Origins of Warriors Part 3: Thornclaw and Brightheart by Brambleheart

Brambleheart expands on some potential plot holes in the story

Hey everyone! This article is the third part of my Origins of Warriors series, where I speculate about the early lives of characters that we may not know in its entirety… Today’s entry is about Thornclaw and Brightheart, and why they were apprenticed later than their siblings in Forest of Secrets instead of Fire and Ice.

The real world answer is probably because the authors forgot that there were four kits and retconned the others back in, but that’s boring. How would this be explained in-universe?

Cinderpelt and Brackenfur were apprenticed before they were six moons old, for unknown reasons I may get into in a future article. You’d think that Thornkit and Brightkit would be, too. But they weren’t. But why?

Trauma could be why. You see, all four kits were taken by Clawface to go to ShadowClan. While two of them showed their bravery and therefore were ready to be brave as apprentices, two of them could have responded in an opposite way. Thornkit and Brightkit could have either not showed signs of being ready to be apprenticed, or were dealing with the emotional baggage still.

Kidnapping is no joke, especially for young cats. These kits who had never left the camp before were taken to another Clan full of cats they didn’t know, and had tried to kill their family and friends multiple times in their witness (and succeeded to kill their father). It would be perfectly normal for these kits to not be ready to be apprenticed along with their siblings, who in the books are much bolder as well.

So, when Bluestar realized that two of the kits were ready to get apprenticed, she apprenticed them. But for Thornkit and Brightkit, who were still emotionally recovering from their kidnapping, Bluestar decided to wait until they were truly ready. And even though they got their Clan names later on in life than their other siblings, they still overcame their trauma and became the best warriors they could be; overcoming an injury and serving the Clan on patrols.

So, what are your thoughts on this entry in my series? I hope you enjoyed this article and I’ll see you around. May StarClan light your path!