childhood

  Briarleap started as a promising young lady throughout her lackluster childhood. She was born to Flaxharvest and Lupinesong from ShadowClan, along with her only brother: Hawktuft. From her incredible social skills to her confidence and ambitiousness, she was the prime example of the potential leader of the clan. Her mother, Flaxharvest, was her best friend. While her mom was a bit on the clingy side, and often shared too much to be considered appropriate, she raised her kids well. Flaxharvest always made sure to be a shoulder to cry on, no matter her emotional turmoil. Briarleap's father, Lupinesong, on the other hand, was driven by his idea of success. 

   While her mother's idea of success was to raise the next generation to be self-regulating and respectful youth, Lupinesong's core motives were to be a reputable deputy. Rather than having any kind of emotional bond or tie with his kits, he focused on upkeeping his work, as this was his priority. This clash of morals in Briarleap's parents left them bitter and resentful of each other, and in turn, made Briarleap co-dependent on her mother as her sole caretaker. Despite this small obstacle, Briarleap and her brother made the most of what they had, and always kept their hopes high.

   This was a foolish thing to do. When they were around four moons old, Briarleap and her brother's mother tragically died from crossfire in a seemingly miscellaneous skirmish. This left the kits broken without redemption in sight. All of Briarleap's deemed promise or confidence rapidly shifted, leaving her meek and hesitant. This drew concern from the rest of her clanmates, though not for her wellbeing, the more superficial reason, being her potential role in the clan was now lost. Her father was unemotive at her mother's funeral, while she and her brother were nearly hysterical. The only thing Briarleap felt she had left was her beloved brother, Hawktuft. This quickly left room for a bitter and unhealthy attachment between her and Hawktuft to flourish.

adolescence

"Everyone has to grow up eventually, when will it be your turn?" 

   Her father told her this after the news broke of her postponed apprenticeship. This quote followed her through the rest of her life, haunting her every time she was forced to stare at the back of her eyelids. She was devastated, to say the least, about her failure to do the bare minimum for cats her age. She went from the promising golden child to nothing more than a mere waste of time. Her competitive, almost abrasive tendencies were completely gone, leaving a shell of a cat. Even her brother was coping better than her. He was integrating into clan life well, even making a couple of friends. Briarleap begrudgingly tolerated them and their stifling happiness; however, when it came to Hawktuft's closest friend, Nettlestalk, Briarleap couldn't let go.

  Rather than being self-critical, Briarleap has a penchant for externalizing her insecurities on others, making her extremely paranoid and unable to form healthy bonds with others. This, in turn, makes her act quite sporadically and compulsively. While other cats might be resentful in silence, she prefers to "get rid of" the problem rather than sit helplessly. While grief and jealousy clouded her brain, Briarleap concocted a plan. 

the first death

    It was one of the sunniest days of Greenleaf, and soon to be the one of the darkest. Just as the sun hit the center of the vibrant sky, Briarleap's plan was set into motion. The only way to rid of her brother's parasite of a friend was disposal, of course. Briarleap took Nettlestalk to the peaks of their territory, who was elated to finally be bonding with his partner's sister who seemed withdrawn. They sat together on the hill, overlooking the glittering river with soon-to-be deadly protruding rocks. 

"It's a perfect day to be sunbathing, isn't it Briarleap?"

     A noncommital hum was heard from beside him, her mind seemed to be engrossed with Nettlestalk's face. It was odd, but he passed it off as her merely living in her head as of late. These would be the last words of the once prosperous medical apprentice, Nettlestalk.

. . .

    Briarleap burst into the entrance of the Clan, weeping and sobbing hysterically. Hawktuft immediately came to her, comforting her through her erratic, mysterious behavior. After blabbering for a while, she finally regained her words, she stated that his partner might be dead.

The second death

TBD

As time went on, like a rotting once beautiful flower, Briarleap's intelligence and arrogance gradually eroded her morals and value for others. Her leadership skills turned out to be a burden, rather than an asset.