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stargleam-star · 3 years

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Warriors Rewrite Pt 6: The Darkest Hour

Quick notes: Sasha is a tortoiseshell point siamese. Also, thanks so much for your patience while I finished up the last few posts for this series. Your long wait will now be rewarded!!

The plot of the prologue is the same; Tigerstar goes into the city to recruit Bloodclan's help. The difference here is the chapter is in Scourge's POV. That way we can get a little background on him, Bloodclan, and his feelings about Tigerstar without the context of "The Rise of Scourge" manga

Fireheart, Mosscloud, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur bring Bluestar's body home. The camp is still empty, and Fireheart leaves to fetch the clan. This gives the littermates extra time alone with their mother to grieve. At Sunningrocks, Fireheart gives the clan the news of Bluestar's death, then leads them back to the ravine

Back home the clan catches the visiting Riverclan cats laying with Bluestar, which forces Fireheart to divulge the secret of their heritage before any cat can get mad at them. Fireheart thanks Mistyfoot and Stonefur for their help once again and sends them home

Fireheart climbs Highrock to address the clan on his own for the first time. Tawnypaw steps up to ask if he is their leader now. Fireheart nods, but Darkstripe objects. He mutters some crap about Fireheart being a kittypet and how wrong it is, but Longtail shuts him down. He reminds Darkstripe of the Warrior Code: the deputy becomes leader once the previous leader has died.

After the mourning of Bluestar and after patrols have been set, Fireheart and Ravensong get ready to travel to mothermouth. While the medicine cat prepares traveling herbs, Fireheart asks Cinderpath to keep an eye on Darkstripe from now on until they see where his loyalties lie. Then he puts Whitestorm in charge until he returns with his nine lives. After they've taken their herbs, Fireheart and Ravensong head out.

Naturally, Fireheart is nervous when they get to highstones. He knows cats will expect him to be noble and wise now that he's going to be leader, but Ravensong reassures his friend that everything will be fine and cats will understand that he can and will make some mistakes, especially in the beginning. But there's no reason to worry. Feeling better, the two toms slip into mothermouth, sworn to silence until the ceremony ends

Fireheart puts his nose to the moonstone when they lay beside the giant sparkling rock, waiting for sleep to come. When it does, Starclan greets him once he wakes up in his dreams

Nostalgia, grief, and excitement flood Fireheart as each cat steps up to give him a life. Each life causes pain, but he knows there is a purpose to it and takes it all in stride.

Redtail gives him justice as his first life. The previous deputy takes this moment to thank Fireheart for all of his efforts; for revealing the truth about his death and about Tigerstar's ambitions. He promises to continue to watch over and guide him even now as the young tom moves on to become leader. Fireheart thanks him in return before the tortoiseshell tom moves back to allow the next cat to step forward

Lionheart steps up next, giving Fireheat a life for courage. Next comes Thrushpelt, giving a life for loyalty to what you know to be right. After comes Runningwind, giving Fireheart a life for tireless energy. Then Brindleface steps up, granting him a life for protection. Pigeonpaw follows with a life for mentoring. Fireheart tries to apologize to the young apprentice for what happened to him, but the tabby doesn't stick around to hear it. Yellowfang replaces the apprentice to give Fireheart a life for compassion. When she returns to her place, Rosetail steps forward to give Fireheart a life for love. Finally, Bluestar steps forward. She hesitates a moment to exchange a tender nose touch with Rosetail before approaching Fireheart. She gives him a life for faith, then tells him how she'd always known he'd succeed her. With nine lives earned, the tom is hailed by his new name: Firestar

When he expects to wake up by the moonstone, Firestar's actually thrown into a vision. He sees a hill of bones towering before him, a lake of blood seeping from the base to surround his paws. A voice which sounds like all of Starclan echos around him "Four will become two. Lion and Tiger will meet in battle, and Blood will seep into the forest."

Firestar is thrown out of his dreams immediately afterwards. Ravensong rushes him out of the cave so they can finally speak. He knows something interrupted the end of the leader's ceremony, but decides to wait for Firestar to be ready to talk about it. The two decide to get home asap

Back at camp, after a good nap and a meal, Firestar thinks about who he wants as deputy. When moon high rolls around he's made his decision. He emerges and climbs Highrock to call a clan meeting. Then, as tradition follows, he names Whitestorm as his deputy

The next day, Firestar's returning home from training with Tawnypaw when he notices Sorrelkit following Darkstripe by the top of the ravine. Firestar decides to see what's going on with them. Tawnypaw runs ahead to scope things out. A heartbeat later she cries out and Firestar hurries over. Sorrelkit's crumpled on the ground and Cinderpath's there, pinning Darkstripe. Firestar sends Tawnypaw into camp to get Ravensong so he can check on the kit. When they get back, the medicine cat discovers the kitten has swallowed deathberries. He's quick to feed her yarrow to help expel the poison, then takes her to his den so she can be monitored. Firestar drags Darkstripe back into camp and orders him to stay there or else. Then he asks Cinderpath about what happened. The warrior tells him that she saw her brother feed the berries to Sorrelkit, but Darkstripe tries to deny it. In the end its decided that they'll wait to hear the kit's side of the story so they don't just jump to conclusions

While waiting to hear from Sorrelkit, Firestar decides to take the older apprentices out for a warrior assessment. As leader, he can finally give them their names just as they've deserved. Just like expected the young cats pass the test with flying colors

A little later, after some thought and some discussion with the elders, Firestar calls a clan meeting. Thornpaw is named a warrior: Thornclaw. Fernpaw is named Ferncloud, and Ashpaw is named Ashfall. The clan cheers for the new warriors but Firestar interuppts; he's not done yet. Changing up the ceremony a bit, he calls forth Snowear, Lostface, and Tornheart. He doesn't think they deserve the horrible names they were granted, and so he's figured out a way to give them new ones. The warriors are renamed Snowstorm, Brightheart, and Swiftstrike. No cat had ever seen three warriors happier to be named.

The next morning brings good news: Sorrelkit is awake and ready to talk about what happened. Firestar eagerly goes to the medicine den to hear her out. The kitten seems a little shaky but tells her story with good detail. Sorrelkit had been restless during naptime and decided to sneak out to the ravine to try and catch a mouse. She'd noticed Darkstripe heading up the ravine alone, even though Cinderpath should be with him. So in her sister's place, Sorrelkit decided to follow her big brother. She kept herself hidden for a good distance and saw Darkstripe meet with a strange smelling cat. The description of the cat reveals them to be Blackfoot of Shadowclan. Sorrelkit then explains she'd gotten scared and ran home. When she'd reached the camp boundary, Darkstripe had caught up to her. Instead of being mad, he praised her for being clever, then took her to a bush a few paces away from the top of the ravine for a treat. The red berries he'd shown her looked so tasty so she hadn't hesitated to eat one. The last thing Sorrelkit remembers is her throat burning and feeling closed before everything went dark.

Firestar's quick to call a clan meeting after hearing Sorrelkit's tale. He summons Darkstripe forward towards Highrock, dragged there by Cinderpath and Whitestorm. To the clan, Firestar briefly explains what the kitten has said: Darkstripe poisoned Sorrelkit. Darkstripe denies this, claiming the kit is lying, and that it's just like a cat of Shadowclan blood to come up with such outrageous stories. Willowpelt snaps that that's no way for him to talk about his kit sister. Darkstripe spits that the little scrap of fur isn't any more his sister than a mouse is.

Firestar interrupts the family squabbling to question Darkstripe about something else Sorrelkit had mentioned: that Darkstripe was meeting with Blackfoot. Firestar wants to know what Tigerstar is planning, and he knows the dark tabby warrior is still in touch with the enemy leader-as proven by his meeting with the Shadowclan deputy on Thunderclan territory. Darkstripe is stunned into silence as the clan shouts out that he is a traitor. He refuses to explain himself to a kittypet, which riles the clan up more. He looks at the cats around him then takes off, pushing his way past the crowd and out of camp. Cloudtail shouts after him that he knows what will be waiting if he comes back. The clan turns back to Firestar and asks him what he thinks of the matter. The new leader sighs and declares Darkstripe is no longer a member of Thunderclan. If he's spotted on the territory he is to be chased off. With all that done, the meeting is dismissed

A few days later, Firestar goes on a border patrol. He spots Mistyfoot by the border and they chat briefly about clan news. Firestar notices she's looking thinner than the last time they met and he asks if everything is ok. Mistyfoot is unsure. She elaborates, telling Firestar that she and her brother have confessed their heritage to all of Riverclan. The clan seems to treat them differently but they're sure to reaffirm their loyalty in no time. She also mentions Leopardstar; she's been meeting with Tigerstar more frequently. Mistyfoot has no clue what could be going on, and Stonefur is being kept uninformed. There's also been some Shadowclan warriors permanently stationed in Riverclan camp. It's a big mystery as to why. Mistyfoot suddenly catches herself, feeling like she's spoken with the enemy leader too long. Firestar understand and the two part ways. As he meets with the rest of his patrol, Firestar wonders what Tigerstar could be planning with Riverclan.

Yet another few days pass and its time for another gathering. Firestar's decided to deny Tigerstar's request from the last one; Thunderclan will keep Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw. As a precaution, the two apprentices will not be taken to tonight's meeting at Fourtrees.

Riverclan and Shadowclan are late to the gathering this moon. Firestar worries about what may be delaying them, as does Tallstar. Clouds threaten to cover the moon and just when it seems the meeting will be cancelled, the other clans arrive. Firestar's quick to notice a few choice cats missing from the groups. Graystripe, Silverstream, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw don't seem to have been invited to the gathering. Mistyfoot and her kits are not here either, nor is her brother Stonefur despite him being Riverclan's deputy. Finally Firestar realizes the medicine cats have been excluded from both clans' patrols. It's extremely odd, and Firestar can't help but feel concern

Tigerstar is quick to leap onto the Great Rock and make an announcement. Change is coming to the forest, and he believes that it is his duty-and Shadowclan's-to prepare every cat for it. Tigerstar declares that the clans must unite into one. Riverclan has already agreed to join with Shadowclan to form Tigerclan, and together he and Leopardstar rule. Tallstar steps forward on the Great Rock, bristling with fury. He thinks this idea of Tigerstar's is ridiculous, and he'd rather die than join Windclan with Tigerclan. Firestar seconds Tallstar's decision; Tigerstar will never be allowed to gain control of Thunderclan.

With the floor open to him, Firestar decides this is a perfect time to tell the clans of Tigerstar's crimes. But when he starts to talk about it, thunder crashes and rain pours down. Tigerstar declares it to be a sign from Starclan in his favor. The gathering is quickly dismissed. On the way home Firestar can't help but think about the vision he had at the moonstone. "Tiger" clearly represents Tigerclan. But who or what does "Lion" stand for? And would the clash of these two forces soak the forest in blood?

To take his mind off of Tigerstar, Firestar decides to take Mosscloud, Bramblepaw, and his own apprentice for some battle practice come sunhigh. Though the young molly is the daughter of the enemy leader, she presents more like her mother. Tawnypaw is a clever cat, stern at times, but fair and level headed. She doesn't allow insults and rude comments to drag her down. It was also clear how fiercely loyal she was, showing her eagerness to defend her clan in the way she learned to fight. Firestar saw great potential in her. He was proud of how she was turning out, and proud of Bramblepaw too. Over the past few moons the leader had come to know these two young cats to quell his fear that they may turn out like their father. Now Firestar has a great respect for these cats, not as kin of an evil leader, but as brave future warriors of Thunderclan

While they train, Bramblepaw asks Firestar why it would be so bad for them to join Tigerclan. Mosscloud explains the forest was always meant to have four clans. Firestar chimes in that it would also mean the end of Thunderclan. Tigerstar can't be trusted to allow four leaders to rule; Firestar knows the enemy leader will not want to share that power. Bramblepaw says he understands, but he seems deep in thought throughout the rest of the training session. Firestar wonders if the young tom is thinking about his loyalties.

At the end of the training session, Firestar sends the apprentices off to hunt. Mosscloud disappears into the undergrowth to do the same but reappears to Firestar a short while later. There's another cat with her who wishes to speak with him. Mosscloud returns to hunting while Firestar and the stranger have a conversation. The new cat is a rouge who goes by the name of Sasha. Sasha explains that she used to be a kittypet until her housefolk moved away. A few moons back she had met a tom by the name of Tigerstar who'd taken away her collar and had grown close to her. She was in love with him for a while, almost tempted to take his offer to join his clan. One day when she had made her decision, and was on her way to Shadowclan, she spotted the tabby tom out in the woods speaking with another cat. He was boasting about soon ruling the forest, and not caring for anyone who'd dare get in his way. He'd happily shred all his enemies and watch his subjects tremble before him at the bloody sight. Scared, Sasha fled, and has been looking for a new home ever since. Originally she tried to go to Riverclan, but had spotted Tigerstar there. And now she has come to Thunderclan seeking refuge. If not for herself, then at least for the unborn kits inside of her.

Firestar feels sympathy for the rouge queen and invites her back to camp with him. On the way, he asks Sasha if Tigerstar is the father of her kits. Sasha confirms this to be so. For her safety, and the safety of her kittens, Firestar requests that no cat finds out about this information. If she needs to confide in another cat, however, then she can at least trust Goldenflower. Firestar tells the rouge that the golden molly is also mother to a litter of Tigerstar's kits and the two queens may be able to bond through this connection. Firestar is quick to settle Sasha into Thunderclan's nursery when they reach the ravine, introducing her to Goldenflower. Then he jumps onto Highrock to call a meeting and introduce the clan to their new queen. He tells his clanmates of the rouge's need for shelter, and persuades them that these new cats will be good for Thunderclan's ranks. There's a few murmurs of disapproval but overall Sasha is accepted without a fight.

Firestar goes back out into the forest to hunt. He stops by a stream to take a quick drink and is surprised by what he sees in the reflection of the water. At first, all he can see is himself, but then his form starts to morph. Around his head and neck, long fur starts to grow outward into a firey mane. His face largens and elongates, until finally Firestar's reflection looks more like that of a lion than a cat. Firestar jumps back with a yowl. When he looks into the stream again, his reflection has returned to normal. Was this a sign from Starclan? Did this mean he was the "Lion" from his moonstone vision, meant to lead Lionclan into battle against Tigerclan? Firestar realizes it must be so

Later that evening when Firestar returns home, Bramblepaw runs up to him sounding frustrated and upset. The young apprentice tells his leader about the nasty comments Smallear has been saying about him. And it wasn't just the one elder, the other elders would pitch in sometimes and so would Finchpaw, Swiftstrike, Ashfall, and Cloudtail. This has been going on for a while, and Smallear's remakes tonight have pushed Bramblepaw over the edge. The apprentice had been a little late changing bedding and Smallear said Tigerstar hated caring for elders too, so that meant Bramblepaw was on his way towards becoming just like his father. Firestar pulls Bramblepaw close and grooms him to help calm the young tom down. He assures the apprentice that he is nothing like his father, and that he will have a word with the cats that keep bothering him. Bramblepaw calms down enough to walk away, going to talk with his sister in the apprentice's den.

Two days pass. It's very early in the morning, the first light of dawn is sneaking past the horizon. Firestar is asleep in his den when a cat comes bursting in, startling him awake. Its Goldenflower, frantic and crying. She says that Bramblepaw is gone. Firestar jumps to his paws, asking if the queen is sure. Maybe Bramblepaw was out on dawn patrol, or off doing some early hunting with Mosscloud. But Goldenflower tells him neither is the case. She asked Whitestorm if her son was on patrol, but Whitestorm hadn't assigned him to any. And Mosscloud hadn't seen her apprentice since sundown. Goldenflower couldn't even recall seeing Bramblepaw come home last night. Firestar decides to find out where the apprentice has gone. And if anybody knows, it'll have to be Tawnypaw. Firestar wakes his apprentice, calling her out from her den. Her mother curls herself around Tawnypaw asking her where Bramblepaw is. At first Tawnypaw tries to say she doesn't know, but Firestar asks if she's sure about that. Lowering her head, she says no, and that she's well aware of where her brother's gone. Bramblepaw left to join Shadowclan

Goldenflower wails in distress at the news. Firestar asks why Bramblepaw would run away. Tawnypaw tears up, looking at her mentor sadly. She says its because Bramblepaw grew tired of cats hating him because he looked like Tigerstar. Cats thought he'd turn out like their father, so Bramblepaw decided to go somewhere where being Tigerstar's son wouldn't be a bad thing. Tawnypaw admits she'd thought of doing the same, but decided against it because her loyalties would only ever be towards Thunderclan. Tawnypaw swears she's going to make something of herself and prove to everyone that she can be an honorable warrior for the clan. Firestar gives her a few calming licks then sends the two she-cats on their way to comfort each other for the departure of Bramblepaw. Firestar goes to fetch Sandstorm so they can cuddle and talk about how he's feeling.

During the next afternoon, Firestar takes Cinderpath, Sandstorm, and Brightheart on patrol with him to check out the Riverclan border. When they get there, Brightheart remarks that she can smell Graystripe coming. Firestar turns and sure enough here comes his best friend, swimming swiftly across the river. But there's a haunted look on the gray tom's face, and when he emerges from the water its clear to see why. Graystripe's soaked fur sticks to his sides, revealing him to be incredibly thin under his long fluff. His eyes are hollow and he looks to be in terrible condition. Shocked, Firestar covers his friend in licks demanding to know what has become of him. Graystripe tells the leader about Tigerstar's takeover. Riverclan and Shadowclan are merged but Brokenstar's old allies seem to run most of the show under the tabby's rule. They gorge themselves on prey with little regard for waste, while regular members of Shadowclan and Riverclan do most of the laborious work. Leopardstar never speaks up about the treatment towards her clan, allowing Tigerstar to do whatever he pleases. And what's worse, all cats deemed to have "unpure blood" have been gathered and kept as prisoners. Graystripe and his family are included in this bunch as well as Mistyfoot and her kits, and Stonefur. Tigerclan barely feeds them and keeps their prisoners contained in a makeshift den in the clan's new camp. Graystripe managed to squeeze through a hole in the wall of their prison, promising to return with help.

Graystripe starts to sob suddenly, pulling back to look Firestar in the eyes. He begins to speak about a trial that Tigerstar is planning to hold. One that will test the loyalty of all the halfclan cats. Graystripe looks scared out of his fur as he whispers to his best friend, "They're going to kill my kits." Then he hides his face on Firestar's chest. Sandstorm walks over to press herself into Graystripe comfortingly. Graystripe starts to cry about how he and Silverstream should never have left Thunderclan after their kits were born. And how he shouldn't have abandoned Firestar, his best friend, his closest ally, the cat he loves. Firestar's shocked to hear the words, pulling back to look at Graystripe. Graystripe says he loves him again, and Firestar confesses he feels the same way. Sandstorm chuckles, admitting she knew the toms had feelings for one another. She doesn't mind if Firestar wants Graystripe as a mate along with her, as long as he'd love them both equally. Firestar promises he does, and proposes the same thing to Graystripe about himself and Silverstream. Graystripe agrees. Finally he begs Firestar to help save his family and the other imprisoned Riverclan cats. Firestar of course agrees and Sandstorm decides to go with them on the rescue mission.

Brightheart and Cinderpath go home and promise to come with backup if they aren't back by sundown. Firestar and Sandstorm follow Graystripe over stepping stones and into Riverclan territory. They pass Riverclan's camp, smelling something foul as they get closer to their destination. From the undergrowth, Firestar can see a small stream polluted by crowfood. And at the end of the trail is a large mound of preybones. It towers high, reeking of rotten meat so badly it makes Firestar's eyes water. Graystripe explains that this is Tigerclan camp, and that mound is Bonehill, which is basically like Highrock. Tigerstar is seen demonstrating this as he climbs up the bones and calls a clan meeting. He declares that it's time for the trials to begin

Some of the halfclan prisoners are brought out to stand before the Bonehill. They all look just as thin as Graystripe, and the younger cats among them looked terrified. Stonefur stands protective and tall over Graystripe's kits, casting hatred filled glares at Tigerstar and Leopardstar who sits at the Bonehill's base, watching everything without a care or a sign of interest. Cats cheer as Tigerstar begins to make a speech, riling up the crowd and turning them against the halfclan cats. Through the group, Firestar sees Darkstripe and flexes his claws in anger, thinking of how treacherous the dark tabby is. Then Firestar spots Bramblepaw sitting not too far from Leopardstar. He looks very uncomfortable to say the least, his gaze shifting from Tigerstar to Graystripe's kits and back again every so often.

Stonefur tries to quell the clan's hatred, reminding cats that he and Mistyfoot have always been loyal to Riverclan. Plus they'd only found out about Bluestar being their mother a few moons ago. Tigerstar doesn't care. He challenges Stonefur, telling him that if he wants to prove his loyalty so badly, then he must kill the two halfclan apprentices beneath him. Stonefur outright refuses. Tigerstar doesn't hesitate to send Blackfoot to attack and attempt to kill the deputy for his disobedience.

As they fight, a yowl breaks out through the crowd. It's Bramblepaw. Blackfoot and Stonefur pause in their death battle as the young apprentice steps in front of them to speak. Bramblepaw can't stand to watch these innocent cats die. He tries his best to persuade his father that these cats aren't bad. He reminds Tigerstar that since he is Shadowclan's leader, and Goldenflower is from Thunderclan, technically his kits are halfclan. If Tigerstar wants to purge the forest of all halfclan cats, then he'd have to get rid of Bramblepaw too. For a moment Tigerstar is silent and Firestar thinks the little tom has gotten through to him. But then, coldly, Tigerstar responds "So be it." He calls Blackfoot off Stonefur to attack Bramblepaw instead. There is no remorse shown as the tabby watches his own son be torn apart. After Bramblepaw has died, Tigerstar sends the halfclan cats away for the time being

Firestar feels sick at the sight of the young tom murdered so brutally right in front of him. Sandstorm consoles him while Graystripe points out that this is why he's so persistent about rescuing Silverstream and his kits. Firestar better understands now and has Graystripe show him the den the prisoners are held in and where he escaped from. The three warriors make it to a badly crafted makeshift den. Its formed out of thornbushes and sloppily tied together. Its easy to peer inside the den through the small gaps between the tangled branches. Sandstorm confirms she can see all the prisoners in there. Graystripe and Firestar nod. Immediately they begin to dig at the hole which was used by the gray warrior to escape, while Sandstorm keeps a lookout. The toms make the exit wider so more cats can slip out at a time. When it's big enough, Firestar pops his head inside and guides the cats out. Graystripe herds them along while Firestar ensures everyone's made it out. Before they run away, Firestar goes into the empty clearing by Bonehill to pay his last respects to Bramblepaw, who's body still lays where he had died. Firestar gives the young tom a lick and apologizes for not protecting him. He promises to tell Goldenflower about how brave he was. Then, as the sounds of cats approaching grows, Firestar returns to the rescue party

They run away as Tigerclan starts to realize the prisoners have escaped. The rescue party gets chased all the way to stepping stones and across the river. Luckily its passed sundown so Cinderpath and Brightheart have returned with a backup patrol. Thunderclan fights off the offending Tigerclan warriors, taking the prisoners into their ranks and directing them to camp. When the enemy is defeated the warriors all return home, eager to hear what Firestar's discovered on this mission

Firestar waits to tell the clan his news, going straight for the nursery. Inside he finds Goldenflower and Sasha talking while watching Willowpelt's kits. Firestar asks to speak with the golden queen alone for a few moments. Sasha herds the kits out of the den. Then, Firestar breaks the news of Bramblepaw's death. Goldenflower wails so loud cats outside are bound to hear it. In fact they do, as Tawnypaw comes to find out what's wrong with her mother. Goldenflower grabs Tawnypaw and cuddles her closely as she cries and tells her daughter the fate of her littermate. Tawnypaw begins to sob but does so quieter than her mother. Goldenflower swears vengeance on Tigerstar, wanting to tear up his hide not just for watching, but for ordering the death of their son. Firestar leaves to let the mollies grieve together in peace.

Firestar calls the clan together. He speaks about the horrors he had seen in Tigerclan's camp and about the trial held against halfclan cats. He speaks of Bramblepaw's bravery in the face of this barbaric ritual, and of his sacrifice. Then Firestar introduces the former Tigerclan prisoners, telling Thunderclan that these cats have a place here until the threat has been eliminated. Dustpelt remarks that he's sorry for what's happened to these cats, but how will the clan feed them? It's leaf-bare and the clan can only catch enough for themselves. Stonefur steps up, assuring that while his companions stay here they won't be a burden to the clan. They're all more than happy to help hunt in order to hold their keep. And the apprentices could help tend to the elders and queens on top of hunting. Firestar agrees to this plan.

Another order of business is then addressed. Firestar tells Thunderclan about the visions Starclan has sent him recently. Seeing Tigerclan's camp proved to him that the joint clan was the "Tiger" in the omen, and that they were to be "Lion". But in order to fight the enemy, their numbers would need to rise. It's decided that Firestar will try to recruit Windclan as their ally, and temporarily form "Lionclan".

Just as they are getting into discussing this, Onewhisker comes bursting through barrier to Thunderclan's camp. He tells Firestar that Tigerclan is attacking Windclan. No time is wasted in rounding up a battle patrol and sending it along with the battered warrior. By the time they reach Windclan camp the battle is already over. In the clearing, a cat lays curled around the body of another. It's Morningflower, mourning over Gorsepaw. Tigerstar murdered him to show the clan what can be expected if they do not join him. Tallstar takes this moment to pull Firestar aside and tells him about another message Tigerstar left. The leaders are to meet him at Fourtrees by sunhigh the next day, ready to decide if they will join Tigerclan or not. Clearly neither leader wants to join, but they'll go to the meeting regardless. Firestar and Tallstar agree to bring warriors with them, to form Lionclan and fight against Tigerclan when they inevitably attack them for not becoming one clan.

The next afternoon brings with it a metaphorical shadow of darkness. Lionclan joins together to stand in front of Tigerclan at Fourtrees. The rival clan surrounds the clearing, looking ready to pounce if given the order to. Tigerstar steps forward, asking if Tallstar and Firestar are ready to join him. Of course they say no.

More cats suddenly emerge into the clearing around Tigerclan, both strange in smell and appearance. Many of the new cats are battle scarred, and some of them are wearing collars with dog and cat teeth sticking out of them. Coming to stand beside Tigerstar is a huge black and white tom. Firestar assumes that he's the leader of these odd cats. Then a much smaller tom steps out to stand at Tigerstar's other side. This tom has piercing ice blue eyes, a bloodied collar around his neck, and claws that seem to be reinforced with large dog-teeth on his front paws. He doesn't seem like much, Firestar thinks at first. But as he stares at the little cat more, he begins to realize that the tom is familiar. This stranger looks exactly like the kitten Quince, the worried kittypet queen, had talked about losing back when Firestar was still living with twolegs. Could that really be the same cat? Tigerstar introduces this new group of cats as Bloodclan. He brought them from Twolegplace to aid in the elimination of Thunderclan and Windclan, since he knew they wouldn't join him.

Tigerstar immediately orders Bloodclan to attack his enemies. But no cat moves. The little black cat at Tigerstar's side speaks up. He introduces himself as Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan. His associate introduces himself as Bone, Bloodclan's second in command. He continues speaking for Scourge, growling threateningly at Tigerstar. He tells the tabby that only Scourge can command Bloodclan, no one would so much as flex a claw without his say-so. Firestar takes this opportunity to step forward and speak. He wants to convince these newcomers that they should not follow Tigerstar or trust him. At this time he tells all cats in attendance about what Tigerclan's leader has done since his days in Thunderclan.

Everyone is shocked. But Scourge seems unsuprised. Tigerstar tells him that none of what he's done in the past matters now. He's willing to give Bloodclan a share of the forest if they fight beside him. Firestar interjects, saying that Tigerstar will not give up even a pawprint of his kingdom or his power to anyone. Scourge seems to consider this, then moves to whisper into Bone's ear. Bone speaks up, declaring that time needs to be spent thinking over this new information. A battle will not be fought today.

Tigerstar yowls at Scourge, calling him a traitor. Goldenflower suddenly pipes up, pushing her way through the crowd to stand beside Firestar. She tells Tigerstar that it is he who is the traitor. He has no loyalty towards anyone; not his birth clan, to his new clan, his mates, or even his kits. She bares her teeth, asking the tom how he could be so cruel as to order his own son to be slaughtered. She looks towards Scourge, asking if this is really a cat he wants to ally himself with. If he really wants to partner himself with a remorseless, murderous monster. Scourge sways his tail with interest, almost smirking. Tigerstar snarls, launching himself at his ex-mate. Goldenflower wrestles around with the tom bravely, kicking his ass pretty well.

Tigerstar ends up bloody and lifeless on the floor with Goldenflower standing over him, eyes blazing and fur bristled with fury. No cat seems to want to get in her way, with the exception of Scourge. The little cat pads over to the queen, giving her a smirk and a raised tail. He comments that she'd make an excellent edition to Bloodclan. Confused and surprised by the remark, Goldenflower stares at him. She's distracted long enough for Tigerstar to wake up from losing his first life

After a moment of gaining his composure, Tigerstar throws himself at Scourge. Scourge dodges the attack, slipping beneath the much larger tabby with claws outstretched. He knocks Tigerstar onto his back and puts his dog-teeth claws onto him, slicing the Tigerclan leader open from neck to tail base. All the cats in the clearing watch as Tigerstar bleeds out and dies in front of them. When he revives, this happens another seven times until Tigerstar lays dead permanently. Then Scourge says the famous words, "your friend here thought he could control us... He was wrong."

Tallstar shakily tries to reason that the clans merely want to live out their lives in peace, not control anyone. They ask Bloodclan to leave now, apologizing for the lies Tigerstar had brought them there with. Bone steps forward to stand beside his leader. They speak quietly for a moment before Bone starts an announcement. Bloodclan does not want to leave the forest. In fact, they want to take it all. But Scourge will be fair and allow the clans three days to decide if they'll give it up, or fight on the fourth day to keep it.

When Bloodclan departs, the three remaining leaders gather together to speak with one another. Firestar and Tallstar are in immediate agreement that they're ready to fight to keep their homes. Leopardstar, however, is far less eager. In fact, she seems lost, scared even. She needs more time to decide what to do. The leaders agree to meet on the dawn of the third day to see what decision they've all made. With that, the clans depart

The next two days in Thunderclan are spent training. Every cat-from kit, to warrior, to elder-practices battling. Firestar wants everyone prepared in case Bloodclan manages to win and head for the camp to drive them all out. Firestar notices one cat in particular working extra hard. Stonefur stays out a lot of the time, mostly alone, and sometimes with Mistyfoot. Once or twice Firestar swears he's caught scent of the river on the tom's pelt, and he wonders if the deputy has been visiting his clan. On the third day at sunrise, Firestar meets with Tallstar at Fourtrees, accompanied by Stonefur. Tallstar is accompanied by Mudclaw. A third and fourth cat arrive to the clearing to join them. It's Darkflower and Oakfur of Shadowclan. Darkflower announces that she is Darkstar now. The clan had voted to make her leader after they drove Blackfoot from their ranks for being allies with both Brokenstar and Tigerstar, and for being a murderer. Firestar and Tallstar greet the new leader, then ask to know what she plans on doing about Bloodclan. Darkstar's decided Shadowclan will stand and fight alongside Lionclan. Both leaders are happy to hear the news. After chatting a while, Firestar notices Leopardstar hasn't shown up. The leaders decide to go pay her a visit.

Riverclan looks in better shape when they arrive, but cats seem to actively avoid where Leopardstar lay. When she tries to talk to a cat, they ignore her. And when the leaders and their escorts settle in the middle of their camp, Riverclan rushes to greet them-mainly Stonefur. Firestar goes to speak with Leopardstar while the rest of the cats are occupied. Leopardstar says that she's decided to take Riverclan away from the forest. But when she told the clan, not cat wanted to obey her. They've been more focused on Stonefur lately, who she reveals has been visiting camp. He brings prey and organizes patrols, making sure every cat is alright and that cats are preparing for Bloodclan. They seem to see him more as leader now than Leopardstar. Firestar calls to the clan and Stonefur, asking them to explain why they haven't been following their leader. Warriors start speaking up, saying that they'd rather follow Stonefur. Even ostracized he's put the needs of Riverclan above all else. No one can say the same about Leopardstar, who joined Tigerstar for the power, and allowed him to do all the terrible things he did without a care. Leopardstar protests that she did not speak out in fear for her life. A queen remarks that a true leader would stand against another when their clan is in danger, not tuck tail and bow before them. A senior warrior calls for the demotion of Leopardstar. More cats in the clan join in. Leopardstar bows her head in defeat, then the clan begins to cheer for Stonefur

Stonefur takes his place on Riverclan's version of Highrock and thanks the clan for choosing him to become their leader. As his first order of business he declares that the clan will join in the fight to save the forest. The clan cheers breaks out into an uproar of approval. The other leaders decide to leave to allow Riverclan to get ready

The final preparations are made just before dawn the next morning. The apprentices help Ravensong bring herbs to Fourtrees. Cinderpath insists she at least help guard the medicine cat during the fight, since she's not allowed to battle Bloodclan due to her pregnancy. Firestar reluctantly agrees to his friend's demands. Then he sets the queens to guard camp. With everything as ready as it can be, the warriors head out.

At the edge of the clearing, Thunderclan pauses in the bushes. During this time, Firestar takes the chance to look at his warriors. His eyes fall first upon his loves, Sandstorm and Graystripe, then drift towards Cloudtail, his niece, his only clan kin. Next Firestar's eyes land on his best friends Ravensong and Cinderpath, who set up their herbs where they now stand. Then he observes Brightheart and Swiftstrike, his first apprentice and the rebel, two of the bravest cats among their ranks. Firestar continues to study each cat in the line as they await the other clans, wondering which among them he might be seeing alive for the last time.

Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Windclan arrive at Fourtrees not too long after Thunderclan. They merge together into one to form Lionclan before marching down towards the Great Rock, led by Firestar. Over the horizon Bloodclan comes marching into the clearing, with Scourge at the head. The two leaders stand face to face in front of their respective groups. Firestar declares they will not leave without a fight. The forest belongs to the clans. Scourge laughs at the firey tom's boldness, ordering his cats to attack. Lionclan surges forward to meet them.

During the battle at some point, Darkstripe leaps out of the mob and attacks Firestar. It seems the dark tabby has joined Bloodclan after the death of Tigerstar. While fighting, Firestar asks him why he'd fight on the side of his best friend's killer. Darkstripe admits he has only joined Scourge's side for protection, and to see Firestar die. And right now it seems that he is the one who wants to cause said death. Darkstripe has the Thunderclan leader pinned, ready to sink his teeth into his neck. But as he parts his jaws to do so, Graystripe comes charging over, body slamming himself into the dark tabby warrior. He lifts a paw, slitting open Darkstripe's throat. The fully gray warrior watches as his older brother slowly fades and dies at last. There's a bit of grief glistening in Graystripe's eyes, but triumph overall seems to dictate his features. He looks at Firestar with a smile, telling him that he'll never let anything happen to his best friend and mate. Firestar thanks him for saving his life and the two take off in opposite directions to fight more cats.

Firestar spies Bone in the crowd, standing over Whitestorm's body. It seems Pebblepaw, Finchpaw, and Tawnypaw have noticed as well, and attack him. But Bone manages to break free from the Thunderclan's apprentices' grip. The large black and white tom spots Firestar watching him and barrels towards in the leader's director, ready to kill him. But before they can meet, apprentices from all the clans come surging forward, taking Bone down and killing him within a matter of moments

Firestar takes off into the crowd. He finally finds Scourge through the mass of cats fighting against Sandstorm. Firestar charges, knocking the black cat away from his mate. Sandstorm goes to battle elsewhere while the two leaders fight. Things get heated quickly. Scourge strikes a hard blow to Firestar's forehead, breaking through his skull, and kills him (cause that's how it happened in canon. Not a slice to the throat)

Firestar awakes in Starclan. Bluestar's there to greet him, and Whitestorm is there as well; by his paws their kin, Pigeonpaw and Cloverpaw, bounce around their cousin and grandmother. The two older cats tell Firestar that he's lost his first life. Between them a faint ghostly form of the flame colored tom appears. Firestar, stressed and in desperate need to return home, asks the former leader to send him back. The clans are losing and Bloodclan may rule the forest. He wants to know if this is Starclan's will, if they will not step up and help them drive these invaders out. The clans have always fought to uphold what Starclan's desired, to keep order and for four clans to remain in the forest.

Bluestar explains that Starclan is merely a guide, not an entity which can control cats. They can help in little ways-by sending signs, and occasionally granting powers-but overall they are spectators. It is up to the living to find their destinies, to determine outcomes. A perfect case of this, Bluestar points out, is the fifth clan that was driven from the forest. Firestar barely has time to register this before he's brought back to life, with Starclan's promise that no matter what, even as guides, they fight alongside him. Before he awakens, the Thunderclan leader sees all of the nine cats who'd given him his lives appear to see him off.

Awake and fully recovered, Firestar tracks Scourge down again. The Bloodclan leader is genuinely shocked to see the tom alive, having watched him die. Firestar boasts about Starclan fighting by his side, and granting him nine lives. Scourge gets mad at this and attacks.

While they fight, Firestar talks about why he thinks Scourge wants to drive the clans from the forest. He guesses it's because they'd attacked him as a kitten, and as a result Scourge wanted revenge. Sure, gaining more territory and access to live prey was also a driving factor, but the core motive for trying to take over was to exact revenge. Firestar asks Scourge if his hunch is correct. Scourge growls, and manages to gain the advantage, pinning Firestar onto his back. The Bloodclan leader laughs. He answers his enemy's question with a yes, then boasts that vengeance is his at last. He'll kill Firestar eight more times, just as he did with Tigerstar. As he lifts his claws to deal another killing blow to Thunderclan's leader, Scourge proclaims, "I am leader of Bloodclan. I am Scourge. And I. Have. Won!"

Just as he gets that last word out, Firestar strikes, slicing open Scourge's throat. Scourge chokes on the blood that begins to pour from the wound and falls over. He gives a few more jerks, staring up at Firestar when he stands before he lay still. Bloodclan's leader is defeated.

It doesn't take long for Bloodclan cats to notice Scourge has been killed. When the word spreads they scatter like mice. Lionclan celebrate their victory with a chorus of yowls

Lionclan soon starts to dissolve back into four clans. They collect their dead as the leaders briefly meet to touch bases. Firestar reports that Whitestorm, Willowpelt, Ashfall, and Thornclaw have been killed in battle. Then the other leaders give news of their dead. The once-prisoners of Tigerclan come over to Firestar. Graystripe, Silverstream, and their kits ask if they can stay with Thunderclan. Silversteam explains that the current Riverclan is not like the one she'd grown up in; the Riverclan her father, Crookedstar, had led. She'd be better off starting fresh in a clan that doesn't care about who's blood she or her kits may carry. Mistyfoot understandably wants to go back to her home clan, along with her kits. Stonefur says he'll be more than happy to accept his sister, and asks her to rule at his side as clan deputy, once he gains his nine lives. Firestar agrees to all of this and turns to lead his clan home

A moon passes. Life returns to normal in the forest. In Thunderclan camp, they welcome Silversteam and Cinderpath as queens. Cinderpath has just had her litter of kits: Icekit, a deaf pure white mollykit, and Birchkit, a silver shaded white tomkit who looks just like grandma Willowpelt. Sasha and Goldenflower are mates now, raising Sasha's kits: Hawkkit who's a longhaired seal point siamese tomkit, Mothkit who's a longhaired ginger mollykit, and Tadpolekit who is a siamese tomkit. Pebblepaw and Finchpaw have been named warriors: Pebblestep and Finchsong. Sandstorm has been named the new deputy and is taking to her new position in the clan quite naturally. And Firestar leads the clan with pride and wisdom, finally adjusted to his roll. Over the past moon he's thought long about what happened at Fourtrees; the battle with Bloodclan, the loss of his first life, and the news of a fifth clan. Firestar doesn't know what may come in the future, if things will be quite like that, but he knows one thing for sure; Starclan will always there to guide them and to fight by his side.

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats rewrite #warriors: the darkest hour #the darkest hour #viti's rewrite

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furry-monster-trash · 4 years

Text

Hawkstar AU

What if Hawkfrost had remained the deputy after Mistyfoot was stolen by twolegs and then returned to the Clans? Much like some of my other AUs I had to create characters for this as the allegiances for the other clans besides ThunderClan were slim up until Omen of the Stars and I refuse to believe that RiverClan only had five (5) warriors during The New Prophecy arc.

THE NEW PROPHECY (Starting with Starlight)

Hawkfrost is made the stand-in deputy after Mistyfoot is taken by twolegs.

Once Mistyfoot is returned, Leopardstar decides that Hawkfrost will remain deputy, much to Mistyfoot’s chagrin.

Hawkfrost pushes Leopardstar to enforce the new borders that have just been established in the new lake territories. This causes conflict with WindClan.

Newly appointed leader of WindClan Onestar is determined to prove that he was the right choice for leader and sends out constant patrols to the RiverClan border.

Hawkfrost tells Leopardstar that this is some kind of test to see how determined RiverClan is. Leopardstar concedes that Hawkfrost is right and tells him to alert the patrols, “Be ready for battle.”

Hawkfrost is out leading a patrol with Stormfur, Blackclaw, and Volepaw when they spot a WindClan patrol at the border as well. Hawkfrost threatens Webfoot, telling him that WindClan should back off or blood is going to be shed.

Webfoot tells them that WindClan is just ensuring that RiverClan knows its borders. Hawkfrost attacks him, easily pinning him to the ground, “We know our borders better than you rabbit! Now back off.”

At this point, Leopardstar has only lost two lives, but Hawkfrost intends to take the rest in order to lead RiverClan at the insistence of his father: “Leopardstar betrayed me! Now she must pay.”

Hawkfrost talks with Ashfur about helping him get rid of Leopardstar, “If you help me end her terrible reign, I will help you get rid of Brambleclaw that way you can have Squirrelflight all to yourself.”

“Brambleclaw is your brother, wouldn’t you want to help him rise to power, just as you are doing yourself?”

“Brambleclaw is weakened by loyalty to the warrior code, but not us, we’re stronger than him. Help me and I’ll help you.”

Ashfur agrees to help him.

The night before Ashfur and he are going to attack Leopardstar, Hawkfrost has a visit from Crookedstar, the former RiverClan leader, “Hawkfrost, your heart is surrounded by a darkness that you cannot escape on your own. Your father marks a path for you, but that does not mean you have to follow it. You can have your own destiny without your father in the picture. You have the power to be a great leader Hawkfrost, do not let your father’s blind ambition take that from you.”

Hawkfrost wakes up and tells Ashfur that their plan is off. He claims it’s to wait for a better time to attack.

Back in the dream world, Tigerstar visits him and asks why he didn’t go through with his plan. He tells his father that it’s because there will be a better time later when the clans have more chaos happening between them.

POWER OF THREE

Between the two arcs, Leopardstar lost several lives and is down to just three remaining.

During the Daytime Gathering, the collapsed badger den actually happens with Lionpaw and Pouncepaw. Floodheart (a dark silver RiverClan she-cat), Jaypaw, and Leopardstar are the ones to find the two apprentices. Leopardstar goes down into the den to pull them out, only for the den to collapse more.

Leopardstar ends up losing her last lives to suffocation.

Hawkfrost is taken to receive his nine lives

Leopardstar - knowing that the past does not set the future in stone

Crookedstar - following your heart to make the right choices

Oakheart - every cat should be treated the same, regardless of clan or origin

Badgerfang (SC) - never trusting the shadows

Brambleberry - trusting the judgment of those around you

Feathertail - knowing where your heart truly belongs

Mudclaw - power doesn’t always come from tooth and claw

Stonepelt - fight against what is wrong, even at the cost of your life

Bluestar - loyalties to cats should come from proof of trust, nothing else.

The same night Hawkstar is visited by Tigerstar, who tells him that now is the perfect time to take over the clans. “WindClan is weak, ThunderClan is full of fake warriors, and ShadowClan is unsure of itself, now is the time to take over!”

Hawkstar tells Tigerstar to be patient.

Hawkstar makes Mistyfoot his deputy, “I took it from you once, although not by my choice, I would be honored to have you by my side.”

When tensions get high with ShadowClan, Hawkstar asks to speak with Blackstar at the border, clan leaders and deputies only. Blackstar agrees.

Hawkstar wants to come to an agreement with ShadowClan, “Tensions have run high between our clans due to the conflicting placement of our border. I think it’s time we change the border.”

Blackstar and Hawkstar agree to move the border over several fox-lengths, where a series of oak trees reside inside the RiverClan territory. Blackstar is pleased with the increased territory that ShadowClan has gained.

Hawkstar assures Mistyfoot that they lost nothing important and now that tensions have smoothed over with ShadowClan, they can focus more on WindClan.

Onestar has repeatedly tried to move the border and WindClan warriors have been smelled more than once on the RiverClan side of the border. Hawkstar decides to send in a battle patrol.

Hawkstar takes Floodheart, Shadestream (a white she-cat with black stripes), Perchclaw (ginger and black tom), Mistyfoot, Beechfur, Voleclaw, Pouncetail, Reedwhisker, Mosspelt, Pebblepaw, and Minnowpaw with him to WindClan.

The attack catches WindClan off guard and the scrawnier warriors are unable to fight off their RiverClan assailants.

Hawkstar takes one of Onestar’s lives in front of his whole clan, “Never cross the border again.”

A few moons later, when WindClan comes crawling to Hawkstar for help in their battle against ThunderClan on ThunderClan territory, Hawkstar refuses. “We have no quarrel with ThunderClan and Firestar and I have no debts to settle, this is between the two of you.”

With RiverClan not coming to aid WindClan, ShadowClan isn’t needed to help fight them off and the battle is won by ThunderClan.

When the eclipse happens and chaos follows, Tigerstar tells Hawkstar repeatedly that this is the time to strike. But Hawkstar makes no move to do such a thing.

Tigerstar calls his son weak, “When Onestar came to ask for help, that would’ve been the perfect time to destroy Firestar!” but Hawkfrost claims that Firestar’s time will come.

When Sol is driven from ThunderClan territory, he stops by RiverClan first before making his way to ShadowClan. Sol tries to convince Hawkstar that he is all-knowing and that he is the one who blocked out the sun. Hawkstar kills him on the spot, “He knows nothing and was nothing and died as little more than prey. Bury him far from here.”

Ashfur comes to Hawkstar, asking him if he will help him get rid of Brambleclaw once and for all. Hawkstar refuses to help him.

Ashfur acts alone and gets Brambleclaw caught in the fox trap.

Hawkstar sees his brother struggling to get free and races over to help him, telling him to lie still. Brambleclaw loses too much blood and ends up dying of his injuries.

Hawkstar kills Ashfur out of anger.

When Firestar arrives on the scene, he demands to know what happened and Hawkstar tells him nothing but the truth. Squirrelflight is astonished to hear that Ashfur killed her mate. “He did it because of your kits, Ashfur wanted what Brambleclaw had and plotted to get rid of him.”

Brackenfur is the new deputy of ThunderClan.

Hawkstar sees Brambleclaw in his dreams, his brother thanking him for trying to help. Brambleclaw then also warns Hawkstar that Tigerstar knows he is being betrayed.

OMEN OF THE STARS

Tigerstar attacks Hawkstar in the Dark Forest, yelling at his son and calling him a traitor. Hawkstar loses his first life that night.

Hawkstar is woken up to the news that Mistyfoot had passed in the night due to whitecough, “She was too old to fight it off.”

Rippletail is the new deputy of RiverClan.

During the gathering, when every cat is sharing tongues, Hawkstar meets Lionblaze. The younger ThunderClan warrior shows respect to Hawkstar, but Hawkstar makes a mental note not to get into a fight with the larger ThunderClan warrior.

Leopardstar warns him that great danger is coming and he should be prepared for anything.

When the river dries up, Hawkstar himself goes to help clear the dam. He loses a life fighting the beavers.

When Jayfeather comes to plead for catmint, Mothflight gives it to him. Hawkstar stops the medicine cat on his way out, “Tell Firestar to watch his back, I have a feeling something bad is coming.”

Hawkstar hopes his warning to Firestar will save him from his father’s wrath.

Ivypool’s mentor in the Dark Forest is Thistleclaw.

Hawkstar goes to visit Tigerstar in the Dark Forest but is surprised to see Icewing there as well, training.

In the waking world, Hawkstar questions Icewing, asking what she was doing there. Icewing claims that she is just there to become a better warrior and knows nothing about the cats that train there. Hawkstar tells her the truth about the Dark Forest, but decides to use her as a spy.

Firestar comes to speak with Hawkstar about his warning. Hawkstar explains that he fears Tigerstar is still angry with the clans and with Firestar the most. Firestar tells him that ThunderClan will be prepared for anything and that not even Tigerstar scares him anymore.

Icewing tells Hawkstar that the Dark Forest is planning to raid the clans and kill off anyone who doesn’t submit to them. Hawkstar tells his warriors to double up on battle training and the defense around the camp.

When Firestar calls all four leaders and deputies to the island and tells them about the prophecy, Hawkstar says that he knew something was off about Lionblaze. Hawkstar says that RiverClan will fight to the death against the Dark Forest.

During the Great Battle, Hawkstar loses a life fighting off three Dark Forest warriors. He risks his own life to save Squirrelflight from Ashfur’s spirit. Brambleclaw then comes and kills off Ashfur for the final time. The two brothers share a moment, “We need to find Tigerstar. This won’t be over until he is dead.”

The pair arrive to find Firestar and Tigerstar fighting to the death, one last time. Firestar kills Tigerstar and since he never got caught in the fox trap, still has one life left after he died from his injuries.

ThunderClan deaths: Ferncloud, Mousefur, Sorreltail, Brackenfur

ShadowClan deaths: Applefur, Cedarheart, Shrewfoot, Redwillow, Toadfoot

WindClan deaths: Ashfoot, Owlwhisker, Swallowtail, Torneart, Sunstrike, Webfoot

RiverClan deaths: Dapplenose, Hollowflight, Floodheart, Robinwing, Troutstream

Harespring is the new deputy of WindClan, and Lionblaze is the new deputy of ThunderClan.

A VISION OF SHADOWS

When Molewhisker brings Alderpaw to meet the clan leaders, he notices that Alderpaw seems frightened of him and shy around the much more senior warriors. Hawkstar bends down and gives him some encouragement, “The first time I met Firestar, I was shocked. Tigerstar had told me that Firestar should be destroyed because he was a threat, but Firestar told me gently that I was shaping up to be a great warrior. That was the first time I lost trust in Tigerstar. Us leaders are just like you.”

Hawkstar notices Rowanstar’s (the new leader of ShadowClan) announcement of giving apprentices to their newest warriors. He makes a mental note that Rowanstar doesn’t seem to know how to lead his clan.

As ShadowClan loses its only medicine cat, Hawkstar asks Rowanstar in private if everything is okay in ShadowClan. Rowanstar snaps and says that they don’t need pity from RiverClan. Hawkstar tells the ShadowClan leader to remember those words.

As Darktail moves in with his rogues and attacks WindClan, Hawkstar tells his clan to be ready for anything.

When news of Darktail’s coup in ShadowClan is broken, Hawkstar is shocked to learn that Rowanstar is now a member of ThunderClan. Firestar tells him that Darktail has forced most of ShadowClan to join their group, but some managed to escape. Hawkstar sneers, “Rowanstar was driven away too easily. A pathetic leader.”

When all four clans attack the rogues, Hawkstar kills two of them, scaring most away from him, but loses a life himself.

He leaps to the aid of Rowanstar, knocking away his attacker, “You’re a pathetic leader, but still the leader of ShadowClan, gather your ranks and strike hard!”

As Onestar calls WindClan to retreat, RiverClan is forced to fight twice as hard alongside ThunderClan, as ShadowClan is nearly too weak to fight. RiverClan suffers many injuries and Hawkstar swears revenge against Onestar and Darktail.

The Kin attacks RiverClan directly, trying to take over as they did to ShadowClan. Hawkstar says he will lay down every one of his lives to stay and protect his territory and Rippletail has to physically drag him away from the conflict. “This battle is lost Hawkstar! We must regroup elsewhere!”

Four RiverClan warriors died in the battle, but Hawkstar manages to take his injured and not injured with him to ThunderClan, where Firestar takes them in with open arms.

As Onestar reveals that Darktail is his son, it takes several warriors to stop Hawkstar from killing the WindClan leader himself.

The clans fight against The Kin again and Hawkstar sees Onestar and Darktail go into the river, and not reemerge. Hawkstar dives into the river and fishes out Onestar’s body, laying it on the shore for WindClan to mourn. He claims that Darktail deserves to rot.

RiverClan returns to its own territory, burying their dead from the previous conflict. Hawkstar announces then that RiverClan will stay away from ShadowClan for the time being, to allow the broken clan to rebuild itself.

A rockslide hits the ThunderClan camp and Firestar dies saving Thornclaw’s kits.

Lionblaze becomes Lionstar and Ivypool is the new deputy of ThunderClan.

Hawkstar is initially against letting SkyClan settle with them at the lake, saying that border conflicts were already tight, even though his clan would share no borders with them.

Rowanstar asks to join Leafstar and SkyClan in exchange for the rest of their territory. Hawkstar openly calls Rowanstar weak, to which the ShadowClan leader does not respond.

As a fire spreads across RiverClan territory, Hawkstar urges his warriors into the river to wait it out. Their camp is destroyed, but no lives are lost.

Hawkstar orders most of his clan to rebuild the camp, while others are left to patrol the new SkyClan border. SkyClan cannot wrangle the former ShadowClan warriors and Hawkstar sees Rowanstar, now called Rowanclaw, sitting alone by the lakeshore.

Hawkstar is shocked to learn that after the fire, Tigerheart has become Tigerstar and is now the leader of ShadowClan. Hawkstar takes Tigerstar aside to inform him that he must keep his warriors in check, or there will be problems.

When the deathberry poisoning is revealed within the ShadowClan camp, Hawkstar kills Juniperclaw, “If your clan will not kill you for treachery, then I will.”

SkyClan finally settles between ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

Hawkstar announces that Rippletail is retired and the new deputy is Duskfur.

Since Brambleclaw died in this AU, ‘The Broken Code’ arc can’t happen, so, for now, I’ll stop this AU here.

#my writing #hawkstar au #hawkfrost #warrior cats #warrior cats au #warriors #riverclan #long post #thunderclan #windclan #shadowclan #firestar #tigerstar #tigerheart #mistyfoot #leopardstar #skyclan #ivypool #lionblaze

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thunder-the-ranger-wolf · 4 years

Text

A Proper Gathering

Excerpt from the Mute!Firepaw Ghost fic

@official-darkforest if you feel like reblogging this for the people interested in that AU, I’d be grateful. I wasn’t sure how much of this would fit in a submission.

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The clearing was packed. Cats milled around with others, scents mingled as the four groups interacted in an almost friendly manner for the first time Firepaw had seen since he took this job. Several voices called out his name, all of them sounding like the bells that the humans put on their doors to tell the weather. Ghosts often sounded like that but it was more obvious when they were emotional. At least this time it was because these cats were happy to see him. The ginger tom was suddenly knocked off his paws by a rush of air. A mountain of fur surrounded him as each young cat clambered to be seen.

“Firepaw, you made it!” Thornkit of WindClan crowed. “This is the first Gathering I’ve been to ever, there are so many cats!”

“Alright, alright now, let the nice tom find his paws. I’m sure he’s just as excited as you are to be here.” One of the queens, a cream molly from ShadowClan, drawled fondly. “It’s good to see you well, Firepaw. One good thing about ThunderClan is they make sure their kittens are properly fed. Why, I bet the only Clan better at that would be RiverClan, with all their fishing.”

“Don’t you fish as well, Birchpool?” One of the apprentices snickered. “We live in a marsh!”

“That we do, kit, but the fish we find in the marsh aren’t always worth going after. Especially when the rest of those creatures are willing to fight you for it.”

You… have to fight your prey? Firepaw muttered, surprised.

“Has any cat ever mentioned a snapping turtle?”

No… I know what a turtle is, I think, but I’ve never seen one. And I didn’t know they could bite.

“I’ll take you to the marsh sometime and show you what I’m talking about. You won’t be so keen to visit us ShadowClan cats once you know how we eat.”

“Well, he might like it. I bet it would taste really good!” The apprentice, Branchpaw, crowed.

“How do you know, kit? No one’s ever gone after a turtle and lived to bring it back.”

“It’s prey!” Branchpaw scowled. “I bet I could kill one easy!”

“Maybe when we get back to StarClan.” Another apprentice scoffed. “They’re only ever easy hunting there!”

“Why can’t Larchfall see me?” A young voice that sounded close to tears asked quietly. The other ghosts stepped back to reveal a small tortoiseshell kitten with silver-blue eyes. “He’s my kin. I thought he loved me but he never talks to me anymore. He talks to the others, though! Why not me?”

“Well, kitten…” Birchpool crooned. “It’s because he can’t see you. He would talk to you all the time if he knew you were there.”

“But I am here! And you all can see me just fine!”

“It’s different, honeycomb.” Another warrior murmured, wrapping a ginger-spotted tail around her similarly colored kit. “Larchfall isn’t ignoring us, little one, we went to sleep. Remember how we couldn’t see or touch anything after that?”

“Yes.” The kit mumbled. “I wanted to climb a tree once but I just went right through it. I figured out how later though! We can fly, did you know that?!” The kitten crowed, fur bushed up.

“Yeah, it’s amazing!” Branchpaw chirped. “What’s your name? And who’s Larchfall?”

“This is Petalkit. Larchfall is my mate, I’m her mother’s sister, Lilystem.”

Well, Petalkit, why don’t I tell Larchfall that you’ve been asking after him? He might start talking to you if he thinks you can hear him. Firepaw prompted.

“You… you would do that?” Lilystem murmured, astonished. “He’s been so alone in RiverClan. I mean, of course, the Clan is there for him, but we never had any kits of our own and now we can’t reach Petalkit’s parents in StarClan because we got stuck here-. I mean-.”

“We get it.” Birchpool offered soberly. “It’s always rough when you figure it out. Oakheart was the most recent RiverClan cat to pass, he could probably tell you more about why we’re stuck here.”

The red-brown tom appeared by Lilystem’s side as if he’d been summoned by the sound of his name but said nothing.

“Oakheart… That’s one of Rainflower’s boys! He’s my nephew. Petalkit is his cousin by my other sister, Echomist. She and Hailstar are up in StarClan having a grand old time but I don’t think they know Petalkit is missing. They’d die of shock all over again.”

“Ouch…” Birchpool muttered, one eye closed as she tried to imagine what the tortoiseshell before her mumbled.

Okay, that’s… a lot to deal with and no doubt her parents are worried sick by now, but Larchfall should know that you’re still here and we, well, I, can do something about that. Do you want me to?

“I… yes. If only because he’s getting on in moons and it looks like he’s giving up and I don’t want that for him.” Lilystem insisted.

Okay. I can tell him. Let me get someone who knows how I talk and we’ll go from there.

“Well, if it’s because of that throat then Stormheart might have an idea of what to say.”

Stormheart?

“Oakheart’s brother.”

Oh, the RiverClan leader. He had the same warrior name as his brother?

“That happens sometimes. It did with the ThunderClan deputy and her sister. Their names were Bluestep and Snowstep.”

She’s the leader now. Firepaw crowed. And she’s mentoring me. She’s a great cat!

“No doubt she is, kit.” Lilystem chuckled. “Thank you so much for helping us get through to Larchfall. It’s been hard on Petalkit, not being with her parents and then getting stuck here like this.”

“Yeah, a lot of us had to figure that out the hard way.” Birchpool grumbled.

I can’t empathize completely, but I know it’s tough being separated from cats you love. Let me at least help you contact this one.

“You’re a sweet one, Firepaw. Good luck.” Lilystem murmured. Firepaw nodded his thanks and got to his paws, weaving through the crowd, and leaving the rest of the group to talk among themselves as they waited for him to get back.

“I wonder if it’s lifted yet. The barrier, whatever it is.” Birchpool mused. “I mean, WindClan is back in the forest and ShadowClan can’t drive them out again. Surely StarClan will welcome us once more now that the forest is balanced.”

“Firepaw’s not sure that’s what’s keeping us from StarClan.” Oakheart corrected nervously. “He thinks it’s something about Brokentail and now that WindClan is back, I’m inclined to agree with him. I don’t think StarClan can interact with the living as long as that tyrant is alive.”

“But that’s… he’s got nine lives! StarClan gave those themselves!”

“Maybe not.” Branchpaw scowled.

“What?” Lilystem hissed frantically, covering Petalkit’s ears. “Why would you say that?!”

“Well, you know ShadowClan is old-fashioned.” Branchpaw offered warily. “We’ve always been a bit more strict about the warrior code. Even though we accept rogues and were at the front of the kittypet raids, we taught those we recruited the Clan ways as we saw them.”

“Oh, yes, I remember hearing about the kittypet raids. Roachstar stopped them and everyone was outraged when Brokentail announced his new warriors from the Twolegplace. I’m surprised all four Clans didn’t rise against him right then and there!”

“It’s… complicated.” Birchpool added. “But we know there are other skies because of those kittypets and we choose to devote ourselves to StarClan. But with the news of other skies, well, Branchpaw might be right to say that another set of ancestors could have given Brokentail his lives.”

“What kittypet’s ancestors could give such a wretched being that much power?!” A new voice spat. “And who in their right mind would?!”

“Never said they were in their right mind, Thrushpelt. Just that it might be possible.”

“I hope it’s not.” Thrushpelt shivered. “I can’t imagine any spirit seeing Brokentail as a worthy leader.”

“StarClan wouldn’t.” Branchpaw insisted. “Not after all he’s done.”

Heads up everyone, I’m back with Larchfall and Longtail’s agreed to help me speak. Firepaw announced.

Indeed, Firepaw was followed by two cats, one a cream tom with dark stripes and the other a darker-furred elder with misty green eyes.

“Well, kit. This ThunderClan cat said you wanted to tell me something about my kin. What are we doing here?”

Firepaw nodded and trotted off, returning shortly with a flower that he placed on the ground. He pointed first at the stem and then at the petal of the flower. Then he pointed at Larchfall’s chest.

“Firepaw usually approaches cats when he knows a StarClan cat has mentioned you. In this case, there are two and you know them well. I think one is… Petal?”

Firepaw nodded and raised his paw so that it lay stiff in midair halfway between him and the ground.

“They’re smaller than him so it’s probably Petalkit?”

Firepaw nodded and pointed to the flower again.

“The next one is a cat with Stem somewhere in their name.” Longtail muttered. “Bigger than Firepaw, so either an older apprentice or a warrior.”

“Lilystem is my mate and Petalkit is her sister’s kit. You’re saying you heard from them? Did they come to you in a dream from StarClan?”

Firepaw made a “not quite” gesture.

“Firepaw can see the spirits of our ancestors.” Longtail explained. “Most of them are in StarClan but some of them come to visit their loved ones.”

“So… Lilystem and Petalkit are here.” Larchfall murmured. “Can they see me? Will they know if I talk to them?”

“They’ll always know.” Longtail said at Firepaw’s nod. “In fact, Petalkit thinks you should talk to her more.”

“Does she?” Larchfall chuckled roughly. “I… I can do that.”

“Good.” Longtail offered. “Thank you for hearing us out.”

The black tom nodded awkwardly and padded off, more than a bit stunned.

“Thank you, Firepaw.” Lilystem whispered, voice thick with tears. “I think he might actually believe you.”

Hopefully. But even if he doesn’t, he’s got something to think about.

“Yes… yes, I think he does.”

Petalkit pranced around her aunt, tail waving and face glowing with cheer.

Firepaw flicked his tail, signaling to Longtail that he could go if he wanted, and tuned back into the conversation being had around him.

“So… about this barrier.” Thrushpelt scowled. “What, WindClan being back wasn’t enough. It’s specific to Brokentail?”

“Looks like it.” Oakheart offered soberly. “And until this is resolved, I don’t think any cat will go to StarCla when they die.”

“What, like they’ll be stuck like us?! They won’t even know their ancestors are waiting for them?!” The other ShadowClan apprentice yelped.

“Be quiet, Pikepaw!” Branchpaw snapped, eyeing Oakheart nervously.

“Oh…” Pikepaw mumbled, following his fellow apprentice’s gaze. “Sorry. I didn’t meant to-.”

“It’s fine.” Oakheart sighed. Pikepaw licked his chest fur embarrassedly and curled up beside his friend, burying his nose in his own pelt and mumbling to himself.

“But yes, they’ll be stuck like us. And… we don’t know what it has to do with Brokentail. I said earlier that his lives could have been given by some other ancestors, but even that’s just a theory.” Oakheart insisted. “We don’t know that this will be resolved with Brokentail’s death.”

“Even if it is, as far as we know he’s never lost a life. How are we going to get to StarClan if he’s the one blocking our path and he’s got the nine lives of a leader?!”

A tense silence consumed the ghosts and Firepaw twitched his ears and bared his throat.

“Is Firepaw trying to say something?” Birchpool asked warily. “That’s an awful wound he’s got. Does he need a medicine cat?”

“A medicine cat can’t help.” Thrushpelt admitted. “But usually he does that to get a cat’s attention. Or if he’s talking to us, it means he’s nervous about what he has to say. Or doesn’t want to say it.”

“Makes sense.” Oakheart murmured. “But in this case… I think he’s trying to say something about his throat.”

Firepaw nodded awkwardly, hoping he wouldn’t have to say the rest aloud.

“He doesn’t need a medicine cat, so aside from the fact that the wound exists, nothing’s wrong.” Birchpool offered.

“He… we were talking about Brokentail just now. Could Firepaw be saying something about his throat has to do with Broktentail?”

“What, like Brokentail gave him that wound?!”

“No, we know who gave it to him and it wasn’t Brokentail.” Oakheart muttered bitterly. “Maybe he’s saying we have to hurt Brokentail… possibly like Firepaw himself was… hurt.”

“Oooo…” Several cats cringed or turned away at Firepaw’s confirming nod.

“He’s a leader, though. IF he dies, he’ll just come back and wreak havoc on the living all over again.”

“Then someone will have to make it an injury he can’t come back from.” Branchpaw insisted darkly.

“Stars above, Branchpaw!” Pikepaw yelped. “How in the name of the First Ancestors do you come up with this stuff?!”

“The same way he thought it was a good idea to slaughter us.” Branchpaw snapped, getting to his paws. “He deserves every scratch he gets! One for every star in the sky and ten for every cat he’s ever gotten killed! I bet Badgerfang would agree with me.”

“Badgerfang isn’t here!” Pikepaw howled. “You can’t speak for him and you can’t speak for me!”

“Don’t tell me you want that monster to live?!”

“No!” Pikepaw snapped. “I just… this isn’t right! We’re talking about killing a cat nine times over in the worst ways possible! He’s-.”

“Deserving.” Branchpaw sneered. “For all the pain and misery he’s caused this forest and every cat in it. He’s lucky all ShadowClan did was blind him.”

“If every ShadowClan cat is as vengeful as you are, we might not have to do anything to Brokentail. We could just let the living handle it.”

“They won’t.” Pikepaw scoffed. “They’re not fox-brained enough to risk dying at his claws when he comes back, and that’s if they succeed in the first place! This is mouse-brained and fox-hearted and I can’t believe you all are thinking of this!”

“Don’t you want to go to StarClan?” Branchpaw asked quietly. “Your mom and dad will be there. And your siblings.”

“Like that’s something to look forward to.” Pikepaw scowled. “I was the runt, remember? It’s why I died in the first place.”

“C’mon, Pike, they didn’t mean-.”

“They meant it!” The grey tom howled. “They never wanted me, none of them did! They were glad when I was chosen to start training!”

“Pikepaw…”

“You’re plotting! You’re planning for another cat to die just like Brokentail planned for us to die and kept at it until we did! My mother pushed me out of the nest early for that scheme of his and you want to try and turn it back on him?! When he’s the one who came up with all this in the first place?! It won’t work and we’ll all die! Why do you think my mother gave me up?”

“That’s a load of foxdung and so is she.” Birchpool growled.

“I… I can’t exactly blame her.” Pikepaw admitted. “She had to focus on the ones who had a chance. I was going to die anyway-.”

“You don’t know that.” Oakheart insisted. “You’re here because Brokentail was a cruel leader but more than that, your mother was cruel to you. That’s not your fault and it’s not your job to defend a cat that would do such a thing.”

“When it comes to Brokentail, it looks like the only way to restore this balance is to kill him.” Birchpool sighed. “But since we’re ghosts, we would have to use the world around us to do that. Possess a dog and set it on him, maybe. Or get someone to poison his food. We can’t interfere directly, though. The living will have to find some way to strip him of those lives.”

“You don’t have to be involved, Pikepaw. None of us have to do anything. The living cats are already upset with him. It’s only a matter of time before someone is desperate enough to want him dead completely.”

Firepaw found that he couldn’t listen anymore, too sick at the thought of all that Pikepaw had admitted. But the ghosts planned well into the night and decided to meet again in three sunrises after they got input from other Clanmates.

Firepaw didn’t know how this Mission would end, but these groups were some of the fiercest he’d ever run interference for.

#August 13th 2020 #thunder's writing collection #thunder's warrior cats collection #thunder's original post collection #mute firepaw: the ghost au #louder than words au

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leafpool-loves-ashfur · 3 years

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Honeykit > Honeypaw > Honeysplash > Honeystar

Kit > Apprentice > Warrior > Deputy > Leader

She-cat - SkyClan

Mother: Bristlelight

Sister: Thrushleaf

Mentors: Pouncestar, Fevernose

Dark Forest Mentor: Snowstar

Apprentices: Seedfall, Silverthistle

She and her sister, Thrushkit, started out as thick as thieves, but as Thrushkit grew closer to Thistlekit, daughter of Pouncestar and Sharpsong, and the two became practically inseparable, heeding no mind to the young she-kit they left behind. Honeykit would often try to tell Thistlekit off for ordering her sister around like a slave, but Thistlekit and Thrushkit would ignore her or yell at her for it, both claiming they were happy the way they were. As they all became apprentices, Honeypaw felt more and more separated and ignored, feeling as though even her clanmates didn’t notice her. Pouncestar may have appointed her as his apprentice, but she felt as though no one except him cared. Her mother was loving, but died young into their apprenticeship.

This led her to the Dark Forest, where she was offered training to be the best warrior that not one could ignore. Eager to be important to her clan, she accepted. She trained every night, the training getting harsher, and her days getting more exhausting. She was dead on her feet but refused to stop. Pouncestar noticed her exhaustion, and he and Sharpsong both started to get her to rest and to tell them what’s wrong, caring for her. It was one night when Pouncestar entered the apprentice’s den to find both Thistlepaw and Thrushpaw gone and Honeypaw shivering and shaking and growling as scars formed on her that he understood. He woke Honeypaw up, dragged her to the medicine cat den where Appletail, current medicine cat and Thrushpaw’s mentor, healed her wounds. While Honeypaw at first denied all involvement with the Dark Forest, Pouncestar quickly explained that he too once trained with them, shocking Honeypaw. She believed her mentor and leader was too bouncy, cheerful and energetic to be in a place like Dark Forest, and then he turned her words on her, telling her he believed she was too gentle and kind-hearted… or used to be, before Dark Forest training made her eager for a fight to prove herself, even if it was with her own clanmates.

After that, Honeypaw still kept going to the Dark Forest, but she tried to reign in her temper, and get more sleep. Pouncestar and Sharpsong both didn’t want her going there anymore, but she still wanted the extra training despite their protests, which they reluctantly respected for now... Until Honeypaw got into a fight with her sister, and attacked Thrushpaw. Pouncestar pulled her aside and told her she would not be going to the Dark Forest anymore, or she would be kicked out of the clan. Honeypaw fearfully agreed, but how would she stop going to the Place of No Stars? It wasn't her chose... So when she visited there the next night, she told her Dark Forest mentor, Snowstar, that she couldn't visit anymore, and he asked her why. When she explained, he and his friend Snakeclaw pulled Pouncestar from his slumber, and attacked the leader. Honeypaw joined the fight to defend her mentor, but Snowstar killed Pouncestar. In retaliation, Honeypaw killed Snakeclaw, and Snowstar said he was proud of her, and that he'd be there for her leader ceremony. After that, he left her, and she woke up.

She ran to the leader's den, and yelled for Pouncestar to wake up. Sharpsong, who was sleeping beside him, startled awake, and realized what had happened. Filled with sorrow, Sharpsong told Honeypaw Pouncestar had been on his last life, despite still being a fairly young leader. He was a reckless cat, who always through himself head first into danger... In the morning, the clan mourned Pouncestar, and welcomed Sharpstar as their new leader, and Auburnheart as their deputy. Honeypaw got a new mentor, Fevernose. She was quiet after that, but respectful and dedicated to her apprentice duties, if a bit distant from her clanmates now. She was still friendly and kind-hearted, but her clanmates noticed her distance. Instead of bringing her closer, they let her keep that distance. The only cats left that talked to her daily was her mentor and Sharpstar.

Her warrior assessment felt bland, and her warrior ceremony even more. She no longer fought for her sister to be her sister again, instead watching as Thrushleaf and Thistlesong ran off every day, close as can be. Her spirit started to come back when she was appointed as Seedpaw's mentor. She got along well with the energetic, goofy tom, and enjoyed watching him look like a mouse-brain in front of his crush on his denmate, Daisypaw. But she was even more pleasantly surprised when Auburnheart was killed by badgers and then Honeysplash was made the new deputy. Her clanmates were just as surprised, wondering if such a detached cat could one day be their leader. Many believed she was only made deputy because Sharpstar viewed her as more of a daughter than her own daughter, Thistlesong, who Sharpstar was suspicious of. Honeysplash, personally, didn't hold as much suspicion towards the silver she-cat, because she believed her anger had blinded her and that any of her suspicions were just lingering feelings of hatred and jealousy.

When Sharpstar lost her final life defending her clan in a battle against ThunderClan, Honeystar felt unprepared to be leader, and afraid. She had only just finished training her first apprentice. And at her leader ceremony, who was there but Snowstar to greet her. Pouncestar, Sharpstar, and Bristlelight quickly rescued Honeystar and took her to the proper place to get her nine lives. Afterwards, she appointed Coilspring as deputy, and then made Thistlesong's kits apprentices as her first act as leader. She made Silverpaw her own apprentice, to prepare herself more. Honeystar bonded well with the young she-cat, who was quiet and hesitant, reminding Honeystar a lot of herself. In fact, Silverpaw admired her sister, Shadepaw, and wanted to do everything she did. It remained Honeystar painfully so of her own kithood with her sister, Thrushpaw. She taught Silverpaw kindness and independence as best she could. To Honeystar's surprise, she started noticing Thistlesong and Thrushleaf's angry glares towards her, and how they always took Silverpaw and Shadepaw out on their own. Honeystar dismissed it, wondering if they were feeling envious like Honeystar once had been.

Early on into Silverpaw and Shadepaw's apprenticeships, ShadowClan warrior Morningcloud came barreling into camp, yowling about how he was their father and that he wanted to be with them- in SkyClan. Honeystar was torn, perplexed, and confused, but Thistlesong and Thrushleaf wanted nothing to do with him, and the rest of the clan wasn't too happy to have the tom interrupt their peace. So Honeystar turned him away apologetically, and she would have to do so many more times. She felt bad for Silverpaw though, who seemed genuinely disheartened that her father couldn't stay with them. Honeystar also noticed Silverpaw and Shadepaw drifting apart, as well as drifting away from her parents too, especially after Morningcloud was found dead in the lake. Honeystar stayed as supportive as she could, remembering how Pouncestar and Sharpstar were for her.

To Honeystar's shock, Thistlesong was found murdered in the same place Morningcloud had died. No one knew who did it, but Thrushleaf was heartbroken, Shadepaw enraged, and Silverpaw... cold. Honeystar could never shake the strange feeling that Silverpaw knew something about her mother's death, but never questioned or pressed her on it. She mourned Thistlesong as she would any other clanmate, and moved on. When the apprentices' warrior ceremony came, Thrushleaf requested she name Silverpaw Silverthistle, in honor of her mother, and Honeystar agreed, naming them Shadefur and Silverthistle.

Two moons later, Thrushleaf delivered a prophecy to Honeystar, saying that a cat, hidden in shadows, born of thistles, would be the next deputy. Not soon after, Coilspring was found dead near a den of snakes. So Honeystar appointed Silverthistle as deputy, despite her never having an apprentice. Enraged, and fully believing she deserved to be deputy, Shadefur attacked her sister, but Honeystar ripped her off and exiled her. Shadefur begrudgingly left the clan, declaring she would be leader one day, "with or without this clan!"

Shadefur kept her promise. She created a clan of rogues, BoneClan, and waged war against SkyClan. They attacked the other clans too, but their anger rested solely with SkyClan. Honeystar felt their wrath when she was killed by BoneClan rogues during a battle to protect her clan's territory.

“Slender golden and white she-cat with long limbs.”

Wiki Page.

#honeykit #honeypaw #honeysplash #honeystar #skyclan #golden cat #green eyes #leaders #deceased

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warriorcats-rewrite · 4 years

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I really need to post more frequently here and actually get to writing (I still need to finish Chapter One of Hawkheart’s Blood which is not good). For now have a long list of things that I plan on changing/some character info in the first arc + the time between the first arc and second arc (in somewhat chronological order). The information is organized by clans.

THUNDERCLAN

The kits who died in Leafbare were Dappletail’s kits, Featherkit and Cricketkit. Dappletail was seen as crazy for having kits “at her age” and when they died not many cats showed her sympathy. Dappletail retired early due to the stress of her kits’ deaths, especially Featherkit. Speckletail is one of the couple cats who supported Dappletail (the others being Goldenflower and Thrushpelt)

When Snowkit turns out to be deaf, Dappletail offers to help mentor him since Featherkit was deaf.

Tigerclaw claims Redtail was killed while fighting Oakheart, who also died in the fight, when he brings Redtail’s body back. In ThunderClan framing a cat as a hero makes you appear as a better cat, so the clan takes more of a liking to Tigerclaw for taking so positively about Redtail

Tigerclaw is a lot more charismatic to get cats on his side. To Fireheart he’s bloodthirsty, but he up until he tries to kill Bluestar he has a lot of cats on strings.

Ravenpaw’s mentor was Redtail before he died. Ravenpaw becomes Tigerclaw’s apprentice.

Dustpaw’s mentor is Leopardfoot

Leopardfoot and Rosetail were mates. When Rosetail was killed in battle, Leopardfoot was heartbroken. Her grief turned into hatred when Yellowfang was allowed to stay in ThunderClan. She only started warming up to Yellowfang when she was treated by the older medicine cat after getting a small injury while out hunting. Yellowfang was a bit kinder to Leopardfoot, and told her about how she respected Rosetail as a fine warrior whenever she was at a gathering.

Leopardfoot offers to help bury Yellowfang along with her brother after the fire dies down.

Longtail disliked Fireheart for so long due to him seeing Fireheart as a ‘replacement’ for his sister Cherrypaw, who died the Leafbare Dappletail lost her kits. He warms up to Fireheart when he gets to know him and realizes he isn’t trying to replace Cherrypaw.

Runningwind sticks with Tigerclaw’s group because he feels like it’s the only place he belonged. When Tigerclaw’s plot is revealed, he’s more ashamed at himself than Tigerclaw. Mousefur comforts him, and helps him get involved in her friend group of Willowpelt, Leopardfoot, and Whitestorm.

Before he dies he lands a good blow on Tigerclaw’s shoulder, giving him a scar.

Mistlepaw joins Swiftpaw and Brightpaw to go take on the dogs. She tries to convince Snowpaw to join them, but he declines. Mistlepaw dies from the dogs. Snowpaw finds their bodies and runs back to camp, horrified.

Goldenflower comforts her younger brother, and the two grow very close after the deaths. Bramblekit and Tawnykit are taught cat sign language, Tawnypaw later bringing it to ShadowClan

Brackenpaw becomes interested in medicine when he watches Yellowfang treat Cinderpaw for her leg injury and his siblings for their coughs. Yellowfang takes Brackenpaw under her wing before officially making him her apprentice. His medicine cat name is Brackenwhisker (named after Sagewhisker).

Longtail is named Firestar’s second deputy after Whitestorm is slain in the BloodClan battle.

SHADOWCLAN

Scorchwind was Brokenstar’s deputy until he tried to protest the invasion of WindClan. Blackfoot kills Scorchwind for Brokenstar and then becomes deputy

Badgerfang, Blossompaw, and Swamppaw are all killed in the invasion of WindClan

Tallpoppy has Oakkit in secret and tries to hide him. She’s unable to hide him for long, getting caught by Clawface and Deerfoot. She’s given a nasty scar on her face and Oakkit is made an apprentice extra early.

After Brokenstar is chased out, Newtspeck and Archeye return. The rest of the elders who were exiled and ended up dying were then given proper burials.

Nightstar wasn’t able to get his nine lives due to a mix of Carrionspill and his serious asthma making it hard for him to leave camp for long periods of time. Cats in ShadowClan called him Nightstar in hopes of the other Clans not seeing them as weak

The illness is called Carrionspill because it came from the Carrionplace and a lot of cats ended up vomiting up the infected rats they ate.

Carrionspill made it hard for cats to keep food down, therefore weakening them. Whitecough ended up spreading through ShadowClan around the same time. Cats who were already suffering with Carrionspill were wiped out by Whitecough.

Darkflower flees ShadowClan when the Carrionspill outbreak begins to join a loner named Goose. Goose and Darkflower are later adopted by a young couple who find them on the streets.

Tangleburr and Ratscar kill their brother Deerfoot when he tries to kill Tigerstar for ‘breaking ShadowClan’. They later somewhat regret that action when they are forced to watch Stonefur’s execution.

Tawnypaw was treated like a second deputy under Tigerstar’s rule, which she hated. The only cat who wasn’t frightened by her was Rowanpaw, who had grown accustomed to being yelled at. The two bond easily.

When Tawnypaw brought up the troubles she faced in ShadowClan, Tigerstar brushed her off. She was only allowed to boss other cats around and watch Tigerstar do horrible things.

Flintfang becomes leader when he’s elected by Runningnose. Russetfur is named deputy and Littlecloud becomes a full medicine cat.

Magpiewing has Smokekit and Talonkit shortly after Flintstar becomes leader

WINDCLAN

WindClan cats believe that they deserved the horrible conditions they got after being driven out of their home due to attacking the kit warriors ShadowClan sent after them.

Lilywhisker and the retired Hawkheart die while WindClan is traveling the streets. WindClan keeps their bodies until they’re able to return to their territory.

Thrushwing survives the attack by ShadowClan but is left barely able to speak above a whisper. She has Pipitkit (Tawnypaw/fur) moons later. Many cats question why she didn’t name Pipitkit after her brother. She states that she doesn’t want Pipitkit to be judged too harshly by her clanmates for not living up to Stoneclaw’s name, and that she shouldn’t even be judged by StarClan for having to carry that legacy.

WindClan cats see her as wise and smart for that statement. She’s rather annoyed by it since she’s being treated “like a messenger of StarClan”, but she doesn’t try and stop it

When WindClan returns, Tallstar tries to distance WindClan from the other clans. He claims it’s to give WindClan some time to rebuild, but in actuality it’s because he’s scared of losing more cats

Coalfoot advises Tallstar to try and get help from RiverClan, their neighbor. Tallstar hears of Whiteclaw’s death and claims that “RiverClan’s on edge after the death of their clanmate, it’s best we don’t ask for help while they’re greiving.”

Tallstar takes this time to casually visit his boyfriend in twolegplace, Jake.

Eaglepaw and Gorsepaw were really close. When Gorsepaw is killed, Eaglepaw is left alone and scared. Pipitpaw comforts him, along with Thrushwing and Morningflower.

Darkfoot has Nightkit and Weaselkit when Ashfoot as Crowkit, Downkit, and Hillkit. Downkit and Hillkit are sadly stillborn. Ashfoot becomes a bit overprotective of Crowkit.

Oatwhisker and Gorsetoe (Gorsetail) are mates. They find an abandoned BloodClan kit after the battle and decide to take him in. They name him Owlkit

Owlkit is nursed by Darkfoot, Ashfoot unwilling to out of fear something would happen to Crowkit.

Heathtail (Rusthtail) and Gorsetoe are brothers

RIVERCLAN

Shimmerpelt and Whitefang were taken by twolegs a moon before Into the Wild.

They were both fixed. Shimmerpelt’s kittypet name was Silk and Whitefang’s was Frosting.

When Fireheart and Graystripe bring Mistyfoot’s kits back, Fireheart is questioned by a few cats if he’s seen either of them (didn’t take long for RiverClan to find out he was formerly of a kittypet).

RiverClan are untrustworthy of ThunderClan due to Oakheart and Whiteclaw’s death. However, when Graystripe comes with his kits begging them for a place to stay, they let him stay in RiverClan.

RiverClan has a very strong sense of family, and will call off battles as soon as a cat dies.

Graystripe and Mosspelt become mates as they raise the kits (Dawnkit (Dawnflower) was born shortly before Featherkit and Stormkit, so they’re raised together).

Leopardfur, Whiteclaw’s mentor, and Blackclaw, Whiteclaw’s older brother, are the only ones who distrust Graystripe.

Heavystep, Shadepelt, and Silverpaw are all siblings born to Mallowtail. SIlverpaw ends up choking on a bit of fish and dying and camp. Nobody in RiverClan talks about it like they usually do about deaths due to how young Silverpaw was and how horrible his death was, being watched by everybody in camp

Heavypaw and Shadepaw have trouble eating after the death of their brother.

Crookedstar and Bluestar’s friendship after the fire in ThunderClan forest becomes the talk of the clan. Cats joke about it until Crookedstar tells them to politely shut up.

Crookedstar dies just before Tigerstar comes to talk to him. Leopardfur calls herself Leopardstar in hopes of intimidating Tigerstar, but quickly learns he isn’t there just to ‘talk’. She says yes to joining out to prevent his cats from attacking her in such a vulnerable state.

She doesn’t let Tigerstar know she doesn’t have nine lives out of fear he’d replace her for being weak. Only Stonefur and Mudfur know she doesn’t have nine lives.

Her original plan was to, with the help of Stonefur, take down TigerClan from the inside. This plan crumbles beneath her when RiverClan cats begin supporting Tigerstar and Stonefur is killed.

Tigerstar’s supporters are: Blackclaw, Grasswhisker, Skyheart, and Sunfish.

Grasswhisker and Skyheart die in the battle with BloodClan, and Sunfish and Blackclaw are exiled.

When The Battle with BloodClan is over, Leopardstar names Mistyfoot deputy then goes to get her nine lives. She begs StarClan for forgiveness and claims she’ll fix RiverClan and all her mistakes. She gets her nine lives and immediately starts work on fixing RiverClan. During this time she’s kind to her clan while a bit more harsh and snappy than she usually is to the other Clans.

Volekit and Brushkit (Swallowtail) are found in a sack by the river. Their sibling ended up drowning. Greenflower takes the two kits in.

(i am tired and i accidentally deleted a bunch of stuff so this isn’t all of it)

#windclan #thunderclan #riverclan #shadowclan #vomit mention #death mention #wc #warrior cats #warrior cats rewrite #wc rewrite #i am forgetting a few points and i know it but i cant remember them

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tigerdovefan34-realone · 5 years

Text

Leopardfoot AU Post #2 Electric Boogaloo

Since my post yesterday got a lot of likes, here is part 2 of it with more info.

Tiny is taken in by Thunderclan after Leopardfoot and Tigerpaw find him. Leopardfoot becomes his foster mum until he is an apprentice, which is when Sunstar takes up his training. Despite initial dislike for the newly named Whitepaw, due to what his father did, Tigerstripe eventually warms up and becomes a great friend of Whitefoot in the future

Leopardfoot is visited by Doestar the night after she is given Tigerpaw. Ofc, Doestar gives her the message she gave Pinestar and as you can imagine, Leopardfoot ain’t having it, telling Doestar and even Starclan to go screw themselves and she trains young Tigerpaw in a way that his prophecy still doesn’t happen

During one of their training sessions, Leopardfoot accidentally claws Tigerpaw, causing him to have that cut in his ear. Leopardfoot is horrorfied at what she did and begins to question if she is the right mentor for Tigerpaw. Before she heads to Sunstar, Bluefur spots her and stops her, telling her that she is Tigerpaw’s mentor and one mistake does not mean he’ll be scared. Tigerpaw understands that it was an accident and so Leopardfoot decides to continue mentoring him.

Thistleclaw continues to try to get close to Tigerpaw, but Leopardfoot keeps on hissing at him whenever he tries it, so he takes Tigerpaw to be trained in the Dark Forest. But when Thistleclaw reveals what they’re doing, Tigerpaw is ”Fuck this shit, I’m out!” and leaves, causing Thistleclaw to howl with rage and irritation at the stubborness of this one cat.

Tigerpaw tells Leopardfoot about what Thistleclaw and Leopard decides to tell Thistleclaw about her vision and the prophecy Goosefeather had told her. Tigerpaw is initially horrified at this news. After all, Thistleclaw was basically his foster dad. He hardens however and decides to oppose any idea Thistleclaw has no matter what.

At Tigerpaw’s First gathering, he meets an ambitious dark brown tabby tom from Shadowclan named Brokenpaw. While initially interested in what that cat has to say, he eventually leaves him when Brokenpaw is talking about his plan to seize power by any means necessary, due to his mother teaching him to avoid power and not actively seek it out.

Sometime after the Gathering, Leopardfoot is able to find Jake on a lone hunting patrol. Jake asks who she is, complimenting her on her radiant beauty. Leopard raises a brow at him in confusion and tells him her name before asking what his name is. Jake is stunned to hear the name Leopard and says “Pine will be ecstatic to hear this news!” Leopardfoot thinks it’s an odd name for a kittypet before realizing who Pine really is. She demands Jake take her to where he is, anger and fire in her eyes, and Jake agrees to take her. They reach Pine’s home and Jake says bye to her. Leopardfoot initially thinks about letting Pine have it but decides it wouldn’t be fair unless she brought Tigerpaw along as well, so Pine could see how much he hurt both of them.

The next day, the two had to the Fence and confront Pine and they let him have it! Leopardfoot tells him about the pain of raising a single kit without her mate after two other kits of her died from the same litter, how the clan stares at her in pity and curiosity, wondering if she’ll do the same thing Pinestar did, how Leopardfoot had to raise Tigerkit through her depressive state all alone with practically no support other than her son and then, quietly, she growls in his ear “and how dare you leave us because of a stupid prophecy from Starclan!” Then she growls about how he got what he wanted and hopes it was worth it.

Pine is about to respond, tear streaming down his face and the most apologetic and heartbroken look on his face ever but Tigerpaw interrupts him, talking about how hard it is for him to grow up in a clan that sees him as nothing more than a future kittypet, talking about how badly his life has been. Each statement sending the dagger into Pine’s heart much deeper until finally he breaks down and begs for forgiveness, saying he knows he did wrong and would do anything to change it, but Leopardfoot decides to let him wallow in his sorrow, too pissed at him to accept any apology from her coward of a former mate. Tigerpaw agrees and they both leave Pine, forcing him to look at what he did and cry about it on his lonesome.

A moon later, Leopardfoot, Tigerpaw, Thistleclaw, and Bluefur, are patrolling the Border near Twolegplace, when they’re suddenly attacked by a Shadowclan patrol. A few cats has Leopardfoot pinned and is about to seriously hurt her when a reddish-brown blur knocks into one of them, causing the cat to flee. The blur turns out to be Pine who fights the Shadowclan cats off as Tigerpaw battles his way to them.

Eventually, the Shadowclan cats are stopped and run and the TC patrol is about to celebrate until they look at Pine, who is bleeding profusely with scratches criss-crossing his pelt. He simply says to Leopardfoot “I know what I did can never be forgiven...but I hope you’ll remember me, love.” before passing on. Leopardfoot and Tigerpaw looks at his dead body and don’t know what to say, allowing Bluefur to say “Maybe he wasn’t such a coward after all...” The patrol nods in agreement with her and bury him his grave before leaving.

Leopardfoot and Tigerpaw constantly play with one another in private to keep up that familial bond. Whitepaw(Storm) is able to see one of these sessions and is stunned to see the two being so happy with one another, with the two chasing one another and playing tag and whenever Leopard captures her son, she gives him a tickle torture, causing Tigerpaw to squeal with laughter.

After this play session ends, White talks to Tiger about it, who is embarrassed and begs White to not tell anyone. He says he’ll think about it, on the condition that he is able to join one of them. Tigerpaw reluctantly agrees and brings Whitepaw along to his next play session. It’s a really great time between the biological and foster family.

When Tigerpaw gets his warrior name, it is the proudest day of his and Leopardfoot’s life. Doestar hisses in Leopardfoot’s ear “What have you done?!” but she ignores the Starclan cat, instead being proud of her boy.

When Tawnyspots retires, The clan is split into three camps for the next deputy, The more aggressive cats favor Thistleclaw, the much softer cats favor Bluefur, and the cats who are a mix of both but don’t want either favor Leopardfoot.

Initially, it looks like Bluefur may be Sunstar’s choice but she rejects the idea of being deputy after realizing that there will be plenty of cats skeptical of her and won’t support her if she does,so she instead endorses Leopardfoot, who does indeed become Deputy, to the chagrin of Thistleclaw.

From there forward, Apprentices from every clan call her the “Hottest Clan Deputy” as a running joke, though Thunderclan apprentices get smacked upside the head if they dare say it out loud near her. When she hears other clan apprentices say it, she rolls her eyes and ignores them, knowing it’s a simple apprentice game that they’ll soon grow out of.

When Leopardfoot becomes Pregnant, Tigerstripe almost attacks Thistle out of rage for using his mother but Blue, Whitestorm, Whitefoot, Sunstar, Honeyclaw, and Leopardfoot talk him out of it. Still, he makes Thistleclaw have a living hell for a while, as Tiger is overprotective of his mother.

When Leopard’s second litter is born, Tiger is proud to be their older brother and takes up the role with pleasure.

While Leopardfoot is in the nursery caring for her second litter, she and Sunstar grow quite close, as they do small hunting patrols and avoid border patrols. As the kits become weaned, the two get even closer as they play in a field near Thunderclan camp where Sunstar talks about everything in his life and Leopardfoot says that she thought she would never find happiness again. The two admit their feelings for one another then and there but a few weeks later, Sunstar loses his final life due to green cough.

With her second litter now apprentices, Leopardfoot heads to the Moonstone and receives her nine lives, becoming Leopardstar.

She initially thinks about making White Eye her deputy but the she-cat refuses the position, thus Bluefur is chosen.

Just because she’s leader doesn’t mean she’ll not partake in gossip though and she gossips a lot with Honeyclaw, who has a lot of dirt on her son, especially on his motion of the ocean ;)

Leopardstar constantly teases her son about this which embarrasses him to no end. He confronts Honeyclaw as to why she told his mother all that and how he’ll never forgive her. Honeyclaw says that he will, which causes Tigerstripe to question as to how come. Honeycaw simply brushes her tail around his neck, bat her eyes, and say “Because you love me.” which causes Tiger to get flustered, making Honey laugh heartily.

Rusty still arrives in Thunderclan but with a new prophecy. “Fire will sweep our clan”. She gives Firepaw to Thistleclaw after a short and successful with the cocky Runningfang(wind), the former apprentice of Redfang(tail), who was the apprentice of Thistle.

Thistle brutally trains Firepaw and turns him into a fierce warrior with little to no morals in achieving his goals. Firepaw is named Firefang.

Thistle winds up dead and it is revealed that Redfang, Runningfang, and Firefang all killed him so no one could get in their way.

Firefang and his followers, along with a very hostile Brackenclaw(fur) who was trained under Firefang, and Sandstorm, leave Thunderclan after Fire attempts a coup, a few moons after Bluefur’s death in a battle against Riverclan. Tigerstripe was appointed as the deputy after her. Firestar’s deputy is Redfang, who refuses to take up the star name if Firestar dies.

Upon becoming deputy, Leopardstar decides to tell Tigerstripe of the destiny he was supposed to have and how it has changed. Tigerstripe is initially shocked at the news that Starclan dare try and have him killed because of an uncertain future. Leopardstar then says “However, you proved them wrong, Tigey. You always prove everyone wrong.” Tiger smiles widely at her and replies with “Because of you.” and the to hug it out, as mother and son.

An alternative bloodclan arrives in the forest and nearly takes over after killing Firestar of Shadowclan, who aligned with Windclan to form Waterclan, while the two Leopardstar’s merged their clans to form Waterclan, a jab at Fireclan’s name. Firestar dies nine times and all of his followers, except Sandstorm, are killed in the battle. Applefur becomes the next leader of Shadowclan and makes Tangleburr her deputy.

Thunderclan’s Leopardstar survives the battle as well as Riverclan’s while Deadfoot and Tallstar are also killed in the battle, replaced by Onewhisker and Mudstar respectfully.

Thunderclan’s Leopardstar survives to a moon or two after the clans have settled down at the lake, thanking everyone for her wonderful life and wishing Tigerstripe the best of luck in his leadership.

Tigerstripe and Honeyclaw’s third litter has a single black tabby she-kit, who is named Leopardkit in honor of Thunderclan’s most important leader.

Tigerstripe heads to the moonstone and gets his nine lives from Leopardstar, Pine, Bluefur, Whitefoot (who died in the battle against the alt bloodclan), Mistkit, Nightkit, Doestar (who congratulates Tiger on going against his former destiny and creating a new one),Lionheart (who was killed by Firefang in a desperate bid to get closer to power), and Goosefeather.

The Newly christened Tigerstar returns to Thunderclan, appointing Whitestorm as his deputy and declaring that Thunderclan will continue the progress made by Leopardstar as they go to the future under him.

This is all I got now. What do ya’ll think? (Likes, Reblogs, and Comments appreciated)

#leopardfoot #Leopardfoot needs more love #leopardfoot au #bluefur #tigerclaw #tigerstar #warrior cats #au #warrior cats au #sasha #thistleclaw #firestar #whitestorm #scourge #sunstar #pinestar #doestar #goosefeather #bluestar

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fortheloveofwarriors · 5 years

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Warriors: Blossoms in the Tide: Into the Wild: Chapter 4

As the moon slowly rose into the sky, the cats of Thunderclan started heading to their dens. Most of the clan was in a joyous mood; while they hadn't chased Riverclan off of Sunningrocks, Riverclan had forfeited the fight when the cave in took their deputy's life. Rosestar had only allowed them to stay so that they could retrieve the body. The clan was simply happy that the land they believed to be theirs was back in their paws.

Mistycloud sat sandwiched between her littermates, lightly purring as her brother lapped the back of her neck. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her younger brothers across camp. Ravenpaw, the sensitive little thing he was, had insisted that Dustpaw let him treat the wound on his lower lip. Seeing where her eyes had wandered, Stonetooth huffed. “I still can't believe Darkstripe had Dusty attack a kittypet kit.”

She rolled her eyes at her brother's name for their spirited sibling. Dustpaw had honestly outgrown such names but Stonetooth didn't seem capable of letting it go. “Darkstripe may not be that great of a cat but he is a decent warrior; Dustpaw will be a warrior in no time,” she assured. Darkstripe had been mentored by Tigerclaw, the clan deputy. Surely he had knowledge to pass down.

Her brother merely huffed again. “I still say the only thing he's teaching him is how to be a thug,” the tom muttered with his tail flicking behind him. Mistycloud cast a sidelong glance at her grey-and-white sister.

The molly had been strangely silent since that morning. Normally she'd be having a playful debate with Stonetooth with Mistycloud having to act as a sort of mediator. Yet tonight she was curled in on herself, seemingly lost in thought. “Everything okay?” she asked quietly. She didn't get a response, which only made her worry more.

“Mosspath!” she meowed a bit louder, leaning closer to the molly's ear.

Mosspath jerked back, startled by the sudden noise. She gave her littermates a wide eyed look; by now, even Stonetooth was giving her a worried look. “Oh, sorry,” she muttered in embarrassment. “Stonetooth, stop doing… the thing that Mistycloud is upset about,” she halfheartedly meowed, her mind clearly still elsewhere.

Her siblings just looked at her for a moment with looks questioning the seriousness of her “attempt” at showing she was okay. “Okay!” Stonetooth said as he got to his paws. In a heartbeat, he was settling back down beside Mosspath, making sure she had love, comfort, and undivided attention from either side. “What's wrong?” he asked matter of factly.

Mosspath looked frantically between them a touch frantically before meowing, “Nothing!” in a none too convincing voice. It was clear that the grey patched molly knew she had failed to convince her siblings. She sighed at her inevitable defeat and looked warily around the camp. “I was just thinking of the battle today,” she relented.

“Oh, Mosspath; you can’t think it was your fault! You couldn’t possibly have known that it would collapse,” Mistycloud interjected, her heart panged at the thought of her littermate having a sense of survivor’s guilt.

“I mean, that's a little impossible…” Mosspath meowed with a puzzled expression. “I can't really explain here,” she whispered so quietly that she was barely audible. Her siblings followed her light blue eyes to the Highrock. Rosestar had just emerged with Tigerclaw and Lionheart; none of them looked happy. What could empathetic Mosspath have to hide from high ranking clan officials?

The molly didn't speak another word; she only jerked her head before getting to her paws. The trio padded swiftly to the camp entrance. It was late but no one would question them so long as they didn't stay out too long.

The forest was filled with the sounds of chirping crickets and cicadas. The long grass, already covered in dew, soaked their pelts as they walked along. Mosspath led the trio to the Great Sycamore, one of the tallest trees in Thunderclan territory. Mosspath leapt onto one of the lower branches before laying down and curling her thick, fuzzy tail over her paws.

“Well, what's going on?” Stonetooth asked her as he and Mistycloud sat down on a couple of large roots.

Their sister didn't answer right away. Instead, she answered with her own question. “Have either of you ever fought Oakwatcher?” Stonetooth and Mistycloud shook their heads in confusion. What did it matter if they ever fought the deputy?

“It was so strange,” Mosspath told them. “Rosestar was fighting some Riverclan molly. I was the only open cat; each side had just enough cats for everyone to fight one on one. Oakwatcher was charging for Rosestar which was fair enough; she was clearly no match for Rosestar. Still, I didn't want Rosestar being outnumbered so I cut Oakwatcher off,” she told them before staring off into space, her eyes staring a hole into the branch she sat on.

“What happened?” Mistycloud asked her in a whisper, sure that her sister would still be able to hear her.

“He sheathed his claws,” she revealed, her light blue eyes still on the branch. “I tried to actually fight him, but he just tried to push me away or get around me. Even when we were in the cave, he refused to strike back. He looked so sad...” Her voice sounded like it was getting tight.

Mistycloud and Stonetooth gave each other a concerned look. ‘Gods, please don't let this go where I think it is,’ Mistycloud silently prayed. One look at herself and her siblings was all the reminder she needed. Their clanmates had longer, strong legs and thick, fluffy coats. Her and her siblings had shorter, thicker fur, legs far too short to be Thunderclan, and shorter tails than any of their clanmates. Every cat in every clan could see from looking at them that the cat who got Bluestorm pregnant lived across the river. Yet, despite that, none of them had ever met a Riverclan cat who was unwilling to fight them.

“Mosspath… I'm all for family sharing everything but please… don't do this. We've all dealt with that already…” Stonetooth said, his voice just above a whisper. His eyes, the same as their mother's, were rounder than Mistycloud had thought possible.

“When the cave started collapsing, Oakwatcher noticed first,” she continued, not paying any mind to her brother's request. Her voice sounded tight and a bit distressed. “He pushed me out,” she finished.

Mistycloud felt frozen. She could still remember that day when she was nine moons old… Bluestorm had sat her first litter down and told them why their clanmates had started looking at them strangely. Her brother had been distraught, yowling to the heavens how their mother was a liar, that she had to be. After all, if Thrushcloud wasn't their father, who was? Bluestorm had refused to answer. She would only say that Thrushcloud was their father in all the ways that mattered; he just wasn't who got her pregnant.

Stonetooth had ran, seeking Thrushcloud for comfort and reassurance. Mosspath had been in turmoil; most Thunderclan apprentices only visit the Moonstone once before their warrior ceremony. Mosspath, in need of guidance, visited three additional times.

But it was different then, when they lacked a face or a name. Now, to know that it was most likely the Riverclan deputy… It just brought an entirely new round of questions to the forefront. She was broken from her thoughts by Stonetooth hissing beside her. “Is that all you had to say?” he snarled.

“He… he saved my life… he refused to hurt me,” Mosspath meowed, her confusion shining in her eyes as she looked at her brother sadly. “If he’s our fath-”

“He is not our father!” Stonetooth screeched, his voice echoing off the trees around them. Seeing Mosspath flinch back, he started taking some deep breaths. “It doesn’t matter who got her pregnant, our father is Thrushcloud...Why are you trying to say different now?” he asked her, his voice sounding broken.

“I’m not!” Mosspath insisted, her paws furiously kneading the bark beneath them. “But if it’s true then he had to have cared,” she insisted while giving Mistycloud a pleading look.

“If he cared so much, then where was he?” their brother challenged, his tail lashing behind him. “Who played with us as kits? Who’s the cat who would sit with us when Bluestorm needed a rest? It certainly wasn’t Oakwatcher!” by this point he was on his paws, tail lashing behind him.

“Stonetooth,” Mistycloud implored, getting to her feet and moving between her siblings. She kept her ears pinned and her body lowered, pleading with him to calm down. “He saved our sister’s life,” she reminded. True, he hadn’t been there for them but it had to mean something.

Stonetooth turned his back to them. “So? The way Riverclan talked about him, he would have done that for any cat!” he hissed as he walked away. “He’s just another enemy warrior,” he insisted as he reached the main forest again. “Just another fish face,” he muttered so quietly that Mistycloud wasn’t sure she had actually heard him.

He slid into the underbrush, leaving behind a confused and hurting sister on a tree branch. Yet Mistycloud could only imagine how hurt and confused Stonetooth, who had always tried to be their biggest protector, had to be feeling to lash out as he did. And there she was, between the two, unsure of her own feelings but left to pick up the pieces.

#warriors: blossoms in the tide #into the wild #thunderclan #thunderclan chapter #chapter 4 #chapter four #let me know what you think so far #ask me anything

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warriorsrewrite · 5 years

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Enter the Wild Chapter 9

( you can either read it under the cut, or here on ao3. it’d be very much appreciated if you interacted with both ! )

“Yellowfang…?” Graypaw took a cautious step forward. “You’re Yellowfang, aren’t you?”

She certainly looked like Yellowfang with her flat face and bright orange eyes, but she was also very different from the healer Firepaw had met over two moons ago. Her coat was matted like she hadn’t had the time to groom in moons, and she was limping on her hind leg. But the most drastic change visible was four distinct claw marks raked across her muzzle.

Graypaw suddenly gasped, and when Firepaw looked to see what had spooked him, he saw that his gaze was locked on those scars, his fear scent creeping back up as he took back his step. “That…” he stammered weakly, “that’s an… exile mark, isn’t it?”

An exile mark , Firepaw thought with alarm. He had heard about exile as a form of punishment, most notably when he had the fear of receiving a nightmare while visiting the Moonstone, but he hadn’t heard of anyone alive that had gone through it. And though he had heard of exile, this was the first time he had heard about an ‘exile mark’. The name carried a weight to it that sent shivers of unease down his spine.

“But…” Graypaw continued, or at least tried through his nervousness, “but you’re a healer… How can a healer get an exile mark?” He visibly swallowed. “What… what did you do to get it?”

The dark ginger molly, who was still on guard and had been the entire time, spat at the ground, “I’m not Yellowfang. Not anymore… I became Yellow after I was given this.” She lifted her head higher so the exile mark was more visible. Her voice was raspy like Firepaw remembered it to be, but it was also weaker, and it was obvious she was in need of a drink. She glanced up at the two of them and gave a low chuckle, free of mirth. “I suppose I should be lucky I came across two puny apprentices instead of a patrol full of warriors. Perhaps StarClan has not abandoned me after all…” She sniffed at them. “You’re Spottedleaf’s apprentice, aren’t you? What was it? Graypaw? And you… you were with him when he came to the Moonstone. Flamepaw… Blazepaw… Emberpaw…?”

“ Fire paw,” he muttered, feeling annoyance under his confusion of the situation.

She smirked at him. “Look scrawny enough to be a Squirrelpaw to me.”

He bristled, but Graypaw stepped over to him before he could respond. “You’re not answering my questions.” It seemed that he had gotten back his courage, as his voice no longer shook. “How exactly did you get an exile mark?”

Yellow glared down Graypaw. “Are you sure you want to know, kit?”

“Before I have to call a patrol on you, you should start explaining,” he said firmly, returning the stare even though his tail twitched uncomfortably.

Eventually she grunted, “all right then, but you have to promise you’ll listen to everything I have to say.”

Both Graypaw and Firepaw nodded.

Yellow sighed, briefly closing her eyes before finally saying, “I was accused of killing kits.”

Immediately Graypaw’s pelt was bristling, his hackles rising as horror dawned on his face. “Killing kits…” he repeated quietly.

Firepaw swallowed thickly. If he had learned anything about Clan life, it was that killing kits and healers were the most heinous crimes imaginable. But instead of saying anything, both he and Graypaw stayed silent to keep their promise, however difficult it was. To try and comfort the both of them, he pressed his flank to Graypaw’s as he prepared to hear the rest of the tale.

“ Accused ,” Yellow repeated with a hiss. “I would never even dream of doing such a thing. I’m a healer for StarClan’s sake; I help bring kits into this world, not take their lives! But I supposed it was the only thing Brokentail could think of to get rid of me without too much of an uprising…”

“Brokentail…?” Firepaw murmured. “You mean Brokenstar? Why would the leader of ShadowClan want to get rid of their healer?”

She spat to the ground. “No, I mean Broken tail. When he forced me and Runningnose to take him to the Moonstone to grant him his nine lives after he… killed Raggedstar, StarClan did not grant him his wish. He woke up screaming from a nightmare about his own death. But instead of obeying the will of StarClan, he declared our ancestors to be fools and forbade both Runningnose and I from going back to the Moonstone. When he returned to ShadowClan, he lied to the Clan by saying he had received all nine lives, further tricking them by having them think StarClan had really allowed him to do this…” She shook her head harshly. “Of course I was against everything, but he threatened me with all of his allies if I dared speak the truth. Once he realized even that wouldn’t stop me… he knew he had to drive me out before I could jeopardize his rule.”

Graypaw’s fur had mostly settled itself the more Yellow continued to speak, and once she became quiet, he asked softly, “if you were accused of killing kits, why didn’t they just kill you? The punishment for doing such a crime is death. Instead… you were exiled?”

A humorless laugh escaped Yellow’s lips. “When he ‘exposed’ my crime to the Clan, he announced that because of my position as healer, and because… because I personally brought him into this world… he would spare my life and exile me instead.” To herself, she muttered sarcastically, “and what a kind deed that was…”

Firepaw’s ears perked up. “You’re… Brokentail’s mother?”

“Yes… Raggedstar had been my mate before… well, you know.” He saw sorrow flash across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced again by anger.

“If you didn’t kill those kits…” Graypaw asked hesitantly, “then who did?”

“Brokentail, of course. He took them out of camp, killed them, and called on me to try and heal them. Little did I know his only goal was to get my scent all over them to make his story more believable. There were some who didn’t believe it, but they were too frightened to speak up and follow my fate.” She looked between them. “I’m sure you know that a cat with an exile mark is to be killed on sight if found on any Clan territory.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Firepaw challenged. “This is ThunderClan territory. Did you come here intent on dying?”

Yellow’s tail lashed out. “Perhaps I did. Or perhaps I thought there was a chance I would be spared upon recognition, knowing that I… used to be a healer. Either situation would be better than starving to death.”

Graypaw scanned her over. “How long have you been exiled…?”

“For around a moon, I’m guessing. It’s hard to keep track when you can barely sleep.”

Firepaw’s eyes widened considerably. “You’ve been fending for yourself for around a moon?! When was the last time you ate?” When Yellow didn’t respond, he stepped forward and plucked a rabbit from his pile, bringing it over to the old cat. Yellow tensed as he set it in front of her, but he backed away as soon as it fell from his mouth. “Eat.”

She raised a brow. “Are you sure? No matter what I haven’t done, I’m still an exiled cat.”

“But before you were a healer, and since joining ThunderClan, I’ve been taught that healers, especially those your elder, should be respected no matter which Clan they belong to.” He paused. “Or… don’t belong to, in this case.”

Yellow huffed, but finally settled down with a rough sigh. “I’m not that old…” she muttered to herself as she bit into the rabbit. Firepaw smiled when she couldn’t hide her small purr of bliss.

Graypaw made a worried noise beside him. “I’m not sure everyone will agree with this…” he murmured. “I’m not saying that it’s the wrong thing to do, but I’d expect your usual haters to protest once they find out.” Firepaw hummed lowly and nodded, mentally preparing himself for whatever awaited him once they returned to camp. “Anyway, there was a patrol sent to WindClan a little while before I left camp; they should be around here somewhere by now. I’ll go tell them what happened and send them back here, then I’ll stop by camp to inform Bluestar of everything.” He glanced to Yellow. “If you’re fine with me doing that, of course.”

“As long as I can keep eating this rabbit, I’m fine with anything,” Yellow muttered through a full mouth.

“All right then,” Graypaw sighed, looking to Firepaw. “You can keep an eye on her until I get back, right?”

“Of course,” he replied before lowering his voice, “I mean, looking at the condition she’s in, I don’t think she could get very far even if she does try to sneak off.”

“I heard that,” Yellow called, still chewing on a large bite. “It’s very rude to whisper about someone when they’re not even a fox-length away, you know.”

Firepaw’s ear tips burned as he glared in her direction while Graypaw chuckled. “Good luck,” he whispered to Firepaw as he slipped past and towards the WindClan border. He watched him go before nervously turning back to look at Yellow.

The old molly licked her lips, then sighed. “I don’t remember the last time I was this full…” she muttered, turning herself around to try and groom her matted fur, though Firepaw knew it would take many long sessions to get it back to what it once was.

They both sat there wordlessly after that as Firepaw tried to think of something to say to break the awkward silence. He was opening his mouth to try and make small talk when his eyes landed on the leftovers Yellow hadn’t finished. Whatever he was going to ask slipped from his mind as his stomach growled. Graypaw was no longer there to distract him from his hunger and a tempting part of his mind told him that if he didn’t eat the rest of the rabbit, it would go to waste.

Yellow lifted her head and saw him staring intently at the rabbit, beginning to sneer. “Oh, is someone hungry?” she asked lowly. “Well, I’m not going to eat the rest of that; my stomach isn’t as big as it used to be. So… do as you please with it.” Her smirk grew wider. “It really would be a shame to let all that meat go to waste, though…”

Firepaw swallowed, Yellow’s words not helping him drive off the temptation. But… that same part of his mind whispered, isn’t wasting prey almost as bad as eating before you’re told? If you tried to bring this back to camp, it’d be crowfood before anyone would be able to eat it. Besides, it’s only one bite. Hardly a meal for anyone…

As his treacherous mind tried to convince him, Yellow nudged the rabbit bones and meat closer to him with one of her paws, brow raised as if in challenge. She doesn’t think I’ll do it, he realized. She thinks I’d rather let the rest of it go to waste than eat it for myself. Well, I know what to do to wipe that smug grin off of her face…

While staring her straight in the eye, Firepaw bent down and gobbled the rabbit up, trying his best to hide the pleasure of finally having something in his belly after a long morning of hunting. Yellow blinked at him, then wheezed out a laugh. “My, maybe I should have paid more attention to you when we first met. You sure are an interesting kit, all right.”

“I’m not a kit…” he muttered, licking his lips as the guilt started to come to him. Had he really done that just to spite an old, exiled molly? He groaned to himself; now he really was going to be in trouble. Maybe if he was quick enough he could get rid of the evidence before -

“So, it is true,” a sharp voice suddenly said. Firepaw spun around in time to watch as a group of three cats entered the small clearing where they sat. Firepaw felt his heart sink to the ground as he realized the one who spoke to be Tigerclaw, and following behind him were Willowpelt and Darkstripe. “Yellowfang, one of ShadowClan’s healers, is here in ThunderClan territory.” His harsh yellow gaze fell upon her scars. “And she has an exile mark as well. I suppose that would just make her Yellow, then. Seems that your brother wasn’t lying after all, Darkstripe.”

Darkstripe spat, “he’s no brother of mine if he willingly let an exiled cat be left alone with a kittypet.”

Of course it had to be these two who were a part of the WindClan patrol, Firepaw thought with an inward groan. He glanced behind him and saw that Yellow was back on her guard, crouching with her fur bristling. Tigerclaw took a menacing step forward, but Firepaw was quick to dash between them. “Wait - ” he tried to say, but froze when Tigerclaw sniffed the air. His face darkened, and Firepaw knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“You fed this cat?” Tigerclaw growled lowly, taking another step forward. Firepaw swallowed and mirrored the step backwards. “And by the smell of you, you also decided to feed yourself while you were at it. Feeding an exiled cat and yourself before the rest of the Clan…” Tigerclaw moved another step forward while Firepaw stumbled over his own step back. “This isn’t looking good for you. Now, before you make this worse for yourself, step aside so I can deal with this scum.”

Firepaw felt his stance shaking, but he didn’t move a muscle.

He heard Yellow shuffle nervously from behind him. “It’s fine, Firepaw,” she hissed, “you shouldn’t throw away your life for someone like me. Do as he says and step aside.”

But he still didn’t move, ignoring her quiet plea.

“Step aside , Firepaw!” Yellow repeated, louder and with a small hint of worry.

Impatience written clear as day on his face, Tigerclaw took another step forward and shouted, “ Move! ” Firepaw flinched, ready to take a strike, but then a quiet voice spoke up and interrupted whatever was going his way.

“Tigerclaw, wait just a moment.” The voice belonged to Willowpelt, who had previously been standing silently next to Darkstripe. But now she slowly stepped forward, placing herself in front of the larger warrior. “Whatever her name and status is now, this is Yellowfang . She’s been a healer since before we were born. Don’t you think it’s odd such a respected healer has been exiled so soon after Brokenstar took control of ShadowClan?” She glanced in Firepaw’s direction. “And to have a loyal ThunderClan apprentice protect her so fiercely…” She looked back to Tigerclaw, gaze leveled on his chin. “You don’t believe there’s more to the story than just the exile mark?”

Before he could respond, the bushes rustled to reveal Bluestar emerging from them. “Willowpelt’s right, there is more to the story,” she said sternly. “Graypaw told me everything along the way.” As if summoned, Graypaw padded from the bushes as well, panting slightly. He scanned the clearing and upon seeing how close Tigerclaw was to Firepaw, quickly came to stand by Firepaw’s side. Bluestar also noted this and narrowed her eyes at Tigerclaw. “Stand down,” she commanded quietly.

Tigerclaw’s eye twitched, but he obeyed with a low dip to his head, taking several steps back until he was by Darkstripe.

Satisfied, Bluestar finally turned her attention to Yellow. The old molly had calmed down since Bluestar’s arrival, but she still looked warily at the leader, as if she expected Bluestar to sic Tigerclaw on her at a moment’s notice. “Yellowfang,” Bluestar began, her tone softened.

But before she could continue, Yellow muttered under her breath, “it’s Yellow , now.”

“…Yellow,” Bluestar corrected herself. “I’ve heard the story you told these apprentices, and I’ve decided to allow you shelter in ThunderClan.” Tigerclaw rose to protest, but a flick of her tail quickly silenced him. “That is, if you answer any and all questions we have for you.”

Yellow gazed at her for a long while, but eventually nodded. “If that is all I must do, then I will cooperate,” she murmured.

Bluestar returned the nod. “The Clan will hear your story once we return.” She glanced towards Tigerclaw, Willowpelt, and Darkstripe. “They will also hear about what one of our border patrols found.”

Firepaw blinked, following her gaze to the patrol. They found something over by WindClan? He looked to Graypaw, but he wasn’t looking at him, instead staring at the ground with unease.

Tigerclaw took a small step forward, head still bowed. “Bluestar,” he said cautiously. When she didn’t dismiss him, he continued, “when we arrived, we found evidence that Firepaw had fed Yellow, as well as himself.” His intense gaze slid towards Firepaw, who felt his dread creep into his bones. “As you know, it is against the warrior code to feed yourself before the Clan has been fed.”

When Bluestar’s eyes landed on Firepaw, it was everything he could do not to flinch in terror. “I see…” she murmured. “Then his punishment will also be announced during the Clan meeting. Once she hears, I expect Brindleface to be very disappointed, and talk to him about how important it is to follow all of the warrior code, even one as small as waiting one’s turn to eat.”

Shame filtered in with the dread as Firepaw kept his gaze to the ground. He could even feel Graypaw’s disbelieving eyes on him, which made it worse.

Bluestar cleared her throat. “Now, then, Willowpelt and Darkstripe will escort Yellow to camp. Until the Clan is satisfied with her story and her answers, she will be ThunderClan’s prisoner. But - ” she glanced at Tigerclaw, eyes firm - “I expect that she will still be treated with respect. Is that understood?”

Willowpelt murmured her agreement with Darkstripe copying only a moment later. Tigerclaw seemed to bite back something he wanted to say, but in the end only nodded stiffly.

“Good,” she said before turning her gaze to Graypaw. “And don’t think you get out of this scotch free. Spottedleaf will want to know why you were out here when you should be at camp learning.”

Graypaw swallowed, but nodded with his head low. “Yes, Bluestar.”

She hummed quietly. “Then I suppose that settles everything.” She looked to Yellow, who had gotten up to stand, but was favoring one of her hind legs. “Will you be able to walk?” she asked calmly.

“Of course,” Yellow spat, though her voice barely held any venom in it. “I’m really not that old…” Slowly, she began to move forward, Willowpelt and Darkstripe silently flanking her. She shot an especially dirty look to Darkstripe, who blinked in surprise about how open she was in her hostility, but didn’t dare say anything in Bluestar’s presence.

Firepaw couldn’t quite tell from where he sat, but he thought he heard Bluestar give a small chuckle.

“Let’s go, then,” Bluestar finally said, leading the way back through the bushes and towards camp. Yellow followed behind her with her two guards, Firepaw - after grabbing the rest of his prey - and Graypaw walking close behind them. Tigerclaw, after giving out a low growl only Firepaw seemed to hear, took up the rear of the party, and Firepaw felt as thought he could feel his glare at the back of his head.

“Did you really eat with Yellow?” Graypaw asked in a whisper.

Firepaw sighed, nodding his head with difficulty. “I was too hungry to think, and Yellow certainly wasn’t helping,” he said through the fur and feathers. “She practically goaded me into doing it…”

“That was pretty mouse-brained…” Graypaw murmured with a hint of teasing in his voice. “I was gone for only a couple of heartbeats and you go and do that.” He clicked his tongue. “Guess I really shouldn’t let you out of my sight then, huh.”

Firepaw snorted. “Oh, yeah, I’d be utterly lost without you around.”

“You know it.”

The rest of the journey was quick and quiet. Once they neared the gorse tunnel, Bluestar paused, taking in a breath as if to prepare herself, before pushing her way through and leading the rest of the group in.

Most of the Clan was already out in the clearing, waiting for their arrival. It wasn’t everyday a healer apprentice suddenly called the leader away with no explanation to the rest of the Clan, after all. As soon as Yellow stepped through, her exile mark on full display, gasps and shocked whispers echoed through the clearing, multiple cats taking a few steps back.

Lionheart was quick to approach them. “Bluestar…?” he asked hesitantly, eyes drawn to Yellow with thinly veiled confusion.

“I’ll explain everything in just a moment,” was all she said, brushing past him. “Bring Yellow to the foot of the Highrock. Make sure no cat comes near her,” she called to Willowpelt and Darkstripe, who quickly and wordlessly obeyed.

Firepaw slunk away to place all of his kill on the freshkill pile before he quickly followed the group to the Highrock, knowing he would need to be present during the meeting for the announcement of his punishment. Graypaw stuck by his side, which he was thankful for, though he knew part of the reason was to avoid speaking with Spottedleaf for as long as he could. He didn’t blame him; he sure wasn’t looking forward to hearing Brindleface’s lecture after all of this.

Bluestar was quick to jump on the Highrock, calling out the words, “all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!”

As the rest of the Clan gathered, Firepaw spotted Ravenpaw exiting the apprentice’s den. He saw the black apprentice spot Yellow, confusion and horror dawning his face before he found Firepaw and Graypaw in the crowd. Running past Sandpaw, who gave him a nasty glare for almost knocking her over, Ravenpaw quickly came to their sides.

“What’s happening?” he asked with a quiver in his voice. “Why is one of ShadowClan’s healers here, and why does she have an… an exile mark ?”

“It’s… complicated,” Firepaw murmured. “But Bluestar’s going to explain everything. Just… try to stay open minded about it.”

“I’m not worried about Ravenpaw,” Graypaw muttered, eyes trained on Tigerclaw. The dark brown tabby had made his way over to Longtail and was whispering into the younger warrior’s ear. “There are some cats who will need some serious convincing to allow this…”

Firepaw nodded, watching as Longtail’s face darkened.

“ThunderClan,” Bluestar suddenly spoke, immediately quieting any more whispers, “as you can see, we have a guest with us.

“Guest?” Runningfoot called out, pelt bristling. “She has an exile mark! How can she be a guest ?”

Many cats voiced their agreement, but all were silenced when Bluestar lifted her tail. “I will explain if you let me.” Her gaze scanned the crowd, and when no one spoke up again, she continued, “many of you may recognize this guest of ours. This is Yellow, formerly Yellowfang, and she was a healer of ShadowClan.” She paused to let that sink in. “Yes, I know you are confused. As was I when I first heard. How can a healer get an exile mark? Healers do not kill, and they do not want for power. But we all know the state ShadowClan is in right now. It seems that Brokenstar has not stopped at taking power for himself; he has abandoned StarClan altogether.

“Yellow has come to us with the story that Brokenstar falsely accused her of killing kits in order to stop her from telling the truth that StarClan did not give him nine lives, and instead rejected him with a nightmare at the Moonstone.” Cries of outrage sounded from the clearing, and Bluestar let them be for just a moment before calling for silence once more. “Spottedleaf.”

The healer stepped forward. “Yes, Bluestar?”

“As a healer, you know with a glance how many lives a cat has. You were at the last Gathering when Brokenstar claimed himself leader. Can you confirm that he did not have his nine lives?”

Spottedleaf’s brow furrowed as she thought back, then her eyes widened with realization. “Yes… yes, I do believe that’s true. He did not have the same aura as a newly appointed leader should. I suppose I was too shocked to fully notice.”

The Clan broke out into murmurs once more. “Then he is not Brokenstar like he claims he is,” Goldenflower loudly said for the clearing to hear. “He is still Brokentail in the eyes of StarClan.” At Spottedleaf’s nod, the volume of shock increased so much Bluestar had to caterwaul in order to maintain order.

“With evidence from our own healer, I can say that I believe Yellow’s story. But, in order for her to stay here, she will have to answer the questions we have about another piece of news a patrol found out today…” Bluestar’s frown was hard set, and she paused briefly, as if unsure how to tell it. Finally, she lifted her head to deliver the tale, “WindClan has been driven out of their territory by ShadowClan.”

If the clearing had been loud before, it was deafening now. Firepaw could barely hear each individual shout and question being thrown Bluestar’s way.

“How can this be?!” one cried.

“WindClan has always been on the small side… and to think the largest Clan drove them out… I don’t think they would have stood a chance,” another mourned.

“Where did they go? Where could they go?”

“Why would they do such a thing? The territories are supposed to have four Clans, as decreed by StarClan! Was SkyClan’s sacrifice not enough?”

As the shouting continued, Firepaw glanced to see Yellow’s reaction. Though his view was being partially blocked by standing cats, he could see her ears were pinned to the back of her head. Her head was lowered as her gaze stuck to the ground, so he could not gauge what her expression looked like.

Soon all voices quickly died down, not at Bluestar’s command, but when they all saw Brindleface, belly round with her WindClan mate’s unborn kits, padding up to the Highrock. Firepaw’s heart sank to the sandy ground as he saw his mentor look up at Bluestar with pure confusion. “All of WindClan… gone?” she asked hoarsely. “Were there… any casualties?”

Bluestar looked at Brindleface with softened eyes. “I do not know the details, but the leader of the patrol does.” She glanced up to the clearing’s edge. “Tigerclaw, if you would come up here and tell the Clan everything you know.”

Tigerclaw straightened, and if Firepaw thought the warrior was able to show any kind of happiness, he would say Tigerclaw’s face had a look of glee to it. He dipped his head briefly. “I would be honored to,” he said, making his way through the crowd. He leaped onto the Highrock like he was meant to be there, standing taller than Bluestar as he looked down at the rest of his Clanmates.

“ThunderClan,” he began, voice booming across the clearing, “as you know, I was the leader of the WindClan patrol. We began shortly after sunrise, and knew something was wrong as soon as we arrived at the border. There was little to no WindClan scent. Instead, it was ShadowClan that we smelled. I made the decision to lead my patrol deeper into the moor to find more information. The further we went, the more evidence there was that WindClan occupied the moor no more. Eventually, we came upon what was left of their camp. There we found the bodies of some senior WindClan warriors, along with a caretaker. We identified Pigeonwing, Wrenflight, Rabbitbelly, and Ryestalk.” He paused to look Brindleface in the eyes. “There was no evidence of any further WindClan death that we found, other than the blood from the battle.”

Brindleface relaxed immensely, but it was clear that her mind was still troubled. As questions began to spark up again, Firepaw watched as Spottedleaf padded to her side and led her gently towards the nursery.

“Did no ShadowClan warrior die?” someone shouted in disbelief above the noise.

“As I said, there was no evidence of any more deaths besides the bodies we found. However, if ShadowClan did indeed chase WindClan out of their territory, then they would have had time to gather their own dead to bury them properly. It was obvious WindClan did not have the same privilege.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“The bodies were not fresh, and it was no pretty sight. At least a half moon has passed since they died, if not more. We, of course, respectfully buried them outside their camp.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

Tigerclaw opened his mouth to answer, but Bluestar brushed past him to answer for herself, “we can only increase our patrols even more. Camp will have at least two guards on watch all the time. No one goes out unless it’s necessary, and they must be accompanied by at least two cats, one of which must be a warrior. The next Gathering is in a few days, and we will wait to confront ShadowClan there while the peace treaty of the fullmoon is behind us.” She glanced down at Yellow. “But there is something we can do now; get more information. Yellow.”

Yellow flinched, but turned herself around so she was facing the leader. Tigerclaw audibly growled at her, but Bluestar cut him off with a warning glare.

“Thank you for giving us your report, Tigerclaw,” Bluestar said with the faint hint of ice in her voice. “You may return to the clearing now.”

Tigerclaw hesitated for a heartbeat before he nodded and leaped off the Highrock, sulking back to the darker edges of the clearing where he previously sat.

“Yellow,” Bluestar said again, calling all attention back onto the former healer. “It is my understanding that you have been exiled for around a moon. Did you know of this plan?”

Silence filled the clearing for the first time since the meeting started. Yellow shifted and eventually nodded. “Yes, I was aware of it.”

Shouts of anger rose up, but Bluestar hushed them to allow Yellow to continue.

“I knew of Brokentail’s hunger for power, for more territory, for more cats to control. He wishes ShadowClan to take over as the leader of all Clans. I had overheard him talking with his followers about an attack on WindClan, saying that if they did not cooperate, they would run them off the moor and then take their land… and their kits.”

Bluestar’s brow rose. “And why would ShadowClan want more kits? That means more mouths to feed. It would be moons before they were ready to become apprentices.”

Yellow shook her head. “Brokentail wanted the kits because they were the easiest to control. And… he didn’t need to wait for them to become of age.” She paused, visibly swallowing. “Because he was already making underaged kits into apprentices.”

#warriors #warrior cats #wc #warriors rewrite #enter the wild #chapter 9 #long post

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Ep 02 Transcript: Ass Ticks

Episode 2

[intro music]

PAZ: Hi everyone, welcome back to Stairway to Starclan, our Warriors Cat reread pawdcast that we have a name for. We have cover art. We're in the big leagues. I'm Paz.

JULIAN: I'm Julian.

LIZ: I'm Liz.

PAZ: And we are back again, reading Into the Wild. Yeah, we read chapter five through chapter nine this week. Do we have anything to say beforehand or should we just go right into the summaries?

JULIAN: I'm sure we'll talk about this more, but I love Yellowfang.

PAZ: Yes, I think that might be a theme of this episode but we'll have to see. I echo that sentiment.

LIZ: She's great.

PAZ: Well, okay, let's go meet her in these chapter summaries. So we started with chapter five, which opens on Firepaw's first day of training. Graypaw and Firepaw go on a patrol of the ThunderClan territory with Lionheart and Tigerclaw. And we kind of get the beats of like settings in the book, such as the lumber mill, which the cats call Treecutplace, RiverClan border, and Fourtrees. And Fourtrees is the neutral place where all four clans meet periodically.

And Firepaw asks why the clans have to fight for resources instead of working together, which was very scandalizing to all the other cats.

Then they go patrol the ShadowClan border, which is a road. They call it the Thunderpath. And the cats seem to have absolutely no understanding of what a car is. Then they all head back to camp, and the next day Graypaw, Firepaw, and Ravenpaw practice hunting. Tigerclaw makes some mean remarks to Ravenpaw, who is noticeably scared of him. And the chapter ends with Firepaw catching and killing his first mouse in the forest.

Chapter six starts off with a time skip of two moons. Firepaw's out on the hunting patrol. He's about to catch a vole and then a strange cat interrupts him who turns out to be Graypaw. They have a little fight and then some banter about how loud Graypaw is. And as an apology for scaring away the vole, Graypaw offers to help Firepaw hunt. Along the way they see a fox, and Graypw's like, damn, a fox totally would have killed you before, haha. Isn't that funny?

And then their hunt takes them all the way to the Thunderpath, which Firepaw briefly touches, and as he touches it, he thinks he sees the eyes of a ShadowClan warrior across the road. And then they run away from the Thunderpath and go their separate ways. Chapter seven, great chapter, instantly opens on Firepaw getting attacked by an unknown cat, who helpfully announces that she's Yellowfang in third person. Firepaw is like, wow, Yellowfang looks all fucked up and old and gross, and then attacks her again because she's trying to hunt in ThunderClan territory. And there's a fight scene between them in which Firepaw eventually wins. Yellowfang is like, better make it hurt. Better kill me in one shot.

And then compares him to a kittypet, which really riles up Firepaw. But he decides he's going to help her and get her some food because he's a nice boy. He catches a rabbit and Yellowfang eats it, and then Firepaw eats some of the leftover scraps because he's hungry. But in doing so he is breaking the warrior code of feeding the clan before himself. And then, oh no, ThunderClan cats show up.

So chapter eight. A lot happens. Firepaw and Yellowfang are confronted by the ThunderClan patrol, which includes Bluestar and Tigerclaw and Graypaw. And Bluestar's like, I hope you had a good reason for breaking the warrior code and feeding the enemy and yourself. But then Bluestar realizes Yellowfang is in fact ShadowClan's former medicine cat. Some of the other warriors say they should just kill Yellowfang but Bluestar decides to bring her back to camp.

On the way Graypaw explains that Yellowfang must be a loner now, which means not attached to any clan but not a kittypet, either. Once the patrol gets back to camp, Firepaw has to watch everyone else besides him eat because he broke the warrior code. He listens to Bluestar and Tigerclaw debate what to do with Yellowfang, and Bluestar explains that they should keep Yellowfang around because she might share ShadowClan intel.

Bluestar calls a meeting and then delivers the news that they couldn't find a single WindClan cat in WindClan territory and that ShadowClan appeared to have attacked WindClan. Everyone is shocked. Bluestar decides that ThunderClan has to hunker down and prepare themselves for a possible ShadowClan attack. And she also decides the apprentices need to be trained faster and takes Firepaw on as her own apprentice. But then Firestar-- Firestar, whoops. Bluestar. Bluestar gives Firepaw his punishment, which is to take care of Yellowfang, and hunt for her, and clean up her "dirt," quote unquote.

Our last chapter is chapter nine. Firepaw goes over to talk to Yellowfang, where she taunts him for being a former kittypet. Firepaw then psychoanalyzes her and is like, you're just humiliated that you have to rely on any cat, which Yellowfang seems impressed by, and they're kind of chill after that. Three days later, the apprentices are heading out for training, and Sandpaw and Dustpaw mock Firepaw for being Yellowfang's caretaker and the fact that Bluestar still has yet to actively train him.

After Firepaw catches Yellowfang's breakfast, there's a scene where Yellowfang reacts very badly to a kitten running into her and imply some sort of bad backstory about her and children. And then there's some scene setting about how ThunderClan is fortifying their camp for an attack. Firepaw goes to visit Spottedleaf, the medicine cat, for some supplies for Yellowfang, and Firepaw feels, quote, "suddenly cheerful and tingling with energy" after the meeting.

There's a few more scenes with caring for Yellowfang and hunting, and then there's a scene where Graypaw offers to bring food to Yellowfang instead and has to overeat to cover up when Tigerclaw confronts him. And the chapter ends with Firepaw running off to look after Yellowfang again. So that's all of our chapters for this week. Anyone have opening thoughts?

JULIAN: Firepaw needs to learn road safety.

PAZ: Okay, the fact that Firepaw doesn't know what a car is? Kinda...

JULIAN: He used to be a kittypet!

PAZ: Yeah, I mean like I guess he's never been to the vet to get his balls cut off, but he probably still like saw out the window every day.

JULIAN: Did he never see his humans like go get groceries?

PAZ: Right?

JULIAN: Did they not bring him home in a car? I have so many questions.

LIZ: Maybe he was asleep. He's just a little baby.

JULIAN: That's true.

PAZ: He is a little baby. I do have to rescind my call out post for Firepaw because I think Julian pointed out that he is six months old and is--

LIZ: Oh my god.

PAZ: --just a little guy, so.

LIZ: He's so little.

JULIAN: Now I did see that. I did see that in an Amazon review so I don't know if it's canon or not.

PAZ: I mean, I guess it's true he has to be pretty young if he hadn't gone to get neutered yet.

JULIAN: He's just a baby, and he has baby's first crush on Spottedleaf.

LIZ: Aw.

PAZ: Yeah, I think we can get to that.

LIZ: I've got some highlights from that I wanna talk about.

PAZ: Yeah, do we want to kind of go a little bit in chronological order?

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: I mean the first chapter is kind of just more shit about patrolling and stuff.

JULIAN: He does do that-- he suggests that they all share prey, but the other cats are too tied to the scarcity mindset.

PAZ: Yes, that is definitely, like, once again, there is extreme like cat nationalism, like very, very strict like border control. And also, like, xenophobia, and absolutely no sharing resources.

JULIAN: It seems like, aside from that one question, though, he's bought into it very quickly because like there's one point where he smells the other cats and he's like, Oh, they smell nasty.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: And it's like, what, what are you talking about?

PAZ: That, yeah, that, like, cultural conditioning real fast.

LIZ: Well, he's like, he's a baby so he's just imprinted instantly I guess. Not that it's good, but um, yeah, the smell thing comes up very soon when he sees or smells the other cats. Like oh, it's sour and bad.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: I think they all smell sour and bad because they're just living in a forest, probably,

PAZ: Who... I don't know. I don't, I mean, cats still groom themselves. That's the good thing about cats.

JULIAN: I mean, Yellowfang smells sour. I'm jumping ahead, though. The descriptions of hunting are like very... They make me want to hunt. They're very good to read.

PAZ: Yeah, I think, like the hunting and fighting descriptions are all really good.

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: Although I do, I do think that like written out... Liz, I think you're cutting out a whole bunch for me.

LIZ: Yeah, I think I am. I don't... Let me try restarting from the beginning, I guess.

PAZ: Okay.

LIZ: Sorry, one second.

PAZ: That's okay.

JULIAN: It's okay.

LIZ: Hello?

JULIAN: Oh, hello.

PAZ: Hello.

LIZ: Hi.

PAZ: Welcome back.

LIZ: Hi. I hope it sticks this time.

PAZ: We're being censored.

LIZ: We are. We said too much about the balls.

PAZ: Okay, so we were talking about hunting, hunting and fight stuff.

LIZ: Right.

PAZ: I was gonna say is that the hunting and fighting is all very well written, but the like written out cat sounds are extremely funny.

JULIAN: Oh god.

PAZ: Like I have a page open here to the Yellowfang and Firepaw fight. I'll read some for us. "Grawr. Yow."

LIZ: Go on.

JULIAN: Somebody learned about onomatopoeia in English class.

PAZ: I think it's great, I think it's so characterful.

LIZ: There's a part later when Yellowfang is laughing and it's written out as like mrr-ow-ow-ow.

PAZ: This, I think, Julian said it last episode, said is dead disease. Also must write out all sound.

JULIAN: No, I think my favorite, and maybe this is the one you're talking about, Liz, where it's "'Reow-wow-wow,' Yellowfang screamed in agony." And you know, when I hear the sound "ow-wow," I definitely think agony.

LIZ: Well, that's what I say when I'm in agony, like, ow, owie. We're the same, me and cats.

PAZ: Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

LIZ: I actually word searched "said" just to check, Didn't look--

JULIAN: Oh good.

LIZ: Don't worry, I didn't look past the chapters we read, and it only comes up when someone else is talking like in dialogue. Like Person A is being like, oh, person B said this.

JULIAN: Oh my god.

PAZ: Oh yeah.

LIZ: There are a few instances of “said” as a dialog indicator later, but um, I didn't look--

PAZ: Do you have a count on that, or does it not give you that?

LIZ: I don't think it gives you the count on Libby.

PAZ: Darn.

JULIAN: Let me see if it does on my reader. Yeah, it definitely gives me a count for other words, because I just did a search for Yellowfang.

PAZ: Oh, please tell me how many times “said” is in this book.

JULIAN: So “said” appears in this entire book, this entire, like 20 chapter book--

PAZ: It's almost 300 pages, I think.

JULIAN: Yeah, so, do we want to do bets, over/under?

PAZ: Okay. Over 25.

LIZ: I'm going to say, under 100.

JULIAN: It is 34 times.

LIZ: What?

JULIAN: In this entire book.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: Oh my god.

LIZ: That is not a lot.

PAZ: No.

JULIAN: And it's not that the cats don't talk. They talk a lot.

LIZ: They meow a lot, and they yowl, and they mew.

PAZ: And purr. They're not saying.

JULIAN: They purr so much.

LIZ: Oh, we need to talk about the purr.

JULIAN: We have to talk about the purring.

LIZ: I've got it right in front of me.

PAZ: Yeah? You want to read it, or?

LIZ: Yeah, I know we're jumping ahead a little but, um.

PAZ: No, go ahead.

LIZ: Someone told me that it's usually a horny indicator. I was very alarmed because when we meet Yellowfang-- I'll read you the paragraph. "Yellowfang seemed to sense the change in him. Her fierce orange eyes sparked with new respect. Tipping her head, and dropping eye contact, she started to back off. 'No need to be hasty now,' she purred in a silky tone."

PAZ: This to Firepaw?

LIZ: Yes, when they meet.

PAZ: Okay, I think I was saying like, just like in the world connotation-wise, purr is like, like flirty to me, because just of humans.

JULIAN: Same.

PAZ: But I don't think the book uses it that way, but it's so funny.

LIZ: Yeah, I hope not. because when this happened I was like, Oh, is this like the girl cat that's going to be the love interest, or whatever.

[Julian snorts]

PAZ: No.

LIZ: But no, she's like an old lady.

JULIAN: Oh my god, yeah, no, Yellowfang, especially like "purred in a silky tone." Yeah, that, to me, reads very horny.

PAZ: Yeah, like I know they're cats but, like, we're not. We are humans reading it, and I think words have connotations. But I guess also, we're not 12. So maybe...

JULIAN: That's true.

LIZ: I guess it's supposed to come off as more menacing, because she's trying to menace. I think.

PAZ: Like sinister.

JULIAN: I think she's trying to be snarky, kind of.

LIZ: Yeah. But it was just very alarming to read the first time

JULIAN: Oh, we did learn-- I made a note of this in chapter six when we see the fox, they also discuss badgers.

[Liz gasps]

PAZ: Yes.

JULIAN: We do learn that Halftail was not born with the name Halftail and that, I guess, was not his original warrior name because he lost his tail to a badger.

LIZ: Do you think he was like Mediumtail? Because there's already a Longtail.

PAZ: I've also made the same exact note of there being badger confirmation and also name change confirmation.

LIZ: Good for them.

PAZ: Yeah, I mean that's... is that like he changed his name, or like someone was like haha Halftail, and everybody started calling him Halftail?

LIZ: Aw, that's sad.

PAZ: That would be very sad.

LIZ: Maybe he's like I survived a badger. I'm Halftail now. Check it out. Badgers show up in a lot of these books with animals doing violence.

JULIAN: Yeah.

PAZ: I've never seen a badger. I don't even think I've seen a badger at a zoo.

JULIAN: Do they live in North America? I should know this but I super don't.

LIZ: They do, yeah.

PAZ: They do? I know we have wolverines, which are even scarier.

LIZ: Or mm, maybe, this is a book written by eight British people, right?

PAZ: Yes.

JULIAN: Right. Oh, there are American badgers, but they're a different species.

PAZ: Oh, okay.

LIZ: So they're British badgers.

JULIAN: Yes.

LIZ: I see.

JULIAN: I'm pulling up their-- yeah, yeah, the European badger is across basically all of Europe except the very top of Scandinavia.

PAZ: Wow.

LIZ: Those motherfuckers can move.

JULIAN: And some of the islands. Oh, there aren't any American badgers on the East Coast. That's why I have not seen any of them.

LIZ: Well, you're safe then. They're real mean.

PAZ: Are they?

LIZ: I say that like I've seen them. I haven't.

PAZ: I don't know anything about badgers, except that they attacked Halftail, but um, speaking of cat stuff. Lots of balls talk last section. Gotta say, there is a real focus on pee also.

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: And there's lots of mention of spraying to mark territory. Once again, the things this series chooses to be realistic about.

JULIAN: See, so I was unclear whether that was actually pee, or whether it was like-- because I know that cats will, like, are described as like spraying their scent, but I don't know if that's actually peeing, or if it's like coming from their scent glands, because I do not have experience with non-neutered male cats.

PAZ: I have a lovely description for you.

JULIAN: Oh, great, thank you.

PAZ: From google.com. "Spraying is when a cat backs up to a vertical surface with their tail erect and squirts urine."

JULIAN: Goddammit.

PAZ: I just...

LIZ: Well, now we have confirmation.

JULIAN: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

PAZ: Why, why does this book have to be realistic about the worst things?

JULIAN: There was so much focus on Yellowfang's absolutely gnarly parasite situation.

LIZ: Oh, the-- I remember what they call it. It's her "rump."

JULIAN: They're like-- there was a description of Firepaw crunching her fleas between his teeth.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: No, no.

JULIAN: And I was like, this is the worst thing I've ever read.

PAZ: Yeah, like when he got the punishment of being like, Oh, you have to go take care of Yellowfang, like some other cats even said like, oh I hope you're good at crunching fleas or whatever.

JULIAN: I did not think that was like a-- do they have to crunch-- do the other cats have fleas? Like are they worried that they're going to get fleas from her? Do they have to crunch all the fleas for all of the elders? I'm very curious about the flea situation in this camp where all the cats live together.

PAZ: Well, you're not gonna get the answer to that. But you will get the realistic pee experience.

LIZ: The pee is such a dramatic reveal, too, because it's like-- there's a moment of horror because they find out that ShadowClan's like all up in their territory or something. And it's because, oh, someone's been spraying here.

PAZ: Yeah, I know.

LIZ: Also wait, during the flea... thing, it's shown that like Firepaw can use his paws to like put the, whatever medicine on, right?

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah, he puts the mouse bile on with his paws and then has to go wash them in the river. Is that a thing that cats do?

PAZ: I don't think so.

LIZ: Why did he have to crunch, then? Couldn't he just like--

PAZ: Well, fleas are too tiny.

JULIAN: Yeah, the mouse bile was for the ticks, to get the ticks to release.

LIZ: Oh right.

JULIAN: She is rife with parasites.

PAZ: Should we just talk about Yellowfang while we're talking about her parasite situation?

JULIAN: Yes.

PAZ: Yeah, she's also the whole second half of the chapters we read, basically, so.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: I love her.

LIZ: She's mean and good.

PAZ: Yeah, we all established that we love her before we started talking about this chapter. But yeah, she rules. She's just like an old mean, cool cat.

JULIAN: I mean, I'm always a sucker for a mean old lady. And that's her. Plus apparently she has, like every other female character in the series, child trauma.

PAZ: I know, I got to that scene, and I'm like, oh god, come on.

LIZ: It comes so suddenly. I also have that bookmarked, cause it happened while she was just like being mean to some kids. Let me see. Yeah, she like, she says, "'I have no kits,' Yellowfang spat." And then she turns around and then she sounds very wistful. And then she says, specifically, "accidents seem to happen to kits when I'm around them." Just as like conversation.

JULIAN: Just as a normal thing you say to the child who's caring for you.

LIZ: To the child who's caring for you, in front of even younger children.

PAZ: I mean, Firepaw did like a full psychoanalyze scene on her, so we're getting real personal here.

JULIAN: As a kittypet, he knows all about Freud.

PAZ: Yeah, new Firepaw lore, just dropped. Avid reader of Freud. But yeah, I think it was brought up that like, oh, there's a lot of weird plots about like child loss and infertility in these books. And I don't remember well enough to say so. But I'm like, this is it. This is it coming over the horizon at us.

JULIAN: Yeah, if I remember correctly, there's a lot of them, to the point that I gave my medicine cat OC some of her own child trauma.

PAZ: Oh my gosh.

JULIAN: It just seemed like the thing to do.

LIZ: Do the cats have a low birth rate?

PAZ: I don't think so.

LIZ: Is it cause there's like some, some guy out there just like catching and neutering cats, because he thinks it's safer for the cat population? Is there just like one vet who's everyone's enemy in this book?

PAZ: No, no. We've already established you can't be a warrior if your balls are cut off. Like I just don't think they'll let you into the camp, so.

LIZ: Does it only apply to like male cats, though, or, or is there--

PAZ: No, I don't think so. I don't remember anything about being like an unnatural infertility thing.

LIZ: Alright that's good, I guess.

JULIAN: Yeah it's mostly like they lose cats who are already born.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Or like they can't have children because they're a medicine cat and it's forbidden.

PAZ: Spoiler, they do.

LIZ: Yeah, I kind of assumed.

PAZ: Yeah, I don't remember what Yellowfang's child relationship situation is. But I assume we'll find out.

LIZ: I don't know, hearing that there is going to be more of this from many corners has a very like Whedonesque foreshadowing.

PAZ: Yeah, okay, I was trying to think of like, Oh, who's that person who does like weird infertility plots all the time. Yeah, yeah, it's Joss Whedon.

JULIAN: Now that you mentioned that the cats are all barefoot also.

PAZ: No.

LIZ: No. I'm saying no but there are a lot of like foot names also.

PAZ: If they ever make a Warriors Cat movie--

JULIAN: There you go.

PAZ: --they know who to call up. It's Joss Whedon.

LIZ: No.

JULIAN: Ugh, god.

LIZ: Warrior Cats as directed by Quentin Tarantino. [laughs]

JULIAN: I would bet money that somewhere there's like a animated Warrior Cats video set to some like Pulp Fiction dialogue or something.

PAZ: Oh my god, you're probably right.

JULIAN: Listeners, if you find it, tweet it at us.

PAZ: Please.

JULIAN: God.

LIZ: Alright, but putting the feet aside. Yeah, we love Yellowfang here. Is there anything else we want to say about her?

JULIAN: I want her and Spottedleaf to talk, but they do not seem to yet.

PAZ: I did write down that Yellowfang also calls Spottedleaf like, “pretty little medicine cat.” I was like, damn, okay. Yeah, I want them to talk. I also think Firepaw was rude as hell when he described her. Real grody description.

LIZ: Yeah, she, she just got like, what, attacked by some badgers right? That's why she's all fucked up?

PAZ: Yeah, that's what happened.

LIZ: Yeah, sure. Anyway.

JULIAN: Definitely.

LIZ: You should be a nicer young man. Just because you live in the forest doesn't mean you don't have to be nice to little old ladies.

PAZ: That's actually kinda like--

JULIAN: He should respect his elders.

PAZ: Yeah, Bluestar is very insistent, like, be nice to elders, which is nice.

LIZ: Yeah, there's the part where the other young cats are making fun of Firepaw for having to take care of her. And then she's like, it's not embarrassing to take care of old people.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: That's a nice lesson, I think.

LIZ: Yeah.

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: I'm also, I know we don't get it in these chapters, but Bluestar. I want more Bluestar content.

LIZ: She's good.

PAZ: She kinda hasn't really been a character in focus yet so far. She's kind of been like giving speeches and orders.

LIZ: I'm like, assuming she's gonna step in more since she has to train Firepaw, right?

PAZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yes. Yeah, no. We'll see more from her if I remember correctly.

PAZ: Yeah, I'm pretty sure, I mean, she's a pretty important character.

JULIAN: She'll be a girl boss on screen.

PAZ: Please.

JULIAN: What was the pun that Gabe was mad that we didn't make? Cat-paw-talism?

PAZ: I don't know.

JULIAN: I think it was instead of capitalism, cat-- catpawtalism or something like that.

LIZ: Yes.

PAZ: It's weird because they don't have catpawtalism.

JULIAN: They don't.

PAZ: There is a scarcity-- they have like, they share. They share resources but there is a scarcity narrative.

JULIAN: It's like, socialism, but like, each of the clans is like its own little socialist state.

PAZ: It's nationalism, and then socialism.

LIZ: Just a little xenophobia, just for flavor.

PAZ: There's so-- that's another thing. There's so much. There was even some eugenics-esque stuff that showed up.

LIZ: What?

PAZ: Yeah, where-- I forget who, but somebody was saying-- it was Yellowfang. She's like, kittypet blood is not the same as warriors blood.

JULIAN: Oh right.

LIZ: Oh yeah.

PAZ: And I was like, whoa. Slow down there.

LIZ: He's just like a little baby.

JULIAN: Also all cats are the same.

PAZ: Yeah, all cats are queens.

LIZ: It's true. Also you think they'd be like, less like hard on the blood stuff on account of like all of them probably being like stray cats, right.

PAZ: Yeah, these aren't like wild cats with like the species. They're just stray cats.

LIZ: Yeah, they're just, whatever. It's not like any of them are, I don't know, like purebred Scottish Folds or something.

PAZ: I think a pure--

JULIAN: Well, according to that one drawing, Yellowfang is clearly Persian.

PAZ: Yeah, so, so I have the Cats of the Clan book, which comes with full illustrations of all the important cats. And there was a Yellowfang illustration in there, and she was indeed a Persian cat.

LIZ: Maybe she's like, she's just like, she's got a Persian cat dad or something.

PAZ: No but, but--

JULIAN: Her dark secret is that she's got like a kittypet ancestor somewhere.

[Liz gasps]

PAZ: Oh my god. Yeah, cause she's--

JULIAN: I'm making that up. I don't know if that's the case.

PAZ: We can add that lore in.

LIZ: I mean, that must be the case for like a good amount of the population, given how stray cats happen?

JULIAN: Right? Also like, otherwise how do the cats avoid inbreeding?

LIZ: Mm.

PAZ: I have a cat story of my own. So when I was younger we had a cat, Maria, and she kept like getting out of the house and getting pregnant before we could get her to the vet. She had like three litters. And she just kept doing this like, over and over again because we couldn't get her to the vet fast enough like after she had the kids. So she had like three litters like that. She was going out there and, you know, sharing tongues with--

LIZ: No.

PAZ: With some stray cats.

LIZ: No.

JULIAN: There is a really tender scene where Graypaw and Firepaw share tongues together and I did just write down "gay."

PAZ: They are really cute.

JULIAN: In my little comment.

PAZ: They're very, very cute.

LIZ: They're sweet.

JULIAN: They're really cute. Graypaw goes out on a limb for him a lot. He's still exposition, he still has JRPG protagonist syndrome, or protagonist friend syndrome, but he's a sweet little guy. They're cute together.

PAZ: Yeah, I think they're very cute and it is gay. Is it gay to share tongues with your friend?

LIZ: Makes you think. Um, sorry, what were you saying before, before we got to...

PAZ: I don't know. We were talking about cat eugenics. Uh...

LIZ: No, you were talking about your old cat, right?

PAZ: Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah, she just kept going out and getting pregnant with stray cats, so like, who's to say there's, like, kittypet blood in there, in these clans.

LIZ: She's the mother of all clans.

JULIAN: I do have a note about how evil-coded ShadowClan constantly is. That their leader, that their series of leaders were Raggedstar and then Brokenstar.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: It's like, who's naming these cats?

PAZ: That's also something I wanted to talk about. Because they're so evil coded, like who said like, Oh, we're gonna be the evil clan. Let's all give ourselves evil names.

JULIAN: I want to pick a name that makes me sound like a real leader: Brokenstar. Like, okay.

LIZ: Maybe they're just like, goth.

PAZ: That's true.

JULIAN: They might just, it's a clan full of little edgelords.

LIZ: Yeah. ThunderClan is like preps.

PAZ: Jocks. Or preps.

LIZ: No, they've got a jock thing, I think. You're right.

PAZ: Yeah so ShadowClan is the goths. ThunderClan is the jocks. Maybe RiverClan is the preps?

LIZ: They could also be jocks, but like they play water polo.

PAZ: Wait, what, Julian?

JULIAN: Oh, I was gonna say that RiverClan gives me stoner vibes, because they like, chill out by the river a lot, and they're all fat and happy.

PAZ: I don't remember them enough to say so.

JULIAN: Because they have a whole other source of food that all the other cats don't have, because they can eat fish.

PAZ: Why don't they-- but like Firepaw was hunting by a stream. Why don't they just also catch fish?

LIZ: Is it because they can't swim? Can they swim?

PAZ: He went in the water.

LIZ: He like, just like stood in it. That's different from swimming.

PAZ: Well, that's all you need to do to catch fish.

JULIAN: Maybe the stream isn't big enough to support a big fish population, you know.

PAZ: Maybe, yeah. The maps show the landscape, kind of.

JULIAN: Is there a sense of how big the streams are?

PAZ: Okay, well, that--

JULIAN: Is there a scale marker?

PAZ: No scale marker. Does say river by the border with RiverClan, and then there's like little streams going off into the forest. So yeah, maybe they're not big enough, but who knows.

LIZ: That's so sad. Cats would love fish.

PAZ: They would. RiverClan has a monopoly, and they must be stopped.

LIZ: RiverClan is like having their own sashimi every night, and I don't know. They should teach the art of fishing, and maybe that'll bring all the clans together. Finally there is peace. Just so they can get the fishy.

PAZ: No, you can't share resources, absolutely. It's against the warrior code.

LIZ: Why? It's like...

JULIAN: The warrior code rule number one is don't share resources.

PAZ: Yeah, hold on, I gotta go get the exact thing that Tigerclaw says, cause I was like, okay. Okay, here it is. "'It is our clan loyalty that makes us strong,' Tigerclaw meowed in agreement. 'If you weaken that loyalty you weaken our chances of survival.'"

JULIAN: Well, damn.

PAZ: This was in direct response to Firepaw being like, why don't we all share?

JULIAN: Damn.

LIZ: It's not like they don't have a concept of sharing. They clearly do it within their clan. It's like here is the communal food hole, which is, you know, hole is what it's called in these chapters, so that's what I'm gonna go with. And then everyone can like, eat. I don't know.

JULIAN: I'm also concerned about like prey decomposition in the hole, in the hole that they bury all these mice in.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: Maybe it's just like, aged beef.

JULIAN: God.

PAZ: I don't think these cats discovered the concept of curing food. Once again, the things this book chooses to be realistic on versus not realistic on are baffling.

JULIAN: Right?

LIZ: Do the cats at any point discover cooking?

PAZ: No.

JULIAN: No, they're very afraid of fire.

LIZ: I don't know, they have medicine. That's just like cooking for your health.

PAZ: Is it?

LIZ: Yeah, gotta mix some liquids together. Now it's a serum that I eat, or whatever.

PAZ: I don't think they mix anything, though. It's just like herbs. Mouse bile, poppy seeds. I guess we're fuckin taking opioids.

LIZ: Poppy seeds are harvested. That's like pre-cooking. That's getting your mise en place, right?

PAZ: I don't think...

JULIAN: We can't get into an argument about what cooking entails.

PAZ: We have not talked about Spottedleaf yet, and Firepaw.

LIZ: Oh my god.

JULIAN: His tingles.

PAZ: So we were informed by other former fans that these books are weirdly horny. And I think we got the first glimpse of that here.

LIZ: Can I read you guys a section?

PAZ: Yes, please.

JULIAN: Oh yes.

LIZ: So to set the scene, Firepaw has gone to Spottedleaf to get some medicine, medicine which is very romantic. They describe the bile in some detail. It's like some moss soaked in it on a stick, and she says to him, don't get in your mouth, because it tastes nasty. [soft jazz begins to swell] But before that, she passes it to him, and the sentence reads, "He tasted her warm sweet breath, as he took the bark strip between his teeth."

PAZ: I like put my head in my hands at that passage.

LIZ: Losing my eyes.

PAZ: This is a--

JULIAN: 10 year old me had a lot of feelings about Spottedleaf. We're just gonna leave it there.

PAZ: I cannot wait. I love that like Firepaw's getting his tingles or whatever. Spottedleaf is just like, no idea. She's just chilling. She's just doing her job. Yeah, we know why Rusty has to have his balls now, wink.

LIZ: No. I guess he's like getting older right because it says two moons have passed.

PAZ: Yeah, I wasn't sure like what amount of time that signified, actually, if that was like months or like moon cycles.

JULIAN: Yeah, I think it's a moon cycle. It's like a month.

LIZ: Yeah, so like two months.

JULIAN: So, yeah.

PAZ: That's a lot for a cat.

JULIAN: Roughly.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: Yeah, so he's like, you know, eight or nine months old now.

PAZ: Cats are pretty big at that point.

JULIAN: That's old enough.

PAZ: Old enough to have a crush on this medicine cat who is literally just doing her job.

JULIAN: With her warm sweet breath.

LIZ: She's, she's handing him the worst medicine possible for the worst affliction possible, which is ass ticks, and he can still find time in his heart to feel romantic. So good for him I guess.

PAZ: Met over ass ticks.

JULIAN: They didn't even. She doesn't have to do anything with the ass ticks.

PAZ: No.

JULIAN: She's delegated that.

PAZ: Well, I mean that's because the Yellowfang like won't let her come near her. I don't-- because Yellowfang's too proud or whatever.

JULIAN: Her past.

LIZ: I guess, does the doctor ever go to the doctor? Makes you think.

PAZ: Yeah, isn't the thing with medicine cats that there's only ever like one, and then the apprentice? Like that feels like a bad system.

LIZ: Yeah.

JULIAN: It's a terrible system.

PAZ: Well, if your medicine cat dies then you're just fucked. So...

LIZ: I mean you've got like their teenage apprentice, which is probably fine.

PAZ: But Spottedleaf doesn't even have an apprentice right now, I don't think. Okay, I think that's all we have to say about the reading for this week. So we're gonna move on to another exciting activity.

JULIAN: Oh I love that the first-- we found, or Liz has found an article.

PAZ: I think Liz should take us through it.

LIZ: All right. Well, I think we've already expressed some dissatisfaction with how the canon clans work, which is why it is very fortuitous that I found, just by chance, a wikiHow article on how to make a Warrior Cats clan with your friends. Last updated October 2020, so you know it's recent.

PAZ: Oh my god, it's in the cat role playing category subsection which I guess...

JULIAN: Oh, I am very excited to see what else is in there.

PAZ: Oh, it's only one other thing. And it's scary.

JULIAN: But that's an exploration for another time.

LIZ: I don't know if I want to look. Alright, well first of all just for some visuals, the thumbnail preview for the link to this is a little cat man giving a thumbs up to an elderly cat person. Just cat people.

PAZ: Yeah, we're talking like anthro people. Don't think that's in the books, but okay.

LIZ: He does have the Warrior Cats bangs, or at least some bangs, so there is some connection here to the house style. Not very much, I would think, cause again, very humanoid, but.

JULIAN: Yeah, he has thumbs.

LIZ: He does have-- well, cats have thumbs.

PAZ: No, they don't.

JULIAN: No, they don't.

LIZ: Yeah they do. I mean they're not thumbs, but they're like thumb-ish.

PAZ: They don't have thumbs.

LIZ: I think you need to expand your definition of thumbs. It's not my fault you're so close minded.

JULIAN: Also they're wearing clothes, which is not...

PAZ: No. Warrior Cats...

JULIAN: I guess they're wearing clothes because this is a rated G wikiHow article, but. This old cat is in like robes. He looks at Luke Skywalker, or sorry Obi Wan, Obi Wan.

LIZ: Wait, wait, wait. Don't you mean Obi Nyan?

PAZ: Okay, well, you know, moving on to this article. Should we read the beautiful description too?

LIZ: Of course. "Do you love Warrior Cats? Do you have friends that know Warrior Cats? Try making a Warrior Cats clan. It can be lots of fun for everyone. But you need to make sure to keep it realistic and fun."

JULIAN: Why do I have to keep it realistic?

PAZ: Who says it has to be realistic?

LIZ: Yeah, that's very limiting. So let's-- actually, this is a huge layout. I have to zoom out to be able to read anything, because it just takes up the whole page. Yeah, there's an image of some anime people sitting around a table, arms crossed for the women. One glasses guy. And they say, "first, ask your friends if they're interested in making a clan." Well, are you interested?

JULIAN: Yes, absolutely.

PAZ: Yes, I sure am.

LIZ: Mm, good, good. They do make a note to clarify that "if one of your friends says no, ask if they want to be a rogue, loner, kittypet, or even another animal."

PAZ: Hold on a second.

JULIAN: "If they still refuse, don't force them to play along." How do you force someone to roleplay a cat?

PAZ: I am not unlocking this door until you meow.

LIZ: You put them in a horrible labyrinth and say, you role play, or I will not let you out.

JULIAN: God. Alright, step two.

LIZ: If someone is new to the world of Warriors, tell them the key things about the books. I think I have to let you guys take over here.

JULIAN: Sure. Well, do you know about the clans, the warrior code, the ranks, and the traditions?

LIZ: No, I am just a mere kitty pet.

PAZ: Oh.

JULIAN: Well.

[laughter]

We don't have time on the podcast for me to explain the ranks and the traditions, right at this moment, but can I suggest that you start off as a kit or apprentice?

LIZ: You may. That sounds intriguing. Step three, decide on the ranks. And just to give you a little flavor, there is an image here. It is a pyramid of cat icons in silhouette, so it's very mysterious, but one is circled, and it is one cat icon that is a full picture of a cat. You can see its face, and it is circled to indicate decision.

So I think we need to decide our ranks. I've got-- I know nothing about this. So, I'm an apprentice, let's say. What about you guys?

PAZ: Well, don't you want to read the flavor text?

LIZ: It's a lot of flavor text. Do you want me to?

JULIAN: It's a lot.

PAZ: I don't know, some of it's pretty good.

LIZ: I'll go through it, then. "Every clan needs a leader. This must be an experienced reader, whoever has read the most books or gained the most knowledge, and somebody that can be a good role player."

PAZ: Well, between me and Julian, I think Julian might have actually read more books because I never read all of the first series.

JULIAN: I was gonna say that you've read more of the books, because I pretty much stopped reading after the, like, halfway through the second series. So.

PAZ: Maybe it balances out.

LIZ: I think you need to fight to the death.

PAZ: Well, no, this is our clan. What if we're like co-leaders?

JULIAN: That works.

PAZ: Yeah. This is our clan, our house.

JULIAN: This is our clan. We can make the rules.

LIZ: You're right.

PAZ: Okay, we're the co-leaders.

LIZ: Well, leaders, next you need to choose a deputy.

JULIAN: I'm sensing that we're going to run into an issue.

LIZ: Wait, wait. "If your clan is nefarious, the leader should make sure the deputy is wicked unless the leader isn't actually evil and they want their clan to be well off."

PAZ: Is our clan nefarious?

JULIAN: Ooh, that is a good question.

PAZ: See, it's fun to be evil, but also I know we've had issues with the insular nature of canon clans.

JULIAN: Right, see, would the other clans think that we're evil because we're breaking the warrior code so much?

PAZ: Ooh, they probably would.

LIZ: That's true.

PAZ: So we'll take in everyone and we love to share: evil.

LIZ: We go to the meeting thing that they have, and we bring everyone like little gift baskets and they hate that.

PAZ: They hate it so much.

JULIAN: Oh, perfect. Again, it's saying that we should have at least three warriors, which I think, I think we're going to run into an issue because there are three of us.

PAZ: No, no, we can make our cats the warriors.

JULIAN: Oh, good call.

LIZ: You're right. So we have four technically.

JULIAN: Oh, there we go. Which of our cats would be a medicine cat?

PAZ: Well, Lu just came up here and meowed. So, I think she's volunteering.

JULIAN: Well, there you go. She sounds like she's a good role player who can act fast.

PAZ: Yeah, she was found in the woods too. She probably knows all about the herbs.

JULIAN: There you go.

LIZ: She knows the mosses and the leaves.

JULIAN: She's a little hedgewitch.

PAZ: Okay, that's settled.

LIZ: Dr. Lu.

JULIAN: Yep. And then, Liz, are you an apprentice?

LIZ: I'm Lu's apprentice, I think.

JULIAN: Perfect.

PAZ: Wait, you're a medicine cat apprentice?

LIZ: Yes, I don't think I'm very combat heavy.

PAZ: Okay.

JULIAN: I like this.

LIZ: "A medicine cat should be smart, quick learner who has read a good amount of the Warriors books." Which she of course has. "They don't actually need to know all that much about herbs, but suggest them searching up different plants and how they can be used."

PAZ: "Apprentices, despite common depiction, are close to the same size as warriors." Good to know. "And it's also fun to have elders." Chloe. I'm gonna volunteer Chloe for that. Thanks Linda.

JULIAN: Oh, yes, of course, Chloe is a storyteller.

LIZ: She is.

JULIAN: She has a lot to share.

PAZ: Okay, I think we got a good basis for our clan here.

JULIAN: "Step four, name your characters. Names are very important. If your cat has a certain interesting feature, like a disfigurement--" oh boy-- "you can add that into the name."

PAZ: Oh, wait, this article clarifies some lore. "Elders keep their warrior names unless something has changed about them." Thanks. Well, Julian and I-- oh.

LIZ: Oh?

PAZ: "Make sure all the names are natural unless they are kittypets (house cats.) You would hardly find a cat named Mustangpaw or a silly name like Awesomepaw, Cocoapaw, or Foampaw. This is why it's vital to have nature related names."

JULIAN: Oh, and then also an important point of information. "Do not create mean names, or someone could get hurt, refuse to join, or tell on you as bullies, which you don't want to be."

PAZ: That's good, that's good.

LIZ: That's good. Yeah, I'm gonna say, cats in our clan can just change them when they want to.

PAZ: Yes.

LIZ: You don't have to wait.

JULIAN: Yep. Name anarchy.

PAZ: Julian and I are co-leaders, so I guess we're star, something-star.

JULIAN: Right. I should have thought of something beforehand.

LIZ: Warrior cats name generator.

PAZ: List of flowers.

JULIAN: I'm gonna yoink the prefix of my old OC, and I'm gonna be Pinestar.

PAZ: Fuck yeah.

LIZ: Do we not want the one from fantasynamegenerators.com, which gave me Raccoonsbelly?

PAZ: Well, that's obviously your name.

JULIAN: There you go.

LIZ: Fishnose.

PAZ: Oh, Fishnose is really good.

JULIAN: Fishnose is really cute.

LIZ: Curvybush.

JULIAN: That's obscene.

PAZ: Share tongues at the curvy bush.

LIZ: Cootbranch?

JULIAN: Can you link to this?

LIZ: Yeah, it's real bad, I think.

PAZ: Well, thank you fantasy name generators.com.

LIZ: Thank you with an asterisk for a caveat because I don't know about this one.

PAZ: Well anyway, my Warriors name is gonna be Larkstar. Thank you.

JULIAN: Oh, that's cute. Oh, I'm sorry I do have to shout out Eelkit, which is what the name just gave me.

PAZ: Oh, fuck yes.

LIZ: Oh, that's really good.

JULIAN: And I am going to be Eelstar.

PAZ: Yes.

LIZ: That's beautiful.

PAZ: Okay so, Eelstar and Larkstar are co-leaders and our trusted apprentice...

LIZ: Um, wait, do apprentices have the paw thing?

JULIAN: Yes.

LIZ: I liked fish.

PAZ: Fishpaw?

LIZ: I'll be Fishpaw, yeah.

PAZ: Hell yeah.

LIZ: I'm going hard for the fish that you-- I'm not really that big of a fish fan in real life. Please do not be mistaken.

JULIAN: That's where the role playing comes in.

PAZ: Yeah, really test your limits. Okay, step five, "tell all your friends about your character. They don't have to know everything, but make sure they know their personality, their aims in life, etc. Make sure they also know what your cat looks like. Pretend that they are blind and describe your cat to the best of your ability."

LIZ: That's not how blindness works, but okay.

PAZ: That's really not, yeah.

LIZ: WikiHow, be better.

JULIAN: Come on, wikiHow.

PAZ: Be better, wikiHow, with your traced art. Well, we are nefarious but only because we are good.

JULIAN: Right. I'm sensing, again an aquatic theme, which does lean into step six of choosing a habitat.

PAZ: Yeah.

LIZ: What if we're beach cats?

PAZ: Ooh.

JULIAN: [gasps] Yes.

PAZ: Fuck yes.

JULIAN: Here we go. The second sentence of this is "you may be playing in your school playground, but your clan may whisk you away to a beautiful tropical island."

PAZ: Yes, we are in the tropical island.

LIZ: Love that.

JULIAN: On the beach, and we want everyone to come eat fish with us.

PAZ: We're on island time. That's why we're... so friendly.

LIZ: Do cats eat crabs?

PAZ: I don't know.

JULIAN: I think so.

LIZ: We can.

PAZ: [typing] Do cats eat crabs? Yes. Cats can eat crab meat as a treat.

LIZ: Beautiful.

PAZ: Every week we have Crab Day where we eat crabs as a treat.

JULIAN: Can I sell you on the name for our clan?

PAZ: Yes.

JULIAN: Which is CrabClan.

PAZ: Ooh.

LIZ: Yes. Oh my god, time for crab. It's here.

PAZ: Do we want to be like ClawClan?

JULIAN: Oh.

LIZ: I can see that too but... crab.

JULIAN: That seems violent for how we are.

PAZ: We are nefarious.

JULIAN: That's true.

LIZ: We're nefarious because we're nice, though.

JULIAN: Are we overthrowing the clan order?

PAZ: Yes. Okay, we're actually like a community of revolutionary minded cats who have been exiled from the clans. Come to the beach.

JULIAN: Incredible. Come to the beach. We have crabs.

PAZ: CrabClan's good, though.

LIZ: Yeah. If we did do battle I think ClawClan would be also good, but we don't. The only battle we do is with crustaceans.

PAZ: I think we figured out our clan.

LIZ: We love to share resources.

PAZ: We have one more step though.

LIZ: Yeah?

PAZ: Seven.

LIZ: Oh.

PAZ: "Begin role play. Always accept new members. Have fun."

LIZ: All right, for our beloved listeners, if you want to join CrabClan, we welcome you with open arms and claws. Some of these questions at the end are kind of good, community questions.

PAZ: "What if nobody at my school even knows about the books?"

LIZ: [gasps] No.

PAZ: "Try telling your friends about it. Let them read a few books and then ask them if they want to join."

LIZ: "Is Flamepelt a good name? Yes, Flamepelt sounds like a name that would fit an orange cat with an energized or determined personality. Flamebounce or Flamestrike would also fit if you're looking to go exotic."

JULIAN: Same person who asked about Flamepelt also asked, lower down, "Is it okay if I do it by myself and imagine the other cats, or does it have to be with other people?"

LIZ: Oh no. Flamepelt, join our clan.

PAZ: Oh, come join CrabClan. "How long would this take? It could take from one day to two weeks to form your clan." Amateurs.

LIZ: No, no judgments, we are, remember, we're accepting.

PAZ: Oh you're right. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm the nefarious deputy.

LIZ: I knew it.

JULIAN: Oh, the tips are also really good. "Doing this outdoors will be the best setting as it will be more realistic. You can build caves if you use sheets." Pro tip.

PAZ: "First law of the warrior code is always be loyal to your clan." No. Striking that out of the books.

JULIAN: "If you have a real cat, include them in your plan. Make your cat an apprentice for a real Warrior Cats effect."

PAZ: We did that.

LIZ: We did it.

JULIAN: We've already done that.

PAZ: "Don't actually get into fights with clans."

LIZ: Yeah, that's a founding principle here.

PAZ: "If there is another clan around, make sure they know you're there and that you agree on borders and other important things like that. If you want to be hostile towards each other, make sure no one gets hurt. For prey, you can take little mice, squirrels, birds, etc, stuffed animals and place them around your territory to hunt."

JULIAN: "You can also use goldfish crackers, gummy mice, or any food that looks like clan prey."

LIZ: Wait, I don't remember if this is correct. Someone tell me if it's... isn't there like... so, at Trader Joe's there's like this thing they do where there's a big plastic lobster that they put around like one around the store.

PAZ: Like lobster gummies?

LIZ: No, like a plastic lobster.

JULIAN: I've never heard of this.

LIZ: If a child finds it, they get given a piece of candy.

JULIAN: That's so cute.

LIZ: I don't know if that's... if I'm remembering that correctly, but I have a big plastic lobster on top of my fridge. We could use that.

PAZ: There we go.

JULIAN: Well, there we go. That's our prey. Perfect.

PAZ: Well, I don't know. I think we got this on lock.

Yeah, I think we've created the perfect clan.

PAZ: Should we rate this? 89% of readers found this article helpful. I'm going to give it five stars. Very helpful.

JULIAN: I also found it very helpful.

LIZ: Oh, we forgot the very last tip.

PAZ: Oh.

LIZ: Well, one of the last tips. "Don't attack your clan mates as this can get you banished from the clan." So, better watch out.

PAZ: Wait, hold on, what?

JULIAN: Is that a threat?

LIZ: [laughing] I was the nefarious one all alone. Wait. I'm sorry, there's warnings, different from tips. "Make sure nobody gets hurt. Make sure you don't eat any random berries you find outside. They could be poison."

JULIAN: Well, that's why we have you as the medicine cat apprentice.

LIZ: Moment of respect for the founding of our clan.

PAZ: Paws out for CrabClan.

LIZ: Oh.

JULIAN: Perfect.

LIZ: Oh, we should have like, like how fantasy novels always have like house sayings, we should be like Paws and Claws.

JULIAN: Oh, that is good.

LIZ: Because that's what we have, but it also suggests unity. The image would be a paw shaking hands with a crab claw, even though we do eat them.

JULIAN: I mean, is there any unity greater than eating something?

PAZ: No. Well, I think that ties it up for today. Do people want to like plug their Twitters or something?

JULIAN: Sure. We should also plug the show Twitter.

PAZ: Oh yeah.

JULIAN: Which is @staircast.

PAZ: Staircast on Twitter.com.

LIZ: Because we've got one now.

PAZ: We do.

JULIAN: We sure do. It has beautiful art by Liz.

PAZ: Yes. Well, you can find me @ootron on Twitter. That is o-o-t-r-o-n.

JULIAN: You can find me @shipyrds, without an A. That's ship-y-r-d-s. I did not choose my handle based on podcast pronounceability.

LIZ: You can find me through detective work of your own. I'm not gonna make it easy for you guys.

PAZ: Wow, okay.

JULIAN: Liz is a mystery.

LIZ: Listen, if you want to be a warrior, you have to know how to hunt.

PAZ: Hi everyone, this is Paz from the future. We forgot to plug our email as well and we would love for people to send in questions or fun anecdotes about the series to read next episode. So if you have any, feel free to send them in to [email protected]. Thanks.

So, for next week we're gonna be reading chapter 10 through 14 so for anyone reading along, that's where we'll be at. And I think things are really gonna start popping off. So thanks everyone for joining us today, and may Starclan light your path.

LIZ: Paws and claws.

PAZ: Paws and claws. Bye.

LIZ: Bye.

JULIAN: Bye.

[outro music]

#transcript #ep 02 #into the wild ep #ass ticks

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