#the name longtail is good

[fairypaw]

LongSandFire <33 my illsies💥

I will not elaborate their dynamic further. im tired and eepsy maybe next time (there WILL be a next time.. i need to draw leaf squirrel as their kids) if anyone wants to send me asks either for design reqs/prompts or kitty cat opinions feel free!! i should be drawing more cats as an excuse anyway

[yuridovewing]

Speaking of Longtail, he's one of those first arc cats where I'm just set on him spawning out of nowhere. He does not have named parents. Who knows what happened to them or who they are. I don't. He just materialized in there with the name Longtail.

... Okay in all seriousness, I'm pondering the idea that he and Sandstorm are siblings and he's her older brother. He moved to ThunderClan as a young warrior when Sandkit was placed there and wasn't going to move back. This is a point of insecurity for him, which is why he lashes out at Rusty so harshly when he's introduced to the clan.

[bonefall]

TC Scourge is so interesting tho. How does he play out or effect the narrative? Does he go more clan life and change his name or does he act like a changer who gets the clans to see that outsiders aren’t lesser? I think he could be such a good character in like TBC especially as a rebel. I’m very interested in this idea

I'm glad you asked! I do actually have a point with it, and it's the more "fun" option between two choices I have at a certain point.

I'll try to summarize this and keep the BIG overview for its own post;

BloodClan is much older, forming back during the end of Oakstar's rule

It's neutral now, no longer pure evil. It does good things (distributes resources, protects from invasion, saves cats from abusive and neglectful living conditions) as well as bad things (demands service and/or tribute, gruesome punishments for stealing and disobedience, rigid pecking order)

Scourge is the newest in a line of rulers. Instead of being EVIL he's just very politically savvy, having inherited a large and brutal group.

The BloodClan battle happens because Tigerstar PROMISED them land and Scourge is sick of Clan cats not respecting them

So, in any case, Scourge is NOT dying at the battle. Firestar defeats him honorably, and engages in diplomacy with BloodClan afterwards. Everyone involved is mixed about this, but it works out well at the destruction of the forest where BloodClan absorbs the warriors who are staying behind and provides aid.

The Choice

So the crossroads will come during the period concurrent with Firestar's Quest/Quietus, the part where there was a power struggle between Snake, Ice, Claw, and Rage. In the rewrite I'm combining all the BloodClan power plots into one-- Scourge choosing a successor.

My initial draft was to give him a progressive disease that was going to kill him early, but with some small tweaking, it could just be him getting tired of leadership.

So my choice is that he dies here (much more compliant with canon) or he ultimately joins ThunderClan and accompanies them to the Lake.

Why though?

Because I want him to play a role with Hollyleaf.

In addition to it just being generally fun that there's this very quiet ex-mobster boss hanging out in the background just enjoying life, he would be an uncle figure in PO3.

I think Hollyleaf's struggle with outsiders is really interesting, and since I'm probably going to reduce Stormfur and Brook's role in ThunderClan due to Tribe reworks, there is an opening for him to squeeze in. Hollyleaf is able to look between the obedience the code demands, the way the Clans see outsiders as being soft, and have a real, hard example that this is not true because of Scourge.

He will be old by this point, old enough to not soak up too much attention from younger warriors, but still has that good old BloodClan skill in his claws when it's required. That aside he would generally be a quiet loner type, quite close to Goldenflower, probably accepting a clan name (he'd see it as respecting the culture) but not correcting anyone when they call him Scourge.

He would die sometime between OOTS and AVOS, possibly of that progressive disease or even going down in a blaze of glory during the Great Battle (Tigerstar getting a rematch would be SUPER fun!) and he would become a ghost, not joining StarClan. Tree gets to see him a couple of times, and he would be there for Squirrelflight's Hope instead of the random kittypet, Blade.

[stargazingpsychotic]

Yeah, this year has been, uh, I don't remember most of it. I think I made 1 thing though.

I can name a few more birds when I see them, so I learnt something this year.

But I'm ending it in a really bad place, so that's not ideal.

[peanut-with-wifi-access]

MOONPAW

[base by lilliepaws on deviantart]

design notes, hopes & headcanons, and other stuff below the cut!

-–·—Design Notes—·–-

•yes chimeras can look like this. they don't all look the exact same ofc, and split-face torties exist, but a chimera CAN be this

•dilute ginger tabby w/ green eyes + non-dilute black-brown colorpoint tortie w/ vitiligo and yellow eyes. here's the seperates;

•hair tufts that look like antenna

•vitiligo spots are supposed to resemble stars in the night sky

•red-orange patches resemble a blood moon

•double crescent moon stripes

•pale underbelly looks like crashing waves with the moon above

•curled tail and flopped ear since I wanted her to still be longtailed but look like a rabbit (cuz yk, the jade rabbit on the moon)

•her eyes are the same colors as my Firestar/Rustfire design (this is a total coincidence, please refer to *headcanon 2)

•i forgot her curled ear crescents but I'm too lazy to go back and fix that

•this design will 100% change, I am incredibly indecisive [times changed: 1]

-–·—Hopes & Headcanons—·–-

•intersex transfem, she/her, objectum pan/ace

•not thrift & bay's bio kit cuz incest. they found her in the woods.*

•moon^2 lowkey owns my soul. this cat is in love w/ a puddle.

•only really into the spiritual side of being a med cat, isn't very good w/ herbs (we all know she's getting shoved in the med den 😔)

•warrior/full-med name will be Moonrabbit (←manifesting)

•might be related to Sol somehow idk I hope

•voice in her head is the twin she absorbed in the womb, they're not actually evil just wanna help and give warnings while also being a little silly :3 Moonpaw just calls them Voice since she's bad at naming things

•I need Moonpaw to be a weird girly. I want her to play with bugs and ask weird questions and be so so strange and zone out during herb lessons and—

•please have her dramatic moment be during a blood moon/lunar eclipse please that's all I need in life

-–·—Other Stuff—·–-

•leaf and tawny are so gonna adopt this strange baby

•once again, design and stuff subject to change

•the moonpool is gonna get poison polluted and moonpaw's gonna dive in to fix it, therefore becoming one with her love (the moonpool)

•once she emerges as Moonrabbit, she becomes the new connection to starclan (rock kinda deal) and leads the clans to a new territory as the twolegs close in

•beach territory post big timeskip arc 10 please—

･ ｡ ☆∴｡　*　･ﾟ*｡★･　　･ *ﾟ｡　　 *　 ･ ﾟ*｡･ﾟ★｡　　　☆ﾟ･｡°*. ﾟ*　　ﾟ｡·*･｡ ﾟ*　　　ﾟ *.｡☆｡★　･　　* ☆ ｡･ﾟ*.｡　　　 *　★ ﾟ･｡ * ｡　　　　･　　ﾟ☆ ｡

[one-in-a-million-fishsticks-blog]

Kidnapped Firepaw AU

Following up the "Banished Fireheart AU" with this absolute gem.

Premise:

As Spottedleaf recounts the prophecy of fire to Bluestar, Tigerclaw lurks and listens, wholeheartedly believing in the words of Starclan like the UWU good pureblooded clan cat that he is.

Obviously he now needs to find himself a highlighter orange cat, he can't have the clan destroying itself before he ever even gets the chance to lead it after all, but where on earth is he supposed to find one when highlighter orange genetics aren't exactly common in the forest?.......

Enter Rusty, wondering the border of two-leg place all helpless and alone, itty bitty wittle barely apprentice aged kitty.

He's perfect, he simply HAS to join Thunderclan, the prophecised cat has gotta be him.

Besides, "rescuing" a kit from potential danger is the right thing for a noble warrior like Tigerclaw to do in this situation.

(Scourge? Never met her.)

Recruitment speeches and independent thought processes? What in Starclan's name are those?...

Tigerclaw could just carry this kit home right now if he wanted to.

So he does, he just stalks Rusty for a while, pops out of the bushes when the timing is right and straight up catnaps him.

Rusty is still the Rusty whom we all know and love, so he isn't THAT deeply upset about getting to live in the wild, but his little paws are rated E for everyone and he vows to make this entire experience as difficult for his kidnapper as possible.

Measures taken by Rusty to ruin Tigerclaw's life now include:

Acting more cynical and prickly than even Longtail on the daily

Ensuring that the cat assigned to escort him back home one final time as he says his last goodbyes to Smudge is Tigerclaw, the one cat who hates two-leg place more than Darkstripe

Cozying up to Bluestar (and later Yellowfang) when he knows damn well that Tigerclaw wants to be the adult in his life for some stupid reason

Making Ravenpaw his best friend as soon as organically possible because he also knows perfectly well that Tigerclaw will be forced to tolerate Ravenpaw if Firepaw takes a fancy to him

Ravenpaw: "Tigerclaw wants to kill me...."

Firepaw: "So that he can convince Bluestar to make me his apprentice instead?.... No thank you!"

Firepaw is a paw-length from convincing Bluestar to be his mentor, he will not be letting Tigerclaw ruin that for him.

The petty grudge continues into Fireheart's career as a warrior, prompting a neverending series of events seen as unfortunate only by Tigerclaw.

What do you mean his orange cat likes all of the remaining cats that he was planning on murdering?.... That was supposed to be HIS orange cat! Now how is he supposed to continue on his bloodthirsty quest for power?

Fireheart is best friends with Goldenflower now, she is his big sister, all of the adoration, attention and respect that Tigerclaw wishes he could get from Fireheart goes to Goldenflower

Bramblekit and Tawnykit are on the same level as Cloudkit, they are also his niece and nephew and he goes out of his way to hog nursery visitation

Longtail and Dustpelt are going to be Fireheart's friends now whether they like it or not, he is going to slowly squeeze their Tigerclaw love out of them like two-leg tooth paste and make them part of the 💥 Fireheart Squad 💥

Graystripe, Ravenflight(paw), and Sandstorm are already part of the 💥 Fireheart Squad 💥 and they help him bully Darkstripe

[overmorrowpine]

imagine if jayfeather never became a med cat. hollyleaf became a warrior too, sure, but jayfeather has his whole "i can't believe he gave the blind kitten to the half blind cat you still have one working eye" in front of brightheart and she's like "it's because i had to learn a whole new style of fighting when i lost my eye and i can fucking do it again"

so she works with jaypaw to figure out his strengths in battle and weaknesses. his problem with visual tells? she interrogates everyone about other clans' fighting styles and recreates them on her own time, and then she works with jaypaw until he can recognize the sound of someone planting their hind paws to rear up, the sound of a front paw rushing through the air, the sound of riverclan warriors emerging from the river when most warriors wouldn't be able to hear it because they wouldn't be listening for it. she runs drills with him again and again, not telling him what clan's fighting style she's emulating before starting and letting him figure out. he gets lightning-quick reflexes, and the ability to tune out most battle sounds to focus on the cat in front of him. he learns how to get his subconscious to focus on the sounds of battle and filter in the sound of approaching pawsteps. he learns how to go for the main parts of the body, the head and legs with a sideswipe and the full body itself by crashing down. he learns that if he scoops up sand, dirt, leaf-litter, and throws it at their face, it'll fuck them up completely. he learns how to track a moving target while he himself is moving.

she brings him out to pieces of the territory without telling him where they are, and has him guess. she has him learn to pinpoint a scent and sound more precisely than any sighted cat, to brush a paw over the ground so lightly that it doesn't crunch dead leaves or snap twigs. she has leafpool cobweb a leaf over her good eye and tries to hunt, to figure out the problem areas, and she figures out workarounds. she brings him to different spots of the territory and quizzes him on the location, on how to get places from there. she has him move silently all the way back to camp.

his siblings graduate. everyone tells them to give up. jaypaw looks them in the eyes and says fuck you, he's learning to be a warrior and it's working.

he and brightheart run drills where they borrow other clans' cats and have them attack jaypaw. he defends himself startlingly well, in their eyes.

at one point he, in typical prickly jaypaw fashion, asks longtail why tf he's still an elder. longtail finds the idea of becoming a warrior again insurmountable. jaypaw flounces off thinking he's better than longtail because of course he does, but it makes longtail happy to see a cat who is like him doing what he couldn't.

brightheart grabs the leader himself and is like "watch jaypaw's assessment. he's doing ridiculously amazing he should be a warrior" and he has to agree, jaypaw has somehow mastered being a warrior despite his disability.

jaypaw gets to be a warrior and spit in the faces of everyone who told him he couldn't, brightheart becomes the de facto mentor of disabled kittens, and the rest of the clan learns an Important Lesson about disability

(edit we have a poll abt his warrior name now)

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

In the season of the holidays, let's talk about the Clan Culture of Gift-giving!

There are many different kinds of things that Clan cats give each other as gifts. I will show some of the different categories, feel free to ask about anything in them.

Flowers (for all intents and purposes, most flowers are no longer toxic to cats)

Flowers are a very common gift amongst the Clans. Different flowers also have different meanings. Lavender is given as a general "wishing you peace" as the scent has a calming effect. A rose is seen as a VERY bold gift, as they are mainly found in Twoleg gardens, and posses thorns. Stems, petals, and leaves are all seen as gifts themselves, but all parts of a flower have the same culture.

Scorchfur brought Snowbird tulip petals while they were courting. Quite brave and romantic since they come from Twoleg gardens!

Tree brought Needlekit and Rootkit daisies while they were small. Oops, that's a gift younger cats tend to give older cats. Thankfully they liked the smell.

Palebird liked giving heather to Woollytail, which is seen a nice, generic gift in Windclan. In any other Clan, it is pretty much seen as just friendly. Heather flowers were Woollytail's favorite though,

Generally, they are given to from any cat to any cat, but have their own meaning unlike human flower language.

Stones/Shells

Since shells are nearly Riverclan exclusive, I'm gonna throw them into this category.

Stones are seen as adult gifts. You don't give them to kits, they are given to fellow warriors. If a mentor gives one to their apprentice, it is seen as a HIGH compliment. Longtail gave a lovely smooth pebble from the river to Swiftpaw. Cloudtail buried it with him. Rainwhisker gave a jagged little stone to his friend Spiderleg, which he uses to help cut up mushroom pieces, good useful gift!

Shellheart, true to his name, gave shells to Rainflower while they were courting. She threw them all out when they split up. Crookedjaw gave a shiny shell to Willowbreeze when they got together. Silverstream kept it and it is now in Blossomfall's possession, as Blossomfall is Silverstream's daughter now.

Berries/Mushrooms/Nuts

Snacks! Snacks are great gifts! Anyone can give these out to anyone, and some have basic messages. They quite different from straight up meals. They are very often given from parents to children, especially nuts.

Acorns are very common in Thunderclan land, and Squirrelflight liked giving them to The Three for them to eat and play with.

A large beech nut tree grows on Riverclan land, close to their Windclan border. Beechfur would leave small piles of beech nuts for Gorsetail to find and give to their kits.

Mushrooms are more mature, since they have tastes that young kittens may not enjoy. They are most common found in Shadowclan's beautiful marshy land, but grow in other areas too. I'll be doing a post on the different mushrooms that grow in WCR. FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES THE MUSHROOMS USED IN THE STORY ARE NOT TOXIC TO CATS.

Toadstep made fried mushrooms (beefsteak mushroom) for Featherpelt during an Aftergathering while she was pregnant.

Berries are also incredibly popular! Whether for fur dye, food, or bait for hunting, every cat is happy to get gifted berries. They are most popular to give to cats you are either kin with or have mentored/been mentored by.

Puddleshine likes to give sloe berries to Shadowsight, as a bush grows on the Thunder-Shadow border.

Strawberries grow near the Wind-Thunder border, and strawberries are Leafpool's favorite snack, so Squirrelflight does her best to get lots for Leafpool, and got some for the Three.

Snowtail likes to give lots of blackberries to his mother Speckletail, as blackberries are both their favorite.

Feathers

Feathers are a lovely gift! They are often used in nest building or as toys for kits. (Or, if you for some reason make the hike up the mountain to the Tribe Of Snowy Peaks, used in sculptures) (except eagle feathers, which are only for nesting because of their stiffness being perfect for keeping nests together)

Note: You do not give Cuckoo feathers as gifts. Ever. It is seen as incredibly disrespectful. They are NOT gifts.

Icecloud likes to give robin feathers to her mom and dad, she makes sure they have nice nests, and knows that Dustpelt really likes the colour of them.

Ivypool found a large crow feather once and gave it to Blossomfall, who especially appreciated to softness while recovering from having their kits.

Tigerclaw gave Firepaw cuckoo feathers, because he knew Firepaw wouldn't know what they meant.

Clay

Clay pots, bowls and plates are all very good things. Most often given to Medicine Cats or Cooks since they get the most use out of them, they are the most frequent recipients. Each is very unique and has a different vibe.

Briarlight made a small plate for Jayfeather while she was in recovery, using her claws to make lots of different textures.

Bristlefrost made bowls for Rootspring and Shadowsight, they both still have them. They have her pawprint in the middle.

Curlfeather made Frostpaw lots of bowls, each with curly, looping designs on them...

Wood

Woodworking is difficult, but since the discovery of Fire, was revamped with woodburning. Tools and decorations are made, but while decorations are for anyone, tools are not for apprentices (aside from inheritance).

Pieces of wood are cut with sharpened stones and bone tools, then shaped as best as the WCR cats can get them.

Tools are important to the Clans, and inherited and passed down until the tool breaks, to which it must be replaced by the cat who broke it. Tools are a very high-value gift and a huge honor to receive.

Ashfur gave Ferncloud a small decoration, he burned a small pattern into it for the nursery to smell nice. She threw it out after his death.

Breezepelt gave his first litter (Smokehaze, Brindlewing and Needletail) their own tools when they were apprentices, despite the pushback he got.

Food/Meals

Food is always an amazing gift, especially when you know someone's favorite meal. You can always expect a meal gift if you are close with a cat who likes cooking, such as Sparkpelt, Strikestone, Featherpelt, Firefern, and Graymist.

To apologize to Daisy, Spiderleg made her favorite dish: scrambled egg. It was burnt in one part, undercooked in another, and not enough shell was in it, but Daisy told him it was the best meal she had ever had.

Spicy Chub Soup is Hawkfrost's favorite meal, so his daughter Cloudsnap learned to make it for him whenever he looks stressed out.

Squirrelflight makes Fried Squirrel for her family members, often drizzling it with honey as well.

All in all, giving gifts is done all year round, but a lot of gift exchanges happen at Gatherings or Aftergatherings.

Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate!

[silly-mars]

HELLO THERE!!

I'm Silly Mars! Or just Mars. I think it's finally to me to present myself!!

BASIC INFO!!

My name is Mars!

My pronouns are He/him ONLY (it's okay if you don't know my pronouns!! And you use they/them instead, but if you know please use my pronouns!!)

IM A MINOR. 16 to be exact. (Shocking i know, i even think to myself that i'm still in 2021). SO PLEASE!! don't be weird.

ENGLISH ISN'T MY FIRST LENGUAGE!! I'm spanish (hola tontos jaja) still! I will try my best for having a decent english!! And don't worry, i can understand English perfectly, the problem for me is talking it or writting it.

I like to use tone tags!! It makes it easier to me to understand stuff!! (Sometimes i'm a dummy. /Lh /hj)

TALKING TO ME AND STUFF!!

GUYS PLEASE! i'm super friendly!!/srs I LOVE when people send me messages for art or even talking!! Please never think that you're annoying or something!! I love having notifications of my moots!! If you want, i invite you to talk to me! For whatever reason, and i hope to be good mutuals or if it's the case good friends!!

My username on discord is "silly_mars." If you need to talk to me for something important!! Just wanting to chat with me and interact (guys, i don't bite.) or even for projects n stuff!!

THINGS I LIKE!!

THE LEGO MOVIE!!

I think it's kinda obvious THE LOVE i have for this movie!! I remember being in computer class and there was a piece called "resistence" and i was like "THE PIECE OF RESISTENCE!!"...and my friend was worried for me, but that's another story.

Team fortress 2!!

I KNOW, what a shock! I like things THAT AREN'T THE LEGO MOVIE!! Well yes! So don't be surprised if i upload something that isn't LEGO movie!! Anyways i love this videogame so much, Scout my wife and Spy my human pet.

REGRETEVATOR!!

Silly little Roblox Game!! My favorite gender.

I just love videogames or media that have a lot of silly characters, so that game is for me!! Also, im literally Mark./j

WARRIOR CATS!!

I don't consume the canon stuff like i used to, but the fandom still has a place in my heart!! Because THE ART IS SO GOOD and the fan stuff is way too good!! Also i love my baby longtail. He deserved better :(

COPPERNAUTS

The fact that these two are characters from the LEGO movie, but they have a special interest is so amazing to me. THE FACT that they only have 1-2 canon interaction and they're ALL OVER MY HEAD is so amazing to me...UGH anyways, i hope gay people were real/ref

ASTRONOMY

Not really a fandom BUT I LOVE SPACE!! I can literally say 100 fun facts about space, PLEASE./hj

AAAAAND more stuff!! I have a lot of interests idk anymore guys:(

DNI N STUFF!!

Just basic DNI, yk, if you're homophobic/transphobic don't try to be my friend or even mutual, this place is safe for LGBT community AND MYSELF.

Racist stuff, ableist stuff, just- any type of hate for a group of people isn't welcome here.

if you ship something weird don't expect me to follow you back or interact with you.

If i don't like something i just scroll away, or if it is more serious, i block it and scroll away again.

LINKS!!

Well! I have a pair of links to get me know better!!

Pronoun page!!

My card!! (I don't know how to make good cards, but here is it, so you can find all my social media more easy, lol)

OKAY!1!!1! THAT'S ALL

Uhhh that's everything i guess!! Still, if you have any questions my ask box and other social media are open!! I hope you like my blog, art and even fanfics or projects!! Have a good day!

[ltwilliammowett]

Sailors Superstition Part 3

You can find the other parts here- Part 2  - Part 1

Hats Gentlemen, please refrain from wearing a lady's hat on board, it is bad luck and only makes the lady of the house - the floating wooden Lady herself unnecessarily angry and, depending on how temperamental she is, she may decide to head for the reef or simply sink in a storm. Oh, and please don't forget your hat on a bunk, death sees that as an invitation and will take someone from the crew.

Holy Water The one or other captain secretly got themselves a small bottle of holy water, just to throw it overboard in case of emergency. But all secretly, because religion was not necessarily a good thing to have on board a ship.

Narwhale Greenlanders believe that these whales are the reincarnation of drowned sailors and therefore may not be hunted. The Icelanders, on the other hand, believed that a narwhal swimming in front of a ship indicated that it would soon sink. In europe, people didn't really care; sometimes narwhal horns were mistaken for unicorn horns, which in turn were considered to bring bad luck aboard. On land, however, it was said that a crushing horn could neutralise poison in drinks.

Nudity In Catalonia it was a common practice for fishermen's wives to show their genitals to the sea to ensure a good catch and calm the sea. - Well, vulva watching takes on a new meaning.

Puck French sailors occasionally reported being visited at night by a small mischievous spirit. This little fellow was called Puck and liked to play tricks, open the knives in their pockets so they could stab themselves, open the sails or the carefully plaited hair. This little ghost reminds us quite strongly of the Klabautermann, but he had more of a purpose and was not necessarily malicious and played tricks.

Rats It was considered unlucky to call them by their name, so they were called longtails. In the Royal Navy, they were known as millers because their fur was often covered with flour dust when they came out of storage. Actually, no one wanted to have these animals on board, as they were already known as disease carriers, but they couldn't really be gotten rid of, despite having several cats on board. But they were also a good sign, because as soon as they came up and tried to leave the ship, the ship leaked, and not just a little, but a lot. Oh , and when rats ran onto a ship, well, they, the ship, the crew and the rats were believed to have a safe journey.

[marmotclaw]

Sootfur

Name meaning: Grey or black, renewal

A light grey tom (he/him) with amber eyes

Cause of death: Killed by a badger at 2.75 years old

Family and Education

Mother: Willowpelt

Father: Whitestorm

Brother: Rainwhisker

Sister: Sorreltail

Half Brothers: Darkstripe, Greystripe

Mentors: Longtail, Thornclaw

Nature

INFP

Social Good

Social

Platonic Love: Longtail, Rainwhisker, Sorreltail, Thornclaw, Willowpelt

Best Friend(s): Spiderleg

Friend(s): Ashfur, Ferncloud, Shrewpaw, Squirrelstar

Mixed feelings: Greystripe

Enemies: Darkstripe

[starclanmemes]

let’s make brambleclaw better au

replace TNP onward. firestar’s quest doesn’t happen

firestar despite everything is hesitant to make him a warrior, so he’s still bramblepaw for much longer than he should be. firestar is distracted by his kits as they become apprentices

he is more withdrawn, a very quiet and thoughtful character but has a lot of internal monologue. some people find it suspicious, but he’s just shy. very insecure about his heritage. give him a personality thats not grating

bramble n co get the starclan prophecy but instead it’s guiding them to go help skyclan. goldenflower encourages him to follow his heart, so he goes. the group is stormfur, feathertail, tawnypelt, crowbreeze (a new warrior trying to prove himsef), and bramblepaw

they go help build up skyclan. its awkward and messy but bramblepaw shows surprising leadership qualities, he’s good at recognizing people’s skills. 

bramblepaw gets the “kin of your kin” prophecy

stormfur falls in love with one of the new warriors and stays behind. feathertail is pretty broken up about it. she and bramblepaw bond about it

when they get back firestar finally acknowledge bramblepaw. he gets made a warrior and is named bramblesky for his contributions

still have some stuff with tigerstar and dark forest but its more complicated because bramblesky struggles with his clan accepting and trusting him but also wants to be a strong warrior

the three are.... i can’t decide if its leafpool/mothwing, leafpool/hawkfrost, or squirrelflight/hawkfrost

the wire scene still happens but firestar dies despite bramblesky saving him. bramble becomes a young leader, overwhelmed

he chooses longtail (hasn’t been blinded... yet) as his deputy. some think it’s suspicious (ashfur especially is building resentment towards bramblesky, since tigerstar killed his mom) that he picked an old tiger buddy, but bramblestar sees it as picking an experienced senior warrior

at some point squirrelflight begs bramble to pretend to be the three’s dad. he relents, despite his misgivings

eventually it comes out that they’re [hawk/moth]’s kids and therefore actually kin of his kin

hollyleaf has powers

idk bramblestar has a showdown with tigerclaw in the big dark forest battle and dies and idk maybe squirrelstar 

[sophswritingthings]

Longstar AU - Prologue

How could.. how could I have—

     “Longtail,” Tigerclaw beckoned the tan tabby tom toward him, his amber eyes piercing his fur. “One of my closest friends.. you would come with me, of course.”

     “I—“ Longtail murmured, flattening his large ears tight to his head. He stared back at the brown tabby, holding his amber gaze with his white green one. “No.”

     “No?” Tigerclaw growled, “Fine. Live the rest of your sad life with this no-loyalty fox-hearts. You are one of them.”

     “You're wrong, Tigerclaw,” Longtail hissed, his eyes narrowing. He sat down in the sand, curling his long tail round his paws calmly. “I will always be loyal to ThunderClan. We will always be loyal to each other. You are the no-loyalty fox-heart. Trying to kill your own leader,” Longtail rose to his paws once more, turning into the crowd. “Now run-along the mouse-heart you’ve shown to be.”

     He took in a deep breath. It felt.. good, to say that. For a while, he'd been thinking it. Especially since he'd tried to drown another of their clan-mates. And, of course, his loyalty to ThunderClan was most important to him.

     After a few moments, Tigerclaw skidded out of the camp. Longtail gazed up at the High Rock, Bluestar sitting atop of it, looking shaken and broken down. His ears flattened again, had Tigerclaw seriously gotten to their leader so much? And how would that effect them?

     “I-I must,” Bluestar croaked out, her paws teetering a bit. “Name a new deputy. I-I could.. think of no other cat. The cat who saved us from our previous deputy,” Her blue eyes rested softly on Fireheart, who took a few pawsteps forward. “Fireheart will be the new deputy of ThunderClan.”

     .. Fireheart? Longtail gazed at the orange tabby tom, whom dipped his head to his leader. I.. guess it’s fair. He did get Tigerclaw out of here, He took in a steady breathe. Maybe it would be good, even. He’s reasonable, annoyingly kind.

     Whatever happened from here, he knew it would be better. ThunderClan was safer now, and he knew that his loyalty to his clan, and his family, would remain unwavering. 

[bonefall]

I LOVED hearing about the Ripwater episode!!!! Could you discuss whichever episode that would include Jayfeather‘s warrior training perhaps? If not I’d LOVE to hear about any other!

Jay's warrior training happens across lots of them! He only pivots to being a Cleric near the VERY end of the arc. He's considered fully trained after "saving" Hazeltail by secretly kicking Moleflight's ass.

Jaypaw -> Jayfang -> Jayfeather

Blackstar's Bog Project seems to be the conflict so far that's going to be featuring Jaypaw's training the most, though, the way that most of these episodes end up being centric for one of the three.

Jaypaw will be dominant in ShadowClan-related episodes because his first rival shows up here; Owlpaw, later called Owlclaw.

If you recognize that name, it's either because you know he's the secret brother of Kestrelflight and Harestar, or you remember that he's the father of Weaselkit and Happyface which causes familial problems within Violetshine's adopted family. Noteworthy recurring ShadowClan cat!

Head's up this one's way less organized than Ripwater's

Pre-Bog Project; The beginning of Jaypaw's apprenticeship Ableism and Longtail

Before Blackstar begins the bog project, I want there to be a decent amount of battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.

At the time, The Three are kits or young apprentices. For the most part, they're born into a world where they mostly know ShadowClan as this kinda distant, scary thing that the older warriors fight a lot.

When they become apprentices, it doesn't help that ShadowClan's presence is sharp. They have a very dry, dark sense of humor which can mask bullying. They cite the Warrior Code a lot and take blasphemy seriously. It's not always obvious when they mean what they say or if they're being sarcastic

This is especially bad with ThunderClan cats. Tawnypelt had a REALLY hard time adapting to this culture back in TNP.

there's one major fight Jaypaw takes part in between the two, as a young apprentice. Enter Owlpaw.

It's REALLY important that in this fight, Jaypaw gets his ass kicked.

Owlpaw is the third oldest lakeborn cat. He's big, mean, and vicious. He is a DIFFICULT opponent, he really is an Owl to a Jay at this point. Bad Bad Leroy Brown type shit

This curbstomp messes with Jaypaw baaaadly, shaking any confidence he'd gained in the short time where he's started training with Longtail.

When Jaypaw FIRST becomes the apprentice of Longtail... it wasn't actually welcome. Jaykit's ceremony was nearly delayed, as if Firestar was just going to pass over him.

An objection was raised, as it was wondered what would happen with Jaykit. The poor kid was put on the spot, when he'd just been expecting to get given a mentor the same as his siblings.

When Firestar and Brackenfur had an awkward answer, Longtail leapt in heroically, demanding to be un-retired so he could come and mentor his grand-nephew.

While most of the Clan saw this as impressive, Jaykit did not. It was humiliating and embarrassing!

It was like they were just going to skip over him, and "the only mentor I could get was another useless cat, like me..."

Jaypaw is dealing with a lot of shame through internalized ableism. It's that kind of sticky misery where you just end up hating everything you touch. NOTHING is good or okay. Everything is awful and if you try to tell me otherwise I will double down.

The type that you can't reason with. So Longtail trying to get through to this kid was already hell.

He was trying to be motivational and uplifting. "We'll prove them wrong, together!" and "Stick with me kid, I'll teach you everything." and "There's lots of ways to be a warrior, we'll find what works best for ya."

It does not work. Jaypaw is determined to hate him, dismissing him as being insincere and fake-nice.

And when that first fight comes up, Jaypaw's spent however long as an apprentice being difficult and his first real matchup is against ShadowClan's Youngest Blender

So of course, Owlpaw toys with him like canon. Keeps dodging and taunting him, making little jabs, commenting on how weak ThunderClan must be to put him out on the battlefield.

After the fight ends, Longtail tries to let Jaypaw mope for a bit about it, lick his wounds, recover.

But he just ends up at his lowest point, and snapping at Longtail that he'll never amount to anything anyway, "a blind warrior isn't worth anything."

And Longtail's LOST his patience. That's IT.

"Get up right now and fight me."

"wh... what?"

"Maybe you're used to everyone else just letting you say whatever dumb thing, but when you insult yourself, you insult ME. And I've got the Right to Challenge over my honor. So GET UP."

Over the course of this fight, Longtail uses it both to coach him on how to properly move, and also to let Jaypaw blow off steam. He taunts him to just let his claws out, while keeping his own sheathed.

And during all this, Jay can barely get a hit in. The fight ends with Longtail easily pinning him to the ground, and he reminds him,

"Don't wanna be a blind warrior? Fine. I can't teach what you don't want to learn, you tell me and we'll find other options, but if I EVER hear those words come out of your mouth again, it's personal."

And after THAT, it clicks for Jaypaw. It's personal. Longtail didn't need to do any of it, stand up for him, mentor him, he wants to.

When he insults himself, or when he thinks of Longtail like he was some cheap option, it hits both of them.

Longtail is an excellent warrior-- and a warrior defends their honor.

Still, Owlpaw remains, and these aren't just internalized thoughts only he has, "don't get mad at me for insulting your honor. I was just repeating what Owlpaw said to me. He said a blind warrior isn't worth anything at all. And it's like the whole Clan agrees, but they just don't say it."

"Then we'll kick his ass," removes his paw from his apprentice's back, "We'll kick all their asses. But you're not going to go around agreeing with them before you even learn how to fight."

The grand irony of this is that after making this promise to kick Owlpaw's ass, having this as a goal in-mind, Firestar begins the fruitful negotiations with ShadowClan which will result in a period of sweet peace. There aren't any battles to get into between them for a while.

So Owlpaw continues to be this sort of "goal" on the horizon. Jaypaw wants revenge against this specific person, while also being forced to work with him at various points, as ShadowClan is their ally.

Something interesting I plan to do is to secretly write Breezepaw as being a MUCH stronger fighter than Owlpaw ever was. Owlpaw is big and strong, but it's BREEZEPAW who's the truly vicious fighter of the Po3 apprentice generation. A cat that Jaypaw faces off with several times, and has a difficult time fighting because of Breeze's aggressive, straightforward fighting style.

Jaypaw fights best against cats who try to get out of his grapples, because he can turn it against them. When a cat is so ferocious that they don't relent at all, meeting him with even more biting and scratching, it effectively counters his unique style.

Between his brawls with Lionpaw and Breezepaw, Jaypaw has no idea how overleveled he is lmao

Bog Project

There's two times that I want to zoom into the Bog Project in Po3.

The first one is when they FIRST construct the dam that destroys the pine plantation, including an altercation with human plantation workers who come to try and dismantle the dam. The Clan cats run circles around them as the humans are too heavy to not sink into the mud. I want someone to jump off the dam, bounce off a person and knock them over with a SPLAT, and then jump back on the dam in one smooth movement lmaoo

(Switch over to the researchers for a second and they're actually scrambling to get the area turned into a different classification of protected site during this. Unknown to ShadowClan, they really do just have to buy some time.)

The SECOND time is when they're simply repairing some damage, Owlpaw starts a fight with Jaypaw and swings the first blow, and Jaypaw realizes it's time to take this man to Clown Town.

The fight begins while they're up on the dam, trying to figure out where a leak is or some other minor thing.

Owlpaw starts REALLY getting into it with Jaypaw. "I can't believe they put me up here with you. It's like they want you to have a little accident so I can say I have no idea what happened."

I'm REALLY TORN between Jaypaw either playing this as peacefully as possible, so it's completely Owlpaw's fault they got into it... or realizing he can totally goad this fight and then be able to say it wasn't his fault because Owlpaw threatened him first: "Bold of you to talk about little accidents. Ur mom"

I'm leaning towards Jaypaw goading it after Owlpaw started it, realizing that snark is a very useful tool. Thinking back to how he used to call himself useless, how Longtail used it to make him unload all his pent-up anger and aggression. It has a purpose.

and that purpose, right now, is making an opportunity to put this git in his proper place.

But either way, when Owlpaw starts lashing out at him, SO much like that first fight, Jay notices something REALLY interesting

Owl always tries to stay out of the line of his whiskers. The blows are hard clobbers, but he's not really scratching because he doesn't want to get close

Jaypaw stays perfectly still, UNNERVINGLY still, and takes one, two whacks. Then he knows that his opponent favors his right paw, and he's about... 2 mouselengths away.

Owl lifts his paw again, and in one, smooth move, JAYPAW LUNGES

Caught square in the belly, they roll back along the wall

Owl recovers, twisting onto his opponent, hissing and scratching to untangle, and they tumble right off the side in a clattering shower of sticks and daub

They make a SPLORCH as their bodies splatter the mud below them

"THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING" -Lionpaw probably

The entire construction crew gathers around. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Owlpaw seems to be getting wise, trying to wriggle out of the grapple to win back distance, but Jay hears Longtail's words of wisdom echoing in his head

"To know his own limits,"

He never lets his opponent out of range of his whiskers, Owl breaks away only to expose his back to a vicious opponent

Jaypaw grabs his foe by the neck, rears up and dunks his face down in the mud. SPLAT!

"AND EXPLOIT THEIRS"

Owlpaw screeches in rage, snorting muck out of his nose, blinded

The big bully has no idea to slow down and think about where the blows are coming from, or anticipate how his opponent moves.

Jaypaw's jaws close down viciously on his shoulder, and in a flash, he's wrapped around him like a snake.

Trying to buck him off is only causing Owlpaw to sink into the mud

Jaypaw only releases his lock long enough to command; "SAY UNCLE"

Terrified, like a rabbit with a weasel with its fangs dangerously close to its pulse, he obeys; "UNCLE!!"

Jaypaw disentangles and hops off, and it's only now that he registers the size of the crowd.

Hazelpaw, Poppypaw, Cinderpaw, both of his siblings, every ShadowClan apprentice, plus all the warriors who were assigned to the project

Most are cheering, others murmur with awe or hiss with frustration, Owlpaw's mentor is helping him out of the mud, asking him what the hell happened back there

Jay is GLOWERING. He can't help the smug smile that paints his face, or the pride that washes through his veins, though he nonchalantly flicks the mud off his tail.

but the gloating is cut short. Longtail's rough tongue passes over a swelling lump next to Jaypaw's eye, and a little cut he didn't realize he'd gotten had started to sting.

"Knock it off!" He grumbles, doing nothing to stop him, "you're embarassing me!"

"Embarassing?! I'm so proud out of my fur I just might cry about it and embarass you even more!"

In the aftermath, Owlpaw is the one who gets blamed for the fight on the wall. Though Longtail freely admits that his apprentice can be rude, Owlpaw is the one who escalated it to blows.

That said, no one really "gets in trouble" for it. It's written off by both Blackstar and Firestar as an "apprentices will be apprentices" moment. BB!Battle cats can have battles without holding a formal hearing in parliament about it.

What DOES happen that Jaypaw finds bizarre is that when he gets home and the news spreads, Bramblestar is one of the first cats to start gloating. He feels odd about how odd he feels about it.

But after his father has given his ear a proud lick and explains the situation to Squirrelflight who gives a proud lick to the other one, Jaypaw examines the feeling. He tries to think of other times Brambleclaw has been this proud of him, and that's when it clicks; there are none.

Lionpaw is an accomplished fighter at this point, having landed the fatal blow onto Ripwater. Hollypaw is at the forefront of nearly every diplomacy meeting alongside her mentor, Brackenfur. But Jaypaw.. well, most of his brawls have been little skirmishes. Not really "achievements."

It's not like Brambleclaw has been absent or anything, so... he's not yet sure what to do with this feeling. It's quickly buried as the other apprentices dogpile him, begging for the full details.

Assorted closing thoughts for other episodes and such;

Jaypaw's power is plane-hopping. He can move freely between supernatural realms-- dreams, heaven, hell, Earth. He can interact, physically, with anything on these planes.

No more magic empathy. Society has progressed past the need for magic empathy.

He's going to get several little moments in other episodes where he helps to heal others, especially when Cinderheart breaks her leg.

Becoming a Cleric is a choice that should have significant build-up, since he chooses it over Poppyfrost.

I think the REAL inciting moment that he decides to commit to the bit is that he ends up having some kind of dream where Moleflight (Poppyfrost's ill-fated brother) visits him, just after getting his warrior name, and Mole says, "you will be an excellent warrior."

Jayfang: "theres no way youre just being nice to me. What are you trying to stop me from doing."

He also really likes giving advice and listening to people. Enjoys a good little debate, but I kinda want to show him visibly sharpening his emotional intelligence as Po3 goes on.

It starts with Longtail, who whittles that aimless cynicism into something earnest and constructive.

I also want to work in some scenes where Longtail explains to Jaypaw how much he reminds him of Swiftpaw, his "uncle."

Sootfur too, sometimes. In the humor.

Jay: "Great track record, two dead kids."

Longtail, very quiet... only to break the tense silence himself, "Sootfur, no. Swiftpaw... yes. I should have been a better mentor."

Everyone knows a mentor is meant to teach an apprentice. But Longtail realizes that an apprentice is meant to teach their mentor, too.

And he wouldn't be worthy to guide another paw if he hadn't learned his lessons from Swiftpaw.

"I taught him to ignore his limits. I made him think that he had to "prove" himself to be worth anything. It was something my mentor taught me, which was something his mentor taught him. Jaypaw, there's going to be things you can't do, and when they come, you'll hate me for stopping you. But I'm not here to raise another brave fool who dies to prove a point."

Jaypaw also meets Rock at various points through BB!Po3, especially when StarClan isn't being straightforward about answers or they end up in the tunnels.

Rock is VERY gentle with Jaypaw, but no one else. If Jaypaw hadn't been in the tunnels that time the WindClan kits went missing, he probably would have just left them all to drown lmao

The first hint The Three discover about their powers, and the prophecy at all, comes through Jaypaw inadvertently ending up realm-hopping. I'm keeping it on standby for him gaining access to information through dreams.

Before he eventually pressures Dovepaw to spy on other Clans, he was using his own powers to gather what info he could.

Thankfully, he doesn't discover how much power this actually grants him, or what he can consciously do with this, until OotS.

[talonslockau]

Forest of Secrets - Chapter 16

Chapter 15 || Index || Chapter 17

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!”

Fireheart looked up from where he was sitting with Peppermask. The familiar call was hardly a surprise; it was the night of the Gathering, and all cats had been waiting eagerly for Bluestar to announce who was going. Even Graystripe, he noted with a twinge of dismay. It wasn’t like the gray tom would be going: he had barely been present in camp the entire moon, even after being lectured by his sister and his longtime friend. There was no way Bluestar or Tigerclaw would reward him now by letting him go.

Still, he padded forward patiently to sit with the other warriors. He hoped Bluestar would still choose him to go; even though she had previously implied he would get to go to the Gathering, there was always the chance that Tigerclaw had managed to change her mind. 

Peppermask sat beside him, her tail resting over his; he could feel her tense, as she too wondered if she would be allowed to go. She had been very helpful, making sure that no hunting patrol had come back empty-pawed. And yet, he could all too easily see how Bluestar might overlook her in favor of more experienced warriors, like Whitestorm or Dappleshine.

“Another moon has come and gone, and so it comes time for another Gathering.” Bluestar’s eyes shone in the dim sunset light as she gazed down on the crowd of warriors. “In addition to Tigerclaw, Yellowfang, and Dewpaw, as well as any elders and queens that wish to make the journey, I will be bringing with me Longtail, Mousefur, Dustleap, Fireheart, Cinderspark, Willowbranch, Peppermask, and Graystripe.”

Fireheart gasped in surprise, glancing over to Graystripe nearby, but the tom remained stoic as he gazed up at the leader. Why in Starclan’s name had Bluestar chosen him? Then he recalled the times he and Peppermask had covered for the dark gray tom and claimed he was busy hunting. Perhaps she thought he was more dedicated to the Clan than he actually was.

“We leave at once.” She announced, leaping off the rock. “Whitestorm will be in charge of camp while I am gone. Meeting dismissed.”

Those that had not been called to go left for their dens, some good-natured grumbling amongst them. Fireheart padded over to where Bluestar was waiting, watching as Graystripe ignored them and came to stand beside his mother Willowbranch. They hadn’t talked since that dawn with Silverstream; part of it hurt, not being able to talk to his friend, but this time Fireheart wasn’t the one that had done anything wrong. It was up to Graystripe to come to his senses.

He glanced over as the patrol of elders came over. He wondered briefly if Speckleflight or Snowkit might come, but then he caught sight of the newly retired queen guiding her son into the elders’ den with the help of One-eye. He couldn’t help but frown at the sight; it seemed wrong, watching a young and capable tom walk into a den meant for those who could no longer serve the Clan.

He didn’t get a chance to dwell on it as Bluestar led them out of camp. He walked side by side with Peppermask, but it wasn’t long until Cinderspark was bounding up next to them. “My first Gathering as a warrior!” She crowed to both of them, vibrating from excitement.

“I told you it’d happen.” Fireheart purred to her, glad to see her spirits lifted so high even after everything that had happened in the past few moons. “It’s a shame Mistspring couldn’t come with you. I’m sure she’s just as proud.”

“Yeah, but Yellowfang said she needs to rest her voice, not chatter away like a starling all night.” The dark gray molly sighed for a moment, but she didn’t let the thought get her down. “But it’s okay! I told her I’d tell her everything that happened when I got back!”

He glanced at Peppermask trotting beside him, barely able to suppress a smirk. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.” He managed to mew, not fully able to keep a straight face. Luckily, the newest warrior didn’t seem to notice.

“I know she will! She said she was sure that it’d be exactly like she was there!” Cinderspark replied brightly, oblivious to the snort of laughter from her sister on Fireheart’s other side. “Anyways, I’m gonna go catch up to Graystripe. Bye!” 

They watched as she sprinted off, before the ginger tom finally let loose a fit of giggles. “Poor Mistspring. Cinderspark’s gonna make her go deaf from all her yelling.” He commented to Peppermask.

“Are you sure she isn’t already?” Peppermask retorted mirthfully. “Then again, she must be used to it after seven moons of mentoring her. And it’s better she gets her excitement out with someone that’s used to it rather than us.”

“I guess that’s true.” He replied, just as Bluestar and Tigerclaw began to accelerate their pace. He and Peppermask responded in kind, keeping their eyes and ears open as they raced through the forest. It wasn’t long at all before they were at the log bridge across the river.

“Everyone, be careful crossing!” He heard their leader call out from the front. “The snow-melt has iced in the cold. I don’t want any of you falling in the river tonight.”

Longtail was the first to step up, wrapping his paws around the log and beginning to slide his way across. Fireheart watched for a moment before turning to Peppermask. “At some point, I feel like it would just be safer to use the Thunderpath to cross.” He remarked to her.

“You know Tigerclaw would never.” She mewed back to him with a shake of her head. “Besides, I hear it gets even more dangerous when it’s covered in ice. Monster paws don’t have claws to grip through ice, so when leafbare storms happen, there’s inevitably a few that slide off into the forest. If that happened on the bridge while we were crossing…”

They both shivered at the thought. “I see your point.” Fireheart still remembered how easily the Monster had thrown Brokentail through sheer force, and the former leader’s current state was a regular reminder of the damage Monsters could do. If one attacked an entire Clan, even by accident… no, it was best not to think about that.

It felt like an eternity before the two young warriors finally stepped up to the decayed root system of the log bridge. “You first. You’ll need someone to help fish you out if you fall in again.” Peppermask nudged him with a smirk, whiskers twitching as he glared at her.

“I will not.” He retorted angrily, giving a nod of respect to Bluestar and Tigerclaw standing beside the bridge before delicately stepping up. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his paws around the log just as Longtail had, digging his claws in and slowly scooting his way across. He was sure it looked ridiculous, but he wasn’t going to fall in a second time, especially not with half the Clan watching.

He waited patiently as Peppermask, then Bluestar, then Tigerclaw made their way across. There was little idle chatter as they waited: each cat was too eager to reach Fourtrees, saving their breath for tales of glory and grandeur that they would tell to the other warriors when they arrived.

Their leader led them proudly up the slope to Fourtrees, halting at the edge of the clearing as usual. There were dozens of cats in the crowd below, and he could easily see the six cats sitting on the Great Rock in the middle. It seemed Thunderclan was the last to arrive.

They only hesitated for a moment before Bluestar gave them the signal to charge down into the hollow. There was no need for formalities; each cat knew how to conduct themselves at the Gathering. Fireheart stopped at the edge of the crowd, watching as it parted for Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Yellowfang and Dewpaw to maneuver their way through to the Great Rock.

He turned to see the Thunderclan patrol already dispersing. Graystripe had already disappeared, though it wasn’t long before he caught sight of a flash of silver and saw a large gray tom weaving his way towards it. He didn’t bother hiding his scowl at the sight. It was clear where his former friend’s priorities lay.

He turned, about to ask Peppermask where they might find Mistyskip, but instead bumped into a large gray shoulder. “Oh! I’m so sorry.” He mewed, looking up to see he had run into Stonestep, one of Riverclan’s greatest warriors, who turned to look in surprise.

“Ah, Fireheart! Are you here to join the rest of us in telling your tales?” Stonestep’s tail gestured to the warriors seated near him; large, muscled toms and mollies that were looking at him curiously. “I’m sure Tornear and Mudclaw especially would be eager to hear the tale of how you defeated Brokentail himself!” 

He hesitated, part of him wanting to join in with the Gathering festivities. This was a chance to truly impress some of the greatest warriors in all of the Clans! But, he reminded himself with a quick glance at Peppermask, he had a job to do here. “It’ll have to wait. I was wondering if, uh, Mistyskip was chosen to come to the Gathering this moon?”

“My sister?” Stonestep nodded. “Aye, she’s around. Probably gossiping with the queens, if I had to guess. Quite boring, really; most all that they do is talk about their kits.” He shook his head wryly. “You sure you don’t want to join us instead?” He offered, patting the ground beside him with a paw.

Fireheart forced himself to shake his head. “Next time, I promise. If you ask me then, I’ll tell you about how I fought Clawface after only two moons as an apprentice, too.” There were gasps and murmurs of appreciation at his words, but he waved his tail for Peppermask to follow him as he fought his way through the throng of cats around them.

“The queens will likely be over this way.” The spotted tabby mewed softly to him, before nimbly taking the lead from him. He didn’t hesitate to follow her, grateful at her ability to find her way through a crowd that he seemed to lack. He glanced up at the Great Rock as he trailed behind, where the leaders and deputies were talking amongst themselves. He noticed with a jolt that Bluestar’s icy gaze was watching him as he threaded through the crowd.

Why was she watching them? He panicked for a moment before realizing that he was probably just eye-catching in the crowd. No fur was quite as bright and vibrant as his, especially under the full moon light. Then another realization caught up to him; if he was that easy to track, then Bluestar had likely seen him leave for Ravenpaw’s farm with Peppermask. After all, she had mentioned seeing him leave the Gathering as an apprentice, when he had been going to warn Yellowfang about the danger she was in from Brokentail’s threats.

Then she looked away from him, and he quickly shook himself out. If she knew that they had lied to her about where they were going last Gathering, surely she would have said something to him when they were alone? And, in any case, they had done nothing wrong. There was no reason to worry.

Still, that guilt nagged in the back of his mind as Peppermask led him over to a group of mollies, slightly separated from the rest of the Gathering. It was easy to spot Willowbranch sitting there, the only Thunderclanner among them, but it was the silver-furred molly from Riverclan with icy blue eyes that his sight was focused on.

“Peppermask! It’s good to see you in good health. And your friend, Fireheart.” Mistyskip gave him a courteous nod, which he responded to in kind. “You haven’t taken any more dips in the river in this past moon, have you?” 

His fur prickled uncomfortably as the mollies around him purred lightly. “I prefer to keep my paws in my own territory.” He finally mewed, trying to keep his voice light.

“As all good warriors should. Thunderclan is lucky to have both of you.” He took a deep breath to force himself to relax as Mistyskip continued on. She had just meant to have a little banter, but the memory of water flooding into his lungs still sent fear pulsing through his veins. It was clearly different for a Riverclan cat, who must be so used to the water. “Come, sit! Willowbranch was just mentioning something about a battle in the Twolegplace with some rogues.”

“Indeed. Fireheart himself was one of the combatants!” The silky silver Thunderclan tabby mewed, her green eyes warm yet awed at the sight of him. “You should tell us what happened. I’ve only heard what happened through sharing tongues with Cinderspark, and you know how excitable she can be…”

“Cinderspark? So she’s a warrior now! Congratulations, Willowbranch.” A tortoiseshell Shadowclan queen mewed earnestly. “I can’t wait for my own kits to grow up and become warriors. They’re still so young, but…”

“Actually.” Fireheart mewed, diverting attention back to himself. “Mistyskip, Peppermask and I were hoping to talk with you for a bit?” Alone, he added silently, hoping that she would get the drift without him having to say it out loud.

Her blue gaze glittered dangerously as she considered him for a moment. “Of course, I’d be happy to.” She turned back to the rest of the mollies. “I’ll catch up with you all later. Don’t be sharing all the juicy stuff while I’m away.”

“We most certainly will!” Another tortoiseshell mewed with a teasing grin as Mistyskip rolled her eyes and started leading them away from the Gathering. It didn’t take long at all until most of the hubbub died away and they were alone in a bushy area a little ways up the slope.

“I assume this must be important if it can’t be said in front of everyone else.” The older Riverclanner mewed as she turned to face the two young Thunderclan warriors. “So? I imagine that you sought me, specifically, for a reason.”

“We did.” Peppermask bowed her head respectfully as she sat down, and Fireheart did the same.  “Mistyskip, I understand this is a lot to ask, but we need to ask you some questions about your dad, and the day he died.”

“I- I see.” The silver molly deflated as her friend spoke. “I wasn’t there that day, but I can try to answer what questions you may have. You might have to ask my brother if you want to know more.”

“We’re looking for discretion in this matter.” Peppermask mewed beside him. “Your brother is a good cat, but we can’t risk it getting back to our Clan that we’re asking about these things.”

The Riverclanner’s eyes narrowed briefly as she spoke. “I see. If I may, what does my father have to do with Thunderclan problems? I trust that whatever you’re doing, it is within the warrior code, but I can’t say anything that would put my own Clan at risk.”

Fireheart held his breath, unsure exactly what to say, but Peppermask seemed to have expected the question and flicked her ear with an unbothered air. “There are certain rumors within the Clan about what happened that day. Cats claiming responsibility for things they did not do. We want to know the truth, unbiased as it can be, and we agree that requires a Riverclan perspective.”

Mistyskip regarded them closely for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright. Ask away.” She mewed wearily, as though the mere thought of her father’s death had already drained her.

He glanced at his companion beside him. He had so many thoughts, he didn’t know which to ask first. It didn’t seem tactful to jump straight into Oakheart’s death, but if they surprised her with his words, she might clam up and refuse to talk. “Why was Oakheart’s patrol out there that day?” He finally asked.

The silver Riverclanner rolled her eyes, and for a moment he worried he had asked something he shouldn’t have. “They were being fishbrains. My dad and my brother loved pushing each other past the limits. They weren’t expecting a Thunderclan patrol to come by, even though we had just taken Sunningrocks that same moon, so of course Thunderclan would be guarding the forest fiercely. They got caught, and they paid for it.” She gave them a curious glance. “But surely you already knew that part?”

“That seemed to be the general consensus, yes.” Peppermask answered with a dip of her head. “But with the amount of lies, it was hard to be sure we were in the right that day.”

“The fighting started in the forest, I know that much. Your warriors were defending their territory.” Mistyskip nodded slowly. “Shadespeckle - then my brother’s apprentice - came racing back to camp with a nasty scratch above her eye. She still has it, actually. She told us what had happened. Some of the warriors wanted to go help, but my uncle said that he wasn’t going to waste warriors covering for his brother’s mistakes. That he would either get himself out of trouble, or be stuck in the healers’ den for his arrogance.” She sighed wistfully and looked out towards her territory. “If he had, perhaps things would have been different.”

Fireheart perked his ears curiously. “What do you mean?” He asked her eagerly.

“Dad realized he was in over his head and called for a retreat to Sunningrocks. I don’t think he expected your patrol to follow him. I think he also expected Crookedstar to send backup, and that made him fight more fiercely than he would have otherwise.” Her lips curled into a frown at the thought. “Maybe he wouldn’t have fought to his death.”

His heart lurched at her words. “So he was killed, then?”

She blinked in confusion at him. “Of course he was. I thought you knew he died?” She looked to Peppermask for answers.

“What he means to ask is, so he was killed by a Thunderclan cat?” Peppermask asked, brushing her tail against his reassuringly.

“Ah. Is that what some cats in your Clan are claiming?” Mistyskip nodded slowly. “Interesting. Killing is against the code, and I thought you Thunderclanners were more dedicated to that than to even your own Clan…” Her whiskers twitched in amusement as they both bristled. “But I can see how being the one to take down the great deputy of Riverclan would be quite the tale.”

“It’s against the code unless in self-defense.” Peppermask pointed out. “You can see how that doesn’t match up with what you’ve told me of your dad. That’s… part of why I’m suspicious.”

“Dad would never try to kill another cat.” The Riverclanner declared firmly, her nose twitching in disdain. “He was reckless, true, but he lived for the fight. There is no honor to be found in killing another cat, and it would’ve spoiled his victory. He preferred to beat cats fair and square.”

“So if he wasn’t killed, how did he die?” Fireheart asked as gently as he could.

The silver molly looked down at her paws, her blue eyes watering at the thought. “A rock slide crushed him.” She mewed softly, her voice trembling. “There was a loose pile of rocks, near the edge of Sunningrocks. Mudwish thinks he rolled into it while fighting, and chose to stand his ground instead of run away. Maybe he didn’t realize how far he’d gone… Maybe the blood rushing through his ears hid the sounds of it collapsing. It doesn’t really matter. The end result is the same.”

Peppermask gasped beside him, and they both leaned in closer. “And he’s absolutely sure? There were no killing blows on him?” He asked, his heart racing. If it was true, then they had the proof they needed - that Oakheart, at the very least, had not died to Tigerclaw’s paws.

She shook her head. “He was wounded, yes, but nothing that would have kept him from running away. Nothing that couldn’t have been treated with a few nights in the healers’ den.” She looked back up to them with a mournful sigh. “Mudwish said it was painless, at least; that he would have died instantly. He didn’t suffer, and he died in battle. I don’t think he would have wanted to go any other way.”

The spotted tabby beside him nodded, and he could tell from the look on her face she was thinking of her own father. He could have lived so much longer, if not for Tigerclaw. “Thank you, Mistyskip. That’s what we needed to hear.” She mewed to the other molly. “And the rest of your Clan, do you think they’d say the same?”

“Without a doubt. We have no reason to hide his death. It was too early, yes, but it wasn’t shameful.” She glanced out towards the Great Rock, which was mostly obscured from their view. “I’m sure even my uncle would say that in front of all the Clans, if need be.”

“There’s one more thing we need to ask.” Fireheart spoke quickly, all too aware that the leaders would call them together soon. “One of the cats who was there - the most trustworthy one - he said your father said something very odd before he died. He said that Redtail attacked your brother, and then Oakheart pulled him off and said ‘You of all cats know better than to attack him.’ Do you have any idea what that meant?”

The Riverclan molly looked baffled. “Are you sure he said that?” She replied, her bewilderment leaking into her voice.

“If not those exact words, then something close to it.” Peppermask replied, her tail flicking nervously. “So you have no idea why he tried to protect Stonestep, then?”

“No!” Mistyskip protested before she had even managed to finish her question. “Dad never protected any of us. He said that the most important teacher in life is natural consequences - and he knew Stonestep, especially, never backed down from a fight.” She stared off into the distance, her brows furrowed, as she searched her memory for some explanation. “Unless he wanted some deputy on deputy fight, but even then, what a strange thing for him to say. I watched them fight once, when I was a young warrior; they loved to taunt each other, but nothing as strange as that.”

“Then why would he say something like that?” Fireheart pressed, as confused as she was by it all. “You don’t suppose he had some vendetta against Redtail - or that Redtail had somehow harmed Stonestep in the past?”

“No, I don’t think so. And I don’t know why he said that, either.” Mistyskip was still frowning as she stared off into the distance. “But I think I know who might.”

She looked back to the two Thunderclanners as they perked their ears eagerly. “My mother, Graypool - she was probably the closest cat to Dad, besides my uncle. I think sometimes, she knew his mind better than he did. If there were any cat that knew what he meant by that, it would be her.”

“Is she here?” Peppermask pressed quickly, glancing back towards the rest of the Gathering.

“No, she-”

“Cats of all Clans!” Fireheart didn’t recognize the voice immediately, but he knew well enough that it was one of the leaders. He looked back to Mistyskip, and he could see the urgency he felt echoed in her eyes.

“I’ll convince her to come to the next Gathering. My uncle would never say no to her if she wanted to come. We’ll see you then.” With that, she sprang back towards the Great Rock, where a crowd was already forming. With a knowing glance at Fireheart, Peppermask did the same.

He was about to follow when he spotted Silverstream and Graystripe sitting next to each other. His lip instinctively curled at the sight, and he stalked over to sit close to them. They were barely hiding their affection for each other as they pressed into each other - purely for warmth, of course.

“Even as leafbare has arrived, Windclan continues to thrive in the moors.” Tallstar was the first to step forward, his golden gaze gleaming as he looked down on the assembled cats. “Just this moon, Ashfoot and Deadfoot have welcomed a new litter of four kits into the nursery.”

Fireheart’s eyes flickered to the dark deputy, who sat tall and proud beneath his leader. “We are also proud to announce four new warriors; Webpounce, Quickbreeze, Robincloud, and Whitetail. They have served the Clan faithfully as apprentices, and I am certain that Starclan will light their paths for many moons to come.”

All eyes turned to see the four new warriors, their fur fluffed and chests puffed as they basked in the gaze of the other Clans. His eyes were drawn to Whitetail, recalling his past meetings with her. She looked far more confident in herself than she had when he had first scared her, amongst the tangle of sky-walking Thunderpaths.

“That is good to hear, Tallstar.” Crookedstar mewed, standing as the black and white Windclan tom stepped back. “Riverclan has also welcomed a new litter in the nursery. Three kits, each happy and healthy thanks to the tireless work of our healers.” The crowd murmured the usual congratulations at this, with the two Riverclan healers sitting up a little straighter at the praise.

“We also have four new apprentices - Brushpaw, mentored by Beetlenose; Copperpaw, mentored by Whiteflame; Skip-paw, mentored by Morningwhisper; and Swallowpaw, mentored by Sedgecreek.” The crowd searched for the four mentors, finally finding them sitting beside a few very nervous young apprentices. One was a big black tom with a graying muzzle, while the rest were tabbies of various stripes.

“We thank Starclan that they have not yet frozen the river this leafbare. May they see fit to continue to give us a mild one.” With that, the disfigured tabby stepped back with a pleased nod to the other leaders.

“A mild leafbare is good for us all.” Nightstar mewed, the next to step forward. “Prey continues to run in Shadowclan territory as well. And we also have four new apprentices at the Gathering tonight. Rowanpaw, apprenticed to Redfern; Oakpaw, apprenticed to Wolfstep; Cedarpaw, my own apprentice; and Lavenderpaw, apprenticed to Newtspeck.”

Congratulatory murmurs spread through the crowd once more. It didn’t take long to find the other set of young apprentices, several mentors protectively hovering nearby. The one that drew Fireheart’s attention the most was a dark ginger molly, her fur shining like a Riverclan cat’s but a far more striking color like his. He wondered briefly if she had once been a kittypet, before quickly shaking the thought from his mind. With how Thunderclan had reacted to him at first, he doubted that any other Clan would be willing to take in such an outsider.

“It is good to hear Shadowclan is finding plenty of prey in their own territory. I am sure that means Thunderclan won’t be scenting any hunting patrols across our borders in the next moons.” There were growls from the Shadowclan cats as Bluestar stepped forward, but Fireheart and many other cats purred in amusement at her words. It was no secret that Shadowclan often found prey across their borders, though Brokentail had taken that to an extreme. 

“Though prey runs swiftly in our territory, I am pleased to say that thanks to some of our newer warriors, we have had no trouble finding freshkill. Thunderclan’s future shines brightly, and I thank Starclan for granting us such capable warriors.” Fireheart glowed with pride at her words. “We bring with us one of those new warriors today; Cinderspark, who has proven herself in the eyes of Starclan.”

Fireheart could see Cinderspark puffed up to nearly the size of Lionheart or Whitestorm with her fluff as all eyes turned to her. Part of him wondered if she was going to explode from the excitement, but thankfully Bluestar spoke before she could. “I pray that Starclan sees fit to give us another moon of mild leafbare. Until then, may Starclan light our paths.”

“May Starclan light our paths.” The crowd echoed, immediately beginning to disperse at Bluestar’s cue. The leaders jumped down from the Great Rock to lead their patrols, their deputies and healers quickly following. The hollow soon filled with the sound of chatter as cats said their goodbyes to the other Clans, preparing for another moon of tension.

“Mild leafbare my tail. Mark my words, the snow will pile a tail-length high this moon!” Fireheart blinked as a tabby elder nearly bumped into him as he passed, heading for Shadowclan’s side of Fourtrees as he talked to Patchpelt and another Shadowclan elder. “Why, we might even have to dig our way out of camp!”

He snorted in amusement at the thought, turning to comment to Peppermask before remembering why he was sitting alone. He searched the main hollow, finally spotting the two a few tail-lengths away and nearly obscured by the tall grass. He wandered over, careful to appear as though he was just moving among the crowd even as he angled his ears towards them to hear their conversation.

“... won’t be going past the bend until after sunhigh. We can meet under the Twoleg bridge.” Silverstream was mewing to Graystripe as she briefly twined her tail with his. “You’re not on a dawn patrol, are you?”

“Tigerclaw put me on the Shadowclan patrol.” The Thunderclan tom replied glumly, before brightening up. “But that means I can meet you right after! It’ll probably be right after the sun reaches halfway to sunhigh.”

“I don’t want to have to wait that long. But I suppose if I must…” The silver tabby rubbed her cheek against Graystripe’s, and Fireheart turned away in disgust. He didn’t want to see or hear any more. As he trotted over to where the rest of the Thunderclan cats were waiting, a plot began forming in his mind. Graystripe was stubborn, and wouldn’t listen to them for anything. But perhaps he didn’t need to get Graystripe to see reason…

[theanoninyourinbox]

Finishing off the Good Guy Thistlestar AU, Darkkit!

Hopeshade and Wishtree were on a midday patrol when they spotted a gray cat bolting away from the woods. Before they could react, the screams of a kit ring out, followed by the telltale sounds of a Fox. The sisters bolt into the area, and find the fox scratching at the base of a tree, where the kit wailing is coming from. Hope and Wish drive off the fox, and carry the scratched-up kitten to the medicine den. After getting his nose bandaged up, they learn his name is Darkkit, and his Clan Father didn’t want him. Princess, the permanent Queen of Thunderclan, immediately adopts the lonely kitten. Darkpaw is mentored by Longtail, and Darktail goes on a quest with Squirrelpaw and some other clan cats to find a new home.