#Ferncloud's Parting

[bonefall]

[ID: BB!Bumblestripe and BB!Ferncloud having a conversation during Ferncloud's Parting. Bumblestripe says, "when you set off on a quest for revenge, you have to dig two graves." Ferncloud responds, "no, one grave fits multiple bodies."]

Grandmas will casually drop the most INSANE thing you ever heard in your entire life and then go right back to making chicken cutlets. What's up with that. Gamgam what were you up to

[jaggedpeak]

horizon part 9

[yuridovewing]

The way some people talk about Vicky’s writing in comparison to the new team kinda reminds me of how Pokemon Anime fans miss 4kids a lot and swear that if the 4kids dub kept going then the anime would have been infinitely better, and then you see how much of a meme some parts of the original dub were plus different fandoms with 4kids dubs wanted their heads on a stick. And it’s like yeah comparatively the new team is worse and the ogs got a raw deal but lets not get ahead of ourselves- itd still kinda suck

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

may I perhaps have some rootspring x genderfluid (he/she/they pronouns) shadowsight hypokits?? :0

Warriors Ships Hypokits: Genderfluid!Shadowsight x Rootspring Edition

In this AU, Shadowsight is a warrior instead of a Medicine Cat, and Rootspring and Bristlefrost are just good close friends. Poor Shadowsight doesn't know this though and assumes that the two are in love and together. They push down their feelings and pine after Rootspring in silence for ages until Bristlefrost (who doesn't get her soul destroyed and lives) literally drags the two of them together and tells them that they both mutually like each other and that they need to figure things out. The whole encounter is incredibly awkward but very helpful and by the end of it the two have become mates. Shadowsight moves to SkyClan to be with his mate. Mama Dovewing and her sisters wish her well while Papa Goldenstar ugly cries (one of his babies has found love!!!! he's so happy!!).

They have three kits together:

Bristlewhirl- dark brown tabby molly with unusual swirling stripes and amber eyes (the obligatory Tigerclone of the litter). Cis molly, omnisexual. They use they/them pronouns. Named after their godmother Bristlefrost. Bristlewhirl is very odd, to say the least. They are often found staring into space or seemingly talking to something or someone that isn't actually there. They don't seem to be all there most of the time, and they make a lot of nonsensical comments out of nowhere. As it turns out, Bristlewhirl has the ability to communicate with spirits similarly to their grandfather Tree, but the only spirits they can speak with are from the Dark Forest. Their family worries about them a lot due to the fact that they don’t seem to be able to turn the ability off and that they often experience violent visions due to the influence of the evil spirits. Time will tell what their future will hold, and what they will do with their powers... They are kept closely monitored in camp, and are a Builder.

Dovetalon- small and fluffy gray tabby molly with blue eyes. Cis molly, lesbian. She uses she/fae pronouns. Named after her grandma Dovewing. Dovetalon is the polar opposite of her namesake personality-wise- sharp-tongued, argumentative, and stubborn. Fae hates that fae are considered to just be “small and cute”, as fae wants to become Deputy someday and to be taken seriously. She overcompensates by overworking and being overly argumentative in order to make herself appear more suitable as a Warrior and a Deputy candidate. Unfortunately, this also means that fae have few friends and are not particularly well-liked by many. Dovetalon is also the primary defender of her two siblings and often squares off against cats who mock her brother Goldpatch for being a Den-Father and suggest her sister Bristlewhirl is evil because she can speak to Dark Forest spirits. She is a Climber Hunter, and does eventually become Deputy. 

Goldpatch- dark gray tom with golden patches and blue eyes. Trans tom, aromantic asexual. Named after his grandpa Goldenstar. Goldpatch is a kind and gentle cat who is all-too aware of his faults. He isn't good at hunting on the ground or in trees and isn't a fast runner either. While his talent of being an excellent kit-sitter does a lot to help his clan, he struggles with the thought that he isn't really providing anything and is just sitting around in the Nursery doing nothing while his clanmates do actual work. This is disproven one day when a fox attacks the Nursery and Goldpatch fights it off single-pawed, preventing it from harming the monarchs and kits inside. He becomes a lot more confident after that and is even more happy and content with his role in the clan. He is a Den-Father.

[mallowstep]

I invite myself into the inbox once again to ask about vamps AU. What have you thought of non main character cats? I specially am curious to know about Ferncloud and her kids. Presumably all on Ashfur's faction, yeh?

i'm definitely titrating my thoughts so that i don't devolve too much into weeds when i know i tend to shape things up as i write them, and other than one scene w thornclaw, every scene @ vampire council 2k22 has been briar listening to people make conversation as jayfeather is internally going "i wish i was politically able to yell at everyone for disrespecting my wife but also our marriage isn't legally recognized which we're using as a bit of a secret weapon but also i hate this i hate this i hate this"

(it's from briar's pov tho so she's more like "hm fuzzy feel good times. also paying attention. also also holding this over jay's head for the rest of my life.")

(the politicking runneth hard but jay is not a fan)

anyway.

yeah, they're probably not all part of the upper groups of discussions and negotiations, since i don't think they'll be the head of a family, but these things fall on family lines. the fact that shrew (if he's alive/around?) and squirrel were friends once isn't irrelevant, but he doesn't exactly have any swing against ashfur.

that sort of thing.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

More silly/interesting/unhinged stuff I read in the Warriors Wiki trivia tabs part 2

Ashfur:

LMAO

Ooh, okay, but has anyone drawn him or Ferncloud this tawny colour?

Cloverfoot:

Bit of a tight timeline but I also REALLY like this idea. I also miss Birchbark :(

The likelihood of Cloverstar in canon is really low, though deputies aren't dying quite like they used to, so... Maybe?

Brokenstar:

Forgive me if anyone else has brought this up, but what if he really did have a power similar to Yellowfang? I really wish we had gotten a proper POV for this little bastard.

Thunderstar:

I have to admit. I am an Orange Shell Claw truther. Shell Claw being a Thunderstar mini me is very nice to imagine.

Heathertail:

I'm inclined to believe Vicky here. Sedgekit of the time felt like a very prideful, blabbermouth kitten. Dark River is still one of the books I really like.

Spottedleaf:

I know this was one of those "retconned mistakes" but... I just love the thought of Graypaw being confidently wrong just to insult his brother.

She was there, in spirit... Or Leopardstar is tripping balls.

Leafstar:

She was depicted like this for SO long I actually really like that depiction. I love Comic!Leafstar.

Frostpaw:

Teeny, tiny Frostpaw next to a GIGANTIC SALMON PLUSHIE plz

[cryptidclaw]

Willowchime

Design Notes:

idk how i feel abt this one... but I defo like it better than the last design I did for her :P I do love Rosebush's family of pink cats tho hehehe

Character Bio:

Willowchime

(Willowpelt)

Cis molly; she/her

Age as of 1st arc's beginning: 3 cycles, 1 moon; ~28 Hys

Title meaning: -chime = a kind, soft and caring cat; a cat with a soft and/or beautiful voice

Caretaker of Thunder Order

Mentor: Poppydawn

Mother: Rosebush

Siblings: Redtail; Spottedleaf

Ex-Mate: Teddy (kittypet)

Mate: Lynxstorm

Kits w/ Teddy: Darkstripe; Graybelly

Kits w/ Lynxstorm: Sootstorm; Rainwhisker; Sorreltail

Grandkits:  Willowfeather; Oakfeather; Ashfall; Ferncloud; Cinderheart; Honeyfern; Poppyfrost; Rainstorm; Mintfur

Other notable kin: Poppydawn (grandmother); Windflight (grandfather); Sweet (aunt); Sandstorm (niece); Poppy (niece); Flint (nephew)

Character Summary:

Not much change to her character other than her relationship with the kittypet Teddy!

Willow met Teddy as a young adult and she ended up having Darkstripe and then Graybelly with him. They had a fun youthful on and off again relationship but after she became pregnant the second time Willow realized that her continued relationship with Teddy was going to get her in trouble, as kits with outsiders is allowed only if there is no continued relationship with the outsider afterwards. She feared for the backlash and judgement that could fall upon her kits if she was found out, so she broke it off with Teddy.

Willow loved both Dark and Gray very much but she feels as though she failed her first kit. Dark became a very hateful and angry cat, and after the birth of Gray he barely interacted with Willow at all and when he did he seemed angry at her. Willow wonders if he knows about her long lasting relationship with Teddy, and she often questions if she should have told Dark about his father and tried to teach him to not hate his outsider blood.

Willow later became mates with Lynxstorm who she had never really been close to until Gray became an apprentice and Lynx played a large part in his training. Willow would often chat with Lynx and Lionheart about how the apprentice training was going (she wanted to keep an eye on her second kit's training after Dark seemed to have changed so much during his own apprenticeship). Willow and Lynx hit it off during this time and eventually became mates!

They had Sorreltail, Sootfur and Rainwhisker but both died protecting their kits in the Great Battle at the end of the first arc.

...

[image ID: a digital drawing of Willowchime an AU version of Willowpelt from Warrior Cats. She is walking with her right side showing and she has a calm, happy expression on her face with her mouth slightly open like she is talking. She is a sleek, long furred, light gray and orangey-pink tortie with white molly with green eyes. She is mostly light gray with salmon-pink markings on her flank and up to the middle of her tail, some as spotting on her shoulder and under her eyes and up the middle of her face to her curly hair tuft which is the same pinkish color. She has white on the lower half of her face, on her neck, on her legs and on her tail tip. Her inner ears, nose and mouth are all light pink./End ID]

[wc-confessions]

TW: Discussions of incest in warriors

While I agree for the most part with incest anon, I do want to point out that at some point, you have to draw the line regarding what is and isn't incest.

Ignoring that they're warrior cats for a moment, these are fundamentally small communities. To have two unrelated cats back to the fifth generation (third cousins), you'd need 16 individual cats. Back to the sixth (fourth cousins) you'd need 32 individual cats. The Clans literally are not big enough to have that many unrelated cats, especially when you also have to account for similar ages if you want to be unproblematic. Even humans, with 8 billion some people to choose from, are tenth cousins with each other because we have a shared ancestor. That's what makes us a species. For a Clan of around 40 at a time, you're eventually going to be having everyone be around fourth cousins with each other. It's unfeasible to assume that you can never be mates with anyone you grow up with because your great-great-great grandparents were related. Plus, that's setting aside the whole xenophobia of the Clans, which is already a big ask in-universe. And also that they're cats, so they tend to have multiple kids, and if many of them go on to have kids... eventually you're asking them to die out by never mating.

I only bring this up because you mentioned Larksong and Sparkpelt, who share Lionheart and Frostfur as great-great grandparents. If they were savannahs, with Lionheart/Frostfur being a serval x domestic cat pairing, they would be considered f5 - the very limit of what most breeders consider savannahs, after which they're treated as fundamentally domestic cats. I'm not saying breeders are great moral compasses, but no matter your angle - moral, genetic, what have you - there's a point where it just doesn't matter. Maybe your line is third cousins, in which case I can understand, but again keep in mind how small their communities are. If you want to play a fun game, try and find someone they're not related to that isn't Finleap or Twigbranch. Bonus points if they're also not problematic in some other way, like being mentor/apprentice at the same time.

Also, there are dozens of better ways to point out how awful the Erins are when it comes to family trees. Anyone remember Willowpelt and Patchpelt? How about Dustpelt and Ferncloud, who were literally uncle and niece (ignoring all the other problems they have)? Never forget Silverstream and Whiteclaw, her foster brother. The Erins need to do better, but going at them over third cousins is a low bar when there's so many other examples that can't even clear that.

.

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

And Now, the Long Awaited; Cataganda!

“Ferncloud is a cat who decided early on in her adulthood that she wants to stay in the nursery den taking care of children, and also having a number of children herself - making her akin to a kindergarden teacher and kind of a stay at home mom at the same time The fandom opinion of her is a lot better than it used to be, but back then people viewed her and characters like her who chose this instead of the regular work as lazy, selfish, good for nothing because they werent participating much in hunting, gathering or fighting (+the occasional mysogyny), the fandom viewed them as taking from the capable and stuff. For Ferncloud this got even worse due to the fact that she had multiple litters of children herself, which resulted in people calling her a 'the baby making machine' and viewed her as such instead of as a character. This got so bad it convinced one of the writters to straight up kill her off, saying ''she has had it too good''. Suprisingly, when a male character (Fernsong) decided that he wanted to take the role of a den dad, noone thought of him as lazy or anything afaik, but that is a more recent matter"

“Oh god where do you even START with leafpool? Ill try to make this as brief as possible but essentially, Leafpool is a medicine cat (a doctor and a religious figure at the same time, able to talk to cat heaven). One of the rules of medicine cats is that they are not allowed to have children, but because the authors wanted to sprinkle in some drama and hetero romance, she had a brief thing with a guy from another clan (which the cat heaven encouraged her to do and was ok with at the time), which resulted in her getting pregnant. This resulted in her having to give her children up to her sister (which was also encouraged by the cat heaven) and having to watch them grow without her. Eventually it gets found out, and she is punished for this by having her rank be stripped away from her and being publicaly humiliated (and almost being poisoned by her daughter), though the guy she had the fling with basically gets a slap on the wrist and then gets a promotion and gets to stay with his new wife without any humiliation or anything. Leafpool eventually manages to get her rank back though. Later on after some stuff happens she dies in a fight alongside her sister, and the cat heaven is suddenly pissed at her for breaking their dumb as shit rule to the point that they declare a trial for her to see if she is worthy of cat heaven or cat hell. She manages to get into heaven but notbefore getting more humiliated. A trial like this barely ever happens and characters who have done much MUCH worse things then her never went through it and got into heaven without any problem (for example Ashfur who litterally attempted to kill 3 children in a fire because their mother didn't want to be with him yet gor into kitty heaven no problemo bc apparently he just 'loved too much') And there's more to be said but thats mostly of the specific parts i havent read so Anyway i think that Leafpool should be allowed to be pissed off and fight cat heaven and god for what it did to her”

“Basically she (Squirrelflight) is a character that some parts of the fandom love to be misogynistic towards because. Uh. She thinks that sometimes doing the good thing even if it means breaking the rules is a good and necesary thing (the same thing that her dad was very very much known for and done multiple times earlier in the series yet noone complained about it)? Which she gets redicilously punished for by her shitty husband who is also her boss? To the point she is treated as a uncapable child and demeaned constantly by him? And then she gets viewed as abusive as him because she sometimes can try to stand her ground against him and isnt a completely helpless victim 24/7? Oooo what an evil woman”

“In her book she had an illegal crossclan relationship and got pregnant with illegal halfclan kits. Now the big issue with that was that their current deputy (second in command/next in line to rule) was going to retire soon, and she was one of the candidates. The other was Thistleclaw, her brother in law. She did not like him, thought he was violent (he was), and did not want him to be next to rule the clan. In fact he encouraged his apprentice/student to beat up a kitten who was on the border.

"The kit squealed in agony. "Show it your teeth Tigerpaw," Thistleclaw goaded. Tigerpaw sunk his teeth into the kit's shoulder..." He literally once said "It's too easy to invade. Too many invaders. Only fear will keep them out. We must mark our borders with the blood of our enemies."

Her kits being halfclan wasn't known, so that wasn't a problem. What was was that she had young kits. At one point she is allowed by her leader Sunstar to go to the gathering despite her nursing kits. If he doesn't usually let nursing cats go to the gathering, he's definitely not going to make one deputy. When he found out she's pregnant he said "I had hoped that one day you'd follow in my paw steps, but StarClan seems to have a different path for you." He made it clear that he would now choose Thistleclaw.

Their religious healer Goosefeather insists that she needs to be deputy instead of Thistleclaw. He said "If Thistleclaw becomes deputy, it will be the end of ThunderClan." And "But these kits will drown in blood like the rest of their clanmates unless you act." As medicine cat, he's able to speak with StarClan (their ancestors) and recieve prophecies from them. So what he says isn't just intuition, it's also backed up by visions of the future (he's also uniquely able to see the future).

Speaking of visions, she has one about Thistleclaw: "Something dark and sticky was flowing down his pelt. Blood! Thistleclaw was drenched in blood. It oozed from his fur and dripped from his whiskers, staining the snow around him scarlet. ... She caught Goosefeather's eye, and he nodded. He'd seen it too. A vision of ThunderClan's path if Thistleclaw was to lead them."

Because of all of this, she decides to give her kits up and bring them to their father to raise. It's a tough decision, but the future of her clan is at sake. It's also winter, which means that when she makes the journey one of her kits freezes to death. She feels terrible about it (and about lying that a fox took them), but Goosefeather insists that it was the correct code, and she gets the deputyship. When she gets it, her leader says that he chose her over Thistleclaw because "...I don't want my clan to be led into endless fighting. Our borders are strong enough without being marked over and over again in blood." He was also worried about Thistleclaw's violence, but still would have chosen him if she was still nursing.

When she gets the nine lives of a leader from StarClan, her sister (speaking for StarClan and with their knowledge) says "...our clan walks a safer path now." And "You were chosen long ago, and StarClan has never regretted its choice."

All of this goes to say that she made the right choice. Even their ancestors (who can see into the future) agree with her choices, and that she is the right leader. However, a lot of the fandom does not agree. I've been into these books since 2008, and been in the fandom on many sites. Bluestar is a controversial character, and two of those reasons are for giving up her kits, and distrusting Thistleclaw. In text it is explicitly said and shown multiple times that she made the right choices, and that Thistleclaw would have been a violent leader, and yet people don't agree.

People will say that Sunstar totally would have made her deputy even when she was nursing kits (despite that being false in the books) and therefore her giving up her kits was pointless. They'll say that she should have gotten her kits to their father without riding their lives. Anyone she told may have reported her, and she definitely would never have been deputy then. And she told their feather that she'd meet him that night. If she waited for a night with better weather, he probably wouldn't meet her, which would be worse for the kits.

Then a lot of people defend Thistleclaw, saying that we don't actually have proof that he was violent/would be a bad leader, and that Bluestar just didn't like her sister's mate. He encouraged Tigerpaw to attack a small kit, and it probably would have led to the kit dying if she hadn't stepped in. He attacked a cat who was on their side of the border, but was alone and had an excuse, and may have killed him if she hadn't stepped in. Goosefeather - who had visions of the future - repeatedly insisted that Thistleclaw was dangerous, and that the prophecy he'd had about her meant that it was her job to stop him. Yes he has been wrong before, but that was interpreting one omen, and that wasn't a drawn out thing. Finally, their ancestors agreed that she'd done the right thing! In later books they do absolutely have flaws and are often wrong, but that's later! There's nothing to say that they were wrong this time. And yet I've seen a lot of Thistleclaw apologism and people hating and blaming Bluestar. It's been over a decade of me seeing people say these same things.”

“Mapleshade is one of the extremely few female villains in warriors and is arguably the first one, but her actions that people debate more about are more morally messy in what got her sent to cat hell (since all the characters here are cats) as she was avenging her dead children by killing those she believes were responsible for their drowning after she tried to cross a flooded river after being chased from home. Despite the mixed mortality of her story she's been extremely vilified, especially in comparison to other characters in her story, or seen as a completely justified. There's a lot of divide over her, especially in older days of the fandom where most either loved or despised her. Some of the fandom that loves her sees her as a innocent kitty who was never wrong for seeking revenge and deserves to kill everyone else involved which screws her character over in the other direction. I've seen multiple times her being called many derogatory comments and swears with people misinterpreting her story to surprising degrees. For example, at the beginning of her book, we learn quickly that Mapleshade pregnant with the children of anothet cat she is in a secret relationship with a cat who lives in a different colony and is very enamoured by him and slightly possessive. I've seen people state that she baby-trapped her partner in this instance. They are both completely normal cats living in the forests in a rather normal relationship. I've also seen other people directly state that she was completely justified in all her murderers, and believe she should have murdered the innocent pregnant women she wanted to kill. Her character has been so heavily misinterpreted by both making her a completely evil killer and a justified avenger who did nothing wrong.”

“Squirrelflight can’t do so much as breathe the wrong way both in-universe and within fan perception of her/the series. Her mate, Bramblestar, is manipulative and even abusive in canon (mind you, none of this is treated as bad in canon and Bramble is portrayed as a good guy except when the ghost of Squilf’s evil ex takes over his body for a while but that’s a whole other thing). Bramble fans will tell you she deserves it for being “just as bad.” Which… no. Someone going behind their abuser’s back on occasion or arguing with them a few times isn’t equivalent to that person constantly berating them and manipulating situations just to argue with them. Oh yeah so real quick about the shitty ghost ex thing. Ashfur is a cat incel basically and while this part of the fandom has died down over the years there were definitely people back in the day who thought they should be together even though when he was alive he threatened to kill her and her adopted children all bc she wouldn’t date him and he wouldn’t get over it, just because “waaah his manpain and angst.”’

“Ferncloud was not vilified as much as the fandom wanted her dead in the past. For having children. Warriors cats is very msogynistic series despite the writing team being all women as far as I know. Female characters rarely get nuance and they either die young or eventually become a mother for seemingly no reason. Ferncloud was notable in that she became a mother very young and had her first litter of kittens shortly after becoming a warrior which is the equivalent of high-school graduation in warrior cats with her mate, who has been an adult for 90% of her life. Throughout Ferncloud's life she had three litters of kittens, with 4/7 surviving to adulthood. This is not an unusual number of total kittens for real cats and most couples in warriors have 2-5 children. Ferncloud herself was born into a litter of 4 kittens and her granFernclouddmother had 5 kittens across 3 litters depending on if you believe the retcons. Despite the normalcy of this in the series itself Ferncloud has been heavily referred to as a baby factory, both jokingly and derogatorily and many people calling her lazy and unskilled as well since she chosen to be a permeant resident of the nursery and help bring up other cats kittens after having her first litter. The complaints eventually lead to a lot of people saying she should die and stop having children. Later the authors commented the reason she was killed off was because of all the dislike towards her from fans. Her treatment from the fandom literally got her killed off.“

[everybody-loves-purdy]

people don't talk nearly enough (canon doesn't talk nearly enough) about how Ferncloud was basically the three's adoptive mother next to Squirrelflight.

Squirrel was a very good mother imo, but canonically it was Daisy and Ferncloud who nursed them and kept them warm when Squirrel was busy with duties (or purposefully keeping away because she felt guilty for loving them in a way Leaf never could or something like that?). Plus the scene where Ferncloud was said to "moan a low, mournful yowl" when Jaykit fell into the hollow because she was so worried about him.

Then again, I'm not surprised they didn't say anything memorable at Fern's vigil considering how cold Jayfeather was at Leafpool's vigil.

Yeah I definitely agree, Ferncloud is the three’s heavily under appreciated mother.

I will say about the vigil thing though that saying things at vigils is definitely more of a new team thing, in Vicky era vigils were lot quieter but the new team has introduced speaking about the deceased at them. So I don’t blame Jay and Lion for not saying anything they hadn’t gotten to that part of canon yet lol, and honestly yeah at least one of them may have made a jaded remark

[doritopaw101]

Firethree AU

Idea from @brackenfur and this post as well

The three being raised by Firesand. I love this idea so many reasons because my goodness are family bonds just cardboard for the most part.

But I have two other ideas.

1. Firestar raises them as a single dad

So basic thing is that Sandstorm was taken by twolegs.

Firestar finds out and questions them she they didn't go to him. Leafpool expresses her frustration. He's Firestar, how could she tell him? How he's so distant that he didn't realize she'd fallen in love with Crowfeather. That sometimes she's surprised if he sees her as just her. How she wishes he had just been her father, not firestar, just her father.

This makes Firestar reflect deeply and guilt sets in. He failed his children but he will do his best to do right by them, to help them like he should've. He offers to take the kits. Firestar even leaves for a few days before LeafSquirrel comes back.

He returns to camp with kittens in his mouth and the clan questioning what is happening. Firestar only says their his kits and asks Ferncloud to nurse them which she agrees.

Hollykit and Jaykit are already named but he gets to name Lionkit.

He refuses to sleep in the leaders den and sleeps in the nursery til the three are apprenticed. Firestar does more self-reflection regarding Jaypaw’s blindness and thinks of how he viewed Cinderpelt’s injury. He saw her living as a tragedy instead of the happiness she found. He won't do the same to his son.

The clan doubts his youngest son, he won't. He makes himself Jaypaw's mentor. Bias be damned.

Sandstorm comes back and is stunned when she meets the three and vice versa.

2. Firesand actually had a second litter when they take in the three.

Similar thing from the previous idea with Firestar's reflection and wanting to do better at being a parent.

Firesand had another kit: Antkit. Despite their tragedies, the clan thinks they're blessed with such big litters.

Lionkit and Antkit form a rivalry with Berrypaw and Berrypaw has two deal with two bulky kits snapping at his heels.

Siblings' shenanigans and the expectations of being firechildren ensue. Finding out about the prophecy makes them question (all the more interesting since Dove is still the third).

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

These ideas mostly stemmed from this image in my brain of when Hollyleaf exposes the secret.

Firestar tries to reason with her, placing a paw on her shoulder. Hollyleaf responds negatively and strikes Firestar. He loses his balance and falls from the tree.

A sickening crack hits the clearing just as hard as the ginger leader did with the tree roots. The medicine cats rush over to help but everything slows down for Hollyleaf.

Hollyleaf is horrified, and runs, and her brothers run after her.

[bonefall]

I'm still wading through some brain fog so I'm not writing as much as I want to, currently. But I have just been absently sketching Willowpelt because she's been on my mind

I had initially been working with the "hyena" face in mind, but I've been playing around with the "villainous role" idea for Ferncloud's Parting. I mentioned it to my partner who pointed out that big, strong profiles like that are overused for "vengeful" characters.

Besides, I really love drawing that face shape anyway, so I figured I'd move away from it since it's going to be on a LOT of RiverClan cats in particular (they have longer muzzles than other Clans because they hunt in water).

I'm leaning towards "bat" now... maybe I'll retool it so it's more deer-like. Deer are totally underused as inspiration for harsh characters...

Anyway ready for some WIP material? Plus a recap of Ferncloud's Parting for all who need a refresher

(oh wow it got long. The power of girlies <3)

FERNCLOUD'S PARTING... Refresher!!

Replaces Graystripe's Vow completely, taking place just after the Impostor has been deposed and is imprisoned. Ferncloud is now the main POV, accompanied on her journey by her childhood best friend Cloudtail and the Impostor's surviving lackey, Bumblestripe.

The goal of this SE is to explore Ferncloud's relationship to her younger brother, Ashfur.

(BB canon: Ferncloud and Elderberry are the older kits of Brindleface. Ashkit was a singlet born shortly before his mother's death, raised by Fern, Elder, and their grandmother One-eye. Fireheart botched the Queen's Rights while claiming Cloudkit, but for all intents and purposes was socially his Mi... which he was not good at being. Cloudtail was Ashfur's mentor and Ferncloud's childhood friend.)

Ferncloud is asking herself the question; "What could I have done to prevent this?"

A lot of secondary questions revolve around this... Does this make her responsible for what Ashfur has done? Did she teach him anything that contributed to who he is today? Does that make her responsible?

Cloudtail is in a similar situation, as Ashfur's mentor and someone who only ever wanted to help his friend. Could HE have prevented this? He wants to find out.

Graystripe, oldest cat in ThunderClan, accompanies the little group as far as the mountain... and decides to stay there, with his golden boy, Stormfur.

Bumblestripe had come along with them all, for... a lot of complicated reasons. But the most relevant is that he had been one of the Impostor's most loyal, brutal enforcers. Berrynose was killed in a huge skirmish, and now there's just Bumblestripe left alone to shoulder his sins.

After saying goodbye to his father for what's probably the last time, getting to meet the mythical oldest brother he's been compared to his entire life, and seeing Cloud and Fern looking to visit the Old Forest Territories... Bumblestripe goes with them even further to make sure the old cats stay safe.

Like Graystripe's Vow, I'm planning to keep the split chronology. It goes back and forth between Ferncloud in the Broken Era, and Ferncloud back during the Fire Era.

The ultimate moral here, the point I want to build to, is that Cloudtail and Ferncloud did exactly what was expected of them. They raised a loyal warrior who holds the code above all. They're only responsible for Ashfur insofar as they were responsible for teaching him the same values of vengeance, violence, and distrust of outsiders as was expected... in Firestar's absence.

(Though... there's lots of other questions that I don't think FP will answer. Like, COULD they have truly stopped him? Can they ever understand WHY, if they don't currently? There's a LOT of feelings here and I don't know if all of them really have answers.)

WIP STUFF TIME

Here's new stuff, I've either not mentioned this before, or I've mentioned it in passing without actually linking it to Ferncloud's Parting.

I have a LOT of ideas here that I have to start sorting through. I think these characters are all really interesting so it's really a matter of cutting down all these little details into something more coherent.

When Ashkit is young, he's a child. There was nothing particularly outstanding about him, besides the fact he was a bit lonely and eager to please.

There's a bit of an air of "loss" when Ferncloud thinks back to Ashpaw's childhood. Elderberry and One-eye will be dying soon after the "flashback" segments, so when she goes back to the modern era, thinking about them feels bittersweet.

I also want to sneak in that Ferncloud feels jealous over Cloudtail's mateship with Brightheart lmao, because she has a crush on Brightheart. (Note, maybe tie this to Ashfur being obsessed with Squirrelflight, with Fern questioning if her jealousy rubbed off on Ashfur)

Through helping WarriorClan, Bumblestripe feels REALLY good. They don't know anything about his past, his struggles, or his failures as a person. He's just a hero to them and that feels... good.

Watching Bumblestripe be good, learning more about his issues and WHY he did what he did while following Ashfur brings Cloud and Fern some insight... but not entirely what they need. Is Ashfur just a Bumblestripe on a bigger scale? Or are they just learning more about how good of a manipulator Ashfur is? In which case... where did that ability to manipulate come from?

Fang/Honeysuckle might be Bumblestripe's half-brother. If that's the case, Bumble is... frustrated by it. MORE of his dad's complicated legacy.

Ferncloud and Cloudtail probably have some short discussions about how much is really appropriate to teach to WarriorClan... after all, they're here questioning if any part of Ashfur was THEIR fault, what if they accidentally teach them something terrible?

But at the same time, Ferncloud is the Educator of ThunderClan, and these cats can't write. The Glyph system would be very useful to them, and they're begging to learn more about Clan culture.

Putting a pin in that part, for now. Will tie back more into the conclusion that the Clan cat party ultimately reaches.

BACK IN THE PAST; Firestar is away bringing back SkyClan in Firestar's Quietus. Everything that is done is without him.

Longtail, the deputy, is blinded and a leader does not immediately rise to fill the space in ThunderClan.

And in BloodClan, their trading partner... Scourge does the same. Oops! WRONG TIME, SCOOJ!

Planning to retire, Scourge announces an event called The Frenzy. He will choose the next leader from whoever accomplishes the biggest achievement in the given timeframe. This is how BloodClan passes on leadership.

He gives his chosen heir, Claw, their first Frenzy Achievement-- the fang of a dog from his own collar. Anyone who wishes to take power instead must accomplish a feat even bigger than what had allowed SCOURGE to take power in the first place; Killing a dog.

Fury is a challenger. She does NOT want Scourge's chosen heir, Claw, to lead BloodClan next. Claw will continue the trading and friendliness towards Clan cats, which Fury wants to end.

ENTER WILLOWPELT

Willowpelt ALSO wants this trading with BloodClan to stop. She feels it's gone too far.

BloodClan killed her mate-- Whitestorm. Firestar might have been willing to just throw his life away for this, but she's NOT.

She's recovering from a boar bite, currently, but it's scarring up nicely... and she's willing to pretend she's injured a little longer if it shakes suspicion off her.

She doesn't WANT to be allies with Fury, but if her goal is to bring BloodClan back into isolation... then, Willowpelt will do it.

And Fury promises her something else; Revenge. Scourge is the reason why Whitestorm died, and together, they can ruin his plans and make him watch as his peaceful little power transfer crumbles into ash.

GOOD SETUP IMO but I still need to work out what nefarious deed they'll do, exactly. All I know is that Fury will betray Willowpelt at the height of it. Maybe something about taking over Barley's barn. Maybe Elderberry gets killed.

But, I have one very strong feeling in mind; Ferncloud probably ends up killing Fury while Ashpaw watches or even helps.

Hmm... maybe Graystripe (becomes deputy as soon as Firestar gets back for handling this crisis so well) ordered them to let Fury go.

But Ferncloud looked at Fury, and decided that Willowpelt was right about one thing. Most BloodClan cats cannot be trusted.

The code does not apply equally to outsiders.

Maybe I WILL have Fury end up killing Elderberry in some way, and then give Ferncloud and Ashpaw a conversation about it. "Those who don't live by the code will not be protected by it. And we must protect our Clan... even if Graystripe doesn't realize it."

I could make it clear that Fury is not a threat at that point, having been beaten in some way and Claw ascending to BloodClan leadership. OR I could have left it open-ended, like, maybe Fury would be a future problem, maybe not. Not sure yet.

Willowpelt of course will also need to experience some consequences for this... unleeeess, I have Graystripe let her off really easy exactly because she's Clanborn, which even Cloudtail is frustrated about, maybe even coining the term "Codebreaker" as an insult under his breath.

In any case, Ferncloud never told Cloudtail about how she secretly killed Fury. It's too juicy to have her reveal it to him in the modern day, explaining that it IS her fault, she DID teach him the wrong thing.

Hmm... I'm talking myself into it. Though I did also like the original vibe that Ashfur's tyranny was kind of unknowable, trying to make sense out of a senseless thing he did. I think it feels a lot more interesting for Ferncloud to have been hiding this for literal years, and now feeling like she has to "pay the world back" for what she did.

Maybe even build towards something metal about Fury's grave. Hmm... maybe to hide the murder, she buried her in Elderberry's freshly dug one, since no one would notice the soil had been recently disturbed as it was JUST dug.

Buried my sister and my secret victim in the same grave. ~Just Girlie Things~

Cloudtail sitting here, War Criminal to the right and Secret Murderer to the left like "can i ever be around normal people. like, just once"

Jokes aside... Cloudtail needs to point out something very important. Ferncloud regretted what she did, and she never did what Ashfur is doing. She never sought power, when Firestar came back she's lived a long life without ever once undermining him, and even her beliefs have softened over time.

She was a Traditionalist back then, but is Fire Alone now. After everything. The destruction of the forest, loss of her kits, WindClan rebellion, reveal of Squirrelflight and Leafpool's secret...

She's helped to raise every new generation as the Educator. And yet, Ashfur, the Impostor, is unique.

And look at Bumblestripe... being Graystripe's son didn't stop him from being the Impostor's lackey.

We all make our choices. HE made his. You made your own.

But... I don't feel like Ferncloud can entirely accept that as an answer either. There would be a very forlorn sort of feeling here. Yes, we all make our own choices-- but we influence each other. For better and for worse. And she refuses to avoid responsibility for that.

Maybe in that moment I'll have her make the choice to return home, and BE the one who becomes the Light in the Mist to face Ashfur in the Dark Forest. Seems to be coming together.

[seaofcereal]

I think I saw you but I know I'm not supposed to - Scourge's ghost haunts(affectionate) Squirrelflight

Chapter 1 - Ghosts and Clanmates

Squirrelkit was never alone.

Which was in itself normal, kits aren't supposed to be alone. She was only three moons after all.

Leafkit was always around, they would go into all sorts of adventures and get scolded by their mom. They would cuddle together at night and play fight all day, Leafkit was awesome.

There was Spiderkit and Shrewkit who were also pretty fun if not a little annoying, but they never got too annoying cause all of them were under the watchful eye of Goldenflower and Ferncloud.

There were also her parents. Sandstorm's warmth as she licked her clean, Firestar's voice as he cooed at how cute she was and how much she looked like her mom and the general sense of safety they provided. Always around.

Once they were allowed to leave the nursery and roam around camp she was the happiest kit ever, Leafkit was excited too but thought Squirrelkit was acting like she've never seen another cat in her life.

Squirrelkit ignored her, she clearly didn't see what Squirrelkit did. All of these cats would always be here for them, she would get to befriend them and help them and support and all of that warrior stuff her dad always talks about, Squirrelkit loved to be around other cats.

She would run around camp, strike up conversation with Brightheart and Cloudtail, bother Thornclaw and Brambleclaw, get scolded by Dustpelt and Mousefur and listen intently to Frostfur's and Speckletail's stories. She had so many clanmates she made it her mission to know each and every one of them.

Her and Leafkit would also help Cinderpelt carry things around, Leafkit seemed fascinated by her and even though Squirrelkit didn't really get the appeal of herbs she was proud her sister seemed interested in taking care of her clan in some way.

Squirrelkit on the other paw wanted to be the best warrior she could be. She asked Brambleclaw (who was kind of rude to her but he's going to learn to like her even if he doesn't want to) to show her some battle moves. He grumbled and complained but agreed once Squirrelkit had told him that she thought he was cool.

Brambleclaw wasn't such a good mentor, he took her to a quiet part of camp but he seemed eager to get her off his paws so he gave her instruction and left before she could ask any questions. Should she tell Firestar? She definitely will tell she doesn't want him as her mentor.

She tried to do what he had told her and got in a stance, her legs wobbled and she fell on her nose. She immediately got up with her ears burning with embarrassment and looked around to see if someone had seen her. She only found one pair of amused icy blue eyes looking at her.

She wasn't alone.

It was easy to forget about him sometimes but he was always there. Dark and quiet like a shadow except for a mildly transparent white paw just like hers and his sharp blue eyes.

She had asked about him to her dad once, he looked startled and told her with a nervous laugh that she was too young for those stories, she felt offended but realized only she saw him after she complained about the whole thing to Leafkit who asked her if she needed Cinderpelt.

She remembers talking to him for the first time, how he jumped and asked if she could actually see him, she scoffed and demanded his name.

She learned his name was Scourge and that he wasn't a clan cat, she asked if he was a starclan cat and it was his turn to scoff. He also refused to elaborate saying he didn't want to overwhelm her little rat brain with such a long story, scoff again.

He was there to complain about her clanmates and be sarcastic, she ignored him most of the time.

"Are you trying to give your enemy a laugh attack?" he asked approaching her, his voice was airy like it was only close enough to hear even though he was right next to her. She glared "I'm just doing what Brambleclaw told me to!" it wasn't her fault Brambleclaw was a sucky mentor! Scourge hummed "I guess that if he's a full-headed furball like his father he'll not be any good at giving advice" he said mockingly examining the stance she tried again. Squirrelkit wanted to giggle at Brambleclaw being a furball but didn't, she was honorable like that.

"Come on, do it like this" he got into a stance, he was smaller than the other toms in the clan looking rather faster than stronger. She tried to copy him "No not like that, you'll break your muzzle like that" she nudged her head back softly with his eerie white paw, she suppressed a shudder at how strange it was, it was there but also not really.

She pushed her head back and got lower like him "Now you approach like this" he moved in zigzag and swatted the air with his dominant paw, Squirrelkit frowned. "That's not how the warriors do it" said Squirrelkit, Scourge rolled his eyes.

"That's just how your clan does it and it's just to intimidate, there's little real harm you can do to a cat coming upfront" he disdainfully said walking back to her "All bark no real bite, the way I do it it's to disequilibrate and injure their side". He poked her ribs playfully to prove his point and she stumbled with a hiss.

"Why would warriors purposefully ruin their chance to strike their enemy?" Squirrelkit asked and Scourge just shrugged indifferently, Squirrelkit tilted her head. "Well little rat, are you going to try or not?" she glared but got into a stance "My name is not rat, is Squirrelkit!".

"Well Squirrels are just tree rats, aren't they?" she scoffed indignantly at his wry smile and charged at him with the move she just learned. "I can tell you're not a clan cat by how dumb you are!" she swatted her tiny paw at his shadowy leg, he barked a laugh "I can tell you are a clan cat by how dense you are!" he lifted his leg out of her reach and she stumbled forward.

Before she could ask what dense means she heard footsteps approaching "Squirrelkit are you there?" she turned as she heard her father's voice, behind her she heard scourge back away with a hiss. "Who were you talking to?" Firestar approached and began sniffing the air looking for another cat.

"No one! I was practicing a battle move Brambleclaw showed me, do you want to see?" Squirrelkit said as convincing as she could manage, Firestar gave her a smile with a twinge of something she couldn't catch. "Brambleclaw?" he asked, still with that weird expression.

Scourge huffed out a laugh behind her, Squirrelkit ignored it "Yes, do you want to see?". "Maybe later kit" he leaned down and gave her an affectionate lick in her cheek "It's late and naughty kits who stay out get taken by hawks". Squirrelkit squealed while he chuckled and took her by the scruff.

While being carried she looked back at Scourge, he looked at her with something she couldn't quite catch either. She gave him a smile, he slipped away.

He seemed lonely, Squirrelkit would hate that.

Maybe if she's the only who can see him it's a gift for her, so she will never be alone.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I swear this isn't Brambleclaw slander that's just the way he is. I apologize if some thing are incorrect and if there are typos anywhere. This was inspired by the mary. squirrelstar au pmv. by lycanctrophy on youtube and the title is from the song ghosts by Jacob Tillberg. I also uploaded this in my ao3 account. Thanks for reading like I said and any comment is greatly appreciated! ❤️

[bramblewhisker]

imagine everyone in the TNP journey just piling up on brambleclaw every time they’re cold

when every warrior in the warriors den is cold they’d either pile up on cloudtail or brambleclaw but mostly cloudtail

Squirrelflight sometimes steals his fur to see if she would become warmer

sometimes alder and spark would go all the way to the leaders den just to pile up on Bramblestar as kits

same with jay, holly, and lion except they’d travel all the way to the warriors den

summary:

warrior cat instinct is when you’re cold pile up on the fluffiest warrior

exclusive content:

sometimes firestar would go to the warriors den, drag him all the way to the leaders den, and pile up on him when he’s cold

Ashfur would always go to the opposite side of the warriors den and pile up on brambleclaw

Squirrelflight and Ferncloud would try to pile up, but they’re both short so they’d both pile up on brambleclaw

even cloudtail would pile up on Brambleclaw because uh he just wants to be a part of a big ass mountain of warriors or brambleclaw would pile up on cloudtail for the same reason

Leafpool would pile up on mothwing

There's definitely way more cuddle piles in warriors than the books let on. I don't buy that everyone has an individual nest in the warriors den; those cats are snuggling.

[notwarriorswiki]

As far as The Broken Code goes, Ashfur is being largely replaced in role by Flametail. It is Flametail who possesses Shadowsight and wreaks havoc on the clans within Po12, and Flametail's betrayal has a large impact on the main characters within Po3.

However, let's talk about Ashfur through Omen of the Stars.

Ashfur was unique in that he was Squirrelflight's rejected romantic interest, and his fire scene is one of, if not the most iconic scene in Warrior Cats canon.

Within Po12, Ashfur has a strong dislike for Tiger's family, still bitter over the role Brambleclaw's father played in the murder of his mother. Ashfur is very close to his sister Ferncloud, and a beloved uncle to her children. Like much of ThunderClan during The New Prophecy, he scorns Brambleclaw and doesn't include him on patrols. He doesn't let Brambleclaw visit Ferncloud's kits, but he largely wouldn't stick out narratively as much of the clan does this - including Thornclaw, Dustpelt, Ferncloud, Mousefur, Spiderpaw, and even Firestar, alongside more. There's a reason Tawnypelt left here.

Ashfur himself is simple and doesn't actually want all that much initially. Many would say he wasn't "asking for much" - he wanted a beautiful mate and to raise kits. He didn't want to be deputy or be significant, rather he wanted that simple happy family that he didn't get to have. His mother died when he was young, and his father wasn't in the picture.

And then he got to know Squirrelflight! She was Firestar's daughter, and had brought the clans to a new home. She was extraordinary in every way, and for Ashfur there was no one that came close. His dream was tied to her, and every moment he got to know her more, he became more obsessed.

And yet Squirrelflight was so close to that Tigerkin. Someone as glorious as her deserved someone far better than Brambleclaw! In Ashfur's mind, he wasn't wrong for wanting to split them up - rather he was doing her a favor. An act of true love! But as Squirrelflight slipped further and further away from him, he became desperate to get rid of Brambleclaw once and for all.

Like in the books, Ashfur conspires with Hawkfrost to kill Firestar, but he's not totally loyal to Hawkfrost. His plan was to let the Tigerkin take the fall, both Hawk and Bramble being outed as the terrors they were, so he could save the day and get the girl. He'd lead a patrol straight to them, fighting off Brambleclaw, and saving Squirrelflight's father, the clan leader!

But Brambleclaw doesn't do as Ashfur expects. He doesn't kill Firestar. He saves him. He gets the glory. He gets the girl. And then he has the audacity to act humble by turning down the deputy position. Ashfur is furious, but he can't do anything without risking ThunderClan finding out his part in the plan.

And thus we reach Po3, and I largely debate how to use Ashfur. It is still planned that Lionblaze spills the secret at the Gathering, and with Ashfur having been his mentor, it might be interesting for Lion to kill him, but that requires the Fire Scene to happen.

It was initially planned that Squirrelflight falls pregnant with Alder and Spark towards the end of the series, resulting in her realizing that StarClan willfully lied to her. She's angry and confused, confronting Leafpool about this and asking if she knew. I'd still like this to happen, with some tension between the sisters. But initially Jay and Holly overhear this, and the reveal is a lot quieter.

This last part isn't about Ashfur, but I also want to note the original plan that involved Sparkfire. Sparkfire is a villain character in Po12, and attempts to kill Hollystar and in what was my rendition of The Fire Scene after largely writing out Ashfur. If I give Ashfur his Fire Scene back, the question is then if Spark keeps hers. I like the idea that she does still get it, and Hollystar has a panic attack moment of sorts during it because she is reliving one of the most horrific experiences from her young adult life. On the other hand, I'm worried people might find it repetitive.

Now we can outline some options.

Option A: Ashfur Fire Scene AND Sparkfire Fire Scene Ashfur overhears Squirrelflight and reveals the secret in the Fire Scene, rather than Squirrel volunteering it. Things play out largely the same, but Lionblaze would kill him instead of Hollyleaf. It ties to his anger issues and him later revealing the truth at The Gathering. Sparkfire would try to kill Hollystar during the end of A Vision of Shadows, seeking to unleash StarClan's full power once more upon the forest after Jayfeather had sealed them away. She believes she has been stilted by her family, and that under StarClan's eyes she could be so much more - a gifted cat like she was meant to be.

Option B: Ashfur Fire Scene Warped AND Sparkfire Fire Scene Largely the same as Option A where Ashfur overhears the sisters and reveals the secret during the fire. But instead of all of them leaving alive, Lion kills him in front of everyone by just running and shoving him off the branch and into the fire. Squirrel, Jay, and Holly are shocked. Ashfur's body is found burned alive and the clan assumes that's how he died without investigating the murder. It is self-defense in a way, but it should be an eerie and uncomfortable death for Squirrel and the Three to hide. They flee to safety still hearing his wails of pain as he burns. Include Sparkfire keeping her scene.

Option C: Ashfur Fire Scene. NO Sparkfire Fire Scene Same as Option A for Ashfur. Sparkfire would attempt to kill Hollystar in another way to avoid feeling repetitive.

Option D: Ashfur Fire Scene Warped. NO Sparkfire Fire Scene Same as Option B for Ashfur. Same as Option C for Sparkfire.

Option E: No Fire, Lion kills Ashfur. Sparkfire Fire Scene Ashfur is almost entirely removed from Squirrelflight and Leafpool's parental drama, and is instead training in The Dark Forest. Lionblaze kills him, fired up by anger and bitterness for the abuse during his apprenticeship. Clan finds him dead the next morning and Lion feels immense guilt. Ashfur is still a bad person though and goes to the Dark Forest. Sparkfire keeps her scene as in Option A as there's no need to worry about repetition.

[wc-wild-rewrite]

Firestar's Family Tree by Arc 7! (This may change)

Needless to say, Firestar's kittypet gene of Big Litters carried over. That and Clan culture really likes naming after dead people.

The color coding for the clans is based off what they are currently in or were in during their death, not birth clan.

Changes to canon under the cut, and some explanations:

Relation Changes: -Breezepelt is part of Lion, Jay, and Holly's litter, alongside his no-longer-dead littermates, Raven and Bracken. -Dovewing and Ivypool are now Hollyleaf's kits, as Cloudtail's side of the family do not count as Firekin in Starclan's eyes (Fireheart gave up family rights to Brindleface) -Dewnose now has Myrtlebloom and Bayshine without a recognised mother, for bloodline's sake -Dustpelt and Sandstorm are now siblings, and Redtail & Runningwind are their dads -Cloudspeckle is now the adoptive mother of Redtail and Spottedcloud -Rainstorm and Mintfur are actually Rainwhisker's, but are raised by Reedwhisker -Spiderleg and Shrewfeather are Ferncloud's only kits, who she had without a disclosed father

Name Changes: -Crowfeather is now Crowstorm, as Stormfur was the prophecy cat and not Feathertail -Feather Of Flying Hawk is now Storm (That Hawk Flies Through), in memory of Stormfur -Nightheart is now Nightshade, and was born Nightkit -Sparkpelt is now Sparkfire -Spottedleaf's name has been changed to Spottedcloud, as she does not become a medicine cat -Crookedstar has been changed to Stormstar -Halftail and One-eye have been changed to Sparrowpelt and Whitespark -Tommy and Filou have the warrior names of Sparrowstalk and Paleflame -Shrewpaw survives, and takes the name of Shrewfeather in honor of the quail he tried to catch -Scourge has the warrior name of Icefang, and had a litter with Mossheart, who survives -Ivypool becomes Ivystar at the end of A Broken Code

New Characters: -Lionheart's litter has been fused together into Sorrelsong, Snapwhisker, and Hollyspot. -Jayfeather now has a litter with Briarlight, and took in a litter of two from Kestrelflight -Alderheart has a litter with Puddleshine and Fidgetflake -Firestar and Sandstorm have a litter shortly after Firestar's death -Shrew and Squirrel had another litter -Harper is added into Jake's litter, and has two litters of his own -Stripe is added into Crystal's litter

Memorial Namings: -Sparrowstalk after Mocha's warrior name, Sparrowpounce -Spottedcloud after her mother, Cloudspeckle -Blueflower after her mother, Moonflower -Snowstorm after her father, Stormtail -Whitestorm after his mother, Snowstorm -Stormfur after his grandfather, Stormstar, and his uncle, Stormkit -Feathertail after her great-grandfather, Featherwhisker -Flamespring after his father, Firestar -Rainstorm after his father, Rainwhisker -Crowstorm after his friend, Stormfur -Lark after their granduncle, Larkkit -Storm after their uncle, Stormfur, their great-grandfather, Stormstar, and their granduncle, Stormkit -Roseleaf after her cousin, Hollyleaf -Jayleap after his cousin, Jayfeather -Dandelionburr after her aunt, Dandelionkit -Rowankit after his grandmother, Rowanclaw -Bristlekit after his cousin, Bristlefrost -Stemkit after his father, Stemleaf -Graykit after his great-grandfather, Graystripe