#hollyleaf comes around but she's questioning things

[notwarriorswiki]

Jayfeather keeps the secret that his friends aren't actually blessed with powers like they think, fearing for what will befall their friendship should he do so.

But the prophecy won't be fulfilled unless he gathers the true gifted cats.

Spoiler: Does not go well. Jayfeather loses the support of pretty much everyone, including his siblings + best friend/crush, Kestrelflight.

[javaskullz]

Thinking abt an au type thing, where Dovewing (at the time Dovepaw) gets lost in the territory. And she’s all alone and crying because she’s lost. And then this black shape comes out from this fucking hole in the ground and is like. “Why are you crying?” And she helps her home. So then Dovepaw keeps visiting this shape and getting to know her. She finds her often drying herbs for her to take home and helps her with hunting practice and becomes a secondary mentor to Dove. And Dove begins calling her “The Shadow”.

Dove tells her all about her clan and such. One day she brings up the idea of bringing her to camp and giving her a place to stay. The Shadow bristles at this. “No, I will not visit your clan. All I’d bring is misery.” Dove questions why, and The Shadow is like “Well do you think they’d be happy to learn about a cat who’s been living under their paws, and eats their prey?” And Dove is like “ok.”

She tells her about the lonely she-cats, Squirrelflight and Leafpool. How their fur is dull and they’re graying early. How they only have each other and their parents. The Shadow presses on about Squirrelflight specifically, asking if she is okay. Dove asks why she cares. “She helped me once. A long time ago.” Dove asks why she doesn’t meet with her again. “It is better if she doesn’t. I bet she doesn’t even remember me. She’s helped so many cats in her life, I bet, it would be hard to remember one specifically.”

She tells her about her mentor, Lionblaze, who is bossy and too gentle in battle practice, and who hates thunderstorms. She tells her about Jayfeather, the grumpy healer who always asks her to get herbs while she’s out. She tells her about Tigerheart, the handsome tom from ShadowClan (not that she’d know what that is!) She tells her about her sister Ivypool, who feels so far from her despite sleeping next to her every night.

One night, Ivypool and Dovewing are fighting. “You don’t even know me! All you do is follow Lionblaze and Jayfeather, do you even have any thoughts of your own?”. Suddenly, the ground weakens beneath them and they fall into the tunnels, cloudy dust swirling around them. The Shadow appears, offering to help.

The Shadow leads them into the light, and just as she’s about to disappear back into the caves, a patrol lead by Lionblaze and Cinderheart catch her.

They pause, and with a single name everything shatters.

“Hollyleaf?”

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

how are you going to handle ashfur in wcr? i’ve always loved him but also felt like he should have been more clearly written either as a sympathetic tragic character or a total asshole, instead of kind of both

Technically, both!

On one hand, his mother was brutally murdered when he was young. He and his 3 siblings relied heavily on each other, but when Ferncloud got together with Dustpelt, Tulipfur grows closer to the older cats of Thunderclan, and Elderleaf buried herself in her work to try and become Camp Keeper, he feels upset and left behind. He has a right to feel that way, but he keels feeling that way. Stuck in the past... And over time, he blames everyone around him for his troubles.

A bonus scene shows his trial shows that he is incredibly charming. He sways the jury by pleading to see his mother, being incredibly loving towards her, and asking about his passed on nieces, Larchkit and Hollykit.

He plays up the sympathy card, talking about how it was such a foolish thing to do, how he just loved Squirrelflight too much, and how he totally deserved what Hollyleaf did. He blames Brambleclaw in a roundabout way. See, he just looked do much like the cat who killed my mom :(

The jury is mostly split and the final vote falls to Yellowfang.

After she and Raggedstar split up, he became mates with Foxheart. He didn't love Foxheart, just used her feelings and affections to hurt Yelf. Yellowfang admitted that, though she knew what he was doing, it still hurt. She wanted to shout at him, hurt him, and even wanted to hurt Foxheart, who hadn't done anything wrong.

She votes in his favour, because she finds it a bit relatable. She fell for the act, many cats did. She is ashamed to admit it later on, but in that moment, she knew what that anger was like. She still disapproves of his treatment of Hollypaw, and his anger towards the Three, but his trial is about The Fire Scene specifically, and all of Starclan knows Squirrelflight is going to be on trial when she eventually passes away.

And, for a good chunk of his time in Starclan, he looks normal. He hangs out with his nieces, cheering when they get their Star names, Hollyfoot and Larchwhisker. He hangs out with Tulipfur when his brother dies during AVOS, defending him when his cross-clan relationship comes into question.

In Squirrelflight's eyes, he was strange, and controlling, he treated her like some precious thing that couldn't do too much or she would break, some kind of prize to be hoarded.

Many cats alive did not like him. His was an ass towards most cats in Thunderclan, and he wasn't popular.

TBC shows his true colours. Controlling, manipulative, holier-than-thou, vindictive, and entitled.

Squirrelflight is glad to finally put him down for good.

[bandtrees]

for the warriors ask game :D

🗺 : first map you ever watched?

🖼 : first amv/pmv you ever watched?

(I used to watch MAPs religiously those are my jam)

yay thank you! warriors ask game except the questions are all weird and niche as hell!

know: my memory is bad. i've been into wc for... well over a decade now, so these are probably not accurate xP my first warriors video was i believe a spoof video about ashfur and squirrelflight, but my first map and amv? uhhh unsure!

🗺 : first map you ever watched? - i didn't actively watch maps as a small kid, or at least i don't think i did? the first map that i entirely remember watching was during my second major warriors phase by the time i was closer to... 15 maybe?? as opposed to my earliest memories of wc which are from when i was 10 or younger lol. little fang, which is making me genuinely super misty eyed to rewatch, it's just so so good, from the style to the designs to how well it gets into jayfeather and his family with only animation and music, the composition of every part is so good, the designs, all of it. the sole reason little fang is one of my favorite songs to this day it might, miiight, have also been evelyn evelyn? that one was certainly one of the first maps i ever watched that stuck with me. the dovewing kinnie has entered chat

🖼 : first amv/pmv you ever watched? - i cannot remember. i watched sooo many amvs as a kid. not my FIRST amv, probably, but one of the earliest i recall is ashfur's revenge, which is delighting me so much to rewatch. this one was formative for me, i miss the style of flash-animated warriors amvs that (obviously:() aren't around anymore. i also have such a soft spot for tigerclaw is not one of thunderclan, one i was thinking about the Entire Time i was writing the exile scene in spottedfur's pride lol. i still love it so much, this is my first time rewatching it in like... a decade, im sure. its so good. im kind of blown away as i rewatch these that they ARE as good as they are, cuz i feel like it's common in the warriors fandom to treat old amvs as some cringeworthy lost art (in general i have strong opinions on how (unintentionally)cruel the internet starts being to things as soon as they enter "nostalgia" territory) - but there's still, like, genuine talent in these. there's a reason these amvs were as popular as they were, and not because we were all cringe 10 year olds who didn't know better, lol. also reminds me of tigerstar and the dog pack(be prepared) - which is one i have the most vivid memory of watching on my family computer, hehe. in general i love corvus katana's stuff, past and current oh my god i will never get this ask posted because i keep remembering ones that helped, like, form a lobe of my brain growing up. HOW TO SAVE BLUESTAR'S LIFE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!!! I AM TOTALLY NOT CRYING REWATCHING IT. YOU ARE. YOU ARE. cant believe i had a phase where i hated bluestar - i think everyone did because they spontaneously realized she was imperfect, immoral even at times, and made mistakes but hadn't developed the media comprehension to realize she was... actually meant to be complex and troubled and not just a perfect leader. god. bluestar. god. god. g (im also gonna use this question as a chance to gush about old amvs that i remember that are unfortunately lost to time: a hollyleaf one to hurricane by thirty seconds to mars (!!!! THIS ONE WAS SO FORMATIVE BUT IM LIKE 80% SURE ITS LOST MEDIA), bluestar heart heart head (PLEASE tell me im not the only one who remembers this one!!! i was devastated to learn it wasn't iconic or reuploaded anywhere (as much as i also think, again, in the nostalgia-sense, people act entitled to things like old amvs or people's art or whatever else)), NIGHTCLOUD GIRL WITH ONE EYE CHANGED MY LIFE?and... probably more of course that aren't coming to me now xP

i. didnt expect to ramble as much as i did with this? i just can't put into enough words how formative warriors amvs and the like were for me growing up :'DD they were my major start for digital art and animation (something i did a lot when i was younger but fell out of over time, but god i'd love to animate again, maybe do a classic wc amv to spottedfur's pride or something lol)

thank you for the question! I am so incredibly normal about warrior cats.

[tennelleflowers]

Rewriting “The Power of Three”-Dark River (text version)

These are my notes and script for rewriting Dark River! As always, you can listen to the full rewrite here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0G_40Q4A_o 

Read part one here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/tennelleflowers/691050933780643840?source=share

Dark River- Alternate title: Dark Passage (Title change because the ‘River’ part of the story is gonna be scrapped)

Lion*-Still training in the Dark Forest. Still trying to be a better person as well. Struggling with both. He starts hanging out with Heatherpaw as an escape from his problems. He finds out that she’s been having similar problems in WindClan. They connect through mutual outsider-ness, but it’s clear Heather is looking to make an effort while Lion is kinda pushing them both towards more isolation. He wants to be better but doesn’t want to open up to the clanmates he was a bit of a dick around, afraid of rejection or humiliation. He wants to talk to his siblings about his feelings, but Holly is doing so well and Jay is so busy (plus Lion has realized that he was kinda a dick to him in the last book and isn’t ready to confront that) that Lion avoids them as well.

Jay- Finds the stick and learns about the cats that used to live around the lake and their history. He experiences the whole Jay’s Wing history up to the cats leaving for the Mountains and becoming the Tribe. He learns about the tunnels under ThunderClan and WindClan territory. After finally figuring out his place in the clan in the last book, the experience with Jay’s Wing makes Jaypaw question things again. If the cats who lived here before didn’t belong here, does that mean he doesn’t either? He notices Firestar watching him and avoiding him at the same time, which adds to Jay’s feeling of isolation and not belonging. Leafpool is also mysterious and cagey around him and he’s had trouble connecting to people in both books. Through re-living the past, Jay learns how to make friends and open up a little better. He’s still mostly the grumpy, independent cat we know, but we’ll get to see a few tender moments between him and Leafpool, plus some of the other cats who come in for treatment.

Holly- Now that she’s caught up in training, Hollypaw is becoming extremely popular with the other apprentices and really is sort of the leader of the pack. Hollypaw is delighted to be looked up to so fondly by all her clanmates and tries to use her authority for good. She solves minor disputes and gets praised by the older Warriors for her calm reason.

End of act 1, Lion and Holly take their Warrior assessments and Hollyleaf becomes a Warrior while Lionpaw does not. This drives a wedge between Hollyleaf and her brothers. Hollyleaf believes her hard work and devoted following of the code has gotten her where she is, and she doesn’t understand her brother’s struggles to fit in. (Foreshadowing that Hollyleaf isn’t the same as her brothers.)

Lionpaw’s meetings with Heather become less frequent on Heatherpaw’s end. Lion waits for her, but Heather only shows up occasionally. It seems she’s having an easier time in WindClan now. She comes back one night and tells Lionpaw she is now Heathertail. Lionpaw gets jealous and accuses Heathertail of being like Hollyleaf. When he gets angry with her, Heathertail rips Lionpaw a new one, basically telling him that he’s being a loser by not just choosing to be a better cat and she’s done doing these nightly meetings. They continue shouting when Crowfeather hears them and goes into the tunnels and finds them. In his panic, Lionpaw attacks Crowfeather and severely wounds him. Heathertail calls Lionpaw a monster and Lionpaw runs away after hearing more WindClan cats in the tunnels, including Breezepaw.

After this, Lionpaw is at his lowest point. Haunted by the guilt of training in the Dark Forest, Heathertail’s words, and his brutal attacks on Graystripe and Crowfeather, Lionpaw vows to become a better cat for real this time. He goes back to the Dark Forest to tell Tigerstar and Hawkfrost that he won’t train with them any longer. Tigerstar implies that they’ve found other cats who will gladly take his place in training. Hawkfrost is betrayed to see Lionpaw leave.

Lionpaw finally starts to make a turn around in ThunderClan. He gets to retry his assessment at the end of the book.

Epilogue- Firestar gives Lionblaze his warrior name and then pulls Jaypaw aside and tells him about the Power of Three prophecy

-end of notes-

Script:

Next we move onto Dark River, or, as I’m going to call it: Dark Passage. This title change is for multiple reasons: 1) I think the tunnels play a bigger role in this story than the river itself 2) In my version of events a lot of the flooding river stuff is going to be removed entirely and 3) Passage has multiple connotations. So while the title is literally talking about the dark tunnels under the clans, it’s also about Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw growing up, and Dark Passage could imply a harsh period of time for the trio that they need to pass through.

It’s been a few moons since the end of The Sight. Jaypaw is doing well in his Medicine Cat training, Hollypaw has caught up to the other apprentices, and Lionpaw is no longer an egoistic show-off. However, Lionpaw still hasn’t managed to make any friends. And is still training in the Dark Forest. Lionpaw wants to be a better person, but he doesn’t know where to start and feels like he’s messed things up too badly with the other apprentices. Ashfur is still as impossible to please as ever, and the only way Lionpaw feels good about himself and his abilities is with Tigerstar in the Dark Forest, even though he knows he shouldn’t. One night Lionpaw sneaks out of camp to clear his head and ends up running into Heatherpaw. They start hanging out with each other as an escape from their problems. He finds out that she’s been having similar problems in WindClan with making friends and living up to her clanmates' expectations of her. They hit it off and agree to meet up late at night in the tunnels that Heatherpaw has found.

Now that she’s caught up in training, Hollypaw is becoming extremely popular with the other apprentices and really is sort of the leader of the pack. Hollypaw is delighted to be looked up to so fondly by all her clanmates and tries to use her authority for good. She solves minor disputes and gets praised by the older Warriors for her calm reason and maturity.

 And finally, we have Jaypaw, who finds The Stick and learns about the cats that used to live around the lake and their history. He experiences the whole Jay’s Wing history up to the cats leaving for the Mountains and becoming the Tribe. He learns about the tunnels under ThunderClan and WindClan territory. So we’re just getting all of that past history done in one book instead of dragging it out for 2 whole series. After finally figuring out his place in the clan, the experience with Jay’s Wing makes Jaypaw question things again. If the cats who lived here before didn’t belong here, does that mean he doesn’t either? Is that why he’s seeing these things? What does it mean? He notices Firestar watching him and avoiding him at the same time. This will be Jaypaw’s conflict throughout most of the book.

In the middle of the book, Lionpaw and Hollypaw take their Warrior assessments and Hollyleaf becomes a Warrior while Lionpaw does not. This drives a wedge between Hollyleaf and her brothers. Hollyleaf believes her hard work and devoted following of the code has gotten her where she is, and she doesn’t understand her brother’s struggles to fit in.

After this, Lionpaw’s meetings with Heatherpaw become less frequent on Heatherpaw’s end. Lionpaw waits for her, but Heatherpaw only shows up occasionally. It seems she’s having an easier time in WindClan now. She comes back one night and tells Lionpaw she is now Heathertail. Lionpaw gets jealous and accuses Heathertail of being just like Hollyleaf, ready to abandon him when she gets what she wants. When he gets angry with her, Heathertail rips Lionpaw a new one, telling him that he’s being a loser by moping around and not just choosing to be a better cat and she’s done doing these nightly meetings. They continue shouting when Crowfeather hears them and goes into the tunnels and finds them. In his panic, Lionpaw attacks Crowfeather and severely wounds him. Heathertail calls Lionpaw a monster and Lionpaw runs away after hearing more WindClan cats in the tunnels, including Breezepaw.

After this, Lionpaw is at his low point. Haunted by the guilt of training in the Dark Forest, Heathertail’s words, and his brutal attacks on Graystripe and Crowfeather, Lionpaw vows to become a better cat for real this time. He goes back to the Dark Forest to tell Tigerstar and Hawkfrost that he won’t train with them any longer. Tigerstar implies that they’ve found other cats who will gladly take his place in training, and with his help, they’ve found a way to get to them. Hawkfrost is betrayed to see Lionpaw leave, in many ways Hawkfrost has been a better mentor than Ashfur and it stings to leave that behind.

Lionpaw finally starts to make a turn around in ThunderClan. He’s messed up his chances with the apprentices he grew up with, they’ve all become Warriors now, but he makes an effort to help and befriend the younger apprentices who just got started: Foxpaw and Icepaw. Since he’s not training in the Dark Forest anymore, he starts sleeping better and begins to realize that he was always grumpy with his clanmates partly due to not getting enough sleep and feels like a weight has been lifted from him since he isn’t lying to them anymore either. His powers truly start to come to him at this time. At the very end of the book, he gets to retry his warrior assessment and passes.

During the epilogue of this book, Firestar gives Lionpaw his warrior name: Lionblaze. This is from Jaypaw’s perspective and he notices Firestar giving Hollyleaf and Lionblaze the same awkward, distant treatment that he’s been feeling this whole time. Jaypaw can’t take it anymore with Firestar’s weirdness around himself and his siblings. Just as he’s trying to figure out ways to confront his leader about it, Firestar calls Jaypaw to his den to speak to him privately. It’s here that Firestar reveals the Power of Three prophecy to Jaypaw. But before he gets a reaction from Jaypaw or even confirmation that Firestar knows Jay, Lion, and Holly are the ones in the prophecy, the book ends.

Okay, hang onto your butts cause this is where we start tossing the rest of the books into the preverbal salad bowl. And like when I’m forced to eat a salad bowl, I’m going to just start picking and choosing what I want and leaving the rest behind like the garbage that it is.

[warriorsfireandwater]

Warriors Analysis 2: A Breakdown of the Crow/Night/Breeze Family Dynamic

I said I would do it, so here we are. The big doozy. For this one, I’m going to putting all of the sourced scenes in a linked google doc, because I just don’t want to make this post a million miles long. Instead, for this post, I will sum up all of the conclusions made after reviewing every scene involving the family from Po3 through OotS, with other relevant information from other books included.

Context of this one: I’ve watched (and participated in) a lot of debate over this family. Just about every single argument I’ve seen tends to:

1) rely on a person’s opinion of a character overall to how they feel about the family (”I found Nightcloud annoying” often goes along with “Nightcloud is equally bad of a parent” or “Breezepelt was a bad person so I don’t sympathize with him in the family situation”)

2) misremember canon

3) rely on a person’s headcanons of what actually happened to shape their judgement of the family (”Nightcloud spoiled Breezepelt and told him Crowfeather is bad” when there are zero canon scenes of this happening)

Some ground rules: I’m relying on breaking down the canon scenes in the books. I am NOT inserting my own thoughts or beliefs as to what happened behind the scenes. If there’s anything bordering on that (”this behavior implies X”), it’ll be clearly stated that it’s an interpretation. I ask that if you want to comment or debate this analysis that you do the same. People’s headcanons shaping how they remember the family is the thing that frustrated me enough to spend hours digging this up. As a personal request, please don’t use this post to say “Nightcloud still sucks and I hate her”/”Breezepelt still sucks and I hate him”/”neglect isn’t abuse” - the latter is definitively incorrect and is upsetting to hear as a survivor of abuse. “X character still is bad” just takes away from the point of this - which is not to say “Breezepelt is a good person”, but PURELY to breakdown the family dynamic. With that out of the way, let’s GO:

After looking at literally every scene involving Breezepelt, Crowfeather, and Nightcloud and analyzing the ones that involve or mention them as a family, here’s some key points. The scenes that back these points up are included and detailed in this doc.

Breezepaw is introduced to us as a bit aggressive and rude, and his mentor, Whitetail, wishes to Crowfeather that she would teach him manners (earning her no response from him)

We first properly see Nightcloud during the dog attack in The Sight, when Breezepaw returns from checking the barrier. Breezepaw reports that there is no damage, and Crowfeather immediately questions if he actually checked all the way around. Breezepaw tells him “Of course!”, and Nightcloud says that Crowfeather should trust his son more.

This suggests Nightcloud is ready to defend Breezepaw whenever. However, as ThunderClan is leaving, Breezepaw mutters that WindClan can manage on their own. Nightcloud immediately scolds him and compliments Lionpaw for saving Heatherpaw during the battle.

Later, at the daylight Gathering, Lionpaw and Breezepaw are buried underground. Crowfeather and Nightcloud help dig them out, and Breezepaw is not breathing when he comes out. Jaypaw has to pull dirt out of his throat to save his life.

Leafpool says to Crowfeather that she would “give [her] last drop of blood to save [his kit]”. Nightcloud sharply retorts that “our kit was lucky that Jaypaw was here”.

Nightcloud carries Breezepaw away from the scene “like a kit”. Crowfeather offers to help, but she carries him on her own. She does not push him away/force him away/shout at him, she literally just chooses to carry him. Nightcloud spends the rest of the daylight Gathering curled around Lionpaw and Breezepaw and keeping them resting.

We learn these things from the Sight: Breezepaw and Crowfeather seem to have a tense relationship, but that isn’t fully developed. Nightcloud is willing to defend him from Crowfeather’s doubts, but notably does not defend him when he acts like a punk in front of her. She is bothered by Leafpool’s comment about giving her life for Breezepaw (which I personally find pretty reasonable to be bothered by), but counters by giving her gratitude to Jaypaw. She wants to carry Breezepaw after he nearly dies, but isn’t pushing Crowfeather away or denying him anything like many people claim.

In Dark River, Crowfeather encourages Breezepaw’s bias against ThunderClan, telling him that they “celebrate mixed blood” in a tone that implies it as a negative thing. (It seems implied he does this to get to Leafpool, who is upset by his comment.)

Jaypaw is able to feel Nightcloud’s jealous emotions on a few occasions, but she actually never says anything to Leafpool or Crowfeather about it.

In Outcast, Crowfeather is called to go on the journey to the Tribe. Onestar tells him to take Breezepaw, who has gotten in trouble a few times. Breezepaw makes it very plain he doesn’t want to go and worries that his Clanmates are just trying to get rid of him. Crowfeather wants to go, but “sighs” over the idea of taking Breezepaw. To me, he comes off as disinterested and possibly disappointed that he has to bring him. Crowfeather snaps at Breezepaw for asking to say goodbye to his friends, saying “There isn’t time!” even though literally no one is rushing them to leave. Nightcloud comes to say goodbye, but Crowfeather is distant and doesn’t respond to her.

Throughout Outcast, each POV character has at least one (if not many) moments where they think about Crowfeather/Breezepaw and feel pity for Breezepaw, despite really hating him. Hollypaw especially thinks often about how she appreciates Brambleclaw for encouraging and supporting her, and the apprentices all seem to realize that Breezepaw is angry because his father “doesnt seem to like him”. 

When questioning why they have to help the tribe, Crowfeather just tells Breezepaw “You’ll never understand loyalty.”

When they run into Purdy, Breezepaw is pretty rude to him. Crowfeather doesn’t interrupt a single time throughout multiple insults, then reacts by hitting him across the ear without saying anything, which is noted as “a hard blow”.

Breezepaw nearly dies falling off into a ravine after thinking he’s discovered a faster way. Crowfeather pulls him back and snaps at him, expressing no concern for his life. In Eclipse, Crowfeather pointedly does not compliment Breezepaw’s catch of the rabbit, which angers Breezepaw.

During the reveal of Leaf/Crow in the last book, Breezepelt and Nightcloud stand by Crow’s side and don’t publicly turn on him or say anything against him.

This journey gives us a lot of insight into Crow and Breeze’s dynamic. Breezepaw is pretty obviously a little punk throughout this book, but Crowfeather has no healthy way of communicating with him or discipling him. Instead, he snaps at him, hits him, or ignores him, all of which just feeds into Breezepaw’s anger. Nightcloud is not present for any of this and has no way of controlling their interactions here, which could have been a perfect opportunity for Crowfeather to build a relationship with his son if it were true that Night had prevented this.

Breezepelt shows up in Fading Echoes, training in the Dark forest. A few things are made explicit: he is being manipulated by the Dark Forest and Tigerstar’s words have an almost hypnotic effect on him. The cats present egg him on against Crowfeather, feeding into his belief that Crow does not value him. (Side note, I find it really interesting that in this book, Breezepelt has notable value in the warrior code [which encourages his hate towards Crow] and the DF cats encourage this, saying it is “strong” in his blood. Next time we see him, though, he wants to destroy it.)

Flametail randomly thinks about Breezepelt’s family while spending time with Tawnypelt, feeling glad he has nicer kin.

We get the infamous scene where Lion and Breeze fight. Breeze and Crow were both trespassing on ThunderClan territory and Lion caught the prey Breezepelt was about to catch. He intentionally eggs Breezepelt into a fight (rather than just attacking him himself). Leafpool interrupts, asking how Crow can watch this. Nightcloud then shows up and insists Crowfeather has only one son. Leafpool jumps in between them as Breezepelt is leaping for Lionblaze, and she gets clawed. Crowfeather hauls him off and throws him aside, then keeps talking to Leafpool, who tells him she loved him.

Nightcloud then comes over and pulls Crowfeather away from Leafpool. She sinks her claws into his pelt to do this. However, it’s worth noting that this scene contains MANY references to blood every time claws come out - she does not draw blood and he does not express any signal of pain. It’s likely she used her claws only as a means of holding onto him, not to cause him harm. Crowfeather turns on him, and Breezepelt wails before getting between them, telling Crowfeather to leave his mother alone.

Nightcloud doesn’t react rationally in this scene - but neither does any character. Lionblaze is an ass, Breezepelt is an ass, Crowfeather is an ass, and Leafpool is still walking around making declarations of her former love in front of Crowfeather’s wife.

Nightcloud is one of the cats to react rudely to Hollyleaf’s return, but she doesn’t directly attack/challenge her. (This is actually the last time we see Nightcloud.)

The final meaningful scene is in The Last Hope, when Breezepelt fights Lionblaze. Crowfeather intervenes and says he will not allow Breezepelt to hurt him. Breezepelt retorts he always knew Crowfeather hated him, which Crow denies.

“I never hated you!” Crowfeather growled. “That’s just what you were determined to believe. And Nightcloud encouraged you.”

“It’s not her fault!” Breezepelt spat.

“No,” Crowfeather hissed. “I should have done something much earlier...”

This is the first and only time this is blamed on Nightcloud. This is the only indication we have that this could be true.

Some other notable things:

Crowfeather took Nightcloud as a mate to prove his loyalty, not out of love. (This is said in After Sunset: We need to talk)

The Ultimate Guide also confirms the above, but is a questionable source given the many errors included in it. It states that Crowfeather resents Nightcloud (for not being Leafpool), and that Nightcloud coddled Breezepelt. However, the latter is never shown in the story (and the opposite is actually shown when she scolds him).

In Crowfeather’s Trial, Crowfeather is pushed to recognize his anger towards his son and apologize for his behavior towards him and Nightcloud. Even in an entire book from Crow’s perspective (which provides opportunity for memories, flashbacks, etc), there is no indication that Nightcloud actually pushed Breezepelt to hate Crowfeather. There’s a throwaway mention that Crowfeather was too strict or too rough with Breezepelt as a kit, but it’s never actually said that Nightcloud told him this/kept him away/etc. (IE: it’s impossible to say if Nightcloud screamed this at him or asked him once to be gentle. We just don’t know!)

With all this said, here’s my take on the dynamic:

Crowfeather was a neglectful father and an inconsiderate mate. The only scene we get where he seems to actually get along with Breezepaw is when he is encouraging him to dislike ThunderClan by feeding into hatred for “mixed blood” cats. In all other scenes, he: 1) ignores his bad behavior, 2) is unnecessarily harsh to him or dismissive of him, 3) questions and undermines him, 4) does not have healthy ways of addressing his poor behavior (IE, he ignores and turns away from him rather than discussing it when all the apprentices are in trouble and the other warriors are scolding them, he flat-out hits Breezepaw at one point after saying nothing to intervene in his rudeness), and 5) blames Nightcloud for their bad relationship. Crowfeather is provided plenty of opportunities to interact with Breezepaw while Nightcloud isn’t present (in fact, Nightcloud shows up very little - most scenes of the family have just Breeze and Crow, there are many books where Nightcloud isn’t even mentioned).

Nightcloud was literally just being a normal mom and was often pushed to feeling jealous around Leafpool, often because Leafpool doesn’t have any boundaries around hinting about loving Crowfeather for some reason. I was actually really shocked by how... absolutely fuckin brazen Leafpool is 24/7 about waltzing up to Crowfeather while his wife is standing right there and going “just so you know......... i miss you........... i’d give my life for you......” It’s just WEIRD. IMO, it’s pretty damn reasonable for that to make Nightcloud irritated! Most of the time, she never actually voices her jealousy, we just know about it because of Jaypaw’s ability. When she does, it’s sometimes done by complimenting someone else or giving credit to another cat, like when Jaypaw saves Breezepaw. There is zero text in the story supporting the idea that Nightcloud was overbearing or that she spoiled him: we have TWO SCENES where she has character moments around this. In the first, she is defending him from Crowfeather’s doubt, and in the second, she is scolding him for being ungrateful to ThunderClan for their help.

Breezepelt was a kid that grew up feeling unloved, unappreciated, and angry and resentful as a result. The Dark Forest, not Nightcloud, fed into this belief, but we also have a whole lot of scenes that show why that feeling of resentment towards Crowfeather is there to begin with.

The final hot take: If you believe Nightcloud ‘spoiled’ Breezepelt or that she was ‘overbearing and possessive’, you need to reread Po3 and OotS. It’s just not there.

(Bonus: I love Leafpool but god, girl, you need to read a room.)

[violentshine]

since a few people were showing interest i'll talk about what i have planned for the possessed-leaf au

When giving the choice to go back to the clans or stay in Starclan, Squilf knows for a fact she wants to go back down, Leafpool however is more leaning to staying in Starclan. The sisters are allowed to talk with their kin and others before the time comes for them to choose. Before leaving however, Leafpool makes sure she says goodbye to her sister if in case she does deicide to stay and if she wouldn't be able to before she got sent back down.

Time comes and Squirrelflight has to go back down, she doesn't see Leafpool before she's sent but a couple moments after regaining herself after the fall/being revived; Leafpool's starts moving. Squirrelfight wasn't expecting her to come back but is more than happy to spend the rest of her life serving her clan besides her sister who claims she changed her mind last minute and wanted that too.

Leafpool's movements are noticeably a lot more sloppier than Squilf's but when given medical attention, there's nothing physically wrong with her. Leafpool says that since Starclan wasn't expecting her to go back, they didn't heal her properly so maybe that's it. Nobody can think of anything else so they agree. Another thing is that Leafpool suffers from memory loss. She doesn't remember the names of some of her clanmates and seems to have a disdain for Alderheart- who is the cat who agreed with her first & probably said something to plant the idea that 'yea it's starclan's doing'- that she tries to hide. She also can't remember herbs well which annoys Jayfeather to say the least but Alderheart points out that she could have hit her head a bit too hard that wasn't properly tended to by Starclan. Jayfeather argues saying how Squirrelflight doesn't seem to have any issues, other than how she can exert herself quicker than before + fatigue. Alderheart brings up how Leafpool was disconnected from her body for longer so maybe that has something to do with it, also different cats take different times to heal. Leafpool just needs longer to get back to her original self.

Now here's the fork, in Starclan, Leafpool- the real one- does in fact change her mind about staying. But when she goes back down...neither her or Squilf's body are there and there's more cats (Skyclan) so Leafpool assumes she was too late and takes it as a sign that it was a better idea to stay in Starclan. Before she goes back however, she wants to see her sister and clan one more time so she makes her ghost-y way back to Thunderclan.

She arrives at camp and sees Squilf talking to some clanmates, seeing what she wanted, Leafpool makes her way to the Moonpool. But once she turns around and takes a few steps away from camp...she sees a cat who looks just like her. In fact, this cat is her. Before she can get a word out, "Leafpool" darts off, away from camp and Leafpool follows.

The two Leafpools arrive at Moonpool when the real Leafpool is pouring out with questions, "who are you" "what's going on" yadayada but the other "Leafpool" is more ticked off and annoyed which confuses Leafpool even more. "Leafpool" tells her that she should have waited, it was foolish to take this chance even though they weren't fully prepared. But they were prepared enough and they weren't going to let Leafpool ruin this for them again.

Leafpool at first thinks the cat in her body is Hollyleaf but seeing the mix of anger & confusion on the imposter's face convinces her that that's not the case...also the fact that the cat is slipping out of Leafpool's body then can she recognize the gray pelt and angry blue eyes of Ashfur.

Ashfur rants about how he'll make Squilf pay and how, again, he's not going to let Leafpool get in the way of it. Ashfur then could either tackle Leafpool, dragging her to the Dark forest and leaving her there, or seeing how she can't do anything, just leaves her and goes back to camp.

OR going back to Leafpool in Starclan

She didn't change her mind at all and stayed in Starclan for some time (or like a couple days or something idk) then she finds her parents sitting together and once she gets closer she overhears them saying something along the lines of how it was good to see their daughters after so long and then Leafpool speaks up saying how she missed them too. Both Firestar and Sandstorm look behind them in shock.

"Leafpool?" "Yes..." "When did you get here? It's too early for a half-moon meeting." "Half-moon meeting? I...'ve been here since I died in the rockfall and..." "We know you did, but you went back down. At least that's what we thought...because if you're up here, who's that down there?"

Leafpool looks at the part of the Moonpool where Sandstorm & Firestar were sitting besides. There she can see very clearly a cat who looks just like her laying in the nest of moss and bracken in the medic's den. Leafpool couldn't believe her eyes. Someone was in her body, all the time she has been in Starclan, someone has been living in her clan as her, this had to be impossible.

Sandstorm suggests that maybe this is the work of a Dark Forest cat, but Firestar disagrees saying they wouldn't be able to do something like this. But then how could Leafpool be both in Starclan and in Thunderclan? There's too many cats in Starclan to do a head count so the only thing they can do is try to warn the medics.

Though I think Ashfur would have already worked on weakening the connection to the Moonpool by now.

And that's all I have for the moment, and I'm not sure which route to take Either Leafpool goes down to see her clan one more time and runs into Ashfur who is poses as her. Or Leafpool stays in Starclan and sees a cat using her body through the Moonpool

[sirenemale]

Thoughts on dovewing or hollyleaf? I say this as a dovewing kinnie

Cracks my knuckles

THEY'RE BOTH HUGE FAVS OF MINE. Back in my kin era I kinned them both hahaha. Hollyleaf is my ultimate favourite warrior cats character I'm so normal about her PROMISE. I'm gonna go on for ages but my affection for these characters is mainly bc of my own interpretation and projection on them (As is the case with most wc fans I feel).

I'll start with Dovewing! The way her emotional issues were brushed aside was INSANE to me. To me she was such a normal kid thrust into this immense world ending drama that she was told she had to stop, because she got power she didn't ask for, that overwhelm her senses and emotions constantly. She's neurodivergent & desperately trying to mask for her clan. Lionblaze, Jayfeather & Ivypool are not kind to her, I think she should have been the one to get drawn into the dark forest. It'd actually make good on the idea that the 3 could have become tools for evil, it makes good on her care for other clan cats and her frustration over not being able to help them when she knows they need it. I just like her, she's sweet, I think she's very grounded and deserved better. Issues with her and tigerheart aside I think her choosing Shadowclan and settling down with him was really cute, I'm glad she left for a better environment for herself, I hate that Ivypool never stopped being cruel to her. I also am addicted to the tension of Lionblaze and Jayfeather overlooking her bc she's younger and bc she's just Not hollyleaf. Like it's so tragic it's so rough and I resonate with her immensely for that. Like no one is being outright cruel but you can Tell you aren't what they want, and that kind of thing eats at a person, and I think it ate at her when she wasn't around cats she felt seen around (Tigerheart, Purdy ect). She lost her childhood and basically lost her sister, realized how much she wasn't living up to what anyone wanted her to be, and she chose to leave for herself. I like her. I care about her. Um. Niftysenpai's dovewing mv is one of my favourite wc videos ever.

Okay Hollyleaf GOD. My take on her is like INSANELYYYYYY projection heavy but like. To me she is ultimate victim to the clan structure. She grew up under a dogmatic and strict religion and society and takes pride in moralizing about the code to others, she takes pride in being powerful and ambitious, she wanted to be a med cat because it was important. Idk if I made this up but I swear I remember Leafpool saying she wasn't very delicate with herbs, and I love the idea of these ambitious and powerful traits being admired in the clan and also reviled if the cat in question is "Evil". I like the idea of Hollyleaf feeling an immense pressure to balance herself, recite the code to prove she was good, prove she's not heavy handed or fight hungry like the text sometimes implied. Ngl I kind of really like the idea of her having a bit of the bramble/tigerstar complex. So the fact she takes so much purpose in the code only to find that her own birth breaks the rules? Finding out she wasn't part of some god given prophecy like her brothers. It's brutal. Me as a guy with religious trauma thoughts went cuhrazy. I find her spiral and breakdown so so so so compelling, I love the idea of her still trying to live by increasingly distorted versions of the code. Justifications of killing ashfur, regret, guilt, shame, repenting to the gathering ect.

I do wish she had gotten a better conclusion? I don't think the tunnels plot line or her coming back only to die was like. Anything at all. Idk what I would have written instead, tho I am making a pmv with her so u will see my take on her eventually in video. There's a lot of hollyleaf videos I really like but Cheetehz's hollyfawn map is the closest I've seen to hitting my view of her. Someone who has tried so so hard to prove herself and be of use, keeping her head up and crushing down some part of her that's hurt by failing those expectations. I like her breakdown being a straw on the camels back moment instead of a surprise.

[keroseneinhalers]

my favorite part of warrior cats is the grotesque story of squirrelflight, ashfur, and the extended cast of cats that sound like they came out of an ajj song

this gal named squirrelflight flirts with a guy named ashfur a few times. typical 80s romance song. its quick, its fleeting. squirrelflight gets together with brambleclaw. its all real lovely. brambleclaw gets promoted to leader after squirrelflights dad goes into retirement and makes his deputy the chief. brambleclaw is now bramblestar

(before the promotion and after the marriage, brambleclaw leads the entire 4 clans to a new territory. not relevant. he also stabs his brother in the neck with a tent stake)

and then squirrelflights sister leafpool, who is a medicine cat and sworn into celibacy, has sex with a guy from windclan named crowfeather. this is something all the cats are sworn not to do. double illegal.

crowfeather is a bit of a whore because he was previously in love with another girl who went on a magical journey with him when he was a child. (brambleclaw was there for that too. brambleclaw is eternal and everywhere) the girl crowfeather was in love with got impaled by a falling stalagmite while protecting a tribe of savage feral cats with names very similar to english translations of a few native american names i know. interesting. racist? there was a mountain lion involved

yeah so they have sex and leafpool gets pregnant. but since she did two crimes in one she gives the kids to squirrelflight and pretends they belong to her and brambelstar. theres an uncomfortable birthing scene because the kids decided to emerge from her cat uterus in the middle of a snowstorm. this is very telling of their characters after birth

theres three kids. jayfeather lionblaze and hollyleaf. jayfeather is very angry. lionblaze is angry but in a brave way. hollyleaf loves rules. they are a legendary trio

theres a thing about superpowers, and a prophecy or something. jay is sickly and blind and can see peoples thoughts. lionblaze never loses any fights, ever, and he maims ashfur a little while theyre trianing. hollyleaf doesnt have any powers, but she is absolutely obsessed with the warrior code and gets caught up with a guy named sol who says the world is gonna end. none of this is relevant except the "bootlicker hollyleaf" thing

ashfur is stewing. ashfur has been stewing for years now. long enough that they literally brought all 4 clans across the continent to a new territory kind of stewing. hes lonely. he misses the girl he was madly in love with, and shes married to the coolest guy in town. hes in agony. (over in windclan, crowfeather has a new girlfriend. manwhoring as long as he lives)

theres a big fire. thunderclans entire territory sets on fire. everyone is escaping, except for squirrelflight and her three kids. jayfeather, lionblaze, and hollyleaf, who is contemplating becoming an antivaxxer or something

imagine this: a clearing on the edge of a pit. the pit is where the cats live. everything is on fire around this clearing. there is one log running across the clearing, and squirreflight and her fake kids are going along it to escape. theyre the last out

ashfur appears he stands at the other end of the log. hes pissed. hes crying. he hates squirrelflight. he hates her so much. his rage is all consuming, like the fire that burns around them. he says he wants her in as much pain as possible, and he knows how: taking the only thing she loves in this world. her 3 kids

we all know something ashfur doesnt. the kids arent hers. squirrelflight, though non an omnipresence, is gifted with this knowledge herself.. she sees ashfurs twisted evil mind and tells him, flat out that they arent hers. she doesnt love them. he can kill them, they mean nothing to her. they are, after all, just her sister leafpool's. why would she care for them?

ashfur is stunned. he gives up. he leaves. squirrelflight and her three kids leave. its a bit awkward. imagine the thanksgiving dinner table after a particularly bad argument. thats all this is really

anyways. hollyleaf is broken from this. shes the daughter of a medicine cat and a manwhore from a clan that only eats rabbits. she cant take it. much like ashfur, she snaps

there are these big clan meetings, once every month. everyone goes, except the old people and the dying people and the kids who just want juiceboxes and lunchables. thunderclan is heading out to the Meeting Island. they find a body in the river. surprise! its ashfur

they go on to the gathering despite finding the body of one of their finest, most mentally haunted warriors polluting the stream with the blood seeping out of his slit throat. the three kids are there. squirrelflight is there. leafpool is there. bramblestar is there

this story has very weird heathers energy to me. its there, but it isnt coherant. like a bad remix of 100 gecs, sort of. this part is no exception

hollyleaf runs up to the big tree the clan leaders stand on and monologue. shes not allowed to do this. perhaps the sense that she lost her identity with her illigitimate birth turned into something real, that the warrior code didnt matter anymore. perhaps she was just tired of being kind; she wanted to go apeshit

she confesses. to two things. number one - the muderder of ashfur. how tragic. number two - leafpool. leafpools affar with crowfeather. squirrelflights lies to her for her entire life. theres chaos. thunderclan is like stan twitter after a minecraft youtuber said something racist 8 years ago. the 3 other clans are trying desperately to get in on this drama. the hot tea of the hour if you will

hollyleaf says her share. she runs away. lionblaze and jayfeather chase after her all the way back to the thunderclan territory. she yells at them. she runs into a tunnel and gets crushed by rocks. thats the end. shes dead.

jk jk that was a lie shes alive and shes living in a huge cave system with a ghost cat. remember the native american coded mountain tribe? yeah, they had ancestors. the ancestors lived at the territory the 4 clans moved to after squirelflight flirted with ashfur and before she got together with bramblestar. they used to drown little kids in the tunnels. jayfeather is the entire reason why the ancestors moved to the mountains and became the racist mountain tribe. i wont explain the timeline of this, and i dont think i could if i tried

up above hollyleafs slowburn romance with a transparent cat, theres a new girl with superpowers. prophecy fulfilled yadda yadda. her sister is annoyed that she isnt #quirky and so she joins a fighting cult run by the cats in hell. i cannot stress this enough its literally every cat from the 50 some books before this who went to hell. they have an army of children. theyre training them. the sister kills one of her classmates and becomes equals with the hell cats. my second favorite plotline in the series

the hell cats come to the land of the living. the sister betrays them. theres a big battle, and its supposed to be the end of the series but you know theyre gonna continue it for at least 20 more books. (they did). hollyleaf appears, and i dont think its ever explained how or why. but shes back, and she joins the battle. everyones too busy with the literal hell cats to care much about some kid with a body count of 1 appearing randomly

hollyleaf fights a bit. she gets mauled to death. thats the end. its just over. she dies and she doesnt come back. rip to a queen

i think my biggest question besides why would someone create this ad continue to do so for fifty plus books, is how the fuck brambleclaw stabbed his brother with a tent stake when he literally doesn’t even have hands. what.

[warriorsbutnotreally]

hypokits;

maybe heathertail & hollyleaf or hawkfrost & leafpool? thank you :)

I only did one cause I really do not like Hawkfrost x either of Firestar's daughters

but I did make some cute Heather and Holly babies!

So to preface this!

Heathertail and Hollyleaf get into a forbidden relationship during TPo3, Holly goes and Heather never moves on and when Holly returns, their relationship is a bit rocky, but they do get back together!

Heathertail is unable to participate in the battle against the Dark Forest, since she's expecting kits at this time and she's delivered the sad news of her mate's death.

She personally reveals the kits she's expecting are Hollyleaf's [either trans woman Holly or someone helped them is up to interpretation]

Of course this sparks a debate, but Onestar refuses to punish her, so he strikes a deal with ThunderClan and they get two kits

When the kits are born, ThunderClan picks Stormkit and Mudkit, leaving Mintkit and Bunnykit in WindClan.

.

Stormchaser is genderfluid and very cryptid-like in appearance. They are often spotted just looming in corners and watching everyone carefully. They got in many fights as an older kit and young apprentice and after the accident where they lost sight in one eye, they became a massive recluse.

However, they aren't as scary as they seem, and they have a kind heart, even if they still struggle with their temper. They want to set a better example for younger cats and probably becomes close friends with Twigpaw/branch.

They are a selective mute and they don't like large crowds. The only reason they go to the gathering is to see their siblings in WindClan and they keep away from the larger groups of cats.

.

Mudwhiskers is a rather withdrawn and quiet tom. He's unsure of himself a lot and constantly questions why ThunderClan wanted him of all the kits. He belittles himself often and hides it behind a wall of humor that makes him the butt of the jokes.

He keeps trying his best, but his fear of failure and the fact that he's constantly reminded that he's both Hollyleaf's son and half WindClan does not bode well with his mental health.

Despite everything, he still tries, even when all he wants to do is curl up and cry.

.

Mintfrost is a cupio-lesbian who, despite not having romantic feelings, can appreciate just how amazing ladies are. She's also trans and her family is super supportive of her and in return she's super supportive towards them.

She works her tail off for WindClan and is quick to push back against any bullshit that comes from her Clanmates. She doesn't take anyone's attitude and she's not afraid to show her claws when she has to.

There comes a point where she loses faith in WindClan and StarClan because of Onestar and when the Sisters come around and she sees their way of life, she's much more drawn to them. She eventually joins and they accept her as one of them.

.

Bunnypelt is a smug and haughty tom, knowing from a young age that he wants to be Kestrelflight's apprentice and not taking 'no' for an answer. He was always determined to show his HalfClan blood would never stop him.

Eventually, halfway through Warrior training, he does get accepted and is soon turned into a medicine cat apprentice, which he's very proud of. He's a fast learner and he's very impatient, hating repetitive lessons when he could be learning more, newer things.

Despite how irritating he can be, he does care for his siblings and was def insistent on checking on his sibling in ThunderClan when he heard Stormpaw/chaser got badly wounded.

.

[transparenthologramrebel]

Part two of chapter two electric boogaloo

The three returned to camp shortly before sundown. The camp was bathed in a soft warm fading red color. The camp usually looked beautiful at this time of day, yet the destruction made it look ominous, chaotic, and empty. Hanging from Hollyleaf’s jaws was a squirrel and Lionblaze carried two voles. 

“Lionblaze, Hollyleaf you’re back!” Cinderheart called trotting over to the trio.

“I’m heading to the medicine den. Leafpool and I need to sort these herbs out before it gets too dark.” Jayfeather informed his siblings, walking away. Lionblaze dropped his kills and head bundted  Cinderheart, who reciprocated. 

“I brought you back freshkill, just like I promised,” Lionblaze purred. Hollyleaf stood behind her brother and wanted to claw his fur off. How could he be thinking about mates at a time like this? Even more so with Cinderheart, her best friend? Cinderheart purred, picking up one of the voles.

“Thank you! Would you like to eat with us, Hollyleaf?” She asked. Hollyleaf shook her head dropping her squirrel. 

“No, thank you, I should see if Brambleclaw needs me to do anything.” she said quickly, picking up her squirrel trotting away. The last thing she wanted to do right now was be around her brother and Cinderheart. 

“They have all the right to be happy together. I just wish it wasn’t right now. I need them both right now…” Hollyleaf thought to herself as she left her squirrel on the new freshkill pile. She didn’t have an appetite right now. “I wonder how long it will be till she starts sleeping in his nest?” That thought made her feel hollow and alone. Cinderheart and Hollyleaf had been best friends since apprentice hood. They had always shared a nest, even now. The thought of Cinderheart no longer being next to her made her feel even more alone than her current problems already did. Hollyleaf looked over to the warriors den. Cinderheart and Foxpaw had done a lot of good work already. Half of the den had been repaired, but there were still large blatant holes in the den’s exterior. Ashfur slinked over to the den from the nursery having finished repairing one of the sides. Hollyleaf caught his gaze and the two stared each other down from across the camp. Ashfur’s eyes were dark, threatening. Hollyleaf flexed her claws, staring him down unblinking with her own ferocity.

“I will stop you. I’ll save Thunderclan and the warrior code, by shutting your jaws. That is my promise to you Ashfur.” Hollyleaf thought, her pelt quivering with hatred. Ashfur narrowed his eyes and slipped into the warrior's den. Thought of having to share a den with him tonight made Hollyleaf’s fur crawl as if she were covered in fleas.  She turned away from the warrior's den. 

Hollyleaf’s paws lead her to the medicine cat den. She stuck her head inside to see Leafpool and Jayfeather busy sorting the herbs they had collected. Leafpool turned her head, looking at Hollyleaf over her shoulder.

“Hollyleaf are you alright? Do you need something?” Leafpool asked, walking over. Hollyleaf purred, happy to see Leafpool. While her apprenticeship with Leafpool had been short, the two had remained close. Hollyleaf trusted and respected Leafpool greatly, even if they were no longer kin. 

“I...I don’t feel safe in Warriors den. I watched it burn the other night. Being inside makes me feel claustrophobic.” Hollyleaf lied. Leafpool purred and licked her head.

“You can stay here tonight and I can give you poppy seeds to help you sleep. Though I’m afraid we don’t have much moss,” Leafpool explained, resting her tail on her shoulder. Hollyleaf felt her body relax. 

“Thank you Leafpool.”

“Jayfeather can you finish sorting the herbs while I get the extra moss?” Jayfeather let out an annoyed growl.

“Sure, just leave me here to sort it out all on my own!” he grumbled. Hollyleaf blinked at her brother sympathetically. 

“Here let me help you,” Hollyleaf stepped forward to help only to have Jayfeather tail slap her. 

“No, you’ll just ruin the organization,” he hissed softly, focusing on snapping leaves off of a stem. Hollyleaf wanted to snap at her brother, yet she couldn’t bring herself to. Jayfeather’s pelt was disheveled, his ears were flicking nervously while his tail thumped on the medicine den ground. He was stressed, no doubt about their conversation earlier in the day. He was also most likely worried about confronting Ashfur.

“I’ll leave you to it then.” Hollyleaf said, as her tail brushed him in comfort. Jayfeather didn’t respond. 

Leafpool quickly returned with the moss. As she and Hollyleaf began to knead it into a nest for her, Hollyleaf glimpsed Cinderheart and LionBlaze returning to the Warrior’s den together. Her ears drooped. 

“You’re worried aren’t you?” Leafpool’s voice pulled Hollyleaf out of her emotions.

“What?”

“You’re worried about being left behind if Lionblaze and Cinderheart become mates,” Leafpool looked at Hollyleaf, her amber eyes soft with sympathy. “I know how that feels. When Squirrelflight started courting Brambleclaw and Ashfur I felt the same way. It’s the loneliest feeling in the world, since you feel like you no longer have their shoulder to lean on. Don’t worry Hollyleaf, Cinderheart will always be there for you and Lionblaze, nothing will come between you three.” Leafpool pressed her muzzle to Hollyleaf with a purr and licked her behind the ear. 

“Thank you for your words of reassurance.” Hollyleaf purred, yet she did not feel like her fears were soothed.  Leafpool nodded.

“Besides I’m your kin. I’ll always be there to help you.”

“But you’re not my kin!” The sad thought ripped through Hollyleaf and her chest felt hollow. Unable to answer she merely nodded and Leafpool left. 

The sun had disappeared behind the horizon before too long darkening the camp. Hollyleaf laid on her moss nest unable to sleep. Leafpool had offered once again to give her poppy seeds before she had gone to sleep, but Hollyleaf refused. 

“Move over,” Jayfeather instructed, carrying his own bundle of moss over to his sister. Hollyleaf moved over and watched as Jayfeather stamped the moss down. He curled up next to his sister, laying his head on his paws. His sightless eyes gazed out of the den. 

“You didn’t want to be around Ashfur?” he questioned. Hollyleaf nodded and licked her brother's head, grateful for his presence. 

“I thought so, don’t worry I’ll stop him tonight.” Jayfeather’s tail thumped on the ground, clearly restless. 

“If you don’t I will.” Hollyleaf growled, her teeth gritted in determination. 

“You won’t kill him. I won’t let you. We’ll find another way.” Jayfeather lifted his head, his eyes narrowed. Hollyleaf stared down at her paws, unable to meet his gaze.

“I won’t...I was speaking out of anger... We have to protect Thunderclan and the warrior code.”

“I know, we will find a way. He will face the consequences of his actions...Starclan will make sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right Jayfeather…” Hollyleaf muttered, unconvinced. She rolled over, turning her back to her brother. Hollyleaf closed her eyes, drifting off into unfeeling blackness. 

When Hollyleaf opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the medicine den. She layed in a flower covered meadow. The air was sweet and warm like in greenleaf. There was a brilliant moon above shining, bathing the meadow in a soft warm yellow light. Behind Hollyleaf was a forest which Hollyleaf could tell was rich with prey, as she heard mice scuttering around in the undergrowth.  

“Is this starclan?” Hollyleaf wondered out loud. 

“You finally figured it out? Good now, get up! I don’t have all day!” a scruffy gray cat with yellow eyes and a yellow fang hissed. Hollyleaf immediately leapt to her paws. 

“Oh I’m sorry...you’re Yellowfang aren’t you! Firestar told me and my brothers stories about you!” Yellowfang purred. 

“Good to know that Firestar still talks about me. Come, follow me, we need to talk,” Yellowfang explained, waving her tail. Hollyleaf didn’t hesitate, she trotted after the scruffy gray cat into the woods.

“Has Starclan figured out a way to stop Ashfur?” Hollyleaf asked. Yellowfang said nothing as they walked.

“I have come with a warning and a story.” she rasped. Hollyleaf flicked her ears in confusion, but said nothing.

“Long ago I was a medicine cat and I was in love with our clan’s leader Raggedstar. I broke the warrior code and had his kits. I paid highly for my betrayal and choices. I lost my two daughters and my only son turned into a monster. My son Brokenstar took over shadowclan and forced kits who were far too young to be apprentices. I was then exiled from my clan and kin. Despite my actions I found refuge with Thunderclan, there I found new kin if we weren’t related by blood. In the end my final punishment was that I was forced to kill my son when he threatened my new home and kin,” Yellowfang’s voice was weary as she told her story, Hollyleaf hanging onto every word. 

The two cats passed into a new part of the forest. The trees were shades of red, golden and brown like during leaf fall. Golden leaves fell softly around Hollyleaf brushing against her pelt. Yellowfang came to a stop, sitting under a wild gnarled oak tree. 

“Blood isn’t everything Hollyleaf, neither is the code.” Yellowfang’s flattened face was stern. Her yellow eyes were burning fiercely. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Hollyleaf asked, sitting down and wrapping her fluffy tail around her paws. 

“Because you hold the most dangerous power of all. I hope when the time comes you will use it wisely.”

“I have power? So I am one of the three!” Hollyleaf cried. Her heart swelled, feeling like it would burst from her chest. “We are the three then! Wait, who are our parents?” Yellowfang blinked and over head a murder of crows flew by. The crows were screaming and fighting. They clawed at each other with their talons, ripping both feathers and flesh from one another. Black crow feathers spotted with blood drifted softly down from the sky landing at Hollyleaf’s paws. 

“The time for secrets is over. I hope you take what I have said to heart and do the right thing. Power is dangerous...if you are not able to control it, it will destroy you and the cats you love.” Yellowfang rose from the ground, turning and beginning to walk away. 

“Yellowfang wait! What do you mean!” Hollyleaf cried running after her. Suddenly the wind picked up sending the fallen leaves into a frenzy. Hollyleaf slowed, struggling to see in front of her. “Yellowfang come back!” She called, running blindly into the whirlwind. The wind died as quickly as it began and when Hollyleaf could finally see she was somewhere new. It clearly wasn’t Starclan. The air was cold and damp. The trees were tall, wild, dark gray and dead. The stench of rotten dying wood filled Hollyleaf’s nose. 

“Where am I?” Hollyleaf wondered. Suddenly Lionblaze’s voice cut through Hollyleaf’s thoughts. 

“Liar!” Lionblaze’s yowl echoed through the trees. Hollyleaf’s eyes widened and she took off through the trees. She fought her urge to call out for him, even as the sound of fighting got closer. If she was going to be able to help him she would possibly need the element of surprise. Hollyleaf launched herself off a large boulder and scrambled up a ridge side to where she heard her brother’s voice the loudest. Standing up on the ridge, she gazed down to see her brother circling a large tabby tom with a scar over his nose and torn ears. 

“It can’t be, is that Tigerstar? Where is this place!?” Hollyleaf felt terror fill her chest, as she began to realize the danger she and Lionblaze were in. 

“What’s wrong, Lionblaze? You don’t want to see your kin? Perhaps we could do some battle training like we used to.” Tigerstar growled in a maliciously teasing tone. Lionblaze lashed his tail, his claws out.

“You’re not my kin, you never were! I’m also not your apprentice anymore, I should never have been here,” Lionblaze hissed. Tigerstar stalked closer, his lips curled in an amused snarl.

“Blood isn’t everything, besides you would have never made it without me! Without me you would still be an unmotivated apprentice, chasing after windclan females,” Tigerstar snarled. 

Lionblaze let out a war caterwaul, launching himself at Tigerstar. The two toms began fighting viciously. Lionblaze gripped Tigerstar with his paws, his claws sinking deep into his shoulders. Tigerstar hissed and gripped Lionblaze back, he ran his claws down his back as the two tom’s hit the ground. Lionblaze screeched in agony and bit down onto Tigerstar’s neck, he began shaking and violently tearing into the tabby’s flesh. Tigerstar yowled, kicking desperately to get Lionblaze away, however he hung on. Lionblaze began to kick wildly at the tabby’s stomach, clawing at the soft underbelly. This seemed to give Tigerstar his second wind, in a panic, Tigerstar finally kicked the young warrior off and away from him. Lionblaze hit the ground, but quickly rebounded, scratching violently at Tigerstar's face. Tigerstar turned on his heels and went to kick Lionblaze away. Lionblaze jumped away, lunging and grasping onto the tabby’s back. Lionblaze slammed Tigerstar onto the ground, he sank his teeth into his scruff and tore into it.

Hollyleaf stood frozen in shock at her brother’s brutality. Her blood ran cold as Tigerstar let out a bone chilling scream of agony.

“Lionblaze’s power...he can’t be defeated in battle.” Hollyleaf’s mind echoed.

 Finally Lionblaze let go, his muzzle dripping with blood.

“Do it, kill me.” Tigerstar hissed.

“No, you’re already dead.” Lionblaze hissed. 

Unable to stomach anymore, or face her brother Hollyleaf turned on her heels. She took off down the ridge desperate to escape the scene and the forest. As she ran, her paws caught a mess of tree roots, sending her flying. Hollyleaf slammed into the ground and continued tumbling. Suddenly the ground underneath her, sending her flying down into the darkness of a large badger hole. Hollyleaf let out a yowl in fear as darkness consumed her vision.  

[puppypaw-wc]

so ngl i saw my old 10% left au generation and. kinda hated it. so i made a new one.

ThunderClan survivors: Thornclaw, Millie, Whitewing, Dustpelt, Hollyleaf

ShadowClan survivors: Shrewfoot, Scorchfur, Olivenose, Smokefoot

WindClan survivors: Sedgewhisker, Sunstrike, Weaselfur

RiverClan survivors: Dapplenose, Mothwing

this one has. a lot of angst potential. so let’s go through some allegiances!

note that outside of thunderclan i only wrote bios for leaders (i wrote one for mothwing since she’s. you’ll see).

THUNDERCLAN

leader: hollystar-black she-cat with soft, long fur and green eyes. has a slightly torn left ear, scar on her back paw and a scar over her left eye, which is blind.

siblings: jayfeather, lionblaze

kits: none

hollyleaf had always wanted to be leader, but she hadn’t expected it to happen in this way. she hadn’t expected ivypool to still die when she attempted to save her, she hadn’t expected jayfeather or lionblaze to be killed by breezepelt, she hadn’t expected mapleshade to kill sandstorm and for both her foster mother and biological mother to die avenging her, she hadn’t expected crowfeather and brambleclaw to die saving her from breezepelt (jfc breezepelt calm down-)... brambleclaw hadn’t even been able to take his place as leader, but on his deathbed, he said something she’d never forget.

“i say these words before starclan, so that the spirits of our clanmates current and ancient may hear and approve of my choice. hollyleaf, you are the new deputy and leader of thunderclan. i trust you.”

hollyleaf had watched everyone close to her die. receiving her nine lives and seeing everyone she loved there was painful. but she persisted. she’d never forget when cinderheart, the love of her life, gave her the life of love, telling her to never forget her.

she’d do her best. for cinderheart. for firestar. for brambleclaw. for everyone.

deputy: thornclaw-golden-brown tabby tom with pale blue eyes. has a scar across his torso and on his back left leg, which now has a limp.

siblings: brightheart, cinderpelt, brackenfur

kits: none

thornclaw had fought for the dark forest valiantly in the battle until he realized what he was doing. until he realized that he’d just killed his brother and sister. he regretted it deeply. 

after seeing this, blossomfall hid from him until she was killed by brokenstar, her mentor in the dark forest. 

thornclaw had built up anger towards brokenstar for season-cycles, ever since he kitnapped him and his siblings when they were young, and avenged blossomfall by killing him. 

seeing this after being appointed deputy and leader, hollyleaf appointed thornclaw deputy once they made their way to what was left of thunderclan’s camp.

thornclaw’s determined to do a good job.

acting medicine cat: hollystar-see above.

warriors: dustpelt-dusty dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and a scar across his muzzle.

siblings: ravenpaw, frostfur (adopted), chesnutkit (adopted), cherrypaw (adopted)

kits: spiderleg, shrewpaw, hollykit, larchkit, birchfall, foxleap, icecloud, briarlight (in-law), blossomfall (in-law), bumblestripe (in-law)

for a while, dustpelt had never truly felt at home in thunderclan, being brought to the clan as a young kit. but when ferncloud asked him to sire her kits, he felt at home. they had several litters, but only four survived to adulthood.

and then came the great battle, where he not only lost ferncloud, whom he loved as a sister, but all of his living kits as well. it devastated him. he’d even lost his close friends, firestar, graystripe and sandstorm. he had no one left.

but millie, the former kittypet who had also lost all her kits and mate in the great battle, became a light in the dark to him. he’d never been interested in romance before millie came to his aid after the battle. the she-cat strangely made his heart soar. he wasn’t all that sure what he was in that way. 

but he knew that he was ready to have new kits.

whitewing-fluffy white she-cat with a big scar on her tail and a small scar on her muzzle.

siblings: amberkit, snowkit, dewkit

kits: ivypool, dovewing

losing her kits had devastated whitewing, as had losing her younger siblings and parents. 

the battle had devastated all of the clans, and whitewing soon found herself finding comradery in the riverclan warrior dapplenose. the two became mates, which didn’t surprise anyone.

what did surprise everyone is how quickly it happened, so soon after the great battle. but no one questioned how love happened.

queens: millie-pinkish gray she-cat with blue eyes and a chunk taken out of her left ear. she has a minor scar across her belly, and a scar on her torso, where she was bitten.

siblings: none known

kits: feathertail (in-law), stormfur (in-law), briarlight, blossomfall, bumblestripe

born as a kittypet before coming to thunderclan, millie was devastated when the great battle came. 

she’d barely even gotten to know her clanmates, and now she’d lost almost all of them.

but she stayed optimistic. she helped hollystar when she had nightmares or it just seemed too difficult to go on, she helped thornclaw with his leg when the pain in it was too bad...

and she helped dustpelt. the poor tom had lost everyone important to him, and somedays he couldn’t muster up the energy to do even simple tasks like eat.

over time, she felt herself grow to love the snarky tom, and before she knew it, she was expecting his kits.

she hopes she’ll do better this time.

roster: five (leader, deputy, two warriors, one queen)

SHADOWCLAN

leader: scorchstar-dark gray tom with slashed ears, one of which is torn. has scars over both of his orange eyes, which are blind.

siblings: olivenose, shrewfoot, owlclaw, redwillow

kits: cloverkit, ripplekit, berrykit

scorchfur had always been a feisty young tom, though he was caring under a harsh exterior. he had a soft spot for his kits, cloverkit, ripplekit, and berrykit, who he unknowingly sired when he was an apprentice. he loved his mate, snowbird, as well.

however, when the great battle came, he lost all of them. all of the kits simply vanished, their bodies not being found, while snowbird was killed by hawkfrost, right in front of scorchfur.

determined to avenge his family, he took his place as leader, being one of the oldest in the clan, appointing smokefoot as his deputy.

he’s determined to be the best leader he can.

deputy: smokefoot-black tom.

siblings: none known

kits: none

warriors: olivenose-tortoiseshell she-cat with a minor slash to her left ear.

siblings: scorchstar, shrewfoot, owlclaw, redwillow

kits: none

shrewfoot-gray she-cat with black paws. has a scar on her back left leg, which has a limp.

siblings: olivenose, scorchstar, owlclaw, redwillow

kits: none

WINDCLAN

leader: sedgestar-light brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. has a small scar on her back right leg, a large scar on her belly, a large scar on her front paw, and a minor scar over her left eye.

siblings: thistleheart, swallowtail

kits: none

sedgestar was left as one of the most injured cats in the clans, a constant reminder of the pain that took place in the great battle.

watching her siblings die was painful, as was watching emberfoot die. only emberfoot’s apprentice, sunstrike, was there to keep his memory alive, apart from sedgestar.

a trainee of the very cats who brought pain and suffering to the clans. but she’d fought on the side of the clans, unlike breezepelt, a trainee who had also died in the battle.

maybe she could be forgiven. just this once.

maybe she could be deputy.

deputy: sunstrike-tortoiseshell she-cat with a large white mark on her forehead. has small scars over both of her eyes, which are partially blinded, a major claw to her jaw, which is crooked, and minor bite mark on her back right leg.

siblings: none known (former kittypet)

kits: none

warriors: weaselfur-lithe ginger tom with two white paws, one of which has a medium length scar on it. he has a medium gash on his right ear, and a minor scar on his muzzle.

siblings: thistlepaw

kits: none

RIVERCLAN

leader and medicine cat: mothwing-dappled golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

siblings: hawkfrost, tadpole, brambleclaw (half), tawnypelt (half)

kits: none

mothwing couldn’t believe what happened in the dark forest battle. she’d been unsure about starclan, yes, but here they were, in the living world as spirits.

mistystar, a cat who’d always been like a mother to her, especially after leopardstar’s death, died in the battle, as did almost all of her clanmates, with young dapplenose being the only one of them who survived other then herself.

she couldn’t be leader and medicine cat. she had next to no experience as a warrior. but she had to.

for mistystar.

deputy: dapplenose-mottled gray she-cat with blue eyes.

siblings: pouncetail

kits: dovewing (in-law), ivypool (in-law)

now, about a few things:

-dapplenose is presumably an older apprentice in the sight, meaning that she could be around whitewing’s age. even if not, they’re both consenting adults and the age gap is likely only a year at most.

-sedgestar was chosen as leader by all the clans. there weren’t a lot of options in his clan, but it was important to him.

[guiltyidealist]

Having read both Squirrelflight’s Hope and Veil of Shadows, have some spoilers and speculation for both. Warning: the post is long as shit and includes spoilers for Squirrelflight’s Hope and TBC up to VoS.

After VoS, I can’t deny that LBramblestar is Ashfur. Here are passages from the book that seal the deal. (I’m gonna cite the pages they were on from the PDF, since that’s what I have) In bold are pieces of text that are particularly damning.

... Bramblestar halted and plunged his nose into a thick growth of moss on the root of an oak tree, sniffing deeply. Turning to Bristlefrost, he asked her, “Is that Squirrelflight’s scent? Has she been here?” 

Bristlefrost wasn’t sure how to react. [...]  [W]hy was Bramblestar asking? Was he looking for reassurance that the exiled deputy was gone?

[...] “It smells like ... moss. “I’m not sure,” she replied to Bramblestar. “It could be.”

Bramblestar gave her a curt nod and continued toward the lake, but he was still watchful, and a few paces farther on he stopped to sniff at the debris beneath a holly bush and asked Bristlefrost the same question. There was a strange, wistful look in his eyes. [...] Even when Bramblestar and the rest of the cats reached the lakeshore and crossed into WindClan territory, the impostor still kept up his search for Squirrelflight. Why? Bristlefrost wondered. Does he feel threatened by her? Does he think she might come back and try to take leadership of the Clan? Then she saw how Bramblestar’s tail began to droop with disappointment when he couldn’t find any definite traces of the former deputy. Bristlefrost realized there must be something more behind his search. He misses her.

But then why had he sent Squirrelflight away in the first place?

Warriors: Veil of Shadows, PDF page 104-105

“Come in, come in,” Bramblestar mewed testily. “I need to talk to you.” [...] Dipping her head respectfully, she padded forward to within a tail-length of where Bramblestar sprawled in his nest.

“I’ve been in the Twolegplace, searching for Squirrelflight,” he told her. “But I haven’t caught the least hint of her scent. I was there all night, but it was no use. I don’t have the faintest idea where she is.” Apprehension began to gnaw at Bristlefrost’s belly. “Why are you looking for her?” she asked. “Squirrelflight left Clan territory, just as you ordered. Surely you don’t think she deserves more punishment?”

Bramblestar shook his head sadly. “To tell the truth ... I expected Squirrelflight to come home and ask to be taken back into ThunderClan,” he admitted. “But she hasn’t. I must have really angered her,” he continued, gazing up at the den wall as if he could see his former deputy standing there. “I know she must still love me, deep down. If I could only talk to her again...” His voice choked and he closed his eyes, resting his nose on his paws.

[...] Bramblestar’s head snapped up again. “I have a new task for you,” he rasped. “You have to search for Squirrelflight. You must find her. And when you do, you must tell her that her exile is revoked. You must get her to come back to ThunderClan.” “But what will the rest of the Clan think about that?” Bristlefrost asked. “You exiled all the codebreakers. How can you let just one come back? Wouldn’t that encourage other cats to start doubting your leadership?”

“Oh, Bristlefrost ...” Bramblestar blinked at her with a look of amused affection that made her feel cold right down to her claw-tips. “When you’re older and more experienced, you’ll realize that there is such a thing as forgiveness, even from StarClan. I’m their representative in the Clan, now that the medicine cats can’t speak to them, and I’ve decided that Squirrelflight can be forgiven, if she changes her ways. Squirrelflight is ... special.”

Warriors: Veil of Shadows, PDF pages 186-188

How much do I need to explain here? Despite previously exiling Squilf, LBramblestar wants her back... because he expected her to beg to come back. Why would he do this? Let’s look at this from an Ashfur lens: he wanted to see her grovel and beg for him just to satisfy himself. However, he still has feelings for her (though it isn’t love, because that’s..... not love) and wants her to return, as he is distressed about her absence. This is further supported by LBramble’s previous possessiveness over Squilf. The last sentence, too, supports that LBramble is Ashfur for obvious reasons.

Anybody remember Squirrelflight’s Hope and how, when Squilf and Leaf were in StarClan, the authors took the time to showcase Ashfur’s acceptance into StarClan in spite of his mistakes and Squilf’s discomfort with three separate paragraphs?

She stiffened as gray fur moved at the edge of her vision. She recognized it at once. Ashfur. The gray tom had caused so much trouble for her and for Leafpool’s kits. And yet he was here. He dipped his head as she saw him, then glanced at Hollyleaf. [...] Hollyleaf blinked calmly at the gray tom. There was no sign of anger in her gaze. Had the two cats learned to live in peace here in StarClan?

Squirrelflight nodded curtly to Ashfur. She wasn’t sure she could be as forgiving as Hollyleaf. After all, Ashfur had threatened to destroy the happiness she’d found with Bramblestar, and almost succeeded.

Warriors: Squirrelflight’s Hope, PDF page 531

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Squirrelflight could still see Ashfur out of the corner of her eye. She leaned closer to Hollyleaf. “It seems strange that he didn’t end up in the Dark Forest,” she whispered. 

Hollyleaf shrugged. “I guess, but he’s apologized. I think he’s changed.” 

Longtail narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t wish the Dark Forest on any cat.”

Warriors: Squirrelflight’s Hope, PDF page 532

~~~~~~~~~~~~

... Ashfur got to his paws. He signaled to Dustpelt with his tail. “Do you want to come hunting?” he called. “I’m meeting Whitestorm by the river.”

“Sure.” Dustpelt acknowledged the gray warrior with a nod. “I’d better go. Whitestorm will be waiting.” Dustpelt dipped his head. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

[...] She watched as Dustpelt met Ashfur at the entrance. “Isn’t it weird having Ashfur around?” she asked Hollyleaf.

“Not really.” Hollyleaf licked a paw absently. “After a while, what happened in the forest seems less important.”

Warriors: Squirrelflight’s Hope, PDF page 555

All the talking about forgiveness and moving on in regards to Ashfur should remind you of LBramble’s words: “... there is such a thing as forgiveness, even from StarClan.” There’s far too much weight on those words for that to be coincidental.

Okay, onto a new track. Here’s what happens when Bristlefrost Squ, Mothwing, and Squilf fake Squilf’s death:

[...] [T]he false Bramblestar padded up to join her.

His amber eyes widened as he saw the blood and fur, and then, to Bristlefrost’s astonishment, his face contorted in what looked like real grief. Hunching his shoulders, he bowed his head and flattened his ears. For a few heartbeats he seemed unable to speak.

“She’s dead ... and I killed her,” he choked out at last.

Fuck nice citation. VoS, PDF page 196

“Maybe you should get up now,” Bristlefrost suggested. “There’s a hunting patrol waiting for your orders, and a few warriors want to speak to you about border marking. And—” Bramblestar gazed at her with confusion in his face. “What are you meowing about?” he grumbled. Then he lifted a weary paw and waved her away. “Let Berrynose deal with them,” he murmured. “I don’t care about any of it. How can I? Squirrelflight is dead, and it’s my fault. If I hadn’t exiled her ...”

[...]

Bramblestar just moaned and looked away, closing his eyes as his whiskers drooped in pain. Bristlefrost wasn’t even sure that he had heard her. Then with a pitiful whine he buried his face in the bracken fronds of his nest.

He looked so miserable that Bristlefrost couldn’t suppress a pang of sympathy. For a moment she was tempted to tell him the truth, that Squirrelflight wasn’t dead at all; she just didn’t want to be found. But that would undo all our hard work. [...] She thrust the temptation away and remained silent.

VoS, PDF page 226-227

LBramble obviously gives an actual fuck about Squilf for some unknown reason... that is, the reason would be unknown if we didn’t know it was Ashfur. As said before, he still harbors feelings for her for some reason. He displays this grief again on PDF page 332.

Onto something else:

“Ungrateful cats!” Bramblestar was grumbling as he entered his den. Shadowsight slipped in behind him. “They need discipline. They need to be taught not to steal, not to question their leader, not to trespass ...” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Wouldn’t you agree, Shadowsight?”

Shadowsight’s jaw dropped, and he stood gaping, utterly astonished. The false Bramblestar was staring straight at him. [...] The ThunderClan leader bared his teeth in a grin. “That’s right ... I can see you,” he meowed. “I knew you were trespassing in our territory the minute you appeared in the camp.” Shadowsight struggled to find words. “But how?” he asked eventually. [...] “[M]aybe,” Bramblestar continued, his face still set in the same chilling grin, “it’s because spirits can always recognize other spirits.” As Shadowsight stared at him with a mixture of fear and disbelief, he thought he saw the edges of Bramblestar’s body begin to blur, as though mist were seeping out of his pelt. A heartbeat later another cat slid out like smoke from a burning fire and stood in front of Shadowsight, while the body he had left slumped to the floor of the den. A glow pulsed around the cat’s pelt; Shadowsight found it hard to make out the color of his fur. But his eyes were dark blue, so different from Bramblestar’s warm amber ones. His gaze was fixed on Shadowsight with a menacing gleam.

VoS, PDF pages 254-255

Fire imagery and blue eyes (also mentioned on PDF page 303 by Bristlefrost)? hMmmmMMMMmmmmmmm....

Finally, the most damning of them all, in the scenes following the defeat of LBramble’s forces:

She was turning to leave the den when Bramblestar stirred again and his eyes flickered open. “Squirrelflight!” he called out in a pained, wheezing gasp. [...]

Bramblestar’s chest heaved as he fought to breathe, and he finally managed to force out a few more words. [...]

“I came back ... for you.”

The effort had been too much. Bramblestar’s body sagged and his eyes closed as he lapsed back into unconsciousness.

“Is he dead?” Squirrelflight asked, her eyes wide with alarm.

Shadowsight bent over the ThunderClan leader, placing a paw on his chest and sniffing around his muzzle. “No, he’s alive,” he mewed at last. Straightening up, he added, “Squirrelflight, what did that mean? ‘I came back for you’?”

For a moment Squirrelflight seemed completely confused, gazing up at the roof of the den and back down at Bramblestar’s motionless form. “I’m starting to think there’s something familiar about this fake Bramblestar,” she murmured. “But I can’t quite put my paw on what it is, or who it might actually be. I do know one thing, though,” she added, meeting Shadowsight’s concerned gaze. “I have a terrible feeling about all of this.”

Vos, PDF page 407

If the encounter with Shadowsight hadn’t sold you, this should. At the very end of the book, Squirrelflight exclaims that she figured out who the impostor is and they leave us on that cliffhanger. The reveal of Ashfur as our villain is just a matter of time, now.

[m1smatched-starsigns]

☀️ Hollyleaf?

How about a Hollystar AU to brighten your day? Also, somehow this turned more into a one-shot than a brief fic description and I’m so sorry for that... Hollyleaf is just too good!

Lionblaze has already watched his sister die once, and he refuses to do it again. When he sees Hollyleaf tense to trade her life for Ivypool’s, Lionblaze beats her to it. The fatel blow kills him, and in an act of vengeance, Hollyleaf kills Hawkfrost.

When the battle is over and it’s time for Brambleclaw to choose his deputy, his eyes are drawn to the she-cat he once believed was his daughter. There was a point when Brambleclaw believed that Hollyleaf was meant to carry on the legacy of her grandfather — as a matter of fact, it was Firestar who first mentioned it.

“It’s like she was born for it,” Firestar uttered, emerald eyes soft as he watched his granddaughter across camp. Brambleclaw agreed then; he still does now.

Because maybe Hollyleaf was not born with the power of the stars in her paws, but the Silverpelt shines in her emerald eyes and this was her purpose all along.

He picks Hollyleaf as his deputy. Nobody is as shocked as she is, and wow, is it a controversial decision. At first Hollyleaf can not accept this and urges him to choose someone else (“Whitewing, Hazeltail, Brackenfur!”). But Brambleclaw is adamant: Hollyleaf will be his deputy.

In the end, she reluctantly accepts the honor. At least until she can convince him that he’s made the wrong decision.

The problem is... Hollyleaf steps into the role like it was crafted specifically for her. Despite her moons in the tunnels, she knows her Clanmates well and her heart has never once stopped beating for ThunderClan. She sorts patrols with natural organization; she sets a work ethic that the young cats can look up to; and she has a solution for every problem presented.

Except for the one that glares her in the face. She knows her Clanmates well, and she knows that many of them think her unfit for the position.

“What’s she going to do when someone speaks against her at a Gathering?” Thornclaw demands. “Send then floating down the river like Ashfur?”

Blossomfall eyes her. “She snapped once before. Whose to say she won’t do it again?”

“Firestar’s blood isn’t everything,” Spiderleg snorts.

They have a right to their opinions, and although they sting, Hollyleaf knows she can convince them otherwise with hard work and dedication (and maybe some favoritism when it comes to sorting the dawn patrols).

She doesn’t have a solution for one problem, though. There are five cats she used to be the close to, and now she doesn’t know how to look them in the eye.

“Just talk to them,” Bramblestar encourages her. His eyes are drawn to Squirrelflight. “Sometimes, that’s all they’re waiting for.”

So she starts there, with Squirrelflight.

“I have a problem,” she tells her that evening, surprising Squirrelflight by the fresh-kill pile. “I don’t know these new warriors like you do, and I think I’m mishandling them a bit. Can you give me the inside scoop on Blossomfall, Bumblestripe, and Dovewing?”

Squirrelflight is surprised by her question, but complies willingly. She gives Hollyleaf insight to the younger warriors and how to get the best out of them, and her adivce isn’t the most practical, but it makes perfect sense. It isn’t long before conversion flows smoothly, and with every new word, Hollyleaf thinks that they will be okay.

She tackles Leafpool next. Truthfully she should have come before Squirrelflight, but the posionues scent of death berries clogs her senses when she looks at her mother. But maybe after they talk, that will change too.

She waits until Jayfeather is busy, then walks quietly into the Medicane Cat Den. “I see you’re running low on comfry,” she meows. “If you want some company gathering more... I did train as a medicane cat for a moon.”

Leafpool smiles at her, soft and gentle, and it makes Hollyleaf’s heart ache. Why did she hold a grudge against her mother for so long? Why did she refuse to let those smiles reassure her for so long? What else has she missed out on?

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Leafpool tells her firmly, when she voices as much. “We have all the time in the world to make up for it. That is, if you want to?”

Yes, Hollyleaf says. She wants to.

That’s two down, two more to go. She figures that Cinderheart and Mousewhisker won’t be much different from each other, so she approaches the cat who is only a fox-length away from her.

“Hi. Can I share that thrush with you?”

Cinderheart blinks, then pushes her meal towards her. “Uh, sure.”

Hollyleaf settles down and takes a bite of the thrush, and the warm flavor is a nice contrast to the awkwardness between the kithood friends. “Oh! I didn’t realize it’s been so long since I had a thrush.”

“You can have the rest,” Cinderheart meows. “I’m not very hungry anyway.” She goes to stand up but Hollyleaf can’t let her leave, so she blurts something out.

Maybe it was the wrong thing to say. Patient, compassionate Cinderheart stares at her like she’s grown a second head. “Am I doing okay?” She echos.

Hollyleaf tried not to cringe. “I just mean... I know you and Lionblaze became close after I... disappeared. Are you okay?”

She almost wishes she didn’t ask. The words hurt to speak aloud, and judging by the way that Cinderheart can’t look at her now, they must hurt to hear. It strikes Hollyleaf that her old friend doesn’t seem to finish any of her meals lately.

She shrugs. “As good as can be expected, I guess. He died a warrior’s death. The Clan will honor his memory for seasons.”

What does she say to that? Cinderheart isn’t wrong, and pressing her about it doesn’t seem like a wise decision.

Hollyleaf wants to say, “I know how you’re feeling right now,” but the truth is that she doesn’t know. The future that Cinderheart would have shared with Lionblaze is vastly different than the one she would have shared with him.

Hollyleaf thinks about Mousewhisker. She closes her eyes and focuses. One cat at a time.

“Do you remember when he swore that he could fish, and ended up falling in the river?” Hollyleaf asks. Just thinking about the memory touches a smile to her lips.

It has a similar effect on Cinderheart. “He looked much smaller once he was soaked to the bone,” Cinderheart meows, smiling slightly. “What about the time when he thought he was a better tracker than Berrynose?”

They go back and forth like that for a long time, just sitting there exchanging stories about the cat who meant very different things to both of them, yet still meant so much. By the time the dusk patrols roll around, Cinderheart doesn’t feel like a stranger anymore.

“Hey,” Hollyleaf meows, “do you want to lead a hunting patrol with me?”

Cinderheart smiles at her like she’s an apprentice again, and Hollyleaf can check another cat from her list.

Mousewhisker is next. After doing this three times already Hollyleaf thought this would be easy, but Mousewhisker fills her with a different sense of guilt.

She approaches him hesitantly, but musters some of that deputy confidence that comes naturally to her now. “Hey. Want to go hunting with me?”

Mousewhisker stares right through her like she isn’t even there. “No thanks, deputy.”

So it’s going to be like that, then.

Hollyleaf narrows her eyes and says, “I wasn’t actually asking. Come on. We’re hunting together.”

Mousewhisker looks like he wants to challenge her, but then he just shrugs and gestures for her to lead the way. Hollyleaf suspects he isn’t surrendering — more like he’s giving her the silent treatment.

Her suspicions are confirmed once they’re in the forest and she tries to strike up a conversation, and he only responds with gestures and grunts. Hollyleaf is rapidly loosing her patience.

You’ve changed, she finally tells him. It is not a compliment.

So have you, he replies. It is not a compliment.

Why are you making this so difficult, she asks him.

This time Mousewhisker looks at her and just for a moment, he sees her. “I still haven’t forgiven you for dying the first time,” he says. “Twice? You’re pushing your luck.”

Hollyleaf blinks. He’s referring to her disappearance, and... then what? “I didn’t die a second time.”

Mousewhisker pushes past her. “That’s what you think.” He leaves her standing there, confused. Somehow she has hurt Mousewhisker in ways she doesn’t understand.

One day, if he will let her, she will.

It’s not an encouraging note to end on, but she can’t push it off any longer. She only has one brother now, but if she wastes anymore time then she’s going to lose him too.

Jayfeather has always been one to hold grudges, so she gets starts off with, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

She wonders if he will give her the silent treatment as well, but it’s been almost a moon since the battle was won and Jayfeather has had plenty of time to ignore her.

His head snaps up and he asks, “What? You mean the fact that Lionblaze took your place so that you could become deputy?”

Hollyleaf frowns. “Don’t talk like I planned this, Jayfeather. I didn’t.”

Jayfeather glares at her, like he can see her more clearly than Mousewhisker could. “No, it just worked out perfectly for you.”

“That’s not-“

“You get to disappears in the tunnels and sulk while Lionblaze and I have to deal with everyone’s stares. Stares that you directed toward us!”

“As if I-“

“Then you get to come back and act like some big hero, humbled by experiences you never had, and you expect everyone to just let you back where you left off!”

“Stop!” Hollyleaf growls. “You don’t know what you’re-“

“And then Lionblaze sacrifices himself for you, and you become deputy, and you never miss a step. No one can stop talking about what a hero you are, about how you’re going to usher ThunderClan into its next golden era, and it’s like none of you can remember who was supposed to stand in your paws; Lionblaze didn’t disappear when we needed him! He never skipped a patrol, he never hid during a battle. He deserved to be deputy, not you!”

Hollyleaf opens her mouth with a fierce retort on her tongue... but then she closes it again. She can’t argue with him, not when— “I know.”

Jayfeather’s whiskers are quivering. “What.”

Hollyleaf holds his blind gaze. “I agree with you. I tried to tell Bramblestar as much when he first made me deputy, remember?” She swallows. “Jayfeather, I think about Lionblaze every single day. Trust me, if I could go back to the battle and take his place then I would.”

“Don’t say that,” Jayfeather immediately snaps. His temper cools quickly and his shoulders slump, like he hasn’t slept in moons. “I don’t... there was a time when I thought you were dead and Lionblaze was all I had. He was such a strong warrior that I thought for sure I would be his medicine cat. I thought we would work together for many moons.”

He looks at her again. “I missed you when you were gone. Did I ever tell you that?”

Hollyleaf tells him, Once.

“I should tell you more often. I really missed you. Lionblaze and I both did. And I’m so grateful that you’re alive, but this is never where I thought we would be. With Lionblaze dead and you as deputy.” He scrapes the ground with a claw. “I suppose I sound selfish.”

Only a bit, Hollyleaf tells him. But she understands. She wasn’t a prophecy cat. It’s different and sad.

Jayfeather nods. “Just... give me time, alright? I’ll grieve and move on and adjust. I’ll be fine.”

Maybe if Hollyleaf were one of the Three, she would be enough to comfort Jayfeather. But he shares a bond with Lionblaze and Dovewing that she will never be able to understand, even if she is his only littermate now. She was gone for too long, she missed too much—

The sting of Not Being Enough is still there, like she only learned the truth a day ago.

Sure, Hollyleaf tells Jayfeather. She can give him time.

As it turns out, time heals what talking can not.

Her relationships with her parents are stronger than ever. Her friendship with Cinderheart is repaired and rebuilt, and they regularly go hunting together like they are apprentices again.

It took a few moons, but eventually Mousewhisker warmed up to her again. The Dark Forest changed him, but the tunnels changed her. Neither of them are the same young warrior they used to be. They are able to bond over that, and then they are able to love again. (Although she did have to order him to spend time with her to get to that point.)

Jayfeather was right when he said he needed time to heal and adjust. Everyday he wasn’t ready to accept her new position in his life hurt her, but over the following days, it became easier and easier for him. Now they were as close as they had ever been — maybe even closer, because Clan leader and medicine cat work very closely with each other.

Bramblestar’s reign was one of recovery and rebuilding, but he never seemed to be able to push ThunderClan into their new golden era.

That was Hollystar’s job, now.

Hollystar, she thinks, as she watches over her the Clan — Her Clan. That was a name she used to dream hearing, and then she refused to think it, and now she has accepted it.

Bramblestar faced much during his reign, and though she thought it was too short, it dawns on her that time has changed much more than she realized.

Squirrelflight and Leafpool both retired from their duties after Bramblestar passed. The sisters could have continued serving for awhile longer, but what would be the point? They accomplished enough to fill nine lives, and if Hollystar had the opportunity to retire alongside her brothers, she thinks she would take it.

As she passes by, Cinderheart shoots her a smile. Hollystar returns it easily, and watches her pad into the Nursery where her kits are waiting for her.

When Cinderheart first told her about her growing feelings for Toadstep, Hollystar had mixed emotions. It reminded her that Lionblaze could still be alive if he hadn’t sacrificed his life for hers. He would have his own family by now.

But on the other paw, Hollystar was thankful that her closet friend had found love again. It helps that Toadstep worships the ground that Cinderheart walks upon. They were happy together and in the end, that was all that truly mattered.

Happy chirps draw her attention, and a smile touches Hollystar’s lips when she spots the source: her mate and their son were padding into camp, side-by-side.

At eight moons old, Blazepaw looked nothing like his namesake but he already had his spirit. He was courages and dedicated to his training and was shaping into a magnificent warrior. Lionblaze would be proud of his nephew.

Mousewhisker catches her eye, and after he nudges their son to the Apprentice Den, he makes his way towards her.

“Beautiful,” he remarks.

Hollystar raises her gaze to the Silverpelt above. “It is a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“I wasn’t talking about the Silverpelt.”

Mousewhisker sits down beside her and she leans her head on his shoulder. “What was Blazepaw telling you about?”

“He mastered another battle technique. It’s impressive, honestly. We named him after the right cat.”

Hollystar hums in response. “I need to evaluate all of the apprentices soon. Rosepetal’s litter are almost ready to be warriors.”

“Blazepaw will smoke them all.”

“You’re bias.”

“So are you.”

Hollystar considers this. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll bring Ivypool with me.”

“Sounds like a plan.” They sit there in silence for awhile, letting their gazes roam to whatever catches their attention. Mousewhisker is warm and smells like the earth, and Hollystar leans a little deeper into his soft fur.

“What were you thinking about?” Mousewhisker breaks the companionable silence.

“Nothing much. Just how much has changed. I don’t feel like I had time to catch my breath through most of it.”

Mousewhisker huffs. “You’re not the only one who feels that way.” He glances at her, careful not to disturb her. “Still... it wasn’t all bad, was it?”

Hollystar blinks and lifts her head. “Of course not! I don’t have a single regret about any of it. Sometimes it was just a lot to absorb.”

“Well, no one could tell. You handled it all as well as any cat could.” He licks the top of her head. “And you’re a brilliant leader.”

She purrs quietly. “Even if I’ve only been leading for a moon? That seems like a rash judgement.”

“No, it isn’t. You’ve always been brilliant.” He says it with such conviction that Hollystar allows herself to believe it. She licks his cheek and he nuzzles her chin. They’re about to move this to her Den.

But for just another moment, she wants to watch over her Clan.

Laughter pours out of the Elders Den; mewls fill the Nursery; and the warriors jostle and joke. Morale is high, and the Silverpelt shines brightly. It really is a beautiful night.

Mousewhisker nudges her shoulder. “You really don’t have a single regret?” He asks her. “Not one?”

Hollystar considers her question for a long moment. She has done a lot of wrong in her life; she has hurt cats she never wanted to hurt. But every pawstep led her to where she is now, and she can not imagine being any happier than she is at this moment.

So she tells him, No, she does not have a single regret.

[wednesdaywarriorswc]

i know all we have of graystripes vow is a blurb and a preview but i’ve got my own theory of how the main story line should be (not the story with gremlin and bloodclan as i’m sure thats just they attack the clan and gray has to rally them without firestar which is a fine story)

-greystripe decides to leave the clan and go visit stormfur and the old territories. thornclaw, snaptooth, flywhisker and flipclaw also decide to leave on their own terms to discover themselves but separately to gray.

-gray decides to walk around the territories to get to the mountains as he can’t be bothered with any trouble. as he’s going he bumps into the other group who are surprised he actually left. grey tells them there’s no place for an old cat and his stories anymore. the clan and the code no longer work in harmony and so he’s going back to the old territories to try and keep his promise to firestar there.

-the younger cats feel like they can’t let and old cat wander on their own and they also decide seeing the mountains would be fun so they decide to go with him.

-it’s awkward at first while they travel consideing they’d all argued badly a few days before. the topic of whether or not squirrelflight was the true leader came up again and why they didn’t question brambleclaw greystripe spits at thornclaw about brokenstar being leader despite everything and Tigerstar I being made leader and when nightstar didn’t get his lives because of brokenstar still being alive.

-the younger cats want to know more about this but the older two are angry and stop talking. they make it to the mountains and the tribe are apprehensive to see them but stormfur, stoneteller and brook convince them they’re good cats.

-greystripe is overjoyed for see stormfur and his kits and it give him a sense of pride he’s been missing. he settles into the cave as he’s too old to hunt in the mountains but snaptooth,flywhisker and flipclaw go out to hunt to pull their weight. thornclaw discusses with stoneteller how long they’ll be there.

-stormfur asks why he left considering he’s so old. greystripe tells him he didn’t feel at home there anymore and by leaving he might finally be able to make good on his promise to firestar all those years ago to protect his clan. stormfur is confused but rolls with it.

-later that evening flipclaw comes up to greystripe and offers him prey which he take gratefully. he hangs around awkwardly and greys like “what do you want i’ve had kits i know when they want something” and flipclaw asks him if grey would tell him more about brokenstar, bluestar and tigerstar, as he doesn’t know that much and it sounded interesting.

-greystripe being absolutely over the moon to share his stories starts to tell him and snaptooth and flywhisker come too. it takes awhile but thornclaw sits a little bit away but listens too. he spends all night telling stories about the old leaders and firestars intervention and ravenpaw with huge amounts of enthusiasm.

-when it’s getting late they start getting up to go to bed when snaptooth asks who greystripes old mate was if stormfur was born to clan cats. greystripe gets sad and wistful and tells him it was a riverclan cat, silverstream. she was his first love before he ever met millie. snaptooth wants to ask more but thornclaw interjects and says it’s late and if they want to know more they can ask tomorrow.

-greystripe feels happy and whole and like he’s doing these cats some good, engaging they’re minds and showing them starclan isn’t always right and that the code isn’t everything but is important.

-he gets into another argument with thornclaw the next day while he’s talking about silverstream to the young cats. thornclaw states he broke the code even if it was love it was stupid and dangerous. greystripe recounts bluestar also had halfclan kits one of which is leader of riverclan and actually following the code blindly to each letter is what led to hollyleafs death.

-the group goes silent and he recounts hollyleafs story. ending with that sometimes being that loyal to the code will tear you apart more than being your own cat and being adaptable.

-they leave the mountains towards the old territories. the younger cats realising the clan has changed and they’re in an impossible situation there. as berrynose shouldn’t have been deputy but he was and they followed him and squirrelflight is technically the next best thing even if it is a bit nepotism. and although lionblaze is strong a younger cat should be deputy to make way for a longer leadership and better relationship with all cats.

-greystripe is proud they’re forming their own opinions and decisions and they’re actually rational

-they get to the moonstone eventually and thornclaw and greystripe are horrified at what they see if their old territories. it’s got huge thunderpaths running right through it and it looks butchered. their hearts ache. the younger cats are in shock as this journey was the first time they’d ever come into contact with a thunderpath let alone ones this big.

-greystripe wants to go to the moonstone and see if it’s still there and if they could maybe access starclan from there. thornclaw tells him it would be a full moon tomorrow and they could try. they decide to make camp in a cave nearby where greystripe tells more stories about the time tigerstar framed ravenpaw at the moonstone and about barely at the barn and when fireheart and him went to find windclan and got in a fight at the riverclan border.

-the next evening they go into the moonstone and miraculously it’s still there. the younger cats are in awe of it and they go forward and touch noses. they all fall asleep but don’t quite reach starclan. greystripe gets darkness and mist but he can smell cats and see shapes and outlines of cats. just before he wakes up it becomes clearer and he sees willowpelt. his mother he misses so much. she tells him how proud she is and that he’s doing the right thing. he asks why starclan have gone while she fades away she just tells him the clans needed to learn to stop relying on dead cats to live. (and the the df have interfered)

-he wakes up and the younger cats seem rattled. he asks if they saw anything. thornclaw said it was dark and fuzzy but he heard stemleafs voice telling him to let go and be strong. flipclaw, snaptooth and flywhisker tell him they were together in a field that they wouldn’t see more than a mouse tail in front of them. when a cat with a pelt like fire came up to them and told them to trust their hearts and fix the cracks the imposter made. and that leaving to find themselves doesn’t make them disloyal.

-theyre all in shock they actually could visit. greystripe theorises whatever’s happened in the lake territories to their connection is struggling to hold power this far away so they could get glimpses. it fills them with hope their ancestors are still there and that maybe they were too quick to judge.

-they ask what grey saw. he says he’ll tell them later. they decide to go to the barn and see if they can stay there even if barley is gone.

-there’s a new cat there called monty who’s defensive at first but when they explain who they are and he mentions barley monty relaxes as he heard stories from line travellers about the clans and the two old toms who used to live in the barn and permits them to stay and hunt in exchange for stories which the younger cats gladly tell all excitedly to thornclaw and greystripes amusement.

-later in the evening when they’re all settled thornclaw apologises to greystripe for being so harsh to him. he then asks what greystripe saw in the moonstone. greystripe tells him he saw willowpelt his mother. who told him they did the right thing. and that the reason they can’t access starclan is due to the DF and that starclan want the clans to be more independent. the younger cats don’t recognise willowpelts name and greystripe tells them she was his mother and how she died and of his siblings who didn’t survive.

-the next day greystripe wanders off on his own before dawn. looking for the place in riverclan where the elders stayed behind. he gets there avoiding the thunderpaths and finds mounds of earth where they were buried. and one shoddily made grave that must’ve been done by a rogue finding the last cats body.

-the other cats catch up to him and tell him off for wandering off when he’s so old and he’s just quiet. thornclaw realises where they are and he tells the young cats these are the graves of the ones who couldn’t make the journey. they mourn quietly.

-grey decides he wants to try and show the younger cats what’s left of thunderclan camp. thorn thinks it’s stupid but there’s no stopping the elder.

-they do find it but it’s destroyed. the nests are bent and broken, the stone dens are cracked and trees have collapsed over it. greystripes heart aches and the younger cats appreciate more where they came from and what they went through.

- greystripe and thornclaw lay respect to the dead who couldn’t travel with them and they go back to the barn.

- the younger cats decide they want to go back to thunderclan they want to change the code and fix it to be better for cats and to get rid of the imposter. greystripe is proud of them for coming to their own decisions and tells them they’ll do a fantastic job. they also tell him they want more cats to hear old stories and advice. as it gave them a new perspective and appreciation for their life.

-greystripe feels as if he’s fulfilled his promise and asks them if they listened well to his stories and if they remember them. they nod and ask why. he shakes his head and tells them one last story. of the legend of the founding fathers of the clans. one of the lions and tigers and leopards who were their ancestors. and one of Riverstar, Thunderstar, Shadowstar, Skystar and Windstar. their real ancestors. he tells this story with more knowledge than anyone has had for generations. he tells from his heart a story that had been lost to time. a story he didn’t know before this night but was being whispered in his ear from an unknown source.

-greystripe dies that night in the barn. the cats bury his body by the moonstone and sit vigil for one night and return to the clans with the news. greystripes spirit doesn’t pass on to starclan. but he follows the young cats home, certain that they can be the ones to release the spirits and send them home to their families.

[stimmypaw]

stimmypaw reads the apprentice’s quest, a blog post

A big one, just a bunch of thoughts as I’m reading it, of course, lots of spoilers for the first book in the Warrior Cats series A Vision of Shadows. This will be covering just the first book tho, it’s all in the Read More, let’s gooooooo!!!!

Vision Of Shadows time

Lots of new cats!!! I don't remember these guys as kits or anything wrow!!! I like their names but itll take a while to get used to them

Also cant believe they printed stormcloud's dead name

Omg there's a cat named beepaw

I love these cats all of them so much im going 2 cry

All new names are perfect

I FORGOT HOW GORGEOUS THE CAT VIEW IN THE RECENT BOOKS WAS, LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT

I'm glad leafpool smokes weed

I love reading from Jayfeather's point of view, his grumpiness hasn't grown on me ever but thats just me, I still enjoy it lots he's great and its fun

Firestar and Leopardstar's characterizations are On Point i love it

OOF i feel so bad when jayfeather is mean to others, poor kestrelflight, I love those two

Lovely Jayfeather moments now its time for the first chapter

I like this duo! Also I didn't think I'd ever say this but shut up squirrelflight one can have fun AND learn with their mentors

Sparkkit sounds nice she makes jingling bell noises when she walks around

Alderkit is chadphobic /j

I can see Alderkit taking deep breaths to relax its rotating in my mind its beautiful

God this first chapter feels so good and comfortable, like eating noodles and chicken nuggets. I am so so deeply in love with it, its gorgeous!

Sparkkit is so perfect too, and Graystripe remembering Firestar aaaaaa

DUSTPELT SAID WHAT? PHDHAHAHHA OH NOOOO I don't remember their relationship much, must have been fun, I love young little creature squirrelflight I MISSED HER SO BAD WOW

I started reading the second chapter and died, I think ill take a break now 2 sleep heehhee

I love them describing twoleg stuff its always so fun and alien, like watching an animal planet show about funny sea creatures.

Also I have determined sparkpaw is my favorite, might be my favorite cat ever next to hollyleaf??? I really identify with her and also she's autistic i have decided that

Alderpaw baby noooo hhhh their mentor at least is trying to show its okay, he seems very emotionally distant so far and alderheart feels very emotionally needy, actually both of them do, did I mention I love Sparkpaw??? I might be imprinting myself 2 much on her

I love how like, its clear both of them are absolutely anxious and worried about others opinions on them, which is clearly something they got from being Firestar's grandkids, deputy kids and leader kids. And bramblestar too, I recall him being quite the anxious lad ahhah. Sparkpaw will be showing confidence and being loud but the second anyone isn't approving of her or she does something "wrong" she gets small and quiet, and she ended up setting a high bar for herself by being good at hunting and fighting so I'm curious to see how that will go. Also there's nothing wrong with being guided through a crowded place to meet others Sparkpaw!!! I bet the two of them would be stuck without not knowing how to talk to others had Needlepaw not shown up. I love them, my gf is mocking me saying I'm a Sparkpaw kinnie.

Apprentices will like learn about a thing and tell everyone about it all the time and assume its always true in every situation and thats valid I love kids like that. Also in my head Needlepaw kinda looks like a porcupine. Oh boo she's fatphobic >:(

I love apprentices they are so fun and silly, just making fun of the leaders like its nothing. The way they are clearly learning and absorving everything their warriors say and do like sponges its just ***chefs kiss***

Omg shadowclan is just full of 12 year olds help

And then the old person said "it sure is hard being old!" And everyone clapped

Shout-out to pretty Riverclan apprentice #481977 I love her

Leafpool: 👁👁

Alderpaw: I knew it im cursed and awful and terrible and I will never amount to anything

I wish the cats didn't seem to be giving up on him so easily though

Ah yes the classic thunderclan move "you suck, into the medicine hole you go"

The way sparkpaw changes the things she says and how she does when it isn't the status quo around her oooooooooooooyeaaaaaaa I love 1 autistic cat

Alderpaw considering your problems lesser than other cats won't help you deal with them better bro

I love Needlepaw's excitement about Alderpaw being a medicine cat apprentice, and her sarcasm, she feels like a preppy teenager

Ahhh this is so good, I am so thirsty for family moments like this, just Alderpaw bonding with grandma, I’ll definitely want to draw this one it’s so sweet.

Oh to be young and silly.

I really am enjoying like, Alderpaw’s struggles to seeing how he fits in the clan, how he fits in himself, how he wants to be seen and what he wants to be, it’s really good. I Am Engaged(tm) With This Plot.

SPARKPAW NOOOOOOO but also Yes I want her to be shown vulnerable and weak please 

POP, god watching this stuff always awful, the cats must have thought he broke her ahahah

Also, really great that they learned from Dovewing and now like leave choices and discussions about prophecies between adults

And plus Brambles seemed to take the time to explain stuff to him, seems he wont be going alone either the 1 thing is that he will be the only one knowing what the journey is really about, why though??? I didnt read Firestar's Quest or whatever why does Skyclan need to be secret??? Seems quite silly really!

YESSSS SANDSTORM GET HIS ASS FIGHT FIGHT LOVE THIS LOVE SANDSTORM

I could feel squirrelflight nearing explosion here, this was very fun, i wish they werent hiding this though!!!

The secret thing is showing to be a plot point so I am once again Very Engaged

Also, wonderful dialogue bit, someone asked Bramblestar why an Elder is going and:

Lovely perfect perfect

I miss you dovewing

SQUIRRELFLIGHT LOVE YOU

Oh boy this is it

Traveling book moment

Graystripe: Soooo you're excited to go on the journey to the old territories and Skyclan?

Sandstorm: Yes! It's been ages and-

Graystripe: I'm sure the tribe will love the visit too

Sandstorm, groaning: Oh noooo I forgot about how the tribe is in the way of every journeyyyyy noooooo they're such a racist caricature, please tell me you have a plan

Graystripe: Yes don't worry about it the writers forgot about the tribe in my comic book so you can just use the excuses i did to actively avoid it

Sandstorm: Oh thank Starclan

Sparkpaw's desperation to prove herself oof, her anxiety with understanding the prophecy, oh boy, and Alderpaw feeling too overwhelmed by the questions and not managing to talk!!!! I am so glad they are both autistic

Hoping "Being Leader" wont mean theyre putting nonsense responsibility on the apprentice again

Ah good Sandstorm is on the lead again, as she should, she should have been leader she would have been great

I can't believe Alderpaw thinks I look stupid and diseased :( /j

Everything about this twoleg scene was scandalous I loved it, Sparkpaw just toppled over a trash bag and they are eating from it, iconic, also did those twolegs throw out a whole turkey? Damn

Its not that Sparkpaw is freakishly good at hunting she is very hungry and constantly on the watch for things to eat

BRO Ive never been in a road where the drivers are this wild, throwing bottles out of the car????? Ive seen Fruit being thrown like once or twice, what the fuck!!! I'm glad they are going to wait until the morning to continue

Okay I was not expecting Needlepaw to show up this girl is chaotic I love her

ACTUALLY YEAH WHY DIDNT THEY TELL THE OTHER CLANS ABOUT THIS SINCE THE PROPHECY IS ABOUT ALL THE CLANS???

Needlepaw is like Rono from Bambi 2 if he wasnt a mean bully and thats very epic

Very curious character though, how come her mentor isnt teaching her the warrior code properly? Is that an issue with all apprentices?? Is the clan overwhelmed by 12 year olds and they won?

Having lots of fun trying to play the game "what animal are they describing this time" the erins made here, im glad they're in a farm. Worried about Sandstorm though :c

Fuck im worried about sandstorm a lot, her wound hurt on Me

Yeah water is good youre right sandstorm

Aw man I hope she's okay let her at least survive to meet skyclan please

NOOOOOOOO SANDSTORMA A AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandtteooonrjrbbbmmnnnnnnnnnn

I am so sad

Alderpaw denying it, Starclan shining upon their vigil, everything crushed me i cried

Alderpaw considers Nihilism

Haven't seen a cat thank starclan for prey in a while its

Oh look they time skipped a journey! They don't tend to do that thats nice

I'm so excited to be meeting The Skyclan that everyone in the fandom knows now

So far they seem kinda mean but thats most clans at first glance really

Okay somethings up

I uh have heard of Darktail pretty sure he's a bad guy so yeah something really bad happened to Skyclan

Am worried

Darktail sounds like an evil himbo* i may be enjoying him actually

*himbos are usually nice by default so he's just evil and stupid and strong

Does needletail know these cats already?????

Ah

Shit

Oh okay fuck

I've been quietly reading the rest because I am just concerned and I want them to be okay as quickly as possible

Waterfalls are a classic nice

Oh boy time for our unlikely duo of Alderpaw and Needlepaw to get out of a Mess!

I did not expect this to end up with the two of them journeying into parenthood, but I'm happy it did

Well actually I'm very unhappy theyre so lost and there's no sign of Skyclan I am very worried for everyone involved Sparkpaw must be feeling awful!

Twigkit is a great name

Yeah this ended terribly

Overall! Frigging loved it this book was GOOD and a great start for the series I am very excited to read the rest, SO WORRIED ABOUT SKYCLAN THO AAAA the characterizations were great the characters were great the pacing was fun and I didn't get bored once!

I think o only wish I had read this sooner really so I could look up others thoughts without getting heavily spoiled about the last books, I can watch a few videos already though thats a start ahhaha. But yeah it was great and it felt very good to read, haven't swallowed up a book so quickly in a very long time!!! Very happy I finally got my hands on this 💕💖💕💖💕💖 cant wait 2 start the next one

If you read all this, hope you had fun hahaha, ill be making more of these cus theyre fun and I like talking about warrior cats thats just my thing

Til next time