So, here we are with book one of the next series. I have never read these books before so I don't know anything - not that I could remember much in the previous books, but I did remember some.
Many moons have passed and there are a couple of changes. In the cast some cats have died, others retired. New kits have been born and made apprentices and previous apprentices have been made warriors. Cloudtail and Brightheart are officially together and have a kit, Firestar and Sandstorm have had kits as well (including Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw), and so too have Dustpelt and Ferncloud. Longtail has retired early because his eyesight is failing. Instead of retiring, Goldenflower has chosen to live in the nursery and help any mothers with their kits. Cinderpelt has taken on an apprentice. Clan life - as much as it is different - is exactly the same.
So far this book has followed Brambleclaw and Leafpaw, not only taking the POV away from Firestar but giving it to two cats. However, the story does seem to be (so far, at least) more from Brambleclaw's POV. And so far it has stayed firmly in ThunderClan's camp.
The book opens with StarClan. A new, unnamed, danger is coming and the four clans pick four cats who will lead the clans through the upcoming troubled times. Oakheart asks Crookedstar for permission to speak for RiverClan, and Crookedstar consents. Nightstar of ShadowClan picks a cat whose loyalty is questioned and Deadfoot, former deputy of WindClan, picks an apprentice. These two choices cause some stir, and then Bluestar picks her cat.*
Brackenclaw dreams of Bluestar. She warns him of a new danger and says that he must meet with three other cats on the new moon. Graystripe wakes him from his dream, and Cloudtail comments that Brackenclaw is just like Firestar - dreaming so no one can get any sleep. Brackenclaw leaves the warrior's den and meets with Sorrelpaw, whose naming ceremony is that night. Then he goes to meet Dustpelt and Fernpaw's new kits - and Dustpelt asks him to take over the apprenticeship of Squirrelpaw for a few days. Brackenclaw agrees, but he is not happy. He and Squirrelpaw do not get along, both of them feeling the other is an insufferable know-it-all. After leaving Dustpelt and he and Squirrelpaw immediately get into an argument over her training that Sandstorm has to break up. The two cats go their separate ways - Brackenclaw to hunt with Cloudtail and Brightheart while Squirrelpaw goes to hunt with Sandstorm and Sorrelpaw. Before leaving Brackenclaw looks around the camp and assures himself that everything is fine.
After everyone returns Firestar holds Sorrelpaw's naming ceremony and renames her Sorreltail. After the ceremony Firestar and Brackenclaw talk. Brackenclaw considers confiding in Firestar but the moment passes and Firestar walks away. Brackenfur tries to reassure himself that if StarClan wanted to speak to anyone, they would have picked Firestar or Cinderpelt.
A few days later Brackenclaw, Thornclaw, and Ashfur go out on patrol. Brackenclaw catches Squirrelpaw following them and they again get into an argument - Squirrelpaw wants to come along and Brackenclaw feels she should go back to Dustpelt. In the end Squirrelpaw gets her way, but Thornclaw warns her she might get into trouble with Dustpelt. They go to snakerocks, where they find a badger's nest and are almost attacked. Squirrelpaw wants to attack the badger, but the other cats forbid it. They warn her that badgers are dangerous and they must report this to Firestar. Squirrelpaw is unhappy, but she obeys their orders.
Back at camp everyone is in an uproar. Dustpelt is furious with Squirrelpaw for wandering off and Firestar has even led a patrol to find her. Dustpelt orders her to care for the elders for the rest of the day. Feeling bad for her, Brackenclaw offers to help her. When Firestar comes back the cats report about Squirrelpaw's safety and the badger's nest.
Leafpaw is helping Cinderpelt. She is the medicine cat's apprentice now. She also shares a special bond with her sister, Squirrelpaw. She can feel Squirrelpaw's emotions and Squirrelpaw can feel her's. Cinderpelt allows Leafpaw to go to the Gathering. While there, Leafpaw feels overwhelmed. She is unsure where to go or who to speak to. She spots Graystripe talking with Mistyfoot and two other cats and joins them. The two other cats are Graystripe's kits, warriors now. Mistyfoot is uneasy about something, but she tells Graystripe he will know soon enough what when Leopardstar speaks.
The leaders all take turns. Blackstar reports everything fine in ShadowClan territory, as does Firestar for ThunderClan territory. Tallstar speaks next and asks Leopardstar for permission to get water from RiverClan territory since they are in the middle of a drought. A RiverClan warrior named Blackclaw speaks out against the idea, but Mistyfoot overrules him. Leopardstar allows the WindClan cats to drink their water. Then Leopardstar speaks. She speaks of a rogue cat named Sasha who came through their territory with her two kits. Sasha moved on but the kits chose to stay. They became apprentices named Hawkpaw and Mothpaw and eventually warriors named Hawkfrost and Mothwing. There is much discord within Leopardstar's own clan over this, and the other clans object as well. Leopardstar points out that ShadowClan is full of rogues and Firestar himself was once a kittypet. Firestar gives his support to Leopardstar and the cats quiet down. Leopardstar then announces that as Mudfur is getting old, he will be taking on Mothwing as his medicine cat apprentice. This causes a new uproar because of the fear that a rogue might not be able to talk to StarClan. Mudfur silences everyone and says that he is looking for a sign from StarClan on what to do - and no one can object until StarClan tells him no but he moves forward anyway. Leafpaw is hopeful that Mothwing will be chosen so she can have a friend to talk to.
Brackenclaw sees Hawkfrost and is chilled by his cold eyes. He then runs into Tawnypelt and discovers she too had the dream. They both thought that the four cats would be from their own clan, but now realize it must be one cat from each clan. They resolve to meet the night of the new moon at Fourtrees.
Days later Brambleclaw cannot shake the sense of foreboding he has. Firestar calls him over to talk to him about extra patrols by the ShadowClan border. Brambleclaw starts to question Firestar then stops. Firestar prompts him to continue, so he does, saying he is more afraid of WindClan stealing prey since they are probably hungry from the drought. Squirrelpaw calls him a fool, which leads to another verbal argument between them, which this time actually leads to Squirrelpaw taking a swipe at him. The two cats are about to attack each other when Firestar puts a stop to it. Brambleclaw apologizes and Dustpelt forces Squirrelpaw to apologize - but she still insists that Brambleclaw is a fool. Dustpelt speaks up for Brambleclaw, and says he agrees with him. Fireheart sends the three of them off to patrol over by the RiverClan and WindClan border. Squirrelpaw is unhappy to be going on patrol with Brambleclaw but she does as she is told.
While out she catches a vole, which Dustpelt allows her to eat. She offers some to Brambleclaw who was going to offer a retort but then realized she was trying to make peace. He eats some of the vole but suddenly he scents WindClan. The cats hide and watch as Mudfur, Crowpaw, and Onewhisker walk by with prey. Dustpelt challenges them, and they admit they took prey, but from RiverClan land. Brambleclaw points out that they are still stealing and Crowpaw attacks him. Furious, Onewhisker pulls Crowpaw off of Brambleclaw. The cats go their separate ways, with Dustpelt warning the WindClan warriors to stay off of their territory. Squirrelpaw is furious that Brambleclaw was right.
A few days later at new moon Brambleclaw heads to Fourtrees to meet with Tawnypelt and two other cats. He sees a cat approaching from the WindClan/RiverClan side and wonders who it is. Suddenly he can see the cat clearly and it is Squirrelpaw.
So, both a lot has happened and nothing has happened. There is a new threat but we don't know what it is. Four cats have been chosen to face this threat but we don't know who they are (see below for my suspicions - two of which were correct). Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw share a mystical bond, but nothing much has been said about it, other then its existence. And Squirrelpaw seems to piss everyone off - especially Brackenclaw. So far, with the lack of anything really going on, the only prediction that I would feel comfortable making is that I have a feeling Squirrelpaw and Brackenclaw might wind up in love.
*I suspect Oakheart's choice to be Feathertail (Graystripe's daughter), Nightstar's (no mention of Tigerstar - do evil cats join StarClan?) choice to be Tawnypelt, Deadfoot's choice to be Crowpaw, and Bluestar's choice to be Brackenclaw. I will also note that a comment was made while StarClan was picking the cats that perhaps the cats that were needed would have a paw in two worlds. This is true for Tawnypelt and Feathertail - and to a lesser extent Brackenclaw - if they are the ones chosen.
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