ok ok im back on the "hollyleaf is fallen leaves reincarnated" theory train and i must present this ship to you in proper fashion bc im insane about them.
fallen leaves died at a young age when he failed his warrior ceremony and was left to rot in the tunnels by himself for decades, forced to watch others repeat his fate (when the 3 windclan kits nearly drowned). enter hollyleaf. she has just murdered ashfur and is dealing with the guilt of exposing her parentage. shes a broken wreck. the last thing she wants is to talk with another cat.
seeing a chance to help her, to save her from her self-imposed exile, fallen leaves slowly befriends her. this is his first friend in 40 years. while they talk, they realise how similar they are, they both feel estranged and alone. during the year they spend together, they grow very close. having listened to fallen leaves advice, she leaves to reconcile with her family (something he wishes that he could do) and he promises to wait for her. she sacrifices herself to save her kin and finally is reunited with her parents. fallen leaves is also reunited with his family during the great battle. as they both pass on, having reached the end of the story together, they both decide to go back to the tunnels together. however, on their way back she spots ashfurs spirit, standing in the same place where she killed him. she feels guilty and attempts to reconcile their differences. ashfur seemingly forgives her and the two go back to the tunnels. but ashfur is still anggyyy
i think this explains why hollyleaf is absent in tbc, cos shes too busy hanging out with her past-self boyfriend
