#bb!hollyleaf

I feel pretty strongly that Po3's strength is how AWESOME of a slice-of-life arc it could have been. To this end, I removed the Kin of your Kin prophecy from it, until it's revealed only at the very end just before Cruel Season.

That's so I can focus on The Three and their adventures around the lake, without this big prophecy looming over them and making the lower-stakes conflicts look small.

Instead, the various episodes of Po3 are related to problems that their new home presents, with just a teeny bit of Sol's magical influence to spice things up.

While Lionpaw learns about the "meaning of strength" and ultimately learns a terrible lesson he will extend to his kits, and Jaypaw finds his limits and learns to prevent others from defining them for him, Hollypaw is grappling with Fire Alone and how to reconcile her grandfather's legacy with her strict dedication to the Warrior Code.

And SO we find ourselves in one of the earliest episodes of BB!Po3; Ripwater the River Demon. This is like... episode 3 or 4, it's a REALLY early one.

I'm just shuffling it around with ANOTHER RiverClan-centric episode; the Shinewater Plague. The oilspill from TNP is now going to be bumped up to Po3 so it's more about establishing Mothwing and her apprentice Willowpaw, to contrast Leafpool and her apprentice Hollypaw, before Holly swaps to being a warrior. Jaypaw completes warrior training before becoming a Cleric apprentice.

So I don't want them to be TOO close together. Maybe put Ripwater in Book 2 and have RiverClan comment that they don't really want to ask for help because of the last big event, Mistystar hates feeling indebted to ThunderClan.

After all, it could basically replace the "flood" episode from Canon Po3, which is often forgotten about anyway. I'm already having ShadowClan construct dams instead of RiverClan anyway...

ANYWAY RIPWATER

I want to start this episode off with Sol/Harry, who is unnamed, messing around near water. He has a bit of a fish motif going on that I want to establish, and I need to get him to start messing with the Clans good and early.

(Specifically his motif is going back and forth between the koi, also an invasive and notably domesticated species, and the atlantic salmon which is famous for its changing life cycle.)

The Wels Catfish is an invasive species to England, slowly making its way up the island from the South. The fish who will become Ripwater, at this point, is already HUGE but not cat-swallowing huge. She's an 80-pounder.

Sol hits her with some godly magic, which allows her to grow at a rapid rate.

The sort of thing where it wouldn't be COMPLETELY implausible. He just... helped it along.

When we get to her first true on-screen appearance interacting with RiverClan, she is nearly 300 pounds of monstrosity with a length of about 8 feet

I'm unsure how, exactly, ThunderClan comes to know of this. But I DO know that I want Hollypaw to be snooping, and heavily encouraged by her mentor Brackenfur to do so. So, somehow, SOMETHING starts going wrong across the lake and ThunderClan catches wind of it.

Thinking about it, this should probably be her first big action after swapping out of Cleric apprenticeship.

One of the few things she's missing about Clerichood is the way she could be close to Willowpaw without needing to sneak around so much. It's easier to just pass it off as "friendship" and "Clerics need to be close." Leafpool and Mothwing are a similar way.

Possibly work in that Hollypaw's also already seeing Heatherpaw in the tunnels, contrast the two things...

At this point, Hollypaw has a crush on Willowpaw, which is requited, but... it's kinda fading.

She still loves her like a friend, but she's liking Heatherpaw a lot more. It doesn't mean she doesn't CARE for Willowpaw, of course, but

Willowpaw is still IN love, and it's slowly becoming unrequited, when it didn't used to be.

And from RiverClan's POV...

The first disappearance is so sudden they have no idea what's happened. I'm planning for it to be Robinpaw.

(I go back and forth on if it's Robinpaw or Dapplepaw, but I'm leaning towards Robinpaw again, because I like Dapplenose too much to have her get killed off here.)

She went out clamming in the lake with her sisters, Lakepaw and Otterpaw, there was a swirl in the water, and that was it. She was gone.

Just like that.

She never came back up. RiverClan searched for her, following the currents, checking the shoreline, everything. It was like she vanished.

Mistystar is suspicious and doing everything in her power to figure out what happened, but... let's face it. It's the word of two apprentices, who were swimming alone, who swear Robinpaw just went under.

Misty JUST got done with the Shinewater Plague and isn't trying to make RiverClan look like it can't keep track of its own young. The most likely situation is that Robinpaw was sucked down by an undertow that the three of them were too inexperienced to recognize.

So... she's pretty adamant about not sharing this information until Robinpaw's body is found. Jaws Style. "We cannot let the other Clans be alarmed by this, else they might meddle in our affairs..."

(and she's still maybe a little paranoid that some snoop in another Clan is going to find out that Leopardstar wasn't killed by a rogue, y'know.)

I don't want it to be TOO much of a bloodbath, so I'm capping Ripwater's body count at three and just aiming for two deaths total.

I'm also going for a coincidence RiverClan is going to interpret as a pattern; this happens a lot, specifically, when they're hunting Freshwater Pearl Mussels.

Ripwater doesn't like the river as much as she likes the lake, but it has nothing to do with their clamming. They're just going to interpret it as such.

Anyway.

The next one she goes after was lucky. By some stroke, she opens her jaw, and the victim is able to grab onto something before they're sucked in. (Maybe toss in something here were it was Holly who was able to help save them.)

Since the WHOLE Po3 Apprentice Generation is going to be getting more focus, there needs to be more input from the RiverClan apprentices. Lakepaw and Otterpaw obviously need time here, but I also NEED to involve Ripplepaw, to establish how he's going to be seen as one of the strongest in RiverClan by OotS.

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE AS I FIGURED STUFF OUT:

It was Ripplepaw, Otterpaw, and their two mentors on a raft who were attacked next. They were fishing for mussels in a shallower part of the lake.

Otterpaw was tethered to the raft with a flax lead, so it wouldn't float off. Or just tugging it in her mouth. Either way she had a line.

When Ripwater attacks her, she is swallowed on the line like a worm on a hook

And it starts pulling the WHOLE RAFT down, just a crummy bundle of sticks

One of the mentors started shouting to cut the line, else it would drag all of them under, but Ripplepaw dives right down to beat its ass without telling them he's not gonna cut it

Hollypaw just rushed right in, didn't think about it, forgetting she was supposed to be trying to sneak around

Taking control as the natural leader she is, she ordered them to shut up and start pulling the opposite way

Underwater, Ripplepaw braced himself against the fish's lips, grabs Otter's tether, and YANKS

Abovewater, the adult warriors are pulling together, Holly grabs the raft and pulls too

Once their paws touch the bottom of the shallows it's over, one last HEAVE-HO and POP!

Otterpaw is FREE

And when it's finally known that the apprentices weren't mistaken, there's a monster in the water, THAT'S when the debate really starts up. Mistystar does NOT want ThunderClan meddling, and she'll already be pissed off that Hollypaw (and any OTHERS who tagged along with her, I wouldn't put it past Honeypaw to wriggle her little yellow butt into a later draft, or Lionpaw for his massive strength) witnessed something that's not her business.

There's a moment from canon I desperately want to keep; where Squirrelflight comes to fetch her daughter.

(more reason to just say this is replacing The Flood Episode from canon lmao)

It's such an interesting moment, and so forgotten. In a nutshell, Squilf is both furious and concerned that her kit went missing and meddled in another Clan's affairs, but... understands the impulse.

Because it's something she would have done.

So when she scolds Hollypaw, there's this aching feeling that she's scolding a younger version of herself. Calling her arrogant and disloyal, that an apprentice's opinions mean less, and that she needs to listen to "older and wiser" warriors within her own Clan.

In BB, I want to do something big with this. Firestar is the figurehead of Fire Alone, who encouraged Hollypaw's behavior through his deputy, Brackenfur, who he set as her mentor for a reason.

But Squirrelflight is being abused. By Brambleclaw.

This is one of the lowest points in Squirrelflight's life, and she is walking a line between self-worth, the warrior code, and her personal beliefs, just like her daughter is.

SO, since I'm already using Brambleclaw's enabling of Ashfur's physical abuse as one of the contributing factors to Hollyleaf's descent, I ALSO want to show how he acts on other characters.

Brambleclaw, Clan Culture, the pressures of their strength-obsessed social system. So it's gotta be Squirrelflight that reminds her, or even plants the seed in her head;

"What you did isn't consistent with the Warrior Code."

Maybe even have Mistystar herself state this earlier, to be echoed by Squirrelflight, offering an alternate perspective to Hollypaw. Make her realize that ThunderClan's political leanings are not universal or even popular.

But when Hollypaw comes back to ThunderClan, whoever set her to be a snoop wants her to spill the beans. This is also a big WIP part, as Hollypaw struggles with if she's going to obey or not, and I still need to set all the political "players" in this moment.

I know for sure, though, that Firestar's IMMEDIATE desire is to meddle like it's an episode of Scooby-Doo. Though he's savvy enough to be smart about how he phrases it and what actions he takes, his ultimate goal is to put his little cheeto-dust paws all over this. And Hollypaw is starting to question how appropriate that actually is.

This is where it starts to really be a rip in Holly's mind. Clans aren't JUST big, blanket groups with united opinions, they're collections of individuals. Mistystar doesn't want meddling, but Willowpaw is in danger. Otterpaw and Lakepaw went all that time without being believed, after they watched their sister die, because they're lowly apprentices like her. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are angry and disappointed, while Firestar and Brackenfur are secretly lathering her in praise.

Now imagine me standing in front of a big board where I'm writing ??? because there's a missing chunk here.

I need to connect THIS part to what comes next, which is where ThunderClan DOES come in and help out. Here's the thought process going on in RiverClan;

Willowpaw comes in to do something important. She adores Hollypaw, knows her value as a Cleric, and knows that StarClan can sway Mistystar.

I want her to have a couple of pieces of a vision... BUT. She decides to interpret it in a way that's convenient, and add a few details.

It's not a tooootal lie lmao. It's just 75% true.

This is the true power of Clerics, when they realize it. No one can actually challenge them without just ignoring them or stripping them of power. They are accountable to StarClan alone.

A mentor simply doesn't say this out loud to their apprentice. It's a quiet secret. And Willowpaw just realized it.

and thinking about it... this should be the thing that finally breaks the budding romance Holly and Willow had. Holly is sickened by this, when Willow confesses how she convinced RiverClan to work with ThunderClan.

But, without even being a full Warrior, the apprentice leverages her power as Cleric of RiverClan, and 200 skill points of Improv Acting, to tell them these things;

"StarClan is so angry with us that they've sent a hog to the water! It's why they've sent a ThunderClan apprentice, we must work with them to eliminate the beast that lurks in our waters. With spears and plans, we must hunt it honorably!"

(Mistystar is defensive, but it's not known why) "We haven't disobeyed StarClan in any way. We'd already accepted their help once before, when sickness drove us to weakness, and it's only let them think they can disrespect our borders as they please. This can't be the holy will of our ancestors."

"It's-- We've been disrespecting this bountiful new land that they've so generously given us. That's what the pile of shells in my dream was. Think about it! The last attack was on the shore where we collect mussels. The second attack was on a cat latched to a raft, and it was only the tether that saved them. And the first..."

IVE GOT AN IDEA, Robin, Lake, and Otter WEREN'T clamming when they were attacked. She gestures over to Lake, knowing that if she doesn't back her up, the theory crumbles.

(Otter is in the Cleric's den, unconscious.)

Lake hesitates, not wanting to lie. Willow jumps back in,

"It's why Otterpaw was attacked," does those little jazz-hands to be like 'come in bitch work with me,' "And it's why Lakepaw has to be involved in killing it, to end what she started, and appease StarClan."

Lakepaw more like I LIKE-what-you-just-saidpaw, "It's true, we were so ashamed to admit it, Mistystar, this is all MY fault, I wanted my siblings to dig up mussels, PLEASE let me atone by stabbing the fish to death"

AND AFTER THAT IT'S NOODLIN' TIME

Mistystar, begrudgingly, accepts Firestar's help, or perhaps reaches out to him. Ripwater is a "Hog in the Lake," a beast too big for them to kill honorably on their own.

ThunderClan is the ONLY Clan that uses spears, and only for boar hunts. To protect themselves and to give their quarry a quicker death.

No other Clan touches weapons for dishonor reasons, as they're heavily associated with the demon Shredtail.

I should have Willowpaw explain her half-truth to Hollypaw here, and it's where Hollypaw just... so very suddenly can't look at Willowpaw the same way.

Jaypaw would definitely face an ableist moment from someone, but it's going to have to be one of those times where he accepts that there IS a very real limit to his ability here. Spears are range-weapons and his whiskers don't reach that far. He can't tell where he's stabbing, and the water is going to make it too hard to smell where Ripwater's dangerous mouth is. He can't be chosen for this hunt.

Meanwhile Lionpaw learns from Willowpelt how to make a spear and it is one of the most satisfying things he's ever done in his life, he's like "this is so awesome oh my god i love weapons"

just gently setting up that he's going to eventually become ThunderClan's head of hunting, and also that he's a lil violent

I feel like him and Lakepaw should hit it off a little because they both think the idea of stabbing a fish in the face is super cool, only for someone to growl at them that they shouldn't be enjoying themselves so much

Maybe Blackclaw, fuck that guy

(absolute tangent but BB!Lionblaze is kind of evolving into a little dork and I love that for him. Local himbo only capable of making friends or enemies, all Clanwide opinions on him are polarized, more at 11)

THE PLAN

So how DO they kill that thing? First of all, it's all about strategy.

Immediately they started making a couple of specialized spears. Most spears they make are exclusively for boar-hunting, so they have a distinctive "lug" that prevents a boar from impaling itself down the shaft to get you.

Someone in RiverClan explains that you don't want a fish having the chance to get off a claw. If Ripwater escapes, they might not find her again until she kills someone else

The solution is that these need to be custom-made, with special claw-shaped prongs, so they're chevron ^ shapes instead of tear-drop points. They stab in, and don't pull out.

So they need to make spears from scratch, which is an intensive process, and they don't have time to waste. RiverClan doesn't want to hunt by water that has a chance of having a freshwater orca spawn and drag you in; they'll starve

And there's only so many artisans in TC that can MAKE spears. Glue, twine, shafts, blades... these are all things that take hours of labor to create.

And MORE IMPORTANTLY, they realized from the Raft Rescue that a tether, attached to a floating object, can be very useful. Each weapon has rope tied through it and is tethered to a raft-- which is even MORE intensive, RiverClan had to repurpose several nets to create so many lines, and they only own three rafts, so the rest have driftwood.

So they only have time to create 3 special water-spears, and bring in 2 modified boar-spears.

Lionpaw is like visibly disappointed he can't have one lmao

The only apprentice given a spear is... Lakepaw. And it's a boar-spear

Because she's gonna be bait. They believe the litter is cursed for their "sin" and she'll be the next target.

But still, they chum up the water near the last sighting with blood and crowfood, like hog slop, and wait.

(Heavy WIP stuff here as we get to a play-by-play I haven't fully figured out yet)

Their plan is to get it on the shore as quickly as possible.

Four cats could pull Otterpaw from its mouth, so 5 spearcats and a dozen strong warriors could pull it onto the shore. Surely.

shorely.

It comes as expected, lunging at Lakepaw. She leaps back and tries to use her spear on it, but she is NOT properly trained with it, she stabs its face, but can't break the skull

RiverClan manages to toss a net at the beast, but it's NOT heavy enough

And they managed to get LAKEPAW with it, pressing her to the beast, her spear is dropped into the water

Someone shouts that it swims like an eel, able to just reverse course unlike a REAL fish which must turn

In the panic, warriors start mobbing it.

she thrashes, and splashes and the net is barely holding her back at all

She smashes a warrior with her tail, buffs another with her powerful head

She's stabbed in her side by a ThunderClan warrior (probably Sandstorm), and she turns on the raft they're standing on, breeching and SMASHING it to bits. Lionpaw and the rest of the cats on this raft get dunked

In the water, ThunderClan cats are useless, and RiverClan cats can't properly handle spears.

Someone from RiverClan, probably Blackclaw, tries to free Lakepaw but is scooped up in Ripwater's mouth.

He's screeching and yowling and trying to hold onto its upper jaw, regularly cut off as she dives under

When Willowpelt gets her spear in, she holds onto that damn stick with her LIFE, getting swung around and dunked in the water and then going back up into the air

Thornclaw, holding the other boar-spear, aims for its tail

But it's not enough; Even with several warriors of RiverClan, five spears, a net, and the weight of the two remaining rafts, Ripwater's managing to pull them towards the depths

She's too big to bite, too large to claw, and too strong to hold down

LIONPAW TIME

He grabs the spear that Lakepaw dropped

Ripplepaw seems to zoom right passed him, running away from the fish. He thinks he must be some kind of coward, the fight's NOT OVER YET!! WE NEED TO HELP LAKEPAW

(In a later draft I might have Lionpaw be on the smashed raft, and Ripplepaw brings the spear to him before turning and bolting back to shore. Either way he doesn't explain himself)

He paddles near one of the rafts, and is pulled up onto it

Firestar calls him a WONDERFUL BOY for bringing the spear

Lionpaw mumbles something enthusiastic around the stick in his mouth, wriggles his butt, and jumps back into the water

Grabbing the net sticking to Ripwater and using it like tree bark, he pulls himself on

Bites the spear by the lug like a handle

And stabs it in like a knife

But it's already starting to pull out, too shallow

Filled with anger and resolve, he bites the shaft, and PUSHES

Harder and harder and harder until there's a crackle, the twine breaks loose, and the lug snaps

The rest of the spear slips in as if Ripwater's made of butter

Figuring that's probably deep enough, he lets go of the net, breaching the surface, sputtering and hacking

He's about to dive again to go get Lakepaw, but to his surprise, she breaks the water next to him

and then he feels the fish bump his paws

His name is called from the shore, and there's Hollypaw and Ripplepaw waving. Ripplepaw TOOK HIS SPEAR'S ROPE. Like a GUY WHO THINKS.

Now there was a team of cats on the shore, all the spent warriors who got thrown off, pulling Ripwater to the shore.

And from the feeling of slimy fish under his paws, it seemed like her fight had been all but spent.

And more cats were swimming to shore now, with the ropes attached to the other spears.

Once on the shore, they're able to discover that, tragically, Blackclaw has died. Mistystar in particular looks deeply torn by this, as their relationship was notoriously toxic. But still, he had been the father of her children, and drowned trying to save a Clanmate. She jumps up onto the massive fish, giving a speech about sacrifice, how Blackclaw and Robinpaw would be honored, and that RiverClan has learned its valuable lesson.

Ripwater was symbolic; it's the greed they had unleashed upon the lake by over-exploiting one resource. From now on, they would be respectful of StarClan's bounty. She thanks ThunderClan for helping to fulfill a prophecy, and offers that their debt be repaid by splitting the meat of the hunt.

Hollypaw, internally: "Oh she's doing that on purpose. She knows ThunderClan hates fish and it would be rude to refuse."

Firestar: "well. how could we refuse."

Sandstorm, quietly, in the distance: "easily actually ew"

CLOSING STUFF

I kinda want some kind of "epilogue festival" where the two Clans legitimately celebrate with a somewhat somber meal sharing. Some of these episodes in Po3 will result in lasting traditions and holidays that are celebrated annually.

At that little "fish festival," it works for Holly to officially break it off with poor Willow, to leave this episode off on a bit of a sad note.

This was one of the first times Lionpaw's power becomes obvious, and it's the sort of thing that wasn't really noticed. I figure it would be good for Lakepaw to ask how that lug snapped, she could barely even get the spearhead in. Lionpaw just brags and says it must be because he's SUPER STRONG.

For some reason he's just making a ton of friends whenever I write these out, I think I'm going to lean into it. Lionpaw's got friends when he's a kid lmao, starts losing them over time as he gets more violent.

It's probably because I really need a comic relief in The Three's dynamic. Hollypaw is very dramatic, Jaypaw is dealing with legitimately stressful social issues, and Lionpaw is violent. Someone has to lighten the mood up a little and it's probably because he's The California Girl himself lmao

At this fish festival he also discovers fish isn't actually that bad. Everyone's being weird about this. It's not really that slimy. It's got a strong taste but that's kinda nice, actually?

Could use some berries but like... "damn why don't we do this more often. this would go great with blackberries."

Ripplepaw: "You think so? I can taste sweetness, can I try to make it at home and tell you how it works out at the next Gathering?"

Lionpaw: "It's not hard, you just mash the berries and stew them in a little water before pouring it over your meat. I learned it from Willowpelt, she's got a mad sweet tooth."

Lakepaw: "No offense Lionpaw, but I always thought you were a total lunkhead. I never thought you'd like, cook?"

Lionpaw: "I mean not really, I'm an awful cook, I can just make simple stuff. Willowpelt's just nice enough to be patient with me, my mentor Ashfur says if I can learn something anyone can, haha."

Just a nice little moment for him.

Blackclaw is being mourned in the mortal plane, but secretly, getting a SCATHING trial up in StarClan. His death was heroic, but his ENTIRE LIFE was treacherous.

From teaching Hawkfrost to follow in his father's pawsteps, to joining him in WindClan's Civil War, and his constant arguing and undermining of Mistyfoot back when she was just a deputy trying to do the right thing.

He goes on trial for a bunch of things he did in TigerClan, too, facing his victims who took his misdeeds to their graves. He's not the only cat in RiverClan who is getting a review like this.

Leopardstar is already in the Dark Forest, and soon, Blackclaw's sent there too.

I decided to kill off Blackclaw here so he could have a VERY cool Land Mar;

(context: all Dark Forest demons now get a cool little evil playset area just for them, where they spawn into after they're thrown out of StarClan. These are called Land Mars)

BB!Power of Three

Iceheart, once known as Scourge, is an important uncle-figure in her life. Mousefur, Firestar, Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Daisy, all cats she has opinions on during the various episodes.

Like canon, she is a cleric apprentice for a while. About a month or so.

In that time she became almost traitorously close with Willowpaw, and had to let her down gently.

It doesn't pan out as a cleric-- but she doesn't swap places with Jaypaw yet. He undergoes full Warrior training before choosing the path.

Firestar tasks his deputy, Brackenfur, with training Hollypaw in the hopes of bringing her up to snuff with her siblings.

Bracken and Holly get super close, and she's brought along on a lot of the diplomatic meetings with other Clans. She's being taught about Fire Alone, the ideology of her grandfather, Firestar.

She does have to reckon with it though-- as it exists as a challenge to parts of the Warrior Code. She is taught that she's an upcoming prodigy, and that she walks in the pawsteps of greatness. She has to be a hero-- but what does that mean?

She was meeting with Heatherpaw in the tunnels, not Lionblaze. Like canon, this ends after they're trapped and have to find their way out with young kittens, Sedgekit and Thistlekit.

As time goes on, she meets a lot of betrayal. Sedgepaw reveals the tunnels to Onestar, Willowpaw does nothing to stop Mistystar from joining the battle to attack ThunderClan in spite of all its help, and even ShadowClan does nothing to save Brackenfur during the Battle of the False Eclipse.

(This Eclipse is fake, it is Sol previewing what will come on the night of the Great Battle.)

We end Po3 with Holly deeply shaken, doubting what she's been taught and clinging even harder to the only thing she has left; that she is, by definition, a hero.

Seeing each grandkit grappling with their own arc, that Jayfeather feels StarClan hates him, Lionblaze with the fact he couldn't protect his Clan all alone, and Hollyleaf wondering if everything she's ever done has been worth it, he shares a prophecy he received long ago;

"There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws. All three of you, you will work this out. I know this because I love you, and StarClan is capable of making mistakes."

That's the last big conversation they have with him, because he soon dies in...

BB!Cruel Season

(A book between Po3 and OotS, bridging the lighthearted tone of the former with the serious, plot-driven one of the latter. This is reposted and fluffed from another post, you'll recognize it if you've seen it)

The prophecy is revealed at the end of Po3, Ashfur overhears Firestar's words, and Cruel Season opens up with the three grappling with its meaning.

This sets the stage for the following;

Hollyleaf worrying about what her purpose is if everything she's done has been for naught and StarClan is terrified of her.

Lionblaze concerned for what this means in terms of how he will protect ThunderClan if he is so powerful he could destroy it.

Jayfeather confirming to himself that StarClan is full of assholes, telling his siblings that he fought Molefall to save Hazeltail.

In addition, Ashfur is doing some prophecy math; Fire and Tiger + Kin of your Kin = Disaster

The death of Brackenfur, the prophecy, the fact Jayfeather has been fighting StarClan and Grandpaw Firestar just decided to do nothing about it..... it's got Holly isolating herself.

WHY does StarClan hate them? ...is it just Jayfeather? Is it because he's been defying them?

Cracks are starting to form, but that's still her brother. She loves him. This is when Sol pops up again, offering to be someone to talk to.

(Reminder: Harry is the vessel. Sol is the god inhabiting him.)

Harry is thinking this is for more manipulation, Sol itself is taking an interest in a possible new vessel as he grows bored.

But we're overdue for the fire scene.

This time, the Fire is NOT random. Unknown to the Three, this is a Dark Forest plot.

Thornclaw (knows the territory), Whiskernose (established as knowing how to manage fires in TNP), and Breezepelt (breezepelt) are creating a diversion so they can murder Firestar

Regardless, the Three are caught in it.

While helping to evacuate the camp, Jayfeather's senses are overwhelmed. He can't get out of the fire, Holly and Lion run back for him and the blaze surrounds them.

Squirrelflight is at the lip of the quarry on the far side, trying to kick down a weak tree they can run up

Ashfur makes his infamous move, kicking her to the side

"I CANT LET YOU DO THAT, SQUIRRELFLIGHT"

They have a fight, Ashfur shouting about the prophecy, Fire and Tiger + Kin of your Kin = they are fated to destroy the clans, if Squilf had chosen him this never would have happened

Squilf is pinned, but reveals with passion, "BRAMBLECLAW'S KITTENS ARE DEAD, THESE AREN'T MINE"

Ashfur is confused just enough that she's able to muster a massive kick, sending him flying into the weak tree, knocking it over

Lionblaze races across this tree to help Squilf, smacking Ashfur across the face

It's a Moment, Lionblaze seeing his mentor both furious and terrified of him, blood on his claws

Ashfur absconds, leaving the Three with Squilf

Now this next part is important and contains a big change of motivation from canon; I want it to be clear that Holly killing Ashfur is 100% her REVENGE. It's not about safety, nor about keeping the secret. So here's how it goes;

The blood on Lionblaze's paw, Squirrelflight’s wounds, and the absence of Ashfur is DEFINITIVE PROOF he tried to murder them

Brambleclaw, the deputy and defacto leader because Firestar is missing, is furious and declares that if Ashfur is seen on ThunderClan territory, he is to be considered a rogue and to be brought to justice.

Ferncloud, Cloudtail, and the rest of Ashfur's associates are shocked.

Birchfall, Ash's nephew, tries to ask "are you SURE?" But immediately regrets it, seeing the haunted look in their eyes.

Especially Lionblaze, Ashfur's apprentice. He's devastated.

When Hollyleaf hunts Ashfur down later, she is IGNORING the order to bring him to justice.

But before that happens... they discover the body of Firestar.

His throat is torn out. It's immediately assumed that Ashfur did it.

Ferncloud is choked up, "He wanted to hurt Squirrelflight so badly he settled for her father..."

Hollyleaf alone realizes that he had black fur in his claws during his vigil later...

And she removes it.

She speaks to Sol about this and he tells her that it was surely an omen.

It means SHE is responsible in some way.

She agrees and adds,

"I'll do what has to be done, I will prove I'm worthy! I'll exact justice on everyone who needs it, this black-furred killer, Ashfur, and the one who broke the code and set these events into motion with my birth"

Sol: "this woman is crazy im in so much love i need to possess her right now"

An aside; How are her sibs feeling right now?

Lionblaze remains very close with Squirrelflight, getting more of the truth from her.

He's confused and upset, but, accepts that she did it to protect them and Leafpool... even though he doesn't Get It yet.

He will Get It soon though. That's a secret tool that will help us later. Just for now remember Lionblaze Doesn't Get It.

(Squilf is always his mom and he has no doubt about this)

Jayfeather really doesn't want to hear it, having independently worked out that the only other parent they could have is Leafpool.

(since this wouldn't be a Federal Fucking Issue if it was Cloudtail)

That evokes a lot of negative emotions. Mostly resentment and bitterness.

All this time his questions about why StarClan hates him could have made sense and they just didn't.

The Queen's Rights are an important part of their culture but... there's so many lies here.

It doesn't matter if he can logically "Understand" or whatever, he hates that response, "Oh it makes sense" no shut your stupid mouths this all sucks. "We were lied to and I've been fighting my whole life for reasons that were kept from me"

All this turmoil makes him start leaning on Poppyfrost, for comfort, for the rightness of their relationship.

He leans on her too hard and she got pregnant. OOPSIE JayFUMBLE.

But anyway back to the Hollyleaf

A few weeks later Ashfur tries to drag himself to justice.

He's been living on his own, missing his family, hoping to find mercy for being unsuccessful.

It wasn't a fight. It was a murder.

(This is important for TBC later, as Ashfur is allowed into Silverpelt over this while also making sure that StarClan isn't accidentally incompetent like canon)

BB!Ashfur is characterized as being a truly "loyal" warrior. He did care about his Clan above all else and that is why StarClan accepts him.

Though he DID carry extra anger in his heart for Squilf rejecting him for Brambleclaw, the theme of BB is that these elements of Clan Culture, the commitment to the code and the willingness to do anything to protect it, are destructive.

Note: In TBC many arcs later, BB!Ashfur does actually care about enforcing a strict interpretation of the Code, AND ALSO he wants to have Squilf. It's both.

Next on Hollyleaf's list; Leafpool.

SECRET REVEAL TIME

She does the big Gathering Reveal

Bramblestar IMMEDIATELY demotes Squirrelflight from her deputy role for covering this up, breaks up with her, and disowns his children.

Assures the gathering that there will be consequences for Leafpool, and promotes Thornclaw to deputyship on the spot.

Jayfeather is now the only Cleric of ThunderClan.

Breezepelt, who was tense but friendly with the Three, has declared them his enemies because Crowfeather CAVED IMMEDIATELY and admitted he loved Leafpool, embarrassing him in public AGAIN by making it clear he was not wanted

"They're the reason he treats me like this! They're disgusting! They shouldn't have been born! I thought they were my friends but they were actually part of my torment!"

ThunderClan IMMEDIATELY starts treating the Three differently, because they are halfclan and cleric children

Lionblaze suddenly understands what Squilf meant by, "I did it to protect my sister, but also to protect the three of you"

Remember that thing from before? He Gets It Now.

"Sometimes keeping secrets is Good Actually," concludes Lionblaze

Opinions are split about Squilf and Leafpool,

"Squilf was protected by the Queen’s Rights"

"Leafpool still broke the code tho"

"That should have stayed between her and StarClan, she did the right thing"

"That law is stupid anyway!"

"Uhhh no it's not? Brokenstar? Ripplestar? Leopardstar? Helloo??"

"Are you saying Squilf's kids are tyrants? What is wrong with you?"

"I'm saying you don't respect the code you heathen!"

"She still lied to Bramblestar and needs consequences!"

"A halfclan cat is a halfclan cat! It was revealed and we must deal with it!"

ThunderClan is fighting, basically.

Holly has her scene later of trying to get Leafpool to eat deathberries, like canon Leaf is a queen who's like, "...girl you can't hurt me more than I already am"

And this is the point where Poppyfrost realizes she is pregnant. They're Jayfeather's. He is the only Cleric in ThunderClan, Poppyfrost does not want to be a single mother, it's a mess.

So they contact Cinderheart and Lionblaze and ask for help. They agree-- but preparing for the arrival of the kittens means they'd need to start saying they're mates.

Cinderheart, the cat that Holly is actively interested in: "hey uh Hollyleaf I'm, uh, mates with your brother now?"

Hollyleaf:

"Youre McFuckinf What?"

Cindy, unable to keep a secret and not really being in love with Lionblaze, admits there are kits she needs to adopt. Hollyleaf does more deduction and jumps to the correct conclusion, Poppyfrost is pregnant because Jayfeather has violated his vow.

And she's going to do something about this.

Sol offers his services. Friendship ENDED with Harry; now HOLLYLEAF is my best friend.

Hollyleaf decides Jayfeather needs to be dealt with. He has disobeyed StarClan for the last time

As he slips into the Tunnels to communicate with Rock, she follows him, planning to kill him quietly

Lionblaze intercepts this, defending Jay.

"What happened to my sister?! Hollyleaf, this isn't you!"

"A black cat killed Firestar, and I've killed that black cat! Soon I will put an end to all enemies of the Warrior Code!"

"What does that MEAN"

The fighting destabilizes the tunnel, Lionblaze is able to push Jayfeather out just in time before the rockslide

Sol saves Hollyleaf's life by teleporting her 100 years into the past, so that she isn't killed by the collapse.

Lionblaze is a tank and rocks can't kill him, when the Clan digs him out, he's just bruised and unconscious

They never find Hollyleaf's body, or any remains at all. Not even blood.

The book ends with the birth of Ivykit and Dovekit, tension settling over the entire family, pain and mourning all at once.

Cinderheart admits she still loves her, and misses her with her whole heart. Lionblaze can't understand why it happened. Jayfeather is expressing his pain through anger. Poppyfrost wants to put this behind her as soon as possible.

UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM, Hollyleaf is with them right now! Here's how Hollyleaf BECOMES Fallen Leaves, causes the collapse of LionClan, LeopardClan, and TigerClan, and sets the events of DOTC into motion;

Hollyleaf's Century

I will state my intentions though, so you can see what I'm trying to do here;

The downfall of the three kinships MUST go back to Hollyleaf preventing them from mounting resistance by being focused on pointless bullshit. It must be her fault that they lost, by trying to rigidly force the code onto a completely different society.

Sol is the God of Autumn, of change, of rules, and of games.

Story opens up with the cave-in. Hollyleaf is going to be crushed.

So, instead, Sol changes the time around them. Holly does not know this, but he has dragged her over 100 years into the past.

She's found by a cat named Broken Shadow.

Broken Shadow nurses her back to health and adopts her, introducing her to the Shadow Family, teaching her the language, and introducing her to society, as a parent does.

She's with them for a few months, enough to learn Lakemew and become accepted.

The Lake Cats find her name strange, Hollyleaf, and start calling her Hollyleaf Shadow, but she insists instead it is Holly Leaves.

"Ah, we see we see :)"

The Lake at this point was almost completely forested, Holly used to think the Ancient Oak was special but... now she wonders if that's how big all trees are supposed to be.

There are three societies around the Lake. The Shadow Family belongs to the Tiger Kinship, there's also a Lion Kinship and a Leopard Kinship.

She gets introduced to Jay's Wing and Dove's Wing, twins from the Leopard Kinship, and their cousin Lion's Roar, who is the leader of the Lion Kinship.

Holly is uncomfortable about loyalty being split between borders.

However, these groups largely interact peacefully.

Jay's Wing is some sort of student of the tunnels, he worships an ancient god.

Holly Leaves is disturbed that they do not have a StarClan and have these... entities. Yes she has Sol but she doesn't WORSHIP him.

Everything Changed When the Victorians Attacked

Environmental destruction I'm still working out, you know what, I'm gonna mark this

(MIDDLE SECTION IS STILL UNDER A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION, THIS SECTION IS THE MOST SUBJECT TO CHANGE, THE POLITICS ARE FUZZY.)

First things first; the Lake is shrinking. The Leopard Kinship seeks help because they have less fishing territory.

Why? The river beyond what-is-now RiverClan territory is being forcefully tamed, straightened to flow fast through the town and for conversion into farmland.

This makes the water flow faster and spend less time in the Lake, both making the river itself more dangerous, damaging the northern wetland, and shrinking the Lake.

Leopard Kinship weakens but becomes more reliant on the other Kinships. This is normal for them.

Holly Leaves uses this moment to start gathering power. At first it's simple magic tricks, doing little bits of aid, using Sol's power.

She knows what the humans did to the Old... New... The Forest of her Forefathers. She knows she needs these cats to trust her.

It's for their own good, she says.

The quarry is set up in what is now ThunderClan's camp, in what was Tiger Kinship territory. It's likely a sandstone quarry specifically.

Slurry was dumped into the river between what-is-now ThunderClan and WindClan territory. This is before that gorge dried up.

Lake is slowly poisoned. Dust from the quarry degrades the nearby forest.

When the logging begins, Holly Leaves grabs authority, leading the Shadow Family and many cats of the Tiger Kinship into battle to take the Leopard Kinship.

They don't put up much of a fight, Jay and Dove try to calm their family down, assuring them that Holly is a vessel for a deity and likely has ancient knowledge.

"There needs to be some changes around here. This is all because you have no one in the Stars to protect you. But I'm here now-- I will save you."

At first it's battle training, but she starts making hard roles. Borders must be defended. There must be healers.

Lion Kinship can join them or be gone. That's the only territory not destroyed and they need the land.

Using the power vested in her by Sol, she starts leading attacks to bring all cats under her power so they can fight the humans.

To oppose her, Lion's Roar becomes quite vicious. He reminds her that he needs 13 sacrifices, and she's feeding them to him.

3 heroes; Three Seasonal Gods. Jay's Wing eventually undergoes a Tunnel Trial to earn Rock's Favor, and his twin Dove's Wing appeals to the benevolent god of Spring, Midnight.

(Insert political drama I'm still teasing out)

The important thing about this drama is that it MUST go back to Holly Leaves being obsessed with control and punishment, dedication to her code of ethics that don't matter to this society, devolving the Three Kinships into infighting.

Leopard Kinship probably makes some kind of break for freedom, which is when Jay and Dove eventually break with Holly

This infighting eventually leads to Jay's Wing's death.

Holly killed him in a fit of rage, somehow, this I know but I am still working out

She looks down at the cat who was her brother and becomes sick, realizing what she's done, what she tried to do in the past, and how she's gotten what she wanted

His god, Rock, is in absolute despair over this.

He takes the body and buries it outside of the tunnel where Jay's Wing completed his trial; the only patch of Old Forest left in the modern Lake Territories.

Dove's Wing is distraught. Lion's Roar is enraged. Holly Leaves' political power dissipates.

They insult her by calling her Folly Leaves. "Great job saving us all, Folly Leaves."

The Lake is destroyed, the forest is gone, except the patch where Jay's Wing was buried. Humans pass right by it, like they can't even see it.

There's nothing left.

Holly keeps trying to demand they stay, trying to force them to remain... and Dove Wing has to put her down, to save the survivors.

(AND NOW WE'RE BACK TO SOLID GROUND)

After this, Dove Wing renames herself to Half Moon. A broken half of a pair, to signify how she will never be whole again.

Half Moon goes on to found the tribe, and Folly Leaves is alone.

"At least I still have my god"

"I'm bored now Holly lmao have fun byee"

Sol kicks her spirit out of her own body, and returns to the future, expecting her to fade away over the course of the following century. He leaves her for dead, essentially.

Alone, in despair, and overwhelmed by guilt, Hollyleaf can only imagine her family for comfort.

Over the decades, she begins to forget her own name. Hollyleaf, Holly Leaves, Folly Leaves, Fallen Leaves... she can't remember which one was correct. Are any of them right?

She watches the Lake wither, to the point where even the humans can't live there.

And then... she watches it recover too. Slowly becoming the home of her childhood.

The whole time, she's waiting for her family to come home.

One day, with no warning, a young Squirrelpaw, Brambleclaw, and Crowfoot tumble into her hole.

She remembers an old story her mother taught her once, of a StarClan Warrior who passed on a prophecy that reunited them after they had been scattered.

"When the great storm brews, meet together where the dusk begins and the sun drowns."

She begins to remember things. And she remembers, SOL NEEDS TO BLEED.

Years later she FINALLY gets her chance. She sees her own body guiding a couple of apprentices into the tunnels, and leaps out of the shadows, catching her neck in her teeth.

Sol can't believe she's STILL HERE he expected her to DIE

TIME LOOP COMPLETE, Fallen Leaves has her body back.

After this, she declares that her name is Fallenleaf!

...probably because she doesn't remember it was actually Hollyleaf and she guessed wrong. But it stuck.

Aaaand one last segment!

OotS and Beyond

She has to re-acclimate to society after 100 years in a tunnel.

And... she has a lot of guilt looking at Jayfeather. Her brother, her ally, her enemy, her victim.

He wants his sister back, it's been a long and hard time without her. She can't unsee his dying eyes.

Cinderheart missed her more than anything, and Fallen missed her too. She reminds her of good times and simple lessons.

Fallen takes part in the Great Battle, but has to balance the angry, trapped god inside of her the whole time, preventing her from taking risks.

After the Great Battle and a near death, she gets with Cinderheart almost immediately.

Ivypool and Dovewing are IFFY about this-- their parents were never romantically involved but they've never seen their mother so happy.

That's pretty difficult, both for Dovewing who's filled with rage about Life In General and Ivypool who's, deep down, a huge people-pleaser.

(They are still not aware that Jayfeather and Poppyfrost are their bioparents, that's revealed in TBC.)

Cinder and Fallen raise a kitten together, Hollylark.

The kit was created when Fallenleaf's magic misfired during a sneeze, magically making Cinderheart pregnant. OOPS.

After the events of AVoS, Fallenleaf starts realizing how... out of place she is, here. She is loved, but she can't be a normal warrior responsibly with how strong she is.

Now that she realizes how small the politics of Clans are... these feel like games. Like something Sol would do. Is that true? Or is she just insecure

She knows nothing about herself, so she can't answer these questions.

The catalyst for her leaving is Hollylark's horrible, young death. She doesn't know if there's anything she could have done to prevent this.

So... she has to find out.