#also i pray im thinking of the right cat when saying Rowanclaw. thats his name right. the leader that Needletail and Sleekwhisker hated

[skyyclan]

So @sootslash 's Hypoparents idea has me thinking....

Make Flametail, Dawnpelt, and Tigerheart Sasha and Tigerstar's kits, and make Mothwing, Hawkfrost, and Tadpole Tawnypelt and Rowanclaw's kits

Instead of Hawkfrost helping train with Brambleclaw in the DF and then being a mentor to the trainees, he can be part of a trio with Breezepelt and Lionblaze. I think it would be an interesting take, having to compare Lionblaze when he goes against the DF and actively starts helping with the prophecy from Starclan, to Breezepelt who maybe could back out last minute, or have both Breezepelt and Hawkfrost fight on the DF's side but while Breeze lives on to continue life and gets forgiven and repairs his relationships with everyone, Hawkfrost dies in the fight. And he's left very alone in the DF compared to how he was basically Tigerstar's shadow in canon. This could help lead into the whole imposter plot (and honestly? I think itd be cool if HE was possessing Bramblestar, or maybe he ends up possessing Shadowsight after Shadow was nearly killed by the imposter? That could be interesting, and since Rootspring can see ghosts, we wouldn't lose him entirely and he could still help a lot despite being a ghost. And he could either get his body back, or he could take Bristlefrost's place when dying to take out the imposters, or just join her. Having all three protagonists die after that would be really impactful imo but idk if Rootspring would jump into action like the other two would)

Idk what Tadpole would do, but I think itd be very interesting to lean into the Tadpole is Spiresight au I've seen by making that canon to this au, so Tadpole disappearing early in apprenticeship or late kithood (maybe due to the tunnels underground? To try and tie that into the plot a bit more since it isn't used much after Po3) and growing up into Spiresight

And like... Brambleclaw forging a relationship with his siblings (could either be in River or Shadow... I think Shadow would be interesting but would also lead to lots of Tigerkids in that clan, so maybe not) that have either very similar, in Tigerheart's case, struggling due to their father (and Tigerheart even more so since hes NAMED after him) struggles, or completely separate struggles like Flametail being a med cat and having to deal with Starclan. I think an interesting take would be having Flametail be on the journey with Bramble, Crow, Leafpool (he could train her on the journey!!), Tawny, and idk maybe Squirrel or Dawn could also come (also Squirrelflight and Dawnpelt would make a really good ship in this au imo) but I think the cast is good with just those four.) Like maybe he is the first to get the Power of Three prophecy and it's his duty to push Leaf and Crow together, much to his dismay. And Dawnpelt at home is likely still struggling with dealing with post-Tigerstar Riverclan and its hostility towards her and her family. I like the idea of her striving to become deputy, but being terrified of power at the same time, so she is desperately trying to find a place for herself and keep her clan together as the forest begins to fall apart. Maybe we could introduce two separate plotlines here, one for the journey cats, and have a different group of protags at home keeping the clans together and alive as the forest is destroyed. Maybe Windclan isn't the only clan struggling to not fall apart, like Shadow and River both had really bad times due to the last arc and the damage Tigerstar did to them both. (I'd vote having Dawnpelt, Squirrelflight, ...Mudclaw, and... Rowanclaw? As povs in the forest. Not sure yet. Mudclaw and Dawnpelt could both be vying for Mudclaw to become leader of Wind, supporting each other politically and believing that the systems in place for picking a deputy protect Mudclaw from losing his position due to a last minute decision change that wasn't in front of the clan, while Squirrel and Rowan could want Onestar as leader due to Mudclaw's less peaceful (seemingly) ideas of leadership and due to Firestar's and Starclan's say in the matter)