twilight: part five

Leafpool and Crowfeather continue to journey away from the clans. Leafpool is upset, but she keeps trying to remind herself they made the right choice. She misses Squirrelflight and as they find a lake to drink from she misses the Moonpool too. As they settle down for the night she dreams of the prophecy, of blood spilling blood. In the darkness she hears an attack. She sees blunt claws slashing and small, malicious eyes. She wakes up and Midnight is there. Midnight assumes they are running away from the upcoming attack. Leafpool and Crowfeather have no idea what she is talking about. She says her kin are coming to attack the cats and exact revenge and that she herself is on her way to warn the clans. Leafpool wants to turn back but Crowfeather insists they cannot, assuring her that Midnight will get there in time. They try to go back to sleep but Leafpool dreams of Cinderpelt calling out to StarClan. She wakes up and tells him they must return.

Back at camp Squirrelflight is missing her sister. She checks in on Cinderpelt who is still upset. She overhears Brightheart tell Berrykit that she is not a medicine cat and wishes Leafpool was there to hear her. She hears Firestar order Brambleclaw to take a patrol by WindClan the next day and to keep an eye out for Leafpool. Neither Brambleclaw or Squirrelflight hold out any hope that he will find her. Squirrelflight goes to lie down but as she is about to doze off she hears an odd noise. Badgers flood the camp, attacking the cats. Brambleclaw seeks her out, asking for help getting Daisy, her kits, and Sorreltail out of the camp. Brightheart and Cloudtail show up to help but Sorreltail is going into labor. Cinderpelt is fetched and Brackenfur is left to guard the nursery. Squirrelflight decides to take the cats out the way Leafpool was sneaking out. As they make their way there they cross the elders den and try to bring the elders with them but they won't go since Longtail is blind. Squirrelflight instead suggests they hide in Firestar's den since it is on a ledge.

After getting Daisy and her kits safely out Brightheart and Cloudtail get into a fight over who will stay with them - both of them insisting the other cat should so they can go back to the fight. Squirrelflight tells them that they are both going back to the fight and Daisy will have to stay on her own. When they get back to camp they show Ferncloud and Birchpaw (who is badly injured) the way out and task them with guarding Daisy. They go back to the fight and Squirrelflight worries that this might be the last time she sees Brambleclaw. She goes to follow him Sootfur needs her help. A badge kills Sootfur before she can save him. She looks around, realizing they might lose when she hears a cat in the nursery calling out to StarClan.

Leafpool and Crowfeather reach clan land. Crowfeather insists on escorting Leafpool safely home before returning to his clan. They get there but it is too late, the attack is already underway. They dive into the attack when Leafpool hears a scream from the nursery. Fearing for Cinderpelt she races there. She and Crowfeather fight off the badger and leave Squirrelflight and Ashfur on guard. Cinderpelt is dying and she tells Leafpool that she knew this was her fate. Leafpool asks her how she could have let her going knowing that this was going to happen. Cinderpelt tells her because Leafpool had to choose the medicine cat path with all of her heart. Cinderpelt dies and Crowfeather tells Leafpool that she never would have been truly happy with him. Leafpool realizes he is right and is determined to do the best for her clan.

Midnight reaches the clan and Squirrelflight asks her what she is doing there. Midnight responds bringing help and suddenly WindClan is there. The two clans successfully drive the badgers out and Squirrelflight is relieved to see that Brambleclaw is safe. Everyone is shocked at Onestar's help but he has come to realize that the clans helping each other is not a bad thing. Crowfeather asks to return home and Onestar allows it. A shocked cry sounds out at the arrival of Stormfur and Brook.

So, obviously, I am glad Leafpool returned home. Crowfeather was right, Leafpool would have never been happy as anything other then a medicine cat.

It was also nice to see Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw working together without the constant fighting. Hopefully this fight will bring them back together. I pity Ashfur.

And Onestar seems to be over his hissy fits and wants to be friends with Firestar again.

I never saw Cinderpelt being the cat who was speaking to StarClan. Which, I suppose, is foolishness on my part. Clearly they would have been speaking to a medicine cat.

The return of Stormfur shocked me. I wonder what is up with that.

When Leafpool had her vision of the attack it did seem obvious to me that it was badgers (blunt claws, small eyes) but now I wonder what will happen in the next book with Hawkfrost? I imagine his story has to be resolved then. I was hoping for redemption, but I suppose both Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost can't be redeemed - and this is ThunderClan's story, not RiverClan's.