#BB!Carpwhisker

[bonefall]

What was Leopardstar and Carpwhisker’s relationship like?

You know how in Fire Emblem Awakening how there's that side character whose entire existence is dedicated to a running joke that he's the biggest person in the room... but no one sees him, ever? To the point where they even end up thinking an extra goblet at dinner must belong to a ghost?

Face obscured by Chrom's knee on the box art, Mike Wazowski magazine style?

Carpwhisker.

I'm GUTTING Leopardstar's Haggis. It is in the bottom 5 WC entries for me. Leopardstar's childhood bullying was cheap and brainless. How fucking dare they, actually?

How dare they take their ONE confident, intimidating female character, DEFINED by how she was beloved in RiverClan and by her apprentice generation, had no romance, and wasn't a mother figure, and fuck up ALL THREE THINGS???

So. Anyway.

If anyone gets bullied it's Carpwhisker, still by Skyheart.

Brightsky didn't die; she became a kittypet. There were four kits.

Carp, Oat, Leopard, Water.

Mudfur took Carp and Leopard home, due to their resemblance to their famous ancestor, Volestar.

If Mudfur knew what Leopardstar would become... he would have left her there, with her mother. He regrets bringing her back to RiverClan

He feels he should have known better. He became a Cleric shortly after returning because he came to believe that the constant fighting was wrong, and yet...

What did he expect?

Carpwhisker is a nervous wreck who can't stand up for herself despite being as big as a badger, and Leopardstar eventually booked herself a rock appointment

I feel like at some point, Carpwhisker learned the secret about Brightsky... but keeps it to herself.

She can't imagine Leopardstar taking it well, "and um, she's..." (Carpwhisker grasps for words not wanting to outright say she's terrified of her) "...she's a wee bit intense about bad news."

You know that one post about the kid who got severely bullied in school, the teacher put on Dumbo, and they watched every single one of their bullies cheer for the underdog? All the bullies think they're Dumbo.

That's poor Carp. I feel like she used to really like Aftergatherings until Leopardstar told her about the reputation of those events, and that attending them was making Carp look disloyal.

People often take credit for her achievements. She was the one who made the Bonehill practical-- it's not solid bone, it's a mud facade with a layer of bone around it. Tigerstar said it was TigerClan's achievement, and his by proxy.

When Carpwhisker was struggling for breath to correct him, Leopardstar gave her a sideways glance and killed the thought.

So, Carp's relationship with Leopardstar is not great. But Carp defends her, and loves her, and insist she knows best.

Leopardstar is a better friend of Skyheart than she is a sister of Carp. Leopard's beloved by that whole group, and a natural leader from a young age.

I think when Leopardstar dies, Carp is distraught by it. Inconsolable, and it's really hard to tell her in that moment that it sounds like she's a lot better off without her.

She'd probably end up hanging out with Mothwing a lot, seeking spiritual advice. Moth just gives her normal, mortal, nonspiritual advice, but Carpwhisker thinks it's divine.

After all... they both did just lose very toxic siblings that they still loved very much, and are kinda working through that.

In terms of politics, Carpwhisker is a weak-traditionalist. Really, she just goes along with what's popular at the moment, and doesn't make waves. She's conflict-avoidant, and just tries to make others happy with her hard work.

Most of all she just wants peace, really. What if there were no problems forever and everyone was just nice and well-fed and we all took a big nap in this warm den I made. What then.

SO all that to say... She loved Leopardstar. Leopardstar was awful to her. "We're sisters! It's just like that!" (It Is Not Like That.) She was hidden in her shadow. She thought the shadow was normal. She's destroyed when her sister dies. She can only begin to recover once she's gone.

[bonefall]

Oh? Is Carpwhisker going to be a mom? Who are her kits? Or is that decided just yet?

She has three kids! Splashpaw, Voletooth, and most importantly, Duskfur!

I'm not sure who the father was, though. She seems like she wouldn't be self-assured enough to stick to her guns with the Queen’s Rights if pressed too hard, and it was definitely some sort of unplanned thing. I feel like it's a ShadowClan warrior she was close with during TigerClan, and she feels wretched about it.

Splashpaw dies young at some point in TNP, probably in a dumb fight with ThunderClan. Voletooth is either killed in the Battle of the False Eclipse or the Battle of the True Eclipse. Duskfur cradles a crush on Reedwhisker for eons, eventually having Curlfeather and Podlight with him.

Carpwhisker was a good mom, very loving, but sometimes overpermissive. She had a hard time telling her kids No, especially after losing Splash.

[bonefall]

wait, two children? leopardpelt had a sibling??

Yeah! Carpwhisker isn't SUPER important, but she is here now.

[ID: An anxious looking, brown, spotted cat with a white belly and green eyes.]

She is a kit save because I needed her genetics around for the RiverClan Family Tree, she is the mother of Duskfur, Voletooth, and an apprentice who dies during TNP, Splashpaw.

But most importantly, she was added because I'm telling a very different story with Leopardfur. I am very frustrated by how canon decided that a large motivating part of her villain arc is... being spoiled by her dad for being an only child with a dead mom.

So there's been some real big changes to Leopard's family.

Brightsky isn't dead. She left to become a kittypet, but gave half of her litter to Mudfur.

Brightsky and Mudfur used to be very united in their criticism of Clan culture, and the path it was taking. Brightsky decided that there was no fixing it, and it was better to get away from it completely.

She begged Mudfur to come too... but he couldn't. He couldn't leave his life and legacy behind. But he asked to keep his children-- no one knows what happens to kittypet kittens when they become too old.

She wanted at least two of them to have a peaceful life. Water and Oat stayed with her. Leopard and Carp went home.

Carp was probably sent back, in particular, because she has a family resemblance to her famous ancestor Volestar. Successor of Darkstar, creator of the Queen's Rights.

And on that note, only Hailstar was told the truth about Brightsky. Him and Mudfur agreed that the official story would always be that Brightsky had died trying to escape kittypets, but that Mudfur had been able to save his kittens.

If Mudfur had known what would happen to Leopardkit, if he could glimpse into the monster that she would become, he would have left both of them there, in that warm nest beside their mother.

Carpwhisker is not an ambitious person, and honestly a bit of a coward. She's easily walked over and on the quiet side, not the sort of person who will jump to the defense of a friend, even if she wants to. She used to like Aftergatherings, but stopped when Leopardfur told her it made her look disloyal.

She helps out in the nursery, and is one of the reliable members of the Construction Patrol. Her political profile leans heavily towards Fire Alone, but she was not trusted to be a TigerClan rebel because it was known she was rather meek.

What DID she do during TigerClan? Well, actually, it was HER idea to create a mud facade so the Bonehill wouldn't be solid bone, and reduce their workload by a lot!! And then Tigerstar decided it was his idea. ah.