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twilights-800-cats · 3 months

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Chapter 29

Shadepool emerged from the elder's den and stretched, working the aches from her back and legs. Even three days after the battle with WindClan, she still felt pain from the stray scratches she'd received from being on the outskirts of the fighting - some of her Clanmates, however, had a longer way to go.

The sheer amount of injuries meant that the medicine cat cave couldn't contain them all - the more severe cases, like Mousefur, Ferncloud, and Longtail, had been moved to the elder's den to keep them from being disturbed by the constant flow of warriors coming in and out for changes to their dressings or general checkups, and to give Brackenfur and Shadepool some peace.

She wondered, though, whether or not cats like Mousefur and Longtail, two of the eldest cats in the Clan, would leave the elder's den once they were healed. Longtail had been in a funk since the battle, disappointed with his inability to defend himself as well as he used to, while Mousefur seemed to finally feel her age. Shadepool just hoped they would be comfortable, whatever they chose.

Shadepool glanced to her side. The nursery was tucked beneath the shelter of the fallen tree and had suffered the least amount of damage from the attack. She couldn't see inside but knew Sorreltail was there, as she had been for the past three days. The strain of the battle and losing Sootfur had hurt her in a way that no herb could heal, and Shadepool worried not just for her friend but for the kits she carried. A premature birth caused by the trauma was a huge concern, though thankfully, there were no signs of such a thing yet.

She had already checked on Sorreltail today, and with the cats in the elder's den taken care of, Shadepool could finally take a moment to herself. She stepped into the clearing. Even as the sun slid into the evening, bathing the world in pale orange, the cats of ThunderClan were still hard at work repairing the damage from the battle.

Dustpelt had managed to fix the gorse barrier and entrance, and now he was working on the apprentice's den, which had collapsed during the fighting. Shadepool saw him bark orders at Larchpaw and Spiderpaw, and made a note to clear him for hunting so that he didn't go stir-crazy in camp and take it out on everyone else.

Shadepool headed around the fallen tree to the fresh-kill pile. It was full of fresh prey, and her belly growled as she selected a pair of mice for herself and Brackenfur. Mistyfoot's first act as deputy had been to restock the fresh-kill pile to bolster every cat's strength, and Shadepool couldn't have agreed more. Borders meant little if no one was strong enough to fight for them.

The energy in camp felt different since Mistyfoot had been appointed. She had some doubters amongst the older warriors - some thought that perhaps ThunderClan shouldn't elect a cat deputy who hadn't fully trained the only apprentice she'd ever had - but no one could argue with Mistyfoot's work ethic and determination in the position, not with all she had done to earn it.

She spotted Mistyfoot on the top of the Highledge, sitting with Tinystar. The two were murmuring about something Shadepool couldn't hear. She lifted her tail to say hello, and Mistyfoot dipped her head in response. Tinystar, however, was too absorbed in the conversation to acknowledge her.

Shadepool's tail twitched just a little. Her father seemed different since the battle, but she just couldn't put her paw on what had changed in him. His energy just felt off, somehow. Perhaps it was because of his bruised pride and the sorrow he wore like a second pelt.

Shadepool took her mice across the clearing, ducking around the lichen wall and into the medicine cat cave.

It was quiet and cool inside, with water slowly dripping in the back from the stream above. Brackenfur was washing himself beside the shallow pool. Shadepool pricked her ears - Brackenfur had barely left his nest since he'd been allowed to rest after the battle. The swelling in his leg must have finally begun to ease.

She laid the mice between them and sniffed her mentor to make sure. His leg was still hot, but it was nowhere near as angry and inflamed as yesterday. Shadepool sighed in relief.

Brackenfur twitched his whiskers. “I'm not out of the woods yet, Shadepool,” he warned softly. “My leg aches in a way it hasn't before.”

Shadepool looked up at him, worried. “You can still use it, right?”

Brackenfur nodded, and Shadepool felt a little relief - she wasn't sure what they could do if he'd developed some infection beneath his skin. It did bother her that Brackenfur’s gaze seemed unfocused and far-off, though, like he was staring at a world that wasn’t there.

“I think it's age,” Brackenfur told her after a moment. He bent down and took a bite of the mouse. “How are the others?”

“Longtail's wounds are healing, but he keeps rubbing off his poultices,” Shadepool reported, deciding to leave it for now. She crouched down beside her dinner, mouth watering. “I tried cobwebs, but he just seems to tear right through it.”

“His nest is too brittle, then,” Brackenfur mused. “That will soon be taken care of with new growth. But so long as he's not reopening the wounds and there isn't any infection, he should still heal - just slowly.”

“Ferncloud's paws are still tender, too,” Shadepool went on. The gray she-cat had pulled out three of her claws during the fighting. “She should be fine in a day or so.”

“And Mousefur?”

“She complains about her back but little else,” Shadepool answered. “I think she might've pulled a muscle, but she refuses to sit still, even in a nest. I told Ferncloud to keep an eye on her.”

Brackenfur nodded along, chewing on a bite of mouse. “Good, good,” he mumbled before swallowing. “I'm sorry that I haven't been more help.”

“You can barely move!” Shadepool pointed out. “Don't worry about it.” Brackenfur had done all he could from within his nest, but Shadepool had done her best to tend the Clan the past three days.

Brackenfur's eyes softened. “You've made a wonderful medicine cat, Shadepool. ThunderClan is lucky to have you.”

Shadepool's stomach churned. “Is it, though?” she murmured.

Brackenfur sighed. “It is,” he said, lifting his chin. “I wish that I could make you reconsider what you're doing, but you aren't an apprentice anymore.” He stared at her impassively. “Ultimately, I am not the one who will judge you for your actions. If StarClan still deems you worthy, then it must be part of their plan.”

“But you're still disappointed in me,” Shadepool mumbled.

Brackenfur did not respond to that, not directly: “In the end, what matters is that we use our skills to protect ThunderClan.”

Shadepool stared down at her mouse. A moment ago, she had been hungry enough to eat it in one gulp - now, though, she wasn't sure she could even take a bite. In her heart, she knew that the only reason she was still a medicine cat was because of that Omen and the danger it posed to ThunderClan, and Brackenfur was likely never to be proud of her again.

Brackenfur's paw reached out and pushed the mouse toward her. “Eat,” he ordered.

Shadepool ducked her muzzle and finished the mouse within a few moments. It tasted like newleaf by the lake, fresh and full, and Shadepool swiped her tongue across her muzzle to savor the new flavor.

“You should go and get some fresh air,” Brackenfur suggested, bending his head to lick his chest. “You haven't left camp for three days.”

Shadepool blinked at her mentor. She didn't necessarily need his permission to leave camp for any reason, but she had a strange inkling that he was giving her an out to see Crowflight tonight. She hadn't seen him at all since the battle, and for a moment, she wasn't sure if she should agree.

“Go,” Brackenfur told her firmly.

“I'll try to bring back some herbs,” Shadepool promised. “With how warm it's been, something ought to be growing out there.”

Brackenfur didn't respond to that, returning to his washing. Shadepool got to her paws and left the cave. It was a strange feeling, knowing that Brackenfur was allowing her to get away with breaking the medicine cat code - it was like waiting for a dark, heavy cloud to open up on top of her head. His disapproval stung even more when she deserved it, and his acknowledgment of her skills - the thing she had craved from the beginning - had come with a price she hadn't ever imagined.

But this was the world she lived in now. Shadepool slipped through the gorse tunnel, and, out in the woods, she took in a deep breath of the heady forest air. The trees that grew around her were not the trees of her birth, but they were her home, and even if it meant losing her life as a medicine cat, she would do it to protect the lives of those who lived beneath their branches.

“Shade? You okay?”

Shadepool's ears pricked. She was surprised to see Nightfrost padding along one of the hunting trails. She should have sensed him, especially when he was so close, but the past three days had been draining - perhaps she had instinctively pulled away to keep some of that energy for herself.

His question flooded her mind now. To him, she looked like she was staring out at nothing and standing in the way of any outgoing patrols to boot. Shadepool's pelt flushed with embarrassment.

“I'm fine,” she told him. She let him in, let him feel that it was as close to the truth as it could be.

Nightfrost's gaze softened. In the orange light streamed through the budding trees, something about his pale eyes caught Shadepool's attention. There was a pair of stars floating in those icy blue waters - something that had never been there before.

He must've felt her intrigue. “What is it?” he asked, tilting his head.

“I don't know,” Shadepool murmured. Nightfrost wasn't a Clan leader whose nine lives were represented by the stars in their eyes to the cats with the knowledge to see them - he was just an ordinary warrior.

So what were they doing there?

Shadepool shook her head. Nightfrost was getting worried, and Shadepool didn't have a proper answer for him right now.

“It's nothing, I'm sure,” she insisted. “I've got to get going.”

Nightfrost didn't bother to question what she was up to - he knew because of course he did. “Want me to come with you?”

“Go and rest,” Shadepool told him. “You've been working your paws off since the battle - you might not have seen any of the fighting, but you'll work yourself to death if you don't take a break.” Her brother had volunteered for every hunting patrol he could since the battle ended. “Maybe eat something with Mistyfoot?”

Nightfrost twitched his whiskers. “Is she busy?”

“Always,” Shadepool chuckled, “but I'm sure she'll make time for you.”

Nightfrost's eyes sparkled, and he brushed his muzzle against Shadepool's cheek. She breathed in the smell of her littermate, so warm and comforting. Not long ago, she had nearly lost his friendship forever.

Never again, she told herself.

Nightfrost purred. Never, he whispered.

He left a moment later, slipping by her and disappearing into the gorse tunnel. Shadepool sighed, contented, and turned to head on her way.

As she walked through the forest, the sun heading for the horizon, she knew she wasn't alone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it - the white cat was walking alongside her. Their stride would have matched if the white cat's legs weren't longer, but it ensured never to pull ahead.

“I don't know what you are,” Shadepool admitted as she walked. “Maybe you're my punishment for seeing Crowflight. Maybe you're part of the Omen.” She frowned. “Maybe you are the Omen.”

Shadepool halted, and she turned her muzzle to face the white cat. It had copied her, looking at her with those night-sky eyes and no expression, with no way of knowing if it could hear her at all. Its form was unnatural amid the dark browns and greens of the forest.

“You've helped me,” Shadepool meowed on. “You showed me the shadow-cats, even though they terrified me, and you helped mend my relationship with Nightfrost.” She blinked and saw Emberstep's shocked expression, the last face she had made before her death. “You saved my life.”

The white cat stared blankly, as it always did.

"Yellowfang said that you were something ancient,” Shadepool recalled. “If you can't tell me what you want with me, and I can't guess it, I just wish I knew your name. It feels strange not knowing what to call you. Especially if you’re going to be following me around.”

The white cat blinked.

Shadepool's mind was filled with images - she was running, running beneath a clear, open sky. Hills and stone. Grass turning to black rock turning to jagged boulders. A darkness, a mystery - but a light, a little flitting creature, pale and glowing. A pale moth, a guide, leading the way down into the depths...

Shadepool gasped, and she knew the white cat's name.

———————————————————

Twilight had settled on the world when Shadepool made it to the tree-bridge.

She had thought about coming to the stepping-stones, but something about the place felt tainted now that Emberstep had died there. If her spirit hadn't made it to StarClan, perhaps she would haunt it, and Shadepool didn't want to find out.

She had hoped that Crowflight would feel the same way, and she was right.

He was there, and she supposed he had been there for some time already. He was perched on the middle of the tree-bridge, staring upstream towards the Moonpool, the fading light of the sun soaking into his night-dark pelt.

She didn't know what he was thinking about, but it was something so deep that he didn't notice her until she joined him on the tree-bridge. It was an awkward place to sit until she found her balance. When her pelt brushed against him, she felt his breathing quicken.

“Hi,” she mewed.

“H-Hi,” he returned.

They stared, not at one another, but at the Divide. It wasn't so long ago, it felt, that Shadepool had seen the sparkling pawprints that had led her to the Moonpool scattering over its surface. With Crowflight by her side, she had never been so sure of herself and delighted - but that event, she realized now, had been the catalyst for the tragedies that followed.

Now, it was as if the land itself was saying something.

Crowflight seemed to think the same. His voice was heavy, and he asked, “Are we making a mistake?”

She knew what he was talking about. “Maybe,” she murmured, her heart fluttering. “But I love you, Crowflight. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop.”

Crowflight sighed. “Same for me,” he admitted. Softly, he mewed, “You walk in my dreams, Shadepool.”

Shadepool leaned against him. “Where do we go?” she asked. “In your dreams?”

“Sometimes we're walking along the lake,” he said, his voice gentle and wistful. “And then maybe we're in the forest, the old one, and the Twolegs never touched it, but it's all ours. Then... Then, sometimes, we're on our own journey, side by side, going somewhere new. But it's just us, and that's all we need.”

Shadepool closed her eyes, and she could see it all. It warmed her heart, and she wished it were real. “That sounds nice,” she decided.

“But that's not the world we live in,” Crowflight pointed out softly.

“No,” Shadepool agreed, “it's not.”

She felt his head turn, and Shadepool pulled away just enough to meet his gaze. His eyes were such a dark, deep blue, and she felt as if she were drowning in their sorrowful depths - yet there was something there, something new:

Stars.

There were two of them, like the ones in Nightfrost's eyes. Shadepool blinked in surprise. Seeing the stars once before might've been a trick of the light, but here they were in Crowflight's eyes, too, like the first StarClan warriors to appear in Silverpelt in the evening. That had to mean something.

And then she heard it in her mind - Spottedleaf's voice, whispering fanatically: “There will be Four, kin of your kin, blood of your blood - Four of Thunder and Water and Wind and Shadow, Four who hold the power of the Stars in their paws. There will be Four, and they will fulfill the Promise, the Omen of the Stars!”

Two stars in Nightfrost's eyes and two in Crowflight's - four.

Shadepool was filled with some emotion she could not name, something like terror and certainty and hope, all at the same time. She dug her claws into the tree-bridge, feeling like this thing might fizzle out of her pelt if she let it. She wanted to hold onto it and feel the manic energy it gave her, even if it burned her out and turned her into Spottedleaf.

“Shade?” Crowflight wondered. His gaze searched hers, confused. “What is it?”

Shadepool blinked. The stars did not disappear, but that feeling did, leaving her hollow. She unclenched her claws and found herself panting, her heart rate slowing as she struggled for something to say now that she knew what she knew.

“You said that we don't live in a world where we can be together,” Shadepool managed, finally. Her chest felt tight, yet lingering exhilaration filled her from head to toe. She lifted her muzzle, looking up at Crowflight. “And you're right - we don't. Our codes forbid it, and our Clans hate one another.”

She touched her nose to his and spoke before he could: “But we were brought together for a reason, Crowflight,” she whispered swiftly, the words tumbling out of her, “and I think that reason was so we could make that world - one where love and duty can exist together, whether we’re medicine cats or warriors, or ThunderClan and WindClan.”

Crowflight's eyes glittered, and so did the stars in them. “Do you think so?” he asked. “Because I would follow you anywhere, Shadepool. Anywhere.”

She knew it was true, and it was a tremendous responsibility, that statement - but she was sure she was right. Through all the wrongs, this was right.

It had to be, or it would all be for nothing.

#tb au #tb twilight

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warrior-cats-canongen · 8 months

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Canongen: The New Prophecy || The Lost Save

This was the first test save I started playing and it had a really great arc to it, but unfortunately my game didn't save properly so I have no way to continue it. I figured I may as well post the notes, though!

At first, matters in ThunderClan are fairly lighthearted. Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw have just been named apprentices. ThunderClan has recently named two warriors, Sootfur and Rainwhisker, and their sister, Sorrelpaw, has returned to training after moons of injury. Ferncloud and Dustpelt's new litter -- Birchkit, Hollykit, and Larchkit -- is healthy and doing well, even as their first litter -- Spiderpaw and Shrewpaw -- near the end of their own training.

Patrols mostly go well, but Brambleclaw does get a handsome new tear in his ear from a dog. Ferncloud ventures out with Dustpelt, Squirrelpaw, and Ashfur, and they try to blow off some steam teasing a few twoleg kits they find near the twolegplace... but end up getting chased themselves instead.

In the next moon, Sorrelpaw earns her warrior name alongside Shrewpaw: Sorreltail and Shrewtail. Hollykit gets grabbed by a hawk while playing in camp, but fortunately Leafpaw manages to free the kit from the raptor's talons, although not without injuries. Speckletail is killed by a dog while taking a walk outside camp. Leafpaw wonders if the strange dream she had over the last moon, which she couldn't quite make sense of, was an omen of what misfortune was to come.

At first, the patrols seem to be going well. Prey is plentiful, and Cloudtail and Brightheart head out for a romantic excursion in the forest near twolegplace. While hunting, Cloudtail is captured by twolegs and taken! To make matters worse, Ferncloud is injured by a dog while her patrol investigates ShadowClan scent on their territory. Later, Mousefur, Brambleclaw, Rainwhisker, and Spiderpaw find some ShadowClan kits playing at the border, and Spiderpaw is killed trying to return them.

As if the Clan hasn't experienced enough loss, Hollykit succumbs to the wounds left by the hawk, leaving Leafpaw shaken. Dustpelt steals a rabbit from just over the ShadowClan border out of spite for his son's death, but is quickly caught and killed by another patrol. The Clan mourns, and Squirrelpaw is re-apprenticed to Brightheart. Brightheart knows that she will always love Cloudtail, but with so much other tragedy in the Clan and the looming potential of a war, she knows she can't dwell on it and needs to move on, at least for now.

Over the next moon, Whitepaw earns her warrior name, Whitewing. Cinderpelt and Dappletail berate ShadowClan for the unnecessary deaths at the Gathering, although this does nothing to improve the relationship between the two Clans. The conflict seems to be affecting the other Clans as well, as Rainwhisker's patrol has a tense interaction with WindClan at the border. Brackenfur's patrol, meanwhile, encounters a twoleg at the river trying to dispose of a cat in a bag, and the patrol successfully rescues a frightened, injured kittypet who decides to stay with the Clan and takes on the name Quickspot. Ashfur gets a nasty rat bite while hunting.

Despite her young age, or perhaps out of a desire to have more warriors ready for battle, Squirrelpaw earns her warrior name, Squirrelflight. The tragic news of Barley's death reaches the Clan.

Leafpaw earns her full name not long after, choosing to be called Leafholly in honor of Hollykit. Birchpaw and Larchpaw are apprenticed to Graystripe and Brambleclaw respectively, and Larchpaw is given jay feathers in congratulations! Ashfur's rat bite takes a turn for the worse, and Ashfur grimly comes to terms with the fact that it might not get better despite Leafholly and Cinderpelt's desperate efforts. Mousefur's patrol encounters a kittypet who is interested in Clan life, and she eagerly asks to join ThunderClan, taking on the name Zoeheart. Zoeheart accompanies Thornclaw, Ferncloud, and Squirrelflight on a border patrol, and perhaps with the help of her outside perspective, the patrol manages to dispel any lingering tension between the Clans.

The same could not be said of ShadowClan, and the two Clans formally declare war on each other! Ferncloud is one of the first casualties, killed while scouting out the border. Firestar saves Sorreltail from a dog, but loses a life to his injuries shortly after. Fortunately, Ashfur's rat bite finally seems to have healed, and the immediate danger for him has, for now, passed. Graystripe's patrol notices poorly-disguised ShadowClan scent on ThunderClan territory and decides to return the favor, spitefully muddying the entire border scent line.

In this time of crisis, Firestar finds himself turning to Dappletail's aged wisdom. Squirrelflight earns her first scar, a torn ear, while chasing off a dog. Goldenflower's patrol rescues a young loner named Virgo from a dog, and he decides to stay with the Clan.

ShadowClan raids the camp, and Dappletail dies defending Graystripe from an enemy warrior. Quickspot also nobly sacrifices herself to save Larchpaw. The other Clans feel that this war has gone too far, and pushes ThunderClan and ShadowClan to make peace. While they don't call a formal truce, this does seem to de-escalate the violence.

Fortunately, this seems to be enough for the two Clans to call a truce over the next moon. Thornclaw thinks he might have had a vision from StarClan, but no one can really make sense of it.

Birchpaw is given his warrior name, Birchfall. Brackenfur's tail is badly wounded by a fox, and Thornclaw also gets bitten. Goldenflower twists her paw on a root. Virgo decides to stay with the Clan permanently and takes on the warrior name Wrenheart. Cinderpelt ponders her own mortality while gathering herbs with Leafholly. Sandstorm gets frostbite while hunting.

Soon after, Sandstorm announces that she's expecting kits again! Larchpaw earns her warrior name, Larchfeather. A few cats, including Leafholly and Wrenheart, catch whitecough. Larchfeather gets a bad fox bite (there seems to be a real problem with foxes this leafbare!) Graystripe's patrol meets a loner named Parsley who is interested in Clan life, but ultimately she decides not to join ThunderClan.

Graystripe's patrol warns WindClan about a badger on their territory. It seems all the Clans are relatively at peace right now, perhaps focused on more important parts of survival due to leafbare.

As newleaf begins to creep back in, Firestar and Sandstorm welcome Yellowkit to the Clan. Brightheart is bitten by a snake, but fortunately survives! Brambleclaw falls in the river and makes it out, but not without a cough. Wrenheart and Thornclaw become mates.

#canongen #warrior cats #warrior cats the new prophecy #warrior cats au #thunderclan #starclan #firestar #sandstorm #leafpool #squirrelflight #brambleclaw #sorreltail #brightheart #dustpelt #ferncloud #cloudtail #birchfall #whitewing #ashfur

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jesse-pinko · 5 months

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Not a dig at anyone bc different people find different story routes interesting but any Mapleshade au where she isn’t at least a little bit evil still is automatically boring to me, esp since I feel like there’s a pretty obvious and interesting path to take with the secret-never-revealed au specifically. Like Frecklewish and Oakstar were canonically planning to raise those kittens to get revenge on Appledusk, and he still would have been cheating on Mapleshade and gotten Reedshine pregnant… once Mapleshade found out, I can see her getting fully onboard with the plan to weaponize her kits against him with no further intention of revealing him as their father.

So.

Patchkit, Petalkit and Larchkit are raised on somewhat embellished tales of their father Birchface’s heroism, and how he and his brave apprentice were sadistically drowned by a dishonorable Riverclan warrior. Their mother puts great emphasis on the pain this Riverclan warrior caused her, leaving her all alone with three fatherless kits to raise by herself, though their aunt Frecklewish always corrects her on this front, which seems to annoy Mapleshade greatly. The three kits are very close to their mother and feel very protective of her because of all she’s been through, especially Patchkit, who is the most susceptible to her manipulations.

Patchpaw is apprenticed to Oakstar himself, Petalpaw to Frecklewish, and Larchpaw to Bloomheart like his mother before him. During a confrontation with a Riverclan patrol, Patchpaw notices Appledusk staring at him and wonders if he knows Patchpaw is the kit of the cat he murdered. He also exchanges verbal barbs with Wavepaw (Applefrost in canon) Appledusk’s son by Reedshine. Oakstar compliments him on his ferocity afterward and compares him to Birchface . Later, Patchpaw goes patrolling with his mother, and they catch Wavepaw hunting alone at Snakerocks. Mapleshade encourages him to attack Wavepaw and instructs him on which battle moves to use. Wavepaw drowns while trying to cross the river due to his injuries and Patchpaw is horrified, but Mapleshade assures him it wasn’t his fault and that Wavepaw shouldn’t have crossed into Thunderclan territory. Meanwhile, Petalpaw and Mapleshade start growing apart due to her mother treating her differently because she is the kit that looks most like Appledusk, and she grows closer to her aunt and mentor Frecklewish. She also becomes friends with Perchpaw at the gathering, and the two start meeting up in secret after Petalpaw mentions offhandedly that she’d always wanted to learn how to swim. Perchpaw remarks that she’s surprisingly good at it. Frecklewish catches them one day and publicly humiliates Petalpaw by having her confess to meeting with a Riverclan apprentice in front of the entire clan, and she is ostracized by everyone but her brother Larchpaw, who, having not been mentored by any of their overbearing relatives, has slowly begun to recognize just how much the adults around them are using him and his siblings. Larchpaw becomes friends with a rambunctious crew of teenaged kittypets, and reflects to himself that they seem more free than he feels living in the wild. He starts to question clan life and Starclan altogether, and starts up a flirtation with a kittypet tom named Mister Mistoffelees.

The three kits become warriors and are given the names Patchface, Petalwish and Larchshade respectively, which Petalwish and Larchshade both resent. Petalwish begins meeting with Perchpaw again, now Perchleap, and soon finds herself expecting kits. Around this time, Thunderclan launches a massive attack on Riverclan, and the three find and corner Appledusk, who reveals he is their father to save his own life. Patchface cannot reconcile the thought that he had been responsible for the death of his own half brother and that his mother had lied to him. He yowls that Appledusk is a liar and slashes his throat, much to the stunned horror of his siblings. Perchleap attacks him in a rage but ultimately can’t bring himself to do anything to his mate’s brother; Frecklewish witnesses this and confronts Petalwish about the father of her kits, and Petalwish tells her the truth. Frecklewish is disgusted, and threatens to reveal her secret to the clan. Petalwish flees to Riverclan to be with Perchleap, and Patchface and Mapleshade both denounce her as a traitor, though Frecklewish seems to blame herself for Petalwish’s leaving. Larchshade, furious with his family’s hypocrisy, threatens Patchface and Mapleshade with the truth about his own parentage. Only when his mother insinuates to him that Larchshade needs to be “dealt with” does Patchface realize the true extent of her cruelty and selfishness. Mapleshade leads another attack on Riverclan, where she attempts to kill her expectant daughter, mistakenly calling her by Appledusk’s name as she raises her paw for the killing blow. Patchface jumps in front of his sister and dies in her place, with Frecklewish subduing Mapleshade and scratching her eyes. Mapleshade stumbles away towards the river and drowns. Petalwish reconciles with her aunt but ultimately decides to stay in Riverclan, though Frecklewish does insist to her that she name one of the kits Birchkit as they say their goodbyes. She becomes close with her two remaining siblings by Appledusk, and names her three kits after exactly no one. Larchshade says fuck this shit and goes to twolegplace to live with his kittypet boyfriend.

#me when i’m supposed to working on my own original stuff lol #here’s this wholeass screed no one asked for on the battle cat books #might make some edits bc i do want frecklewish to find out the truth otherwise it makes her arc less impactful i feel #also should probably fit ravenwing and nettlebreeze in here somehow #yes mapleshade is still girlbossing it up down in hell and yes patchface got into starclan his trial was a doozy #not pro freckle anti maple necessarily but it works best for this plot #warrior cats #warrior cats au #mapleshade’s vengeance #mapleshade #frecklewish #appledusk #oakstar #perchpaw #patchkit #petalkit #larchkit

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