Darkness Within/Chapter 4

"I won't be thwarted. You saved my life, and because of that, you have ensured my success. Because once I'm back to full health, I'll be able to bend any cat to my will..." The following content contains major spoilers for the true identity of Bramblestar's impostor. Please proceed at your own discretion.

"Is that what this is about? Is that the reason you're so angry? You think you should be acting deputy?

— Twigbranch to Thornclaw about the deputyship in Darkness Within, page 60

Darkness Within
Chapter number:	25 (of 25)
Page numbers:	57-75
Point of View:	Bristlefrost
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter five of Darkness Within. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 5 (of 25)

Page Numbers: 57-75

Chapter description

Bristlefrost is dreaming. A mouse moves underneath leaves, and she slams down her paws only to find that the mouse had scuttled away. Extremely frustrated and starving, she pounced on the same mouse, and despite using all of her tips she'd learned from Rosepetal, it escapes. She wakes to Thornclaw, a senior warrior and the ThunderClan deputy, Lionblaze arguing in furious yowls. The warrior yowls that they needed to do things right to bring back StarClan, and that a true warrior knew, an accusation. Thinking she should've stayed awake, she peers outside to watch. The Clan is looking at the fight with worry and in some cases, anger or even eagerness.

When Lionblaze glares, meowing if he was saying that he wasn't a true warrior, Bristlefrost immediately knows that it was a fight. Lionblaze asks who knew what to do, with a leader between life and death with a stolen body. Thornclaw snaps that a Clan wasn't a Clan without a proper leader. Meowing Squirrelflight was the deputy, not the leader, he accuses Lionblaze for being happy because he was deputy. Twigbranch asks if he was angry because he wasn't the acting deputy, and though Thornclaw meows no, Bumblestripe, Ivypool, and Sorrelstripe are clearly not convinced.

Thornclaw claims that he was thinking of ThunderClan, which is why he was questioning the current deputyship, as well as the leadership. He continues on to imply the fact that Squirrelflight was choosing favorites instead of putting her Clan first. The warrior continues to say that since Firestar's time, there was no question of who would become the next leader. Flipclaw's gaze is eagerly fixed on Thornclaw, and Bristlefrost wonders what to say. One had passed on their skills to another, creating a chain of kin.

Thornclaw asks if they were going to trust everybody blindly. Cutting off Lionblaze, he says that trusting the leaders got them into trouble. Lionblaze is enraged, growling that the cats that would destroy ThunderClan were featherbrained warriors like Thornclaw. The warriors are preparing to fight, and the medicine cats also emerge from their den to watch. Bristlefrost yowls that division was what Ashfur wanted. They continue to glare at each other, until Squirrelflight appears.

The rest of Squirrelflight's patrol freezes to see the mayhem, and Lionblaze informs the leader that Thornclaw was questioning their leadership. Thornclaw is insistent that they could've avoided trouble if they hadn't trusted their leaders blindly. Squirrelflight is firm that it's what they do next that matters, and that they needed to have trust in each other to fix the problem. The dark ginger she-cat concedes that the exile was forced, and she now knew that trust was important. The ThunderClan leader continues to say that she was being as fair as possible, and is passionate that Bramblestar will come back. Other cats are doubtful about this, but Bristlefrost trusts her, and meows that they just needed to find how to put back his spirit into his body.

Twigbranch agrees, and is hopeful that they would be able to get back into touch with StarClan. Jayfeather makes a sarcastic comment, asking what they expected of him, and Alderheart is more gentle in saying there was nothing they could do. Snaptooth asks what was the point of ancestors that only turned up when it suited them, and Flipclaw meows that perhaps they didn't care about them, or never did, and suggests that the prophecies and omens were all imaginary. He states that they could live without StarClan. Poppyfrost, Lionblaze and Lilyheart argue the importance of the warrior code with her brother. But Flipclaw was not budging, and suggests to make their own code instead of following StarClan's traditions, stating their absence was a opportunity to think everything over and change things if needed. Squirrelflight meows that their beliefs had served them well. Lionblaze, Dewnose, Bumblestripe, and Lilyheart all agree on this.

Flipclaw is firm that while he loved being a warrior, he needed time to think. Bristlefrost can hardly bear to listen to her brother. Snaptooth and Thornclaw, along with Flywhisker, decide to go for a wander. Ivypool and Squirrelflight say they hope that they will come back. Thornclaw tells Blossomfall that he will return. Bristlefrost is relieved to see Graystripe emerge. He was loyal, and would persuade the decided cats to say. Silence grips the Clan, until Graystripe announces that he was also going to leave. Squirrelflight is devastated, and Graystripe tells her that the ThunderClan now was different from the one he'd served underneath Firestar, saying he didn't know his place in the Clan anymore. Squirrelflight tells them to come back within a moon, and sends them off with her good wishes.

Bristlefrost voices her hopes to Squirrelflight that they would come that. Squirrelflight's response is sharp, telling her that she didn't have time to reassure her. Gently, she tells Bristlefrost that she was sure it would be find. The leaders' eyes are dark with worry, though Squirrelflight tells Bristlefrost to focus on being a loyal warrior. As she backs away, a stray pebble almost hits Spotfur. The gray warrior is taking all of it harder then she is, and seems distracted as she says that if the warriors wanted to leave, it they want to go. Spotfur seems very vulnerable, and Bristlefrost feels compassion and the urge to protect her Clanmates. She silently promises to stay, whatever it took, with her Clan and to never turn her back against those who trained and grew her up to be the cat she was today.

Characters

Major

• Bristlefrost
• Thornclaw
• Lionblaze
• Squirrelflight

Minor

• Ivypool
• Dewnose
• Sorrelstripe
• Twigbranch
• Finleap
• Bumblestripe
• Flywhisker
• Snaptooth
• Flipclaw
• Graystripe
• Myrtlepaw
• Flamepaw
• Lilyheart
• Alderheart
• Jayfeather
• Poppyfrost
• Spotfur

Mentioned

• Firestar
• Bramblestar
• Sparkpelt
• Bramblestar's impostor
• Birchfall
• Blossomfall

Trivia

• This chapter aligns with chapter two of Graystripe's Vow.

Quotes

"The only cats who might destroy ThunderClan now are featherbrained warriors starting trouble for no reason! Like you!"

―Lionblaze calling Thornclaw a featherbrain ^{Darkness Within, page 63}

"Do you think we haven't been trying? What do you expect me to do? Fly up to the stars and drag them down by their tails?"

―Jayfeather about StarClan ^{Darkness Within, page 65-66}

Flipclaw: "Perhaps they don't care about us anymore. Or maybe they never did. Perhaps we imagined all their prophecies."

Jayfeather: "Are you saying we've been inventing visions all these moons?"

^{Darkness Within, pages 66-67}

Flipclaw: "Then perhaps I should go for a wander. Alone. To think things through, and decide weather to come back to ThunderClan. Maybe I can find better, less dangerous territory where we can live. Or maybe it's time we all stopped living like this, in Clans."

Bristlefrost: "Flipclaw, you don't mean that!"

^{Darkness Within, pages 69-70}