// SPOILERS AHEAD //

// mothpelt //
Smart. Spiritual. Forgiving.

"I believed you about StarClan. We healers have to believe in something if we don't want to lose our minds in this world."
– Mothpaw to Nightchaser, chapter 25 of Unmasked

// quick facts //

// physical //
build ▸ average
gender ▸ she-cat
fur ▸ grey tabby
eyes ▸ green
other ▸ small paws

// personality //
qualities ▸ smart, incredible memory, spiritual, intuitive | forceful at times, forgives but doesn't forget
strengths ▸ memorization, healing
weaknesses ▸ fighting, letting go of grudges

// age //
beginning of Unmasked ▸ 4 moons
end of Unmasked ▸ 14 moons
beginning of Unmarked ▸ 20 moons
end of Unmarked ▸ 24 moons
beginning of Unmade ▸ 28 moons

// death //
cause ▸ n/a

// family tree //
father ▸ Rowanstorm
mother ▸ Swallowstorm
littermates ▸ Bramblefire, Shademask, Wrenflight
half-littermates ▸ Newtfang, Oakshade, Duskwhisker, Sprucetail, Thistleshade, Ternpaw
paternal grandparents ▸ Ravenstorm, Briarpelt
maternal grandparents ▸ Goosepelt, Shadowpelt
mate ▸ n/a

// education //
mentor ▸ Cedarheart

// names //
kit ▸ Mothkit
apprentice ▸ Mothpaw
healer ▸ Mothpelt
outcast ▸ Mothpelt

// healer position //
preceded by ▸ Cedarheart
succeeded by ▸ n/a

// affiliations //
current ▸ RockClan
past ▸ DarkClan, rebels

// appearances //
alive ▸ Unmasked, Unmarked, Unmade

// personality overview //

Of the litter of four, Mothpelt was always the most gentle and quiet, bordering on almost shy. These apparently timid, obedient qualities made Mothkit unlikely to survive apprenticeship should she become a warrior's apprentice, so Cedarheart chose her as his own, to live a healer's life. He believed she would be a good healer and, as a result, avoid the three penalty rule of DarkClan for many seasons. As Mothpaw began her training as a healer's apprentice, her systematic categorization of herbs and her incredible memory for which herbs healed particular ailments proved Cedarheart correct in his choice. Mothpaw never once complained about her lot in life; in fact, she was content to sort herbs and take care of others as opposed to always pretending to be cold and emotionless, like her littermates were made to do. Her only fear was that of losing her mentor before she knew everything, or of losing her own life to Dawnstar or Hailwatcher. She, like most healers before her, also hoped for better days to come and, as a result, watched the stars often hoping for a sign from the long-lost StarClan.

// relationship analysis //

Mothpelt's first relationships were with her littermates – Bramblefire, Shademask, and Wrenflight. Both Bramblefire and Wrenflight were welcoming of her when they played, though both could be a little rough and too curious at times, leaving Mothpelt feeling uncomfortable. Shademask brooded on his own, already emotionless and quiet – just as DarkClan expected. Mothpelt, however, had some sort of contact with him, if only because they were both quiet. That contact broke the moment she was chosen to be the healer's apprentice.

The apprenticeship came as a shock to her and the hatred on the faces of many within the Clan made her somewhat ashamed of her new status. Yet, Cedarheart's patient guidance had her falling in love with her path a mere two days into her apprenticeship. She found the solitude and silence of the medicine storage very peaceful, the scents infusing her thoughts as she memorized herb after herb and remedy after remedy. Cedarheart became more than just a mentor; he became a sort of father figure too.

Swallowstorm visited both Cedarheart and Mothpelt frequently, usually under guise of a thorn stuck in her paw. Mothpelt knew very much about her mother's past as a result and her hatred of DarkClan grew as she learned about the older she-cat's trials. In a way, Mothpelt was glad that she had been chosen as a healer, as it would prevent her from being paired.

Nightchaser's presence as the truth-teller's apprentice soon grew on Mothpelt too and, though she couldn't quite put it into words in the early days of her apprenticeship, she knew Nightchaser was not like the truth-tellers before him. In fact, she imagined him to be more a leader, as in the Old Life, and she his faithful medicine cat. Her veiled comments were meant to coax Nightchaser out of his shell; she succeeded and became one of the first to know of his contact with StarClan. This gave her hope and, when Nightchaser seemed to be running out of his own, helped her stay strong and find the words to put him back on track.

Her relationship with the truth-teller and leader of DarkClan was very different than that with Nightchaser. Hailwatcher paid her very little mind, while Dawnstar treated her like vermin. Cedarheart may have hit his three strikes, but he was still more knowledgeable than Mothpelt and that made her something to be stepped on. Mothpelt's greatest fear was that Dawnstar would take Cedarheart from her too quickly and that as the healer she would make mistakes too quickly as a result of missing training.

Only two cats could console Mothpelt: her sister, Wrenflight, and Cinderblossom. The two had formed a close bond and Cinderblossom's motherly nature and intuition picked up on Mothpelt's fear quickly. Even as a caretaker, Cinderblossom made sure to check up on Mothpelt from time to time and Mothpelt returned these visits often. Having a strong, almost sisterly, bond may have been the only thing that kept them going after the death of Wrenflight. Seeing her mentor and mother turn to fight the DarkClan cats who gave chase to the group of rebels nearly broke Mothpelt as well, but even as they escaped she vowed to use their sacrifice wisely.

// trivia //

// Mothpelt actually became Cedarheart's apprentice as a result of me picking names out of a hat – but she really was the only one of her littermates who made sense in that position so I guess it all worked out!

Got any other trivia to contribute? Leave a comment!