Analyzing Millie and Briarlight’s Relationship by Sparktooth

Sparktooth shares their opinion about Millie and Briarlight’s relationship in the series.

Guess who’s back, bloggers! Sparktooth’s long-awaited return has come 😛 😉 . I know some of you are like, “Oh, it’s another Millie defense article by ol’ Sparktooth. When will she learn my opinion can’t be changed?” Well, this is a bit different than that. So many people write articles and focus on Millie’s rocky relationship with Bumblestripe and, of course, Blossomfall. But what about Briarlight? Millie’s relationship with her is much more complex than it gets credit for. I’m here analyze the two of them and their bond.

When Blossomkit, Bumblekit, and Briarkit were born, it was clear Millie loved all of them very much. She was constantly keeping an eye on them and making sure they were safe. I’d like to point out she was always very cautious about her kits since they were born, most likely because she wasn’t used to Clan life yet.
As we all know, shortly after Millie have birth to her kits, she came down with a horrible case of greencough, which can be fatal for cats. Many cats became very ill as the sickness spread, but the two who were most sick were Millie and Briarkit. Millie could hardly even stand! The ill cats were moved to the old abandoned twoleg nest to be cared for there. Millie was separated from her two other kits.

From an early age, Briarkit spent most of her time with just Millie. This was certainly accidental, but that’s how it ended up. So it would make sense that Millie got to know Briarkit more because of the time they spent together when they were ill.
But Millie also was absent from all of her kits because she was dying. She could hardly move, and if she was able to talk, her voice was quiet and rapsy. Briarkit was bored and wanted to hangout with her siblings and her parents. I’m sure it was just as heartbreaking for Millie to hear her kit cry out wanting her mom back as it was for us to read about it.

“‘Don’t want mouse,’ Briarkit’s mew was hoarse. ‘I want milk.’ Her voice rose to a feeble wail. ‘I want my mother!’ Lionblaze turned away, unable to watch.” -Long Shadows, pg. 241.

This continued for a while while Millie was so sick she could have died anyday. Finally when they got better and moved back, I don’t remember any Millie neglecting any of her kits for a while after that. Not too long after that, Briarkit was attacked by the snake and Honeyfern died saving her. Millie was already very protective before that, but after that I’m sure she was determined to keep her kits save, especially Briarkit, who I’m sure next to her siblings seemed somewhat more vulnerable.

Later, when Briarpaw’s backbone was crushed, she ran the risk of dying everyday. Millie had been in the Clan long enough to know cats dying wasn’t unusual, so she became worried for her kit. Briarpaw even refused to eat for a while, saying she’s pointless to the Clan and didn’t have much reasons to live. Millie was horrified Briarpaw would even say that. She became determined to not let her die. One thing’s for sure about Millie, she’s pretty stubborn, and even in the mangas when she’s set her mind on something, there’s no going back. Graystripe wouldn’t even be with ThunderClan if she didn’t have that attitude!

So Millie spent as many minutes as she could spare helping Briarlight through her injuries. It wasn’t right for her to spend more time away from Bumblestripe and Blossomfall, that’s true. However, Millie had now become blind. She was only thinking that her kit needed her help, and she wasn’t gonna let Briarlight slip through on her watch, so much that it became somewhat extreme. This is why I don’t like when people say she’s a Rainflower 2.0, because she’s honestly not.
Briarlight was grateful for the help, but with the whole Clan treating her like that as well, that’s what became overwhelming. I’m sure she had become used to her mother watching over her, but with all of ThunderClan on top of that, she started to rebel.
I also would like to point out, Millie eventually realized Briarlight would be okay. But she still kept checking on her just in case.

Well, that’s gonna wrap it up for this article! Again, was it totally okay for Millie to do that and create more of a rocky relationship with her other kits? Great StarClan, no! But is it somewhat understandable why that would happen? For me, my answer is yes. I can see why she would do that, with her relationship with Briarlight and all, but it still doesn’t completely justify it; it somewhat justifies it. I hope you enjoyed reading this article! 😀