherlight. While in the rogue group he also became mates with a she-cat named Cliff, and had two sons with her, Adderkit(flight) and Rushkit(talon). Cliff, her two kits, and her brother Juniper all join the clan after the rogue groups disbands following Pikeleap's death. Juniper has extensive herbal knowledge, and thus becomes the clan's medicine cat. When Adderpaw and Rushpaw become apprentices, Birchmask and Sunwhisker mentor them.
One day, Owlsplash goes missing. Birchmask, Otter, Melodywisp, and Sunwhisker are all part of patrols searching for her, but fortunately a few days later, Owlsplash returns to Emberclan with two kits - Cricketkit and Riverkit. She explains that she had been grabbed by a Twoleg, and while making her way back to Emberclan, had found the two in a bush. Birchmask was overjoyed to see Owlsplash safe and sound, and happily welcomed the two kits into their family.
Blossomflare, Sunwhisker's younger sister, then turned up one day in Emberclan. She asked to join, and Sunwhisker vouched for her. Froststar welcomed her in. Then one night Blossomflare tried to kill Froststar in her den. She was stopped by the deputy Fenneljaw, and killed her instead. The commotion woke Froststar, who killed Blossomflare, but not before she revealed that her legacy would live on in her kit. Froststar was utterly wrecked by Fenneljaw's death, even losing a life quickly after from the heartache and stress. She named Mallowclaw as the new deputy. When Froststar heard tale that Sunclan had taken in three kits from Aspenfang and Mottle (Blossomflare's older brother, from the same litter as Sunwhisker), and that one of the kits was Blossomflare's, she demanded that Sunclan give over the kit. Peonystar, Sunclan's leader, refused, and so Froststar declared war.
Sunwhisker is exiled from Emberclan for being Blossomflare's sibling, and for vouching for her to stay, and Melodywisp leaves with him. Finchpaw, Songpaw, Pigeonpaw, Cricketpaw, Riverpaw, Rabbitpaw (Fenneljaw's son), and Blizzardpaw (son of Duskflight and Snowscratch, nephew of Hazelthorn), are apprentices, mentored by Duskflight, Froststar, Heatherlight, Kestrelpool (Fenneljaw's mate), Juniper, Parsleystrike, and Otter respectively. Songpaw gets sick fast, and due to the war Juniper and Riverpaw are unequipped to handle it, so they send her to Tansyclan, Dovebreeze going with her daughter as well. Songpaw dies, and Dovebreeze ends up joining Tansyclan in her grief. She and Otter break up over Songpaw's death.
Soon after Songpaw and Dovebreeze leave, Smokeflower appears in Emberclan. She had heard of the war between Emberclan and Sunclan (albeit a bit later due to living in Twolegplace), and had come to take Riverpaw and Cricketpaw to safety. Birchmask is confused, and Owlsplash confesses that Smokeflower is Riverpaw and Cricketpaw's biological mother. She also confesses that she can never have kits. Riverpaw and Cricketpaw are mad at Owlsplash for keeping their mother's identity a secret, and the two run Smokeflower out of Emberclan. Birchmask feels deeply hurt and betrayed that Owlsplash had broken her promise to always be open with them. The two of them had built their whole relationship on being honest with each other, and to find out that she had been keeping this from him stung. Birchmask put their relationship on pause, needing time to themself.
Riverpaw switches his apprenticeship from a medicine cat to a warrior, being apprenticed to Mallowclaw. His anger slowly grew and morphed, becoming more and more pointed at Froststar. Finchmask, Pigeonshade, Cricketflood, Riverstorm, Rabbitspring, and Blizzardspeck soon earned their warrior names. Cricketflood, at this point, had largely gotten over her anger at Owlsplash, on good enough terms to celebrate getting her warrior name with her. Riverstorm had not forgiven her, nor anyone for that matter. He had a dream where he met a spirit that told him about an ancient Emberclan tradition, unique from the other clans; duels. Duels are held between a leader and a warrior, wherein one challenges the other to a one-on-one battle. They are only used as a last resort, as the duel only ends either with one cat surrendering, or death. The loser then has to adhere to whatever punishment the victor puts forth. Riverstorm challenges Froststar to one of these duels.
The two of them have their fight in the center of camp. Froststar was slightly smaller than Riverstorm, and Riverstorm was younger and angrier. But Froststar had her own stewing anger, and had also trained in the Dark Forest. They traded blows back and forth, then Froststar ripped most of one of Riverstorm's ears off, and blinded him in one eye. Riverstorm surrendered, and Froststar exiled him.
Birchmask is stunned by Riverstorm's duel and exile. They find themselves with Owlsplash, and become mates again in their shared grief. The duel between Froststar and Riverstorm seemed to be a turning point amongst the majority of Emberclan as well. Cricketflood and Rabbitspring, along with Brackensnow, one of Sunclan's medicine cats and a contender for Blossomflare's kit, work together to lure Froststar to the Twolegplace, where they trap her in a basement during a storm. Froststar attacks Brackensnow, but then a water pipe bursts, hitting Froststar squarely in the chest and slamming her against a wall. While she is in Starclan between lives, the basement becomes flooded. Cricketflood frantically tries to open the window to get the three of them out, but it sticks. Rabbitspring has to break the glass to get them out. Rabbitspring goes first, then drags Froststar's limp body with him. When they turn back for Brackensnow, he's already under the water, caught by debris. Froststar then wakes up, and after learning that Brackensnow had saved her, dives back into the water, dragging him out. She apologies to them, saying she saw Fenneljaw while between lives, and she begged for her to end the war, saying she did not want any of this. Froststar then calls off the war.
Meanwhile back at camp, Mallowclaw was preparing the rest of Emberclan to take Froststar's leadership when she came back if she did not put an end to the war. Luckily by the time Froststar returned, she had had her epiphany and put a stop to the war. Froststar allowed Mallowclaw to stay as deputy, admiring her commitment to Emberclan's well-being. Froststar also wanted to find Riverstorm and apologize, offering a place back in the clan for him. Cricketflood and Finchmask had seen Riverstorm and talked with him before Froststar had called off the war, but had not seen him since. Melodywisp and Sunwhisker also returned, bringing with them a blind tom kit they had found while trekking back to Emberclan's camp during the storm. They had adopted the kit, naming him Cottonkit(plume).
Owlsplash, Birchmask, Melodywisp, and Cricketflood all reunited gleefully. Pigeonshade and Blizzardspeck confessed to each other and became mates, as did Finchmask and Adderflight. Cricketflood and Rabbitspring clearly had a thing for each other, but did not confess just yet. Birchmask was also informed that his mother Kestrelpoppy had become mates with another warrior named Adderblaze (Moorwing's father). When Cottonpaw was an apprentice, mentored by Cricketflood, there was a terrible storm that ravaged the clans. It caused the river to overrun, and Emberclan's camp to flood. Adderflight ran to Sunclan for help (his half sister Berrylight had joined Sunclan toward the tail end of the war). With Sunclan's help, they were able to get everyone out safely, but then Cottonpaw slipped and fell back in. Chickadeepaw, a Sunclan apprentice, dove in to help, being a very strong swimmer. Chickadeepaw was able to get Cottonpaw to safety, but then a branch hit Chickadeepaw, causing him to go under. Chickadeepaw died, and Peonystar lost a life trying to save him.
Very soon after the clans were on the move to Sunclan's old territories. Cottonpaw became good friends with Fireflypaw(blaze), another Sunclan apprentice and Chickadeepaw's sister (Chickadeepaw, Fireflyblaze, and Marigoldwind were the kits of Driftbreeze and Daffodilheart). Owlsplash and Birchmask tried their best to enjoy the journey together, trying not to worry too much about Riverstorm, who had still not been seen since Cricketflood and Finchmask talked to him all that time before. After settling into their new camp, Cricketflood and Rabbitspring officially became mates.
