ougghhh everyone’s talking so fondly about lionpaw and his new friendships made by the ripwater event but all i can think about is his mention of ashfur’s comment. and how lion probably thinks it’s just a little joke but ash might actually mean it :(
There's this little pearl of a theme hidden in the Ripwater Episode, if you look carefully; abuse acts on people in insidious but subtle ways.
It's Mistystar who's defensive of asking for help or admitting a problem, thinking of what she did to Leopardstar and also repeating cultural sentiment that once victimized her herself.
It's Squirrelflight shouting at her daughter for acting like she used to, because she's spent some years being yelled at in a similar way
It's Hollypaw who isn't allowed to enjoy her achievement of saving Otterpaw's life or lean into how much she has in common with Lakepaw, because she's ashamed of how she did something "wrong" by snooping
And lastly, it's Lionpaw, who's starting to believe the vicious comments that Ashfur says about him. I referenced Willowpelt partially for the sweet little irony of him teaching her recipe to her unknown grandson, Ripplepaw, but ALSO because Ashfur is starting to isolate him.
Willowpelt is the Head of Hunting, currently, a position that Lionblaze is going to succeed her in. I don't think Ashfur is playing 4D chess quite yet, but there's a couple of little motivations knocking around in Ashfur's heart for why he's nasty whenever Lionpaw interacts with her;
Ashfur hates Willowpelt, because of the events from Ferncloud's Parting. He isn't aggressive to her directly, but he does spread rumors and slander whenever possible, happy to remind others of her exile.
Lionpaw getting close to Willowpelt will annoy him. Ashfur both hates and resents his apprentice, but also feels POSSESSIVE of him. He feels like Willowpelt will "steal" what's his.
A simple but hard truth; Ashfur wants Lionpaw to hurt. Maybe Ashfur sees it in his head like "telling the hard truth" or "toughening his apprentice up," but when he makes those malicious little comments, makes him recoil with hurt, it feels righteous.
Maybe in the next draft, it should actually be Ashfur, not Blackclaw, who comes to growl at Lionpaw for bonding with Lakepaw over the spears. Maybe have Willowpelt come in to show them how to properly use one and that's actually what set Ash off. Like he just used xenophobia because it was convenient in that moment.
I'm still wading through some brain fog so I'm not writing as much as I want to, currently. But I have just been absently sketching Willowpelt because she's been on my mind
I had initially been working with the "hyena" face in mind, but I've been playing around with the "villainous role" idea for Ferncloud's Parting. I mentioned it to my partner who pointed out that big, strong profiles like that are overused for "vengeful" characters.
Besides, I really love drawing that face shape anyway, so I figured I'd move away from it since it's going to be on a LOT of RiverClan cats in particular (they have longer muzzles than other Clans because they hunt in water).
I'm leaning towards "bat" now... maybe I'll retool it so it's more deer-like. Deer are totally underused as inspiration for harsh characters...
Anyway ready for some WIP material? Plus a recap of Ferncloud's Parting for all who need a refresher
(oh wow it got long. The power of girlies <3)
FERNCLOUD'S PARTING... Refresher!!
Replaces Graystripe's Vow completely, taking place just after the Impostor has been deposed and is imprisoned. Ferncloud is now the main POV, accompanied on her journey by her childhood best friend Cloudtail and the Impostor's surviving lackey, Bumblestripe.
The goal of this SE is to explore Ferncloud's relationship to her younger brother, Ashfur.
(BB canon: Ferncloud and Elderberry are the older kits of Brindleface. Ashkit was a singlet born shortly before his mother's death, raised by Fern, Elder, and their grandmother One-eye. Fireheart botched the Queen's Rights while claiming Cloudkit, but for all intents and purposes was socially his Mi... which he was not good at being. Cloudtail was Ashfur's mentor and Ferncloud's childhood friend.)
Ferncloud is asking herself the question; "What could I have done to prevent this?"
A lot of secondary questions revolve around this... Does this make her responsible for what Ashfur has done? Did she teach him anything that contributed to who he is today? Does that make her responsible?
Cloudtail is in a similar situation, as Ashfur's mentor and someone who only ever wanted to help his friend. Could HE have prevented this? He wants to find out.
Graystripe, oldest cat in ThunderClan, accompanies the little group as far as the mountain... and decides to stay there, with his golden boy, Stormfur.
Bumblestripe had come along with them all, for... a lot of complicated reasons. But the most relevant is that he had been one of the Impostor's most loyal, brutal enforcers. Berrynose was killed in a huge skirmish, and now there's just Bumblestripe left alone to shoulder his sins.
After saying goodbye to his father for what's probably the last time, getting to meet the mythical oldest brother he's been compared to his entire life, and seeing Cloud and Fern looking to visit the Old Forest Territories... Bumblestripe goes with them even further to make sure the old cats stay safe.
Like Graystripe's Vow, I'm planning to keep the split chronology. It goes back and forth between Ferncloud in the Broken Era, and Ferncloud back during the Fire Era.
The ultimate moral here, the point I want to build to, is that Cloudtail and Ferncloud did exactly what was expected of them. They raised a loyal warrior who holds the code above all. They're only responsible for Ashfur insofar as they were responsible for teaching him the same values of vengeance, violence, and distrust of outsiders as was expected... in Firestar's absence.
(Though... there's lots of other questions that I don't think FP will answer. Like, COULD they have truly stopped him? Can they ever understand WHY, if they don't currently? There's a LOT of feelings here and I don't know if all of them really have answers.)
WIP STUFF TIME
Here's new stuff, I've either not mentioned this before, or I've mentioned it in passing without actually linking it to Ferncloud's Parting.
I have a LOT of ideas here that I have to start sorting through. I think these characters are all really interesting so it's really a matter of cutting down all these little details into something more coherent.
When Ashkit is young, he's a child. There was nothing particularly outstanding about him, besides the fact he was a bit lonely and eager to please.
There's a bit of an air of "loss" when Ferncloud thinks back to Ashpaw's childhood. Elderberry and One-eye will be dying soon after the "flashback" segments, so when she goes back to the modern era, thinking about them feels bittersweet.
I also want to sneak in that Ferncloud feels jealous over Cloudtail's mateship with Brightheart lmao, because she has a crush on Brightheart. (Note, maybe tie this to Ashfur being obsessed with Squirrelflight, with Fern questioning if her jealousy rubbed off on Ashfur)
Through helping WarriorClan, Bumblestripe feels REALLY good. They don't know anything about his past, his struggles, or his failures as a person. He's just a hero to them and that feels... good.
Watching Bumblestripe be good, learning more about his issues and WHY he did what he did while following Ashfur brings Cloud and Fern some insight... but not entirely what they need. Is Ashfur just a Bumblestripe on a bigger scale? Or are they just learning more about how good of a manipulator Ashfur is? In which case... where did that ability to manipulate come from?
Fang/Honeysuckle might be Bumblestripe's half-brother. If that's the case, Bumble is... frustrated by it. MORE of his dad's complicated legacy.
Ferncloud and Cloudtail probably have some short discussions about how much is really appropriate to teach to WarriorClan... after all, they're here questioning if any part of Ashfur was THEIR fault, what if they accidentally teach them something terrible?
But at the same time, Ferncloud is the Educator of ThunderClan, and these cats can't write. The Glyph system would be very useful to them, and they're begging to learn more about Clan culture.
Putting a pin in that part, for now. Will tie back more into the conclusion that the Clan cat party ultimately reaches.
BACK IN THE PAST; Firestar is away bringing back SkyClan in Firestar's Quietus. Everything that is done is without him.
Longtail, the deputy, is blinded and a leader does not immediately rise to fill the space in ThunderClan.
And in BloodClan, their trading partner... Scourge does the same. Oops! WRONG TIME, SCOOJ!
Planning to retire, Scourge announces an event called The Frenzy. He will choose the next leader from whoever accomplishes the biggest achievement in the given timeframe. This is how BloodClan passes on leadership.
He gives his chosen heir, Claw, their first Frenzy Achievement-- the fang of a dog from his own collar. Anyone who wishes to take power instead must accomplish a feat even bigger than what had allowed SCOURGE to take power in the first place; Killing a dog.
Fury is a challenger. She does NOT want Scourge's chosen heir, Claw, to lead BloodClan next. Claw will continue the trading and friendliness towards Clan cats, which Fury wants to end.
ENTER WILLOWPELT
Willowpelt ALSO wants this trading with BloodClan to stop. She feels it's gone too far.
BloodClan killed her mate-- Whitestorm. Firestar might have been willing to just throw his life away for this, but she's NOT.
She's recovering from a boar bite, currently, but it's scarring up nicely... and she's willing to pretend she's injured a little longer if it shakes suspicion off her.
She doesn't WANT to be allies with Fury, but if her goal is to bring BloodClan back into isolation... then, Willowpelt will do it.
And Fury promises her something else; Revenge. Scourge is the reason why Whitestorm died, and together, they can ruin his plans and make him watch as his peaceful little power transfer crumbles into ash.
GOOD SETUP IMO but I still need to work out what nefarious deed they'll do, exactly. All I know is that Fury will betray Willowpelt at the height of it. Maybe something about taking over Barley's barn. Maybe Elderberry gets killed.
But, I have one very strong feeling in mind; Ferncloud probably ends up killing Fury while Ashpaw watches or even helps.
Hmm... maybe Graystripe (becomes deputy as soon as Firestar gets back for handling this crisis so well) ordered them to let Fury go.
But Ferncloud looked at Fury, and decided that Willowpelt was right about one thing. Most BloodClan cats cannot be trusted.
The code does not apply equally to outsiders.
Maybe I WILL have Fury end up killing Elderberry in some way, and then give Ferncloud and Ashpaw a conversation about it. "Those who don't live by the code will not be protected by it. And we must protect our Clan... even if Graystripe doesn't realize it."
I could make it clear that Fury is not a threat at that point, having been beaten in some way and Claw ascending to BloodClan leadership. OR I could have left it open-ended, like, maybe Fury would be a future problem, maybe not. Not sure yet.
Willowpelt of course will also need to experience some consequences for this... unleeeess, I have Graystripe let her off really easy exactly because she's Clanborn, which even Cloudtail is frustrated about, maybe even coining the term "Codebreaker" as an insult under his breath.
In any case, Ferncloud never told Cloudtail about how she secretly killed Fury. It's too juicy to have her reveal it to him in the modern day, explaining that it IS her fault, she DID teach him the wrong thing.
Hmm... I'm talking myself into it. Though I did also like the original vibe that Ashfur's tyranny was kind of unknowable, trying to make sense out of a senseless thing he did. I think it feels a lot more interesting for Ferncloud to have been hiding this for literal years, and now feeling like she has to "pay the world back" for what she did.
Maybe even build towards something metal about Fury's grave. Hmm... maybe to hide the murder, she buried her in Elderberry's freshly dug one, since no one would notice the soil had been recently disturbed as it was JUST dug.
Buried my sister and my secret victim in the same grave. ~Just Girlie Things~
Cloudtail sitting here, War Criminal to the right and Secret Murderer to the left like "can i ever be around normal people. like, just once"
Jokes aside... Cloudtail needs to point out something very important. Ferncloud regretted what she did, and she never did what Ashfur is doing. She never sought power, when Firestar came back she's lived a long life without ever once undermining him, and even her beliefs have softened over time.
She was a Traditionalist back then, but is Fire Alone now. After everything. The destruction of the forest, loss of her kits, WindClan rebellion, reveal of Squirrelflight and Leafpool's secret...
She's helped to raise every new generation as the Educator. And yet, Ashfur, the Impostor, is unique.
And look at Bumblestripe... being Graystripe's son didn't stop him from being the Impostor's lackey.
We all make our choices. HE made his. You made your own.
But... I don't feel like Ferncloud can entirely accept that as an answer either. There would be a very forlorn sort of feeling here. Yes, we all make our own choices-- but we influence each other. For better and for worse. And she refuses to avoid responsibility for that.
Maybe in that moment I'll have her make the choice to return home, and BE the one who becomes the Light in the Mist to face Ashfur in the Dark Forest. Seems to be coming together.
was firestar made aware of what willowpelt did when he was gone?
He was. When he got back, he was filled in on the entire situation, everything from Longtail's accidental blinding, the descision to continue the boar hunt, BloodClan's change of power, and Willowpelt's betrayal which caused Elderberry's unintended death.
He decided to uphold Graystripe's ruling and make the deputy change official, as they decided on Longtail's semi-retirement so he could have the space he needed to figure himself out. Willowpelt would remain exiled until further notice.
Willy re-joined the Clan sometime just before the destruction of TNP, after Rainwhisker and Sootfur became warriors. It was decided it was already a hard punishment to have missed such a large portion of her kittens' childhoods, after losing Whitestorm. She can't atone in exile.
After Cricketclaw's death while the destruction of the forest was underway, she started acting as Head of Hunting again. It was a really difficult time and a lot of cats were injured, starving, or dying. Her experience was neccesary.
Have you considered Claw taking down a boar for The Frenzy? I’m not sure if you already had plans with how to deal with it after it attacks Willowpelt, but if it survives Claw could go after it to try and secure his leadership. Since he would continue friendly relations with the Clans, doing something to strengthen that relationship seems like something he could do. I’m not sure exactly how a boar steps up to a dog danger-wise, but thinking about Deadfrost and Shredtail it would probably be a fair bit more difficult. Either way, it overshadowing what Fury was trying to do would help with her backing down from finishing her task, and to allow Ferncould a second to have a fun lil bout of murder while Fury is heading back to BloodClan.
I thought offhandedly about doing something with a boar but dismissed it... but now that you mention it again...
Let me explain a few things about the Frenzy, and how BB!BloodClan passes on leadership now, so that it makes a bit more sense.
THE FRENZY is an event that is triggered when the previous leader of BloodClan either dies, or announces their intent to retire. In this situation, Scourge announces that he wishes to retire.
There are two jobs in BloodClan; Problems and Solvers. There are 5 ranks-- but only a Problem marks these ranks with teeth in their collar.
BloodClan is ruled by three cats; the Head Problem, the Head Solver, and the Leader.
The Frenzy decides who will become the Leader. It can be anyone who's maximum rank, but the event and rules of the Clan HEAVILY skew towards Problems ending up as Leader.
To win leadership, you must accomplish the most impressive feat of all candidates. This is judged by the three heads of BloodClan, or, as many as are currently alive to rule this (in the case of the previous leader dying, not retiring.)
The leader may choose their heir, if they so desire, and offer them one of the "achievements" from their own collar. If no other candidate can perform a more impressive feat, this Heir will win by default.
So for Claw, Scourge has given him a HUGE leg up. Claw has been given the Tooth of Samwise, so anyone who wants to win against him must do something more impressive than killing a dog.
This must be about Fury. She is seeking a way to beat Claw for the throne of BloodClan, and killing a boar is MUCH more impressive than killing a dog. A boar tusk is even larger than a dog's tooth, and an old boar is much more dangerous. Willowpelt is also the Head of Hunting at this period in time, so she could help Fury with this.
The reason why I was iffy on it was that... this is a very legitimate way to win power, and emphasizes that Fury is here to learn more from Clan cats. What would be so bloodthirsty about that, and why would Willowpelt do so much hiding? Unless she planned to Do A Shredtail and sacrifice cats as boar bait, of course.
Which I COULD do, but something doesn't feel... snappy enough about it. It's about the DRAMA, y'know? It's about Willowpelt being brought onto Fury's side because she promises she will bring BloodClan back into isolation, but knowing that Fury definitely has something ulterior planned.
(Also side note: The boar that bites Willowpelt just before Firestar leaves is hit and killed by a car. However, it was a yearling boar. I can happily just bring in its mother, looking for her son.)
Something about it isn't going OOMPH yet. I gotta keep thinking about it...
Does anyone find out what Willowshine did, or does she take it to the grave? And if so, does she go to the Dark Forest since it got Elderberry killed?
It's revealed at the same time Fury is found out; if Fury doesn't reveal it, Willowpelt would admit it on her own.
Elderberry's death wasn't her intention. She just wanted to put Fury in power, Claw was the only target. The loss of a Clanmate is something she never, ever wanted. Willowpelt is a lot of things; protective and honest are two of them.
I'm not sure of her ULTIMATE fate but at the very least, the following consequences happen;
Her rank is stripped; Cricketclaw becomes Head of Hunting until her death in TNP. (Cricket hates this. She never wanted her victory to be so sour.)
There is no Dishonor Title because Firestar is not here to bestow one; off on his quest.
In lieu of a Dishonor Title, she likely insists on an exile for penance, likely missing the warrior name ceremonies of Rainpaw and Sootpaw. This ends sometime just before TNP.
When she dies, Willowpelt gets a trial. I don't think they'll damn her though. She does a ton of penance.
Ferncloud does not forgive her. She probably has to work with her for the rest of Willowpelt's life, whether she dies in TNP or Po3, but there's always a resentment there for her. She won't attack her or anything though; the moment of passion has passed, and killing Fury only left her empty.
