#hi I'm thinking about starclan tonight

[pigeonclaw]

Currently thinking about the scene late in OotS when Bluestar justified Ashfur being in StarClan by saying it's not their place to judge him and that he must be able to join them because he "found his way" there. And it made me think about how when a cat dies, typically a StarClan cat comes down to collect their spirit and guide them to the stars. And I just think a neat interpretation of both of these factors would be that a warrior who isn't deemed worthy enough by any StarClan cat to join them receives no such guide to the afterlife and instead must get there on their own. Going to StarClan upon death isn't judged by morality in that case, but rather by one's own tenacity if they aren't personally wanted enough for anyone to aid them.

The implications of StarClan lore introduced in OotS are so fascinating and I really wish the series kept them.

[timelessxmemories]

— THE FALSE PROPHECY

[ PROLOGUE ]

-> @spareeees

The moon shines dimly over the four trees, the four leaders sit on their designated stump while their deputies alongside them. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Moonstar speaks up with a worried expression upon her face. No stars were in the sky, only the moon and a dark fog covering the lands. “Duskclan, Sunclan, Mossclan and Sageclan. We have an issue on our paws. One of our apprentices here in Duskclan has claimed to have received a vision from a cat passed on, now in the Dark Forest.”

Murmurs and whispers could be heard amongst the crowd of cats, everyone seemed frantic, panicked and now stressed. You could feel the tension in the air. “That’s impossible, Moonstar! No cat has ever received a message from the Dark Forest! It’s simply mousebrained!” Dewstar echoed, standing up on the stump, making sure he stood tall and his voice boomed over the other cats in order to silence them. But it seemed to be of no use. The fog picked up even more than it had before, making the area around them darker and gloomy.

Featherpaw sits beside his mentor, keeping his head down low in shame. Gingertail frowns, placing her nose to his cheek in reassurance. “Do not worry, Featherpaw. Everything will be settled and all hope will be restored..” She whispered softly, Featherpaw anxiously paws at the ground as he nods softly. “What if they banish me from Duskclan..?” Gingertail shakes her head softly as she lifts her head high, facing the leaders. “Nonsense. Everything will be fine.” She replies, shifting her weight ever so slightly.

A gray and black small shorthair cat speaks up from the crowd. His voice is soft and reassuring. “I’m sure that there’s a good reason as to why an apprentice has received a message from the Dark Forest. This wouldn’t happen for no reason. As mousebrained as you may think it is, it could happen.” A few cats nod as Murkstream shakes her head and stands up in the crowd, her fur bristled, anger in her eyes. “Mantisfur! Have you no knowledge?! No cat would receive a message from the Dark Forest! And if they do, they are obviously a curse!”

She yowled, as Ravenstar, the leader of Sunclan, sighs and stands up. “Enough! Silence! You all have mice for brains! Look around us! There’s no stars in the sky, and the fog is covering the forest! Look around for a little! Pay attention! Starclan is not here with us! We’re alone tonight!” These words from the tongue of the black and white spotted tom echoed throughout the forest, causing a commotion through all four clans.

Warriors and apprentices alike mumbled amongst themselves, all seemingly worried. Starthroat, ever the observer and worrier, made her way up a few tall branches and stood tall, ensuring the tone of her voice was loud enough for all to hear. "Everyone! Ravenstar is right! There are no stars in the sky, only darkness! Please! Calm down and just listen to what he has to say!"

With a few more prolonged moments of chatter, each and every cat finally settles down, sitting back in their respective spots as Ravenstar clears his throat to speak once more. "I'm sure all of you are very concerned and fearful about these strange turn of events, I truly believe we all are in some way. However, we must stay calm, Starclan would not want us all to be in such a frenzy we cannot even think straight. Let's take a moment to breathe–" Dewstar quickly cuts him off, putting one paw forwards as he narrows his eyes, his tail swaying from side to side. "We don't have time to take a moment and breathe! Without Starclan, we're lost and we have no one to guide us!"

Yowls and meows of agreement echoed amongst the forest, Moonstar, typically the quiet listener, finally speaks up once more. "Listen to me! We have all lost track of the topic at our paws! A young apprentice from Duskclan has received a vision from a cat who resides in the Dark Forest!" Ravenstar nods in agreement, his kept ear flicking back and forth as he listened before making his way beside Moonstar. "I'd like to invite the young apprentice who claims to have recieved such a vision to come forth, and please, explain in your own words, what you saw."

Featherpaw freezes, his fur bristling as Gingertail nudges Feather paw with her paw, nodding in confirmation, allowing Featherpaw to anxiously make his way over to Ravenstar. Featherpaw takes a deep breath, making his way up the stump with the help of Starthroat before standing beside Ravenstar who silently gave Featherpaw a nod, a signal to go ahead and explain what he's seen.

[thunders-warcats-stuff]

TALLSTAR'S ROUGH CHILDHOOD

Based on this:

https://www.tumblr.com/thunders-warcats-stuff/714680353463369728/character-deconstruction-sandgorse-and-talltail?source=share

AND “No Light No Light by Florence and the Machine

I dreamt of a scene where Tallstar was talking to Rusty about his family and I woke up from that dream and was like "that's it, no more "dying to erase pain and harm you caused. You don't get to escape the consequences of your actions." Because death isn't real for these cats. They'll see their loved ones at the end of their life and possibly in the middle of it! It's confirmed! So! The Rocky Road to Redemption: Sandgorse Edition

LOUDER THAN WORDS VERSION

<So what was your family like? Did you have any siblings? Who was Dawnstripe to you? Who were your parents? Are they the reason you're this awesome?>

(Tallstar is talking *and* signing here, so quotes and brackets)

<"You sure are curious, kid. Let's see... I have five siblings, but unlike your litter, they weren’t all born at the same time. Forest cats have smaller litters. Four was a lot for anyone, but my mother and heart-father handled it! Really well.">

<Heart-father?>

<'I have the father who sired me with Palebird and the father who helped me grow, like Dawnstripe did. His name was Woolytail.">

Tallstar made the sign and sound for sheep and waved his tail.

SNIPPET 1

🎵“[Heaven] StarClan help me, I have to make it right!”🎵

“Why won't you just talk to me?! Can't you see that I'm trying?!”

"You're trying?! Palebird has been struggling since Tall was born, but you're trying!

You told your only son, the boy who just wants you to love him, to stay away from you and the tunnels but you're trying!

Have you even apologized?! Have you asked Palebird how she's coping? Have you talked to Tallpaw about anything but the tunnels?!

Do you even know how close or far he is to getting his warrior name?!"

"I-!"

"No! You don't! You spent all this time growling and groaning about what you can't have while your whole life is right before your eyes! But it's okay, mollies and toms, he's trying!"

SNIPPET 2

Dawnstripe defends Tallpaw from Sandgorse “Tallpaw!”

“Are you here to ask about his progress?”

“No, I-!”

“Are you here to watch what we're doing today?”

“No, I-! Sure. Might as well see the life of a runner.”

“Alright. Sit over there and be quiet. If you have any questions, talk to me and me alone. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Tallpaw, that's the worst crouch I've ever seen! Don't you-?!”

“Quiet!” Dawnstripe barked. “Tallpaw, just like we practiced. To the TallSlate and back.”

Tallpaw took off at half-speed.

“A kit can go faster than that!”

“Shut up!” Dawnstripe snarled. “If you're not going to be helpful, go lay somewhere else! Tallpaw doesn't need your snake's tongue!”

SNIPPET 3

Woolytail helps Palebird out a lot and eventually they fall in love but at first he and the rest of the tunnelers are trying to get Pale back into the swing of things

Palebird stands up to Sandgorse when confronted about Woolytail

🎵You want a revelationyou wanna get it rightwell that's a conversation I just can't have tonight🎵

Pale: “even if he is just doing this to catch my eye, he's helping! You haven't done anything to make up for your horrible attitude to me or Tall, and it's not fair that you want to take away the cats who care just because you're jealous!”

SNIPPET 4

Dawnstripe sees Talltail off

“You know you don't have to do this, right? Sandgorse might be grumpy and snappish, but you don’t have to take that. He's going to be fine in the elder's den.”

“I need to find out what happened. He doesn't remember. He thinks he took someone down there but he didn't know for sure, and the Passing Cats left before we could ask them anything. If I can do this, if I can get answers for my father, then maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“I just want him to see me as worthy of being his son.”

“Oh, Tall…” Dawnstripe purred sadly, pressing her side to his. “I know it doesn't feel like it, but you were always worthy of being his son. He hasn't been a very good father to you.

"I don’t think he'd have been any better had Finch lived. He's always going to be like this, and his early retirement certainly won't help things… Are you sure this will help you?”

“Yes.”

“Then go, kid. Good luck. Remember what I've taught you. Hunting will be challenging, because we usually run our prey down and you can't do that in close-quarters.

"I think your battle training might help there. It relies on being fast enough to hit your opponent but avoid getting hit in return. Do you want to tell anyone else, or should I?”

“I…”

Talltail choked up.

How could he explain his quest to his mother and heart-father?

To Barkface and Shrewclaw?

Would Sandgorse even say anything if he told the older tom?

“I'd be glad to do it, if only to see the look on Sandgorse’s smarmy face when he realizes he ran you off.”

“I'm not trying to run away-.”

“You are, even if you come back. But I don’t blame you at all. I'd run too, if Heatherstar could spare a runner.”

“Do you know why she can't? She did close the tunnels.”

“Yes, but the tunnelers have to get used to a very different method of hunting and fighting than they're used to. We runners will all have our paws full teaching our grown Clanmates like apprentices. Stars help me, this is gonna be rough!”

“Maybe I shouldn't-.”

“Nope, you're going! Remember how we practiced following through? It'll be put to good use during this trip. Cats will understand.”

“I kinda figured they'd all be mad at me.”

“That'd be Sandgorse and him alone. And we'll all be barking at him for the rest of his days if he tries any of his rabbit-dung on you.”

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Grief of A Killer (short story)

Sparrowfern wasn't expecting to sleep well. He paced the camp a long time after everyone else was in their dens, and only when his paws felt like they were about to fall off did he head to his nest.

He settled his eyes shut, waiting, hoping, for darkness to reach in. He wasn't expecting it to still be there when he opened his eyes, a crimson-red hue on the horizon.

"Hello?" he called, though he felt stupid for doing it. This was a dream, he knew that logically. At the same time, the chill along his spine felt as real as it had when he was running toward the battle that morning.

"That was quite the fight," a voice spoke from somewhere overhead.

Sparrowfern's head snapped to look up. A long-furred, muscular red tom sat perched on a crooked, black branch above him. "You fought well, for a small strip of land. It's too bad somebody had to lose their life for you to keep it."

Sparrowfern swallowed. He could hear the scratching fury, fire rising through this tom's throat that he struggled to keep back. He saw that although the tom sat calmly, his tail twitched and his claws worked in and out of the branch.

Was this Starclan's punishment?

Sparrowfern puffed out his chest. "I fought for my Clan. That is all that can be asked of me."

The tom's eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't care what can be asked of you. You!....you look familiar." The tom's voice lightened, though it didn't make Sparrowfern feel better at all. "Those tabby markings. Brokenclaw had them."

Sparrowfern's ears twitched at the mention of his grandfather, born in the Clan he had just fought against. That was why he had fought so hard against Shadowclan. He couldn't allow anyone to doubt him more than they already did because his father became mates with someone from another Clan.

"Come to think of it, you have the same face too. The same eyes. Will your blood flow the same way? Will you beg me the same way that he did? 'Starclan, please! Stop him! Help!'"

Sparrowfern's legs crumbled beneath him, so unnvered that the only thing he could do was breath rapidly and heavily, and stare. He had never heard his grandfather's voice, slain before Sparrowfern was born, but the mocking cries made his gut twist all the same. Then there was the threat.

"You're Redjay!" he gasped.

Redjay curled a lip. "Tonight, I'm only the father of the warrior that you killed."

Sparrowfern lifted his chin. "It was righteous!" He had to use any loop he could.

Redjay nodded. "True. But I don't care."

"I didn't mean to kill him!" I--" he froze as an awful, sing-song laugh echoed through the clearing.

"Don't be afraid. I'm sure my little Light will love to see you again, to mutilate you like he should have today. Or maybe you'll see Brokenclaw. Tell him I said hi, would you? That is, if you end up there at all. You could always return back to me."

"Please--"

"'Please,'" Redjay mocked back in a perfect copy. "Oh, don't waste your breath. Your fate was sealed the moment you sank your teeth into my son's throat. I won't pay you the same courtesy of such a quick death. I will kill you, and it will hurt more than anything you have ever felt in your entire life--bee stings, dog bites, it's all thorns in the paw compared to what I am going to do to you. And when your Clanmates wake up to the sound of screaming or the scent of blood, they'll find you so mutilated they won't even realize that it's you at first. By that point, you will already be nothing."

==============

@ambitiousauthor

--When you're so intimidating the person just lays there too scared to run.

[signs-of-the-moon]

Moon High: Chapter 10

Silver light shined through the canopy above, dappling the pelts of all the cats who traveled this night. The brilliant glow of the full moon made for an excellent guide in the darkness. And the buzz from all the warriors around her made Moonpaw's pelt tingle with excitement. She hurried along to keep up with her clanmates, eager to prove she could handle the long journey ahead. Tonight was her first time being invited to the Gathering. She was excited to meet all the different cats within the Land's Star. What interesting things could she learn from them, she wondered. How different was the folklore in the other clans? Did they believe in the stories of the ancient clans and the creation of cat? These were all questions Moonpaw was eager to ask, if she could make friends with anyone tonight.

Up ahead, the trees began to thin, making room for a thick wall of shrubbery. Blazestar led his patrol through the bushes without hesitance; guiding them into a massive clearing on the other side. Moonpaw gasped at the sight of it. Cats of all sizes and colors filled the space, mingling as one. It was hard to differentiate what clans they all belonged to from a distance. But most seemed to be having a good time, and that was a wonderful sight to behold.

"Go ahead and join the crowd," Blazestar invited, "remember not to let any cat corner you. Be friendly, but spare as little information as possible." After his speech, the firey tom took off into the crowd, headed towards his perch at Split Rock. Then Moonpaw's clanmates began to scatter about, leaving her as the only cat reminding by the bushes. Moonpaw bristled a little, looking left, then right, trying to figure out which direction she should head in first. She decided to go forward, and allow the crowd to manuver her wherever may be most convenient. On one side as she walked, Moonpaw observed a group of warriors regailing tales of battles past, passing the occasional joke between them. A little further ahead, five elders sat clustered together, complaining about anything and everything they could think of. Badgerface was with them, rolling his eyes at the stupidest of his peers' comments. Moonpaw chuckled, waving hello with her tail as she passed. She heard a nearby queen mentioning their kits, another cat griping about a thorn they'd found in their nest, and a nearby apprentice talking about the latest battle move they'd learned.

As Moonpaw padded along, watching the interactions of all the other cats surrounding her, something threw her off her paws. She fell with yelp, head hitting the dusty floor underpaw. Moonpaw groaned as she sat up, rubbing a white paw against her now aching head. It took her an extra heartbeat to realize what had happened. Another cat lay a tail-length away, letting out a sneeze as they returned to an upright position. It would seem Moonpaw's wandering eyes had distracted her enough to cause an accident.

"Oh my Starclan, I'm so sorry!" She apologized, voice frantic as she jumped to her paws. She rushed over to the other cat, sniffing and checking them over. She'd feel terrible if her daydreaming had caused another cat to get injured. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? I'm such a mouse-brain, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking, I'm so so sorry."

The other cat simply shook her head, giving Moonpaw a reassuring smile as she stood. She was a pretty cat, short and plump with white and black patched fur. Moonpaw noticed the little nub she had for a tail, and wondered where this cat had come from. As far as Moonpaw knew, only some members of Treeclan had small tails. Could this apprentice be from outside the Land's Star? A kittypet perhaps?

"It's ok, I'm ok," the stranger assured, "It wasn't your fault. I should have been the one watching where I was running. I was so busy trying to see if I was beating my friend in a race that I wasn't looking out for any cat that may be walking up ahead. What about you, are you ok? How's your head?"

"Oh good, I thought you might be injured." Moonpaw sighed with relief. "I think I'll be alright though. My head's a bit sore but I'll get some herbs from Mothsong when I get back to camp. My name is Moonpaw by the way, I'm from Treeclan."

The other she-cat's smile grew bigger. "I'm Swiftpaw, from Grassclan. Sorry for running into you. What a terrible way to meet huh?"

Moonpaw shook her head, raising her tail. "Not at all, it'll make for a great story to laugh about later on. Besides, there could always be some cosmic reason for why we've met this way."

Swiftpaw gave her head a thoughtful tilt. "Huh, maybe. So you said you're from Treeclan? Do you know Smokepaw and Magpiepaw?"

A feeling of elation lifted Moonpaw's heart at the mention of her brother and sister. It hurt that neither of them were invited to this moon's gathering, but at least now she'd have something fun to tell them when she got home tonight.

"Well I should hope so, they are my littermates after all. They're not here tonight, but I can tell them you said hi," Moonpaw replied, twitching her nose in amusement. Swiftpaw gasped adorably. She seemed to become lost in thought for a few heartbeats, her eyes trailing Moonpaw's features. Moonpaw guessed that the other molly was picking up on the similarities between herself and her kin.

"Hey, who's that?" Swiftpaw asked suddenly, nodding at a cat behind Moonpaw. Moonpaw turned to look at who she was referring to. Much to the Treeclan apprentice's excitement, it was her father.

"Oh, that's Wolfheart! Come on, come meet him," she insisted, taking Swiftpaw over to the tom. Moonpaw padded a fox-length away, standing in front of the fluffy warrior with a bright smile. "Hi papa-I mean-Wolfheart." She giggled. "Meet my new friend, her name is Swiftpaw."

Wolfheart turned his green gaze down onto Swiftpaw, studying her for a moment. Moonpaw noticed the other apprentice tense under her father's stare, and hoped she would not remain intimidated by him. Wolfheart seemed to notice as well and turned his attention onto Moonpaw.

"Hello my little one. And hello to you, Swiftpaw. It's a pleasure to meet you, I heard your name announced at last moon's gathering. How's your training going?" He asked, putting on his most friendly face.

Swiftpaw seemed to relax. "I think I'm doing pretty good. Chicorynose says I'm a natrual born hunter."

"Ah, so Chicorynose is your mentor?" He queried. Swiftpaw gave a firm nod, and Moonpaw suppressed a giggle. "That's good, I'm sure she'll make a fine warrior out of you yet. Now, I think you two should run along. There isn't much time until the gathering begins, and I'm sure you want to catch up with more of your friends. It was nice meeting you, Swiftpaw, take care." Wolfheart dipped his head to the white and black patched apprentice, turning to lick Moonpaw between the ears. Moonpaw trilled at him, bunting her head against her father's chin. Wolfheart smiled warmly at her before finally padding back into the crowd. Moonpaw watched after him briefly.

"Do you want to come with me over to Split Rock?" Swiftpaw asked. "I bet Frostpaw's over there looking for me, she probably thinks I ditched her."

"Oh sure," Moonpaw agreed, walking with her new friend over to the ancient cracked boulder. As they approached, a silver and white tabby rushed over, pouncing on Swiftpaw. Moonpaw moved out of the way just in time to escape being knocked to the ground with the pair.

"Swiftpaw, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" The apprentice yowled as she sat on top of the nubby tailed apprentice. "And who's she?" The silver and white tabby's attention suddenly fell onto Moonpaw.

"That's Moonpaw. I accidentally crashed into her during our race, and kinda got sidetracked," Swiftpaw explained before reasoning, "At least you got to spend time with you mom and sister."

The other she-cat rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well I was still worried about you. There's a lot of cats out here, it's easy to get lost or cornered by an overly curious enemy."

Swiftpaw mumbled another apology then glanced away.

"If anything, it was my fault that Swiftpaw was held up," Moonpaw interjected, "Im sorry for keeping your friend. By the way, you are the famous Frostpaw that I was told about, right?"

The other she-cat smiled, leaping gracefully off of Swiftpaw's flank. "'Famous?' Stars, I wouldn't go that far. But yep, that's me! I'm Frostpaw! And where did you say you're from again?"

"Treeclan," Moonpaw purred with amusement. The other she-cat's bubbly attitude was infectious. She couldn't help but find it charming.

"Ooh." Frostpaw nodded, trying to look as though she remembered learning that information before, when she hadn't. Moonpaw found it adorable that she was trying to be so courteous. "Hey, is it true that your clan has lots of kits because once one cat has a litter, everybody wants one?"

Caught off guard by the question, Moonpaw broke out into a mrrow of laughter. She politely seated herself, wrapping her tail around her paws neatly. "Something like that. Although not everyone wants kits. We do value family, but its not like every cat in the clan needs kin or offspring. And what about Grassclan? Is it true that you're all neat freaks?"

"Nah." Frostpaw lifted a paw to clean as they talked. "We do like to keep things organized, especially Whitestar, but we aren't obsessed with cleanliness."

"I see," Moonpaw mused, letting out a thoughtful hum. She was interested in learning more about what the other clans were like. And while she was here, she figured she might as well get some information about Grassclan from Frostpaw. But before she had the chance to ask another question, a cat approached the pair.

"Greetings," the stranger purred, turning her ice blue eyes onto Moonpaw. Moonpaw stared back at her, confused by the adult cat's approach. It was a molly, with sleek silver lynx point fur, and a feathery looking tail. A few flowers were settled behind her ear; a set of holly leaves, a snapdragon, and a stem of lavender. She smelled bitter like herbs, with the slightest touch of wildflowers. Perhaps she was from Grassclan? Had the molly come to keep Frostpaw fron divulging any of her clan's secrets?

"Who might you be, little one?"

"Oh hello, my name is Moonpaw, I come from Treeclan." She smiled sweetly, trying not to let her confusion show.

"Moonpaw~" the older molly repeated the name, almost sighing it lovingly as she purred harder. "How lovely. I bet you are a well behaved apprentice, aren't you? Are you listening to your mentor? Do you pay attention to your lessons?"

Moonpaw nodded, forcing her fur to lay flat. Something about this molly's voice was making her pelt want to bristle. It sounded so familiar. But Moonpaw was certain she'd never met this cat before. An eerie sensation crept its way inside of her, like a grub burying into the bark of a tree. But Moonpaw didn't want to appear rude. So she kept up her polite facade, hoping the cat would go about her business soon and leave her alone to wonder.

"I work really really hard! Leafheart's the best mentor, I'm learning so much from her. I'm already thinking about becoming a Hunter or Den Keeper when I become a warrior," Moonpaw responded.

"Oh how nice! I'm sure you will be a warrior who'll make Treeclan proud," the she-cat commented raising her tail.

As Moonpaw parted her jaws to respond, a yowl sounded from the nearby crowd.

"Moonpaw!"

Moonpaw whipped her head around, spotting Wolfheart in the distance. He motioned for her to come to him, shooting the older she-cat beside her a glare. The stranger then turned, trotting over to where the medicine cats sat.

"I have to go, I'll see you later," Moonpaw quickly mewed to Swiftpaw and Frostpaw before padding off to join her father. Safe beside her kin, Moonpaw let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, papa."

Wolfheart said nothing in response. He swept his tail over her, guiding his daughter through the crowd.

"I don't want you near that cat again," he eventually spoke once the pair were far enough away from their original position. He sounded stern, much moreso than Moonpaw had ever heard him.

Moonpaw looked up at her father, confused. "Why? Who is she? Is she bad..?"

"Her name is Snowfrost. She's not a bad cat but...she can't be trusted," Wolfheart answered, avoiding her gaze. "I'd prefer if you kept your distance from her."

Moonpaw didn't quite understand what Wolfheart meant. But he was a smart cat, if a bit overprotective. She knew he was only advising her for her own safety. And so, Moonpaw took his words to heart. She'd do her very best to avoid Snowfrost next time she was around, even if she didn't know the reason.

As Moonpaw and Wolfheart padded along, Skunkpaw trotted over trying to keep up with them.

"Hiya, Moon," he greeted with a purr.

"Hi Skunkpaw! How are you enjoying your first gathering?"

"It's alright I guess. I'm having a decent time. And I see you're having fun too. Say, who's that pretty cat you were talking to? The white and black one."

Moonpaw let out a small snort, glancing at her brother. "That's Swiftpaw. She's a Grassclan apprentice. And apparently a cat who's caught your eye, hm?"

Skunkpaw suddenly paused in their stride, choking back a noise of alarm. "S..shut up! Pretend y-you didn't hear anything!" He stammered, neck fur ruffling with embarrassment. Moonpaw giggled, turning to stand with him.

"Aw, don't be so embarrassed. I think it's really cute. And kind of surprising. I thought you only liked toms?"

Skunkpaw rolled their eyes, licking down their chest fur. "Gender doesn't matter to me. I know beauty when I see it."

"And clearly Swiftpaw is "it"?" Moonpaw teased with a smirk.

Skunkpaw lowered his ears slightly, pulling his lips back into a playful snarl. "I'm gonna kill you."

His reply only made Moonpaw's smirk grow into a mischievous grin. "Only if you can catch me!" she goaded, dashing off deeper into the clearing. Skunkpaw called out behind her, and Moonpaw looked back to see them still standing beside Wolfheart. Wolfheart simply shook his head, a loving smile spread across his muzzle. He nudged Skunkpaw, urging his youngest kit to pursue their sister. From this distance, Moonpaw could hear Skunkpaw groan before he finally sprinted after her. Moonpaw picked up her pace instantly, weaving around warriors left and right, until she finally lost Skunkpaw in the crowd. After waiting a few moments for him to catch up, Moonpaw turned around and began retracing her steps back to him. As she walked, a cat bumped into her shoulder. For Starclan's sake, not again! Moonpaw resisted the urge to groan at the thought of knocking into yet another cat tonight.

But when she turned to apologize, Moonpaw was delighted to see the cat had nudged her on purpose. It was Hazepaw, the Oceanclan apprentice she had taught the Hunter's Crouch to before.

"Hey, remember me?" He meowed with a smile.

Moonpaw trilled. "Of course! It's good to see you again, Hazepaw. How are you?"

"Pretty good. I'm just bored is all," Hazepaw replied with a yawn.

"Bored? Really? Well, I could try to entertain you, if you want. I know a few good stories that'll keep your attention while we wait for the meeting to start."

"That sounds nice actually," Hazepaw admitted, flicking his tail. "Let's go sit over there?"

"Sure," Moonpaw agreed, following the tom closer to the shrubs that surrounded the gathering clearing. Here they could get a good view of the leaders on Split Rock while having a bit of space to spread out and relax. Almost at once, Hazepaw flopped onto his side, spreading out his back legs as if he were lounging in his own nest. Moonpaw had never seen a cat act so casually before. At least, no one except for Skunkpaw. But Moonpaw supposed the rumor of Oceanclan cats's laziness must hold some weight to it, if they were so content with relaxing this way around dozens of enemy warriors. Or maybe Hazepaw was a special case.

Before she could begin to start telling any of her stories, a caterwaul sounded from across the clearing.

"Let the Gathering begin!" Moonpaw saw Wavestar yowl as he settled on his section of Split Rock. He waited as the warriors below fell quiet before he started his announcements. "The winds have picked back up along the shoreline; mid-Newleaf storms approach. My clan and I are taking shelter in our newly built Forest Patch camp as a precaution. We have lost too many cats in past Newleafs to rough waves and high tides. Shellsplash and Tunafin have already fallen victim to a recent storm. I believe this new temporary camp will help prevent further casualties."

A moment of silence was given for cats to reflect and give respect to the recently departed Oceanclan warriors. Moonpaw gave a glance to Hazepaw. He muzzle was pointed towards his leader, but she could see he wore an unpleasant expression on his face. His eyes were dark with despair, and Moonpaw wondered if he had been present when one of the mentioned cats had died.

"By Greenleaf we should be back at our usual camp under the Twoleg Settlement Bridge," Wavestar added. Another pause was taken after Blazestar gave a scoff. The fur along Wavestar's spine rose, and a glare was flashed at the Treeclan leader. But Wavestar made no comment, and instead continued; "In other news, my clan welcomes three new apprentices to our ranks, my kits: Whisperpaw, Currentpaw, and Stonepaw."

Moonpaw followed Hazepaw's gaze towards the three mentioned apprentices.

"They were just named this morning," he whispered in her ear. Moonpaw nodded in acknowledgement.

The larger pair seemed excited to receive the spotlight; a few cats around them giving welcoming chants and reassuring mews. Meanwhile the third cowered back, her eyes lowered to the ground. She looked like she wished a hole would appear to swallow her up. Poor thing, Moonpaw thought sympathetically.

As the crowd settled back down, Wavestar stepped back to allow Blazestar to have his time to speak. A sinister smirk was set on the ginger leader's face as he snickered;

"You know it's funny how you mentioned moving into the Forest Patch, and yet you forgot mention that you and your clan have been trying to take Rubble Path from Treeclan while staying there. And yet, you keep failing. How many skirmishes have there been in the past moon? About five or six now?"

Hazepaw bristled uncomfortably, sitting up to tensly focus on the leaders in front of him. Moonpaw observed him, with her tail swaying to-a-fro beside her. She'd known about the battles taking place at Rubble Path recently, but didn't realize there were so many. She hadn't been ordered onto any of the defending patrols, much to her relief. But it was concerning that two clans were fighting so frequently. If they weren't careful, a war could be declared. But in this moment, Blazestar didn't seem to care about what ire he might draw from the opposing leader, Wavestar.

"Until the storms pass and the winds die down, my clan is stuck in the Forest Patch. But your old leader, Ravenstar the Wise, did not think to give us more space for emergencies such as these. Of course we are trying to take Rubble Path, it's high ground, and serves well for hunting," Wavestar growled in response.

Blazestar snarled, his tail lashing as his temper flared stronger. "Yes, but that land rightfully belongs to Treeclan," he snapped. "Your territory begins where the sand line lingers. Not at the edge of the rocks by the top of the hill. Your cats merely want to use the rocks to bask upon anyhow, not to hunt like Treeclan frequently does. And another thing-" Blazestar suddenly turned his angry orange glare onto Whitestar, the leader of Grassclan. "It seems that more than one clan has been trying to push at our borders lately. Very recently I have had patrols coming back from the Grassclan border, telling me they've found scents of Grassclan cats past the scent markers, and have found remains of a few mice."

Moonpaw knew what he was talking about. She'd been on one or two of those particular patrols. The mice that were left behind were usually half eaten, abandoned for the crows to pick at. Treeclan cats didn't dare try to bury the remains, though. It was bad luck to chase crows from their food. But when cats could reach the mice, the clear scent of Grassclan was found on the prey.

Moonpaw watched Whitestar take a step forward on Split Rock, confusion in her pretty purplish-blue gaze.

"From what I know, none of our apprentices have stepped paw passed the border," she responded. "And my warriors know better than to hunt beyond the meadow," Grassclan's leader was trying her best to settle Blazestar, her voice even and cool. But the ginger and white tom was unable to be swayed.

"There has been several reports of trespassing from your cats, Whitestar, too many for it to be an accident. One of your warriors has been stealing mice from Treeclan, and I advise you to investigate the situation and correct it, before I'm forced to remind you where the border lies. The same goes for you as well, Wavestar," Blazestar warned each leader, looking between them as his tail lashed harder. "Keep your claws out of our forest and off of Rubble Path before I reclaim the land Ravenstar the Wise so graciously granted you while you still lived under Pebblestar the Malevolent's rule."

Wavestar lowered his ears uncomfortably after hearing the of name "Pebblestar". Hazepaw's tail thumped at the utterance of it, too. But Moonpaw had never heard of such a cat. Whoever they were, they must have been very impactful. Curiosity bloomed in Moonpaw chest at the thought of learning some history she never knew before. After the gathering, she was determined to question Hazepaw about it.

Suddenly, Brightstar of Marshclan stepped forward on Split Rock, drawing the attention of her peers and breaking the tension. "Heyyy, I don't mean to interrupt, but how's about we finish tonight's announcement so you guys can get back to fighting each other once it's over?" Anger was still written on the conflicting leaders' faces. But after a silent moment of thought, the three finally agreed to settle and finish the gathering without anymore incident.

The rest of the announcements seemed boring in comparison, and Moonpaw found herself blocking them out until Fogstar of Mountainclan announced the conclusion of the gather. Then she stood with a stretch, preparing to speak just a little more with Hazepaw before meeting up with her clanmates.

"Thanks for sitting with me," she mewed, "I'm a little sad, though. didn't get to tell you any stories!"

"That's ok," Hazepaw assured, sitting up. "You can make it up to me."

"Oh?" Moonpaw prompted. "How?"

"Stay here with me after everyone leaves?" He requested, his yellow eyes glittering with hope. Moonpaw felt her pelt heat at the invitation. She hadn't known Hazepaw was interested in her enough to have her sneak around for him. But did Moonpaw have enough interest in return? She thought for a moment. She was certainly curious to learn more about the fluffy white tom. And if she stayed, she could ask him to tell the story of Pebblestar. As crazy of an idea that it was, Moonpaw found herself hardly hesitating to agree.

"Sure," she blurted out. "We just have to make sure neither of us gets caught."

"Of course," Hazepaw agreed. "Lets go meet with our clans. We can sneak away when they're not looking."

"O...ok!" Moonpaw responded, embarrassed by the fluttering sensation that started to form in her belly. "See you soon?" She double checked.

"Yeah," Hazepaw reassured. "See ya soon."

[primrosepaw]

LightningClan Moon 12-22

Moon 12

WAR WITH BEARCLAN. Okay. Great.

And Speckleshine has yellowcough.

Green relationship bar!! Lightningstar (platonically) loves Splashfern! It's not quite mutual, but at least Splashfern has a significant platonic like bar for Lightningstar.

Moon 13

Glintspots was given dried herbs from Heatherheart, and is wearing them in her pelt!

A patrol that included Asterscratch, Heatherheart, and Splashfern ended up running into Nakeena, a kittypet, who they brought back to camp. She is sick, but as was the case with Mosaicspots, if she survives, she will be offered a full warrior name.

Moon 14

A patrol including Asterscratch, Splashfern, and Cypresstuft met a kittypet named Radar, who badly injured Splashfern's leg.

Radar:

Glintspots and Podpelt went out to look for herbs, and ended up finding a wounded queen with newborn kits, who they brought back to the Clan. The Queen's name is Fogstripe, and her his kits are Cliffkit and Puddlekit! [Edit: I’m a dummy who didn’t notice Fogstripe was a trans guy, so his pronouns may be incorrect but they get fixed as soon as I notice next post. I’d fix it here but tbqh I am, myself, an exhausted trans guy and I simply do not have the patience or energy to comb through and see if I misgendered a randomly generated pixel cat on accident. At least not tonight.]

Fogstripe:

Cliffkit:

Puddlekit:

Also, Lightningstar and Heatherheart met a kittypet named Fuzz, who they invited to join the Clan! Lots of cats joining the Clan!!

And then, Fuzz, on his first patrol, before he got a new warrior name, found a kit all alone outside and brought him home. His name is Bubblekit!

Fuzz got the name Toadclaw!

Toadclaw:

Bubblekit:

Moon 15

Nakeena died of redcough without getting a warrior name. However, she did go to StarClan.

Speckleshine is all better though!

After six moons, Lightningstar has finally admitted to himself that, though he will always love Bloombrook, he needs to be willing to move on. He immediately got a stomach ache over that thought, so clearly the moving on is going well.

Piperkit is now Piperpaw, and being mentored by Lightningstar!

Piperpaw:

Also, a better view of Cliffkit and Puddlekit:

Mosaicspots had her pelt torn by BrightClan. Please, we do not need to be at war with ANOTHER Clan.

Asterscratch found a cat named Hawkflare from another Clan, and brought her back to LightningClan. Unfortunately, she has a broken jaw.

Hawkflare:

Moon 16

HEATHERHEART DID IT!! Speckleshine decided to step down and become and elder, and Lightningstar named Heatherheart his new deputy. She has achieved her goal!

Plus, Bubblekit aged up and became Bubblepaw, apprenticed to Heatherheart (who is REALLY feeling on top of the world right now).

And THEN Heatherheart was on a patrol with Lightningstar, Bubblepaw, Piperpaw, and Asterscratch, and they ran into some rogues, and Heatherheart singlehandedly made the rogues flee. True Heatherheart protagonist moment.

Another patrol met a kittypet named Chance!

Chance:

Bubblepaw:

Moon 17

Lightningstar thinks about retiring?? Dude, you still have 9 lives and you're only 60 moons.

Mosaicspots met a loner named Bug who was skilled with herbs, and who brought her three kits to the Clan: Flutterkit, Jackdawkit, and Jaggedkit. Bug took on the Warrior name, Bugdapple.

Bugdapple:

Flutterkit:

Jackdawkit:

Jaggedkit:

Moon 18

Apparently Piperpaw had a dream from StarClan. There are enough medicine cats at the moment, but Podpelt is keeping an eye on that.

And we adopted ANOTHER ex-kittypet. This one was named Twist, and is now Willowtwist.

Willowtwist:

We're really running a very effective campaign to grow the Clan, which is very exciting for me.

Moon 19

BrightClan took some of our territory! Presumably because we antagonized them but still that's very rude.

Hawkflare is all healed up, though I'm choosing to imagine that her jaw remains misaligned because it was broken before.

Flutterkit is apprenticed by Hawkflare and made Flutterpaw, Jackdawkit is now Jackdawpaw and apprenticed to Willowtwist, and Jaggedkit becomes Jaggedpaw and is apprenticed to Asterscratch.

Oh no, I just realized Jaggedpaw appears to have a significant scar on his paw/leg. I don't think that's what he was named for, as he's a tabby so I think the name probably refers to his pelt, but I do think he may have limited movement in that paw with the old injury.

Cypresstuft attempted to steal prey from BrightClan, but Heatherheart, being an EXCELLENT Deputy (seriously I love her so much) stepped in to stop her.

Splashfern was bitten in a scrap with BearClan along that border.

Hawkflare:

Flutterpaw:

Jackdawpaw:

Jaggedpaw:

Moon 20

Podpelt, one of the medicine cats, slipped and dislocated a shoulder. Though Toadclaw did something similar, so maybe there was some bad frost one morning.

Cliffkit became Cliffpaw, mentored by Cypresstuft (not... the cat I would have ever picked to be a mentor, Lightningstar, but okay sure), and Puddlekit became Puddlepaw, mentored by Fogstripe, her own mother.

When she became an apprentice, Puddlepaw was excited by the prospect of hunting down a rabbit, or possibly a fox. Then, in that excitement on her first day out, she mistook a hare for a rabbit and had her eyes scratched as a result. She is in the medicine den now.

Cliffpaw:

Puddlepaw:

Moon 21

Jackdawpaw gave Bugdapple a poppy, which she now wears proudly

Bubblepaw got his new warrior name: Bubblespalsh. He is now expressing ambitions to become the next deputy.

Bubblesplash:

A patrol met a loner named Habanero

Habanero:

Attempting to get back the land that they stole, Asterscratch died. Heatherheart has taken over Jaggedpaw's mentorship as a result.

Bugdapple got frostbite while looking for herbs.

Moon 22

Piperpaw gets his full warrior name: Piperfur!

Willowtwist has greencough

A patrol met a loner named Grave!

A patrol found Daisy, a cat from outside the Clans, near the Thunderpath with head trauma. She has taken the name Daisypelt, but is being cared for in the medicine den.

[bonefall]

For the dead warrior thing, how's about the non-ThunderClan dead meddies from arc 1? Mudfur, Barkface, and Runningnose.

(And on the note of fleshing out StarClan-as-deities, I'm curious, do you think Clan cats would pray to specific cats for divine intervention or to StarClan as a whole? If the former, who would the cats get in contact with for, say, good luck in romance or help conceiving a litter?)

a) Mudfur

Mudfur joined StarClan at the worst possible time, and spent his first few years agonizing over the fact he couldn't get in touch with Mothwing. Once he could rest assured that Willowpaw could receive the visions for her, he was so done with stress and responsibility that he turned down several prestigious positions around StarClan.

He would have made excellent signs, he could have been excellent at crafting newborn spirits, and he would have been able to blow the clouds away with a mighty breath. Instead, he likes to nap in the dappled starshine, and spend time with his beloved mate and kits.

He's ready to fade now, actually, he's made his peace with his life and would like to move on; but he wants to be the last to go. Since Leopardstar is so venerated, he won't fade for a very long time.

b) Barkface

Barkface is a natural at dreamweaving. Like a spider, he can lace together memories, wishes, and desires, and gently unravel them into the minds of sleeping cats. Of course he's called on for very important prophetic dreams, but more than anything, he loves to grace the minds of elders with images of their glory days.

He lived a long life, and he's been reunited with many lost friends in StarClan. He also loves what he does, so it will be generations before Barkface decides that he'd like to pass on.

c) Runningnose

(in my rewrite, runningnose is actually a very different person and also a dark forest cat, so this one's for the canon Runningnose fans out there!)

Runningnose is still trying to find his peace. He went through a lot in life and had to make a lot of hard choices, he was even a cat who went through a trial (though it was unanimous in the end that he was worthy of StarClan). He joined StarClan as a weary spirit.

He was pretty quiet at first, not having the willpower to do very much, but with the help of his friends he's found a place in growing herbs. They don't make him sneeze anymore, and he defies a StarClan stereotype that Medicine Cats are usually bad at floramancy.

This is because he's patient and humble, he won't resort to pointlessly chasing away clouds and making perfect weather. He will gladly lay, wait, and coax the smallest stem through the thickest snowbank, as long as he knows it will help at least one clanmate through leafbare.

When Littlecloud joined him, it was like he suddenly had a burst of great energy. He's still not the vibrant soul he was in youth, but he has all the time in the world to regain his spark.

d) Do the clan cats worship individual spirits, or StarClan as a whole?

Answered below the cut

I hadn't considered it before, but, sometimes yes. Overall, StarClan is a shifting clan, full of cats who are relevant to the living. Cats fade away when they're ready to rest, so bothering a random spirit would be fruitless or perhaps even rude. Generally, if the cats are praying, it's to StarClan as a whole.

There are exceptions of course. Leopardstar will pride herself as an avatar of battle and gladly bestow favor if she's contacted. Firestar will show up if you so much as think about him too hard. But sometimes, a cat will pray to a direct ancestor, or a friend will "lend" one of theirs.

"My grandmew had NINE kittens, if you ask her she'll totally help you have a litter!"

"My grandpaw's brother died at sunningrocks, dragged down TWO RiverClan warriors with him! He'll help me claw their ears off tomorrow!"

"Remember the wisdom of Tallstar the wanderer, who visited many lands and guided his clan across them. Pray to him tonight, and he will protect you on your journey to the mountain."

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Pebblewhisper here!  Sorry i've been dead i've been avoiding any spoilers like the plague.  I just finished vos tonight and i have had many thoughts during the book and many questions raised.  I'm sure I will forget a few things I mean to share as always but here goes.  Most importantly, why do the rebels all assume that killing bramblestar's body is the solution?  They don't know what would happen.  They think that if they kill Bramblestar's body that it would somehow "defeat" the spirit.  The spirit is just using the body as a vessel, it would just kill the body not the spirit.  It would just wait around for another body to inhabit, or even worse reek havoc as a spirit or something? idk.  Killing Bramblestar is how this mess started in the first place, I seriously doubt that is the solution.  So what is convincing them that is the right thing to do?  Is it just because it is the obvious answer/the only think they can think of?  Like I know, what would you do right?  Maybe Tree can exorcise him like he did the other spirit summoning ritual? lol  Like every time they were like ok let's kill him that will end it i'm just like no it won't?  It's not even his body, he will just wait til the next person dies?

I think one thing to look out for is the pain fakestar suffers in bramble's body.  Why would the spirit feel pain?  It is using the body as a vessel (like a parasite, controls it) but what connection would allow it to feel pain?  From inhabiting the body too long as a spirit (maybe re-reading shadowsight's thoughts on this when he was a spirit might help) or just because the body is a corpse?  something else?  ALSO WHERE THE F did he go when that stupid scene between bristleroot was happening?  That was the first time he ever left the camp/den and they didn't think "oh gee, maybe we should spy on him to see what the f he is up to that's a first and it can't be good".  anyway... 

Spiresight was always odd, but he clearly cares about shadowsight like family.  I find him suspicious, but in the prologue we saw him watch helplessly as fakestar attempted to kill him.  I do not think he is involved, i assume that his assumption was "everyone is a suspect, you can't trust anyone" just to be overly cautious, and don't see why he would care to cause so much trouble to the clans.  I don't think he has a motive, and he is very unconnected to the clans.  BUT what is suspicious is why fakestar let shadowsight live after he visited him in the den.  Couldn't he have killed shadowsight's spirit right then and there?  WHY would he reveal all that like a dumb dumb?  That right there makes me suspicious of him using Spiresight to keep shadowsight alive for some reason but the more i think about it, it seems silly as like i said spiresight has no motive in any of this and has zip to do with the clans.  Although I could be wrong and I would be really interested to see how it would turn out if he was evil.  When shadowsight was missing, why did tree/rootspring not try to summon his spirit (super cool new thing)?  This really bothered me as he was missing for a concerningly long amount of time, so if they really thought he was dead by then, why wouldn't they at least try it for some closure?  Or even to see if he had any answers?  Like if you are sooo worried about what happened to him and it's been weeks may be you should give it a shot?  Ask what the hell happened to him?  Like they attempted it with bramblestar's ghost and i was like oh ok so next they are going to have an epiphany to summon shadowsight from the spirit realm for some answers?  but no lol.  I honestly thought he would be dead and communicate via rootspring the rest of the series and work as part of the resistance from the other side (like how he was trying to destroy the thing blocking starclan). 

Obviously at this point fakestar is ashfur, there is no denying it.  But clearly as suspected if it were to be ashfur, he is merely the puppet (and who loves pupeteering more than mapleshade?  I would love for this to be the case...)  I'll get to my ashfur bits later, but we literally have no info on this accomplice.  I am very scared that harestar isn't really harestar, and the accomplice is occupying his body and putting on a brilliant performance to take control over the situation (as we know the accomplice thinks of fakestar as a failure at this point for obvious reasons).  When Harestar died, who is to say he actually visited starclan?  How? It doesn't seem likely, something just doesn't add up here...but I'm sure this is just their way of connecting the dots and it's probably just Harestar.  

When shadowsight was in the df no one was there.  It mentioned it was practically cleared out.  However, i wonder if the df cats that remain have invaded starclan and held them hostage.  thunderclan is obviously suffering the most, but that doesn't answer why skyclan remains completely removed from the situation.  Is it because they were not living by the lake/forest when the accomplice/fakestar was alive so they are not a part of the revenge plan?  if that's the case, why not make it less obvious?  Or if the accomplice is clearsky or skyclan descent, spare them as they are his clan.  If it is a skyclan cat, this is retribution for them being driven out before.  Or, maybe clearsky harbors resentment toward firestars lineage for creating a clan including kittypets/loners/rogues despite the fact that some are descendents of skyclan.  Who knows.  I'm not saying this is likely at all, as usual the conflict/perpetrators will probably mainly revolve around thunderclan, but I thought the reverse might be an interesting conflict. 

I like that you reminded us of the first prologue from this series.  Based on that scene have KNOWN that fakestar's spirit/voice was from starclan.  What about the accomplice?  We have known since po3 when jaypaw was chillin' in the df with tiger and hawk and spottedleaf showed up and escorted him out that at least starclan cats can just straight up walk in to the df.  So did ashfur seek out the accomplice in the df?  Seems unlikely as he's the puppet.  Maybe they are both starclan cats?  I'm stuck on that point there...

Here's what we know about the imposter, regardless of us being 100% sure he's ashfur, i think it's important to keep in mind and may give us context to their connection to the accomplice in the future (sorry if some/all of these points are obvious but they lead up to my biggest/last point, refuting my hawkfrost theory): imposter was a clan cat through and through, too familiar with clan life and concepts, weird how he was familiarizing/refamiliarizing himself with thunderclan camp.  Not too recent because he didn't know every thunderclan cat.  Seems to genuinely care for squirrelflight while also going out of his way to show his hatred for her relatives/offspring, trying to murder them even (sounds like ashfur with the three huh).  Again, where does that leave skyclan in all of this?  Don't care because they aren't involved/seen as outsiders to the situation?  Or is it because the accomplice wants to spare them due to a connection?  Again think this is unlikely as it seems to mainly revolve around punishing thunderclan, especially considering ashfur as the imposter, but i find it really odd that there is zero effort to include skyclan in all this.  I mention all of these obvious points as my last and most important point about the imposter thus far might not be: it cannot be hawkfrost, tigerstar, brokenstar, or any other villainous character similar for the following reasons: *fakestar is not ambitious.  He is lazy/indifferent/weak/unmotivated and does nothing but sulk all day in his den.  We aren't even sure if he is motivated to carry out the whole code breaking thing, as he is a pawn.  That could just the accomplices motive, and his reward is squirrelflight and "leader of thunderclan" or appearing as the master of it all (and maybe some other unknown "glory" that the accomplice has come up with).  Hawk/tiger/broken do not mope like this and would mock this fakestar for being so lazy and pathetic.  *So, unlike hawk, tiger, or broken, he is not power hungry and he does not have the common ambition to rule the forest and truly take over all the clans.  In fact it's quite the opposite: his motive may be to destroy the clans entirely and have them all die off or become loners/rogues/kittypets (think somewhat similar to what happened to shadow clan around sol/darktail eras).  This would explain all the exiling and turning everyone against each other.  The imposter does not care (or is too stupid to realize) that he is the cause of losing his supporters.  He is irrational and paranoid, which is causing him to send away/punish every cat in his wake.  This is having the opposite effect he wants.  He is an embarrasment to himself whether or not he realizes it.  Unlike hawk/tiger/broken, he is missing the key ingredient, he does not have PRIDE.  He is a coward and he is insecure, which is why he is pushing everyone away and the accomplice will probably cause conflict in book 4 or 5.  That's where the real fun will begin.  Take Sol's return in OOTS for example.  We know he is a smooth talker and is deceptive.  We also know when it really comes down to it he is a coward.  Despite his way with words, he sucks at everything else.  That's what fakestar reminds me of.  I don't think either of them are Sol as it is too deeply connected with the clans.  I think Sol's story is over, but I think it is an interesting character comparison/connection. (off topic, but like...is Sol still alive? if so, he must be kinda old now.  Hmmm)

Sorry this is way too long and I realize this is practically another book in itself but I would really love to hear what you think about all of this and hope it was worthwhile/interesting for you to read.  I would also like to know what you thought about Shadowsight's controversial scene.  I think they could have just written it so he was dreaming or went to the moonpool and visited the df that way rather than the method he chose.  Either way, it definitely wasn't absolutely necessary.  I know most of us are older now but it's still targeted toward a young/impressionable audience.  I don't think the original three erins would have written something like this back when it was just them in the good ole days.  

———————————————————————

Hi again Pebblewhisper!

You make a lot of good points here! (I’m going to go paragraph by paragraph here so it doesn’t get jumbled together)

I was also confused why everyone seems to think that killing the body will defeat the spirit, unless some spirits are waiting to kill the imposter the moment he is forced out the body, the imposter should still be fine and just go to plan b. I love the idea of Tree performing an exorcism.

I’m a big fan of the theory of Bramblestar’s body rotting, that’s why the imposter is feeling pain. It was shown that the body is pretty dead apart from when the imposter is puppeteering it in VoS. I was also confused how no one spotted Bristlefrost randomly declaring previously unknown feelings of love for Rootspring lol, that moment had literally no build up on Bristlefrost’s part.

I personally think Spiresight definitely knows more than he let on to Shadowsight, but I can’t say if he is involved in the plan directly or not, but the imposter and Spiresight definitely seemed to have met once judging by what he says to Shadowsight, but I doubt the imposter would out a major accomplice like that which makes me think Spiresight maybe accidentally/unwillingly assisted in all this?

Yeah I definitely don’t believe Ashfur is working alone in all this, I’m not sure if you saw but maybe a week ago I published a theory that Mapleshade is the mastermind in all this. And that point about Harestar is actually an interesting one, but seeing as he came back to life a lot quicker than Bramblestar did I think it’s him, unless the possession system has had an upgrade.

That’s an interesting idea about the df cats holding the clans hostage, maybe their absence in Squirrelflight’s Hope was due to them hiding out an plotting? One of the reasons I think Mapleshade is in charge is because if SkyClan being unaffected, she didn’t know they existed, but Clear Sky is also a suspect because of this.

I think maybe whoever is doing this sought Ashfur our after learning of his past and how he previously collaborated with Hawkfrost. I do think it is most likely that a non-StarClan cat is doing this, but I think it’s still a possibility.

I think any accomplice wants revenge and is using Ashfur to do so, making him think that this is all for his benefit. Getting back to Mapleshade it is ThunderClan that is suffering the most and the named codebreakers all seem to share some kind of half clan and thunderclan connection. Sol is also another suspect of mine but I doubt he would leave SkyClan alone.

Dw about it, it was very worthwhile! You’ve got a lot of good thoughts going on here. Yeah I thin that scene could have been handled a lot better, maybe Spiresight could have come to him in his dreams and been like “follow me” (if he is indeed somewhat on Shadowsight’s side). I don’t think it should have been written the way it was at all, especially when these books are also aimed for younger audiences. Maybe just by being in that spirit state it could give him the ability to do so again for restricted time before his body dies? Idk