This page is for general guesses about the series. For guesses about specific installments of the series, see below.
That would explain why he’s blind in the physical world (well, aside from Rock), but able to see stuff in various visions like other medicine cats. Since Longtail retired after being blinded, this would mean that Eyesight would be necessary to be a warrior. He also fought pretty well when he was in the body of a cat who could see in which he managed to fight, which would make him be a warrior had he been able to see.
It explains the inconsistencies we see throughout the series. Such as names being changed characters color schemes and eye color being different. What characters know and don’t know ect. It might also explain why the series is getting weirder as it goes on.
Think about it, they are both grey, they both have mates with one word in their names (Millie and Slate), and they are both friends of a thing that makes fire. The problem with this is that Grey Wing lives in WindClan while Greystripe lives in ThunderClan, but I think Grey Wing's spirit moved because living in WindClan was too hard.
Hermione and Hollyleaf both start out as rule-abiding goody-goodies, which eventually lands both of them in trouble, but Hermione, after being saved by a pair of apparent rule-breakers, quickly learns and accepts that rules are sometimes meant to be broken, while Hollyleaf has a heart murmur at the mere mention of it. Also, Hermione is best friends with Harry Potter, who wields a Holly wand, though this could be a coincidence. They both presumably feel insecure and out of place where they are because of their heritages (Hollyleaf is a half WindClan ThunderClanner and Hermione is a muggle-born witch) and appear to crave respect. Also, black cats are often classically associated with witches as familiars, and Hermione's familiar also just happens to be a cat.
The main propose of the rebirth is to see if Hollyleaf's spirit can do better on a similar path a second time, and make better choices. It makes the final leap of faith in delving towards the end of their respective arches to when they face their supposedly disgraceful heritages, in which Hollyleaf fails by lashing out and betraying her so-called 'code'. Hermione however, succeeds with flying colors by boldly declaring that she is proud to be a 'mudblood'.
- Alternatively, she'll be reincarnated into Nagase, because something inbetween Insane Troll Logic and Fridge Brilliance
- I would find it very amusing if ShadowClan was Russia.
- I think ThunderClan is the Good old US of A, WindClan is Great Britain, RiverClan is Germany, and ShadowClan is Russia.
- Heavystep!
- Rock! And the stick is his TARDIS!
- So Firestar is Ravenpaw's uncle...?
- Jossed, Ravenpaw's father is Fuzzypelt. It was confirmed on Vicky's Facebook.
- Actually, since Firestar and Scourge are half-brothers, the white paw was probably just a gene given by their father, Jake, though he wasn't mentioned to have had a white paw. Theory still works, though.
- Doesn't really when you consider the timeline (or biology), though. A cat's pregnancy lasts two months/moons. We can estimate that Firestar and Sandstorm left about...eh, let's say a week after the epic battle. Traveling and rebuilding SkyClan, together, must have taken at least a moon or two, perhaps more. Sandstorm showed no signs of plumpness throughout Firestar's Quest, so Squirrelflight and Leafpool must have been conceived long after Scourge was dead. Word of God dismissed the theory herself, although this is WMG, so...
- And the Hollyleaf thing doesn't really make sense. Hollyleaf rabidly supports the Warrior Code, whereas Scourge is pitted against it. Plus, Hollyleaf went mad out of fundamental insanity, which made her murderous, and Scourge just dedicated his life to getting back at Tigerstar. Although, this could've been an intense plot point if it were true.
- Doesn't really when you consider the timeline (or biology), though. A cat's pregnancy lasts two months/moons. We can estimate that Firestar and Sandstorm left about...eh, let's say a week after the epic battle. Traveling and rebuilding SkyClan, together, must have taken at least a moon or two, perhaps more. Sandstorm showed no signs of plumpness throughout Firestar's Quest, so Squirrelflight and Leafpool must have been conceived long after Scourge was dead. Word of God dismissed the theory herself, although this is WMG, so...
- And this is what allows them to walk in cats' dreams, enter the living world, and such like that.
- When Jayfeather went into the tunnels and came out in the place of Jay's Wing, Jay's Wing had to have gone somewhere, right? But clearly he didn't go to Jayfeather's era—someone would have noticed a copy of Jayfeather wandering around and smacking into trees, wailing "I'm blind!" Clearly, Jay's Wing was sent to a time where he was never reincarnated; he would have forced another reincarnation to some other era if he had (Sense? What's that?). And we've no idea what Skystar was like (though it would be safe to assume that he's a grayish color, judging by his name), right? Then perhaps Jay's Wing was dumped into the time of the early Clans, passing through the lake area...
- Jossed by Sign of the Moon. Jayfeather is explicitly a reincarnation of Jay's Wing.
- Jossed by Warrior Cats Dawn Of The Clans, Skystar is definitely his own cat.
- Jayfeather isn't a reincarnation of Jay's Wing: they're the same cat in a Stable Time Loop created by Rock. This can only mean that: Rock is a Time Lord and the stick is his TARDIS!
- How do we know Jay's Wing went anywhere except the ancient cats' equivalent of StarClan?
- Also jossed by the Dawn of the Clans arc, where we meet Clear Sky, and the authors confirmed that he is the founder of SkyClan.
- Though fans have asked where he went after dying, Vicky has been almost as vague as she has with Hollyleaf's status of existence. As "villains" go, he was fairly pathetic, lasting about three chapters. You've also got Leafpool's outpouring of emotion for him, which was so strong that Jayfeather thought she was in love, but gets handwaved in the next book as being "Oh, he was a loyal warrior and I'm sad he's dead." Plus, if Hollyleaf really does come back as a villain in the next series, it would make sense for the only one she actually killed so far to make a reappearance from StarClan or TPoNS.
- In addition to the above, when This Troper used the Warriors email address to ask him where he went, he told her that a twoleg named Vicky told him not to say.
- But isn't the Warriors email address run by fans, and unofficial?
- In addition to the above, when This Troper used the Warriors email address to ask him where he went, he told her that a twoleg named Vicky told him not to say.
- Why else would he die so frequently, only to return the next book? Perhaps StarClan found it to be too tedious to toss out prophecies. So they convinced a med cat or two to lug him to the Moonstone/Moonpool and let them give him nine lives. They figured he'd never do anything rash, so there would be no harm. Whenever he died of one illness or another, he'd escape and return to RiverClan, who may or may not have been on the secret. StarClan had the benefit of screwing with everyone's minds, and for once in their afterlives they got to do something For the Evulz.
- Frequently? He only came back once, after his greencough in Sunset. In fact, he only makes one non-Allegiances appearance after Sunset, and disappears from the Allegiances altogether after Power of Three. There are possibly two other cats (at least) that have come back once as well: Smokepaw/Smokefoot (fell off a cliff in Dawn), and Tornear (who was mentioned in The Darkest Hour as "lying motionless" while it mentions that the Clans have sustained losses in the BloodClan battle.)
- He was an elder then, and had likely lost 7 of his lives by that time. After all, you don't get the name "Hevystep" by being agile and quick. And it was confirmed Smokepaw and Smokefoot are two different characters.
- I thought Tornear was dead too, but he could have randomly been unconscious.
- Frequently? He only came back once, after his greencough in Sunset. In fact, he only makes one non-Allegiances appearance after Sunset, and disappears from the Allegiances altogether after Power of Three. There are possibly two other cats (at least) that have come back once as well: Smokepaw/Smokefoot (fell off a cliff in Dawn), and Tornear (who was mentioned in The Darkest Hour as "lying motionless" while it mentions that the Clans have sustained losses in the BloodClan battle.)
- 'Rise of Scourge' is Scourge's maddened attempt to justify his actions and make himself look harmless in his own eyes. His 'real' rise to power was much more sinister. First of all, "the dog saw his shadow and thought he was a monster?" If you believe that, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you. Second, it's clear that Rise of Scourge skirts over the culture of fear portrayed by Barley (and who are you going to believe, the kindly old hermit with nothing at stake or the murderous dictator?) — who's to say it didn't skirt over more?
- As a matter of fact, I think you may be on to something. When the manga side stories were written, most things that were presented were taken out because cats appeal to younger audiences right? The main canon telling of Tigerpaw attacking Tiny was far more violent than presented in the manga. Then again, Scourge probably told this version as at first, may have wanted to gain his first followers out of pity taking advantage of being a kit all on his own.
- 'Code of the Clans', on the other hand, is presented by Leafpool to an unnamed loner. For a start, there's a natural instinct to portray one's lifestyle in a positive way (for example, the way the questionable rule demanding absolute allegiance to the leader is portrayed as being a mistake made in the name of a crazy leader) showing. And look at the story explaining the dangers of cross-Clan relationships. On one level, this is just the basic story told to kits; it's been passed down for generations, and is probably skewed a little in order to convince kits not to emulate the behaviour shown. On another, it's also coloured by Leafpool's own experiences. We all know how her cross-Clan affair ended. Also, observe the way Darkstripe's eating prey before feeding the elders (a crime committed by Firestar in book one) is shown to be Darkstripe's first step on the path to darkness. How would Leafpool even know anything about that? At best, it's third hand, with Longtail telling it to Leafpool (and would he do that?), or made up out of whole cloth.
- Pinestar had a reddish pelt and green eyes like Firestar. It has also been commented many times that Firestar has true heart of a warrior and is naturally gifted in hunting and fighting. This would then make Firestar, Scourge, and Tigerstar all half-brothers....
- This has been disproved by Word of God, though.
- Although the idea was suggested by a fan shortly before the release of Bluestar's Prophecy, to which Vicky replied she wished she had thought up the idea...
- Wait, when he became a kittypet, maybe his name changed to Jake?
- No, because Jake showed up in the same book.
- Jossed. Tallstar’s Revenge confirms that Jake is Firestar’s father.
- This has been disproved by Word of God, though.
- It's been said that Night Whispers will be in his point of view. The blurb for the book says one cat will make a stand for what's right, but at a price. This may mean that Flametail will try to stop something bad from happening and get killed for his troubles.
- Actually in Night Whispers he drowns while playing cat hockey.
- Think about it: he never expresses any emotion other than fleeting rage, he's charming for no explainable reason (as is R. Daneel Olivaw of the Foundationverse, another famously realistic robot), and he knew that an eclipse would happen when NO ONE ELSE DID (this suggests that he was programmed with eclipse schedules for the British Isles). All of this can only point to one thing: Sol was built by R. Daneel and then sent through the Foundationverse-Warriors trans-continuity vortex to bring about the rise of Galaxia!
- (Think Cinderpelt, but he remembers everything.) This could be the reason he knew the eclipse was going to happen and why he tried to stop ShadowClan from believing in StarClan, so he could recruit warriors for the Dark Forest. Also why he knows so much about StarClan; he probably used to live next door to them.
- If you don't believe in StarClan, you don't go to the Dark Forest.
- Robinwing, a brown she-cat with a ginger splash on her chest had Frostfur (white she-cat) and Brindleface (grey tabby). Swiftbreeze is tabby-and-white. It's safe to assume that she's a grey tabby, since some of her kits are variations of grey or black. Frostfur and Brindleface seem to look more like Swiftbreeze than their actual mother. It could just be the father's genetics, of course, but these two being sisters seems to be a reasonable assumption.
- Swiftbreeze is actually a brown tabby. She probably has a gray-furred gene considering that her cousins Moonflower and Bluestar are both gray.
- Upon drawing up a list of all possible mentors for Molepaw, this troper concluded that Rainwhisker was the only option. Brambleclaw, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Brackenfur, Cloudtail, Thornclaw, Ashfur and Spiderleg all had apprentices at the time; Brook and Stormfur were still getting used to the forest, making them unsuitable mentors; Sorreltail and Brightheart were said to have never had apprentices; Leafpool has never mentioned an apprentice that came before Hollyleaf; Ferncloud and Daisy are more or less full-time queens; and Firestar seems to only take on special cases. The only cats to have ever brought up Molepaw are his parents and sisters, and no one has ever mourned him as a mentor would. Rainwhisker and Molepaw both died in between the second and third arcs. For this theory to work, Molepaw would have died before Rainwhisker, since he would need a replacement mentor if Rainwhisker died first.
- Yellowfang said that when dead cats were forgotten by everyone they fade away. Rock lured cats into the tunnels and showed Jayfeather the stick in the hopes that they would find and remember him and the other cats who had died in the tunnels so they wouldn't disappear. On page 161 of Dark River the stick says "Thank you, Jaypaw. We will be remembered as long as you guard us."
- Mountain lions are not native to Britain, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Warriors has to be on "an island in the middle of the Atlantic". Sharptooth could have escaped from a zoo in any of the three known Twolegplaces, and found its way to the mountains (the closest thing it would find to familiar territory).
- I subscribe to this theory!
- Doesn't explain the wolves, though.
- They escaped too!
- Or it was some kind of reintroduction program to return wolves to Europe, like with the beavers.
- Different user here, Maybe the Warriors series takes place in the USA, with the forest territories in Virginia and borders the Appalachians, the Cave of Rushing Water being somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado or Wyoming (which explains the Mountain Lions (AKA Cougars) and Wolves, and the Lake Territories in Oregon/Washington. Doesn’t really make sense considering that Highstones was depicted with an abandoned mine, the Horseplace in Oregon, introduction of beavers (they should already be there), and the short time the cats took to traverse the entire country to the sun-drown place and back in 10 days when it took Twolegs 6 months on foot. Same can’t be said about the Great Journey, though, since was from Leaf-Fall to Newleaf, which was around 6 months total (the same amount of time that Twolegs spent on the Oregon Trail).
- While I actually wondered about the above WMG, I remembered some research I did studying cats. Back in ancient times in England there actually used to be cave lions LIVING there. But studies hint that they may have been hunted to extinction. Sharptooth may have been descended from one of those ancient cave lions that have somehow managed to survive extinction.
- My thinking is that Tigerstar was able to injure Lionblaze even though Tigerstar is a ghost. So, why wouldn't Hollyleaf be able to kill Leafpool? She almost killed her once already.
- Jossed. Hollyleaf forgives her and dies not long afterward.
- When she was an medicine cat apprentice, in The Sight, Hollypaw didn't know tansy from yarrow. She then became a warrior apprentice, so she wouldn't have gotten any more training in herbs. Tansy would have been useful to Jayfeather. Hollyleaf tried to help (from wherever she is, living or dead) but got the wrong herb.
- She might have left the squirrel, too. And it might not have been help: it could have been signalling Squirrelflight and Leafpool, the two cats we can be fairly sure Hollyleaf will most want to destroy.
- Proven and a tad dis-proven in The Forgotten Warrior when somebody asks "Wait was it you who left the Yarrow?" Hollyleaf:"Yes I overheard that you needed it so I went to find some" (Not exact word for sadly I don't have the book at the moment but this was proven)
- First, Firestar killed his half-brother Scourge. Then, Brambleclaw killed his half-brother Hawkfrost. Since Lionblaze and Breezepelt are also half-brothers, they might continue the pattern...
- Don't forget about Graystripe and Darkstripe!
- Jossed. It doesn't happen in The Last Hope, and Breezepelt is still alive and well at the end of Bramblestar's Storm, with his own apprentice.
- We haven't seen much of Minnowtail, it's true, but from what we do see of her she doesn't really seem like the kind of viciously ambitious/vengeful cat who'd want to take over the Clans, like Breezepelt is or Hawkfrost was. It's possible she just thinks she's getting extra training, like Lionpaw thought, but now that there are all the other Dark Forest "apprentices", some of whom are outspokenly enthusiastic about the plot to take over, she would've realized sooner or later. But if Hawkfrost has told her he's her dad, then she might figure she has to be on his side.
- Also, Minnowtail and her two siblings have much darker pelts than their pale-gray mom, Dawnflower, and two of them are tabbies, which Dawnflower is not. Hawkfrost is a dark brown tabby.
- Even if Hawkfrost isn't actually Minnowtail's dad, Hawkfrost might tell her that he was, to recruit her. If Dawnflower never told who her mate was (and as this was back at the beginning of New Prophecy, when queens didn't have to tell, she may very well not have), then Minnowtail wouldn't know any different, and would probably believe him.
- Both are a shade of grey; Thrushpelt is sandy grey, while One-eye is pale grey. Robinwing's daughter, Brindleface, is grey, and her other daughter, Frostfur, has a grey kit, Cinderpelt. Thrushpelt is said to have only been a warrior for a quarter moon when introduced in Bluestar's Prophecy, and losing her sight in one eye would have caused Whitepaw's training to be postponed until she was fit enough to continue. The only other cat we know in this age range is Dappletail, who seems to have been One-eye's Heterosexual Life-Partner.
- Jossed. However, they are foster siblings.
- Jayfeather taught the Ancients how to be like the Tribe, and stayed with them, becoming their first Stoneteller and changing his name to 'Rock', as a tribute to his spirit advisor. After his death, he became a sort of spirit guide to his past self, who lived in the future. In the process, he created a Stable Time Loop much like the one mentioned in the "Jay's Wing is Skystar" theory, where Jayfeather would travel back in time and start the whole process again. I know, I'm probably either eccentric or plain out of my mind, but WMG doesn't have to make sense...
- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
- But Vicky will supervise it, thus pleasing the Unpleasable Fanbase, beyond what they would already be complaining about.
- As of 2015, there are sadly no plans to make a movie.
- If they do they had better NOT screw it up and make it something suitable for just kids. Considering how the books are distributed in SOME shops.
- Yellowfang mentions in Fading Echoes that StarClan cats fade away when they are completely forgotten. Spottedleaf knows about this, and so she appears to as many cats as she can so that she isn't forgotten. After all, the living cats alone that have seen her in StarClan are Firestar, Sandstorm (FQ), Echosong (FQ), Leafstar (FQ/SD), Leafpool, Squirrelflight (Dawn), Daisy's kits (if you count them in Sunset), Willowshine (Sunset), Poppyfrost (The Sight), and Ravenpaw (Shattered Peace). With as many cats as possible remembering her and talking about her to their Clanmates, she's guaranteed to stick around for a while.
- Spottedleaf ends up fading permanently in The Last Hope after being killed by Mapleshade.
- When a cat dies, they go to SC/DF. When everyone living forgets about them, they fade away. But what happens then?
- Author Kate Cary supports this theory, at least for cats of importance, but there is no proof for it... yet
- "Four will become two" obviously means that the Clans will divide. "Lion and Tiger will meet in battle" means that the divided Clans will meet and battle. "and Blood will rule the forest" means that BloodClan would take advantage of the battle and take over the forest.
- The reason for the series getting weirder and having more weird prophecies is Rusty is still at Twolegplace dreaming, he'll only wake up when Firestar "dies".
- Jossed.
- Two of the RiverClan Dark Forest trainees are Hollowpaw and Minnowtail. Hollowpaw is the apprentice of Reedwhisker, Mistystar's son. Minnowtail is the daughter of Dawnflower, who is likely one of Mistystar's kits, due to the fact that she became an apprentice in the same book that Mistyfoot went back to her warrior duties. Mapleshade will use them to take advantage of her mate's bloodline.
- Jossed. He found out about it via Midnight.
- Greystripe's mother was Spottedleaf's sister, so the kits already have SkyClan blood.
- The only time you can really say shes got herself together is when shes dying/dead, ouch.
- Floating around, waiting for a newborn cat with a tragic future to take over.
- In human hell, as Satan's right hand man.
- Not likely, "Hell would have had the cat as its courier, could it have converted feline pride"
- Already reincarnated.
- Patiently waiting to make his comeback in Bramblestar's Storm.
- Anything else?
- Yes I have one, living near the forest he probably heard the legends and all but never fully realized that they may have been true until he saw proof of it. This may be hinted where it shows him killing Tigerstar. Perhaps because of the legends, he created a move that would cause more than nine fatalities for just in case reasons. But then again he was somewhat surprised when Firestar came back, but this could have also confirmed it for him. He may be drifting around somewhere between the Dark Forest and StarClan.
- Jossed by Word of God as well as "Dawn of The Clans".
- Not quite, Thunder does have four kits with Violet Dawn. Any one of them or their descendants could have gone to the Twolegplace.
- Actually, I read the fifth book, and nobody dies. However, there's still room in the 6th. Probably during the great Dark Forest Battle, they'll both die, and Lionblaze will be a last minute type thing.
- Jossed. Brambleclaw does become leader.
- Semi Un-Jossed, he becomes deputy But it probably won't stick once brambly here is done with being possessed
- OP's list
- Bluestar
- Oakheart
- Graypool
- Mosskit
- Stonefur
- Leopardstar
- Crookedstar
- Feathertail
- Silverstream
- Close. Instead of Mosskit and Leopardstar, it's Rippletail and Mistyfoot's kit Perchkit.
- OP's list
- Ashfur
- Bluestar
- Spottedleaf (Jossed, she's much too dead)
- Firestar
- Skywatcher
- Wind (his ancestor)
- Brambleclaw (if dies)
- Molepaw
- Yellowfang
- Another possibility...
- Firestar
- Bramblestar
- Squirrelstar (assuming she survives her mate and becomes clan leader)
- Hollyleaf
- Cinderpelt
- Yellowfang
- Feathertail
- Bluestar
- Lionheart
- Jossed. She is, however, Bramblestar's deputy. The original plan, too, was to have her become leader - Brambleclaw was going to leave the Clan for fear that he'd become the next Tigerstar - but Vicky explained that she doesn't always get her way with the story, and it was changed.
- His power isn’t that he can’t lose a battle, or super-strength or anything like that. It’s that if he tries, he cannot be injured in battle. He can still lose.
- Scourge must be the Anti-Christ.
- She lived in the same area as the descendants of SkyClan. Hell, it’s possible that she herself was a descendant of SkyClan. It’s not hard to imagine that she heard stories.
- Jossed. The Dark Forest is not seen at all.
- Unless Clear Sky has a litter with another cat again, that’s not going to happen, at least on the sibling side.
- Well, in Thunder Rising, the brother thing is confirmed, albeit foster brother.
- Jossed. He is certainly not the villain.
- Unconfirmed. However, Lightning Tail, alongside Thunder, did invent a move called the Thunder and Lightning.
- Alternately, Thunders comes up with it after Lightning Tail's death and names it in honour of his friend.
- Jossed. Thunder is not one the cats who makes the journey to the forest, and he is the only surviving member of his litter.
- Jossed.
- Though technically, he could still have a half-sister from Clear Sky’s side.
- As of "Path of Stars", He has two, as well as a half brother.
- Though technically, he could still have a half-sister from Clear Sky’s side.
- As of Thunder Rising, fully jossed. Lightningtail is, however, Thunder's foster brother.
- Goldenflower - Protection
- Feathertail - Love
- Cinderpelt - Endurance
- Hollyleaf - Forgiveness
- Tallstar - Humility
- Whitestorm - Loyalty
- Mousefur - Wit
- Bluestar - Leadership
- Firestar - Courage
- Almost all correct, except instead of Hollyleaf, Tallstar, and Whitestorm, it's Lionheart, Ferncloud, and Ravenpaw.
- Bluestar was the one who allowed Firestar to join ThunderClan in the first place, enabling the entire series to happen. Of course she's the most important force to him.
- Jossed. Well, sort of. Rowanclaw becomes leader, but his gender was switched. Does that count? I don't know.
- Well now with Tigerstar II, a she-cat named Cloverfoot is deputy now. So hopefully if nothing happens to her, ShadowClan might see their first female leader in seasons.
- Jossed. Well, sort of. Rowanclaw becomes leader, but his gender was switched. Does that count? I don't know.
- She says that she "earned her way into the Dark Forest", so she may have done other things on top of that.
- Admittedly, I had her dead kits in mind when I wrote that (though that might not make sense). Considering her personality, it's quite likely that there's plenty of other nasty things on her record.
- Jossed. It's been confirmed that Blackclaw is.
- I'm fairly sure that it's been confirmed that Midnight is actually a ghost.
- What if I told you that there used to be cave lions living in England... May have had something to do with that.
- Cave lions went extinct thousands of years before cats were even domesticated. Why would the cats have animals that their species may have never encountered in their folk memory when there was something similar in their near, now legendary, past?
- What if I told you that there used to be cave lions living in England... May have had something to do with that.
- Jossed. Pinestar's warrior name was Pineheart.
- Cipher and Longtail are gonna have a field day with this
- Probably jossed. Lost Stars points towards a Demonic Possession.
- Completely jossed as of The Silent Thaw. However, Bramblestar does die somewhat.
- Brother of smokeweed and mountaindew
- Crookedkit doesn’t recognize Mapleshade’s name at first. If Mapleshade killed Appledusk, it seems strange that Crookedkit would have heard nothing about her while in the nursery, even with Rainflower abandoning him after his accident- since at least in ThunderClan, telling tales of her violence to kits seems popular. Not only that, but Appledusk was Shellheart's grandfather and Shellheart certainly cared about Crookedkit. It seems strange that Appledusk would be the Unperson especially since he was never cast out.
- When Oakstar gives Pinestar a life, he makes no mention of casting Mapleshade’s kits out. Considering that he is permitted to give Pinestar a life for judgment, the fact that he seemingly never acknowledged this mistake (which was a breach in the code, to wit) seems incongruous- unless he never did cast the kits out, or if he did, it didn’t cause the kits’ deaths.
- The Dark Forest warriors are said to be terrified of Mapleshade, including Tigerstar. If her crimes consisted of committing three murders and attempting a fourth in an effort to avenge her kits... that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would faze Tigerstar, who hosted public executions, betrayed and tried to kill his Clan leader, and murdered at least four cats at last count for the sake of ambition. Even the fact that one of her would-be victims was expecting probably wouldn’t have disturbed him that much. Her force of personality and notable battle skill may have played a part in this, but I don’t think it explains everything.
- Why would Mapleshade ally herself with a cat who habitually murdered half-Clanners for being half-Clan, if her kits were cast out to their eventual deaths for that exact reason?
Crookedstar’s Promise establishes Mapleshade to be unafraid to manipulate other cats, even kits. With this in mind, it’s entirely possible that large parts of Mapleshade’s Vengeance didn’t happen the way that Mapleshade’s POV shows, and that Mapleshade is lying about her victims having played any role in her kits’ deaths- assuming her kits died at all, and that she wasn’t lying to Nettlebreeze when she said they did. She may also be lying about her crimes, and may have done something beyond just killing three cats.
As for what would have happened to the kits if they didn’t die, well... we don’t know much about RiverClan’s family tree prior to Hailstar’s time, so they could be squeezed in there without too much trouble. Nettlebreeze likely wouldn’t have known the difference. The main issue arising with this theory is why Mapleshade’s internal thoughts would misrepresent what was actually happening when she openly professes to having earned her way into the Dark Forest... but eh, it’s a WMG.
- Ravenwing did deliver the kits but kept his silence. As mentioned above, Oakstar's life of judgement without any mention of Mapleshade suggests that she wasn't driven away. Either the secret was kept and Mapleshade left on her own, or Ravenwing did out Mapleshade because he couldn't lie and others were catching on. Oakstar did not exile her but she left out of spite. When she lost her kits, she chose to spin a narrative of the medicine cat outing her and the Clan driving her to exile.
- Also as noted in YMMV's Informed Wrongness, Frecklewish likely could not have made anything better by trying to save the drowning kits in the river as dangerous as it was and having no experience. Which then just begs the question, why did Mapleshade even try to cross it with three small kits when there has been a warrior and apprentice who drowned in said river? Even if they wanted to go to RiverClan, surely there were plenty of places to hide and wait out until the levels were safe again. Almost seems like a case of Never My Fault and turning Frecklewish into a scapegoat, who was just coincidentally there.
- Appledusk may have been pressured into getting involved, and perhaps Mapleshade's kits were even a Baby Trap. Perhaps Reedshine was able to make him see that he was under toxic influence and find the strength to break up with Mapleshade. Given how dangerous the river was, he might also have reason to be angry that Mapleshade's recklessness cost the kits' lives. But of course, with Mapleshade as hateful, vindictive and manipulative as she is, why wouldn't she have rewritten the story to make Appledusk the heartless tom who dumped a poor pitiful she-cat?
And if he had been older and wiser at the time he saw the omen (or if his mentor had still been alive), that might have happened. But he couldn't forgive Mapleshade for having had kits with Appledusk, who had killed the Clan leader's son, and the Disaster Dominoes started cascading from there. After the resulting fallout ended in seven deaths and one banishment to the Dark Forest, StarClan decided to never reveal the parentage of half-Clan kits to a medicine cat ever again.
- Tallstar and Smallstar are both black and white toms
- They are both from WindClan
- Their names echo each other in their irony; instead of being super small, he's super tall!
- Tallstar became leader just as Smallstar was supposed to
- It's a nice thought!