Brackenfoot

Appearance
Brackenfoot was a cream-and-brown pointed tom with narrow blue eyes. He looked similar to his daughter, Dawnfrost, though he lacked her fluffy tail - having a slim, longer one that ended in a point. He also lacked Dawnfrost's thick mane of fluff, with a bit of layered fur on his neck instead. Brackenfoot was broad and muscular, having a thick muzzle and a strong build. He had a dark brown triangular nose. His pointed markings reflected Dawnfrost's, though he had an extra stripe running down his back.

Personality
Brackenfoot seemed to be a calculating and serious Second, hardened by the loss of his mate and determined to keep Oak Colony strong by complimenting Elmtail's easygoing nature. He showed no preferential treatment to his daughter, Dawnfrost, and was not very involved in her life. When Frondsway broke one of Oak Colony's oldest rules, he demanded that Elmtail punished her. He did not let anything slip by him, and he served his Colony well.

Pre-Series
Little is known of Brackenfoot's early life. He served under Elmtail as Oak Colony's Second for many moons, though. He was mates with a molly named Flamecloud, and together they had one daughter: Dawn. When Dawn was still a small kitten, Flamecloud became very sick and was confined to the herb stores under Frondsway's care. Her illness was too severe to be cured, however, and she ended up dying relatively quickly.

Brackenfoot became cold and aloof after the death of his mate, and he paid little attention to Dawn, leaving her to be brought up alongside Finchflight's kittens. He dedicated himself to his role as Second, and after Frondsway broke a Colony rule by having a kitten of her own, he pushed strongly for her to be punished - particularly since the birth had been on the day of a lunar eclipse and her mate, Tornleg, had been badly injured at the same time. Elmtail gave in to his wishes, and once Wrensong had completed her training, Frondsway was ousted from her position as herbalist.

Dawnfrost grew up and became an envoy, joining Brackenfoot in Oak Colony's Council. Eventually, he developed a serious case of greencough that he was unable to recover from. He died in the herb store in the same way that Flamecloud had gone.

Synopsis
Shifting Roots: Chapter 1 took place on the night of Brackenfoot's death. Elmtail announced that his place had been taken by Redleaf, and Spottedshadow offered sympathies to Dawnfrost, who shrugged them off.

Dawnfrost
Dawnfrost was Brackenfoot's daughter. He was distant from her. Once Flamecloud died, he hardly visited Dawn in the nursery, and she therefore never really came to view him as her father. Their relationship was never said to be downright negative, though, and Dawnfrost probably respected him, but it stayed formal and distant up until Brackenfoot's death.

Once he had died, Dawnfrost was not as impacted as she could have been, and was instead was rather pleased at the opening in the position of Second - although feeling guilt at having such thoughts. When Spottedshadow offered consolation afterwards, Dawnfrost only replied that he had been a good Second and that Oak Colony would miss him.

Flamecloud
Flamecloud was Brackenfoot's mate. Not much information is known about their relationship, but after Flamecloud died, Brackenfoot was heavily impacted. He distanced himself from Dawn and became much more serious and stern.

Elmtail
Elmtail was Brackenfoot's Captain, and as his Second, Brackenfoot spent a lot of time negotiating with Elmtail and making Council decisions with him. He was shown to disagree with Elmtail's lax rulership on some occasions, such as when he demanded a punishment for Frondsway breaking a minor rule, but in Clouded Moon's trailer, he was also shown sitting with Elmtail and talking to him casually, even if he did look annoyed. Elmtail was more of a father figure to Dawnfrost than Brackenfoot ever was, but it's unknown if Brackenfoot was aware of that or how he felt about it.

Trivia

 * Like Sunfire and Breezeheart, Brackenfoot is still shown on his Colony's official height chart despite being dead at the start of the Clouded Moon series.