Parallel Paths: Firestar and Russetfur by Viperfrost

Art by CascadingSerenity

Viperfrost takes a look at Firestar and Russetfur.

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS ACROSS ALL ARCS)
Viperfrost, here! We all know the amazing story of Firestar, A.K.A. Rusty the kittypet, who became a prophesied clan apprentice and saved the forest. It was made even more amazing by the fact that it was the first time ever that a clan accepted a kittypet into its ranks since the age of the Ancients!
Except that it wasn’t. Just a single generation previous, Shadowclan accepted the kittypet Red into its ranks as the apprentice Russetpaw. She became the respected Russetfur, long-standing deputy of Blackstar’s reign. Let’s examine their parallels today, in the next installment of Parallel Paths! (Note: this will be a shorter article than usual, since I’m rather under the weather right now.)
Firestar’s Experience:
1. Origins. Rusty was about six months old, and a kittypet. He led a sheltered life previous to this, hanging out with his kittypet friend Smudge and his sister Princess. Rusty was a dark ginger cat with green eyes.
2. Family Background. Rusty’s father was Jake, who fathered two known litters. Rusty’s half-brother Scourge became leader of Bloodclan. Firestar’s nephew, Cloudtail, struggled with acceptance in his clan because of his parental roots.
3. Proof of a Warrior. Firestar went through a lot of effort to prove himself to Thunderclan, embracing their shared values of courage, honor, and loyalty to the clan. He eventually became a respected warrior, even in death, and was looked up to by the next generations of Thunderclan.
4. Positions of Power. Firestar became the deputy of Bluestar, and then ascended to leadership. He held his leadership position for a very long time.
5. Death. After a very long life, Firestar died during a battle, defending his clan from an unjust attack (by the Dark Forest).

Russetfur’s Experience:
1. Origins. Red was about six months old, and a kittypet. She led a sheltered life previous to this, hanging out with her kittypet friends Pixie and Marmalade, and her father Hal. Red was a dark ginger cat with green eyes.
2. Family Background. Red’s father was Hal, who fathered two known litters. Red’s half-brother Raggedstar became leader of Shadowclan. Russetfur’s half-nephew, Brokenstar, struggled with acceptance in his clan because of his parental roots.
3. Proof of a Warrior. Russetfur went through a lot of effort to prove herself to Shadowclan, embracing their shared values of pride, stealth, and strength in battle. She eventually became a respected warrior, even in death, and was looked up to by the next generations of Shadowclan.
4. Positions of Power. Russetfur became the deputy of Blackstar, but died before ascending leadership because of Blackstar’s incredible longevity. She held her leadership position for a very long time.
5. Death. After a very long life, Russetfur died during a battle, defending her clan from an unjust attack (by Thunderclan over that ridiculous patch of grass).

Those are the similarities. Clearly, there are also differences. Firestar matured into a noble, kind cat, while Russetfur matured into that strong, snarky cat we all admire. Firestar started a family with Sandstorm and indirectly made it so that 90% of the clan is related to him, while Russetfur never took a mate and never had kits. They also acclimated in different ways; while Firestar owned his kittypet roots and used his deputyship and leadership to convince the others of the value of non-clan cats, Russetfur fully became a Shadowclan cat, never looking back to her roots in case the others doubted her commitment to her clan.

Questions for BlogClanners:
1. Why didn’t Russetfur ever take a mate? In most other clan deputies and leaders of her generation (Raggedstar, Crookedstar, Oakheart, Bluestar, etc) its rare that you’d find a cat who never did, even secretly. In fact, many of the warriors of Shadowclan who lived through Brokenstar’s time decided to opt out as well (Blackstar, Russetfur, Cinderfur, Stumpytail, Flintfang, etc), perhaps pointing to a realization of the fragility of familial bonds by the senior warriors. Or perhaps she was just very independent?
2. Do you think Russetfur and Firestar would have been different if they were subjected to different conditions, or was it merely based on their personalities beforehand? (Ex: a Firestar that lived in Shadowclan during a stricter generation without any prophesied powers, or a Russetfur that lived in Thunderclan during a time of relaxed rules and a prophecy made for her.)
3. I really like Russetfur as a character. The only instance where I didn’t like her was that time Berrykit was stuck in a trap and she said that because he was a kittypet, she was not code-bound to assist him. However, after writing this article, I began to consider Russetfur’s life-long effort to prove herself; in your opinion, was she just being a jerk, or was she making sure that the patrol she led didn’t think that she was soft or still one of “them”?
4. Why did Russetfur attack Firestar during that battle? Did she really intend to kill him, or did she know that her extreme age meant retirement soon, and wanted to die in battle?
5. What do you think Russetstar’s leadership could have been like? I think she could have been a strong leader to restore Shadowclan’s reputation, just as Blackstar set out to do.

Thus concludes my article! Tell me what you think in the comments. 😊

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