3I had this in my likes ever since it was going around the first time, I just hadnt gotten around to doing it quite yet. I might do a different version of this as a sort of exercise or prompt every once in a while, because its sort of a fun way to assess different interpersonal relationships and dynamics among canon cats. As such I manipulated things a little bit, but dont worry most of these were randomly generated, I didnt just pick from the list. This is massive, so I’m putting it under a cut.
My random numbers: 51, 7, 30, 127, 54, 91, 14, 111, 33, 69, 70, 94, 81, 117
Added for story purposes: One med cat for these poor hurt children, and one windclan kitty to even it out cause I like even numbers.
Thunderclan: Brackenfur (7), Hollyleaf (30), Birchfall (14), Cherrypaw (33)
Shadowclan: Applefur (51), Snowbird (54) , Sparrowkit (69), Dewkit (70)
Windclan: Emberfoot (91), Sedgewhisker (94), Ashfoot (81), Crouchpaw (101)
Riverclan: Havenkit (127), Minnowtail (111), Grasspelt (117), Willowshine (107)
So let’s start with Thunderclan shall we?
(Warning, death and battle)
Their most senior member to survive is Brackenfur. This is the AU where I get my Brackenstar. He’s had one heck of a life, he’s been through almost a much as any of the protagonists, and as a senior warrior he is by far the most qualified to lead the remnants that survive.
He is forced to watch Firestar fall to Tigerstar, though the flame colored leader takes his nemesis down with him. And Brambleclaw facing Hawkfrost. Its family against family in this universe, leaving Brackenfur fighting Thornclaw, his own brother. Thornclaw is full of jealousy, feeling that he has been kept back his whole life, like cats younger than him have passed him over for the things he deserves. Brackenfur cant blame him, he feels similarly, after his first potential apprentice was taken off by a hawk, his second escaping to another clan, losing a daughter to a snake… but he recognizes that he is a warrior, he is no kittypet who is destined to be given everything. In the end, he defeats his brother, leaving him bleeding on the ground. He is too late to save his mate and children, too late to save the nursery, but he finds Cherrypaw, his granddaughter, slaying the shade battering at her, and pulling her away from the battle. In the chaos its impossible to know how many cats will survive, how many can escape. Too many already lie dead.
In this world, there is no way Birchfall would join the Dark Forest. But Ivypool does. In this world, her jealousy and hurt towards her sister win. Ivypool murders her own mother, but together, her sister and her father take her down. But it takes a desperate toll on them, they have no strength, no courage left. They cant keep fighting forever.
Hollyleaf fights side by side with her brothers, still grappling with her feelings of recent return. Lionblaze is a whirlwind of fur and claws, untouched in any way. But even with his abilities, and his siblings, Jayfeather never finished his warrior training, one lucky blow is enough, and suddenly three becomes two once more. But there is no time to mourn the loss. Brambleclaw and one or two older warriors appear, and their once-father calls for a last push, to cover the escape of the few survivors from camp. He turns to Hollyleaf. “The tunnels, take them to the tunnels.”
Brackenfur is prepared to stand with Brambleclaw, their leader now. But Brambleclaw is shrewd, and he is tired. “They need a you.” Brambleclaw says simply. “She needs you.” Glancing at the shaking Cherrypaw.
The older warrior hesitates. “I wont be a coward.” But Brambleclaw shakes his head.
“You are not a coward if you are ordered. Go. Save what you can.”
There are more than five when they enter the tunnels. But despite Hollyleaf’s help, they lose some cats and by the end, there are only Brackenfur, Birchfall, Hollyleaf, Dovewing, and Cherrypaw.
Broken, hurt and defeated, they escape to the island, the safest place they know of, hoping, praying, that maybe more survivors will join them.
In the end the camp is overwhelmed. They cannot kill Lionblaze, not by fighting. But they imprison him, with the knowledge that not even starclan can keep him from starving. The rest are dead, scattered, or thralls of the dark forest.
In Shadowclan the ambush kills so many off the bat. Brokenstar returns to enact deadly revenge on the clan he believes betrayed him, and with some living disciples he manages to do more damage even than occurs to other clans. Unlike some patrols he takes no prisoners. So when Applefur and another dark forest trainee are sent to the nursery, it is to annihilate who they find. The queens are sadly, already dead, but Snowbird, her pure white fur stained red from blood, crouches, protecting Dewkit and Sparrowkit. Applefur sees the tiny kits, and is suddenly thrown back to her own kithood, where she watched her own clanmates disappearing and dying around her from starvation as twolegs closed in on their territory. In that moment she realizes the horrible mistake she has made. She turns on her fellow Dark Forest compatriot and murders them. Snowbird doesnt understand, and in her need to protect the kits slashes Applefur across the face. Applefur submits, crouching, crying, begging Snowbird to let her help them escape. And she does. There is no trust, but the two of them manage to escape in the fray. Snowbird suggests they head south, away from clan lands towards the twolegplace, where they could hide. They go through Riverclan land, and meet the Riverclan survivors.
Riverclan was not as badly affected as the other clans. Unfortunately, even though Hawkfrost has set his eyes on Thunderclan, Mapleshade leads the patrol to Riverclan. Her anger and hurt is poured out against them, and she leads her patrol to a great victory. With the death of elderly Mistystar, and her deputy, Mothwing takes to the field. She faces Mapleshade herself. Mothwing is the cat whose family is tainted by evil, whose entire belief system has been turned on its head, who has wrestled with the fact that despite her hard work, without her traitor brother’s help, she may never have been a medicine cat at all. And here she is going up against someone whose entire clan, and her lover, and her lover’s clan, turned their backs on her. They have both experienced pain, but where Mapleshade allows it to sour to bitter hate, Mothwing has overcome it. So while the rest of her clan struggles around her, she takes a stand against Mapleshade. It is a long and terrible battle, but Mothwing manages to strike her down.
Unfortunately it is too late for the clan, all but the few who took refuge in the Medicine den which Mothwing had been guarding. Willowshine had managed to save only Havenkit, from his mother who had barely managed to make it to the medicine den. She didnt survive. Grasspelt had already been in the den, from a minor injury, and stayed in order to protect those who managed to make it there.
The only other survivor is Minnowtail, a trainee who had thought herself cool and powerful from her training, but after watching a clanmate bleed to death from her own claws completely broke down. She ended up huddled in the Dirt Place, wallowing in her own guilt and pain. When the survivors snuck out, they used the dirtplace, and she was given an ultimatum. Come with them, or die. She went with them.
When their patrol, led by Willowshine, met the Shadowclan survivors, Willowshine realized there was no way they could make it far with three kits shared among them. They had to go to the island. At least it could be easily defended by Riverclan survivors who could fight and fish for them.
Finally Windclan. They might not have had it as bad, if it werent for the fact that like the rest of the clans, in this story, they didnt unite to protect each other. Onestar’s independence and desire to be strong before the other clans turned into his downfall. At first it didnt seem like the clan would be attacked at all, but then not only the team sent to Windclan, but the remnants of the other strike teams came and overwhelmed Windclan.
There are no outstanding stories of remarkable bravery, in fact, there is bitter resentment. None of the greatest shades from the Dark Forest are even from Windclan, haven’t they suffered enough? For Windclan there is desperation.
Ashfoot is older, nearly elderly by this point. She was a warrior, a mother during the time of their exile. So she is quick to react. She grabs those closest to her, Crouchpaw, nudging his mentor to beg him to get up, and Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot fighting side by side against their enemy. She calls to others, leads her few on a sprint. They are not cowards, they are survivors. When she finally turns, she realizes there are only four of them left, and the memories of Windclan’s darkest days, fleeing Shadowclan nearly overwhelm her. The other cats support her and they make it to the Horseplace. There they scent cats, faint, terrified scents heading towards the island. Could it be other survivors?
This is when the survivors finally meet up. They number less than twenty, a sorry number considering their great clans.
Ashfoot is clearly the eldest, even some would say the most experienced. But she is tired, oh so tired, and overcome with grief. Brackenfur, struggling with his own grief, forces himself to take charge. He is after all the next most senior warrior left. It is clearly no longer safe in clan lands. Its unsure whether any other trainees or clanmates survived, its too dangerous to go looking. Hollyleaf has a suggestion. Go to the mountains, the Tribe would gladly take them in for some time, help them find a new home. Its a better option than any other suggestions offered, so Brackenfur agrees.
With little rest and smarting wounds, the cats set out for the mountains.
Its a long journey, with constant fear following at their backs. For those who had lived during the Great Journey, it was even more painful, as they remembered old friends and comrades, now lost or lost then. It felt like they were sliding back, not moving forward. Birchfall and Applefur at least, had a chance to remember good times, and become decent friends. Birchfall is the first to forgive and trust Applefur, since he wished he had been given the chance to save his daughter.
The group nearly loses the three kits during their journey through the Twolegplace, and in the end Dovewing stays. She has never had the drive and desire to be a clan cat, and now that all is lost, a life as a kittypet seems like an easy out. Its sad to see her go, but Birchfall gives her his blessing.
The tribe is at first afraid to believe that their friends and allies, the clans, are gone. How could it be possible that the four great clans were wiped out except for the few survivors. It is even worse for Stormfur, who has to learn that the rest of his family is gone, gone forever. The Tribe takes them in, protecting them for a moon as they rest and regain their strength.
One day, Willowshine and Stoneteller approach Brackenfur, and ask him to come with them to the cave of pointed stones. There, the three of them communed with the Tribe of Endless Hunting, and discovered something wonderful. Starclan, or at least what remained of it, had come here. Jayfeather/Jay’sWing in one form and Lionblaze/Lion’s Roar, had led Starclan across the stars. Brackenfur nearly sobbed as he saw his mate, his children, brushing against their starry fur. Maybe there was hope after all.
Firestar came forward and named Brackenfur as leader of their remnant.
Firestar gave him a life of Hope, because in the darkest times, nothing could exist without hope.
Mistystar gave him a life of Perseverance, just as she had ridden all the dangers of life, so Brackenstar must now do in order to lead his clan.
Blackstar gave him a life of Forgiveness, to forgive those around him, and himself, just as Blackstar once had to do.
Onestar gave him a life of Trust, in the hope that Brackenstar would succeed where he failed, and trust his friends and allies, not push them away as Onestar had.
Sorreltail gave him a life of Love, to remind him of the love they once shared, and to give him the strength to carry on.
Cinderheart/pelt gave him a life of Faith, not in Starclan, but in himself, in his friends, in his clan. Okay, maybe a little in Starclan, but not in the same way as it once was.
Honeyfern gave him a life of Joy, encouraging him not to waste time mourning his family, but to move on and enjoy the rest of his life to the fullest, however long it may be.
Snowkit gave him a life of Courage, to be able to face all that came at his new clan. Seeing Snowkit was painful, but also gave him closure in a way that he never knew he needed.
Finally Lionheart gave him a life of Ingenuity, to be able to try something new in building his clan from the ground up.
And with his name and his nine lives, Brackenstar knew the time with the Tribe was over, he gathered his cats and set on down the mountain. The spirits of Starclan however, remained. They had given much of their energy to arrive there, and there they would stay.
(Hollyleaf and Brackenstar)
Brackenstar settled his small clan at the feet of the mountains, in something of a valley between them and the twolegplace. They adopted the name Dawnclan, hoping that after such a long shadowed night their small clan would have a new Dawn. Brackenstar appoints Hollyleaf as his deputy, and although a few mumble at the fact that Thunderclan heavily affects their new leadership, Ashfoot shushes them with the reminder that they are one clan now, not four.
This is when the clan begins to take shape.
The rest of the clan manages to find aspects within the territory which fit each clan, including a robust stream and small lake, an area with pines close to the mountains, generous forest, and clear fields closer to the Twolegplace. It is nowhere near the size of the Lake territories, but it could comfortably fit two entire clans, plenty of space for growth.
(Havenkit, Sparrowkit, Snowbird, Dewkit, and Ashfoot)
Snowbird and Ashfoot settle down to raising the kits, as the other cats in the small clan build a camp and territory around them. Ashfoot is content to be an elder, to advise Brackenfur, and tell the kits the stories of the clans. Snowbird was always a queen at heart, and since two of the kits were ones she personally saved, she felt a responsibility to them.
(Cherryfrost and Crouchleap)
Cherrypaw and Crouchpaw have eclectic apprenticeships. They had training from their birth clan, then some from the Tribe, and then the new clan as a collective finishes their training, giving them a wide range of skills. They do however remain most skilled in the territories most like those of their birth clans. Their naming ceremony is the first in the clan, not long after they finally establish Dawnclan. Cherrypaw is named Cherryfrost, after her mother, and Crouchpaw is named Crouchleap for his hunting skill.
It isnt long until Havenkit, Sparrowkit, and Dewkit are given their apprentice names. The clan decides to start group mentoring for a few moons, to see what skills each apprentice has, and then focus later moons on specific training for certain clan skills. This training strategy remains through the rest of the clan’s history, and it allows the clan to incorporate both culture and skills from each of the four clans.
When they decide on specialties, Havenpaw is later mentored by Emberfoot, who teaches the apprentice how to run like the wind itself, and Havenpaw is named Havenwing.
(Sparrowsight and Willowshine)
Sparrowpaw becomes Willowshine’s apprentice, enjoying the pursuit of knowledge of herbs and Starclan. Sparrowpaw becomes Sparrowsight after impressing Jay’s Wing/Jayfeather with their spiritual affinity on a trip up the mountain to speak with Starclan.
Finally Dewpaw apprentices to Applefur, who is grateful for the opportunity and trust extended to her and teaches Dewpaw everything she knows about Shadowclan’s fighting and abilities. Dewpaw becomes Dewclaw, the first warrior to have a chance to learn masterful fighting like the Dark Forest without its taint associated with it.
As for the rest of the cats…
Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot (both trans) are the first in the clan to come together. Just like in canon they have a litter of three, although they are all named after fallen clanmates: Kestrelkit, Larkkit, and Heatherkit.
After a journey of self-healing and forgiveness, Birchfall and Applefur become mates. They will always live with the shadows of their past lives, the loved ones lost. But they were friends once as kits, and now they are friends again. With the need to grow, they make a choice, and together they give birth to a litter of kits. Birchfall names them after his family, specifically siblings who never had a full life, Shrewkit and Larchkit.
Grasspelt comes to terms with Minnowtail’s betrayal, and they build on their common interests and lived experiences. Their kit is an accident, but a happy one, which they name Mistykit, born barely a moon apart from Applefur’s kits.
Hollyleaf is busy as deputy, although she forms very close ties to Willowshine, and Snowbird becomes something of a permanent queen, finding on more than one occasion a wandering kit or two in the Twolegplace who she brings home to the clan. “They just looked so lonely!” she would say, fussing about the disheveled kitten. How she knew about them no one could ever figure out, though Brackenstar guessed that Dovewing had a part in it from her home in the twolegplace. Ashfoot remained an elder, gathering the stories of the clans from everyone in Dawnclan, even from Stormfur, and once or twice from Starclan themselves. When she was old enough, Heatherkit became her apprentice as the storyteller for the clan, the keeper of the knowledge of the old times, earning the name Heatherheart.
With the second generation born and grown, Brackenstar eventually retires for a well-earned rest, and Hollystar takes his place, inviting in new cats and helping Dawnclan prosper, showing that even from greatest tragedy, from darkest night, there will always be a new dawn.
Anyway, Ive gone on far too long as it is, but this is my first take on 10% Left, maybe Ill do some other AU prompts like these. If you have any suggestions, send them to me!
This did remind me how much I disliked meddling with canon family trees though and choosing designs oof.
