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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

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I am incapable of doing things in order so now I will talk about the parts of this AU I am most excited about.

Tigerclaw successfully takes over ThunderClan at the end of book 3

The plague that sweeps through ShadowClan is intentionally introduced by Darkclaw (Scourge)

Fireheart and Leafheart are immune to the Carrionplace disease because of vaccinations they recieved as kittypets (technically they would have been too young but this is Warriorcats and there are no rules)

Firestar becomes Clan leader at the end of book 4 with no leadership experience... Flintstar names him deputy on his deathbed

Nobody is happy abt this, least of all Firestar. He KNOWS he's too young.

Book 5 is literally just baby Firestar trying to keep a broken ShadowClan afloat while learning to navigate the political intricacies of leadership on the job WHILE Tigerstar and sometimes Leopardstar are scheming.

Fernshade is Firestar's deputy! He respects her so much.

Bramblepaw trains as a med cat in secret because his dad said he can't be a Healer but his mentor is Sandstorm who is just like "Yeah no my girlfriend Leafheart is the ShadowClan med cat, screw Tigerstar we're getting you trained"

Sasha and her kits are brought into ThunderClan. There is some initial behind the scenes tension between Goldenflower and Sasha but Tigerstar is incredibly abusive to Sasha and Goldenflower starts standing up for her.

Hawkkit Hates His Dad SO MUCH like he despises Tigerstar. His encouragement is what finally convinces Sasha to leave ThunderClan and take shelter in ShadowClan.

Like I imagine this great scene where Sasha and her kits arrive in ShadowClan and Firestar is like "How do we know you're not spying on us? I want to hrlp you, but your father has it out for ShadowClan" (He is unaware of the abuse) and Hawkkit goes "Don't call him that. I might share his blood but that monster is NOT my father." And Firestar is like damn okay welcome to ShadowClan.

Sasha becomes really good friends with Firestar and Leafheart

Firestar mentors Hawkpaw and they have a great father/son dynamic

Can't decide who the ThunderClan leader after Tigerstar should be. It will probably be either Goldenflower or Whitestorm. Regardless, Sandstorm will be named deputy.

#warriors au #warriors #warrior cats #shadowclan au #rusty joins shadowclan au

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

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Firepaw/Fireheart/Firestar for the ShadowClan AU... he looks a lot pinker than he did when I drew him on my tablet... oh well. No I will not apologize for the shameless fire design of his markings.

Fun(?) facts about Firepaw:

-While he has a lot of scars, he actually has less than most other apprentices who trained during Brokenstar's reign bc of his mentor

-Firepaw's growth is somewhat stunted from being forced to develop his muscles before his body was done growing... he is short and small

-His mate will probably be Poppytail (Tallpoppy), who is Yellowfang's niece in this AU! Other potential mates include Ravenstep (Ravenpaw), Littlecloud, Snowbird, and Sasha. More on that another time.

-He becomes Clan leader extremely young- at about 1.5 years of age ( most cats become warriors at 1 year, after 6 moons of training), at the end of book 4. This is not treated as a good thing or a demonstration of his skill though.

#warriors au #warrior cats #warriors #rusty joins shadowclan au #shadowclan au #firestar

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

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StarClan worldbuilding for the ShadowClan AU!

Prologue of book 2 would cover Flintstar's "9 lives" ceremony. It's in quotations because since Brokenstar still has a number of lives left (3 or 4), Flintstar is only able to recieve 5 or 6 lives. This is not because StarClan seems him unworthy or something, its because they literally do not have the power to grant another set of nine lives to a Clan leader while the previous leader still lives. Best they can do is grant the equivalent to the number of lives lost by the previous leader.

It's uncommon, but not unheard of for this to happen to new Clan leaders. A couple times in Clan history, an elderly leader has chosen to step down on their last life, and the following leader is given only eight lives as a result. This is a secret known only to medicine cats.

StarClan's powers are more clearly defined in this AU: they can watch and warn, and send glimpses of the future to medicine cats, but they do not have the power to directly interfere with the world of the living.

StarClan rarely interacts directly with cats. Direct communication is generally reserved for a leader's 9 lives ceremony or for Moonstone visits near the summer or winter solstice, when the two worlds are closest together.

StarClan as we know it is mostly made up of cats who have passed within the last few generations. When the last living memory of a StarClan cat dies, that cat fades from StarClan and becomes part of silverpelt. Silverpelt is, for lack of a better term, kitty cat Nirvana. The spirits cease to exist as individuals, instead becoming part of a collective divine essence.

Signs and prophecies are distinct from one another and med cats are taught to distinguish between the two.

Signs are perceptible changes in the world of the living, easily missed by ordinary cats. They bring with them no deeper explanation, and are usually answers to questions or nudges in the right direction rather than predictions of the future. For example, the moth's wing sign from the og series, had it been real, would fit the bill perfectly.

Prophecies are mixed visual/auditory experiences that do not have a perceivable change on the physical world. They are experienced and perceived only by the medium receiving the prophecy, and carry a prediction of the future, usually regarding large scale threats to the Clans and vague information on what can overcome the threats.

Signs are more direct than prophecies, and require less interpretation on the part of the recipient.

Prophecies are not intentionally vague. Rather, the message of the Prophecy is diluted in its journey to the physical world. The best comparison would be pouring coffee through a strainer: the flavor and the essence of the substance passes through, but the dregs are left behind. In the same sense, with prophecies, the general idea of the message can reach the living, but detailed information and clear instructions cannot pass through completely.

So if the fire prophecy (in my rewrite) went through the "strainer" it would be something like this- StarClan's message: "A cat with a pelt the color of flames will come from away and drive away the darkness that stalks the Clans and threatens to consume them" -> The message that actually reaches the world of the living: "A flame from afar burns brightest in the dark."

The rule that medicine cats cannot have families still exists in this AU, but with a better explanation and some changes.

Medicine cats are not permitted to have families for two reasons: first, they must remain as untethered as possible to the world of the living so that they can best communicate with StarClan. The more things a cat has holding them to the physical world, the harder it is for them to connect with the realm of spirits. Second, as medicine cats act as a power check on Clan leaders and serve as the Clan's only link to their ancestors, if a medicine cat were to have a family, there would be nothing except good will stopping them from manipulating the system to put their kin in power. This is why medicine cats are asked to let go of their existing familial ties when they take their position- this is more of a formality than anything, nobody is going to police a med cat's relationship with their parents or siblings, but it will raise questions if the medicine cat starts recieving a lot of signs/prophecies that are beneficial to their kin.

If this happens, any senior member of the Clan can call for a council of the medicine cats, in which the medicine cats from all the other Clans review the med cat in question and their signs and prophecies, and pass judgement as to whether these signs were earnest or whether they were fabricated for the benefit of the med cat's kin. If found guilty of fabrication, the medicine cat will be permanently stripped of their position. Further punishment is at the discretion of Clan leaders and the other medicine cats.

Remember how I said there are some changes to the rules? The "med cats can't have families" rule only applies until the senior medicine cat fully trains an apprentice in the art of interpreting signs and receiving prophecies. At that point, the senior medicine cat may choose to retire from their spiritual duties by passing them on to their trained apprentice, and may dedicate themselves fully to the healing aspect of being a medicine cat. Once a medicine cat retires from their spiritual duties, they are welcome to take a mate and have kits, nobody will judge them for it

So Yellowfang's relationship with Raggedstar wasn't allowed because she was the junior medicine cat, the newest link in the spiritual chain. It was her duty to maintain a pure relationship with StarClan until she trained a successor, at which point having a mate and kits would have been fine.

Medicine cats that do break the code aren't like, exiled or anything; but their connection with StarClan weakens drastically, putting the Clan at risk of being potentially unable to receive prophecies. They are still equally capable of reading signs, since those are changes to the physical world, but they rarely, if ever, recieve prophecies

The prophecy Yellowfang receives about Rusty is the first she has received since taking Raggedstar as her mate, and the prophecy is a lot less clear than it might have been otherwise.

#shadowclan au #rusty joins shadowclan au #yellowfang #warriors au #warriors #warrior cats

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

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ShadowClan AU Into the Wild Part 2!

Firepaw hasn't exactly forgotten that Ashpaw and Ryepaw are WindClan born, but he's got a lot of other stuff on his mind. It's been two days, and Leafpaw is still in shock. She hasn't spoken a word to anyone and is refusing food, so he's out of his mind with worry about her and isn't really thinking about much else

Darkclaw drags him out of camp on a patrol of ShadowClan's newly "won" territory, because sitting in camp and driving himself mad with worry certainly isn't going to help anyone.

While they're patrolling the edges of former WindClan territory, Morningpaw appears (WindClan is still near their territory, not yet living under the road) and demands proof that her siblings are alive

Firepaw is like "This is going to be fun to explain to Darkclaw" but Darkclaw doesn't seem surprised. Hes like "Yeah ShadowClan has been stealing kits for moons now. I was one of the first." Which takes Firepaw completely by surprise. Darkclaw agrees to help Firepaw sneak Ashpaw and Ryepaw out of camp to meet Morningpaw the following night.

On the way back to camp, Firepaw asks which other cats in ShadowClan were kidnapped as kits. Darkclaw names a few names, including Ravenpaw and Dustpaw born to ThunderClan, but leaves out the fact that Firepaw and his siblings aren't Clanborn.

This isn't out of malice, Darkclaw just figures that Firepaw is dealing with enough right now and doesn't need to know that his birth mother was murdered in cold blood.

The next night, Firepaw convinces Ashpaw and Ryepaw to follow him out of camp. Darkclaw took camp guard duty tonight which makes it easier. Once they're in former WindClan territory, Firepaw tells them that they're WindClan born, and says that they're going to meet their sister.

Ashpaw and Ryepaw are suspicious but agree to follow him. Can't do any harm right?

Once they reach the meeting spot, Morningpaw is nowhere to be found and her scent is stale. (WindClan had to move to the tunnel under the road due to twolegs)

Ryepaw and Ashpaw think Firepaw is lying, and tell him that it was a cruel prank to play on them before storming off back to camp.

The WindClan siblings are giving Firepaw the cold shoulder and his usual hunting buddy Leafpaw is still recovering, so Firepaw starts spending more time with Mistpaw and Ravenpaw.

After about a week, Leafpaw is starting to recover from her shock, and Firepaw invites her to hunt with him, Ravenpaw, and their mentors. Unfortunately Brokenstar decides to invite himself to this excursion, saying itll be a good chance to assess the progress of these three apprentices.

Everything starts off fine, but when Leafpaw makes her first kill it triggers the memory of her killing the WindClan warrior and she breaks down.

Brokenstar is watching all of this and publicly shames Leafpaw for being weak, saying that she's useless and might as well go live with the elders if she can't be a real warrior.

Ravenpaw and Firepaw stand up for her, saying that Brokenstar can't treat cats from his own Clan like that. Brokenstar attacks them in fury for defying him, and manages to claw Ravenpaw's eyes before Darkclaw can pull him off of him.

Brokenstar goes "Great. Now we have two useless apprentices instead of one." And stalks off.

Firepaw assures Ravenpaw and Leafpaw that they are not useless and that Brokenstar won't be leader forever.

Darkclaw and Firepaw rush Ravenpaw back to camp so that Yellowfang can treat his injuries. They then escort Leafpaw to the elders, because being in the toxic environment of ShadowClan camp with Brokenstar constantly belittling her won't help her recover from her trauma.

After, Darkclaw tells Firepaw that the time has come for him to choose. After seeing Brokenstar's cruelty, will he continue to do nothing, or will he help Darkclaw and a number of other ShadowClan warriors take Brokenstar down?

Firepaw, of course, agrees to help overthrow Brokenstar.

A few nights later, Firepaw meets some if the other rebels to strategize how to take down Brokenstar.

The rebels include: Fernshade, Flintfang, Russetfur, and Nightpelt.

Cats that are for sure on Brokenstar's side include: Blackfoot, Clawface, Stumpytail, and Tangleburr

Blizzardwing and Boulder might side with Brokenstar but I haven't decided yet

The rebels agree that they can't take down Brokenstar alone, they need to ally with another Clan to take him out. ThunderClan is their only viable option, and Darkclaw thinks that they are likely to help if they can be convinced that ShadowClan has Ravenpaw and Dustpaw. However, it will be tricky to convince them that they aren't being led into a trap.

Firepaw puts forth that he should be the one to try to convince them: he's an apprentice, and only five moons old at that. They won't view him as a threat, but as a victim of Brokenstar's crimes.

Nobody likes the idea of putting Firepaw in such a dangerous position, but they honestly can't think of a better idea so they agree.

Now the only thing left to do is to figure out how to get Firepaw to ThunderClan without tipping off Brokenstar's supporters to their plan.

The rebels agree to meet again on another night to figure this out

Within a couple days, the perfect opportunity presents itself. Brokenstar is looking for volunteers to go on a "special mission" into ThunderClan territory (Stealing kits). Firepaw, Blackfoot and Clawface volunteer. Brokenstar is surprised that Firepaw would volunteer, but Firepaw gives some speech about wanting to prove himself worthy of being a ShadowClan warrior and convinces Brokenstar.

Firepaw is trying to figure out a way to shake off Blackfoot and Clawface while they're stealing the kits (and preferably save the kits too) when Spottedleaf catches them. Blackfoot grabs the kits and runs, Clawface pins Spottedleaf and is about to kill her when Firepaw calls for help, alerting the rest of ThunderClan to the situation and saving Spottedleaf's life.

Clawface tells Firepaw that he's a traitor and a coward and will never be allowed back into ShadowClan.

Clawface gets away, Blackfoot doesn't manage to get the kits back to ShadowClan but also escapes, and ThunderClan takes Firepaw prisoner.

Bluestar holds a trial to decide what to do with him, Firepaw pleads innocent and tries to explain that ShadowClan is training kit warriors and, as they've seen, is stealing kits from other Clans. He asks for help in overthrowing Brokenstar

ThunderClan believes him but is skeptical that this isn't a trap, and Bluestar asks why ThunderClan should help ShadowClan after such a clear and obvious attack on ThunderClan camp.

Firepaw assures her that there are rebels in ShadowClan who want to see Brokenstar go down, and reveals that two of ShadowClan's apprentices, Ravenpaw and Dustpaw, are ThunderClan kits presumed dead.

Tigerclaw calls him a liar

Sandpaw and Spottedleaf vouch for Firepaw, Sandpaw says she caught a familiar scent on his pelt at a gathering that could have been Ravenpaw or Dustpaw

ThunderClan votes as to whether they should assist with the coup or simply rescue their apprentices and leave ShadowClan to figure out their own problems.

ThunderClan narrowly votes to help with the coup, effective immediately.

Firepaw is allowed to join the battle patrol because he knows ShadowClan territory.

ThunderClan launches an attack on ShadowClan immediately, and the rebels turn on Brokenstar as soon as they catch wind as to what is happening.

During the battle, Firepaw sees a totally different side of his mentor Darkclaw for the first time when Darkclaw brutally kills Clawface, and is extremely disturbed.

At the end of the battle, Darkclaw has Brokenstar pinned and has killed him once, and is planning to kill him over and over until he loses all his lives. Firepaw begs Darkclaw to stop, saying that Darkclaw was the one who taught him that Warriors could be honorable and didn't need to kill to win.

Darkclaw is like "Really?!? After all he's done, you want me to show mercy? Firepaw, you're not a ShadowClan born cat. This monster killed your kittypet mother and ripped you and your littermates from her belly so that he could use you as expendable fighters! And you're defending him?"

Firepaw is completely shocked and is unable to respond, but Lionheart of ThunderClan (recently appointed deputy, the Sunningrocks battle just happened so chronologically we're at about the start of the original series) steps in and says that Firepaw is right, and asks if ShadowClan wants to prove that they're a Clan of killers like Brokenstar wanted them to be.

Darkclaw reluctantly let's Brokenstar go, and the rebels drive Brokenstar and his supporters out of camp.

With the battle over and no leader or deputy appointed, Yellowfang is asked to choose ShadowClan's next leader. She chooses Flintfang, saying that he has shown himself to be an honorable warrior willing to stand up to Brokenstar.

Flintfang humbly accepts leadership, and chooses Nightpelt as his deputy.

Flintfang calls a Clan meeting and tells all of the young cats their true origins, admitting to Brokenstar's crimes and ShadowClan's complacency in them. He promises to help them all return to their original homes as quickly as possible.

Ravenpaw speaks up and says that he would prefer to stay in ShadowClan, despite everything. He wants to be a warrior, and his whole life is here. He's been half blinded by Brokenstar and says that he'd rather not learn to navigate a new territory.

Flintfang agrees to let him stay, provided ThunderClan allows it

Lionheart allows it, Dustpaw is furious at his brother for choosing to stay with this Clan of killers.

Flintfang and Yellowfang leave for Moonstone

A patrol escorts Firepaw, Leafpaw, Mistpaw, and Darkclaw back to twolegplace.

At the edge of the territory, Firepaw says that he wants to stay, to help rebuild ShadowClan and experience the good parts of Clan life that they've been deprived of so far.

Darkclaw tells him that he's a naive fool, and storms off into Twoleg place.

Mistpaw says that she understands why Firepaw chose to stay, but she doesn't want that life for herself, and leaves for twolegplace as well

Leafpaw, to everyone's surprise, decides to stay. She has a big speech like "I'm not sure I'll ever forgive Brokenstar for what he did, or the rest of ShadowClan for being complacent. Honestly, I hold no love for ShadowClan. But I do care about you, Firepaw. You stood by me in my darkest moments, so now it's my turn to stand by you. If you're going to stay, you're not doing it alone."

And Firepaw is like "That's really sweet of you Leafpaw, I appreciate that, but you've been through so much... would you... even be comfortable being a warrior after everything?"

Leafpaw responds "I will NEVER use my claws to hurt another living being ever again. I killed another cat once and it broke me. ShadowClan did that to me and part of me will always hate them for it. But helping the innocent? Being there to heal both the emotional and physical wounds of cats who were hurt like me? That I can do, and that is what I choose. When Yellowfang returns, I will ask to train as her apprentice so that I can prevent pain and suffering instead of causing it."

The book ends with Leafpaw and Firepaw returning to ShadowClan camp, and for the first time in their lives it actually feels like they're going home.

So yeah those are my ideas for book one, would anyone be interested in hearing how the AU would evolve after this?

#warrior cats #warriors #warriors au #rusty joins shadowclan au #shadowclan au #shadowclan #tw kidnapping #tw animal death #tw abuse #into the wild au

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 3 years

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Idk if I'm ever going to actually write this but I thought a ton abt it so I wanted to post my brainstorm here for how this AU plays out!

Background:

Basically in this AU Brokenstar starts stealing kits much sooner bc the ShadowClan kits keep dying. He starts off stealing kits from rogues and kittypet but also steals kits from WindClan once he realizes he has the fighting force to overpower them

The first kit he abducts is Tiny/Scourge, who is younger than in canon but wanders onto ShadowClan territory after his run in with Tigerclaw (who is a warrior acting of his own volition in this incident, making it even worse)

Tiny is named Darkkit

He makes it look like the Clan kits he steals were accidentally killed during camp raids so nobody looks for them

Yellowfang stays in ShadowClan as the sole medicine cat bc Runningnose died of illness earlier here, and even Brokenstar knows better than to leave the Clan with no med cat.

Yellowfang receives a sign from StarClan telling her that "Fire burns brightest in the dark" and that fire will lead ShadowClan out of their long night.

Dustkit and Ravenkit wander out of ThunderClan camp at about a moon old and are abducted by Brokenstar. There is a fox on ThunderClan territory at the time so ThunderClan believes they've been killed.

Brokenstar abducts a number of WindClan kits, including Ashkit (Ashfoot) and Ryekit (Onewhisker)

Brokenstar conditions the kits he abducts to forget their families by withholding food whenever they ask about when they can go home. They eventually forget.

Brokenstar kills Nutmeg and steals her kits (including Rusty) when they are about half a moon old. They are given to Dawncloud to raise. Dawncloud loves her adopted kits and feels bad about their origins but she's also deeply traumatized by Brokenstar bc she was a kit warrior herself (the only kit warrior who made it to adulthood so far)

Firekit (Rusty), and his siblings Leafkit (Princess), Wildkit, and Mistkit grow up believing they are ShadowClan born.

Into The Wild

Book starts when Firekit and siblings are about 3 moons old.

Duskpaw and Ravenpaw are 4 moons old

Ashpaw and Ryepaw are 5 moons old, hoping to earn their warrior names soon

Darkclaw (Scourge), now a warrior (9 moons old), has a soft spot for other stolen kittypet kits so even though he's not allowed to talk about their origins he visits the nursery often and becomes close to Firekit and siblings. Firekit looks up to him a lot and wants to be just like him

One of the first scenes in the book is Flintfang's return to camp with Badgerfang's battered corpse. He delivers the kit warrior to camp and confronts Brokenstar, saying he'll never train another kit warrior again because its wrong.

This is the first time Firekit realizes something might be wrong in ShadowClan, that maybe this isn't how its supposed to be

Brokenstar, being the manipulative shit he is, basically says "Oh you won't train any more underage apprentices? Well since Firekit and his siblings are ready to be apprenticed, I'm sure you won't mind my choices of mentor." Brokenstar decides to mentor Wildkit, and gives Leafkit to Clawface, and Flintfang is sitting there knowing that these warriors are going to tear these kits to SHREDS, so he steps in and offers to mentor Mistkit to spare her some suffering. Brokenstar mockingly agrees, and Darkclaw offers to mentor Firekit.

Firepaw and his siblings go straight into battle training. Their first session is monitored by Brokenstar and is against Dustpaw and Ravenpaw, who are instructed to fight with claws out. All four of the new apprentices are obviously beaten up pretty badly, but Wildpaw and Leafpaw manage to land a few strikes which catches Brokenstar's attention.

Nobody is given adequate time to recover from their injuries, and they're back to battle training the next day. It's another joint session, this time against each other, and none of the kits really want to hurt each other but they also don't want to get hurt themselves so they fight their hardest. Firepaw injures Leafpaw and feels horrible about it. He talks to his mentor about it who tells him "You do what you must to keep yourself safe" and that doesn't sit quite right with Firepaw.

After a few days, Flintfang and Darkclaw finally get a chance to train their apprentices alone. Mistpaw and Firepaw are instructed to train with claws sheathed when they're alone like this and Firepaw privately wonders who he's supposed to trust: his mentor or his Clan leader?

All four of the new apprentices get to go to the gathering a moon later, where they meet Sandpaw, ThunderClan's newest apprentice. She talks to them because she thinks she smells a familiar scent (Dustpaw and Ravenpaw) but decides she must be mistaken. Firepaw notices that his sister Leafpaw is totally crushing on Sandpaw and talks to her about it like a good supportive brother would. This helps them reconnect after he injured her in training.

Firepaw privately wonders why Ashpaw, Ryepaw, Ravenpaw and Dustpaw weren't allowed to come to this gathering, and he realizes that this whole time they've never actually been invited to gatherings. Firepaw thinks its weird but doesn't dwell on it, deciding that they must not have impressed Brokenstar yet.

A couple moons pass, Wildpaw is killed by Brokenstar during training, but Brokenstar blames a cave in for his broken spine and names him "Wildfur" postmortem.

The siblings are heartbroken, Leafpaw most of all, because Wildfur was the sibling she was closest to. She vows to be the strongest warrior in his honor and throws herself into her training.

Mistpaw worries to Firepaw that Wildfur's death is leading Leafpaw down a dark path.

Leafpaw and Firepaw are part of the battle party that goes to drive out WindClan. While they're fighting, Firepaw ends up tussling with an apprentice (Morningpaw) that looks suspiciously similar to his buddy Ryepaw. Their tussle takes them away from most of the fighting (Morningpaw tries to run and Firepaw pursues her)

Morningpaw pins Firepaw and spits something along the lines of "ShadowClan kit killer! This is for my Ashkit and Ryekit! You'll pay for their deaths!" And shes about to kill him but Firepaw is like "Your siblings are alive and I didn't know that they were from here"

Mormingpaw stops attacking in her shock, and before Firepaw can say anything else Tallstar calls for WindClan to retreat, and Morningpaw dashes off.

Firepaw returns to the scene of the main battle, WindClan camp, and finds his sister Leafpaw covered in blood standing over a dead WindClan warrior.

Leafpaw has a breakdown, saying that she didn't mean to kill her, she was just trying to be a good warrior. She is in shock. Firepaw and Flintfang lead her back to camp and settle her into the medicine den. Caught up in caring for his sister, Firepaw forgets to tell Ashpaw and Ryepaw the truth about who they are.

That's all for now, more soon hopefully

#warriors au #warrior cats #warriors #firestar #shadowclan au #rusty joins shadowclan au #shadowclan #tw kidnapping #tw animal death

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rusty-shadowclan-au · 5 years

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Warriors: Into Shadows Prologue

(Allegiances will be posted next)

It was all Yellowfang could do to keep her eyes trained on the pile of herbs at her feet as Brokenstar approached, the telltale drag of a heavy pelt against the ground accompanying his pawsteps. She did not want to look up and see what had become of his latest victim. She flinched as the body of the apprentice—a kit, really—hit the ground at her feet with a dull thud. She rose her eyes to meet Brokenstar’s gaze, giving him a long, hard stare. She did not say anything, and neither did he. There was nothing to say. This same scene had played out countless times in the moons since Brokenstar had ascended to leadership. She had long since given up hope of convincing him to stop, and he had long since run out of “training accidents” to explain away these untimely deaths. No doubt he knew that the kit at her feet was dead, as she did, but he was too clever to let the Clan think he wasn’t at least trying to keep the kits he killed alive.

She let out a long breath she had not realized she had been holding as Brokenstar’s pawsteps finally retreated, leaving her alone with the tiny, broken body. She forced herself to look down at the kit, to see who it was this time. A few golden tabby patches shone through the blood soaked fur. She flinched again. Lightpaw. She doubted that was his real name, of course, but that was the only name she’d ever known him by. It was the name Brokenstar had given him after stealing him away from some poor rogue queen’s belly. He’d been apprenticed two moons after, at four moons old. He had been lucky that Brokenstar had waited so long to apprentice him, not yet satisfied with the little tom’s size at three moons. She had held out some hope that the extra moon of growing would save this kit from the gory fate so many others had met at Brokenstar’s claws, but that hope had been in vain. In the end, he’d died all the same. He was so full of energy, too… He hadn’t been Clanborn, but he’d been so eager to prove himself, so eager to be a part of the Clan that had stolen him from his mother before he was old enough to really understand what had happened to him. All of that spark, all of that potential, wasted. And for what? This cruel method of training wasn’t yielding a greater number of strong warriors. In fact, it was hardly yielding any warriors at all. Since Brokenstar’s cruel training regimen had been instated, only one kit had survived long enough to become a warrior, and she was covered in scars from her abuse. Yellowfang had barely been able to save her; she’d stayed awake three nights with her tiny patient, doing everything in her power to keep the little molly alive. And for once, she had succeeded. Indeed, her success in saving Dawncloud was perhaps the only thing keeping her from abandoning ShadowClan for good. Had Yellowfang not been there, the molly would surely have died, and the possibility of another such case arising kept her from leaving.

She gave her pelt a shake, pushing aside the pile of herbs she’d been counting before. She snorted. It was ironic, really, that with the most brutal leader ShadowClan had ever seen, they had a surplus of marigold. Only because every patient he brings to me is dead by the time they arrive. Yellowfang got to work cleaning the little tom’s blood-stiff pelt with wet moss, the motions far too familiar at this point. Tease out the clumped fur by soaking it first, then gently tugging with a claw. You’ll tear it out otherwise. Wipe away from the body to avoid spreading the blood around. Close the eyes and push the tongue down the throat so it doesn’t loll out when they move him. Fill the wounds with flowers and seeds so that his body may nourish the forest once all is said and done.

She finished preparing the body with practiced ease, gently tugging him by the scruff to the enterance of her den. Her part here was done for now, his mentor would come to pick him up before long, to lay him out for a short service before his burial. How had they strayed so far from StarClan that they did not even sit vigil by the fallen anymore? How had they come to have such little respect for life? She knew how. It was her fault, for bringing that monster into this world. This was StarClan’s punishment on the whole of ShadowClan for her youthful mistake. How many cats would have to die before it was finally over? Would there even be a ShadowClan at the end of this mess? She did not have the answers, nor did she seek them. Perhaps she was a coward, but she could not bear to face StarClan, to see the faces of all the cats that had died for her transgression. Half of them aren’t even Clanborn. They had no part in this, and yet they’ve suffered all the same. If it weren’t for me, they’d be alive and happy.

Yellowfang heaved another sigh, looking up through the whole in the roof of her den at the stars shining coldly above. If you can hear me, I’m sorry. I know it isn’t enough, but I’m sorry. I’ll do anything to bring this to an end. The stars did not answer. I should have known StarClan would refuse to speak to me. It isn’t even halfmoon, and I’m the last cat they’d want to share with right now. But as she began to turn away, she caught sight of a shooting star in the corner of her eye. For a moment the dark den seemed to glow with firelight, before fading back into black. It was so brief that she wondered if it had happened at all. But if she strained her ears, Yellowfang could hear the softest of whisper reach her: “Fire shines brightest in the darkest nights.” Yellowfang exhaled deeply, ducking out of her den to gaze up at the night sky. For the first time in many, many moons, she allowed the tiniest bit of hope to take root in her heart. StarClan had spoken. Somehow, in some way, fire would lead ShadowClan out of its darkest hour.

#warriors #warrior cats #warrior cats au #rusty joins shadowclan au #shadowclan au #into the wild au

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