#hickorypoppy

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Cypressbriar

Aliases / Nicknames: To-Be-Mother

Gender: she-cat

Sexuality: grey-bisexual, panromantic

Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, Shadenose (brother), Brackenkit (son)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, unnamed apprentice

Clan: Riverclan

Rank: queen

Characteristics: looked forward to being a mother

Murder Motive: vengeance for her kit

Number of Victims: 1

Number of Murders: 1

Murder Method: tearing apart

Known Victims: Hickorypoppy

Victim Profile: medicine cat that caused her son to die

Cause of Death: killed by three unnamed Clanmates

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story: 

"I'm so sorry."

It's funny how those three words, meant to convey solace and relief to someone's pain, can ruin their entire life instead.

It is what the medicine cat, Hickorypoppy, told her when her kit was meant to arrive into the world. Whatever her efforts, they were of no help. Cypressbriar could barely even hear her, or anything her brother, Shadenose, said then or in the days following.

But what did finally break through the fog was what she overheard while pacing in the dark, unable to sleep. Hickorypoppy was speaking in the medicine den with her now-retired mentor.

Hickorypoppy confessed that they must have done something--no, everything wrong, because that kit--the kit Cypressbriar was planning to name Brackenkit--should have lived.

Cypressbriar froze, then leaned closer against the walls. She listened to them talk, listened to Hickorypoppy practically list every single thing that she did wrong, every single thing that had lead to little Brackenkit's death.

Brackenkit's little broken body had snapped just below the head, and his left back leg was twisted oddly--all because Hickorypoppy was in a rush to get him out, all because she didn't want anyone questioning her if she ran to her mentor for help.

Cypressbriar was supposed to hear her son wail for the first time, hear and feel him suckle and knead at her belly, purr when she licked his head. She was supposed to watch eagerly as he opened his eyes for the first time, hear as he called her mama, watch him learn to walk, everything.

But it was only silence. Silence, silence, silence, nothing coming from the broken body that she had to hold only moments after believing that that would all happen.

There was no plan of vengeance, only a blind rage. Cypressbriar burst into the medicine den and leaped onto Hickorypoppy, yowling at her for killing her kit and tearing into her. Her mentor was too frail to do anything.

Warriors heard the commotion and burst into the den. When they saw what Cypressbriar had done--what she was still doing, tearing into the body, they acted.

Additional Information: 

--:( :( :( :(

--Since she died so close after having a kit, she can probably nurse Dark Kits.

--Her brother is a trans male.

--She was training her apprentice when she became expecting, so their training finished by someone else.