Wow! 60 reviews! -passes out- Thanks so much for the ideas, guys! I have so many written down, you wouldn't believe it. Each new idea is added at the end of the list, so it might be a while until you see your idea if you just posted it, but it will be written eventually.
Today: What if Jake accepted Tallstar's offer to join WindClan?
Next: What if Tigerstar was good?
Talltail gazed out across the moor, feeling glad to be back home. He turned to his friend, Jake, a cat he had grown very close to, and sighed. The black-and-white tom realized, now, that saying yes to WindClan meant saying goodbye to Jake. "Well, I guess this is it..." he murmured sadly.
"Yeah," Jake mumbled. The kittypet shuffled his paws. "I'll need to get back to my housefolk," he added glumly, seeming not very excited to go back home.
All of a sudden, an idea came to Talltail, and he jumped happily. "Maybe WindClan could be your home?"
Jake gasped. "You mean...?
"What if you joined WindClan?" Talltail beamed. "You may be a kittypet now, but you have so much skill, that will soon be quickly forgotten!"
"You know what? I think I'll go for it." Jake bounced up beside his friend. "I'll join WindClan."
o3o
"You'd like to join us?" Heatherstar meowed, puzzled. "Are you sure? I mean, we would gladly accept you if you're in trouble, but-"
"I apologize for interrupting, Heatherstar," Jake meowed calmly. "But I'm not in trouble. I just believe I would be happier. If I'm not, and I seem like a terrible addition to the Clan, I will immediately leave upon your request."
Heatherstar lowered her head and sighed. "Well, seeing that we allowed loners to stay with us for periods of time in the past, I suppose this wouldn't be a major hassle." She lifted her neck and stared at Jake's plush fur and still-plump belly. "You're going to have to burn off that fat, though, if you want to be lithe like your Clanmates and keep pace with us." She fixed her gaze on Talltail. "You will take him for runs every day, from one side of the moor to to other side."
Talltail dipped his head.
"I will do the ceremony now," Heatherstar announced, closing her eyes as she imagined the scorn she would face in a few moments.
o3o
"From this moment on, he will no longer be Jake; he will be Juniperleaf," Heatherstar decided, her heather-blue gaze sweeping over the murmuring cats below, almost challenging them to object her. "Please welcome into the Clan with open paws. If I say any funny business at all, there will be consequences."
Talltail smiled at the newly-named Juniperleaf. "Nice name. It has a cool ring to it."
"I wanted to stick with a name that still sounded a bit like Jake," Juniperleaf replied.
"Well, it's perfect," Talltail purred.
o3o
Time went by, and as Juniperleaf slimmed down to the size of a wild cat, he proved to be a valuable member of WindClan. His daily jogs with Talltail were soon turned exciting when they could actually compete in a fair race- and, sometimes, Juniperleaf would win.
There was a problem, though- StarClan wasn't happy. It had been destined for Jake to stay a kittypet so he could father the litter of kits containing the fire that would save ThunderClan. Because Jake joined WindClan and took a mate there, Rusty was never born. ThunderClan underwent near destruction because Tigerclaw couldn't be stopped. All of the other Clans had to step in and help prevent there just being three Clans.
Juniperleaf lived a long time, and died just a little after Tallstar did. Juniperleaf had been Tallstar's deputy, so there wouldn't have been the whole Onewhisker against Mudclaw scandal. Most likely, one of them would have been leader and the other deputy.
o3o
So, if Jake had joined Tallstar in WindClan...
-He would've become Juniperleaf
-He wouldn't have fathered Nutmeg's litter (or Quince's, for that matter): so no Firestar, Princess, or Scourge, or any cats resulting from them
-No Scourge=no battle of BloodClan
-No Firestar=unhappy StarClan, because they had given the "Fire alone will save our Clan" prophecy to Spottedleaf fully intending for Rusty to be born and join ThunderClan
-Juniperleaf would've been Tallstar's deputy, not Mudclaw, so when they both died, there was no Onewhisker against Mudclaw battle
Wow, a lot could have been affected by Jake's decision, huh? Some good things: like no BloodClan battle. And some bad things: like no Firestar! :O
-Mossy