[Sorreltail sits on a path through the forest at sunset]

The Warrior you always knew, but never stopped to think about by Prowlclaw

Prowlclaw takes a look at the life of Sorreltail throughout the series.

Art by ColacatintheHat

Hello! Prowlclaw back with another article. Unlike most of my previous articles, this one will be a little different. Instead of theories, we are going to be talking about a character that is very underrated in the community that deserves some love. So, I’d like you to give it up for…….

Sorreltail!

I honestly don’t know how many of you are really surprised by this choice. For a background character, she gets a surprising amount of love and people generally know who she is. However, most people don’t know her life or her struggles, only the fact that she is considered, “the most normal mother in warriors.” I think this opinion of her needs to change, as she is a lot more than an average background character mother archetype after all. Most of the things that happened in her life were those of a tragedy, so I will go from the beginning and explain all the hardships she faced in her life.

Keep in mind, a little while ago I commented on Silverpaw’s post about the most tragic warrior’s characters, so I will be using that text to summarize her life.

In the beginning of her life, she and her siblings have to endure through the great fire (During this period, they are only newborns). They inhale a lot of smoke and have trouble breathing (Something extremely painful). Not only that, but they lose the place they were born in. After Thunderclan is repaired, the other kit in the nursery gets killed by a hawk (Imagine having to explain this to your child!). So right off the bat, they experience death very early on. Later on in her years as a kit, she is poisoned by Darkstripe for overhearing him and Blackfoot talking. She collapses, foaming at the mouth, and then has to forcefully them up using yarrow. Her kithood isn’t done yet, however, and she is trained to defend the nursery if Bloodclan were to attack. After the battle, she and her siblings learn that her father, Whitestorm, is dead. This was all in her kit years. That is a lot to handle for someone so young.

Now moving on to her apprentice years;

In the beginning of her apprentice years, her mother sacrifices her life to save Sootfur (her brother) from being attacked by a badger. During this time she is allowed to mourns with her brothers in the nursery because she is basically still a kit. However, she moves on with her life and doesn’t look back. Luckily, nothing horrible happens to her in these years leading up to her warrior ceremony, but something unfortunate occurs at the very end of it. She is injured by a monster, so her warrior ceremony was delayed for three moons. However, she did get to be a warrior in the end, but her life already has already many hardships.

For her Warriors years (Get ready for the feels);

Sorreltail has to make the great journey to the lake and almost dies a couple of times doing so. She has to make this journey while pregnant and is very nervous for her kits. During this time, she is seen playing with Daisy’s kits and it is noted the Sorreltail really wants to be a good mother (This is important later). Fast forward to her kitting, and Sorreltail is being protected by Cinderpelt against badgers and her best friend Leafpool (Who promised to protect her), is missing. Cinderpelt (her sister in-law), is killed right in front of her while she is completely helpless (Sounds familiar doesn’t it?). Not only that but her brother, Smokefur, is also killed by a badger ( Those badgers am I right?). When Brackenfur tells her, she is a sobbing mess and can’t think straight. Sorreltail believes Cinderpelt’s death was her fault, so she feels obligated to name one of the grey kits: Cinderkit.

A few moons afterward, her brother, Rainwhisker, is killed by a falling branch. This signals the death of almost all her immediate family. Not long after that, her son, Molepaw, dies from a cough. Her only son dies and he is her first litter. Poppypaw then contracts that same cough in a twisted version of Deja vu, but is luckily saved by Jaypaw. Not only that, but Cinderpaw falls from the Sky Oak and has a wound resembling Cinderpelt’s. This absolutely terrifies Sorreltail and she tries to care for her frantically. Luckily, it comes to pass, but definitely left an impact on her.

Sorreltail’s children finally become warriors, and during the ceremony, Sorreltail is seen lamenting Molepaw while grooming her daughters. I feel like this shows that she hasn’t completely gotten over it. In a sad turn of events, Honeyfern is killed while trying to protect Briarlight from a snake. Sorreltail cries to Brackenfur that she can’t lose another one of her kits. She then tries to sleep to see if Honeyfern will walk in her dreams. The fact that Honeyfern might’ve been pregnant also makes it especially sad because Sorreltail might’ve been a grandmother. Luckily, Poppyfrost has kits with Berrynose, and she names her children Cherrykit and Molekit (Probably after her dead brother).

After a few moons, Sorreltail becomes pregnant with her second and final litter. She has a rough birth, but luckily Leafpool is there. I think one of the saddest part of all was her death. After fighting Darkstripe (The guy who poisoned her), she returns to the nursery to she her kits. Sorreltail hid her own wounds to see if her children were alright and paid the ultimate price. Her last moments were of her bleeding out and watching her kits.

Despite her many hardships throughout her life, she remained the happiest she could. It was often mentioned that she was the happiest out of her siblings and also made the best of life. Sorreltail’s entire life embodied the fact that life moves on, and you can either accept that fact, or be alone for the rest of it. For a final note I would like to say that if find it quite sad that Brackenfur is more popular than her because of his hardships, despite the fact that she faced more than him. However, they are a very good to each other, and in my personal opinion, maybe one of the best couples in warriors. Thank you for reading my article! Please post your thoughts and views in the comments so I can see your opinions!

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