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TNP doesn't get mentioned on this blog a lot but let it be known that it is my favorite main series arc and TawnyCrow has me on the floor laughing.

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Loving this detail that never gets included anywhere else as memory serves?? Imagine Tigerclaw having to escort Firepaw to his ceremony while they both silently seethe.

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(AU question) So if Frostfur is Brindleface's sibling, and in canon Fire remarks that Fern and Ash are very young apprentices when Brindle dies, would she step in instead of their mentors for the next few days? And I assume she'd put her paw down on the pack mission and not let them go, as they're still patricians even they still have her kits too.

In the Patrician AU Frostflower was shuffled into the Bluestar family - the other Patricians in early TPB are Bluestar and Whitestorm. Brindleface didn't get included because the existing trio covers all the ideas I have for the political dynamics in TPB and how each has an important role in Firestar's life. Was unsure how to incorporate all the DustFern kids as patricians too but that was a miscount - they would be past the cut-off.

That answer isn't exciting though so what if they were? Frostflower would 100% forbid them from participating in the pack mission. If Fireheart even suggests it he would quickly correct and say he was panicking. Bluestar's breakdown left the clan in a precarious position with the patricians - endangering Ashpaw and Fernpaw in the same way Brightheart was injured would burn what good will Fireheart had managed to keep alive. If any patrician is assisting it is Whitestorm. In the aftermath as Frostflower regains her status and Whitestorm ascends to deputy it is Brightheart and Cinderstream who cares for them.

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Fighting demons every minute of every day. (<- Debating reading DOTC)

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Leafpool and Crowfeather run away, tired of the expectations thrust upon them. They run so fast and hard that Midnight has no hope of catching up, her kin tearing apart the Thunderclan camp.

Cinderpelt and Sootfur give their lives protecting the clan, and by the time aid from Blackstar arrives the newly built camp is but a shadow of its former self. Cats from every position bare cuts and bruises from Goldenflower to Whitepaw. A vigil for three begins but Leafpool leaves no body to bury.

The remnants of the healers den is eerily quiet, filled only with trampled herbs and a heavy atmosphere. Brightheart moves in, followed shortly by Sandstorm and the two she-cats attempt to care for the clan just as their loved ones had done. The work is exhausting, isolated from their families as they recall over and over the little rhymes and facts their loved ones had committed to memory. Rainwhisker dies to an infected scratch that was found far too late.

Birchkit spent moons of the journey begging his mother to let him stay with his friends, asking Tallpoppy why she couldn't live with them instead and only received amused chiding in response. Yet when he crossed the Shadowclan border, gently greeted by the familiar queen he could only focus on the strange tabby tom that accompanied her. His wishes had been granted, now reunited but it had never felt more wrong.

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The final reblog. Surrounded by their three kits, now young warriors, Frozentail has passed away. Since the last reblog they were bitten by a snake and survived and only died in the end of natural causes. Stay winning Frozentail and have fun catching up with your former apprentice.

Made a new file Thistleclan in clangen and have been gifted with the best cat. The original deputy that retired, nonbinary icon and makes hating their bloodthirsty leader that starts wars their full time job in retirement. Everyone loves them apart from Hollowstar who is seething. Been coughing up blood with redcough for two full years and still hanging out in camp like its no big deal. Thank you for everything Frozentail.

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UPDATE: They recovered from redcough after having it for three years and is now expecting kits? They really recovered from one of the worst conditions and immediately found an out of clan mate? No one is living life like them.

Made a new file Thistleclan in clangen and have been gifted with the best cat. The original deputy that retired, nonbinary icon and makes hating their bloodthirsty leader that starts wars their full time job in retirement. Everyone loves them apart from Hollowstar who is seething. Been coughing up blood with redcough for two full years and still hanging out in camp like its no big deal. Thank you for everything Frozentail.

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Made a new file Thistleclan in clangen and have been gifted with the best cat. The original deputy that retired, nonbinary icon and makes hating their bloodthirsty leader that starts wars their full time job in retirement. Everyone loves them apart from Hollowstar who is seething. Been coughing up blood with redcough for two full years and still hanging out in camp like its no big deal. Thank you for everything Frozentail.

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Good to know! The relations can be hard to keep straight - glad that canonically he doesn't have named parents. My headcanon has been that Dustpelt & Ravenpaw and Mousefur & Runningwind are siblings from different litters.

So apparently Frostfur in canon is siblings with Brindleface AND Dustpelt which I was never a fan of but makes Augur Frostflower a nightmare to track making like half the clan patrician. Erins don't retroactively assign arc 1 cats random family challenge: Impossible. ANYWAY because of this and wanting to keep Featherwhisker & Goosefeather past med cats here is the TPB look at Thunderclans Augur line:

Solid lines are known unions, Dashed lines are forbidden.

Moonflower & Goosefeather: Both are born with an unnaturally strong connection with Starclan and end up training because of it. The real reason is plot convenience: It lets Whitestorm, Stonefur and Mistyfoot be patricians just before the cut off point.

Featherwhisker, Bluestar & Snowfur: Feather is being added into the litter but is distant. Goosefeather gets a vision of Feather becoming his successor - Snow and Blue feel cheated out of a chance. When their mother is killed due to his visions Feather seeks reassurance with Goose while Snow and Blue don't trust him. Feather takes in Whitekit to raise with Frostkit when Snow dies.

Bluestar/Thrushpelt: So Bluestar has her fling with Oakheart and ends up expecting. I like the idea that in clans queens can just not name a father. With the political nature of Patrician relationships though the backlash of a patrician queen not naming a father would be undesirable. So she has to decide whether to rush into a marriage to hide the parentage or not name a father which in the eyes of the clan would be the same as admitting guilt. Thrushpelt is a close friend she trusts who clearly wants to be mates, the clan is expecting them to become an item and Bluestar explains everything to him. They are never involved but in the eyes of the clan are married.

Whitestorm/Willowpelt: This account is a Gay Whitestorm Truther. I have no clue why but I think that background guy is gay and I stand by it. Regardless the reason he ends up getting with Willowpelt is not out of romance or duty (his kids wont be patrician) but rather to get her out of a bind. After Graystripe's antics, Darkstripe's general attitude and Willowpelt not naming a father for either litter I think her position in the clan would go down. If her son is eager to date the enemy it calls into question her loyalties. They agree then to court to counter accusations, letting Willowpelt raise a final litter in peace (with the clan knowing the father) while Whitestorm gains heirs.

By the beginning of the AU story set at the beginning of TPB there are three patricians in Thunderclan: Bluestar, Whitestorm and Frostflower.

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As a resident Firestar's Quest enjoyer yes when he finally gets some answers about the Skyclan dreams he has been receiving Bluestar talks to him at the Moonstone and we get this wonderful exchange:

The book is a coinflip between really interesting ideas that are great to AU to the ends of the earth and just some really, really infuriating content. Especially how some of the cats outside the clan are written.

You don't even like Firestar HIMSELF? glorious cheeto boi? Dude who flout out yelled at starclan because they said their wasn't enough trees for Skyclan?

Is that from Firestar's Quest? I vaguely know about that seconhand but I have never been motivated to read it.

ANYWAY, I appreciate how he's basically the best executed protagonist in the series and I can see how many people like him, but alas he just doesn't click for me.

I suspect it has to do with my history with these books. I was first exposed to them a good bit older than your average fan and on top of that I found myself so underwhelmed by Into the Wild (which by that point had been hyped up to me as one of those books every furry my age has read and got super obsessed with) that I fully forgot I even read that book and a full year later I tried reading the series from ITW and was still not impressed.

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I am not a writer but everyday I want to write a Cloudtail POV one off about the Frostflower AU.

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Does your Starclan work by Cannon Starclan rules? If so by refunding Skyclan Blackfoot, even if he doesn't become leader, gets to get in by cannon logic.

Yes he does get into Starclan! The rules of founding is foggy to me since I haven't interacted much with DOTC era but even without the rules I was always planning on him ending up in Starclan. He is instead welcomed by the Skyclan ancestors rather than his own in Shadowclan. Skystar welcomes him into the afterlife, and he reunites with the cat's that gave himself or Leafstar lives as well as any cat in the modern clan who passed. His place in Starclan may be contested by the dead of other clans but he still has a place in it.

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Is Blackfoot still alive when Skyclan rejoins the other clans? Also...how do the other clans take Skyclan now, without Firestar knowing about them, the other clans don't either. Also...it'd be hilarious if Russetstar was still alive when Skyclan rejoins with Blackfoot/star(?)

Sorry this response has taken to so long! As you can see I definitely took the prompt and ran with it haha. Full disclosure I haven't actually read the series Skyclan returns to the lake (AVoS?) so timeline wise I have no idea if Blackfoot would still be alive canonically but for the sake of a fun AU yes he 100% is.

This is where Skyclan Blackstar shines over having Leafstar lead. Even if Blackfoot founded modern Skyclan, the clan is as much shaped by the other members and he lacks power. Despite the outrage his initial appearance would spark among the other clans I doubt it would be worth it for the other clans to exile him again. He is a beloved elder in Skyclan and ultimately is their problem, other clans have sheltered worse (Bluestar willingly sheltered Brokenstar for a period of time). He will never be able to attend a gathering and avoids straying too close to the borders but is content in Skyclan. For the other clans the entirety of Skyclan is around to keep him in line.

So for the rest of this I'll be talking about the Blackstar & Leafdapple route of the AU. Continued underneath because this post got long.

The clans reacting to Skyclan's arrival at the lake

It shakes the lake clans to the core since it challenges a lot of what they thought of their culture. During OOTS there was a larger focus on the clans coming together when necessary that continued on. Even with the Great Journey after the old territory was destroyed the clans refused to leave until Riverclan joined them. So to hear that Skyclan had been put into a similar position and their ancestors just let them die out - there's definitely a knee jerk reaction to it all. They don't want to believe it.

Blackstar loses a lot of the credibility of the message and a significant portion of cats straight up accuse him of lying. Oh a whole clan just happened to be exiled? Really? What a coincidence "guy who was obsessed with power and famously exiled". It's convenient that this version of events leaves the lake clans as villains and Blackstar as a righteous leader.

With some time to prove himself and how the rest of Skyclan trusts him fully the other clans come around to it in the end. Even if they personally do not like Blackstar he would be nearing the end of his leadership and they can't turn away a whole clan on the faults of a single member. I imagine the gathering they all show up the medicine cats across all the clans just make a beeline for the moonpool to check the legitimacy of Blackstar's account the second they are dismissed.

Bramblestar and Onestar aren't thrilled to have him back among their ranks but they still begrudgingly defend the rights of Skyclan to rejoin them by the lake. Neither were as intimately acquainted to his war crimes as the other leaders and denying a clan sent by Starclan is just not worth it. Bramblestar, having been compared to Tigerstar his whole life, would probably also be more likely to give him a chance as he looks like he has genuinely changed. But of course what would Riverclan and Shadowclan's leadership think?

Russetstar is leader of Shadowclan

She is pissed that he has shown up with an entire clan in tow and is incredibly untrustworthy of him. She remembers what he was like as a deputy in the forest and the atrocities that they witnessed and just can't believe he is a leader now. If he is a leader with morals, where were these morals when Brokenstar and Tigerstar were around? When their clan needed protection? Instead she ended up breaking the cycle and building up her clan from the wreckage left after TPB. She is incredibly concerned with the welfare of Skyclan remembering what the clan before her was like and urges for Blackstar to be sent back into exile and for Skyclan to appoint a new leader. She is solely focused on Blackstar and being an ex-loner herself has no issue with the rest of Skyclan.

Russetstar and Blackstar would be an interesting mirror for each other. Blackfoot blaming Russetfur for everything when he loses it all but gains peace with himself by finding a life in Skyclan knowing that his problem was never with her. Russetstar seeing him return would immediately be ready to fight him again over his position of leader, how he isn't to be trusted and push for him to be exiled. Russetstar finds peace with the fact Skyclan are safe with him and despite all the reasons under the sun she rightfully despises him he never did turn out to be another Tigerstar or Brokenstar like she feared.

Tigerstar ii is leader of Shadowclan

Okay this bullet is not very serious but while you think Russetstar still kicking would be funny I raise to you: Tigerstar ii. Blackstar hears Tigerstar is the great and noble leader of Shadowclan and has a heart attack. Did he rise from the grave? Why is everyone so calm? How are they angry at him when Tigerstar is around? Then he sees him and he looks the spitting image of Tigerstar but the tom in front of him is far, far too young to be the actual cat of nightmares. Tawnypelt is like "That's my boy Tigerstar! Proud of you!" and Blackstar has to take a minute to hound Tawnypelt like "Tawnypaw why in Starclan's name is THAT the prefix you decided on?"

Meanwhile Tigerstar ii is the only leader to have never met Blackstar in his life, and is confused out of his mind. He has no clue what to think, everyone seems angry and scared of this cat claiming him to be Blackfoot from the forest but that can't be right. Blackfoot is an evil cat with glowing red eyes who tried to steal away the great Russetstar's leadership and eats kits or some nonsense. He's known as an executioner but he brought together a whole clan and hardly comes across as more bloodthirsty than Onestar. He seems unnecessarily angry when he tells him he has Tigerstar's support though...

Mistystar the leader of Riverclan

And finally the big one. She would absolutely give Skyclan the ultimatum of exiling their leader or she declares war on them. Honestly who could even blame her? She got a front row seat to Tigerclan in which he was among the highest ranking members, imprisoned with her apprentice and he killed her own brother in front of her. Even after all these seasons he's still alive, having gotten the power he wanted while Stonefur is dead and Stormfur left the clans. She would be livid he is back and would remind the clans why he was exiled and how if it weren't for the truce of the full moon she would be chasing him down already. And when Skyclan respond like "We know what he did but he has changed. We wouldn't have our clan without him." She snaps a bit, all of them are complicit and isn't even going to give them the chance of building a second Tigerclan.

Her deputy Reedwhisker would've seen the horrors of Tigerclan and what happened to her during that time. He wouldn't be leaping at their defence. Mothwing never experienced it first hand but grew up in the aftermath and remembers what Hawkfrost was like (his throwaway line about Tigerstar never being such an enemy to Riverclan was such wasted opportunity). Plus Mothwing is unable to go to the moonpool and verify for herself so even though she goes she just has to trust in what the other medicine cats say. Riverclan has no real reason to trust the story given by Blackstar.

Once she has time alone with her clan and space away from Skyclan they are able to decompress. A lot of the cats who don't remember the forest are furious and don't want to be part of a war with an innocent clan sent by Starclan who have already lost a home. The Kin are their enemy. Mistystar never follows through on the threat of an all out war between the two clans, the danger of The Kin is too pressing, but she ensures Skyclan stays far away from her borders. Any kind of alliance between Riverclan and Skyclan is unsalvageable until Blackstar dies and leadership moves on.

Meanwhile from Blackstar's side he feels awful and has no idea how to face Mistystar. She is the embodiment to all of his past mistakes, how he supported and participated in so much bloodshed. How does he still have the support and trust of Skyclan after coming quite literally face to face with everything he has done. The guilt is palpable. On top of ruining everything in the forest and being exiled he has brought his new clan, weakened by constant travel, into a possible war? How many more are going to be injured on his behalf. I could see him just giving up and saying he'll leave on the promise that his clan stays reunited with the others. Skyclan stand in support of Blackstar though, "We followed you here and if you go we will follow, we've managed without the clans before but we aren't going without our leader."

This whole AU for me is all about how Blackstar doesn't really ever achieve forgiveness in a neat bow in the eyes of the other clans but gets a different support network. Everyone should have a shot at redemption but it doesn't mean you should get forgiveness from the people you hurt. Or grovel for it, instead just moving on and being better.

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So apparently Frostfur in canon is siblings with Brindleface AND Dustpelt which I was never a fan of but makes Augur Frostflower a nightmare to track making like half the clan patrician. Erins don't retroactively assign arc 1 cats random family challenge: Impossible. ANYWAY because of this and wanting to keep Featherwhisker & Goosefeather past med cats here is the TPB look at Thunderclans Augur line:

Solid lines are known unions, Dashed lines are forbidden.

Moonflower & Goosefeather: Both are born with an unnaturally strong connection with Starclan and end up training because of it. The real reason is plot convenience: It lets Whitestorm, Stonefur and Mistyfoot be patricians just before the cut off point.

Featherwhisker, Bluestar & Snowfur: Feather is being added into the litter but is distant. Goosefeather gets a vision of Feather becoming his successor - Snow and Blue feel cheated out of a chance. When their mother is killed due to his visions Feather seeks reassurance with Goose while Snow and Blue don't trust him. Feather takes in Whitekit to raise with Frostkit when Snow dies.

Bluestar/Thrushpelt: So Bluestar has her fling with Oakheart and ends up expecting. I like the idea that in clans queens can just not name a father. With the political nature of Patrician relationships though the backlash of a patrician queen not naming a father would be undesirable. So she has to decide whether to rush into a marriage to hide the parentage or not name a father which in the eyes of the clan would be the same as admitting guilt. Thrushpelt is a close friend she trusts who clearly wants to be mates, the clan is expecting them to become an item and Bluestar explains everything to him. They are never involved but in the eyes of the clan are married.

Whitestorm/Willowpelt: This account is a Gay Whitestorm Truther. I have no clue why but I think that background guy is gay and I stand by it. Regardless the reason he ends up getting with Willowpelt is not out of romance or duty (his kids wont be patrician) but rather to get her out of a bind. After Graystripe's antics, Darkstripe's general attitude and Willowpelt not naming a father for either litter I think her position in the clan would go down. If her son is eager to date the enemy it calls into question her loyalties. They agree then to court to counter accusations, letting Willowpelt raise a final litter in peace (with the clan knowing the father) while Whitestorm gains heirs.

By the beginning of the AU story set at the beginning of TPB there are three patricians in Thunderclan: Bluestar, Whitestorm and Frostflower.

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One thing that is unintentionally hilarious about changing Firestar's Quest to accommodate Blackfoot instead is the kin of your kin prophecy being dropped. Skywatcher's on his deathbed like "Blackfoot... Blackfoot I'm getting a message... Firestar fucks... He is going to have some weird Grandkids" and Blackfoot is just stood there like "Skywatcher what the hell am I meant to do about that"

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Ah Blackfoot/star AU anon again! Last question for now I promise! But would Leafstar still be leader in this AU? I find the idea of Blackfoot giving up a position of leadership in order to allow a loner to become leader to be so compelling! Or does he ignore StarClan and put himself as leader instead? Or or does he make Sharpclaw leader? The two of them are a bit similar so maybe he sees a positive aspect of himself in Sharpclaw OR maybe he tries to avoid past mistakes and decides against it.

Sorry for all the asks 😅 Firestar's Quest used to be one of my favorite warriors books so along with the good idea, I'm double interested ＼(^o^)／

I love getting questions so no need to apologize! Firestar's Quest has a special place in my heart too - that and Bluestar's Prophecy were the only stand alone books I owned and I reread them so much because of it.

So right now I've been keeping the first leader of modern Skyclan vague because there are two ideas running around in my head and I haven't decided one way or the other so far. At the minute it's a tie between Blackfoot himself and Leafdapple. Sharpclaw is very important to the AU but does not become the first leader of Skyclan.

Either way he thankfully stays as Blackfoot for the rebuilding of Skyclan so Blackfoot's Quest fits as a name in both scenarios. I'll break down my thoughts under a read more!

Conflict between Leafdapple and Sharpclaw

Blackfoot is still having to chose a position of authority within Skyclan (either leader or his deputy) so in both instances he has to choose between the two. Leafdapple is focused on the collective while Sharpclaw is ambitious and longing for power of his own.

On a personal level he prefers Sharpclaw, Blackfoot can relate to him and his aggressive tendencies. He's strong, proud and thinks with his claws. He's everything a strong battle centric culture could hope for and would make a good leader for the clan. But Skyclan doesn't border other clans, who would they be battling? Blackfoot might worry about the threat of Thunderclan but Sharpclaw wouldn't. The odd loner? The whole clan is made of outsiders so would the force be necessary? So Sharpclaw is shown to have the potential to become the next Brokenstar or Tigerstar. When the connection is made Blackfoot despite his preference for him choses Leafdapple instead.

Leafdapple joins and becomes far more interested in how the day to day life of a clan works. She challenges his ideas and broader clan customs, asking why it's necessary. Blackfoot wrote her off on a first meeting but she later earned his respect over the constant butting of heads. She would be a good leader too, one that puts the welfare of the community above her own needs. It's not dissimilar to the way people would talk about Firestar at gatherings.

Now Leafdapple is far from Firestar and Sharpclaw is even further from being Tigerstar but they are the comparisons that Blackstar sees and breaks the trend he is accustomed to by choosing Leafdapple.

Sharpclaw's Role

So he may not be leader in my mind but he does get a large role - he takes Sandstorm's role in the original book to bounce off Blackfoot! Scratch would be the first outsider Blackfoot meets on the way to the gorge that he doesn't instantly overlook - like you say the two are similar enough to have respect, both positive and negative. They track down cats to join together and Blackfoot mentors Cherrypaw and Sharpclaw mentors Sparrowpaw.

Sharpclaw is different enough that I think they would be interesting to explore for a large portion of an AU but similar enough that they would be on good terms. Blackfoot has a low opinion of loners? Sharpclaw is one. Blackfoot is reflective post exile? Sharpclaw isn't, he's impulsive. Blackfoot believing in clan culture and religion unquestionably whilst Sharpclaw is only interested in the power and respect that leader or deputy could offer. The two of them travelling together and getting to know eachother, finding Skywatcher and Scratch doing a double take like this is the guy you've been looking for? This strange guy? - they would be a fun duo!

Now onto the two possible outcomes.

Route one: Blackfoot becomes Blackstar

He choses to take the mantle of leader having devoted himself fully to rebuilding Skyclan and makes Leafdapple his deputy. He prepares for his lives ceremony expecting to see the people important to his life back in the forest and is instead met with ancient Skyclan. He doesn't really gain the closure of what his ancestors think of him.

Skyclan Blackstar really shines later in the timeline instead, when they journey to the lake during the time of Darktail. The shock of a whole other clan appearing at the lake, rebuilt and lead by Blackstar whose legacy is of being Tigerclan's executioner. The brute force that supported Brokenstar and Tigerstar.

Route two: Leafdapple becomes Leafstar

Leafdapple ascends to leader and taking Sharpclaw as her deputy, Blackfoot accompanies her and Echosong to the ceremony like Firestar does in canon. He watches the ceremony unfold, a ceremony he thought he would have of his own but is content to watch on. While still crucially important to the clan, often joked as being the deputy's deputy, he gets to live as a regular warrior.

The choice to give up power in favor of a loner gaining lives just bookends his arc so well and reflects his growth. He starts trying with all his might to cling to the power he's entitled to. He doesn't convince people like Leopardstar can and instead bluntly demands the respect and power he is owed. Blackfoot ran Shadowclan in the Bloodclan battle and he is the strongest leader left in his clan - without him they'll fall apart. In contrast he struggles so much to rebuild Skyclan and by the time he has the chance to access the power he tried again and again to achieve he passes on it. Blackfoot doesn't feel the same entitlement to power, what he once wanted so badly he feels he isn't cut out for - he was always second in command but never a leader. So the torch is passed onto Leafstar knowing the clan is safe with her, just how back in the forest Shadowclan is safe with Russetstar.

In my opinion the Leafstar & Sharpclaw route wraps up better as a contained narrative following the structure of Firestar's Quest while the Blackstar & Leafdapple route has more interesting implications further into the timeline. Considering this AU isn't being written up now theres freedom to explore both avenues.

Honestly would love to hear other peoples opinions!

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Just read your Blackstar/foot SkyClan idea and I'm in love!!!

Question though, when he is exiled by Russetfur, would he have his lives taken away? I was just imagining that StarClan would strip him of his lives in a dream or maybe he would go to the Moonstone for advice and it would end up happening there instead? I'm curious!

If you already said so then I'm sorry, I read it very late last night so I might've missed a few things. Oops.

Also would you allow any fan art or animation of this idea? If not thats totally cool (*ゝωб*)b

Thank you so much! This AU is definitely my pet project - I'm glad that other people are also enjoying it! Anyone is free to make content about this AU just make sure to tag this account in it since I'd love to see any creations.

As far as I am aware (if I've made a mistake feel free to correct me) but during the battle against Bloodclan Blackfoot has yet to receive his lives as Scourge declares war over Tigerstar's body. There is physically no time for him to travel to Highstones and back in time so all efforts are put on the battle and Blackfoot leads as deputy. It's usually unheard of to put off the lives ceremony but when the alternative is the possible extinction of all clans... he can wait. So Russetfur is able to challenge Blackfoot, on the battlefield once the fighting has died down with the other leaders as audience. There are other cats to be dealt with so the clans take a night of rest to mourn the dead and hold a meeting the next day. Had Russetfur not made her challenge in front of the other clans it likely would've been covered up to save face. Runningnose agrees and without a medicine cat he wouldn't be able to get his lives before the gathering.

There are some stragglers but the main focus is what is to be done with Leopardstar and Blackfoot as the highest ranking individuals of Tigerclan left alive. Leopardstar is more convincing than Blackfoot is and is able to pin most of the blame on Tigerstar and Blackfoot over her own involvement. She has lives from Starclan and despite Riverclan being divided she still has devoted supporters so she talks herself out of exile. The other leaders respect for her has been diminished but damaged pride can be recovered from. Blackfoot lacks the same support: had he gained his lives he may have been able to argue that Starclan approved but in a cruel twist of fate there was no time for that to have been possible. Shadowclan is so divided he doesn't have enough of a following for cat's to stick up for him. So while Blackfoot is chased away, Russetfur and Runningnose accompany Windclan home from the gathering to travel for her lives ceremony.