Journey to the forest territories (TNP)

This article is a stub. This article needs vast improvements and you can help the Warriors Wiki by expanding it.

This article needs improvements. Please consult Journey to the forest territories (TNP)'s Talk Page for details.

The journey to the forest territories takes place in Moonrise and Dawn, when the cats who have traveled to see Midnight journey home.

Summary

Premise

The six cats originally journeyed to the sun-drown-place

After receiving ominous dreams that point to a mysterious location, which is confirmed to be the Sun-drown-place, the cats who had the dream - Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, Feathertail, and Crowpaw embark on a journey. They are accompanied by Stormfur, Feathertail's brother, and Squirrelpaw, an apprentice from ThunderClan who followed Brambleclaw. After days of traveling and danger, they find the sun-drown-place and meet Midnight, who tells them that they must lead their Clans out of the forest to find a new home, as the forest will be destroyed.

Overview

The six cats are ready to leave the sun-drown-place to return home to their Clans, and are about to go the way they came. However, Midnight tells them that traveling through the mountains is a better route. They eventually agree, and make their way through the mountains. The journey through the mountains is hard, and all the cats end up falling over a waterfall. They are saved by several cats from the Tribe of Rushing Water.

The Tribe cats see Stormfur, and assume that he is the silver cat sent by the Tribe of Endless Hunting to defeat an animal that has been terrorizing the Tribe for days on end. Stormfur is appalled, and the Tribe imprisons him when he tries to escape. They force the other Clan cats to leave, but they plan to come back to rescue Stormfur. During the night, Stormfur comes face to face with Sharptooth. The Clan cats arrive, seeing Sharptooth attack every cat in sight, and Stormfur's inability to defeat him. They rescue Stormfur and leave the Tribe.

When they stop to make camp from the night, they accidentally run into a group of former Tribe cats, led by Talon. Talon explains to them that Stoneteller had sent them to defeat Sharptooth, but since they had failed, they had been exiled. Stormfur confides in Talon about the silver cat prophecy, and Talon advises him to have faith. After thinking over it and eventually having a dream that guides his way, Stormfur decides they must go and help the Tribe. Squirrelpaw announces that she may know the answer to killing Sharptooth.

The Clan cats and the exiled Tribe cats go to the cavern. Though they are received coldly, they manage to persuade Stoneteller into listening to them. Squirrelpaw tells Stoneteller that they will lead Sharptooth to a deathberry stuffed hare with the blood of Talon. Once Talon has sliced his paw, Sharptooth arrives, and attacks. Sharptooth avoids the hare and instead attacks the cats in the cavern. Feathertail tells Stormfur that she hears voices telling her to "do this," and leaps onto a ledge, and then onto a stalagmite. The stalagmite falls from the roof of the cavern, impaling Sharptooth and fatally wounding Feathertail.

Crowpaw begs Feathertail to stay alive, but she tells him she will always be with him before succumbing to her death. Brook states that the silver cat came, leading every cat to realize that Stormfur was not the silver cat, but Feathertail was. Crowpaw is devastated, and wrecked with guilt. The Tribe later escorts the cats out of the mountain, and they continue their journey back to the Clans, with one less.

Description

To the forest

Midnight tells the cats to go through the mountains

The six cats start their journey home, to warn their Clanmates about the danger and to lead them to a secure place. They leave in the morning, and Midnight escorts them to the edge of the forest near the large Twolegplace, where they meet Purdy, and hunt for prey. They are attacked by foxes, but Midnight appears and speaks with the creatures, telling them that the cats are only passing through, and in the end, the foxes leave.

At the edge of the woods, Midnight tells that instead of traveling through the Twolegplace again, the cats should go towards the mountains, as it is a more direct route. The cats protest, saying they rather go the way they came, and Purdy warns them about a danger, but Midnight insists, and the six cats finally agree. They say good-bye to Midnight and Purdy, and start off towards the rising sun.

The second day, the cats are already in the mountains, having a hard time climbing the rocky slopes. There is no clear path, and they are forced to follow winding narrow clefts, jump through large gaps, and often having to turn back to find another route. Tawnypelt starts to limp again, and Brambleclaw is worried about her. An eagle attacks Stormfur, but his companions save him. The next day, they reach what appears to be a dead-end and find a waterfall. They scramble upward, and cross the mountain stream that feeds the waterfall; Feathertail almost slips in the stream below, but Crowpaw saves her. It is apparent that Feathertail and Crowpaw have gradually fallen in love.

However, the stream floods and all six cats are washed away, plunging over the waterfall and plummeting into the pool below. They survive and manage to climb out, only to find some cats approaching menacingly, their fur covered with streaks of mud. They prepare to defend themselves, but the strange cats look excited to see them and escort them to the Cave of Rushing Water, a cave behind the waterfall where the Tribe lives.

The Tribe

Stoneteller (pictured) is the Healer, who serves as leader and medicine cat of the Tribe

The Clan cats learn about the Tribe, their hierarchy, their customs and their life in the mountains. The Tribe cats welcome them to their cave and offer them food, and Stoneteller heals Tawnypelt's wound. The Clan cats rest and recover, helping the Tribe in various tasks, such as hunting. They soon realize that the Tribe are afraid of something, but unwilling to tell what is the matter, and Brambleclaw wonders why are they so secretive about it, and why are they acting so welcoming.

The six cats want to return as soon as possible to the forest to take Midnight's news to the Clans, but soon it becomes apparent that the Tribe do not wish them to leave. Finally, Stoneteller reveals that there is a prophecy about a silver cat that would deliver them from the menace of Sharptooth, a huge mountain lion. He believes that Stormfur is the said cat, and effectively keeps him prisoner. The other five cats are thrown out of the cave the next morning, and escorted to the edge of the territory. They return, however, after sunset, to rescue their friend; they smear their furs with mud and head for the Cave of Rushing Water.

As they arrive at the cave, they see Sharptooth entering and hear a terrible shrieking breaking out. They enter as well, tackling the two cave-guards at the entrance, and using the chaos to leave with Stormfur, with no cat trying to stop them.

They travel through the night in a cold rain, and Stormfur leads them out from the Tribe territory, knowing the surroundings from his hunting patrols with Brook, a Tribe cat he grew close to. However, he starts to feel guilty for abandoning the Tribe when they needed help the most, and starts to believe that he is actually part of their prophecy. They try to take shelter in a cave, as they cannot continue in the darkness and rain, but meet three Tribe cats there. The three cats reveal that they were exiled from the Tribe as they could not complete a mission given to them by Stoneteller, to kill Sharptooth. Talon, one of the cats speaks about the fear the Tribe cats live in, and about prophecies that need to be fulfilled. Silverstream also appears in Stormfur's vision, and Stormfur finally decides to head back to the Tribe. The other cats are not happy about his decision, but reluctantly agree to return with him.

Stoneteller is initially angry with them, but eventually accepts their help. They devise a plan to kill Sharptooth, making it to eat prey filled with deathberries, but they don't have time to put it in practice, as Sharptooth appears in the cave. Every cat tries to take cover, and the mountain lion corners Crowpaw, but Feathertail dislodges a rock from the ceiling of the cave that kills Sharptooth. Feathertail dies from the impact as well, and is buried under a tree by the waterfall which, according to the Tribe, is a great honor. It is revealed that Feathertail was the silver cat from the prophecy, not Stormfur.

Arriving home

The cats reach Highstones and know that they are home

The five surviving cats leave the mountains and travel through open moorland. They are shattered with grief and are subdued by sadness throughout the rest of the journey because of their companion's death, feeling no sense of hope and relief. After several days of traveling, they glance Highstones, knowing that they are finally home. Getting closer, they see that the destruction of the forest has already begun, some Clans were already forced to abandon their camps, and even Fourtrees were destroyed.

The five cats separate and return to their Clans, and they are first welcomed with hostility. The Clans are initially opposing to leave, and the chosen cats feel that their journey was in vain. However, the leaders eventually decide to heed Midnight's words after the forest becomes unlivable.

After the journey

The journey made the cats strong and lean, and also brought them very close to each other. They share a special bond, and from then onward, they tend to do things together, and the cats still look to Brambleclaw for leadership out of habit.

Characters

Brambleclaw

Brambleclaw continues his role as the unofficially appointed leader of the group, due to his strategic thinking and his ability to keep the cats working together. He leads the Clan cats through the mountains, and serves as the negotiator and representative of the traveling cats towards Stoneteller.

Squirrelpaw

Squirrelpaw is just as eager to return home as she was on the journey to arrive. Keeping her fiery personality, she bonds with Brambleclaw quite closely, but also maintains a good relationship with Stormfur, who notes that she feels something for Brambleclaw. She proves herself to be a quick thinker and smart, as she comes up with the idea of rolling in mud to make them blend in with the rest of the Tribe cats and to stuff a hare with deathberries to kill Sharptooth.

Stormfur

Stormfur becomes close friends with Brambleclaw and at the same time, develops feelings for Squirrelpaw while on the trip. On the way through the mountains, he and his friends fall over a waterfall and nearly drown. They are rescued by the Tribe, who see Stormfur as the silver cat who was promised to rid them of Sharptooth. Stormfur enjoys the daily life of the Tribe and even meets Brook, developing a bond with her. However, Stormfur does not want to catch Sharptooth, and for this, he is imprisoned. When Sharptooth attacks, Stormfur is unable to fight him off, and the Clan cats come to save him. Eventually, after talking to Talon and seeing his mother in a dream, Stormfur decides to save the Tribe from Sharptooth. He leads the cats into battle, but realizes he was never the silver cat. Instead, his sister loses her life while taking Sharptooth's, and Stormfur grieves for her deeply.

Feathertail

Feathertail travels through the mountains with the rest of her companions, and is especially close to Crowpaw, who is the most irritable of the group. She worries about Stormfur when he is kept prisoner by the Tribe, and helps to bring him back. When Stormfur decides he needs to save the Tribe cats from Sharptooth, Feathertail joins him. During the battle, she tells Stormfur that the voices are telling her to "do this," as she leaps on the ledge and onto a stalagmite, which falls and impales Sharptooth. At the same time, the blunt force impact wounds Feathertail mortally. As she succumbs to her wounds, the Tribe cats realize that she was the true silver cat all along. Crowpaw begs her not to leave him, saying he loves her, but Feathertail tells him she will always be with him, and with that, passes away.

Crowpaw

Crowpaw is a WindClan apprentice. On the journey to the sun-drown-place, Crowpaw develops a connection and feelings for Feathertail, the only cat who Crowpaw is able to be genuine and vulnerable with. He stays with the Tribe along with his companions, and helps to fight Sharptooth. However, when Sharptooth tries to attack Crowpaw, Feathertail fatally wounds herself saving him. Crowpaw says one last goodbye to Feathertail before she passes, and mourns her loss for the remainder of the journey home.

Tawnypelt

Tawnypelt is still injured after the rat attack, and is tended to by Stoneteller, who demonstrates his duties as a Healer. She reluctantly stays in the cave to recover while her companions learn about Tribe life. When Stormfur is kept prisoner, she helps to get him back, and then tries to help with poisoning Sharptooth before the plan is foiled. Tawnypelt is deeply saddened at Feathertail's death.

Quotes

"StarClan does not want me to say everything. Many answers lie within ourselves."

―Midnight ^{Moonrise, page 36}

"Neither prophecy is right. And neither is wrong. Everything depends on how cats interpret the prophecy. And whether the prophecy is fulfilled depends on what they decide to do about it. It is up to us to choose the code we live by. Your faith and your courage will tell you what to do."

―Talon ^{Moonrise, page 238}

"They had gained something very precious on that journey: a strong bond of friendship had been forged between them, stronger than rock and deeper than the endless water that washed against the cliffs where Midnight the badger lived."

―Narration ^{Starlight, page 10}