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1.02 Into the Wild
31 Plays2 months ago
Into the Wild by Erin Hunter is our first book to share and there's a whole lot that goes on. These cats were described as having "Shakspearean problems" and lemme tell you, they truly do.
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying—and some deaths are more mysterious than others. In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty . . . who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
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Find us online at glitterfoxmedia.com
Laura posts about Warriors and other books on TikTok as glomdii
Laura is glomdi on Twitch, Bluesky, and TikTok
Jerrica is stealthy. You cannot find her.
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Transcript
Introduction to Warrior Cats Series
00:00:10
Speaker
Jerrica. Laura. What are we doing here? I think we're talking about cats. Like regular house cats?
00:00:22
Speaker
No, we're talking about Warrior Cats. Warrior Cats? Is that a series by Aaron Hunter?
Origins and Authors of the Series
00:00:33
Speaker
You know, I believe it is. Oh my god, did you know that Aaron Hunter originally started as three different people? I did. Okay, we're not going to talk about that tonight.
00:00:47
Speaker
Were... are they all... wait, it started out? Oh, yeah, there have been like eight different people on the Aaron Hunter team at this point. okay.
00:00:59
Speaker
So with the... Sorry, I have to... I'm just curious. Those are three original people were like, they all women or they were mixed?
00:01:09
Speaker
Every goddamn Aaron has been a woman.
00:01:16
Speaker
Good. Yeah, and one of them got kicked out for being a TERF.
00:01:22
Speaker
That's the appropriate response. Yeah, it was revealed that she was a TERF and she was like, I love being a TERF. And they were like, you cannot be an Aaron anymore. Bye. Exactly.
Podcast Format and Narration Plan
00:01:34
Speaker
So we are talking about Into the Wild by Aaron Hunter, who is three people.
00:01:40
Speaker
The kind of format of this podcast, and we're still working it out. So it's subject to change.
00:01:50
Speaker
ah What we will do here is we're going to do kind of a book club style, except with a twist. And that every month we'll read one of the books by Erin Hunter. Note that I said one of the books by Erin Hunter and not Warriors by Erin Hunter, because she does a lot of different series.
00:02:08
Speaker
We will read them in release order, ah so how they were published. And the next three to four episodes in the month, we will just think of questions to ponder, topics to cover that we have discovered within the book that we just
Collaborative Writing Challenges
00:02:28
Speaker
read. How does that sound, Jerika?
00:02:31
Speaker
thought you said I didn't have to do any reading. Yeah, you don't have to. okay the This is the book club part. I am going to explain the book to Jerika. And Jerika is going to say, what the fuck do you mean there are three different authors? And then that's when I say, you know what? We will go over Vicki Holmes next week. It will be a whole episode.
00:02:52
Speaker
That was the first errand. they take turns? ah Nope. Okay, so we can go we can go like broad strokes over how the errands write these books. I mean you can cut it out. I just...
00:03:06
Speaker
I'm just fucking curious. I want to know. that's okay. We can keep this in. um So one of them writes the basic storyline and then two of them flesh it out and like write the actual novel and then send it back to the one who wrote the storyline, which is Vicki Holmes. And she also edits it.
00:03:30
Speaker
And that was how it started. And now there are a lot more people, there are a lot more series, and we will get into all of it. That must have been hard to make sure that the writing style was consistent.
00:03:41
Speaker
It sure was. And someone is now in charge of making sure things, what's called? When you have like, you make sure the continuity is right.
00:03:57
Speaker
They make sure the continuity is right. Yeah, it's called a continuity director. Yeah, that's probably what it's called.
Summary of 'Into the Wild' Begins
00:04:04
Speaker
um So, Into the Wild by Aaron Hunter. And this might be a longer episode because it's the first episode. I don't really know. We'll figure it out as we go.
00:04:16
Speaker
Kind of my thought is that the book episodes will be a little bit longer. And then the other so other episodes will be a little bit shorter. So, we'll we'll just see.
00:04:29
Speaker
Okay, prologue of Into the Wild by Aaron Hunter. We start out with a cat battle, because of course, why wouldn't we?
00:04:43
Speaker
These cats, ThunderClan and RiverClan, are fighting over stunning rocks. And while there is a little bit of prey on sunning rocks, let's go ahead and be honest, Jerrica. The reason these cats want it is so that they can sun themselves on the rocks.
00:05:00
Speaker
Yes, that's why they call it sunning rocks, I imagine. Yes. ah This series is a makes sure that you know that these are cats, which I appreciate a lot. It doesn't, like, anthropomorphize the cats.
00:05:15
Speaker
themorphpha pies anthropromorphhop highes the cats Shut up. but Anthropomorphosize. I can't say it.
00:05:26
Speaker
I love you. oh Anthropomorphosize.
00:05:37
Speaker
It doesn't make the cats seem human.
00:05:45
Speaker
Cats are... ruthless yes they all are yeah so this series lets cats be cats um it doesn't hide that they sometimes just want to fuck and sometimes they just want to sun themselves on rocks you know and sometimes they just like to go inside a box exactly okay so less boxes Yeah, actually, i can't think of a single box in this series. But and if there was a box, if there was a box, the cat would be in it. Wait, no, I did think of one, but it's a spoiler. Okay, these cats are fighting over Sunning Rocks Redtail, the ThunderClan deputy, says like, this battle is lost to us. We need to give it up. um This is definitely ThunderClan territory, but for now we need to retreat. We can't risk injuring our warriors over this.
00:06:40
Speaker
And Tigerclaw, the big, dark, muscular tabby, is very upset about this, but it's his deputy, so, him you know, he has to retreat like Redtail tells him to.
00:06:54
Speaker
We switch to a different scene, and in this scene, there is the most perfect, beautiful cat that's ever existed. Her name is Bluestar.
00:07:07
Speaker
And she has blue-gray fur with a little bit of silver around her muzzle and piercing blue eyes. And she's the leader of ThunderClan. And she's sitting with Spottedleaf, who is a tortoise shell, so she's adorable.
00:07:24
Speaker
And Spottedleaf is a medicine cat, and the medicine cats can read messages from StarClan. Okay, so StarClan is their ancestors. Mmm.
00:07:35
Speaker
So she interprets the like the stars. Yeah. ah The stars which are called Silverpelt.
00:07:45
Speaker
Wait, all of the stars are called Silverpelt? Yes. Or maybe just the Milky Way. I'm not sure.
00:07:54
Speaker
Like, do they do they and understand what stars are? um They're the warrior ancestors.
00:08:08
Speaker
That's what stars are. That's why they call it StarClan.
00:08:14
Speaker
Okay.
00:08:18
Speaker
So Bluestar is so worried because ThunderClan has not lost a battle since or on their own territory since she became leader. And now they have lost Sunning Rocks, the precious territory. And Spottedleaf looks into the sky and she reads the stars. And Bluestar says, oh, did you just see a message from StarClan? And Spottedleaf says, yes.
00:08:48
Speaker
Fire alone can save our clan. And that's like the most... Dun dun dun! That's like the most iconic phrase in the whole Warrior series because we do not let it go. So remember that. Fire alone can save our clan.
00:09:08
Speaker
that what they put like on the on the cover of the book? They sure did. dun!
00:09:18
Speaker
I have this wear worn copy here. um So that is all the prologue. And now i am not going to go chapter by chapter. Just know that this is the rest of the book.
00:09:30
Speaker
okay Okay.
Rusty's Transformation to Firepaw
00:09:33
Speaker
the actual book opens up. The chapter one opens up with this cat named Rusty who has flame colored pelt.
00:09:44
Speaker
And he is dreaming about chasing mice and being out in the wild and sinking his fangs into... i mice.
00:09:59
Speaker
It's gross. um But not for a cat. Nope. And so he goes out to explore into the forest, which his friend Smudge is very upset about. Smudge is an adorable black and white cat. And Smudge is like, no, the wild cats are out there. And Rusty is like, I have to.
00:10:21
Speaker
My dreams are calling to me. And so he goes out into the forest and he meets Graypaw. And they battle for a little bit. And then Graypaw just kind of stops and he's like, hey, you're pretty good for a kitty pet. Yeah, because they call house cats kitty pets.
00:10:41
Speaker
It even been sounds weak. Yeah, it does. And eventually... i Bluestar and Lionheart, who is a magnificent golden cat, ah walk in on them and they're like, hey, what the fuck is going on here?
00:11:03
Speaker
And they eventually, eventually Bluestar ends up offering Rusty a place in the clan. And Lionheart is like,
00:11:15
Speaker
What? Are you sure? yeah wait. so she's like this rando just shows up and she's like. i like the cut of your jib. Come be part our clan, Kitty Pact. Well, because she sees his flame colored pelt and his lust for the wild.
00:11:37
Speaker
And she's thinking about that prophecy Spottedleaf gave her.
00:11:44
Speaker
Is she thinking about a different kind of lust? No, he's a child. Oh.
00:11:56
Speaker
Oh.
00:12:00
Speaker
No, because one of the things that um that they tell him as a reason that he should come join ThunderClan is that then his two legs, so his humans, won't take him to the cutter.
00:12:18
Speaker
Oh.
00:12:22
Speaker
And get his balls chopped off. Yes, I think that's what was implied. ah it's how old, like, how old is this, this cat? Because you really should get them that done pretty early on.
00:12:36
Speaker
ah he's about six moons old. Yeah, it's about time. Yeah. That's a little, actually a little, little late, but. Yeah. Yeah. So they leave him for a night to think on it and they're like, okay, we'll come back to the forest if if tomorrow you're sure and you want to join us.
00:12:57
Speaker
And he does. He meets Lionheart in the forest the next day. Lionheart leads him into the ThunderClan camp where most of the clan is pretty upset about welcoming this kitty pet into their clan. And they're kind of thinking like, Blue Star.
00:13:18
Speaker
What were you thinking? And one of the cats called Longtail, who... let me read you to the description of Longtail. In the beginning of the book, there's the allegiances, and they have a description of all the cats.
00:13:34
Speaker
Longtail is a pale tabby tom with dark black stripes. Which, I'm just having, like, difficulty imagining a pale tabby with dark black stripes.
00:13:49
Speaker
What? you Forgive me, what does tabby mean? It's like the stripes, but, like, a pale tabby to me is like a gray cat.
00:14:04
Speaker
So it's just weird to imagine, like, a gray cat with black stripes.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's like a zebra cat. Yeah, like a zebra Longtail is, like, at the head of giving shit to Rusty about being a kittypet, and Lionheart gets close to Rusty's ear and is like,
00:14:33
Speaker
Are you going to take that motherfucker? So Rusty fucking launches himself at Longtail. And they get into a fight. And at one point, Longtail has his collar. And he's like fucking choking Rusty out.
00:14:49
Speaker
And Rusty snaps that bitch. He snaps the collar off.
00:14:55
Speaker
Which also begs the question of if you're letting your cat out, why do you not have a quick release collar on him? Yeah, that seems very irresponsible. That's kind of what I was thinking.
00:15:06
Speaker
Like, what the fuck, man? Yeah, so, um, and Longtail, things he had said is like, oh, you can't hunt prey with that bell. They'll hear you from a mile away. And so they break the collar and Rusty wins this fight up against Longtail. And then he fucking turns around and kicks dirt over his collar. Like, you know, he's just shit.
00:15:31
Speaker
Mm-hmm. ah ah And then amongst all this, a Blue Star is like, woohoo, we love Rusty. I'm going to call him Firepaw because look at his beautiful coat. It's like made of fire.
00:15:50
Speaker
i mean, they are cats, so like.
00:15:54
Speaker
They're not going to that inventive. ah Firepaw is a very iconic name. You're going to get flamed by the Warriors community.
00:16:06
Speaker
Get it flamed. Yeah. yeah OK, then I was about to ask if that was intentional. No, but like, think about it, though. If you if like, surely, you know, that sort of coat will come up at at a different point and maybe a cat like thousands of miles away. Like, oh, I'm going to name you.
00:16:26
Speaker
let's see. You got a fiery pelt. Fire paw. Yeah. Well, here's the thing is the paw is only used for apprentices. So he's going to get he's he's going to get his warrior name after he completes his training.
00:16:42
Speaker
so So that's whole so wait, he has a name that his owner, his people gave him. Then he has this new name. This is apprentice name. And then he's going to get a warrior name.
00:16:57
Speaker
yepe
00:17:00
Speaker
I kind of love this. yeah Yeah. So he goes from rusty to fire paw and eventually he'll have a different name. Um, that's why gray paw is a paw because gray paw is also an apprentice.
00:17:14
Speaker
Um, there's also, there's a dust paw and a sand paw and a raven paw also in the clan and dust paw and sand paw are kind of dicks. Um, They're like, hey, you are a kittypet. What the fuck are you doing in this clan?
00:17:30
Speaker
Little bitch. why don't you go back home? and that co they Why are they called Dust and Sand? Because Sandpaw has a ginger coat.
00:17:41
Speaker
So it matches the coat and Dustpaw has a tabby coat, which I guess is brown. Most of the first names, because the queens have to name the kit when they're born, they're now they don't know personality things. So most of the names, most of the prefix for the name is like the color of their pelt.
00:18:04
Speaker
But what if you have two cats with the same color that, yeah I mean...
00:18:12
Speaker
What do you call them? Well, I'll tell you because my sister's boyfriend's cat just had kittens and there are three gray kittens and I named them Blue Kit, Ash Kit and Spark Kit.
00:18:25
Speaker
So there you go. That's an example of three cats that look the exact same and I give them different names.
00:18:33
Speaker
Your sister let you name her cats? Oh, they're going to give them other names. My cat has a warrior name also.
00:18:43
Speaker
Your cat also has leaf cat also has an actual name, too, that you never use. Yeah, I call her Kitty and her name is Liliana. And it's also Spottedleaf after Spottedleaf.
00:18:59
Speaker
I give warrior names to most of the cats that I know. i have to give of a warrior name to your cat. But anyway, um so all this happens and there's so much going on. And all of a sudden Ravenpaw, one of the apprentices, runs into the camp and he declares, Redtail is dead.
Mysteries and Clan Politics
00:19:21
Speaker
And then he like collapses because he's just been in a battle.
00:19:26
Speaker
And Redtail was, like, the deputy? Yeah. And he is dead.
00:19:37
Speaker
So, Tigerclaw drags Redtail's body into camp, and they share tongues with him for one last time.
00:19:51
Speaker
Which is not what you... Hold on. on. Just give me a second here to recover from that.
00:20:03
Speaker
What the fuck does that mean? That means that they groom each other. But they call it sharing tongues.
00:20:14
Speaker
Don't like it. Do not like it. There's a lot of taco sharing tongues. um So, yeah, and Firepaw gets to meet Spottedleaf and notes that she is a very beautiful she cat.
00:20:32
Speaker
And this is the medicine cat. Now, here's the catch. Medicine cats are not allowed to take a mate or have kids.
00:20:43
Speaker
That makes sense. Kind of, but kind of not. It gets kind of complicated. like they're They're like serving a sort of clergy position, right? Like shamans usually don't procreate, you know, that kind of thing.
00:21:03
Speaker
So, fun fact, there is a um Secrets of the Clans field guide where they go over each of the warrior codes and how they were created. So there is actually a story of why in the warrior code a medicine cat can't have a mate or kids.
00:21:23
Speaker
And we'll go over it eventually. um
00:21:30
Speaker
Do they really refer to them as she cats? Or queens? OK, I don't like the she I don't do not like she cat. do you like Tom? Because that's how they refer to the males.
00:21:45
Speaker
I guess. I guess. She cat just means like, oh, yeah.
00:21:55
Speaker
the The baseline cat is male and then. Oh, yeah, the women are called, they can't have their own name. She-Cat, yeah. That's how it feel that that's how it's it's coming off to me. Yeah. That
00:22:13
Speaker
the that makes sense. I think it's funny because they say Tom instead of Tom-Cat, which I think a lot of IRL people would say Tom-Cat. I mean, they wouldn't say that because no one says that, but if they were to say Tom, it would be Tom-Cat and not Tom.
00:22:34
Speaker
I think turkeys are also called Tom's right? No male turkeys. I don't know. I have no idea.
00:22:44
Speaker
The next morning, i got a i get that whole lot. Sorry. Okay. This is why it's going to be a long episode.
00:22:55
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Male turkeys are called Tom's. That's weird. I don't like it. They're also sometimes called gobblers. Don't like that.
00:23:06
Speaker
That feels like a Neopets thing. Yeah. That's a really pretty turkey, though. Anyway.
00:23:17
Speaker
Browser closed. It is a Neopet thing. Yeah, it's a pet pet. And it's worth a million Neopoints. That seems unlikely.
00:23:27
Speaker
I think someone just inflated it a lot.
00:23:31
Speaker
Nope, I'm not going to ask questions about Neopets. Yeah, someone just inflated a lot. um Okay, so... The next morning, Tigerclaw and Lionheart take the apprentices out to explore the territory. And by apprentices, I just mean the three main ones.
00:23:50
Speaker
Dustpaw and Sandpaw are not in this a lot, other than to like insult Firepaw. um So it's Firepaw, Graypaw... And Ravenpaw?
00:24:02
Speaker
Yep. Okay. Ravenpaw is the, like, shy, quiet one. And, but you can tell he has, like, a heart of gold.
00:24:15
Speaker
And Graypaw is the jokey, jokey one. Who seems, like, kind of an idiot. But, like, the good friend type. And Firepaw is a little too serious for his own good.
00:24:29
Speaker
Well, he was called to this life and dream, so. Exactly.
00:24:39
Speaker
Are any of these warriors female or they all males? There, ah in this arc, there are sure are a lot of males.
00:24:53
Speaker
They get better about that later on. Okay, so it's not like necessarily an exclusive gender thing. It's just. Right. Just happens to be that way. Right. Like out of these five apprentices, four of them are males.
00:25:12
Speaker
Which one's the female? Sandpaw. Oh.
Exploration of Clan Traditions
00:25:21
Speaker
So they're shown the territory and they see, they get to see four trees, which is literally four giant oak trees. And they learned about the gathering, which is when all four clans come together under the full moon to like give life updates. Essentially, they'll be like, hey, we got ah a new litter of kits and we got a new warrior. Isn't that great? And then sometimes they'll like get angry at each other and they'll be like,
00:25:48
Speaker
I saw RiverClan hunting on my territory. And RiverClan will be like, fuck you, I did it because you pissed in my food or something like that.
00:25:59
Speaker
ah And... but hey
00:26:08
Speaker
wait, but like... They're fighting over this sunning rock, though. yeah
00:26:17
Speaker
Well, right now RiverClan has it.
00:26:22
Speaker
So when they come to this, like, gathering, like... Oh, they're gonna be pissed. Okay. Yep. Firepaw starts to question, like, why don't the clans just help each other out? Like, some of the land has more prey in certain seasons.
00:26:43
Speaker
RiverClan has, like, a bunch of prey in Leaffall. And then, like, ThunderClan has a bunch of prey in Greenleaf. Like, why don't you all just help each other out and make sure everyone survives? Yeah.
00:26:55
Speaker
And Tiger Claw because shut the fuck up, bitch! so yeah, that's pretty much what happens. i Wow.
00:27:05
Speaker
Yeah. And they never really give a good reason for it, other than, like, this is the way it's always been, and you wouldn't understand.
00:27:17
Speaker
Because they don't understand. Right? ah um So the seasons are called... Greenleaf for spring. Nope.
00:27:30
Speaker
Oh, really? I guess it'd be summer. Yeah. And then fallen leaf is. Nope.
00:27:40
Speaker
Leaf bear.
00:27:43
Speaker
That's winter. Yeah.
00:27:47
Speaker
Okay. Fall is leaf fall. Leaf fall. That's what I meant. And spring is new leaf.
00:27:58
Speaker
This all makes very much this all makes a lot of sense. Yeah. so um Eventually Firepaw has been in the clan long enough that he's ah he's on his first task. He's on his first solo task.
00:28:13
Speaker
So he has to go like hunt in a specific area and then Tiger Claw is going to like assess how he does essentially. um Which is unusual because most of the time apprentices, well pretty much every single time apprentices will be given mentors. So like one specific cat will be in charge of how they're training and Firepaw has not been given that yet. So he's kind of been shared amongst the mentors.
00:28:41
Speaker
Is it because none of them really want to deal with him? They never address why. They just didn't assign him a mentor. And they mention it. They're like, hey, since Firepaw doesn't have a mentor, you should go out with Graypaw and Ravenpaw. But no one stops to think, like, shouldn't we just give him a mentor then? Like, we have a lot of warriors. We could just give him a mentor.
00:29:07
Speaker
Yeah, that seems weird. So on his first outing, Firepaw thinks he sees a ShadowClan cat.
00:29:21
Speaker
ShadowClan, huh? Yeah. And eventually, he's he just like keeps going. He thinks he scents the cat, and he's like, oh, that cat isn't around anymore. That was a stale scent.
00:29:35
Speaker
And he's hunting. And then all of a sudden, he gets attacked by this big, gray, scraggly-looking ShadowClan cat. And Jericho, let me just read you the the thing that she says to him. She says, Ah, puny apprentice. Easy prey for yellowfang.
00:29:59
Speaker
So that's the kind of corny stuff that happens occasionally in warrior cats.
Firepaw's Encounters and Decisions
00:30:05
Speaker
okay unfortunately for yellow fang she has been a little bit starving and so fire pod does beat her and then he's like oh she's so scrawny and pathetic like obviously she's doing this out of desperation and so he catches her some prey to feed her Um, the thing about that, though, is that it's the warrior code that apprentices have to hunt for the clan before they hunt for themselves.
00:30:37
Speaker
And Yellowfang offers him some of the prey. She's like, hey, we're out here in the middle of nowhere. No one's gonna see this. Why don't you just eat some of that? And he thinks...
00:30:49
Speaker
that's That's a good point. I am pretty hungry. and so he eats some prey with her. He breaks the warrior code. And who finds him is Bluestar and Tigerclaw.
00:31:06
Speaker
Oh, no. And they are pissed. And as punishment for breaking the warrior code, they bring Yellowfang and Firepaw back to the camp. And as punishment for breaking the warrior code, Firepaw has to look after Yellowfang now. They decide to keep her as a prisoner because Bluestar says, wait a minute, that's not just any ShadowClan warrior.
00:31:33
Speaker
That's the ShadowClan medicine cat. Like, what is she doing out here? And why does she look like a rogue? Which is what they call cats who but don't aren't part of a clan, but they also call some loners. So it's more of like a rogue is like an aggressive loner. Hmm. Okay.
00:31:55
Speaker
I mean, that's a good... um That's a good description for for a rogue, I think, an aggressive. hour but so yeah they're going to keep Yellowfang prisoner and Firepaw has to take care of her as punishment.
00:32:12
Speaker
And Bluestar also says, yeah you know what? um Tiger Claw said you did do really good hunting on this task you were given, though. um I'm going to become your mentor.
00:32:27
Speaker
And that's, like, unheard of for the leader to become mentor. Leaders don't take apprentices. They don't have time for that. Usually they only apprentice, like, a deputy's kit, you know? so And Tigerclaw's pissed. He's like, Firepaw broke the warrior code and you're going to fucking reward him by being his mentor? And Bluestar shuts him down with, um, he's my men or he's my apprentice, so I'll worry about that. I'll worry about punishing him.
00:32:58
Speaker
She essentially says, shut the fuck up, Tiger Claw. I'm leader. wow you Well, yeah. I mean, you got to keep people in their place, I guess. hmm.
00:33:13
Speaker
And let me tell you a disgusting thing about being an apprentice, Jerika. You have to take care of the elders of the clan. So like the old cats who are done being warriors. And since these cats are out in the wild, they get ticks and fleas on them. So the apprentices have to take care of their ticks and fleas.
00:33:32
Speaker
But they can't just bite it off because as we know, if you try to just yank a ah tick out, you could get the head embedded in your body. So what these apprentices have to do is they go to Spottedleaf the Medicine Cat and they get mouse bile on a stick and they put it on the tick to make the tick let go.
00:33:58
Speaker
you know yeah And Spottedleaf is like, just make sure you wash your paws in the stream. ah Don't lick them after this. ah Okay, so it's time for the apprentices to have an assessment. So they're each assigned different parts of the territory to hunt Great paw, whatever, he's off hunting.
00:34:24
Speaker
Raven paw has to hunt by snake's rocks. which literally is full of snakes and fire paw has to hunt near the two leg place which kind of gets fire paw thinking so he's like why would tiger claw send his own apprentice raven paw out to snake rocks when like that's such a dangerous area he's just gonna spend his whole time trying not to get bit by an adder and gray paw is like yeah that is weird okay bye
00:34:56
Speaker
ah Graypaw doesn't really think a lot in this book. yeah
00:35:04
Speaker
And when Firepaw is out doing his assessment, he finds Smudge, the kitty pet that he had talked to, um... when he was still rusty and smudge is so scared because he looks like a wildcat now and firepaws like no it's great out here and tiger claw has seen him so he reports to bluestar that firepaw was out there talking to a kitty pet and so bluestar pulls him into her den and she's like is your loyalty with ThunderClan? And he's like, yeah, it is. And she's like, that's not enough for me. I need to know that you're in this all the way. Like, I need you our full loyalty. You cannot have split allegiances here. And Firepaw's like, no. When I went there and I saw that Smudge had been to the cutter and he was all fat and lazy, I knew that I'd never want that life.
00:36:03
Speaker
So unfortunate for Smudge, but um and blue Blue Star is like, okay, I accept this answer. And also, um because Tiger Claw said you all did so well on your assessment, you are all going to the gathering with me tonight.
00:36:20
Speaker
Which is very exciting because not all cats get to go. And it's only once a month. well Once a moon? Once a moon, yeah. So when they get to the gathering, um essentially the cats get to like intermingle with the clans and like share stories. And it's like the one time a moon where they can be friendly towards each other.
00:36:45
Speaker
And so Firepaw overhears Tigerclaw repeating the story of how Redtail died. And now the story we have heard is that Oakheart, the RiverClan deputy, killed Redtail, which is like unheard of. Like you don't kill another cat on purpose.
00:37:04
Speaker
And then to avenge him, Tigerclaw killed Oakheart. But the way that Tigerclaw tells it at the gathering is that um but he just doesn't mention ah that he avenged Redtail. He doesn't say anything about killing Oakheart at all. And Firepaw's like, kind of weird. But I guess it's probably just because he's trying to, like, not ruffle any feathers. Like, he doesn't want to bring up that their their deputy murdered our deputy.
00:37:37
Speaker
But then when he gets over to Ravenpaw, who was also at that battle, Ravenpaw says that Redtail, like, ran out into the clearing and declared that Oakheart was dead.
00:37:53
Speaker
And Firepaw's like, well, hold on just a second, because... The way that Tigerclaw told Redtail died and then he killed Oakheart. So how could Redtail know that Oakheart died? That's kind of sus.
00:38:10
Speaker
here But then the gathering starts, officially. So I can't do anything about that.
Tensions and Territorial Disputes
00:38:19
Speaker
ah So all of the leaders get up onto ah the, i think it's the branches of Four Trees, I guess.
00:38:29
Speaker
Brokenstar, the leader of ShadowClan, is like, hey, guess what? I drove out WindClan and I did it because they wouldn't give me their hunting rights to their hunting grounds. And you all need to give me rights to your hunting grounds because I have a lot of mouths to feed.
00:38:49
Speaker
And RiverClan already agreed that they would do it. Bluestar is like, let me just let me just talk to my warriors about that. We'll get back to you. And the ThunderClan cats are like, yeah, what the fuck? We're not doing that. and Brokenstar has another thing to report. He says, oh and also...
00:39:13
Speaker
One of our warriors has gone rogue. She's ah wandering around somewhere in clan territory. If you see her, be careful of your kits.
00:39:25
Speaker
And the ThunderClan cast kind of like look around like, oh shit, we just took in a ShadowClan warrior. She's at home with our kits right now. And she has been acting pretty aggressive towards the kits. One, like, crashed into her when it was playing, and she was like, ah, fuck off.
00:39:45
Speaker
And so they're like, she did tell that kid to fuck off.
00:39:54
Speaker
And Firepaw is like, wait, wait, wait, hold the fuck up. Yellowfang wouldn't do that. So he breaks off from the group and rushes to camp to warn her. And... He does, but she's just like, okay, well, Blue Star is a fair leader.
00:40:09
Speaker
um She will listen to my defense, and I guess if they decide to kill me, then that's just that. And Firepaw is like, okay.
00:40:21
Speaker
What the fuck? Yeah. But they get home and um Frost for one of the queens is like, the kits are safe. And Blue Star is like, yeah, no shit.
00:40:37
Speaker
And ah they're all surprised. And Blue Star is like, yeah, ah why do you you trust Broken Star? The guy who drove out WindClan? That's who we're trusting right now.
00:40:51
Speaker
and I hope that all the clan cats feel a little silly because she's right.
00:40:58
Speaker
Except Tiger Claw is still fucking pissy about it Fucking asshole. And... so So they drove out WindClan'd. Yeah.
00:41:14
Speaker
So was WindClan not there at the gathering? Right. Everyone was like, where is WindClan? And it was a mystery until Brokenstar said that. Hmm.
00:41:25
Speaker
Interesting. How did they get their clan names? There's a whole prequel series about that. Okay. It's a six book arc.
00:41:38
Speaker
Okay. Blue Star decides that she's going to travel to the Moonstone, which is how they communicate with StarClan. And she brings with her tiger claw and fire paw, obviously, a gray paw and raven paw.
00:41:56
Speaker
And so they go out to the moonstone. They cross some clan territory to get there, but it's like within the warrior code that they're allowed to do this.
Guidance and Revelations at Moonstone
00:42:05
Speaker
um She brings down... The moonstone is like, I'm pretty sure, just an abandoned quarry.
00:42:14
Speaker
yeah but and they describe the Moonstone as like this huge like crystal or gem that catches the moonlight just right. So it's kind of like, yeah, they're like in a cave underground.
00:42:33
Speaker
And they wait for the moon to go at the right spot so that it fills the cave with light. and she decides that Tigerclaw and Firepaw will come down with her.
00:42:46
Speaker
And Tigerclaw, he just can't handle it down here.
00:42:56
Speaker
It's like dark and creepy and it feels like StarClan and he fucking flees. He can't. No, he's not doing it. Wow.
00:43:07
Speaker
Yeah. So does Tigerclaw become the new deputy or no? ah Sorry, I should have said right now Lionheart is the deputy. Okay.
00:43:20
Speaker
and ah Firepaw lasts the whole time that Bluestar is down there, but when she wakes up, she's like, because she's talking to StarClan when she's sleeping, she wakes up and she's like, oh shit, we got to get back to ThunderClan right this second. So they all leave in like a rush.
00:43:38
Speaker
and on the way back, they meet this loner called Barley, who Bluestar already knows and trusts. And Barley's like, hey, don't take this route. Like, they unleashed the dogs. Take this other route. And Bluestar's like, oh, thanks, Barley. They take the other route, and they get attacked by rats.
00:43:59
Speaker
Barley didn't realize that the rats were there. So they're getting attacked by rats, and all of a sudden, like, Barley comes out of nowhere to help them. Except Tiger Claws, like, you traitor, you tricked us, and sends Barley away. While Bluestar
00:44:18
Speaker
fucking dying. But it's okay, because then she comes back to life. Because, as all clan members know, leaders of clans get nine lives.
00:44:37
Speaker
Oh, snap. and so she wakes back up and Tiger Claw is like, oh what what life was that? And she's like, oh, that was my fifth life.
00:44:51
Speaker
So she doesn't got a lot to go. i assume that there's another book or books that explain how that comes to be.
00:45:05
Speaker
Oh yeah. Bluestar has a whole origin book.
00:45:12
Speaker
And I love Bluestar, so I love the book.
00:45:22
Speaker
So, they get back to their territory, and when they get back to camp, they're being attacked by ShadowClan! And Bluestar says, oh, this is exactly what StarClan told me would happen.
00:45:35
Speaker
And they that they're trying to take the kits.
Defending Against ShadowClan
00:45:41
Speaker
They're trying to steal kits from ThunderClan, but Yellowfang protects the kits. Why are they trying to steal the kits?
00:45:50
Speaker
So that they can raise them in their own clan to be warriors.
00:45:56
Speaker
Yeah, it's a pretty weird plan.
00:46:00
Speaker
ah shadow Is the ShadowClan kind of like the... Like the sus clan. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, ShadowClan has a history of having questionable leaders and making questionable decisions.
00:46:20
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. and But they defend the camp and unfortunately one of the elders, Rosetail, was killed. But the way they say it is they're kind of just like, oh, we saved the kits. I mean, Rosetail was killed, but like we saved the kits. And it's kind of like, oh, okay.
00:46:39
Speaker
And Rosetail, I don't think is even mentioned in the allegiances at the front of the book. So it's kind of like, yeah, she's not in here. So it's like, you know, she didn't mean anything.
00:46:51
Speaker
Which is kind of sad. Well, I mean, she, she you know, she she had her time. Yeah, it's true. But even more devastating than that is that...
00:47:10
Speaker
Their poor deputy, Lionheart, has gotten grave injuries. And Spottedleaf says, there's nothing I can do for him.
00:47:23
Speaker
He's gonna go join StarClan. Which devastates Greypaw, because he's Greypaw's mentor. So Greypaw's, like, all over there, sharing tongues one last time.
00:47:36
Speaker
and The warrior code says that when a deputy dies, a new one has to be appointed by Moon High.
00:47:47
Speaker
And so Blue Star has to choose a new deputy. And guess who she chooses?
00:47:55
Speaker
Okay, so there's there's there's two that I could say. The obvious choice would be Tigerclaw. But don't.
00:48:08
Speaker
I just know that that's not who she picks. I feel like she's going to pick Firepaw and and ah is going to cause a lot of uproar again. Jericho,
00:48:23
Speaker
ah she picks.
00:48:27
Speaker
Tiger Claw. OK.
00:48:32
Speaker
Unfortunately. Well, I mean, I was right either way. Yeah. And Tigerclaw assigns her two bodyguards, who are essentially his groupies, Darkstripe and Longtail. They're fucking obsessed with him, so of course he would pick them. He's like, hey, since Bluestar is on her fifth life, she has to have bodyguards now.
00:48:53
Speaker
Which, like, doesn't happen, so it's pretty weird.
00:49:00
Speaker
He's also, he starts to spread rumors that there must have been a traitor inside the camp because how did they know just where the ThunderClan camp was?
00:49:13
Speaker
Unless someone inside told them. And while he's talking to Darkstripe and Longtail, Firepaw overhears them and he's like, I just can't believe my own pren apprentice would do this.
00:49:27
Speaker
He's blaming Ravenpaw.
00:49:31
Speaker
What? yeah Yeah. Exactly. Firepaw is like, why would Tigerclaw be targeting his own apprentice? Like, that doesn't make any sense.
00:49:45
Speaker
And... The next day, Bluestar is finally going to take her mentorship duties seriously and train Firepaw.
00:49:58
Speaker
So they're going to have a battle training session. And she leaves her two bodyguards behind. So Firepaw is like, okay, now's my chance. I have to tell her that something fishy is going on with Tigerclaw. Mm-hmm.
00:50:11
Speaker
he his story doesn't line up with what he, what Ravenpaw said, and he changed it during the gathering in front of the other clan. And now he's spreading rumors about Ravenpaw. Obviously something's up and he's like worried, like, is Bluestar going to trust me though? Because Tireclaw is her deputy and like a trusted senior warrior. And I'm just an apprentice who used to be a kitty pet.
00:50:38
Speaker
Well, good news for Firepaw. He forgets to tell her. So he didn't have to worry about that. yeah The chapter literally ends with like, and they were back home. and And then Firepaw realized he forgot to bring it up because he got so wrapped up in the training. oh my gosh.
00:51:02
Speaker
So that night, um they settle down to eat and Ravenpaw brings like a crow or something over to Firepaw and he's like, hey, I caught this.
00:51:13
Speaker
And Firepaw's like, oh, it tastes really good. And Ravenpaw says, yeah, it better. It was from ShadowClan. Yeah.
00:51:25
Speaker
Okay. Okay. And Firepaw essentially had that same reaction. He's like, why were you hunting on ShadowClan territory? And Ravenpaw's like, look, it's no big deal. Just keep quiet about it. Like, that's the assignment that Tigerclaw gave me.
00:51:45
Speaker
And so Firepaw is even more sus. He's like, why? Why would Tiger Claw do that? This is against the warrior code. Why would he endanger you? Why would he risk like creating more rivalry between our clans? And Ravenpaw doesn't want to talk about it.
00:52:03
Speaker
So that's weird. hmm. they just they settle in for the night.
Betrayal Unveiled and Redemption
00:52:10
Speaker
Except Ravenpaw wakes Firepaw halfway through the night with a nightmare.
00:52:18
Speaker
And he's like freaking out and Firepaw wakes him up. He's like, dude, what is going on? Like, obviously something has happened. You need tell me what it is so I can help you.
00:52:30
Speaker
And Ravenpaw finally comes clean. And he says, listen, in that battle for Sunning Rocks, it wasn't... It wasn't how Tigerclaw said it happened, all right?
00:52:47
Speaker
Oakheart got killed on accident. And Redtail told us to retreat. And so as we were all gone, um i came back because I thought...
00:53:03
Speaker
They need help. They need some kind of help. They can't just handle this by themselves. And I saw a Tiger Claw jump Redtail and sink his teeth into the back of Redtail's neck.
00:53:17
Speaker
What? And Firepaw's like, well, shit, we better tell Blue Star for real now. ha ha. Ha ha.
00:53:32
Speaker
But before that can happen, Brindleface, one of the queens, flies into the camp. And, oh, I missed a part.
00:53:45
Speaker
The next day, Firepaw gets called in Bluestar's den. And Bluestar, for some reason, i don't really know why, she tells him...
00:53:57
Speaker
So, remember when I told Tigerclaw that that was my fifth life that I lost? Um... Actually, that was the seventh life that I lost. So, if I lose two more, I'm gone for good.
00:54:15
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And then before Firepaw can bring up the thing with Tigerclaw, Brindleface, one of the queens... She runs across camp screaming like, my kids are missing.
00:54:31
Speaker
And they also find
00:54:38
Speaker
the body of Spottedleaf.
00:54:42
Speaker
Medicine cat. And Firepaw. See, when I read these books, I was like 11 years old, so I didn't pick up on this. But Firepaw was unusually sad that Spottedleaf, this beautiful, slender she-cat, had died. um Apparently, Firepaw had a thing for Spottedleaf, and I just never picked up on that for like three books. I mean...
00:55:08
Speaker
i mean I figured, just by the way you said it earlier, I'm like, okay, I see what's going on. Yeah, I somehow didn't. I purposely described her the way that they describe her in the book to point out how silly it was that I did not catch on.
00:55:26
Speaker
But Yellowfang is gone. So everyone is like, aw shit, Yellowfang killed Spottedleaf and took the kids. She is a traitor. And Tigerclaw wants to send a patrol out, but Bluestar says...
00:55:39
Speaker
no, there's a big storm, like, we're not going to be able to follow her in this rain, we need to wait until it stops, and then we'll send a patrol out that's safer.
00:55:50
Speaker
And then privately to Firepaw says, um, you need to go find Yellowfang, because I think Tigerclaw will just kill her if she if he finds her. And I want to find out what actually happened. So you need to bring Yellowfang back so we can like ask her what happened. and Firepaw is about to leave except he sees one of the queens like hissing and ah charging at Ravenpaw getting him out of the nursery. and Firepaw thinks like,
00:56:28
Speaker
Oh fuck. i Tigerclaw has been spreading this rumor about Ravenpaw. Like everyone is turning against him. It's not even safe for him to be here. So he gets Ravenpaw to with him and Graypaw also comes but he doesn't really do anything.
00:56:44
Speaker
Graypaw really doesn't do anything in this book. And Firepaw actually brings Ravenpaw to Barley, the loner, and he's like, yeah, you need to live here from now on. And Ravenpaw's like, oh, but what if, like, they calm and track me down? And Firepaw's like, they won't.
00:57:04
Speaker
I'll tell them you're dead. And then, like, the chapter ends dramatically.
00:57:12
Speaker
There is a lot going on. Yeah, there is. Yeah. so
00:57:24
Speaker
it seems like tiger claw knows that ravenpaw it's very hard for me to say ravenpaw not ravenclaw um ravenpaw saw what tiger claw did so instead of just killing him
00:57:46
Speaker
he's you know
00:57:50
Speaker
ruining his reputation and setting him up yeah and i think he is like well ravenpaw is just such a scaredy cat that um he's not gonna say anything so i'm just gonna intimidate him into silence
00:58:15
Speaker
I don't know how this is going to go. Like, Firepaw's like, oh, yeah, Ravenpaw's dead. Okay, what happened here? Like, what the fuck? Aww. Yeah, so they eventually find Yellowfang and she tells them about some ShadowClan cats that she thinks will be on their side if they decide to take over ah the clan from Brokenstar. Because Brokenstar fucking killed some ShadowClan cats and blamed it on Yellowfang.
00:58:49
Speaker
so Kits start their training at six moons old, and they become a warrior at twelve moons old. While this bastard, Broken Tail, started their training at three moons old, and was sending them out as full warriors at five moons old, which is too young to even become an apprentice.
00:59:11
Speaker
And two kits specifically, he was training them so hard that he literally killed them. and he just blamed Yellowfang, so they ran her out of the clan.
00:59:24
Speaker
So she's like, yeah, um he's been making the elders stay outside the camp. Like, he essentially banished them, but within ShadowClan territory. So I think we can go get the elders and overtake the camp. Yeah.
00:59:39
Speaker
and firepaw believes her because they have become friends and they bump into a patrol led by white storm who is one of the senior warriors of thunder clan who has also been like kind of a friend to firepaw and white storm agrees to this plot he's he's convinced that yellow thing is on their side so they go and raid the shadow clan camp and um as they're fighting, Brokenstar snarls to Yellowfang that she's even harder to kill than Raggedstar, who was his father and the previous leader ShadowClan.
01:00:22
Speaker
So he got to be leader by fucking killing his dad.
01:00:30
Speaker
i mean...
01:00:33
Speaker
Nine times, right? ah Right. ah um So they retake the ShadowClan camp and Whitestorm is like, okay, we'll give you guys a moon to figure your shit out. And then we're going to go back to regular hostilities. And Nightpelt, one of the elders, is like, yeah, sounds fair. And I think I'm going to be leader now. So, you know, all it's all good.
01:01:01
Speaker
So they go back to the Shadow Clan camp, or the Thunder Clan camp, and update Bluestar and everything that happened. Bluestar invites Yellowfang to be their new medicine cat, since now they have an opening for that position.
01:01:15
Speaker
And how convenient that Yellowfang is a medicine cat. And so she says, yeah, sure, I'll be a medicine cat, Thunder Clan. And at the very end of the book, Bluestar, this is still after they return from battle, Bluestar says, Whitestorm, did they do good in ah in this battle here? And Whitestorm says, they fought like warriors. And Bluestar says, okay, it's time for them to get their warrior names then.
Firepaw's Ascension to Fireheart
01:01:45
Speaker
Graypaw, you're going to be known as Graystripe.
01:01:50
Speaker
And Firepaw, you will be Fireheart. And now they have to sit vigil for the first night of their warrior. ah When they become warriors, they have to sit in silence and guard the camp.
01:02:07
Speaker
And that's how book one ends. Damn. who Firepaw got the much better name. Yes. Graystripe is cute, though.
01:02:19
Speaker
we're gonna Your warrior name is... Gray... Stripe. Well, he's a tabby. Yeah, but like... Okay.
01:02:30
Speaker
But like Fireheart, that like... That's a warrior name. Yeah, he has the heart of fire. Oh, I'm sorry. it says specifically that Graypaw is a long-haired, solid gray tom. So actually he has no stripes.
01:02:47
Speaker
That makes even less sense. Um, yeah, so What'd you think of this book, Jerika? Um... I thought it was interesting i feel interesting. Like, there's lots of different things going on.
01:03:04
Speaker
um Some things I don't quite understand yet. Like what? Like, fuckin', what's Tiger Claw's motivations? Like, what's really going on with ShadowClan?
01:03:17
Speaker
like
01:03:22
Speaker
Who actually took the kits? If it wasn't Yellowfang? um oh, sorry. They do reveal that the person who took the kits was Blackfoot, who is the ShadowClan deputy.
01:03:38
Speaker
Okay.
01:03:42
Speaker
What did they do with Brokenstar? They just ran him out. Yeah, he's just ah out there somewhere. I'm sure he'll never come back.
01:03:54
Speaker
Surely. Yeah.
01:04:01
Speaker
I don't know. I'm I'm torn whether I trust Yellowfang or not. Interesting.
01:04:11
Speaker
Like she just happens to. There's too many coincidences. Yeah. Like why? Why was she missing?
01:04:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah. i She told them she was missing because she was looking for the lost kit. Because she knew they would blame her. i mean, yeah, and they did.
01:04:36
Speaker
i don't know. Like, i I want to trust her. who You want to believe? i do. But...
01:04:48
Speaker
I don't know.
01:04:53
Speaker
feel like there's there's opportunity for treachery there. That's all these books are made up of. Yeah, it looks, yeah.
01:05:04
Speaker
Blue Star's like fucking surrounded by treachery, like. Sure is. And did fire did did Firepaw ever like say anything about Ravenpaw?
01:05:21
Speaker
um He told Bluestar that Ravenpaw died.
01:05:28
Speaker
Bluestar that is very sad.
01:05:37
Speaker
So maybe she was buying into some of this propaganda? ah Isn't it a wonderful book?
Conclusion and Community Engagement
01:05:46
Speaker
There's so many things to ponder.
01:05:49
Speaker
Yeah, I have to admit that It is pretty provocative. okay I think the conclusion is that this book is perfect. um No flaws.
01:06:05
Speaker
No notes. um I don't see any area that could be improved. No good because we're not trying to fix it. No, that's our other podcast, We Fix Games, which you can find at wefixgames.net.
01:06:20
Speaker
And you can find our Discord there, and you can come and talk to us. Yeah, talk to us about stuff. ah About warrior cats.
01:06:32
Speaker
Jericho, what would you say warrior cat name is? I think the most... appropriate warrior cat name for me would probably be sparkle heart a beautiful beautiful name it is and my warrior cat name which i have born since i was 11 years old is snowstorm may star clan light your path
01:07:10
Speaker
you