#writing her interactions w both Storm/Feather was the highlight of the first few chapters fs

[m1smatched-starsigns]

I love the way you wrote Leapordstar!!! Like, it's so hard to figure out exactly what she is thinking the entire fic, dismissive but also completely exhausted.

Someone who contributed to unthinkable cruelty, and is now sitting with what's left of it. She was great. I think it my favorite depiction of the character and one of my favorites in the fic

I'm so glad you enjoy Leopardstar's character and the way I write her! She's one of the most fun characters that I get to explore in flesh and bone, I love whenever she is in a scene.

What I try most to convey, esp in the first two chapters, is that Leopardstar knows that she will never be able to escape the darkest moment of her life because it lives in her camp. It would have been so much easier on her if Storm/Feather had stayed in ThunderClan. (Mistyfoot too, except she wants Mistyfoot around whereas she would like to never have to face Storm/Feather again.)

And like. Once the battle is won and Tigerstar is dead and she has time to actually think about what she's allowed to happen, I imagine her breaking down under the weight of... not only 'how could I do this' but also 'of all the cats?? them??'. Storm/Feather are the kits of the cat she loved. She knew how important they were to Crookedstar, that he was willing to start a war over them. They were mentored by her two best friends. She should love them, she should want to spoil them.

Instead she can't stand to look at either of them, and they hate her, and I think it weighs heavily on Leopardstar how wrong that is. It could have been so different. It should have been so different. But Leopardstar ruined any chance of that