#Tigerstar remembering being in thunderclan as a paw

[ladyofthevalley]

Why is darkness within so good already, the series was in a slump but like the characters are so vivid so far

[bonefall]

BB!Brushblaze

[ID: A grown version of Brushpaw from Warrior Cats. He is a ginger-and-white tabby cat with splotchy patches, a white butt, tail, paws, and 'bib'. He has yellow eyes with a distinct blob marking on his right side. He has a round notch in one ear.]

Because he's been coming up a lot lately, here he is! BB!Brushpaw is an ex-BloodClan cat who joins WindClan along with Snapper.

After the BloodClan Battle, Firestar opened up diplomatic negotiations in an attempt to see how much of Tigerstar's Impossible Deal the Clans could still honor. The answer was so simple as to be ridiculous; flowers, wood, novelty food. Things BloodClan can't get in the concrete alleys of Chelford. Leo and Snapper were only two of the traders who would regularly visit WindClan and ThunderClan.

Leo was head-over-paws for Onewhisker almost right away. He rarely went to ThunderClan, always trying to get chosen to go to the moor. He was so smitten, he never realized any of the red flags. Onewhisker wouldn't do public displays of affection, or tell his friends they were seeing each other, and when Leo floated the idea of joining the Clan... Onewhisker gave an affirmative, but not enthusiastic answer.

Tallstar decided to allow Leo and Snapper to join, but only if they went through apprenticeship as a formality. Onewhisker told Brushpaw that it's forbidden for warriors to be with apprentices, even if they are adults, and Brushpaw understood and respected that.

But it didn't get better.

Next, his ceremony was delayed over the destruction. His mentor, Mudclaw, even accused him of being a jinx and that he was bringing the humans to the moor. He went on the Great Journey forced to remain Brushpaw, Tallstar only having the strength to give Crowfeather his Honor Title and leaving him and Snappaw in the dust.

His scar is from fighting in the WindClan rebellion-- one of the rebels jumped on his back and tried to snap his neck. After the fight, Onestar gave the two their well-earned names; Brushblaze for the muirburn that Mudclaw sabotaged, and Snapstorm for the rain that put it out after.

When Onestar became leader, he changed, or... maybe it just revealed something that was always there, that Brushblaze didn't see. Either way, whatever they had was over.

Eventually, he became an ironic friend of Heathertail, helping her bring back tunneling. He died helping her and Breezepelt escape The Kin through a secret passage he constructed with Harespring, collapsing the tunnel so that they couldn't be followed.

Lots of info under the cut

Design & Meta Stuff

It bugs me how in Onestar's Concussion they copped out on the idea that Onewhisker was cheating on his lover with Smoke, by making it SUPER clear there was no overlap in the relationships. Soo instead yeah poor Brush was cheated on.

I feel like the fact that Canon!Brushpaw was a ginger tabby was supposed to invoke the image of Firestar, because the whole point is that "Firestar succeeded where Brushpaw failed" so like... I DESPERATELY tried to make sure Brushblaze is a ginger tabby who looks nothing like my Firestar lmao.

Total opposites, my Firestar is bright and skinny, Brush is dull and sturdy. Fire has no stripes and no white and Brush has stripes and white patches.

I gave him a spotty white tail for the irony of it looking like Darktail's but inverted.

I don't know if this makes sense but I tried to channel the energy of a gay dude who owns snakes.

Personality

Waaaaay smarter than you think, but can be a bit passionate and oblivious.

Prone to biting off more than he can chew and getting in situations above his head.

A yes-man, doesn't like saying no to people, especially when he feels like he can help.

Most ex-BloodClan cats look scary but are friendlier than they seem.

Surprises people with the way he casually remembers everything. Names, recipes, offhanded comments... say it once and it's in his head forever.

You really think that he's going to be a grump with that face, but it's far from the truth. He's tired, but super friendly.

History

Leo was a BloodClan Solver, a position that has to do with intellectual work.

Snapper was his assigned Problem, kind of like a BloodClan warrior.

His mother Bailey is actually one of the most respected Solvers in BloodClan. He didn't really like being in her shadow, though.

Looking back on it, Brushblaze is embarrassed about how quickly he was ready to commit to someone who, in hindsight, wasn't into it as much as he was.

They were dating but Onewhisker was... flaky. He didn't want to tell others about their relationship, never wanted public affection.

It was really obvious looking back on it that One was never brave enough to commit.

Snappaw and Brushpaw had to fight a lot of xenophobia to earn their place. Mudclaw's distrust of a cat he was supposed to train like an apprentice was a major factor in why Tallstar changed deputies so suddenly.

Unknown to Brush, Onewhisker had already rejected an old lover, Smoke, when he found out she was pregnant and wanted to join the Clan. He couldn't handle the shame of telling Brush he had been cheating AND the idea of waltzing into camp with a brazen kittypet lover.

Brush did eventually move on, but it took a long time. Onestar had Heathertail via honor-siring, never getting back into a romantic relationship again.

After this, he's very grudging of Onestar. Obeys him as a leader, but clearly dislikes him as an authority figure and as a person.

One of Onestar's many regrets.

One day in the Po3 Era, he overheard Heatherpaw and Breezepaw scream for help and came running

They were digging a tunnel, and Harepaw got buried

He pulled him out, and the three of them begged him to not tell their parents

Heatherpaw: "If my dad finds out he'll want to use this to do something stupid"

Brushblaze: "well... can't argue with that."

But he made them promise that the next time they dig that far down, where they could get hurt by a cave-in, they would come get him.

He became something like a safety friend, helping them work out how to reinforce a tunnel, doing good estimates of how to dig from Point A to Point B.

Onestar, of course, did eventually find out about tunnels... from Sedgepaw, boasting about the naturally-occurring ones under the Lake. It sure did give the four of them a scare that he'd learned about their little resurrection of tunneling as a practice.

Brushblaze eventually found love again; ironically, it was with Whitetail!

They had two kittens; Galekit and Smokekit.

He found it REALLY weird though that Onestar was so... aggressive? About Smokekit

"you didn't have to do this," said Onestar, glaring at the baby.

Brushblaze blinked several times. "....have a child???"

He would learn the truth less than a month later, when Darktail brought The Kin to the lake

Breezepelt joined quickly, and Heathertail went with curiosity when it was revealed that Darktail was her half-brother.

Harespring, deputy at the time, knew that his childhood friends were in danger. Him, Brushblaze, Crowfeather, and a few others immediately started digging to help save their Clanmates

Brushblaze's final act was shoving The Kin escapees in the tunnel, lagging behind, and collapsing the tunnel on himself and their pursuers.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

Bloodclan Reduxed

Version 1.2: Scourge has a different fate now.

So Bloodclan is an odd case in WCR. They WERE a group before, one that fell apart. Their old name was Blood Seekers, and it was pretty much just kitty Fight Club.

When the big head honchos were hit by a car though, the group fell apart almost completely. The only ones really left were Bone and Brick.

When Scourge took over, he renamed it Bloodclan, when asked why, he simply said "Easier to say". Bone and Brick respected him, and they all trained and got stronger.

At first he was a good leader. He wasn't soft by ANY means, but he didn't punish siblings for hanging out together.

Violet is beaten by Snake and Ice for 'stealing their catch' (being a better hunter than 2 fragile men) /being 'disrespectful' (refusing to let them undermine her). When they beat her up, and Barely rescues her, he brings her to Scourge but the response is pretty much:

"What do you want me to do? I can't heal cats. Go find a twoleg who can."

However, Scourge's rage was building, he wanted better for those who supported him, and he also wanted to destroy the cat who hurt him. He still chases out Ruby and Socks and doesn't bother feeding them, but before driving them other asks how Quince is doing.

Later on, when Brick is talking about Bloodclan's past, she mentions that cats of Thunderclan used to do raids on Twolegplace, slaughtering all Kittypets in their path, old, young, defenseless and capable. It didn't matter. Brick's mother was just a baby at the time, but was left orphaned by the raids, leading her to become a Blood Seeker for protection deeper in Twolegplace. Brick is out for Thunderclan blood, she will see Thunderclan flattened.

When Tigerstar comes around from the word of Boulder, child of an ex-Blood Seeker, Scourge assumes that Tigerstar is perhaps apologizing for what he has done, and is offering the hungry cats of Bloodclan land where they can hunt as that apology. If not? Well... Scourge could always go for a round 2.

When the Blood, Tiger, and Lion battle occurs, his realizes that Tigertsar was not sorry at all, and has no intention of honouring his deal. Tigerstar doesn't even remember the tiny kitten he brutalized, the axe has forgotten but the tree never will.

Ripping open Tigerstar was cathartic, though watching him spasm on the forest floor 9 times was... Odd. Never seen a cat do that before. Threatening the treacherous Clans, he gave them 3 days.

"Leave, or Bloodclan's hunting grounds will have to be a mass grave."

The Battle Of Blood and Lions was horrible, many were lost on both sides. But Firestar, wanting to prove that the Clans were different, wanted to give this cat a chance.

He pinned Scourge down and tore off the too-tight collar he wore, and for the first time in years, Scourge took a deep breath.

Scourge took his first life in response. Along with it came a vision of himself, killing Scourge. But he could not get over how... Familiar... Scourge looked. The same white paw as his father, the same build as his beloved brother Filou, and eyes like Cloudtail...

He chose to lose the life given to him by Swiftclaw, and realized he was fighting to protect young cats. But he made a horrifying realization. While one of the mollies fighting had the look of a Queen who'd had a litter about 1 moon ago, Bloodclan did not bring any young cats. They may not have a Warrior Code like the Clans, yet still held some kind of honour. They were hungry, yet still fighting desperately...

The Clans were a sickness, and events like the Battle Of Blood and Lions were a symptom. Bloodclan was never the real enemy.

After picking a life to lose (more on that later), Firestar then fought on, and once again showed mercy to Scourge.

Firestar offered him a chance. The Clans would make room, and Bloodclan could join them in the forest, a 6th 5th Clan amongst them were they could all thrive, and that he would allow Bloodclan to establish themselves, push the other Clans to change...

They continued to fight, Firestar's words and promises making Scourge lose steam until Firestar caught his head in his paw, slamming him to the forest floor. Scourge was breathing, but no other cats knew that.

Quietly, Firestar signed to Snowpaw, the deaf apprentice who was still Scourge's size.

'Take him to camp.'

No one in Bloodclan knew about this, as Firestar had jumped ahead, hiding their small leader. They assumed their leaders had just been killed. They did not see the small white cat quickly carrying their leader away into the undergrowth. No cat would know what had just happened to the leader of Bloodclan.

The leaders after him were tainted by that. Claw, despite his name, tried to keep peace, but Brick's daughter Fury was too angry. The two fought constantly, and while they were out, a dog attacked in the middle of a bloody fight. It got Claw, and Fury didn't help.

After Fury became peaceful, Snake and Ice went off creating Neo Bloodclan, another group of bullies that gets stamped out during Ravenpaw's Peace (now one book)

Nowadays, Bloodclan is ruled by an older Fury, and while they are still a tough bunch, they're alright to be around. They are the other Forest Clan alongside Warriorclan and they are thriving. Their is no fighting with Warriorclan, no borders to defend. They still love to wrestle around, and show off how tough they are, but all around, they're not bad cats at all.

And Scourge? Well... that's a post for another day.

[kirwell]

The Fate of RiverClan & Tigerstar's Ambition

With “Shadow” dropping tomorrow, I felt it fitting to talk about the THIRD instance of RiverClan being subjugated in Warriors history.  RiverClan really can’t ever catch a break from being preyed upon by others with awful motives backed up with ruthless might. 

First, Tigerstar, then Darktail, and finally, "I’m nothing like the first Tigerstar" Tigerstar II. 

With the current takeover by Tigerheartstar at the end of Sky, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before RiverClan makes a huge play for their uprising and total independence. 

But in the meantime, I have way too many speculations to keep them to myself, so get ready! Spoilers, lengthy ramblings, and predictions ahead for ‘A Starless Clan’ down below regarding Tigerstar II and the fate of our favorite water lovin' kitties. 

First thing first, I want to ask the general question: ● Should the Clans be able to hold power over each other? 

No, they shouldn't. And I really hope the other Clans have something to say about Tigerstar’s takeover in Shadow.

We’ve seen this happen in clan history, where an ambitious cat takes over another or banishes another clan entirely. But it’s never praised or culturally accepted by others. 

"There must always be four clans" has been a constant moral within the clans for a long time, and only those with a hunger for power have ever attempted to remove or subjugate clans.  Brokenstar leading constant attacks on WindClan, which eventually led to a full-scale battle where they were driven from clan territory altogether. No one other than ShadowClan was okay with this. 

Tigerstar the first taking control of RiverClan to create TigerClan, and as we know, this resulted in great tragedy for RiverClan. Also, let’s not forget Dead Tigerstar’s plans with Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw to divide the clans up and rule them - which Hawkfrost was absolutely okay enforcing.  We’ve seen Clans merge peacefully to strengthen their forces in order to take on a common threat- via LionClan. But each clan leader led and planned together with equal power. And there definitely wasn't any gladiatorial culling of half-clan cats being done...

And the only time we see the clans mutually agree to a banishing was for ancient SkyClan. No, the clans didn’t force SkyClan off their land, but they didn’t raise a paw to help their neighbors while they struggled to survive. 

● What are the motives behind hostile takeovers? 

I highly doubt Tigerstar II truly has good intentions for RiverClan, given how he forcibly took control of their camp and demanded the submission of RiverClan warriors. Even if he has no intentions of taking permanent ownership of RiverClan, he’s obviously fine with backing up his plans with unnecessary physical violence and subjugation.  Clans have lent help to others in the past before, but the clear difference between Firestar sending aid and Tigerheartstar ‘sending aid’ is - FORCE. 

Remember when Onestar basically disowned Firestar, refusing any more of his or ThunderClan’s influence over WindClan? Did Firestar just show up with his strongest warriors and forcibly help them, because it was "for their own good?"

No, he did not. Isn’t this situation, in some way, shape, or form, like what happened to ShadowClan with Sol and Darktail...?  Someone coming in with the guise of helping others, or pretending to be friendly, but in truth, had intentions of taking power away through manipulation and strength to suit their own agendas? 

ShadowClan didn’t like that very much, did they?  Just ask the cats killed by The Kin or the ones left alive with lingering trauma from seeing their loved ones murdered or imprisoned. 

Sol and Darktail both had ulterior motives when making themselves comfy among the clans, which resulted in grave consequences. 

- Sol wanted the clans to abandon StarClan because he felt betrayed by them.  - Darktail wanted to destroy the Clans because of his hatred and for what Onestar did to him. 

So what does Tigerstar want..? What are his ambitions?

Ambition can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you plan to employ it.  The conflict between ShadowClan and SkyClan in over hunting grounds was ugly and should have been handled better. But at its core, I feel like it can be said that Tigerstar's aggression was primarily on behalf of ShadowClan's well-being. Not that he simply wanted to horde territory for the sake of it. He didn’t beat SkyClan into a bloody pulp and force them out like Brokenstar did WindClan, and he did divide some land to give SkyClan their territory at the end.

Tigerstar's no stranger to starting conflicts, being bull-headed, and acting with aggression, and he’s definitely made bad choices, but I feel his actions are a far cry from sinister. 

So the question is: what changed? He’s never been shown as a character who is adamant about strictly following the code or punishing people out of some twisted sense of self-righteousness. But now we have this flip where he's fiercely determined to make RiverClan submit to his guidance. For what- we have yet to find out. Let’s speculate.  ● Does he genuinely want the best for RiverClan and to help them find a new leader so they don’t fall apart?  RiverClan may be leaderless and lacking sturdy guidance, but they are far from being unable to survive and take care of themselves. They’re not starving, dealing with serious wild threats, or struggling with sickness, where they would need immediate aid. 

So no- that can’t be Tigerstar’s reasoning. At least, not the core of it, anyway. 

● Is he helping them out of the kindness of his own heart? Yeah, fuck no. Obviously not.

● He’s truly becoming evil and wants them to suffer at his will? He’s not a warmongering, evil-doer with an insatiable thirst for power like Tigerstar or Brokenstar, so I would say no. I don't know how I would feel about if that's the plan for his character arc...

However, since his return to ShadowClan and wanting to rebuild their strength and respect again, I have a sneaky suspicion that he’s warming up to the concept of force equals power. Showing a forceful hand can benefit him more times than not, so why not show his claws?  But just how far is he willing to go in the future? Will Tigerstar actually kill or injure any RiverClan cats to get his way…? He's starting to feel more in line with Clear Sky's character rather then other main villains of Warriors.

● Because he wants influence over RiverClan?  The most likely reason, I believe. 

I wouldn’t say he wants to rule them like he rules ShadowClan, but he definitely wants some amount of control over RiverClan. "Helping" them rebuild and find a new leader- one that he approves of and who will answer to him when needed.  I can very easily see a situation with Tigerstar confronting a newly appointed RiverClan leader... “I helped you when you were weak and struggling, so now you are in debt to me and ShadowClan.” 

This could be something he can pull when he needs an ally in war or politics or even use for something as simple as a supply source. Which leads me to another speculation behind Tigerstar’s force…

● He blames RiverClan for Rowankit’s death.

WE know that RiverClan never intentionally withheld catmint from ShadowClan when Rowankit was sick. Frostpaw and Mothwing had so much to deal within their own clan, and overlooking the old stock of catmint is a believable excuse.

But does Tigerstar truly believe that? And even if he does- is their excuse good enough?

From what we know about Tigerstar- he is fiercely protective of his family. Is it that far of a stretch to believe that at the core of Tigerstar’s ‘good intentions’ is to punish RiverClan...?

I think RiverClan’s in store for more than just a helpful hand from Tigerstar in the upcoming book. I’m ready to see a cold, calculating Tigerstar who commits questionable acts under the eerie words of, “it’s for your own good…”

Are we going to see cats being punished or flat-out exiled “for the betterment of RiverClan?”

How long is Tigerstar going to be in control, and how fiercely will he govern them? And perhaps most importantly, will he personally choose RiverClan’s next leader? And who will it be? 

If ya'll got this far, you're crazy and amazing fr ✨//⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠//✨

[henrybelly]

act 2 (again because i deleted it the first time foR FUCK'S SAKE)

cinderkit and brackenkit need mentors but Oh No Bluestar is ignoring Fireheart, so he apprentices them to himself and Graystripe

first patrol: cinderpaw falls through the ice, graystripe goes after her, silverstream saves graystripe, they have a lovey-dovey duet immediately while Fireheart stands by, oblivious, in the background

bluestar confronts fireheart with her paranoia about the shadow and teeth in the forest

the last line of that song is overheard by the clan, who are whipped up into a panicked frenzy-- they have a group number with Fireheart where he tries to reassure them all that Everything Is Fine

cracking under the pressure, he returns to the Twolegsplace to see Smudge (A Simpler Life) who immediately tries to hand over one of his new kittens so Fireheart can raise him in ThunderClan and avoid losing him to the Twolegs (insert joke about "Can't you just give them to Ravenpaw and Barley??" "they've got a dog. that's no place for a kitten!")

He returns with Cloudkit, whom Bluestar grudgingly accepts into the Clan. Yellowfield helps look after him

now extra-cracking under the pressure of looking after cloudkit, training cinderpaw and brackenpaw, and running the Clan, Fireheart angrily tracks down Graystripe and confronts him when he finds him meeting with Silverstream

He echoes the music of A Paw In Both Worlds as he chews out Graystripe for a half-Clan relationship. their friendship is falling apart big time

Fireheart returns to the nursery to check on Cloudkit but ends up needing Yellowfield's comfort and advice. she sings him a much gentler solo (Nursery Tales) about LionClan and TigerClan. fireheart is like ':( i don't even remember my mother' and Yellowfield is like "lmao me neither, my mentor Nightpelt is the one who told me all those stories"

Brackenpaw, fed up with being ignored by Graystripe, convinces Cinderpaw to come with him to find out what Tigerstar's up to so they can prove they're ready to be warriors (A Warrior's Vow, using words from the warrior ceremony as Brackenpaw imagines what they'll be named)

they stumble upon the dogs. a bloodbath. (with "Pack Pack Kill Kill" being chanted in the background)

Graystripe is meeting with silverstream and she tells him she's pregnant, he's delighted and runs back to camp -- but stumbles upon Brackenpaw's body and Cinderpaw, unconscious

Fireheart takes Cinderpaw to be healed by Yellowfield while Bluestar rants about how StarClan has forsaken them (perhaps mirroring ideas of 'giving up' how Yellowfield isn't giving up on Cinderpaw but Bluestar has given up on StarClan)

Fireheart announces no cat can leave camp until they decided what to do with the dogs

Cinderpaw wakes up and explains that someone lured the dogs there (Tigerstar, obviously)

Fireheart settles on the canon plan of luring the dogs to the gorge but the clan is like "you want us to get chased by giant evil dogs?? absolutely not". Fireheart announces he'll be the one to lead them off the cliff because he's willing to risk his life for his clan (playing again on A Warrior's Vow)

they pull off the plan, but Bluestar takes Fireheart's place at the last second and goes over the gorge

Firestar gets his nine lives in musical form

switch to Tigerstar's evil plans -- he's taking over WindClan too and renamed the combined clans TigerClan. he soloes evilly about his plans to destroy all the 'fake' warriors -- ex kittypets, half-clan cats, codebreakers

Firestar names Graystripe his deputy and they reconcile

together, they go with Silverstream to RiverClan to ask Crookedstar to ally with them and fight TigerClan before Tigerstar can take over the forest (Silverstream explains she's carrying kits, Firestar draws on his love for Cloudkit -- it echoes "A Simpler Life" to show the progression from 'i want to escape this shitty world' to 'i want to make this shitty world better for me and all the people i love')

Crookedstar agrees and they form LionClan

Before the big climactic fight, Firestar meets with Cinderpaw and Yellowfield one last time. Cinderpaw says she's going to be a medicine cat apprentice. Firestar is reassured that there's more to Clan life than just killing each other

Big Climactic Fight (altered version of Roar Like Thunder, with lyrics like Heart of a Lion or smth similar)

Tigerstar kills Firestar

Firestar briefly sees StarClan, Bluestar, and Lionheart, and they reassure him that he's more of a leader and a warrior than Tigerstar ever will be

Firestar is reincarnated and kills Tigerstar. Tigerstar doesn't get reincarnated because StarClan never gave him his nine lives on account of being big time evil

TigerClan falls apart without their leader and Nightpelt steps up, even though he's almost an elder, to lead them

Nightpelt offers Yellowfield the chance to return to ShadowClan, promising they'll rebuild it, but Yellowfield says ThunderClan is her home now (the closing statement on the whole 'you don't have to be born in the clan to be part of the clan' theme)

Firestar leads his Clan home. Firestar and Graystripe have one last moment together where Firestar tells Graystripe that if he belongs in RiverClan with Silverstream, he should follow his heart. they'll always be best friends <3

i couldn't fall asleep last night because i was mentally composing a The Prophecies Begin musical

[cleocatrablossy]

So, warrior cats AU:

Hollyleaf is a reincarnation of Scourge… somehow. Pretty much, she was supposed to be one of the three which is why the prophecy “there will be three, kin of your kin, who will hold the power of the stars in their paws” thing comes in. Dovewing is the kin of the kin of Firestar so with how it’s stated originally Dovewing wouldn’t count- the loop hole used was likely going down two generations for a ‘kin’ on her part. Now here’s where Hollyleaf being Scourge’s reincarnation comes in. StarClan was working out which powers to grant to which each of the three up until their birth before they settled on it. But in this Hollyleaf was meant to get all senses enhanced(Dovewing only gets hearing and sight, because she was late to the party). But somehow just before they’re about to be granted their powers Scourge’s ghost(on a quest for revenge and constantly wandering to kill his killer and also Tigerstar’s ghost) ends up reincarnating into Hollykit. So StarClan doesn’t give her powers as a last minute change. Now a key note here is that Cinderpelt’s reincarnation into Cinderheart was done by StarClan so they were two separate cats with Cinerpelt being able to leave. Scourge to Hollyleaf was on accident, so he’s more like a whisper at the back of her mind all the time. She becomes super supportive of the code just to try and get rid of his voice, as he suggests more and more treacherous things. He’s also part of the reason she picked up fighting immediately, because even if she doesn’t know just what to do he’s in her subconscious so she gets some extra help. Some of that ‘I’m the leader here MWHAHAHAHAHA’ Scourge stuff also plays into her wanting to be known and respected. Do note though: they are two separate cats to a degree, Hollyleaf is actually really nice in this and wouldn’t hurt a fly and want to make her family proud- but Scourge makes up most of her subconscious and when she’s super stressed out even bits of her conscious self. He also can fade out memories he’s not interested in as long as he’s there- impacting how well she did as a medicine cat apprentice. This is how we get a sudden flip from code-following goody two shoes Hollyleaf to murderous Hollyleaf in Sunset, and back to goody two shoes Hollyleaf in her novella. Everything story wise happens the same, this is all background stuff that doesn’t impact the story itself(it’s 4:30 am, I don’t have the energy to change the story, might come back to this though and do it). Final note though: Rock can get rid of any dead cats in the tunnels if he wishes(by like… doing the equivalent of cutting their internet connection) but he keeps Fallen Leaves around because he’s nice. So Rock blocks out Scourge, which lets Hollyleaf fully remember her Medicine training which is how she can remember what herbs are needed for the sickness in ThunderClan.

Alright, goodnight

[everybody-loves-purdy]

HC that Stonefur and Willowpelt were mates, with him being the father of Graystripe. Willowpelt would never divulge the secret of her kit’s father, as tensions between ThunderClan and RiverClan began to rise as temperatures sank and the river began to freeze over, leaving Sunningrocks as the sole, reliable source of food for both Clans. Stonefur doesn’t remember her from his kithood, but there’s something so familiar about Stonefur that Willowpelt’s convinced she knew him in a past life. Willowpelt and Stonefur have an amiable breakup, but Stonefur never stops loving Willowpelt, and is thrilled when Bluestar announces Graykit’s birth at a Gathering. Not knowing Graykit’s connection to Bluestar, Willowpelt dodges curious questions from other queens and warriors, many of them noting that she hadn’t been around many toms since Darkstripe became a warrior. Unbeknownst to her, Bluestar pays careful attention to all her warriors. The sneaking out of camp, the tiredness in Willowpelt’s gaze after hastily sneaking back into her nest at dawn, the way she so expertly dodged any close interactions with male Clanmates; Bluestar had suspected that Willowpelt had a mate outside ThunderClan. When she saw the distinct, dark blue hue in Graystripe’s pelt, Bluestar knew. Stonefur was in the shape of the kit’s ears, the roundness of his eyes, the size of his paws. How had she managed to miss their longing gazes at each other during Gatherings? Willowpelt and Stonefur grow apart as their son aged, and when Graystripe becomes a young warrior and falls in love with the RiverClan warrior Silverstream, Willowpelt is nothing short of sympathetic, and heartbroken for her son’s grief. She knew all too well the pain of raising a kit alone. Stonefur is on the patrol with Leopardfur and Mistyfoot when they come to collect the kits. There is no argument as Graystripe hastily gives Featherkit and Stormkit over to the RiverClan warriors, soon following them into the heart of a territory half of him belonged to. Graystripe is confused by Stonefur’s warm demeanor, as compared to the chilled glares of his new Clanmates. All the while, Graystripe is happy to have found his own safe space. Stonefur gets to know his son, and spends a copious amount of time with Stormkit in particular. When Stormpaw becomes his apprentice, Stonefur is thrilled at the prospect of mentoring his grandson, although there is grief at knowing that neither Graystripe or Stormpaw would understand the kinship they all shared. It is why, when it was time for Tigerstar to execute the young apprentices, that Stonefur so readily gave his life for his grandchildren. Graystripe and his kits escape back to ThunderClan, where Willowpelt reveals the truth of his parentage. Instead of anger, Graystripe expresses his regret that he had not gotten to know Stonefur better, and coming to realize the real reason why Bluestar had expressed no anger towards him for his betrayal.

This is fantastic

[strelles-universe]

Cats of ShadowClan: Tigerstar

Name: Tigerstar, Tigerclaw

Meaning: Honorable and Skilled Fighter

Identity: Cisgender Tom - He/Him

Orientation: Heterosexual

Rank: Leader

Former Rank(s): Guard, Secondary, ThunderClan Exile

A massive broad shouldered tabby with deep red almost brown fur. His stripes are thick and braided like a member of TigerClan’s and his eyes are a sharp amber. Tigerclaw has a scar across his nose and his left ear is torn. Tigerclaw’s claws grow extremely fast but rather than constantly shortening them, he considers them a gift from the Souls and allows them to stay long. As such, his claws are almost perpetually sticking out from his paws.

He puts on a front of toughness and was known as a bullheaded apprentice who wouldn’t admit to being injured unless sat on. Being the only survivor of his litter, Tigerclaw has always worked hard to prove to his clan that the Souls weren’t wrong for letting him live. He was very close to his mother and when she died, he was devastated and closed himself off to the world.

Tigerclaw feels nothing but resentment towards his father, remembering him only as someone who scolded him even when everyone else was praising him and his eventual leave. Fiercely determined to prove he could surpass his father and angered at the farms for “taking” his father from him, Tigerclaw took to Thistleclaw’s more aggressive style of training like a fish to water and treats known kingdom cats viciously. Though they were close in his youth, Tigerclaw and Thistleclaw eventually had a series of bad falling outs that resulted in them not being able to sleep in the same den as one another. When Thistleclaw was eventually revealed to have died, he only sat vigil as a courtesy. Despite this, he still thinks of Thistleclaw as more of his father than Pinestar - hence the reason he kept his suffix.

Tigerclaw holds a deep sense of resentment towards Whitestar for - in his eyes - stealing away Bluestar and Thistleclaw. When Snowblossom died, Thistleclaw began focusing intently on his blood-son; almost to the exclusion of training Tigerpaw. When the apprentice tentatively broached the subject, Thistleclaw made their training sessions short but brutal. They mostly consisted of running him ragged and bruising him to the point of trembling then criticizing his skills with little praise and dragging him home. Determined to prove he could handle it, Tigerpaw bore the ain without speaking up and let anger curl in his stomach towards Whitepaw who was praised and coddled by his father. 

Tigerclaw believes himself a tough cat destined for greatness and will lead ThunderClan into a golden age. Tigerclaw is willing to do whatever it would take to ensure ThunderClan’s survival and is quick to resort to violence when solving his problems. He feels a combination of disgust and aggression towards Fireheart for being from the kingdoms.

Now leader of ShadowClan, Tigerstar is bent on seeking revenge on his former clan and raising ShadowClan into a noble and courageous clan. Though frustrated by the new customs, Tigerstar is rather eager to discard everything he had left of ThunderClan in him and is steadily adapting to the new traditions - especially with the amount of authority they brought him.  Killing Goldenflower was an accident - he had no intention of killing her but when she caught him, it was inevitable. 

Some part of him is torn to shreds, confused and conflicted by the emotions of grief and loss he feels knowing that he was responsible for Bluestar’s death. He remembers her stern but loving demeanor from when he was an apprentice and the world feels almost wrong without her in it. When he has time to stew in his thoughts, Tigerstar snarls and beats himself for being foolish enough to choose Thistleclaw over her - he wonders if he’d chosen her over his mentor if she would’ve made him deputy sooner. Though he remains firm in his conviction that he’s doing what’s right, that he’s achieving his destiny, Tigerstar sincerely hopes that Bluestar is at peace now and that she be reunited with her family.

Mentor(s): Thistleclaw (deceased)

Apprentice(s): Thornrustle

Parent(s): Leopardfoot (dame/deceased), Pinestar (sire/deceased)

Sibling(s): Nightkit (sister/deceased). Mistkit (sister/deceased)

Nephling(s): N/A

Cousin(s): N/A

Mate(s): Goldenflower (separated/deceased)

Crush(es): N/A

Kit(s): Bramblepaw (son/estranged), Tawnypaw (daughter/estranged)

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Hawkfrost Is The Father Of The Three, And Ferncloud Raises Them With Dustpelt AU

So

I don't ship these two, nor can I picture these two in any sort of healthy relationship because of just how bad Hawkfrost is

that being said

tw; manipulation, gr**ming and abuse

I'm also going to be combining it with this AU request cause they ended up feeling like they fit together

During one of her visits to talk to Mothwing, Leafpaw comes face to face with Hawkfrost. She's very cautious about the tom, knowing his own sister doesn't trust him, but he comes off as charming and charismatic

She asks him politely not to tell on her being here and he responds with being rather flirty, assuring he'd never let such a cute she-cat get in trouble, flustering her and causing her to run off

Leafpaw in confused as she personally hasn't had any cat flirt with her, as everyone knows they're not supposed to with her being a medicine cat apprentice

She ends up getting more and more curious about this tom while her sister is off on her adventure with the chosen cats and takes to trying to casually watch him whenever she can, namely while gathering herbs near the border or soaking moss

He's quick to notice

One of the times while she's alone, he confronts her about watching her, saying if she wanted to see more of him, she could just ask She tries to object, shaking away these weirdly uncomfortable feelings, but he gives her a very affectionate lick before leaving, causing her even more confusion

Hawkfrost works hard to earn her positive favor, leaving little gifts such as herbs, prey, and other small things where he usually sees her. Leafpaw, unsure of what else to do, ends up accepting these gifts.

He also starts giving her these gifts in person, causing her to struggle with what she knew She trusts Mothwing, who says Hawkfrost has done bad things But Hawkfrost is showing he's not a bad cat after all

After some time, Hawkfrost starts making little comments, namely against the company Leafpaw usually kept when she wasn't alone "Sorreltail just tries to act like she's better than you by taking control of situations, huh?" "Cinderpelt really doesn't trust you to gather herbs alone?" "Brightheart seems to be more worried about her daughter than she does helping medicine cats, doesn't she?"

Over time Leafpaw is filled with more confusion and doubt and starts spending less and less time near camp Hawkfrost still visits her often and, after the chosen have come back, he starts getting more physically affectionate towards her, sharing tongues with her and having her cuddle with him

Leafpaw still has doubts but she's conflicted about them

On the journey to the lake, after this had been going on for some time, Leafpaw opens up to Squirrelpaw about what's been going on and Squirrelpaw immediately doesn't like or trust Hawkfrost, especially when Leafpaw expresses some doubts about him but is quick to excuse them

She brings Squirrelpaw's feelings up to Hawkfrost and he's quick to try to turn her against her sister, making her rather uncomfortable as she's sure her sister is the only cat she truly trusts

They get to the lake territories and Hawkfrost tries to convince Leafpaw to join RiverClan, but she declines, stating her family is in ThunderClan and that she doesn't want to leave them

Despite his pressuring and her unsure feelings, she does still visit him as often as she can, sneaking around territories because she doesn't have many cats to talk to since she dropped almost all her friendships for him

Leafpool and Squirrelflight have their full names when the in-fighting in WindClan gets worse

When the WindClan coup happens and Mudclaw states Hawkfrost as one who helped him and Leafpool quickly turns to Mothwing, whom she had been hanging out with less and less, and asks her if this is true

Mothwing, though rightfully hurt by Leafpool leaving her alone, confirms the ThunderClan she-cat's fears and Leafpool goes to confront Hawkfrost

Hawkfrost tries denying at first and even tries to brush it off and be casual as he tries to show her more physical affection, but she hisses at him and demands the truth

There's a long bit where he dodges the truth, before he gives up trying to be nice and tells her, bluntly, that Tigerstar had told him to 'get her out of the picture' by any means And he was 'trying to be nice' and not kill her, since Mothwing liked her, and then blames her for 'what happens next' and attacks Leafpool

Thankfully Squirrelflight caught wind, thanks to Mothwing, and comes to her sister's rescue, attacking the tom and running off with a wounded Leafpool by her side

Leafpool is in shock and sick to her stomach with what Hawkfrost said and did She tells her sister everything, including that she was still seeing him after Squirrelflight told her to stop and how he wanted her to no longer talk to Squilf and join RiverClan.

When the two bring this to Brambleclaw, the tom is skeptical and doesn't trust what they're saying, and when he brings this up to Hawkfrost, he's less clear about how to feel.

Hawkfrost's death goes down the same as canon.

Leafpool finds out she's pregnant and is horrified, as she knows that the only option of the father is her abuser

Squirrelflight, despite being single [as Brambleclaw's dismissal of her sister's abuse and Ashfur's babying of her pushed her away from both toms], insists on helping her as she's worried for Leafpool

There is a lot of debate and the two end up accidentally being overheard by Ferncloud. She doesn't ask questions, seeing the distressed look on Leafpool's face and simply states that she'll adopt the kits as if they were her own. She even manages to convince her mate, Dustpelt, to agree, though he thinks he's adopting Squirrelflight's kits and not the halfClan kits of a medicine cat as Ferncloud is aware it would've been harder to talk him into it otherwise

Three kits are born in secret - a brown and white tabby tom, a tortoiseshell tabby she-cat, and a mostly white tom with brown patches. Ferncloud names the first on Finchkit, Squirrelflight names the second one Hollykit, and Leafpool names the last one Lionkit hoping the tom will be strong enough to outlive his unfortunate circumstances. In this AU Icekit and Foxkit are born a couple moon earlier than they were in canon and are a couple days younger than the Three.

They bring the kits home and Dustpelt immediately dotes over the five of them, not even caring which ones might be Squirrelflight's and which ones might be his. He doesn't even tell any of the kits otherwise. To him they are his five wonderful kits.

Ferncloud and Dustpelt are wonderful parents to the kits, Dustpelt teaching them the importance of tradition while Ferncloud teaches them to care about others

TPoT goes through canon somewhat normally, aside from Finchpaw being confused on why he was able to see a prophecy about Firestar's kin when he isn't related at all to Firestar. However, once Lionpaw is training in the Dark Forest, he is confused when Hawkfrost refers to Lion, Finch, and Holly as his kits

Hawkfrost reveals the secret, wanting Lionpaw to know that the Clan isn't being entirely truthful.

Lionpaw isn't sure how to feel about this

He confronts Ferncloud and Dustpelt. Dustpelt is shocked to hear Leafpool's name, but there's only a minor argument about lying with a promise to be truthful in the future, as Ferncloud admits it's not her story to tell and he understands.

Lionpaw, Finchpaw, and Hollypaw are taken with Dustpelt to talk to Leafpool, where she opens up about the abuse she faced at Hawkfrost's paws and how he used her. Dustpelt, who came in angry, is more understanding at the end as he remembers how Tigerstar, Hawkfrost's father, hurt his brother, Ravenpaw to the point of running away

The apprentices are confused, asking if she wanted them, and she assured it had nothing to do with them and more to do with the tom that sired them

When Lionpaw expresses anger towards Leafpool, Dustpelt scolds him, telling the tom that the hardest thing for a queen to do is give up kits and telling him that it was brave for Leafpool

Lionpaw confronts Hawkfrost and is lied to and the apprentice storms off, not wanting to hear it once the Dark Forest warrior starts bad-talking Ferncloud and Dustpelt

Hollypaw struggles with the news, as she was raised that medicine cats should never have kits, but her father is being forgiving of this on exception She ends up talking with Ferncloud about it and gaining an understanding that things happen out of anther cat's control and they can't help it

Finchpaw and Leafpool come to an agreement that he doesn't have to think of her as his mother and that Ferncloud was the one who raised and cared for him better than she could He still knows, but he accepts that he was adopted and is alright with that, as it gave him a family he needed

This is as far as I got mentally with this, but there's no big secret, though Ashfur being a problem can probably still be a plot or something

idk

a lot of these plots revolve around TPoT, so there's only so much new I can add dsakhf

[the-east-art]

Warrior Cats poorly explained for @not-ajedi

Except it’s only Power of Three and the arcs after it, and I haven’t read Warrior cats in a decade, and I get mos of my info from half-hearted looks at the wiki and primarily through Warrior Cats animated music videos on youtube (if you wanna me to make a rec list of these i totally will, there are some increidble video out there)

Power of Three

This arc focuses on the three children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. Their three kits are supposed to ‘hold the fate of the stars in their paws’ and are the prophesied three. Lionheart, a big himbo boy who briefly has an angst arc where Hawkfrost and Tigerstar visit his dreams to try and make him evil but he’s too pure hearted for that, and his special ability is that he can fight real good and not get hurt. Jayfeather, a grumpy blind boy who ends up becoming a medicine cat, he has the ability to like appear in peoples dreams and also he’s the first cat to grow a garden and I love him. Hollyleaf uh… really believes in the code? Her thing is she kind of really wants to help people but she never seems to quite find the right place where she can fit in.

There are two big plot twists in this series. The first one is the fact that Hollyleaf isn’t actually one of the prophesied three, which causes a rift between her and her brothers. The second one happens in the famous fire scene - during a fire the Three get cornered by Ashfur, Squirrelflights ex boyfriend who is angsty about not being chosen by her and threatens to kill her kids. She in turn reveals that the Three aren’t her kids - they’re actually Leafpools kids that she became pregnant with during the brief time she tried to run away with Crowfeather (who is stinky but i still love. Like if they had just made some better decisions with his character…) So clearly if they aren’t blood they can’t actually be family right? The kids take this hard. Hollyleaf kills Ashfur for revenge, and Leafpool hides the evidence of this. She later announces their true lineage to all the clans at a gathering and then runs away to the tunnels that run under the clans, which cave in around her as her brothers watch.

I don’t actually remember what the main antagonist of this arc was? I think it was Sol, a cat who hates the clans for some reason or other. He probably manipulated Shadowclan into being bad guys again and attacking Thunderclan or something again but I really can’t remember. I do recall it has to do with an eclipse maybe?

Bonus stuff: Jayfeather ends up going into the past at some point and gets a girlfriend but then has to return to the present and it was the most heart wrenching thing fifth grade me ever read. Crowfeather has a dipshit son named Breezepelt who tries to kill a pregnant woman so that’s cool. Graystripe finally returns and is reunited with Firestar who can still identify his smell after all this time and I’d check out the book just to read that part. Cinderpelt is reincarnated as Cinderheart but they kinda do it weird solike Cinderpelt and heart are still two separate people rather than having them be the same??? It’s weird and a disappointment.

(if you want I can point you in the direction of my au of this arc where the three siblings are are each given to one of the other clans to try and prevent their true lineage a secret and would make the story more balanced between the clans)

Omen of the Stars

In addition to Lionblaze and Jayfeather, this book features their younger cousins who start out, as is tradition, as just like kits at the beginning. Dovewing is the actual third cat with the superpower that she can hear really far away, even clear to the other side of the lake and even beyond. Her sister Ivypool feels left out, as she can see her sister getting special treatment. Hawkfrost notices this and prey on it, visiting in her dreams to give her special one on one training, giving her the attention she doesn’t get irl. Eventually the training gets more and more brutal and the place gets scarier and scarier and he officially recruits her to the Dark forest (like hell for cats, where all the evil cats of yore hang out.) The dark forest cats are planning a coup to take over the territories (to what end I have no clue, but I don’t think they know either) Eventually the Three and Ivypool team up together as it becomes clear that the dark forest is an issue. While the Three work to help ready the clans for the coup, Ivypool is a double agent to keep them updated on the going ons in the dark forest. She has to do a ton of things to prove her loyalty including killing a character irl and then killing their spirit.

The Dark ghosts rise up and the starclan cats come down and there like a biblical battle basically where clans all join together and they fight alongside the spirits of their ancestors to fight off the darkness. The Three kind of use their powers to help this out but not as much as you think they would? Their powers kinda end up seeming really random lol. Anyway its kind of a greatest hits part where you see some of your faves and stuff. Oh Hollyleaf was alive the whole time, hanging out in the tunnels with her ghost boyfriend the whole time and comes up like just in time to help with this. Ivypool fights her abuser Hawkfrost, but Hollyleaf come in and saves her and deals the final blow but dies in the process.

Naturally Firestar kills Tigerstar once again, but immediately afterwards like lightning strikes a tree and it falls on his and kills and since its his last life he’s dead for realsies, but since the starclan ghosts are still around you get to see his ghost and he gets to give like a word of goodbye before leaving. Oh, Jayfeather also gets to see his girlfriend during this which is cool.

Also the three lose their powers after this so rip.

Vision of Shadows

(we;re officially in books I haven’t read) follows Squirrelflights son Alderheart (medicine cat) and two mysterious kits he and a shadowclan cat (named Needletail) find and decide to like split between them and each take one to their own clan. Twigbranch (thunderclan) and Violetshine (shadowclan). The kits turn out to be from Skyclan - the fifth clan that was featured in a novella and like never mentioned again lol. Their home was ruined and they came to rejoin the clans and so like there’s tension in whether or not room should be made for them.

The second and bigger conflict I believe is the upending of Shadowclan into like a new evil clan led by a mysteriously strong, charismatic and evil cat named Darktail. Darktail hates the clans 0 I’m pretty sure he’s the illegitimate son of Onestar who ditched his mom and she died and he’s out for revenge now? Except he chose to infiltrate the territory farthest from Onestar. He kinda worms his way in and takes control over from the current leader who if you remember Tawnypelt - Brambleclaws sister - is her mate. Her and her entire family get cast out except for her daughter Sleekwhisker who betrays them. My understanding is that Sleekwhisker is pretty unhinged and like devoted to darktail in a kinda harleyquinn and joker way. As the situation deteriorates Needletail, who initially really bought into the whole thing, realizes she has to get Violetshine out of there - I think they actually intend to kill Violetshine so she goes along with it and then attacks them at the last second to Violetshine can run away and ends up dying, but Violetshine makes it away safely.

I have no idea how this plotline ends but I’m sure the clans unite and take darktail out and Windclan and Riverclan barely end up mattering even though I love them. There’s a cat named Tree who can see ghosts but I have no idea why that’s relevant. Sandstorm dies in the first book I’m pretty sure. Man some of these cats are getting old - the craziest thing is the fact that there are cats that aren’t leaders who actually lived in the old territory. How are they still hanging in there?

The Broken Code

Leafpool my girl dies between books.

Oh so since Omen of the Stars Dovewing has been having a love affair with a Shadowclan cat named Tigerheart which I’ve never really cared about but it is now actually relevant. I believe she tries to run away with him and then eventually returns to Shadowclan with him and they have kids together. Also Ivypool gets herself a malewife named Fernsong and also has kits and her mate moves into the nursery with her to take care of the kits which is cool.

The main characters of this arc are Rootspring (son of one of those protags of the last arc I think but i don’t remember who, but he can see ghosts so his dad is Tree), Bristlefrost (Ivypools daughter) and Shadowsight (dovewings medicine cat son). During this arc Bramblestar gets possessed by Ashfur (that’s right he’s back bitch) but it takes a while for people to figure this out. Starclan is unreachable for some reason, and Shadowsight can hear a voice he thinks is starclan but is actually Ashfur manipulating him. In the entire ordeal Thunderclan goes through a series of temporary leaders and like kinda gets divided into people who are following Bramblestar (aka Ashfur) and people who aren’t. Ashfur has been ruling with an iron fist and obsessed with the code to unnecessarily punish other cats. Rootspring seeing ghosts helps him to find Bramblestars ghost and figure out what’s going on.

Paralleling her mothers role two arcs ago, Bristlefrost is a double agent under the imposters reign, taking the role of his deputy at one point. Sometime they find a group of just female cats who can see ghost and who Rootspring is related to but I don’t know much about them. Eventually they get Bramblestar back in his body I think? Ashfur kills a bunch of cats including Willowshine who matters because she was a Riverclan medicine cat who I loved. They end up having to fight him in the Dark Forest, which he has taken over, and somehow he has the ability to control the ghosts of other cats so even kis murder victims are forced to fight for him???? Bristlefrost kills him and forces him to sink into some kind of black lake, destroying his spirit forever, as well as her own spirit in the process and tbh killing one of the POV characters sounds like one of the gutsiest things they have ever done.

In general Warrior Cat books are always just… almost good. I hate to be that person but the first series is probably the best and most eloquent story. And that’s the painful part, is a lot of the story elements and concepts have really interesting world building or ideas that could be built upon to create really cool stories, but they never seem to quite achieve their potential. I suspect it has to do with the collaborative nature of the stories, the fact that they’re written by like five people or whatever. You can also see the trend from fiction to fantasy, playing more and more into the magical concepts of the universe. This isn’t good or bad, but it does definitely give the story a very different feel from the first arc or two.

[theanoninyourinbox]

Longstar Au Thunderclan Boogaloo

First, i’d like to thank all of you for your support of my au, I was really surprised at the support!  Seriously thank you!!

Second, some details I forgot to mention last time.  Cinderpaw still gets hit by the car, but instead of being forced into being a medicine cat, she genuinely enjoys working with Fireheart and Yellowfang.  Flamewish makes a bunch of jokes about how her brother stole her apprentice, but she’s just glad Cinderpaw survived.  And Longstar still gets kicked in the face by the rabbit, but manages to turn his head at the last second.  He still loses some of his vision, but only about half - as he ages it gets worse, but by the time he goes completely blind, he’s got a grandkit that helps him work through his struggles.

Anyway, onto the next part!

In the space between book canon, Longstar is out looking for a juicy mouse for his hungry wife, who’s caring for their first kits, when he’s caught off guard by the scent of dog.  To his dismay, he finds a ravaged dead dog with a large grey molly breathing her last nearby.  She rasps out for something in the dark, and passes.  Longstar looks around, and finds a terrified kit hiding under a nearby bush, bleeding from a paw.  After a rushed run back to camp, the kit is treated by Fireheart and Cinderpelt, and Flamewish scoops up the traumatized kit to snuggle with Swiftkit and Foxkit.  It’s quickly agreed he’s staying with Flamewish, and Longstar deduces he’s the Dark that the molly was referencing, and Dark-kit is officially adopted by the leader of Thunderclan.  Canon continues until...

 Swiftpaw comes to her father, worried that her problems hunting and anxiety outside of camp will keep her from being a warrior.  Longstar remembers a tale about a warrior who guarded the camp after an injury crippled him, and works with her mentor Mistlenose to get her up to speed on hunting, while working with Fireheart and Cinderpelt with her anxiety.  Foxpaw and Darkpaw join her to be supportive, and Darkpaw discovers a love of healing, leading to him apprenticing under Cinderpelt.  Canon continues until...

Ashfur!  He has zero romantic intentions towards Foxfur - for one, she’s his niece!  Ew!  Also he has a mate - Flyshadow, Frostfoot’s daughter.  They’re holing off on having kits for now, but are absolutely smitten with each other. Flyshadow’s brother Coldlight has a crush on Sandstorm, but with his selective mutism and shyness, he’s never told her.  Canon continues until...

Brambleclaw!  Foxpaw absolutely bothers the snot out of him, but he has a plan - he hates the leaders of Thunderclan, despises Whitestorm for betraying his old friend, and Longstar for usurping his father’s rightful place.  That's right, Brambleclaw is a Tigerstar apologist.  His mother and sister have no idea how much he idolizes his father, or that his ghost has been visiting him in the night.  His plan is to use Foxpaw to get close to Longstar, and eventually usurp the old foxheart Whitestorm, then murder Longstar and return Thunderclan to a pure, kittypet free clan, feared by the other clans.  So he puts up with her, hoping to get closer so he can enact he and his father’s plan.  Canon continues until...

The new Prophecy!  Fireheart has a vision of a flaming cat and a shadowy tiger. and Foxpaw starts having strange dreams.  She meets up with the others, with Brambleclaw following behind, claiming she needs “a real warrior” to back her up.  Tawnypelt is happy to see her brother, but a bit suspicious - he seems like he’s hiding something.  Foxpaw and the older Crowpaw bond over their status as apprentices, and after a while, Crowpaw opens up about his phobia of water.  He tells Foxpaw and a supportive Feathertail about his adoption into Windclan, and how the first thing he can remember is drowning, and then being dragged out of the water by twolegs.  He fled, and was found wandering Windclan by Deadfoot, and adopted.  The three create a strong friendship, which continues canonically until...

The Tribe! Feathertail is still the silver cat of the prophecy, but survives just barely, breaking her back and becoming paralyzed.  Stormfur promises to come back for her, plus he still falls for Brook.  The rest of the gang continues on by canon until...

The trapped cats and Shrewpaw!  Sandstorm is the one who gets driven off instead of Graystripe, and the clans all mourn her as if she died.  Shrewpaw manages to yeet himself farther than canon, getting clipped on the hip and spun across the road.  He drags himself back to Thunderclan, pheasant clenched in his mouth.  His hind leg never fully heals, but he throws himself into cat-physical therapy with Cinderpelt to get back on his feet. Canon continues until...

The return!  The cats are greeted lovingly by their families if not the rest of their clans, and Foxpaw and Crowpaw become Foxflight and Crowfeather.  Shrewpaw, now Shrewleg, and Ashfur help Foxflight mourn for Sandstorm, her mentor.  Brambleclaw sees this, and feels a surge of jealousy - that’s HIS Foxflight, his pawn!  But he holds it together, fake consoling Whitestorm.  Canon continues until...

The elders!  Mudfur is still ill, and Frostfur, Speckletail, Loudbelly, and Shadepelt decide to stay with him.  However, Flamewish insists in giving them a chance, and convinces them to go to her previous Twolegs home, where they’re taken in and cared for like kittypet royalty by the twolegs and their neighbors, as they deserve.  Canon continues until...

Smokepaw falls!  Russetfur spots him clinging desperately to a root, and Mudclaw bravely climbs down, retrieving the terrified apprentice from his certain doom.  Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.  Canon continues until...

The Tribe again!  Graystripe is reunited with Feathertail, who’s flattered by Crowfeather’s requested name.  Darkpaw has the vision of Spottedleaf, and the clans marvel at the Lake Territory. Canon continues until...

Hawkfrost and Mothwing finally meet up with Brambleclaw, but their conversation is interrupted when Mothwing spots Crowfeather, and thinks she’s seeing a ghost - but then Hawkfrost is like, wait, I see him too?  And Crowfeather is startled, but, do I know you?  And it’s officially revealed that Crowfeather is Tadpole!  A joyous, if slightly confused sibling reunion takes place, and Crowfeather gets to introduce his adopted family to his missing siblings!  The only one not delighted is Brambleclaw, furious at being upstaged.  But he feigns delight at the events.  Canon continues until...

The death of a leader.  Tallstar passes, but with Mudclaw at his side.  He begs his Deputy to treat the other clans with kindness, as he treated Smokepaw.  Mudclaw is fervent in his promise to be a better leader than he has been a Deputy. Onewhisker is seen talking angrily to Brambleclaw, but Brambleclaw dismisses suspicions by claiming to be trying to calm his fellow warrior down. Canon continues until...

The moonpool!  Darkpaw follows the spirit of Spottedleaf, and finds the Moonpool.  At the next half-moon, he’s named Darkmoon.  Canon continues until...

The Windclan Revolt! Onewhisker attacks Mudclaw on his way to becoming leader.  Things go mostly the same, with Swiftpool being saved by Crowfeather and the following Feelings Confession, but this time it’s Foxflight and Longstar chasing down Onewhisker.  He’s nearly crushed by the tree, but instead is knocked clear, breaking his hind legs and cracking him on the skull.  Mudclaw calls for the medicine cats, and when Onewhisker wakes later, he has no recollection from the start of the Journey onward, and professes no animosity towards Mudclaw. Now Mudstar chooses to spare him and he is confined to the medicine den until he heals. Canon continues until...

Way different romantic drama!  Foxflight and Shrewleg fell hard for each other on the Journey, and Ashfur and Flyshadow just decided to start trying for kits.  It’s too bad Brambleclaw keeps starting rumors about secret relationships.  They go nowhere fast, and Brambleclaw scrambles to keep a hold of his plans.  Crowfeather and Swiftpool keep meeting up in secret, and consider running.  During this time, Darkmoon finds out about the Tigerstar training program, and warns not Brambleclaw, but Hawkfrost, about the consequences of his actions.  Hawkfrost mulls over when he tried to drop a moth wing by the medicine den, but one was already there.  Canon continues until...

The Badger attack!  Midnight warns the runaways and they return, but not in time to save Cinderpelt.  Flamewish spots Crowfeather, does that math-circling-the-lady meme, and drags Crow, Swift, Fox, and Longstar into the den after the fight, and commands the nervous duo to spill it right now sO HELP ME STARCLAN!  And they spill it, the whole secret romance. There’s a moment of silence, then Foxflight starts the Traditional Thunderclan Threats to a Siblings Datefriend, Lonstar assures Crowfeather and Swiftpool he isn’t angry, while Flamewish demands details of the love confession, was it passionate?!?!  This leads to Longstar and Mudstar hashing out a deal - as long as their clans are at peace, the two can be in a relationship.  This deal eventually spreads to the other clans, allowing more cross-clan relationships. (Deadfoot is simultaneously disappointed and impressed by his son, Mudstar can’t stop laughing) Canon continues until...

The blood on the lake.  Brambleclaw snaps, and lures Longstar to the lake, where he’s foxtrapped.  Hawkfrost is visited in his dreams by Yellowfang, who yells at him to wake up and stop his idiot half-brother gET UP OR SO HELP ME STARCLAN!!! (Yes this is exactly where Flamewish gets it from)  Hawkfrost makes it to the shore as Longstar falls, and knocks Brambleclaw off the Thunderclan Leader.  The two tussle, and Hawkfrost frees Longstar, killing Brambleclaw with the stake. 

Sometime later, Swiftpool tells Crowfeather she’s pregnant.

And that’s it for the moment!  Next up, the Three, the return of Sandstorm, and Sol that smarmy heretic.  Thanks for reading, and I appreciate your support!

[mallowstep]

so when storm sees featherpaw, you have to remember he thought she was dead. like they assumed that mistyfoot and featherpaw were dead, because there's no way tigerstar would let them live after stormpaw escaped. thunderclan sat vigil for them.

well, greystripe, firestar, stormpaw, stonefur, and a few other cats sat vigil for them.

stonefur and mistyfoot's reaction is pretty predictable: they both thought the other was dead.

but it's an entirely different reaction for featherpaw and stormpaw. because she knew he was alive, and like her treatment gets horrific after he leaves. so even though it's not his fault, and she doesn't blame him, she sees him and:

she is at the worst she's been. she's starved, she's sick, her pelt is half gone, she's missing an ear and an eye and a chunk of her paw, and she basically hasn't grown, and so.

she sees stormpaw who is healthy and whole and he's happy to see her, and she's...scared of him. she recognizes him, but she also doesn't. he's grown up, like the cats who attacked her, and remember, for the past three months, the only reason she has been in camp is to be attacked.

and the first things he says are, "you're alive," which like. featherpaw, you know. tigerstar was never going to kill her (because then he would lose his leverage over mistyfoot), and so he's just bringing up that tigerstar was aiming to make her experience worse than death.

so she says, "i'm not that easy to kill," because she doesn't know what else to say, and she doesn't even want to be in camp. the only cat she feels comfortable being around is mistyfoot. maybe mudfur, if mistyfoot is there. and that's less comfortable and more "i hate this but i also don't feel like i'm about to be attacked"

stormpaw is her brother, but he's also been gone, and again, he is not the same cat who escaped riverclan.

the next thing he says is "feather," and he means well, and she's repressed every single way she would ever express anger, but at the end of the day, the end result of this conversation is that he's recreating the elements of a "fight", just without the violence.

so she is not ready to even like. be in the same space as him.

(frustratingly, she grows comfortable with stonefur very quickly because mistyfoot trusts him implicitly.

but mistyfoot hears stormpaw's conversation with featherpaw, and she thinks exactly the same thing as featherpaw. which means her guard is up, and by the time it's down, featherpaw doesn't trust him, and that's enough for mistyfoot.

she would have blamed herself no matter what, but she has been literally conditioned to believe that her actions are responsible for how featherpaw is treated, so of course, she's not going to invite anything featherpaw views as an agent of harm within six feet of featherpaw.)

[brackenfur]

i actually wrote a small pre-relationship tallpoppy/stonefur thing from me n @exaggerated-yawning ‘s au ....i rly love tallstone and enjoy it omg so just have this drabble that i was able to pump out after i got home frm work tonight omg

He must be having a nightmare again, Tallpoppy thinks as she watches him shiver in his nest. In his waking hours, Stonefur is usually more withdrawn and quiet; it’s a stark contrast to a time before, of a tom that she remembers from Gatherings as being so full of confidence in himself and his family. Not of the arrogant kind; just a cat who knew his path in life and want he wanted for himself. Seemingly not glory or fame, not a high position (although he got that eventually) just the joy of being in his home with his family at his side. 

So many cats, Tallpoppy thinks, go through their lives not realizing that sometimes that’s all they truly want; to belong, to have a shared community. She thinks of Brokenstar, who she remembers from her kitdays, who constantly shied away from ShadowClan and withdrew into himself until the resentment for Lizardstripe, and the coddling Raggedstar gave him boiled over until he couldn’t contain it. Of Tigerstar - a tom she didn’t grow up around, but knew just as well from Gatherings, proud and arrogant and so blinded by needless ambition, that he lost his Clan and family from his own doing and is now spending his days trying to recover from that blow by punishing others for what he lacks.

But Stonefur, before TigerClan, wasn’t like that. She didn’t know him well before helping rescue him from Blackfoot, but she felt as though she understood him from a distance. What you see is what you get, one of those cats.

But then again, no one is really like that; she remembers the collective shock of ShadowClan when Tigerstar told them how Stonefur and Mistyfoot were half-ThunderClan, sired by Oakheart but carried by Bluestar. The way he recalled it, amber eyes stirring with hatred and disgust - Tallpoppy thinks that part of why it bothers him so much is that the cat who mothered Stonefur is the cat who drove him from ThunderClan, and he wanted to go for the next best thing after Bluestar now that she’s gone from this world: her children. 

And not just Bluestar’s, either; Tallpoppy remembers seeing two apprentice-aged cats huddled together tightly, eyes fearful and wide as they take in the ShadowClan warriors before them. RiverClan apprentices from the look of them, but there was something about their head shape, the molly’s too-thick coat-

“RiverClan doesn’t just house two half-Clan cats, but four,” Tigerstar had hissed to them, narrowing his eyes at the apprentices. “Crookedstar’s grandkits have a ThunderClan father; how embarrassing for his legacy.”

It was that moment that Tallpoppy had felt as though she had enough; her children, her kits, were taken from her. Killed by Brokenstar at three moons old. There was no funeral, no ceremony. No one gathered for a vigil to send her kittens to StarClan and wish them well on their journey. Dawncloud and Brightflower pressed against her sides, murmuring that they would be there for her through this - but that was all. Her kittens are dead, and ShadowClan had to move on. No one had tears to shed again for a dead litter; it was too common for them now, that it almost felt as though no one but her mourned them truly.

She tears her thoughts from her kittens, though; she has to, in order to get through the next day, and the day after that. And the next. It’s something that the queens of ShadowClan have learned over the past seasons.

But that idea - of killing two apprentices, just for their parentage, was something she’d rather turn a rogue than to go and perform. This wasn’t the forest she was born into anymore.

Stonefur twitches again, and Tallpoppy blinks at him softly; in the moonlight, his blue-gray fur shines brightly. The patches of missing fur from where Blackfoot attacked him are almost grown back, but some of the wounds have scarred too horribly for any fur to grow back. She looks at the one on his side, and her stomach tightens.

He’s a strong tom. He lost his home; his leader was perfectly comfortable with him being killed to suit Tigerstar’s needs. But as he stayed with the rebels in ShadowClan, with Littlecloud nursing him back to health, Tallpoppy did not think he would stay with them. Perhaps go back with his sister and her son to RiverClan, or maybe join ThunderClan.

But, just as shockingly, he began...talking to her. Well, she talked to him first, mostly; he was still too shell-shocked, too shook up to really carry on a conversation for too long. Their first conversations consisted of her reminding him that he wasn’t their prisoner, that he could go anywhere he liked - he was just here to heal, but if he didn’t want to stay, she understood that.

But after awhile, they began to talk more; it was awkward and guarded at first, due to their differences, but the walls began to drop the more they understood each other.

He’s proud and strong-willed because his father taught him to be; Oakheart was a tom of confidence and generosity. His father had to protect his brother from their Clan at a young age, and Stonefur and Mistyfoot were taught to protect each other. He has a bit of a temper that he says is from his mother; when Tallpoppy’s whiskers twitched, he explained that Graypool had quite the temper, and no one could really calm her down once she started to fire up. 

Maybe it’s because his personality compliments the side of hers that is instinctively protective, that tries to look at the best in life and tries to move forward with what she has, but they did grow closer over the moon before the battle with BloodClan.

And after that, he stayed.

He didn’t explain why, exactly; he merely shrugged and said that Mistyfoot is Leopardstar’s new deputy, and she can keep the other molly and check from there. That his sister will always be his sister regardless of the Clan. But Tallpoppy mostly thinks it’s because you can’t go back to that; to a Clan who wanted you dead, and a leader who turned a blind eye to it. Mistyfoot is as badly damaged from it as he is, but Tallpoppy also knows that she wasn’t the one under Blackfoot’s claws - that was Stonefur. Every scratch, every bite, every wound opened - it was on Stonefur. She thinks that there’s a difference in that.

Tallpoppy nestles closer to him; he started to sleep next to her when the nightmares came back. Strangely, after all is said and done - with Tigerstar dead, BloodClan defeated, and ShadowClan trying to begin a new chapter again, wondering who will lead them next and if they’re ready to move forward, and how, she still has nightmares.

About her kits, mostly. But sometimes it’s about herself, too; where she’s the one that Brokenstar is taking out for battle training, while her kits watch.

Stonefur didn’t say anything that first night, merely plopped next to her and went to sleep. But his presence helped; a familiar scent of someone who is trying to get back on his own paws was nice to have. 

But now it’s him who’s having the nightmare; he twitches in his sleep, eyelids fluttering. Tallpoppy frowns; she cares about him in a way that’s new for her, something that’s hard for her to put her claw on. Her kit’s father was just a fellow warrior; it wasn’t a courtship of that kind. She’s never really had relationships outside of her friends and Clanmates; but this thing, with Stonefur, it’s different. She finds herself aching for his companionship in a way that’s just different from Dawncloud or Littlecloud’s friendships; she wants them to sleep in the same nest for every night they have left together. She wants him at her side when ShadowClan decides to go to the next Gathering, and to look down (because, adorably, he is shorter than her) and see him there. To do the whole tail-twine, gaze up at the sunset thing that she’s seen so many couples do ever since she was a ‘paw.

But mostly, she’s just glad to be here with him, to know she has someone at her side through this confusing time.

She leans down and licks his ears; he doesn’t instantly relax at first, but as she moves closer to him, nosing his cheek, he slowly does, leaning into her touch.

[warriorsfireandwater]

Family First

A little one-shot based on the idea I sent about what Fireheart and Sandstorm’s stances would be on his presence in their kits’ lives. Obviously not telling you that you need to use this, but my muse doesn’t know when to shut up. 

Half a moon ago, if Fireheart had seen Sandstorm waiting at Sunningrocks, he would have been overjoyed beyond his wildest dreams. It was odd, now that he thought about it. Their Clans had despised each other for seasons, constantly at each other’s throats over who had the right to the very stones he had met with her so often on. Yet somehow, he was never quite as happy as he was during their secret meetings. For a while, he had thought that she felt the same way.

That hadn’t exactly turned out to be the case. Now, as he stared at her, finally coming face to face with her for the first time since she had so coldly dismissed him that fateful day, he didn’t know what to think. He tried to be angry with her–after all, she had been the one to end their relationship, yet here she was, asking to speak to him again. But instead, all Fireheart could feel was confusion, worry, and, though he tried to suppress it, a tiny seed of hope. 

“So,” he meowed, finally finding his voice. “It’s good to see you. You’re looking well." 

"Thanks,” Sandstorm meowed, glancing down at her paws. Fireheart wondered if she felt as uncomfortable as he did. “Listen, there’s…there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’m listening,” Fireheart replied simply.

She took a deep breath, then meowed, “I…I’m going to have kits.”

Although Fireheart was by no means an idiot, there were times when he was a bit slow on the uptake. For a few heartbeats, he stared at Sandstorm in confusion until the unspoken truth of her words finally registered in his still-lagging mind. 

“I see,” he meowed finally, realizing even as he spoke the words that it was quite possibly the most pathetic reaction to finding out that one was going to be a father in history. But he was too stunned to do anything else. 

If Sandstorm was at all bothered by his apparent lack of enthusiasm, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she pressed on, “I…I know things didn’t end well between us, but I want our kits to grow up with both parents. You’re a great cat, Fireheart, and I know you’ll make a good father. So…will you be a part of our children’s lives?" 

Our children. The phrase tugged at something deep within Fireheart’s chest, and for a moment, for one brief, bright moment, he allowed himself to imagine a world in which he and Sandstorm were raising their kits together. Where they were the happy family he had always wanted. Some of their Clanmates might disapprove, but they would stand strong throughout all of it. 

But just as quickly, reality sunk in and he shook his head. As much as he wanted to be with Sandstorm and raise their little family together, he knew it wasn’t possible. The past few moons had forced him to grow up in more ways than one, and he knew now that he couldn’t afford to waste his time dwelling on pipe dreams. 

"No,” he meowed finally, feeling as though he was being torn open as he spoke his rejection. “I’m sorry, Sandstorm, but…I just don’t think it would work out." 

Her face fell. "Why not?” she protested. “We used to meet in secret all the time. Who’s to say we can’t do it again?" 

The irony of the fact that she was asking to meet in secret again when she had been the one to end things wasn’t lost on him. Instead of commenting on it, he replied, "Back then, we only had ourselves to worry about. How long do you think it will take for someone to notice that your kits keep disappearing from the camp?" 

"We could make it work,” Sandstorm pleaded. “Or if you don’t want to sneak around, I could join RiverClan or you could join ThunderClan. We’ll find a way, Fireheart, I swear." 

"Sandstorm, don’t,” Fireheart interrupted, shaking his head. “I’m not going to leave RiverClan, and I’m certainly not going to ask you to leave ThunderClan. Neither of us would ever be happy if we had to leave our Clans. Face it. There’s no way this is going to work." 

"But–" 

”Don’t,“ he interrupted again, his tail lashing in frustration. "Don’t you think this hurts me just as much as it’s hurting you? They’re my kits too, Sandstorm. You can’t possibly want me to be a part of their lives more than I do. But if we’re going to give them the best lives possible, they need to grow up believing that their father is a ThunderClan warrior." 

Fireheart paced back and forth, unable to meet his former mate’s gaze. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to start speaking, but once he started, he found that he couldn’t stop. 

"You want to know why I don’t think this will work. Well, let’s start with the obvious. I’m sorry, Sandstorm, but I don’t trust Tigerstar. I’ll freely admit that I don’t know the full extent of what he’s like as a leader, but he was Thistlestar’s deputy and that’s not something I’m willing to overlook. Thistlestar didn’t seem like the type of leader who would choose a deputy that didn’t agree with him on all counts. But whereas Thistlestar ruled by brute force and fear tactics alone, Tigerstar has the strength of LionClan and the cunning of a fox, which makes him even more dangerous. If he found out that our kits were half-Clan, I don’t trust him not to hurt them in some way because he would certainly be clever enough to make it look like an accident." 

"Furthermore, even under the miraculous circumstance that he doesn’t cause our kits to suffer some sort of horrific fate, letting them grow up being known as half-Clan kits would still deny them their right to be accepted by their Clanmates. The warrior code prevents us from physically harming a kit regardless of their birthplace. It does not, however, prevent anyone from giving said kit a hard time about their birth." 

"I love being a Clan cat and I would never even dream of going back to Twolegplace. Despite this, I can safely say that there are some significant failings in the way Clanborn cats think, particularly with your inability to see past the circumstances of someone’s birth." 

"I was born a kittypet, but I’ve lived in RiverClan since I was six moons old, and I’d like to think I’ve done everything in my power to be a loyal warrior. Even so, there are still cats even within my own Clan who distrust me, who still consider me to be fundamentally inferior to them because I wasn’t born in RiverClan. They may not say it out loud as much anymore, but I see the way they look at me when they think I’m not paying attention. Even those that aren’t necessarily trying to be insulting still consider me less than them deep down because that’s the way all Clanborn cats were raised: to think they’re better than everyone else simply because they were born in the forest." 

"Should I have to put up with it? No. And in an ideal world, I wouldn’t have to. But I’m willing to do it anyway because I love it in RiverClan and because my predicament is mostly by my own doing. I didn’t have any control over being born in Twolegplace, no. I did, however, have control over whether or not I chose to go out into the forest." 

"But I don’t want our kits to grow up the way I did, Sandstorm. I don’t want them to have to put up with constant whispers and taunts. I don’t want them to grow up believing that they should be ashamed of their parents. What happened between us was a mistake. I’m not saying it wasn’t the best time of my life, but it was a mistake. We were both foolish–well, mostly me for even suggesting it in the first place. And if the day ever comes when I have to pay for that misjudgment, I’m fully prepared to accept my fate. Our kits, however, are innocent, and they don’t deserve to be judged for their parents’ mistakes. But you know just as well as I do that if anyone else finds out that our kits are half-Clan, they’re going to pay for our mistakes for the rest of their lives." 

"I can’t let that happen, Sandstorm. I won't let that happen. I’m sorry. If there were any other way…but there isn’t. I’ll always love them and I hope they know that I’m proud of them, but I can’t be their father. I know you’ll raise them to be warriors that ThunderClan can be proud of, and I know they’ll have a wonderful father as well. It’s just…not me. I had the power to decide whether I stayed in Twolegplace or not, and now, I have the power to make sure that my kits have the life I could never have, being fully and unconditionally accepted by the cats they’ll be living alongside until the day they join our ancestors. And that’s an opportunity I can’t afford to miss." 

Without another word, Fireheart turned around and padded away, heading deeper into his own territory, feeling wearier than ever. Perhaps the day would come when he finally felt proud of the choice he had made for his unborn kits, but right now, the only thing he could feel was a heavy sadness. 

It wasn’t fair. For as long as he could remember, all Fireheart had ever wanted was someone in the Clans who shared blood with him. He saw how happy the families in RiverClan were, and he wanted that for himself. Now, there would be a litter of kits who shared his blood, creations of his and Sandstorm’s love (or what had once been). But he couldn’t ever claim them as his own. 

But he did have a family. His family was RiverClan, from the smallest kit to the grumpiest elder. They might not share blood, and certainly not all of them were fond of him, but they were all willing to put their lives on the line for him just as he was willing and ready to do the same for them. 

Fireheart knew the love his mother had for him. He knew the love of a warrior for his Clan, he knew the love between mates, he knew the love between littermates, and now, he knew the love of a father for his kits. And in the end, wasn’t that really what family was all about anyway? 

If it meant his kits were happy, then he would gladly put himself through anything for their sake because that was what a good father should be doing: putting his children’s safety and happiness above his own. 

Besides, no matter what, he was a RiverClan cat first and foremost. 

And in RiverClan, family always came first. 

- - - - - - 

wow that shit hurted... this is so good ty for writing this!! i love seeing other people’s takes on the characters and getting little writing snippets like this :’)))

[boltthecat]

Swiftpaw Lives AU

It’s what it sounds like! A Swiftpaw Lives AU! ^^ But there’s a twist~

When Swiftpaw and Brightpaw are attacked by the dogs, Brightpaw is knocked unconscious from the shock given to her by her eye injury. Whilst, Swiftpaw notices this and defends her out of a mixture of adrenaline and protectiveness. Eventually, fending off the dogs himself. (He still gets injured in the process but he improvises)

After the dogs flee, he can barely stand, but manages to haul unconscious Brightpaw on to his back and make his way to Thunderclan camp. He struggles during the journey and almost gives up, but remembers that Brightpaw’s life is depending on him to bring her back; so, he pushes himself to continue.

Once him and his unconscious companion are inside Thunderclan camp, all he can bring out is a hoarse heave before he collapses from the overexertion. In a flash, residents run over to surround the two unconscious apprentices while another cat retrieves Cinderpelt.

They’re immediately brought into Cinderpelt’s care, she runs around the medicine den to quickly treat their wounds. Among the haste, a very specific group of cats burst into the den; Goldenflower, Frostfur, Thornpaw, and Brackenpaw. The medicine cat allows the group of cats in to see her patients, informing them that the two are still unconscious and that they need to act carefully around them.

A day later, Swiftpaw wakes up, but Brightpaw doesn’t. When Cinderpelt notices Swiftpaw’s consciousness is back, she asks him a few questions and makes sure he’s okay. Swiftpaw couldn’t help but notice the concern and fear in Cinderpelt’s eyes when she looked at her sister.

After another day passes, Brightpaw wakes up, but not pleasantly. She’s woken up by a nightmare, where all she sees is her vision going dark and the only words she can hear are: “Pack! Pack! Kill! Kill!”

Swiftpaw comforts her and continues to when Brightpaw has more nightmares. He aids her in recovering, both physically and mentally.

Whitestorm and Longtail were both very much aware of their apprentices’ current situation, coming to visit them almost as much as their family. They give the two prey and even gifts sometimes.

Soon, after Brightpaw and Swiftpaw’s full recovery, they receive their warrior ceremony, along with their warrior names: Lostface and Crowtail.

During the naming ceremony, many cats including Longtail, Whitestorm, Frostfur, Cinderpelt, Thornclaw, Brackenfur, and Goldenflower go against these names, finding them extremely offensive and disrespectful. Despite the clear outlook of hate towards the names, Bluestar doesn’t change them, instead; she refers to them as permanent and in changeable.

The whole clan don’t refer to them as their warrior names though, instead using their apprentice names.

At this point, the two new warriors are both very aware that Tigerstar was the one who lead the dogs to Sunningrocks. That Bluestar also drove Swiftpaw and Brightpaw’s motivations by not making them warriors. The two gradually started to form a plan together in secrecy, which is that they’ll offer Tigerstar a deal and for him to meet them outside of camp at Twilight. Once they do, that’s when they’ll attack him.

Despite Crowtail aiding Lostface in healing when she was an apprentice, her new name made her fall back into a bad mental state. In this state, she agreed along with Crowtail’s plan out of frustration and fueled with revenge.

Twilight of that night soon came, Lostface and Crowtail left camp after everyone was asleep to follow through with their plan.

She started to get flashbacks along the way and realized how similar this situation was to when they were apprentices finding the dogs. But it was already too late though. They were facing Tigerstar out of camp a few tail-lengths away.

Crowtail took a step forward and offered Tigerstar the deal, which Lostface had laid low to join in as an extra ambush when her companion started to attack.

Not even seconds later, Crowtail attacked Tigerstar, Lostface following.

After they killed him, they left his body for the crows in Sunningrocks and cleaned their pelts in the river separating Thunderclan from Riverclan.

The next morning, when they were getting care for their injuries, they were questioned about the implications of their injuries by Cinderpelt. Crowtail claimed he and Lostface had a solo hunting party together last night and it failed.

A little suspicious, Cinderpelt privately asked her sister if this was correct and she confirmed it was.

After having Tigerstar out of the way, the two started to secretly plot another plan to get rid of another cat that nearly caused their death; Bluestar.

This time, their plan is a little more reckless.

They decide to attack her in her own den at moon-high. Then, dump her body at Sunningrocks as well.

Now that Bluestar was dead, Firestar became leader the next sun-high.

Firestar, oblivious to Lostface and Crowtail’s actions, renamed them. He gifted them the names Brightheart and Swiftstrike after Brightheart’s kind personality and Swiftstrike’s amazing fighting abilities.

Now, Cloudpaw is brought to Thunderclan and given a late apprenticeship.

From then on, Brightheart and Swiftstrike remain close and aren’t exploited of their crimes. Seemingly remaining unpunished.

Extra Important(?) Notes (i kinda forgot to add):

When Lostface and Crowtail survive, their apprentice-friends turn their backs on them because of their extreme way of proving themselves. With the add-on of Cloudpaw not being brought to Thunderclan until Firestar is leader makes the two have to lean on eachother for support, which fuels their desire for revenge even more.

A/N: I’d like to think Swiftpaw fights the dogs off himself, despite the obvious disadvantage, the fact that Brightpaw’s life is in his paws makes him push himself beyond his own limits.

When Lostface and Crowtail kill Tigerstar and dump his body, it’s assumed he died by an adder and crows went after his body. As for Bluestar, it’s also assumed she died by an adder, since her mental state wasn’t that well in the moment; it’d make sense she’d do something as reckless.

Brightheart and Cloudtail don’t get together in this AU, she doesn’t get together with Crowstrike either! They just have a sibling dynamic.

Designs:

Brightheart Design (c) Me

Swiftstrike Design (c) Me

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 6: The Darkest Hour

Quick notes: Sasha is a tortoiseshell point siamese. Also, thanks so much for your patience while I finished up the last few posts for this series. Your long wait will now be rewarded!!

The plot of the prologue is the same; Tigerstar goes into the city to recruit Bloodclan's help. The difference here is the chapter is in Scourge's POV. That way we can get a little background on him, Bloodclan, and his feelings about Tigerstar without the context of "The Rise of Scourge" manga

Fireheart, Mosscloud, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur bring Bluestar's body home. The camp is still empty, and Fireheart leaves to fetch the clan. This gives the littermates extra time alone with their mother to grieve. At Sunningrocks, Fireheart gives the clan the news of Bluestar's death, then leads them back to the ravine

Back home the clan catches the visiting Riverclan cats laying with Bluestar, which forces Fireheart to divulge the secret of their heritage before any cat can get mad at them. Fireheart thanks Mistyfoot and Stonefur for their help once again and sends them home

Fireheart climbs Highrock to address the clan on his own for the first time. Tawnypaw steps up to ask if he is their leader now. Fireheart nods, but Darkstripe objects. He mutters some crap about Fireheart being a kittypet and how wrong it is, but Longtail shuts him down. He reminds Darkstripe of the Warrior Code: the deputy becomes leader once the previous leader has died.

After the mourning of Bluestar and after patrols have been set, Fireheart and Ravensong get ready to travel to mothermouth. While the medicine cat prepares traveling herbs, Fireheart asks Cinderpath to keep an eye on Darkstripe from now on until they see where his loyalties lie. Then he puts Whitestorm in charge until he returns with his nine lives. After they've taken their herbs, Fireheart and Ravensong head out.

Naturally, Fireheart is nervous when they get to highstones. He knows cats will expect him to be noble and wise now that he's going to be leader, but Ravensong reassures his friend that everything will be fine and cats will understand that he can and will make some mistakes, especially in the beginning. But there's no reason to worry. Feeling better, the two toms slip into mothermouth, sworn to silence until the ceremony ends

Fireheart puts his nose to the moonstone when they lay beside the giant sparkling rock, waiting for sleep to come. When it does, Starclan greets him once he wakes up in his dreams

Nostalgia, grief, and excitement flood Fireheart as each cat steps up to give him a life. Each life causes pain, but he knows there is a purpose to it and takes it all in stride.

Redtail gives him justice as his first life. The previous deputy takes this moment to thank Fireheart for all of his efforts; for revealing the truth about his death and about Tigerstar's ambitions. He promises to continue to watch over and guide him even now as the young tom moves on to become leader. Fireheart thanks him in return before the tortoiseshell tom moves back to allow the next cat to step forward

Lionheart steps up next, giving Fireheat a life for courage. Next comes Thrushpelt, giving a life for loyalty to what you know to be right. After comes Runningwind, giving Fireheart a life for tireless energy. Then Brindleface steps up, granting him a life for protection. Pigeonpaw follows with a life for mentoring. Fireheart tries to apologize to the young apprentice for what happened to him, but the tabby doesn't stick around to hear it. Yellowfang replaces the apprentice to give Fireheart a life for compassion. When she returns to her place, Rosetail steps forward to give Fireheart a life for love. Finally, Bluestar steps forward. She hesitates a moment to exchange a tender nose touch with Rosetail before approaching Fireheart. She gives him a life for faith, then tells him how she'd always known he'd succeed her. With nine lives earned, the tom is hailed by his new name: Firestar

When he expects to wake up by the moonstone, Firestar's actually thrown into a vision. He sees a hill of bones towering before him, a lake of blood seeping from the base to surround his paws. A voice which sounds like all of Starclan echos around him "Four will become two. Lion and Tiger will meet in battle, and Blood will seep into the forest."

Firestar is thrown out of his dreams immediately afterwards. Ravensong rushes him out of the cave so they can finally speak. He knows something interrupted the end of the leader's ceremony, but decides to wait for Firestar to be ready to talk about it. The two decide to get home asap

Back at camp, after a good nap and a meal, Firestar thinks about who he wants as deputy. When moon high rolls around he's made his decision. He emerges and climbs Highrock to call a clan meeting. Then, as tradition follows, he names Whitestorm as his deputy

The next day, Firestar's returning home from training with Tawnypaw when he notices Sorrelkit following Darkstripe by the top of the ravine. Firestar decides to see what's going on with them. Tawnypaw runs ahead to scope things out. A heartbeat later she cries out and Firestar hurries over. Sorrelkit's crumpled on the ground and Cinderpath's there, pinning Darkstripe. Firestar sends Tawnypaw into camp to get Ravensong so he can check on the kit. When they get back, the medicine cat discovers the kitten has swallowed deathberries. He's quick to feed her yarrow to help expel the poison, then takes her to his den so she can be monitored. Firestar drags Darkstripe back into camp and orders him to stay there or else. Then he asks Cinderpath about what happened. The warrior tells him that she saw her brother feed the berries to Sorrelkit, but Darkstripe tries to deny it. In the end its decided that they'll wait to hear the kit's side of the story so they don't just jump to conclusions

While waiting to hear from Sorrelkit, Firestar decides to take the older apprentices out for a warrior assessment. As leader, he can finally give them their names just as they've deserved. Just like expected the young cats pass the test with flying colors

A little later, after some thought and some discussion with the elders, Firestar calls a clan meeting. Thornpaw is named a warrior: Thornclaw. Fernpaw is named Ferncloud, and Ashpaw is named Ashfall. The clan cheers for the new warriors but Firestar interuppts; he's not done yet. Changing up the ceremony a bit, he calls forth Snowear, Lostface, and Tornheart. He doesn't think they deserve the horrible names they were granted, and so he's figured out a way to give them new ones. The warriors are renamed Snowstorm, Brightheart, and Swiftstrike. No cat had ever seen three warriors happier to be named.

The next morning brings good news: Sorrelkit is awake and ready to talk about what happened. Firestar eagerly goes to the medicine den to hear her out. The kitten seems a little shaky but tells her story with good detail. Sorrelkit had been restless during naptime and decided to sneak out to the ravine to try and catch a mouse. She'd noticed Darkstripe heading up the ravine alone, even though Cinderpath should be with him. So in her sister's place, Sorrelkit decided to follow her big brother. She kept herself hidden for a good distance and saw Darkstripe meet with a strange smelling cat. The description of the cat reveals them to be Blackfoot of Shadowclan. Sorrelkit then explains she'd gotten scared and ran home. When she'd reached the camp boundary, Darkstripe had caught up to her. Instead of being mad, he praised her for being clever, then took her to a bush a few paces away from the top of the ravine for a treat. The red berries he'd shown her looked so tasty so she hadn't hesitated to eat one. The last thing Sorrelkit remembers is her throat burning and feeling closed before everything went dark.

Firestar's quick to call a clan meeting after hearing Sorrelkit's tale. He summons Darkstripe forward towards Highrock, dragged there by Cinderpath and Whitestorm. To the clan, Firestar briefly explains what the kitten has said: Darkstripe poisoned Sorrelkit. Darkstripe denies this, claiming the kit is lying, and that it's just like a cat of Shadowclan blood to come up with such outrageous stories. Willowpelt snaps that that's no way for him to talk about his kit sister. Darkstripe spits that the little scrap of fur isn't any more his sister than a mouse is.

Firestar interrupts the family squabbling to question Darkstripe about something else Sorrelkit had mentioned: that Darkstripe was meeting with Blackfoot. Firestar wants to know what Tigerstar is planning, and he knows the dark tabby warrior is still in touch with the enemy leader-as proven by his meeting with the Shadowclan deputy on Thunderclan territory. Darkstripe is stunned into silence as the clan shouts out that he is a traitor. He refuses to explain himself to a kittypet, which riles the clan up more. He looks at the cats around him then takes off, pushing his way past the crowd and out of camp. Cloudtail shouts after him that he knows what will be waiting if he comes back. The clan turns back to Firestar and asks him what he thinks of the matter. The new leader sighs and declares Darkstripe is no longer a member of Thunderclan. If he's spotted on the territory he is to be chased off. With all that done, the meeting is dismissed

A few days later, Firestar goes on a border patrol. He spots Mistyfoot by the border and they chat briefly about clan news. Firestar notices she's looking thinner than the last time they met and he asks if everything is ok. Mistyfoot is unsure. She elaborates, telling Firestar that she and her brother have confessed their heritage to all of Riverclan. The clan seems to treat them differently but they're sure to reaffirm their loyalty in no time. She also mentions Leopardstar; she's been meeting with Tigerstar more frequently. Mistyfoot has no clue what could be going on, and Stonefur is being kept uninformed. There's also been some Shadowclan warriors permanently stationed in Riverclan camp. It's a big mystery as to why. Mistyfoot suddenly catches herself, feeling like she's spoken with the enemy leader too long. Firestar understand and the two part ways. As he meets with the rest of his patrol, Firestar wonders what Tigerstar could be planning with Riverclan.

Yet another few days pass and its time for another gathering. Firestar's decided to deny Tigerstar's request from the last one; Thunderclan will keep Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw. As a precaution, the two apprentices will not be taken to tonight's meeting at Fourtrees.

Riverclan and Shadowclan are late to the gathering this moon. Firestar worries about what may be delaying them, as does Tallstar. Clouds threaten to cover the moon and just when it seems the meeting will be cancelled, the other clans arrive. Firestar's quick to notice a few choice cats missing from the groups. Graystripe, Silverstream, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw don't seem to have been invited to the gathering. Mistyfoot and her kits are not here either, nor is her brother Stonefur despite him being Riverclan's deputy. Finally Firestar realizes the medicine cats have been excluded from both clans' patrols. It's extremely odd, and Firestar can't help but feel concern

Tigerstar is quick to leap onto the Great Rock and make an announcement. Change is coming to the forest, and he believes that it is his duty-and Shadowclan's-to prepare every cat for it. Tigerstar declares that the clans must unite into one. Riverclan has already agreed to join with Shadowclan to form Tigerclan, and together he and Leopardstar rule. Tallstar steps forward on the Great Rock, bristling with fury. He thinks this idea of Tigerstar's is ridiculous, and he'd rather die than join Windclan with Tigerclan. Firestar seconds Tallstar's decision; Tigerstar will never be allowed to gain control of Thunderclan.

With the floor open to him, Firestar decides this is a perfect time to tell the clans of Tigerstar's crimes. But when he starts to talk about it, thunder crashes and rain pours down. Tigerstar declares it to be a sign from Starclan in his favor. The gathering is quickly dismissed. On the way home Firestar can't help but think about the vision he had at the moonstone. "Tiger" clearly represents Tigerclan. But who or what does "Lion" stand for? And would the clash of these two forces soak the forest in blood?

To take his mind off of Tigerstar, Firestar decides to take Mosscloud, Bramblepaw, and his own apprentice for some battle practice come sunhigh. Though the young molly is the daughter of the enemy leader, she presents more like her mother. Tawnypaw is a clever cat, stern at times, but fair and level headed. She doesn't allow insults and rude comments to drag her down. It was also clear how fiercely loyal she was, showing her eagerness to defend her clan in the way she learned to fight. Firestar saw great potential in her. He was proud of how she was turning out, and proud of Bramblepaw too. Over the past few moons the leader had come to know these two young cats to quell his fear that they may turn out like their father. Now Firestar has a great respect for these cats, not as kin of an evil leader, but as brave future warriors of Thunderclan

While they train, Bramblepaw asks Firestar why it would be so bad for them to join Tigerclan. Mosscloud explains the forest was always meant to have four clans. Firestar chimes in that it would also mean the end of Thunderclan. Tigerstar can't be trusted to allow four leaders to rule; Firestar knows the enemy leader will not want to share that power. Bramblepaw says he understands, but he seems deep in thought throughout the rest of the training session. Firestar wonders if the young tom is thinking about his loyalties.

At the end of the training session, Firestar sends the apprentices off to hunt. Mosscloud disappears into the undergrowth to do the same but reappears to Firestar a short while later. There's another cat with her who wishes to speak with him. Mosscloud returns to hunting while Firestar and the stranger have a conversation. The new cat is a rouge who goes by the name of Sasha. Sasha explains that she used to be a kittypet until her housefolk moved away. A few moons back she had met a tom by the name of Tigerstar who'd taken away her collar and had grown close to her. She was in love with him for a while, almost tempted to take his offer to join his clan. One day when she had made her decision, and was on her way to Shadowclan, she spotted the tabby tom out in the woods speaking with another cat. He was boasting about soon ruling the forest, and not caring for anyone who'd dare get in his way. He'd happily shred all his enemies and watch his subjects tremble before him at the bloody sight. Scared, Sasha fled, and has been looking for a new home ever since. Originally she tried to go to Riverclan, but had spotted Tigerstar there. And now she has come to Thunderclan seeking refuge. If not for herself, then at least for the unborn kits inside of her.

Firestar feels sympathy for the rouge queen and invites her back to camp with him. On the way, he asks Sasha if Tigerstar is the father of her kits. Sasha confirms this to be so. For her safety, and the safety of her kittens, Firestar requests that no cat finds out about this information. If she needs to confide in another cat, however, then she can at least trust Goldenflower. Firestar tells the rouge that the golden molly is also mother to a litter of Tigerstar's kits and the two queens may be able to bond through this connection. Firestar is quick to settle Sasha into Thunderclan's nursery when they reach the ravine, introducing her to Goldenflower. Then he jumps onto Highrock to call a meeting and introduce the clan to their new queen. He tells his clanmates of the rouge's need for shelter, and persuades them that these new cats will be good for Thunderclan's ranks. There's a few murmurs of disapproval but overall Sasha is accepted without a fight.

Firestar goes back out into the forest to hunt. He stops by a stream to take a quick drink and is surprised by what he sees in the reflection of the water. At first, all he can see is himself, but then his form starts to morph. Around his head and neck, long fur starts to grow outward into a firey mane. His face largens and elongates, until finally Firestar's reflection looks more like that of a lion than a cat. Firestar jumps back with a yowl. When he looks into the stream again, his reflection has returned to normal. Was this a sign from Starclan? Did this mean he was the "Lion" from his moonstone vision, meant to lead Lionclan into battle against Tigerclan? Firestar realizes it must be so

Later that evening when Firestar returns home, Bramblepaw runs up to him sounding frustrated and upset. The young apprentice tells his leader about the nasty comments Smallear has been saying about him. And it wasn't just the one elder, the other elders would pitch in sometimes and so would Finchpaw, Swiftstrike, Ashfall, and Cloudtail. This has been going on for a while, and Smallear's remakes tonight have pushed Bramblepaw over the edge. The apprentice had been a little late changing bedding and Smallear said Tigerstar hated caring for elders too, so that meant Bramblepaw was on his way towards becoming just like his father. Firestar pulls Bramblepaw close and grooms him to help calm the young tom down. He assures the apprentice that he is nothing like his father, and that he will have a word with the cats that keep bothering him. Bramblepaw calms down enough to walk away, going to talk with his sister in the apprentice's den.

Two days pass. It's very early in the morning, the first light of dawn is sneaking past the horizon. Firestar is asleep in his den when a cat comes bursting in, startling him awake. Its Goldenflower, frantic and crying. She says that Bramblepaw is gone. Firestar jumps to his paws, asking if the queen is sure. Maybe Bramblepaw was out on dawn patrol, or off doing some early hunting with Mosscloud. But Goldenflower tells him neither is the case. She asked Whitestorm if her son was on patrol, but Whitestorm hadn't assigned him to any. And Mosscloud hadn't seen her apprentice since sundown. Goldenflower couldn't even recall seeing Bramblepaw come home last night. Firestar decides to find out where the apprentice has gone. And if anybody knows, it'll have to be Tawnypaw. Firestar wakes his apprentice, calling her out from her den. Her mother curls herself around Tawnypaw asking her where Bramblepaw is. At first Tawnypaw tries to say she doesn't know, but Firestar asks if she's sure about that. Lowering her head, she says no, and that she's well aware of where her brother's gone. Bramblepaw left to join Shadowclan

Goldenflower wails in distress at the news. Firestar asks why Bramblepaw would run away. Tawnypaw tears up, looking at her mentor sadly. She says its because Bramblepaw grew tired of cats hating him because he looked like Tigerstar. Cats thought he'd turn out like their father, so Bramblepaw decided to go somewhere where being Tigerstar's son wouldn't be a bad thing. Tawnypaw admits she'd thought of doing the same, but decided against it because her loyalties would only ever be towards Thunderclan. Tawnypaw swears she's going to make something of herself and prove to everyone that she can be an honorable warrior for the clan. Firestar gives her a few calming licks then sends the two she-cats on their way to comfort each other for the departure of Bramblepaw. Firestar goes to fetch Sandstorm so they can cuddle and talk about how he's feeling.

During the next afternoon, Firestar takes Cinderpath, Sandstorm, and Brightheart on patrol with him to check out the Riverclan border. When they get there, Brightheart remarks that she can smell Graystripe coming. Firestar turns and sure enough here comes his best friend, swimming swiftly across the river. But there's a haunted look on the gray tom's face, and when he emerges from the water its clear to see why. Graystripe's soaked fur sticks to his sides, revealing him to be incredibly thin under his long fluff. His eyes are hollow and he looks to be in terrible condition. Shocked, Firestar covers his friend in licks demanding to know what has become of him. Graystripe tells the leader about Tigerstar's takeover. Riverclan and Shadowclan are merged but Brokenstar's old allies seem to run most of the show under the tabby's rule. They gorge themselves on prey with little regard for waste, while regular members of Shadowclan and Riverclan do most of the laborious work. Leopardstar never speaks up about the treatment towards her clan, allowing Tigerstar to do whatever he pleases. And what's worse, all cats deemed to have "unpure blood" have been gathered and kept as prisoners. Graystripe and his family are included in this bunch as well as Mistyfoot and her kits, and Stonefur. Tigerclan barely feeds them and keeps their prisoners contained in a makeshift den in the clan's new camp. Graystripe managed to squeeze through a hole in the wall of their prison, promising to return with help.

Graystripe starts to sob suddenly, pulling back to look Firestar in the eyes. He begins to speak about a trial that Tigerstar is planning to hold. One that will test the loyalty of all the halfclan cats. Graystripe looks scared out of his fur as he whispers to his best friend, "They're going to kill my kits." Then he hides his face on Firestar's chest. Sandstorm walks over to press herself into Graystripe comfortingly. Graystripe starts to cry about how he and Silverstream should never have left Thunderclan after their kits were born. And how he shouldn't have abandoned Firestar, his best friend, his closest ally, the cat he loves. Firestar's shocked to hear the words, pulling back to look at Graystripe. Graystripe says he loves him again, and Firestar confesses he feels the same way. Sandstorm chuckles, admitting she knew the toms had feelings for one another. She doesn't mind if Firestar wants Graystripe as a mate along with her, as long as he'd love them both equally. Firestar promises he does, and proposes the same thing to Graystripe about himself and Silverstream. Graystripe agrees. Finally he begs Firestar to help save his family and the other imprisoned Riverclan cats. Firestar of course agrees and Sandstorm decides to go with them on the rescue mission.

Brightheart and Cinderpath go home and promise to come with backup if they aren't back by sundown. Firestar and Sandstorm follow Graystripe over stepping stones and into Riverclan territory. They pass Riverclan's camp, smelling something foul as they get closer to their destination. From the undergrowth, Firestar can see a small stream polluted by crowfood. And at the end of the trail is a large mound of preybones. It towers high, reeking of rotten meat so badly it makes Firestar's eyes water. Graystripe explains that this is Tigerclan camp, and that mound is Bonehill, which is basically like Highrock. Tigerstar is seen demonstrating this as he climbs up the bones and calls a clan meeting. He declares that it's time for the trials to begin

Some of the halfclan prisoners are brought out to stand before the Bonehill. They all look just as thin as Graystripe, and the younger cats among them looked terrified. Stonefur stands protective and tall over Graystripe's kits, casting hatred filled glares at Tigerstar and Leopardstar who sits at the Bonehill's base, watching everything without a care or a sign of interest. Cats cheer as Tigerstar begins to make a speech, riling up the crowd and turning them against the halfclan cats. Through the group, Firestar sees Darkstripe and flexes his claws in anger, thinking of how treacherous the dark tabby is. Then Firestar spots Bramblepaw sitting not too far from Leopardstar. He looks very uncomfortable to say the least, his gaze shifting from Tigerstar to Graystripe's kits and back again every so often.

Stonefur tries to quell the clan's hatred, reminding cats that he and Mistyfoot have always been loyal to Riverclan. Plus they'd only found out about Bluestar being their mother a few moons ago. Tigerstar doesn't care. He challenges Stonefur, telling him that if he wants to prove his loyalty so badly, then he must kill the two halfclan apprentices beneath him. Stonefur outright refuses. Tigerstar doesn't hesitate to send Blackfoot to attack and attempt to kill the deputy for his disobedience.

As they fight, a yowl breaks out through the crowd. It's Bramblepaw. Blackfoot and Stonefur pause in their death battle as the young apprentice steps in front of them to speak. Bramblepaw can't stand to watch these innocent cats die. He tries his best to persuade his father that these cats aren't bad. He reminds Tigerstar that since he is Shadowclan's leader, and Goldenflower is from Thunderclan, technically his kits are halfclan. If Tigerstar wants to purge the forest of all halfclan cats, then he'd have to get rid of Bramblepaw too. For a moment Tigerstar is silent and Firestar thinks the little tom has gotten through to him. But then, coldly, Tigerstar responds "So be it." He calls Blackfoot off Stonefur to attack Bramblepaw instead. There is no remorse shown as the tabby watches his own son be torn apart. After Bramblepaw has died, Tigerstar sends the halfclan cats away for the time being

Firestar feels sick at the sight of the young tom murdered so brutally right in front of him. Sandstorm consoles him while Graystripe points out that this is why he's so persistent about rescuing Silverstream and his kits. Firestar better understands now and has Graystripe show him the den the prisoners are held in and where he escaped from. The three warriors make it to a badly crafted makeshift den. Its formed out of thornbushes and sloppily tied together. Its easy to peer inside the den through the small gaps between the tangled branches. Sandstorm confirms she can see all the prisoners in there. Graystripe and Firestar nod. Immediately they begin to dig at the hole which was used by the gray warrior to escape, while Sandstorm keeps a lookout. The toms make the exit wider so more cats can slip out at a time. When it's big enough, Firestar pops his head inside and guides the cats out. Graystripe herds them along while Firestar ensures everyone's made it out. Before they run away, Firestar goes into the empty clearing by Bonehill to pay his last respects to Bramblepaw, who's body still lays where he had died. Firestar gives the young tom a lick and apologizes for not protecting him. He promises to tell Goldenflower about how brave he was. Then, as the sounds of cats approaching grows, Firestar returns to the rescue party

They run away as Tigerclan starts to realize the prisoners have escaped. The rescue party gets chased all the way to stepping stones and across the river. Luckily its passed sundown so Cinderpath and Brightheart have returned with a backup patrol. Thunderclan fights off the offending Tigerclan warriors, taking the prisoners into their ranks and directing them to camp. When the enemy is defeated the warriors all return home, eager to hear what Firestar's discovered on this mission

Firestar waits to tell the clan his news, going straight for the nursery. Inside he finds Goldenflower and Sasha talking while watching Willowpelt's kits. Firestar asks to speak with the golden queen alone for a few moments. Sasha herds the kits out of the den. Then, Firestar breaks the news of Bramblepaw's death. Goldenflower wails so loud cats outside are bound to hear it. In fact they do, as Tawnypaw comes to find out what's wrong with her mother. Goldenflower grabs Tawnypaw and cuddles her closely as she cries and tells her daughter the fate of her littermate. Tawnypaw begins to sob but does so quieter than her mother. Goldenflower swears vengeance on Tigerstar, wanting to tear up his hide not just for watching, but for ordering the death of their son. Firestar leaves to let the mollies grieve together in peace.

Firestar calls the clan together. He speaks about the horrors he had seen in Tigerclan's camp and about the trial held against halfclan cats. He speaks of Bramblepaw's bravery in the face of this barbaric ritual, and of his sacrifice. Then Firestar introduces the former Tigerclan prisoners, telling Thunderclan that these cats have a place here until the threat has been eliminated. Dustpelt remarks that he's sorry for what's happened to these cats, but how will the clan feed them? It's leaf-bare and the clan can only catch enough for themselves. Stonefur steps up, assuring that while his companions stay here they won't be a burden to the clan. They're all more than happy to help hunt in order to hold their keep. And the apprentices could help tend to the elders and queens on top of hunting. Firestar agrees to this plan.

Another order of business is then addressed. Firestar tells Thunderclan about the visions Starclan has sent him recently. Seeing Tigerclan's camp proved to him that the joint clan was the "Tiger" in the omen, and that they were to be "Lion". But in order to fight the enemy, their numbers would need to rise. It's decided that Firestar will try to recruit Windclan as their ally, and temporarily form "Lionclan".

Just as they are getting into discussing this, Onewhisker comes bursting through barrier to Thunderclan's camp. He tells Firestar that Tigerclan is attacking Windclan. No time is wasted in rounding up a battle patrol and sending it along with the battered warrior. By the time they reach Windclan camp the battle is already over. In the clearing, a cat lays curled around the body of another. It's Morningflower, mourning over Gorsepaw. Tigerstar murdered him to show the clan what can be expected if they do not join him. Tallstar takes this moment to pull Firestar aside and tells him about another message Tigerstar left. The leaders are to meet him at Fourtrees by sunhigh the next day, ready to decide if they will join Tigerclan or not. Clearly neither leader wants to join, but they'll go to the meeting regardless. Firestar and Tallstar agree to bring warriors with them, to form Lionclan and fight against Tigerclan when they inevitably attack them for not becoming one clan.

The next afternoon brings with it a metaphorical shadow of darkness. Lionclan joins together to stand in front of Tigerclan at Fourtrees. The rival clan surrounds the clearing, looking ready to pounce if given the order to. Tigerstar steps forward, asking if Tallstar and Firestar are ready to join him. Of course they say no.

More cats suddenly emerge into the clearing around Tigerclan, both strange in smell and appearance. Many of the new cats are battle scarred, and some of them are wearing collars with dog and cat teeth sticking out of them. Coming to stand beside Tigerstar is a huge black and white tom. Firestar assumes that he's the leader of these odd cats. Then a much smaller tom steps out to stand at Tigerstar's other side. This tom has piercing ice blue eyes, a bloodied collar around his neck, and claws that seem to be reinforced with large dog-teeth on his front paws. He doesn't seem like much, Firestar thinks at first. But as he stares at the little cat more, he begins to realize that the tom is familiar. This stranger looks exactly like the kitten Quince, the worried kittypet queen, had talked about losing back when Firestar was still living with twolegs. Could that really be the same cat? Tigerstar introduces this new group of cats as Bloodclan. He brought them from Twolegplace to aid in the elimination of Thunderclan and Windclan, since he knew they wouldn't join him.

Tigerstar immediately orders Bloodclan to attack his enemies. But no cat moves. The little black cat at Tigerstar's side speaks up. He introduces himself as Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan. His associate introduces himself as Bone, Bloodclan's second in command. He continues speaking for Scourge, growling threateningly at Tigerstar. He tells the tabby that only Scourge can command Bloodclan, no one would so much as flex a claw without his say-so. Firestar takes this opportunity to step forward and speak. He wants to convince these newcomers that they should not follow Tigerstar or trust him. At this time he tells all cats in attendance about what Tigerclan's leader has done since his days in Thunderclan.

Everyone is shocked. But Scourge seems unsuprised. Tigerstar tells him that none of what he's done in the past matters now. He's willing to give Bloodclan a share of the forest if they fight beside him. Firestar interjects, saying that Tigerstar will not give up even a pawprint of his kingdom or his power to anyone. Scourge seems to consider this, then moves to whisper into Bone's ear. Bone speaks up, declaring that time needs to be spent thinking over this new information. A battle will not be fought today.

Tigerstar yowls at Scourge, calling him a traitor. Goldenflower suddenly pipes up, pushing her way through the crowd to stand beside Firestar. She tells Tigerstar that it is he who is the traitor. He has no loyalty towards anyone; not his birth clan, to his new clan, his mates, or even his kits. She bares her teeth, asking the tom how he could be so cruel as to order his own son to be slaughtered. She looks towards Scourge, asking if this is really a cat he wants to ally himself with. If he really wants to partner himself with a remorseless, murderous monster. Scourge sways his tail with interest, almost smirking. Tigerstar snarls, launching himself at his ex-mate. Goldenflower wrestles around with the tom bravely, kicking his ass pretty well.

Tigerstar ends up bloody and lifeless on the floor with Goldenflower standing over him, eyes blazing and fur bristled with fury. No cat seems to want to get in her way, with the exception of Scourge. The little cat pads over to the queen, giving her a smirk and a raised tail. He comments that she'd make an excellent edition to Bloodclan. Confused and surprised by the remark, Goldenflower stares at him. She's distracted long enough for Tigerstar to wake up from losing his first life

After a moment of gaining his composure, Tigerstar throws himself at Scourge. Scourge dodges the attack, slipping beneath the much larger tabby with claws outstretched. He knocks Tigerstar onto his back and puts his dog-teeth claws onto him, slicing the Tigerclan leader open from neck to tail base. All the cats in the clearing watch as Tigerstar bleeds out and dies in front of them. When he revives, this happens another seven times until Tigerstar lays dead permanently. Then Scourge says the famous words, "your friend here thought he could control us... He was wrong."

Tallstar shakily tries to reason that the clans merely want to live out their lives in peace, not control anyone. They ask Bloodclan to leave now, apologizing for the lies Tigerstar had brought them there with. Bone steps forward to stand beside his leader. They speak quietly for a moment before Bone starts an announcement. Bloodclan does not want to leave the forest. In fact, they want to take it all. But Scourge will be fair and allow the clans three days to decide if they'll give it up, or fight on the fourth day to keep it.

When Bloodclan departs, the three remaining leaders gather together to speak with one another. Firestar and Tallstar are in immediate agreement that they're ready to fight to keep their homes. Leopardstar, however, is far less eager. In fact, she seems lost, scared even. She needs more time to decide what to do. The leaders agree to meet on the dawn of the third day to see what decision they've all made. With that, the clans depart

The next two days in Thunderclan are spent training. Every cat-from kit, to warrior, to elder-practices battling. Firestar wants everyone prepared in case Bloodclan manages to win and head for the camp to drive them all out. Firestar notices one cat in particular working extra hard. Stonefur stays out a lot of the time, mostly alone, and sometimes with Mistyfoot. Once or twice Firestar swears he's caught scent of the river on the tom's pelt, and he wonders if the deputy has been visiting his clan. On the third day at sunrise, Firestar meets with Tallstar at Fourtrees, accompanied by Stonefur. Tallstar is accompanied by Mudclaw. A third and fourth cat arrive to the clearing to join them. It's Darkflower and Oakfur of Shadowclan. Darkflower announces that she is Darkstar now. The clan had voted to make her leader after they drove Blackfoot from their ranks for being allies with both Brokenstar and Tigerstar, and for being a murderer. Firestar and Tallstar greet the new leader, then ask to know what she plans on doing about Bloodclan. Darkstar's decided Shadowclan will stand and fight alongside Lionclan. Both leaders are happy to hear the news. After chatting a while, Firestar notices Leopardstar hasn't shown up. The leaders decide to go pay her a visit.

Riverclan looks in better shape when they arrive, but cats seem to actively avoid where Leopardstar lay. When she tries to talk to a cat, they ignore her. And when the leaders and their escorts settle in the middle of their camp, Riverclan rushes to greet them-mainly Stonefur. Firestar goes to speak with Leopardstar while the rest of the cats are occupied. Leopardstar says that she's decided to take Riverclan away from the forest. But when she told the clan, not cat wanted to obey her. They've been more focused on Stonefur lately, who she reveals has been visiting camp. He brings prey and organizes patrols, making sure every cat is alright and that cats are preparing for Bloodclan. They seem to see him more as leader now than Leopardstar. Firestar calls to the clan and Stonefur, asking them to explain why they haven't been following their leader. Warriors start speaking up, saying that they'd rather follow Stonefur. Even ostracized he's put the needs of Riverclan above all else. No one can say the same about Leopardstar, who joined Tigerstar for the power, and allowed him to do all the terrible things he did without a care. Leopardstar protests that she did not speak out in fear for her life. A queen remarks that a true leader would stand against another when their clan is in danger, not tuck tail and bow before them. A senior warrior calls for the demotion of Leopardstar. More cats in the clan join in. Leopardstar bows her head in defeat, then the clan begins to cheer for Stonefur

Stonefur takes his place on Riverclan's version of Highrock and thanks the clan for choosing him to become their leader. As his first order of business he declares that the clan will join in the fight to save the forest. The clan cheers breaks out into an uproar of approval. The other leaders decide to leave to allow Riverclan to get ready

The final preparations are made just before dawn the next morning. The apprentices help Ravensong bring herbs to Fourtrees. Cinderpath insists she at least help guard the medicine cat during the fight, since she's not allowed to battle Bloodclan due to her pregnancy. Firestar reluctantly agrees to his friend's demands. Then he sets the queens to guard camp. With everything as ready as it can be, the warriors head out.

At the edge of the clearing, Thunderclan pauses in the bushes. During this time, Firestar takes the chance to look at his warriors. His eyes fall first upon his loves, Sandstorm and Graystripe, then drift towards Cloudtail, his niece, his only clan kin. Next Firestar's eyes land on his best friends Ravensong and Cinderpath, who set up their herbs where they now stand. Then he observes Brightheart and Swiftstrike, his first apprentice and the rebel, two of the bravest cats among their ranks. Firestar continues to study each cat in the line as they await the other clans, wondering which among them he might be seeing alive for the last time.

Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Windclan arrive at Fourtrees not too long after Thunderclan. They merge together into one to form Lionclan before marching down towards the Great Rock, led by Firestar. Over the horizon Bloodclan comes marching into the clearing, with Scourge at the head. The two leaders stand face to face in front of their respective groups. Firestar declares they will not leave without a fight. The forest belongs to the clans. Scourge laughs at the firey tom's boldness, ordering his cats to attack. Lionclan surges forward to meet them.

During the battle at some point, Darkstripe leaps out of the mob and attacks Firestar. It seems the dark tabby has joined Bloodclan after the death of Tigerstar. While fighting, Firestar asks him why he'd fight on the side of his best friend's killer. Darkstripe admits he has only joined Scourge's side for protection, and to see Firestar die. And right now it seems that he is the one who wants to cause said death. Darkstripe has the Thunderclan leader pinned, ready to sink his teeth into his neck. But as he parts his jaws to do so, Graystripe comes charging over, body slamming himself into the dark tabby warrior. He lifts a paw, slitting open Darkstripe's throat. The fully gray warrior watches as his older brother slowly fades and dies at last. There's a bit of grief glistening in Graystripe's eyes, but triumph overall seems to dictate his features. He looks at Firestar with a smile, telling him that he'll never let anything happen to his best friend and mate. Firestar thanks him for saving his life and the two take off in opposite directions to fight more cats.

Firestar spies Bone in the crowd, standing over Whitestorm's body. It seems Pebblepaw, Finchpaw, and Tawnypaw have noticed as well, and attack him. But Bone manages to break free from the Thunderclan's apprentices' grip. The large black and white tom spots Firestar watching him and barrels towards in the leader's director, ready to kill him. But before they can meet, apprentices from all the clans come surging forward, taking Bone down and killing him within a matter of moments

Firestar takes off into the crowd. He finally finds Scourge through the mass of cats fighting against Sandstorm. Firestar charges, knocking the black cat away from his mate. Sandstorm goes to battle elsewhere while the two leaders fight. Things get heated quickly. Scourge strikes a hard blow to Firestar's forehead, breaking through his skull, and kills him (cause that's how it happened in canon. Not a slice to the throat)

Firestar awakes in Starclan. Bluestar's there to greet him, and Whitestorm is there as well; by his paws their kin, Pigeonpaw and Cloverpaw, bounce around their cousin and grandmother. The two older cats tell Firestar that he's lost his first life. Between them a faint ghostly form of the flame colored tom appears. Firestar, stressed and in desperate need to return home, asks the former leader to send him back. The clans are losing and Bloodclan may rule the forest. He wants to know if this is Starclan's will, if they will not step up and help them drive these invaders out. The clans have always fought to uphold what Starclan's desired, to keep order and for four clans to remain in the forest.

Bluestar explains that Starclan is merely a guide, not an entity which can control cats. They can help in little ways-by sending signs, and occasionally granting powers-but overall they are spectators. It is up to the living to find their destinies, to determine outcomes. A perfect case of this, Bluestar points out, is the fifth clan that was driven from the forest. Firestar barely has time to register this before he's brought back to life, with Starclan's promise that no matter what, even as guides, they fight alongside him. Before he awakens, the Thunderclan leader sees all of the nine cats who'd given him his lives appear to see him off.

Awake and fully recovered, Firestar tracks Scourge down again. The Bloodclan leader is genuinely shocked to see the tom alive, having watched him die. Firestar boasts about Starclan fighting by his side, and granting him nine lives. Scourge gets mad at this and attacks.

While they fight, Firestar talks about why he thinks Scourge wants to drive the clans from the forest. He guesses it's because they'd attacked him as a kitten, and as a result Scourge wanted revenge. Sure, gaining more territory and access to live prey was also a driving factor, but the core motive for trying to take over was to exact revenge. Firestar asks Scourge if his hunch is correct. Scourge growls, and manages to gain the advantage, pinning Firestar onto his back. The Bloodclan leader laughs. He answers his enemy's question with a yes, then boasts that vengeance is his at last. He'll kill Firestar eight more times, just as he did with Tigerstar. As he lifts his claws to deal another killing blow to Thunderclan's leader, Scourge proclaims, "I am leader of Bloodclan. I am Scourge. And I. Have. Won!"

Just as he gets that last word out, Firestar strikes, slicing open Scourge's throat. Scourge chokes on the blood that begins to pour from the wound and falls over. He gives a few more jerks, staring up at Firestar when he stands before he lay still. Bloodclan's leader is defeated.

It doesn't take long for Bloodclan cats to notice Scourge has been killed. When the word spreads they scatter like mice. Lionclan celebrate their victory with a chorus of yowls

Lionclan soon starts to dissolve back into four clans. They collect their dead as the leaders briefly meet to touch bases. Firestar reports that Whitestorm, Willowpelt, Ashfall, and Thornclaw have been killed in battle. Then the other leaders give news of their dead. The once-prisoners of Tigerclan come over to Firestar. Graystripe, Silverstream, and their kits ask if they can stay with Thunderclan. Silversteam explains that the current Riverclan is not like the one she'd grown up in; the Riverclan her father, Crookedstar, had led. She'd be better off starting fresh in a clan that doesn't care about who's blood she or her kits may carry. Mistyfoot understandably wants to go back to her home clan, along with her kits. Stonefur says he'll be more than happy to accept his sister, and asks her to rule at his side as clan deputy, once he gains his nine lives. Firestar agrees to all of this and turns to lead his clan home

A moon passes. Life returns to normal in the forest. In Thunderclan camp, they welcome Silversteam and Cinderpath as queens. Cinderpath has just had her litter of kits: Icekit, a deaf pure white mollykit, and Birchkit, a silver shaded white tomkit who looks just like grandma Willowpelt. Sasha and Goldenflower are mates now, raising Sasha's kits: Hawkkit who's a longhaired seal point siamese tomkit, Mothkit who's a longhaired ginger mollykit, and Tadpolekit who is a siamese tomkit. Pebblepaw and Finchpaw have been named warriors: Pebblestep and Finchsong. Sandstorm has been named the new deputy and is taking to her new position in the clan quite naturally. And Firestar leads the clan with pride and wisdom, finally adjusted to his roll. Over the past moon he's thought long about what happened at Fourtrees; the battle with Bloodclan, the loss of his first life, and the news of a fifth clan. Firestar doesn't know what may come in the future, if things will be quite like that, but he knows one thing for sure; Starclan will always there to guide them and to fight by his side.