#I wish she and leafpool were More BUT

[artaintfartwarriors]

#sorreltail #one of my fav characters ever fr #I wish she and leafpool were More BUT #she did choose the best dude to get with I love brackenfur they were SOOOOO cute #her death actually killed me #tpb #tnp #tpot #oots #a thief in thunderclan #firestar’s quest #graystripe’s vow #ravenpaw’s path #mothwing’s secret #winds of change #leafpool’s wish #hollyleaf’s story #mistystar’s omen #leafsorrel walked so mothpool could run btw

[bonefall]

Opinion on WhistleFrost: do you see it as platonic or is there something more there in your eyes? If seen as romantic, how high are the odds that they’ll be a canon couple in the rewrite in some way? I know you say no changes done until the arc is done but I gotta know what your brain is thinking about them in the moment because they are my favoritist thing ever rn

I definitely see them as not entirely platonic. They're giving me big Mothwing/Leafpool vibes.

It's the way that whenever they're at their lowest, the only person that could come through to them was the other. Throat slashed and losing blood fast, her mother's command to trust no cat swirling in her fading mind, Frostpaw's heart still guided her towards Whistlepaw. The whole world crashing down, her Clan having punished and mocked her for how she'd helped her friend, the only one who could pull Whistlepaw out of her self-destructive desperation to save her sister was Frostpaw.

Like they remain the one stable thing in the chaos. I'm reminded of the way Leafpool was afraid Mothwing wouldn't belive a vision she had, especially knowing she was faithless, and she simply responded, "I believe in you, Leafpool."

So when it comes to BB, I know that there needs to be one or two significant moments where Frostpaw's love of Whistlepaw makes her realize things about herself. One of them I'm pretty deadset on.

Instead of it being Smoky that goes against Frostpaw's wishes while she's injured, violating her trust in him, and this somehow NOT causing a massive backslide in Frostpaw's tentative ability to trust people (thanks i hate it), Frostpaw realizes that she's forcing Whistlepaw to watch her die.

Whistlepaw is too inexperienced to deal with these injuries, but she's doing everything Frostpaw asks. She didn't grab her mentor. She isn't going to the humans. She's desperately trying to treat her best friend and feeling her slip away below her paws.

How can Frostpaw let this happen? Whistlepaw loves her so much, she'll lose her. It's then that she lurches up from her deathbed, drags herself out onto the moor, and calls the humans.

In BB, they're a team of researchers who study the Clan cats. It's why they were able to field dress her so easily, as opposed to this... random horse farmer who happens to carry a syringe of cat tranquilizer in their pocket. Minor detail that bugs me more than it should lmao.

BUT that aside... I need to know how ASC ends before considering if they can be a canon couple or not. As much as they love one another, I feel like it's unlikely Whistlepaw would leave WindClan, and she is a Cleric subject to the Vow.

#better bones au #bb!asc #Asc spoilers #Frostwhistle

[willicewc]

Just a quick drawing of my Lionblaze is Scourge's reincarnation au :) I am still sick so the drawing is a bit wonky here and there.....

This au is still a vague concept and everyone is free to interpret it or create their own story line with it ! It's mainly made to make Lionblaze more revelant as a character, I liked the idea of him having the power to be "impossible to defeat in battle", and at the same time, be the reincarnation of the one of most deadly cats in the series !

So what if Scourge's new chance at life - being Lionblaze - turned out to be not that much of a good idea ?

Starclan "rant" ahead !

Starclan is often a bit weird when they give out powers and prophecies, such as lying to Squirrelflight about being infertile so that she would adopt the Three. ...Or forcing Jayfeather to become a medicine cat against his will, going literally against their decision to reincarnate Cinderpelt so that she would become a warrior because she was made a medicine cat against her will ??? If we follow Starclan's logic, then Jayfeather would have to then be reincarnated to become a warrior because his dream to become a warrior was cut short by Starclan ITSELF ???

Anyway, Starclan being so strange about its decisions, it would be right up its alley to make Scourge's reincarnation have a power to give him a full chance at bettering himself, just like how Brambleclaw was given the chance to kill off Firestar to become leader, and chose to kill Hawkfrost instead.

Knowing that Lionblaze's main inner conflict is the fear of losing control and killing people against his will, being Scourge's reincarnation would make that way more difficult. What if Scourge had genuinely always been a horrible person ? What if Scourge was meant to be terrible in every single timeline, Tigerpaw or not ? Would Lionblaze be able to fight off this strange, tingling need for blood ? Starclan really be testing my boi Lionblaze in this au.

But anyway I hope you enjoy that small sketch! It's not much, but it's honest work lol ! :)

Oh, also, sorry for the Starclan rant again, I feel like I keep ranting about Starclan but Starclan is such a strange mecanic in Warriors ??? Like they go against their very own concepts at some points (the cinderpelt/jayfeather point...), not even counting the fact that they would let Ashfur in Starclan when he threatened to KILL three cats just because Squirrelflight friendzoned him years before wtf??? Or sending Frecklewish to the Dark Forest??? I might make a full written post to talk about Starclan because Starclan is a really weird plot device and they can't seem to keep track of what they are doing. Such as : Let's forbid the medicine cats from having kits. But let's give the children of Crowfeather and Leafpool some powers. Why would Starclan give powers to children that are born against their own values ???

Idk man Starclan is really weird sometimes and I wish they were more... Logical ? Maybe these are just neatpick ? If you have anything to add, if you agree or not, feel free to tell me ! :)

(Also should I write Starclan as a "it" or as a "they" ? I am a bit confused so I used both on this text !)

#wc au #wc art #lionblaze is scourge au #lionblaze wc #lionblaze #scourge #scourge wc

[notwarriorswiki]

I liked your perspective on Leafpool's life. I was wondering in your rewrite, are Squirrelflight and Leapool's lives different before they die/become deputy?

Updating designs for them while I'm at it. I like my short and stubby Squirrel and long and lanky Leaf.

Their lives are mostly the same, though there are a few notable changes.

Leafpool, encouraged by StarClan and also fearing for her future, lies to Squirrelflight and claims StarClan has told her she is barren and will never be able to conceive. It's ultimately the thing that really breaks Squirrelflight and has her accept the kits, believing it to be a gift from StarClan so her and Brambleclaw can have a family AND help save her sister. This lie comes back to haunt Leafpool.

Squirrelflight learns she is actually pregnant during the Po12 arc, a major shock for her as, well, she thought she couldn't conceive. Brambleclaw is ecstatic to have another litter and Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather are excited to be older siblings.

Squirrelflight confronts Leafpool about her pregnancy in private, Leafpool admitting she lied about Squirrelflight's fertility so she'd take the kits. They fight and argue, Leafpool losing yet another person she loves and is close with because of what StarClan told her to do.

Secretly Hollyleaf and Jayfeather overhear their conversation, learning the secret of their parentage. They tell Lionblaze, who is incredibly angry but is forced to bottle it up by Jayfeather as to not throw anything off with the prophecy.

Bottling it up isn't good though. Jay, Lion, and Holly are all bitter and awkward around Leafpool, which hurts Leaf more.

Lionblaze, in his anger, spills the secret of their parentage at the gathering and absolutely blows up things. Brambleclaw breaks up with Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight, despite her anger still with her sister, stands at her side and reaffirms it. This is where they reconcile, and they continue to be close as ever.

Squirrelflight gives birth before The Great Battle. Despite no longer being a medicine cat, Leafpool demands to help her sister in her birth, and Jayfeather doesn't have the strength to turn her away when he feels her raw emotions practically smothering him. This time Leafpool is helping Squirrelflight kit, the opposite of that fateful snowy day.

Brambleclaw is killed by Hawkfrost in the battle.

Leafpool dies in The Great Battle due to her injuries, collapsing after finally guiding her sister and her young kits to safety away from the battle. Leafpool's life was a tragedy. However, in her dying breath, she helps protect the cat and her kits who protected her and her kits. Squirrelflight is distraught and grieves her sister.

Squirrelflight is made deputy post Great Battle by the newly named Hollystar, who wishes to have the cat she loved and admired so much at her side. Mother/Daughter deputy/leader combo!

Small side effect of Squirrelflight's promotion to deputy is that because she lost her mate, is now in a leader position at a stressful time, and is trying to be there for Jay, Lion, and Holly still - all while juggling her own grief of losing both her sister and mate so suddenly, she really struggles sitting still in the nursery and just being with Alderkit and Sparkkit as it makes her antsy. Spark holds this against her later.

So yeah not much completely different. Leafpool dies much earlier, and Squirrelflight continues to live while navigating life without the two cats she relied upon most. It hurts, but she has her kits and the rest of her clan, who she loves dearly.

Leafpool's main difference is never actually getting her medicine cat title back before getting killed. Technically her title is Warrior when she dies just to add salt to the wound. She doesn't have a mate waiting for her in StarClan ever. Leafpool's true happiness lies with her sister, kits, and family, not in romance, nor the stars she dedicated her life to. It was always with the people who were right next to her since the beginning. Sure she resides in StarClan, but Leafpool is a rather active wanderer who still shares much disdain for the cats who play God in StarClan, knowing truly that they are all one in the same, no cat greater than the other, not even in The Dark Forest.

#warrior cats #po12 #au #squirrelflight #leafpool #art

[thecatspirits]

Lately I've been thinking about how I would rewrite the Power of Three and incorporate it into my Xenomoggy and Hollyleaf's character really jumped out to me the more I thought about it. All three main characters had their personal issues (though Lionblaze's weren't really developed or explored) but Hollyleaf really spoke to me as someone, who like many others, struggles with self-esteem. Her grandfather, Firestar, was a prophecy cat, savior of the Clans and leader of ThunderClan. Her grandmother, Sandstorm, was the best hunter in ThunderClan (and she should have been deputy :\) Her mother, Leafpool, discovered the Moon Pool. Her father, Crowfeather, was a prophecy cat and part of the Traveling Group. Her adoptive mother, Squirrelstar, was a part of the Travelling Group and is a leader. Her adoptive father, Brambleclaw, was a prophecy cat, a part of the Traveling Group and was a leader (albeit a horrible one). Her brother, Jayfeather, was a prophecy cat and time traveller. Her brother, Lionblaze, was a prophecy cat. Her supposed best friend, Cinderheart, was a reincarnation of a medicine cat (though this wasn't really a good thing tbh) Every cat that Hollyleaf was close to (excluding Crowfeather ofc) was "special" in some way. And what was she? The product of a half-clan relationship? The daughter of a medicine cat? A murderer? From Hollyleaf's perspective, she was nothing compared to them. From the moment she was little, Hollyleaf's goal in life was to be important and yet no matter how hard she tried she could never live up to her family's legacy. I so wish they'd really explored Hollyleaf's self-esteem issues in-depth. How it drove her to cover up all her supposed short-comings in whatever way she could, even if it meant murdering someone. How the guilt of even existing drove her to reveal everything. They even could've added in that though Hollyleaf thought she was doing it for the sake of the Warrior Code, deep down she's doing it to disgrace the cats she's grown to despise for all their lies and the fact they represent everything she never thinks she can be to feel better about herself. How Cinderheart disagreeing with her actions made her finally break and run away. I so wish they'd had her time in the tunnels be spent realizing that's she's not worthless and that's she's more that her family's actions and legacy, that she can be her own person and find purpose and fulfillment. Heck have that be the purpose of the fox cub instead of it just randomly showing up (tbh that was probably what they were going for but I don't think it worked too well). I wish they'd had her own up to her mistakes and prove to herself to herself and everyone around her. Then have her process her feelings on Dovewing and realize she's not being replaced. Then have her talk and connect with Ivypool and help Dove and Ivy to reconcile with one another. I just wish the authors had realized Hollyleaf's potential and utilized it. I wish Hollyleaf got the story her character deserved.

#Arrow Says Stuff #Hollyleaf #wc #warrior cats

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

firestar and leafpools father daughter relationship isnt talked about nearly enough on that note

I think about it so often! They make so many remarks about legacy but refuse to hold onto the FAMILY that a legacy should entail! Bad writers! Smack smack!

Leafpool and Firestar - Familial Relationship

In WCR, they have a much more fleshed out relationship.

First thing Fire notices about his newly born daughter when he and Sandstorm (and Smudge and Scourge) get back to Thunderclan is that she looks a hell of a lot like his sister, Princess! Firestar almost came up with a name in inspiration of her, but decided to stick with Leafstar, as while he could not inform his cats of Skyclan, he could at least hope that some of Leafstar's nobility and grace would invoke into his daughter.

Well, he got the noble part right, at first. Little Leafkit was clumsy and a bit uncoordinated. She would rather learn about herbs than practicing pouncing and bounding through the forest like Squirrelkit could.

Firestar has learned from his past attitude and encouraged his daughter to follow her heart. Though... Please talk to me or your mom or aunty Cinderpelt before you taste-test plants you find. Please.

Leafkit grew into Leafpaw, and finally developed that grace! Firestar was so proud of her, to the point of embarrassing her by accident. Yowling across camp "BE SAFE! BE GOOD! I LOVE YOU LEAFPAW!" When she would go for Medicine Cat meetings. She got over it quickly when she heard Cinderpelt speak about her own father, Cricketfang, and how she missed him.

"I LOVE YOU TOO DAD!"

Things begin to get... Difficult, once the destruction of White Hart Woods begins. In WCR, Leafpaw is the cat who gets the message to go on the Road Trip, and Squirrelpaw, ever at her side, joins too. (Along with Shrewpaw) The 2 sisters leave together under the cover of night alongside Crowpaw and Cranberrypaw of Windclan, Tawnypelt and Smokepaw of Shadowclan, and Feathertail and Stormfur of Riverclan.

It is, hands down, one of the worst times in Firestar's life. The forest is being destroyed and BOTH his kids are missing. All he can think is that the Clans are going to go through what Old Skyclan went through, and his daughters are missing.

When they came back, he was terrified and filled with sorrow. The destruction was in full-swing, and his children had come back speaking about a lake, leaving, going through a mountain... He believed them, but it was so strange, following his daughters into territory unknown... They were so grown-up.

While Squirrelpaw was reckless and a troublemaker, Leafpaw was a the good one, the quieter one, the one you didn't need to worry too much about. He didn't entirely like how Brambleclaw acted towards his daughter, but he never suspected that Leafpaw and Crowpaw's funny little friendship was anything more than that.

When she left again, with Crowfeather, he was... Sad. But not upset with her. The kind of sad you feel when you know your child has grown up enough to not need you the way they used to. It seemed like such a short while ago Leafkit was calling put for her daddy to sleep in the nursery with them tonight because the gentle rain outside was too scary...

But also sad because she'd never told him. He would have accepted it in a heartbeat, moreso than Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight.

He was overjoyed when she came back, but confused when Crowfeather was not with her. During Leafpool's Wish, he tries to give her some comfort. It's okay, honey, sometimes things don't work out.

She's so distracted with her pregnancy that she just nods along. She feels like she doesn't want to burden her father with anything more, what with Thunderclan still recovering from The Boar Attack, including Cinderpelt's death.

She never told him the truth about The Three. But Firestar wasn't stupid. The shape of Jaykit's ears and the stripes on his pelt, Lionkit's eye colour, and Hollykit's voice... He knew they were hers, and putting the 2 puzzle pieces together for their father was not hard. He's come a long way as an orange cat.

Like Shrewfeather though, he assumed it was out of a kindness. Maybe Squirrelflight couldn't have kits of her own, and sweet Leafpool had acted as a surrogate with Crowfeather to provide kits for them. He felt that he shouldn't pry.

Leafpool felt so guilty at not telling her mother and father about things, especially with how close they were to The Three. When the secret came out, she quietly walked into Firestar and Sandstorm's den afterwards and cried to them. They understood and weren't mad in the slightest.

When the secret came out, Firestar was hesitant to punish Leafpool, she'd been through enough... He didn't want to punish his own daughter but when whispers of blood clotting were beginning to start, he had to do something. He wasn't going Onestar's route, when Onestar denamed him into Crowpaw.

He still demotes her, but it's more a formality. She broke a vow about her Starclan connection but let's not prevent cats from getting medical treatment if they need it, okay? He has her go through some Hunter training with her aunt, Lightflower (Princess) but talks in Thunderclan have begun regarding an alternate permanent position for cats that aren't Medicine cats but cannot hunt. In the mean time, she takes up odd jobs all around Thunderclan and hangs around her parents.

Firestar dies protecting Leafpool and Squirrelflight, whom Tigerstar calls "abominations" and attacks during The Great Battle. Firestar dies, but the sisters escape, botb in shock and grief, only getting worse when Tjgerstar drags Firestar's seemingly lifeless body out into a clearing to show off. Leafpool will never forget her father's flaming, holy spirit rising out of his own limp body when Tigerstar least expects it, destroying him, before finally taking his rightful place in Starclan.

And the trial? Ooh, that'll be a doozy. I am going to leave this bit vague, but let's just say there's a reason Firestar still has his title of "Leader of Lionclan".

Moon Flight had better watch herself.

#warrior cats #warrior cats rewrite #warriors #wcr #asks #relationship page #leafpool #firestar #fireheart #leafpaw #sandstorm #firesand #squirrelpaw #squirrelflight

[justapossum]

Alright, first post on here so forgive me if it’s awful.

Let’s talk about my Warriors Rewrite (specifically the Three)

Who are their parents? Their biological parents are Mothwing and Leafpool. Their adoptive parent is Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight presents them to the Clan as her own kits, but they go unsired. The Clan respects this because it is a she-cat’s decision to reveal her kits’ lineage. (I am the biggest mothpool fan 😤)

Why do they have powers? StarClan has granted the power of the stars to the Three because they are Tiger Fire kin. This is their way of apologizing for/fixing their mistake of granting Tigerstar nine lives.

Jayfeather/wing: Jaykit wished to become a warrior, however his clanmates are concerned about how well he could defend his Clan. During the upcoming moons to his apprenticeship, Leafpool tells Mothwing about how ThunderClan is unsure whether to allow Jaykit to train as a warrior. Mothwing is taken back by this and decides to do something to persuade Firestar. She confronts Brightheart and Longtail at a Gathering and acts as a concerned medicine cat. She urges them to speak up for Jaykit and they agree (especially since Cloudtail is Jaykit’s first cousin). Brightheart and Longtail address their concerns to Firestar about how ThunderClan doesn’t see Jay as a capable independent cat. Firestar agrees and apologizes for how he was complicit in this mindset. Jaypaw trains as a warrior apprentice under both Longtail and Brightheart, honing his skills to become an excellent hunter and fighter. As a nod to Mothwing who convinced Brightheart and Longtail to speak up for Jay, Jaypaw is named Jaywing. When Longtail catches a nasty bout of greencough, Jaywing pleads for Leafpool to train him as a half medicine cat (half time med cat half time warrior). He wants to protect his mentor and realizes that maybe it’s not so bad to heal the cats he cares about.

Hollyleaf: Hollykit always longed to be a warrior. She upheld the warrior code more than any other cat in ThunderClan. She grew up hearing stories of Tigerstar’s tyranny from the elders and vowed to never misuse the code StarClan had so graciously provided the Clans. When ThunderClan was debating what to do with Jaykit, Hollykit begged Leafpool to make her a medicine cat apprentice instead. She would rather her brother live her dream of becoming a warrior than be stuck doing a job he never asked for. Leafpool is hesitant because she doesn’t want Hollykit stuck in a role she doesn’t want, but respects how determined she is to protect her brother (this reminds her of Squirrelflight) so she accepts. Hollypaw is really terrible at healing cats. She cannot comprehend any of the lessons Leafpool teaches her and almost comes to resent her decision to become a medicine cat. But she preserves for Jaykit until he’s finally made a warrior apprentice. During her training as a medicine cat, Squirrelflight trains Hollypaw as a warrior in their free time. Hollypaw asks Leafpool and Firestar for permission to train as a warrior. Both respect her strong desire to protect her brother and accept. When Firestar is about to dub her as a warrior, Hollypaw stops the ceremony to ask if she can be named Hollyleaf after Leafpool who never lost patience with her. (Leafpool nearly cries at this and so does Mothwing when she’s told).

Lionblaze: Lionkit was the biggest of the Three, leading to him taking a very protective role over his siblings. He and Hollykit were the first cats to speak up against how the Clan treated their brother unfairly. While Hollykit became a medicine cat apprentice to prevent Firestar from making Jaykit one, Lionkit flat out refused to be made into ANY apprentice. As long as Jaykit couldn’t become a warrior apprentice, Lionkit wouldn’t be one. This led to some of his clanmates seeing him as wasted potential and a disgrace to Fire Kin. Firestar would immediately shut that mindset down as soon as he heard it, but rumors would spread regardless. When Jaykit became an apprentice, Lionkit became one. They were both excited to train together and became as well known as Firepaw and Greypaw in their apprentice moons. Firestar names him Lionblaze after Whitestorm who sparked a blaze in Fire’s life. Everyone else just thinks he named Lionblaze after himself though. Lionblaze has a fierce sense of protection for his family. He would die for his family if his power allowed him. He is protective to a possessive point. He needs to know where his siblings are and who they're with at all times. This is probably the result of Tigerstar influencing him in the Dark Forest. He is highly defensive and this amps up his issues with Breezepelt because Breezepelt hates Firekin. Breezepelt would call them entitled and only half clan due to their kittypet roots. This leads to Lion lashing out physically out of rage, not realizing how strong he is compared to everyone. Despite his strength, Lionblaze is super caring of his Clan. He makes sure that his clanmates are eating and feel comfortable. He'll even help out the elders (despite it being considered an "apprentice's" job and causing some of his clanmates to snicker at him). He definitely inherited Firestar's caring nature (which could get him into trouble with his granddad like how Fire used to get into trouble with Bluestar).

Powers: Jaywing has the power to walk into cats’ dreams, Lionblaze has the power to be unharmed during battle, and Hollyleaf has the power to persuade cats to do as she says.

//////

The tism has won. Hope you enjoyed this if you actually read it! This has been in my head for MONTHS. Literally clawing at the walls of my enclosure

#warrior cats #hollyleaf #lionblaze #jayfeather #firestar #the power of three #warriors #warrior cats rewrite #warrior cats au #schatzi’s rewrite

[the-owl-tree]

Honestly I wish there were more popular sapphic ships in warriors. I’m tired of the Leafpool and Mothwing crumbs. I need something to inject into my veins like super soldier serum

wlw/sapphic/whatever term you use pairings are pretty known to have like a tough type getting popular in most fandoms unfortunately (exceptions being like. wlw shows or shows with majority lady cast). i love mothpool deep in my heart but i agree, would love to see more wlw ships achieve their popularity. unfortunately i think with the convoluted family tree and like....inability for the authors to write their she-cats talking to each other without insane misogyny creeping in is gonna make that difficult

#deer rambles #i like to think a lot of fans want that too #i mean we had bristle and spotfur tentatively be shipped until everyone remembered that's her fucking aunt LMAO #wc is like. nightmareish in that regard #there's a reason a lot of the top popular ships are from the early arc #no family tree baaabyyyy

[cryptidclaw]

With the whole “any cat who greatly effected the orders during their time alive would be more powerful” really makes you wonder how powerful Leafpool would be, given she found the Moonpool and is the mother of two prophecy cats!!

And maybe if Blinding Moon were to somehow double-die, Leafpool would be powerful enough to take her place. Vowing to change the Star’s for the better and undoing everything Blinding has done, so no one will have to suffer and be manipulated the same way she and her sister were. Hell, maybe she stands by any living cats that wish to change the code like in The Broken Code.

Like you said before: Leafpool is the modern Moth Flight…

..... you have caught on to my RoC leafpool plans ehehebe

This is precisely what I'm thinking will be the finale of the Blinding Moon issue! Leaf takes over!!! I also think Blinding was aware that Leaf had the power to take her place which is why she tried to keep Leaf beaten down as much as possible !

#cryptid answers #cryptidclaw's warriors au #rise of change #leafpool #blinding moon #moth flight

[troutfur]

prompt if you still need: fernkit/paw wondering if she'll ever become a warrior and wondering why she's still in the nursery/just starting her apprenticeship while cloudpaw gets apprenticed first and becomes a warrior before the other cats that are older than him -- brightpaw and swiftpaw.

[according to canon, she's born in the summer at the end-ish of into the wild. she's not even an apprentice until the following summer of rising storm. her and ashkit/paw are full adults in the nursery.]

I just HAD to do this one since it's so goddamn funny. The Erins did my favorite timeline fuckup TWICE. GOD. Knowing them it's probably many more, actually. Diversity win! Due to authorial incompetence this character is now adult in primary education representation!

For the unaware, it's an important plot point that The Sight takes place towards the end of winter/beginning of spring, since the whole of the plot can be tracked almost day by day pretty accurately and only takes up about a single moon, with the climax at the Daylight Gathering which explicitly happens during the first full moon of the spring.

However, in Sunrise during the subplot in which Jayfeather goes snooping in Leafpool's business, it is established him and his siblings were born in... winter! Leafpool's Wish later on doubles down on this nonsense which has forever ruined my ability to take the parentage reveal investigation seriously. CLEARLY such a basic timeline fuckup must mean Jayfeather's memory is shit and not to be trusted.

Typically I ignore this when creating timelines for my work, but I do have the jokey headcanon that Firestar was so furious about the fox kits incident that he refused to apprentice them until they were grown-ass adults. lmao.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings! Let's go!

(Want to submit your own scenario for me to turn into 500 words of crack? Check out my guidelines and submit a prompt! Recently I did an askbox cleanup so I'm very much in need for a good few more to get to November 30th.)

“Ashkit, don’t you feel like there’s something just... wrong about all this?” Fernkit asked with her squeaky kit voice from where she was observing just at the entrance to the nursery.

Her twin brother looked to her from where he was batting at a mossball, his head tilted to the side with confussion. “What do you mean?”

She frowned. “It’s just that, you know...” she looked out. “Cloudpaw is getting his apprentice ceremony, but wasn’t he smaller than us? And didn’t he get bigger just now?”

“When we woke up we were the same size,” Ashkit replied with a shrug.

“Maybe but shouldnt’ that mean we should be apprenticed as well?” Fernkit asked.

“Well, Bluestar didn’t say it was our turn to be appentices yet,” Ashkit said. “And mom says that we must obey everything she says. So if she hasn’t said we should be apprenticed we should just obey.”

Fernkit took in a deep breath as she tried to think how to explain the situation. “But aren’t we supposed to become apprentices when we reach 6 moons old? Didn’t we reach that a while ago?”

“I’unno,” Ashkit replied.

“We were already here by the time Cloudpaw joined the Clan,” Fernkit pointed out. “Shouldn’t we at least be becoming apprentices alongside Cloudpaw?”

“I don’t know what you’re worrying so much about,” Ashkit finally said as he turned around. “Cloudpaw’s going to have to do chores around camp all day now and we get to play instead. What do you miss so much about becoming an apprentice?”

As her brother tossed out his mossball and walked off, Fernkit was left alone with her thoughts on the matter. She couldn’t deny that there was some truth to what her brother was saying but it still left her a tad... unsettled. Wasn’t he ever excited about the idea of finally leaving the nursery? Of getting to know the territory and the world outside of camp? Of doing all of the things their adopted littermate would get to do?

Fernpaw shook her head, refusing to keep dwelling on these thoughts. Perhaps Ashkit was right and it wasn’t their time just yet. Perhaps being in the nursery would be for the best.

And so she followed in his lead.

#ashfur #ferncloud #cloudtail #warrior cats #wc #warrior cats au #decided to go alllll in and just include the ''cats are written as if they just digi-evolve at their ceremonies'' thing #this is the most crack-ish I'm gonna get all month I prommy #also short one since I just didn't have enough material to work with for 500 words #but my average makes up for it so it's fine

[kangoneko]

Squirrelflight's Choice

"I hope the mistakes I've made, I've made out of love."

Hello all! Today I'd like to discuss the character of Squirrelflight in the hope that I can help spread my interpretation of the character. I hope you'll continue to the end, and if my post changes your mind about her in any way, I would be so happy.

This will largely be focused around her choices surrounding the kits she chose to raise at Leafpool's request. Spoilers from Squirrelflight's Hope and other books that released prior will appear here.

In this post, I want to argue against the idea that Squirrelflight only took the kits because she thought she was barren, and argue that what she did was the best choice considering the circumstances. I believe this interpretation not only makes for a stronger, more cohesive narrative across all of these books, but also makes logical sense.

Let's start with the events surrounding Leafpool's pregnancy and the sisters' decision to raise the kits in ThunderClan under the lie that they were Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's biological children.

This decision had many factors surrounding it. The first being that Leafpool couldn't go forth with her plan to raise kits outside the clans with Crowfeather after Cinderpelt died and leave ThunderClan without a medicine cat. On top of this, the novella Leafpool's Wish reveals that Leafpool was told by her warrior ancestors that she had to have her sister raise the kits in ThunderClan, leaving her with little other option but to lie that they weren't hers.

Many people criticize this decision from Leafpool, for multiple reasons. For one, she could've stepped down as a medicine cat and raised them herself. For another, she could've pretended that they were random kits she found instead of ones related to her and Firestar. And while I see what they mean, it just wouldn't work out.

The whole reason she decided to come back was to be the Clan's medicine cat, and there is no way she would be allowed to continue being a medicine cat after it's revealed she not only had kits, but that she had them with a warrior from a rival clan. That's two codes broken for the price of one. On top of this, StarClan told her to do it. Her kits are special, part of a prophecy about being Firestar's kin. It simply wouldn't work if she just pretended they were some random kits. Keep in mind that this lie was never intended to come to light, and since two of her kits were blessed with magic powers, her secret would've been discovered in no time. StarClan must have known this, hence why they told her to tell that lie specifically.

But we're not really talking about Leafpool, are we? We're talking about Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight herself has faced criticism for going along with this decision, chiefly surrounding her keeping it a secret from Brambleclaw. While people acknowledge that StarClan directly told her to lie to everyone that the kits were Brambleclaw's, some still think she should have told him. Especially since Brambleclaw, when the kits' parentage is revealed, says he would have gone along with her lie.

And to address that, we need to take a look at Squirrelflight's arc in the novella Leafpool's Wish.

Despite the fact that there is a perfectly serviceable Moonkittii video summarizing the book, many people misconstrue the events of it and say things happened that really didn't. The most egregious of these mistakes is thinking that Squirrelflight only took the kits after Yellowfang told her she was barren, as well as largely ignoring a lot of her agency in her decision to take them.

When Yellowfang lied to her and told her she was barren, Squirrelflight was very upset. But while she told her sister that she loved her and would do her best to help her as much as she could, she still steadfastly refused to take the kits and lie to Brambleclaw and the rest of ThunderClan in the process. She only changed her mind after the kits were born, when Feathertail visited the two sisters and urged Squirrelflight to reconsider. Squirrelflight, having then realized how much she had grown to care for the kits, agreed to take them so that they could live the best lives they possibly could in ThunderClan.

Squirrelflight not only struggled with the decision, but also refused to change her mind until they were already far away from the clan. This is understandable, considering how dishonorable and painful lying to ones kin and clanmates can be. Keep in mind that she was even doing this for her sister, the cat she was closest to, and yet she still had trouble going along with it.

Taking all of this into consideration, why would she have risked the chance that Brambleclaw rejects them? Better yet, why are we taking Brambleclaw at his word that he would have still accepted the kittens if he was told the truth? Keep in mind that after the lie is revealed, Leafpool steps down as a medicine cat out of shame. Brambleclaw's position as deputy is incredibly important to him, with his ambition for power being his main character motivation throughout The New Prophecy. Lying to ones clan is incredibly dishonorable, and after the truth came out, Brambleclaw would either step down out of shame or feel pressured to by his fellow warriors.

But let's not make him sound entirely self-centered, either. Lying is not always an easy choice. Making Brambleclaw keep the lie makes him complicit. There's kindness in not involving him, in making him an innocent party. Brambleclaw already has to put up with a lot for being the mirror image of his father, but for it to be found out that he played a part in such a serious lie? It could be proving everyone who doubts him in the clan right. Not only this, but the kits would feel betrayed by both of their parents if the truth ever came out. I can't imagine that any of these thoughts hadn't occured to Squirrelflight, a cat who already felt uncomfortable lying herself.

Ultimately, while I could neither feasibly blame Brambleclaw if he did reject the kits nor say for certain that he would, I don't see why it's so unbelievable to expect him not to, especially when Squirrelflight herself grappled with the decision. The sisters both needed 100% from him, nothing less. And Leafpool didn't get 100% from Squirrelflight until weeks after the initial proposal.

I believe Brambleclaw is only able to so confidently say he would keep Squirrelflight's lie because he has already come to love the kits as his own, similar to how Squirrelflight only agreed to take them after she came to love the kits as a mother. To take him at his word is an entirely unfair criticism of Squirrelflight's decision. Anyone can say they would have done something, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.

Anyway, acknowledging that Squirrelflight had agency in the plot of Leafpool's Wish also makes Squirrelflight's Hope make a bit more sense than it normally does. While StarClan taking zero responsibility for the lie about the kits' parentage is insulting, Squirrelflight still made a choice--her own choice--to go through with it. And I like this about her. I like that she tried to help her sister and give the kits the best life they could. They not only got to grow up knowing who their kin was, but they grew up with two loving parents as proud warriors of ThunderClan, all while not having to face the prejudice of being half-clan kits or kits of a medicine cat. The aftermath when everyone found out was undeniably terrible, but I love how you can see the decision had actual merits. That it was understandable. That it was human.

Squirrelflight to me is such a selfless character, it saddens me to see people scorn her when she was just trying to help her sister. It also sucks to see the narrative of the books treat her so poorly, and for Brambleclaw to ignore her attempts to mend things between them for so long, a decision he later regrets after he comes to understand why she did what she did. It sucks to see this treated as an "everyone was bad" issue when it's more like everyone was right, in some way, but that some handled the fallout worse than others. That there was more heartache than there needed to be, and that the sisters are not the source of the problem, but a result of the systemic problems that surround the clans and the Warrior Code as a whole.

Thank you for reading! This post was mostly born of a desire to scream into a voiceless, unfeeling void about how much I love Squirrelflight and how much I want other people to love her, too, but if You (hypothetical reader) got anything useful out of it, then I'd love to hear your feedback! Let me know if you want to hear me yell about any other warriors characters. Or don't, I might just do it anyway. ฅ^•ω•^ฅ Toodle-oo!

#warrior cats #warriors #waca #squirrelflight #squirrelstar #warriors meta #leafpool #brambleclaw

[warriorcatsamino]

Let’s give it up for the most dysfunctional family in the history of Warrior cats…that’s right it’s the CrowNight family. Illustrated by the lovely @noxvoca who keeps letting the team post their work! Who is in the CrowNight family exactly? Well three Windclan cats in particular and arguably a few others. The main participants are the father Crowfeather, the mother Nightcloud and their son Breezepelt. Breezepelt also has a family as he’s mates with Heathertail. They have four kits, Smokehaze, Appleshine, Brindlewing & Woodsong, all sisters from two separate litters. But don’t worry too much about them, the focus here is Breezepelt and his parents. 

It’s no secret that this family is completely dysfunctional. There is plenty of arguments, drama and chaos surrounding them. But before I get into that, I should explain who each character is so you have some context for their actions. ⚠️ Spoilers for the following: The New Prophecy arc, The Power of Three arc, Omen of the Stars arc, Vision of Shadows arc, Broken Code arc, Crowfeather’s Trial super edition, Leafpool’s Wish novella, and some other books.⚠️ You have been warned, if you haven’t read these books and don’t want to get spoiled stop reading now. Thank you. Okay, let’s start with Crowfeather first. He was originally born to Ashfoot & Deadfoot and at a young age, he was selected to represent Windclan on the journey to the Sundrownplace, this journey helped find a new home for the clans as their old one was to be destroyed. Crowpaw, at the time, travelled with a bunch of other cats from different clans. These cats include, Brambleclaw & Squirrelpaw of Thunderclan, Tawnypelt of Shadowclan and Stormfur & Feathertail of Riverclan. During this trip, Crowpaw became extremely close to Feathertail, the two of them shared a mutual crush on each other. On the journey back to the clans, Feathertail ends up sacrificing her life to save the Tribe of Rushing Water from Sharptooth, a fierce mountain lion who was killing off tribe cats. Crowpaw is devastated and returns home to Windclan in mourning. He takes his name, Crowfeather after Feathertail and wants to honor her for the rest of his life. However, Crowfeather accidentally falls in love again, this time with Thunderclan’s medicine cat apprentice Leafpool. The two of them decide to run away from the clans to be together but duty calls Leafpool back and she ends up breaking it off with Crowfeather. Upset over loosing love again, Crowfeather returns to Windclan and takes a Windclan she-cat called Nightcloud as a mate to prove his loyalty to his clan. Nightcloud & him have one litter, where only a single kit survives, Breezekit. Unbeknownst to Crowfeather, Leafpool was also carrying his kits. She has Lionkit, Hollykit & Jaykit in secret and gives them to her sister Squirrelflight to raise as her own. When the kits grow up, they discover the secret and Hollyleaf reveals it at a gathering, which shocks Crowfeather. Crowfeather denounces his new family and swears loyalty to Windclan. Later he becomes deputy of his clan. I already spoke a bit about Nightcloud. She doesn’t have much backstory expect for taking Crowfeather as a mate and having Breezepelt. She does have a hatred for Leafpool and her kits, believing Crowfeather to be hers. However later on in Crowfeather’s Trial, she does make peace with Crowfeather. Agreeing to get along for their son’s sake. 

Breezepelt on the other hand is more developed. He was born as the only surviving kit on his litter and grew up with a distant father. Breezepaw was apprenticed to Whitetail and was increasingly arrogant due to feeling left out of his father's attention. He would pick fights whenever he could and eventually thought Crowfeather hated him. He became an angry cat in his youth. As a warrior, Breezepelt developed a deep hatred toward Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather after it was revealed they were his half-siblings. As Breezepelt began to train in the Dark Forest, his hatred for his half-siblings and father grew stronger. He became a mentor to Boulderfur, and during the Great Battle, he fought for the Dark Forest; however, they were defeated, and after the battle, Crowfeather nearly disowned him. WindClan believed Breezepelt should be driven out, but Onestar insisted on giving him another chance. To prove his loyalty, Breezepelt bravely fought the stoats on WindClan territory, especially after Nightcloud's disappearance. After the battle with the stoats, Crowfeather and Breezepelt reconciled, and he made amends with Lionblaze, now growing to respect his half-brother. Eventually, Heathertail became his mate, and together they had four kits, Smokekitand Brindlekit in their first litter, and Applekit and Woodkit in their second.

The question often posed relating to this family is “Who is to blame for the dysfunction?” Some fans point to Crowfeather as he was distant with Breezepelt and some say he never loved him. He was only with Nightcloud to keep his status in Windclan and he does show affection to Leafpool in front of his Windclan family. Other fans say that Nightcloud was to blame, she was overprotective of Breezepelt and taught him to be hateful. She acts out of jealousy and even physically attacks Crowfeather to rip him away from Leafpool. Still, others blame Breezepelt, he let his anger swallow him and trained in the Dark Forest. He attacked a blind medicine cat and helpless queen. He chose to fight on the side of the Dark Forest in the Great Battle instead of protecting his clan. He was glad Hollyleaf was killed in the Great Battle. Honestly, in my opinion, everybody here is partly to blame. Crowfeather could have been more loving, Nightcloud could have been less jealous and protective and Breezepelt could have been less angry. Overall though, nothing could have been done. This relationship was toxic from the beginning as the whole thing was started for selfish reasons. Crowfeather wanted to prove his loyalty and Nightcloud wanted a family. 

But I want to know what YOU think. Who do you think is to blame for the dysfunctional nature of the CrowNight family? Who could have done better? Was there anything that could/should have been done? Do you think Crowfeather & Nightcloud should have stayed together? Leave all your thoughts, opinions and feedback in the comments below. While you are at it, consider leaving a like on the original post on amino. Supporting the artist directly benefits this account as it motivates more creators to allow us to post their work. Likewise, if you want more Warriors based content, consider joining the Warriors Amino. We have daily posts all relating to these battle cats.

Original Post linked here.

Original Artist linked here.

~ 🍵🥔

#warrior cat #warriorcats #warrior #warriors amino #warrior cats #warriors #warriors fanart #warriors designs #digital art #drawing #digital drawing #digitalart #digital #crowfeather #crowfeathers trial #nightcloud #breezekit #breezepelt #the new prophecy #omen of the stars #the power of three #power of three

[bonefall]

What irritates me so much about the Leafpool and the three situation is: it's Starclan's fault. It never had to happen in cannon. Squirrelflight isn't barren. If the Erin's wanted drama, they could have made the three Ashfur's, and had Squirrel pretend they're Bramble's. I'm glad in BB you made her barren, but it still just irritates me. Leafpool got done so dirty. If I was in her paws, and after Bramble had me forcibly step down, I'd ask someone to honor sire (maybe from a different clan?) kits for me then look Bramble straight in the eye as I started showing.

It's one in a long list of "retcons that happened to reduce the agency of characters because the warrior fandom will otherwise find any reason to fucking hate women." I don't believe that Po3 was written with the revelation of Leafpool's Wish in mind.

(leafpool's wish is where the "barren/StarClan telling Squilf to take the kids" Thing comes from)

In fact, most books that come out seem to completely forget the detail. Squirrelflight's Hope doesn't mention it. Bramblestar's Storm totally omitted it. Squirrelflight is never pissed that StarClan literally lied to her.

So it makes it really feel like a less egregious version of Spottedleaf's Heart; a poorly thought-out addition specifically aimed at the fandom misogynists who write screeds about how Brambleclaw/Thistleclaw Were Good Actually and their shitty behavior was just a Bad Woman Who Wronged The Poor Babies.

AND to be clear what I'm getting at with this comparison is that both these books are awful, because they're cowardly. They don't stick to their guns and say, "BLUESTAR AND SQUIRRELFLIGHT WERE RIGHT TO MISTRUST THESE MEN BASED ON THE REASONS THEY HAD." They badly retcon in EXTRA reasons for them to come to the conclusions they did.

They concede to the fandom misogynist. Their existence agrees that the original reasons they had were weak, so the writers shoveled in extra horseshit to make them "more correct" to do what they did.

"Don't worry guys, it's not that Squirrelflight took her sister's children to protect everyone involved, and that she's right to mistrust her mate who trained in HELL and never revealed any of his own secrets until his shitty half-brother killed her dad once. Nope! God lied to her and told her to. Told her she was barren, even. Now Squilf can remain morally pure while Brambleclaw abuses the shit out of her. Soblem Prolved."

So like... I don't even think that they should have been Ashfur's. This worked perfectly fine as it was in Po3. Just commit, assholes. Bramblestar's an untrustworthy piece of shit. Condemn him for turning on his children, confirming every terrible suspicion Squirrelflight had. Point out that the Three get treated differently when the secret comes out. Ask what, exactly, Leafpool could have done differently and have people have different opinions on this.

but like. keep squirrelflight being barren :/ Please let women just be unable to have kids sometimes. Please.

#bone babble #tw spottedleaf's heart #warrior cats analysis

[yuridovewing]

For the asks! Any of these you'd like:

📖 : fav comic page from any of the mangas and why

🤔 : what's the biggest series plothole that's bugged you?

☯️ : what dynamic between two cats has got you up at night pacing for hours? (romantic, platonic, familial, etc)

📖 : fav comic page from any of the mangas and why

I can't quite get the entire page but these panels from Winds of Change stick out to me!

The perspective and framing with Onewhisker here is really good, with the leaders looming over him in that second panel, his dejected look in the third, the way hes literally under Firestar's feet in the last, the way he's just demeaned despite his status throughout this scene and you can see it through the positions, AUGH it's great!! And facepalming Mudclaw is also just silly and cute to me, love it.

🤔 : what's the biggest series plothole that's bugged you?

One of them is the nature of the Three's powers I guess? In universe the origins are handwaved as "well StarClan didn't make it." and iirc they didn't have a ton of relevance in the great battle, which they were apparently created for. I wish they'd given it more thought.

☯️ : what dynamic between two cats has got you up at night pacing for hours? (romantic, platonic, familial, etc)

Leafpool and Hollyleaf.... Ough the slight parallel you can make to Yellowfang and Brokenstar (the tables turn) and the way Leafpool was briefly Hollyleaf's mentor, but in canon Hollypaw breaks off to become a warrior, and would come back into that den later to poison her. Leafpool doing everything she could to keep Hollyleaf and her brothers safe and Hollyleaf ruining all of it at that fateful gathering. Hollyleaf dying in front of Leafpool without either of them getting to resolve everything. So much love and resentment...

I wish it'd be handled better though, Hollyleaf should've been the one to come to terms with what happened and apologize to Leafpool.

#mail #girltigerclaw

[sunnyfall-rc]

Medicine Cats As A Punishment

I think a big problem I have with several characters, especially but not exclusively disabled ones, being forced into the medicine den isn't that I wish they could be warriors but that they are actively warping clan and fandom perception of the medicine cat position as being more of a punishment.

Going through the main Thunderclan timeline, Goosefeather, Yellowfang, Cinderpelt, Jayfeather, and Alderheart were all forced to be medicine cats because of their circumstances, and Spottedleaf and Leafpool both ended up resigned to the duty even though they initially preferred different lives (both with love interests, by the way). Spottedleaf, who was originally portrayed to love her job unequivocally in the first arc, was retconned in her novella to have wanted to be a warrior but becoming a medicine cat to run away from an abusive relationship and the same was done to Yellowfang in her super edition. She originally seemed to deeply prefer the job and role of a medicine cat but was retconned to have a magic power and bad relationship that forced her into the job. At this point the only Thunderclan medicine cats who wanted the job and always wanted the job are ones from several generations ago that get little to no focus during their time as medicine cats, with Featherwhisker being the most prominent one.

Even outside Thunderclan, our POV medicine cats, Shadowsight in Shadowclan, Frostpaw in Riverclan, and Moth Flight in Windclan all have reservations about the roles they're in or stories focused around the way that being a medicine cat has negatively impacted their lives. All three got the job because they had connections to ancestors rather than because they said they wanted the job, and all three faced backlash and adversity because of it. The only true exception in this case is Mothwing, whose adversity mostly came at the paws of her brother because she always wanted to be a medicine cat, but her journey through her own book and Mistystar's, along with every other medicine cat's comments on her besides Leafpool's, is showing that she's not like a real medicine cat and can only ever do half of the job. The part about being a spiritual advisor that makes medicine cats authorities in their clans is absent with Mothwing.

My basic problem with all of this is that it makes the role of a medicine cat, supposedly secondary leadership figures in their clans and an extremely honored, important role, seem undesirable. It feels like a thing that some cats have to do rather than what a few cats get the chance to do. If medicine cats were as respected in practice as they are on paper, I don't think it would be a problem for some, though not all, disabled cats to become medicine cats, particularly those who explicitly chose to follow that path. Cinderpelt took on the position because she was having fun learning from Yellowfang and wanted to help. Brightheart learned some herb skills to pass the time while in the medicine den, and never forgot that even though she chose to be a warrior. Briarlight chose to be the caretaker of the medicine den because she wanted something that she could do safely while still helping the clan in some way like they had always helped her. (Obviously in several cases there are still issues with wording or the framing of these cats as requiring service to the clan to be fulfilled but on a conceptual level-) Jayfeather is the cat I most wish I could change in this regard, but not by making him a warrior. He is the most passionate and creative medicine cat we've ever been shown, inventing several brand new medicine and gardening techniques that saved cats and herbs Leafpool was ready to give up on. He was never that passionate about his warrior training except in that it was the position that, in his eyes, would avoid him being a failure. But being a medicine cat was never the losing spot. It was never supposed to be where we throw the useless cats to give up on them. It's supposed to be an honor, and for far more than the dreams or powers Starclan gave him. If cats actually saw it that way, I don't think Jayfeather would mind eventually choosing to be a medicine cat when he realizes what it's like, and I don't think we as a fandom would mind as much when, again some of the disabled characters pursue that path. It would still be important for there to be lots more non-disabled medicine cats though and lots of non-medicine-cat disabled characters to show that these roles aren't synonymous.

And, just as a final reminder, this is just my thoughts on one aspect of the problem and I do not think this would solve all ableism in the series. It would just be nice to not frame the career path chosen for several of them as a punishment necessitated by their inability to perform warrior tasks (which honestly would fit for Alderheart or Yellowfang as much as for Jayfeather or Cinderpelt).

"Medicine cats are great" is my overall point, and I wish they were treated with the respect they supposedly have.

#warrior cats #medicine cat #writing problems #I swear to you this isn't a commentary on all of Warriors' ableism #it's just something I desperately wish could change on a perception level because medicine cats really should be cool

[kudossi]

all is behind you, all is sea

Squirrelflight blinks, and in one moment the action goes from excruciating to simple. She blinks a few more times just to enjoy it, just to experience the lack of heaviness behind her eyes, the lack of all-consuming exhaustion pulling her downward.

The breeze whips around her, and she raises her chin to it, allowing the wind to catch and pull at her fur. She... hasn't felt like this in a long time. Hasn't felt... well, peace.

Squirrelflight stares out over the horizon, a faint smile pulling at her. Below her is the sea — salt and water and endless waves, crashing against the shore. Below her is her past, tinged golden with memories not yet tainted; below her is her future, a place where breaths don't hurt, where energy floods her muscles. She stands, paws edging at the side of the cliff, and lets herself enjoy.

"So this is the sun-drown-place," comes a voice.

Squirrelflight whips around, feeling her fur spike haphazardly along her spine. “Shrewpaw,” she breathes, ever so softly, as if the slightest inflection could sweep him away with the tide.

“Squirrelflight,” Shrewpaw replies, smiles big and wide and toothy, his eyes lit up with joy.

Squirrelflight feels as if years are melting off her pelt, leaving her the guilt-stricken apprentice she’d once been. “It’s good to see you,” she says warmly, leaning in to touch her nose to Shrewpaw’s cheek.

“This is where you were, huh?” Shrewpaw asks. His voice is light, teasing, but Squirrelflight feels a heaviness growing in her chest.

“I never got to say goodbye,” she says. The words sit heavy on her tongue, cloying and heavy like maple sap. “I was too late.”

Shrewpaw glances over at her. “It wasn’t your fault,” he says gently. “I made my choice. I’d take the risk again.”

Squirrelflight recalls, heavily, how the young tom’s body had looked, stretched out beside Sunningrocks. He’d been skin and bones and much too small, every rib jutting horrifically from his pelt. The wounds had been grievous; his stomach and flanks had been crushed, flesh and blood and muscle and bits of bloodstained brown fur.

She’d been too late to save him. She’d never even gotten to speak with him; he’d died before she’d had a chance. And then he was buried shallowly, hollowly, one more victim to leave behind and forget about.

How long had it been since she’d thought of him? Had reminisced about their days in the nursery, playing mossball and planning pranks? Had truly remembered those glorious days of their early apprenticeship, cavorting among old growth trees and towering, soaring ferns?

“I’m sorry I forgot.”

“You didn’t. You moved on. That’s not the same as forgetting.”

“Isn’t it?” Squirrelflight asks. “You died and we left and somewhere along the line, I stopped remembering.”

Shrewpaw exhales, sharp with amusement. “That’s a good thing. I wouldn’t have wanted you to mourn forever.”

“I should have. You were my best friend.”

“Who is that now?”

Squirrelflight blinks. Considers. “I don’t know,” she says. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really known.”

Shrewpaw breathes out, presses his head against Squirrelflight's own. "I'm sorry," he says. "I'm sorry I left you."

There's a tiredness in Squirrelflight's chest, but it's muffled by the scent of her old friend, by the feel of his fur mingling with her own. "You did what you had to," she says. "You'd do it again."

Shrewpaw gives a half-hearted snort. "That doesn't mean I don't wish things had been different."

"Different," Squirrelflight repeats. "I wish a lot of things had been different." Hollyleaf. Bramblestar. Dandelionkit and Juniperkit. Leafpool. StarClan itself. But she doesn't voice those things, instead staring at the grass tickling her paws. Could it be real, or was this just the last fantasy of an old, dying cat?

Shrewpaw is silent, considering. "Well," he says at last. "We're here now. Would you like to race to the shore?"

Squirrelflight smiles disbelievingly. "An apprentice game?" she asks. "Aren't we both a little old for those?"

Shrewpaw shakes his head, presses his nose to her own. "Only if you want to be," he supplies. "Here, you can be anything you want."

Squirrelflight stares down at her chest, disbelieving. The fur there is mottled with familiar gray, but as she watches, it slips steadily away, melting back into the soft red fur of her youth. She looks up sharply, staring at her companion with wide, startled eyes.

"Anything you want," he repeats.

"Anything?" she asks. Energy floods through her muscles. Suddenly, all of her worries seem so very far away.

Shrewpaw opens his mouth to reply, but she's already darting away, toward a tumble of rocks that'll make an easy path down, down, down to the shore and the water and the place where it meets the sky, down to where they'll splash through the waves and race across sand and laugh and laugh and laugh as if life had never really gone on from here, this place with the salty air and the scent of sea and the feel of cold water lapping over young, nimble paws.

They might not have forever, but maybe what they do have is enough — a moment where the burdens of what-was or what-will-be cannot touch them, not under the careful protection of stalwart stone and shifting sea.

They cavort for a heartbeat, a sun-cycle, a moon, a season — perhaps for a mouse's breath, perhaps for an eternity. But did it matter, when everything she'd known was behind her, when everything she knows is here, is sand and sun and sea?

Shrewpaw laughs, darting away from Squirrelpaw's outstretched paws. Squirrelpaw grins, fierce and true.

Perhaps for the first time in a lifetime, she's well and truly home.

#squirrelflight #shrewpaw #squirrelpaw #sun-drown-place #warrior cats #wc #waca #the new prophecy #tnp #depiction of death #they're probably both dead tbh #but this can be read however you want #writing #i honestly adore these two and i don't know if it's fanon or canon that i adore but it doesn't matter shrewpaw should have lived #tw death