#hawkfrost never went to the dark forest what are you talking about

[bonefall]

Better Bones Profile: Sedgecreek

RiverClan's first Lake deputy, and world famous cutie pie!

[ID: The BB version of Sedgecreek from Warrior Cats. She is a wood-brown tabby with short, comma-shaped stripes of a darker brown. She is short and her body is long, with a chunky tail.]

Clanmew Name: Kyyrakoshu, nickname Kyyko. (Kyyra = Sedge, a type of lido grass + Koshu = Creek, a small, shady river)

Alignment: RiverClan

Relations: Ex-Mate - Greenflower Children - Swallowtail, Beechfur Nyams - Loudbelly (littermate), Duckfur (Sib-in-law) Education - Crookedstar (mentor), Grasswhisker (apprentice)

See Also: The Dragonkin Family, and the RiverClan Family Tree

Mistyfoot realized at the end of BB!TNP that Hawkfrost was not the tiger that lurked within RiverClan. He didn't choose himself as deputy while she was captured, breaking the code in the process. It wasn't his call to defy StarClan's will to delay the Great Journey. It was up to Leopardstar to punish the surviving RiverClan mercenaries who served Mudclaw's insurrection, and overrule the false sign that exiled three cats from her Clan... and she didn't.

Seated atop the stump with the sun setting behind her, Leopardstar's black silhouette invoked Mistyfoot's memory of a powerful cat lording over a pile of bones. Her eyes flashed-- Tigerstar amber, dark forest red. His ideas were an infectious sort of immortal; they will not die unless they are killed.

So with Leopardstar's sudden, 'mysterious' death to a "rogue", Mistystar realized she would need to make a strong, tactical choice of a new deputy. Someone who would be able to help her navigate the tense situation she was in, to balance out the harsh choices she was about to make, to be the honey to her sting.

The choice was obvious. Now, she would have to prepare for the hard work ahead...

[ID: BB!Mistystar and BB!Sedgecreek leaning back to back. Mistystar grimly explains, "someone will die." Sedgecreek interjects, "of fun!!!"]

(Lots more below the cut!)

Personality and Trivia:

She is CHEERFUL! It takes a lot to make Sedgecreek upset!

Always smiling, never loses hope, always tries to see the bright side of every situation.

"A mistake is just a chance to learn what NOT to do!!"

People like her. She's just a super likeable person, the sort of cat who gets along with people you'd never expect.

She has learned that you should listen twice as much as you talk. She's always there to comfort her friends, family, and clanmates. Very approachable personality.

I imagine a lot of RiverClan warriors are "stocky," longer than they are tall, Sedgecreek especially.

She's also got a very thick tail, making her an excellent and sturdy swimmer.

Her favorite food is pike meat, which Greenflower once wooed her with. Not very many RiverClan warriors are bold enough to tangle with pikes.

Imo, Sedge is a super underrated background character. Her apprenticeship under Crookedjaw is super cute and no one ever talks about it!

and BOY OH BOY has her role been expanded in BB!!

Long before the Great Journey was even a consideration, back during TPB…

Sedgecreek was mates with Greenflower. They welcomed their kits, Swallowkit and Beechkit, to the world just before RiverClan and ShadowClan moved to form TigerClan.

Greenflower's sibling, Duckfur, was the honor sire for the couple. Under the Queen's Rights, you don't have to explain where your kittens came from. Sedgecreek gave birth and that's that.

But supporters of Thistle Law do not respect the Queen's Rights.

When Greenflower announced openly that their kittens had been sired by Duckfur, Sedgecreek was uncomfortable, but believed she was keeping their family safe.

But... it turned out to be worse than that.

Greenflower was a true believer. She had been holding a lot of her 'worst' ideas back, but felt emboldened to speak openly with the alliance between Tigerstar and Leopardstar.

Sedgecreek knew Greenflower went to the execution of Stonefur... but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to.

She couldn't watch an old friend die like that, or stomach the thought of Greenflower reacting to it.

They stayed together for the children, as Sedgecreek staved off the dawning realization that her mate wasn't the cat she thought she was.

It was easy to put it off a little longer, when their next common enemy was BloodClan and RiverClan "returned to normal."

Though they nearly had a blow-out argument over RiverClan refusing to join in with the trading that WindClan and ThunderClan were doing with BloodClan... Sedgecreek apologized, and held her tongue. Suddenly, their roles had been reversed, with Sedgecreek staying quiet to "keep the peace".

Normally very cheerful and outspoken, with friends in other Clans and open-mindedness to cooperation, Sedgecreek spent almost two years of her life just trying to save her mateship. She thought that maybe Greenflower would return to the bold, loyal cat she used to adore, if she just loved her enough and made her feel heard...

But then, during the Great Journey...

Their baby Swallowtail fell in love with a ThunderClan warrior, Rainwhisker.

Greenflower "warned her" about loving cats from other Clans, "Don't make me do something I don't want to, Swallowtail."

Sedgecreek knew how powerful love can be. Rainwhisker was big, handsome, and sweet. She saw a lot of herself in him, and would have approved of him as her son-in-law in a heartbeat

Even though Swallowtail was trying to hide it after that confrontation, Sedgecreek KNEW that Rainwhisker was perfect for her. She knows her daughter better than anyone-- Swallow would never be able to fight it.

But all journey long, Greenflower was growing more and more critical of Swallowtail. Comparing her to her brother Beechfur, constantly questioning her whereabouts, making up stupid tasks to keep her busy.

Sedge and Green were fighting over it, again, but this time Sedge was starting to care less about making up afterwards.

Then, the worst possible thing happened... during the WindClan Civil War, Rainwhisker was killed in battle.

Swallowtail was inconsolable. That brought them all together, for just a little while longer.

But then, Swallowtail discovered she was pregnant. She didn't say anything about the father, and yet Greenflower LOST it. She flew into a frenzy, shouting their daughter down and threatening to disown her. The line that finally broke their mateship was simply,

"Just when it seemed like the problem was solved--"

Sedgecreek didn't even let her finish. How DARE she?? To treat their baby's painful loss, their coming grandchildren, and Swallowtail's right as a Queen, like the continuation of a problem???

So she told her to get out. Quietly at first. Greenflower refused, so she said it louder. Then she shouted it. And then she SCREAMED it, and when THAT didn't work, she THREW her out of the Cleric's den. For SEASONS she had sacrificed for the sake of her children, only for it to end in a choice between her wife and daughter.

But even then, Sedgecreek felt hot with shame that she'd caused such a scene! The whole camp saw her toss Greenflower like a rotten fish!! Sweet, cheerful Sedgecreek!!! It was mortifying, she'd never lost her temper like that, the entire Clan was surprised!

Mistyfoot saw this just like everyone else in RiverClan... and it stood out in her mind, as she shuffled home considering who her deputy would be.

It had to be someone as uncontroversial as possible... Mistyfoot's reputation had been dragged through the mud by Hawkfrost's constant challenges. A sizable portion of RiverClan did not respect her anymore.

So Swansong, her brother and greatest ally, was out of the question. He didn't have a diplomatic bone in his body.

Mosspelt was her sister-in-law, and she needed a deputy who could ward off accusations of nepotism.

Reedwhisker had Skyheart as his mentor, who kept him in an apprenticeship nightmare for over a year. He was too young on top of being ineligible.

But, she needed someone who would understand the threat they faced, and take it seriously. It, hopefully obviously, couldn't be one of her enemies.

And THAT was when she remembered Sedgecreek standing up to Greenflower. How she's everyone's friend, patient and enthusiastic, and yet how she still snapped at her long-time mate.

While no one knows EXACTLY why she snapped except the little family itself, Mistyfoot had a good hunch it was related to Swallowtail claiming Queen's Rights for her litter.

And that is exactly the sort of principled cat she needs by her side.

So... Sedgecreek was perfect. She was diplomatic, friendly, and yet, able to stand up for herself, ready to fight for the Clan they deserved. Her upbeat personality would be a perfect compliment to Mistystar's dour, serious one. This was the best possible choice.

During BB!OotS, Sedgecreek was targeted for replacement by the Dark Forest demons. While they managed to kill several of their targets and even cause ShadowClan to fall, Sedgecreek managed to escape an attempt on her life. But, before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, she took it as a sign to step down so that someone younger could take over. By this point, she had become a great-grandmother and was beginning to feel her age.

Reedwhisker takes her place as deputy, and she's able to live out the last of her days in the Elder's Den. She peacefully passes away at some point in AVoS, surrounded by the family she chose to stand beside.

#better bones au #BB!Sedgecreek #character summary #BB!TNP

[giita]

Good day! I'm just gonna dump a bunch of information on my purgatory au here.

So this is an au where cats who aren't satisfied with their lives or died with unfinished business go to until they've accepted the lives they had and are able to move on. Once they do, they are reincarnated to have another chance at life. The world looks like a serene forest also with a twolegplace. The twolegs do not bother the cats and are rarely seen in the forest. The world is designed so that the cats can live the happy life there they never got. Most of the other cats here have always been there. Never died to get to purgatory. These cats are "npcs". They run the same dialogue most of the time and follow a strict routine. Cats that go here are stuck at any age below young warrior depending on when they died. In a secluded section of the world, there is an archway where one cat can go through at a time. Once inside, you can walk down memory lane and relive your memories in order to work through them. They can be in there for days or weeks or even months so it's only reccomended to go in there if you're truly ready.

The main story follows Squirrelflight, Hawkfrost, Snowtuft, Mapleshade, Princess, Stonefur, Scourge, and Leopardstar. I was gonna include other characters such as Cloudstar of Skyclan but I thought that wouldn't work. And I know Hawfrost, Snowtuft, and Mapleshade being in purgatory instead of the dark forest messes up with the main plot but just pretend it was another cat. I was gonna have Maple's kits mess with Appledusk's bloodline for various reasons. I won't talk about it here since this is a post about the purgatory.

Squirrelflight arrived here because she was unhappy for a large chunk of her life due to clan life, the whole scramble after the fire situation, her relationship with Bramblestar, as well as the secret of the 3 which eventually came out un the end.

Hawkfrost arrived here because of Tigerstar. Tigerstar never treated him like a father should to his son and Hawk only did what he said for approval especially since his mum left and he basically never had both parents around at the same time. As he spends more time in the afterlife, he also starts to feel guilt about what he did when we was alive.

Snowtuft arrived here because of his guilt with what he did while he was alive. Since Snowtuft never did have a backstory, I think, I had to come up with one. I had to change some things so it made sense how he got his scar. I couldn't get rid of the scar, man. It's too unique to get rid of. I'll say he lived during Brokenstar's reign of terror. Snowtuft was against Brokenstar's rule but he said nothing because he was afraid of what would happen to him. Though he once did speak his disapproval to a clan mate who had reported him. He has his scar as a reminder of his punishment that day. He would steal kits, help with the conquest of Windclan, and help train kits. Once, his guilt got the best of him and he tried to help a couple apprentices escape. He was caught by Brokenstar and Blackfoot. He and the apprentices were soon killed after. Snowtuft felt immense guilt with what had happened and wished he could go back and fix everything. He has a strong aversion to fighting because he doesn't want to hurt others again.

Mapleshade's reason for being in purgatory is fairly obvious if you've read Mapleshade's vengeance. She was thrown out by her clan for having kits with Appledusk who cheated on her, her kits drowned, was rejected by Riverclan and Appledusk when she asked for refuge, and she feels as if Starclan refused to help her. In the end she felt lost and betrayed. She refused to accept what she went through even if she knows she'll have a better chance at life if she tries.

Princess lived a good life. She wouldn't have arrived in purgatory if she knew what had happened to Firestar. Princess never knew whether Firestar was alive or not after the destruction of the forest. All she wants is a sense of closure. To know if he is ok.

Stonefur was angry with what happened during the final moments of his life. He was angry with how he and the other half clan cats wer turned on by Leopardstar and the rest of Riverclan. He's particularly angry at Leopardstar for allowing Tigerstar to take over Riverclan and do what he did. Before Leopardstar arrived in purgatory, he though he may have moved on but seeing her again brought back all those memories of her betrayal and he was unable to let go.

Speaking of Leopardstar, she's here because the guilt of what she allowed to happen haunted her for her whole life. She hated herself for betraying her clanmates because she couldn't stand up to Tigerstar. Seeing Stonefur again made it worse. The two haven't talked since she arrived.

Scourge is in purgatory because he was dissatisfied with how his life turned out. He was unhappy for basically all of his life. He was bullied by his siblings, mistreated by Tigerpaw, spent most if his time murdering cats and being angry at Tigerstar, and killed when he thought he had won. Sad life :(

The 8 cats become friends and try to help each other become a better version of themselves and pass on.

Anyways, here's some extra info :D

•Princess, Squirrelflight, and Mapleshade are pretty close with each other. So are Snowtuft and Hawkfrost (kinda weird considering the canon story)

•Snowtuft can read. I know, it's weird. Snowtuft decided to go to explore twolegplace in the afterlife and he found a library. He started to learn how to read and boy is he a fast learner. He likes to read mostly philosophy, history, and fantasy novels. Tried to get into politics once but he got a headache in the first 10 minutes of reading. He talks to Hawkfrost about the books often but Hawky has no idea what he's talking about. He listens anyways. This has no real value to the plot I just thought it was funny.

•Hawkfrost has frequent nightmares of Tigerstar.

•After finding out what they had done, Princess hated Scourge and Hawkfrost. She warmed up to them again after their character arcs tho.

Anyways, that's all for now!

#warrior cats #warriors #squirrelflight #hawkfrost #snowtuft #mapleshade #wc princess #stonefur #scourge #leopardstar #warriors au #warrior cats au #my art #purgatory wc au

[lesbiten]

thinking abt how sasha chose to take moth and hawk to riverclan where they’d learn how to swim after tadpole drowned .....

#she wanted them to be safe she didnt want them to suffer the same fate as their brother......but also #she knew she wouldnt be able to teach them how to survive because she herself was a kittypet all her life...the only viable option was to #take them to the clans #or to give them to twolegs but then she wouldnt be able to see them again most likely #she knew riverclan was the only option to keep them well fed and safe.....but she couldnt live like that .......... pain and sadness #IDK WHY IM THINKING ABT SASHA TODAY. but i am #too many ppl hate her like...literally all she wanted was to keep her kits safe :/ what is wrong with that #and when she found out the clans were leaving she asked them to stay with her..........oh man........ #oh no. you know what hurts #even if sasha ends up in starclan; which is possible; she will never see hawkfrost ever again #hes faded ...... she wont even be able to talk to him from across the starclan dark forest border #i assume mothwing is still going to starclan even though she doesnt believe in them so at least they will get to meet if sasha also goes :( #i am just picturing .... moth and sasha sitting on a sunningrocks-like area in starclan...sasha reminiscing abt the days before riverclan #and mothwing telling her about hawkfrost and how he was a good warrior but something went wrong but she doesnt tell sasha everything at once #because she knows how much it would hurt her mom to know all of the horrible things hawkfrost had done. to know he turned out like tigerstar #BWAHH.... i love sasha and her family so much #i need to start writng stuff for wc bc i havent done it in years and i have so many little missing scene ideas like this. small cute stuff #i think i may be the only audience but idc i love my stupid kitties #simon says

[brackenfur]

au starting from lost stars/one non canon event mentioned but i cant stop thinking abt a scene where bramblestar slips up abt thinking abt killing firestar in sunset n how squirrel would react to that. this is a very quick drabble aka its not rly thought out or edited, i jsut needed to write and get it out somewhere ! i also cant rly definitively say that everything abt bramblestars version of events/what squirrelflight knew abt the foxtrap scene is canon-accurate since its been a minute since ive read tnp + that time period is extremely muddled in terms of which author writes it and what any cat outside of bramblestar ACTUALLY knows.

anyways tysm for reading <3

"i've sacrificed everything for this relationship, for you," bramblestar snaps, eyes that were at one moment dim and exhausted from his oncoming illness now alight with anger. "you don't even know how much pressure i was under all those years ago, after we got back together and i became deputy. i was dealing with my new position, with thunderclan's mistrust, with hawkfrost telling me to-" and he stops dead in his tracks, eyes widening just slightly as he realizes he let something slip.

squirrelflight blinks, deeply uncomfortable by his reaction. she knows that he and hawkfrost kept communicating after she and bramblestar got back together, and she knows to this day that hawkfrost never had good intentions - but there is something about the way bramblestar looks away from her, how his fur prickles along his spine, that makes her think there's more to this story.

"hawkfrost telling you to what?" she tries to keep up her bravado and confrontational tone so he doesn't detect how disturbed she's becoming, but her voice wavers. "what are you talking about?"

"nothing," he says too quickly, shaking his head. "it doesn't matter. i'm tired, squirrelflight; this leafbare is the worst i've seen, and i'm not feeling my best, either. you know that - i've been so sick, and-"

"yes, you are sick, and i've told you to rest," she reminds him, cutting him off. "and i'm sorry about that, but what are you talking about with hawkfrost?"

"i said it was nothing."

"it doesn't look like it was nothing."

bramblestar sets his jaw, shaking his head. "you know how he was. i was just going to say that he was just trying to pressure me to stop talking to you, that's it."

it doesn't feel like that was it. she has no love for hawkfrost and doesn't particularly care that he didn't like her much either - but bramblestar wouldn't be so upset and secretive about something that trivial. there's more.

"you're not telling me something," she says finally. "i know you - or, i mean, i think i know you. you're hiding something from me about hawkfrost, and i swear to starclan - we just had a conversation the other night about being truthful."

"i've always been truthful."

"it seems like you're not right now, though. i've laid out all of my secrets and told you every bad thing i've done - i've let the whole forest know my demons. not by choice, but what's done is done. there's something you're not telling me about hawkfrost - and don't tell me he didn't like me, we all know that. what was he telling you to do?"

he twitches his whiskers. "squirrelflight, you need to drop it."

this just makes her more angry. "i've told you everything i've done and you're always going on about how we need to stay truthful to each other to make this work - whatever it is, i'll listen to you about it. i know how hawkfrost was - did he want you to take over the forest, or something? i know he talked to mudclaw about things like that; he wasn't subtle about his plans to be tigerstar junior."

bramblestar looks deeply uncomfortable. "i didn't do what he wanted me to do, you know i didn't," he finally says after what seems like an hour; she blinks, unsure of what he's talking about.

"what do you mean? like...yeah, you didn't take over-"

"he wanted me to become thunderclan's leader. that's it. now, please, just drop it."

she frowns. she kind of expected that, but there's....a deep shame in his eyes, and she thinks there's an element to this story he's not saying. he's being evasive and private, and her heart begins to beat harder when she really, really thinks back on all those years ago.

a memory surfaces, one that she always thought about with pain and yet an underlying feeling of pride - for brambleclaw, for her mate, for saving her father....

it hits her then. she always thought that the foxtrap was brambleclaw's moment of undying loyalty to her father - stumbling upon hawkfrost about to kill firestar, and immediately jumping to his defense. that's always how he told it, anyways; he knew what hawkfrost wanted to do, and put an end to it.

but there were always these underlying moments that she couldn't quite place over the years - some type of underlying shame and embarrassment that she just chalked up to grief for his brother.

they look at each other, and she tries to keep calm. "when you found my father in the foxtrap," she says slowly. "did you think about letting hawkfrost kill him?"

bramblestar's beat of silence is all she needed to know; he immediately tries recovering it, though.

"squirrelflight, i would've never done that- hawkfrost and tigerstar were-"

"tigerstar? what does your father have to do with this?"

bramblestar is very quiet; she thinks that the world around them is completely silent as they stand in the middle of a snowy clearing. the cold usually heightens the sounds in the air, but in this moment all squirrelflight can hear is the thudding of her own heart.

bramblestar seems like he's trying to piece his thoughts together carefully; she forces herself to wait until he finally says: "i was never going to do it," he says, voice tight with emotion. "squirrelflight, i loved your father - you know that." she can barely hear him anymore as she finally grasps what exactly he's telling her. "my father and my brother- you've heard about how they are from lionblaze and ivypool and the others that went to the dark forest, how could i have- they were my family once, i thought that maybe-"

so that was his big secret, the one that he never meant for her to uncover. everything makes a little more sense now; the guilt and shame in bramblestar's eyes for those first seasons after hawkfrost's death whenever he'd look at firestar, the overcompensation bramblestar tried to preform as deputy. it wasn't because he felt like he allowed his brother to cause harm to firestar before saving him, it was-

"hawkfrost told you to kill firestar," she says softly, looking up at her mate. "but that- if it was just that, you would have told me, not lead me to believe that hawkfrost was the one who wanted to do it all along," she feels herself shaking as the shame begins to come back into bramblestar's expression. "you thought about, didn't you? about killing my father so you could become leader?"

bramblestar gives one moment of hesitation, and she shakes her head.

"i'm going to be sick," she says quickly, stepping away from him.

"i didn't hurt him. it wasn't-"

"this whole time, you've shamed me and made me feel like the worst cat that's been born because i kept a secret for my sister," she almost spits, her fur raising. "i don't know if i was morally right or wrong, i don't know what anyone else would do in my paws during that time - but you made me feel like i was worthless for a year because i protected leafpool, and now i finally get to know that you not only met up frequently with tigerstar but that you actually- you thought about killing my father. you thought about hurting firestar just so you could become leader."

ashfur's jibe all those years ago suddenly makes more sense - after the fire, the way he bumped into her with his shoulder and sneered you don't really even know your own mate, do you?

who knew that even after all this time after his death, ashfur still got the last laugh.

#srry mobile users if the read more doesnt work!! sometimes they do sometimes they dont #warrior cats #im....very stressed bc of whast going on w my family rn and my sis' dog but writing this helped take my mind off of things #i hope u enjoy its been awhile isnce i wrote LMAO #also srry if its ooc/not lining up w canon but honestly idgaf i Tried #writing tag #shark noises

[stagwhisker]

Actually this brings me to another gripe and warriors vs the fandom and that theres chunks of this fandom who can't understand framing vs context and think that because the book frame a character as good they can do bad things at best and be garbage at worst and vice versa.

I see this mainly with Bramblestar but it applies to others like Breezepelt, Blossomfall, Bluestar, I swear it's more than B names these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

The books want you to think these characters as great or having good reasons for doing the shit they did and they just don't. They try to do this by having other characters refer to them in good light or stand up for them in a good way and just no???

Bluestar was always paranoid and possesive (and WILDLY hypocritical) then when she began to fall apart she chose to let her clan rot instead of stepping down. Also naming a traumatized woman after the thing that she felt ruined her? Good job asshole maybe your warrior name should have been Deadmom. Also idk how many people remembered this but she was a dick to her kits when they were still in the nursery. Instead of trying to explain to Mosskit that food was short she said, and I QUOTE "I'm your mother. If I've said you've had enough to eat, then you have." When Mosskit responds "That's not fair!" Bluestar replies with "Life's not fair." Which is so bad fucks sake.

Blossomfall is just plain asshole and it honestly blows my mind that IvyBlossom is so popular considering she spent just about any page time with Ivypool bullying her and treating her like shit. Then later on she grows up to be an adult who comes off as genuinely Xenophobic(as applied to wc) and that ends up alienation her son who ends up dying over this shit.

Breezepelt was manipulated by the Dark Forest into beleiving what they TOLD him Crowfeather felt about him. Was Crwofeather a good dad? No. Did he hate his son? No. The neglect Breezepelt had was no excuse to do the shit he did. This leans more towards a section of the fandom thinking his action were justified because uwu sad backstory I can relate to, but no they were not. Breezepelt was an adult for all of the bad shit he did outside of aggravating Thunderclan cats, it was entirely his decision independant of what Crowfeather did and for once the books actually acknowledged this through Crowfeather himself of all people.

Bramblestar falls into "The Erins are misogynistic and will blame women for the problems caused by men" category. I'll bite and tell you BrambleSquirrel was a terrible idea from the first book of New Prophecy because Bramblestar set in his mind an image of Squirrelflight and seemingly carried that his whole life. Brambleclaw saw Squirrelpaw as an annoying apprentice and got pissy when she tried correcting him. This follows them until they are grown ass adults when The Sisters came into play. Bramblestar refused to listen to Squirrelflight and actively made things worse by not doing so which forces Squirrelflight to go behind his back to try to SAVE other cats. When all hell breaks loose the fandom wants to blame Squirrelflight when all she did was try to make sure these cats and pregnant woman didnt get fucking killed which ended up happened anyway because guess fucking who. When Fireheart did it to Bluetsar for similar reason it was "brave" and "the right thing to do" but because it's Squirrelflight now it's "backstabbing" and "betrayal".

Also

Real talk, if you are with a parent, loved one, or friend and had the thought "I want to tell them this, but I don't want them to be mad." comes to mind first, that's a sign you've been abused. When you are afraid to share information or talk about things because they'll get angry, they've blown up at you, blew things way oit of proportion, and belittled you for shit they shouldn't have. Squirrelflight's Hope is littered with this and it deeply concerns me that the fandom wants to look at this textbook example of an abuse victim and say it's her fault she feels this way.

I'm not gonna go over the reveal of the Three because I'll level with you if I was put on the spot like Holly did to her parents I probably would have panicked and said some dumb shit too. But then it's up them to talk about it and work through it.

Another thing that Bramblestar does that really irks me in regards to Squirrelflight is how he always wants her to listen and consider his feelings but doesn't always want to do the same for her. This refers to Moonlight too but mainly Hawkfrost. All Brambleclaw had to do was assure her that he hears her and considers her feelings but would make his own decision. Thats IT, it's not that hard. She may not had had solid proof Hawkfrost was evil but he doesn't hide his abuse of Mothwing very well either and if your boyfriend is willing to side with his brother who abuses his own family you'd drop his ass too because that's pretty telling of a person.

The Hakwfrost situation was wild on it's own anyway because he was so onviously bad to begin with and Brambleclaw just went with it until he couldn't anymore and then never ahd any concequences for it when other female characters do way less and get way worse.

Whatever this has turned into a mile long rant but the point is teh Erins can't write characters and then treat them as they are and it's most noticable with Bluestar and Bramblestar. Anyway I'm gonna make some coffee so I can chill.

#warrior cats #bramblestar #squirrelflight #bluestar #breezepelt #blossomfall #warriors #zephyr speaks

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Hello! If I may, I would like to ask a bit more about Swampstorm, cause that quickly became one of my favourite AUs of yours

Also the beginning broke my heart in the best possible way

What would their relationship with their biological mother be? Will they ever mentor anyone? How long will they live? How did they feel about Deadfoot’s death?

Also I feel like they would side with Mudclaw in the rebellion (just a hc)

Of course!

I like answering questions and just talking about these ideas cause I find it fun! Writing and sharing ideas is really interesting to me

I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it ;; I spent a good time planning out the start of it because I wanted Swampkit to have that proper ShadowClan spirit.

.

I imagine Swampstorm had a fairly decent relationship with Dawncloud. They thought highly of her and were distraught when they learned she and Blossomkit were both dead [as I headcanon Swamp in canon died before their sister].

It gave them more motivation not to stay in ShadowClan

.

As for mentoring.. I can't think of who they might've mentored, but if they ever did mentor someone, I imagine they'd be rather tough. That ShadowClan origin would show through as I headcanon training in ShadowClan is rough and they never completely forget where they came from.

Perhaps they'd be a possible mentor for Nightcloud?

Or maybe even an alt mentor for Breezepelt that would've pushed him a bit too much and that would've made him more hostile towards others?

.

I'm not sure how long they would've lived.

I keep thinking either until The Last Hope, and they die in battle while defending their WindClan brethren from a ShadowClan Dark Forest cat

Or surviving and passing on the history of the Clans from when they were growing up, sharing knowledge. Then they'd retire after many long moons and pass peacefully in their sleep, knowing that the wrongs of the past would live in the new generation and keep them from repeating the same mistakes. In this, they'd probably have passed away in the frightful, cold winter that The Broken Code starts in.

Maybe even longer.

.

When Deadfoot died I imagine Swampstorm went out of his way to look after Crowkit / Crowpaw / Crowfeather and was like the tom's personal bodyguard.

Crowpaw would find it annoying and the two would butt heads often.

However, as he grew up, he understood how much his father meant to Swampstorm and that the tolly was just grieving in their own, strange way.

The two would have a talk about Deadfoot and they'd tell Crowfeather every single thing they could remember. A bittersweet bonding moment as Swampstorm trusted him dearly and believes Deadfoot would've been so proud of Crowfeather.

Something about that is something Crowfeather needed to hear, whether he realized it or not.

.

I hope this helped answer some questions!

And yeah, I was def thinking about them siding with Mudclaw, too, but at the same time I can't see them wanting anything to do with Hawkfrost.

After all, what would a RiverClan warrior even want with WindClan? It sounds mighty sus to them.

They want to be loyal to WindClan and WindClan only, so they'd not be too thrilled about either side if they knew other Clans were involved on both sides.

#au #ask #swampkit #swampstorm #deadfoot #crowfeather #warriors #warrior cats #if you have any more questions about this or other aus feel free to ask!! #this also goes for hypokits that i ramble about!

[valkylic]

Dream SMP --> Warrior Cats

it hits me that i should sit down and talk about warrior cats and dsmp connections actually bc it hits different (keep in mind I only recently started REALLY consuming dsmp)

Philza --> Pinestar Some may call him a coward, but others call him a man of logic. When Pinestar found out that his son, Tigerkit has a prophecy where he becomes a dictator, Pinestar ran away from his position as leader, fearing the worse, and because of this lack of a father figure in life, Tigerkit growing up turns to darker sides and becomes Tigerstar later on.

(more under cut)

Like?? from what I’ve gathered, Philza hits me close to being a Pinestar character, his sons all turned up to be either haunted by a curse or with dubious morals, but in the end, he cares about his children, despite not being there for them all of the time.

Wilbur --> Bluestar/Tigerstar Wilbur for me is combination of Tigerstar and Bluestar, Tigerstar for the reasons stated above in Philza’s section, and Bluestar... Oh boy Bluestar

Bluestar‘s entire life was holding down a position that they know would come to an end, and when they do lose that title, they'll be replaced by a traitor, and feared that her own clan is out to get her.

That’s what I saw in Wilbur’s character too, he founded his country, but yet, as time went on, he realizes that in trying to get L’manberg back from Schlatt at the end of the revolution, that they are just “going to replace a traitor with a traitor”. Both only ever found peace in death, Bluestar only ever let her guard down as she died, and Wilbur had found peace in death as Ghostbur.

Tommy --> Fireheart/Brambleclaw Tommy as Fireheart is honestly just a given, being a main character and all. But both Tommy and Fireheart had never been afraid to see the other side, to what they believe is the best for their country/clan. (Ie. Fireheart telling Windclan of plans that Bluestar will be attacking, Fireheart seeking the help of other clans when Tigerstar is threatening them) Fireheart lived under Bluestar through the worse of her depression while she was leader, and tried his best to stay with him no matter what.

Warriors had always loved itself “runs in the family” trope. Brambleclaw, for youth, has been always told that he’ll end up like his father Tigerstar, he even resembled him. Brambleclaw was told that he would become another irresponsible leader, and you know? He did, but never to Tigerstar’s extent, but he did. Brambleclaw had always been the worst only to the ones that he is closest to, and even often sometimes completely neglecting their feelings.

Technoblade --> Scourge Techno was?? a complicated character to try to fit into one or two characters but he still has the general themes for them, and Scourge was the only one that sort of fitted

Scourge was not born evil, no one is, but his environment pushed distrust into him, and leading to him rising up to become a leader of his own group. Scourge was then asked by Tigerstar later on in Warriors, to help him take over the forest the rest of the clans were in. In the end Scourge betrays Tigerstar, sticking to his own independent plans and ideals.

Dream --> Starclan/Hawkfrost Starclan in Warriors has always tampered with events as it saw fit, and have had a habit of manipulating and gaslighting cats into doing things they never wanted to do. (ie. forcing a cat to take on kits just bc its part of a prophecy, forcing a cat to forgo being a warrior to becoming a medicine cat). Despite being the “good” counterpart of the dark forest and considered to be gods, Starclan’s moral and motives has been questioned.

The Hawkfrost part came in like, as I was watching the ending of Ranboo’s stream on 1/5/21. Like... this will go into Ranboo’s section later, but it’s mostly for the same reasons as Dream being Starclan.

Ranboo --> Ivypool/Alderheart A sweet character who wants the best for the most people possible. Alderheart was unafraid to help out cats, despite being in different clans, and befriending many others across the borders. Ivypool however, is gaslighted into thinking that only Hawkfrost (Dream) is trustable, and can help her become better than her sister, who he convinces is the root of all the trouble. Ivypool then later, realizes that Hawkfrost was definitely in the wrong, and becomes a spy between the two sides.

Tubbo --> Onestar Onestar was one to quick to leave friendships behind, and later regretting.

Onestar, when he was Onewhisker, had amounted a great friendship to Fireheart, but once he rose to become Windclan’s leader, his friendship with Fireheart (Now Firestar) turned to aggression and bitterness, despite hostility not a requirement of becoming leaders of your clan.

Mistakes such as these always seems to come back and bite Onestar later.

Schlatt --> Pre-possession Bramblestar Now this is going to speific to ARCS that a character goes through, while I assigned Tommy Brambleclaw, he is not Bramblestar. Schlatt reminded me of Pre-possession Bramblestar the most.

Bramblestar as a leader, truly loved his clan, however, he found that there was more and more things that he could no longer keep control or track off, and after an especially bad case of a disease, he had supposedly “died”, only later to come back, not really himself... With the real Bramblestar’s ghost haunting the clan’s categories.

#dsmpblr #dsmp #dsmp meta #dream smp #Warriors #Warrior Cats #ok . look this makes sense in my head you guys get to see wtf is going on in my mind at all times #al's rambles #1/6/20

[gay-salt-amber]

Breeze Pelt x Jay Feather Headcanons

I may make a Jay x Breeze x Fallen headcanon post later but I wanna focus on two people for now! Headcanons under cut

-As we all know they hated each other in the past, but stuff can change

-They first started talking when all the other medicine cats stayed behind in their clans due to a lot of cats getting sick and Breeze Pelt was bored and struck up a conversation since nobody else was there that he wanted to talk with

-That same day he managed to make Jay Feather genuinely laugh, while the leaders were speaking he made a joke about Firestar and Jay laughed, Breeze Pelt saw stars.

-While Jay Feather knows a relationship like this is wrong, they like the thrill of it all and Breeze Pelt sure as hell doesn't mind running away from patrols.

-Jay Feather and Breeze Pelt both train in the dark forest, one because they get to see each other and two, because Jay Feather and Breeze Pelt feel strangely at home there

-The first time Breeze Pelt made a move was before a moonpool visit that Jay Feather and the other medicine cats were going to, Breeze Pelt pulled him aside and held the others hand while using every pick up line and flirty remark in the book

-Maple Shade ships them both

-Once, Breeze Pelt invited Jay into his home in the Dark Forest and he confessed to him over a movie (Jay can see in the Dark Forest btw)

-He didn't even outright say 'I love you' They were just watching a show and the characters kissed, Breeze Pelt just said fuck it and went for it

-It went well, and after talking they started dating

-Once Breeze Pelt tried to just make pancakes and coffee, he burned both and Jay Feather was pissed, it was 7 in the morning and they were making pancakes.

-Jay Feather, due to being a medicine cat, can go WEEKS without sleep, all they need is coffee and they're good, which concerns Breeze Pelt so whenever jay Feather isn't in the Dark Forest he convinces Maple Shade to make a portal and bring them there so they can sleep

-Breeze Pelt loves coffee, but unlike Jay he likes more stranger coffees, his favorite is Dirty Chi coffee, while Jay Feather will just get a cappuccino or a frappe from Starbucks.

-Breeze Pelt is the type of person who never tells anyone if he's sick till he vomits and or pass out, which leads to Jay Feather needing to keep a close eye on him and scolding him ALL THE TIME.

-Jay Feather likes wearing dresses, not to formal occasions, just for fun and because they like to wear them, they're comfy. And it's not really a problem since Breeze Pelt isn't the type to judge.

-Breeze Pelt enjoys reading, so Jay Feather, being as loaded as they are, always nearly buys out the whole book section whenever they're shopping at a book store.

-Breeze Pelt paints his nails black since Jay Feather both hates it but also thinks its cute, so its fun watching his lover stammer over what they're about to say.

----NSFW AHEAD---

-Jay Feather tops, even though they're blind, since they mainly fuck in the Dark Forest since that place doesn't snitch on anyone, it doesn't matter.

-Jay Feather doesn't mind being bottom, they just like making Breeze Pelt work for it

-But one time, they almost fucked in the Thunder Clan kitchen

-That was because Jay Feather was getting coffee during a late night shift and Breeze Pelts horny ass snuck in through a window and, you know what happened

-They like banging in chairs

-for example, Jay Feather is trying to work on medical files, Breeze Pelt sits on their lap, starts kissing they others neck and, you know what happens

-They have very high energy so they can go 12 at night to 12 in the afternoon

-Breeze Pelt likes using his claws whenever he can, he wants everyone to know Jay Feather is his

-Jay Feather is the same but with hickeys

-Jay Feather is weirdly really into pain, which Breeze Pelt abuses alot

---NSFW over---

-When the two are in the Dark Forest, they both play a lot of video games, which Jay Feather are pretty decent at.

-Their favorite games to play are GTA, Among Us and a few others

-Jay Feather is a amazing cook, most medicine cats are. Whenever Jay realizes Breeze Pelt hasn't eaten, they will legit whip up a 4 course meal in 15 minutes just to get them to eat something

-They have 3 kids, Blaze Eye, Quail Wing and Eagle Feather.

-Jay Feather likes podcasts. Their favorite podcast is The Corporate Casket.

-When Leafpool found out, she was very worried that Jay would make the same mistake that she made. Jay Feather had to be refrained by Breeze Pelt from smacking her and remind her that they're not a fucking idiot

-They're wedding was AMAZING let me show some photos

-What the wedding area looked like-

And Jay Feather ofc wore a dress, and bought Breeze Pelt a REALLY pricey suit because they weren't letting this wedding be a complete cheap shit show, this is the dress and the suit was just a normal black suit, so you can prolly just imagine that

-Breeze Pelt and Jay Feather both bite their nails, Jay Feather does it out of stress and Breeze Pelt does it out of boredom

-Breeze Pelt, despite knowing they cant, sometimes he imagines running away with Jay Feather and leaving the stressful clan life behind

-They do often talk about this, but they know its just a dream.

-Breeze Pelt is surprisingly the 'everything needs to be clean' one out of the two which makes Jay Feather laugh whenever they see the other rush to clean something in 2 seconds

-jay Feather gets surprisingly violent randomly, mainly when he doesn't get enough sleep but Breeze Pelt tries his best to keep his lover calm

-The only sport Jay Feather can do without looking stupid is ice skating since Hawkfrost taught them and a few others, Breeze Pelt likes roller skating so it works well

-Jay Feather gets misgendered due to their long hair, they are mistaken for a girl. This pisses Breeze Pelt off a lot, so when he can he will track the person down and either kill them, torture them or anything in-between

-Breeze Pelt is pan and Jay Feather is gay

-Breeze Pelt was the first person Jay Feather came out to as non-binary, Breeze Pelt just smiled and asked if they had a new name, pro-nouns and if they wanted to go shopping for anything. Jay Feather nearly cried

-Jay Feather has a really good gay-dar, so when Breeze Pelt came out as pan, Jay Feather just sat there and said, "I've known for months, its not new."

---Well thats it! requests are open, if you want to request anything, you can-- Amber

-Jay Feather often wakes up angry in thee middle of the night from talking with Yellow Fang or anyone else when they do, they figure out who Breeze Pelt is and just lay into him and calm down.

-in this au, Breeze Pelt is adopted, but unlike Jay Feather nobody knows

#Jayfeather x Breezepelt #Headcanons #Warrior cats

[idrawcats]

Some possible Imposters:

Possible Imposters (TBC):

Ashfur:

- Why:

* Very possessive of Squirrelflight

* Named Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather as codebreakers (and Ashfur tried to kill/harm them when he was alive)

* “You used to stand up to me in the old days” to Squirrelflight

* Lured the dogs to Jayfeather’s garden in the same way that Brindleface (Ashfur’s mother) was killed

* Set a trap kill Sparkpelt (Squirrelflight’s daughter). The trap was set at Jayfeather’s garden, so it might have been meant for him or Alderheart (also Squirrelflight’s children)

* Sent Bumblestripe to spy on Squirrelflight rather than trusting her

* “I gave you one last chance to tell the truth and you didn’t!” to Squirrelflight, implying that she’s lied to him before

* Violent with Squirrelflight when angry

* Threatened to harm Tree’s family to hurt him, as Ashfur tried to kill Squirrelflight’s children to hurt her

* Imposter has a vendetta against Bramblestar, whom Ashfur blames for “stealing” Squirrelflight

* The erins mentioned the return of a controversial character, and Ashfur is one of the most controversial characters in the series (for some reason)

* Shadowsight’s fire vision and ash falling on his pelt

* Why not:

* Ashfur is a confirmed StarClan cat who has been seen multiple times in StarClan, and StarClan has been cut off from the living

* Imposter is unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp, and Ashfur lived in the lake territory

* Ashfur never showed any interest in the Code and actually broke it when he conspired with Hawkfrost to kill Firestar

* Imposter seems much smarter than Ashfur was in life

* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Ashfur actually appeared in Squirrelflight’s Hope and was utterly uninterested in her

Thistleclaw:

* Why:

* The Imposter is intent on punishing codebreakers and making them suffer, just as Thistleclaw was violent in life

* Thistleclaw would be unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp at the lake territory

* Imposter manipulated Bristlefrost and seemed like he was creeping on her, despite actually saying that she was too young to be deputy. We all know what Thistleclaw did in Spottedleaf’s Heart.

* Thistleclaw is a Dark Forest cat who wasn’t killed in the Great Battle (that we know of), and Squirrelflight’s Hope stated that most Dark Forest cats had “moved on”, but that StarClan doesn’t know where they went

* The erins talked about the return of a controversial character, and for some reason, Thistleclaw seems to be pretty controversial

* Why not:

* The only part of the Code that Thistleclaw ever seemed interested in was no trespassing

* Thistleclaw has no connection to any named codebreakers

* Thistleclaw was never shown as particularly cunning outside of his disgusting child grooming in Spottedleaf’s Heart. The imposter is clearly a master manipulator.

* I don’t think Thistleclaw would have let Rootpaw trespass on ThunderClan territory and get away with it, regardless of his supposed reason

* No connection to Squirrelflight

* Meta: I’m hoping to god that the Erins learned their lesson and won’t touch Thistleclaw with a ten foot pole

* No motive

Clear Sky (Skystar):

* Why:

* Controversial character

* Shown to be very manipulative and good at getting cats to join him

* Warmonger who uses fear tactics to scare cats into believing that they will starve if they don’t join him, much like the Imposter uses fear tactics to convince cats that StarClan will never return if they don’t punish codebreakers

* Clear Sky was the first leader to enforce rules about borders and trespassing, which served as a prototype for the Code

* Clear Sky would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* The Imposter is noted to have seemed surprised by the scent of herbs from the medicine den. Medicine cats were a very new concept when Clear Sky was leader.

* No SkyClan cats were named as codebreakers (Tree doesn’t count)

* Squirrelflight is very similar in personality to Storm (Clear Sky’s second mate). Storm left Clear Sky and died, so it would make sense why Clear Sky would try to keep Squirrelflight with him at all times

* Clear Sky only just rejoined main StarClan, so he might not be fully connected enough to be blocked off with the rest of them

* The Imposter shares Clear Sky’s social Darwinist perspective (i.e. the strong cats — warriors, deputy, leader —should take priority over the weak, like the elders)

* Squirrelflight is similar in appearance to Star Flower (Clear Sky’s third mate)

* Clear Sky was very controlling of Storm and insisted she always stayed in camp. Much like the Imposter does with Squirrelflight.

* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body

* Why not:

* Clear Sky showed genuine character growth and had a redemption arc

* I don’t think many people read DOTC, so Clear Sky might not be a recognizable villain for most readers

* StarClan is blocked off from the Clans, and Clear Sky is a StarClan cat

* I think the only cat Clear Sky ever exiled was Jagged Peak, and that was because he broke his leg (not because of any codebreaking)

* I don’t remember Clear Sky ever using spies

Cloudstar:

* Why:

* No SkyClan cats were named

* Cloudstar’s entire life and Clan were destroyed by codebreaking (i.e. the other Clans turning on them in their hour of need)

* Everything I said about Clear Sky and StarClan

* The Imposter seems intent on making ThunderClan suffer, and Redstar (the leader of ThunderClan) was the main antagonist in Cloudstar’s novella and the main reason why SkyClan was forced to leave

* Cloudstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Why not:

* Cloudstar was never a bad dude

* He is a confirmed StarClan cat

* Cloudstar was never shown to be manipulative or violent

* It just doesn’t seem likely that Cloudstar would do something like this

* I seriously doubt Cloudstar would ever threaten another cat’s family like the Imposter threatened Tree’s

* No connection to Squirrelflight

Darkstripe:

* Why:

* Dark Forest cat who survived the Great Battle

* What I said about the Dark Forest in Thistleclaw’s section

* Luring dogs to kill Sparkpelt (probably intended for Jayfeather) was a very Tigerstar-esque plot, and Darkstripe was his most loyal supporter

* Darkstripe would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Darkstripe is known for eating prey that he caught before feeding the elders

* Why not:

* Darkstripe wasn’t all that smart in life or death

* Darkstripe had little to no regard for the Code

* No connection to Squirrelflight

Tigerstar I:

* Why:

* Bramblestar is his son

* The dog plot mentioned above

* Tigerstar was a master manipulator who convinced entire cats to join his crusade against half-clan and non-forestborn cats

* Tigerstar was known for hating half-Clan cats, and Jayfeather and Lionblaze are named codebreakers for seemingly no other reason than being half-Clan

* The imposter seems to have something against Lionblaze specifically, and Lionblaze turned against Tigerstar in his Dark Forest training

* Tigerstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Known to use spies

* Why not:

* Tigerstar is double dead and his arc is complete

* It would just be such lazy writing for it to be him

Hawkfrost:

* Why:

* He’s Bramblestar’s half brother

* Squirrelflight hated him when he was alive

* Would want revenge against Bramblestar for killing him TWICE

* Bristlefrost’s name

* Mothwing is a named codebreaker

* Why not:

* Hawkfrost is double dead and should not be able to come back

* Never cared about the Code

* No motive

* The Imposter hasn’t once interacted with Ivypool, and Hawkfrost had an important relationship with her and would probably try to make her life hell

Brokenstar:

* Why:

* Social Darwinist who kicked out ShadowClan’s elders

* Why not:

* He’s double dead and shouldn’t be able to come back

* No motive or connection to ThunderClan, Bramblestar, or the Code

Sol:

* Why:

* Known for hating the Clans

* Convinced ShadowClan to reject StarClan once, so it would make sense for him to try to block off StarClan again

* Known master manipulator who was able to convince first SkyClan, then ShadowClan, and then a group of WindClan cats of his worth as a cat and a leader

* Controversial character in-universe

* Why not:

* Sol has a vendetta against SkyClan and Leafstar specifically, and not a single SkyClan cat is named

* Sol doesn’t give a shit about the Code

* I don’t remember Sol having any connection to Squirrelflight, but I might be wrong

Rowanclaw:

* Why:

* Had his life and leadership ruined by codebreakers

* The Imposter named Dovewing but not Tigerheartstar. Tigerheartstar is Rowanclaw’s son and was his deputy, and Rowanclaw might blame Dovewing for making Tigerheartstar abandon ShadowClan in their time of need, thus forcing Rowanclaw to step down as leader and merge ShadowClan with SkyClan.

* Rowanclaw has a biological connection to Shadowsight (his grandson), which might make it easier to talk to him

* Owed Leafstar a debt for taking in his Clan, and not a single SkyClan cat is named

* Why not:

* None of the initial defectors to the Kin (Yarrowleaf, Berryheart, Strikestone, etc.) are named codebreakers

* Rowanclaw had a decent relationship with Bramblestar and would have no reason to bring suffering to him or his Clan

* The Clans all helped drive Darktail out, so why would Rowanclaw want to drive them apart?

* Rowanclaw is a known StarClan cat

* Rowanclaw was given a good death and a great send off in Tawnypelt’s Clan

* Rowanclaw knew his way around ThunderClan camp

Flametail:

* Why:

* Shadowsight’s fire vision

* If the Imposter was using mint to cover up Shadowsight’s assassination, then he would have to have good knowledge of herbs to know that mint is used to mask corpses

* Flametail was mentioned several times in Lost Stars

* Why not:

* Why the fuck would Flametail do this

Ravenwing:

* Why:

* Read what I said about the Imposter having knowledge of herbs under Flametail

* No knowledge of the lake territory

* Ravenwing was killed for defending the Code (albeit a warped version of the Code) and reporting Mapleshade’s half-Clan relationship

* Lionblaze and Jayfeather are condemned just for being half-Clan, much like Mapleshade’s kits

* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body

* Why not:

* I think the Erins forgot he exists

* Ravenwing never seemed violent or malicious

Darktail:

* Why:

* Known for being a tyrannical leader

* Known for using spies

* The Imposter is compared multiple times throughout The Silent Thaw to Darktail in terms of cruelty and cunning

* Darktail is mentioned several times in The Silent Thaw

* We all know that Darktail hates the Clans

* Why Not:

* Because Darktail had a satisfying defeat and it would cheapen his death for the Erins to bring him back

* Violetshine isn’t targeted

* Erins please

* I’m literally begging you

* Don’t make it Darktail

Multiple different cats:

* Why:

* Personality shifts for days

* No one knows where the hell the Dark Forest cats went

* Why not:

* Shadowsight only heard one voice

I think it’s either Clear Sky, Ravenwing, or multiple different cats, but I’m leaning Clear Sky

#warrior cats #warriors #the broken code #the broken code spoilers #lost stars #lost stars spoilers #the silent thaw spoilers #the silent thaw #tbc #bramblefake #fakestar #clear sky #skystar #ravenwing #ashfur #thistleclaw #tigerstar #hawkfrost #brokenstar #sol #wc sol #darktail #not mentioned but also possibilities: mudclaw and onestar #cloudstar #flametail

[thistleclaws-hatred]

Ashfur’s Revenge - Novella - Chapter Eight (END)

Previous Chapter    END

This novella is inspired by @dark-rose-designs ’s post.

Ashfur sat by the lake, watching the moon rise. Tomorrow would be the gathering and tomorrow he would be set free. Hawkfrost, are you watching? I’m about to get my revenge, I hope you get yours soon. 

Ashfur looked at his reflection, a brand new scar was on his cheek, a small patch of fur that would never grow back over his burn. A permanent reminder of that fateful night. The night that would mark the biggest mistake of Squirrelflight’s life. Second only to the day that Squirrelflight chose Brambleclaw over him. He slapped his tail against the water in rage. Mouse-brained she-cat.

“But what will I say?” Ashfur asked himself. “Where will I begin? Should I start with the kits being brought back to the camp? Should I start with the fact that Squirrelflight never showed any signs of pregnancy?”

Ashfur saw the stars reflect in the lake, “StarClan. I hope you’re watching. I hope you see and hear Squirrelflight’s sins. She deserves to suffer even after her death.”

Ashfur sighed happily, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. The feeling only lasted for so long as a black shape crashed into him. Ashfur yowled in surprise and kicked out, getting himself free from his attacker. He saw those big green eyes, “Hollyleaf? What are you doing?”

“Stopping you!” Hollyleaf hissed, launching herself at Ashfur and landing a solid blow across his cheek. Pain spread throughout the wound and he felt blood well up on the surface. He snarled and ducked under her next attack, leaping backwards.

“You don’t have to do this,” Ashfur meowed calmly. He knew there was no point in trying to reason with her, but he had to expose Squirrelflight. He had to! If he didn’t, then all of his suffering would’ve been for nothing!

“Neither do you, but if I don’t do this, you’re going to expose everything,” Hollyleaf spat. She reared up, clawing violently at Ashfur’s ears. He hissed and ducked under her, rolling away and kicking out her hind-leg. She crashed onto her side and he dug his claws into Hollyleaf’s shoulder. Hollyleaf screeched in paw and smacked him aside with a blow that sent him reeling.

Ashfur shook his head clear and had just enough time to leap out of the way of her attack. He heard her jaws snap next to his ear. He twisted his neck and bit down on her tail, yanking her across the lakebed. She kicked out with her hind-legs, catching Ashfur in the neck. The gray tom coughed and let her go. He swerved out of the way of her claws and slashed across her muzzle.

Hollyleaf snarled, baring her teeth and smacking Ashfur on the back of the neck. Ashfur hit the surface of the lakebed and felt the air being pushed out of his lungs. Hollyleaf landed on his back and churned her claws against his spine. Ashfur rolled over, knocking Hollyleaf off of him. He felt weak from the blood loss and saw blood covering the stones he was fighting on. Just like my blood that covers the camp.

Hollyleaf pinned him on his back, snarling in his face. “Do it! I have nothing left to live for. I’ve suffered my whole life for this moment, so do it Hollyleaf. Break your precious Warrior Code! Kill me!” He roared in her face.

Hollyleaf paused, flinching back. “If I let you live, you’ll reveal the secret, won’t you?”

“In a heartbeat,” Ashfur spat, not even bothering to struggle under her grip.

Her eyes clouded with grief, “I’m sorry that things could not have been different Ashfur. You could’ve been a valuable member of ThunderClan if you weren’t so blinded by revenge and hatred. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw will suffer when the truth comes out on its own terms, not because you revealed it out of personal gain!” Hollyleaf bit down hard on his neck.

Ashfur felt weak, his paws tingling and mind fuzzy. This is it. I’m dying. StarClan, are you ready to receive me? He gave Hollyleaf one last look of pure hatred before he fell limp and his vision went dark.

          Ashfur opened his eyes to a new type of darkness. He heaved himself to his paws, steadying himself. He felt heavy, yet weightless at the same time. He looked around. Is this StarClan? 

From the shadows came a familiar shape. Ashfur felt his heart leap into his throat. “Hawkfrost? You’re in StarClan?”

The dark tabby purred gently, “This is not StarClan Ashfur. This is the Place of No Stars. Here, we can help you get your revenge and you can help me get mine.” 

Those eyes. Still as piercing as ever. Ashfur thought, his mind flooding with memories. “Revenge?” He whispered, looking around. He could see other shapes moving around in the darkness, but he couldn’t make out any other specific cats.

“Revenge on Squirrelflight. On her and those pathetic kits,” Hawkfrost spat.

“Do you know who their father is?” Ashfur asked, leaning closer to the handsome tom.

Hawkfrost nodded, “Crowfeather. When she ran off with him, she came back expecting his kits.”

“They are half-clan!” Ashfur’s fur stood up along his spine, “No offense.”

Hawkfrost shrugged. “So what do you say Ashfur? Stay with us, stay with me. I promise you’ll get your revenge.”

Ashfur paused to think. He was already dead, what more could he do? He looked around, this forest was dark and barren. No prey, no sunlight, no river. No friends. But...Hawkfrost was here. Ashfur shook his head, “I cannot stay. I am dead. I have no vengeance left in my body. Thank you Hawkfrost, for everything, but I must leave.”

Hawkfrost’s eyes turned to ice, “Traitor. You’ll never learn and Squirrelflight will never learn her lesson if you leave!”

“It is not my lesson to teach,” Ashfur meowed, turning around and walking about from the ghastly cat. He was vaguely aware of Hawkfrost yelling at him, but he didn’t stop.

“Follow me,” A voice called to him. Ashfur looked over at a pair of deep yellow eyes and blinked. From the darkness came a flat faced shaggy gray she-cat. 

“Yellowfang?”

“I will take you to StarClan,” she meowed, leading Ashfur out of the shadows. “You are a fool for ever believing that Hawkfrost loved you. He was using you the same way Tigerstar was using him.

Ashfur felt his heart sink. His deepest suspicion, true. The sun shone across a very noticeable border. The moment he walked over Ashfur could hear prey and water running. He heard cats talking amongst themselves and he felt more at peace. “Thank you Yellowfang.”

“I do not agree with your actions Ashfur. You almost led to Firestar’s death, you almost killed three innocent cats and who knows who else you would’ve killed. But, I know what it feels like to have your heart broken. Brokenstar was once my kit,” Yellowfang explained, leading Ashfur over into a heavily wooded area.

Ashfur flicked his ear in surprise, but did not comment. “Bluestar!” He called out, seeing the former ThunderClan leader sharing tongues with a dark brown tom he didn’t recognize. “Who’s with her?”

“Oakheart, the former RiverClan deputy. The two of them love each more than the stars love the moon,” Yellowfang meowed, flicking her tail in greeting to the two of them.

“Welcome Ashfur,” Bluestar meowed, dipping her head.

“It is an honor to be here.”

#ashfur's revenge #ashfur #ashfur's revenge - chapter eight #end chapter #squirrelflight #hawkfrost #brambleclaw #hollyleaf #jayfeather #lionblaze #my writing #yellowfang #warriors #warrior cat #thunderclan #warriors novella #firestar

[puppypaw-wc]

Mothpool AU Rambles - Omen of the Stars + Super Editions / Novellas

More of me rambling about the Mothpool AU, this time going through Omen of the Stars!

Two kits were born to the young queen Whitewing not long before Russetleaf fled to the tunnels.

One, a pale gray she-kit with white markings on her side and green eyes, was named Dovekit by the queen. The other, a gray-and-white tabby she-kit with blue eyes, was named Ivykit.

Once Russetleaf was presumed dead by the Clan, Dovekit started to know the names of cats who were from other Clans she’d never been to. She knew Flamepaw was a medicine cat apprentice before Littlecloud announced it at a Gathering, she knew who Mothwing was without having to be told, she knew Lynxcloud as well.

Anyways, the time comes for them to be apprenticed. Dovekit is apprenticed to Quailwing, while Ivykit is apprenticed to Cinderheart.

Dovepaw’s apprenticeship is difficult despite her enhanced senses. Quailwing spaces out a lot, as if distracted by something in the distance despite his blindness. Ivypaw on the other paw is great at hunting and fighting. She’s even more uncertain when an old gray she-cat with matted fur comes to her dreams and gives her a prophecy.

The russet leaf hasn’t truly left. It’s only descended deep, deep down. For now, look for the dove’s feathers that will rain down.

In her dreams, she sees starry cats and hears them whispering the same thing, over and over again. There will be three who will hold the power of the stars in their paws.

But she also sees dark, bloody cats with a strange mist surrounding them that make her feel sick to her stomach.

She just wants to have a dreamless night for once.

Eventually she tells the Clan about the beavers. Quailwing immediately knows. He never knew about Russetleaf’s power since she had it for such a little amount of time before leaving. He knows.

She tells him about her dreams. About the starry cats and the bloody, misty cats. Quailwing tells Firestar. He knows too.

Firestar sends them to get Lynxcloud from RiverClan. Lynxcloud has an apprentice, Hollowpaw, who desperately wants to go on the mission as well. But Rippletail and Petalfur say they should go in Lynxcloud’s stead. Mothwing dismisses their argument and says that all three of them can go and that Hollowpaw can be mentored by Icewing until they come back. He’s mad about this, but reluctantly accepts.

And so at the next Gathering, Firestar announces the news and Leopardstar announces that Lynxcloud, Petalfur and Rippletail are all going to represent RiverClan.

The cats from the other Clans include Oakfur, Tigerpaw and Toadfoot from ShadowClan and Sedgewhisker and Whitetail from WindClan. After getting some herbs from their medicine cats (in Quailwing and Dovepaw’s case, Brightheart, who’s in charge of medicine cat duties until further notice), the group sets off and that goes about as normal.

Unlike in the original book, we get Ivypaw chapters instead of Quailwing chapters. Dovepaw apparently getting a dream from StarClan does make her feel a bit jealous, but she’s a great fighter and hunter so it doesn’t bother her too much. Note that while Poppyfrost does go to the Moonpool, Breezepelt doesn’t attack her because he actually has a father who cares for him.

During the fight against the beavers, Dovepaw sees Tigerpaw use his Dark Forest moves and is intrigued. The two become relatively close on the journey back.

Once they get back to the Clans, Dovepaw sees how great at everything Ivypaw’s been. Yes, she has a connection to StarClan, but she’s... jealous. And uncertain about everything. Shouldn’t Russetleaf, Quailwing and Lynxcloud’s sister, be the third cat? Was she? Did StarClan change their destinies after Russetleaf’s presumed death?

The Dark Forest can finally get into her dreams and bring her somewhere StarClan can’t reach. Hawkfrost first comes to her in a flowery field. He says he wants to teach her how to control her powers and how to be a great warrior. She believes him. She wants her Clan to believe in her not because of her power, but because of her.

Now let’s go to RiverClan. Lynxcloud and Willowshine are still dating, though Willowshine’s had to spend less and less time with Lynxcloud due to Mothwing’s de-promotion. This saddens Lynxcloud. The Dark Forest tries to manipulate him, but he’s aware of their tricks already. Instead, he goes to the ThunderClan border, where Quailwing and a few other cats (Berrynose, Cinderheart, Ivypaw and Dovepaw) find him. He explains he wishes to meet with Firestar. Quailwing agrees. Cinderheart, who knows about the prophecy from Russetleaf, is less confused then the other cats... but still confused.

Quailwing brings Lynxcloud to Firestar’s den, surprised when Firestar requests that he and Dovepaw come too, but they do as he says. They talk to Firestar about the prophecy for a bit, and Dovepaw is even more uncertain when she hears about Firestar’s last notable interaction with Russetleaf.

“I remember what happened not long before Russetleaf left,” the leader mewed, “I was talking to Brambleclaw about patrols, when Russetleaf entered, asking to talk to me in private. I assumed she’d received a prophecy, so I followed her. We went into the forest, where she asked me if I’d ever broken the warrior code. I suddenly felt... compelled to tell her everything. So I did. Once I was done, I felt like myself again. I think that was her using her power.”

Russetleaf was one of the Three. She was meant to be there instead of her. Dovepaw should’ve been a normal apprentice. Why couldn’t she be normal?

Training in the Dark Forest makes her feel... important. A StarClan cat is choosing to train her of all cats. But slowly, as the Dark Forest gets more of a hold on her, the scenery in her dreams changes to be more eerie. 

At first there’s just blood red and dark mist slowly forming, like the ones the dark cats from her older dreams had.

Then the flowery field starts to turn into a misty, muddy forest. Dovepaw doesn’t know what’s happening. But she doesn’t stop going. She can’t, not when she’s not even done with her training yet. So she continues going to the Dark Forest.

Ivypaw notices her sister acting... odd. She asks her about it, but Dovepaw simply says that she’s focusing really hard on her training. She keeps waking up with bloodied fur, so much so that it can’t be from thorns in her nest like she insists it is. Ivypaw doesn’t know what to do, so she tells Quailwing and Cinderheart, who both promise to keep a close eye on her. Note that here, Cinderheart knows about Quailwing’s power due to them being close. Quailwing told her about the prophecy because he felt that she deserved to know.

Cinderheart suggests Quailwing walks in Dovepaw’s dreams. He doesn’t want to because he hasn’t used his power very much in this AU due to not being a medicine cat... and because Leafpool told Brightheart and Longtail about his power and they taught him about violation of privacy.

Anyways, the tree falls and Briarpaw breaks her spine and Longtail dies. Quailwing is devastated by the latter event.

Brightheart takes care of Briarpaw, though she struggles a bit due to not having been trained as a medicine cat. Quailwing and Squirrelflight go to ShadowClan to get Littlecloud’s help, and Flamepaw helps out as well, though he mainly just bonds with Dovepaw and Ivypaw, especially the latter.

Anyways, Briarpaw gets her warrior name of Briarlight, Blossompaw and Bumblepaw are named Blossomfall and Bumbleflight (name subject to change, I just think Bumblestripe is lame). Briarlight and Dovepaw end up getting really close... Blossomfall still gets jealous of her sister and when Dovepaw sees her in the Dark Forest, she decides to try to help their relationship because she doesn’t realize what she’s doing is bad - she just wants to be cared for by her Clanmates because of her, not because of a prophecy that she just so happens to be playing a part in.

I imagine that after their training sessions and before they wake up, Dovepaw and Blossomfall talk sometimes. At one point Hawkfrost joins in upon hearing them talk about their feelings, telling them how he came to be in the Dark Forest. It’s at this point that Dovepaw realizes that it’s wrong to be here...

Night Whispers starts with a Flamepaw chapter as he and Littlecloud go to the Moonpool and he gets his full name of Flametail before dreaming of a strange place... a dark misty forest. A dark brown tom with a red aura around his scars approaches him before he wakes up.

After this, Dovepaw goes to Quailwing and tells him everything. About the Dark Forest, about Hawkfrost, about Blossomfall... everything. At the next Gathering, he asks Dovepaw to tell Lynxcloud what she told him, and she does. Ivypaw and Tigerpaw (yes, Flamepaw got his warrior name first... don’t question it) eavesdrop and this helps Tigerpaw realize that mouse-dung, everyone is right about Tigerstar being evil. Ivypaw and her sister start to fix their bond.

I can’t decide if Flametail dies or not but if he doesn’t then like in Veil of Shadows with Shadowsight (and Squilf’s Hope with Squilf but that book isn’t canon-), he becomes a ghost and has to wait while his body heals from almost drowning.

Anyways in Sign of the Moon, Quailwing and Lynxcloud, alongside their apprentices, meet up to check out the tunnels. Dovepaw and Hollowpaw have gotten relatively close due to the Dark Forest and are both of their Clan’s respective spies (Lynxcloud asked Dovepaw to spread the news to as many Dark Forest trainees as possible - Hawkfrost and Tigerpaw helped out. They all decided to have Tigerpaw and Applefur spy for ShadowClan, Hollowpaw and Minnowtail spy for RiverClan, Harespring and Sunstrike (Me about Sunstrike: “I don’t know who you are but you’re pretty.”) spy for WindClan, and, of course, Dovepaw spy for ThunderClan... I’d have someone else spy with her but at the time she was like the only Dark Forest trainee in ThunderClan).

Hollowpaw and Dovepaw just hunt so Leopardstar doesn’t get mad while Lynxcloud and Quailwing block off the tunnels and end up finding a tuft of Russetleaf’s fur and realize that oh sheet, she’s alive.

Anyways they go back to their respective camps and Firestar decides that Dovepaw and Ivypaw should have their assessments, so they do and manage to both pass after a misadventure in the tunnels after Icecloud falls in. Dovepaw is named Doverain due to her friendliness and intelligence (had to look through a naming dictionary’s meanings for -splash, -pool, -creek and some others) and Ivypaw is named Ivypool due to her fierceiocity and strength in battle... her name’s more obvious.

Doverain, Foxleap, Squirrelflight and Quailwing all go to the mountains since Quailwing got a message from Half Moon saying that he had to go... the Three’s connection to StarClan is lessening due to some reason that no one knows the reasoning for. Hint hint, Dark Forest.

Quailwing possesses Quail’s Feather again because he wants to violate this dead cat’s privacy. Rock tells him to not violate Quail’s Feather’s privacy. He pretends to be deaf.

Anyways back at the lake Blossomfall and Ivypool end up in the tunnels and meet Fallen Leaves. After totally not Russetleaf leads them out Fallen Leaves won’t leave Ivypool alone. I had to make Ivypool’s character arc interesting, okay? She keeps getting dreams of the ancients and death and a battle... starry cats on one side and misty, dark cats on the other... a starry tortioseshell cat fading right from someone who she can only assume is Firestar’s grasp... she doesn’t know what they mean but they scare her and she just wants them to leave her alone.

In RiverClan Lynxcloud is having a crisis because StarClan is visiting his dreams and telling him that the Clans will have to stand divided and he’s just like “but,,, my bro’s in thunderclan” and they’re just like “sorry bruh” and leave. Willowshine’s also confused because she also keeps having these dreams and she’s pretty sure StarClan’s shipping them.

Back at the mountains, Quailwing comes back to the present and names Crag Where Eagles Nest the new Healer. Note that here just to make it make more sense, even if they are generally called Teller of Pointed Stones / Stoneteller, they are sometimes referred to by their old name, usually in dreams from the Tribe of Endless Hunting or by cats close to them.

After returning to the lake, Doverain finds that her powers have seemingly vanished. She doesn’t know how to feel about this. She vents about it to Ivypool, Blossomfall and Briarlight. She vents about everything to Ivypool, Blossomfall and Briarlight. How she feels like Ivypool was always better then her even though she had a power, how she felt like she was only cared about by Firestar and StarClan was because of her power, how she only felt at home in the Dark Forest, how she just wants Blossomfall to get along with Briarlight and be a happy family again, all of it. Blossomfall stays quiet while Briarlight and Ivypool comfort her.

Doverain notices that Blossomfall has stopped participating in training sessions, even when it’s just between the spies (Hollowpaw and Tigerpaw have since become Hollowflight and Tigerheart), a few others and Hawkfrost. When she asks about this, Blossomfall says that Doverain saying all that made her realize that she was being petty and that she’s been thinking.

Anyways, during a Gathering Doverain catches a glimpse of a cinnamon and red splotched and striped pelt through the trees. It looks exactly like...

Russetleaf.

Doverain had already had her suspicions that the torbie she-cat wasn’t actually dead due to the prophecy she’d received as a young apprentice, but seeing her was a whole ‘nother story.

Also I just now realized that I didn’t elaborate on Briarlight so here we go: after Doverain vents about all that to Blossom, Ivy and Briar, Blossomfall confronts Millie and tells her that “hey, you’re being really helicopter mom-like towards Briarlight, I don’t think she appreciates that, maybe stop and let her get out?”. She agrees so Briarlight gets out sometimes. While hunting on her own is still a bit challenging, she manages. She and her siblings go on their own hunting patrols sometimes and Bumble and Blossom scare prey towards her so she can catch it since pouncing and chasing it is... kind of out of the question. Also “[...] due to [Briarlight’s injury], she can never have kits”... w h a t ? I... hm... Kate... are you okay?

Anyways, Doverain goes on a walk in the middle of the night in order to think, and ends up coming across Russetleaf and her ghost boyfriend Fallen Leaves! She tries to convince Russetleaf to come back to the Clan...

“It’s nice talking to you Doverain,” Russetleaf mewed, smiling, “isn’t it, Fallen Leaves?”

The ghostly tom simply nodded, uncertainty in his eyes. “Er, Doverain, can you see me?”

“I can,” Doverain smiled at the ancient cat - what did Quailwing call his rank the other day? Softpaw? Yeah, Softpaw - as her tail whipped back and forth happily, “anyways Russetleaf... why don’t you come back to the Clan? If I can see Fallen Leaves, surely others can too! Or at least, Quailwing when he gets his visions and Lynxcloud... well, when he’s Lynxcloud,” she chuckled at herself.

The torbie looked to Fallen Leaves, uncertainty in her eyes as well. “Doverain... I can’t come back. I just can’t. I don’t want to cause more pain then I must... and then I already have.”

A puzzled look glazed the younger she-cat’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

Russetleaf sighed. “You know who Ashfur is... correct? Ferncloud’s brother, a brave warrior, formerly mates with Squirrelflight,” she speaks her foster mother’s name as if it’s a curse, though Doverain had heard from Quailwing and Lynxcloud had no trouble cursing, “him.”

“Yes, I do,” Doverain was confused, “why?”

“I... killed him.”

But she refuses.

She and Doverain keep meeting at night. It helps Doverain become more certain with herself. And eventually, she convinces Russetleaf to come back home.

She has a tearful reunion with Cinderheart and (somehow) manages to introduce Fallen Leaves to her, though given everyone else in the Clan’s looks they likely think they’re insane.

Seeing how happy Russetleaf looks being back with her brother and (albeit, foster) parents, and knowing that she isn’t going to get her powers back soon, Doverain wants to obstruct any connection with the prophecy.

Doverain smiled back at Russetleaf, Quailwing and the torbie’s mates as she pushed through the overgrowth and entered Firestar’s den.

“Doverain,” the tom purred, “you’ve proven yourself to be a great warrior, even beyond the prophecy. You’ve brought Russetleaf back to the Clan and have accomplished several other great feats. With that aside, what do you need?”

She paused. Did she want to do this? She wasn’t the third cat... did she have any involvement in the prophecy? Or was she just a temporary replacement?

She did want to do this.

“I... I want to change my name,” she mewed, “could you give me the proper ceremony for that? I understand if you think it’s silly or-”

Firestar cut her off. “I don’t think it’s silly at all Doverain. In fact, I’ll let you choose your new name when the time comes. I understand that you may not want to be connected to the prophecy any longer. I’ll host your ceremony right now, in fact. I already have something I need to announce anyways.”

And so, Firestar calls a Clan meeting. Cats still gossip about Cinderheart and all that, but after he shares the news of Sol...

“Before everyone leaves, I have something else I must do,” the leader announced just as cats were beginning to disperse, “Doverain, please come forward.”

The pale she-cat stepped forward, anxiety in her pelt. She heard a comforting whisper of “you got this” from Briarlight.

“Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name,” Firestar began. She gazed around camp, seeing a few confused yet supporting looks on cats’ faces. They know it from Brightheart. “I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name,” he jumped from the Highledge, looking to the currently nameless she-cat, “I give you the privilege to choose your own name.”

She paused, looking to her pelt. Pale gray... pale.

“I would like to be known as Palerain,” she mewed, hoping her trembling voice wasn’t obvious. Firestar nodded.

“By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name,” he mewed, “from this moment onward, she shall be known as Palerain.”

The newly named Palerain felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. She no longer had the burden of a prophecy on her shoulder.

But she knew what was coming.

Now note that I’ve never fully read the Last Hope... I read like the first couple of chapters and then stopped cuz it was boring and I knew what was coming (I spoil myself about shit that happens in the books sometimes... I knew who died in it, I knew about the battle, etc, etc)... but I just used the cliffnotes for every other book here so who cares!

So like the first chapter of the original Last Hope (with the change of it being Palerain instead), Palerain is training her Dark Forest apprentices (Birchfall isn’t one of them because the idea of her training her dad in the Dark Forest weirds me out) and Tigerstar and Mapleshade come to tell the trainees to wake up and go back to their nests. The trainees (reluctantly) agree but Hawkfrost stops Palerain and the other spies (alongside a few others... Blossomfall and the other ThunderClan trainees are there since most of them have started doubting the Dark Forest’s claims of being good and StarClan being bad) and brings them to the Gray Area, AKA where cats who did do bad things but had good reasoning for it but did too much of a bad to go to StarClan go. This is the area where Palerain’s Dark Forest training first started, the flower field. Note that none of the Dark Forest cats except maybe Mapleshade (I feel like she might also be in the Gray Area but leans closer to StarClan) know that Hawkfrost is in the Gray Area and think that he’s just in Hell outright. Anyways, he talks to the spies about the other senior Dark Forest warriors’ plan... not the battle, but another.

You know how when Antpelt died he got hypnotized in a way to believe that the Dark Forest’s plans were right and to care about them more than his old Clan? Well Hawkfrost tells the trainees that Tigerstar and the other senior Dark Forest warriors are planning to kill the trainees while they’re in the Dark Forest so the same thing will happen to them. Anyways Quailwing comes and brings some StarClan cats to violate the trainees’ privacy because he learned nothing from his training (the cats he brings are Bluestar, Yellowfang, Spottedleaf, Whitestorm, Oakheart, Redtail, Leopardstar (she’s just there because she was Hawkfrost’s mentor), Half Moon and Cinderpelt - note that here Cinderpelt was more of an imaginary friend / guardian angel to Cinderheart and Cinderheart just had her memories for some reason... it’s based on this AU and a post by @/the-broken-code-rewrite).

The trainees make a plan to fight back when the Dark Forest cats attempt to kill them and Hawkfrost is just like “good luck ig i’ll help u get 2 starclan if u die”.

Anyways at the Moonpool Russetleaf has the same dreams Jayfeather has in the canon book (yes, she does get POVs) and she’s confused when she sees Mothwing there... Willowshine and Lynxcloud also tag along here. Russetleaf tells them they need to unite their Clans and Lynxcloud promises to tell Mistystar that.

Mistystar’s not having any of that.

“but ur half-thunderclan”

“yeah but if starclan’s telling willowshine that the clans need to stand divided then i’m going to listen to starclan”

“mistystar, ur my mom, i love you, but listen to the child”

“i’m an adult reedwhisker”

“sure u r bab”

“ur not even my dad”

“leopardstar nursed you and i acted like ur dad”

“shush”

Anyways Dark Forest shit happens. Palerain and the other spies are anticipating getting killed.

Brightheart announces she’s having babies and Russetleaf’s just like “brightheart... maybe wait”.

Skipping some shit/shuffling events around, the Three and Palerain discuss who they think the fourth cat might be.

Canidates: Lynxcloud and Russetleaf both think Cinderheart, Palerain thinks Ivypool. Quailwing doesn’t really have any ideas until Mothwing shows him and Russetleaf the flaming reed, after which he thinks Flametail. However, here, the reed itself wasn’t the omen. Instead the fact that despite steady rain it didn’t go out was the omen. Do you get it yet?

Anyways Dark Forest patrols. Only the Three, Palerain, Fallen Leaves (yes, he’s still awkwardly roaming ThunderClan), Cinderheart and the trainees can see them. Also like in the canon books Brokenstar slaughters Beetlewhisker. This is when the Dark Forest decides to attempt to kill the trainees. The spies and ThunderClan’s trainees fight back, and a few other trainees fight back too, but some of them (Redwillow... that seems to be about it canonically so it’s time for OCs! Cherrycloud and Leechfeather, both RiverClan cats) fight the “betrayers”. The spies and ThunderClan cats are escorted out by Hawkfrost and a few StarClan cats (mainly Goosefeather and Crookedstar) who know the way to the Dark Forest. Said StarClan cats fend off the Dark Forest cats and Redwillow while Hawkfrost and the spies / ThunderClanners escape to the Gray Area.

The ThunderClan trainees go on a patrol led by Palerain and find the spies and some of the other trainees by the island - Icewing, Hollowflight, Minnowtail, Harespring, Sunstrike, Furzepelt, Larkwing, Whiskernose, Ratscar, Applefur and Tigerheart. When asked where Redwillow is, Tigerheart explains that he woke up with lots of injuries and scars and is in the medicine cat den healing, and that he thinks that he swore loyalty to the Dark Forest and they killed him so he’d stay there. Icewing and the other RiverClan cats report the same for Leechfeather and Cherrycloud. Hawkfrost then appears because no one cares about privacy in this AU.

The Three and Palerain tell Leafpool, Mothwing, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw about their destinies, blah blah blah, Lynxcloud accepts his destiny... and also tells them that he’s dating Willowshine and that he’s pretty sure she’s expecting his kits and Leafpool and Mothwing are just like “lynxcloud honey no” and Lynxcloud’s just like “lemme have a girlfriend”.

They’re not saying that about him dating Willowshine. They’re saying that about the kits.

Lynxcloud asks Willowshine if she’s cheating on him and she says that no, she’s not, she just wanted to have babies with him so she got Pebblefoot to sire some babs. Lynxcloud is both happy and realizes that she’s gon be in trouble but then Mistystar comes in like “yo i heard y’all talkin’ and i was already thinkin’ of givin’ mothwing her medicine cat position back and y’all have made me decide that maybe i should” and I don’t know why Mistystar’s Southern but anyways-

The medicine cats (Mothwing and Leafpool are there too because Brightheart’s struggling and Russetleaf’s like... a teenager) all decide they need to unite StarClan and Russetleaf tells them about the Dark Forest. Willowshine tells them she’s expecting kits and they all decide that that rule is pretty damn stupid so they should abolish it. Bluestar tells Russetleaf that Palerain’s the fourth cat and she’s like “y’know what that makes a lotta sense”. Russetleaf invades her privacy and hears Bluestar say this and tells Palerain and then brings the medicine cats to the Dark Forest to watch a training session. Palerain and most of the trainees are in the Gray Area with Hawkfrost while Redwillow, Leechfeather and Cherrycloud are all training for the battle.

Quailwing somehow gets to the Gay (I’m keeping that) Area and the medicine cats conspire there, all agreeing that they need to get their leaders to meet at the island.

Firestar brings Russetleaf, Quailwing and Palerain to the island (Palerain didn’t want to go but Firestar doesn’t know she doesn’t have her power anymore) and Lynxcloud comes with Mistystar. The Three reveal their powers to the Clans.

Russetleaf’s truth revealing/hypnosis, Lynxcloud’s inability to be hurt in battle, and Quailwing’s invasion of privacy.

The leaders decide to send patrols at each camp at dusk to prepare for the upcoming battle, and they decide to have reinforcements - cats who will send news to other Clans (I’m copy-pasting stuff from the Wiki now).

Palerain turns down Tigerheart with the reasoning of “i’m gay, ur gay, go marry bumbleflight”. Tigerheart is just like “wait i’m gay” and leaves to contemplate his sexuality.

Firestar tells the Clan about the Dark Forest and battle plans and stuff and Russetleaf talks to Cinderheart and they decide to be gay together. Fallen Leaves is there too.

“ily russetleaf”

“ily 2 fallen leaves”

“... hi i’m here 2″

“ily cinderheart”

“ily 2 russetleaf”

“but...”

“we can be polyam”

“that sounds gucci”

The battle happens. Hawkfrost starts fighting on the side of the Dark Forest before he, Snowtuft and Thistleclaw “ambush” Palerain, after which he fights on the side of the Clans. Russetleaf almost dies but doesn’t.

Palerain sacrifices herself in order to save her sister from almost getting killed. However, due to her former unstable powers, her spirit simply gets disconnected from her body.

Spottedleaf double dies.

Firestar still dies, Brambleclaw becomes leader and appoints Cinderheart as deputy. Leafpool gets her medicine cat position back.

Let’s quickly quickfire through post-OotS pre-AVoS Super Editions / novellas in chronological order.

Dovewing’s Silence

Palerain gets back to her body after having some strange dreams. That’s basically it. I don’t remember this book. Foxleap and Icecloud don’t die. Hazeltail doesn’t either. Basically no one dies.

Crowfeather’s Trial

Instead called Crowfeather’s Peace as he comes to a peace with his past “relationship” with Feathertail and reflects on his relationship with Nightcloud. The first half of it takes place with him as Crowpaw during the journey to the Sun-drown Place while the second half of it takes place a bit before Po3 but after TNP, around the same time as Leafpool’s Wish, as he and Nightcloud become close and eventually have Breezepelt.

Bramblestar’s Storm

This book’s about the same.

#mothpool au #dovewing #doverain #palerain #(suggested by someone on a discord i'm in) #ivypool #mothwing #jayfeather #quailwing #yellowfang #firestar #lionblaze #lynxcloud #hollowflight #petalfur #rippletail #icewing #oakfur #tigerheart #toadfoot #sedgewhisker #whitetail #poppyfrost #breezepelt #hawkfrost #lionwillow #willowshine #berrynose #cinderheart #edit 12/2/20: changed ivyfang's name back to being ivypool so her and dove's names parallel each other

[thunders-warcats-stuff]

A Choice To Make headcannons pt 2

Jaypaw tells Firestar when he finds out about Ashfur’s role in Hawkfrost’s plan. It’s right before the fire scene happens and although Firestar never gives up his source, the investigation is what drives Ashfur over the edge.

He tries not to pry into his siblings’ dreams unless he feels like they’re in danger. After one walk through the Dark Forest with Lionpaw, Jaypaw woke up, told Lionpaw all about what Brambleclaw went through, and begged him to talk to Bramble and stick to play-fighting with Heatherpaw. “I would honestly rather you sneak out to a friend in another Clan than wake up to you bleeding out from a dream like that.”

Despite being able to see history repeat itself in several ways, Jaypaw is not omniscent. He’s just got a fresher point of view on some things and insight to his Clanmates. He can’t stop a drought or a fire, but he’ll try, much to StarClan’s dismay. When they see he’s tearing himself apart and running around trying to fix everything without their influence, they send Goosefeather and Featherwhisker to talk about their experiences with prophecies and trying to control the future.

Hollyleaf is one of the Three but she and Lionblaze’s past lives were born after Jay’s Wing led the Ancients to the Mountains.

Jay’s Wing and Half Moon didn’t know this, so Jaypaw never found out, but the Ancients were plagued by issues like canon SkyClan in the gorge. Badgers were a huge threat, prey didn’t always run, and storms destroyed what they set up more often than not. Nature is cyclical, though, so it was only a matter of time that the Ancients were chased out of their home as the Tribe and then as the Clans, practically destined to never call a place home for too long.

#thunder talks about warcats #lessons learned the warrior jaypaw fic

[warriors-smolderingashes]

Prologue

The troubles started when Leafpool met Mothwing.

She had only been an apprentice, then. Leafpaw had seen a beautiful golden cat across the river many times, but it wasn’t until four moons into her training when she really met her. Mothwing had recently been a made a warrior, but she had quickly decided to become a medicine cat instead. She had said that Mudfur had been waiting for a sign to confirm she was meant to be his apprentice, and apparently, it had taken all the way up until her warrior ceremony for him to find it.

Leafpaw and Mothwing became friends quickly. After Leafpool finished her training, she would often swap tips and advice with her friend at Gatherings and half-moon meetings at the Moonstone.

Then they started running into each other at Sunningrocks when they collected herbs.

Then they started to meet on the border at night.

It was a rare time of peace between RiverClan and ThunderClan, they had agreed, and they decided they ought to make the best of it by sharing their herb knowledge and interpreting their dreams together. Leafpool privately cherished her meetings with Mothwing, and she longed to see the RiverClan medicine cat whenever they were apart.

There were times, she thought, when she would see a deeper affection in Mothwing’s gaze as they walked together. Brief moments where their tails would brush, or when they would linger before parting ways. But they both cared deeply for their Clans and their work, and took their duties as medicine cats seriously, and Leafpool knew nothing would come of it.

So long as they had their meetings, Leafpool wouldn’t mind if she could never call Mothwing her mate.

- - - - - -

As the forest thawed, twolegs passed through, often stopping and fumbling with strange branches and vines. The Clans thought nothing of it for a while. It wasn’t until Birchkit, one of Ferncloud’s young kits, snuck out and got caught in a trap that they took notice. The young tom cat had only wanted to try and catch a mouse, but he had found himself stuck in a strange metal box with no way out. Dustpelt had attacked the trap desperately, trying to spring it open, but a twoleg arrived and took the trap away, with Birchkit still inside.

All Clans were on high alert for the traps after. Newleaf usually brought hope and joy for the Clans, but many cats were going missing in the boxes. Worse, snares had been hidden throughout the underbrush, covered cleverly by leaves. A ShadowClan warrior had been permanently injured by being caught around the leg, and old Brackenfur lost his tail to a snare.

The Clans grew tense once more. Leafpool tried to remain calm and reasonable for her Clanmates, but she too grew worried one night, when Mothwing rushed to see her at their usual meeting place.

Leafpool recognized a strange terror in Mothwing’s eyes.

“It’s my brother,” Mothwing confessed. “I don’t know what he’s planning, but—oh, Leafpool, it’s all wrong!”

“What’s wrong?” Leafpool asked. She drew her tail around her friend. “What’s Hawkfrost doing?”

“There never was any sign,” Mothwing replied, her voice rueful. “Hawkfrost staged it! He left the moth’s wing outside of Mudfur’s den. I should have known! I should have known StarClan didn’t want me. Daughter of a kittypet-born rogue and Tigerstar himself!”

Tigerstar? Leafpool was surprised by Mothwing’s confession. She had never seen the former ShadowClan leader, but she had been raised on the tales of his tyranny and evil. Brambleclaw was his son as well. “I had no idea,” she murmured.

Mothwing blinked. “You didn’t know?” she asked. She narrowed her eyes and clawed the ground. “Well, it’s true. I’m disgusted by it. Hawkfrost, though… you’d think he wants to be Tigerstar, the way he took in our mother’s stories of him. He talks about that Brambleclaw of yours all the time, and how when they’re both leaders, they’ll make RiverClan and ThunderClan strong together…”

Leaders? They're not even deputies! Leafpool bristled. “Have they been meeting?”

Mothwing nodded. “That’s what I’ve come to tell you. Hawkfrost has been skulking around, spreading rumors about Mistyfoot… I demanded to know what he was up to, and he told me that he has plans to lead RiverClan and that I’d best stay out of it.” She lashed her tail with fury. “I asked him if it had anything to do with Brambleclaw, and then he told me about how he faked the sign, and if I said anything to Leopardstar, that he would tell the Clan the sign was fake!” The RiverClan cat trembled with fear and rage. “I don’t know what to do. I love my brother, but I fear whatever it is that he’s planning!”

Without thinking, Leafpool pressed herself against her friend. “It’s alright,” she murmured. “I’ll figure this out. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw… well, they’re close. I’ll ask her if she knows about his meetings with Hawkfrost. I’m sure he just wants to get to know his brother.”

Mothwing shook her head. “There’s more to it, I swear.” She lifted her chin to meet Leafpool’s gaze. “Be wary of Brambleclaw, Leafpool,” she warned. “Maybe he just wants to get to know his kin… but if that’s so, he’s certainly never taken an interest in me.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - 

Leafpool couldn’t bring herself to worry over Brambleclaw too much. The warrior was loyal and good-hearted, and she had never seen any reason to mistrust him. If her hot-headed sister could fall for him, he must have good qualities.

The worries came once Graystripe was carried off by twolegs. As newleaf turned to greenleaf, the traps only seemed to double. The deputy went missing for a moon before Firestar, full of grief for his old friend, agreed to name a new deputy.

His choice was Brambleclaw.

Leafpool tried to tell herself to trust him. Her father was no fool—he had trained Brambleclaw himself. He knew him better than any other cat in the Clan. Brambleclaw couldn’t be conspiring against Firestar—the pair were as close as kin.

Still, there were nights when Leafpool would see Mothwing and wonder if he was meeting with Hawkfrost somewhere else—and wonder what exactly it was that the two talked about.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

One horrible day, Leafpool dreamed of blood and fire. Blood poured from the Sunningrocks and flooded into the river. She stood on the stones as the blood flowed over her paws, hot and thick and nauseating. She lifted her gaze to see the ThunderClan forest engulfed in fire. Storm clouds swirled in the sky, and lightning struck the earth. She heard caterwauls and shrieks of pain and terror, and coughed as smoke began to fill the air.

A chrescendo of voices boomed out, coming from nowhere and everywhere. “Take heed, Leafpool,” they called. “Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the river will run red. Fire will smolder to ashes. There will be three, kin of his kin, who carry the power of the stars in their paws. A fourth will come and bring the day of darkness, and all will perish unless the fallen sleep.”

The clouds turned black. Everything was plunged into utter and complete darkness.

Leafpool was shaken awake by her mentor, Cinderpelt. She had been shrieking in her sleep and clawing up her nest. She had only meant to take a short midday nap—but she knew that she had just received an omen. The words echoed through her head, forever unforgettable. Before Cinderpelt could ask her what had happened, she sprinted from the den, still carrying scraps of bedding between her claws.

“Where is Firestar?” she demanded openly, to any cat within earshot. She looked around desperately, trying to catch a glimpse of him or anyone with answers. Nothing made sense, not yet, but she felt a powerful sense of urgency and terror.

It was Cloudtail that replied. “He went off to the RiverClan border,” he called, from where he was eating. “Something about a meeting with Leopardstar. He said he wouldn’t need anyone to come with him.”

The river. Fear spiked Leafpool’s fur. Without another word, she darted right for the gorse tunnel and out into the forest. She ran on and on, without a moment’s pause. Blood will spill blood, and the river will run red.

She reached Sunningrocks to find a horrible scene.

Too late.

The first thing she saw was Brambleclaw, standing over someone, his chest and jaws completely coated in blood. His shoulders were slumped in defeat, but it was clear that he was the victor, for the other cat was not moving.

Leafpool took a step forward, then gasped.

At the edge of Sunningrocks, at the other end of the clearing from Brambleclaw, lay her father. Firestar. Around his neck was a silver wire snare. His once-bright green eyes were clouded and completely still. His jaws were open, as though he were still gasping for breath.

Brambleclaw glanced back at Leafpool as a sob escaped her. His eyes, too, were clouded with grief. Much of the blood on him was already drying. How long had he been here?

“I’m so sorry,” Brambleclaw whispered. “I got here too late.”

He stepped aside to reveal who he had been standing over.

It was Hawkfrost. The tabby had a sharpened stick driven through his throat—the stake that must have been holding the trap down. He, too, was dead. He lay half-in the river, his blood still flowing from his wound into the river.

Leafpool bleakly looked past the body, into the river. The sun was setting in the distance, and the sunset reflected on the surface of the river, mixing with Hawkfrost’s blood. It looked as though the river had turned a deep red. She swayed on her paws. She had only just received the omen, and she was already too late to do anything about it. She stumbled towards her father’s body, and felt her heart tear in two.

“I’m so sorry,” Brambleclaw whispered. “I tried—I thought—I pulled out the stake, but—I don’t know how long Hawkfrost had been here. He forced Firestar into the trap. He wanted… he wanted us to lead together, but—I wanted… I mean, I didn't—” His words kept coming out in a series of jagged stops and starts, but Leafpool heard no more. She collapsed against Firestar’s body, and pressed against him, hoping to feel some of his warmth for the last time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

That night, after Brambleclaw departed for the Moonstone with Cinderpelt, Leafpool ran to see Mothwing.

They held onto each other as they grieved. They had both lost someone that day. Their pain was the same, and they knew that they needed each other.

“Can we stay here?” Leafpool whispered. They were in their usual meeting place, under a willow tree on the outskirts of both territories. “Please. I can’t bear to go home.”

Mothwing wrapped her thick tail around Leafpool. “I can’t either,” she murmured. “I want to stay here with you. I want—I wish…” her voice trailed off uncertainly. Her voice grew soft. “I want to stay here with you forever.”

Leafpool pressed her muzzle against her companion’s shoulder. “I want that, too,” she whispered.

They told themselves that the night was as long as forever could be, and slept under the stars.

It didn’t make Leafpool’s pain go away, but it made it easier.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

She should have known better.

Leafpool knew the signs all too fast. She could feel her pawsteps growing heavy, could tell her belly was growing, and knew that it wouldn’t be long before she began to produce milk for her kits.

Cinderpelt never asked who they belonged to. She never asked why Leafpool would betray her vows and her code. She only looked at her one morning, worry in her eyes, and asked, “What are you going to do, Leafpool?”

Leafpool was sorting out the herbs they had collected. “About what?”

“You know what.”

Leafpool stiffened. She didn’t realize her mentor had caught on to her condition—but perhaps she should have known that she would.

Cinderpelt moved closer. “You should have told me,” she murmured. “Leafpool, the Clan won’t be happy. They’ll… they’ll want you to step down.”

Leafpool shook her head. “No!” she hissed. Things were too tense in the Clan already. Not everyone believed Bramblestar’s tale of Hawkfrost’s attack—some thought that Brambleclaw had plotted Firestar’s death with him. It was only a suspicious few, but it made many ThunderClan cats awkward around him. No one wanted to be seen too close to him, least the rumors be true. But no cat particularly had any proof of his wrongdoing against Firestar, either, and most were sensible enough to know he wouldn’t turn on his old mentor.

Still, Leafpool knew her Clanmates needed her, and she knew that Bramblestar needed her to stave off their concerns. Her position brought respect, and most of the cats who had questioned his story had relaxed when she had reassured them that she didn’t suspect him of her father’s murder.

“Can’t they go with the father, then?” Cinderpelt asked. “You need to do—”

“The mother,” Leafpool corrected, without thinking. She winced as she realized what she had done.

Cinderpelt’s eyes widened. Leafpool knew in that moment that Cinderpelt knew exactly who Leafpool’s kits belonged to. “Oh, Leafpool,” she whispered. “I should have—I should have seen it. You and Mothwing… you’ve always been so close, but I didn’t think…”

Leafpool bowed her head. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Cinderpelt wrapped her tail around Leafpool. “You aren’t the first,” she murmured. “Almost every medicine cat has been tempted by love… but if you don’t want the Clan to find out, you’ll have to figure something out.”

“I know,” Leafpool sighed. “I know.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I’ll take them.”

Leafpool blinked. “Squirrelflight, no, I’m not asking you to raise them, I just—I just needed you to know—”

Squirrelflight shook her head. “No. I’ll take them. You’re too important to the Clan for them all to freak out over this—and trust me, they will!—so I’ll just take them. Bramblestar will be thrilled. He keeps talking about having a family, and I don’t think it’s such a bad idea myself, you know?”

Leafpool didn’t know what to say. Her sister made it all sound so simple—but could it really be? Would the Clan believe their ruse?

Squirrelflight hardly looked worried. She twitched her whiskers in amusement. “My, my, Leafpool,” she chided. “Who would’ve thought you were even more rebellious than me?”

Leafpool shook her head. “Squirrelflight, this is serious!” she retorted. “I made a mistake. I need a real solution, not—”

“Haven't you been listening?” Squirrelflight asked. She narrowed her eyes, feigning irritation. “I said I’ll raise them! I’m not joking, Leafpool. I mean it. I want to help you, and Bramblestar and I want to start a family.”

Relief and gratitude flooded Leafpool in a heartbeat. “Squirrelflight…” she purred. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Squirrelflight leaned closer and bumped her head against Leafpool’s jaw fondly. “You’re my sister,” Squirrelflight purred. “I would do anything for you. Always.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Leafpool and Squirrelflight padded side-by-side down the river. Leafpool leaned against her, panting. She knew her kits would arrive soon, but she needed to make it to their destination.

She had told Bramblestar that she needed to go to the Moonstone and dream with StarClan. He seemed eager to let her go—the leader had been hoping for a good sign for moons since Firestar’s death. Most cats had moved on, but there were a few who still whispered when Bramblestar walked by. Some still wondered if Graystripe would ever return, and what would happen if he did.

All that mattered was that he suspected nothing. Leafpool took Squirrelflight for ‘protection’, and the two had gone on their way.

When they reached the willow, Mothwing was waiting.

“You're here,” Mothwing murmured. Her eyes were full of affection and worry for Leafpool.

“It's time,” Squirrelflight told her.

They settled in for the night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Leafpool bore three healthy kits. The kitting had been easy, and the three mollies layed around the new lives and watched the stars.

After Leafpool had let them nurse for some time, she looked to Squirrelflight. Her heart was already full of love for her kits, and the thought of separation pained her—but she knew what had to be done. “Take them,” she murmured.

“Now?” Squirrelflight blinked. “Are you sure?”

Leafpool nodded. “They're yours, Squirrelflight. I'm forever indebted to you.”

For once, Squirrelflight looked almost shy. “Al-alright. If you say so.”

Mothwing bowed her head to gingerly pick up Lionkit, the largest, and move him towards Squirrelflight's belly. She tucked him close to his new mother and smiled. “I wouldn't trust any other cat with our kits,” she whispered. “Thank you for helping us… and for keeping our secret.”

Squirrelflight’s eyes widened as she watched Lionkit muzzle his way into her belly fur and promptly begin to doze. Her expression softened, and she let out a loud purr. “You know… you're helping me more than you know.” She leaned over and gave Lionkit a quick lick. “The truth is… I don't think I can have kits of my own.”

Leafpool blinked. “What?” She frowned in concern. “Squirrelflight, you should have said something to me! I could have tried—”

Squirrelflight shook her head. “Don't worry about me! You've just given birth, for StarClan’s sake. I don't think there is anything to be done.” She sighed softly. “Bramblestar and I have been trying for a while to have kits, but... I obviously haven’t had any. So when you told me you were expecting and didn't know what to do… it seemed like fate.”

Mothwing picked up Hollykit and placed her beside Squirrelflight. Leafpool felt a pang in her heart as she watched her daughter settle beside Lionkit.

She looked down at her last kit, Jaykit. He seemed so small, so fragile. How could she give him away?

But Mothwing leaned down a third time, and she gently picked up tiny Jaykit. She placed him on the other side of Lionkit, and he buried his face in Squirrelflight’s belly.

Leafpool looked up at her mate. Mothwing’s eyes showed a mix of joy and grief. She would never know her kits—even less than Leafpool would. Leafpool leaned closer and pressed her muzzle into Mothwing’s side.

“I’ll do everything I can to raise them well and keep them safe,” Squirrelflight swore. Her eyes already glowed with a fierce love for the kits at her belly, as though she had kitted them herself. “I swear it.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Leafpool watched the kits grow every day. She watched as they tumbled at their father’s paws, chased his tail, and gnawed at his ears. She watched as Squirrelflight taught them which elders taught the best stories, and which warriors they could get away with pranking. She watched as they went from newborn kittens to grown young cats. She watched as Bramblestar made them apprentices, privately hoping that one would train under her—but she felt only pride when Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw all became warrior apprentices.

She watched it all, silently proud and silently grieving.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Graystripe returned to camp one day, with a kittypet queen at his side. He claimed he had been taken to a faraway Twolegplace, but had finally come back home.

Some cats wondered if Bramblestar’s claim to leadership was even appropriate, now that the former deputy was back. Leafpool took it upon herself once more to go around the Clan, assuring them that Bramblestar had been accepted by StarClan. Graystripe himself seemed unbothered by the loss of his deputyship. He only wanted to raise his new litter of kits with his mate, Millie, and retire quietly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The day Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather became warriors was the proudest day of Leafpool’s life. She congratulated them each after the Clan had cheered them on, her heart bursting with love and joy. They would never know how much she truly cared, but they appreciated her congratulations all the same.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was an unexpectedly dry greenleaf two moons after their ceremony. The heat was intense, the river was shallow, and every cat had been praying for a drop of rain for weeks.

Rain came, but it brought thunder and lightning with it.

Leafpool had been out collecting herbs when she felt a drop of rain hit her nose. She mrrowed softly in surprise, eliciting an amused look from Cinderpelt.

Thunder rumbled overhead. Cinderpelt frowned, concerned, before a sudden bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky and struck a tree hardly more than the river’s width away from them.

It burst into flame, and Leafpool yowled in shock.

Cinderpelt’s eyes widened in horror. “Leafpool, run!” she ordered. “Get back to camp and warn them!”

Leafpool was still for a moment, petrified by fear and confusion. She had heard of the fire that had ravaged ThunderClan seasons ago—but she had never seen fire herself.

The dry oak took quickly to the flames. The dead leaves burned quickly, and the branches cracked as flame swept up and down the tree.

“Now!” Cinderpelt yowled.

Leafpool was jolted out of her daze. She took to her paws and ran, abandoning her herbs. She looked up at the sky in time to see another bolt of lightning crack down and strike another tree, this time far closer to camp. Fear gripped at her heart. Was StarClan angry with them?

Before Leafpool had even reached the camp, she saw cats racing towards her, pelts bristled with terror. Behind them, fire was already spreading from tree to tree.

Sandstorm was leading them. The ThunderClan deputy kept her fur flat, but her eyes were rounded and dark with worry. She cried out in relief as she saw Leafpool. “Thank StarClan!”

“Mother,” Leafpool panted. “What's happening?”

Sandstorm rushed to her side and roughly nudged her back the way she’d come. “We have to get to the river,” she hurriedly replied. “Bramblestar is sweeping the forest for any patrols. The elders and kits are with us.”

Leafpool nodded, feeling like a dazed kit once again. She began to stumble back to follow Sandstorm and the rest of her Clan, until a worrying thought struck her. My kits. Are they here?

She looked over her shoulder and scanned the group. Then once again. Her pelt bushed up in horror. None of her children were in the fleeing party—and neither was Squirrelflight.

“Where's Squirrelflight?!” Leafpool demanded. She whirled to face her mother, tail whipping frantically. “And Lionblaze? Jayfeather? Hollyleaf?”

Sandstorm started. She turned back and stopped. “Squirrelflight!” she called.

No answer came. The ThunderClan warriors looked amongst themselves. But the answer was already clear—Squirrelflight and her adopted children were nowhere to be seen.

Sandstorm took in a sharp breath and trembled for a moment. But in a heartbeat, her gaze hardened and she lashed her tail. “We need to keep moving!” she ordered. “To the river!”

Leafpool wanted to turn back into the forest and race to camp—but Sandstorm was right. The woods around them were already becoming devoured by flames.

The cats began to run again.

Leafpool ran with them. She told herself that Squirrelflight was smart and resourceful, and that she would keep her kits safe.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Leafpool was wrong.

When the flames finally were extinguished by rain, ThunderClan slowly returned to camp. Though the forest hadn't been completely decimated by the fire, clear damage had been done. Many trees were scorched black, and most were at least missing their leaves. The undergrowth had almost entirely been burned away, leaving only charred ash to cover the forest floor. Many more cats than just Squirrelflight and her kits were missing. Ashfur, Rainwhisker, Ferncloud, and one of Graystripe’s kits, Briarkit, had all vanished in the chaos. Leafpool prayed for them all, but mostly, she prayed for her children and for her sister.

Ferncloud was already in camp when the returning Clan arrived. The queen was calm as could be, with a sleeping Briarkit at her paws. Millie had thrown herself at the queen, crying out with gratitude, before she woke Briarkit and covered her in frantic licks. Every cat had been especially relieved to see the pair, and Leafpool felt hope again that her kin would return.

A day passed. Then two. Rainwhisker limped into camp that day, whiskers entirely singed, but otherwise unharmed. He had ran all the way to ShadowClan territory and received care from Littlecloud before returning to camp.

A third passed. A fourth.

On the fifth day, Ashfur returned alone.

He came with burned paws, but still alive.

Leafpool couldn't take it anymore. She ran to Ashfur as he entered camp. Many cats that saw him let out relieved meows or sighs, but she ignored it all and hurried to him. “Have you seen them?” she demanded. “Squirrelflight and her ki—” She broke off as she saw his worried expression.

“I saw them…” Ashfur murmured. “In the fire. There was a tree separating us. I left to try and find a way around. But then I saw Bramblestar coming, and I yowled to him that Squirrelflight and the others were there. I don't know if he heard or saw me… but I thought he definitely saw them. So I tried to find other cats, but I just got lost…” he coughed before he went on. “Is Squirrelflight not here? I thought that Bramblestar—” he broke off and continued coughing.

Leafpool trembled and stumbled back. No. Confusion swirled in her mind. Ashfur was the last cat who had seen Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf—or had he been? Had Bramblestar ran to help them?

She swung her head towards his den. The ThunderClan leader was sitting outside his den, looking as though he was waiting to speak to Ashfur. But Bramblestar never said that he saw them, she thought. He just got the river later than everyone else. Why didn't he tell us he saw them? That he tried to help them? She stumbled, blinking. Bile rose in her throat. My sister… my children… they can't be dead!

Other voices began to call out to Ashfur.

“What happened out there?”

“You alright?”

“Did you see anyone else?”

“Whoa, Leafpool, steady!”

Leafpool swayed on her paws as grief crashed over her. There was no more use in denying it. Squirrelflight was gone. Her beautiful, strong children were gone. The fire had taken them. Heartbreak unlike any other tore at her like keen claws, and she stumbled wordlessly back towards her den.

She choked out a sob as she saw Cinderpelt. “They're gone,” she rasped.

Cinderpelt’s eyes widened, and she rushed to her old apprentice’s side. Like a mother comforting a kit, she curled herself around Leafpool as she collapsed into her den. Cinderpelt rasped her tongue over Leafpool’s face. “Oh, Leafpool,” she murmured. “I'm so sorry.”

Leafpool buried her face in Cinderpelt’s warm fur and let out another sob. StarClan, why?! Why punish me now? She dug her claws into her bedding as grief and rage took over. It doesn't make any sense! Why didn't Bramblestar say anything?

A horrifying thought struck at her, and her eyes opened as wide as they could. Did Squirrelflight tell him the truth? She had always claimed that the kits were hers from birth—even to Bramblestar, her own mate. Could he have been so overwhelmed by betrayal and anger that he had killed his mate and children?

Leafpool wanted to dismiss the thought as a reckless conspiracy. Instead, she only began to piece things together. He's killed before. He killed his own brother, for StarClan’s sake! I thought that he wasn't to blame for Firestar’s death… but what if I was wrong?

She felt a sour jab of guilt. I told the Clan that he was innocent! I told them there was no way that he—oh, StarClan, what have I done? I let a monster lead my Clan! He killed my father, and I told ThunderClan that he was innocent!

Leafpool pushed herself up to sit. She felt a burning rage unlike any she had felt before. She felt angry and heartbroken and wronged—but not by StarClan, as she had thought for a moment. StarClan had not led her wrong. Bramblestar had. Bramblestar murdered her father, and now he had slaughtered her beloved sister and children.

This is all his fault, she told herself.

I have to stop him.

Cinderpelt frowned in concern. “Leafpool…?” she prompted.

“I need to be alone,” Leafpool whispered. “Please.”

Cinderpelt nodded. Without argument, she left the den. “I'll be outside if you need me,” she softly meowed, before she disappeared from sight.

Leafpool crouched down slowly and narrowed her eyes to slits. Why didn't I see it before? she wondered. How have I been so naive? I should have never trusted him! I should have told Squirrelflight to stay away from him! She clenched her eyes as pain once again gripped at her heart.

I'm so sorry, Squirrelflight. I'm sorry, my darling ones. I won't make the same mistake again. Leafpool opened her eyes and bristled with rage. Even if it takes my last breath, I will make sure that ThunderClan is safe from Bramblestar. I swear it.

#prologue #chapters #warrior cats #wc #ashfur au #warriors smoldering ashes #po3 au #leafpool #UH OH SISTERS!!!! #here we gooooOOOOO

[seadramonster]

Why some cats aren’t in the DF

Since the beginning of the time we learned where certain cats went, a lot of people have been asking why certain cats went to StarClan or the Dark Forest. The most popular examples being; Thistleclaw (before Spottedleaf’s Heart), Ashfur, Rainflower, and Appledusk.

A lot of people seem to be under the impression that the Dark Forest is where all the bad cats go, no matter what. But that’s not what we’ve been shown in canon. Let’s take a look at all of the Dark Forest cats to see what they did that made them go to the Dark Forest and use the information to figure out why the cats people think should have gone to the Dark Forest went to StarClan instead.

NOTE: I’m only going over the cats in the Dark Forest whose crimes we know. Cats such as Houndleap, Maggottail, and such who we barely know anything about will not be discussed, since we have no idea what they did. Although we can assume it was something similar to everyone else in the Dark Forest.

Antpelt- Antpelt chose to join the Dark Forest because "These are my Clanmates more than WindClan ever was. Where else would I go?". He could have been in StarClan, but chose the Dark Forest instead.

This shows us that a cat can, if they are capable of going to StarClan, choose to go to the Dark Forest instead.

Brokenstar- Heavily broke the code by training kits too young, killing them and his own father (perhaps even others offscreen), exiling elders, and driving out another Clan

Darkstripe- Attempted to kill a kit by tricking her into eating poison, betrayed his Clan not once, but twice by leaving to join Tigerstar and then joining BloodClan immediately after.

So why is Darkstripe in the Dark Forest for being a traitor and other cats who left their Clan not? Well, aside from attempting to kill a kit, Darkstripe was never loyal to any Clan, just Tigerstar. And when Tigerstar died, instead of fighting alongside his new Clan, he instead betrayed them, too. 

Cats who leave their Clan for another usually do so with good intentions and are either loyal to their new Clan, or end up returning to their old one and are loyal to that one now that they realize it’s where they belong. Even if the decision was selfish, it was never done so to harm others. Darkstripe just wanted to be on the winning side, and once Tigerstar was gone, he had no one left he cared about except himself.

Hawkfrost- He just wanted power and wasn’t afraid to turn on his own Clan to obtain it. It’s heavily implied he struck up a deal with Mudclaw to help him take leadership from Onewhisker, he talked Ashfur into luring Firestar into the fox trap, and then tried to kill Brambleclaw when Brambleclaw refused to kill his own leader.

Mapleshade- I know a lot of people have pity for her and all, but like. She was a literal serial killer. She fell in love with a cat from another Clan, had his kits, lied to her Clan about the father of her kits by letting them believe it was the cat her mate had accidentally killed, made the stupid decision to take her kits across a flooded river in the middle of a storm, and it got her kits killed. Then she killed a medicine cat, the cat who she had manipulated into believing Mapleshade’s kits were her brother’s, attempted to murder a pregnant queen, and killed the father of her kits. Mapleshade was a victim, yes, but so was everyone she killed. She was not forced to go across the river, she chose that path herself. More on Appledusk later.

Redwillow- Joined the Dark Forest in the final battle against the Clans and was killed by Blackstar. Pretty clear why he ended up there

Thistleclaw- The big one. Spottedleaf’s Heart confirmed he chose the Dark Forest and this is all but confirmed in Crookedstar’s Promise already when he reveals he thinks StarClan are weak fools. While he was loyal to his Clan, he was also incredibly bloodthirsty and made it obvious that he wanted to destroy the rest of the Clans. A medicine cat had a whole prophecy saying he would bring unnecessary war and bloodshed as a leader. He also nearly had his apprentice murder a kit and attempted to kill the deputy of another Clan. It’s possible he may have killed cats from other Clans or from outside the Clans offscreen, but as far as we know, he didn’t kill anyone from his Clan.

Tigerstar the first- I don’t think I need to explain this one

So what do we know about the Dark Forest from this? What qualities does a cat need to have to be in there? Well, they.

Need to have betrayed their Clan maliciously and have little to no loyalty whatsoever, even to their new Clan if they have one,

Needed to have severely broken the code by either murdering cats without good reason or attempting to kill an innocent kit,

And/or could have gone to StarClan, but chose the Dark Forest instead

The Dark Forest is an extreme punishment for cats who were never loyal to their Clan, or who killed others without a second thought. It’s not meant to be the place where bad cats go. It’s meant to be the place where traitors and serial killers go. Cats who are bad people but never really did anything wrong still go to StarClan, because at the end of the day, they were still loyal to their Clan as a whole.

So now it’s time to go over some cats people think should have gone to the Dark Forest, but didn’t;

Ashfur- This one was the subject to heavy debate. Here’s what I think. Ashfur may or may not have known what Hawkfrost was doing exactly. It’s possible he didn’t know Hawkfrost’s entire plan and thought Firestar getting caught in a fox trap wasn’t part of it and ran to get help. Or, maybe he decided he didn’t want to go through with it after all and chickened out.

As for what happened with the Three... Well, he did attempt to kill his Clanmates, but again, nothing came of it. He chickened out again. And it should be stated here that like. The three were adults. They were not harmless kits! They knew of their powers at this point! Nothing was stopping them or even Squirrelflight from just grabbing Ashfur and hauling him off the tree or throwing him to the fire. Especially Lionblaze whose entire power centers around him not getting hurt in a fight. It would have been a four on one fight if everyone fought him off. They could have easily stopped Ashfur at any time, but they didn’t, because the plot demanded they didn’t. They were never going to die there, not without a fight. Maybe if Ashfur had died there, he would have ended up in the Dark Forest, but he didn’t. He never actually killed anyone, never actually physically attacked anyone himself, and even warned the Clan that his leader was in danger. He was just focused on getting revenge against one specific cat, but we never saw him treat the rest of the Clan poorly. And for StarClan, his loyalty and the fact he never actually killed anyone was enough to let him in on a bullshit excuse.

Appledusk- A shitty, shitty person. But overall, loyal to his Clan. We never saw what Appledusk was like to the rest of his Clan offscreen. All we know is that he was cheating on his mate with Mapleshade (who Mapleshade clearly had no idea was his mate). That’s basically the only crime we’ve seen him commit. Is he a bad person? Yes. Yes, he is. But he never murdered someone, and admitted to his Clan he thought his relationship with Mapleshade was a mistake. As far as StarClan was concerned, that’s all it was. A mistake. He was a loyal warrior who died protecting his real mate and their future kits from a traitor, and had likely proven his loyalty in other ways offscreen.

Rainflower- Another case of “terrible person but ultimately loyal to their Clan”. Rainflower never killed anyone as far as we know, or even broke the code. She treated her son horribly, but I don’t remember her ever being rude to anyone else. And even if she was, as we’ve seen, being a bad person isn’t enough to land you in the Dark Forest.

Mudclaw- He may seem like he belongs in the Dark Forest, but here’s the thing. StarClan was never against Mudclaw’s leadership. Tallstar made the decision by himself. For all we knew, Mudclaw would have made a better leader than Onestar or been exactly the same. Tallstar changed his deputy last minute on his deathbed and didn’t do the ceremony correctly. The only cats who saw were cats of another Clan, and the one he was making the new deputy. Mudclaw had every right to challenge the decision when it was announced. From his perspective, another Clan was lying about their friend being chosen as the new deputy. Of course he was going to feel wronged, because in a way, he was. It’s possible StarClan may have even rejected Onewhisker, if Mudclaw had not revolted at the time he did. I don’t think Mudclaw’s death was divine intervention, either. Not every bad weather event that happens in Warriors is StarClan’s doing, even if the cats think it is. I think it just Mudclaw being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was still loyal to his Clan, he was just trying to get back the position he thought had been stolen from him.

Oakstar- Oakstar is the one who exiled Mapleshade and her kits and everyone thinks this means he belongs in the Dark Forest. I. Disagree with this. Yes, he exiled the kits, but that isn’t actually against the code? The only codes about kits are that they can’t be apprenticed before six moons and no cat can neglect a kit in pain or in danger. (an extra rule is they can’t be out of camp without a warrior) You probably can’t throw out just a kit on their own, but Mapleshade’s kits weren’t alone. The kits were with their mother. 

A single mother in the wild can and will raise kits on her own. Will they all survive? It’s unlikely, but there’s no guarantee they would survive in the Clans, either. Not being in a Clan does not mean these kits will die, just like being a Clan doesn’t mean they’ll all survive. There was a good chance at least one of those kits would have survived to adulthood. Oakstar probably thought Mapleshade would take them somewhere safe, or, if she did take them to RiverClan, that she would use the bridge that led across it up by fourtrees instead of the flooded stones. He only told her to the leave the territory. He never told her where to go. Mapleshade is the one who chose to take them across the river in the worst spot possible.

Let’s look at it from Oakstar’s perspective; Oakstar had just lost his son and an apprentice in a big battle. His daughter is still grieving for the loss of her brother, and it’s likely Oakstar is still grieving, too. And then Mapleshade becomes pregnant and the Clan mistakenly lets them believe that Oakstar’s son is the father of her kits. Only for them to later discover the cat who caused the deaths of Birchface and Flowerpaw, a cat from another Clan who they all believe killed Birchface on purpose, is the real father. What else was Oakstar going to do? The Clan wouldn’t have treated those kits or Mapleshade fairly. Their lives would have been miserable. Think of what happened with Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw, only the entire Clan is against them, not just a handful of members. Exiling them was likely the merciful thing to do.

As for the “no neglecting a kit in danger” code, the kits weren’t in danger until Mapleshade herself put them in it. There was no mention of foxes, badgers, or anything else in ThunderClan’s territory. The only issue they had (the snakes), had been dealt with already. No, they couldn’t have known it was like that in other places, but as long as they were in ThunderClan’s territory, those kits were safe. And there was no reason to think they’d be in immediate danger in other territories either.

The Clan territories are actually rather safe, all things considered. Threats like foxes, badgers, and the like are dealt with quickly. The only real threats in another Clan’s territory are the cats who own it, who would probably not attack a queen just passing through with her kits. If anything, if she had met with ShadowClan or WindClan first, they might have even allowed Mapleshade to stay, once she explained everything to them. At least until the bad weather had passed.

So, yes, all of the cats above were terrible, but they never actually did anything wrong by StarClan’s standards. They were loyal members of their Clan who made some mistakes, but ultimately never killed anyone or severely broke the code. Just being a bad person isn’t enough to send you to StarClan. As long as you’re loyal and don’t actually kill anyone, they don’t care.

#Warrior Cats #StarClan #The Dark Forest #StarClan is inconsistent in a lot of ways #This is surprisingly not really one of them

[thenewprophecyredone]

Chapter 4

“Feathertail? Are you okay?”

The silver queen was sitting in a little abandoned burrow when her brother found him.  Her heart had come down from a rapid pound to the regular beating, but her mind was still in a state of panic. She was afraid; for herself, for Stormfur, and for the whole of RiverClan.

“No,” she confessed, her voice cracking nervously. “I’m not.”

Stormfur gently dug away some of the disturbed dirt around the abandoned warren, to make room for his robust shoulders. He poked his head in and looked down at his sister, curled into a pitiful ball. “Do you want me to come in?”

“Just sit by the entrance,” she requested. 

He quickly obliged, tucking his paws under him.“Did you have a flashback?”

“Yeah.”

There was a long silence after that, before Stormfur spoke again.“Is that why you… attacked Leopardstar?” he asked, a little nervous.

“Mhm.” Feathertail was losing the ability to think coherently. She was so afraid… “Did she hurt you?”

“No. She was angry, but she didn’t hurt me. After you ran Hawkfrost came up behind me and pinned me. His heart wasn’t in it though, I could tell.”

Feathertail looked up at him. “Do you think that encounter could be part of StarClan’s plan?”

“Maybe.” 

Stormfur’s expression turned sour. “If it is, StarClan is a rotten bunch.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered. “Some nights, StarClan is all you have left.”

“As long as I have you I can live without their villainous plans.” He bore his teeth angrily. “Some days I wonder if following StarClan is worth the trouble anymore.”

Feathertail shook her head and took a deep breath. “You’ll always follow StarClan’s will. It’s in our blood - every Clan cat’s blood, that ever lived, since the first Clan cats. We all know that.”

Stormfur looked out at the world, and Feathertail couldn’t see.“Is it daylight out?”

“No, it’s actually past that. You slept a full day.”

“Did I have any nightmares?”

“Once. But you woke up. You fell back to sleep afterward.”

Feathertail was bothered by the fact that she couldn’t remember that. She never remembered those few minutes after waking up from one of her horrible nightmares. Those moments were always erased. Even when she asked Stormfur to recite the events later, it never jogged a single memory back into existence. It was horrifyingly frustrating… and nerve-wracking.“We can’t go home,” the queen finally announced. “We can’t go back to RiverClan.”

“I know we can’t. Where would we go?” Stormfur asked, his tail slowly curling at his side, barely visible in the darkness of the burrow. “We’re surely not welcome in the other Clans’ camps.”

“We can go to Fourtrees and sleep there,” Feathertail said. “I- I had a dream about Fourtrees, actually.”

“What was it about?”

“We were sleeping under the oaks,” Feathertail said quietly. “And I woke up with you pressed beside me. It looked like StarClan was having a Gathering. The founders of the Clans were at the Great Rock, and the cats below them… they were doing something strange. They were jumping, but in circles, like weasels, you know? Throwing their bodies around. And one cat, a blue tabby, was yowling up and down, like birds’ song. And then from behind the Great Stone, a fifth tree rose up.”

Stormfur was staring at her. “Maybe that was the dream Leopardstar and Mudfur were looking for,” he said, kneading his paws.

Feathertail sniffed. “I thought you didn’t believe,” she said, not unkindly. “Anyway, the cats yowled and yowled as a fifth leader came up to the Great Rock, and their patrol of cats joined the rest in their weird weaselling. Then a shadow suddenly came over the rise and washed over the whole scene, but it didn’t touch me. When the shadow went away everything was gone. Even the forest beyond Fourtrees. Even the stars were gone. The world was flat. Then I woke up.”Feathertail took a deep breath and licked her chops, dry from all that talking and mumbling and breathing between words.

Stormfur was enraptured to say the least. “We have to go to Fourtrees. Something has to be waiting there,” he said, slowly pulling himself out of the den. “Are you up for going now?”

“Yes,” Feathertail said with great conviction. “Anything to get out of RiverClan territory.”

Stormfur sighed sadly as the silver tabby pulled herself out of the burrow, glancing at it over her shoulder. “You do need a break. Maybe you’re overstressed. Maybe you need a change of scenery.”

Feathertail hoped that was the case; maybe if she answered the secret call of wanderlust, just for a little while, these nightmares would simmer down, her flashbacks would go away.. Maybe wandering was the cure-all of mental illness.

Then she laughed at herself.

She wished.

“Stormfur?” she asked, as they began their familiar trek to the Fourtrees clearing. “Do you think there’s a way to cure a cat of something that happens in their head?”

“What do you mean?” The grey tom looked at her with interest. “Like, ‘I banged my head on a rock and can’t remember rat’s dung,’ or ‘I see dead dogs’?”

Feathertail smiled lightly. “Either-or. Doesn’t matter.”

Stormfur looked at the sky for a little bit. His eyes glimmered as the stars reflected off them, and Feathertail admired it for a bit. He almost looked like a medicine cat, gazing at the sky with such intent curiosity. Only when their paws hit the sand of the path that lead to the Gatheringplace did he come out of his trance and speak.

“I think there is a way to cure it,” he mewed. “But it’s not anything close to our understanding. I think the Clans will have to go forward a lot more than they are now to get to the place where they can cure it.”

Feathertail tipped her head. “Why do you think that?”

“Because we have to focus on survival,” Stormfur explained, looking almost confident. “We- we don’t have the time to search it out, I guess. Medicine cats can afford to do trial-and-error because it’s their job. We feed them, groom them, and protect them when other Clans invade. But the day-to-day Warrior isn’t blessed with that kind of time.”

“So what is there to be done?” Feathertail asked, as she lead the way across the little bridge. She could see the four great oaks, now, and was reminded of her dream.

“Support,” Stormfur said simply, “Support and understanding. If we don’t support the cats in pain, we will lose some of the greatest cats we’ve known, and Clan structure fall apart. Is there not an elder who forgets what season it is, despite the snow chilling their pelt, or the sun burning their skin? Has there never been a cat witness to something terrible who has fought off the most frightening marauder?”

Feathertail nodded along with every word as they clambered up the ridge and came to Fourtrees officially. The silver-blue moonlight pierced the shadows in an almost unnatural way here. Every leaf on the oak trees’ limbs were glimmering, and even the blackest of shadows were pale in comparison to the deep ThunderClan territory darkness.

“It’s beautiful tonight,” Stormfur said softly. “It’s like they were calling for you, Feathertail.”

The queen lead her brother down into the pocket between the trees, looking up at the rock. It was so eerie to be here without the Clans. The clearing itself wasn’t very big at all: if she ran full pace she could make it across in about six bounds, coming from any given direction. The great rock itself was only about two cat-bounds high, and she could easily reach the top of it if she wanted to. But for some reason it felt… wrong. It felt incorrect to climb upon a place reserved for Leaders, the highest chosen of all Clan cats.

She thought about Leopardstar and bristled. How could she ever be considered a highly chosen one? She thought, her claws escaping into the dirt. And Brokenstar had nine lives. Tigerstar had nine too. They choose terrible leaders, don’t they? Or do they not choose leaders at all?

It was a bit much to think about the rules of StarClan’s ways. But her feeling of wrongness when she looked at the great rock was gone, so she hunched and leaped. Her claws grappled the sides of the rock as she landed about halfway up. Her back paws reached up in front of her forepaws, her claws digging into the boulder’s imperfections. Then she unhooked her foreclaws and forced herself upward, throwing her wide tail out for balance and reaching with her paws. She caught the very edge of the stone and managed to get a clawhold, pulling herself up with a few scrabbles of her hind legs. Now she stood upon the Great Rock itself; a privilege very few cats would ever get in their lives, comparatively. “How’s the view?” Stormfur asked, running out of the Great Rock’s shadow. “How is it, Featherstar?”

Nostalgia washed over her as she remembered their kit games; Featherstar and Stormheart, out against the world, indeed. She wished her noble brother could stand beside her as Leader and Deputy one day, not that anyone would choose a bunch of half-breeds…

She forced the thought away. “The view is glorious!” She called. “Beautiful! It’s as if I’m gazing into the eyes of perfection!”

A sound made her ears turn, and she dropped her posture instantly. It was just under the Great Rock; her heart beat fast in her chest as Stormfur approached to join her investigations. Together they peered down, into the brush below her.

“H’lo.”

Both cats scrambled back as a pale mottled shape came striding confidently out of the underbrush. Little white toes stretched out, revealing curved pink claws. Feathertail spotted a scar just under the shimmering multicolored fur, and she caught the cheeky amber eyes.“What are you doing here?” Stormfur asked fearfully, stumbling back a few paces. “You’re a ShadowClan cat.”

“Yes, how did you figure that out?” The tortoiseshell asked dryly.

“You smell like frogs, sop and desperation,” Feathertail spat in turn, earning herself an apalled and terrified look from her littermate.

“You smell like fish and inability,” The ShadowClanner grumbled. “What are your names?”

“I’m Feathertail,” the queen said simply. “And this is Stormfur, my littermate.”

The tortie was quiet for a long time, and she just stared between the two cats, head turning.

“What?” Stormfur asked finally.

“Do you remember a young cat named Tawnypaw? A ShadowClan cat that came into RiverClan just before the takeover - before Crookedstar’s death?”

Feathertail felt the muscles in her back and paws strain. She didn’t want to think about the cats that were there. Too many memories sprung from each face. One was dark grey with black stripes, an evil conniving glare, a tongue constantly swiping over his blunt muzzle. Another was white - the shadow in her dreams - it had a black face and vicious eyes, with claws that could cut a sycamore in half. The third… No. She wouldn’t think about him. Never.

Stormfur growled. “We don’t like to talk about the raid, not now and not ever. We’ve had enough of those times. We’re past them.”

“But do you remember Tawnypaw?” The tortoiseshell asked with increasing desperation. “At all?”

“And what if we do?” Feathertail asked, in a quivering voice.

“I’m Tawnypaw,” the tortoiseshell explained, “but Tawnypelt, now. I helped two young cats named Featherpaw and Stormpaw. I was being mislead and I spread the misinformation to those two. I told them that my father would make RiverClan better, before… he did all of that. I helped them escape. I tried to make things right.”

Feathertail’s eyes slowly grew wider. She remembered, now; the friendly tortoiseshell molly, who talked about her ‘daddy,’ and how he was going to make everything better… RiverClan will be better, even if Crookedstar says no!

How wrong that young cat had been.

Feathertail’s heart began to beat fast as she jumped down to see Tawnypelt, looking hard into her amber eyes. Almost instantly tension sprung between the two enemy-Clan cats; but neither moved. They stared silently into each others’ souls, the wind dancing between their chests.

Then Tawnypelt bowed her head. “I’m so sorry for what we did to you.”

Feathertail looked at her in shock. A ShadowClan cat, submitting and apologizing to anyone? Especially a RiverClan cat? It blew her mind, honestly. Her whiskers twitched and she sat down slowly. “I…” She didn’t know what to say. On one side she wanted to tell Tawnypelt that it wasn’t her fault - that she had nothing to do with the attack, she was just a child, they all were! But then she raised one paw and groaned, “I’m sorry. It’s very hard to look past all of it, and see the individuals.”

“That’s fine,” Tawnypelt said. “It- it takes time. We know.”

Stormfur flattened his ears a bit. “Why are you at Fourtrees? Shouldn’t you be at ShadowClan’s camp breeding more little monsters?”

Tawnypelt bore her teeth. “No,” she grunted. “I’m here for a prophecy. Or, I think there is.”

Feathertail raised her ears. “What about?”

“A fifth oak tree, I suppose… crazy as that sounds.”

#warrior cats #feathertail #stormfur #leopardstar #mudfur #tawnypelt #erinhunter #the new prophecy rewrite #trauma/

[maycontainsomesalt]

Bloodclans Mistake Tigerhearts Shadow Spoilers

Thunderclan

Snowbrain (seal lynx color point, blue eyes) Tigerpelt (dark brown, overweight, tabby, yellow eyes) Casey (ginger, wears a black tie for some reason, blue eyes) Crowfang (dark grayish, beady eyes)

Bloodclan

Scourge (tiny black asshole) (blue eyes) (??? collar) Bone (black and white, beefy) (green eyes) (pink collar) Brick (ginger with red stripe) (yellow eyes) (yellow collar) GenericName (light gray) (blue eyes) (rainbow collar) Edge (brown) (yellow eyes) (yellow collar) Swiftshadow (black, green eyes) (green collar) Sandytail (yellow sandy color, green eyes) (orange collar) Bramblewing (brown and white with stripes, green eyes) (white collar) Smokeheart (dark gray and black, yellow eyes) (blue collar)

Bramblewing basked in the sunlight. "This is great." Smokeheart nodded. Crowfang walked up to them. "These sunningrocks might be yours now, Bloodclan. But in some alternate universe, I bet it belongs Thunderclan." Smokeheart laughed. "Ha! As if this is an alternate universe that some unseen god created to be silly and fun but it actually crippingly afraid of this universe not being as good as their original one and doesn't want to admit it to the point of using fictional cats to say it for them." Crowfang sniffed indignantly. "You'll see." "Whatever we see, we see from the sunningrocks, losers!" GenericName yowled at Crowfang. Crowfang growled. Scourge jumped up the rocks. "What is it? Aren't you happy? Sunningrocks belongs to Bloodclan. That's what you wanted." Crowfang shook their head. "Not like this. This is wrong." "Get out of here if you don't like it." Bone growled. Crowfang hissed. "Know this, your power cannot be sustained this way, Scourge. You'll get overthrown. Get out of our territory, off our land, and beware.This lust for power will be the end of you and your wretched clan." Crowfang warned. Scourge narrowed his eyes. "Leave." "And stop talking in stereotypical cryptic warning rants!" Smokeheart added. "I'll stop talking in stereotypical cryptic warning rants as soon as Starclan stops writing stereotypical crypric warning rants so that they don't have to try too hard." Crowfang growled, stalking back into the forest. Smokeheart sighed and rolled her yellow eyes. She looked around when she heard a noise. Scourge had disappeared without a trace, only a reddish pink phone was left. "Hello?" Smokeheart asked into the phone. "Why hello. You must be a member of Bloodclan. You'll want to hear this." Smokeheart gasped as she heard Scourge's distressed yowls. "Let our leader go you monster!" "Never!" The mysterious cat yowled back. "I am the new Scourge!" "What about the old Scourge?" "The old Scourge can't come to the phone right now." "Why?" "Because he's dead."

Smokeheart blinked. "What, wait?" "I killed him. He's dead. Straight up murdered him." Smokeheart went dead silent. "Get ready. I'm coming." Said the voice on the other side before he hung up. "Phrasing, boom!" Yelled Sandytail. Smokeheart shivered. "I'm kinda worried." Bramblewing sighed. "He can't be worse than Scourge! Besides, we outnumber him."

Soon, the New Scourge was on the sunningrocks. The duck floatie wrapped around his neck shimmered yellow in the sunlight. It squeaked menacingly as he walked towards them, eyebrows bushy. Bramblewing blinked. "I knew it. I KNEW this was canon!" Smokeheart burst out laughing, falling onto the rocks. The New Scourge shook his head. "You may doubt me, but I will make Bloodclan great again." This made Swiftshadow snicker.

The New Scourge (tiny black asshole) (blue eyes) (Yellow duck floatie) Bone (black and white, beefy) (green eyes) (flamingo floatie) Brick (ginger with red stripe) (yellow eyes) (yellow floatie) GenericName (light gray) (blue eyes) (unicorn floatie) Edge (brown) (yellow eyes) (pineapple floatie with some razors taped to it) Swiftshadow (black, green eyes) (green floatie) Sandytail (yellow sandy color, green eyes) (pineapple floatie) Bramblewing (brown and white with stripes, green eyes) (unicorn floatie) Smokeheart (dark gray and black, yellow eyes) (donut floatie)

Bramblewing basked in the sunlight as Smokeheart painted her floatie. "You know, you really don't have to make all of these floaties for me." Bramblewing commented. "You speak lies." Smokeheart replied, reapplying the red paint on the unicorns mane. The New Scourge walked past them. "I just killed Tigerstar, brutal tyrant of the forest, in case anybody's curious." Some tyrant blood splashed the rocks near Smokeheart. "Hey! Watch it! Don't mess up the wet paint!" Smokeheart exclaimed. The New Scourge rolled his eyes. "Whatever, weirdo." "Be careful or I'll tell the whole clan that you wear contacts." Bramblewing hissed. The New Scourge hissed. "You wouldn't dare." Bramblewing shook her head. "Try me." The New Scourge sighed. "Keep your voice down. I'll be careful for Starclans sake." Bramblewing grinned smugly and stuck her tongue out through her teeth.

Smokeheart was silently screaming to herself when she heard Bramblewing approaching. "You have no idea what I just saw!" She exclaimed, breathing heavily. Smokeheart blinked. "What is it?" "I just met the bitchiest cat alive!" Bramblewing said loudly. "Do tell" Said Smokeheart. "I just saw a cat with a weird hat board a train! He was complaining about cats not relying on him after leaving his clan forever! And then he came back right afterwards!" "Well, that sounds-" Smokeheart was cut off. "And then they made him leader! But they only gave him eight lives, even though the original leader was dead. I don't know how he died though. During the ceremony a super disloyal cat told him that he was a loyal cat right after abandoning his clan because he had kits with a cat from another clan." "Uuh" "And I saw a cat with kits even though it's totally out of character for her! Not only that, there was a kit named Shadowkit, which is forbidden because it's a sacred name!" "That can't be true. You must've dreamed it." Smokeheart replied, shaking her head disapprovingly. Bramblewing laughed loudly, bending down to look at Smokeheart in the face. "I wish I had dreamed it!" Smokeheart blinked. "Okay then." She gave Bramblewing a pap on the nose. "Calm down though." Bramblewing sniffed. "His name is Tigerstar." Smokeheart gasped and stood up. "Tigerstar? TIGERSTAR?! I thought the whole reason Bramblestar was given lives by cats who had been hurt by Tigerstar was so that we could put him behind us! That's the only reason anybody has been able to come up with that Hollyleaf didn't give him a life. But now it's all squandered because they thought it would be a good idea to make him a leader?! That is low! I've seen some shit in my day, but that is fucking LOW." Bramblewing chuckled. "I thought-" "NOT ONLY THAT, but why does Russetfur, a loyal Shadowclan cat who worked her way to deputyship after coming to Shadowclan from kittypet place, get murdered by Lionblaze for a shitty 'I can't control my power' storyline that not only goes nowhere, but is totally forgotten about by the next book! Is Tigerheart, the least loyal cat in Shadowclan, really the best option they think they have? What about Tawnypelt? She CHOSE to come to Shadowclan from Thunderclan! And that was when Tigerstar, the evil tyrant who made Shadowclan weaker than it ever had been before! Who's more loyal than she is? Certainly not the cat who had kits with a thunderclan cat!" Bramblewing papped Smokeheart and she sighed. "Tigerstar? I mean really? If Bluestar can change Brightpaws name to Lostface can't they let him have a different name? This is worse than Firestar giving Bramblestar the same warriors suffix as his evil dad and being scared of him for a book because he kinda looks like Tigerstar." "Maybe they had to make up for Hawkfrost looking like Tigerstar too." Bramblewing suggested. Smokeheart sighed. "At least nobody argues about what color Old Scourges collar was. If you just look at him you can see it's

#tigerhearts shadow spoilers #joke fanfic #sequel