Brambleberry

Brambleberry is a small white she-cat with small black spots, a strikingly pink nose, and round icy blue eyes.

Crookedstar's Promise

 * In the prologue, there is a harsh storm, which damages the RiverClan camp. Brambleberry is following a queen, Rainflower, who is having small pains before she starts kitting. When Rainflower starts to have more fierce pains, Brambleberry announces that the kits are coming. Shellheart is shocked, and she retorts that the kits won't wait until after the storm is over, and they need to get somewhere safe. Shellheart gets Rainflower up into a tree, and Brambleberry follows, comforting Rainflower while thinking of her mentor, Milkfur, who had passed away a few moons ago and how this was the first emergency she'd handled by herself. She asks Shellheart to get her the herbs from the den, and he leaves. While the pains grow greater, she gives Rainflower a stick to bite down on while giving birth. Rainflower asks if that's all she has, and Brambleberry wisely states it's all she needs, as queens have been kitting since ancient times, and it's the most natural thing in the world. Shellheart then comes back without herbs, and replies that they have all been washed away. Brambleberry closes her eyes, thinking about how many moons it had taken to build that store. Soon after, Rainflower gives birth to two toms, and names them Oakkit after the tree that had sheltered them, and Stormkit after the storm they were born during.


 * Later, once RiverClan is rebuilding their camp after the flood, Stormkit sees Brambleberry working with Fallowtail.


 * Just before sneaking out of the camp, Stormkit spots her laying out coltsfoot leaves in the sun. He and Oakkit ask what they were for, and where they came from. Brambleberry replies that she picked them beside the waterfall. The two kits plead her to take them so they can go there too, but she replies that they can only leave camp once they're apprentices.


 * When Stormkit breaks his jaw, Brambleberry makes him swallow an herb and tells him he needs to stay with her in the medicine cat den until his jaw healed.


 * After a moon, Brambleberry deems Stormkit is ready to go back into the nursery. When she tells his mother this, Rainflower asks if there's anything else she can do for him, but Brambleberry retorts that he can play and practice hunting like any other kit, and she couldn't wish for anything more. Brambleberry then tells Stormkit that his apprenticeship must be delayed.


 * When Rainflower decides to change his name to Crookedkit, Brambleberry comforts him and jokes that she should be called Swallowherb, because she makes cats swallow herbs. Crookedkit didn't find it funny.


 * Because of his damaged jaw, Rainflower neglects Crookedkit. Brambleberry is often seen in her place, comforting Crookedkit and showing a maternal side to him.


 * Later, Brambleberry is talking with Hailstar in her den about Crookedjaw. It is hinted she is talking about his destiny. Crookedjaw overhears them, gets angry with Brambleberry for not talking about it with him.


 * After Mudfur wins a fight with Adderfang and gains Sunningrocks back for RiverClan, he says he no longer wished to be a warrior, and asks to become a medicine cat. Brambleberry accepts him, and Mudfur becomes her apprentice.


 * Brambleberry escorts Crookedjaw to the Moonstone to receive his nine lives. He stops, and demands to know if there was an omen about him. Brambleberry admits she had seen Crookedstar with Mapleshade, though she doesn't refer to her by name, and she only knew he had trained him in a place that was dark, cold, and smelled of death. When Crookedstar tells her he thought she was a StarClan cat, Brambleberry is relieved. She said she knew he had always been so brave and determined, and she couldn't understand why Crookedjaw would train with her.


 * Brambleberry leads Crookedjaw to the Moonstone. He continues to worry about whether or not StarClan would give him his nine lives, because he had trained in the Dark Forest. Brambleberry doesn't know who will greet him, the Dark Forest or StarClan, but she urges him to touch his nose to the stone.


 * Later, in the exclusive manga at the end of the book, Brambleberry is seen coming to take Crookedstar to StarClan. She tells him he's done well, and says there was no doubt he'd be remembered as one of the greatest leaders of any Clan. Crookedstar asks her if it was time for him to die, and she replies that it was. Crookedstar stretches, telling her he had achieved everything he had ever wanted, and there were some old friends he wanted to see in StarClan. Brambleberry beckons him, and they leave for StarClan together.

Bluestar's Prophecy



 * She is mentioned by Featherwhisker when he talks about catmint. He hopes that the bush outside an abandoned Twoleg nest survives the frost of leaf-bare. If not, he would have to borrow some from Brambleberry. Bluefur thinks about how since it may be the only cure for greencough, it would be humiliating if RiverClan started to bargain the herbs for Sunningrocks.

The Last Hope

 * Brambleberry meets Jayfeather when the young medicine cat comes to Moonpool. She tells Jayfeather that StarClan can no longer see the living Clans, and that they fear for them. Then she compares the Clans to honeysuckle tendrils, and she hints that the Clans need to come together to defeat the darkness that will soon descend upon the clans. When she brings up the fact that Jayfeather is half-clan, he becomes angry and she tells him directly that the Clans have to unite. She makes Jayfeather look down from StarClan at his Clans, and when he tells her he sees no boundaries, she tells him that he needs to see the Clans the way StarClan sees them.

Secrets of the Clans

 * She was a medicine cat of RiverClan, who thought of a clever way to hide herbs in fresh-kill, so that sick kits would eat them. She was charming, quick-thinking and good at getting her own way. Crookedstar, the leader of RiverClan, would do anything she asked him to do.


 * Brambleberry was in StarClan when Mosskit, the kit of Bluefur, joins them in StarClan. She announces that the kit is half-Clan. In response, a ShadowClan cat spits at Mosskit's half-Clan heritage, but Brambleberry defends the kit, since she is just an innocent kit. She observes the conversation between Moonflower and Owlstar.


 * A RiverClan spirit acknowledges the appealing and safe qualities of RiverClan. Owlstar agrees with the RiverClan spirit that the kits would be safer in RiverClan because of their rich prey. Moonflower protests, saying that all three of the kits would have lived to be warriors if Bluefur had left them in the ThunderClan nursery. Owlstar, however, points out that Thistleclaw would have most likely been chosen as deputy if Bluefur had remained a queen. Moonflower is disgusted that a kit's life was payed for warriors' who might be led to death by Thistleclaw. She asks how they know that leadership would not make Thistleclaw a better cat. Brambleberry replies that no one knows, not even Bluefur. Bluefur acted on what she anticipates will happen. She doesn't agree with what Bluefur is doing, but can see the logic behind her actions. Owlstar agrees that it is for the good of the Clan. Moonflower again spits that it is not for the good of the kit.


 * Brambleberry reminds Moonflower that nothing can be done to change what happened to Mosskit. The cats of StarClan can only guide the kit on her journey to StarClan. Snowfur volunteers to look after her sister's kit and is supported by Moonflower, Brambleberry and Owlstar. Brambleberry believes that Snowfur would make a fine guardian for Mosskit after losing Whitekit.

Trivia

 * There is an inconsistency with her death among the books: in Secrets of the Clans, she is shown in StarClan when Bluefur gives her kits up, but she is only shown dead in Crookedstar's Promise in the exclusive manga at the end, and is living when Bluefur and Oakheart's kits come to RiverClan. It is possible she could have been dreaming at the time.