[Ashfur sitting down with a forlorn expression]

Ashfur’s Secret? by Rachel

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Rachel discusses a theory about Ashfur.

**Spoiler Warning**

I had always liked the idea of Ashfur actually being Dovewing’s and Ivypool’s father, Whitewing being his temporary mate.

I don’t have much evidence for this theory, it’s such a headcanon, but treat it as you will.

First, we take into account Dovewing’s and Ivypool’s appearances, unlike the Holly, Jay and Lion incident, they actually look like the “genetic father” in comparison to the “foster” father. They are both shades of grey and Ivypool has dark blue eyes – much like Ashfur. Hm? Birchfall’s colour scheme never matched the kits. You may defend this by saying that most kits in the series don’t always receive their parents genetics, but if you look through Ashfur’s background – where grey cats are a frequent occurrence. Again, you can defend this by pointing out that Ferncloud is grey and would ultimately make the genetics score perfectly, but I see this like the Silver x Grey scenario – their kits turned out almost identical to their parents, despite all of the possible pelts they could have been born with when you run a quick family search on Grey and Silver.

What about the kits personalities? Mainly the kits will develop their own personality as they grow, but will have traits similarly to their parents – Crow and Jay, Sand and Squirrel, Tiger and Hawk. Ivypool was easily jealous, easily tempered by the admiration and attention her sister would receive rather than her. She was always her shadow, and felt as though that was all she could ever be, when a manipulative cat rose to the rescue, she seized the opportunity and joined the dark side in hope for her mistreatment to be put to rest. Although she was doing wrong, all she wanted was to be involved in something just as big as her sister. This example shows that she has some of Ashfur’s traits – Easily jealous, a little selfish, easy to manipulate. The two were both angered by their own paths, and wanted to strike vengeance by joining the dark side, blind and clueless by their rage. Unlike Ashfur, she managed to come to her senses and avoid conflict and betraying her Clan and sister.

If Ashfur is truly Whitewing’s kit’s father, where’s the evidence of them ever being mates? When Ashfur was found dead at the border, Whitewing was the first to express grief, where had this sudden care for the cat come from?

Sunrise:
“Whitewing starts to get upset about the death of Ashfur, but Birchfall comforts her and tells her to think about their kits.” Why is she showing so much care and concern for the death of a cat who wasn’t affiliated with her in any way?

The Sight – “She shares tongues with Dustpelt outside the warriors’ den. When Lionkit, Hollykit, and “Jaykit go out to find the fox, Jaykit gets hurt and is immediately brought back to camp. Whitewing and Leafpool are seen crouching with horror at Jaykit’s being. Leafpool assures Brambleclaw that his heart is still beating, and Brambleclaw orders Whitewing to go get Squirrelflight and Firestar. When Berrypaw, Mousepaw, and Hazelpaw are about to be assessed, Ashfur is sharing tongues with Whitewing. The apprentices are nervous about who will assess them. Ashfur is amused and says they’ll be wiser on their own, as they might be able to surprise the prey. If not, they’ll scare everything from there to the sun-drown-place. Whitewing pokes him, and scolds him, telling him not to tease. After all,she adds, he was an apprentice once, and he must remember how tense he felt on his first assessment. She is later seen sharing a pigeon with Spiderleg and Thornclaw. ”

There are a few times in the books where Whitewhing and Ashfur are seen together – sharing tongues, talking. Maybe building chemistry? The timing for Whitewing falling pregnant and Ashfur’s death were perfect. There would have been enough time for Whitewing to have a fling with Ashfur and Birchfall, but maybe Squirrelflight lingering on his mind made her feel insignificant and she turned him down, only to find solace in Birchfall and convince herself that she had birthed Birchfall’s daughters, when in reality, it was her former mate’s kits. Had she known about his plots, but forgiven him? Had she suspected him to be a cruel cat so felt same to have his kits?

Tell me what you think.

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47 comments

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  • I’ve been thinking that as well. If Birchfall is more of a brown shaded pelt, then why aren’t his ‘kits’?

      • This is all good evidence.. But have you studied cat genetics? Every cat has white, though for some it is hidden (Birch) And white is a powerful color, while brown is less… I don’t know. A determining factor. And Ivypool’s blue eyes? It could have come from Cloudtail.

        • How does every cat have white spotting? From what I know, white spotting is dominate and that masks the cat’s color. As for eye color, it is determined by pelt color, not by parents or grandparents. In fact with genetics, the cats can only get their colors from their parents. Grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. play no role in deciding the genes of the cat. The only time parents help dictate the eye colors, at least to my limited knowledge of this breed, is if it’s an Ojos Azules cat. With that very rare breed, it doesn’t matter the color of the cat, they can have the cornflower blue eyes.

  • I’m not the only one that thinks Ashfur is Ivypool and Dovewing’s father! Whoot! Great article!

  • =^.^= Ashfur is their father… My decision is I will believe this and once my friend reads the fourth series, I will tell her this and she will cry in disappointment of Whitewing.😆

    • Well, technically, friends of opposite genders are not mates. From what I see, Whitewing is Ashfur’s friend and she is grieving like any friend would. And the genetics still make sense if Birchfall was dad. White masks any color

  • I don’t think that he is their father because their coloring could have come from one of their distant relatives! But this is an amazingly written article!:)

  • I’be seen this theory before and never understood it. How could Ashfur be Ivypool and Dovewing’s father? But now I actually understand how it could have happened. Great article!

    • Err…friends of opposite genders are not always mates. White masks any color, so the fur coild have come from Whitewing

  • I personally don’t like this theory but whatever. If Ashfur truly “loved” Whitewing he wouldn’t have thrown his tantrum over Squirrelflight. And yes Whitewing getting pregnant and Ashfur dying do line up but what does that prove? Not to mention the fact that Whitewing would have no reason to hide the truth. If it’s true Ashfur was the father she would have told him, or announced it to someone she was having his kits and not Birchfall’s.

    And as for all the times they spent “sharing tongues,” There’s no proof any of that was romantic. This whole thing is just a big “but maybe” with no concrete evidence to back it up. Sure there were things from the books that support it but can that really be seen as a romance sparking? Again I’m personally not for this But hey. You do you.

  • That’s just nuts. I don’t think he truly loved Whitewing but he could have accidentally pregnated her while sharing tongues without even realizing it, and then everyone just thought the kit was Birchfall’s. However, I think this is actually extremely unlikely but there is like a maybe 5-or-less% chance that it is real. I don’t really know, though.

  • I don’t like this theory, but good article…
    Sharing tongues and being friends and the opposite gended is not romance. I have friends who are boys and K joke with them, and am I their boyfriend? No!
    Also, take basically most warrior cats. Their personalities are their own! Also, Ivypool was just confused and jealous, nothing like Ashfur’s disloyalty or obsession.
    Gentic-wise: most of the time, kittens get genes from parents. Sometimes, though, they are passed down. Especially in the genetic code breaking warriors world. I think the Erins just thought that a Dovekit would be gray. Dovewing could easily have inherited a light coat from her mother.
    As the Erin never confirmed the theory, I cannot believe it. And I don’t like it,…

  • I loved the article.
    Also I don’t want to think Ashfur is Ivy and Dove’s dad, but now you are having me question my choices.

  • Whitewing is totally Ashfur’s ex-mate and I know because I am Ashfur crazy and those two are Ashfur’s kits for sure.

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