Mulberry

Mulberry is the third member of the Foxglove band to join and is exceptionally skilled in keeping calm during stressful situations. While he can be a bit hotheaded, he is often very carefree and gets along very well with the other members of the group almost exclusively. So what if he has a hard time enjoying other cats? He only cares about who he cares about, and sees nothing wrong with that.

### Annoying Existence

Mulberry was never one to get along with his family, but everything got worse when his parents died, leaving just him and an older brother alive and alone. Fullmoon is a bit of a jerk about every little thing Mulberry does, and finds a way to mock and belittle him at every turn. Mulberry resents him excessively for this, but doesn't think it's worth arguing about. Instead he takes the verbal comments and tries to pretend that Fullmoon is just *That Way*, trying to think that maybe they could still be together and survive, even if he is just such a jerk.

Time and time again, Fullmoon proves to be too much of an ass to handle. Not only does Fullmoon constantly take more than half of Mulberry’s food, he also finds more than enough time to trip him, nudge him off a small cliff, drop debris on him from above, and do otherwise dangerously risky things to provoke the other fluffy cat.

Fullmoon is quickly outsized and outmatched by a growing Mulberry a bit into their life together, and finds himself struggling to win against the other cat. This frustrates Fullmoon more than he can express, and their fights that were once one sided quickly become aggressive and violent. Fullmoon becomes desperate to control Mulberry again, to which Mulberry refuses and outclasses him. Soon Mulberry leaves Fullmoon behind, alone and unable to properly fend for himself. This whole time, he never realized just how weak Fullmoon really was... and decides his chances of survival are better without the aggressive cat.

### Frustrating Encounters

Mulberry curses his bad luck to run into a cat named Target right after Fullmoon. As if dealing with Fullmoon wasn't enough, Target quickly becomes more than he's willing to deal with. Fast and clever, Target not only steals important herbs and food, but teases and taunts the other cats he manages to steal from. Mulberry is particularly frustrated and angry about once again being stuck in this sort of situation, and calls to Target as he runs off that one day that it would catch up to him.

Mulberry tries day after day to catch Target and show him up, but Target is just too fast, and infuriatingly leaves their game of tag the victor every single time they cross paths.

Mulberry has an excessively rough brush in with Target, and in a rage, he chases the lightning fast cat and blindly follows him as far as he could go. Fortunately, at the end of it, he did find Target... but by the looks of it, someone else had gotten to him first and Target lay dead on the ground at the foot of another cat. Shocked, confused, and a bit impressed.. Mulberry glances up at the cat responsible and finds a standoffish cat named Foxglove grumbling about how pointless all of this was. He approaches and asks if they can stick together, as they had a common enemy with Target... and Foxglove reluctantly takes Mulberry back to meet the leader of their group. Rhyolite greets and welcomes Mulberry, and he is appreciative... but skeptical. This just didn't feel right. Not even a little.

### Unlikely Friendship

Mulberry is approached one day by one of the quieter cats in the group, a close friend of Foxglove, and is questioned about his feelings towards Rhyolite. Mulberry is weary and suspicious at first, but feeling Hoot’s worries helps give him some security and comfort.

They talk about Rhyolite, and Mulberry explains that he feels that Rhyolite takes advantage of others because he is likely very weak, like his last companion Fullmoon, and wonders out loud if they could just make it on their own. Hoot seems to agree with him, and he finds himself feeling thankful to have someone to listen to his worries. Hoot feels the same and thanks him, to which Mulberry tells him that he will always be there to listen to his concerns. The two agree to help Foxglove when they can as well.

Mulberry watches from a distance as Hoot approaches and talks to their newest member, Sunflower. At first, the two seem to be having a bit of a standoff, and Mulberry is skeptical... but Hoot relaxes after a bit and waves Mulberry over.

The two of them question Sunflower and ask what he plans to do now. Sunflower says that he will stay with Foxglove because he owes him the same freedom that Foxglove gave to him, and he wants to pay back that kindness that set him free. Mulberry immediately understands what he means by the sentiment, and feels he also wants to help Foxglove in the same way. They agree to try and get Foxglove away from Rhyolite as soon as they can.

### Following the Leader

Foxglove keeps disappearing and slipping away at random intervals, so after a while all three of them are eager to get to the bottom of it. Mulberry suggests they follow him, and reluctantly he leads them to follow the other cat to his destination.

Surprised at what they find, Mulberry looks down at the tiny adopted kitten Foxglove had been hiding and felt his chest warms at the thought of their friend taking on such a burden alone. He expresses genuine affection for Foxglove and his efforts to right his wrongs; together Mulberry feels at peace with these cats. They think highly of him, and he thinks highly of them. Everything feels right, for the first time in his life.

### It all Comes Down to This

The happiness is short lived as once again cats with no kindness in their hearts take Apple and confront Foxglove. Mulberry isn't shocked at all to find these cats acting this way, but he is saddened to find Foxglove torn between his loyalty to Rhyolite and his love for Apple. He watches as Foxglove struggles with such a tough choice, and wants to encourage him, but can't find the words.

Mulberry is delighted when Foxglove picks Apple, and rushes to back him up in taking on Rhyolite. He knows how hard it can be to fight family, and Foxglove needs him. He intervenes as Rhyolite tosses Foxglove off, grabbing ahold of Rhyolite, only concerned with doing this one task. The next thing he knows, his head is pounding and blood slicks his face. He touches it with his paw and is shocked to find himself alive; as his hearing returns he looks down to see Apple crying and hugging him.

He embraces her, assuring her he is fine... just in time to see Rhyolite and Foxglove topple over the cliff. He stays with Apple as Hoot and Sunflower dash over to help their friend in need.