Hollyleaf's Story

Hollyleaf's Story is an e-book novella attributed by HarperCollins as a part of the Omen of the Stars arc.

Blurb

 * When Hollyleaf disappeared in the tunnels by the Lake, ThunderClan believed she was gone forever. But her adventure was only beginning . . .


 * Lost and lonely, Hollyleaf soon meets a mysterious cat named Fallen Leaves, who teaches her how to live in the tunnels. Hollyleaf tries to be happy, but she can't help wondering if leaving her Clanmates was the right choice. Hollyleaf knows she's a ThunderClan cat at heart, but can she ever truly go back?

Detailed Plot Summary

 * The beginning of the story recaps the events of Long Shadows, and shows what happened to Hollyleaf after she killed Ashfur and fled from ThunderClan. Stuck in the tunnels below WindClan and ThunderClan territories, Hollyleaf thinks about what happened, and the shocking realization that she and her brothers, Jayfeather and Lionblaze, are half-Clan, born to the former medicine cat of ThunderClan, Leafpool, and a WindClan warrior, Crowfeather. Hollyleaf tries to get out of the tunnels, but she realizes that there's no way out, and she's trapped. Hurt from the rockfall, she doesn't get very far before passing out from the exhaustion and pain.


 * Waking up, Hollyleaf discovers that she's been tended to, although she doesn't know by who. As she tries to get up, she falls back down from the pain in her leg. This grabs the attention of someone else in the tunnels. He introduces himself as Fallen Leaves. He tends to Hollyleaf, bringing her food and helping her leg mend. Curious as to where this cat has come from, Hollyleaf bombards the other cat with questions, which he answers by saying the tunnels are his home.


 * Eventually, Hollyleaf's leg does get better, and she's able to walk on all four legs again. Fallen Leaves takes this as a sign that Hollyleaf is going to leave him and the tunnels, and asks if he is to show her the way out. Much to the cat's delight, Hollyleaf says she wants to explore his home, not leave. The two cats explore the cave, although when he catches prey for Hollyleaf, Fallen Leaves never takes any for himself. Although Hollyleaf gets lost for a moment, Fallen Leaves shows up right beside her, assuring her that she'll never get lost with him around.


 * The next morning, Fallen Leaves and Hollyleaf go on patrols, to check around the tunnels. Despite Hollyleaf's assurance that she was staying with him, Fallen Leaves still felt like the she-cat would leave him, and often tried to keep her distracted, so she would never think of leaving. While Hollyleaf is on her own patrol, she runs into a fox cub being chased by a dog and its Twoleg owner.


 * The young animal stays in the tunnels, and this unsettles Hollyleaf, who decides to go looking for it. She finds it, and realizes that it's startled and scared. Acting like a mother would, she wraps her tail around the young cub as it sleeps, and once it wakes up in the morning, she leads it outside.


 * As the days pass, Hollyleaf looks around for the fox cub, and Fallen Leaves teases her, asking if she really wants it to come back. Hollyleaf says no, that it belongs with his family, to which Fallen Leaves asks if that's what Hollyleaf wants. The two get into an argument over helping the tom find his family. Fallen Leaves tells Hollyleaf she doesn't have to stay with him, and she storms off. She runs into the fox she helped, although it didn't recognize her, and thought she was a piece of prey.


 * Hollyleaf goes back to Fallen Leaves, although once she gets back, she sleeps for two whole days, once again being taken care of by Fallen Leaves. Once she wakes up, the two start talking, and Hollyleaf asks Fallen Leaves to tell her more about his own family. He tells Hollyleaf about his mother, Broken Shadow, and how she was protective of her kit. Fallen Leaves doesn't speak much more about his family, and instead tries to get Hollyleaf to speak about hers. She does, and Fallen Leaves suggests that she go and see ThunderClan, to check up on them. Although reluctant, she does, and finds out that things have changed since she'd been around.


 * Fallen Leaves thinks that she's still very important to her Clan. Hollyleaf visits once more, although not for a while. When she does, she overhears that Jayfeather is low on yarrow to help Cherrykit, who is sick. Hollyleaf finds yarrow, and leaves it outside of ThunderClan's camp.


 * Later on, she comes to find out from Fallen Leaves that two ThunderClan cats, Ivypool and Blossomfall, have found their way into the tunnels. She takes Fallen Leaves' suggestion, and leads them out, although the cats she helped have no idea who she really is. Later on, she does the same thing again, this time saving Cherrypaw and Molepaw, Poppyfrost's two kits. Despite the fact she knew she was risking getting discovered, she knew it was right. She had saved two apprentices from harm. She decides that she needs to return to ThunderClan, and Fallen Leaves supports Hollyleaf's choice, although he is upset about it.


 * About a moon later, Sol and a group of WindClan cats are found in the tunnels. Hollyleaf then notices two more cats, of ThunderClan heritage. These are Ivypool and Dovewing, and they followed the WindClan cats into the tunnels. Although she originally did not want to show herself to any cat, she does, and tells Dovewing and Ivypool who she really is, in order to gain their trust, Hollyleaf of ThunderClan.

Publication History

 * Hollyleaf's Story (EN), HarperCollins (e-book), 13 March 2012