Why Juniperclaw doesn’t belong in the Dark Forest by Shadeleap

Shadeleap argues why Juniperclaw shouldn’t have been sent to the Dark Forest.

Hi BlogClan! Today I will be discussing a less popular warrior. Juniperclaw! He’s not my favorite warrior, but I don’t think he should be in the Dark Forest. To prove my point, I’m going to be using a few other cats: Mudclaw, Needletail, Yellowfang, and Ashfur.

(SPOILERS FOR TPB, TNP, Winds of Change, AVoS, ASC, AND TBC)

Juniperclaw’s story:
As an apprentice, Juniperpaw trained hard with his mentor, Stonewing. When the other apprentices started acting up, he agreed with them and eventually chose to leave ShadowClan and join the rogues. However, later he realizes that he made a mistake and escapes with the help of Violetshine.
Skip ahead a few moons and Darktail has been defeated. Juniperclaw joins SkyClan and is loyal to them for a while, until his sister, Sleekwhisker, and a friend that he trained with, Yarrowleaf, show up. Believing he was doing the right thing, Juniperclaw helps them. Contrary to popular belief, he is technically following the Warrior code. The code says “no cat may neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.” Yarrowleaf was expecting, so he was helping these kits. Yes, he disobeyed his leader, but he believed he was doing the right thing. Then, the more well-known parts come up. ShadowClan becomes whole again, Juniperclaw is appointed deputy. He serves his Clan faithfully for a while, until the battle with SkyClan. He tried to poison SkyClan because he didn’t believe they were supposed to be on their territory. At the end of his life, cast out of ShadowClan, he gave his life to save an expecting queen, Violetshine, and a drowning kit, Shadowkit. After his death, he went to the Dark Forest where he was shown regretting his actions.

#1: Juniperclaw vs. Ashfur

Like Juniperclaw, Ashfur served his Clan faithfully until he fell in love with Squirrelflight. He then became a murderer. Yet when he died, he went to StarClan. Obviously, this was a mistake on StarClan’s part, seeing all the awful stuff Ashfur did during TBC after his death… so Ashfur’s story shows that murder (or attempted murder) is forgivable. But my question is this: how can a murderer who tried to kill his own leader go to StarClan and not a cat who did wrong but made up for it by sacrificing himself for others?

#2: Juniperclaw vs. Needletail

Needletail was a fiesty apprentice who chose to join Darktail at the same time that Juniperclaw did. She fought for Darktail, killed for Darktail, and fell in love with a rogue. Like Juniperclaw, she too realized her error and gave her life for another, Violetshine. She wandered for a bit before finding her way to StarClan. This shows that choosing rogues over your Clan is forgivable. So why isn’t Juniperclaw in StarClan?

#3: Juniperclaw vs Yellowfang

Yellowfang was loyal to ShadowClan before being driven out, and upon joining ThunderClan, her loyalty never wavered. She served her Clan faithfully up until the day she died. The main thing I want to focus on is this: Yellowfang poisoned Brokenstar. Her own son! She killed him brutally with little words said. She was somewhat sorry, but more than that she was scared she wouldn’t go to StarClan, which she eventually did. (This is different from Ashfur because a: he didn’t succeed in his plot, and b: he wouldn’t have been sorry when both Yellowfang and Juniperclaw were.) So if Yellowfang can murder a cat and still go to StarClan, why can’t Juniperclaw?

#4: Juniperclaw vs. Mudclaw

Once again, this was a cat who served his Clan loyally until he was appointed deputy. When Tallstar replaced Mudclaw as deputy with Onestar without telling him, Mudclaw got suspicious. He attacked his Clan to try and regain his leadership, ultimately ending in his death.
One thing I want to point out is this: in Winds of Change, after Mudclaw died, he asked Tallstar why he’s in StarClan if he attacked his leader. Tallstar replied with this:

“What you did was wrong, but you believed you did it for the good of your Clan.”

Plus, one more thing: every cat makes a huge deal because “you poisoned an entire Clan by poisoning their fresh-kill! The whole of SkyClan was in danger because of you!” But… Last I checked, he only poisoned one vole. ONE VOLE CAN’T FEED A WHOLE CLAN!

So if murder is forgivable (proven by Ashfur and Yellowfang), joining rogues is forgivable (proven by Needletail), and doing something wrong for the good of your Clan is forgivable (proven by Mudclaw), then there is no logical reason for Juniperclaw to be in the Dark Forest.

Thanks for reading my article!! This is just my opinion so you don’t have to agree with me. Also, I know now that Juniperclaw is no longer in the Dark Forest but is now guarding Ashfur’s tunnel from StarClan, but he should be able to leave and be happy in StarClan with his kin and friends. Anyway, that’s all I have to say. Tell me your opinion in the comments!
May StarClan light your path!
-Shadeleap