Lessons on The Different Kinds of Strength
Tales from the Life of Duspelt
Lessons from kithood: Life is hard. Your only hope of surviving it, let alone making anything of yourself, is to make sure you yourself are as strong and as fierce as a storm. These are the first lessons Dustkit learns. When he is a baby the nursery is very full. He himself is part of a litter of four born to Robinwing. Next to their nest is Brindleface's nest. She has two daughters, one of them, Sandkit, is Dustkit's very best friend. Across from them is a cat called Willowpelt, she has three kits. Dustkit is naturally a grumpy guy. To Sandkit and his mother this is funny. Robinwing says Dustkit is just like his father, then teases that he can be an elder when he is old. For now, he is young and should enjoy life. But Dustkit does enjoy life. He gets to be a wild cat, his mom takes good care of him, he has friends, yummy fresh kill to eat, and moss and feathers to play with. Life for Dustkit is perfect.
It does not stay perfect. That newleaf prey becomes very scarce in the forest, and the warriors have great difficulty stocking the freshkill pile. To make things even worse greencough hits the clan hard, and creeps its way into the nursery. Two of Willowpelt's three kits are the first to go, too little to fight the deadly disease. The lone survivor of the litter, Graykit, wails and whines with hunger and Willowpelt works furiously to keep him fed and warm. Through the hard work of his mother and clan Graykit makes it to his apprenticeship and warrior status. The next kit to die is Hollykit, Sandkit's little sister. Before the dreaded illness leaves the nursery, it takes the lives of both Chestnutkit and Robinwing. Dustkit is sure this is all a bad dream, his mother and brother cannot be dead, they just cannot be! Though she is still racked with grief for the loss of her own daughter, Brindleface wastes no time in moving all three of Robinwing's kits into her and Sandkit's nest and announcing that she will take care of them now. "It's going to be okay" Sandkit promises him. "Mama, father, and I will take care of all of you." Feeding and looking after four kits is a strain for Brindleface. Her mate Redtail hunts tirelessly for the clan. Each day he brings something to the nursery for the Queens to eat. During his visits he will press his head to Brindleface's flank and smile at the kits. "Be strong and hang in there" he tells them all. "No matter what happens never give up". Dustkit promises himself that he is strong and will NEVER give up.
Lessons from Ravenpaw: After six moons Dustpaw, Cherrypaw, and Ravenpaw are apprenticed and join Sandpaw in the apprentice den. During his ceremony Dustpaw swears he can hear his parents and little brother calling their names all the way from Starclan. His mother always said that he was a tough cat. "I will be able to handle anything that comes my way." he promises himself. "Just like a warrior should". Two weeks into their apprenticeship it rains for a quartermoon straight. One day while Cherrypaw is on patrol a dead limb, weak from all the rain, falls on her and she is killed on impact. Graykit joins the apprentice den a few moons later. A couple seasons ago the nursery held nine kits. Now only four are left for the apprentice den.
Dustpaw doesn't truly understand how bad their losses are until his leader brings a ginger kittypet to Thunderclan and announces that they will be taking him in to train as a future warrior. Dustpaw cannot believe his ears. A kittypet! The clan is now recruiting new apprentices from the Twoleg place! Does his leader really think that this kittypet would ever make as good a warrior as cherrypaw or any of the lost kits would have? Or, Dustpaw wonders is the kittypet meant to replace Ravenpaw. His brother does not have what it takes to make warrior; that is the general gossip around the clan. Ravenpaw struggles through day to day training and clan life, and at each assessment comes up farther and farther behind the other apprentices. Dustpaw is disgusted and distances himself from his brother, afraid that Ravenpaw will pull him down with him. It makes no sense for him to be this bad. Ravenpaw's mentor is Tigerclaw, and Tigerclaw is famed for being the greatest hunter and fighter in the clan. Ravenpaw just isn't trying Dustpaw decides. He is not strong, not fierce, and maybe he should not be a warrior.
When Ravenpaw dies three-quarters of the way through their training, still an apprentice, killed in the war against Brokenstar, Dustpaw cannot understand his grief. He and his brother were not close or anything, they did not even get along. So why does he miss him so much? Surely Ravenpaw is better off in Starclan, safe from the troubles that had plagued him to no end.
Dustpaw is now the only one left from his family. He decides that means he needs to throw everything he has got into becoming the strongest, fiercest warrior he can be. He will have to be a warrior for all of them.
Lessons from Redtail and Darkstripe: Redtail is Dustpaw's hero. He is Thunderclan's deputy, and while not the biggest cat or toughest fighter in the clan, he is a brave, strong, trustworthy cat, who always gets a task done. Not only that, but he always made time to visit the nursery and play with the kits, not just his daughter, but all of them. Dustpaw decides early in life he wants to be like Redtail when he grows up. Which is what makes him so excited when Redtail is chosen as his mentor!
Redtail proves to be just as amazing at mentoring as he is at everything else. He shows Dustpaw how to hunt; fight; patrol; and teaches him everything there is to know about Thunderclan, the four clans, and Starclan. Dustpaw learns moves and techniques fast, and when Redtail praises him he feels his chest swell with pride.
Redtail dies in battle; and it is the second time in his young life that Dustpaw thinks it is grievously unfair that the world has the nerve to keep going. The clan hold vigil and he curl's up next to Sandpaw. She is softly mewing in grief. This time it is his turn to lick her ears and promise her that it will be okay. "You and I are still training" he tells her. "We will become great warriors. Exactly the warriors he always told us we would be. We will make him so proud." After her mate's death Brindleface grows close to Runningwind and eventually moves on with her new mate. Dustpaw and Sandpaw are each other's chief source of comfort.
Darkstripe is NO Redtail! He is snappish and impatient and if Dustpaw does not keep up with him then Darkstripe will spend the whole day, and some of the next, going off on him about how Dustpaw is wasting his time. "Maybe you need to get your tail out of a knot and do a better job going over things" Dustpaw thinks but does not say. Longtail patrols with them sometimes. Occasionally, to Dustpaw's surprise, when Darkstripe starts to lay into him, Longtail will intervene. He will tell Darkstripe "lay off him Darkstripe." and "He didn't do that bad". Darkstripe will then turn and yell at Longtail for a bit then sulk in silence. Dustpaw asks once why Longtail did that. He does not think that Longtail particularly likes him or any cat in the clan. "Darkstripe goes too far sometimes" Longtail explains. "I know that better than any cat". Dustpaw remembers that until recently Longtail had been Darkstripe's apprentice, and the black tabby warrior had probably bullied him just the same way. But now Longtail is a warrior and he still let's Darkstripe be the boss of him and push him around. Why? Shouldn't Longtail be able to put a stop to it by now? Dustpaw hopes that when he is made a warrior, he will be a tougher cat than Longtail. He briefly starts to have sympathy for Ravenpaw, and the difficult relationship his brother has with the cat who mentors him. Then Darkstripe and Longtail start bringing him along when they go off with Thunderclan's new deputy, and Dustpaw learns that if he gets a word of praise out of Tigerclaw then Darkstripe will not be mean to him for the next three days. Tigerclaw becomes Dustpaw's second hero, and he is more annoyed than ever that Ravenpaw does not appreciate the privilege he has at being Tigerclaw's apprentice.
Lessons of a warrior: Dustpelt stares down at the Thunderclan deputy, as he hears the list of crimes Tigerclaw is being convicted of. He feels as though he cannot breathe. Tigerclaw is a traitor. He murdered Redtail, his own clanmate, in cold blood. Ravenpaw had seen him do it. Ravenpaw was actually alive, but living in hiding because Tigerstar had tried to kill him to keep him quiet. Today Tigerclaw sent almost every warrior out and led an invasion on the nearly defensless camp in a plot to kill Bluestar and become leader himself. Redtail, Ravenpaw, Tigerclaw, Traitor. These are the words that echo around and around in Dustpelts head. Before Tigerclaw goes into exile, he calls to his followers asking them to join him. When he gets to Dustpelt's name Dustpelt feels his head briefly, miraculously, clear. He tells Tigerclaw exactly what he USED to think of him, exactly how he STILL feels about Redtail, and that he will NEVER follow Tigerclaw again. Whitestorm commends Dustpelt's speech. Whitestorm is a good cat, he truly is, but he is not the cat that Dustpelt needs to hear that from right now.
That night when the silverpelt becomes visible Dustpelt yowls up to Redtail. Telling him how he is Dustpelt's ONLY hero, how much he regrets ever thinking that mange-pelted murderer Tigerclaw was even half the cat Redtail had been, and how he wishes he had known what happened sooner. A small cloud drifts away from a patch of sky revealing a single start, shining just above Dustpelt. Even from the ground Dustpelt can see that the star is red. His mentor still cares about him.
Redtail, Ravenpaw, Tigerclaw, Traitor. All four words swirl around in Duspelt's head; they just won't stop. He has been a conflicted mess for days. The clan do not seem to have much trust in Darkstripe and Longtail anymore. The two were just too close to Tigerclaw for any cat's comfort. Dustpelt was close to Tigerclaw too and he fears for his place in Thunderclan. Whitestorm assures him he has nothing to worry about, that after that day no cat will doubt that Dustpelt is a noble and loyal warrior… but Dustpelt is not sure. He wants to talk to Sandstorm about all of this, they have shared many sorrows and faced many tough times together. But lately things between them are changing. Once they did everything together, now Sandstorm spends most of her time with Fireheart, and when she is not with the ginger tom, he is clearly on her mind. Dustpelt had always thought that it would be he and Sandstorm together, but now she is padding after Fireheart. The kittypet turned clan hero has stolen his best friend.
Redtail, Ravenpaw, Tigerclaw, Traitor. If Dustpelt does not do something soon he will surely go mad. Bluestar and Fireheart give him Ashpaw as an apprentice and Dustpelt throws himself into being the best mentor he can be, glad to have a way to occupy his time, and something he can do for his clan. But it is still not enough. One day while waiting for Ashpaw to finish changing the elders bedding, he hears Darkstripe yelling at Fernpaw for offering to skip morning patrols and babysit Willowpelts kits for her instead.
"You better start acting like a real warrior, apprentice. Otherwise all you will ever be is a waste of time" Darkstripe snarls. Dustpelt remember how, even though he was scared, Longtail would sometimes stand up to Darkstripe when he talked that way to Dustpelt. He Remembers how he never stood up for Ravenpaw when Tigerclaw talked that way to him. At this point Dustpelt is done making excuses for the way he was to his brother. "Shut up Darkstripe!" he yells, bounding across the clearing.
"What" Darkstripe asks. Dustpelt ignores him and turns to Fernpaw. "You are spending the morning with me and Ashpaw today. The three of us are going to practice battle moves. Afterwards you will be cleared from duty and can help in the nursery should you choose". Darkstripe immediately protests; saying that he is Fernpaw's mentor, and what does Dustpelt think he is doing interrupting his important disciplinary talk with his apprentice. Dustpelt stands his ground. "I am going to take over her training for today. While I am doing this, you are going to go for a walk in the woods, and you are not going to come back until you have calmed down". Darkstripe huffs "Oh, Is that So?". "Yes" Dustpelt replies "it is". Surprising everybody Darkstripe leaves without further comment.
"Thank you, oh Thank you" Fernpaw replies trembling. "It makes me so nervous when he gets like that." Dustpelt looks at her small form and thinks how similar she is to Ravenpaw in this instant. He tells her "If you ever get scared like that again, of Darkstripe or anything else, come find me. I promise I am not going to let anything hurt you."
Dustpelt keeps true to his promise. He gets to know Fernpaw quite well. She is brave, a good hunter and a good fighter, but her heart is not in any of those things. Dustpelt no longer thinks that that is the most important thing. Fernpaw knows and is sensitive to the problems of each cat in the clan. She never gets into arguments and often knows just the word to calm down riled up clanmates. Even in their worst mood she is happy to take care of the elders. The queens and kits adore her. She has even asked Cinderpelt to teach her some basic herbs because, although she does not want to be a medicine cat, her goal is to help her clanmates in every way she possibly can. One day she tells Dustpelt that he has nothing to fear about his previous involvement with Tigerstar. He made a couple tiny bad choices at a time when he was in a bad place, it happens to everybody. Then she goes on to tell him he needs to look at all the good choices he has made in his life. Then he would see himself as a warrior Thunderclan and Starclan are very proud of. It's the first time Dustpelt thinks he might be in love. Hunting, patrolling, mentoring Ashpaw, talking with Fernpaw, Dustpelt starts to feel good again.
Redtail, Ravenpaw, Tigerstar, Traitor. Tigerstar takes over leadership of Shadowclan. Bluestar and Firestar both want to believe that Shadowclan will be enough for the cruel cat…But it is not. Tigerstar launches a plot to take over the whole forest. When he fails to get control of Windclan and Thunderclan he enlists the help of strays from the Twoleg place, who prove more dangerous than any cat Dustpelt has ever seen. The leader scourge kills Tigerstar, taking all nine lives, with one swipe of his claws. Then announces that HEwill be taking over the forest. The clans, now all united as Lionclan, only have a short time to prepare for war.
Lessons from Ravenpaw Part 2: Redtail, Ravenpaw, Tigerstar, Traitor. When Barley and Ravenpaw temporarily move to Thunderclan Dustpelt knows there is one last mistake he needs to atone for. He goes up to Ravenpaw meaning to apologize for everything he did and did not do for him back when he was still a part of Thunderclan. When he calls Ravenpaw over though, his brother turns and looks at him with surprised green eyes and Dustpelt's courage falters. Maybe Ravenpaw does not want to hear his apologies, maybe, after all that has been said and done, he hates Dustpelt. "Dustpelt?" Ravenpaw asks, "Does a fox have your tongue?" When Dustpelt recovers all that he can manage to do is invite Ravenpaw to practice with him and some other cats. Then he has to go and add that he is sure Ravenpaw would benefit from it, seeing how his battle moves are probably rusty from his time at the Barn.
The battle with Bloodclan is bloody and hard, but it ends with Scourge dead and Lionclan victorious. Firestar is alive. Whitestorm is dead and Graystripe is the new deputy of Thunderclan. Ashpaw is alive. Fernpaw is alive. Sandstorm is alive. Ravenpaw is Alive. Dustpelt thanks Starclan for every cat he sees.
Just before Ravenpaw and Barley leave for the barn Dustpelt beckons Ravenpaw over to him again. This time he can say what he wanted to say. "I am so sorry for the way the clan treated you when we were growing up. I am especially sorry for the way I treated you. You never deserved what happened to you and I have spent seasons regretting that I was not a better brother." He waits. Ravenpaw touches Dustpelts shoulder with his tail tip. "I forgive you" he says. "The past is over and done with. Anyway, it all worked out in the end. I love my life with Barley at our barn, and your life is happy too. Isn't it Dustpelt?" Dustpelt looks at his brother. He looks over at Sandstorm; who will never be his mate but will always be his best friend. He looks over to Ashfur and Ferncloud who are both getting ready to start their first Virgil as warriors; for a moment he and Ferncloud lock eyes and he thinks he see's a purr in her throat. Last, he looks around at Thunderclan, finally at peace after so long. He turns back to Ravenpaw and lets out a purr himself. "It's getting there".