darkest night: part two

Alderheart tries to eat but everything going on in the camp either annoys him or makes him sad that Twigpaw is gone. Hawkwing and Violetpaw arrive and Alderheart excitedly asks after Twigpaw. He is upset to learn she is still an apprentice. Hawkwing asks for help in finding their former clanmates. Bramblestar doesn't want to send a patrol but Hawkwing only wants one cat to led them to the gorge. Alderheart volunteers but is told no. Molewhisker offers his help and Alderheart is upset, as he knows Molewhisker doesn't want the SkyClan cats here. The SkyClan cats leave and Alderheart wonders how happy Twigpaw can be as a SkyClan apprentice. Later he and the medicine cats go to the moonpool. RiverClan never shows. Puddleshine says SkyClan needs help and he is needed in his clan. Alderheart volunteers but Jayfeather tells him no. It is decided Leafpool will go. The cats dream of StarClan and Alderheart sees both Purdy and Echosong among their ranks. Leafpool is thrilled to see Hollyleaf. Echosong gives them a new prophecy and the cats wake up. Alderheart wonders where Needletail is as she wasn't amongst StarClan's ranks.

Violetpaw, Hawkwing, Blossomheart, Rabbitleap, and Molewhisker go on their journey. They travel for days and one night while sleeping Violetpaw has another nightmare about Needletail. Unable to fall back asleep she leaves their shelter. While wandering the trees she sees Needletail. She runs to her friend, only to discover she is dead with no stars in her pelt and worries that Needletail is in the Dark Forest now. Needletail will not tell her why she is there, then walks away then disappears. Violetpaw cannot find her way back to their camp. She decides to settle down for the remained of the night where she is when Hawkwing finds her and brings her back to their nest. 

Twigpaw helps Dewpaw and Reedpaw work on the nests. Dewpaw is worried about Finpaw and how depressed he is. He says Finpaw will not see him, and suggests Twigpaw try. When they are done Twigpaw enters the medicine den. Leafpool isn't there and Finpaw doesn't want to see her. She tells Finpaw how upset she feels for what happened. Finpaw opens up and the two cats hang out for a bit. Leafpool arrives and changes Finpaw's bandages. Twigpaw realizes how happy she is to have found Finpaw and hopes he feels the same.

The medicine cats have a meeting to discuss the prophecy and how their leaders are reacting to it. Leafpool never shows and they wants Leafstar's opinion so they go to the SkyClan camp. While there Alderheart gets to see Twigpaw but she is distracted by Finpaw. He is sad that she is settling in so well and secretly wishes she misses ThunderClan. The medicine cats leave, leaving Leafpool behind, and go to RiverClan where they run into a patrol. However, the patrol will not let them pass and is openly hostile, refusing to let them see Mistystar, Mothwing, or Willowshine. Alderheart is shocked as at the gathering Mistystar said the borders were closed, but cats were still allowed to bring important information. Unable to convince the warriors to let them pass they leave. Alderheart is worried that none of the clan leaders care about the prophecy. Rowanstar and Harestar's response to the prophecy is to do extra border patrols, Bramblestar is indifferent until he gets more information, Leafstar is more worried about setting up a camp, and they cannot even get to Mistystar to tell her about the prophecy. 

Hawkwing has taken the lead from Molewhisker as he recognizes the territory. He brings everyone to see a loner named Barley who lives in a barn. They discover Cherrytail (Hawkwing and Blossomheart's mother) and Cloudmist (their sister). Violetpaw feels overwhelmed to have so much kin now. The cats catch up but Cherrytail doesn't want to leave. They decide to spend the night then head to the gorge, stopping back on the way to the lake to get Cherrytail's decision. 

Twigpaw really is settling into SkyClan! Maybe she did make the right decision after all.

As for Mistystar, I am surprised. I was surprised when Mothwing and Willowshine didn't appear for the meeting, but I'm even more surprised by the refusal to let the medicine cats cross the border. Even Onestar did not go to that extreme.

I am glad Purdy is in StarClan where he belongs, but Needletail clearly is not. I hope she is not in the Dark Forest like Violetpaw worries. And why did she visit Violetpaw just to refuse to tell her why? And lead her away from the SkyClan cats and get her lost for no apparent reason?

darkest night: part one

A tom anticipates the coming change of seasons when he sees fur flash. He calls out to the cat and recognizes Needletail. He is happy to see her as it has been a while. He greets her and realizes she is sad. She tells him that she trusted the wrong cat and needs help making it right again. As the tom talks to her, he realizes Needletail is dead.

Twigpaw is out hunting with her clanmates. She listens as they argue over SkyClan. She realizes some cats are upset she has brought SkyClan to the lake. They feel there isn't enough room for a fifth clan. The argument drags in more cats when they return to the camp. Upset with what some of the cats are saying, Twigpaw leaves them. Ivypool follows her and the two cats make up. Ivypool admits she was just worried about Dovewing and Tigerheart and that she why she argued against looking for SkyClan. A new argument breaks out when Owlnose accuses ThunderClan of not feeding Mosspelt, a RiverClan elder. While most of the RiverClan cats have returned to their camp the badly wounded and elders are still with ThunderClan. Twigpaw is confused as Mosspelt had been sleeping and there is still plenty of prey. Mistystar arrives and puts an end to the argument. She thanks Bramblestar for his hospitality but says it is time for all of the RiverClan cats to leave. The leaders part peacefully. 

Alderheart tends to Tinycloud, the SkyClan queen, and tells her that her litter will be the first SkyClan kits born beside the lake. When they leave Leafpool tells him he should not have said that as not every cat believes SkyClan belongs here, and if SkyClan were to stay it means someone must sacrifice land. Alderheart is upset by her words, and becomes even more so when he realizes Sparkpelt feels this way. When he confronts Sparkpelt she tells him that StarClan only wanted SkyClan found and that they said nothing about SkyClan moving to the lake. She feels that SkyClan should return to the gorge. At the gathering Alderheart realizes there is still much hostility between the clans. The leaders take their places but Leafstar and the rest of the SkyClan cats sit with ThunderClan. Arguing breaks out and some cats feel Rowanstar should step down as clan leader. Things calm down, then Mistystar announces that RiverClan will not be coming to gatherings for a while and RiverClan's borders are closed. She then takes her cats and leaves. When Bramblestar points out they still need to discuss SkyClan she tells them to make the decision without her. Leafstar takes her place beside the other leaders and the debate begins. Sparkpelt says whatshe believes and Tigerheart counters her, suggesting to Rowanstar they should sacrifice some of their land. Rowanstar follows the advice of his deputy and land is set aside by the ThunderClan border. The next day SkyClan prepares to leave and Twigpaw has her assessment, which she passes. But before she can be given her warrior name she tells Bramblestar she wishes to join SkyClan.

Violetpaw dreams of Needletail, who is furious with her. Hawkwing wakes her from her dream and she settles back to sleep. The next day she worries about her dream while trying to settle into her new clan, as she has officially left ShadowClan. She worries about Hawkwing's relationship with Twigpaw and her own place with her kin. Hawkwing tells them of their mother, who is just like Twigpaw, making Violetpaw feel more despondent. But then Hawkwing tells Violetpaw she is just like him, making her feel wanted and accepted for the first time in her life. 

Twigpaw is off with some of the other apprentices gathering twigs for building the camp. She is struggling with fitting in and feels like an outsider. She misses the cats of ThunderClan and the new territory is strange to her - and it doesn't help that Hawkwing and Violetpaw are so alike. As she spends time with the other apprentices she realizes they are more alike than she thought and she starts to open up. On the way back to camp a branch cracks and falls. She grabs Finpaw to save him and the branch lands on his tail. She sends Dewpaw to the camp to get help while she races off to ShadowClan to get Puddleshine. When they return the warriors were unable to move the branch and Puddleshine worries that Finpaw will die from shock, so he decides to cut Finpaw's tail in half. Hawkwing takes Twigpaw away so she doesn't have to see. He brings her back to her nest to sleep. As she dozes off she listens as Hawkwing and Leafstar decide to send a patrol to find missing clanmates.

I can't help but feel Twigpaw should have stayed in ThunderClan. I hope she finds happiness with SkyClan. It is different for Violetpaw, who is a bit needier and who was never wanted in ShadowClan. Twigpaw was loved and welcomed in ThunderClan. She must miss that. However, she is starting to make friends outside of her sister, so that is good. I see Violetpaw being very happy here with her father. Twigpaw, we will have to see. And I am glad space was made for SkyClan, but I am worried about RiverClan closing their borders. 

As for Needletail, who was she meeting with? Why is Violetpaw having a nightmare about her? Is it just a nightmare, or is it a vision? Why would Needletail be hostile if it was a vision? She knew she was sacrificing her life so Violetpaw could escape. I would like to think Needletail is with StarClan now but I doubt it. I don't think she deserves the Dark Forest, though. In the end she chose the right path. But she had rejected StarClan and I don't see her walking with them after everything she did. Is there an in-between place for the clan cats?

shattered sky: part five

Violetpaw, Twigpaw, and the four deputies are sent to WindClan to tell Onestar everything that has happened. The hope is he will listen to the deputies report since they are not clan leaders. But when the party arrives on WindClan land they can hear a fight at the camp. They race there to find Darktail and his rogues fighting the WindClan cats and quickly join in the fight. Darktail and Onestar are fighting and the rogue calls a stop to the fight to publicly taunt Onestar, causing everyone to realize he knows the WindClan leader personally. Onestar tries to act like Darktail is lying but everyone realizes something is going on between the two cats. The fight breaks out again but Darktail quickly calls a retreat. Onestar announces he needs to tell everyone something, but he will wait for the other clan leaders to arrive. Squirrelflight gets Bramblestar, Rowanstar, and Leafstar while Tigerheart gets Mistystar. Onestar confesses to everyone that when he was a young, ordinary warrior he liked to show off to some kittypets claiming he was a great warrior and clan life was perfect. One of the kittypets, Smoke, he had an affair with. One day she came to the moor, pregnant with his kits, wishing to join the clan. Onestar was horrified at the thought of confessing this to Tallstar and he knew clan life was not the perfect scene he had told her it was, so he sent her away. She had her kits on the way back. Alone and with no help only one kit survived. Later, when the kit was older, she tried to give him to Onestar again, but he again turned her away. Furious and hurt, Smoke told Onestar she would raise their son to hate the clans. That kit would grow up to be Darktail. Darktail never found WindClan, but he did find SkyClan so he took his rage out on them. He later followed the ThunderClan patrol home so he could destroy the four clans. During the battle on ShadowClan territory Darktail taunted Onestar, telling him that if he killed his son he would go to the Dark Forest. Terrified, as he is on his last life, Onestar called a retreat. Onestar now agrees to help the clans destroy Darktail once and for all.  

Alderheart and the other medicine cats go to the moonpool. StarClan tells them in order to defeat Darktail they must remember their names. Back at the ThunderClan camp everyoen is getting ready for the upcoming battle but Alderheart is worried as he doesn't understand what StarClan meant. Twigpaw and Violetpaw are talking about the upcoming fight and Violetpaw makes a comment is about Darktail having a thing for water. This gives Whitewing an idea and she races to the clan leaders. Hawkwing tells his daughter that SkyClans specialty is attacking from tree limbs. Suddenly Alderheart realizes what StarClan meant and he runs to the other medicine cats.   

Twigpaw enters ShadowClan territory with everyone. Hawkwing asks his daughters if they want to fight from the trees with him. Violetpaw declines but Twigpaw takes him up on his offer. The fight breaks out with every clan playing their strength. Eventually the rouges are driven to the water where RiverClan attacks them. The fight comes down to Onestar and Darktail, eventually causing them both to drown.

Back at the ThunderClan camp, Violetpaw tells Zelda and Loki goodbye. ShadowClan leaves next and Rowanstar gives Violetpaw permission to stay behind for a bit. SkyClan will be staying with ThunderClan until they find their own territory. Tigerheart and Dovewing are off to the side when Rowanstar snaps at Tigerheart to go with his clan. Hawkwing tells his daughters that he wants them to go with SkyClan but they don't have to decide right away. Now that Needletail is gone, Violetpaw considers going with her father but she worries Rowanstar might not let her leave. Violetpaw hopes the future will be fine,but she can sense change coming.

So, Onestar's actions now make sense. I did think that Darktail might be the son of a leader, but I assumed Brokenstar or Tigerstar - I never would have guessed Onestar.

Now that Darktail has been defeated I am left wondering what the next three books will be about. How does Rowanstar end up with SkyClan? When do Tigerheart and Dovewing run away? I assumed all of this happened with the search for SkyClan, but apparently not. 

shattered sky: part four

Twigpaw wanders, completely lost. The twolegs had taken her and for a while she was sick. As soon as she was able, she ran away. But she doesn't know where she is. Exhausted and hungry, she falls asleep. While she sleeps she dreams of a cat who tells her they are running out of time, and she must follow the blood trail in the sky. Hopeful that it is a vision and not a dream, she wakes up and follows the trail in the sky. It leads to a cliff and she despairs - until she sees cats in the distance. She rushes to them, asking if they are SkyClan, telling them she is from ThunderClan and she is there to find them. She sees the cat that looks like herself and Violetpaw. He is Hawkwing, the SkyClan deputy, and she finds out he is her father. She tells the cats about Darktail worrying that they won't come, but they resolve to come and help the clans. It takes her days and some guesswork, but she is able to lead them to the lake.

Violetpaw puts the poppy seeds into the prey, then gives it to Darktail and his favorite followers. She worries Sleekwhisker saw what she did, but she is committed and has no choice but to hope the plan works. That night she goes to check on Darktail, to make sure he is asleep, but Sleekwhisker is waiting in ambush for her. Darktail arrives and tells her Sleekwhisker saw what she did and Puddleshine told him it was poppy seeds and that they make cats sleep. Violetpaw denies doing anything but Darktail is determined to punish her. He gets Needletail and starts to drown her, forcing Violetpaw to confess to giving them the poppy seeds so she could break out the prisoners. Darktail tells Needletail she can prove her loyalty by killing Violetpaw. Needletail agrees, but instead she attacks the rouges and yells at Violetpaw to run away. Violetpaw flees, with Raven in pursuit, knowing she has left her best friend to die.

Alderheart waits at the ShadowClan/RiverClan border with the warriors from the three clans. They are waiting to go and free the prisoners. They hear fighting break out in the rogue camp and realize something must have gone wrong. Bramblestar gives the order to attack and the cats invade. Alderheart gets there and realizes the prisoners and some of the rogue ShadowClan cats are fighting the rogues. With reinforcements from the three clans the rogues are quickly overrun so Darktail calls a retreat. Alderheart treats the wounded while worrying about Violetpaw and Needletail. The prisoners tell him that both cats were in trouble with Darktail and he dragged them off, but they don't know what happened after that. Most of the ShadowClan warriors return to Rowanstar, and Zelda and Loki ask to stay until Darktail is defeated. While the RiverClan territory is won, everyone returns to the ThunderClan territory because that is where the medicine cats are and the RiverClan territory is a wreck and needs to be cleaned up and rebuilt. When they get back to the ThunderClan camp Alderheart realizes Twigpaw has returned - with SkyClan. Alderheart has to break the news to Twigpaw that he doesn't know what has happened to Violetpaw. While everyone is happy SkyClan has been found the question becomes what to do with these extra cats since all of the lake territory has been claimed. Jayfeather says the medicine cats need to commune with StarClan, so they all go to the moonpool. They meet with StarClan who, tells them all the clans must be united, not just four of them.

Twigpaw is resting with Hawkwing when Violetpaw comes into camp. The sisters make up and Violetpaw gets to meet her father. Hawkwing wants his daughters to join SkyClan. Alderheart overhears him and tells him that his daughters already have loyalty to other clans. Alderheart takes Violetpaw away to care for her wounds an Twigpaw is left with the realization that she doesn't know what she wants. The four leaders announce their resolution to unite and defeat Darktail for good and Alderheart tells them they need WindClan.

I wonder what Twigpaw and Violetpaw will choose? Twigpaw might wish to stay with ThunderClan, but I could see Violetpaw leaving ShadowClan. She never really felt welcomed there and she did betray Rowanstar for Needletail in the end. And she is so desperate for kin, I could see her choosing her father over everyone else. 

I'm a little confused with how the story will progress. This is the problem with accidentally reading ahead. In Tawnypelt's story she talks about Rowanstar living in SkyClan in exile and giving up his nine lives to be a regular warrior. I always assumed that Rowanstar found SkyClan and lived with them. But SkyClan is here now. Maybe it wasn't that SkyClan was in exile, but that Rowanstar was in exile. But somehow Dovewing has to go away with Tigerheart and have kits. If they defeat Darktail in this book I'm not sure how the story will progress.

shattered sky: part three

Alderheart and Mothwing sneak away under the guise to see if they can collect Mothwing's herbs from the RiverClan camp, but in actuality they want to find out about the RiverClan prisoners. Mistystar had already led an unsuccessful raid to take back the clan territory and Darktail told her if she ever did that again he would kill his prisoners. They run into a WindClan patrol that is hostile, but lets them pass. They discuss Dawnpelt. Strikestone and Juniperclaw arrived in camp. Dawnpelt was supposed to follow but never did. They meet a rogue patrol that consists of Needletail, Raven, and Violetpaw. Needletail agrees to let them collect the herbs so long as they give Puddleshine a lesson in the herbs he doesn't know yet. Alderheart is confused since Puddleshine knows his herbs, but they agree. Violetpaw quiestly asks him about Twigpaw. Unsure what to say Alderheart lies and tells her that her sister is doing fine. When they reach Puddleshine he is confused at first with Mothwing's offer for lessons, but he catches on quick. Alderheart can tell Needletail is really upset, despite her insistence that everything is fine. She asks after Dawnpelt and Alderheart tells her she never showed in the ThunderClan camp. Needletail looks both terrified and like she has finally figured something out.

Violetpaw is eating with Loki and Zelda. The two kittypets have come to realize they will never be allowed to leave. Beeryheart and Beenose have also left the camp, but when Violetpaw tries to ask Needletail about it her friend changed the subject. Darktail has the prisoners brought before them so they can swear the oath. So far they all have except for Reedwhisker. Violetpaw holds out hope that the RiverClan deputy will still refuse, but he finally breaks and makes the oath. Darktail then corners Violetpaw and makes her tell him about the herbs. However, he doesn't blame Violetpaw for the loss of the herbs, but Needletail. He confronts Needletail, telling her if she wants she can leave like Dawnpelt. Violetpaw sees the terror in her friend's eyes and realizes Dawnpelt isn't at the ThunderClan camp because she is dead. Darktail orders Needletail placed with the RiverClan prisoners until she proves her loyalty, then sets off to punish Puddleshine.

Alderheart cares for Stormcloud, who is depressed. The ThunderClan camp is overflowing with cats now that some ShadowClan cats are leaving Darktail and RiverClan has arrived. There is no room in the camp, resources are stretched thin with all the wounded, and everyone is worried the clans are being destroyed. The patrol returns with news that they believe Twigpaw is dead. They found her blood and fur next to the thunderpath where her scent trail ended, but there was no sign of her body. The clans sit vigil for her, believing her to be dead. The next day a ThunderClan patrol was driven away by the rogues when they were doing a border patrol. The rogues taunted ThunderClan, saying they were next. Everyone argues over what to do. Some cats want to attack, Mistystar wants her cats to continue healing, other cats wants to purse the prophecy, Sparkpelt offers the idea of rescuing cats from the rogues. Bramblestar decrees everyone should sleep on these ideas. Alderheart and the other medicine cats go to the moonpool for the medicine cat meeting. Mothwing asks Alderheart if Needletail will help them but he isn't sure. Neither Puddleshine or Kestrelflight appears. Everyone shares dreams with StarClan. Alderheart sees SkyClan, no longer in the barn. He searches for Twigpaw among them but she isn't there, forcing him to accept her probable death.

Violetpaw is eating when Scorchfur challenges how Darktail is treating the prisoners. Violetpaw silently begs him not to, as Snowbird has just given birth to a litter with him. He backs down under Darktail's threatening gaze. Darktail punishes Scorchfur by making him clean up after the prisoners, his favorite form of punishment. Violetpaw sneaks away with some prey and convinces the prisoner's guards, Yarrowleaf and Zelda, to go get something to eat. She then gives the prey to Needletail. Needletail, however, gives it away to the RiverClan cats. This selfless act shocks Violetpaw and she wonders if her friend is finally changing. The guards return and Zleda quietly confesses to Violetpaw that she wants to go home, but is afraid Darktail won't let her. Violetpaw wishes she could trust Zelda, but she cannot risk it. Darktail sends her hunting a Violetpaw sees her chance. She sneaks away to ThunderClan, finds a patrol, and goes to their camp. Alderheart confides in her that they want to rescue the prisoners. They hatch and plan and before she returns to the rogue camp Alderheart tells her that her sister is dead ad she might have kin in SkyClan. Violetpaw holds out hope that Twigpaw will return. That night she sneaks away to see Needletail and tell her the plan.

Alderheart, Sparkpelt, Lionblaze, and Ivypool wait between the ShadowClan and RiverClan border. Violetpaw arrives with the ShadowClan elders then leaves. After a short rest and some food the ThunderClan cats lead the elders away. They almost run into a patrol but the warriors attack them, giving Alderheart and the elders a chance to escape. The warriors return safely, reporting that they told the rogues they accidentally crossed the border and the rogues accepted that explanation. A few nights later Violetpaw sneaks out Snowbird and her kits. A clans meeting is called to discuss how to get the prisoners away and Snowbird says Darktail needs to be incapacitated. Alderheart and Mothwing meet with Violetpaw and give her poppy seeds to make the rogues sleep.

I'm glad Violetpaw is finally waking up and taking a stand. Hopefully she is done switching sides. Needletail too, in her own way. She had to know giving the herbs to Mothwing would get her in trouble. And she gave away the prey Violetpaw brought her to the RiverClan cats.

shattered sky: part two

Twigpaw is still upset over her sister attacking her when Bramblestar calls a clan meeting to discuss Alderheart's latest vision. Alderheart believes it is SkyClan and potentially Twigpaw's kin. Twigpaw is thrilled that she might have other kin, but she is upset with how every cat is treating this vision. No one wants to help SkyClan right now as ThunderClan has too many problems of their own. Even Ivypool, her mentor, doesn't want to find out if the cats are Twigpaw's kin. Twigpaw speaks up, asking if she has the right to answers. Lilyheart, her foster mother, tries to comfort her and explain that while she does deserve answers the clan must come first. The meeting breaks up and Ivypool tries to talk to Twigpaw but she turns away feeling betrayed by Violetpaw, Ivypool, and Lilyheart.

While out hunting, Needletail grills Violetpaw for the details of Rain's death. Needletail is worried Darktail might see her as a traitor now. They collect their prey and head back to camp. They get there to find some of the rogues escorting in three kittypets named Max, Zelda, and Loki. Violetpaw is shocked to see Darktail greet the kittypets warmly and knows he must be up to something. Darktail insists they are guests and has them take a blood oath of loyalty. Then he assigns a cat to escort each of them around, assigning Violetpaw and Zelda together. That evening the kittypets are ready to leave after a day of fun with the "wild" cats and Violetpaw is relieved since she doesn't want them caught up in Darktail's schemes. But Darktail overhears them and pressures them into staying longer.

Alderpaw goes to check on Twigpaw and discovers she has placed moss and leaves in her nest to make it look like she was sleeping. He rushes around the camp, looking for her. Unable to find her anywhere, and knowing she must have left to find SkyClan, he heads to Bramblestar. But before he can reach his leader Purdy collapses and while he tries to help the elder, Purdy dies. The cats sit vigil around his body and Alderheart worries that Purdy will not be allowed to join StarClan since he was not a warrior, but Bramblestar assures him that is not the case. Then Alderheart tells his father that Twigpaw is missing. Bramblestar asks for volunteers and Dovewing and Tigerheart step forward. Molewhisker is asked to go with them since he knows where the barn is.

Twigpaw heads towards the thunderpath when some dogs chase her. She climbs up a tree to get away from them. While in the tree she decides to climb higher to see if she can see the barn. Unable to see the barn she tries to head back down, but gets dizzy and falls from the tree onto the thunderpath, and in the path of a monster. She blacks out.

Violetpaw tries to sleep beside Needletail, who cries in her sleep because she is brokenhearted over Rain, and Zelda, who Darktail won't let leave. She finally dozes off but Dawnpelt wakes her. The ShadowClan cat wants to leave. She has already sent two of her kits, Juiperclaw and Strikestone, ahead. Her other kit, Sleekwhisker, she hasn't invited along because she is too loyal to Darktail. Violetpaw is puzzled why Dawnpelt feels the need to sneak around, when Darktail has let other ShadowClan cats leave, like Lioneye, but Dawnpelt doesn't trust Darktail. Violetpaw wants to go with her but feels she cannot as she has destroyed her relationship with Twigpaw and she cannot abandon Needletail. Dawnpelt leaves her and Violetpaw hears Darktail confront her former mentor. She worries while they argue, but then Darktail tells Dawnpelt she can leave so Violetpaw goes back to sleep. The next day Darktail leads everyone to the RiverClan border. He has the kittypets and elder attack the RiverClan cats. The attack is weak and the RiverClan cats are confused. During the confusion Darktail orders his warriors to attack. Violetpaw doesn't want to fight and hovers on the edge, but then she realizes Max has been killed. Upset, she throws herself into the fight and the Kin wins. Darktail lets the RiverClan warriors leave but demands they leave their seriously wounded behind. Mistystar doesn't want to, but RiverClan is badly defeated and they are in no position to fight Darktail over prisoners. Reedwhisker, the deputy, tells Mistystar to leave them. She then wants to take their dead for proper burial, but Darktail denies her this as well. Violetpaw watches as the RiverClan cats leave their home and head through ShadowClan towards ThunderClan.

I already know from Tawnypelt's story that Dawnpelt is dead by Darktail's paws, but I don't know when. I am willing to bet this is it, and that the other ShadowClan cats, like Lioneye, who openly left are also dead. She was probably right to send her two kits on ahead.

As for Purdy, I never really cared for his scatterbrained character but I am sad to see him go. He did become a fixture in the camp. But he should have died long ago, so it is not too surprising. He was an elder when Firestar and Graystripe were middle aged.

And I understand that Violetpaw is upset that Max died - especially because he is just a kittypet and not a warrior - but while RiverClan might have killed him it is Dartkstripe who sent him to his death. An untrained kittypet verses a seasoned RiverClan warrior is not a fair fight, and it could have even been an accident that killed Max. Though it probably was a death blow. Clan cats are allowed to kill rogues. The kittypets should never have been in that fight.

shattered sky: part one

Alderheart dreams of SkyClan. Many of the cats have found their way to each other now, but they are still ragged and lost. Alderheart watches, unable to help, as their medicine cat, Echosong, dies.

The four clans have gathered at the ShadowClan border and Twigpaw waits for the battle to start. The cats start to sneak in but a passing patrol of rogues spots them and raises the alarm. The rogues arrive and the fight starts. Twigpaw joins in the battle and at first everything is going fine. She sees Onestar and Darktail fighting. Onestar's fury makes it seem as if he is winning the fight, but suddenly Darktail whispers something to Onestar. Onestar looks horrified at what Darktail has said and calls a retreat for his clan. Everyone is shocked as he and his warriors leave a war they were clearly winning. The tides turn and they start to lose. Things get complicated further when Tigerheart prevents Twigpaw from attacking a former ShadowClan cat, Yarrowleaf. Mistystar falls under a bunch of rogues and RiverClan rush to save her. Twigpaw finds herself facing Violetpaw. She hesitates and Needletail and Rain goad Violetpaw into attacking. Twigpaw gets injured dodging her sister's attack. Lionblaze saves Twigpaw but she doesn't care as her sister just tried to kill her.

Alderheart and the other medicine cats tend to the wounded after the battle. On the way to the Gathering Purdy complains of his stomach hurting and asks Alderheart for help. Alderheart tells him to see Leafpool as she is staying behind with the wounded, but Purdy doesn't want to bother her when so many cats are seriously injured. They reach the gathering and everyone is furious with Onestar, whose cats are barely injured. Onestar seems indifferent to how his retreat hurt the other clans. Mistystar threatens to close her border. An argument breaks out over the prophecy. Clouds cover the moon and Bramblestar calls the gathering to an end. On the walk back Alderheart convinces his father to finally tell the other leaders about SkyClan. The next day Bramblestar tells everyone at the ThunderClan camp, then the RiverClan camp. He tries to approach the WindClan camp but a patrol led by Crowfeather stops them. Another patrol, led by Gorsetail comes by and lets them pass against Crowfeather's objections. Onestar is angry they are there, but he listens. He becomes horrified by Alderheart's story, but then quickly becomes angry again, throwing them off of his land and forbidding them from ever returning. The ThunderClan cats are shocked, and Alderheart is convinced Onestar is hiding something.

Violetpaw cares for the elders until Needletail catches her and tells her to stop. Violetpaw confesses her worries for Twigpaw to Needletail. Needletail assures her Twigpaw should be fine by now and reminds her she is loyal to the Kin now. Violetpaw takes a mouse to Puddleshine, who is caring for a badly injured Darktail. Rain comes in to give a report and they talk about the loyalty of the ShadowClan cats. Rain feels Dawnpelt needs to be watched and Violetpaw worries they talk about her that way. Puddleshine leaves to care for the rest of the wounded and Rain offers to stay and watch over Darktail. Violetpaw leaves the medicine den then decides to bring prey to Darktail. She catches Rain smothering Darktail. After Rain has killed him he realizes Violetpaw saw everything and walks towards her. But Darktail is not dead. A horrified Violetpaw watches as Darktail leaps up and kills Rain.

Alderheart tends to Twigpaw, who is still recovering from her injury and is deeply depressed. He leaves the medicine den to get some sleep and passes Purdy, offering to get him something for his stomach. Purdy turns him down. An argument breaks out between Bramblestar and Rowanstar, which everyone is clearly eavesdropping on. Alderheart notices Ivypool glaring at Dovewing and Tigerheart, who are sitting together. Alderheart goes to sleep and dreams of SkyClan. He realizes they are in the twoleg barn that he and Needletail slept in when they were returning from the gorge. And, he also believes one of the male cat looks just like Tigpaw and Violetpaw.

Clearly this is how Dovewing ends up leaving her clan. She and Tigerheart seem inseparable since he has come to camp, and Ivypool realizes it.

And what is up with Onestar? Did Darktail offer to leave WindClan alone if Onestar called a retreat? Onestar cannot possible be foolish enough to believe that. Or did something else happen the first time Darktail and Onestar clashed? Something that Darktail is now holding over the WindClan leader? 

As for Violetpaw, she frustrates me the most! She knows Darktail is evil but yet she stays. I know she feels loyalty to Needletail, but how can that outweigh everything else?