You know, whenever I take these long breaks, part of me misses reading and laughing about these books, but another part of me desperately tries to claw itself out of the quicksand of stupidity and contrivances, screaming for respite. Or at least the ability to swear, because my God.
Tigerclaw realizes that he screwed up yet again and possibly got Cinderpaw killed, and gets all angry at Fireheart because his stupid trap didn't work (not that there's any logical reason it should, as we've covered). When they return home with her, Yellowfang sends Fireheart to Bluestar, since she was asking for him. Quick question: why is Bluestar relying/trusting Fireheart so much? Is it just because he's the main character? Because we require some exposition? Why? I don't understand.
Speaking of, somehow greencough affects leaders terribly, because Bluestar loses a life due to it. I don't get why this is. Why not just save the second-to-last life for a dangerous moment with levity to the plot? This means absolutely nothing right now.
And, apparently, when you're a leader, dying magically heals you. Rat bites? Sickness? Being crushed under a tree? No issue! It's not like we require logic in this story anyway.
Also, it snowed during the night, with no forewarning. I think a good worldbuilding thing would be if there was a scout sent to the edge of the territory to check on the weather. Or just let us know that it's getting cloudy and cold, whatever.
But let's get to the important biz. You know what I'm about to talk about here.
Let's be fair. A cat who's leg is irreparably damaged is going to have a much harder time fighting or hunting for their Clan, even after they heal. They might have to drag their foot or hobble, and balancing may be an issue. Yellowfang is not entirely wrong in saying that it might just be easier for her to not be a warrior at all.
But to that I say, bullrot. There's more to warrior life than fighting or hunting. Cinderpaw could definitely continue her apprenticeship. I mean, look at Deadfoot! He's got a paw that doesn't even work and he's the deputy of a Clan known for their swiftness. He didn't retire just because of the damages to his body. Rather, he continued onwards, and became the second-in-command. Cinderpaw still has potential, even if she just does patrols or brings in supplies for camp. And, hey, she's got three working legs. Who says she can't find a way to work around that?
So to immediately erase any possibility of her returning to warrior life is straight up insulting. I know Yellowfang is blunt, but if she's as experienced as she is, she shouldn't have just written off such a young cat like that. Not to mention that this is just more angst fuel for Fireheart.
But, whatever, right? Hunter doesn't care. Angst.
How. How can you possibly already know. You haven't visited her at all since she died. Why do medicine cats magically know these things? Who tells them? Do they see lives just floating away out of the den? Why doesn't anyone else?
Fireheart goes to bed, where Graystripe immediately gets on his case for trying to break him and Silverstream up. Hey, dude, your friend just nearly lost his apprentice. Why are you being such an a-hole? Are you really so self-absorbed that you didn't notice that Cinderpaw's in a critical state right now?
We'll cut off here and yell at Graystripe later. Sorry for this being so short.
Up next: Chapter Eighteen.
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