Does Mapleshade deserve the Dark Forest? by Rosepaw and Lynxpaw

Rosepaw and Lynxpaw wonder if Mapleshade deserved to go to the Dark Forest.

Hello! It’s meee, Rosepaw/Fern, and I’m here with the one and only Lynxpaw/Claw, to do something that I’ve wanted to do for a while now: debating whether Mapleshade belongs in the Dark Forest or not (She does 😛 /lh ) I’ll be debating that she does, and Lynxpaw will be debating that she does not. So without further adue, Let’s go!!!
Lynxpaw: Ok, so I think that Mapleshade belongs in StarClan because she did what she thought was best for her kits. I mean, Oakstar exiled her in the middle of a storm. Where could she go? Should wander around in the forest, where hostile ThunderClan cats would chase her, maybe even kill her, or join her mate in RiverClan? The choice is easy, Mapleshade had no idea that the river was swollen! And she had no choice, she needed to cross it. I think that Oakstar and Appledusk should be in the Dark Forest instead! Oakstar exiled a queen in the middle of a storm, and Appledusk didn’t care about his kits, because he went behind Mapleshade’s back to have kits with Reedshine.
Rosepaw: Although it’s true, it was maybe not the best idea to send Mapleshade out in a storm, that’s not the problem. Nonetheless, there are several things Mapleshade could’ve done differently:
She could’ve looked for somewhere else to take shelter and wait out the storm.
She could’ve retreated when she realized the river was swollen.
And still, none of that justifies her killing three cats.
Lynxpaw: She had come all the way from ThunderClan camp to the river. She couldn’t turn back when it was so close! Her kits were cold and wet and safety was just on the other side. When she realized that the river was swollen, she couldn’t run back into ThunderClan’s forest! The cats there would maybe kill her or her kits when they seeked shelter. She couldn’t risk it! She needed safety right away! Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to swim over the river, but she was desperate!
For the deaths of Ravenwing, Frecklewish and Appledusk, what mother wouldn’t avenge her kits? It was their own fault. Ravenwing told Oakstar the truth about the kits, leading them to get exiled and Frecklewish stood by watching the kits drown! They were the reason why the kits died! Mapleshade was mentaly ill! She was hallucinating that her kits needed her to avenge their deaths, and Mapleshade would do everything for them. And for Appledusk, he cheeted on her! He probably didn’t change over one night. He probably went behind her back with Reedshine and wanted to break up with Mapleshade. But then she told him about his kits, and Appledusk wasn’t brave enough to tell her he foud a new mate.
Rosepaw:Wellealet’s see, Ravenwing was doing the right thing by telling Oakstar, and there was nothing Frecklewish could do to save the kits. Appledusk is perhaps more deserving, but it still doesn’t make any sense to kill him just because she’s upset at him.
Lynxpaw: Yes, I agree that she shouldn’t have killed them, but I don’t think she belongs in the Dark Forest because of it. And actually it was StarClan that made Ravenwing realize that the kits were Half-Clan. They sent the sign with the reeds and the stream, leading Mapleshade to get exiled. But it wasn’t the smartest move they ever done. This seems to be StarClan’s thoughts about the incident:
“How dare she hate Ravenwing for telling Oakstar and getting them exiled?!”
“And how dare she hate Frecklewish for watching her kits die?”
“UNACCEPTABLE!” Let’s send her hallucinations of her drowned babies begging for revenge, so she’ll go insane! That’ll teach her!”
(A while later)
“She killed them? No! Let’s send her to the dark forest, so she’ll hate us even more!”
Like I said, it wasn’t the smartest move, because Mapleshade was insane, not evil before her death, but when she came to the Dark Forest she became evil. I don’t think she would be if she ended up in StarClan.
I hope you enjoyed this article! We most certainly liked making it! Feel free to tell us your own oppinions in the comments!
Lynxpaw out!