#maybe feathertail is leopardstar's deputy when she dies

[wc-confessions]

Hear me out...Leopardstar x Silverstream doomed yuri

They have feelings for each other but never say anything about it even though they both kind of know about it...Silverstream still likes Graystripe but part of her hopes that by being with him she'll forget about Leopardfur...they both know they want to be together but can't find the words or get past whatever is stopping them...

When Silverstream dies Leopardfur vows to keep her kits safe at any cost, even if she despises their father. She hates Graystripe for killing Whiteclaw-the cat she loved so much he was practically her son-but part of her also hates him for getting to have Silverstream. For being able to just love her without feeling like something invisible is stopping him. For being the cat by her side as she died. Leopardfur hates him for so many reasons and even she can admit that not all of them are justified.

She hopes every night that Silverstream will come to her. She feels like she's being crushed under the weight of Crookedstar's death and her new leadership. Graystripe isn't around anymore to help protect the kits. Tigerstar is so persuasive and he makes so much sense to her.

When the day comes, she can't keep her promise. She only watches as Stonefur is ordered to slaughter the children of the cat she had loved. The children she had sworn to protect. She had one last chance, one more moment to turn back and reclaim the power she had been given when her deputy says he will only answer to her.

Leopardstar is a coward. She tells him to follow Tigerstar's command.

The starry gaze of Silverstream can only watch in horror as her kin dies protecting her kits. Can only watch in betrayal and rage and devastation as the cat she had always wanted orders the death of two innocent apprentices.

She finally appears to Leopardstar, but not how the leader gad hoped. She curses her name, spits that there will be no place for her in StarClan and she should have known she would never be half the leader Crookedstar was. Leopardstar wants to defend herself, make any claim against her words-but she can't. There's nothing she can defend. She knows she's a coward.

Leopardstar spends the rest of her life trying to atone, to make up for the damage she caused, but she never can. She makes Mistyfoot her deputy, she takes in Sasha and her kits, she tries to connect with Feathertail and Stormfur-but no matter what she does the shadow of her past haunts her. The claws of her atrocities have a vice grip on her pelt.

It comes to a head when she's pinned by the fox, and she begs Feathertail to leave her. She wants so badly to be better. To make up for what she did. Even if she dies for good right there, it will be fine as long as Silverstream's kit is okay.

But Feathertail saves her. And she forgives her, at least as much as she can.

That night, Silverstream comes to her again for the first time in moons. She runs her tail over Leopardstar's scarred back and gives a soft, almost affectionate blink. There's an expression on her face Leopardstar can't identify.

"You did well." She whispers. "Rest, Leopardstar. Maybe there will be a place in StarClan for you after all."

sorry for the fanfiction anyways does anyone else see my vision. please say you do people keep calling me insane

.

[bonefall]

How do all five of Graystripe’s children feel about him?

BIG question, but here goes, brief intro to each of the Graykits and how they feel about their dad specifically in Better Bones:

Feathertail

At her core, Feather believes everything happens for a reason. She has immense faith in StarClan, and always rolls with the punches. Unflappable, fun-loving, and very calm, she likes telling jokes and usually says exactly what's on her mind.

So when Graystripe was exiled from RiverClan... she was upset until she got the full story. Then it made sense. She was sad she couldn't be around her dad, but, she imagines she would have done similar.

She returned to RiverClan after TigerClan's disbandment to support her mentor, Mistyfoot. If Leopardstar hadn't made her deputy, she would have stayed in ThunderClan.

If she didn't die, there would probably be more to this story. Stormfur wishes he was the easygoing type of person his sister was.

Stormfur

People have been disappointing him his whole life, everywhere he turns, cats are pulling him down, stabbing him in the back, and leaving him in a lurch.

He massively resents Graystripe for leaving RiverClan. At the time, he believed that a Clan was above all else, because RiverClan was his home. They fought for him, they wanted him, he was named for Crookedstar's pre-honor name, he saw himself as the inheritor of that legacy.

TigerClan didn't agree.

When Graystripe arrived to save him, Stormfur didn't WANT to go back to RiverClan. It made him think that he was wrong as a kid, and Graystripe was the one worth being loyal to. But Feathertail insisted that Mistyfoot was going to need her, that they had a duty to rebuild for the cats who had died saving them, and that RiverClan had learned its lesson.

The tumult in TNP, the death of his sister, and the capture of his dad... he felt like the Clans had nothing left for him. The LAST straw was when him, Brook, and Sheep (who would become Mintflower) were tossed out of RiverClan after some ridiculous "sign from StarClan" willed it. The Tribe cats had only been trying to help these jackasses get settled, and this was the thanks they got.

When Graystripe eventually comes to live his last days in the mountains, Stormfur is happy. The pain of losing him as a young apprentice is very far away, and he's grateful to finally be able to catch up with him after so long.

Bumblestripe

He wasn't reflective or articulate enough to put it into words, but Bumble always knew that Graystripe wasn't seeing him as a kitten. He just accepted that there was a distant Stormfur and Feathertail that he wasn't living up to, and if he worked hard, and tried to be like them, then maybe Graystripe could come to appreciate him too.

Briarlight and Blossomfall are able to reject that, with distance or with frustration, but even when it finally becomes clear to Bumble... it's not that easy. He can't just "get over it." He knows the problem, he knows that Graystripe is about to be happier than he's ever been here in the mountains where he last sees his father, but it can't change anything.

All his life Bumble is in pursuit of that. Shoving himself onto Dovewing, carrying out every demented task the Impostor comes up with, Bumblestripe NEEDS to be needed. He has to be helpful, and if you don't need him, he can't handle that. It's not enough to be wanted, there is no guarantee anyone wants anything forever, but NEEDING?

Basically Bumblestripe is fucked up and he's only just starting to work on it by the end of TBC. He is a major supporting character in Ferncloud's Parting along with Cloudtail, which is replacing Graystripe's Vow because Gray does not need a POV here lmao thanks.

Blossomfall

Blossom had very similar problems to Bumble growing up, but expressed them more through anger. She's a punk bitch, you know?

She's not a 'nice guy.' She's not out here trying to prove herself to Gray and Millie over and over, just to get a scrap of their affection. She leans into the label 'bad person' and wears it defensively, because if she's bad, that gives her agency over it. Like it's her choice that they see right through her.

But under that facade, she's the same sort of clingy, lonely person that Bumblestripe is. She was in a bad relationship with Ivypool from near the end of OotS up until ThunderClan's Tempest, before being dumped pretty hard when Fernsong joined the Clan, and allowed that resentment to fuel her.

I am planning for her to briefly become part of the Kin, to bolster their numbers, but she eventually defects either with Breezepelt or by rallying the other ex-Trainees to fight the Kin in the final battle. Her kits are from a Kin cat, though she invokes the Queen's Rights to not disclose which one it was. (she did not know she was pregnant when she defected.)

She never got the chance to really confront her resentment with Millie, something she massively regrets. However, she did reconcile with Briarlight in the end, though they were briefly on opposite sides of the Impostor.

But, anyway, the last time she sees Graystripe is when he decides to leave for the mountains. She tries to hide how much this hurts her, that her dad can't be with her after she just lost a son and a sister... but, she's had to learn twice that holding resentment never leads anywhere good.

Poor little meow meow material, this one

Briarlight

Graystripe was never there for her. He was terrified when she was disabled, just as overbearing as Millie, but then it became obvious that she was still going to have a full life... and he refused to do anything when Millie started treating her like a tragic glass doll.

Briarlight is SUPER nice, too fucking nice. She wants to snap so bad half of the time, when Millie's 'concern' is a backhanded insult, or when she speaks over her, or stops her from having literally any alone time, but how can she? When Graystripe is always there to smooth it over, and tell Briarlight that "your mom just loves you is all," excusing every little thing she does.

That hurts a lot, that Graystripe is too afraid of offending Millie to take Briarlight's side, or even validate her feelings in private. Something clicks for her when she's chatting with a sibling, and she connects it all

The death of Silverstream. Stormfur in the mountain. How she both gets too much "love" and they're starved for it.

Graystripe can't lose Millie too.

That's why he won't take her side. That's why he won't suggest anything about Bumble and Blossom. And that's why it'll never get better, not until Briarlight does something.

So her response is to FINALLY, in ThunderClan's Tempest, after Jessie has upgraded her mobility device to allow her more freedom than ever before, cut Millie off. By doing that, it meant cutting off Graystripe too, and for a while, that included Bumblestripe as he took their side.

Sometimes love is a boundary, even a temporary one. She only wishes that all this hadn't unfortunately aligned with Ivypool's and Blossomfall's huge fallout. They lose so much time because Blossomfall is angry and lashing out at everyone, when Briarlight could really use her sister, the ONE family member she has left, right about now

I think, of all the kits of Graystripe's second litter, Briarlight would have understood him best as he went back to the mountain... but, she was one of the Impostor's victims. Only Blossom and Bumble were there to work out what his motivations could possibly be.

[sunnymoon-sunshine]

I saw people doing a warrior cats unpopular opinion thing, and I thought about mine and like

My (maybe?) unpopular opinion is that A Shadow in RiverClan would have been better suited as a Mistyfoot-centric book.

The story makes Feathertail wildly out of character with who she is in The New Prophecy, and I feel like all the story beats would work just as well with Mistyfoot struggling as deputy to connect with her clanmates. It's the struggle between knowing your clan would have left you for dead in that hole, but knowing just as well that your mother's clan was never happy with you in it. Where do you belong? How do you cope?

How do you cope knowing that your friend was the lover of the dictator that ordered the death of your brother? The man who hated you for the crime of being your mother's shadow. How can you listen to her say that she misses him? You don't cope. You look at Hawkpaw and Mothpaw in a new light. They're a shadow of their father and don't even know it.

You're now in the pawsteps of the others around you. You look at them, and you see their traitorous father. Your clanmates look at you and see your mother, who was once the enemy of RiverClan. Legacy is inescapable, but you try to look past it. You regret knowing everything you do. You wish that the secrets would have just stayed buried.

It means a lot more when Leopardstar dies for you. It's not just a leader dying for her clanmate - it's what any leader should do. It's a leader dying for her deputy. It's a leader who understands that she should have died nine times over for Stonefur, but she didn't, and now all she can do is lay her life down for you. Things are not always going to be good between you both. But for now the two of you understand one another. There will not be another Bonehill, execution, or death.

You are the deputy of RiverClan. You are a part of RiverClan, and this is your home.

No matter what it takes.

[mallowstep]

Tbh realistically what with my headcanons abt how leaders and aging works, Stonefur would start to Show His Age before Leopardstar, something he finds Terribly Unfair and Cruel

[canon-notcanon-warriorcats]

leopardstar did bad things, but that's what makes her a complex and interesting character. The feathertail manga helped show that she regrets what she did and GREW from it, and that's powerful. Leopardstar is one of the strongest shecats in the series and i absolutely love her everytime she shows up in the books, even all the way back to her childhood in crookedstar's promise. ppl just dont wanna think deeply 2 like a character they just wanna go "teehee funny joke boy go brrrrr"

also! she has a whole character arc through indirect storytelling! Sometimes the best character arcs are told through subtlety

maybe she DID “hate” half-clan cats, but a. that isn’t entirely her fault because EVERYONE IN THE CLANS are told that half clan relationships are uber illegal and are bad and causes bad things, yes willowbreeze and graypool were halfclan cats, but she absolutely would’ve grown up hearing about all of the trouble they brought riverclan (windclan taking the kits, the battle, fallowtail being ostracized)

and then silverstream, riverclan’s prized princess DIES while giving birth to halfclan kits

you cannot tell me every cat in riverclan didn’t see that as a terrible omen and a punishment, even though it had nothing to do with the relationship being between cats of different clans, and especially when silverstream was the daughter of a half windclan cat, to suspicious cats that looks like a loud sign of “BAD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN THERE’S HALF CLAN CATS AND RELATIONSHIPS”

the fact that that part of the code was FOUNDED because of a half riverclan relationship should definitely not be lost, and the story may be lost in other clans, but riverclan would definitely know it by heart

but then she finds out that her close friends stonefur and mistyfoot are half thunderclan, children of the now former thunderclan leader, her own deputy, the best cat in the clan is half clan

and then sickness hits the clan, cats are dying, leopardstar is a brand new leader and frightened, she has lost control, tigerstar claims he can help, she’s ran out of all other options, tigerstar doesn’t even mention anything about half clan cats until he’s already there, and then imprisons stonefur, mistyfoot, and silverstream’s kits

but she’s lost power now, she might as well be any other warrior in camp, tigerstar has taken over

she can’t stop him from ordering to kill crookedstar’s grandkits, she did feel bitter towards them for moons after silverstream’s death, but she never in her nine lives would have wished for this to happen to them

stonefur sacrifices himself instead and once tigerstar is dead leopardstar regroups her clan against his band of rogues and against bloodclan 

she appoints mistyfoot as deputy after the battle, not just because they’re close, not just because she is a courageous and respected warrior, not just because she’s stonefur’s sister, and not even just as an apology to her for letting tigerstar take over and it leading to the death of her brother

but as a point to all of riverclan that half clan cats ARE loyal, they ARE NOT dangerous, they DO NOT inherently bring trouble to the clan

and then sasha shows up with her kits

and leopardstar doesn’t even hesitate to bring them in

she vows to protect them, even after she finds out they’re tigerstar’s

because she has realized how wrong she was

she even trains tigerstar’s son herself and gives his daughter to mistyfoot to train, and then also offers sasha a position in the clan, though she refuses

if she truly hated half clan cats at that point she wouldn’t have let them stay, she wouldn’t have personally trained hawkfrost herself and given mothpaw to her DEPUTY to train and then allowed her to become her MEDICINE CAT

not even to mention the riverclan warrior, beechfur, and the windclan warrior, gorsetail, had kits together and considering it was in the allegiances that meant the cats definitely knew about it but leopardstar never did anything about it, AND she didn’t try to take the kits, because half clan cats do not bring trouble, it is the actions of the clan cats towards them that causes the trouble

so people who say she never got a redemption arc are absolutely dead wrong, some stories can be told without being directly on the page and ham-fisted, leopardstar personally apologizing to feathertail is just icing on an actually good redemption arc, she redeemed herself through ACTIONS not just an apology, and that’s what makes a good redemption arc

when they actually SHOW the redemption over just TELLING it

[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.

[gougarpaw]

Graystripe’s Vow

A quick overview, chapter summaries. 

31 chapters + prologue + epilogue + manga

Prologue - FQ

BloodClan is planning on getting revenge on Firestar’s Quest era ThunderClan. They are lead by a new leader, Fury. 

Gremlin is worried about this, since she is pregnant and doesn’t want to hurt her kits.

Chapter 1 - TBC

Graystripe is realizing he’s old. 

Lionblaze looks like Sandstorm, Spotfur has Frostfur’s face, (Frostfur is Ravenpaw’s sibling.)

Thriftear, Thornclaw, Snaptooth, Flywhisker and others disrespect Squirrelflight because she’s not technically leader.

Squirrelflight talks with Graystripe about being deputy/leader. “You can say it, Graystripe. In many ways, Firestar’s ThunderClan was better... at least things seemed easier.”

Graystripe worries about StarClan returning.

Chapter 2 - TBC

Graystripe dreams about being in the (lake) forest with Firestar. The dream turns and Graystripe feels dread. Graystripe imagines Millie and “talks” it out with her. (...) Graystripe asks Brackenfur if “this is the same ThunderClan as Firestar’s ThunderClan.” Brackenfur says it is. 

Plumstone and Thriftear get into a fight. They both call Graystripe (and StarClan) an “out-of-date boomer” (exact quote /j) then Thornclaw, Twigbranch and Lionblaze argue about if Squirrelflight is leader or deputy. Bumblestripe, and then Bristlefrost try to break up the fight but fail. Squirrelflight ends up begging them to stop :(

Flipclaw suggests they rewrite the warrior code while StarClan is gone. The Clan flips out and Flipclaw then says maybe he wants to spend some time outside of the Clan. Snaptooth agrees, Flywhisker agrees, and Thornclaw agrees. 

Graystripe decides to “wander” with them. Squirrelflight feels betrayed. She gives them a moon to return. 

Chapter 3 - FQ

Graystripe ponders life. Willowpelt, his mother, has died. (...) He overhears Brightheart and Ferncloud doubting the purpose of Firestar’s Quest. (not the book, just why Firestar left.) Ashfur and Cloudtail also think Firestar left to live as a kittypet. Mousefur trusts that Firestar isn’t a kittypet, but wants to know where he is.

Cinderpelt yells at Ashfur. (...)

Brambleclaw, Thornclaw and Brackenfur bring Graystripe a dead rabbit with WindClan scent found on their territory (near fourtrees.) Graystripe decides to do nothing about this but increase border patrols, much to the chagrin of the Clan. 

Graystripe goes to sleep with troubled thoughts, and is awoken by somebody screaming.

Chapter 4 - TBC

Graystripe and the boys decide to stop and hunt while they are still in the territory. Hawkwing and a SkyClan patrol appear. Snaptooth spills the beans and embarresses Graystripe and the others. 

Flywhisker asks if Graystripe wants to rest while they hunt, but he goes hunting anyways. He catches a rabbit. Graystripe contemplates returning to the old forest. 

The other warriors talk about how much easier it is to hunt for four. Flipclaw tells Flywhisker that if she were to have kits he’d make sure she’s wellfed. Flywhisker tells him she isn’t interested. He tries again but she shoots him down. 

Snaptooth asks what they will do now. Flywhisker wonders what it would be like to be a kittypet. Thornclaw gets sick of this and leaves. 

Graystripe tells the others that he wants to visit his son, Stormfur. He hopes that by visiting his “past” he can understand his future.

Chapter 5 - FQ

The screaming was Brightheart. She is giving birth. Graystripe is terrified that she will die like Silverstream. Cloudtail gathers herbs for Cinderpelt.

Graystripe welcomes the kit into ThunderClan and pats himself on the back for doing nothing. Then he realizes that Firestar would done something and not just stand around, and feels ashamed.

A few days later, Thornclaw, Sootpaw and Brambleclaw return with more proof of WindClan hunting on their territory. Ashfur says this wouldn’t be a problem if Dustpelt were deputy. 

Graystripe doesn’t know what to do. Mousefur enters camp and tells him that Russetfur wants to speak with Firestar.

Chapter 6 - TBC

The others are nervous about leaving Clan territory. Graystripe has enjoyed hunting. 

Suddenly, dogs. They climb trees and a human comes and takes the dogs away. 

Later that day, Graystripe tells them that he wants to go now. Flywhisker, Snaptooth and Flipclaw tell him he can go without them. 

Flipclaw changes his mind and comes with Graystripe.

Chapter 7 - FQ

Russetfur and Rowanclaw demand to speak with Firestar. Graystripe tells them that Firestar is busy, so they can speak with him instead. Turns out they’ve scented BloodClan on Clan territory. ThunderClan overhears this and instantly smack-talks ShadowClan. (Rowanclaw’s pronouns are switching paragraph to paragraph. *EDIT: I might just be bad at reading... thanks for telling me lol!)

Graystripe tells his Clan that he thinks BloodClan are the ones pretending to be WindClan and causing trouble. Cinderpelt agrees. 

Graystripe, Dustpelt and Brambleclaw go to inspect the BloodClan smell, but get jumped by BloodClan troopers. Graystripe sees Gremlin and knows she’s fit to burst.

Fury tells them that she knows that Firestar is gone. BloodClan attacks and defeats Graystripe. They throw him under a fence to get eaten by a dog. The dog is locked in a house, so he survives.

Graystripe heads back to the forest, but encounters Gremlin. She lets him escape. This confuses Graystripe.

Chapter 8 - TBC

Graystripe and Flipclaw make it to the Tribe’s territory. Flipclaw is excited to tell his littermates about this. They encounter two Tribe cats, Moon Shining on Water and Thorn that Grows in Clef. 

Graystripe and Stormfur have a sweet reunion for two sentences. Graystripe meets the kits. Flipclaw hits it off with Feather. They are very VERY good friends, (probably a bit more than friends.) 

Stoneteller mentions a rogue who had come around asking for Clan cats. 

Chapter 9 - TBC

Graystripe tells Stoneteller about all the Bramblestar and ThunderClan problems. Stoneteller has sensed a shadow over the Clans. He tells Graystripe that Graystripe still has a long journey ahead. Graystripe goes to sleep.

A tribe cat tells Stoneteller that the boys Flipclaw and Feather were out hunting, but got trapped in a landslide. Graystripe goes with Stoneteller to help.

Feather manages to get out, but Flipclaw is still stuck. It takes all day, but they get Flipclaw out. Flipclaw’s leg is dislocated.

Graystripe sees Feathertail standing on a shiny rock, and takes it as a sign that he must find the moonstone. 

Chapter 10 - FQ

Graystripe returns to camp. He asks Dustpelt if he knows that Ashfur wants him to be deputy. Dustpelt is surprised. 

Ashfur talks smack about Graystripe getting beat up by BloodClan (same energy as “im built different”) Brambleclaw reminds him that there were too many BloodClan cats for two and a half warriors to fight.

The next day Graystripe tells ThunderClan they must prepare for BloodClan again. 

Chapter 11 - TBC

Graystripe wants to leave the tribe immediately. Stormfur asks why he doesn’t just stay forever. Graystripe considers it, but still wants to go to the moonstone. 

Flipclaw is still recovering. Graystripe tells him about the moonstone, and Flipclaw tells Graystripe that he wants to go home. They part ways.

Graystripe thinks about Silverstream and Millie again. He hunts a mouse and spots Highstones. He nearly gets hit on the Thunderpath. 

Chapter 12 - FQ

Still worried about BloodClan, Graystripe is startled by Shrewkit and Spiderkit playing. ThunderClan is on edge. Graystripe decides now is a good time to tell the other Clans that BloodClan is back.

Graystripe takes Cloudtail and Rainpaw to WindClan. Tallstar believes Graystripe about BloodClan and sends Firestar his well-wishes. They go to RiverClan and meet Stormfur. Leopardstar is angry about BloodClan, and sceptical about Firestar. 

Stormfur and Feathertail escort them off RiverClan territory. 

Chapter 13 - TBC

Graystripe makes it to Highstones. He thinks about visiting Barley. 

An owl scares him, and then a pack of monsters scare him. He escapes and hides in a bush. A fat kittypet stumbles upon him, but leaves to get dinner. Graystripe feels lost. 

Graystripe dreams about Millie’s death. He wakes up and smells the river. He sees sunningrocks. 

Graystripe gets attacked by a cat.

Chapter 14 - FQ

It’s the gathering. Graystripe is nervous about BloodClan still being in the forest. 

Leopardstar and Blackstar are sceptical about Firestar’s whereabouts. She announces that there was a fox on their territory, but that *Mistyfoot chased it off. 

The leaders agree to share news of BloodClan with each other throughout the moon.

Graystripe talks with Stormfur and Feathertail, similar to what he says to them in A Shadow in RiverClan (that they are welcome in ThunderClan.)

Chapter 15 - TBC

Graystripe realizes the kittypet who attacked him is not alone. There are five others. They introduce themselves as WarriorClan! Monkeystar, Bugeater, Fireface, Bigteeth, Clawwhistle, and Chester. They are larping as clan cats during the day, and returning to their humans at night.

Smudge is still alive, and has told the kittypets all about the warriors. They ask if Firestar is with him. Graystripe says he isn’t, but that he is a real warrior. Monkeystar asks him to prove it by fighting her, and he wins.

Graystripe decides to stay with WarriorClan for a little bit, and teaches them how to hunt.

Near sunset, Graystripe decides to leave WarriorClan. Monkeystar bids him farewell. Graystripe finds Four Trees, and is distressed about its destruction.

Chapter 16 - FQ

Graystripe is hunting when he hears someone in the bushes. It’s Gremlin. She wants to give birth to her kits somewhere safe. She says that ThunderClan is the only place she’d want to have her kits. She wants her and her brother to be safe too. 

Brackenfur appears and says that they can’t trust Gremlin. Graystripe and him argue a bit. 

Graystripe goes home and tells Cinderpelt about Gremlin. Cinderpelt decides to go to the moonstone and ask StarClan.

Chapter 17 - TBC

Still trying to get out of the twoleg place, Graystripe finally gets to the exit. He feels like he’s being followed, and lo and behold WarriorClan wants to see the moonstone. 

Graystripe tells them that they can just wait outside for him. They agree and they all set off. When they are closer, they smell a stranger!

WarriorClan is ready for a fight, but the stranger tells Graystripe that they are Gremlin’s kit, and that he had vowed to help Gremlin no matter what. They asked if he would help them too.

Chapter 18 - FQ

Graystripe is going with Cinderpelt to the moonstone. He thinks about Gremlin while he waits outside.

Graystripe falls asleep and dreams about Firestar. Firestar turns into Fury and tells him to wake up. Cinderpelt is back and tells Graystripe that he’s got to make his own decision, and to beware the snake bite.

Graystripe does not find this encouraging.

Chapter 19 - TBC

The stranger, Fang, tells Graystripe that he escaped from an abusive twoleg’s den and wants to go back to get his mate. His mate, Daffodil, is sick and might die (like Gremlin did) in this twoleg’s house.

Graystripe agrees to help but first he wants to go to the moonstone. Bigteeth, Bugeater, Fireface and Chester head back to their humans. 

Graystripe enters Mothermouth and asks StarClan to forgive him from trespassing and asks for help.

Lightning strikes!

Chapter 20 - FQ

Graystripe meets with Gremlin at Smudge’s house. Cinderpelt tells Gremlin that one of her kits is upside-down, and that the birth might be hard.

Fury drops by and asks Smudge if he wants to join BloodClan. He stands his ground, and she tells Gremlin that there will be a Clan meeting. 

Graystripe calls a Clan meeting himself and tells ThunderClan about Gremlin. The Clan is divided about her, but Cinderpelt helps convince them that Gremlin needs their help.

Ashfur loudly objects, but Cinderpelt helps convince the Clan that Gremlin needs their help and means no harm. 

Chapter 21 - TBC

Lightning struck the moonstone and destroyed. Graystripe is terrified. He runs back to Monkeystar, Clawwhistle and Fang and tells them. Monkeystar suggests they go to Barley. 

Fang asks if Graystripe is his father. Graystripe tells him no, but that he is proud of him nonetheless. Fang is disappointed. 

Barley is shocked that Graystripe is still alive. Barley is very old, and doesn’t move much. Monkeystar and Clawwhistle hunt a mouse for him. 

Graystripe asks Barley what he should do, and Barley suggests he sleep on it. Before he sleeps, he hears Fang ask if Barley knew Gremlin.

Chapter 22 - FQ

Back at Smudge’s house, Gremlin and Graystripe have a meet up again. 

Gremlin tells Graystripe that BloodClan will attack in two days, when the camp is at its weakest (all the patrols are out and the patrols who have returned are already tired.)

Chapter 23 - TBC

Graystripe spends the day listening to Barley telling Fang about Gremlin. They go to sleep, but Fang seems unhappy.

Fang tells Graystripe that Gremlin died in the twoleg den that he had escaped from. Fang wants to leave now and free all the other cats too. 

Chapter 24 - TBC

They head out. WarriorClan wants to come with, but Graystripe says it’s too dangerous. He convinces them to stay with Barley.

Graystripe enters the house through a window. The house is unkept, and all the cats are starving. It’s not great. The twoleg is very very old. 

The twoleg shuts the window while he tries to figure out an escape route.

Chapter 25 - TBC

Graystripe speaks with the cats. He learns that Fang used to be named Honeysuckle. 

The cats try to come up with ideas of how to escape. The twoleg’s favorite cat, Petunia, shoots down the idea of attacking the twoleg. 

They make a plan to prop open a door, but it fails. Graystripe feels hopeless.

Chapter 26 - FQ

Graystripe tries to orchestrate a normal day while preparing for a battle with BloodClan. He sends the elders Goldenflower and Frostfur on a “patrol” near twoleg place to scout out BloodClan and the apprentices to the training hollow where they can avoid the battle.

Fury enters camp and the battle begins. The apprentices disobey and try to fight BloodClan. 

Cinderpelt tries to sneak Gremlin out of the fighting, but is spotted by Fury. Snake and Ice try to stop her, and Scraps tries to stop them. Scraps dies. 

Graystripes is about to kill Snake when Fury yells at him to stop. She threatens to kill Gremlin, and the other cats stop fighting too.

Chapter 27 - FQ

Graystripe notices that Fury has been fatally wounded, and tells her if they leave the Clans alone, Cinderpelt can treat her wound. Fury refuses, but starts dying. Fury then decides she wants to live, and ThunderClan wins. 

ThunderClan finally apologizes for not trusting Graystripe. Graystripe talks to Cinderpelt about StarClan’s message, then goes and visits Gremlin. Gremlin is mourning Scraps, and decides that being in a Clan is too violent for her. 

Gremlin decides to become a kittypet, so Graystripe vows to always help Gremlin if she asks. (thats the name of the book fellas we did it)

Chapter 28 - TBC

Graystripe speaks with Daffodil, Fang’s mate. She is very weak. He is worried that Fang has abandoned them.

Later, Fang returns with WarriorClan, and WarriorClan pushes up on a loose board. The kittypets are able to escape. Petunia wants to stay.

A mail man arrives and calls animal control. The cats leave the house but don’t go far. The older cats want to go and get captured, and Daffodil does too. 

The elderly human is taken away in an ambulance, and Petunia wants to stay at the house until she returns. Graystripe convinces her she can still wait, but she has to escape the humans first. 

Fang is sad that Daffodil is gone, and Graystripe has no idea how to comfort him.

Chapter 29 - TBC

Graystripe comforts Fang. 

The escaped cats decide to part ways, either becoming loners, going off to find human caretakers, or joining WarriorClan (and moving to Barley’s barn.)

Graystripe is ready to retire to the elder’s den again. He realizes that it is possible for Clans to exist without StarClan, like WarriorClan has and is. Fang is upset and doesn’t want him to leave. 

Graystripe asks Petunia to be the medicine cat, and encourages her to take on an apprentice in case her human ever comes back. WarriorClan feels like a real Clan now (to Graystripe and Fang.) 

Graystripe prepares to leave.

Chapter 30 - FQ

ThunderClan is back to normal. Firestar is back!

Graystripe tells Firestar that he is not fit to lead, and that he is happy just being deputy. Firestar is just happy to be back. 

Chapter 31 - TBC

Graystripe sleeps in Barley’s barn and tells him what happened. Barley is glad the cats escaped, and that they are welcome in his barn. 

Graystripe is spotted by a hunting patrol and Stormfur greets him. He tells Stormfur that he is returning to ThunderClan, because he’s realized he doesn’t need StarClan to tell him that ThunderClan has changed. He has come to terms with it.

Stormfur is frustrated that Graystripe won’t stay, but calms down and enjoys the rest of the evening with his father for the last time.

Graystripe makes it to the lake, and is excited to be back in the home he loves. 

Epilogue - FQ

It’s the gathering. All the Clans are surprised that Firestar is there. Firestar announces BloodClan’s second defeat, and the Clans chant Graystripe’s name.

Manga - TBC 

A moon later. Monkeystar says that WarriorClan is thriving, but that she is insecure about her leadership skills. Fang is a good deputy, but Petunia keeps leaving for days. 

Monkeystar decides to go and find Petunia. She, Bugeater, Lily and Clawwhistle travel to find the human’s house. They get attacked by kittypets, and are chased off. They find Petunia at the human’s house, rundown and abandoned. 

Petunia doesn’t want to leave the house behind, but knows in her heart that her human will not return. Lily convinces Petunia to come home, albeit regretfully.

Monkeystar comes up with a plan to help Petunia move on. She takes Petunia to the shattered the moonstone. 

Petunia returns joyfully. Gremlin’s ghost had appeared to her, and tells her that the old human is dead but at peace. Gremlin encourages Petunia by telling her that her Clanmates need her. 

The patrol returns to WarriorClan, reinvigorated. 

[tnp-10leftau]

graystripe

“we’re almost there!” russetfur called, worry in her eyes as they glazed over runningnose.

graystripe noticed that the shadowclan medicine cat looked much more tired then he ever remembered. he’d stayed with the other clans’ elders - or at least tried to - and now looked near death.

“runningnose, you don’t have to do this,” the thunderclan cat mewed, “i’m sure one of the other clans’ medicine cats can stay with shadowclan.”

“i don’t want to do that,” the sniffly tom shook his head, “shadowclan needs me. i can’t let nightstar down.”

graystripe and millie exchanged a confused glance. nightstar had been shadowclan’s leader, albeit for only a couple moons and without getting nine lives. he was dead now, and from what the gray tom could tell, had never had that much of a relationship with runningnose aside from the fact that the latter was his medicine cat.

“we’re here!” the shadowclan deputy exclaimed, allowing graystripe and the others to catch up. “i can see ashfur, ashfoot and mothwing on the great oak; thank starclan we came on a full moon!”

pushing through the bushes, graystripe’s amber gaze drifted across the gathering. ashfur, cinderpelt, sorreltail... who’s that cream she-cat? his gaze went over to the riverclan cats. mothwing, dawnflower and loudbelly... and lastly, to windclan. ashfoot, barkface and... thornpaw? i don’t remember her name, but she’s an apprentice.

“we have returned!” runningnose exclaimed, pelt bristling and eyes wild. he padded over to the other medicine cats. cinderpelt and barkface seemed to immediately bombard him with questions, which made graystripe question.

“graystripe!” sorreltail’s sweet voice came from where the other thunderclan cats were, as the she-cat rushed over and touched noses with her brother. “oh, i missed you so much! by the time we got here, i’d already lost rainwhisker and sootfur, and i was worried i’d lost you too, and-” millie caught her gaze with the curious glint in her blue gaze. “oh, have you brought a friend! hi, i’m sorreltail; i’m graystripe’s younger sister.”

“it’s nice to meet you,” millie purred, “i’m millie; me and graystripe are, er... queer-platonic partners? i don’t remember for sure. one of the loners we met on our way here mentioned it.”

the dilute calico’s gaze drifted to millie’s plump belly. “oh, are you expecting kits? that’s great!” she paused. “oh, that reminds me; daisy, bring your kits and come over! graystripe’s back!”

daisy? graystripe thought, confused. that must be the cream she-cat.

it was indeed the cream she-cat; she walked over with three kits climbing on her. a cream tom and two gray splotched white kits.

“i’ve heard a lot about you,” daisy said with a smile, “sorreltail won’t stop talking about you. she’s a little extra, honestly.”

“hey! he’s my brother, what do you expect from me?!” sorreltail’s faux anger was edged with a playful tone. “really though, graystripe, i’m happy you’re back!”

“who’s this, mommy?” one of daisy’s kits - the gray splotched tom - asked, curiosity glinted in his eyes.

“he’s graystripe,” the queen mewed, “these are my kits. the cream tom’s berrykit, the gray splotched tom’s mousekit, and the gray splotched molly - er, she-kit - is hazelkit. they’re all a pawful, honestly, but dawnflower and sorreltail are both big helps. ashfoot, too,” solemnly, she added, “i’m happy i came to the clans at this time, honestly. while i know it must be hard, losing cats you love, but if i lived in the forest and came to thunderclan, i wouldn’t have as many helping paws.”

“thunderclan had a lot of nursery helpers in the forest territories,” graystripe hadn’t noticed ashfur jump down from the great oak, and gave him a small bow, “goldenflower, frostfur, speckletail for a while, brindleface,” he paused, and seemed to be choking back a sob as he added, “ferncloud...”

“ferncloud was your sister, right?” with ashfur’s nod, daisy rested a tail on his shoulder. “i’m sorry for your loss, ashfur. losing so many cats you cared for must’ve been hard.”

“are these the only survivors?” graystripe asked. when russetfur said the journey had been devastating, he didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t his clan only having three clanborn members left. squirrelpaw didn’t even get a warrior name, he thought, neither did leafpaw. or shrewpaw, or spiderpaw, or any of the other clans’ kits.

even his own kits, feathertail and stormfur, had died. feathertail had died before the journey, saving the tribe of rushing water from sharptooth, while stormfur had died not long after joining the tribe. when he and millie met russetfur and runningnose at ravenpaw and barley’s barn, the shadowclan deputy - leader, graystripe corrected - had told him how the tribe told them that stormfur had been found dead only a few days after joining the tribe. they thought that it was sharptooth’s spirit, angry and vengeful after its death, but graystripe doubted it.

“i believe we should dismiss the gathering early,” mothwing’s voice cut through graystripe’s thoughts, “thunderclan and shadowclan will want to inform their returning cats of what’s happened since they’ve left, and thunderclan will likely want to get acquainted with...” she trailed off, her gaze meeting millie’s.

“oh! my name’s millie,” the former kittypet mewed after a pause, “i’m sure i’ll get to know you all quite well!”

with that, thunderclan left, but not without conversation.

“yes.”

sorreltail’s mew was sudden, and confused graystripe. “what?”

“these are the only survivors,” the calico mewed, desperately keeping her voice from breaking, “the first to die was brackenfur. he tried to save an apprentice - maybe a kit? i don’t remember for sure - from a hawk, but fell off the cliff trying. i... i don’t know much more, i zoned out after rainwhisker and sootfur died in a storm. maybe ashfur and cinderpelt can tell you more.”

ashfur nodded. “birchkit was close to his apprenticeship, but he was still young, and the journey was far too much for him, and he must’ve succumb to fatigue or something similar; none of the medicine cats were all too sure,” he sighed, “spiderpaw died trying to save dawnflower’s kits from a monster on the thunderpath. if you think about it, it’s a little funny how most of both of ferncloud’s litters died in the same way; hollykit and larchkit of starvation, and shrewpaw and spiderpaw on a thunderpath. 

then... then ferncloud... she died too. i wasn’t awake when it happened, but the cats who were keeping watch said she died defending the kits from a predator. squirrelpaw made most of the journey, but we ran into some rogues who were far too strong for her to defeat. leafpaw stayed with her sister, and may still be alive, but i strongly doubt it. firestar, leopardstar, tallstar and blackstar all lost their last lives defending their clans. mistyfoot and mudclaw took their leaders’ places for a bit, but died as well, leaving mothwing as riverclan’s medicine cat and healer, and ashfoot as windclan’s leader. more happened but... it’s too much.”

graystripe rested his tail on his clanmate’s shoulder, sympathy in his eyes.

when they got back to camp, graystripe hopped onto what he assumed was the equivalent of the highrock. the cats gathered as he spoke.

“i say these words before starclan, so that the spirits of our clanmates may hear and approve of my choice. the new deputy of thunderclan is ashfur,” he turned to the new deputy, “ashfur, while you haven’t had an apprentice, i believe this is the most logical choice. at your warrior ceremony, firestar asked starclan to honor your dedication and skill in battle, and i ask them to honor this again.”

there was a silence, and graystripe feared he’d done something wrong, until-

“ashfur!” millie yowled. “ashfur!”

while few, the remaining clan members chanted ashfur’s name, and graystripe felt not so alone.

he was home.

[furry-monster-trash]

Stonefur Lives AU

What if Stonefur killed Blackfoot and Darkstripe during the conflict at the Bonehill?

Also note: I had to ‘create’ a few characters for this AU due to the allegiances for both RiverClan and ShadowClan being slim in the books.

Stonefur refuses to kill Stormpaw, telling Tigerstar that he is loyal to RiverClan, not TigerClan. “I will take orders from Leopardstar, who would never order me to kill a fellow RiverClan cat.”

Darkstripe is ordered to kill Stonefur but is easily defeated by Stonefur. Stonefur spares him at the moment.

Tigerstar sends in Blackfoot, a much larger warrior, who has a fierce battle with Stonefur. Blackfoot and Stonefur battle in front of all of TigerClan, and Blackfoot almost kills Stonefur before being knocked off balance by Stonefur’s thick tail. Stonefur claws out Blackfoot’s chest and stands over him as the TigerClan warrior bleeds to death.

Darkstripe dies of his injuries and goes to the Dark Forest. Blackfoot goes to StarClan.

“You fight well for a half-clan mongrel. Maybe you do have a place in TigerClan after all.” Tigerstar is pleased with the battle and doesn’t seem affected by the deaths of his two most loyal followers.

Stonefur is kept as a prisoner.

The new ShadowClan deputy is Jaggedtooth.

Tigerstar dies during the gathering due to Scourge. Leopardstar also loses a life during this conflict.

Leopardstar tries to wrangle together TigerClan and releases Stonefur from his prison. He helps her to lead the clan and also urges her to disband TigerClan. “Once BloodClan is dealt with, ShadowClan must return to their own territory.”

TigerClan joins forces with WindClan and ThunderClan.

During the battle against BloodClan, Stonefur kills Brick, one of the highest-ranking members of BloodClan.

After the battle, Leopardstar tells ShadowClan to return to their camp. Jaggedtooth is the leader of ShadowClan and takes the name Jaggedstar, but never receives his nine lives due to his lack of belief in StarClan. Jaggedstar’s deputy is Flintfang, a dark gray and white warrior.

NEW PROPHECY ARC

Stonefur remains the deputy of RiverClan. He convinces Leopardstar to make the Great Journey to the new lake territories.

Stonefur becomes mates with Rosecloud, a light ginger she-cat. Rosecloud and Stonefur have two kits, both toms. Stonefur names the darker tom Blackkit, after Blackfoot. “Blackfoot never deserved to die. I never should’ve killed him. He was a loyal warrior to ShadowClan and would’ve made a great leader one day. I owe this to him.” The other kit, a white and ginger tom, is named Sunkit.

Stonefur is the mentor to Hawkpaw and tries his best to curb Hawkpaw’s aggression.

Hawkpaw has a natural talent for fighting and it doesn’t take Stonefur very long to realize that he is Tigerstar’s son. 

Once it is publicly revealed that Hawkpaw and Mothpaw are Tigerstar’s kits, Stonefur tells Hawkpaw the truth about Tigerstar. “Tigerstar was called Tigerclaw when he was a warrior of ThunderClan. He was a brave and loyal warrior and wanted the best for ThunderClan, but his ambition got the best of him and he turned dark. A shadow fell over Tigerclaw, one that he couldn’t escape. He ended up killing Redtail, the previous deputy of ThunderClan, and then was made deputy once Lionheart died during a ShadowClan raid. Tigerclaw attempted to kill Bluestar but was stopped by Firestar, who was Fireheart at the time. Tigerclaw ended up becoming the leader of ShadowClan a while later and when he was new to his leadership, he tried to destroy all of ThunderClan by using a pack of dogs to shred them. His plan failed, but Bluestar died to save her clan. Tigerstar joined forces with RiverClan to create TigerClan. He tried to kill me when he found out I was half-clan. Bluestar of ThunderClan was my mother and Oakheart of RiverClan was my father. Tigerstar died after a fight with Scourge. He was a brave and strong warrior, but blind to his own demons and in the end, he destroyed himself.”

Hawkpaw shuns his father in the Dark Forest, refusing the extra training. Brambleclaw also refuses the training since Tigerclaw couldn’t use Hawkpaw as an incentive. “You haven’t changed a bit Tigerstar. You couldn’t get Hawkpaw to side with you, and you won’t get me.”

Leopardstar loses her second life with a battle against WindClan, and her third life from an infected wound.

Stonefur kills Jaggedstar when the two cats clash over a border issue. Flintfang is now Flintstar and earns his nine lives. Russetfur is his deputy.

Hawkpaw earns his warrior name: Hawkfrost. Stonefur is proud to have such a new strong warrior in RiverClan.

When Mistyfoot is stolen by twolegs, Leopardstar loses another life trying to save her and Stonefur is part of the patrol to rescue her.

Firestar never gets caught in the fox trap. 

Blackkit and Sunkit, Stonefur’s sons, become apprentices and Blackpaw is mentored by Leopardstar and Sunpaw by Mistyfoot.

Blackpaw is stronger and a better fighter than Sunpaw, but Sunpaw proves to be faster and a better hunter.

ThunderClan and RiverClan clash due to Leopardstar not agreeing with Firestar over certain drought-policies. Mistyfoot is slain during this battle, killed by Rainwhisker and Spiderleg in an accident. “She slipped on blood while defending herself against Rainwhisker and Spiderleg. It was then that Spiderleg lashed out, aiming for her legs at the time, but as she fell, he clawed out her chest. It was an accident Stonefur.”

Stonefur vows revenge against ThunderClan, saying they are to blame for the death of his sister. Reedwhisker is the new mentor to Sunpaw.

POWER OF THREE ARC

In between “The New Prophecy” and “Power of Three” Leopardstar loses two more lives. She has four more lives.

Sunpaw and Blackpaw are now warriors: Sunstreak and Blackeye.

Stonefur is on a patrol when he sees Spiderleg on a border patrol with ThunderClan. He remembers that Spiderleg is the one that killed Mistyfoot. He leaps over the border and tackles Spiderleg, scoring him across the cheek and shoulder. Stonefur is pulled off by Blackclaw, Voletooth, and Birchfall.

Thornclaw, who was leading the ThunderClan patrol, agrees to forget the incident. Spiderleg says that he never meant to kill Mistyfoot, that that would go against the warrior code. “I’m sorry Stonefur. She was a brave and loyal warrior. She never deserved to die like that.”

Stonefur apologizes for attacking, realizing that Mistyfoot wouldn’t want to have been avenged.

Rosecloud has a second litter of kits, two she-cats, and two toms. Stonefur boasts to everyone about his strong mate and large litter. The kits are named Leafkit, Cherrykit, Lizardkit, and Rockkit.

During the battle of all four clans on ThunderClan territory, Stonefur battles against Lionpaw from ThunderClan. Stonefur is beaten by the apprentice and shocked when Lionpaw almost kills him, only to be stopped by Rainwhisker: “Warriors don’t kill Lionpaw! He’s beaten, now let’s go!”

During the eclipse, Stonefur watches as Sol tries to take credit for the act. He doesn’t believe the loner.

Firestar banishes Sol from ThunderClan territory.

Flintstar, the leader of ShadowClan, doesn’t fall for Sol’s tricks and banishes him from ShadowClan territory.

When Sol shows up in RiverClan, Leopardstar orders Stonefur to attack him. Stonefur very easily beats the loner and is ready to kill him when Leopardstar says that Sol had learned his lesson about messing with the clans.

Sol never tries to control WindClan and instead leaves the clans alone for the time being.

It is revealed that Leopardstar lost another life during the battle. A ShadowClan warrior was the cause.

Sunstreak dies in a fox trap.

Hawkfrost saves Rockkit and Leafkit when the two kits wander off. Stonefur gives Hawkfrost Leafkit to mentor when she is an apprentice.

Rockpaw is given to Rippletail, Cherrypaw to Dawnflower, and Lizardpaw to Pouncetail.

When Hollyleaf reveals the truth about Crowfeather and Leafpool, Stonefur defends half-clan kits.

Leopardstar loses the rest of her lives when a tree falls in RiverClan camp and crushes her.

Stonefur earns his nine lives. Hawkfrost is the new deputy of RiverClan.

His nine lives: Mistyfoot - loyalty and devotion

Mosskit - a mother’s love

Bluestar - clear sight

Blackfoot - bravery

Leopardstar - honesty, compassion, kindness

Oakheart - strength to overcome anything

Feathertail - always knowing what is the right thing to do, even if it doesn’t benefit your own clan.

Crookedstar - selflessness

Shellheart - a father’s devotion spread beyond just kits, but to every member of your clan

OMEN OF THE STARS

Rosecloud died during the time between the two arcs. Stonestar mourned for moons. Hawkfrost took command during the first moon of his mourning.

When Stonestar sees Lionblaze again, he comments about how strong and large the ThunderClan warrior is: “He’s a force to be reckoned with, but I’m glad he seems to have a clear mind.”

Stonestar recognizes a shift in some of his warriors: Minnowtail and Icewing. Two warriors being trained by the Dark Forest. He tasks Hawkfrost with watching them closely.

Hawkfrost has proven to be a great deputy and a loyal warrior. He mentored Leafpaw to be one of the best hunters in the clan.

Leafpaw, Rockpaw, Lizardpaw, and Cherrypaw are all warriors: Leafwhisker, Rockstorm, Lizardbite, and Cherryspirit.

Stonestar loses his first life by drowning trying to save a kit.

During the Great Battle against the Dark Forest, Hawkfrost and Stonestar managed to keep Icewing and Minnowtail on the side of the Clans.

Stonestar loses a life during the battle, defending a pair of WindClan apprentices. Bluestar and Mistyfoot kill the Dark Forest warrior that killed him. Bluestar, Oakheart, Mistyfoot, and Stonestar all team up and dive back into the battle.

Cherryspirit dies during the battle. Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw team up to help drive away Tigerstar, when he is then killed by Firestar.

Firestar ends up surviving during the battle due to Mothwing being near the area where Firestar and Tigerstar had fought. Mothwing saved Firestar’s life.

Conclude: Stonestar leads his clan for many, many seasons. He ends up losing his last life by saving Rockstorm’s kits. Hawkfrost becomes Hawkstar and leads RiverClan with sharp claws and wise words, Hawkstar is a fierce leader with a compassionate side for those within his clan.

[boyvidae]

orion’s ultimate rewrite: (this got so long holy shit)

silverstream doesn’t die i dont think. she raises her kits in riverclan. i think graystripe tries to join but in the end his heart belongs to thunderclan and he goes back there. things are good between them, but they aren’t really mates any more (similar to blueoak i suppose) they’ll be reunited in starclan.

snowkit doesn’t die, obviously. brackenfur becomes his mentor and he earns his warrior name. i think he, brambleclaw, and tawnypelt all form a really strong bond. i do think tawnypelt goes to shadowclan in the end tho.

cinderpelt gets injured but still becomes a warrior (hello? deadfoot?) i think either ferncloud or ashfur became the med cat apprentice in her steed. i think ashfur. but i think after the fire that kills yellowfang he stays in riverclan for a bit to learn under mudfur since he didnt have much time to train.

speaking of which, deadfoot doesn’t disappear either. he’s still tallstar’s deputy come the second series.

hawkfrost, mothwing, and tadpole (who dies young i think) are tigerstar and leopardstar’s “tigerclan heirs” (thanks heck). once tigerstar dies and tigerclan is disbanded, they stay in riverclan. mothwing becomes med cat apprentice without incident because she’s clanborn, and hawkfrost has no leverage over her. (not sure how this effect everything down the road. maybe hawkfrost is able to resist tigerstar’s influence altogether.)

i think all the same cats go on the journey. feathertail doesnt DIE jesus christ. she and tawnypelt fall in love and have a responsible halfclan romance. crowfeather dies maybe, idc.

leafpool falls in love with mothwing (i dont think they run away since they both feel really responsible for their clans, but they sneak off a lot on “herb gathering trips”) (IDK if ashfur dies from the badger attack. idk if leafpool’s presence would really effect that either way) leafpool comes clean to firestar and her family when she finds out she’s pregnant. they’re understanding and supportive, and when there’s lots of grumbling (especially from a certain mousefur) when it’s announced to the clan, most everyone accepts her. i think she steps down from being a med cat for a little until the kits are weaned but then returns.

deadfoot becomes deadstar after tallstar’s death. ashfoot is his deputy. 

i think that hawkfrost resists tigerstar’s df training (well i think he trains to get stronger, but doesnt actually believe what tigerstar is on about) i think leopardstar instilled into them that he was a horrible, evil cat. hawkfrost wants power, but he’s going to do it the right way by following the warrior code. brambleclaw is an idiot, easily influenced. i think he gets sucked up by tigerstar. in a reversal, maybe brambleclaw traps leopardstar, and hawkfrost is the one to kill HIM. in the end, he couldnt escape his father’s shadow.

i dont really remember too much of the specific events of the third series, but wtf did sol get up to? is he necessary? idk, but i like the idea of shadowclan crumbling because blackstar stops believing in starclan. and tawnypelt leaves to thunderclan as a result. but i’d also like maybe something like, shadowclan chased blackstar out or blackstar chose to leave, or he died, and shadowclan went to find tawnypelt and were like “ayyy russetstar wants you ;)” and tawnypelt becomes deputy under russetstar.

and the three really ARE the three, hollyleaf has powers (not super sure. something to do with following the warrior code and keeping order and faith i think). jayfeather becomes a warrior, obv. i think brightheart as his mentor is good, but i also think she’s had apprentices BEFORE him. they know they’re halfclan, and medicine cat kits. they arent proud of it necessarily, but it fuels them to be even better warriors. i think they have an ok relationship with leafpool, but a pretty good one with mothwing. (she’s the cool mom) im not sure if mothwing comes clean to riverclan about it. i could see her confiding in mistyfoot about it tho.

lion is dumb like brambleclaw so i think he gets sucked into tigerstar’s shtick too. im not sure if breezepelt exists at all cuz im not really sure what crowfeather gets up to, if he doesnt die before then. i cant see him having kits because he wasnt disgraced so he has no real need to. i kind of like the idea of LION disappearing into the tunnels, but im not sure what the reason would be. maybe something to do with heathertail or his powers. maybe he abuses his powers thanks to tigerstar’s encouragement and kills someone, and is so overcome by grief and shame he flees to the tunnels and they collapse. idk!

and, i havent read the fourth series so i dont really have any idea on what could happen there. honestly i would make the three actually IMPORTANT somehow in the end when it comes to defeating the dark forest since... they dont really do anything in the end, it seems. perhaps they spend the fourth series hoping lionblaze comes back, or go out searching for him. not sure what dovewing and ivypool get up to.

 i guess jayfeather would use his dream walking abilities to spy on the DF. hollyleaf could maybe be someone who tried to keep potential trainees out of the df with her unique abilities. but they know a fight is coming and they know they NEED lionblaze because he’s essentially undefeatable and would be a huge help in the fight. and a la hollyleaf in the original he does show up and lend a huge helping hand. perhaps the clan side was losing but he showed up and along with his power + moral boost, they overcome the df!

russetstar dies after a somewhat short leadership and we get tawnystar. in brambleclaw’s stead of being deputy, im not sure. perhaps brackenfur or sandstorm becomes deputy. someone very dependable! im not sure if graystripe gets reappointed when he returns (yes i think he has millie, but they dont have kits) but if he does, he isnt leader for very long either. not sure who HIS deputy would be either. maybe squirrelflight! i think squirrelflight becomes a very accomplished and respected warrior when she isnt caught up in the bramble/ash/leaf/the three bunk.

i think leopardfoot dies sometime in the third series and mistystar makes hawkfrost her deputy. i think he well earned her trust and it’s a very symbolic union between the two. im not sure if mothwing would have no belief in starclan, it seems like she would since she was raised in the clans from birth and she didnt have the faked sign. but if she doesnt, none of that “mistystar freaks out about her not believing in starclan” shit.

that’s all i can really think of for now tbh.

[mallowstep]

Hard truth though. Leopardstar dies of I think diabetes or something that takes all of her lives over the course of like, a few weeks and if Stonefur and her kits have to watch that...I mean even Feathertail (who is a very sensitive cat most of the time, even if she doesn't like Leopard.) That would be hard. Especially on Mothwing. She's desperately trying to save her mom, but everything she tries isn't working. Like.... x_x

yeah...i don't want to...like.

i mean i follow the leopardstar tag and i don't have spoiler tags blocked so i've certainly spoiled parts of lsh for myself but i'm not going to go onto leopardstar's wiki page to see what her life status is, y'know?

[also not that i think anyone Would do this but you do Not have my permission to spoil lsh for me. i will tell you when i am ready to discuss it. you will know because i will publish my book notes on it.]

so. uh. yeah. i Believe she loses one life in asir? i'm honestly blanking on whether or not she Actually loses one. my head still hurts and i'm not tempting fate by opening up a graphic novel bc i want to go out to dinner w a friend later. it is sunglasses inside hours.

anyway.

leopardstar dies when stonefur and mistyfoot are roughly eleven years old? which means -- old enough that. okay so she's...maybe 13 then. and i mentioned. god let me back up.

stonefur ends up serving as leopardstar's deputy. mistyfoot would Hypothetically want the position, but at the end of the day, it's not the most important thing in the world to her. at the end of the day, her family matters a lot more to her.

anyway, stonefur retires around ten. he gets hurt pretty badly in a battle and while he survives, he's old and recovery takes a while anyway and ends up retiring. leopardstar asks mistyfoot if she wants the deputy position and mistyfoot is like "hell no. i'm like. a year or two away from retirement."

so leopardstar makes feathertail deputy. why feathertail? because i i'm allowed to have things i want sometimes. also because she's willing and ready to challenge leopardstar.

just before the drought happens, leopardstar loses her second-to-last life.

the drought hits.

it is really, really hard to watch. leopardstar probably...okay, let me derail into a quick aside about type two diabetes except Not Really about that it's just me rambling for a hot second.

i don't feel like talking about chronic illness and leadership in General rn, and literally my whole body hurts (ty migraines) and so i like. am not going to reach over to grab the vet book bc my Whole Body hurts, but. with the Understanding that i may Change my Opinion about this at a Later Point,

my current thought process is something like leopardstar develops gestational diabetes therefore putting her at higher risk for type 2 diabetes but that doesn't show through until her final life

(again i'm not speaking generally here abt chronic illness and leadership just specific to how this plays out.)

anyway.

obviously it is really, really hard for everyone. all of riverclan is suffering, but...there's nothing mothwing can do. they don't have enough water. she's in pain and nothing makes it better. she doesn't want to eat (they don't have enough prey; she's nauseous and food tastes like dust), but she's losing weight, no matter how much they convince her. and there's nothing they can do.

there's no pre-insulin treatment for diabetes.

if she wasn't a leader, the onset would have been much slower and subtler. it still would have been hard to watch, maybe even worse, but at least it would have been gentler, in some sense. but because she is a leader, quite a few years of effects are catching up with her.

they blame the drought, because they don't know what's wrong. less than 1% of cats develop diabetes in their lifetime, and because of the lifestyle of clan cats, it's rarely going to be noticed. so they blame the drought, and they pray that the quest resolves it, because they need it.

more than most.

all the clans suffer from the drought. not from, as the erins would have you believe, a lack of water, but from a lack of prey. but riverclan's prey is fish, and the lake is drying up. they feel the effects first and most sharply, worsened by their general food security.

so for two seasons, leopardstar's family is watching her die slowly and painfully, unable to even alleviate her symptoms. they don't have water. poppy seeds don't take the pain away. mothwing does what she can: thyme for anxiety, sorrel to convince her to eat, and juniper for strength.

it all helps some, but nothing close to enough.

and eventually, mothwing can't convince her to take them. leopardstar is paranoid, delirious, volatile. sometimes she feels like leopardstar doesn't recognize her.

it's a hard way to lose a parent.

[mallowstep]

The more information that comes from your Misty AU, the more I wish Thunderclan had fought for those kits. I hope Crookedstar gives Leopardstar the what for when she dies.

lmao.

then the misty au wouldn't exist! and we wouldn't get scenes like this:

He hears her voice on a border patrol. He didn't think RiverClan swam for fun so close to the border, but that's Feathertail, even if he can't make out what she's saying. "I'll catch up," he says, waving the patrol forward. "Feathertail?" he asks. The chatter slows, then stops. "It's me, Greystripe," he adds. "I heard you talking." He pushes forward, to where Feathertail is sitting on the other side of the bank. Mistyfoot is next to her, along with a black she-cat Greystripe doesn't recognize. "Hey," she says. "I just wanted to say hi." It feels silly, now. Feathertail was happy; he interrupted them. "It's good to see you," she says. She glances at Mistyfoot. "Can he...?" "If you can cross the river," Mistyfoot says, "you can come here." Greystripe doesn't hesitate. The water is freezing, but he still remembers how to swim. Feathertail's ear twitches. "How's ThunderClan?"

it's not hurt comfort if there's no hurt lmao.

i mean leopardstar is. very much not the worst actor here.

like. okay. not to be a misty au leopardstar apologist, but. her thought process is very much, "if i try to intervene on mistyfoot and featherpaw's behalf, tigerstar might just straight up start murdering my clan."

is that. a good way of looking at the situation? no. no it is not. but she does act (or not act) out of. some kind of care.

tigerstar already killed her deputy and best friend.

anyway.

mudfur gives her enough about it. i don't know what exactly their relationship looks like but. it's not great.

fwiw, she does manage to pull riverclan together afterwords. it's not like. she doesn't ever really win their favour and trust. or to an extent. it's Complicated. but she manages to unify them, and that's a lot.

anyway, leopardstar ranks fairly low on my list of Cats to Hate in this au. maybe i'll write some leopard pov to explain why.

<3

[mallowstep]

literally just every ounce of fluff i've written for this au

the last ask had...a lot of excerpts. but we all (i) deserve some fluff. this will span the range from "hurt-comfort" to "soft but technically angst" to "fluff until you think about it". i don't think there's anything that's just Fluff for this au. because that is almost always "fluff until you think about it." anyway. the rules for inclusion are anything i think of as fluff.

Featherpaw tucks herself underneath Mistyfoot's leg. The warrior shifts, purring, and Featherpaw closes her eyes.

-

Mistyfoot is not there when Tigerstar dies. She is sleeping when he leaves, and she is regretting sleeping when he does not return.

"Leopardstar," Mudfur says. "You have work to do."

Leopardstar stares into their prison for the first time since they were thrown in here. The moon is rising behind her, and Mistyfoot watches Featherpaw's chest rise and fall.

"We're tearing down the Bonepile," Leopardstar says. "You should be there."

Her tail flicks into their space as she leaves. It is the only part of her that enters.

"Featherpaw," Mistyfoot whispers. "Featherpaw, wake up."

Featherpaw wakes quickly. They both learned that lesson well.

"It's late," she mutters, standing, her legs shaking and her ears flattened. Mistyfoot studies the nicks and the way her left ear is torn off. Featherpaw's missing a claw, in a way that won't grow back, and her whole paw has gone stiff. "No one's here."

"Tigerstar is dead," Mistyfoot says. "We're leaving."

Featherpaw laughs.

"I'm serious." Mistyfoot closes her eyes. "We're leaving."

Featherpaw's breath catches. "Together?"

Mistyfoot purrs, licking a stray scrap of fur. It is hopeless — Featherpaw's pelt is scarred and ragged and clawed apart. It is all stray scraps of fur.

"Together."

-

The ThunderClan medicine cat assigns them both to nests, but Stormpaw curls up next to Stonefur. He wants to feel Stonefur's heart beat.

"He might not make it," Cinderpelt cautions. "I can't promise he'll survive the night."

"That's why I have to be here," Stormpaw says. "He won't die alone again."

Cinderpelt presses her nose to his shoulder. "As long as you try to rest," she says. "I'll find you some prey."

-

Tigerstar calls a feast in her name when she arrives. He introduces her to the other apprentices, tells her she is brave and clever and gives her a new mentor, and Tawnypaw feels good.

-

Mistyfoot.

She is not the same as when he left, but then, neither is he. She presses herself into his side, purring, and he rests his chin on her head.

"Misty," he breathes, focusing on how her purr reverberates through him.

"You were dead," she says.

"So were you."

She steps back, studying him. He thinks — he thinks they both look better than they should, all things considered.

Featherpaw stands behind her, making unblinking eye contact with Stormpaw. Stonefur doesn't think she's grown.

"You're alive," Stormpaw says, and Featherpaw's face contorts.

"I'm not that easy to kill," she mutters.

Stormpaw's jaw clenches. Stonefur should have prepared them for this, should have thought ahead.

"Feather, we just hadn't heard."

"I'm going to sleep," Featherpaw says. "I'll see you later."

Mistyfoot waits until Featherpaw has entered a den to speak. "Don't call her that," she says. "And don't..." She trails off. Stonefur watches how she swallows, how she studies her paws but does not so much as knead the ground.

"I'm sorry," she offers. "We didn't know. She's tired." Mistyfoot watches Stormpaw with pity. Stonefur aches to touch her again, to be assured that she is real and alive and not some ghost sent to torment him.

"I thought she'd be happy," Stormpaw says, scowling.

"She is happy," Mistyfoot says. "She just needs some time."

She takes a deep breath, her shoulders moving. Stonefur does not think about how she's changed because she's not.

"Mudfur might have nests for you," she offers. "I'm sorry. I'll ask Featherpaw about everything in the morning."

Her ears twitch, and Stonefur takes a step forward. Their foreheads meet.

"It's alright," he says. "We're all here, aren't we?"

-

He walks into the river alone.

Stormpaw was still asleep when he left, and Mistyfoot and Featherpaw are speaking quietly.

Cinderpelt told him they found his body in the river. He stands in it now, in the shallowest part, where they take young kits to introduce them to water.

He thinks he died. That's how it feels. He doesn't remember the first half-moon in ThunderClan, doesn't remember the fight, doesn't remember things he should remember.

Stormpaw asked him who his mentor was, and Stonefur couldn't remember. He had to ask Mistyfoot.

But he remembers how to swim. They couldn't swim in ThunderClan, not with the only water in their territory a shared border with TigerClan. He walks deeper into the river, taking easy strokes where he can no longer touch the ground.

"Stonefur?" Shadepelt's paw hangs into the water, and her eyes are cautious. Her voice is soft, quieter than he remembers. Or maybe it was always like that.

"Hello, Shadepelt," he purrs. She reaches down, touching her nose to his. "Did you want something?"

She tilts her head. "I'm not sure."

"Do you want to swim with me?"

Shadepelt shakes her head. "I don't really..." She takes a breath, and Stonefur hears her wheeze. "You know, we thought you died."

"I've heard." Stonefur pulls himself out of the river to sit beside her. She looks down at the ripples he leaves behind.

"I wanted to give you a proper funeral," she continues. "Wanted to...your nest was gone. Couldn't save that. But we could still build a shrine."

Shadepelt reaches into the water, flicking aimlessly.

"Leopardstar said no. I was going to do it anyway. But your body was gone, when I went to find it."

She looks up, her amber eyes shining. "Tigerstar said I must have done it. I didn't, obviously. But he said..." Shadepelt presses her nose into his shoulder. "He said someone's bones needed to go on the pile."

Shadepelt pulls back, and Stonefur licks her shoulder.

"I didn't die, so. I guess that plan didn't work out."

-

They swim together. Featherpaw sighs every time she goes in the water, her posture changing. Stormpaw hasn't approached the river since they got back; Stonefur hasn't asked why.

"Leopardstar is going to make us warriors soon," she says. "D'you think she'll accept a season of extra battle training in lieu of a final assessment?"

Stonefur laughs, and Featherpaw looks surprised. For a moment, he worries he's misread her, but then she laughs. It is a beautiful sound.

-

"Feathertail," he says, his voice raw. He takes a step towards her, and she flinches.

He freezes. Don't call her Feather, Mistyfoot says in the back of his head. Don't show your claws. Don't take the first step.

Stormheart looks at his paws, where his claws knead the ground in anger. He knows better than to make the first mistake, but he's done everything else wrong.

"What do you want?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.

"I miss you," he says. "I just...I miss you."

Feathertail's ears flatten. She looks past his shoulder, not meeting his eyes.

"Stonefur and I..." He takes a breath. She loves you, Stonefur says. She misses you. She doesn't know how to start again. "I thought we could go swimming together."

A peace offering — please let her take it. He hasn't gone in the river since they've returned. He has dipped his paw in for a fish, but he stares at it and sees Stonefur, barely breathing, but Feathertail swims, and maybe she will accept this.

"You don't swim anymore," she says.

"I'm trying." He blinks at her, waiting for her response.

She doesn't blink, but she nods her head briefly. "Tomorrow. I'm tired." Feathertail turns, her tail twitching, and a lump in the back of Stormheart's throat dissolves. It's not no.

-

"We should move your nests to our den," Feathertail says. "We've got space. Mudfur can't keep you forever."

She tilts her head, about to move, but she steps back, away from him.

"Um. I'm going to tell Mistyfoot. And. You know. You know where we sleep."

She steps back again, then turns, trotting towards Mistyfoot, who's talking to another warrior.

Feathertail is leaning against Mistyfoot, and Stormheart purrs despite himself.

-

The first time Feathertail touches him is momentary, but he is not foolish enough to think it is accidental. Her tail brushes him as we she passes him, leaving their den.

-

The second time she touches him, it cannot be mistaken as accidental. She runs her temple against his chin, and purrs.

Stormheart looks at her. He doesn't know what to say.

"You smell like us," she says, and she does it again, but she doesn't pull away.

He wraps his tail around her.

-

"You need to sharpen your claws," Mistyfoot says. "You can't leave them like this, Feathertail."

"It's not like I'm using them."

"Feathertail."

"Mistyfoot."

"Feathertail, the tips of your claws are poking out."

Feathertail flops on the ground, tilting her head back. "Bite them off, then. I'm not sharpening them."

Mistyfoot groans.

-

"You're like Mistyfoot's shadow," he says, and Feathertail's ear twitches. Greystripe is pretty sure the only reason Feathertail is allowed to sit with the deputies is because Russetfur and Mudclaw are afraid of what Greystripe and Mistyfoot would do if they argued.

Mistyfoot glances at her.

"I didn't really..." Feathertail says. "I dunno."

Greystripe sighs. He doesn't — Stormheart came to the first Gathering alone. He knows Feathertail is different, and knowing she is alive means more than anything else, but he is terrified of misstepping.

"Cats of all Clans," Firestar calls, and Feathertail flinches, pressing herself deeper into Mistyfoot's side. The RiverClan deputy licks her head, with the care of a mother, and Greystripe tucks his tail around his paws. What matters is that Feathertail feels safe.

-

He hears her voice on a border patrol. He didn't think RiverClan swam for fun so close to the border, but that's Feathertail, even if he can't make out what she's saying.

"I'll catch up," he says, waving the patrol forward. "Feathertail?" he asks.

The chatter slows, then stops.

"It's me, Greystripe," he adds. "I heard you talking." He pushes forward, to where Feathertail is sitting on the other side of the bank. Mistyfoot is next to her, along with a black she-cat Greystripe doesn't recognize.

"Hey," she says.

"I just wanted to say hi." It feels silly, now. Feathertail was happy; he interrupted them.

"It's good to see you," she says. She glances at Mistyfoot. "Can he...?"

"If you can cross the river," Mistyfoot says, "you can come here."

Greystripe doesn't hesitate. The water is freezing, but he still remembers how to swim.

Feathertail's ear twitches. "How's ThunderClan?"

-

Feathertail wakes up, and the kits are in her nest.

She purrs, and Mothkit stirs, nuzzling into her.

Mosspelt watches them. "They must have crawled to you over night," she says, softly, her tail curled around her litter.

Mothkit kneads at Feathertail's stomach, and she winces.

"I should get them prey," she says.

But Hawkkit and Frogkit are still asleep, tucked around her, like she was sleeping stretched out to give them space to be with her.

"We don't have any apprentices," Mosspelt says, "but I'm sure Dawnflower will poke her head in soon."

Feathertail lowers her head, until her nose is almost touching Tadpolekit. Mothkit settles, falling back asleep stretched out on Feathertail's flank.

Well. If she's not hungry, prey can wait.

-

Now that the kits are apprentices, she's moved back into her den.

Her life is — her life is what passes for normal. She eats prey, she swims, she sits with Mistyfoot, and she listens to her kits tell her about training.

They're apprentices, now, and she thinks that means they're responsible for her. Whether or not that's formal (Leopardstar can hold another ceremony for her when she's dead), they start bringing her prey in the evenings, and they groom her more than the other way around.

She remembers when they were newborns, before they were even named, how they squirmed when she groomed their fur flat. Now, they fight over her.

Quietly.

When they think she won't hear.

But this is — as close to normal as her life will be, she thinks.

Stormheart swims with her, but only sometimes. Sometimes he sits with Shadepelt, and Feathertail teases him. Stonefur goes on patrols sometimes, but not all the time, and when he's not on patrol, he talks to her.

Mistyfoot is the deputy, and she's stepped into her role. Feathertail is happy for her, but being deputy means going on patrol, and overseeing apprentice training, and other things Feathertail doesn't (won't? can't?) do.

When she's in camp, Feathertail still sticks to her side. She doesn't mind when they tease her about it, now, but she still stays there.

"Feathertail, do you want to go for a walk?" Dawnflower is looking at her pleadingly. She's been trying to get Feathertail to go on a walk, or at least to swim somewhere that's not around camp.

"Sure," Feathertail says.

Dawnflower purrs, walking on Feathertail's good side. She doesn't know if it's intentional, but she appreciates it.

This is normal, Feathertail decides. This is — good, maybe.

-

"Who do you think our mentors will be?" Hawkkit asks.

"Blackclaw, Stormheart, and Dawnflower are the only warriors," Frogkit says. "So one of them."

"Dawnflower and Stormheart are too young." Hawkkit flicks his ears. "So I bet two of us will get Leopardstar and Mistyfoot."

"That means one of us is stuck with Blackclaw," Mothkit says. "Bet it's you, Hawkkit."

He tackles her, and they both laugh.

"Whoever it is," Frogkit says, "we'll be there for you. Or me."

"We'll be there for each other no matter what," Hawkkit says. "That's what siblings do."

-

Hawkkit stands on Feathertail's shoulders.

"You're Sunningrocks," he explains, and she laughs.

"Fighting over me?"

"Nah. Mothkit and Frogkit aren't minnow-brained enough to try to knock me off you."

He circles, kneading her back. It is an unspoken truth between them that Feathertail is not to be fought over. Mosspelt is, sometimes, or Dawnflower, but never Feathertail. She is only ever a prize, never a battle ground.

Feathertail purrs, and Hawkkit closes his eyes.

-

When they become apprentices, Feathertail sits at Mistyfoot's side.

Leopardstar makes herself his mentor, and Feathertail cheers their names. She watches them swim across the river and leave camp for the first time, and Hawkpaw can't wait to catch his first piece of prey and bring it back to her.

-

The first time she has a nightmare, she is thankful it is not one that ends in screaming.

Stormheart wakes up, and she's sure she kicked him. She tends to do that, but Mistyfoot wakes up before that. Mistyfoot wakes her up before that.

"You're okay," Stormheart says. She presses her face against him, and he licks the top of her head. "You're okay," he repeats, and she whimpers, the sound muffled by Stormheart's pelt.

Feathertail's legs shake in their makeshift nest. She didn't think about that, when they left. That they wouldn't have nests or dens.

She hates feeling like this, hates that she can't even remember what happened, hates that it doesn't matter because she's still shaking and making sounds she wishes she could stop.

"Hey, hey, hey," Stormheart says. He pulls away from her, and she can't draw herself back in by herself. "You used to...sleep differently, right?" He's looking at her with fear and worry, like he always does when he talks about her time in TigerClan. "When you didn't have a nest."

Feathertail closes her eyes. "Yeah," she says.

"Do you want to try that?"

"It's not very comfortable," she says. "For you."

"I can take some uncomfortable sleep," he says, licking her head again. "C'mon. You used to sleep on top of me when we were kits."

When they were kits, they were the same size. Still, she tucks her head against his neck and lets her legs stretch out across him. Stormheart purrs, and she yawns.

-

Brambleclaw goes hunting the next night. Tawnypelt knows it's because Stormheart hasn't left Feathertail's side, but it's hard not to believe that it's also because he doesn't want to be around her.

She expects it to be uncomfortable silence, or Feathertail and Stormheart ignoring her, but Feathertail is disaffected and exhausted concern.

"You need a medicine cat," she says. "But keep it clean for now."

"I know."

Feathertail flicks her tail. "If it gets worse, you'll die, and then where will we be? Keep it clean."

"I know."

Feathertail ignores Tawnypelt's interjections. "Stormheart, do you remember what sweet sedge looks like?"

"Do you?"

"I remember what it tastes like."

"We haven't crossed any rivers, anyway."

Feathertail sighs. "Mistyfoot would be better at this." She stares at her paws. "At least we have food."

Tawnypelt doesn't think it's supposed to be personal. Feathertail isn't talking to her, not really. She's not talking to either of them. Stormheart touches her shoulder, his eyes wide with concern, but she doesn't look at him.

"Think anything is better than nothing," she says, and then she shakes her head slightly. "I'm tired," she says, half a whisper.

"It's been a long day." Stormheart says, and he lies down next to her. She rests her head on his paws, and Stormheart stares at Tawnypelt, unblinking.

-

The first time she says it, Crowpaw isn't supposed to hear it.

"Do you think the kits are alright?"

"They're not kits anymore," Stormheart says, purring.

Feathertail sighs. "I know. But...I miss them."

-

The second time she says it, she means it.

"Honestly," Feathertail says. "You're worse than my kits."

"You have kits?" Squirrelpaw says.

"Yes?"

Stormheart brushes his tail across Feathertail's back. "Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw, I'll carry you across if you won't get in."

"I'll survive," they say together.

-

Crowpaw finds it hard to resent that Feathertail is practically deadweight. She says StarClan chose her, so there must have been a reason, but with how Tawnypelt looks at her, he knows his opinion is not universal.

She can't even hunt for herself, not really. But Crowpaw finds it hard to mind.

-

They are the earliest risers. Feathertail sprawls in the early sunlight, looking more relaxed than he's seen her.

"Good morning," she says, stretching out her claws. She purrs, flicking her tail, and he sits next to her.

"Good morning, Feathertail." Crowpaw drags his paw behind his head.

Feathertail sighs, sitting up. "You looked like someone."

"It's one of your kits, isn't it?"

"You're clever," she says. "Yes. Like one of my kits."

Feathertail licks her paw, and Crowpaw wonders what he's supposed to say.

-

It happens quickly.

"And what would you know about that?" Tawnypelt says, all dry sarcasm and fronted anger.

Feathertail steps in front of Squirrelpaw, her tail brushing Squirrelpaw's side. "Let her speak."

Tawnypelt snorts, but steps back, waiting for Squirrelpaw to continue.

-

Feathertail licks behind Squirrelpaw's ear. She'd scowl, but Feathertail hasn't touched anyone other than Stormheart.

-

Feathertail says the cold is bad for her, and Brook understands.

"Sleep next to me," she says. "It's warmer."

-

"When did you get so big?" Feathertail asks, leaning her head against his shoulder. He remembers being small enough to hide beneath her; now, he dwarfs her, the tips of her ears just touching the top of his neck.

"Cats grow," he says.

She laughs. "Not as much as you." She takes a deep breath. "Are we moving soon?"

Frogpaw looks at the cats around him. Queens are grooming kits, and senior warriors and deputies are speaking.

"Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt are talking to the leaders," he says, licking the top of Feathertail's head.

"We're leaving soon, then," she says, sighing. "We all talked about where to go next last night."

"Are you ready to leave?"

Feathertail purrs, noncommittal. "Stars give me strength, Frogpaw."

"I'll carry you," he says, without thinking.

Feathertail steps back, her ears flattening. "Don't be silly."

"I will," he repeats. "You said it yourself. I'm bigger, now." He touches his nose to hers. "You can climb on my back."

"I'll think about it," she says. "Come on, now. Stormheart and Squirrelflight are arguing."

-

She sleeps with Mistyfoot. It's an unspoken rule, that they can't join her when she sleeps with Mistyfoot, but Frogpaw finds himself breaking it.

In his defense, Mothwing and Hawkfrost are here too.

Mistyfoot flicks her ears, when she wakes up, and Feathertail sighs.

"I missed you guys," Feathertail says. "I promise I did."

There's a but hanging onto the end of that, one Feathertail isn't going to answer. They know, of course.