Line #7 Recap/WarriorCatsIntoTheWild


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4	''Into the Wild'' was the first ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book released: the first book in the original ''Warriors'' series ([[{{Retronym}} aka]] ''[[Literature/WarriorCatsTheOriginalSeries The Prophecies Begin]]'').
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7	The book begins with a battle between [=ThunderClan=] and [=RiverClan=] over who owns Sunningrocks, a piece of territory smack in the middle of them. When the odds become impossible, Redtail, the [=ThunderClan=] deputy, convinces Tigerclaw, a [=ThunderClan=] warrior, to retreat. In the [=ThunderClan=] camp, Bluestar, the leader, is distraught because [=ThunderClan=] hasn't lost a battle in their own territory since she became leader. The medicine cat Spottedleaf gets a message from [=StarClan=]. She recounts its contents: "Fire Alone Can Save Our Clan." Bluestar trusts Spottedleaf because she has never been wrong before.
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9	Meanwhile, a kittypet called Rusty is hunting a mouse. It turns out to be a dream and he wakes up and decides to go into the woods. His friend Smudge tries to dissuade him, but he ignores Smudge and starts exploring. While tracking a fox, he is attacked by a forest cat. After a short fight, the forest cat introduces himself as Graypaw. Graypaw tells Rusty about the four Clans. Bluestar and Graypaw's mentor Lionheart appear. Rusty is curious about the clans, and Bluestar tells him that if he is so curious, he can join [=ThunderClan=]. She grants him some time to think. Rusty comes back later and meets Lionheart and Bluestar's nephew Whitestorm. The two warriors take Rusty to the [=ThunderClan=] camp and Bluestar begins to perform the ceremony to make him an apprentice. However, a cat called Longtail notices Rusty's collar and realizes he is a kittypet. Longtail insults Rusty, so they fight, and Rusty's collar is torn off. Bluestar sees it as a sign from [=StarClan=] that Rusty can now join [=ThunderClan=], so she gives him his apprentice name, Firepaw. However, she doesn't select a mentor for him. Suddenly, Ravenpaw, an apprentice, runs into camp and says that Redtail is dead. Ravenpaw collapses, but his mentor Tigerclaw arrives to explain what happened. During another fight with [=RiverClan=], Oakheart, [=RiverClan's=] deputy, killed Redtail, so Tigerclaw killed him in revenge. Bluestar names Lionheart the next deputy - to Tigerclaw's dismay, as he wanted to be deputy.
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11	The next day, Lionheart and Tigerclaw show Firepaw and Graypaw (who complains about already seeing it) around the territory, and tell them about the four Clans: [=ThunderClan=] the brave, [=WindClan=] the swift, [=RiverClan=] the wise, and [=ShadowClan=] the fierce. Firepaw wonders why the Clans don't unite, but Lionheart and Tigerclaw say that a union of the Clans is a treacherous and terrible idea [[note]]much to the amusement of readers who have already finished ''The Darkest Hour''[[/note]]. Two moons later, Firepaw is attacked by a rogue named Yellowfang while on a solo hunting mission. He injures her leg, rendering her unable to walk, and she looks hungry so he hunts for some food for her. Firepaw eats the scraps, breaking the warrior code because he is feeding himself before the Clan. His Clanmates appear and inform him that Yellowfang is the [=ShadowClan=] medicine cat and take her prisoner after learning she has left [=ShadowClan=]. Firepaw is punished for breaking the code by being forced to look after Yellowfang. Bluestar decides at this point that she will mentor Firepaw. Yellowfang continually berates Firepaw for not doing a good job and for being a former kittypet. In response, Firepaw says that she is only doing this to hide her embarrassment at having to be looked after by someone. This impresses Yellowfang. A short time later, Firepaw is allowed to return to his training.
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13	Tigerclaw gives Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw a hunting assessment. Firepaw meets Smudge while hunting, and, after talking with him, decides that joining [=ThunderClan=] was the right choice. At the full moon, Firepaw, Graypaw and Ravenpaw are permitted to go the Gathering, a meeting of all four Clans where they share news. [=WindClan=] doesn't show up, and as it turns out, [=ShadowClan=] drove them out. Brokenstar, [=ShadowClan's=] leader, demands hunting rights for [=ShadowClan=] in the territory of the other clans. Bluestar refuses, but Crookedstar, leader of [=RiverClan=], agrees to it. Brokenstar also says that a member of [=ShadowClan=] killed some kits and was driven out. The [=ThunderClan=] cats assume he means Yellowfang, so they rush home to lynch her. Firepaw runs to camp ahead of everyone else to warn Yellowfang. However, when the cats try to attack Yellowfang, Bluestar says that Yellowfang can stay because she hasn't done anything wrong. Also, Brokenstar didn't give a name for the kit-killing cat, and as such it could be some other [=ShadowClan=] cat.
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15	Later, Bluestar decides to travel to the Moonstone to share words with [=StarClan=], the warrior ancestors of the Clans, in order to find out how to defeat Brokenstar. She takes Firepaw, Graypaw, Ravenpaw and Tigerclaw, because all apprentices must journey to the Moonstone before becoming warriors. When they reach the cave with the Moonstone inside, Graypaw and Ravenpaw are left outside as guards. Bluestar, Tigerclaw and Firepaw go to see the Moonstone, but Tigerclaw gets scared and runs away. Bluestar finds out that they must return to camp at once. On the way back they are ambushed by rats. A loner called Barley saves them, but not before Bluestar is killed. Fortunately, Clan leaders have nine lives, so Bluestar comes back to life. She tells Tigerclaw she has four lives left. When they get back to camp, [=ShadowClan=] is attacking. The deputy Blackfoot kills an elder named Rosetail, but Yellowfang defeats him and the [=ShadowClan=] cats run away. Yellowfang is welcomed as a full member of [=ThunderClan=]. Meanwhile, Lionheart dies of injuries, and Tigerclaw is named deputy. Ravenpaw expresses worry over this. Later, Firepaw hears Tigerclaw spreading rumours that Ravenpaw is a traitor, which he knows to be false. When he asks Ravenpaw about this, Ravenpaw tells him that he witnessed Tigerclaw kill Redtail. Later, while he trains with Bluestar, Firepaw learns that Bluestar lied about her lives: she only has two remaining. He also learns about Spottedleaf's prophecy.
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17	Afterwards, Spottedleaf is found dead in her den and both Yellowfang and some kits go missing. The Clan assumes that Yellowfang killed Spottedleaf and kidnapped the kits, but Firepaw has his doubts. Bluestar doesn't send Tigerclaw out to find Yellowfang because she knows that he would kill her on sight. She sends Firepaw ahead of everyone else, and he takes Graypaw and Ravenpaw with him. Firepaw sends Ravenpaw off to live with Barley and says that he will tell [=ThunderClan=] than Ravenpaw died. Firepaw and Graypaw confront Yellowfang, who explains her motive for leaving the camp: she had recognized the scent of a [=ShadowClan=] warrior named Clawface on Spottedleaf headed out to pursue him. She also explains that Brokenstar trains cats to be warriors at an age before the warrior code allows it. In one training exercise, he was too brutal and killed some kits. He laid the blame on her, but she did not defend herself because he is the son of Raggedstar, who she respected. She also explains that if it looked like Brokenstar could be defeated, then a good percentage of [=ShadowClan=] will help drive him out. Yellowfang, Firepaw, Graypaw, and a [=ThunderClan=] patrol team up with some [=ShadowClan=] cats to attack the camp and defeat Brokenstar. Brokenstar defeats Yellowfang and says that he killed Raggedstar so he could be leader. Firepaw attacks and defeats him, resulting in Brokenstar being driven out. The members of [=ShadowClan=] promise to reform it. For their nobility in the battle, Firepaw and Graypaw recieve their warrior names, Fireheart and Graystripe. Fireheart vows to expose Tigerclaw.
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19	!!Tropes that appear in this book:
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21	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Brokenstar, leader of [=ShadowClan=], is hated so much by the [=ShadowClan=] cats that [[spoiler:at the end of the book they team up to drive him out.]]
22	* ActionMom: The [=ThunderClan=] queens join in the battle when [=ShadowClan=] attacks their camp; the pregnant queen Brindleface in particular is noted as having fought particularly fiercely.
23	* ActionPrologue: The prologue of the book features a battle between [=RiverClan=] and [=ThunderClan=].
24	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [=ShadowClan=] attacks [=ThunderClan=]'s camp, forcing [=ThunderClan=] to defend their elders and kits.
25	* AnythingButThat: A humor variant: When Firepaw comes back from the Gathering, he tells Yellowfang that [=ShadowClan=] has a new medicine cat. She amusedly says, "Not Runningnose!" (See RunningGag below)
26	* AppealToFamilialWisdom: When entering [=ShadowClan=]'s territory, Graypaw is nervous and comments that his mother warned him about [=ShadowClan=]'s scent many times. Firepaw, who of course was raised as a kittypet, replies that ''his'' mother taught him no such thing.
27	* ArchEnemy: Firepaw and Tigerclaw become this by the end of the book; the narration even points it out.
28	* ArcWords: ''Fire alone can save our Clan'' appears a couple times in the book, and becomes ArcWords for the whole first series.
29	* AssassinationAttempt: Brokenstar killed his father, [=ShadowClan=]'s leader, to become leader himself. Most cats assumed that an enemy Clan had done it.
30	* AuthorCatchphrase: There are at least three instances where a character "shook his/her head to clear it" in this book.
31	* BattleCry: Firepaw's is mentioned to be "Gr-aar!". [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness This doesn't last beyond this first book.]]
32	* BattleInTheRain: The final battle in the book takes place during a storm.
33	* BeastFable: ''Into the Wild'' is analyzed as such in the Nikolajeva book ''Power, Voice and Subjectivity in Literature for Young Readers''.
34	-->...The book is an example of (ab)using cats as a disguise for human beings, since the feline appearance is not inherent to the plot. It certainly adds excitement and not least novelty to the well-trodden narrative, appealing to cat lovers and adventure lovers equally.
35	* BitchAlert: Sandpaw's first appearance. She snarls that Firepaw smells revolting, and then makes a comment about how he's a kittypet.
36	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Firepaw accidentally attacks his friend Graypaw. When Graypaw complains that he was taken by surprise, Firepaw replies, "Surprise is the warrior's greatest weapon." He then mentally notes this to be the catchphrase of Graypaw's mentor, Lionheart.
37	* BreakingTheBonds: Longtail doesn't want Rusty to join the Clan because he was owned by humans, and the two fight. There's a moment during the battle where Longtail grabs the back of Rusty's collar and begins using it to strangle him. Rusty struggles forward until his collar snaps, and the Clan leader stops the fight, saying that it's a sign that Rusty is meant to join the Clan.
38	* BrokenPedestal: Fireheart puts Tigerclaw on a pedestal. Then he finds out that Tigerclaw is a team-killing psycho, and they become [[ArchEnemy arch enemies]].
39	* CarFu: Firepaw is trying to cross a road when a car suddenly drives off the road and heads straight at him. That's right - they swerved off a presumably 55 MPH road, drove on the grass, and leaned out of their window, jeering, ''just to hit a cat''.
40	* ChekhovsGunman: Graypaw mentions Clawface early on in the book as being one of the great warriors who might be at the Gathering. Clawface later kills Spottedleaf as the book builds to its climax.
41	* ChildSoldiers: Brokenstar breaks a law in the warrior code by training [=ShadowClan=]'s kits to fight starting when they're barely weaned from their mothers; as a result, many of them die.
42	* TheCoup: Successfully done by [=ShadowClan=] elders, with some help from [=ThunderClan=]. They depose the evil Brokenstar, and one of the elders, Nightpelt, takes over.
43	* CrashIntoHello: Rusty decided to visit the forest neighboring his home, only to get attacked by Graypaw. However, after they crashed into each other, they stopped fighting and became fast friends.
44	* CreepyCave: Mothermouth is considered creepy by Graypaw and Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw even uses that as an excuse as to why he jumped when Tigerclaw came out of the cave.
45	* DarkIsEvil:
46	** It's no surprise which Clan is portrayed as the "bad" Clan: [=ShadowClan=].
47	** [=ShadowClan=]'s villainous leader, Brokenstar, is dark brown, as is Tigerclaw, who murdered Redtail.
48	* DeathFakedForYou: Firepaw realizes that Tigerclaw is trying to kill Ravenpaw for [[HeKnowsTooMuch witnessing something he shouldn't have]]. To protect his friend, he sends Ravenpaw to live far away on a farm at the distant edge of Clan territory, and returns to the camp telling everyone that Ravenpaw was killed by an enemy patrol.
49	* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: The [=ThunderClan=] deputy Redtail is dead after a battle with [=RiverClan=]. Tigerclaw claims that the [=RiverClan=] cat Oakheart, who also died in the battle, was responsible for Redtail's death, but it's only an excuse to hide the fact that Tigerclaw himself had murdered Redtail.
50	* DeceptiveDisciple:
51	** Tigerclaw was noted by other cats as knowing the Warrior Code by heart. He actually killed the Clan deputy in the hope that he would take his place - something that, obviously, is against the code.
52	** Brokenstar did the same but succeeded, with the added bonus of the cat he killed and usurped being ''his own father''.
53	* DidNotDieThatWay: Tigerclaw returned from battle with Redtail's body, claiming that he'd been killed by the enemy warrior Oakheart, and that he himself killed Oakheart in revenge. Ravenpaw later reveals the truth: that Redtail killed Oakheart first, and that Tigerclaw murdered Redtail after the battle.
54	* DiesWideOpen: Bluestar's eyes are mentioned as being glazed while she's dead in between her lives.
55	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Brokenstar is built up as the BigBad, but by the book's end it is apparent that Tigerclaw will be the true villain of the series.
56	* DontAsk: Firepaw jumps into a cold stream to wash mouse bile off his paws after using it to help clear the elders' ticks. Graypaw and Ravenpaw show up and stare at him like he's crazy, so he says, "Mouse bile. Don't ask."
57	* DontGoInTheWoods: What kittypets seem to be raised on. Smudge tells Rusty that he's heard that there's all kinds of dangerous animals out there, as well as huge, fierce wild cats that eat live rabbits and sharpen their claws on old bones.
58	* DramaticNecklaceRemoval: Happens to Rusty. He wore a collar with a bell on it, and several [=ThunderClan=] cats disagreed with him joining the Clan due to all the trouble the collar would cause. His collar gets torn off in a fight with Longtail, causing Bluestar to declare it a divine sign that Rusty is meant to join the Clan, and Rusty winning the respect of the Clan as well as losing his ties to being a pet cat.
59	* DreamIntro: The first chapter starts with Rusty dreaming about exploring the woods.
60	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
61	** Each Clan keeps mostly to itself and doesn't know much about what's going on elsewhere in the forest, and the other Clans' territories are generally a mystery to them. Tigerclaw freaks out in this book when they take Yellowfang as a prisoner, saying that now [=ShadowClan=] will know where the [=ThunderClan=] camp is, and that they'll need to move, while in later books (even ones that take place around the same timeframe) they actually visit each other's camps on a fairly regular basis.
62	** In this book, they say for both Ravenpaw's disappearance and Raggedstar's death "he must have been killed by an enemy patrol" and just forget about it. Later on in the series, such an event would be huge news - even regarding a normal warrior, and we're talking about a Clan ''leader'' - and they would confront the other Clan and try to figure out what happened.
63	** Highstones is consistently capitalized as [=HighStones=] in this book, which changes in later books.
64	** In this book, they use "queen" for any female cat, but later on it only gets used for females currently pregnant or nursing kits, and "she-cat" becomes the general word for "female".
65	** Bluestar laments about how "never before have we had so few apprentices in training", since there's just Dustpaw, Sandpaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw before she invites Rusty to join the Clan. Books taking place both before and after ''Into the Wild'' show that four apprentices isn't at all out of the ordinary.
66	** Graypaw comments that usually Bluestar trains only the kits of deputies. While it's true in later books that it's rare for any leader to take an apprentice, Bluestar didn't train ''anyone'' during her time as leader, much less a deputy's kits, until that point.
67	** The word "kitten" is almost never used in the series, with "kit" being used instead. However, "kitten" comes up several times in this book: for instance, in one scene Graypaw is described as a kitten (later books also never refer to apprentices as kits), and there's a mention of "kitten-cough", a disease that is never referenced again.
68	* EarNotch:
69	** Tigerclaw is noted to have a V-shaped nick in his ear.
70	** Rusty gives Longtail a permanent ear notch in their fight.
71	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Bluestar describes Clan life to Rusty, and the joys of participating in it... but also warns him that a warrior's path is not an easy one, and that Rusty will be expected to follow Clan rules. This foreshadows her position as Rusty's mentor and Lawful Good beliefs.
72	* EvilPlan: Tigerclaw killed Redtail in the hope that he'd be made deputy next, and he asks Bluestar how many lives she has left, clearly interested in how soon she'll be giving up the leadership role.
73	* EvilTeacher: Tigerclaw - Ravenpaw's mentor, and partial mentor to Firepaw before Bluestar - is a VillainWithGoodPublicity: he secretly murdered the Clan deputy in the hope of being chosen for the role, and intends to continue killing his way to leadership. He even tries to kill his apprentice Ravenpaw (who [[HeKnowsTooMuch witnessed the murder]]) by assigning him dangerous tasks (hunting in enemy territory, or at the rocks where poisonous snakes live).
74	* FailedAttemptAtScaring: Graypaw tries to sneak up on Firepaw using his best "stealth crouch". Unfortunately he isn't as stealthy as he thinks he is, so Firepaw hears something that sounds large moving through the brush, and, thinking it's an enemy warrior or predator, attacks, resulting in Graypaw being startled instead.
75	* FakingTheDead: Ravenpaw's death is faked in order to protect him from Tigerclaw, who had intended to silence him for [[HeKnowsTooMuch witnessing something he shouldn't have]].
76	* GoodScarsEvilScars:
77	** Clawface, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as his name implies]], has many scars running along his face. He's a villain.
78	** Tigerclaw, another villain, has a scar across the bridge of his nose and a split in his ear.
79	* GradeSkipper: In a manner of speaking. Apprentices usually become warriors in the order they were apprenticed, and an apprenticeship is stated in later books to normally last about 6 moons. Fireheart and Graystripe were made warriors before the older Dustpaw and Sandpaw, and if you carefully keep track of every mention of time passing in the book, they were only apprentices for a little over two moons.
80	* GrimUpNorth: [=ShadowClan=], the "evil" Clan, lives in the northernmost territory. Graypaw even tells Firepaw that there's a saying in [=ThunderClan=] that the cold north wind blows over every [=ShadowClan=] cat and chills their heart.
81	* GrumpyOldMan: Yellowfang is a perfect (female) example of this.
82	* HairballHumor: When Sandpaw is rude to Firepaw, Graypaw excuses her behaviour by saying, "She must have a hairball somewhere."
83	* HateAtFirstSight: Longtail, Sandpaw, and Dustpaw hate Firepaw the moment he joins the Clan, and he reciprocates in kind.
84	* HeavenAbove: [=StarClan=] is said to be located within the collection of stars above, locally known as Silverpelt (we'd call it the Milky Way).
85	* TheHighQueen: Bluestar is treated this way, though Clans have no monarchy so she is officially just their [[TheLeader leader]]. She is a regal blue-furred cat with IcyBlueEyes who leads [=ThunderClan=] with wisdom and dignity.
86	* HolyGround: The Moonstone is a sacred place for the cats to communicate with their ancestors. New leaders are given nine lives there, each new warrior must make the trip there once, and that's where the medicine cats receive omens twice a moon.
87	* HumansAreSmelly: The cats believe that humans smell, and even once Firepaw earns his place in the Clan, other cats still occasionally insult him by saying he smells like humans.
88	* InheritanceMurder: Clan law dictates that the Clan deputy becomes leader if the leader dies. Brokentail reveals that he did this successfully; he killed his own father, who was leader of the Clan, after being made deputy himself.
89	* InitiationCeremony: A ceremony is held when Rusty joins the Clan; Bluestar says the ceremonial words and gives him a Clan-suitable name.
90	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Firepaw becomes good friends with Yellowfang, the medicine cat old enough to be his mother or grandmother.
91	* IntimateHairBrushing: A cat equivalent. Cats regularly groom with their friends and loved ones; this is called "sharing tongues".
92	* InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers: [=ShadowClan=] stealing [=ThunderClan=]'s kits.
93	* IronicEcho: When Sandpaw and Dustpaw get to go the Gathering but Graypaw doesn't, Sandpaw tells him to have a "nice quiet evening". Later, when Graypaw gets to go but Sandpaw doesn't, he mentions that he told her to have a "nice quiet evening".
94	* ISurrenderSuckers: Firepaw uses this a couple times: once when play-fighting with Graypaw, and later on during his battle with Yellowfang. Both times, it results in his victory.
95	* IWillShowYouX: Firepaw teases Graypaw by telling him that he stalks like a lopsided badger. Graypaw replies, "I'll show you lopsided!" and the two get into a play-fight.
96	* {{Kiai}}: As part of the book's EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, Firepaw tends to use "Gr-aaar!" every time he attacks something.
97	* KidHero: Rusty is about six moons old - the Clan cats' equivalent of somewhere between 10 and teenage - at the start of this book.
98	* LazyNeuteredPet: Clan cats note that kittypets become fat and lazy after going to the Cutter (the vet), and Rusty realizes that this is true when he thinks of one of his neighbors, Henry, who recently went to the vet.
99	* LoweredRecruitingStandards: Bluestar's recruitment of Rusty is considered to be this by most cats, since recruiting house cats with no fighting experience is basically unheard of in the Clans. Even Yellowfang comments that [=ThunderClan=] must be getting pretty desperate.
100	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Tigerclaw sends Ravenpaw on dangerous tasks (for instance, hunting at Snakerocks where poisonous snakes live) in the hope that it'll get him killed and look like an accident.
101	* MaliciousMisnaming: Firepaw calls Darkstripe "Dirtstripe" for his obstructive behavior.
102	* MeaningfulRename: Twice. First when Rusty joins the Clan; he is given the Clan name Firepaw, which Bluestar chose for his flame-colored pelt. Bluestar also realizes, upon naming him this, that the "Fire alone can save our Clan" prophecy might refer to him. He and Graypaw earn their warrior names at the end of the book.
103	* MentorOccupationalHazard: Lionheart - mentor to Graypaw, and temporarily to Firepaw - ends up dying at the climax of the book.
104	* TheMissingFaction: [=WindClan=] is this for much of the book, since they were driven out of their territory shortly after Firepaw joined the Clan.
105	* MoreInsultingThanIntended: Yellowfang tells Firepaw that he's "dithering like a kittypet!", which makes him fear that she smells human scent on him. She realises she's offended him (but doesn't realise why) and keeps teasing him by mentioning housepets.
106	* TheMutiny: [=ShadowClan=] fights back against and deposes their tyrant leader Brokenstar, with the help of [=ThunderClan=].
107	* NamedAfterTheInjury:
108	** Two [=ThunderClan=] elders are named after injuries they've sustained during life: One-Eye has a blind eye, while Halftail only has half his tail after it was bitten off by a badger.
109	** The [=RiverClan=] leader Crookedstar is named after his twisted jaw.
110	* NamesToTrustImmediately: [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Lionheart]]. He's a pure hero, right down to the end. [[TheChosenOne Fireheart]] as well.
111	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
112	** [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Adjectives}} Adjectives]]:
113	*** Dark: Darkstripe is an antagonistic cat.
114	*** Other: Brokenstar is the BigBad of the book.
115	** [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Animal}} Animal]]:
116	*** Lion: Lionheart isn't evil, but you would not want to run into him in a fight.
117	*** Raven: Ravenpaw is one of the rare Non-Action Guys in the series.
118	*** Tiger: Tigerclaw, the main BigBad of the series.
119	** [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/BodyPart Body Part]]:
120	*** Claw: Again, special mention goes to Tigerclaw, who is a particularly strong warrior.
121	*** Eye: One-Eye is a grumpy elder and the oldest cat in [=ThunderClan=].
122	*** Fang: Yellowfang is a grumpy, elderly medicine cat who was a warrior before becoming a medicine cat.
123	** [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Colors}} Colors]]:
124	*** Black: Blackfoot is TheDragon to the evil [=ShadowClan=] leader Brokenstar.
125	*** Yellow: Again, Yellowfang.
126	*** White: Whitestorm is one of the strongest and most noble warriors in the first series.
127	*** Blue: Bluestar is the leader of [=ThunderClan=], and a strong warrior.
128	** [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Weapons}} Weapons]]:
129	*** Hammer: Tigerclaw was originally to be named Hammerclaw until late drafts, when it was pointed out that cats don't know what hammers are.
130	* NervousWreck: Ravenpaw is a constantly jumpy, nervous cat.
131	* NeverMessWithGranny: Yellowfang is still capable of fighting, even in her weakened state. She even threatens to split open anyone who tries looking after her once she's captured.
132	* NiceGuy: Graypaw is friendly, enjoys food, and is a bit goofy and clumsy.
133	* OpposedMentors: Firepaw has a split mentorship for two moons between Lionheart and Tigerstar, and due to their different personalities, they calmly argue from time to time. He gets Bluestar as his permanent mentor later.
134	* PantheraAwesome: The cats' mythology says that they're descended from a [=LionClan=], [=TigerClan=], and [=LeopardClan=], and they have folk tales about these Clans (which per the authors are just stories - the big-cat Clans did not actually exist).
135	* {{Patricide}}: Brokenstar killed his father in order to become leader - as deputy, he was Raggedstar's successor.
136	* APetIntoTheWild: The book is entirely about a house cat leaving his home to join a Clan of forest cats in the wild.
137	* PetsVersusStrays: Many Clan cats dislike pet cats and even those that don't tend to look down upon the lifestyle as "soft". In turn, most kittypets fear Clan cats as vicious and wild, though a few look down upon them.
138	* PlayingPossum: One of Firepaw's favorite moves. When in an enemy's grasp, he goes limp, making the enemy think he or she has won. Then when they're least suspecting it, [[ISurrenderSuckers he strikes]]!
139	* PlotTriggeringDeath: In ''Into the Wild'', Redtail and Oakheart, the deputies of [=ThunderClan=] and [=RiverClan=] respectively, are killed in a very early battle. Fireheart, main character of the first arc, spends the next few books trying to prove that the celebrated [=ThunderClan=] warrior Tigerclaw actually murdered Redtail, while uncovering Oakheart's dark secrets and connections to the other Clans.
140	* PluckyComicRelief: Graystripe's main purpose for being around in this book is to lighten the mood. However, his role greatly increases in later books.
141	* PositionOfLiteralPower: When a cat becomes leader of their Clan, they get [[CatsHaveNineLives nine lives]] from [=StarClan=].
142	* PregnantBadass: Brindleface is noted as being very close to having her kits, but still fighting as hard as she can to defend the Clan when their camp is attacked.
143	* TheProphecy: This book and the rest of the first arc have ''Fire alone can save our Clan'', referring to the main character and his, uh, potential to save his Clan.
144	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Bluestar almost always made the best decision, including asking Firepaw to track down Yellowfang before Tigerclaw would do so and execute her, on the chance that Yellowfang was innocent.
145	* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Lionheart asks a [=ShadowClan=] apprentice how old he is because he seems unusually small. The apprentice claims that he's six moons and that his mother is small too, but as it turns out he's actually only three moons, only [[ChildSoldier half the age he's supposed to be to start training as a warrior]]. With the murderous Brokenstar as [=ShadowClan=]'s leader, it's no wonder that he would be afraid of revealing that his leader was breaking the warrior code.
146	* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Polish illustrated edition [[https://warriors-official-art.tumblr.com/image/620472976790405120 depicts]] the rats with red eyes.
147	* RenownedSelectiveMentor: It is considered to be a huge honor to be mentored by the Clan leader, so everyone is surprised when Bluestar decides to take on Firepaw as her own apprentice.
148	* RunningGag: Almost every time [[MeaningfulName Runningnose]] is mentioned, one of the main characters will remark that he can't be that great of a medicine cat since he can't even cure his own cold.
149	* SadistTeacher: Tigerclaw ruthlessly bullies his apprentice Ravenpaw, including poking him with a claw and telling him to get up while Ravenpaw is unconscious in the medicine den after battle.
150	* ScratchyVoicedSenior: Dappletail is mentioned to have a voice cracked with age.
151	* SensingYouAreOutmatched: In the prologue, Redtail orders the [=ThunderClan=] patrol to retreat from the battle at Sunningrocks when he realizes that there are just too many [=RiverClan=] warriors and that his cats are losing.
152	* ShortLivedLeadership: Though not technically a leader, Lionheart had the shortest time as deputy, being promoted after Redtail died and then being killed off in a battle just a few moons later during the same book.
153	* SignatureMove: Firepaw's favourite move is his PlayingPossum skill.
154	* SinkOrSwimMentor: Tigerclaw is this to Ravenpaw. Bluestar gave Ravenpaw to Tigerclaw thinking that Tigerclaw would teach the timid young cat to be brave. Turns out that Tigerclaw doesn't care much for an apprentice that doesn't share his bloodthirsty attitude. He's especially hard on him to begin with, and after [[HeKnowsTooMuch Ravenpaw saw Tigerclaw commit murder, Tigerclaw tried to have him killed]] by giving him deliberately difficult tasks, such as hunting at Snakerocks (named for the ''poisonous snakes'' that live there; cats avoid it during warm weather), and hunting in enemy territory.
155	* SmallTownBoredom: The reason Rusty decides to stop being a kittypet and become a warrior. He's bored with his kittypet life.
156	* SneakyDeparture: Yellowfang sneaks away from [=ThunderClan=] camp to chase after Clawface, who she deduces has stolen [=ThunderClan=] kits. Firepaw, Ravenpaw, and Graypaw sneak away to chase after her, and to fake Ravenpaw's death.
157	* SnipeHunt: Graypaw hopes that Sandpaw and Dustpaw will be sent on one, commenting that he hopes their mentors will set them the task of hunting blue squirrels all day. Firepaw doesn't get the joke, confused because there ''are'' no blue squirrels.
158	* TheSpartanWay: [=ShadowClan=]'s training while Brokenstar is the leader - even [[ChildSoldiers kits]] are forced to train in the brutal battle training.
159	* SpringIsLate: A plot point in ''Into the Wild'' is that spring is late and [=ThunderClan=] needs more warriors ''now'', causing its leader Bluestar to take in a kittypet.
160	* StarsAreSouls: When a Clan cat dies they go to [=StarClan=]. They are said to live in Silverpelt (the Milky Way).
161	* TheStarscream: Brokenstar served as this to Raggedstar and pulled it off successfully.
162	* StarterVillain: Brokenstar is this for the series.
163	* StartToCorpse: The series' first death takes place early on, on page 33 of the first book.
164	* StrikeMeDown: Yellowfang tries to convince the main character to kill her, because she is shamed by being defeated (and, as we see in her Super Edition, feels she doesn't have much to live for at this point.)
165	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Brokenstar's [[ChildSoldiers kit-warriors]] are completely ineffective in battle, and such a blatant violation of the Code makes every Clan in the forest (including his own) hate him. Brokenstar is quickly overthrown (partly because of these [[StupidEvil idiotic tactics]]) to make way for a more pragmatic villain.
166	* SwarmOfRats: Bluestar loses one of her lives to a horde of rats on the way back from Highstones.
167	* SymbolicallyBrokenObject: Upon first joining [=ThunderClan=], Rusty's collar breaks in a fight against Longtail, who had been loudly taunting him about his origins. This is taken as an omen that their ancestors, [=StarClan=], approve of him joining the Clan, and represents that he's left his old life behind.
168	* TeamShot: The illustrated edition from Belgium does this on the [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/568003593bb7f470ab686a0927b429f8/bfa104e360d96bd6-52/s400x600/a2796cd3a0ded850803c96f12ed8b84b8ce58c46.jpg cover]]: the featured cats include the protagonist Firepaw and his best friends, the villain (looking menacingly down on everyone else) and his [[TheDragon Dragon]], several significant [=ThunderClan=] cats (including love interest Spottedleaf who's looking at Firepaw and smiling), and a friendly loner.
169	* TooDesperateToBePicky: During Brokenstar's time as leader of [=ShadowClan=], his warriors spent all their energy battling rather than hunting, so cats resorted to eating the rotting crowfood left in the Carrionplace.
170	* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Brokenstar, who murdered his father Raggedstar to be [=ShadowClan=]'s leader, and that's where things go downhill for the Clan really fast. He banishes all the elders from the safety of the camp, forces kits to become apprentices at three moons instead of six (and makes them warriors at five moons instead of twelve), and makes his Clan eat rotten food instead of fresh meat to focus on battles. He even [[WouldHurtAChild lets Brightflower's kits die]] and shifts the blame onto Yellowfang, banishing her from the Clan. But a lot of [=ShadowClan=] cats get so sick of Brokenstar that they [[TheDogBitesBack team up with a [=ThunderClan=] patrol to drive him out]].
171	* UnfriendlyFire: After a border fight, Tigerclaw kills the Clan deputy, Redtail, hoping he'll be made deputy himself. He places the blame for Redtail's death on Oakheart, whom Redtail had been fighting against and who had been killed in the battle so he wouldn't be around to deny it. Too bad Ravenpaw had been hiding in the bushes and saw it happen...
172	* UriahGambit: Tigerclaw sets his apprentice Ravenpaw (who had witnessed him killing the Clan deputy) dangerous hunting tasks: first at Snakerocks (normally avoided by the cats in summer due to poisonous adders - but Ravenpaw actually killed an adder!), and then in [=ShadowClan=] territory.
173	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Tigerclaw. Ravenpaw is the only character who knows that he is treacherous.
174	* WouldHurtAChild: Brokenstar trained kits at too young an age, and even fought them himself, killing them.
175	* TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone: Brokenstar was the rightful leader of [=ShadowClan=], but he was a completely malicious monster, who attempted to destroy the other Clans and killed kits. He eventually had to be driven out and replaced with Nightpelt, an elder.
176	* YouDirtyRat: Some rats attack the [=ThunderClan=] cats as they return from Highstones.
177	* YouGotGuts: After Yellowfang insults Firepaw's kittypet blood, Firepaw snaps at her and says that she just finds being helped humiliating, and calls her a spiteful old bone bag. Yellowfang chokes a bit, worrying Firepaw... but she was actually laughing, and said she liked his bravery. Firepaw had no reply.

Context Recap / WarriorCatsIntoTheWild