How is Tawnypelt and Rowanstar's relationships with their 3 kids?
Rowanstar is a good father, very patient and long since outgrown his temper than he had back in earlier times.
(Fun fact, he was the very first cat to transition at the lake! The sire for the Tiger Flame Dawn litter is his brother, Cedarheart)
He loved his kids ferociously and was determined not to be like his own father, Brokenstar, who didn't care at all that he had children.
With Dawnpelt, he tried his best to be understanding when she had big emotions. Sometimes thought, Dawn REALLY just needed space. He could be a bit overbearing, but while she hated it as a young apprentice, when she saw how some other cats were with their kits, she was at least thankful he was trying so hard, even if it was "a bit much".
She didn't enjoy her father being leader, and was okay with disagreeing with him. She thought his picks for his deputies were biased, she thought he needed to be more outspoken when Onestar and Bramblestar split up Violetkit and Twigkit, and he needed to wrangle in the rebellious apprentices... One of which being his own granddaughter Sleekpaw.
When everything was said and done, and the two met again in Starclan, the apologized. Dawnpelt for being so brash, and Rowanstar for never taking suggestions on board. He... Still regrets not saying anything about the Skyclan Twins.
With Flametail, he was initially very confused when his son wanted so badly to be a Cleric. Surely he would want to train with his siblings? But Flamekit was insistent!
He supported Flamepaw's endeavors, and did eventually understand better it once Flamepaw explained himself. He wanted the connection to Starclan. He wanted to learn more than just hunting and fighting. He wanted to guide cats, and he wanted a position that could make him feel strong and confident without having to be violent. He enjoyed the power being a Cleric gave him, and used it for good.
It scared the ever-loving shit out of Rowanclaw, having an ambitious son. His own father had been known for his love of strength, confidence and power... He'd plunged Shadowclan into a dark age, but... It seemed Flametail had all of the fire, but none of the heat.
Rowanstar was proud of his son, and devastated when he died. He received one of his 8 lives from Flametail for Justice, to always protect the innocent, even when they are ungrateful, and even when they'll hate you for it.
He held onto that life until Sleekwhisker ripped it out of him.
With Tigerheart? He wished the fricken kid would stop growing already! Tigerkit was already a big kitten, but Tigerpaw was Rowanclaw's size, and by the time he had bulked out enough to become Tigerheart, his son was massive. Like, there would have been memes about it.
Rowanstar would never not be proud of his boy, the one who was easiest to understand. Of all the kits, he was closest with Tigerheart. He often took him out hunting, which incidentally is how Tigerheart earns his name early in WCR! The kits are born in Eclipse, and Tiger earned his name early as of The Fourth Apprentice.
Speaking of names... Rowanclaw was not ashamed of the name Tawnypelt picked... But he begged Blackstar to give him "the nicest suffix you can think of". He knew it was hurting his son. He knew it had fractured Tigerpaw and Tawnypelt's relationship permanently. Tigerpaw catching a massive pheasant and immediately fighting off a dog earned him his name early. Blackstar picked the nicest suffix he could think of.
When Rowanstar found out that his son had trained in the Dark Forest, he was sad, but not surprised. He knew his son felt like an outcast, and Ro had the emotional intelligence to look at the DF Trainees and see that... Most of them felt that way too. It was why he tried to push the AVOS apprentices together so hard, why such an emphasis on being part of the group was placed... Tigerheart had managed to find both grandfathers despite his insistence that their family history be kept blank, that they could be a new family... it was one of the reasons he kept Tigerheart so close afterwards as well, he couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let his son become the person everyone assumed he would be.
Ironically for all their closeness, Rowanstar had no idea until much later that Tigerheart was seeing Dovewing.
With Tawnypelt...? Oh boy....
Tawnypelt has a lot of personality, and sometimes, it clashes with her loved ones.
With Flametail, she wanted to make sure he wasn't just becoming a Cleric because of his tumultuous childhood. After he assured her though, she supported him 100%. Nothing about it bothered her, and she often tried to support him by quizzing him! Tawnypelt was closest with Flametail, if I'm honest. He made her incredibly proud, and she praised the ambition he felt.
With Dawnpelt.... Oh god... You know that Thing that happens when some girls are too much like their mother? That's gotta be what happened here.
Originally, she was going to name her daughter Flowerkit, after Goldenflower. But her own troubled relationship with her mom stopped her. Time is a flat circle for you, Tawny.
Too stubborn, too boisterous, and far too ready to pounce. Dawnpelt, in everything but her fur colour, was Tawnypelt's spitting image. They even sound so alike that Jayfeather sometimes mistakes them for one another if he's not paying attention.
Dawnpelt had her own opinions on life and how things worked. If she disagreed, you'd know it. When she and Crowpaw (Crowfrost) started courting in early OOTS, Tawnypelt disapproved. She didn't like him much, and it got worse after they became warriors and Crowfrost's brother Spiderpelt legs. She thought that her daughter shouldn't be with a cat Tawny had caught sneaking around to visit his brother. When Flametail died and Dawnpelt blamed Jayfeather, Tawnypelt was so wrapped up on grief that she couldn't see what was happening.
She'll never forgive herself for what happened to Dawnpelt. That they never really 'got better'. She feels even worse seeing what her granddaughter Sleekwhisker had become. She blames herself.
But the grand-daddy of all bad parent child relationships is by FAR with Tigerheart. Her biggest baby. She knee what she wanted to name him before he even took a breath. She had let Ro name Flamekit, and had named Dawnkit after the time she'd been born, but the last one, the squealing, brown tabby bundle, she resolved to name Tigerkit.
This single decision almost ruined his life.
No one wanted to be his friend except is siblings. Everyone went quiet when his name was called. No one had wanted to cheer Tigerpaw as loudly as they had Flamepaw and Dawnpaw... He knew why. He took history lessons. He knew why cats got nervous if he got angry, he knew why his mentor, the sinister Oakfur, preferred Battle Training over anything else.
All he wanted was to be himself, but Tigerkit and Tigerpaw and Tigerheart got pulled every which way.
When he finally met his grandfathers in the Dark Forest, they told him he could be whoever he wanted. He could be with Dovewing, of course. He would make his mother proud in a way that wasn't JUST "redeeming a name", and she would stop holding his own name, the one she'd given him, over his head.
He loves Tawnypelt dearly. He'd do just about anything for his mom. But he doesn't like her at all. He's just glad she adores Dovewing.
