Furze'tuft

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* Charart
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*"Oh, I don't hold anything against Holly'fern. She must have been going through a lot of stress at the time. Nobody can blame her for making the choices she made whilst under that emotional strain." - Furze'tuft to Frog'step about their mother*

**Furzetuft** is a large, longhaired, dark-gray she-cat with shaggy, soft fur, a flattened face, tufted ears, drooping whiskers, a silver tinge around her chest and paws, a plumed tail, a thin bone structure, a scar that parts the fur across her back, and clouded, milky blue eyes. She was born with incorrectly formed retinas, causing almost complete blindness, and has a prominent tuft of fur atop her head.

## Biography

Furze'kit was born to Holly'fern as part of a litter of four. Her mother suffered a complicated birth and one of her littermates was stillborn. Both Furze'kit and her brother Fox'kit had difficulty breathing after birth and wouldn't suckle, so they were taken to the medicine cat's den, where Fox'kit passed away. Furze'kit survived, but was left with minor scarring in her lungs which would reduce her stamina and lung capacity. After a week, she is nearly fully recovered and the medicine cat is confident that she will grow into a fine and healthy kit. Holly'fern goes to visit Furze'kit in the den to check on her progress in hopes that she will be able to return to the nursery soon. Furze'kit mewls and begins to open her eyes, much to her mother's delight. However, the medicine cat notices Furze'kit's eyes are clouded over and unseeing, and regretfully explains this to Holly'fern, who runs out of the medicine cat's den in distress. She refuses to look at Furze'kit when she is taken back to the nursery, believing that she has not lost two kits, but three.

Furze'kit is adopted by another nursing queen, Adder'heart, when Holly'fern repeatedly refuses to nurse Furze'kit, overtaken by grief and paranoia that Furze'kit will "infect" Frog'kit. Furze'kit spends most of her life as a young kit roaming the nursery, quickly getting used to the locations of the walls and nests. Her senses of smell and hearing adjust to account for her lack of sight, and she often moves slowly, using her long whiskers to distinguish barriers. She is aware that Holly'fern is her true mother but is discouraged from talking to her by Adder'heart, wanting to protect Furze'kit from further emotional pain. It quickly becomes apparent that Furze'kit is the spitting image of Gray'whisker, one of Holly'fern's mates, and he clicks onto this when visiting Holly'fern and Frog'kit in the nursery, but decides not to question it. Furze'kit is mostly unbothered about the situation with her biological mother, thanks to Adder'heart treating her like one of her own and accounting for her disability by ensuring the other kits treat her fairly. Despite this, Furze'kit wonders why Holly'fern rejected her, but never brings this up for fear of causing conflict. She is shook awake by Frog'kit one night, who during the day is forbidden from interacting with Furze'kit. Furze'kit asks sleepily what he is doing, and Frog'kit grins and says that he is being rebellious by talking to her and touching her. Furze'kit sits up and quietly asks why Holly'fern didn't want her. Frog'kit thinks and replies that he doesn't know, but it might be something to do with her eyes. Furze'kit asks what he means, and Frog'kit realises that she is completely unaware of the fact that other cats can see. He tries to carefully explain to Furze'kit that she is not like the other kits, but is interrupted by Holly'fern rolling over in her sleep and murmuring Frog'kit's name. He rushes back to Holly'fern and pretends to be asleep, and Furze'kit, confused, curls up besides Adder'heart again.

When sunlight finally peeks into the den, Furze'kit, unable to sleep properly, prods Adder'heart until she groans and wakes up. She tiredly asks Furze'kit if she is okay, and Furze'kit looks down at her paws and slowly asks if she is different. Adder'heart hesitates, and tells Furze'kit carefully that she lacks a sense that most other cats have, but quickly adds that this isn't a problem. Furze'kit is slightly bewildered, and doesn't fully understand her adopted mother's wording. She asks quietly if that is why Holly'fern rejected her, and Adder'heart is shocked, sternly denying this. She curls her tail around Furze'kit and explains that Holly'fern had a terrible time after her and Frog'kit's birth, and Furze'kit spent a lot of time in the medicine cat's den recovering from an illness. Furze'kit mews that she doesn't remember that, and Adder'heart replies that she would have been too young. Quietly enough for only Furze'kit to hear, she tells her of her two siblings that didn't make it, and how much this affected Holly'fern. She gets to the part where Furze'kit is revealed to be blind, and Furze'kit cuts her off, saying that she understands. Adder'heart's chest aches for the young kit, and she pulls her in to lick the tuft of fur on her head. She tells Furze'kit that she will try to give her the best upbringing that she can, and promises to protect her with her life. Furze'kit purrs and finally falls asleep as the other kits begin to stir. When Furze'kit awakens again, Gray'whisker is waiting outside the nursery for her. Adder'heart encourages her to go speak to him, and Furze'kit nervously pads up to the large tom. After a few awkward moments of silence, Gray'whisker tries to make conversation with Furze'kit, who is clearly keen to go back to Adder'heart as soon as possible. He ends by saying that he'll see her around, and quickly pads off. Furze'kit goes back inside, wondering why the tom wanted to speak to her in the first place.

A few of the kits are playing outside on a sunny day, including Frog'kit, whilst Furze'kit stays beside Adder'heart. They call to Furze'kit to join them, and Furze'kit shakes her head. One of the she-kits mocks Furze'kit, asking her if she is too scared, when Frog'kit pounces on her and yells at the she-kit not to disrespect his sister. Holly'fern calls him back inside and scolds him. Furze'kit tries to block it out, sinking deeper into the moss in embarrassment, when one of the kits cries out that a "big orange thing" is approaching the nursery from the river. Adder'heart rushes outside, and spots two dogs heading towards camp, following the cats' scent. She yowls and ushers her kits to the warriors' den for protection, whilst Holly'fern grabs Frog'kit and runs. Furze'kit is suddenly left alone, afraid and unaware of what is happening as a dog enters the nursery. She hears its' panting and tries to bury herself in the moss bed, covering her head with her paws. The dog grabs Furze'kit's back in its jaws and starts shaking her when it is distracted by Frog'kit, who squirmed out of the warriors' den when he realised that Furze'kit wasn't there with them. The dog drops Furze'kit and lunges at him, when Adder'heart jumps from the side of the entrance, catching the dog by surprise and knocking it to the floor. She claws at its' neck, screeching at it to never touch her kit, until it struggles up and scampers out of camp, bleeding badly. Furze'kit is rushed to the medicine cat's den with multiple wounds from the attack. She is initially in too much pain to walk and Adder'heart frets that she has been paralysed, but thankfully this is revealed to not be the case. Furze'kit recovers within the week but is left with a long, thick scar over her spine stretching to both sides of her flanks. The injury twinges relentlessly whenever she tries to move around in any way and this is frustrating and upsetting for her. Frog'kit goes to visit Furze'kit in the medicine cat's den, and he gawks in awe at the sizeable scar. Furze'kit thanks him for saving her from the dog, and Frog'kit tries to modestly nudge the responsibility over to Adder'heart for tackling the dog, but he has a proud tone in his voice all the same. Whilst recovering in the den, Furze'kit asks the medicine cat frequent questions about the herbs they are using whilst treating other cats, and is soon able to pick them out by scent. The medicine cat is impressed by this, and begins to consider taking Furze'kit as an apprentice when she is old enough.