A detailed analysis of Leafpool and Crowfeather’s relationship by Mountainpaw

Art by lambhopp

Mountainpaw thoroughly examines Leafpool and Crowfeather’s relationship – was it doomed to fail?

Hi, kits, apprentices, warriors, elders, medicine cats!
So, some of you may remember the article I wrote with Fawnpaw, where we debated these two ships: Feather x Crow and Leaf x Crow. In that article, I firmly stood by the fact that Leafpool and Crowfeather’s relationship isn’t healthy. But lately, I’ve been wondering if I was wrong. So I wrote this article, where I’ll be looking through multiple sites on the internet, lots of warriors books, and asking the opinions of BlogClanners. Was Leafpool and Crowfeathers relationship really that bad? Let’s find out.

Leafpool is a cat from ThunderClan, Firestar’s and Sandstorm’s daughter. She is first seen in the manga, Ravenpaw’s path, as a young kit.
Later, she decides to become a medicine cat apprentice. She is next seen in Midnight, where she is very supportive of her sister, Squirrelpaw. When Squirrelpaw leaves for the journey to the sun-drown place, Leafpaw brings her some traveling herbs. And while Squirrelpaw is traveling, Leafpaw remains worried about her. This proves Leafpaw is kind and caring, good qualities of a medicine cat.
At the end of Moonrise, Leafpaw is captured by the twolegs. Leafpaw is pretty depressed at this point. A kittypet called Cody helps her regain her spirit.
In Dawn, she escapes, and soon leaves the forest with the rest of the Clans. This is where she first meets Crowpaw, who at the time is depressed and broken over the death of his mate and love, Feathertail.

We can first see Crowpaw in Ravenpaw’s path, as a young kit, then later in Midnight, when he steals prey from ThunderClan territory. Next, he meets with the rest of the traveling cats, and with a little persuasion from Feathertail, he agrees to embark on the journey to the sun-drown place.
He’s angry, and unkind. Despite this, Feathertail sees the good in him. She continues to be friendly and loving toward him- and Crowpaw falls in love with Feathertail’s beautiful personality.
At this time, we can see Crowpaw’s good side- Loyal, caring, and clever.
Sadly, on the way back from the sun- drown place, Feathertail dies saving Crowpaw. Crowpaw is broken. He even attempts suicide, but his friends stop him.
They return home, and Crowpaw rushes to his Clan to warn them about the danger.
It is later mentioned that Crowpaw was hunting extremely well, providing lots of food for his starving Clan.
Crowpaw leaves with the Clans.

Next, in the mountains, Crowpaw is helping cats over a large drop in the middle of the path. If cats miss the jump, it would be fatal. Crowpaw is doing his best to help the cats. When it’s Leafpaw’s turn, Crowpaw realizes how scared she is. He comforts her.
When it was Leafpaw’s turn, her paws trembled so hard that she was afraid they would shake her right off the ledge.

“It’s okay,” Crowpaw murmured. “It’s not as hard as it looks.”
Leafpaw felt his warm breath on her fur and tried to concentrate on that instead of the gaping hole before her.
– Dawn, page 280

It’s proof that their relationship wasn’t as sudden as most people (including me) think.
The next part where we can see hints of their relationship is in Starlight.

Her gaze was drawn to the lean black shape of Crowfeather. Of all the others, he was the hardest to understand. Leafpaw wished she knew him better. He seemed like the least willing to trust cats from other Clans, yet the long journey through the mountains she had seen him put himself in danger over and over to help cats who weren’t from WindClan. Leafpaw’s pelt prickled, making her shiver from nose to tail. Something told her that Crowfeather had an important path laid out by StarClan, but she had no idea where it might lead- nor was there any reason for StarClan to let her know the destiny of a cat from another Clan.
-Starlight, page 34

And then:

So why did she feel a tug in her paws to follow the little patrol that was padding away along the line of the shore? Her mind flooded with an image of bounding after them to walk alongside Crowfeather, who was bringing up the rear; she drew in her breath sharply, almost able to feel his dark grey pelt brush against hers as they picked their way over the tufts of boggy grass.
-Starlight, page 35

Then back to Crowfeather:

I thought when we reached the lake and went our separate ways, I’d be able to forget her. But first she came to our camp to bring watermint to our sick cats, Morningflower and Darkfoot. And the way I felt when I saw her- it made me angry to realise how little I could control my feelings.
-Secrets of the Clans, page 121

After all this, Crowfeather saves Leafpool from falling off a cliff. Then he admits his feelings to her. Then they decide to meet by the stream at the WindClan and ThunderClan border. They meet a few times, and during those times they have some intense romance.

They were on the other side of the ridge from the lake, out of sight of any of the Clan territories. In front of them, the land unrolled in dips and curves all the way to the dark line of the mountains on the horizon. Here and there, Twoleg dens clustered in small reddish groups, but mostly the view was empty.
Leafpool shuffled closer to Crowfeather and leaned her head against his shoulder. His pelt smelled of grass and the breeze, with a faint hint of rabbit underneath. “There is so much land beyond our homes” she whispered.
Crowfeather rubbed his chin on the top of her head. “Somewhere out there is a place where we can be together all the time. You know that, don’t you, Leafpool?”
Still ticked against him, she nodded. “I wonder if we’ll ever find it.” she murmured.
She felt the dark grey cat tense beside her. “I would give my last breath trying,” he vowed.
-Leafpool’s wish, pages 129, 130, and 131

Super sweet, adorable, really intense- on their second night of meeting. ??? Honestly, it still feels way too rushed, and corny for me, but we’ll get to that part later.
After meeting about five times, Leafpool convinces herself to leave with Crowfeather. They run away together, are loners for one whole chapter, then after meeting Midnight the badger, who tells them that badgers are attacking the camp, Leafpool convinces Crowfeather to go back, who reluctantly agrees. They say goodbye, then return to their own lives.
But Leafpool finds out she’s having kits. She convinces Squirrelflight (along with the help of a lot of ghost cats) to lie to her whole Clan and take the kits as her own.
After that, everytime Leafpool and Crowfeather meet, they are at each other’s throats. Crowfeather treats Leafpool like dirt because he’s mad she left him. Even though he told Leafpool it was okay and he would be okay when Leafpool decided to stay with her Clan.
When Hollyleaf dies, they grieve together, which is the only time they are not fighting.
Then in Squirrelflight’s hope, Crowfeather shows concern for Leafpool when she goes into the cave, and later is sad at the gathering over her death.

Just then a breathless Crowfeather appeared at her side.
“Did you say Leafpool is in a cave?” His blue eyes were wide and full of concern.
Of course he was concerned. Squirrelflight realised- they had once been forbidden mates, and while both cats had moved on with their lives, Squirrelflight knew that those feelings had never completely went away.
-Squirrelflight’s hope, page 326

Okay. Now time for the bad side of their love.

I asked a few BlogClanners about their thoughts on this complex relationship. After this, I will share my own thoughts, and say why I don’t like this couple.
WIthout further ado, let’s see what these cats opinions are on this ship!

First up is Pinestripe!
“I think it’s a good relationship. Leafpool helped Crowfeather feel love again after the death of Feathertail. Her love helped him heal and it’s also what Feathertail would have wanted, since she cares about him and couldn’t bear it if his grief made him permanently unable to be happy. I think both Crowfeather and Leafpool care about each other and it was a good relationship. 🙂”

Next is Freepaw!
“I dislike their relationship greatly. It was not of help to the Clans when the badgers attacked… they definitely could have held back their love. Although I intensely despise this pairing I do believe it was of use to the Clans in the long run. Of course, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf were all born of Leafpool. However I do find Crowfeather quite cruel. He loved Feathertail so much, but when she died, he went for Leafpool. Then, he decided he would cut off all of his ties with her and the kits. That’s like writing “save the trees” on a piece of paper. Hypocritical, especially when he went for Nightcloud – JUST to prove his loyalty. He didn’t love her back. I also feel like this entire LeafCrow ship hurt more than saved. Overall I have conflicting opinions.”

Time for Amberpaw!
“I absolutely love Leafpool and Crowfeather! I loved (ok I’m using the word love too much :p) seeing the other side of Crowfeather. When he was with Leafpool, he was so sweet and open. They both sacrificed so much for each other- they almost left their Clans for one another! :O I just wish they had stayed together :*(
Sometimes I pretend they took their kits and started a new Clan :p
-Amber”

Ospreymist’s turn!
“I think they are pretty cool. I definitely prefer them over Feathertail x Crowfeather. The relationship seems very artificial, like one of those reality TV shows where you’re forced to fall head over heels for someone after 2 days of knowing them hehe.”

And last we have Pineblossom!
“I don’t remember very much about their relationship but i’ll try :p i do think that it happened a little too fast after crowfeather just got over feathertail’s death, but then again their relationship could have been mostly infatuation based. However, I feel like crowfeather and leaf pool also fell in love pretty fast, and it was more of a rebound for crowfeather bc ig leafpool and feathertail were pretty similar in their gentleness? anyways that’s what i have to say :p”

Thank you Pinestripe, Freepaw, Amberpaw, Ospreymist, and Pineblossom for sharing your thoughts on this popular ship!
So first, I partly agree with Pinestripe. It’s right that Leafpool and Crowfeather loved each other a lot. It’s also true that Feathertail wouldn’t have wanted Crowfeather to be sad forever. But I believe if Crowfeather had just been left alone for a few more days, he would have gotten over it, and realised that he will be with Feathertail again one day, and till then she’s watching over him. Though when he was with Leafpool it gave him a boost of happiness, he was left even more broken when Leafpool “divorced” him. So even though for a moon or so he was happier than if he hadn’t been with Leafpool, afterward it made him even more sad than if he hadn’t.
Not only that, but it made him make rash decisions, like having Nightcloud as a mate just to prove his loyalty, or having angry outbursts at the cats he loved.

I completely agree with Freepaw. Though I don’t hate Leafpool and Crowfeather’s relationship just that much, it is true that Crowfeather wasn’t that nice with Leafpool after she left him. Instead of sympathising and relating, he just cut off all ties. Though I do think that is also partly Leafpool’s fault. You see, there was no point in going back to the Clans from Leafpool and Crowfeather’s point of view. The attack had already started by the time they decided to go back. Midnight had said that. Leafpool didn’t know that Cinderpelt was going to get killed, so she didn’t even have to feel obligated to return to the Clans because they’d be left without a medicine cat. And I hardly think she was expecting to help fight off the badger. One cat wouldn’t matter that much, and since Leafpool wasn’t trained in battle, she wouldn’t know how to fight. Plus, when they did return, she didn’t stop to fight the badgers.
There was just no point in returning. Unless Leafpool wanted to make sure that no one in her family had died. But she would have known that from her special, magical bond with Squirrelflight. If Leafpool would have felt really sorrowful for no reason, then she would have known someone Squirrelflight loved probably died.
So there was no point in leaving Crowfeather. Crowfeather has a right to be angry, because from his perspective, his love left him for no real reason. And he must have been worried. Was I not good enough for her? What did I do wrong? Did I say something bad? Thoughts like these, going through his head day after day. Who can blame him for feeling angry and hurt?
But yes, you’re right Freepaw, Crowfeather did treat Leafpool very badly after they came back to their Clans. Though I don’t like Leafpool very much, I did feel bad for her. She would have deserved to have someone more accepting of her decisions. Same goes to Crowfeather. But I will admit that during their time together, they really treated each other well.
Too well even. (I’ll get back to that in a moment!)
So thank you Freepaw! Also, the writing “save the trees” on a piece of paper example was amazing!

I kinda agree with Amberpaw!
Crowfeather was super sweet when he was with Crowfeather. But then again, Crowfeather was super sweet when he was with Feathertail! (But not when he was with Nightcloud!)
Let’s get back to the “too well” part. For my taste, Leaf x Crow is a bit too cheesy. I think the authors went a bit overboard with this ship, to a point where it seemed unrealistic. Most people like it when a relationship is corny, but I don’t! Feathertail and Crowfeather’s relationship wasn’t this bad. I believe if they would have been together more, their relationship would have steadily grown, till they loved each other a lot. They probably would have become mates, had kits, etc. But their relationship never would have become corny, because it developed slowly, not as fast as Leaf x Crow. They had feelings for each other, that is true, but that clip I wrote in this article from Leafpool’s wish- that was probably their second or third night of meeting. And it already escalated to that intense love. It’s way too corny for me. Once again, some people like it, and it’s okay if you do, but I certainly don’t!
That’s sweet, Amberpaw! <3 Sometimes I pretend the same thing, but with Feathertail and Crowfeather! Thank you for your opinion! 🙂

*Goes into Feather x Crow defending mode*
I think Feathertail and Crowpaw were together a lot more than Leafpool and Crowfeather were. Feathertail and Crowpaw never left each other’s sides for 62 days. (Two moons) The journey lasts that long. And all night, all day, Crowpaw and Feathertail always stayed together.
Leafpool’s relationship with Crowfeather began at about the same time as Sorreltail told Leafpool she was pregnant. Cats are pregnant for about two moons, but they can’t really tell till they have been carrying kits for at least two or three weeks. Leafpool’s relationship with Crowfeather ended when Sorreltail gave birth. So about one and a half months passed while Leafpool and Crowfeather were together. But, Leafpool says in Twilight that she hadn’t seen Crowfeather for half a moon since he rescued her from falling. So minus that half moon: they were together for about a moon. But even if they were together for more than that, the fact still remains that they only met for a few minutes at a time at twilight, while Crowpaw and Feathertail were together not only at twilight, but all night and all day. And Leafpool and Crowfeather probably didn’t meet everyday- Leafpool had important medicine cat duites like when he went to help her friend Mothwing and was gone for a few days.
So though Crowfeather and Leafpool did see each other a lot, they weren’t together as much as Feather and Crow. And their relationship developed a lot more slowly than Leafpool and Crowfeather’s! Though we do see a few hints of it, not as much as Feather x Crow.
Leaf x Crow reminded me a lot more of a TV show romance, because of the corny parts, and the unrealism. Feather x Crow just seemed a whole lot more realistic and believable to me. But that’s just my opinion!
And as an afterthought, Leaf x Crow did feel a bit forced to me. Just because it had to be the grieving WindClan tom, who just saw the love of his life die before his eyes, and the one if you fall in love with it will be double forbidden and dangerous that had to get together.

And last, Pineblossom. I agree with you completely!
I do think Leaf x Crow was short-lived, but very intense. Like Crowfeather had an infatuation with Leafpool. Or the other way around.
And yes, Leafpool and Feathertail are pretty similar in their intelligence and kindness, which might have played a part in why Crowfeathr loved Leafpool. There is nothing wrong with that, but it makes it seem like his love for Leafpool was like an echo for his love with Feathertail.
Short lived, and intense. But it kinda faded away after that. (I’ll get back to this too, in a few words!)

Once again, thank you five BlogClanners for speaking your thoughts!
Now, I made enough accusations about Leafpool and Crowfeather in this part. Time to back it up with some solid proof.

My first accusation was that this pairing wasn’t very healthy after Leafpool broke away from Crowfeather. Here’s my proof:

“I have missed you,” he whispered, so close she could feel his breath on her muzzle. “I need you with me. I wish things could be different.”
“I wish that too,” Leafpool mewed. “More than you could possibly know[…]Go back to your Clan, Crowfeather. I won’t let you ruin everything again.”
It was as if she had struck the WindClan warrior a physical blow. He flinched away with hurt in his eyes. “If that’s what you really want,” he murmured.
“It is.” Leafpool growled.
-Leafpool’s wish, pages 147 and 148

So not only does Leafpool wound Crowfeather with her words, Crowfeather also says this: “I need you with me.”
Usually when someone says this to their partner, it can show they are overly attached. Relationships aren’t about building one life- they are about building two lives. And since Crowfeather seemed too attached to Leafpool, and seemed to desperately want to please her, he might have molded himself into the kind of cat Leafpool loves- and throw away his true self. Which is pretty unhealthy. Though this might just be me thinking this. Anyways! Let’s get back on track: Then, a few sentences later:

“Is everything okay?” Nightcloud was asking. “Who were you talking to?”
“No one important,” Crowfeather grunted, and Leafpool felt her heart crack. “Come on. Let’s finish our patrol.”
The WindClan cats bounded away. Leafpool crawled out of her hiding place. No one important?[…]Had Crowfeather lied about wanting to go back to the way things were?
-Leafpool’s wish, page 149

So Leafpool just yelled at Crowfeather, hurting his feelings, telling him not to let other cats see them together- and now she’s angry at him for referring to her as no one important, and twining tails with Nightcloud, when it was Nightcloud who did it, not Crowfeather?
Then:

“Stop it!”
Leafpool’s high pitched shriek shattered the freezing air as she plunged through the bracken with Cinderheart and Dovepaw behind her. “How can you watch your sons fight?” she screeched at Crowfeather.
-Night whispers, page 202

Though it’s obvious that she feels concern for Lionblaze, that’s still no excuse to treat her former mate so cruelly.

He tossed him aside like a piece of prey and leaned over Leafpool. “You chose your Clan, remember?” he hissed.
She stared up at him. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t love you.”
Crowfeather’s eyes flashed with pain. “Maybe you did.” he growled. “But it wasn’t enough, was it?”
-Night whispers, pages 202 and 203

Now it’s Crowfeather’s turn to treat Leafpool like dirt. And not only is Crowfeather quite mean to Leafpool- read it again, carefully. Leafpool says: “That doesn’t mean I didn’t love you.” Not “That doesn’t mean I don’t love you.” It’s the first hint that their feelings and relationship is over. Some of you might state that Crowfeather speaks about Feathertail in the same way. But it’s different when cats are talking about someone dead, then when talking about someone alive.

Leafpool spoke about her love with Crowfeather in past-tense, not present, even though nobody could have heard her.
“You did follow your heart,” he meowed. “Your heart told you to come home. You could never be happy away from your Clan.”
Leafpool turned her head and saw pain glisten in his amber eyes. “But what about you?” She whispered.
Crowfeather bowed his head. “Your heart lies here. Not with me. It was never truly with me.”
Leafpool felt as though she was being torn in two, but she knew Crowfeather was right. She loved him, but not enough.
-Twilight, page 310

Do I need to say anything more? They really loved each other a lot- but Leafpool’s duty was simply more important to her than Crowfeather. She loved him, but not enough. Her heart was never truly with Crowfeather, and their relationship wouldn’t have worked out, even if they did leave their Clans.

“Hi, Crowfeather,” Leafpool mewed awkwardly. “How are things in WindClan?”
“Fine.” Crowfeather’s voice was curt.[…] Being so close to him was making Leafpool’s heart pound. She couldn’t bear to see him so brittle and tense when she knew how much pain he must be hiding. “I never meant to hurt you,” she murmured.
“We chose to be loyal to our Clans…It’s better if we don’t see each other anymore.”[…] “Good-bye,” Leafpool whispered, but he didn’t look back.
-Crowfeather ending his relationship with Leafpool, Sunset, page 169 and 170

Crowfeather here broke up with Leafpool- but later he twisted his own words and went to visit Leafpool despite making a firm decision at this Gathering.

“You mean nothing to me, Leafpool.” Crowfeather’s voice was cold. “That moon has passed. My loyalty is only to WindClan, and I have no kits other than Breezepelt.”
-Sunrise, page 306

Yes. I know what the Leafpool fans are going to say. Crowfeather only said that because all of the Clans were watching. Which is a great point. But what more could Crowfeather have lost if he just accepted what Leafpool said? Nothing! Breezepelt and Nightcloud are angry at him anyways. And Leafpool just bowes her head and accepts his former mate’s words. She lets herself be pushed around and treated horribly by Crowfeather. But yes, the Clans were watching, so it’s understandable that Leafpool didn’t want to cause more trouble. But why didn’t she defend her kits? Even if she accepts Crowfeather’s cruel words toward her, I don’t think she should have accepted Crowfeather disowning their kits. She should have at least said: “Leave our kits out of this” or something like that! But she didn’t do anything like that! Which kinda makes it seem like Leafpool still wants to please Crowfeather. Though this is probably me misinterpreting things.

And then we have this:

Leafpool hadn’t loved him for seasons, and if he was honest, his love for her had faded, too.
-Crowfeather’s trail, page 244

Most people argue that these are just Crowfeather trying to deny that he still has feelings for Leafpool. I don’t think so. Why would he think “if he was honest” then? Of course Crowfeather is sad. He had a great time with Leafpool, and he truly loved her. And she just died. Why wouldn’t he be sad? But that doesn’t mean he still loves her in the same way he used to. He’s sad because he still cares for her, but I don’t think he loves her like he did before. And Squirrelflight has a really good point. Crowfeather never supported Leafpool through her difficulties. Leafpool lived and died without him, and that moon of her life that she was with Crowfeather was over. But even when Crowfeather and Leafpool were together, I felt like Crowfeather was a bit “commanding” of her. (Leaf x Crow lovers, please don’t kill me) Not a lot! But Crowfeeather decided when and where to meet, without asking Leafpool first if it was good for her. And then he made leafpool feel guilty for missing the meetings. So when Crowfeather wanted to meet with Leafpool, he didn’t really give her a choice.
He just said: Meet me by the stream tomorrow. Bye!

Okay! I will now clear three very common confusions, then wrap things up before my eyes melt.

So lots of people think that Crowfeather saving Leafpool from the cliff was very romantic, and he was really saving Leafpool. But I don’t think Crowfeather was saving Leafpool. I think he was saving Feathertail. We can see this scene from two books- Starlight and Secrets of the Clans. And in both books, it seems like Crowfeather was helping his first love and mate.

The two ShadowClan cats had fallen to their deaths, but Leafpaw was clinging desperately to the edge of the cliff, her claws scrabbling on the slick, wet rock. Her wild amber eyes met mine, and she called for help. I was frozen…all I could think about was how I failed Feathertail, how she had died because I couldn’t save her.
-Secrets of the Clans, page 122

And:

Crowfeather stood as if frozen. A hoarse whisper came from him, but his gaze was blank, and Leafpool realised he wasn’t talking to her at all. “Feathertail! I’m so sorry! It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have let you fall.”
-Starlight, page 306

See? It might just be me, but it honestly seems like Crowfeather was helping Feathertail.

The second misconception I’d like to clear is that Feathertail gave Leafpool and Crowfeather her blessing. This is not true at all. This is the clip from which people assume that “Feathertail enthusiastically urged on Leafpool to keep on loving Crowfeather”.

“I can guess what you’re thinking,” she meowed. “You think I’m angry about Crowfeather, don’t you?”
Leafpool blinked at her, too ashamed to admit her suspicion.
“Do you think I wouldn’t want to see him happy?” Feathertail asked gently. “You make him happy; I can see that.”
-Twilight, page 91

This is solid proof. Not only does Feathertail say these words expressionless- emotionless- which must mean these words are causing her pain, but Leafpool also admits that there is more to it than that. Leafpool knows Feathertail’s feeling more complicated emotion. She wants to see Crowfeather happy, but she wants him back, too. “But she knew it was more complicated than that.” That part is proof. Plus- either there is something wrong with me- or Feathertail didn’t give Crowfeather and Leafpool her blessing? I thought a blessing was more like: “You make Crowfeather happy, I can see that. May StarClan be with you and Crowfeather, Leafpool.”

Feathertail didn’t give them a blessing. She didn’t even say she wasn’t angry. All she said was she was glad Crowfeather was happy again.

Others might think she was trying to set Leafpool and Crowfeather up. She wasn’t. StarClan cats can’t read minds- she couldn’t tell Leafpaw was in love with Crowfeather, or that Crowfeather loved Leafpaw. She most certainly wouldn’t have set Crowfeather on such a dangerous path. (Because Leafpool is a ThunderClan medicine cat. Double forbidden, double dangerous.) She would have tried to set him up with a WindClan cat! Plus, Feathertail is a StarClan guide. It’s her duty to pass on messages. She knew Leafpaw well (they had a long conversation in Midnight, at a gathering) better than Barkface and Littlecloud. And Mothwing or Cinderpelt most likely wouldn’t have passed the message onto Crowfeather. And StarClan cats have to visit medicine cats. Sometimes they can visit Warriors, but most of the time, that’s only when they have a quest to give a Warrior, not to say love messages.

So Leafpaw was the best and most obvious choice to take a message to the WindClan warriors. I don’t think Feathertail was trying to set them up.

And lastly, a famous quote from The Last Hope.
Here it is:

Leafpool looked down at his paws. “Perhaps if we’d stayed together, things would be different.”
Crowfeather’s gaze sparked for a moment, then he sighed. “It was never meant to be.” Leafpool flinched, but Crowfeather touched his tail to her flank. “I don’t regret anything,” he murmured. His gaze flickered toward Lionblaze. “Nothing at all.”
-The Last Hope, page 309

So many people think that this means Crowfeather doesn’t regret being together with Leafpool and having Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf. Which is all true, but this probably also means that he doesn’t regret leaving Leafpool, leaving her to be with her Clan, he doesn’t regret going back to WindClan and being a loyal warrior.

Now, I have a quick point to make. Leafpool and Feathertail actually share a lot of similarities. They are both quiet, kind, gentle, brilliant, and a bit shy. It seems a lot to me like Leafpool was Feathertaiil’s replacement. You can argue this isn’t true, but is there really any proof against this?

Alright! This article is almost finished! (ooh my eyes are about to fall out)
I searched up “5 signs of a healthy relationship. Let’s see if they fit Leafpool and Crowfeather!
1. You’re not afraid to speak up
This means that if your mate does or says something you don’t like, you’re not afraid to stand up to him/her.
I’m not sure about this one! Leafpool didn’t really like Crowfeather’s idea of leaving the Clans behind. And she didn’t really speak up, did she? She just claimed that it would be hard to leave the Clans, but even though she disliked the idea, she didn’t turn him down. But when Crowfeather was watching his sons fight in Night Whispers, Leafpool walked right up to him and screeched in his face. So I’m not sure in their case! I don’t think Leafpool was afraid to stand up to Crowfeather after they “broke up”. But before, I think she was scared of making a wrong move and sending Crowfeather away.
2. You encourage each other to go after your goals.
I don’t think so?
Leafpool really wanted to be a good medicine cat, but instead of Crowfeather encouraging her to follow her dreams in becoming an amazing healer, he sort of did the opposite, trying to convince her to leave her dream behind and run away with him. But it is true that when Leafpool and Crowfeather came back, Crowfeather was pretty sympathetic with Leafpool. But later he growled at Leafpool, angry at her that she chose her Clan over him. ???
3. You feel happy and supported
“Once the initial elation of a new relationship wears off, check in with yourself: Do you feel happy and supported by your partner?”
Leafpool felt extremely happy when her relationship with Crowfeather started. But the first initial elation of her relationship wore off, she was miserable. It felt like Crowfeather had back-stabbed her by being with Nightcloud, (even though she was the one who hurt her mate’s feelings by yelling at him) alone with her kits and unsupported by her mate, who was very angry at her for “breaking up” with him. After many moons, in Crowfeather’s trial, Leafpool helps Crowfeather with his family problems. But that’s it. And Crowfeather doesn’t support Leafpool even after that!
4. You’re comfortable in your own skin
I think this is also a no. Crowfeather and Leafpool were pretty content, true, but everytime they saw each other, they felt guilt. Aka, they didn’t feel good in their skin. Though they did really love each other and enjoyed seeing each other, that didn’t stop them from feelings threatened.
Here’s some proof:

But I could see her heart blazing in the depths of her eyes. I could see how much she cared for me too. I’d seen the same look in Feathertail’s eyes…but this was different. This was more dangerous, more forbidden. There was a feeling like lightning prickling along my fur every time I looked at Leafpaw. And now I knew she felt it too.
-Secrets of the Clans, page 122

And….
5. Trust is at the core of the relationship
“In part, that’s because your partner shows you they’re trustworthy. “They’re reliable and available. When they say they’ll be there, they’ll be there. They also show you they trust you by giving you the freedom and space you need without checking up on you constantly”
Well…Leafpool did say she’ll be there to Crowfeather when he told her to meet him at the island at twilight. And she didn’t. It wasn’t her fault because she had medicine cat duties, but then why didn’t she speak about it to Crowfeather? Why didn’t she discuss her first priorities with her mate, which was healing, which she was obligated to do? Why didn’t she communicate with Crowfeather? Was she so desperate to please him that she followed him whatever he said? Met me here, met me there- and Leafpool always agreed, even though she knew at times she would not be able to make it to the island because of her medicine cat duties. These miscommunications often left Crowfeather feeling wounded, thinking that Leafpool left him alone deliberately. This isn’t a huge problem, or anything like that, but for me it seemed slightly like they really wanted to impress each other- so much that sometimes it did the opposite. Which isn’t all that healthy..but nevermind.
And then we have the “checking up on you constantly” problem. I know Crowfeather was trying to be a protective mate, but for me, it was starting to get annoying. When they returned to the Clans, Crowfeather insisted on seeing Leafpool to her camp, and whenever a badger even went near her, Crowfeather would launch himself in front of it and fend it off. It’s sweet that he’s protecting her, but after that, and after their chapter alone on the moors, it seems to me like Crowfeather barely gives Leafpool any space. Like he’s desperate not to let any harm come to his mate, like harm came to Feathertail. It’s fine that he is protecting her, but please! Give your mate some space to breathe! I don’t know about other people, but I like some alone time. I love spending time with friends, family, and people, but I do need an hour or so in my day when I retreat into the closet with a good book and have some alone time. I think if Crowfeather and Leafpool had really run away, after a while Leafpool would have liked some space too, and I believe she would have found it very hard to do, which could have resulted in angry outbursts and even more fights. But even after Leafpool returns to her Clan, Crowfeather uses every free moment he has to check up on her. Which again, proves he is a loving and caring mate…but also that he doesn’t really respect Leafpool’s choice and puts his own interests first.
After Leafpool clearly told him that her heart lay with being a medicine cat, and they said goodbye to each other at a gathering in Sunset, Crowfeather still goes to check on her. After they agreed that their relationship was over. Which isn’t really respecting boundaries and choices.
Leafpool doesn’t respect Crowfeather’s choices that much either- she is angry at him when she sees him with Nightcloud. After they cut off their relationship and agreed to move on.

My very last and final point to make is that Leafpool got a lot more suffering and sadness out of this relationship than happiness and love and joy.
This relationship also ruined most of Breezepelt’s, Nightcloud’s, Squirrelflight’s, Brambleclaw’s, Hollyleaf’s, Jayfeather’s, Lionblaze’s, and Crowfeather’s. Though I think we can all agree that no one suffered more out of this relationship than Leafpool, who had her heart crushed again, and again, and again.

So, in conclusion, was I right to dislike this popular ship? Well, I think so. I just simply don’t like their relationship! Even though Leafpool and Crowfeather had hints of affection for each other, it still seemed like it had very little development, and while they were together, their relationship was way too corny for me, like the Erins were trying so hard to make this ship good it turned out slightly bad. (At least for me.) Then after they broke up, their relationship just seems kind of unhealthy. Definitely not toxic, or anything like that. Just a bit unhealthy. Instead of talking things over, they let their anger rise and said things that hurt each other’s feelings. Which they shouldn’t have.
So, Leaf x Crow is super sweet and adorable, and it’s completely fine if you like it, because they are pretty cool. This is just my opinion, and why I dislike Leaf x Crow.

Thank you so much, I hope you took your time to read my super long article! If you did, you just made my day! And please don’t argue with me in the comments until you read the whole article. It would kinda ruin the whole point of fighting with me if you don’t know my whole perspective.
Again, thank you! Have a wonderful day and may StarClan light your path!
-🏔️🐾

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65 comments

  • This article is great! I never liked Leafpool and Crowfeathers realashsonihip and it always seemed forgettable and kinda rushed? Not super rushed, but they definitely didn’t give them enough time to develop. And Leafpools wish didn’t help, neither did power of three.

  • Personally, I loved this article. I am kind of in between liking the ship and disliking it. I would have loved if there was some sort of alternate universe where they stayed together and didn’t heed what Midnight said. But that would make them bad guys… huh.

  • Great article! But when Crowfeather said he was talking to “no one important”, I’m pretty sure Leafpool was on WindClan land. Could Crowfeather have just been like “oh yes the ThunderClan medicine cat who was once my mate is hiding over there on WindClan territory for no actual reason”?

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