The Chemistry of Berrynose and Poppyfrost by Foxtail

Foxtail takes a look at Berrynose and Poppyfrost’s relationship.

Wow this is my sixth article! It’s also taken a very long time for me to come up with something that is actually worth submitting though haha (and something that hasn’t been talked about a lot like Ashfur, LeafxCrow, etc. those popular ones).

Anyhow, let’s get started!

In my opinion, BerryxPoppy had more chemistry than HoneyxBerry. This article will be about how it is a good ship, maybe even better than HoneyxBerry (though I have nothing against them), and why it needs – and can be – defending (defended).

Firstly, let us recall who each of these cats are.

Poppyfrost was born to Sorreltail and Brackenfur in ThunderClan, with her littermates: Cinderheart, Honeyfern, and Molepaw (and later Lilyheart and Seedpaw were born). We all know that her sister, Honeyfern, had a huge crush on Berrynose as an apprentice. But honestly, it seemed like Honeyfern was seriously just always mooning over Berrynose. Like seriously. She was like obsessed with him. Even the canon warrior apprentices agree with me!

Ah, but who is Berrynose again? Oh, that’s right. He’s the son of Smoky and Daisy, the horseplace cats, and has two littermates: Mousewhisker and Hazeltail. As a kit, he got stuck in a fox trap and ended up loosing his tail because of it (hence the teaser-name Berrystumpytail which POPPYFROST gave him). Everyone can agree that Berrynose was a very stuck-up warrior and liked to get into trouble by causing arguments and jumping to conclusions. How could any cat like such a tom? Well, as a matter of fact here are two cats who like (have liked) him. No, not just Honeyfern, but Poppyfrost as well! But throughout the series, Poppyfrost’s admiration for the tom was covered up by her sister always obsessing over him all the time. This is why we don’t see much interaction between them. In plus, Berrynose was probably all caught up in Honeyfern so he wouldn’t notice Poppyfrost’s love for him too. But even though it wasn’t noticeable, Poppyfrost had always loved Berrynose (but, like I said, she didn’t obsess about it like her sister), even before her sister did! But she knew that Berrynose liked Honeyfern and she respected that. Poppyfrost also stated she would never take Berrynose away from Honeyfern so this could be why she stood back and let her sister have him (which I think was very sweet of her). But I honestly at first felt bad for her because there’s her sister talking about Berrynose all the time and mooning over him while Poppyfrost is secretly crying (well, idk) since she liked him too but she let her sister have him.

When Honeyfern died, Poppyfrost was devastated (as well as Berrynose)!! But when Berrynose started showing affection for her, Poppyfrost was overjoyed but yet she still doubted his love for her since she believed he still loved her sister (why do you think she journeyed all the way to the Moonpool?! Especially while she was pregnant!). I think Berrynose and Poppyfrost became mates because of their shared grief over Honeyfern. They found love through their pain and together they were able to cope with Honeyfern’s sudden death and find something else to treasure. Instead of grieving over Honeyfern all the time (I don’t think she would want that), they found a way through. And that was by becoming mates and realizing their love for one another. Of course Honeyfern will always love Berrynose but she knows that he has to move on and she also wants her sister to be happy. It’s sort of like Silverstream letting Graystripe go and find Millie, and Feathertail letting Crowfeather have Leafpool. All of these couples found love through their grief of a loved one (except for the fact that only one of them was grieving whereas Berrynose and Poppyfrost both felt the same pain). I think Honeyfern “allowed” Poppyfrost to have Berrynose because of how Poppyfrost let Honeyfern have him (if she knew her sister liked him as well, or maybe later she found out). Both sisters showed compassion and empathy for one another and I think that’s beautiful and very generous. Maybe Honeyfern wanted Poppyfrost to become mates with Berrynose and have kits with him so that her sister could live the life she wasn’t able to have. Another thing is that Crowfeather moved on from Feathertail pretty quickly too. And sure he felt bad about it but he couldn’t deny his love for Leafpool, could he? He couldn’t help it! Well, maybe it’s the same for Berrynose. Sure, it’s his dead mate’s sister, but it’s still love. Honeyfern will be greatly missed, but I don’t think any of us would want to take away something that made Berrynose happy? Poppyfrost did that. She helped him get through, just as he would help her. Leafpool did this as well for Crowfeather. Some of us believe that Leafpool was like Feathertail, and in a way, she was. But she isn’t Feathertail. Crowfeather saw that and he loved her for her. Berrynose might have seen Poppyfrost as Honeyfern, but how could he when he knew she had died? The reason he went to Poppyfrost is because she REMINDED him of her, not that Poppyfrost WAS her. It is confirmed by Honeyfern herself that Berrynose does love her sister, and that he’s just afraid to lose her just as he lost Honeyfern.

Berrynose and Poppyfrost did have chemistry! And so did HoneyxBerry but I honestly think it was kind of an obsession and Berrynose thought it was cute how this young apprentice admired him so, and then poof! Love! But was it really? I mean, it probably was the “crush” love. As for PoppyxBerry, I believe they truly did love each other through their grieving love for Honeyfern. Unlike HoneyxBerry, I feel like PoppyxBerry needed each other. Without one another, getting over Honeyfern’s sudden death may have been a lot harder. However, without HoneyxBerry, PoppyxBerry wouldn’t exist! This makes me think of dating, and how usually the first date isn’t the one you end up marrying, but it does prepare you for the right one. 🙂 Honeyfern was like Berrynose’s first girlfriend, but yet the relationship was more of a “oh I think you’re cute, let’s get together” whereas PoppyxBerry was more of a developed and emotional relationship with lots of empathy like “I need you because you take away the pain that engulfs me everyday.” And I find that very touching! Yes, Honeyfern and Berrynose could have had kits together, but do you think their relationship would have been as meaningful as PoppyxBerry?? Think about how Berrynose frets over Poppyfrost all the time! It may have sounded like an obsession as well but it clearly was not because Berrynose was afraid of loosing his mate like he lost his first one. He might sound clingy and all but imagine what it would be like to lose the one person that you thought you would marry and have kits with. Just think about it. And then you find someone similar to your first mate (haha like her sister) and do end up marrying and having kits with that person/cat. Knowing that your second mate is pregnant with your kits and experiencing the vision of losing her…..that would be tough. 🙁 This relationship might seem like that they were only using each other, but were they really? Poppyfrost always loved Berrynose which therefore means she wouldn’t have used him in that way (cause she truly loved him, even when her sister had him). As for Berrynose, well like I said, he needed Poppyfrost. But why didn’t he go for someone else? What about Cinderheart? Well, Cinderheart probably already had feelings for Lionblaze. Or even if she didn’t, she probably wasn’t interested in a mate (she didn’t even like Berrynose in that way so that wouldn’t work out anyway). Anyhow, it is shown in the books that Poppyfrost and Berrynose were indeed showing affection for one another after Honeyfern’s death. And it is confirmed that Berrynose loved Poppyfrost more because they raised a family together. This shows that he did not see her as Honeyfern, or else he would have loved the two she-cats equally.

Grief can unite people, and sometimes the most comforting words one can say is “me too.”

These arguments may not be valid but this is just my own opinion. Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments! But don’t blow up at me too much……*glances at Sky, then runs away*

Well, that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed this article! (I hope it’s not bad lol)