#warrior cats stand up reject the deputy

[everybody-loves-purdy]

In response to anon’s ask about Bluestar giving up her kits, I agree entirely. With how quickly Bluestar declined after Tigerclaw’s attack, her almost immediate rejection of StarClan, & her insistence that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were the only noble cats in RiverClan, it stands to reason that Bluestar was never truly content with her decision. There was always a sneaking suspicion in the back of her mind that maybe, she didn’t have to give up Mistyfoot and Stonefur. That maybe Mosskit didn’t have to die that night. That maybe, she could’ve been both a mother and deputy.

When Fireheart came to Bluestar about his concerns revolving around Tigerclaw, she immediately shut him down. She knew Tigerclaw was an aggressive and ambitious warrior, but she had no reason to believe that he’d murder his own Clanmate to attain high rank.

Bluestar thought that by taking away Thistleclaw’s chance to become leader, she’d eradicated the chance of evil ruling her Clan during her lifetime. She had loyal and respected deputies in both Redtail and Lionheart, and thus had no reason to believe Tigerclaw was any different.

When Tigerclaw attempted to murder Bluestar in her own den, it showed Bluestar that everything she sacrificed was for nothing. She’d given up her children to prevent a murderous, bloodthirsty tyrant from becoming deputy only to appoint a cat even more dangerous than Thistleclaw to that exact position.

Bluestar dealt with a lot of pressure from Goosefeather & StarClan (indirectly). She knew from an early age that she was destined for greatness, and that with such greatness, sacrifices were demanded. As painful as it was to lose all three of her children, Bluestar knew it was for the best. But was it really?

The books that follow Forest of Secrets depict Bluestar as a decrepit leader too traumatized by treachery to remain as an effective leader. It seems that her hatred for StarClan is so sudden, but it’s exactly what Bluestar should’ve felt realistically. If StarClan’s destiny was that Bluestar give up her children to prevent evil from taking over ThunderClan, why had they allowed Tigerclaw to live?

This is an excellent analysis

[bonefall]

do you have any toxic families who “get better” even if they aren’t perfect? sometimes parents do get better but for me it wasn’t until i was an adult so it. feels complicated.

I do! But I am aiming for there to be more examples of families that don't, or are broken in a way that they can never be what they always imagined. It's my little way of rejecting the more common depictions of toxic families, which is, "Oh they're still your parents. You only get one. They tried their best. Forgiveness is always good and always necessary."

Imo the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, so, jot that down

Digressing, here's the families with some toxic dynamics I'm planning;

Sparkpelt and Nightheart: Reconcile, I don't rewrite arcs until they are done but I am dead set on fixing the buildup of miscommunication between the two of them.

Tallstar and Palebird: Reconcile, expanding on Pale having severe postpartum depression when he was born

Bramblestar's Thorns: Spark and Alder reconcile along with Jessy, Bramble is always on thin ice with them.

Lionblaze and Dove/Ivy: Lion and Ivy are able to mend, Dove hasn't forgiven either of them.

Thunder Storm and Co: Gray Wing has some things to unlearn that he picked up from Clear Sky, but is strongly considered Thunder's dad here and comes out wiser from this. Clear Sky is Not forgiven.

Owlclaw and Whitewater: I haven't had the chance to really talk about these two yet, but the fact that White is scared of her child is influential to him as a little bully.

Tangleburr and Deerfoot: Deerfoot died to TigerClan and Tangleburr supported it until it was too late. This is something that haunts her, that they weren't able to fully reconcile.

Blackstar: Instead of Blizzardwing being Featherstorm's second mate, he was unhappily cat married to Hollyflower and they were CONSTANTLY fighting. Black was very close with his siblings as a result of this.

Crookedstar and Rainflower: Staying largely unaltered, however, she is not allowed to abusively rename her child. sincerely what the fuck. why did Hailbert "The Word Of The Leader Is The Warrior Code" McStar allow this. Why Can You Not Say No. Crookedjaw is an honor title in BB.

Sedgecreek: Actually ends up cat divorcing her wife Greenflower when she's xenophobic towards their daughter Swallowtail and their grandchildren. Also she gets to become deputy.

Aaaaand under the cut is Graystripe's family thing because it's so large it couldn't fit in a bullet point summary

Graystripe and Co

He has never really moved on from Silverstream, or the death of Feathertail. He loves his Three Bs, but it's always obvious to them that his heart is somewhere else. They're compared to Storm and Feather a lot, and Gray doesn't realize how much it hurts to be second best to siblings you never met.

But worse is that he can't stand up to Millie, when she smothers Briarlight after she's paralyzed. He can't lose another mate, so he doesn't defend his daughter, and he's not there for the other two when Briar ends up being the only cat Millie focuses on.

And Millie... after over a year of mistreating Briarlight and making it all about her, she gets cut off completely. Jessy upgrades Briar's mobility device, giving her more freedom than she's had since the accident, and Millie's response is, "Don't give her false hope! Shame on you, she'll ALWAYS need me with her!"

Briar says, "No! That's enough! I don't want to hear from you until you learn some respect!"

Millie is cut off for several months. Graystripe is forced to stay on her side of the line. Blossomfall and Bumblestripe are working through their resentment. Blossom's kittens come and grow, the impostor happens, Stemleaf and Briarlight are both victims of his regime.

Shellfur and Bumblestripe both have long reckonings with how they supported him. Shellfur is nearly cut off by Spotfur and threatened with not being involved with his nespring's lives, Bumblestripe goes on a long journey with Ferncloud and Cloudtail, replacing Graystripe's Vow with Ferncloud's Parting.

There's a lot here. I intend for some things to get better, some things to get worse.

[antclan-blogs]

MOON 47

Rivernose died of whitecough. Hushstep confessed his feelings to Sunleopard, but was rejected.

This moon’s story under the cut!

Though Rivernose had made his way to Starclan, no cat was truly grief-stricken by the loss. Not out of spite or hatred, merely because they knew he would be happier wandering the stars with his mate.

“It’s strange, not having to check up on him every day.” Berryspot remarked as he and Hushstep lay in their nests a few mornings after the elder’s death.

“Yes, it is.” Hushstep yawned. The sun had just begun it’s steady incline over the horizon, and both medicine cats were exhausted. The bout of whitecough had spread rapidly through the camp, infecting Rivernose so quickly and unexpectedly that it took his life.

Berryspot seemed to sense his old mentor’s worry, getting to his paws and stretching. “Well, back to it I suppose. How’s Sunleopard?”

“Even worse. I can’t help but worry about her, Berryspot. I’ve tried all our usual cures, and nothing works for her like it did for Sunnymeadow or Mossgleam.”

Berryspot looked stumped. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” The younger medicine cat told Hushstep, not looking convinced of his own words. “Perhaps you should see to her while I check the warriors den for new infection?”

“Good idea.” Hushstep agreed. Padding through the cave and into the infirmary, he let out a small gasp as the putrid stench of sickness flooded his nostrils. “Morning.” He managed through gritted teeth, approaching Sunleopard.

“Morning, Hushstep.” She mewed weakly, erupting into a bout of coughing soon after. “Any other infections?”

“A couple.” Hushstep shrugged. “Glademoss was coughing earlier, and Daisyiris looks a little feverish. Neither are too bad yet, though.”

Sunleopard let out a long sigh. “I’m in the worst condition, aren’t I?” She croaked.

Hushstep gave her a tight, grave nod. “How are you feeling this morning, anyway?”

Sunleopard shrugged slightly, though it was clear to Hushstep that she was very unwell. The illness has spread to her the previous moon, but since Rivernose’s death her condition had worsened rapidly.

“I’m alright.” Sunleopard lied. Hushstep rolled his eyes and set down some feverfew on the ground.

“Eat up. The quicker you heal, the quicker you can get back to being the clan’s great deputy.” Hushstep promised her, affection sparkling in his eyes.

“Thanks, Hushstep. You’re the best.” Sunleopard told him hoarsely, and the white medicine cat scuffled his paws on the ground.

“This might…this might not be the best time, since you’re ill, but I’ve always thought you were amazing.” Hushstep admitted softly, sitting beside Sunleopard as they peered out of the cave entrance at the rising sun.

“That’s sweet.” Sunleopard smiled, looking a little apprehensive of what he was going to say next. She hoped Hushstep knew that they were purely friends.

“Even seasons ago, and you were this headstrong young warrior determined to lead the clan one day. I used to look at you and think, ‘wow’.” Hushstep paused for a moment, gazing at Sunleopard as she suppressed another coughing fit.

“Hushstep, what are you saying?” She managed after she had controlled her coughing.

“I’m saying that…well, we’ve always been so good together, and our kits are such great friends…” He slowly moved closer to Sunleopard.

Sunleopard’s eyes widened in alarm. “Hushstep, no!” She yelped, skidding backwards. “Starclan, what are you doing?”

Hushstep suddenly stood up straight, looking mortified. “I-I’m sorry. I just thought…”

“You’re a MEDICINE cat!” Sunleopard reminded him loudly, her voice cracking with fever as she flopped down onto her side once more. “And it would never work. You know this, don’t you?”

Hushstep looked at his paws. “I suppose. I’m sorry for…well, for making you uncomfortable.”

Unable to stand being in the same space as the she-cat who had just rejected him, Hushstep darted back through to his nest. Berryspot raised his head vaguely.

“What’s got your tail in a twist?” He asked, and Hushstep groaned in reply.

“I think…I think I was just rejected by Sunleopard.”

Berryspot looked as if all of Starclan had fallen from the sky. “You what?” He mewed incredulously.

“I know, it’s awful. The worst part is she seemed so…so disgusted by me!” Hushstep lamented, collapsing into his nest with a sigh.

“Well, I don’t blame her. Starclan’s sake, Hushstep, she’s gravely ill! AND she’s the deputy! AND you’re a medicine cat!” Berryspot lectured, eyes wide.

“I know, I know. She’s just so beautiful, and brave, and smart, and kind…” Hushstep wailed quietly, and Berryspot had to restrain himself from cuffing his old mentor over the head.

“Snap out of it! You have a job to do, and that doesn’t involve sitting around and moaning!”

Hushstep huffed and rested his head on his paws. “Whatever.”

hushstep’s really thirsty for no reason??

[booksofstars]

oooooh wht about rebooted darktail or spiresight :3

Darktail

(Art coming soon)

Darktail, the Leader of the Kin

Darktail is a terrifying force with humble, tragic beginnings. He was not born evil. Upon Onewhisker's rejection of both he and his mother, she takes him to SkyClan. She his sickly, however, and only makes it a few moons more. This festering hatred of the Forest Clans begins here, though Darktail has a strong love for SkyClan.

His mentor is Sharpclaw, a horrible influence on him. His lust for power and control truly comes from him, a sort of Thistleclaw and Tigerclaw situation. Darktail progresses rather quickly, rapidly becoming an excellent Warrior, in spite of his…violent tendencies.

He’s only really close with Sharpclaw and Hawkwing. Not long into being a Warrior, Darktail decides it’s time to enact revenge on Onestar. This is likely spurred on by him catching word that the Forest Four have moved to the lake.

He rallies SkyClanners to support him, but his rebellion is eventually driven out by Leafstar. The only SkyClan cat to join him is Sharpclaw.

Together, they recruit outcasts from all walks of life, promising them anything they want to hear. This is what forms the Kin, and what eventually gets Needletail to join. There is still a mission to SkyClan, but the traveling cats find the camp abandoned.

Before long, Darktail has recruited ShadowClan's youth. He invades ShadowClan, taking over their home and forcing any cat not loyal to him at the time to leave.

Darktail is a huge fan of public execution. As tensions begin to rise throughout the Kin due to cats realizing they'd been tricked, he begins killing off his dissenters one by one, forcing his cats to gather at the lake and watch.

He still invades RiverClan, knowing it will rile up WindClan, and Onestar, even more. He kills several cats or has them killed, most notably Mistystar. She has a life publicly drained from her.

Tensions only rise from here, a large sect of the Kin horrified at Darktail’s actions. Behind the scenes, Needletail and Violetpaw have begun discussions of a coup, to finally remove Darktail from power. Alderheart is the one to prove that they’re trustworthy, and to pressure Bramblestar into stepping in. He had Squirrelflight’s full support early on. Squirrelflight contacts the other Clans, requesting aid in taking down the tyrant. RiverClan refuses, but WindClan agrees to help.

In the first Battle of the Lake, far too few cats are sent from both Clans to defeat the Kin. Neither leader showed up, either, only their deputies, Squirrelflight and Heathertail. Though the mollies are excellent leaders and strategists, the Kin still overpowers them, forcing the Clans to flee, several cats severely wounded or even dead. Needletail tries escaping with Violetpaw, but they’re caught. She’s ordered to kill Violetpaw, her little sister, and she forms a plan. She leaps at the apprentice, tackling her, before screaming at her to run. Then, she launches herself at Darktail, one of the only cats to fight back to viciously against him. For her betrayal, she is mauled and dragged into the middle of the lake to drown.

A second coup brews, helped by the cat that is now Violetshine. Tree shows up, and tells her to gather the Clans. Even RiverClan agrees. They go to the Island, with Tree standing upon the great branches. At once, he makes the ghosts of cats lost appear. Needletail stands next to him, crooning that they haven’t lost yet. SkyClan comes pouring in.

Together, the Clans work to bring Darktail down. They negotiate a meeting at the lake once again, this time with appropriate cats and RiverClan’s aid. Onestar is present this time, alongside a furious Mistystar and a very peeved Squirrelflight. Still no Bramblestar. Upon seeing Onestar, he launches himself at his father, dragging him into the lake. They fight viciously, blood spilling and turning the lake red as it had seasons ago. Darktail lands the killing blow on his father, but Onestar’s grip on him is too strong for him to swim back to the surface. He drowns there, the laughter of his victims who met the same fate loud in his ears. This is the end of AVOS, with Darktail being an arc long villain as he should’ve been.

He does not go to the Place of No Stars. Rather, he is a lost spirit like Needletail, and is dragged into the DF by Ashfur in TBC rebooted. He still gets killed by Needletail and Violetshine.

[thunders-warcats-stuff]

Reject the Deputy

Fireheart can’t take the deputyship but he refuses to leave his Clan to fend for themselves.

“Ah, Fireheart. Come to report on how the extra patrols are going?”

“I’ve come to ask a favor.” Fireheart corrected nervously.

“Not unusual for you. Go on.”

“I need you to make someone else deputy. Someone older, maybe. Like Whitestorm or Speckletail.”

“No.”

“There are cats far more experienced than me who are able to help you guide this Clan.”

“And yet I have chosen you.”

“You chose wrong!” Fireheart insisted. “Why can’t Whitestorm be deputy? Or Mousefur? Longtail and Darkstripe already think they can do a better job, why not make one of them deputy?”

“Because I don’t want to.” Bluestar sneered. “A deputy is a cat I will have to stare at and talk to for most of the day. Half your choices are insufferable and the other half would not be willing or able to guide the Clan through such a difficult time. “Furthermore, you were the first to warm me about Tigerclaw’s treacherous ways. None of these cats knew. I sure didn’t, at first. Even then I didn’t want to believe you and look what happened?!” Bluestar snapped. “Clearly you are the cat StarClan wanted to lead from the beginning. So lead.”

With those words, Bluestar flicked her tail and dismissed Fireheart from her den.

Outside, Fireheart stood, stiff and quiet, as if a tree’s roots had sprung from the ground and wrapped themselves around his legs.

“She can’t be serious.” He whispered after a few moments of his heart thudding in his ears. “She can’t be. There has to be another choice.”

“It sounds like she wants you.” Darkstripe sneered.

“Foxdung to that!” Fireheart snapped. “I have spent the last few moons running around doing my part to make sure the Clan runs smoothly, trying to make sure Tigerclaw didn’t hurt anyone else, and training three apprentices, one whose training ended due to another one of Tigerclaw’s mouse-brained fox-hearted plots and you all think I’m going to lead you? I’d rather go back to being an apprentice than lead such an ungrateful group of cats anywhere! Pick someone else and hope you all don’t fall apart because Bluestar won’t get any better.”

With those words, Fireheart stormed for the gorse tunnel and out of the camp.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

He didn’t really know where he was going until he stopped and found himself at Fourtrees, the neutral Gathering place of all four Clans. Right now it stood empty and was the perfect place to think.

“This can’t be all I’m good for. This isn’t what I was meant to do. StarClan can’t have chosen me. For what?”

“It’d be a good idea to find out.” A slightly welcome and familiar voice offered.

Fireheart whipped around, fur bushed up and claws unsheathed.

“What?” He snapped, annoyed.

“It’d be a good idea to find out.” Dustpelt said again. The dark brown tabby looked uncomfortable as he spoke and Fireheart couldn’t help but wonder who sent him.

“I’m not even your apprentice anymore and you’re still wearing me out.” Cinderpelt panted as she limped into the clearing.

Ah. That made sense.

“Sandstorm’s around here somewhere. She’s the one who led us to you, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be welcome.”

“And you two thought you were?”

“I’m always welcome.” Cinderpelt snorted. “Dustpelt wanted to talk to you.”

“Did he?” Fireheart scoffed, letting his fur relax. “What about? And what would be the point of having Sandstorm lead you here if she’s not going to show herself?”

He raised his voice for the last part and watched as a pale ginger form slunk through the treetops and skipped down one of the trunks to join them.

“Well met, Fireheart.” She offered courteously.

“Indeed. What are you all here for? I’d rather not have to deal with whatever mess someone made at camp.”

“Well, originally we came to make sure you didn’t do something stupid, like cross into another Clan’s territory, but Fourtrees is as good a spot as any.”

“It is. You can go now. I might leave, but I’m not that quite enough of a fox-heart to send you all to war.”

“Leave?” Dustpelt scoffed. “And go where? You’re no kittypet-.”

“Wow, what a turn-around. Seasons on seasons of the same old insults and you only admit the truth when you need me to do something for you. Great to know. But there are more than just housecats in the Twolegplace.”

“Are you taking Cloudpaw with you?”

“If he wants to leave the Clan, he’s welcome to join me, but he’d be going straight back to his mother.”

Dustpelt scowled and burst out,

“I can’t believe you’re actually considering this. You’ve been here your whole life-.”

“No, I haven’t.” Fireheart corrected numbly.

“Close to. You’ve been a Clan cat longer than you’ve been anything else and you’re just going to leave that behind? For what, because of a few insults?”

“It’d be one thing if it were just you that I were dealing with.”

“Why does it sound like there’s more to this?” Sandstorm asked.

“I’m surprised you’re not on his side.”

“There is no side, Fireheart, we need you!” Sandstorm snapped. “As a Clanmate, whether you’re our deputy or not. But Bluestar seems to think you should be. Why? And why don’t you want to be?”

“Bluestar’s still sick, isn’t she?” Cinderpelt realized. “This is more than just greencough.”

“It’s been, what, two or three moons since Tigerclaw left. I’m tired of running interference for cats who don’t know what it takes to deal with Bluestar when she’s like this. When she’s paranoid.” He added. “So I’ve stepped down as deputy and you all can choose among yourselves.”

“But you’re coming back, right? You’ll still be a warrior.” Sandstorm insisted.

“Maybe. I could just as easily find Barley and be a barn cat. I hear he’s got great hunting.”

“Fireheart-.”

“I need to think. You should get back to camp. Cats will actually wonder where you’ve gone.”

“Fireheart-.”

“Let’s just go.” Dustpelt ground out. “He clearly doesn’t want to hear from us.”

The three of them left with Dustpelt in the lead, each cat more reluctant than the last.

“Peace and quiet.” Fireheart grumbled as he settled himself to the ground and stewed in his thoughts.

If only the quiet was enough.

At some point, his paws lead him back to camp with a mouthful of prey. He puts it on the pile and settles himself at the center of the camp. It wasn’t particularly cold, being green-leaf and all. And he didn’t want to face any cat until he absolutely had to and was trying to put that off for as long as possible.

He drifted off without interference and woke to moonlight streaming through the trees overhead.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

“This isn’t what we wanted for you.” came a familiar raspy voice.

“Right back at you.” Fireheart grumbled, shifting so that he could face the former medicine cat properly.

“Fair enough. Fire was supposed to save the Clan, not be trampled underpaw.”

“Sorry.” Fireheart mumbled, ears heating up. Whitestorm wouldn’t flounder like he’d been.

“Not your fault.” Yellowfang rebuked. “There is still a chance, though. You’re not snuffed out yet, Flame. Show those cats why.”

Fireheart sniffled and inhaled Yellowfang’s scent. He felt like half a cat, whatever these ancestors thought.

“Sandstorm is a good cat.” Yellowfang said out of nowhere. “If anyone can help you through this, it’s her.”

“Funny that you think so.” Fireheart snorted. “But I guess I’ll make like a fish and bite. What are you on about?”

“She’ll be a valuable ally, to start with. And a good friend, if you let her.”

“If I let her. One of the cats who made fun of me for my entire kithood suddenly wants to be friends?”

“You saved her life at the gorge. That caused her to re-evaluate some things.”

“Right. Good to know.”

“Give it time, she’ll prove me right.”

“That’s about as likely as Bluestar reuniting with her kits.”

“That’s cold, kit.” Yellowfang scowled. “She’s not well, you know that.”

“Stars above, do I know.” Fireheart groaned. “I don’t have to be deputy up here, do I?”

“You don’t belong up here.”

“But no one expects me to do anything big here. I can just be a normal warrior with no expectations, no cats begging for patrols or food or anything else.”

“You can’t stay here, kit.”

“I’m tired, Yellowfang. I don’t want to be deputy. I’m not even sure I want to be a warrior.”

“I know, kit… I know. You can’t stay here, though. You have to wake up, Fireheart.”

“Wake up!” Chanted some bodiless voices around him. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, Fireheart! Wake up!”

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

“Wake up!” Came Sandstorm’s voice.

Fireheart’s eyes snapped open and, sure enough, Sandstorm crouched before him, worry leaking from every hair on her pelt.

“What happened?” Fireheart groaned as he got to his paws.

“Stay down, nothing’s wrong with the Clan.” Sandstorm insisted, guessing correctly.

“Then what’d you want?”

“I… you stopped breathing a few heartbeats ago. I thought you were on your way to StarClan.”

Fireheart decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to tell her about seeing Yellowfang.

“Nope.” He grumbled, ambling to his paws and shaking each one out. “Anything happen overnight?”

“No.”

The pair settled onto the grass as sunlight peeked between the trees.

“It’s just about dawn. Have patrols been worked out?”

“Mousefur and Breezefoot are doing the border patrols today and Speckletail and Goldenflower handle hunting. We plan in pairs and rotate. Start from one end of the dens and go to the other. It’s been working, for now.”

“Sounds good. Feel free to say I’m on one of those.”

“You’re going for a walk?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Sure.” Fireheart muttered, more than a bit confused.

“Give me a few heartbeats.”

Fireheart nodded and Sandstorm wheeled around, racing for the warriors’ den.

He didn’t have to wait long before she came back.

“Let’s go.” She chirped.

The pair headed for the gorse tunnel and soon the ravine was far behind them.

“Do you want the center nest?” Sandstorm asked suddenly.

“What for? I don’t even know if I’m staying.”

“But if you are…”

“No, I don’t want the center nest. That’s Tigerclaw’s nest.”

“It’s the deputy’s nest. It could just as easily be Whitestorm’s or Mousefur’s.”

“It should be.”

“Bluestar won’t talk to anyone, not even Whitestorm. She only wants to see you.”

“Well that bites like trout scales.” Fireheart deadpanned.

“What?”

“It’s a RiverClan saying. Means that’s not a good thing. But what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Depends on what you’re willing to do.”

“Apparently it’s not about willing.”

“We can rotate on handling Bluestar, we can keep track of our own patrols, we can scour every step of the territory to make sure Tigerclaw isn’t a problem anymore-.”

“Aren’t you already doing that? What do you need me for?”

“To speak for us. Officially. No Clan is considered complete without a leader and a deputy. It’s why the Code is so strict about the line of succession.”

“ShadowClan was complete and look what that got them.”

“Fair enough. That rule in particular can go eat mouse-dung.”

“Apparently there’s some medicine cat rule that means they can’t make their own families. Seems kind of weird to draw the line at mates and kits when cats are rarely born alone. Is Cinderpelt not allowed to acknowledge Frostfur as her mother? Or Thorn, Bracken, and Bright as her siblings?”

“When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem fair.” Sandstorm mused. “I didn’t know that was a rule. Poor Spottedleaf must have been so alone after Redtail died, especially if the medicine cat rules say she can’t acknowledge Willowpelt.”

“Now Willowpelt is pretty alone, I guess. Except for Whitestorm, so maybe not for long. Ugh, I am not looking forward to Cloudpaw asking where kittens come from.”

“Where do kittens come from, Fireheart?” Sandstorm snickered.

“The nursery.” Fireheart deadpanned.

“Good choice.”

“Simple and has the bonus of being true.”

“How do they get to the nursery?”

“That’s a completely different question. And their mothers carry them, of course. Mothers carry their kits everywhere.”

“Inside and out!” Sandstorm cackled. “Oh, Fireheart, this is brilliant! You have got to let me know when Cloudpaw starts asking around. I want to see his face.”

“I’ll consider it.” Fireheart snorted, amused. “Might be better to let his mother handle that one. Princess is rather blunt and not very faint-hearted. She worries for us, of course, but she’s got her own way of explaining the facts of life.”

“Definitely take me with you next time you see her.” Sandstorm was giddy with laughter and excitement. “Tulipwood could have used this on me and I wouldn’t have known the difference!”

“Your mother?”

“Yes. She was from Mousefur’s litter. She died not long before I was apprenticed. It was a hard leaf-bare.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It was a while ago. Besides, I still have Mousefur, Breezefoot, Whitepelt, and Sparrowpelt.”

“I only know Mousefur.” Fireheart offered apologetically.

“You know all of them. Elders can change their names when they retire. Sparrowpelt lost his tail to a badger and Whitepelt is pretty much blind and deaf.”

“Halftail and One-eye.” Fireheart realized, breathless. “Are all names so cruel?”

“They named themselves. It’s Clan tradition, and who are we to go against our elders?”

“Clan tradition doesn’t always mean it’s right.” Fireheart scowled.

“Bluestar was right to choose you.” Sandstorm said, obviously changing the subject.

“What?”

“Bluestar was right to choose you, even if she did it past moon-high. You’ve been doing such a good job that no one saw how much stress you were under until you cracked… I’m sorry I didn’t see it before.”

“It wasn’t for you to see.” Fireheart admitted. “I didn’t want anyone to see.”

“I… that’s fair. You’ve been under a lot of pressure. I just… let me know before you leave again.”

“What?”

“Tell me when you feel like leaving and I won’t stop you. With the way things are going, I might even scoop up Cloudpaw and come with you.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s your nephew. He’d miss you if you left.”

“He has family here. And in Twolegplace.”

“Ever since he found out he was adopted, he hasn’t been as open with anyone else. He could go back to his mother, but I doubt he would truly be happy as a house-cat. He likes to explore.” Sandstorm deadpanned, recalling when she and Fireheart went looking for three adventurous kittens, one of whom successfully caught prey.

“He sure does.” Fireheart agreed with a laugh, recalling the exact same thing. “Why would you want to come with me?”

Sandstorm was quiet as they walked and she spoke after they passed a few trees.

“I’d miss you. If you left. Even if you did tell me before you went, I… I don’t think I can see ThunderClan lasting much longer without you.”

“So you’d want to get out while you can?”

“No, I’d want to go with you.” She insisted.

“Why?”

“Because I… I think you’re a good cat, Fireheart. And I’d be willing to follow you wherever you felt like you needed to be.”

Fireheart narrowed his eyes and snorted.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He offered neutrally.

“A race might.”

“What?”

“Help me sleep better.”

“You’ve always been faster than me.”

“Well, then, I guess it’ll be a hunting race. Whoever brings the most prey back to camp at sunset gets a favor.”

“You’re on!” Fireheart crowed.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Cloudpaw sat at the center of the camp when Fireheart and Sandstorm returned with their hunting wares. His fur bristled with excitement and his eyes were wide with determination. He fidgeted from time to time, something that the cats around him didn’t appreciate.

“Relax, Cloud! Either he’ll come back or he won’t and if he doesn’t come back by moon-high, he probably won’t ever.” Ashpaw scoffed.

“You shut your muzzle before I bury it in the dirtplace!”

“That’s not how you talk to your Clanmates.” Sandstorm called out, voice muffled by the mound of prey she carried in her jaws. Once all of their collective stash was on the fresh-kill pile, she turned to talk to the apprentices.

“Apologize, Cloudpaw. What you said was inappropriate. No one should be shoving anyone’s muzzle anywhere near the dirtplace unless it’s to cough up a hairball or gag.”

“Ew!” The apprentices groaned in a chorus.

“Exactly.” Sandstorm snorted, satisfied. “And I heard what you said to Cloudpaw, Ashpaw. That was not okay. You need to apologize to him as well.”

The apprentices exchanged half-hearted apologies, even though Ashpaw protestested while doing so.

“It’s not like Fireheart is coming back. You heard him just like everyone else. He hates us all.”

“If that were the truth I’d have left you to Tigerclaw a long time ago.” Fireheart muttered, irritated, before springing from behind the nursery and creeping toward the apprentices.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Dustpelt does.”

“I doubt that.”

“I’m going to tell him you said that.”

“Go ahead.” Sandstorm scowled through gritted teeth. “Though I can’t say you’ll have much of a mentor to run to.”

Fireheart fought the urge to snort and decided to change his approach.

“Leave the kits to their dreams, Sandstorm. Everyone’s got to look up to someone.”

“Fireheart!” Cloudpaw screeched, bowling him over. Several heads popped out of various dens and soon the clearing was filled with cats.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry please don’t ever leave again-.”

“-don’t know how you handled all these patrols-.”

“-Bluestar is just not herself at all, how did we not notice?!”

“Back up!” Greystripe snapped suddenly. “Let Fireheart breathe. And he might listen better if he knew what you were saying.”

“Right, because you always know what he’s doing and when and how he feels about it.” Mousefur snorted.

“Because he looks overwhelmed.” Sandstorm corrected quietly. “Just this once, I agree with Greystripe.”

She turned to Fireheart to find that he’d since sat up and was now curled around Cloudpaw, who sniffled and clung to his fur.

“-I wasn’t exactly using my head at the time, kit. I panicked and that was the result. I didn’t think I’d need as long as I did but I also didn’t want you to see me like that. Yelling at the entire Clan was bad enough.”

“But you left without saying anything! And then you didn’t come back for days! I only didn’t get to look for you because Sandstorm wouldn’t let me. She kept saying you were okay.”

“And you didn’t believe her because you never believe anyone about anything.” Fireheart snorted fondly.

“I believe you.”

“I know you do.”

“I think you’re a good deputy.”

“I think that Bluestar forgot to ask if I wanted the job.”

“Well, you proved everyone wrong. Now they know we need you, just like I do.”

“Good to hear, Cloud, but I do believe that moon-high approaches.”

“Aw, no!” Cloudpaw half-whined half-snarled.

“Now, Cloudpaw, you know Whitestorm planned to train you with Brightpaw-.” Brindleface began.

“Fireheart won’t be here tomorrow if I go to sleep. You all ran him off and we’re lucky he spent the day with Sandstorm.”

“Cloudpaw, what are you talking about? He’s right here. You knew he was going to come back, you said it yourself.”

“I said he would come back, not that he would stay.” Cloudpaw retorted icily. “I won’t be late for training tomorrow, just let me talk to him a bit more.”

“Slow down, Cloudpaw.” Fireheart murmured. “No one’s in trouble. You can talk to me whenever you like.”

“They ran you off!”

“I’m pretty sure I used my own four legs, kit.” The ginger tom chuckled.

“You don’t like it here, though.” Cloudpaw insisted.

“I like ThunderClan just fine. Things just aren’t going all that well for everyone and I wasn’t handling it like I should have. I needed space and I got it.”

“So you’re not going to be a loner?”

“Nope. But I’ll let you know if I’m going away for longer than the sun is up. You need your sleep.”

“Okay.” Cloudpaw said simply. The white tom got to his paws and trudged for the medicine den, only looking back once to make sure his uncle was really there.

“I almost forgot what that felt like.” Fireheart grumbled, annoyed, and swiped his tongue against his teeth as if there were a bad taste on it.

“Forgot what?”

“Cats who live with Twolegs give up all rights to their litters after the kits are weaned off milk. Usually the Twolegs are generous and let them have long enough for the kits to be taught some things, but it’s pretty well-known that there’s a deadline. It’s why my sister asked me to take Cloud in the first place. She wanted to make sure at least one of her kits was someplace she could find. It’s safe to say that Cloudpaw feels differently about family than the rest of you and that he’ll always want to be around the cats he’s closest to.”

“You said you almost forgot.” Swiftpaw noted. “Did… did you get taken from your mother too?”

“Everyone does at some point. It’s like leaving the nursery to go to the apprentice den.”

“That’s not the same at all.” Longtail sputtered. “When you first came to the Clan… you never mentioned any family. How long had you been alone?”

“Had to be two or three moons, I think. It’s a bit foggy, but I know my sister and I are the spitting image of our parents. At least, according to the cats around town.”

“So you just… never saw your entire family again?”

“I’ve seen Princess a few times when I was younger. And she gave me Cloud.”

“It’s different.” Goldenflower choked out. “Fireheart, I couldn’t imagine giving up my kits. How did your mother ever cope with not seeing you at all? How is your sister faring with what amounts to the loss of an entire litter?”

“Feel free to come ask her if I ever meet up with her again, because I’m not touching that with a Twoleg stick even if you gave me all your fresh-kill.”

“I think I would like to meet this sister of yours.” Brindleface mused. “She must know so much about Cloudpaw, maybe she’ll be able to help him through this.”

“No wonder he was so upset all this time.” Fernpaw realized. “Fireheart is all he has and the rest of the cats he’s surrounded by don’t like him.”

“It’s not that we don’t like him-.”

“You never liked him.” Sandstorm insisted bluntly. “I’m not exactly blameless in any of this but I can admit Fireheart got piled on like a patrol trying to take down a dog.”

“And… so did….” Swiftpaw offered in an odd voice.

“Hey, Cloudpaw!” He called, springing to his paws and racing for the medicine cat den.

[hybbat]

Speaking of my son, I still mildly resent the POV cats for constantly lumping Harestar in with Mistystar in supporting the imposter.

Harestar was significantly more resistant to the idea of exiling despite his fears to the point that he outright states he isn’t going to and Crowfeather was the one that had to volunteer to leave, seemingly just so that everyone would stop hounding Harestar into doubting himself and keep the peace. And Harestar immediately jumped at the first chance to invite Crowfeather back the second he could (and also seemingly never named another deputy while he was gone.) The second he loses a life and thinks he has a leg to stand on to stand up for himself against the imposter and codebreaking nonsense he does.

The way the cats talk about him when he’s not there you would think he’s hanging on every word the imposter said and throwing out cats left and right like Mistystar, but he’s actually shown more so having difficulty appeasing his clanmates and standing up to much more assertive and older leaders whose words are supported by some unfortunate coincidences. Made worse by Crowfeather’s absence since the older, grumpier warrior seems to be the poor boy’s spinal support.

He’s a lot closer to Leafstar but with a lot less confidence and experience, even if he ended up falling on the other side of the coin. And it’s at least partly imo because his clan didn’t get to have a POV cat to be constantly showing him the truth, while Kestrelflight , the only one that could tell him anything, ditzed around with telling him what little he knew.

Even then, once again his rejection of the info is offscreen. The offscreen Harestar we get second hand summaries of and the one we see onscreen are two very different cats.

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Sandstorm Is Tigerstar's Daughter AU

So, to preface this

a lot of changes had to be made to canon

but in the end it came to a result that made me happy

and to add - this isn't super long

I don't even span the full first arc

Self edit before this is even posted; I got carried away and this is longer than I expected

this was a fun idea and [admittedly] I almost ignored it - cause I was worried I would have no ideas - until a bunch of cool ideas hit me at once and then I got excited about it

There's also changes to some relationships for very obvious reasons!

Sandkit is born alongside her brothers Swiftkit and Lynxkit [who are not Patchpelt's kits. You cannot convince me they're Patchpelt's. I have a lot of negative emotions towards the retconned family relationships in Warriors]. They are born about six moons before Rusty / Firepaw joins, meaning Swift and Lynx are older than they are in canon.

Sandkit is very proud of her heritage, as is her brothers and the three are close. Lynxkit is the most level-headed as his brother and sister can be stubborn and hot-headed.

When they're apprenticed, Tigerclaw goes out of his way to have his kits apprenticed to cats he considers his friends by convincing Bluestar and Redtail that it's a good idea. Sandpaw goes to Whitestorm, Swiftpaw goes to Longtail, and Lynxpaw goes to Darkstripe.

When Firepaw joins ThunderClan, Tigerclaw is quick to make sure his kits do not like and do not trust this kittypet and allows them to openly antagonize Firepaw. This gets so bad that apprentices den is split into two factions; the group who likes Firepaw; Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw and the group who wants him gone; Sandpaw, Swiftpaw, Dustpaw, and Lynxpaw.

However, after their first patrol together, Lynxpaw is the first to change his mind about Firepaw. He becomes more welcoming, but expresses to Firepaw in private that he doesn't want his siblings to turn against him. Firepaw and Lynxpaw bond quietly behind Sandpaw and Swiftpaw's backs.

Sandpaw sticks close to her father or her mentor most days and as Bluestar's mental health starts to slowly decline, Tigerclaw is planting the seeds of disloyalty into her head. This only gets worse when she learns that Lynxpaw and Firepaw are friends and she lashes out at her brother

Swiftpaw is still on Sandpaw's side, however, and refuses to budge, though he's unsure about being angry at their brother.

When Fireheart and Graystripe become warriors, Sandpaw is even more outraged and - with some prompting from her father - starts making plans to make Fireheart's life just a little worse every day

Sandpaw sticks with Tigerclaw and it's thank to him that Bluestar finally gives her and her brothers their warrior names while Fireheart and Graystripe are out saving WindClan; Sandstorm, Swiftfang, and Lynxclaw.

When Tigerclaw tries to clear Bluestar on the Thunderpath, Sandstorm does manage to stop Cinderpaw from going as she knows the apprentice isn't the target.

After Bluestar fails to show, however, Sandstorm and Tigerclaw start up a different plan. Sandstorm openly blames Fireheart for the fact she didn't show, despite her being sick with greencough.

They do try to drag Swiftfang into their plans, but he expresses concern. He only agrees after Sandstorm peerpressures him into it, but it's clear that he believe they're going too far.

When Bramblekit and Tawnykit are born, Sandstorm becomes like a guardian older sister who spends time with them. This has her thinking of starting a family, but she wants to wait until she finds a proper mate - she is considering Dustpelt - and when her father is finally Tigerstar

Swiftfang does eventually tattle on them before the rogues attack and turns Sandstorm and Tigerclaw in as traitors, as he finds himself unable to just sit back and let them kill Bluestar and Fireheart, especially as he believes Lynxclaw loves the former kittypet.

Sandstorm is outraged as she and her father are exiled from the Clan. She tries to get Dustpelt to join, and for a moment she thinks he will until he reveals he'll never be able to stand beside someone who willingly walked with Redtail's killer.

After joining ShadowClan, Sandstorm assists her father in working hard, though she dislikes ShadowClan's territory. She starts considering having kits, not for a family, but for strong warriors that are loyal to her and her father.

When he becomes Tigerstar, he makes Blackfoot his deputy and Sandstorm is irritated but decides that gives her time to work out her own plan.

She starts carefully deciding which cat is the strongest in ShadowClan and, after being rejected by Blackfoot, settles on Boulder to sire her kits.

While she's courting Boulder, she learns of BloodClan and tells Tigerstar. The three go and meet Scourge and her plans change as she starts talking with Bone.

She's early into expecting Bone's kits when Scourge kills Tigerstar and she lashes out at the BloodClan cats. She isn't killed and ShadowClan ends up exiling her after she refuses to renounce her father's crimes.

When Scourge and Bone are killed, Sandstorm sneaks into the ranks and quickly earns favor with BloodClan as they know who she is and she reveals that the kits she's close to having are the proper heirs of BloodClan.

Cats try to challenge her, but Sandstorm allows herself to be brutal and relentless, which soon catches the eye of a certain one-eyed molly.

Fury becomes co-leader as she teaches Sandstorm the shaky customs of BloodClan and the two become close by the time the kits are born.

There are four kits born to Sandstorm; a dark calico tabby she-cat named Omen, a pale ginger and white tom named Talon, a mostly black tom named Bane, and a dark tabby with white patches named Tiger

Sandstorm instantly favors Tiger more than any other of her kits and is determined that he'll take over BloodClan when the time comes.

As the kits grow older, Fury and Sandstorm grow closer and eventually the two becomes mates and work together to help BloodClan grow better and stronger.

Sandstorm starts spying on the Clans again and learns, angrily, that Firestar and Lynxclaw are mates now and that the two have had a litter of kits together; Squrrielkit, Leafkit, and Spottedkit [Squirrel is dark ginger, Leaf and Spotted are both tortoiseshells] [how is also up for interpretation]

Sandstorm starts making plans again to take down ThunderClan and Fury is more than happy to help.

This comes together in an idea to steal the kits and hold them hostage until Firestar comes to get them.

The first attempt doesn't go well and many BloodClan cats are wounded in trying, but that doesn't stop either leader and they try once more. This time they manage to steal two of the kits; Squirrelkit and her brother Spottedkit.

While watching the two kits, Sandstorm is overtaken by rage at her brother becoming mates with 'the enemy' and for a brief moment she actually considers killing one of the kits. She actually almost kills Squirrelkit before she is stopped by Bane [he and the others being the age of older apprentices].

Bane becomes the watcher of the kits and he bonds well with his cousins and feels pity for them. When he learns his mothers' plans, he convinces Omen to help him carry them back home before any needless death happens. Omen is hesitant at first, but agrees and the two carry the kits back to ThunderClan.

When she learns about this, Sandstorm is outraged and she considers a regular punishment until Fury insists that Bane needs to be made an example of.

Sandstorm allows Fury to publicly kill their son and Omen feels like she's the only one truly horrified at this. Talon seems openly interested in the violence and Tiger was never easy for her to understand, as they are rather withdrawn and never talked to her or their brothers as they were being trained to take over BloodClan.

Sandstorm goes on to not allow Omen to be alone and Omen has a guard with her at all times.

Eventually Omen escapes her guard and flees to the Clans, being taken in by ThunderClan, who promise to protect her.

There she meets her cousins again, plus Leafkit, and gets to know her uncles, Lynxclaw and Brambleheart. She is treated with love and welcoming for the first time in her life and she finds herself about to cry.

She chooses to join ThunderClan after a moon of thought as well, as she fears what will happen if she ever encounters her mothers again. She is given the name Lightpaw.

Eventually Sandstorm does attack again and Lightpaw tries to hide, only to be found by her brother Talon and attacked. He almost kills her only to be killed by Firestar.

This outrages Sandstorm even more.

She attacks Firestar and takes away one of his lives, but before she can do more harm, she is attacked by Lightpaw.

Lightpaw fights her mother off and Sandstorm swears that she'll have her revenge and that ThunderClan will never be forgiven

Lightpaw tries to reason with her sibling, Tiger, but they push her away and lash out, angry that she let their brother die She tries to reason more, but it's useless

She watches as they leave

.

BloodClan does return in the form of Tiger, eventually, but my brain didn't plan that far, but Sandstorm eventually does pass away and Tiger kills Fury in a silent retaliation against her as they never forgive her for killing Bane.

She and Fury do also end up with another litter; a ginger tabby she-cat named Wrath, and an albino tom named Wisp.

Lightpaw eventually earns the name Lightstep and she's the one chosen to represent ThunderClan in the Great Journey.

Spottedkit/paw ends up being killed by BloodClan in a random, aggravated attack and Squirrelflight almost dies in the same attack, but survives, unlike her brother

Squirrelflight eventually becomes mates with Shrewpaw/heart, who survives in this AU and they have a very happy and healthy relationship

Lightstep originally is crushing on Feathertail, but she passes away. Later she actually becomes mates with Daisy and the two are very happy and comfortable wives to help take care of kits who need help raising.

Swiftfang leaves ThunderClan and ends up joining WindClan to get away from all the drama involving his family. He never takes a mate or has kits and he's perfectly happy just living a nice life.

[hotfrost]

following that up with my new prophecy rewrite!!!!!!!!!! oh boy i would change a lot about this one

okay for starters: crowpaw and squirrelpaw are apprentices, brambleflower, tawnypelt, stormfur, and feathertail are all warriors, but squirrelpaw should be a warrior by now (she’s not because she keeps getting in trouble so they keep holding back her warrior ceremony i’m trying to fix any age gaps) and crowpaw should have been a warrior but he went on the quest

leafpaw is ferncloud’s apprentice and squirrelpaw is dustpelt’s

squirrelpaw is the most annoying little shit to ever walk to the forest ofc

the prophecy involves one chosen cat but someone else tags along from each clan (so stormfur, squirrelpaw, trans icon rowanclaw, and nightcloud/onewhisker all come on the quest)

ships that do happen: stormbramble, tawnyrowan, squirrelnight, maybe feathertawny?

ships that do NOT happen: bramblesquilf, feathercrow, stormbrook, crownight

bramblesquirrel would have a huge sibling dynamic because that’s literally what they should have had. 

crowpaw’s “love” for feathertail would probably just have been best friends/platonic/MAYBE a little crush but not anything too big

squirrel and night would have been “besties” (if you know you know) 

i think crowfeather would probably have helped nightcloud have children but they would have never gotten together so at most he would have been an uncle for breezepelt

whitewing gets apprenticed to longtail who is the deputy still of course

birchfall still gets ashfur

hawkfrost would have a much cooler arc because he had so much potential!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

another weird take: hawkfrost wasn’t the son of tigerstar but mothwing was. they both grew up with sasha (maybe hawkfrost was adopted or just was close with them bc he never knew his parents). sasha brings them both to the forest ofc and moth and hawk develop a kind of sibling relationship. hawkfrost’s need for a father figure is so great that he agrees to join tigerstar in the dark forest and that would have made his character 100000x cooler

mothwing, tawnypelt, crowfeather, feathertail, stormfur, rowanclaw, and nightcloud all get povs. 

feathertail still dies and crowfeather gets named after her, but out of platonic love not romantic love

cinderpelt still dies in the badger attack but sootfur and rainwhisker don’t. she wouldn’t get reincarnated in cinderheart and firestar would be shown greiving more

firestar becomes depressed after having to leave the forest because he already lost graystripe and has to leave his other good friend, ravenpaw, and his sister, princess, as well as speckletail and frostfur. he spirals more after cinderpelt’s death because of how close they were

deadfoot doesn’t die and becomes deadstar. mudclaw thinks he should be leader and leads a rebellion which onewhisker quickly ends. onewhisker remains the wholesome happy boy we knew and loved

leafpool and crowfeather happens but it’s not love it’s like a “one night stand” i guess. 

stormfur joins thunderclan after feathertail’s death. the three are adopted by him and squirrelflight or maybe brambleflower? i haven’t figured out the logistics of that yet.

after longtail retires as deputy (because he’s getting old) firestar appoints brightheart as deputy. 

ashfur and squirrelflight does not happen in this au ashfur has a crush on brambleflower instead and he grows bitter because brambleflower rejects him (forgive me im trying to play out the story without the sweet home alabama)

i can’t think of much else i would change?????? idk i will add on as i go

[warriorsfireandwater]

Family First

A little one-shot based on the idea I sent about what Fireheart and Sandstorm’s stances would be on his presence in their kits’ lives. Obviously not telling you that you need to use this, but my muse doesn’t know when to shut up. 

Half a moon ago, if Fireheart had seen Sandstorm waiting at Sunningrocks, he would have been overjoyed beyond his wildest dreams. It was odd, now that he thought about it. Their Clans had despised each other for seasons, constantly at each other’s throats over who had the right to the very stones he had met with her so often on. Yet somehow, he was never quite as happy as he was during their secret meetings. For a while, he had thought that she felt the same way.

That hadn’t exactly turned out to be the case. Now, as he stared at her, finally coming face to face with her for the first time since she had so coldly dismissed him that fateful day, he didn’t know what to think. He tried to be angry with her–after all, she had been the one to end their relationship, yet here she was, asking to speak to him again. But instead, all Fireheart could feel was confusion, worry, and, though he tried to suppress it, a tiny seed of hope. 

“So,” he meowed, finally finding his voice. “It’s good to see you. You’re looking well." 

"Thanks,” Sandstorm meowed, glancing down at her paws. Fireheart wondered if she felt as uncomfortable as he did. “Listen, there’s…there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’m listening,” Fireheart replied simply.

She took a deep breath, then meowed, “I…I’m going to have kits.”

Although Fireheart was by no means an idiot, there were times when he was a bit slow on the uptake. For a few heartbeats, he stared at Sandstorm in confusion until the unspoken truth of her words finally registered in his still-lagging mind. 

“I see,” he meowed finally, realizing even as he spoke the words that it was quite possibly the most pathetic reaction to finding out that one was going to be a father in history. But he was too stunned to do anything else. 

If Sandstorm was at all bothered by his apparent lack of enthusiasm, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she pressed on, “I…I know things didn’t end well between us, but I want our kits to grow up with both parents. You’re a great cat, Fireheart, and I know you’ll make a good father. So…will you be a part of our children’s lives?" 

Our children. The phrase tugged at something deep within Fireheart’s chest, and for a moment, for one brief, bright moment, he allowed himself to imagine a world in which he and Sandstorm were raising their kits together. Where they were the happy family he had always wanted. Some of their Clanmates might disapprove, but they would stand strong throughout all of it. 

But just as quickly, reality sunk in and he shook his head. As much as he wanted to be with Sandstorm and raise their little family together, he knew it wasn’t possible. The past few moons had forced him to grow up in more ways than one, and he knew now that he couldn’t afford to waste his time dwelling on pipe dreams. 

"No,” he meowed finally, feeling as though he was being torn open as he spoke his rejection. “I’m sorry, Sandstorm, but…I just don’t think it would work out." 

Her face fell. "Why not?” she protested. “We used to meet in secret all the time. Who’s to say we can’t do it again?" 

The irony of the fact that she was asking to meet in secret again when she had been the one to end things wasn’t lost on him. Instead of commenting on it, he replied, "Back then, we only had ourselves to worry about. How long do you think it will take for someone to notice that your kits keep disappearing from the camp?" 

"We could make it work,” Sandstorm pleaded. “Or if you don’t want to sneak around, I could join RiverClan or you could join ThunderClan. We’ll find a way, Fireheart, I swear." 

"Sandstorm, don’t,” Fireheart interrupted, shaking his head. “I’m not going to leave RiverClan, and I’m certainly not going to ask you to leave ThunderClan. Neither of us would ever be happy if we had to leave our Clans. Face it. There’s no way this is going to work." 

"But–" 

”Don’t,“ he interrupted again, his tail lashing in frustration. "Don’t you think this hurts me just as much as it’s hurting you? They’re my kits too, Sandstorm. You can’t possibly want me to be a part of their lives more than I do. But if we’re going to give them the best lives possible, they need to grow up believing that their father is a ThunderClan warrior." 

Fireheart paced back and forth, unable to meet his former mate’s gaze. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to start speaking, but once he started, he found that he couldn’t stop. 

"You want to know why I don’t think this will work. Well, let’s start with the obvious. I’m sorry, Sandstorm, but I don’t trust Tigerstar. I’ll freely admit that I don’t know the full extent of what he’s like as a leader, but he was Thistlestar’s deputy and that’s not something I’m willing to overlook. Thistlestar didn’t seem like the type of leader who would choose a deputy that didn’t agree with him on all counts. But whereas Thistlestar ruled by brute force and fear tactics alone, Tigerstar has the strength of LionClan and the cunning of a fox, which makes him even more dangerous. If he found out that our kits were half-Clan, I don’t trust him not to hurt them in some way because he would certainly be clever enough to make it look like an accident." 

"Furthermore, even under the miraculous circumstance that he doesn’t cause our kits to suffer some sort of horrific fate, letting them grow up being known as half-Clan kits would still deny them their right to be accepted by their Clanmates. The warrior code prevents us from physically harming a kit regardless of their birthplace. It does not, however, prevent anyone from giving said kit a hard time about their birth." 

"I love being a Clan cat and I would never even dream of going back to Twolegplace. Despite this, I can safely say that there are some significant failings in the way Clanborn cats think, particularly with your inability to see past the circumstances of someone’s birth." 

"I was born a kittypet, but I’ve lived in RiverClan since I was six moons old, and I’d like to think I’ve done everything in my power to be a loyal warrior. Even so, there are still cats even within my own Clan who distrust me, who still consider me to be fundamentally inferior to them because I wasn’t born in RiverClan. They may not say it out loud as much anymore, but I see the way they look at me when they think I’m not paying attention. Even those that aren’t necessarily trying to be insulting still consider me less than them deep down because that’s the way all Clanborn cats were raised: to think they’re better than everyone else simply because they were born in the forest." 

"Should I have to put up with it? No. And in an ideal world, I wouldn’t have to. But I’m willing to do it anyway because I love it in RiverClan and because my predicament is mostly by my own doing. I didn’t have any control over being born in Twolegplace, no. I did, however, have control over whether or not I chose to go out into the forest." 

"But I don’t want our kits to grow up the way I did, Sandstorm. I don’t want them to have to put up with constant whispers and taunts. I don’t want them to grow up believing that they should be ashamed of their parents. What happened between us was a mistake. I’m not saying it wasn’t the best time of my life, but it was a mistake. We were both foolish–well, mostly me for even suggesting it in the first place. And if the day ever comes when I have to pay for that misjudgment, I’m fully prepared to accept my fate. Our kits, however, are innocent, and they don’t deserve to be judged for their parents’ mistakes. But you know just as well as I do that if anyone else finds out that our kits are half-Clan, they’re going to pay for our mistakes for the rest of their lives." 

"I can’t let that happen, Sandstorm. I won't let that happen. I’m sorry. If there were any other way…but there isn’t. I’ll always love them and I hope they know that I’m proud of them, but I can’t be their father. I know you’ll raise them to be warriors that ThunderClan can be proud of, and I know they’ll have a wonderful father as well. It’s just…not me. I had the power to decide whether I stayed in Twolegplace or not, and now, I have the power to make sure that my kits have the life I could never have, being fully and unconditionally accepted by the cats they’ll be living alongside until the day they join our ancestors. And that’s an opportunity I can’t afford to miss." 

Without another word, Fireheart turned around and padded away, heading deeper into his own territory, feeling wearier than ever. Perhaps the day would come when he finally felt proud of the choice he had made for his unborn kits, but right now, the only thing he could feel was a heavy sadness. 

It wasn’t fair. For as long as he could remember, all Fireheart had ever wanted was someone in the Clans who shared blood with him. He saw how happy the families in RiverClan were, and he wanted that for himself. Now, there would be a litter of kits who shared his blood, creations of his and Sandstorm’s love (or what had once been). But he couldn’t ever claim them as his own. 

But he did have a family. His family was RiverClan, from the smallest kit to the grumpiest elder. They might not share blood, and certainly not all of them were fond of him, but they were all willing to put their lives on the line for him just as he was willing and ready to do the same for them. 

Fireheart knew the love his mother had for him. He knew the love of a warrior for his Clan, he knew the love between mates, he knew the love between littermates, and now, he knew the love of a father for his kits. And in the end, wasn’t that really what family was all about anyway? 

If it meant his kits were happy, then he would gladly put himself through anything for their sake because that was what a good father should be doing: putting his children’s safety and happiness above his own. 

Besides, no matter what, he was a RiverClan cat first and foremost. 

And in RiverClan, family always came first. 

- - - - - - 

wow that shit hurted... this is so good ty for writing this!! i love seeing other people’s takes on the characters and getting little writing snippets like this :’)))

[idrawcats]

Some possible Imposters:

Possible Imposters (TBC):

Ashfur:

- Why:

* Very possessive of Squirrelflight

* Named Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather as codebreakers (and Ashfur tried to kill/harm them when he was alive)

* “You used to stand up to me in the old days” to Squirrelflight

* Lured the dogs to Jayfeather’s garden in the same way that Brindleface (Ashfur’s mother) was killed

* Set a trap kill Sparkpelt (Squirrelflight’s daughter). The trap was set at Jayfeather’s garden, so it might have been meant for him or Alderheart (also Squirrelflight’s children)

* Sent Bumblestripe to spy on Squirrelflight rather than trusting her

* “I gave you one last chance to tell the truth and you didn’t!” to Squirrelflight, implying that she’s lied to him before

* Violent with Squirrelflight when angry

* Threatened to harm Tree’s family to hurt him, as Ashfur tried to kill Squirrelflight’s children to hurt her

* Imposter has a vendetta against Bramblestar, whom Ashfur blames for “stealing” Squirrelflight

* The erins mentioned the return of a controversial character, and Ashfur is one of the most controversial characters in the series (for some reason)

* Shadowsight’s fire vision and ash falling on his pelt

* Why not:

* Ashfur is a confirmed StarClan cat who has been seen multiple times in StarClan, and StarClan has been cut off from the living

* Imposter is unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp, and Ashfur lived in the lake territory

* Ashfur never showed any interest in the Code and actually broke it when he conspired with Hawkfrost to kill Firestar

* Imposter seems much smarter than Ashfur was in life

* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Ashfur actually appeared in Squirrelflight’s Hope and was utterly uninterested in her

Thistleclaw:

* Why:

* The Imposter is intent on punishing codebreakers and making them suffer, just as Thistleclaw was violent in life

* Thistleclaw would be unfamiliar with ThunderClan camp at the lake territory

* Imposter manipulated Bristlefrost and seemed like he was creeping on her, despite actually saying that she was too young to be deputy. We all know what Thistleclaw did in Spottedleaf’s Heart.

* Thistleclaw is a Dark Forest cat who wasn’t killed in the Great Battle (that we know of), and Squirrelflight’s Hope stated that most Dark Forest cats had “moved on”, but that StarClan doesn’t know where they went

* The erins talked about the return of a controversial character, and for some reason, Thistleclaw seems to be pretty controversial

* Why not:

* The only part of the Code that Thistleclaw ever seemed interested in was no trespassing

* Thistleclaw has no connection to any named codebreakers

* Thistleclaw was never shown as particularly cunning outside of his disgusting child grooming in Spottedleaf’s Heart. The imposter is clearly a master manipulator.

* I don’t think Thistleclaw would have let Rootpaw trespass on ThunderClan territory and get away with it, regardless of his supposed reason

* No connection to Squirrelflight

* Meta: I’m hoping to god that the Erins learned their lesson and won’t touch Thistleclaw with a ten foot pole

* No motive

Clear Sky (Skystar):

* Why:

* Controversial character

* Shown to be very manipulative and good at getting cats to join him

* Warmonger who uses fear tactics to scare cats into believing that they will starve if they don’t join him, much like the Imposter uses fear tactics to convince cats that StarClan will never return if they don’t punish codebreakers

* Clear Sky was the first leader to enforce rules about borders and trespassing, which served as a prototype for the Code

* Clear Sky would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* The Imposter is noted to have seemed surprised by the scent of herbs from the medicine den. Medicine cats were a very new concept when Clear Sky was leader.

* No SkyClan cats were named as codebreakers (Tree doesn’t count)

* Squirrelflight is very similar in personality to Storm (Clear Sky’s second mate). Storm left Clear Sky and died, so it would make sense why Clear Sky would try to keep Squirrelflight with him at all times

* Clear Sky only just rejoined main StarClan, so he might not be fully connected enough to be blocked off with the rest of them

* The Imposter shares Clear Sky’s social Darwinist perspective (i.e. the strong cats — warriors, deputy, leader —should take priority over the weak, like the elders)

* Squirrelflight is similar in appearance to Star Flower (Clear Sky’s third mate)

* Clear Sky was very controlling of Storm and insisted she always stayed in camp. Much like the Imposter does with Squirrelflight.

* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body

* Why not:

* Clear Sky showed genuine character growth and had a redemption arc

* I don’t think many people read DOTC, so Clear Sky might not be a recognizable villain for most readers

* StarClan is blocked off from the Clans, and Clear Sky is a StarClan cat

* I think the only cat Clear Sky ever exiled was Jagged Peak, and that was because he broke his leg (not because of any codebreaking)

* I don’t remember Clear Sky ever using spies

Cloudstar:

* Why:

* No SkyClan cats were named

* Cloudstar’s entire life and Clan were destroyed by codebreaking (i.e. the other Clans turning on them in their hour of need)

* Everything I said about Clear Sky and StarClan

* The Imposter seems intent on making ThunderClan suffer, and Redstar (the leader of ThunderClan) was the main antagonist in Cloudstar’s novella and the main reason why SkyClan was forced to leave

* Cloudstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Why not:

* Cloudstar was never a bad dude

* He is a confirmed StarClan cat

* Cloudstar was never shown to be manipulative or violent

* It just doesn’t seem likely that Cloudstar would do something like this

* I seriously doubt Cloudstar would ever threaten another cat’s family like the Imposter threatened Tree’s

* No connection to Squirrelflight

Darkstripe:

* Why:

* Dark Forest cat who survived the Great Battle

* What I said about the Dark Forest in Thistleclaw’s section

* Luring dogs to kill Sparkpelt (probably intended for Jayfeather) was a very Tigerstar-esque plot, and Darkstripe was his most loyal supporter

* Darkstripe would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Darkstripe is known for eating prey that he caught before feeding the elders

* Why not:

* Darkstripe wasn’t all that smart in life or death

* Darkstripe had little to no regard for the Code

* No connection to Squirrelflight

Tigerstar I:

* Why:

* Bramblestar is his son

* The dog plot mentioned above

* Tigerstar was a master manipulator who convinced entire cats to join his crusade against half-clan and non-forestborn cats

* Tigerstar was known for hating half-Clan cats, and Jayfeather and Lionblaze are named codebreakers for seemingly no other reason than being half-Clan

* The imposter seems to have something against Lionblaze specifically, and Lionblaze turned against Tigerstar in his Dark Forest training

* Tigerstar would be unfamiliar with the lake territory

* Known to use spies

* Why not:

* Tigerstar is double dead and his arc is complete

* It would just be such lazy writing for it to be him

Hawkfrost:

* Why:

* He’s Bramblestar’s half brother

* Squirrelflight hated him when he was alive

* Would want revenge against Bramblestar for killing him TWICE

* Bristlefrost’s name

* Mothwing is a named codebreaker

* Why not:

* Hawkfrost is double dead and should not be able to come back

* Never cared about the Code

* No motive

* The Imposter hasn’t once interacted with Ivypool, and Hawkfrost had an important relationship with her and would probably try to make her life hell

Brokenstar:

* Why:

* Social Darwinist who kicked out ShadowClan’s elders

* Why not:

* He’s double dead and shouldn’t be able to come back

* No motive or connection to ThunderClan, Bramblestar, or the Code

Sol:

* Why:

* Known for hating the Clans

* Convinced ShadowClan to reject StarClan once, so it would make sense for him to try to block off StarClan again

* Known master manipulator who was able to convince first SkyClan, then ShadowClan, and then a group of WindClan cats of his worth as a cat and a leader

* Controversial character in-universe

* Why not:

* Sol has a vendetta against SkyClan and Leafstar specifically, and not a single SkyClan cat is named

* Sol doesn’t give a shit about the Code

* I don’t remember Sol having any connection to Squirrelflight, but I might be wrong

Rowanclaw:

* Why:

* Had his life and leadership ruined by codebreakers

* The Imposter named Dovewing but not Tigerheartstar. Tigerheartstar is Rowanclaw’s son and was his deputy, and Rowanclaw might blame Dovewing for making Tigerheartstar abandon ShadowClan in their time of need, thus forcing Rowanclaw to step down as leader and merge ShadowClan with SkyClan.

* Rowanclaw has a biological connection to Shadowsight (his grandson), which might make it easier to talk to him

* Owed Leafstar a debt for taking in his Clan, and not a single SkyClan cat is named

* Why not:

* None of the initial defectors to the Kin (Yarrowleaf, Berryheart, Strikestone, etc.) are named codebreakers

* Rowanclaw had a decent relationship with Bramblestar and would have no reason to bring suffering to him or his Clan

* The Clans all helped drive Darktail out, so why would Rowanclaw want to drive them apart?

* Rowanclaw is a known StarClan cat

* Rowanclaw was given a good death and a great send off in Tawnypelt’s Clan

* Rowanclaw knew his way around ThunderClan camp

Flametail:

* Why:

* Shadowsight’s fire vision

* If the Imposter was using mint to cover up Shadowsight’s assassination, then he would have to have good knowledge of herbs to know that mint is used to mask corpses

* Flametail was mentioned several times in Lost Stars

* Why not:

* Why the fuck would Flametail do this

Ravenwing:

* Why:

* Read what I said about the Imposter having knowledge of herbs under Flametail

* No knowledge of the lake territory

* Ravenwing was killed for defending the Code (albeit a warped version of the Code) and reporting Mapleshade’s half-Clan relationship

* Lionblaze and Jayfeather are condemned just for being half-Clan, much like Mapleshade’s kits

* The Imposter would need to have knowledge of how losing a life works to know that there is a time when he could slip in and steal Bramblestar’s body

* Why not:

* I think the Erins forgot he exists

* Ravenwing never seemed violent or malicious

Darktail:

* Why:

* Known for being a tyrannical leader

* Known for using spies

* The Imposter is compared multiple times throughout The Silent Thaw to Darktail in terms of cruelty and cunning

* Darktail is mentioned several times in The Silent Thaw

* We all know that Darktail hates the Clans

* Why Not:

* Because Darktail had a satisfying defeat and it would cheapen his death for the Erins to bring him back

* Violetshine isn’t targeted

* Erins please

* I’m literally begging you

* Don’t make it Darktail

Multiple different cats:

* Why:

* Personality shifts for days

* No one knows where the hell the Dark Forest cats went

* Why not:

* Shadowsight only heard one voice

I think it’s either Clear Sky, Ravenwing, or multiple different cats, but I’m leaning Clear Sky

[prettytoms]

so like i don't know what's been happening in warriors since darktail and i never read those books except the first one cause i couldn't find them and i'd really love to be told what's happening, all i know is that skyclan is in the forest, bramblestar is being a bit of an ass cause he might be possessed or smth and like thats it so like can i please be informed please, idk where to read the recent books for free (got no money) so pwease,,, tell what has happened i'm begging

Well, the warriors wikia has pretty decent descriptions of the events in every book, so I suggest looking at that. But for now I can give a decent rundown of TBC so far.

Note: Squirrelflight’s Hope took place between these two arcs. In this book, Squirrelflight encountered a group of she-cats who cast out their male cats and the leader, Moonlight, turned out to be Tree’s mother. 

Due to injuries, Squirrelflight and Leafpool both ended up in StarClan and stand trial for their actions. Leafpool chose to stay in StarClan while Squirrelflight returned to the living world, effectively coming back to life. Moonlight also died, but not before having three kits: Leaf, Moon, and Squirrel. 

Larksong, Sparkpelt’s mate, also died during this book. Sparkpelt gave birth to three kits: Flamekit, Flickerkit, and Finchkit. Flickerkit did not survive.

SkyClan ended up moving into a new territory in the end. They are still by the lake, but are no longer between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.

TBC:

The main characters in this arc are Rootpaw, Shadowpaw, and Bristlefrost who are in SkyClan, ShadowClan, and ThunderClan respectively. 

Rootpaw is the son of Violetshine and Tree. He thinks his father is weird and wants to be different from him. He has a crush on Bristlefrost and is friends with Shadowpaw. 

Shadowpaw is Tigerstar and Dovewing’s son and has a strong connection to StarClan while also suffering from what seems to be epilepsy.

Bristlefrost is the daughter of Ivypool and Fernson. She’s a wonderfully skilled warrior who is trying to get over Stemleaf rejecting her. 

So what’s happened so far is that StarClan has fallen oddly silent. The medicine cats can’t seem to contact them no matter how hard they try. This distresses the Clans.

Shadowpaw recieves a message that says to punish the “codebreakers” and soon starts making contact with what he believes to be a StarClan cat. 

When Bramblestar is deathly ill, the voice Shadowpaw hears encourages him to suggest a bizarre healing method: leaving Bramblestar in the cold. He ends up dying, but “comes back to life”.

Things are clearly not normal when he comes back, and Bristlefrost is unnerved by how cold he is to his clanmates. Meanwhile, Rootpaw encounters Bramblestar’s spirit and therefore learns that he can see ghosts just like Tree. This also makes it clear that whoever is in Bramblestar’s body is not Bramblestar.

Bristlefrost starts acting as a snitch spy for “Bramblestar”, reporting her clanmates’ actions which results in harsh punishment for them. At one point, “Bramblestar” temporarily exiles Lionblaze. He also starts limiting Squirrelflight’s actions.

“Bramblestar” calls for all codebreakers to be ousted, much to the horror of many cats. 

Several cats gather to discuss Bramblestar, clearly wanting to put an end to his bizarre behavior. Among them are Rootpaw and Tree, who has agreed to help his son. Bristlefrost also joins their cause. 

Rootpaw is able to convince Squirrelflight that “Bramblestar” is an impostor with some help from the real Bramblestar. 

The impostor then forces Lionblaze, Twigbranch, and Jayfeather to make an oath of loyalty to the code. Squirrelflight pipes up and says that she broke the code too, but the impostor says she’s already been forgiven. But she insists on “atoning” and ends up traveling to all the other Clans, secretly telling them about the impostor.

Leafstar seems to believe her, but Harestar and Mistystar do not. She is unable to contact Tigerstar.

The impostor later forces Dovewing and Tree into exile, and Shadowsight realizes he’s being manipulated. 

Squirrelflight ends up being exiled because Bumblestripe followed her and told the impostor about what she was doing. He makes Berrynose into the next deputy.

With Rootpaw’s help, Tigerstar agrees to take in Squirrelflight and believes her about the impostor. Meanwhile, the impostor starts subtly threatening Bristlefrost into obedience.

Shadowsight is later attacked by an unknown cat and it’s unknown if he’s alive or dead. 

[illusionsmaniaaus]

Jaggedstar and Cherrywhisper [Dialogue]

"All I ever wanted was your praise. Your affection. All I ever wanted in this life was you, Cherrywhisper.

But that night- The night you took off with that half-Ragged loner! You broke my heart. Shattered it. And you left it behind like you did the clan...

For that, My love~

I'll make you watch this very cat that you choose over me, Die! And know that even in death; Starclan won't welcome him But they will Welcome you.

I do wonder what happens to cats that are rejected by the Stars~"

"N-no! Jaggedstar, please I beg of you! Dont do this! He didnt do anything to deserve this!"

"No. He didn't. But you did."

-Leaping high of the Fallen bark, Jaggedstar lands his frist attack on Catcher, making the loner stumble back - Catchets ears are flat to his head and his eyes convey: Fear. Jaggedstars remining ear is pressed forward as a sickening smile curves his lips upward to show his teeth, His eyes narrowed con conveying: Joy, Pride, Dominance-

"N-no, Please!"

"This isn't all Cherrywhisper's fault- You're to blame to~ But don't worry, you'll at least see your kits- perhaps. In the afterlife of course!"

-Jaggedstar pins and slashes Catchers neck open. Catcher dies; eyes wide and dead locked with Chaerywhispers-

"Such a shame, I was hopping for a proper fight but I guess he just wasn't fit to live like the rest of the clan"

-Jaggedstar turns to face Cherrywhisper-

"Halfpelt. Rattail. Grab this traitors litter and bring them forth beside their mother."

-Halfpelt and Rattail do as ordered and bring Charrywhisper and Catchers kittens out of the nursery. These kittens are no less then a day old. Halfpelt and Rattail both looking unsure and slightly scared. Four meek kittens crawl over each other: eyes closed and marking barely visible. Muddykit, Skykit, Badgerkit and Salamanderkit-

"... Jaggedstar... Please"

"Silence! You will watch as your kin are killed in front of you! Leopardsnow! Emberstrike!"

-His deputy and Mate stared up wide-eyed in horror as he ordered the deaths of fourth day old kits. Emberstrike and Leopardsnow met eachothers eyes in shock both looking ahead toward the torn apart family: Catcher, Cherrywhisper, Muddykit, Skykit, Salamanderkit and Badgerkit. Surrounding them was Boulderscar, Rattail and Halfpelt, the trio staring down in horror their eyes falling upon the four helpless kittens as their leaders orders sank through-

"Boulderscar, Halfpelt, Rattail. Stand down and back away"

-The trio did as their deputy demanded of them, backing away from the mother and her kits. Frightened, Cherrywhisper crawls to her kittens huddling them together and effetely chickening on them, her tail is puffed and her fur standing; Teeth and claws bare. Eyes blazing with a the last droplets of scarlet love Cherrywhisper has for her kittens-

"If you want them dead. You're going to have to kill me first!"

-Emberstrike and Leopardsnow jumped in battle, fighting toe-to-toe with Cherrywhisper; Cherrywhisper fights for several minutes before Leopardsnow and Emberstrike both kill her.-

"Don't fret old friend; I'll make sure your kin live, grow and prosper. They’ll become the greatest warriors known to the clans; I can promise you that”

-Drenched in blood. Emberstrike now stands between her mate; Jaggrdstar, and Cherrywhisper's Kittens.-

"My love, I am sorry but I can not allow you to kill these kittens in front of their own mother. Death is more merciful then watching your own kitten; whom you gave birth to, Die in front of your own eyes!"

[furry-monster-trash]

What if Bluefur had joined RiverClan?

Bluefur joins RiverClan right after she finds out she’s having kits.

She tells Sunstar that she’s leaving, he tries to convince her to stay and Thrushpelt says he’ll father the kits as if they were his own.

Bluefur leaves the Clan, but warns Sunstar of Thistleclaw’s thirst for blood and ambition.

Sunstar chooses Windflight to be the deputy of ThunderClan once Tawnyspots retires.

Crookedstar welcomes Bluefur at the request of Oakheart. “You are welcome to join RiverClan, but if I find you to be a traitor, I will kill you where you stand - queen or not.”

Bluefur joins Graypool in the nursery, she comforts Graypool for the loss of her kits, having once helped Leopardfoot with the loss of her two she-kits.

When Bluefur gives birth to her three kits, Oakheart refuses to leave her side, despite being Clan deputy.

Crookedstar places Leopardfur on deputy duties for the first moon of the kits’ lives.

Oakheart names Mistykit, Bluefur names Stonekit and Mosskit.

RiverClan goes to battle with ThunderClan for sunningrocks, and Thistleclaw dies in the battle. Bluefur finds herself saddened by ThunderClan’s loss and RiverClan’s victory.

Oakheart raises his kits to have pride and loyalty above all else.

Bluefur teaches them that fighting isn’t always the answer.

When the kits are apprenticed, Crookedstar makes a point of giving them mentors with strong RiverClan blood: Stonepaw is mentored by Crookedstar, Mistypaw by Blackclaw, and Mosspaw by Mudfur (Mosspaw trains to be a medicine cat).

Bluefur hears the news that Sunstar has passed fighting ShadowClan when ShadowClan attacks the ThunderClan camp directly. Windflight earns his nine lives and chooses Redtail to be the new deputy.

Bluefur and Oakheart have a strong relationship within RiverClan but Bluefur knows that ThunderClan is struggling with the lack of warriors they have.

Bluefur attends the next gathering with RiverClan, where Crookedstar says that she has joined RiverClan “she is a part of RiverClan, a RiverClan warrior in the making.”

Bluefur joins her ThunderClan friends and asks how the clan is doing, “Dustkit, Sandkit, Graykit, and Ravenkit are all shaping up to be fine ThunderClan members. Darkpaw earned his warrior name: Darkstripe.”

Bluefur is finally allowed to join RiverClan patrols, and when out patrolling sunningrocks, she and her patrol meet Tigerclaw, Lionheart, Runningwind, and Longpaw on a patrol.

The ThunderClan warriors sneer at Bluefur, calling her a traitor and saying that her kits should’ve never been born.

Tigerclaw and Bluefur end up fighting and Tigerclaw gives her the scar across her shoulders, while she leaves Tigerclaw limping away.

Back at the RiverClan camp, Bluefur is questioned if she is a true RiverClan warrior now, “did you fight Tigerclaw for RiverClan, or for yourself?”

She says that it was not for RiverClan but not for herself: “Tigerclaw needed to be taught a lesson. He is nothing but an arrogant warrior, but he was not trespassing. ThunderClan has sunningrocks for the moment.”

Beetlenose accuses Bluefur of disloyalty, saying she should be banished from RiverClan territory. Oakheart defends her, saying that she belonged here as much as Graypool does (Graypool being half WindClan/RiverClan).

Beetlenose and Oakheart fight, Oakheart wins.

Bluefur leaves the camp, sitting on the edge of RiverClan and ThunderClan territory. Oakheart joins her “do you miss your clan?” “RiverClan is my clan now, you are my mate, and my three kits are RiverClan kits. That’s the way it is.”

Oakheart doesn’t fight her, instead he leads her to the top of an oak tree, where the two spend the night gazing at the stars, pressed against one another.

Seasons later, Stonepaw and Mistypaw earn their warrior names: Stonefur, Mistyfoot.

Oakheart fights at a battle for sunningrocks and dies from a blow from Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw does not kill Redtail.

Bluefur is filled with grief, her heart shattering. She is told that Tigerclaw killed him and swears vengeance against the ThunderClan warrior “how dare he kill our deputy!”

Leopardfur is the new deputy of RiverClan.

On another border patrol, Bluefur sees a fiery orange tom patrolling with a ThunderClan patrol. “Who is that?” She asks Voleclaw.

She’s informed that ThunderClan has taken in a kittypet to train as a warrior, and that his name is Firepaw. “Windstar almost started a full-blown war when people called ThunderClan weak for taking in a kittypet.”

Bluefur takes an interest in Firepaw.

Moons later, ThunderClan and RiverClan clash over stolen prey when the river floods and nearly destroys the RiverClan camp.

Tigerclaw is in the battle and is seen fighting with Stonefur, the ThunderClan warrior is winning.

Crookedstar leaps in to defend his nephew and Tigerclaw overpowers him as well, ready to kill the RiverClan leader.

Bluefur kills Tigerclaw to protect Crookedstar and Stonefur. His death marks the end of the battle.

Mosspaw earns her full medicine cat name: Mossleap.

At the next gathering, Nightstar is seen to be the leader of ShadowClan, and Yellowfang is the ThunderClan medicine cat, Lionheart is the new ThunderClan deputy. Bluefur is baffled as to what happened.

Redtail was killed during the battle against Brokenstar and his rogues. Firepaw, Ravenpaw and Graypaw become warriors: Fireheart, Ravenwing, Graystripe.

Bluefur helps Graystripe when he joins RiverClan after the death of Silverstream.

When Graystripe leaves RiverClan, Bluefur considers going back to her birthclan but chooses to stay in RiverClan.

Bluefur lives on in RiverClan, fighting for its borders and defending RiverClan warriors against every enemy, even ThunderClan.

At this point she sees Fireheart as the deputy of ThunderClan. She learns that Lionheart had died of greencough when he refused treatment so that Goldenflower could have enough Catmint to be well enough to nurse Bramblekit and Tawnykit.

Leopardfur becomes Leopardstar when Crookedstar passes from old age. Stonefur is the new deputy.

Scourge/BloodClan comes to the forest at the will of several rogues who were rejected from ShadowClan after Blackfoot becomes Blackstar (once Nightstar died since he only had one life).

Scourge killed Nightstar to prove his strength - people believed Scourge took all nine of Nightstar’s lives

Firestar - the new leader of ThunderClan - asks RiverClan to join forces with ThunderClan and WindClan. Leopardstar agrees. ShadowClan later joins.

During the battle against BloodClan, Bluefur watches as Stonefur is killed by Brick - one of Scourge’s closest allies. Bluefur kills Brick alongside Mistyfoot.

Bluefur sees Scourge and Firestar fighting against one another, and when Scourge gets ready to take Firestar’s life - she leaps in between the two and takes the blow for the ThunderClan leader and she dies.

In StarClan she is welcomed by both RiverClan and ThunderClan warriors and is allowed to see Firestar kill Scourge to end the battle against BloodClan.

Goosefeather, the old ThunderClan medicine cat, says that his prophecy was wrong “you were as brave a RiverClan warrior as you were a ThunderClan one. Water didn’t destroy you, a vengeful kit did.”

Moonflower welcomes her daughter to StarClan “You found yourself a great mate, and I’m proud to call you my daughter, RiverClan or not.”

And lastly Crookedstar welcomes her to StarClan: “you are a RiverClan warrior, blood or not, Oakheart choose well. I am proud to call you my warrior, as I’m sure Sunstar was as well.”

Bluefur gives Mistyfoot one of her nine lives, the life for protecting all cats, kin or not, with the strength of TigerClan.

[raindrawsaus]

So, I had an AU idea ya'll, and it's about Crookedstar. Basically I got the idea from @canon-notcanon-warriorcats and a couple of their asks, but I'm turning it into a real AU writing blog here. So...let's get on. If you have any suggestions / ideas about it just send in an ask, I'll be answering all asks (Other than irrelevant things to my account).

Crookedpaw's pelt glittered in the morning sunlight, and he sighed, a small whistle coming from the side of his jaw that was out of place. He glanced around the camp, surprised to see his father, Shellheart, nodding to Hailstar, RiverClan's leader. He pricked his ears subtly, trying to hear their conversation, but Shellheart had finished speaking to the leader and began pacing towards Crookedpaw.

Crookedpaw flicked his ears back against his head, looking cold and distant once more. "Crookedpaw. Son," Shellheart stopped in front of his son, and Crookedpaw looked up, mock irritation glistening in his eyes. "I've just spoken to Hailstar, and I was told you-" "-I know." Crookedpaw looked away, head on his paws. He was tender putting his jaw in contact with his paws, and he had to hold back a small whine as they touched.

"You...know?" Shellheart stammered, confused. The great Tom cocked his head as he gazed at his son. "I know you spoke to Hailstar. I saw you talking to him, and I already know what it's about. It's about warriorship, isn't it? I can't be a warrior because of my jaw..." Crookedpaw's voice cracked, and he could feel hot tears forming at the edges of his eyes, but he was forced to blink them back.

Shellheart was silent. "I-I'm right, aren't I, father?" Crookedpaw asked, looking up at his father. He forced himself not to run out of camp as he saw the heartbreak forming in his father's eyes. "No, Crookedpaw..." Shellheart shook his head, and when Crookedpaw caught his gaze again, Shellheart's eyes were full of warm love for his son. "You will become a warrior, Crookedpaw. Hailstar has spoken to your mothe-excuse me. Hailstar has spoken to Rainflower, and she demands you a warrior name that is..."

Shellheart shook his head again. "She does not want for you to have a pleasant name. She demanded you have a name related to your...past." Shellfur glanced down at his moping son, and it dawned on Crookedpaw that he would achieve his dreams of becoming a full warrior, even if it was much later than his brother, Oakheart, had achieved it. "Stand up, Crookedpaw. Hailstar is ready when you are for your ceremony."

Shellheart purred, and nudged his son to his paws. Crookedpaw pressed into his father, happy to become a warrior at last. He shook out his fur, and began to groom his chest fur. He no longer had a caring mother to groom him before his ceremonies. He heard a sniff of contempt nearby, and looked up from his rapid strokes on his chest fur. He saw Rainflower, and he narrowed his eyes. Rainflower's tail flicked back and forth, irritated.

Her gaze seemed to linger on his broken jaw for a few moments, before Crookedpaw lifted his chin pridefully, uncaring of what his 'mother' now thought of him. He was becoming a warrior, despite his injury, and she could do nothing about it. Rainflower scoffed and shifted gazes to look up at Hailstar has he leapt on top of the ceremonial rock of RiverClan.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather beneath to hear my words!" Hailstar bellowed, his voice echoing steadily until it was no longer heard. Crookedpaw padded confidently to the front of the crowd, ready to push through to recieve his warrior name. But he was stopped in the front row by Brambleberry, the RiverClan medicine cat. And the only she-cat in the Clan who really seemed to care for him like a true mother.

"Crookedpaw! I know you're becoming a warrior now-" Brambleberry purred happily, and touched noses with him. Crookedpaw looked up at her, smiling. "-but you can't go up their looking like a scrappy WindClan cat! Come here." Brambleberry licked his fur smooth on his head, and Crookedpaw groaned. "I thought I was done with dumb grooming sessions after Rainflower abandoned me."

Crookedpaw muttered, faking his ungratefulness. Brambleberry stopped grooming him with a hiss. "Don't speak that devil's name! She has no right to abandon her own son like she did, and I wouldn't be surprised if she went to the Place of No Stars." Brambleberry growled, and then began to fiercely groom Crookedpaw's fur once more.

"Y-yeah, you're right." Crookedpaw stammered, talen aback at how protective Brambleberry was of his abandonment. A few gasps came from around them, and Brambleberry glared at the two warriors who were gaping at her disrespectful words. "Shut your jaws, you two. Everyone knows it's the truth, but obviously only a medicine cat, such as I, am brave enough to speak the truth." Brambleberry spat, and the two warriors turned their gaze away uncomfortably.

"Crookedpaw. Please step forward," Hailstar's voice cut off all other murmurs, and Crookedpaw let out a small wriggle of happiness before bounding to the front of the crowd, his freshly-groomed fur springing up. He heard Brambleberry groan as she noticed his messy fur popping up all over again, and he could barely hold in a giggle. He turned to face the Clan, sitting beneath the shade of the Rock.

"Cats of RiverClan, we are here today for the ceremony of a warrior. Crookedpaw has trained hard in your noble ways, StarClan, and his namesake will be chosen specifically by a parent of his own kind. Rainflower," Hailstar glanced down at the crowd, and Crookedpaw pinpointed his mother, and his face fell. His mother was no longer one to choose nice things for him. "You have chosen the name Crookedjaw for your son, gesturing to his injury."

Crookedpaw looked up at Hailstar pleadingly, begging his leader not to give him such a horrid name. But he noticed the glistening flicker in the old Tom's eyes as he readied his words he would speak next, and Crookedpaw was somehow comforted by that gleam. "I spoke to Shellheart about the naming of Crookedpaw, and my deputy agrees with Rainflower. Crookedpaw's warrior name will associate with something from his past experiences."

Crookedpaw noticed Rainflower looking overly-confident in her choice. She caught Crookedpaw's gaze, a malicious gleam in her eye. Crookedpaw looked away, inwardly upset at his mother. "But Shellheart also agreed with me. And your name will not be the one Crookedpaw recieves. You are a brutally modest bastar-um, cat, Rainflower, and your decisions for your son are not going to be accepted in RiverClan as long as I remain leader of it,"

Hailstar let out a soft purr, and Crookedpaw looked at the priceless expression on Rainflower's face. It was a mix of shock, horrible anger, and hatred for her son, her former mate, and her leader. Rainflower let out a snarl of rejection and stormed out of the clearing angrily. A quiet snicker rose from the Clan, and Hailstar continued. "Crookedpaw will further be known as Crookedstorm, in honor of his past name, Stormkit. We welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan, Crookedstorm."

Crookedstorm purred happily, a large smile plastered on his face. The RiverClan cats let out a cheer, and his new name rose above the cheering as the Clan began to chant his name. "Crookedstorm! Crookedstorm! Crookedstorm!" They yowled in unison, and Hailstar leapt down from the Rock, and touched noses with Crookedstorm. "You are more deserving of this status than any other cat, Crookedstorm. Don't let anyone, especially Rainflower, drag you down."

Hailstar whispered to him, before a sea of Crookedstorm's Clanmates came rushing to greet him by his new name. They all began to disperse after many congratulations and cheering, and Crookedstorm began to seek out Hailstar. He found the leader eating a small thrush in the shade of a willow tree. "Hey, Hailstar! Just out of curiosity, what were you going to call Rainflower during my ceremony?" Crookedstorm asked, already knowing the answer. He wanted to hear it directly from Hailstar, though.

"A bastard," Hailstar didnt hesitate even a moment with his response. Crookedstorm let out a purr. "I suppose a leader can only speak the truth. And you and I both know it's true." Crookedstorm nodded, and settled beside his leader. "Do you mind sharing?" He asked Hailstar. "With the son of a bastard?" Hailstar asked, and Crookedstorm blinked, a bit hurt. "Of course I would." Hailstar grinned, and Crookedstorm gratefully took a bite, the warmth of the prey, and of his Clanmates, warming him from ear to tail.

[thunders-warcats-stuff]

AU Masterlist Part 1

This is formatted for Discord. I will reformat it later.

***Half-Baked, Written Out, Unposted***

...

**Series 1 AUs**

...

**Just a Dream**- Firestar wakes up as a kittypet in a slightly different world than the one he left.

**Apprentice to Leader**- Firepaw gets dreams about SkyClan after he and Greypaw and the others free ShadowClan of Brokentail. He finds Ravenpaw and Barley, then goes to SkyClan. Whitestorm and Sandpaw follow him to Ravenpaw and Barley, find out the truth about Tigerclaw, and stuff gets real messy real fast.

**Cloudkit Gets Adopted For Real**- There are white cats n ThunderClan. They speak up for Cloudpaw and teach him their ways. Starring Whitestorm the tree-skipper and Frostfur the throat-ripper

**Firefang's Rise**- Rusty is a molly. That's it, that's all I've got.

**Jake Ges Involved** series- *BloodClan Variant*: Rusty, Princess, and Scourge (Blackie) get scooped up by Jake and taken to the forest. *Rusty Goes Looking Variant*- Rusty goes into the forest a few moons before Into the Wild canon in search of his father, who's disappeared. Originally looking for WindClan, he finds and stays with ThunderClan until they deem him old enough to leave them. He then continues his journey.

**Longtail's Shadow (series)**- Everything I hate about Warcats gets tossed out. Rusty has a relevant family, Longtail gets called out on his crap, dealings with other Clans are formally handled, there is an actual code that makes sense to their ways of life, StarClan has... some established rules, medicine cats either can't have family at all or can have kits, haven't decided yet.

**Ravenpaw's Stand**- Look, Ravenpaw was valid. The average kid wouldn't be able to do anything about a murder. But... what if he screamed at his mentor? What if Tigerclaw couldn't get rid of him so easily?

**Mistyfoot's Storm**- AKA why the fuck did Mistyfoot and Co go back to RiverClan when they tried to kill her?! Also, Stonefur lives. Is badly injured and loses his voice, but lives.

**Savior of Shadows**- StarClan intervenes when ShadowClan starts to go all dictatorship under Brokenstar. Prince of Egypt Plagues style with Nightpelt and Clawface as the ones confronting each other like Moses and Ramses did in the song.

**Deliver Us**- Nutmeg drops Rusty and Princess off in the forest because things are getting hairy in the city. They are found and raised by ShadowClan.

**She Will Watch Him Burn** AKA Confrontation- Goldenflower finds out the full extent of what Tigerclaw did and goes batshit in the Great StarClan Battle

**Switchpawed**- Rusty and Tigerclaw switch places. AKA Rusty is Clanborn and Tigerclaw is a kittypet because Pinestar figured "he can't be evil if I take him with me." Not sure what else changes but stuff changes.

**Strongest Survive**- Tigerclaw kills Bluestar and becomes leader. He makes Fireheart deputy to keep an eye on him. He institutes some harsh rules and the Clan is a lot like a frog in warm water. The grandkits of Fireheart and Sandstorm must navigate this world with their Stars-given "powers."

**Swiftpaw Lives**- And so does Brightpaw. Polycule ensues because turns out they both like Cloudtail and he likes both of them! But they're cousins so they clearly don't like each other that way. Cloudtail helps them adjust to warriorhood and life goes on.

**Make Greystripe A Better Friend**- What is says on the tin. GreystripexConsequences

**Stand Up: Reject the Deputy** - Fireheart is not cut out for being deputy and he makes this known. Bluestar doesn't care, and neither does anyone else. Until he yells a bit and runs off. Then they actually have to learn something about him and Cloudpaw.

**Warriors In All But Name**- Fireheart fights for the older apprentices to be made warrios. Bluestar refuses and chews him out. Unknown to both of them, the whole Clan hears.

**Stand Up: Pay Them No Mind**- Fireheart very obviously cannot handle the eputyship. While some notice and make snide comments, others step up and help him run the Clan. *"It's all paws in, Darkstripe, either get in where you fit in or get out." "And stop calling Cloudkit names. He's just a kitten."*

[calitraditionalism]

History: General Summary, Part 2

Everything presented here is written according to the most commonly agreed-upon information in the Territory.

As StarClan’s influence grew, life became easy. Battles were practically nonexistent at this point – even when someone encroached on another Clan’s territory, leaders barely took action beyond a mention at Gatherings. There was simply nothing to fight over, especially now that the Clans were more united than ever under their ancestors’ influences. Prey was good, weather was better, and even the predators that lived in the valley had backed away from the borders of the Clans, as if they were frightened of conflict themselves.

Meanwhile, the edges of the Clans’ cultures became a blur. Some mannerisms were hold-outs, and there were a few conservative cats that refused to indulge their neighbors, but at some point an average warrior could stop, look around and realize that except for the type of prey and land they lived in, there was little difference between the Clans. Borders were almost entirely ignored and unmarked these days. Even when BluffClan moved further into the valley to be closer to their supposed “rivals”, no one thought anything of it.

That is, until BluffClan took a good look at the current state of the Clans, talked among themselves, and at the next Gathering suggested that the colonies all merge together and take complete ownership of the valley and its surrounding areas, chasing out every coyote and bear they could find.

Initially, the plan was dismissed and declared a ridiculous fantasy by newcomers who obviously hadn’t learned the true ways of Clan life yet and had never really seen how dangerous a bear can be. It did cause a slight stumble and some self-reflection among the warriors, but nothing really changed socially until the following winter.

Stories of prey just piling themselves up to be eaten and lazy natives who couldn’t fight to save their lives reached the ears of cats in the west. In the town just past the hills of FellClan, loners and rogues began to merge into gangs or take their families east, carefully slipping around the closest territory and crowding up the northern part of the valley to get a share of this prey-rich place.

This wasn’t really a problem until the rogues got a little too pushy. Fights began to break out once more and BluffClan pushed again for the Clans to unite and take what was theirs. This idea was rejected a second time, but the Clans did team up to chase the strangers back into their town. There were casualties, of course, on both sides, but this only stirred up the Clans more. They grew more aggressive, now scouring the mountains and coastline for predators to scare away. It became clear that this land was the Clans’, and there was no hope of standing against them.

Peace returned to the valley, and with it came a new outlook on BluffClan’s proposal. The effortlessness of working as a single unit against their enemies, and the bonds that had been forged during that time, gave the leaders something to consider. They, their deputies and medicine cats met a few times for discussions, until the middle of spring, where the leaders announced at a Gathering that the Union was going to be put into effect.

Some protested, of course, but the majority were open to the idea, seeing how close they were with their neighbors anyway and how StarClan approved of the plan when asked by medicine cats. As carefully orchestrated by the leaders, the Clans spread throughout the valley, mountain, hills and marshes, some even stretching out towards the coast.

A big surprise was how easy it was to share prey with cats who were supposed to be enemies. A bigger surprise was how the more conservative cats reacted: by pulling their families and close friends to the original camps and staking their claims, announcing themselves as the true, last remnants of the Clans. However, these Families couldn’t hold on to the original culture of their individual Clans, given how much they had been melded in with the others. All they could do was grab whatever they could and hope that the rest of the Territory would humor them and allow them to be their own thing.

And so far, so good for the Clan.