#Firestar's Quietus
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BB!MALICIOUS ENTITY: Ancestor Rats
A cruel fate that can befall a shattered pantheon, and the enemies of Firestar's Quietus
With SkyClan homeless and exiled at the end of the Skyfall Era, StarClan itself was in chaos. 1/5th of their ranks broke from the sky to walk with their descendants into exile, with only some of the most powerful ancestors staying behind.
Skystar himself, Patron of War, was one of them. He scoffed that a Clan that couldn't hold even a sliver of land had failed his teachings, and deserved nothing.
Scores of cats died in exile, starved, exposed, killed by predators. Cloudstar desperately tried to keep his cats together as SkyClan dwindled. Soon, there were barely enough cats to maintain a Clan, let alone such a large pantheon.
When Cloudstar died, his successor Spiderstar found herself facing a new threat. One she couldn't defeat.
Over and over, there were rats who would attack the camp. Horrible, twisted creatures of many colors, with sharp claws like a cat and jaws full of needle teeth. They swirled like a storm around a central point, wound so tightly that it was impossible to see what lay at the eye.
While watching baby spiders fly away from their mother on little silk balloons, Spiderstar devised a Great Plan. SkyClan would live apart but connected, loosely, like a web. The Rats could not kill what they could not find.
As she watched her Clan disperse, some to humans homes, some to live as rogues, the blood roared in her ears. It pounded, throbbed into a rythmn, until the words of a prophecy became overwhelming,
"EEK SHARRARRAM SSARSHAIWO!"
[Rat ancestors disastrous-they-will-kill]
Could this be true? Would their ancestors save them from the rats, someday?
(Below the cut; a guide to Ancestor Rats and how they are dealt with in Firestar's Quietus. CONTENT WARNING: BODY HORROR, GORE.)
Firestar's Quietus; The Secret of the Rats
Exactly as before, when Firestar and the spirit of Brokenstar gathered the SkyClan web together, the rats had one point of attack. They washed over the soon-to-be warriors in a wave, but they were able to fight them off.
Skywatcher laid on his side in the clearing, trembling and wide eyed, covered in horrible bites. At first they could barely get a word out of him, too shaken to speak. When he was finally able to force a word out, he could only mumble;
"I saw Lowbranch. That was my mother..."
And then, someone else came forward, sharing that one rat had the same stripes as their brother. Another recognized their son's tufts on another's ears. The camp buzzed with tension as the stories bubbled forth.
Everyone recognized something in the rats.
Something had happened to their ancestors. Something terrible. It became clear why they had never answered their prayers or sent a hero to save them. Brokenstar tried to reach them, but he could only hear a command echoing in the darkness.
"Neek urrspeekorreen urrsnyarhak, karrl urrsnakochya."
"THAT WHICH CANNOT BE FIXED, MUST BE BROKEN"
It was only later, when they went to confront the rats once and for all, that they realized what those words meant. Stumbling out into the dim light out of the barn, they saw them.
Those weren't just rats!
And the most horrible thing of all was the atrocity behind it all, the creature at the center of the swirling, agonized mass, the eye of the storm...
The Rat Leader; Cloudstar
He promised to keep his Clan together. So he did.
As each life wasted away and his Clan dwindled, smaller and smaller, as their heaven crumbled above them and became too tiny to hold their ancestors, Cloudstar kept them in one piece.
When he died, that mission continued. Trapped as this cursed creature, Cloudstar was mindlessly commanding his cats like a storm around him, dragging in both the dead and the living in a desperate attempt to save the Clan he'd vowed to protect.
SkyClan could not mend until this curse was broken. These fallen angels needed to be released, by force, to rejoin a new heaven of modern making. Slipping into the body of Firestar, Brokenstar was able to lend all of his talents for one final fight. It was just like being back at Carrionplace.
With his purpose as the fallen 5th tree, a guardian spirit, fulfilled and the rats freed from their prisons, Brokenstar's soul grew sleepy with peace. Firestar buried the acorn necklace that he had used to channel him overlooking the gorge, where it quickly sprouted into a new oak.
Rat Ancestors; Tome of Beasts
When an afterlife is destroyed, through mass death or supernatural attack, and the spirits within it cannot peacefully fade away or join a new pantheon, all of its souls can become earth-bound.
There are many types of entities and curses in this world, each one completely unique. Ancestor Rats are the form that this pantheon took.
From a distance, an Ancestor Rat could be mistaken for an odd, escaped domestic rodent. Their faces were an unsettling mix of rat and cat, with teeth laid out like a cat's but endlessly growing like a rat. They had the blade-like claws of a Clan cat, tearing through the skin and laying at various angles.
They had no physical needs, but were unable to handle being separated from their leader. Cloudstar himself, however, did need to rest in some way, returning to the barn where he died every day.
When one was killed, it would flash blue as if briefly turning into a shard of the sky, before leaving a completely standard rat corpse in its place. As long as Cloudstar was alive, the pulsar of each spirit would simply be dragged back into another rat after some time.
There was no escape until he was killed.
After the defeat of the Ancestor Rats, the spirits moved on to SkyClan's special heaven; Skypelt. Even after moving to the lake, Skypelt maintains its independence from Silverpelt, judging its own souls and staying separate (but connected) to StarClan-Prime.
With an abundance of rat bodies on their paws, SkyClan started a morbid tradition for a very special celebration. "The New Day" is celebrated every year with a grand feast, where a traditional rat meat dish called "Roasted Grandpaw" is served.
#BB!Malicious Entity#Better Bones AU#cw body horror#Firestar's Quietus#Ancestor Rats#Rat Leader#The Rat Leader wc#Spirituality Overhauls#Tome of Beasts#BB!Cloudstar#cw gore#SkyClan Rats
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the climax of firestar's quietus without context
youtube
#better bones au#does this make cloudstar the giant rat that makes all of the rules?#also bottom of the barrel humor im so sorry lmfao#Youtube
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Now this had me thinking... Would Willowpelt die in the same way as canon (although to another creature im assuming since bb!badgers aren't as dangerous as they are in canon)? If she's getting kept around longer, maybe Cricketclaw is the one who sacrifices herself instead? That sounds like a fitting way for her to go, considering she couldn't protect her own siblings?
I feel like I should add a TM to anything that I'm working on in my drafts that has significant progress and is blog-plot-relevant, that will explain something exactly like this LMAO
Forgive me I am, at heart, a bear that eats half a salmon and then forgets I had a fish at all
Willowpelt's brush with death is staying, and is actually a bit plot relevant in Firestar's Quietus! I have a very specific scene which is actually totally written out-- actually fuck it, I'll just post it here
Context and narrative purpose of this scene:
Firestar is informed of a boar on the territory, and gathers a little scouting patrol to try and figure out what sort of hog it is.
VERY IMPORTANT SEGWAY. Because of how Willowpelt gets bitten here and Firestar loses a life saving Sorrelpaw, they all end up in the Cleric's den where Ferncloud is telling a story both to practice her new job as upcoming Educator and to comfort everyone.
The fact Willowpelt is not dead is how I get Littlecloud away from Runningnose and Firestar
Runningnose has a hunch, in this moment, that goody two-shoes little Firestar might be the perfect person to help Brokenstar, and teases the visions and revelations he's about to have
Establishes that boars are the new Big Bad Beastie of BB
Presents Sorrelpaw's epilepsy and demonstrates how it is a danger to her safety
(this is a lot of buildup but this is actually pretty short lmao)
So anyway before I let you go on to the readmore and a preview of Firestar's Quietus, no one takes Willowpelt's death here, and Willow is going to hang on for longer. I wanted to make sure I have a good amount of cats to kill off in the carnage of the White Hart's destruction.
Wherever Cricketclaw dies, it will be for a purpose. Either to show how bloody the TNP conflicts are, or in a greencough epidemic because I'm trying to make sure those aren't just "Kill a bunch of randos offscreen" disease anymore.
WILLOWPELT'S BOAR
The patrol is Sandstorm and Sorrelpaw, Willowpelt, Longtail and Sootpaw, and himself. It's just supposed to be for scouting, hence why the apprentices are coming along.
Unfortunately the hog has other plans, lunging out of a bush and going for Sootpaw
Willowpelt jumps in the way and gets bitten instead
Sorrelpaw acts quick, slashing its sensitive nose, drawing its attention and bolting as fast as she can
RIGHT as she crosses the Thunderpath, her body goes limp and she falls to the ground
She is having an absence seizure, and fallen flat on the road
The hog is hot on her heels, bowling after her, when a monster screeches to a halt out of nowhere
The hog is frozen in the headlights, Firestar bursts into action to pull Sorrelpaw out of the road
(i hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums) BUMP BUMP
The boar and Firestar have been hit by, have been struck by, an automobile
When he sees StarClan, they're about to greet him with love. But their faces turn to shock and fear, the scenery becoming sinister and trees falling down.
A fifth oak tree is crashing down towards them. Firestar stares at it, dumbstruck.
Just before it strikes him, his eyes snap open
Firestar resurrects with a burst of energy, dragging Sorrelpaw off the road and into the safety of a fern on the ShadowClan side
The humans are coming out of the car to examine the boar they struck, but Firestar doesn't have time to consider that or his vision.
Littlecloud's head pokes out of the foliage and he springs into action, checking them both for injury. Breathless, Firestar points behind him and rasps, "Willowpelt!"
Littlecloud nods and bolts across the road.
Runningnose saunters out from a different angle-- one where he would have been able to see the road. Everything that happened.
His gaze is unsettling as ever, pausing, eyeing the leader up and down.
He starts tending to Sorrelpaw, then mumbles,
"Brave of you."
"It's what any leader would have done."
"No. It's what you always do."
Firestar doesn't know how to respond to that, but he's glad Runningnose isn't staring at him anymore.
But continues, "You will learn terrible things in the days to come, Firestar, and StarClan will not answer the questions that find you. If you seek the truth, meet me by the mothermouth on the night after the next gathering."
Sorrelpaw is leaning up now, her eyes dazed and confused, as if she's trying to figure out what happened.
#So Crick could still get killed in the Boar Attack of BB!TNP#But I'm unsure yet. It's not a pressing matter either though#Because I also wouldn't mind just keeping her around until a Po3 epidemic#But there's THREE deadly events in TNP so it makes the most sense for her to meet her maker there.#Firestar's Quietus#better bones au
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if firestar is giving leafstar one of his lives, what is he giving her? justice? righteousness? mercy?
I'm imagining it's very symbolic, and ergo not standard. It's a Life of Kindling.
Meaning, instead of bestowing a specific virtue upon her, it courses through her like a spark through a fuse. It burns through her nose, ignites her chest, and blazes through her paws into the ground below. Her heaven is lit up, pale orange like a flickering flame, and it spreads into the darkness until the stars alight like embers.
I've been using orange for Skypelt mostly to color-theory compliment the blue I use for Silverpelt, but now I'm having a thought that maybe the reason for that is because their heaven is warm and fiery because of this.
My thought is that they needed a continuous piece from the First Battle's lifegiving in order to do this magic ceremony. Literally like "passing on the torch". So Firestar giving up one of his lives, which have been passed in an endless line from Bluestar back to Thunderstar, is symbolic.
Silverpelt is cold, blue and white. Skypelt is warm, orange and cream.
Anyway, because of the Life of Kindling, the other spirits can now move in to bestow the other 8 onto Leafstar.
#Spirituality overhauls#BB!Leafstar#Leafstar's lives#Better bones au#Firestar's Quietus#BB!Skyclan#Skypelt
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Extremely strange question, but can we get a recipe for Roasted Grandpaw? Or at least like what other ingredients and/or flavors it includes? Obsessed with the real world concepts of culturally significant foods/holiday traditions(which often includes special meals bc such is being a living being, loving Good Food) and if I remember correctly this is the only one you've showcased with a specific source event
Roasted Grandpaw is a special treat, honoring SkyClan's History! It can be made year-round, but has a special place in their version of an "independence day."
The traditional ingredients are;
Large Rat (for the rat ancestors)
Mushroom Gravy (for Cloudstar’s journey)
Kibble (for Spiderstar's plan)
You take the rat, skin it, and remove the offal. This is chopped and sauteed in the mushroom gravy. Meanwhile, you take your kibble and add it to a boiling bone broth, until it becomes fat and juicy.
Then, combine the sauteed offal and the marinated kibble, mixing them up nicely. Stuff this back into the raw rat, and then bake. The juices of the meat soak into the stuffing, and the whole rat will sizzle.
Apply extra juice as it bakes, so it doesn't dry. Firestar, leader of BarbequeClan, taught them this very important skill.
Usually served with extra mushroom gravy.
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OOOOGH okay Skypelt related questions: Since their ancestors were Rats, did Spiderstar only take the -star suffix as tradition? No nine lives? Nowadays, do Skyclan leaders only get their lives from Skypelt or can they get a mix of Starclan and Skypelt? How's Cloudstar coping with his Rat Crimes now that he's been freed and in Skypelt?
Spiderstar
She wasn't able to get the full 9, but she did receive at least 3. Their "Piece of Heaven" was crumbling, but hadn't yet completely fallen apart at the moment of Cloudstar's death.
They had no particular place where she could have gone to get those lives, so she climbed to the very top of the farm's silo where Cloudstar had just died. As the Clan mourned the hero who had kept them together for all this time, Spiderstar was pressing her entire body against the cold, silvery metal of the human structure.
Those bastards had taken their forest from them-- they least they could do for her was lend her their towering mockery of a Moonstone.
The first moment she knew something was about to go very, very wrong was the fact that Cloudstar was not one of the cats present to give her a life.
In Skypelt, she is the Patron of Adaptation. She has dominion over getting used to things, over not being too rigid that you overlook the correct solution, and of innovation especially through learning from others.
Because of her, baby spiders are sacred. SkyClan has immense reverence for the idea of "crafting wings" out of silk to fly away on the breeze.
Cloudstar
Was horrified and shameful of what he had done as that horrible monster, but Skypelt is much more forgiving than Silverpelt.
He kept his promise. Even as he lost his mind, his body, and his Clan, he clung to that vow when there was nothing else to hold. He is a hero to them, even after what he'd done, they love him as they do all of their family.
In self-inflicted penance, Cloudstar is Skypelt's primary fetcher. He's akin to the Grim Reaper for SkyClan tradition, unlike the other Clans who almost always send a fetcher who was close to the recently deceased. He is a Patron of Oneness (Paokepba en Ul-Arra), giving him dominion over reunions, collaborative efforts, and even Gatherings.
It's not quite a Patron of Unity, though it would be a close translation. It's Ul-Arra. Wholeness. Togetherness. In SkyClan, it also has an association with "reformations."
Skypelt Giving Lives
Modern SkyClan highly values self-reliance, as a result of their past. It's why they maintain Skypelt instead of fully integrating into Silverpelt, they are adamant that they are not subservient to anyone else's ancestors but their own.
This doesn't mean the two are totally separate. Think of it sort of like a small bubble connected to StarClan-Prime. Spirits can go back and forth between the two, but Skypelt could leave again if it ever wanted to.
So to answer your question, SkyClan leaders could receive lives from Silverpelt warriors. In practice, this is VERY rare and considered a huge honor.
If you wanna check out the old draft of Leafstar's Leadership Ceremony, it's over here! I'm probably going to make a new draft sometime soon, since BB!Firestar didn't actually loose any lives so far. I want him to the "the fire that lights the new torch," kicking off the ceremony by transferring one of his lives to her, because that seems super cool and very fitting of him.
#Skypelt#Spirituality overhauls#BB!Cloudstar#BB!Spiderstar#Better bones au#Firestar's Quietus#BB!SkyClan
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Do you think we could get a rundown of Skyclan leaders like you did for Shadowclan? From when the destruction of their forest territory started to when Skyclan broke up?
It would be a pretty short list, because of the massive interruption.
Leaders
Flystar -> Cloudstar -> Spiderstar -> (RATS WE'RE RATS WE'RE THE RATS) -> Leafstar
Clerics
Twigtail -> Fawnstep -> Brackenheart -> Oakstep -> (Unnamed Link) -> Pricklenose -> Skywatcher
You'll notice that the Cleric list doesn't have an interruption; that is because the Cleric took the role we eventually see Skywatcher in. They called them the Hub, after the center of a spiderweb. It was someone who would keep track of where all the dispersed cats were and pass on relevant news.
Modern Clerics evolving out of the Hub is why SkyClan's medics are so strange. They have some massive differences from a Forest Four Cleric.
There is no law against them having children. In fact, it's preferred that they did, as it's proof that they know how to care for other cats.
They can have mates, too. Echosong is actually casually the girlfriend of Leafstar.
They act more like a combined doctor/therapist than a doctor/priest. SkyClan clerics are here to treat physical and mental needs. Instead, the leader takes on more spiritual roles.
Anyway, leader succession guide;
Flystar
The destruction of the territory was happening before he was leader, but he took over when it started getting real bad in the Skyfall Era.
He was a HARDCORE kind of loyalist leader. We would know him today as a Hard Traditionalist, insisted his warriors pray harder and live better lives to prevent the destruction.
He invented the Law of the Wild, which we know as the law that bans becoming a kittypet. He did this in response to many of his warriors trying to live double lives.
Lived for a very long time, and oversaw the worst of the destruction, but Forest Four remember the story completely wrong.
The story is told that Flystar forestalled disaster with his hard ways, but Cloudstar was a weak, bumbling successor, who is ultimately blamed for SkyClan's exile.
In truth, Flystar died and left Cloudstar as a young successor. Cloudstar hadn't lost a single life or ruled for more than a year when the last acre of forest was clear-cut.
Flystar was a brown cat with black dapples on his face and chest.
Cloudstar
Gets done so, so dirty in the Forest Four history lessons. I have an entire scene dedicated to Firestar realizing that the story sounds pretty fucked up in Firestar's Quietus.
His first deputy was Buzzardtail, who was his best friend. They tried to keep the Clan together, wandering for years while looking for a new home.
In terms of personality, Cloudstar was a total worrywart. He was always preparing for the worst, and his ingenuity saved a ton of lives. He cared a lot for safety and making sure the travelers were procuring rations.
It still wasn't enough. He was a fantastic leader, soft, caring, beyond dedicated to his friends and family. Cats still died.
He was constantly missing his mate, Birdsong, and his kittens. He was notoriously amazing with the kits, often carrying them when they got too tired.
He was a big guy, too.
Displays the same vitiligo as Skystar and has a striking resemblance to him. Definitely a direct descendant.
His blotches loosely resembled an eye on his side, which ended up becoming... that.
Spiderstar
No Buzzardstar in BB. Buzzardtail died during the very long journey.
But Spiderflight knew him very well. He was her mentor.
Cloudstar died in the abandoned barn where the rats would eventually gather, every night.
Spiderflight had spent most of her life traveling, most of SkyClan had. She did not remember the old forest, just the general stretch of land that would become their Gorge territory.
She only knew what had been taken from her in stories. Kit's tales, to her, she'd been born on the move and that was where her heart was.
She picked up a lot from Cloudstar's resourcefulness. She'd always been close to the leadership, ever since she was young. Slotting into the role was easy.
Cloudstar never wanted to leave such a young successor, as Flystar had done to him, but he had no choice in the end.
She'd never been "good" at sadness. She didn't want to sit vigil in that barn with everyone else; it was too easy to give into despair if she didn't keep moving.
It was Spiderstar who settled SkyClan into the area, and she was the first Hub really. She just happened to teach Oakstep how to do it next.
Important since she only got three lives.
She had distinctive web-like stripes on her tabby body, a large "cape" over her shoulder of two big spokes connected by smaller strokes.
#BB!Skyclan#Firestar's Quietus#Better bones au#BB!Spiderstar#BB!Flystar#BB!Cloudstar#Skyclan culture
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Does anyone in StarClan (i.e: the leaders responsible for SkyClan being exiled) feel regret for what happened to them, knowing that they became horrific rat-beasts? Or did they just go "Huh. Well, that'll never happen to MY clan so I won't ever need to reflect on the consequences of my actions. :D"
Unfortunately it's mostly the second option. StarClan has Problems. FORTUNATELY though, those spirits are not particularly powerful in Silverpelt anymore, as their time has come and gone.
Redstar of ThunderClan:
Believes it's a result of not being strong enough to keep their own territory. SkyClan was also a major rival of his Clan at the time, so he really did not feel bad at all to see them go. One less problem for him. Definitely the most antagonistic leader here, if anything he was happy they were gone.
Dawnstar of ShadowClan
In BB, it's actually DAWNSTAR who takes in Birdsong and her kits. When she hears of SkyClan's ultimate fate, she's really clinging to her justifications because that fate is horrific. I think if any of the four really regret it, it's probably her. But mostly I think she paw-wave it away with, "The past is the past."
Swiftstar of WindClan:
Thinks it's unfortunate, but really SkyClan's fault in the end. They should have procured their borders, settled closer, or cut out a piece of some other territory. And besides... SkyClan's ancestors are not his ancestors. Why should he care?
He's the only one who really PAID for it though, with Larkstripe letting him die during her strike.
Birchstar of RiverClan
Was the sort of guy who lived in her own little world. RiverClan was historically notorious for wanting to mind their own business and Birchstar was no different. If you invoked her to ask her opinion, she'd say something WILD like, "ew. perhaps they turned into rats because they had rotten souls. it isn't my fault they have icky little rodent hearts. couldn't be me."
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do you have a quick link to information about Brokenstar, Runningnose, and Skypelt? I'm curious about the story behind Runny's acorn necklace and I want to read about Brokenstar becoming SkyClan's guardian, and how he was able to follow Firestar/help him restore SkyClan. i've been having a hard time finding it
I need to finish (or at least *reasonably complete*) the SE where Fire and Broken go to resurrect SkyClan. That is called Firestar's Quietus. Brokenstar's origin, which completely replaces Yellowfang's Secret, is called Brokenstar's Cataclysm and that's another one I need to complete.
The exact story has undergone a lot of revision SO I'm gonna take a quick break to try and compile some Best Hits of BB!Runningnose's and BB!Brokenstar's dynamic to get you up to speed, and make a definitive list of what's currently canon to Better Bones
And, because this is DEFINITELY the change that raises the most eyebrows and it's a good opportunity to make an intro,
"Elder Bones, what's all this I hear about your Not-Totally-Evil Brokenstar?"
He's still evil lmao, but he's not BORN evil in BB. NO ONE is.
BB is a story about culture. It's about a lot of things, family, anti-authoritarianism, xenophobia... but at its core, Better Bones is about how people impact culture, and how it acts on people.
Something I realized early in this process is that Canon Brokenstar, who is a born-evil punishment for SkyClan's exile (this is CANON, go re-read Yellowfang's Secret if you don't remember!), only made worse by abuse and enabling, does not effectively tell a story about culture.
Depending on your reading, Canon!Brokenstar is either a cosmic horror story or one about abuse. Could Yellowfang have saved him (and ShadowClan) with love? The book implies no, it was his destiny, just the medcat den was hers.
But looking at Canon!Lizardfang who let him get bullied*, and Canon!Raggedpelt who enabled him every step of the way as Sagewhisker held Yellowfang back, you could also read it as someone who was treated so horribly that he did horrible things to others. That he wanted respect and this is how he got it
So, okay, you could read that it's the fault of this bad woman, bullying, and this overly permissive dad that he became a baby killer. Problem solved?
HOWEVER... the Erins also refuse to actually write about people who unironically love his philosophy, because they don't want Brokenstar to be systemic. Blackfoot, the posterboy for a Broken-supporter, gets to reckon with how sad his childhood was and how he was only ever a mislead kitty who Truly Loved His Clan, as opposed to Brokenstar, who was Born Evil And Did Not Truly Love His Clan.
Blackstar's greatest flaw wasn't xenophobia, or hatred. He wasn't groomed by a society that glorifies violence and pushes a might-makes-right mentality. He just followed The Bad Person. With the death of The Bad People, society is fine :)
This is a recurring dichotomy. Leopardstar was good all along, Tigerstar was bad all along, Needletail was good all along, Darktail was bad all along. The Erins are not telling a story about how Clan Culture produces villains, or how it makes good people do terrible things, they tell stories about treacherous Evil People who always had a seed of badness inside of them.
-Onestar's Confession, Page 704
This is their guiding philosophy, and it's what Better Bones sets out to reject.
So, Brokenstar.
I realized while drawing him this one time that I was making him look too much like Tigerstar. Charismatic and puffed up, ready to twist the code to fit his own ends. Then it hit me-- why am I telling the same story twice?
BB!Tigerstar is the inheritor of Thistle Law, apprentice of Thistleclaw, with a backstory where he was a lonely, abused child and seeks respect to fill that hole. He's getting all sorts of reduxes to explore him, and the way that violent ideologies recruit (and prey on) angry and lonely people. Why should I just... have two Tigerstars, but one of them is explored less?
AND, I would waste the fascinating idea that Brokenstar is a manifested curse. Why remove something so cool, when instead, I could lean into that...? Then I started to realize...
Why didn't they ever connect Brokenstar to the resurrection of SkyClan, if he is this manifested curse?
So, enough preamble. Come below the cut and I'll tell you about the story in Better Bones so far...
BB!Brokenstar is not born evil. He is born angry.
He was ALWAYS going to happen. His birth, his ambition, and his fury were inevitable.
This is a curse that was laid generations ago, at the end of Ripplestar's Rot.
The last-ditch attempt to save SkyClan was literally crushed by StarClan itself, blasting the base of the blighted 5th Tree of Fivetrees and sending it toppling down to smite Ripplestar.
That tree was the symbol of SkyClan and their place in the forest. All the love, comfort, and memories that they had ever put into that oak had a power of their own-- and they took form on that night.
Brokenstar is not the only "entity" of this type. Star Flower, eons ago, was another. BB contains many new types of entities beyond, and even adjacent to StarClan. Gods, curses, guardians, other religions of equal standing...
But he needed to be born to someone. In return for Dawnstar's kindness, taking in Cloudstar's young children (Re: Ripplestar's Rot), ShadowClan would be the eye of the storm.
And it would be a Cleric who bore him, just like Larkstripe, who had been cruelly separated from her only kitten.
Yellowfang, Shroompelt at the time, this was before her Dishonor Title, saw when he was born that he was furious. She'd never seen a newborn look so angry.
In Brokenstar's Cataclysm, she only gets the opening chapter. It's enough to establish how Sagewhisker pressured her into the role, the lengths she went to in order to keep this secret, the reason for his name despite it not matching his tail.
NOTE: Brokentail's name, Kanochswash, means Broken-in-half-tail. He has two breaks in his tail, making three segments. It matches the way the oak was broken, once at the base, again against the rock, but it is actually obvious in Clanmew that his name does not refer to his tail.
Or, it's obvious to Lizardstripe at least... who is VERY different in BB. Old followers will know, she is a very loyal friend of Bluestar herself, and a member of her inter-Clan friendgroup, the Forget-Me-Nots.
She really doesn't want to be in this situation, doesn't LIKE being a mother, and Mudfoot is unhelpful... but she's the most perceptive of the Forget-Me-Nots. She hears that name, sees Shroompelt's distant eyes, and it clicks. She sometimes looks for things to complain about so Shroompelt has an excuse to stay in the den for a while.
But Lizardstripe is not raising Brokenkit. Raggedstar is. Raggedstar is Brokenkit's Mi, and Raggedstar alone. He's pointedly adamant about that, and as soon as Brokenkit doesn't need round-the-clock suckling, he started sleeping in the Leader's Den with dad.
Unfortunately, being the golden child of the leader did not pair nicely with Brokenkit's short fuse.
And he made a little friend.
What first drew Runningkit to Brokenkit was that he was very large. Runningkit LOVED pissing off one of his siblings, and then hiding behind his bestie who was younger than them but already as big as a stump.
When Lizardstripe tried to do anything about this, Raggedstar would get pissed off at her, insisting that his son needed to be with his friends.
Together, the two of them learned they could do whatever they wanted, as long as they stuck together. With Runny's brain and Broken's brawn, they weren't even a year old and already unstoppable.
And their idea of "unstoppable" was... mostly getting seconds when they'd already eaten and pushing against the horrors of bedtime. Sneaking out and collecting acorns. Being allowed to practice with the warriors.
Even better, since being the leader's kitten meant everyone tended to be extra nice to Broken to butter up to Ragged.
If they got what they wanted, they were sweet to adults. But from watching her son, and from being friends with Lizardstripe, Shroompelt knew that they could be vicious when they wanted to be.
And from a young age, Brokenkit knew that he needed to become Brokenstar... and Runningkit promised he'd get him there.
You might be noticing something.
Brokenstar was always loved, very, very much.
Spoiled? Absolutely. A little bully? You bet.
Not yet more than the sort of things angry, spoiled kids get up to.
The point I'm meticulously building here is that BB!Brokenstar WAS LOVED, and he loved in turn.
It won't stop what is about to happen.
Brokenkit was only a few months old when his father became leader, after Cedarstar was killed in the war with WindClan. Heatherstar wanted the Mothermouth Moorland; a floodplain just beyond the Carrionplace, which grows flax and many other medicinal flowers.
It was something the two clans had fought over before, that IS the code's Right of Challenge, but Heatherstar wanted all of it. She'd even killed the practice of tunneling to dedicate all of her forces to take it.
If you are not strong enough to keep something, you do not deserve to have it. This is what the Code says.
And strength is what Brokenkit quickly learned.
Taking extra bowls of food means nothing in the fall when the prey grows fat, but ShadowClan's marsh freezes fast.
You can't whine up a second bowl when not everyone even got a first.
Do you defend your territory? Or focus on survival? When the challenges are frequent, you have to go without eating to defend them.
And yes, you're hungry, but it's for a reason.
Brokenkit wasn't out of kithood when he saw his first death, because people were already dying before he was born.
In skirmishes, in hunting accidents, to infection because they didn't have enough herbs. Starvation in winter.
From a very young age, he was taught this is the way of Clans, and this is because of WindClan.
And his ambition to become deputy only became stronger. Runningpaw hatched a plan to get into the Cleric den, against Shroompelt's will.
Brokenpaw got into fights at Gatherings over ShadowClan's honor, enthusiastically bowled into battle against WindClan raids, became Raggedstar's best little rat hunter.
And he saw clanmates he loved dying.
Over many years, through his warriorhood, into his deputyship.
Cloudpelt, Foxheart, Toadskip, Nutwhisker. Lizardstripe was killed during an event called Heatherstar's Last Stand, her neck snapped by the WindClan warrior Flytail.
Heatherstar died, and her much more reasonable and peaceful deputy, Tallstar... continued to keep the Moorland she won.
ShadowClan went through that last winter, again trying to win their land back, but beaten so hard they couldn't mount a resistance. More cats collapsed in the snow, Mudfoot was one of them.
WindClan won. The land was theirs now. Out of his magnanimity, Tallstar reached out to Raggedstar and made him an unprecedented offer. He would give him a tax of rabbits, for peace. ShadowClan would stop attacking, and formally acknowledge that WindClan was the victor of the war.
A peace deal, a surrender.
Tallstar didn't have to do that. If his Clan won, it was his land in the eyes of StarClan. He had no obligation to reach out in this way, and Raggedstar acknowledged that.
But it made Brokentail SICK.
He couldn't believe that Raggedstar was going to buy this, let WindClan keep THEIR LAND and just send them back some of their own rabbits. What happens next?? What if WindClan decides to come further south, what then? What will Tallstar ask for next? What price will his warriors pay for the blood they spilled?
And this is the moment that Brokentail kills his father. On his last life, frail and weak after an entire life of fighting, he decided that the last kindness he could give him was a quick death, preventing him from taking that deal.
Runningnose sprang into action as soon as he'd been told about it; helping him to cover up the murder.
And together, they turned to TOTAL war.
Once, as an apprentice, Brokenstar recalled the words of a warrior at a Gathering. A parable of thistles-- how they don't care what attacks them. They don't hold back. How they will choke out the whole field who they can thrive.
Is that not the conclusion of Might Makes Right? If you can, you must, before they do it to you.
An apprentice becomes a warrior-- stop that from happening.
Don't let your enemies escape to fight again-- kill them when you have the chance.
Their herb stores are just as limited as yours-- dwindle them with infection and poison.
WindClan Must Pay, every single one of them. All the Clans are tomorrow's rivals, they have to go too.
Everything is for ShadowClan, and he was LOVED for it.
well.... by many.
This is about Brokenstar and Runningnose, but I must mention that there's also a lot of people who oppose him. Who realize this as evil. Nightpelt, Cinderfur, Deerfoot, Dawncloud and Stumptail are some of them.
And, importantly, Shroompelt was one of them. Whenever she learned of some code-breaking thing they'd done, she would make waves about it.
The word of a Cleric has an immense amount of weight, and it prevented Brokenstar from ending this war once and for all.
So Runningnose, as always, constructed a plan. Brokenstar decided it was a sacrifice that must be made.
Marigoldkit and Mintkit (kits of Rowanberry and Clawface) were in the Cleric's den for an infection.
Marigoldkit was a blind girl, and very fussy about taking her medicine.
Shroompelt would serve it to her in a berry capsule, either knout or rasp, a naturally red berry one.
Runningnose simply swapped her medicine with yew, and made sure that Mintkit was able to witness his sister being fed red berries over many days.
When Marigoldkit died, Mintkit was a distraught child who could only communicate that Shroompelt fed her "Red Berries," like the ones he'd been taught to stay away from.
Shroompelt IMMEDIATELY turned on Runningnose, accusing him of killing a blind kitten.
And he turned it on her. She'd fallen right into his trap. "You did this! You've been wanting us to stop fighting WindClan, and now you've stooped so low that you're trying to get rid of StarClan's only other messenger! You've killed your own nespring!"
Many cats of ShadowClan had completely lost patience with her before this, and were now shocked to see that she'd do such a thing. While some suspected the truth, in the end, Brokenstar's word is law.
And his law was that he would show mercy on an ex-Clanmate. But from here on, her name was Yellowfang, so that the world may be forewarned that StarClan rotted her teeth from so many lies as she walked in exile.
Brokenstar's Cataclysm ends on the WindClan Massacre. A bloody event where well over a dozen cats are slaughtered, and Brokenstar resurrects an ancient practice at the bellowing request of his warriors-- Kitten Stealing.
(The only time BB!Brokenstar uses a child soldier is during this battle, apprenticing Badgerpaw early so that he can participate in the all-out assault.)
With WindClan gone, he turned his sight on the other two. The Clans were cursed to die as they lived-- overpowered by a stronger, more bloodthirsty tyrant, violently driven out just as SkyClan had once been.
From there, the rest is very close to canon. Brokenstar is deposed by a coup, one that NEVER would have succeeded if it wasn't for Bluestar and her apprentice, Firepaw. The Curse is thwarted by change. Cats of different Clans working together in the name of righteousness.
Bluestar could have gone, grabbed the kits, and come back, but she knew that WindClan would never be able to return if Brokenstar was still in power.
This time around, ShadowClan's plague was intentional. Runningnose infected Nightstar on purpose.
He wanted to eliminate a weak leader... and a treacherous rogue who had defied his own.
Collateral damage was acceptable, if it eliminated as many of Nightstar's supporters as possible.
And yet, his brother Deerfoot survived. Sentimentality? Just luck? Who knows.
If Runningnose has any regrets for anything he's done, it's only this. That he cleared out ShadowClan for Tigerstar's rule.
He approved of him at first, interpreted signs to benefit him, even killed for this old ally of Brokenstar...
but Tigerstar's goal was to abolish ShadowClan, and make a TigerClan of his own. Brokenstar never wanted this, and neither did Runningnose.
What Runny really wants, more than anything, is what Brokenstar wants. Destroying WindClan is a bonus, eliminating all of their enemies is anger that they were able to obstruct him. Runningnose thinks he loves power, but what he REALLY loves is his ability to get Brokenstar what he wants.
Everything he's ever done has been in pursuit of that goal. He doesn't care that he'll be going to the Dark Forest in the end, that's where Brokenstar is going to be. Hell is wherever he isn't.
In life, neither one of them knew anything about the curse, or destiny. Brokenstar reconnects with memories in his death.
And he started having dreams of SkyClan, which he communicated to Runningnose through channeling.
I'm working on the full outline of Firestar's Quietus right now so I'm going to be a bit more brief;
Runningnose got Firestar involved on this quest because he's a little goody two shoes. Of COURSE he would agree to help... that's who Firestar is.
He brings him to the moonstone, where a scene similar to canon plays out where StarClan tries to encourage him to go back to his Clan and ignore what he now knows.
And, of course, he tells them to shove it.
Firestar's Quietus is a book about righting wrongs. Brokenstar as a curse means that what he needs, in the end, is peace.
The peace he needs is the knowledge that SkyClan will be saved, and that it will survive.
Runningnose is willing to let him go, in order to get what he needs. He passes off an acorn necklace to Firestar, so that he can channel him with ease on his journey
In this gesture, it becomes real that he will go to an afterlife without him. After all he'd ever done and been through.
So, he hesitates before handing it off, but makes Firestar promise to take good care of it.
On this journey, Brokenstar and Firestar do a lot of bickering about how SkyClan should come back. The sort of values they should have, who should lead it...
But in the end, Brokenstar realizes, they will be something new. They'll choose their own path in life, because that's what it means to be alive.
And his final action is to face The Rats, now supernatural creatures of their own, finally dispelling the threat that faced SkyClan.
Having done his job as a Guardian, he can finally rest. His necklace is buried overlooking the Gorge, returning SkyClan's guardian to them.
Eventually he falls during AVoS, in Darktail's attack, killing several of the kin and their rebels and allowing Leafstar and co a chance to escape.
For more on Skypelt, see this little guide I made on the afterlife locations. Hopefully one day I can clean this up into its own entry.
More stuff to check out (that I found while searching for other posts but are cool and I'm re-sharing);
Jaggedtooth isn't a villain anymore
"What's your favorite ShadowClan-adjacent change?"
First post I made on Tigerstar's Paws
Brokenstar's two honor-kits, Littlecloud and Rowanclaw
On curses and anger
"What does Runningnose think of the other TPB Clerics?" Hates em!
A rundown on all ShadowClan leaders post-Ripplestar
Cedarstar sketch
First post on StarClan Technicality Brokenstar lmao
IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS ABOUT SKYPELT
Some specifics on the religion/entity/magic mechanics in BB
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Are you not keeping Silverstream's cameo from Firestar's SE in His BB!SE?
It's not that I don't appreciate the scene from canon, it's that it really doesn't fit BB. Spottedleaf is also getting her hauntings removed; I don't entirely appreciate the canon vibe where there's constant "fanservice" of these TPB favorites.
Like, it's nice that Silvs supports him, but in BB a lot of cats do. BB!Bluestar even says something on purpose knowing it's going to piss Firestar off and convince him to storm off, lmao. I don't think it's neccesary to have a bunch of angels chase after him to tell him that he's cool after that.
I'm more interested in giving that time to SkyClan itself, or Brokenstar and Firestar's dynamic and discussions, or even operational time in ThunderClan before they leave.
If anything I'd rather Silverstream advise Graystripe after Firestar leaves and the deputy, Longtail, gets blinded. Have Graystripe display that he can be a capable wiseman and leader, by following his heart. Have a few sparse but meaningful omens that Cinderpelt helps to interpret.
#I reaaaally dislike how much spotted is in the canon version#Like. Girl go away lmao#I wouldn't mind being with BB!Spotty but still. It's about SkyClan in BB#Firestar's Quietus#Better bones au#Im also a lot more interested in living cats#Funny enough for all my StarClan reworks. I really am more interested by the feelings of the active cats on earth#Like for example they haven't forgotten skyclan. In fact they mock it in a lot of stories#One of which is told on screen#And more cats are aware of the point of his quest#Instead of it being a huge secret
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how would you say "watcher" in clanmew? like how would you translate skywatcher's name, for example?
Skywatcher's name should be VERY special, imo. Something with a lot more meaning in the original language. So I will translate it as,
Sat Vigil/Sitting Vigil/Will Sit Vigil = Porrlur/Porrlu/Porrl
Skywatcher = Yaawrlporrlur, "The sky sat vigil."
All that time, Skywatcher was keeping SkyClan alive, in memory, by passing news, by observing and preserving everything that happened to it. He wasn't JUST watching the sky, he was keeping it in his heart the same way a cat does when they "watch over the camp" while sitting vigil.
And it's over now, he did it. He sat his long vigil and mourned Ancient SkyClan, and like a burial, it's time for life to move on. SkyClan isn't dead, it's new, and it's alive.
But! Skywatcher is very much a special case! If you want to use the -Watcher suffix for a less seriously emotional naming and describe a cat who's observant, here's the one used for "watching minnows dry." Keeping your prolonged attention on something.
Pipeni/Pipen/Pipe = Watched/watching/will watch
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who’re all the cats that give leafstar her lives? what lives do they give her?
Rough draft of her names so far;
Cloudstar: Endurance
The strength to last through hard times, to keep in mind a large rock that breaks the wind can have pride in itself and in the lives that shelter behind it. Strength is a beautiful tool, prized both for its beauty on its own and in its application.
(This slot may be swapped to a more recent SkyClan ancestor)
Flystar: Tradition
To look to the wisdom of your ancestors, and remember they weren't so different that their advice is obsolete. Remember that you too will be an ancestor someday; and consider what you want your children to inherit.
Spiderstar: Innovation
Consider solutions outside of the box, and don't let obsessive commitment to the past prevent you from moving forward. Important because Spiderstar kept SkyClan alive by making them scatter, so the rats couldn't attack them.
(also the contrast of Fly's commitment to the past and Spider's to the future... effervescent)
Skywatcher: Faith
Even when life is bleak, even when people disappoint you, trust that it can always get better. Every sunset is for a new sunrise, but you'll never see it if you don't believe in the dawn.
Rainbloom: Agility. No, it's Humor.
"With this life I give you the agility to dodge rat bites." They stare for a moment, then both burst out laughing. When they're just snickering, Rainbloom puts his paws on her shoulders. "Leaf, I loved being part of SkyClan. I loved being your friend, I loved watching everyone start to rely on each other like one big family. It hurts so much that I can't be there with my kids-- but with this life, I give you humor. If you're not laughing you're crying, and I want to see your beaming smile outshine the stars."
(Rainbloom was previously named Rainfur; conflict name change because of ThunderClan's Rainfur)
(Placeholder for another SkyClan founder who dies, weird that it was only Rainfur and Skywatcher)
Leafstar's Mother: Judgement
There will be people in your future not worth trusting, and many more who first need to be trusted. The road ahead is long and full of many choices, with this life she bestows the discernment of a long and lonely life, knowing that Leafstar's kind heart will balance out her cynicism.
(I'm thinking of making her the grandchild of Pricklenose, Skywatcher's mentor)
Brokenstar: Love
He's shocked when he's told to step forward. He didn't have time to think about this, he's supposed to be resting in the oak, but when asked if he doesn't know what kind of life to give he looks determined. "With this life, I give you love. The kind of love that aches, because without it, something's wrong. Love that can make you ferocious, love that lasts beyond generations, love that can even change your path if you realize you're on the wrong course."
In short; the ancient leaders are not here to apologize because they do not think they have done anything wrong. SkyClan, and Leafstar herself, do not need them. They are their own Clan, doing this for their own reasons.
#Bonefall Rewrite#Firestar's Quietus#Also I love Bonefall Spotty with my whole heart but she can NOT be here like she was in canon LMAO#GIRL WHO ARE YOU#GO HOME#THIS IS LEAFSTAR'S CEREMONY
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PLEASE tell me about BB!Skywatcher....he was my blorbo in 4th grade and he holds a special lil place in my heart
[ID: Skywatcher from the Better Bones AU. He is a gray cat with a black belly-mane, white spots, and long fur.]
For you anon. A glass of old man, to hydrate you.
It feels important to make his design look less like Goosefeather, so they're more distinguished as 'gray old man yells at cloud' types. wait hangon, why does no one else realize how funny these two would be as a crack ship?
I didn't MEAN for him to look like my Pebbleshine and Violetshine, but... hmm. Maybe I'll try and link up backwards and make that black belly-mane their family trait. His sibling Twig would be their ancestor, making him Violetshine's great-gruncle.
Idk why but he NEEDS to look like a powerful wizard.
I was hoping the spots would look kinda like moon craters, since his nickname was "Moony."
The cat that SkyClan likes to remember as their founder, since Skystar did not follow them in their exile. They have their own separate heaven and everything.
BIG change from canon: SkyClan never truly disbanded, but it did become looser.
Spiderstar realized that her clan could not fight the rats that were plaguing them; but she watched the children of a spider create kites and fly away on the wind. She realized that this was how they would survive-- and like the loose web, they could remain connected.
Skywatcher remained in the gorge, and kept the story alive to all who would visit. He would pass news, and happenings from afar. As long as this network existed; SkyClan was not dead.
At first, during the events of Firestar's Quietus, Brokenstar and Firestar bickered over how they would remake SkyClan, and how it would look.
But over time... what they had to learn was that SkyClan would never be a Clan the way they were taught. It would be its own culture, shaped by its own history, in control of its own destiny.
And Skywatcher, he who remembered all the old stories and kept knowledge of all the descendants for so long, was considered its new founder.
But he was not to be its leader. That was for Leafstar to do.
In death, he is remembered as a Patron of Archival and Memory. He's invoked by warriors whenever they need to remember something, and becomes popular around the Lake too once they join the Forest Four.
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didnt you mention once that spiderstar was a rat???? and tagged it "skyclan: we're rats we're rats we're the rats" does the original disbanded skyclan of the gorge get cursed to be the very rats threatening to destroy the modern one Fire (Sand?) and Broken are trying to revive?
They are!
When a Clan disbands, they cannot maintain a collective "heaven" for their ancestors. Unable to rest, find peace, or fade gently with dignity, these spirits are thrust down to earth.
All the ancestors who followed SkyClan into exile met a horrible fate, bound to a physical form and attacking the cats they love, not realizing what they're doing. Spiderstar joins them when she dies.
But before she did, she was the one who made SkyClan "disband". The rats weren't a big of a problem back then, but when they were, they attacked the camp over and over. She realized SkyClan could survive if it was apart.
Like a web, a network. Together but Distant.
Loners, kittypets, even as rogues. SkyClan would survive.
Faith is their strength but also their weakness. Every ancestor becomes a new rat, their numbers get larger with each death. They need to be freed by force and they become more invincible each year.
An Ancestor Rat looks unlike a normal rat. They have markings similar to the cat they were in life, and tend to have larger ears. Their claws are as sharp as a cat's and the four teeth end in thorny points.
You might think they look like strange domestic rats of some kind, until you get closer.
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the rats can be ancient skyclan / old skyclan cats. some cats left with cloudstar's skyclan, leaving starclan. it was there that they watched over skyclan for many moons until finally, skyclan seperated.
when skyclan seperated the spirits themsevles disappeared, as there are no longer any cats to watch over / to believe in them. their rage at the downfall of skyclan and the other four clans manifested and they were reformed as those rats.
essentially, the rats were a manifestation of anger towards the unjustice, but as time grew longer and longer, the rage slowly manifested more and more until it blinded them, making them hostile to all cats, even ones with skyclan blood, and not just cats of the other four clans.
when leafstar started her leadership ceremony, the skyclan cats were freeded to return as starclan spirits, once again having a clan to watch over.
Hmmm... Something like that works well. Too many spirits left StarClan at once, so many cats died that the stories of the most obscure ancestors weren't passed on, a bunch of spirits were unable to fade away with any peace.
So each forgotten spirit, unable to move onto the next stage of existence, manifested as a rat.
I could even make them look like domestic rats too, their colors reflecting the cat that they once were instead of just being the classic horror movie black sewer rat. Really drive home that these things are strange and supernatural.
(Also to clarify; I'm fixing the ecology of the series in general! But any time in-canon there's a random talking animal that speaks without being spoken to, it is going to be a supernatural creature. That includes the telepathy rats.)
It makes sense why the rats showed up to attack SkyClan when they did. They were suffering ancestors lashing out at the remaining survivors, literally trying to 'latch onto' the living.
SkyClan scattering is them trying to avoid this curse, so that the rats can't find and overwhelm them all in one place.
I can also play it like, Leafdapple initially goes to get her lives and finds no one there. There's maybe just Cloudstar, or even Birdflight because she stayed behind and never became a rat at all!
Hmm... Maybe Cloudstar IS the rat leader.
Killing the rats isn't JUST self-defense, but freeing them from their earthbound forms so they can return to the sky and give Leafstar her lives.
#Firestar's Quietus#Bonefall Rewrite#Bonefall SkyClan#They probably eat these rats and find a really funny irony in it#Eventually making 'Roasted Grandpaw' into a traditional dish#Rats as a delicacy lmao
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What's Yellowfang exiled from Shadowclan for, if you've taken out the kit killing? Is it just for general standing against the leader? How does Firestar feel about being accompanied by Brokenstar of all people during his SE?
Yellowfang is exiled from ShadowClan because of one, very intentional, premeditated kit killing for which she was framed. Runningnose killed Marigoldkit, to get Yellowfang out of the way.
Runningnose's Plot
Marigold (now Yellowfang's niece, not sister) developed an eye infection that was blinding her. To get her to take her medicine, Yellowfang was serving the poultice in a raspberry capsule.
Runny and Broken wanted her out of the way, for standing up against them. They were so very, very close to marching on the WindClan camp, but she refused to approve such a thing, arguing StarClan would not be pleased to see a Clan be destroyed. So Runny hatched a plan, to swap Marigold's raspberries with yew berries. Marigold's brother, Mintkit, reported that Yellowfang had been feeding her "Red Berries" for days, and she'd died slowly.
After all, Marigold couldn't see what she was eating. Marigold was told it was raspberries, but Mint only ever saw Red Berries.
Yellow fell for it, turning and accusing Runny of poisoning Marigold. He flipped the accusation, pointing out that she'd wanted them to stop attacking WindClan when they were so close to victory and was willing to get rid of the only other StarClan interpreter.
A LOT of the Clan believed him, most of them having long since lost patience with Yellowfang's protests. Some, like Deerfoot, knew right away that Runningnose was treacherous and not to be trusted. Just as she got ready to defend her honor, Brokenstar took her aggression as the cue to jump in front of his collaborator and exile Yellowfang.
Firestar's Quietus
The irony is DEFINITELY not lost on Firestar that he is going on a quest, in defiance of StarClan, with a Dark Forest cat as his closest ally. He tries not to think about the fact that Cat Hell is so fond of him.
Firestar will always do what's right, no matter what it is. I imagine they end up acting a LOT like formerly estranged brothers, in a way that is uncanny. Their humor synches up. They bicker like siblings. They are guided by a sense of deep righteousness...
I think it would be fun for them to have a sort of scene where they talk about fatherhood, in particular. Sandstorm is back home expecting kits and Firestar's still considering what he wants that to look like. Brokenstar honor-sired two children of his own, Littlecloud and Rowanclaw, but wasn't particularly involved with them.
I think Firestar would find it surreal. Wonder to himself why they never spoke while Brokenstar was alive, how this shadowy spirit was so much more of a person than the defeated prisoner and bitter tyrant he knew in life.
It's his first time really learning about the Dark Forest. It would make him wonder what else he doesn't know.
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