Could Snowkit have been a warrior? by Flamecloud

Flamecloud analyses Snowkit

Greetings friends, and thank you for taking the time to read this article!

I recently did a reread of The Prophecies Begin, and while I didn’t think much about Snowkit the first time around, this second look has gotten me thinking.

For anyone not familiar with him, Snowkit is the son of Speckletail and Smallear, and the younger brother of Goldenflower and Lionheart. He is pure white with blue eyes, and is deaf, which is more common for cats of that coloration.

Personally, I felt like Snowkit’s character was handled poorly. He is one of the first cats with a disability portrayed in the books, and unfortunately, his main significance is being deaf and suffering a tragic death because of it. Snowkit appears in only two books: Rising Storm and A Dangerous Path.

His role in Rising Storm is negligible, involving only a few brief mentions. At this point, all that is noted is that he is Speckletail’s kit, and that he seems healthy. In A Dangerous Path, Snowkit plays a slightly bigger role. First it is noted that his behavior seems different from the other kits. Then, Cinderpelt inspects him, and confirms that he is deaf. That’s on page 80 of A Dangerous Path.

Fifteen pages later, he dies.

Essentially, Snowkit’s sole purpose was to die.

I think that if a character with a disability is going to be included just to be abruptly killed off, it would have been better not to include him in the first place. Vicky Holmes has said that Snowkit was killed to give Speckletail a nudge to the elder’s den, but was that really necessary? Speckletail could have just decided she was too old to be a warrior and moved on her own.

Snowkit never got the chance to develop much of a personality, let alone find his place in the clan. Upon the discovery of his condition, Bluestar immediately asserts that he will never be a warrior, and no one disagrees save for Speckletail.

But, as my recent reread now has me wondering, could he have become a warrior?

There would, of course, be challenges. Could Snowkit successfully go through training? Could he hunt and fight? I think that the answer to all of those questions is yes.

In a Dangerous Path, there is a scene geared towards refuting the first question, meant to prove that Snowkit could never be an apprentice.
On page 89, it reads, “Now that Fireheart looked more closely at the mother and her kit, he could see they weren’t just playing-at least, Speckletail wasn’t. She was showing Snowkit the hunting crouch. Snowkit seemed to be having fun, rolling over and batting at his mother’s paws, but he wasn’t copying her movements with any accuracy.”

Well, there you have it. Clearly, he can’t be a warrior, right?

The goal of this scene was likely intended to be evidence of Snowkit’s inability to learn, to justify the assumption that he could never be a warrior. However, I have several things I’d like to point out.

Snowkit is, as his name indicates, a kit. Kits are not exactly known for their focussing skills. Is it fair to say that any kit, deaf or not, should be expected to be entirely attentive at a training session?

Additionally, he does not have his mentor, but his mother, trying to train him. There’s a reason leaders often avoid having kin mentor kin. Speckletail is old, Snowkit is her last kit, and she’s very protective of him. It’s probably inevitable that he would end up a little bit spoiled, and Speckletail would probably have trouble disciplining him properly.

Given that the scene takes place a grand total of nine pages after Snowkit’s diagnosis, it also seems reasonable to assume that Snowkit’s training has only recently begun. The fact remains that yes, Snowkit is deaf, and yes, that would probably mean that his training would be more complicated than the average apprentice. It would take time and patience.

So, why on Earth should these very early training sessions, taught by his mother, be seen as any kind of definitive answer?

The same thing can be applied to his death, which is another moment meant to prove that Snowkit can not be a warrior. A hawk swoops into Thunderclan’s territory, and Snowkit, unable to hear the warning cries, is snatched away. Once again, I think this scene means a lot less than it’s meant to.

The situation leading up to it is highly coincidental. Cinderpelt notes that the camp was more exposed following the recent fire, hence why the hawk was able to spot its prey. Additionally, Speckletail is in the dirt place at the time of the attack, and emerges just in time to very nearly, but not quite, save her kit.

If there hadn’t been a fire, it might not have happened. If Snowkit had been born six months later, when the forest had healed more, it might not have happened. If Speckletail had gotten back from the dirt place just thirty seconds earlier, she could have saved Snowkit. If anyone else in the camp had the brains to grab Snowkit, he would have survived.

I think, if there’s so many ways for the scene to play out differently, it’s impossible to say that Snowkit couldn’t have survived. The chances of him being whisked away by a hawk were very slim, with the event only occurring because the Erins pulled some strings.

Additionally, did Snowkit’s death really have that much to do with his disability? I don’t think so. As I stated before, Snowkit is a kit . He was in the middle of playing some sort of game with himself. A kit with perfect hearing could easily be just as lost in their own world, too invested to pay attention to adults, or simply ignoring them because they didn’t realize how serious the situation was.

It should also be noted that hawks and other large birds aren’t a threat specific to deaf cats. They’ve been known to take kits of all kinds, along with the occasional adult cat.

I don’t believe that either of these two scenes, which make up a large portion of Snowkit’s screen time, can really argue that Snowkit could never have successfully been a warrior. His training session had too many flaws, and his death could have happened to any cat. Neither mean that in a better world where Snowkit lived, he couldn’t have had a different future.

On the flip side, that doesn’t necessarily mean Snowkit could be a warrior. To become a warrior, he would have to complete his apprentice training, go on hunting and border patrols, and be able to fight in battles. Are things possible? Let’s see.

It’s worth noting that all of these things would require Snowkit to be able to communicate with his clanmates. Him not being able to hear would obviously complicate the matter. However, it is shown in the books that Snowkit was able to guess what other cats wanted of him.

During his test, Speckletail calls him over while flicking her tail. Despite not knowing what she’s saying, Snowkit trots over to her side, because he knew what the tail flick meant. Presumably, if he could guess that, he could figure out other things as well.

Another important detail that often gets overlooked is the fact that Snowkit can indeed talk, at least a little. All he says on the pages is “S’all right,” which isn’t much, but I think it’s enough. Language doesn’t magically get installed in baby’s brains, it is learned from interacting with other people. If Snowkit can speak those two words, it means he was starting to read lips.

Now, these two things in and of themselves would probably not be enough, but it’s important to note, once again, that Snowkit was a kit. What he was capable of at a young age should not be assumed to be all he will ever be capable of. Additionally, these were all things he figured out on his own, as he didn’t get any formal training. I think it’s reasonable to predict that with help and a little time, he could have gotten much better at responding to cues and reading lips.

This probably wouldn’t be easy, but it’s clear in the books that Snowkit had at least two cats who were very invested in his well-being: Speckletail and Brackenfur.

Speckletail, his mother, was very determined to help Snowkit become a warrior. While in the books this is portrayed as illogical and the products of a grieving mother, it’s really the sign of dedication and love. Speckletail never gave up on her kit. She was willing to train him herself, without Bluestar’s permission, if that was what it took. Also, she and Snowkit had already found ways to communicate through cues.

While Brackenfur was not Snowkit’s kin, he was also very invested in Snowkit’s well being. He was one of the first cats to suspect Snowkit’s condition, but still wanted to be his mentor. After Snowkit was diagnosed, he kept an eye on his training sessions with Speckletail, looking for ways he might be able to help out. When the hawk took Snowkit, Brackenfur reacted faster than anyone else in the camp save for Speckletail, chasing after it without any prompting. Obviously, he cared a lot for Snowkit, and was not deterred by his disability. Brackenfur is also a very kind and patient, but responsible warrior, the perfect kind of cat to be Snowkit’s mentor.

Brackenfur may or may not have been able to instruct Snowkit verbally, depending on the full extent of the kit’s lip reading abilities. Still, he could demonstrate the moves and stalking techniques, and have Snowkit mimic them. He could then physically adjust his form as needed, by nudging paws into place or bumping his tail a little lower.

Snowkit could also learn through trial and error. Maybe Brackenfur can’t convey how to step lightly, and Snowkit wouldn’t be able to hear how loud his paws are. However, with time, Snowkit might figure out that mice run away when he walks one way, and stay where they are when he does something different.

He wouldn’t be able to hear the movements of prey, but his eyes and nose still work perfectly fine. Snowkit could still see movements in the grass, and smell prey nearby. With practice, he might be able to rely enough on his other senses to hunt. Likewise, Snowkit wouldn’t always be hunting alone. If he was on a patrol, someone else could point out where the sounds are coming from.

There are a lot of situations where not being able to hear could put Snowkit in danger. He wouldn’t be able to hear a fox or enemy warrior sneaking up on him. He wouldn’t be able to hear the yowl of his leader telling him to retreat.

But, perhaps, Snowkit could smell that fox or cat before they reached him, or spot them coming. Maybe this just means Snowkit doesn’t go out hunting on his own, or teams up with one of his clanmates in battle. Even if he couldn’t become a full warrior, Snowkit could still help around camp, like Briarlight, or maybe train as a medicine cat.

I’m by no means an expert on this topic. Maybe Snowkit could have been a warrior, maybe he couldn’t have. Is it realistic to think he could have? I don’t know. I personally think so.

But you know what definitely isn’t realistic? Cats that live in organized groups that wage wars against each other. Cats with religion. Monogamous cats. Cats that use old medical techniques meant for humans to heal their wounds. Cats with magic powers.

If Lionblaze can be indestructible, and Cinderpelt can be reincarnated, and Rootspring can talk to ghosts, why couldn’t Snowkit have had a chance to become more than a tragedy?