Briar

Briar was born on a freezing night, heavy snow wearing down her mother’s makeshift den. One of Briar’s brothers was stillborn and it wasn’t looking good for Creek herself. She was low on energy and alone in raising this litter. Fortunately, she woke up the next morning and was able to tend to her new kittens. Burying her lost son was heartwrenching and nearly ruined how special that night should’ve been. But Creek held her head high through it all and her daughter would later come to admire that part about her.

Briar and Bur were given their names after Creek buried their brother. She hoped they’d represent their names perfectly as they grew older, strength and resilience were nice traits to have. As Briar grew older, Creek would often remind her of the meaning of her name. And at that, Briar would loudly proclaim that she was indeed strong, and she’d work hard to impress momma. Already a charming kitten, as was Bur. The two energetic siblings play-fought frequently.

Hungry, thirsty, cold, and tired, the little family was forced to travel in search of more resources. That’s when a hawk scooped up Bur. Briar hid while Creek tried to drag the hawk down. The poor mother was too exhausted and had to let go. Suddenly Briar understood the heaviness of death, the tale her mother told her of that freezing night, and what’d just happened.

Creek snapped a lot but even as a little kitten, Briar knew her mother was suffering and tried her best to be there for her. Then her momma became more like usual. Appreciative of everything that life gave them, even if it wasn’t much. That sneaky mouse her mother found by chance, the warmth of the sunshine melting away the snow, Creek’s soft murmurs that lulled her to sleep; Briar thought very highly of it all. Life was special and she’d try to live it to its’ full potential for her brothers.

Briar dreamt of settling down in a cozy place with momma, perhaps a lovely big flower field, or by a shimmering lake. Maybe to pay her back with protection and plenty of food. Briar insisted that she needed to learn how to fight, hunt, swim, all that important stuff. So Creek gave her a few lessons. It was very fun for Briar, as evident by her practicing in her free time.

Creek and Briar took shelter in a hollow. Briar had a gut feeling that the place was bad, it was too open for her taste. She tried to get her mother to leave but Creek was exhausted. Briar decided to keep guard and caught the scent of a fox on the way.

The desperate fox trailed the two mollies and eventually, it caught up. Creek seemed to pull all her energy together to keep her last remaining child out of harm’s way, no more letting go. Despite being told to run away, Briar was stubborn and stayed to fight the fox off with her mother. She got some fur torn out and scratches, which wasn’t nearly as bad as Creek’s wounds. Creek had a terrible gash in her side, but the fox left them alone after Creek was done with it.

Briar had tried to patch Creek’s wounds up but the damage was done, and Creek bled out. Briar was a mess, at least at first. Creek always kept going, and she’d have to, too. There was no benefit to moping. Briar said her goodbyes to Creek before leaving her body behind.

Briar met a few travelers on her adventures. Many were kind, but she was right to not trust some of them. Briar was proud that she knew how to survive out in the harsh wild. Hopefully, Creek was, too, if she was somehow watching. Briar really had her to thank for that.

Briar stumbled across a group named the Lake Colony. They were so welcoming and let her stay and… Briar wasn’t feeling those alarm bells in her head. These were cats she liked. Briar asked if she would be accepted into the colony. She was, leading to a rare tearful moment from the molly.

She finally had a home, by a shimmering lake as she’d always dreamt of. Oh, how she wished her family was there. But she could make new friends now. Well, it wasn’t just her new friends, was it? More like her new family. Considering that, Briar knew she’d protect them with her life, as her mother had done for her.