Three Cats I Hate / Kinda Hate That You Might Love by Lupinepaw

I have to disagree with that. Everyone has secrets and not every secret is told to loved ones. Imagine if Leafpool and Squirrelflight told anyone else about the kits. What do you think would happen? Let’s looks at the possible scenarios:

Telling the Clan:
If the entire Clan knew, how would Jayfeather, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze be treated? For a moment, think about how half-Clan cats are treated. In the first series, Stonefur died because he didn’t kill Featherpaw and Stormpaw. Not to mention those three and Mistyfoot were kept prisoner because of their heritage. As oppose to warrior who proved themselves and had their Clanmates trusting them, they would be seen as mistakes. They wouldn’t be trusted and would most likely been seen as warriors who could turn on their Clan at any moment. They wouldn’t be respected and most likely never even accepted officially into the Clan. To make matters worse, not only would they be half-Clan, but they’d also be the kits of a medicine cat. Adding that to them, who knows how things would change. Perhaps Lionblaze and Jayfeather would’ve both joined the DF. And perhaps Hollyleaf may not handle the pressure well and run away. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a good way to go.

Telling Brambleclaw:
Brambleclaw was the deputy during this time. The deputy is going to be the next leader and has an important job. When the leader is unwell, the deputy takes over leader duties. Now, when the secret came out, remember how Squirrelflight and Leafpool, were, unreasonably, treated? Leafpool was stripped of her rank, they both lost the trust of their Clan, the three hated them and Brambleclaw hated Squirrelflight for a stupidly long and unreasonable time. Heck, he’d say rude things to her and avoid her at all costs. If you ask me, he over reacted. However, if the two sisters had that happened to them, what about the deputy? If the deputy kept a secret that big with him, he would be stripped of his rank because the Clan wouldn’t want him as deputy. His Clan would probably compare him to Tigerstar and none of his Clanmates would trust him. His kits would also hate him and treat him like they did Leafpool and Squirrelflight.

Telling Firestar:
If Firestar knew when the secret came out, many things could happen. For one when Hollyleaf revealed the secret, he could do one of two things. Come clean, or pretend he didn’t know what they were talking about. If he came clean, his Clanmates would loose trust in him. Firestar is their leader. He’s someone you’re supposed to trust and relies on. If his Clanmates can’t do that, then why should he be leader? What happens if he gives an order and one of his warriors hesitates because he didn’t tell the Clan about the three’s secret? That hesitation could cost a life or a needed victory. What about the other Clans? If Firestar can’t be trusted, that would give them another, petty and forced reason for them to “hate” and attack ThunderClan. Not to mention, perhaps Firestar would be demoted. If Tunderclan can’t trust their leader, why should he still have his position? Not to mention the three would probably hate him for keeping a secret like that.

Now, if he pretended he didn’t know the secret, that would lead to problems too, even if it’s unlikely. His daughters would distrust him and his Clan may question authority and even, like the last scenario, distrust their leader. Firestar would most likely shatter the bond her had with his daughters and who knows with Sandstorm. Also, if Brambleclaw found out that Firestar knew in either scenario, perhaps he’d treat his leader like he did Squirrelflight.

Also, put yourself in their shoes. Imagine a close friend/family member had an illegal child/children. She asked you for help and if you told anyone, the child could be mistreated or killed.(Yes I know more extreme than what happened in Warriors, but still) Would you leave him/her/they to die? Or would you take him/her/them in and raise them as your own? Even if it meant lying to a loved one to keep them safe? That’s exactly what they were doing. Of course Firestar would never have Leafpool’s kits killed and might even order his Clan to treat them right, but even with that there’d most likely still be bullied.