Bearbranch

History

Kithood [0-6 moons] >

Bearkit was one of four kits born to Ruddyheart, Sneezewhisper being the surrogate for him. She is the only she-cat out of the four, her brothers being Cardinalkit, Beaverkit, and Badgerkit. Almost immediately, she took the leader-like role of the litter, even if she isn't the oldest, it just seemed to stick with her right away and seemed naturally born with it. 

    Bearkit had no idea about the whole war situation. She was confused whenever she saw cats grieving and some cats never came back into camp. She was nervous, but thoroughly confused. Her father talked to her and her siblings about it though, in fear of them having to fight in it. She learned of the war, why it started, everything Ruddyheart deemed necessary to tell them. So maybe she had a reason to be nervous...

Apprenticehood [6-12 moons] >

Bearkit finally became an apprentice along with her brothers, earning the name Bearpaw. She was given Cinderfall as a mentor. She liked her choice of mentor, although she didn’t know her that well. But Cinderfall taught her a majority of fighting, with the war going on and whatnot. Who knows if she needed to fight?

    The war raged on, many had fallen- especially ones of her own clan -and suddenly she finds out her mentor was gone. The irony of having fallen out of a tree. Bearpaw missed her immediately, but was given another mentor. It was Lilacpool, the cat she secretly admired and looked up to since she knew her. To say she wasn’t excited was an understatement. Bearpaw was determined to make the warrior proud!

     The war had abruptly ended, though Bearpaw was unsure of why. It was found out that some of EmberClan rebelled against Wildstar and chased her out of camp, ending the unnecessary war. Bearpaw was relieved, she didn’t want to risk killing another cat.

Warriorhood [12 - 14 moons] >

Bearpaw finally became a warrior, earning the name Bearbranch for her agility and balance. She was happy to finally have become a warrior! Though it didn’t last long because disaster struck. This time, it was against her rather than towards outside forces.

Missing [14 - 16 moons] > 

     It was a simple solo patrol, just her and nobody else. She was chasing a squirrel, determined to catch it. The weather was getting colder and colder, which meant there would be less and less prey as the season went on. She refused to let a clanmate starve. A mishap that caused the platform she was running on to suddenly break, making her fall into the rapids below. She couldn’t swim all that well, if at all, so she desperately tried to surge through the water to safety. The current ended up sweeping her away...

     The next moment, she was on the bank of the river, something tall standing over her. A Twoleg. She couldn’t do much besides pass out again, exhausted from the near death experience with the water. Thus, she was very confused that, when she woke up again, she was in some warm area. At first, she thought she was home in the warriors den, but there were weird walls all around and it smelled funny. That was when she remembered the Twoleg, causing her to panic and attempt to get up but only felt pain and flopped back down. To say she was scared was an understatement of the century. She was terrified. Cue the next moments of the Twoleg coming back in and checking on her before leaving again. She wasn’t ever allowed to leave, be it the pain stopping her or the Twoleg. So she was stuck there until most of the pain subsided from her head and broken leg, making a plan of escape in the meantime. Once she was able to move, she used her escape plan and booked it out of there, ignoring the Twolegs behind her.

      Bear didn’t think this through. She had no idea where she was. No familiar landmarks. No familiar smells. Nothing. She was miles and miles from home. The fear was back. What if she never got home? What if she never saw her father again?! The guilt and despair clawed at her heart. She chose a random direction, hoping to find some sign or some sort of help along the way. Eating wasn’t a strongpriority- especially with her wounded leg that she practically ruined again when escaping -but she would catch what she could before moving onwards again. Would her leg get in the way of hunting, she would try and find safe berries to eat. If she wasn’t doing that, she was finding her way home. She had found some help, as well as some rude rogues that attacked her. She came across dogs, foxes, raccoons, many different animals, which she steered clear from most of the time. There were no new leads on where home was, she was losing hope of ever finding them again.
     Then she had found one cat that knew exactly where she was needing to go. It was a outdoor kittypet by the name of Ergo, a simple golden-yellow and black calico with blue eyes, and she knew of the clan cats. She gladly helped Bear. The journey took a while but once she was on the right track, Ergo left. She explained about her Twolegs and she couldn’t stray far from home. Wishing each other luck, they parted ways, Bear eager to get home. She had to sit through rain, storms, snowstorms, everything. Her mostly-healed-wounds were still causing a problem as well, making her sore. It all held her back way more than she had hoped, making her journey longer. She had to have been gone for a couple moons by now. Then she smelled a familiar scent. Dropletshine and Aster, the friendly rogues of the clans. With the faint scents of the clans  in the distance as well. She was finally home!
    Reuniting with her father and siblings was the best feeling in the world, she missed them so much! She was just so relieved to be done with the horrors she went through. It took a while, but she managed to finally get back into the groove of things as a warrior.  

Warriorhood [16 - 49 moons] > 

    It wasn’t long until she was finally trusted with an apprentice by Swanstar. Her name was Monarchpaw! Bearbranch was deadset on training her well, she was eager to help the apprentice become a warrior. She spoke of her apprentice highly!
    But it... didn’t last long. She didn’t think it could go so wrong so quickly. It was a simple training session, she was teaching Monarch how to climb and maneuver in trees, something almost all HailClan cats were known to be skilled in! But then a branch broke when Monarchpaw was climbing high up and she fell. Watching her fall struck something in Bearbranch- she went through the same thing. Due to the moments hesitation, she couldn’t reach and grab Monarchpaw in time and could only watch as she plummeted. She died upon impact. Bearbranch was in shock. How could she let that happen...? She was trusted with an apprentice and failed, leaving a young aspiring cat dead.
    Maybe... Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a mentor after all...

    It wasn’t long after that incident that everything in HailClan fell apart. A cat was exiled over nothing but rumors, Swanstar was sick and out of commission, and everyone was leaving. Some cats fled to EmberClan, others went to CloudClan, while the rest wandered like rogues. Despite the fact that her family was going to CloudClan, she didn’t follow. CloudClan wasn’t home to her. Neither was EmberClan. The closest thing that came to comfort that wasn’t HailClan was being a Wanderer. She did it for moons to get home, after all. That’s what she did the entire time, though she did watch out for Robinear, as she put herself into exile and is now a rogue.
    She learned her half-sibling Maplepaw had suddenly disappeared. Knowing how distraught her father and step-mother must be, she decided to help look out for her. Bearbranch wasn’t close to her half-siblings, she never got to know them well since they were kits when HailClan split apart. But even then, she’ll look for her sister. For her father. He didn’t need to lose more cats close to him. She was a close call already, they didn’t need another one.
    Bearbranch was on high alert when the world went dark during the day. A solar eclipse happened. Due to her choice of wandering, she was very out of the loop with the clans. The most she did was greet other wandering HailClan cats, and visit the camp where Lynxpatch was staying, claiming she wouldn’t leave her home. She took care of the old she-cat by bringing her food every day. But rather than being told, she saw that the Hope Bridge burnt down. What happened? Eventually, she learned that Blizzardfang, a Dark Forest cat, appeared at the gathering, and that there are spies in the clans trying to kill them, but nobody knew who they were.
    Thankfully, the trouble didn’t last long, as the Dark Forest cat was killed and the spies were found out. When the Hope Bridge was rebuilt, every HailClan cat came and gathered there, even the wandering ones- including herself. She was ecstatic to see her family again and the half-siblings that she… felt really awkward around. They really grew up, didn’t they?
    She never did find Maplepaw.
    Salmonstar was the new leader now. HailClan was back together!
    They learned from Rippletide that she was one of the spies, as well as Robinear- figures it was her. She was demoted to being an apprentice instead of exiled, which raised a lot of outcry. Rippletide was meant to be guarded at all times. Bearbranch would always offer to take the place for cats who didn’t want to be near her.

    The Crystal Falls got attacked, strangely enough. They were damaged, severing their only contact to StarClan. That made her worried. But no one could really do anything as they had leaf-bare to prepare for. And it hit them hard. Starving cats, others dying, constant blizzards. It was a mess.
    Out of nowhere, an avalanche happened, trapping cats underneath. Rootsun died trying to save them. The clan decided to ban hunting in the mountains for the time being.
    Aspencloud was killed near the mountains by a large predator, assumably. This meant Pinehawk was the last of her half-siblings. Hopefully the other she-cat can stick around longer.
    Beavershine has a mate! Him and Whirlywind have announced their mateship. She’s so happy for her brother! He deserves it so much. 

    Bearbranch was trusted with another apprentice, Chickadeepaw. Her heart lurched when she heard her name get announced as the mentor. And not in the good way. She kept most of the nerves at bay as she met her apprentice, but if one knew her well, they could see the creases of fear in her face and how tense her smile was. She wasn’t ready. She definitelywasn’t ready for this. Images of a broken Monarchpaw flashed in front of her. She can’t doom this apprentice too.
    Her half-sister, Pinehawk, suddenly told everyone she was expecting kits. It left Bearbranch baffled. She was planning to have kits? For how long? She was still so young! Not to mention she's not very... she's not as motherly as her mother is. A lot more of a reckless teenager. But either way, Bearbranch is happy for her and will... try to visit the kits and her often, despite not being close with the calico. She's still nervous when it comes to being around kits.
    Not long after that, Beavershine and Whirlywind announced that they, too, were having kits. Again, Bearbranch was shocked. She didn't think they'd get straight to kits right away! But she congratulated them both on it. Similar to her half-sisters, she would try and be a good aunt for the kits, though the awkwardness around the younger cats prevailed her, she would still try to be there for them. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad!
     A large tree fell into camp, leaving many dead or injured. It was a freak accident, she wondered how it happened. Thankfully, none of her family was hurt.

Quest [49 - 52 moons] >   

     The clans spoke of a quest and picked cats to go on it. Surprisingly, she was one of the cats chosen. She wondered why, but she wasn’t upset. She had experience with going to far away places. She was trained with some herb knowledge and they were sent on their way. Unbeknownst to them, an earthquake happened back in the territories.
      The entire trip was long and painful. They had to go through many troubles- needing to cross a gorge, animal attacks, fires, etc. Many of them were hurt, somehow Bearbranch was pretty much unscathed. The others- specifically the younger cats -tested her patience a bunch with their impulsive decisions. But she kept quiet about it. She didn’t care too much about the rest of them, she was just there on the request of her clan. She didn’t trust them, besides her own clanmates.
     Dropletshine eventually led them to a wide expanse of land, where they found rogues who have formed a group. She, herself, found large creatures named deer. They were oddly docile for beasts. She kept this in mind. When she met back up with the others, she saw that they found the rogues. Bearbranch immediately didn’t trust them. She was distant and cold with them. Bearbranch herself wasn’t sure why they were there for the most part, but the cats there had decided to help them. She had mixed feelings. It was great they were getting help, but also it was a group of rogues? She didn’t understand how they could help them.
    The journey back was just as tiresome. When they were close to home, they were attacked by mountain lions. They fought them off the best they could but were injured in the process. Bearbranch was bleeding profusely from her throat, the lion having bitten it. They managed to all get out alive- unfortunately even the rogues -and scrambled their way back home, wounded.

Warriorhood [52 - 73 moons] >

     They got back and were immediately put into the herb den. They learned of the earthquake and all else that happened during the moons away. She was just glad to see her family again. Her wounds were treated but she gained an infection in her vocal cords, leading her to stay in the herb den longer. When she was released, they broke the news that her vocal cords were damaged too much, leading to her losing the ability to speak. That.. was unfortunate. She knew some sign language but had to get some more lessons from those who knew it well. She grew to be much more skilled in it in the process. But during her time in the herb den, she heard that the rogues that came with them had been attacked in the Crystal Falls, one of them being crushed by falling rocks in the process. Were the rogues there to figure out the problem? Why were they being attacked? It was all confusing and even after she got out of the herbalist den, she didn’t figure out how that all happened.
     Ruddyheart and Milkblossom were both found dead in the territory. Bearbranch was crushed. It’s been a while since she’s felt such grief. And knowing her father and step-mother wouldn’t be there anymore worsened it.
    StarClan was restored after an attack at Crystal Falls, an EmberClan cat becoming the new ‘veil guardian’, whatever that was. It allowed the ghosts to leave, at least. It turns out Laurelsprout, their herbalist, orchestrated the whole thing. And not only that, they had kits with another warrior. For their crimes, they were exiled but allowed to care for their kits until then. They ended up fleeing the clan anyways so it didn’t matter. It gave a sense of distrust for whoever became their next herbalist. Especially when it was a rogue who filled in. They got an apprentice named Fenpaw for a short time, before they died of exhaustion, overworking themself too much. A sad fate. Later, Bramblechirp was appointed the new herbalist, dropping the warrior life to be able to care for the clan medically.

    There have been deer sightings all over the territories. It made Bearbranch suspicious. Especially when cats began to invade the camps and destroy their herbs. A deer even stomped around at the gathering, causing chaos and injuries in the process. It was strange, she was very suspicious of it. Salmonstar ended up stepping down and Thicketstar took his place. She made Moosecrash her deputy.

Queenhood [73 - 79 moons] >
    It had been a long thought of hers, but she decided to have her own kits. It was an easy pregnancy and she gave birth to three kits: Ruddykit, Skunkkit, and Batkit. She’s proud to know they’re all healthy. She just wishes her father and step-mother could see them.
     HailClan was attacked by the empire and despite being off her warrior duties, she guarded the nursery and the kits within. Unfortunately, Thicketstar’s kits got stolen and it was a scramble to get them back. Bearbranch unfortunately couldn’t be a part of it, as she had to focus on her kits. But the clans got them back and brought them home.
    Later, a rogue was taken prisoner. She wasn’t too fond of one of those cats being in the camp. But she couldn’t do much. It was a relief when they were released not too long later. Good riddance.
    Too soon, her kits were made apprentices.

Warriorhood [79 - present moons] > 

    Bearbranch went back to her warrior duties. Unfortunately, within the moon, Skunkpaw was found dead. She knew what happened. The empire killed her. They killed her kit. Within the grief, rage sparked. They’ll pay for taking her daughter away from her.
    Cats have been getting deathly sick and/or dying entirely from prey, it came out of nowhere. It was seemingly poisoned. It was strange and very suspicious. Though it’s easy to tell the empire was behind it as a patrol came across them and chased them away or killed them.
    It was quiet for a while longer when her kits were made warriors: Ruddywish and Batgaze. She was very proud of the two, they deserved it.
    CloudClan cats appeared at the border, begging for shelter after their clan was chased out by the empire. Bearbranch was a lot less hostile than she would’ve been since some cats were injured so it sold their story. Thicketstar allowed them to stay, which Bearbranch agreed with.

Elderhood [90 - present moons] >