Beechstorm

> “Well, it’s not like I’m an entirely new cat now or anything. It’s kind of just a new... chapter.”
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> Beechstorm never expected she would someday become RiverClan’s medicine cat. Formerly a feisty and arrogant apprentice who wanted nothing more than to serve her Clan as a warrior, she was devastated when she lost all function in her hind legs not long after she became a mother, rendering it impossible for her to achieve her dream. Her sadness deepened even more after the tragic deaths of many of her family and friends. However, when the previous medicine cat died, Beechstorm stepped up to take the position, grateful to take a vital place among the Clan she adored so much.
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## Beechstorm

### Immediate Family

Parents: Pebblestorm (mother), Rabbitbounce (father)Siblings: Hawkfire (sister), Birdrunner (brother), Torrentspark (sister), Hareclaw (sister), Stormriddle (sister), Finchclaw (brother), Almondwhisker (brother), Mistpetal (sister), Fallenclaw (brother), Featherbreeze (brother), Heatherpaw (sister), Mintrose (adopted sister)

Mate: Oakstrike

Kits: Swiftbird (adopted daughter), Twigpaw (daughter), Junipershine (daughter), Birchfire (son), Pinepaw (adopted son)

## Physical Description

Beechstorm is a small calico she-cat with bright green eyes and a short tail. She has stubby legs, a plump build, and short, soft fur. She has three long scars across her left eye, and is paralyzed in her hind legs, leaving them dragging out behind her.

## Personality

Beechstorm is generally a cheerful and friendly cat who loves to make friends and socialize. She likes to have very close relationships with her family and friends and is playful and full of energy. She is also pretty determined in her quest to become a great warrior of RiverClan, but can act quite salty when things don’t work out for her. She may also be a bit naughty and stubborn so “following the rules” is not always her top priority. Beechstorm is very expressive and likes to say what she thinks. She is also pretty sensitive at times but overall is an optimistic and sweet cat.

When in a stressful or emotionally challenging situation, Beechstorm tends to lose all control and succumb to anger and sadness. As a cat who has lost the majority of the cats that were close to her and that has already been struggling to overcome a life-changing injury, perhaps her biggest challenge of all is to escape her past regrets.

## Skills and Weaknesses

Beechstorm is great at socializing, so getting other cats to be her friend and to trust her is relatively easy due to her friendly and trustworthy personality. She also has lots of determination to do the best for her Clan, so she rarely backs down and gives up. However, she is pretty impatient, so waiting for the right moment to catch prey might not be her strongest skill. She is not very good at sneaking about due to her paralysis, and wouldn’t be able to swim very well with all the extra weight of her legs. She also wouldn’t be very fast due to her short legs and plump body (and inanimate hind legs), but would be pretty good at fighting since she’s pretty small and swift and has good aim and sharp claws. Also, since she has a short tail and paralyzed hindquarters, her balance is pretty off, which is the reason why she would trip so much as a kit. This would also result in her developing a fear of heights, due to her not-so-great balance.

## Life

### Kithood

Beechkit was born to Pebblestorm of RiverClan and Rabbitbounce of ShadowClan, in No Clans’ Land during the Great Journey. She was named after Beechtalon, Pebblestorm’s best friend, who was still alive at the time. Her siblings from that litter, the third one to be precise, were Fallenkit, Heatherkit and Featherkit.

From her first day out of the nursery, Beechkit immediately wanted to meet other cats, and quickly became best friends with Sunkit and Oakkit, two other kits. She even received a ladybug from Sunkit as a friendship gift, which she kept in her nest from then on. She also met Scout, a friend of Sunkit’s, previously a loner, who had decided to join RiverClan soon after their first meeting. The two she-cats became friends very quickly. However, despite being warned by her sister, Hawkfire, to never sneak out of camp, she did in fact sneak out with her other sister, Stormpaw. After receiving a good shout from Hawkfire, Beechkit promised Hawkfire to never sneak out again.

This promise didn’t last long. During a leaf-collecting game with Sunkit and Oakkit, Sunkit hurt himself as he fell from the warriors’ den and ultimately destroyed it. After taking him to Fogbright for medical attention, Oakkit asked Beechkit if she would like to sneak out of camp with him. Forgetting about her promise, Beechkit accepted. Hawkfire was quick to find out, though, and threatened to delay her younger sister’s apprentice ceremony. Luckily, Pebblestorm and Rippleheart arrived to defend the kit. This ended up spiraling into a terrible argument between Pebblestorm and Hawkfire, ending in Beechkit’s mother leaving RiverClan. Before she left, Pebblestorm left a colourful, heart-shaped pebble for Beechkit, which the kit kept as a last link to her lost mother.

While Oakkit blamed himself for causing Beechkit so much misery, Sunkit didn’t want to be friends with her anymore, since she had chosen to spend time with Oakkit rather than him while he was hurt. Luckily, he apologized quickly afterwards after Beechkit described the hard situation she had just faced. Not every cat was so forgiving, though. Featherkit, Beechkit’s brother, took the news of Pebblestorm’s departure pretty seriously, and blamed his sister for it. Hawkfire arrived soon after to break up the argument, and realized that they needed to bring Pebblestorm back. With Featherkit secretly following, Hawkfire and Beechkit left to No Clans’ Land to find their mother. She was found in a small den, one of her eyes ripped out by a fox. Pebblestorm and Hawkfire apologized to each other about their previous argument, and all four cats returned to RiverClan.

Beechkit was enthusiastic to hear that her friend, Oakkit, was now an apprentice, Sunkit having his apprentice ceremony delayed since he destroyed the warriors’ den. Oakpaw convinced her that they could still play together, even during their training. They had a playful game after this, but were interrupted as Pebblestorm dragged the body of a dead cat into camp. It was Hawkfire. Distraught, Beechkit gave up her special pebble as a gift for Hawkfire, but passed out soon afterwards due to shock.

Pebblestorm left to join StarClan soon after, having been killed by foxes in the territory. Beechkit was horrified, and her previous grief was doubled. Suddenly, Pebblestorm’s spirit arose from her body, and told her daughter to stay strong. Beechkit took her advice to heart, abandoning her grief and knowing that her mother would always be with her, even not physically. She still wanted to see Hawkfire once more, but Pebblestorm knew that her other daughter had gone to the Dark Forest, and didn’t tell Beechkit, replying instead that she would see what she could do.

Soon after, Oakpaw met a kittypet named Percy who wanted to join RiverClan. Beechkit immediately became a close friend of his, even if he was a little nervous about meeting her at first. She also made her very first catch, a minnow, with Brightkit, a younger kit.

A few days later, it was finally time for Beechkit’s apprentice ceremony. However, she realized that Oakpaw was acting a little strangely compared to his usual happy self. When she asked him several times what was wrong, Oakpaw snapped at Beechkit and Sunkit, who was becoming an apprentice at the same time as Beechkit. He then raced out of the camp, followed closely by the she-kit. Once in the territory, Oakpaw revealed to Beechkit that he did in fact have secret feelings for her. Beechkit definitely accepted the way he felt, but didn’t necessarily return them. Not yet, anyway.

In the end, Beechkit’s kithood was particularly hard, with several harsh moments and heartbreak, but she pushed past it and embraced her mother’s advice to stay strong and look to the future.

### Apprenticeship

Beechpaw was soon made an apprentice, with Mintrose as her mentor, along with Sunpaw and her siblings, now named Fallenpaw, Heatherpaw, and Featherpaw. On a trip just outside the camp with her brother Featherpaw, she was bowled over and knocked into a stream by another cat named Twig. After the stranger explained that it was an accident, Beechpaw noticed that Featherpaw had immediately fallen in love with her, which she decided was a great reason to tease him about it from then on. She learned that Twig was Falcon’s sister, a tom who had visited the RiverClan camp when Beechpaw was a kit.

The next night, Beechpaw attended her very first Gathering with Oakpaw. She met a friendly ShadowClan cat named Clawstrike, although after asking some pretty offensive questions about the ShadowClan cats’ way of living, she accidentally revealed that RiverClan was suffering a problem with foxes. She revealed her mistake a little too late, but Clawstrike remained kind about it. Soon after, she spotted Furstar, the leader of ShadowClan, and was in awe of the impressive she-cat.

The next day, Falcon ran into the camp, saying that Twig had been hurt by some ShadowClan cats. Beechpaw and Mosslight followed him to ShadowClan territory, where Twig was being held captive by a patrol due to her attempt to help one of their prisoners escape. Beechpaw yelled at Ivybranch, one of the ShadowClan warriors, but Mosslight resolved the issue fairly easily, while Beechpaw made amends with Ivybranch, before following Mosslight and Falcon back to camp.

Later on, Sunpaw went out on a little walk with Beechpaw, when they swimmed in the Duck Pond for a little while, before he ultimately told the she-cat that he liked her, more than a friend. This came as a big shock to Beechpaw, who had always assumed that they had only been friends, to the point where she considered him as a brother. Hiding his disappointment, Sunpaw gave her a lick on the nose and ran off into the woods. Beechpaw started crying alone, and Oakpaw arrived, getting angry at Sunpaw for making her cry. The argument was soon resolved, but Oakpaw believed that Beechpaw preferred Sunpaw to him, which made him want to be alone.

Soon after, Beechpaw met her sister Stormriddle at the border with ShadowClan, having not seen her since she left RiverClan to join the rival Clan. Ecstatic about how her sister had received her warrior name, Beechpaw was eager to learn about Stormriddle’s new friends and diet. Her sister told her about how she and Mintbee, her best friend, used to prank other cats during their apprenticeship. Stormriddle mentioned a specific prank that involved shoving a butterfly wing into other cats’ faces while they slept, and Beechpaw was eager to try it.

Beechpaw had always thought that Scout, the she-cat she had met when she was a kit, was one of her closest friends, but had no idea how jealous Scout felt about how Beechpaw always got so much attention and love from her Clanmates. In the territory, Scout was attacked by the same problematic foxes, and was aided by Badgerstrike, Oakpaw, and Sunpaw. Beechpaw too wanted to help her so-called friend, but got pretty spooked by one of the foxes, which led to Badgerstrike wanting her to go back to camp if she wasn’t prepared to fight. Beechpaw abruptly refused, instead recklessly throwing herself at one of the foxes, getting bitten and thrown away into the dirt. Badgerstrike ultimately killed the enemy, but ordered Beechpaw to return to camp. Beechpaw eventually did, still worried about Scout and feeling dishonourable. When she got back, she was immediately whisked away into the medicine den by Fogbright.

Scout returned soon, injured but alive. Beechpaw was absolutely over the moon about seeing her again, and was mostly relieved that she was okay. However, Scout instead called her former friend a princess, saying that the two she-cats never were friends, and that she wished Beechpaw had died in the fox attack instead of Drizzlestar. Beechpaw was shocked and furious to hear this, and decided that she didn’t care if Scout would leave RiverClan. After the other she-cat taunted Beechpaw to attack her, the younger apprentice did try to attack. Worse, she tried to kill her. Scout decided to leave RiverClan afterwards.

Soon after, Beechpaw was feeling horrible about what she’d done, even though she still did hate Scout, at least she tried to convince herself that she still hated her. Oakpaw came to comfort her about it, but Beechpaw didn’t tell him about how she’d tried to kill Scout. She changed the subject to Sunpaw, and how she was sorry she didn’t try to stop their argument. Oakpaw accepted her apology, then asking her if she loved him the same way he loved her. Beechpaw told him she did.

However, Twig overheard what Beechpaw had said about rogue cats being untrustworthy. Taking it personally, the she-cat ran into the territory and came face to face with an enormous badger. Beechpaw and Oakpaw followed, only to see Twig be knocked out and thrown against a tree. Beechpaw insisted on checking on Twig while Oakpaw fought, and abruptly refused to take her back to camp, which would mean leaving Oakpaw behind. Suddenly, Beechpaw was scratched in the eye by the badger, and Oakpaw took her back to camp afterwards, the tom going to check on Twig afterwards.

Falcon was extremely worried about his sister, telling Beechpaw that she wasn’t in the territory. Beechpaw was shocked, and was quick to blame herself again afterwards for Twig’s disappearance. Oakpaw, meanwhile, wanted Beechpaw to come with him to look for Scout, and after a brief hesitation, she accepted to come with him to bring her back, along with Sunpaw. Before they left, Beechpaw insisted on looking at her wounded eye in the duck pond, having covered it with moss for the past few hours. She was shocked at how bad it looked, and claimed that she was ugly. Oakpaw comforted her, though, about it, telling her that she was beautiful anyway.

Despite Sunpaw begging her to stay, Scout decided that it was better for her to leave RiverClan on a journey of self-discovery, and to find her mother. Beechpaw and Oakpaw came to the Edge of the Fores to say goodbye to Scout and to comfort Sunpaw. Beechpaw didn’t feel great about it all, since she knew deep down that it was her insults that were causing Scout to question her place in RiverClan. While not entirely sure if Scout had accepted her apology about what she said, Beechpaw left with Oakpaw and Sunpaw, her last words to her former friend being that she hoped they would meet again someday.

A few days later, however, Scout returned with Twig, both of them having been attacked by Dapple, a murderous rogue. Beechpaw had a conversation with her former friend, and they both reached an agreement to remain civil with each other, but still wouldn’t be friends the same way they were before their argument. Beechpaw then had a conversation with Twig, who she apologized to. They quickly became friends again, and Beechpaw talked to her about Featherpaw’s obvious crush on Twig. Beechpaw was surprised to hear she hadn’t noticed, and began teasing her about it.

While on a hunting patrol with Oakpaw, the two apprentices tried to catch some fish for the Clan. They however ended up playfully calling each other names, which led to them throwing a fish at each other. It ended up flying into the river, and Beechpaw and Oakpaw went after it, diving under the surface. They then found themselves in the middle of nowhere, in a forest they had never been to before. Pebblestorm’s spirit appeared to support them, but brought some terrible news that shook Beechpaw to the core. Twig had been killed in a fight with WindClan. Beechpaw denied it at first, but Twig’s spirit came to her and Oakpaw, telling them a prophecy about how to stop the upcoming war between RiverClan and WindClan.

With the help of Scout, Beechpaw and Oakpaw made it back to RiverClan safely, but were immediately confronted with Mintrose, who knew that all they had to do to get back was follow the river home. Beechpaw acknowledged this, and she was ready for another training session. Aside from that, Scout had brought a WindClan kit to RiverClan, Coalkit, who was taken back by a few warriors from the rival Clan soon after. Beechpaw realized that not all WindClan cats were terrible, since she practically befriended Mousestem as she came to take back Coalkit.

A few days later, the RiverClan cats launched an attack on WindClan, led by Badgerstrike. After having a few heated arguments with a few cats, including Mapleburn, WindClan’s medicine cat, Beechpaw got into a fight with the WindClan warrior Mudfeather, aided by Oakpaw. Her fellow apprentice soon got into a fight with Emberheart, which resulted in making things even worse. However, Oakpaw, Beechpaw, and Scout refused to keep fighting, deciding that the quarrel had to end here before more cats were hurt.

Oakpaw soon after got his warrior name, Oakstrike, due to his bravery in the battle. On the night of his vigil, Beechpaw couldn’t sleep and instead spent the entire time with him, however falling asleep on him a little while into the night.

A while later, a RiverClan patrol brought in a kit named Mystery, who was surprisingly tough for her age, even threatening to poison Beechpaw at one point. Shocked by this and frankly not really believing her, she shrugged it off, though she was still worried about her Clan for taking care of this kit. Later on at the Gathering, she met up with Mapleburn again, but decided against talking to her, instead mumbling about how everyone seemed to want to poison her these days, referencing how Mapleburn had threatened to give her a taste of some water hemlock during the battle. Mapleburn heard this and Beechpaw found herself explaining about Mystery, which the medicine cat assumed was Rainkit, a WindClan kit who had ran away from the Clan. Poppyblaze, Rainkit’s mother, refused to believe this, but Beechpaw accepted to lead the two WindClan cats onto RiverClan territory, rejoicing at the idea to see this ‘dangerous’ kit brought to justice. However, Mystery had already left RiverClan, leaving Beechpaw with no real proof.

Beechpaw had her assessment soon after, but was assessed by Hickoryfrost and Badgerstrike instead of Mintrose since her mentor was unfortunately in a coma. Overjoyed that she had passed, she celebrated with Oakstrike, who had been watching her too, afterwards. Very soon after, she and Oakstrike adopted Swiftkit, a small kit who had been found in the territory.

At the next Gathering, Beechpaw met up with Rainkit again, although not knowing whether she was the same cat as Mystery. She also had a talk with Ivybranch, who had just become deputy of ShadowClan. She told them that she wouldn’t rest until she was deputy of RiverClan.

Beechpaw stated she knew that she would be telling them, far in the future: ‘I told you so.’

### Adulthood

Beechpaw received her warrior name, Beechstorm, from Badgerstrike. Her name was chosen to commemorate Pebblestorm, who her daughter loved so much.

Only a few days after, Beechstorm met up with Oakstrike one beautiful night, who asked her to be his mate. She accepted, and they spent the night together under the stars.

Soon after, Coalkit, who had recently joined RiverClan, turned six moons and was apprenticed to Beechstorm, who was ecstatic about getting her first apprentice. The two of them trained together, and Beechstorm taught Coalpaw how to run fast despite his injured leg, having a bit of trouble with balance herself due to her short tail. However, Coalpaw lost one of his eyes later because of a fox while on a patrol with Badgerstar.

She also witnessed the ceremonies of Swiftkit, who became an apprentice, Brightpaw, who was given the warrior name Brightblaze, and Mosslight, who was appointed deputy of RiverClan after Drizzlestar retired and Badgerstar became leader. Oakstrike was given the position of stand-in deputy since Mosslight was still nursing her kits, but Beechstorm was starting to notice that her mate wasn’t sending her on any patrols at all, since he was worried about her safety. She shrugged this off as him just being a little too worried about her, and was glad to get a bit of action after joining a patrol to rescue Ravenpaw from ShadowClan.

However, while on the patrol, which was led by Mintrose, Beechstorm spotted in the trees two very familiar green eyes. She tried to assume that it was just her imagination, but deep down she knew Oakstrike had followed her. When they got back with Ravenpaw, who unfortunately had lost her memory but wasn’t badly injured, Beechstorm interrogated Oakstrike about it, calmly at first, but she started to lose her patience after he denied time and time again. She turned away eventually, sad that he was lying to her, and Oakstrike ran off to the warriors’ den, where he was tormented by Pebblestorm about not ‘taking good care’ of Beechstorm.

Beechstorm talked with her mother about this, but lost her temper at why no one seemed to believe that she was her own cat and that she could take care of herself. Pebblestorm insisted that she was only trying to protect her daughter from a ‘coward’ like Oakstrike, and said that she didn’t want Beechstorm to turn out like Hawkfire. This totally set her off, and she began to accuse her mother of things she would never have said when she was younger, including the fact that Pebblestorm abandoned her three-moon old daughter to run away from RiverClan. Hurt by this, her mother vanished and Beechstorm immediately regretted what she’d said. However, Pebblestorm came to talk to her daughter a while later, after a training session with Coalpaw, her apprentice, had left her in a bit of pain. Beechstorm’s mother then revealed to her that she was expecting kits, but disappeared again before she could respond.

She later on met up with Paleheart, who had recently died, in StarClan, who told her that he was proud of her, and that he couldn’t ask for a better mate for his son. Beechstorm, encouraged by this, decided to forget about her annoyance towards Oakstrike and apologize. She found him sitting by the river, and realized with horror that he had scarred himself across the chest, before asking if he still wanted to be her mate, which Oakstrike luckily still wanted. Beechstorm tried to lift his spirits, but he seemed too sad and insecure with himself to be cheered up. After a little while, they went on a walk together through the forest, Oakstrike being as sad as ever. However, Beechstorm dared him to race her to the river, which made him a little happier. After not being able to catch up with him, she revealed to her mate that she was in fact expecting his kits.

During her pregnancy, Beechstorm met up with Stormriddle again, and met her adopted daughter, Wishpaw, who had come to stay in RiverClan for a bit while ShadowClan was being taken over by tyrants. She revealed to her sister that she was expecting Oakstrike’s kits, which made Stormriddle very happy. Unfortunately, the ShadowClan she-cat didn’t stay long, returning to her Clan with Wishpaw once the problem there was resolved. Beechstorm also met up with Rainpaw again, getting into a little fight with the apprentice over the WindClan she-cat’s past threats to her. Beechstorm also met up with Ivybranch at the border, mentioning her unborn kits and having a chat with them about ShadowClan. Later on, she met Beechtalon, her namesake, for the first time in StarClan, having a talk about Pebblestorm, Beechtalon promising her by the end of it that she would try to talk some sense into the young she-cat’s mother.

Finally, the day arrived. While on a walk with Oakstrike, who had offered to come with her, Beechstorm headed for the ShadowClan border to meet up with Stormriddle again. However, the kits started to come while on that walk, and Stormriddle immediately ran off to RiverClan to get a medicine cat. While she was gone, Beechstorm and Oakstrike secretly adopted a newborn kit they had found nearby, with no mother to protect him. Making this decision because they didn’t want him to feel like an outcast among his Clanmates, they named him Pinekit and would hide from the entire Clan that he wasn’t their real son. When Stormriddle returned, along with Badgerstar, Mintrose, Mosslight, and Blizzardpaw, Beechstorm gave birth to three healthy kits. They also had StarClan company, since Beechtalon and Pebblestorm had also come to see the kits, along with Twig. While her mother was still angry at Oakstrike, she still congratulated Beechstorm warmly. The new mother named her firstborn daughter Twigkit, to her own surprise since she had always expected to name one of her kits Pebblekit. While she wondered whether she had made the right decision just after revealing her daughter’s name, Twig made Beechstorm regret ever thinking that after she saw how happy her old friend was about having a kit named after her. Swiftpaw and Blazingpaw also arrived in time to see the new kits, and Beechstorm comforted her adopted daughter about it, realizing that Swiftpaw still didn’t think she belonged in RiverClan, so she promised she loved her just as much as the new kits. However, the tension between Oakstrike and Pebblestorm soon gave way, and the two cats got into a heated argument that resulted in Beechtalon suggesting that the two friends should leave, and the two unnamed kits getting their names rather rushed by Oakstrike, who named them Juniperkit and Birchkit.

Beechstorm was at first worried about her son Birchkit, who never responded to her calls and that was discovered to be deaf. Oakstrike believed that it was Pebblestorm who cursed him to make the family suffer, but Beechstorm insisted her mother would never do that, making up other ways to communicate with Birchkit, like sign language and lip-reading. That night, she met up with her mother again, and confessed that she wouldn’t be happy without Pebblestorm being there for her, and the two cats finally ended their argument, though Pebblestorm still had a problem with her mate.

However, Twigkit and Birchkit snuck out of RiverClan a couple of moons after and went to ShadowClan, where Twigkit attempted to climb a tree. Beechstorm and Oakstrike tracked down the two kits, and their mother climbed the tree to rescue Twigkit, despite her fears. Precariously balancing on the end of a thick branch, she tried to get to her daughter in time, but the branch broke, sending them towards the ground. Luckily, Oakstrike managed to catch Twigkit in time, but as the branch was about to fall on top of them, Beechstorm pushed them away and took the blow, the branch landing heavily on her back.

Beechstorm, Oakstrike, Twigkit, and Birchkit were escorted to the ShadowClan camp by Violetbird, one of the ShadowClan warriors, where Beechstorm received a little medical treatment as well as a place to stay for the night, although they had to leave in the morning. She met up with Ivybranch again, and made acquaintance with Rosekit, a kit who became great friends with Twigkit and gifted Beechstorm with a small pebble she had named Glow, that nostalgically reminded the injured warrior of the pebble she had given to Hawkfire at her sister’s funeral.

Upon returning to RiverClan the next morning, Beechstorm was rushed to the medicine den before she could greet her family and friends, but promised to Juniperkit that she would be fine. While staying in the medicine den, she was told the bad news. Her legs were paralyzed forever, and she wouldn’t be able to walk normally again. This shocked her, as she realized that her dreams of having a successful life were seemingly destroyed. Her kits, however, took the news even worse. Twigkit and Birchkit both blamed themselves for the incident, Pinekit felt as if he should’ve been there to help, and Juniperkit, feeling betrayed by Beechstorm’s broken promise, ran away. She wasn’t found by her parents as they went to look for her.

Anguished by how badly her kits took the news, Beechstorm sat alone by the graves of her friends Mintrose and Scout, who had died while she was away. Wishing she had been there to help them, she began to doubt herself and consider herself useless to RiverClan. However, Hickoryfrost came over to comfort her, telling her that she was a valuable member of the Clan and that she made life better for other cats. This cheered her up a bit, and she promised the older warrior that she would never give up.

Beechstorm’s kits became apprentices afterwards, though Juniperkit was still missing. Oakstrike has gone off to look for her many times, but to no avail. While their mother was happy for Twigpaw, Birchpaw, and Pinepaw, she knew that their sister should have been with them. Swiftbird also announced to Beechstorm that she was expecting Coalheart’s kits, and Beechstorm was thrilled to become a grandmother soon.

Later on, she met a WindClan apprentice named Finchpaw, who had met a similar fate to hers, being paralyzed in one of her hind legs. The two cats found comfort in each other and decided to meet up here and there, to practice fishing and such. Beechstorm discovered that she could indeed still catch fish for her Clan, and that paddling around in shallow water was easier for her than walking.

Soon after, Mosslight passed away. Devastated by this, Badgerstar was acting less and less like himself. After he snapped at Birchpaw when the young tom asked what had happened to Mosslight, Beechstorm hissed at the leader for getting mad at her son for no reason. Soon after, Beechstorm was told by Badgerstar himself that she wouldn’t be able to go on patrols anymore, even with all the training she’d put in to walking. However, the leader told her that at least she could still attend Gatherings if she was up for it, since it was a long walk. After the warrior began to complain about the decision by trying to prove to Badgerstar that she could still patrol, Badgerstar told her that the whole Clan was struggling, and that she should remember that. Beechstorm started to wonder if she was being too selfish by putting her own personal goals in front of the Clan’s welfare.

However, Hickoryfrost was appointed as the new deputy of RiverClan after Mosslight’s passing. Very happy for her friend, Beechstorm was one of the first to congratulate her. While her desire to become deputy one day still burned strong, she took what the leader told her to heart and decided to act a bit more selflessly.

Finally, Juniperkit returned home to RiverClan, and her entire family was overjoyed to see her. When Beechstorm took her daughter to ask Badgerstar if her apprentice ceremony could be held soon, the leader accepted with little to no enthusiasm. Beechstorm was still worried about Twigpaw, though, who hadn’t stopped hurting herself out of guilt for her mother’s accident. She decided to ask her daughter to teach her how to decorate nests, in order to cheer her up a bit. She also asked Birchpaw to try and come through to his sister and forgive her, and he reluctantly accepted.

Afterwards, Swiftbird gave birth to her kits. She had four, although one of them, which the parents named Dawnkit, was stillborn. Although this was devastating for Swiftbird and Coalheart, the other three kits were strong and healthy, and were named Lionkit, Raccoonkit, and Ripplekit. Beechstorm was happy for her daughter, and said that those were great names.

Hickoryfrost, wanting to make Badgerstar feel better, asked some of his closest friends, including Beechstorm, to prepare a support party for him in hopes that he would change back to his old self. Beechstorm and Oakstrike volunteered to collect some flowers and some trout, Badgerstar’s favourite food, for the party. They collected a lot, and Beechstorm was happy to contribute to a good cause. This worked, and Badgerstar smiled for the first time in what seemed like moons.

However, disaster struck. During the night, Beechstorm was meant to be watching and caring for her adopted son Pinepaw, who had been attacked by a fox during his training. Despite this, she unexpectedly fell asleep, and woke up the next morning to see that he had died in the night. Feeling awful about this, she received comfort from Oakstrike, but she still blamed herself for her son’s death.

Soon after, however, things got much worse. Twigpaw, still ravaged by guilt about causing her mother’s injury, fell out of a tree and hit her head on a rock, dying immediately. Assuming it was on purpose, Beechstorm’s grief deepened and she started to wonder whether she could still go on.

She soon came up with an idea to make her and Oakstrike feel better about the terrible things that had happened recently. Setting up two nests in front of the river at moonrise, she intended to surprise her mate with this, and try to recreate the night where they became mates. However, things didn’t go as planned. While Beechstorm was falling asleep, Oakstrike noticed an adder in the water and got bitten on the shoulder. Horrified, Beechstorm didn’t know what to do except take him back to camp with her as quickly as possible. She, Badgerstar, and a few other close friends of Oakstrike’s, including their kits, took him to the medicine den, but it was soon clear that he was beyond saving. Beechstorm sat in the corner, not daring to say goodbye to him, but nothing she told herself could give her hope. Oakstrike had a last talk with her there, in the medicine den, where he told his mate that it wasn’t her fault. He collapsed into his nest, and Beechstorm intended to stay there with him until the very end.

Beechstorm wasn’t able to keep that promise, though. When Badgerstar wanted to give her mate a proper burial, she refused and had to be held back by Coalheart while she watched the leader take Oakstrike’s body away. After this, she remained in the medicine den for a moon and refused to eat, even after her friend Charglow, who had been taking care of Juniperpaw when she went missing, tried to convince her to try a fish. Beechstorm’s sadness only deepened once she learned that her son Birchpaw and her new apprentice Brokenpaw had gone missing.

It took the help of Duckhaze, a RiverClan queen who had also lost family during her life, to finally convince Beechstorm to stay strong for her Clan. Duckhaze visited her often in the medicine den, bringing her prey and comforting her. Things were finally starting to get better for Beechstorm, until her adopted daughter Swiftbird and her mate Coalheart were both killed by a fallen tree in the territory.

In order to prevent herself from breaking down like she had after Oakstrike’s death, Beechstorm went on a small walk with Duckhaze to clear her mind. However, the walk was far from relaxing. The two she-cats were attacked by a fox, and whilst Beechstorm only received a minor injury on her hind leg, Duckhaze had been significantly injured trying to protect her. Beechstorm was shocked and anguished at the idea of losing her new best friend, and she would have died if Badgerstar hadn’t come to the rescue. After the fox was defeated, both Beechstorm and Duckhaze wanted to join the patrol that was going to be sent to No Clans’ Land in order to find the missing cats. Scared for their safety, Badgerstar was forced to refuse, and Beechstorm once again began to question her place in the Clan.

Despite how tragic the recent events in her life had been, Beechstorm was still happy to witness the warrior ceremonies of her two remaining kits, Juniperpaw and Birchpaw, who were now Junipershine and Birchfire. It still pained her to think of Twigpaw and Pinepaw, who hadn’t gotten this far, Swiftbird, who hadn’t been a warrior for as long as she deserved, and Oakstrike, who wasn’t able to be by his family’s side anymore.

However, this happiness didn’t last long. One night, in the warriors’ den, Beechstorm wasn’t able to take it anymore. Looking back on her past, she saw only regret and sadness. She considered that she wasn’t the good, strong cat that everyone told her she was, but a weak, selfish wreck who always managed to mess things up. The truth had finally caught up to her, and it shattered her.

Beechstorm dragged herself all the way to No Clans’ Land. She didn’t know what she intended to do, but she ended up falling into the poison lake, halfway between doing it on purpose and by accident. Immediately regretting this, she lost consciousness and inhaled some of the poisonous water. However, she was rescued by Primrose, a young loner who offered her a place to stay for a few days while she recovered. Beechstorm managed to cough up the remnants of the water and the scratches on her legs from dragging herself such a long way, and stayed with Primrose in her den overnight despite desperately wanting to get back to RiverClan as quick as possible to make up for her mistake.

The next morning, the two cats travelled back to the Clan, having a few discussions along the way. Glancing over at Oakstrike’s grave, Beechstorm noticed that a primrose has grown there, in place of the seed she’d planted a while back whilst on a patrol with Badgerstar. Not explaining this symbolism to her companion, however, they arrived at the camp, completely interrupting Blazingwing’s deputy ceremony, since Hickoryfrost had been taken by Twolegs a few weeks prior. Managing to slip away from the group of cats talking to Primrose, Beechstorm had a small talk with Badgerstar, to whom she apologized for leaving and for acting selfishly her entire life. She was quickly forgiven, but she didn’t explain exactly what she had done in No Clan’s Land.

Later on, Beechstorm’s apprentice Brokenpaw was made into a warrior, Brokenbeam. Beechstorm had multiple chats with Primrose, to whom she explained the concept of StarClan and how the Clans worked. Primrose decided that she wanted to become an apprentice of RiverClan. Beechstorm also had a talk with Duckhaze, who felt betrayed and sad after her friend had left, but after a small argument, they made up. However, Duckhaze herself left RiverClan temporarily as well, and when she returned, she told Beechstorm that she was going to live in ThunderClan. Despite this decision hurting Beechstorm, she still insisted that she would accompany her friend to the border to say goodbye.

Only a few days later, Beechstorm and Duckhaze, who had been renamed Duckblaze now that she was a ThunderClan cat, met up again at the border. Beechstorm noticed that her friend was carrying herbs, to which she explained that she was now a medicine cat apprentice. Beechstorm suddenly decided that she wanted to be a medicine cat helper, since her time spent doing nothing in particular was starting to annoy her. Duckblaze accepted to teach her friends a few things about medicine.

A few moons later, after the unfortunate death of the previous medicine cat, Ivyrose, Beechstorm stepped up to be the new healer for the Clan. Although she didn’t know much about medicine, she promised that she would do her best.

After a few moons, Beechstorm was beginning to get used to her new role. She and Honeypaw, the medicine cat apprentice, became quite close and supported each other when things were going rough in one of their lives. These moons brought difficulties for Beechstorm: she had to deal with the death of Primrose at the hands of dogs, as well as her son, Birchfire. As well as that, at the border with ThunderClan, she was told by Smokestorm, ThunderClan’s medicine cat and Duckblaze’s son, that his mother had died.

These new losses were a lot for her to bear, but she knew that she had to keep going and to remain grateful for the things every cat she lost over her lifetime had done for her.

## Family and Friends

* Pebblestorm, RiverClan warrior, mother (deceased): Pebblestorm and her daughter have a very close relationship, especially since Beechstorm was named after her. Despite Pebblestorm's death when her daughter was a kit, the two often talk in StarClan, and Beechstorm is very happy to have made her mother proud.
* Rabbitbounce, ShadowClan warrior, father (deceased): Beechstorm has never met her father, and barely knows anything about him.
* Hawkfire, RiverClan warrior, sister (deceased): While the two sisters have had their differences in the past, Beechstorm and Hawkfire do occasionally talk in StarClan. Beechstorm still doesn’t understand what Hawkfire has against their mother, and wishes that they would just get along.
* Birdrunner, ShadowClan warrior, brother
* Torrentspark, RiverClan warrior, sister (deceased)
* Hareclaw, RiverClan warrior, sister (deceased)
* Mintrose, RiverClan warrior, adopted sister (deceased): Mintrose was Beechstorm’s mentor when she became an apprentice. Although they weren’t sisters by blood, they were pretty close, and Beechstorm will always be grateful for the training Mintrose had given her.
* Stormriddle, ShadowClan warrior, sister: Beechstorm and Stormriddle are very similar, both of them former pranksters and naughty kits. Unfortunately the two are separated by the RiverClan-ShadowClan border, but that doesn’t stop them from meeting up there often.
* Almondwhisker, RiverClan warrior, brother (deceased)
* Finchclaw, RiverClan warrior, brother
* Mistpetal, RiverClan warrior, sister (deceased)
* Fallenblaze, RiverClan warrior, brother (deceased)
* Heatherpaw, RiverClan apprentice, sister (deceased)
* Featherbreeze, RiverClan warrior, brother (deceased): Beechstorm’s shy brother always felt like he was walking in her shadow. When Twig, his love, died, Beechstorm did everything she could to stop him from being overcome by grief.
* Sunflame, RiverClan warrior, tom, friend (deceased): Sunflame was Beechstorm’s first friend ever, and unfortunately for him, a ‘friend’ was all he was ever going to be. Beechstorm considered him like a brother, even though the tom had feelings for her.
* Oakstrike, RiverClan warrior, tom, mate (deceased): Oakstrike and Beechstorm were the loves of each other’s lives. Whenever one of them felt down, the other would be there to cheer them up or just listen to their worries. They had five kits, some biological and some adopted, and Oakstrike’s death was probably the hardest thing Beechstorm ever had to bear.
* Scout, RiverClan warrior, she-cat, friend (deceased): Beechstorm and Scout weren’t always friends. As apprentices, Scout felt out of place in RiverClan and thought that Beechpaw was getting all of the attention, so when an argument struck between the two she-cats, Scout ended up leaving the Clan. She came back sometime later, however, and the two forgave each other.
* Brightblaze, RiverClan warrior, she-cat, friend: Beechstorm and Brightblaze were the pranksters of RiverClan as apprentices, and once attempted to feed Badgerstar butterfly wings, a prank originally invented by ShadowClan’s prankster, Stormriddle. They were however caught in the act by Fearless, Brightpaw’s mother, and their pranking career unfortunately ended.
* Twig, RiverClan apprentice, she-cat, friend (deceased): A born loner, Twig was devastated when she heard the things Beechpaw was saying about Scout not belonging in the Clan because of her origins. Luckily, Beechpaw apologized to Twig afterwards and the two became friends.
* Newtleap, RiverClan warrior, non-binary, friend (deceased): Newtleap and Beechpaw became friends on a fishing trip, where they competed on who could bring back the largest fish back to the camp. Beechpaw won. It was massive.
* Swiftbird, RiverClan warrior, she-cat, adopted daughter (deceased): A loner kit, Swift was found by Oakstrike and brought back to RiverClan. When he explained the situation, Beechstorm agreed to adopt her, naming her Swiftkit. When Beechstorm gave birth to her biological kits, Swiftpaw thought she’d love them more than her. Her mother promised her she never would.
* Coalheart, RiverClan warrior, tom, former apprentice and friend (deceased): As her first apprentice, Beechstorm first met Coalheart when he was living in WindClan. The two had a friendly chat and she was happy that she was the one to mentor him when he moved to RiverClan. When he and Swiftbird died together, Beechstorm was devastated for both cats.
* Ravenflight, RiverClan warrior, she-cat, friend: Due to their age gap, Beechstorm and Ravenflight never trained together and therefore were more acquaintances than friends. However, when Ravenpaw was captured by ShadowClan for trespassing, Beechstorm was one of the first to volunteer to rescue her. Ravenflight also was a good prankster.
* Twigpaw, RiverClan apprentice, she-cat, daughter (deceased): Beechstorm would never forget the day that Twigkit had climbed a tree in ShadowClan territory and the branch that broke her back as she attempted to rescue her. Twigpaw blamed herself for the incident and purposefully died soon after. In a way, to Beechstorm, it was the most shocking loss of them all.
* Junipershine, RiverClan apprentice, she-cat, daughter: Juniperkit was so shocked by her mother’s injury that she ran away from RiverClan, returning when she was apprentice aged. Beechstorm was ecstatic to see her come back, having believed she had been hurt or worse. Junipershine soon had her own kits, making Beechstorm a proud grandmother.
* Birchfire, RiverClan apprentice, tom, son (deceased): Born deaf, Birchkit learned to lip-read at a young age, and Beechstorm supported him every step of the way. Seeing Birchkit become Birchpaw and then Birchfire made her so proud, so it was no surprise that his unexpected death soon after she became a medicine cat made her sadder than she’d been in a long time.
* Pinepaw, RiverClan apprentice, tom, adopted son (deceased): When Beechstorm gave birth in the territory, Oakstrike unexpectedly found a newborn kit nearby that she adopted as her own. When he was mauled by dogs on his first training session, Beechstorm watched him overnight, but fell asleep due to her exhaustion. When she awoke, Pinepaw had already joined StarClan.
* Ivybranch, ShadowClan deputy, non-binary, friend (deceased): Ivybranch was the first ShadowClan cat Beechstorm had ever met, yet they got along surprisingly well. At the Gathering, Beechpaw told them that she’d be deputy one day, a promise she’d never fulfill. When she was injured and stayed in ShadowClan for the night, Ivybranch was one of the first to greet her.
* Finchpaw, WindClan apprentice, she-cat, friend (deceased): WindClan apprentice Finchpaw met Beechstorm at the border one day, upset about her leg injury. Beechstorm was happy to offer her advice on disabilities, and they realized they had quite a lot in common.
* Hickoryfrost, RiverClan deputy, she-cat, friend (missing): As Beechstorm’s favourite ‘auntie’ and the deputy of RiverClan, Hickoryfrost was always kind, responsible and level-headed. She helped Beechstorm get over the deaths of her friends and family, and she promised she’d try her best to remain happy, knowing that they were all watching over her in StarClan.
* Duckblaze, ThunderClan medicine cat, she-cat, friend (deceased): While Oakstrike’s death had shattered Beechstorm, Duckblaze, then named Duckhaze, was always there for her. She also gave Beechstorm some valuable information about herbs when she became ThunderClan’s medicine cat, inspiring the paralyzed cat to look for a new path in medicine.
* Badgerstar, RiverClan leader, tom, grandfather and friend: While Badgerstar was the leader, Beechstorm still considered herself a force to be reckoned with, openly defying Badgerstar more than once. Now that she’s settled down as the medicine cat, Beechstorm sees Badgerstar as a very good friend who’s done a lot for her, actions that she’ll be forever grateful for.
* Blazingwing, RiverClan deputy, tom, friend: Deputy of RiverClan and adopted brother to Oakstrike, Blazingwing and Beechstorm were never especially close, but became good friends later on in life. After the death of Primrose, who was a friend to both of them, Beechstorm and Blazingwing shared a moment to grieve for the young she-cat.
* Wrenripple, WindClan warrior, she-cat, former apprentice and friend (deceased): When Beechstorm was still adapting to her injury, she was shocked to realize that Badgerstar was giving her a new apprentice, Brokenpaw. She did her best to train the young she-cat, though Brokenpaw never felt at place in RiverClan and joined WindClan, renamed Wrenripple.
* Primrose, loner, she-cat, friend (deceased): When Beechstorm threw herself into the poison lake in No Clan’s Land, it was Primrose who rescued her and nursed her back to health. The two she-cats travelled back to RiverClan and Primrose joined, to Beechstorm’s delight. When Primrose was killed by dogs, Beechstorm vowed to never forget what she had done for her.
* Honeypaw, RiverClan medicine cat apprentice, apprentice and friend: Beechstorm was nervous to train Honeypaw at first, since she at times thought the apprentice knew more than she did, but they in fact made a pretty good team and comforted each other when things were going rough.
* Work in progress! ^^

## Notable Quotes

“I know, but I was fine, my siblings were fine, Mama was fine. And you and your kits are also going to be fine.” -Beechkit to Hawkfire about being born early

“But I don’t know when I’ll see her again. I don’t even know if I’ll ever see her. How can it be okay?” -Beechkit to Oakkit about Pebblestorm leaving RiverClan

“Mama, I want to give my pebble to Hawkfire. I know you gave it to me to make me feel better, so I want to do the same for her. As a present.” -Beechkit to Pebblestorm after Hawkfire died

“You don’t need to worry. I can take care of myself. And, uh, you’re a really nice cat. I hope you know that.” -Beechkit to Oakpaw

“You’re already really special to me, Sunpaw. You were my first friend, and still one of my favourite cats in the world. I felt like we were siblings, even if not by blood.” -Beechpaw to Sunpaw

“Twig’s my friend! Stop hurting her!” -Beechpaw to Ivybranch

“No! It was foxes who killed my mother! I can’t back down now!” -Beechpaw to Badgerstrike when fighting the foxes

“Go! Just go! I don’t care anymore! I don’t care where, I just want you to leave so I can never see you again!” -Beechpaw to Scout

“I-I really like you. Not the same way as Sunpaw. I realize that now.” -Beechpaw to Oakpaw

“No, she’s not dead. She isn’t. I would’ve been there. I would know.” -Beechpaw to Pebblestorm after hearing about Twig’s death

“I won’t fight any longer. This has to end now, or who knows how many more cats will die?” -Beechpaw at the battle with WindClan

“I know, but sometimes things happen, and you can’t do anything about it. The real question is, are you gonna keep grieving or move on?” -Beechpaw to Fallenpaw about Twig’s death

“Look, you did nothing wrong. No one is mad at you, no one blames you for anything. You have lots of friends, and you’re really sweet. Just... believe in yourself, okay? Think you can do that?” -Beechpaw to Brightpaw about Aspenkit’s death

“No, /we’ve/ come so far. Both of us.” -Beechpaw to Oakstrike at her warrior ceremony

“Okay, don’t kill yourself.” -Beechpaw to Brightpaw

“I /will/, mark my words. And then, moons in the future, I’ll say ‘I told you so’.” -Beechpaw to Ivybranch about becoming deputy

“I love you, Mama. So much. I’m so, so glad I can have your name. Every time anyone says it, I’ll think of you.” -Beechstorm to Pebblestorm after becoming a warrior

“Thank you, I promise I will fight for this Clan until the very end.” -Beechstorm to Badgerstrike at her warrior ceremony

“Yes, Oakstrike. There’s nothing in the world I would want more than that.” -Beechstorm to Oakstrike after accepting to be his mate

“Well, he’s very sweet, and selfless. He puts other cats before himself. I’ve never known him to back down from a fight or to abandon a cat in need. I know he would risk his life for me, and I would for him. We love each other very much.” -Beechstorm about Oakstrike to Coalpaw when he asked for relationship advice

“Do you not trust me to do anything on my own?” -Beechstorm to Oakstrike

“Don’t bring Hawkfire into this! Maybe the reason why you two argued so much was because you dictated her life like you do for me! I don’t see how you call this ‘making it up to me’! And another thing, Oakstrike was the cat who comforted me when my mother abandoned her three-moon old daughter to run away. Who was that cat again? Oh, right! /You/.” -Beechstorm to Pebblestorm

“Wait! Don’t you remember what you said? What /we/ said? ‘I wish that we will always be united, that I get to spend every day, and every night, together with you. We’ll never part, even after death.’ Remember that?” -Beechstorm to Oakstrike

“Hey, it’s okay, Swifty. I know it’s a lot to take in, for all of us. But I /promise/, with all my heart, that I won’t love these kits any more than I love you.” -Beechstorm to Swiftpaw

“No! Not now! Not after everything I did to get here! Not after I promised I-I’d be fine...” -Beechstorm to Ivyrose about her injuries

“It’s hard finding your place sometimes. I didn’t really understand how it felt before until now. Sometimes I feel useless, but I feel like I belong in RiverClan because the others like having me there as a friend, not because I’m the best fisher or the strongest fighter.” -Beechstorm to Finchpaw

“It feels nice to still be able to contribute, even if moving a mousetail requires three times more energy.” -Beechstorm to Hawkstorm

“I love you. So, so much. All I ever wanted was to be by your side, always. I-I can’t say how much I’ll miss you: your face, your voice, your everything...” -Beechstorm to Oakstrike in his last moments

“I can’t let you die, not after everyone else! Not after you were the cat who helped me recover most. I owe so much to you, so for StarClan’s sake, just listen to me and sit tight while I help you. It’s the least I can do, really.” -Beechstorm to Duckhaze after they were attacked by a fox

“My life’s like I’m underwater. When I break the surface, I can only see the sunlight for a few moments before I’m plunged down again. And when I’m under... I can’t hear anything except my thoughts rushing like a river. It’s dizzying: I can’t think straight so I say things I regret. I just want to be happy again...” -Beechstorm

“I’d rather not talk about it. I thought that what I did would help me, but I realized that the opposite was true. When I returned, and everyone was so worried but /happy/ that I was back, I realized that I didn’t want to be anywhere else... not even StarClan. So, what I’m trying to say is... I’m sorry. For everything. I’m sorry for taking you all for granted.” -Beechstorm to Badgerstar

“Well, it’s not like I’m an entirely new cat now or anything,” she said, smiling to her. “It’s kind of just a new... chapter.” -Beechstorm to Primrose