Whalestar

Whalestar is known to be kind, independent, and unafraid to break rules for the greater good.

Whalestar has a commanding presence. She is huge and loud, and can be as intimidating as she feels neccesary, but is a softhearted grandma deep down. Everyone in her clan is considered family, and she will take in any cat who needs shelter. She is however, unafraid to use force where force is neccesary.

Whalestar sees the potential in every cat around her. She treats even the kits with an exceptional level of respect and agency, which the mothers do not like. Sometimes kits will come running back to their mothers saying "but WHALESTAR said we were strong and could go outside of camp!" to which the mothers will retort that "whalestar doesn't know what's good for kits anyhow."

Whalestar doesn't believe clans need to be seperated. She is good friends with two of the other leaders, and they chat at gatherings without problem. She makes the whole forest feel safe and united just by being there. She is always willing to help solve any issues within the other clans that she can. She is always looking out for others.

Even when young, Whalekit knew change needed to happen.

Whalekit was born into a clan where the leadership believed only in violence and war. Her leader Redstar believed Thunderclan needed to rule the forest, and only those who excelled at fighting deserved anything. Elders would starve. Even Whalekit's mother was thin from being in the nursury. As she wasn't training, she did not deserve food. The dens of the elders, kits, and healers were ill maintained as they simply were not a priority. Cats were constantly ill but had to fight to survive. Only several weeks after she was born, Whalekit was already training alongside the other kits in the nursury.

When Whalepaw was an apprentice, things became more serious. Battles became dangerous. Apprentices that were not strong enough were considered useless. Every few moons a tournament would take place. At best, the losers would come out horribly injured. At worst, they would die. Unlike the other apprentices she grew up with, Whalestar was very sensitive. She hated to hurt other cats. But Whalepaw was naturally a good fighter. She would be scolded for 'not taking her fights seriously' because she would try to tire out her opponent and leave them with as few injuries as possible. It was at gatherings she realized that not all clans were like this. It was difficult to talk to anyone in other clans because of Thunderclan's reputation, but the few apprentices she did talk to made her realize Thunderclan needed change.

At this point Whalepaw knew what she needed to do. When she became a warrior, Whaletooth started working to impress Redstar, hoping that in the case his deputy died, Whaletooth would be the first candidate. She had to make it to the top. But she knew that change needed to happen as soon as it could. She tried to extend kindness as secretly as she could. Bringing food to elders and queens when she could do so without raising suspicion. The other young warriors she fought gained a respect for her as she didn't fight to the death like the other cats did. The clan slowly began to wake up from the spell they had been put under. In serious battles, Whaletooth would injure her opponents and ask them to play dead if they wanted to live. Redstar didn't take prisoners and expected any good deputy to be unafraid to kill. This did not always work, and Whalestar would be haunted by the blood on her paws. But she knew she had to continue to be seen as a violent murderer. Not just for her own clan's sake, but for the others. So needless turf wars didn't end in tragic loss.

Eventually, Whaletooth got her wish. Deputies died quickly under Redstar's rule. They would be pushed harder than the warriors, and Redstar had a habit of promoting young, bloodthirsty cats. But when his deputy died, there was a new cat with potential. Whaletooth was bigger and scarier than any other cat. She was a skilled fighter to the point that in battle, enemies would avoid her to pick on different cats. She was quiet and serious, and seemed like the perfect cat to take over after him. At this point Whaletooth realized that more and more cats were coming to see her as a friend rather than another soldier in the army. Which, Whaletooth wanted, but made her realize that she only had a limited time until Redstar realized her kindness, which he would assume to be "weakening his forces." Whaletooth knew she had to act soon.

At gatherings Whaletooth talked with the other Deputies. She had to earn their trust, but the Windclan and Shadowclan deputies were very kind. Their clans did not seek after the same violent rule Thunderclan had. And while Riverclan was also violent and seeking dominance, the deputy Reedstep was in a similar situation to Whaletooth, and Whaletooth wanted to help. Whaletooth was known to have a lot of wisdom, so the deputies would always ask her questions about small things while their leaders weren't looking. And Whaletooth started to plant in their heads the idea of uniting the clans and creating peace. Meanwhile, she proposed a deal to Reedstep.

Whaletooth knew her time was ticking, and knew Reedstep wanted to make it to the top. So they met in the dead of night to talk, and to plan. Plan the deaths of their two leaders. They worked through it together. Whalestar knew Reedstep was more hesitant and reserved than her, but assured her that it would be better off for everyone. So one night, they said their goodbyes. Whaletooth knew the situation she was in. Most cats were on her side, and she knew Redstar's power was starting to fade, though every cat tried to make themselves seem as vicious as ever. She would not win them all over, but the blood that needed to be shed would be. Some of the younger warriors that did not know her as well were trained to solely respect Redstar and what he was doing, and Whaletooth knew not all of them would take kindly to Redstar's death. Whaletooth told the queens to keep the kits in the nursury, and went to the leader's den.

When she walked in she first tried to get Redstar to go with her on a patrol. To plan their conquest which had so far not panned out. But Redstar did not do things himself. He had others do things for him while he organized, and would not be seen on a patrol. So Whaletooth sighed. She explained herself first. She felt she owed Redstar the explanation to why his life needed to end. And Redstar did nothing but shake his head and shout. The camp started to hear them arguing, and by the time any cat went over to check, Whaletooth came out of the den, with a limp Redstar in her jaws. She threw him to the ground, but it wasn't over. Five times he got back up. Five times she attacked him till he bled out. The clan stayed in stunned silence for the most part, viewing the spectacle. No one cat was bold enough to attack Whaletooth for they knew of her overpowering strength. Eventually, a couple angry toms tried to run towards her, just to get tackled to the ground by another older warrior who knew the change Whaletooth was bringing.

When Redstar no longer got up, Whaletooth looked around. She issued a challenge to those who disagreed with her. She knew she would not be beaten. No cat in the forest could take her. She told the cats holding down the ones who had tried to run at her to let them go. Most of the warriors valued their life and did not fight back. But those that did were killed if they did not surrender. Whalestar was not proud of what she had done in the end. Soaked in blood, in the middle of the camp clearing, surrounded by dead bodies, she looked up to her clanmates. She proclaimed her leadership. Won through the sort of conquest that Redstar was so fond of. But Thunderclan was free. Even before she was appointed. Right there in the clearing, Elders and Queens and Apprentices and Warriors all shouted "Whalestar! Whalestar!" And Whaletooth collapsed on the ground and cried. She had succeeded.

As a leader Whalestar ruled with a hope for peace. The next gathering she looked Reedstep, now Reedstar, in the eyes with such pride. She shouted that gathering, that great change was to happen. That she would work for the good of others and that ancient rules and borders did not matter to her. She would lead in a way where kindness comes before law. And while she could not convince the other clans to agree with her rules 100%, she would do her part to be as welcoming and generous as possible. Even her clanmates would question her asking her healer to share with any clan that needs, or to offer fresh kill to any oncoming patrol from a clan that clearly needed it, and there was plenty of pushback from the other clans, but slowly they started to warm up to her. Border skirmishes still happened, and tragedy still struck, but Whalestar tried to minimize it as much as possible. She wasn't going to give land over but she didn't want to fight over it if it could be avoided.

The other leaders were old, and soon Shadowclan and Windclan were run by her old friends. There was relative peace for a bit, but unfortunately Reedstar did not take kindly to the rules Whalestar was trying to push. Reedstar was under the idea that Whalestar was there to help HER, and that they could take over the forest together after their leaders had died. She didn't appreciate Whalestar's friendliness to the other clans, and she began to despise her.

Eventually, Reedstar invaded Windclan territory. The new leader Featherstar's clan was weak, as fresh-kill ran low. And while the other clans had relaxed their training to focus more on hunting than fighting, Reedstar had trained her warriors to be killing machines, walking in the footsteps of the leader she had killed. Featherstar had an apprentice call on Whalestar to help, and she brought her best warriors, fending off Riverclan. As the Riverclan warriors fled due to their deputies command, Reedstar and Whalestar faced eachother. Reedstar wasn't dumb enough to fight Whalestar, and she didn't want to. She may have convinced herself she disliked Whalestar, but the look in Whalestar's eyes made her scared on top of other emotions. Whalestar shouted at her. Featherstar would say that she was as scared as Reedstar looked. Reedstar lowered herself to the ground, ears back, making small, trembling arguments as Whalestar lectured her for betraying her like this. Whalestar had still considered her a friend. She was heartbroken to see Reedstar acting this way after all they had done together. And after Whalestar turned away, Reedstar ran. Windclan and Thunderclan cats alike would later say they swore the ground shook beneath their feet as she shouted.

After this Whalestar's rule went well. Her clan respected her. She would do everything she could for her clan, and while she was a quiet warrior, the older she got, and the longer she led, she slowly became a loud leader, constantly trying to cheer up and encourage her those around her. Cats would start referring to her as almost a mother, and later, a grandmother. Whalestar obtained the peace she so seeked after. She was not immune to the troubles of ruling, and lost several of her lives to save the lives of her clanmates as well as other clans. Riverclan stayed quiet, and Windclan and Shadowclan wouldn't fight over her borders. They would have arguments with eachother, and sometimes individual cats would cause problems, but for the most part things went well. She did not know plans were starting to come together in Riverclan.

Late in her years, after her deputy was killed by a fox, Whalestar appointed a newly appointed warrior named Dawnspots. This caused contraversy as Dawnspots was a quiet and reserved little cat with average skills, but as Whalestar does, she saw potential in him, and cheered him on in everything he did. At this point she had outlived Featherstar, but Windclan's new leader became almost another adopted child to Whalestar. Whalestar was very old, had lived past most of her old friends, and was ready to welcome Starclan with open arms. But she had thought things would go different.

One gathering Reedstar seemed particularly nervous. She tried not to let it show, but Whalestar could tell she wasn't herself. As the gathering started, Reedstar kept making rude remarks as the other leaders spoke, eventually devolving into arguments between her and the other two leaders, while Whalestar watched with discomfort, not wanting to put her paws into an argument she was not involved in. The clouds covered the moon that night, and Whalestar told the other leaders to leave, telling Dawnspots to take Thunderclan home. She pulled Reedstar aside, telling her they needed to talk. Whalestar believed she could help resolve whatever trouble Riverclan's leader was having, but unknowingly fell right into her trap. Reedstar had told her clan to leave, except for a chosen few warriors who were staked out in bushes around the meeting place. Whalestar was pounced at and attacked by multiple warriors at once. Soon Dawnspots came back to make sure Whalestar was coming, and the second he approached the gathering, he saw Whalestar's corpse flung from the highrock by Reedstar herself. He ran. Whalestar was at her final life, and his leader was dead. Him and a couple other warriors came the next morning to return her body, and many cats in all clans except Riverclan sat vigil for her that night. Whalestar's legacy reached farther than any cat's had ever before. Her death left every cat wondering what would come next.