Post by Lightflame on Mar 18, 2024 13:05:28 GMT -5
With Ivypool's Heart bearing down on us, I thought it would be fun to share the plot I wrote at the beginning of 2023 for Ivypool's Frost, a hypothetical Super Edition back when it was obvious to everyone that Ivypool was up next. Since this is a year old, I didn't know what would happen later on in ASC, or what the actual Ivypool Super Edition would be about when it was announced, but I think this could still fit in quite snugly.
Anyway, enjoy Ivypool's Frost!
Anyway, enjoy Ivypool's Frost!
Ivypool's Frost
The prologue of the book is Ivypool's reaction to Bristlefrost's death. She tries to put up a brave front, but it completely breaks her that her daughter is gone, forever. In private, Fernsong presses against her and tries to comfort her, but she feels like his warmth will never be enough for the bone-deep cold that's inside her.
The book follows a Then and Now format similar to Graystripe's Vow. In Now, Ivypool is dealing with her grief during leaf-bare in the modern time, while in Then, Ivypaw has just decided to become a spy in the Dark Forest after the events of Night Whispers.
In Now, despite receiving support, Ivypool is grieving deeply. She feels like she's failed over and over again. Dovewing leaving already hurt enough, but now losing Bristlefrost feels like the end of everything.
One cool night she creeps out of her den and sees Bristlefrost standing in the centre of the camp, bathed in moonlight. When Ivypool takes a step towards her daughter, Bristlefrost vanishes, but Ivypool wonders if she might still exist somewhere.
In Then, Ivypaw blinks open her eyes and is in the Dark Forest with Hawkfrost. Hawkfrost tells her that she's in time for more training. He feels so much more sinister to her now that she knows his true goals, and she wonders how she didn't see it before. They train for the whole night, leaving her with lots of scratches.
In Now, the medicine cats report that there is news from Juniperclaw. There seems to be some unusual activity in the Dark Forest, and he believes that something's coming. However, most of the medicine cats are too distracted by the events of A Starless Clan to focus on a vague warning, especially since the StarClan cats dismiss Juniperclaw's claims.
Ivypool, wondering if there might be some bit of Bristlefrost trapped in the Dark Forest and trying to come back, heads to the Moonpool, where she meets Shadowsight. He's worried that there's some piece of Ashfur left behind. He plans to go to the Dark Forest to make sure it's destroyed for good. He has to do it, because he's stained by darkness. Ivypool says that she'll go with him, and the two head into the Moonpool.
In Then, Ivypaw meets with the other trainees in the Dark Forest. She thinks about how they were duped as well, and tries to approach Breezepelt. They talk about their reasons for trying to become strong. Ivypaw says that if she becomes strong enough, she can protect her family and make sure they're always whole and nothing bad ever happens to them. Breezepelt calls that ridiculous and tells her that it's better to cast everyone aside and rely only on yourself. If there's only you, you become invincible, because no one else can ever hurt you. After the training session, Hawkfrost teases her for prying into Breezepelt, but she detects an air of menace to him. He then tells her that next time, he'll show her the real reason he needs her in the Dark Forest.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight arrive in StarClan, and pass through Juniperclaw's Gate into the Dark Forest. Juniperclaw is worried about them both, and says that the Dark Forest isn't somewhere to go lightly. It will take all their negative feelings and amplify them. Everything inside you will come with you into the Dark Forest. Ivypool ignores his advice, telling him that she has to find whatever is waiting for her in the Dark Forest. She also insists that she knows the Dark Forest better than Juniperclaw ever will.
Shadowsight and Ivypool begin their journey through the Dark Forest, but Ivypool can't help but resent him. He let Ashfur in, and because of his stupid mistake, everything happened and she lost Bristlefrost. The landscape is warped, and their travelling seems to take ages, but Ivypool can tell which direction they're supposed to be heading in. She feels like there are eyes watching her as she travels.
In Then, Ivypaw is in ThunderClan camp, watching Dovepaw at a distance. Dovepaw is hanging out with a ton of other cats, but Ivypaw can't quite cross the distance to reach them.
In the Dark Forest, Ivypaw wonders if she'll always be alone, like Breezepelt said, but as her penance for being fooled by the Dark Forest. Hawkfrost says that he promised to show her the Dark Forest's purpose and leads her deep within it, to a patch of ground with darkness pulsing from it. He says that this is the path that will lead the Dark Forest to the final battle, but only a living cat can open it. He tells Ivypaw to start digging, so she shoves her paws into the earth and begins digging the hole. She thinks she hears a voice calling her name, but when she looks around, there's no one there.
In Now, Ivypool feels like she recognizes the area of the Dark Forest around her. Shadowsight asks if she trained there before, but Ivypool says that she didn't. This looks like a part of ThunderClan's territory. She climbs up a tree and realizes that in the past, she and Jayfeather found marigold here, hidden in the tree by Hollyleaf. She also grimaces with the memory that just after that, she learned that her father was training in the Dark Forest.
After the two progress a little further, the Dark Forest changes back into a featureless forest, but Ivypool is shaken. Ivypool and Shadowsight settle down for a rest, and Shadowsight asks Ivypool to tell him about Bristlefrost, because he never knew her as well as he should have. Ivypool thinks that it's his fault, and she wants him to feel bad for taking Bristlefrost from her. She tells him a story about how as a kit, Bristlefrost heard that warriors caught their own prey, so she only wanted to eat prey she had caught herself. However, she couldn't really catch her own prey, so she just pounced on fresh-kill and said she caught it. Back then, Ivypool scolded Bristlefrost for playing with food, but now she sees that Bristlefrost was just trying to be a good warrior from a young age.
In Then, the days all seem to blur together, meaning nothing compared to the Dark Forest nights. Leaf-bare never ends. In between training, Ivypaw continues digging the hole for Hawkfrost. She asks why the other living cats can't help dig it, but he insists that it has to be her, the most important cat, and his favourite. Ivypaw says that if she can beat him, he should dig the hole for her. They spar, but she loses. Hawkfrost tells her that she'll never beat him, no matter how hard she tries.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight pass through a part of the Dark Forest resembling where Bramblestar was left in the snow. Shadowsight grows more miserable, and Ivypool thinks that he deserves it. As she looks into the trees, Ivypool thinks that she sees eyes watching her. Ice blue eyes that took everything from her.
In Then, Ivypaw, Antpelt, and Hollowflight are receiving training from Mapleshade. Mapleshade pulls Ivypaw aside after to ask about cats who have wronged her. Mapleshade explains that while Ivypaw is Hawkfrost's project, she sees a little of herself in her, and wants her to know that revenge is healing. When someone takes from you, you need to hurt them to take everything back. When Ivypaw resists her, Mapleshade says that she knows Ivypaw has lost a lot, and that she's sure Ivypaw knows who's responsible, so she should go ahead. Indulge herself. It's only proper justice.
She talks to Hawkfrost afterwards and tells him that she doesn't like Mapleshade. Hawkfrost says that she can dislike whoever she wants as long as she keeps digging the hole. As she digs, she feels fur brush against her, but again, there's no one there.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight encounter Mapleshade. Mapleshade is delighted to see Ivypool, and says that she was pleased that Ivypool became a mother. It was like getting to see one of her own kits grow up. Ivypool asks if Mapleshade will let her pass to reach the heart of the Dark Forest, but Mapleshade says that she wants Ivypool to stay and chat for a while. Maybe forever, since she misses having kits to take care of. Ivypool fights Mapleshade and calls for Shadowsight to help her, but he hangs back. Eventually, Mapleshade gets bored of the fight and leaves, telling Ivypool that she's off to do something more entertaining.
Ivypool explodes at Shadowsight for not being able to step up. He says that he thought he would fight this time, but he failed to. Ivypool tells him to find his own way if he's going to be useless and leaves him behind, thinking that she'll find Bristlefrost on her own.
In Then, Tigerheart comes to visit Ivypaw while she's digging the hole. He asks her what she's going to do after the battle, and she gives the weak answer of helping her Clan. Tigerheart tells her that he knows the truth. She doesn't expect to survive the battle. To make up for all her mistakes, she'll die for Dovepaw's sake. Ivypaw tells him to either shut up and help her dig or leave. Instead, Tigerheart gets close enough to whisper in her ear. He asks what she'll do if the worst thing that could ever happen happens to her. What if she makes it through the Dark Forest battle and has to live? Ivypaw whirls on him and tells him to get out, but Tigerheart only smirks and tells her that even if she does die for her sister, Dovepaw is his. Ivypaw begins digging even more furiously.
In Now, the Dark Forest warps around Ivypool and becomes the tunnels. They're dark and she's all alone in them. Before, she had Dovewing and Hollyleaf to lead her out of them, but now, there's only her. Ivypool gets lost in the tunnels and collapses, thinking about how she misses them bitterly. She's lost so many cats. Why does she have to still be here? Why can't they take her too? She closes her eyes and lets the darkness wash over her.
In Then, Hawkfrost watches Ivypaw dig. She's started to become convinced that she's digging her own grave. She doesn't even think she leaves the Dark Forest any more, she just digs and digs. She digs up Antpelt, and Hawkfrost is amused to see that he was buried so deep. He says that her failure to save him must have really gotten to her. A voice, louder now, yells at Ivypaw that she needs to go home, but she tells it that she needs to keep digging.
In Now, Ivypool is still lost in the tunnels. All of her choices have brought her here, to be alone in darkness, where she was always supposed to be. So much could have been avoided if only she hadn't trusted Hawkfrost and let him in, but now she's forever stained by darkness. As she thinks those words, she realizes that Shadowsight, too, said before that he was stained by darkness. And finally, she understands. She doesn't hate Shadowsight because of what he did. She hates Shadowsight because he's her, and she'll never forgive herself. Bristlefrost's death isn't really Shadowsight's fault, it's her fault. All her anger at Shadowsight was misplaced. She shouldn't have been so hard on him.
And at the moment she realizes all this, she hears him calling out to her. He knows it's dark and scary, but he came back so that she wouldn't be alone. She just needs to follow his voice. Ivypool runs towards the sound of him and reaches the end of the tunnels, where she finds him. Ivypool apologizes to him for mistreating him, and tells him that she'll stay by his side. She says that they're almost there, and they'll find Bristlefrost together.
In Then, Ivypaw finds it getting harder and harder to move and think as she gets closer and closer to finishing digging the hole. Hawkfrost and all of the trainees have gathered around the edge of the hole to watch her. She sarcastically mutters that the least they could do is help her finish digging.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight reach a place completely unfamiliar to her. However, Shadowsight knows it well. It's the twoleg bridge where Spiresight died. Shadowsight is scared, and he tells Ivypool about Spiresight and the Guardian Cats. He says that it's ridiculous that Spiresight was in such a rush to get him back to the Clans, considering all he unleashed. He's not sure he can cross the bridge. Ivypool tells him that he was there for her in the tunnels, so she'll help him cross the bridge.
They start to cross it, and it's fine at first, but as Shadowsight gets more stressed out thinking about Ashfur, the bridge starts to rise. Ivypool grabs Shadowsight by the scruff and starts dragging him up it. As they get closer to the centre, Ivypool tells Shadowsight that he wasn't the first cat to get fooled, and he won't be the last. What matters is what you do once you realize the truth. Shadowsight remembers how Berrynose was fooled to the very end, and how grateful he was for the chance to fix his mistake after that. In the end, he still got to fight for what was right. And Shadowsight will fight for what's right too, when they confront what remains of Ashfur. Ivypool agrees, but says that they'll find Bristlefrost.
As Shadowsight calms down, the bridge settles as well and closes itself. The two are able to cross, and Ivypool knows that at the very end of the bridge, Bristlefrost is waiting.
In Then, Ivypaw can't quite understand what's going on. She never dug a hole. She isn't digging a hole. She looks back up at Hawkfrost and tells him that he isn't real, but he says that he's the most real thing here. Ivypaw shakes her head and tries to clear her thoughts. They've been so cloudy lately. But how did she even end up in the Dark Forest? She feels the fur brush up against her once more, and Ivypaw-no, Ivypool looks up at Hawkfrost and asks him how she got there.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight cross over the bridge, finally reaching the heart of the distortion in the Dark Forest. Before them, a pair of blue eyes flash. Shadowsight growls Ashfur's name at the same time Ivypool hopefully exclaims Bristlefrost's.
Instead, the eyes resolve themselves into Hawkfrost. Ivypool says that he died in the battle, but Hawkfrost says that he'll never really be gone. The Dark Forest knows him down to the roots, and so does she. He's been stalking her for her whole life, ever since she let him in, so long ago, and now, she will finally fulfill her destiny and bring him back. Ivypool charges forwards and attacks him, but Hawkfrost swats her away easily. She's never beaten him before. She never will beat him. He will haunt her, forever.
Ivypool says that she thought she would find Bristlefrost, and Hawkfrost mocks her, saying that Bristlefrost is gone, forever. He took her from Ivypool, and he'll take everything else she cares about as well. So why fight him? Why not just give up?
Ivypool nods and collapses. She can't beat Hawkfrost. She's powerless against him. Unable to face him, she tumbles into a hole that opens beneath her. Hawkfrost looks down at her from the edge of the hole and tells her that she should make herself useful.
"Start digging."
In Then, Ivypool realizes that the hole is her life. Once she's dug it all away, she'll be gone, and Hawkfrost will be restored. Hawkfrost tells her to keep digging. There's no reason to stop. She's lost all hope of seeing Bristlefrost again, and she can never stop him. He's every failure that her life has ever had, and what is her life but failure? Russetfur died. Antpelt died. Hollyleaf died. Dovewing left. Bristlefrost fell into oblivion.
With each word he speaks, Ivypool scoops out another pawful of dirt. There's not much left. At least, finally, she'll be done. She won't have to do any more. Hawkfrost tells her to look up at him as she finishes. Look at the Dark Forest trainees around him. Even these cats, who she tried so hard to save, still died.
And something in that tickles Ivypool's mind. It reminds her of something Shadowsight said.
They died. Yes, they were fooled, and they died in the battle. But when they died, they weren't Hawkfrost's. And she just barely chokes out that they didn't die in darkness. They didn't give up. They died finding their way back to the light.
Hawkfrost smirks. So what? What does that change? They still died.
And Beetlewhisker turns to him and says, "But I didn't die yours." And suddenly Sunstrike speaks up, and Applefur, and then they've all joined together as a chorus to yell in defiance at Hawkfrost, that they were not his.
Hawkfrost stumbles back, overwhelmed for the moment by the trainees. The hole starts to shudder, and as Ivypool goes to take another scoop of dirt, someone blocks her paw.
Ivypool looks up, and there she is. Hollyleaf.
"You're not his either," Hollyleaf says.
She tells Ivypool that one mistake doesn't define her whole life. It's what she chooses to do with every second of her life after that decides that. Ivypool taught her that, so she's here to return the favour.
Ivypool is a wonderful, amazing cat who's so much more than her mistakes. Hawkfrost can't take that from her. He has no claim to the wonderful things she's built, and he has no claim to her mistakes either. This is her life, not his.
Ivypool asks Hollyleaf how she can stop Hawkfrost when she has so little left. Only the smallest pawscoop of dirt remains. Hollyleaf purrs. Even the smallest bit of life is enough, when you have someone to watch over it for you. She'll keep it safe for Ivypool.
Ivypool looks up and sees that although the hole is deep, she can do it. She can get out. As she prepares to leap, she turns back to Hollyleaf and tells her that she misses her every day.
Hollyleaf says that she has always been watching over Ivypool, and she's proud of what she's done with her life. Leaf-bare may seem long, but Newleaf always comes in the end.
Ivypool prepares herself, and springs up out of the hole.
In Memories, Ivypool meets with Tree in SkyClan. He says that it's sad that because of the ways of the Clans, their kits were never able to be together. He says that the land doesn't want cats to be apart.
Ivypool asks what he means, and Tree says that the land loves the cats who live on it, and remembers every step they've ever taken. She is walking in the pawsteps of every cat who has stood here before, and as long as she remembers that, she'll never be apart from any of them, even in death. She'll carry with her everyone she's ever loved.
It doesn't quite break the grief in her heart, but it does help Ivypool to think that she's carrying everyone she loves with her.
In Awakening, Ivypool emerges from the hole to see Shadowsight standing up to Hawkfrost. He's beaten, battered, and bleeding, but even though he's losing, he's bravely giving it his all. However, he's also fighting recklessly, without concern for his own life.
In that moment, Ivypool realizes that just like she came here to die to bring back Bristlefrost, Shadowsight came to the Dark Forest to die to kill Ashfur.
She charges forward knocking Shadowsight away just before Hawkfrost can strike a killing blow. Shadowsight is startled that he was saved, and Ivypool tells him that neither of them have anything they deserve to die for. Bristlefrost and Ashfur made their own choices. The two of them should honour Bristlefrost not by dying, but by living on in the peace she brought them.
Hawkfrost sneers that even if they've resolved to live, the two of them together can't defeat him.
Ivypool agrees with him. The two of them can't defeat him. But in the Dark Forest, you bring with you everything you carry, and she carries a lot of cats. And a light shines from Ivypool and Shadowsight, and all the cats they love are with them. Whitewing. Birchfall. Cinderheart. Lionblaze. Jayfeather. Fernsong. Thriftear. Flipclaw. Twigbranch. Dovewing. Tigerheart. Lightleap. Pouncestep. Birchkit. Rowankit. Puddleshine. Rootspring. Bristlefrost.
And the shining light reveals what Hawkfrost truly is. He is the rotting, putrid Dark Forest, that ate so much of Hawkfrost's malice that it became him. Ivypool's life shines within him, but it cannot hide the wretched thing that he is.
Ivypool and Shadowsight's loved ones swarm Rot-Hawkfrost, holding him down. Ivypool leaps forward, ripping her life out of him and pulling it back into herself.
As she stands over Rot-Hawkfrost, Ivypool says that he must be carrying things too. She asks what he's afraid of. Rot-Hawkfrost begs her to have mercy, but her loved ones drag him away, throwing him into the hole. The hole begins to fill with water, which consumes Rot-Hawkfrost completely, reducing him to nothing. Ivypool remarks that it's strange that a RiverClan warrior's greatest fear would be drowning.
Ivypool and Shadowsight look back at their loved ones, who begin to fade away into light. The two of them give a long, lingering look at Bristlefrost. Ivypool tells Shadowsight, "She was stronger than she should have had to be."
With the distortion quelled, the two of them decide to head home. They pass back through Juniperclaw's Gate, and he asks them if they found what they were looking for. Shadowsight tells him that they found what they came in with.
They wake up at the Moonpool, and Ivypool escorts Shadowsight back to ShadowClan. When they get there, Dovewing runs in to see him, overcome with relief. When Shadowsight vanished, they looked everywhere, and were scared that something had happened. Ivypool tells Dovewing that she would never let anything happen to Dovewing's kit.
Ivypool and Dovewing go off to speak privately, and Ivypool tells Dovewing that she may not agree with all of her choices, but she loves her, and wants things to be alright between the two of them. Dovewing says that she loves Ivypool too, and that she's sorry she hurt her. She wants them to be sisters again. They promise that they will both try. Dovewing admits that she hasn't been able to keep their kithood promise to always be together, but Ivypool disagrees. They're never apart.
When Ivypool gets back, she finds Fernsong, Thriftear, and Flipclaw all sleeping together in a big pile, like they used to when Thriftear, Flipclaw, and Bristlefrost were kits. Fernsong wakes up and says that he was worried, because he knew Ivypool had gone off to do something difficult, but he'd trusted her to make the right choice. Ivypool asks him if he knew that they were walking in the pawsteps of everyone they'd ever loved. It's amazing to think about.
Fernsong tells her to take care of herself and get some sleep. Ivypool settles into the big pile with him, and as she curls up against him, she feels the first warm winds of newleaf begin to blow.
In the manga, ThunderClan's leader asks Ivypool if she's ready. Ivypool admits that she's a little scared, but she's had a lot of time to think about herself lately, and what she wants is for everyone in ThunderClan to come home safely. She's ready for this challenge. She steps out into ThunderClan's clearing, ready for her new role as deputy.
The prologue of the book is Ivypool's reaction to Bristlefrost's death. She tries to put up a brave front, but it completely breaks her that her daughter is gone, forever. In private, Fernsong presses against her and tries to comfort her, but she feels like his warmth will never be enough for the bone-deep cold that's inside her.
The book follows a Then and Now format similar to Graystripe's Vow. In Now, Ivypool is dealing with her grief during leaf-bare in the modern time, while in Then, Ivypaw has just decided to become a spy in the Dark Forest after the events of Night Whispers.
In Now, despite receiving support, Ivypool is grieving deeply. She feels like she's failed over and over again. Dovewing leaving already hurt enough, but now losing Bristlefrost feels like the end of everything.
One cool night she creeps out of her den and sees Bristlefrost standing in the centre of the camp, bathed in moonlight. When Ivypool takes a step towards her daughter, Bristlefrost vanishes, but Ivypool wonders if she might still exist somewhere.
In Then, Ivypaw blinks open her eyes and is in the Dark Forest with Hawkfrost. Hawkfrost tells her that she's in time for more training. He feels so much more sinister to her now that she knows his true goals, and she wonders how she didn't see it before. They train for the whole night, leaving her with lots of scratches.
In Now, the medicine cats report that there is news from Juniperclaw. There seems to be some unusual activity in the Dark Forest, and he believes that something's coming. However, most of the medicine cats are too distracted by the events of A Starless Clan to focus on a vague warning, especially since the StarClan cats dismiss Juniperclaw's claims.
Ivypool, wondering if there might be some bit of Bristlefrost trapped in the Dark Forest and trying to come back, heads to the Moonpool, where she meets Shadowsight. He's worried that there's some piece of Ashfur left behind. He plans to go to the Dark Forest to make sure it's destroyed for good. He has to do it, because he's stained by darkness. Ivypool says that she'll go with him, and the two head into the Moonpool.
In Then, Ivypaw meets with the other trainees in the Dark Forest. She thinks about how they were duped as well, and tries to approach Breezepelt. They talk about their reasons for trying to become strong. Ivypaw says that if she becomes strong enough, she can protect her family and make sure they're always whole and nothing bad ever happens to them. Breezepelt calls that ridiculous and tells her that it's better to cast everyone aside and rely only on yourself. If there's only you, you become invincible, because no one else can ever hurt you. After the training session, Hawkfrost teases her for prying into Breezepelt, but she detects an air of menace to him. He then tells her that next time, he'll show her the real reason he needs her in the Dark Forest.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight arrive in StarClan, and pass through Juniperclaw's Gate into the Dark Forest. Juniperclaw is worried about them both, and says that the Dark Forest isn't somewhere to go lightly. It will take all their negative feelings and amplify them. Everything inside you will come with you into the Dark Forest. Ivypool ignores his advice, telling him that she has to find whatever is waiting for her in the Dark Forest. She also insists that she knows the Dark Forest better than Juniperclaw ever will.
Shadowsight and Ivypool begin their journey through the Dark Forest, but Ivypool can't help but resent him. He let Ashfur in, and because of his stupid mistake, everything happened and she lost Bristlefrost. The landscape is warped, and their travelling seems to take ages, but Ivypool can tell which direction they're supposed to be heading in. She feels like there are eyes watching her as she travels.
In Then, Ivypaw is in ThunderClan camp, watching Dovepaw at a distance. Dovepaw is hanging out with a ton of other cats, but Ivypaw can't quite cross the distance to reach them.
In the Dark Forest, Ivypaw wonders if she'll always be alone, like Breezepelt said, but as her penance for being fooled by the Dark Forest. Hawkfrost says that he promised to show her the Dark Forest's purpose and leads her deep within it, to a patch of ground with darkness pulsing from it. He says that this is the path that will lead the Dark Forest to the final battle, but only a living cat can open it. He tells Ivypaw to start digging, so she shoves her paws into the earth and begins digging the hole. She thinks she hears a voice calling her name, but when she looks around, there's no one there.
In Now, Ivypool feels like she recognizes the area of the Dark Forest around her. Shadowsight asks if she trained there before, but Ivypool says that she didn't. This looks like a part of ThunderClan's territory. She climbs up a tree and realizes that in the past, she and Jayfeather found marigold here, hidden in the tree by Hollyleaf. She also grimaces with the memory that just after that, she learned that her father was training in the Dark Forest.
After the two progress a little further, the Dark Forest changes back into a featureless forest, but Ivypool is shaken. Ivypool and Shadowsight settle down for a rest, and Shadowsight asks Ivypool to tell him about Bristlefrost, because he never knew her as well as he should have. Ivypool thinks that it's his fault, and she wants him to feel bad for taking Bristlefrost from her. She tells him a story about how as a kit, Bristlefrost heard that warriors caught their own prey, so she only wanted to eat prey she had caught herself. However, she couldn't really catch her own prey, so she just pounced on fresh-kill and said she caught it. Back then, Ivypool scolded Bristlefrost for playing with food, but now she sees that Bristlefrost was just trying to be a good warrior from a young age.
In Then, the days all seem to blur together, meaning nothing compared to the Dark Forest nights. Leaf-bare never ends. In between training, Ivypaw continues digging the hole for Hawkfrost. She asks why the other living cats can't help dig it, but he insists that it has to be her, the most important cat, and his favourite. Ivypaw says that if she can beat him, he should dig the hole for her. They spar, but she loses. Hawkfrost tells her that she'll never beat him, no matter how hard she tries.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight pass through a part of the Dark Forest resembling where Bramblestar was left in the snow. Shadowsight grows more miserable, and Ivypool thinks that he deserves it. As she looks into the trees, Ivypool thinks that she sees eyes watching her. Ice blue eyes that took everything from her.
In Then, Ivypaw, Antpelt, and Hollowflight are receiving training from Mapleshade. Mapleshade pulls Ivypaw aside after to ask about cats who have wronged her. Mapleshade explains that while Ivypaw is Hawkfrost's project, she sees a little of herself in her, and wants her to know that revenge is healing. When someone takes from you, you need to hurt them to take everything back. When Ivypaw resists her, Mapleshade says that she knows Ivypaw has lost a lot, and that she's sure Ivypaw knows who's responsible, so she should go ahead. Indulge herself. It's only proper justice.
She talks to Hawkfrost afterwards and tells him that she doesn't like Mapleshade. Hawkfrost says that she can dislike whoever she wants as long as she keeps digging the hole. As she digs, she feels fur brush against her, but again, there's no one there.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight encounter Mapleshade. Mapleshade is delighted to see Ivypool, and says that she was pleased that Ivypool became a mother. It was like getting to see one of her own kits grow up. Ivypool asks if Mapleshade will let her pass to reach the heart of the Dark Forest, but Mapleshade says that she wants Ivypool to stay and chat for a while. Maybe forever, since she misses having kits to take care of. Ivypool fights Mapleshade and calls for Shadowsight to help her, but he hangs back. Eventually, Mapleshade gets bored of the fight and leaves, telling Ivypool that she's off to do something more entertaining.
Ivypool explodes at Shadowsight for not being able to step up. He says that he thought he would fight this time, but he failed to. Ivypool tells him to find his own way if he's going to be useless and leaves him behind, thinking that she'll find Bristlefrost on her own.
In Then, Tigerheart comes to visit Ivypaw while she's digging the hole. He asks her what she's going to do after the battle, and she gives the weak answer of helping her Clan. Tigerheart tells her that he knows the truth. She doesn't expect to survive the battle. To make up for all her mistakes, she'll die for Dovepaw's sake. Ivypaw tells him to either shut up and help her dig or leave. Instead, Tigerheart gets close enough to whisper in her ear. He asks what she'll do if the worst thing that could ever happen happens to her. What if she makes it through the Dark Forest battle and has to live? Ivypaw whirls on him and tells him to get out, but Tigerheart only smirks and tells her that even if she does die for her sister, Dovepaw is his. Ivypaw begins digging even more furiously.
In Now, the Dark Forest warps around Ivypool and becomes the tunnels. They're dark and she's all alone in them. Before, she had Dovewing and Hollyleaf to lead her out of them, but now, there's only her. Ivypool gets lost in the tunnels and collapses, thinking about how she misses them bitterly. She's lost so many cats. Why does she have to still be here? Why can't they take her too? She closes her eyes and lets the darkness wash over her.
In Then, Hawkfrost watches Ivypaw dig. She's started to become convinced that she's digging her own grave. She doesn't even think she leaves the Dark Forest any more, she just digs and digs. She digs up Antpelt, and Hawkfrost is amused to see that he was buried so deep. He says that her failure to save him must have really gotten to her. A voice, louder now, yells at Ivypaw that she needs to go home, but she tells it that she needs to keep digging.
In Now, Ivypool is still lost in the tunnels. All of her choices have brought her here, to be alone in darkness, where she was always supposed to be. So much could have been avoided if only she hadn't trusted Hawkfrost and let him in, but now she's forever stained by darkness. As she thinks those words, she realizes that Shadowsight, too, said before that he was stained by darkness. And finally, she understands. She doesn't hate Shadowsight because of what he did. She hates Shadowsight because he's her, and she'll never forgive herself. Bristlefrost's death isn't really Shadowsight's fault, it's her fault. All her anger at Shadowsight was misplaced. She shouldn't have been so hard on him.
And at the moment she realizes all this, she hears him calling out to her. He knows it's dark and scary, but he came back so that she wouldn't be alone. She just needs to follow his voice. Ivypool runs towards the sound of him and reaches the end of the tunnels, where she finds him. Ivypool apologizes to him for mistreating him, and tells him that she'll stay by his side. She says that they're almost there, and they'll find Bristlefrost together.
In Then, Ivypaw finds it getting harder and harder to move and think as she gets closer and closer to finishing digging the hole. Hawkfrost and all of the trainees have gathered around the edge of the hole to watch her. She sarcastically mutters that the least they could do is help her finish digging.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight reach a place completely unfamiliar to her. However, Shadowsight knows it well. It's the twoleg bridge where Spiresight died. Shadowsight is scared, and he tells Ivypool about Spiresight and the Guardian Cats. He says that it's ridiculous that Spiresight was in such a rush to get him back to the Clans, considering all he unleashed. He's not sure he can cross the bridge. Ivypool tells him that he was there for her in the tunnels, so she'll help him cross the bridge.
They start to cross it, and it's fine at first, but as Shadowsight gets more stressed out thinking about Ashfur, the bridge starts to rise. Ivypool grabs Shadowsight by the scruff and starts dragging him up it. As they get closer to the centre, Ivypool tells Shadowsight that he wasn't the first cat to get fooled, and he won't be the last. What matters is what you do once you realize the truth. Shadowsight remembers how Berrynose was fooled to the very end, and how grateful he was for the chance to fix his mistake after that. In the end, he still got to fight for what was right. And Shadowsight will fight for what's right too, when they confront what remains of Ashfur. Ivypool agrees, but says that they'll find Bristlefrost.
As Shadowsight calms down, the bridge settles as well and closes itself. The two are able to cross, and Ivypool knows that at the very end of the bridge, Bristlefrost is waiting.
In Then, Ivypaw can't quite understand what's going on. She never dug a hole. She isn't digging a hole. She looks back up at Hawkfrost and tells him that he isn't real, but he says that he's the most real thing here. Ivypaw shakes her head and tries to clear her thoughts. They've been so cloudy lately. But how did she even end up in the Dark Forest? She feels the fur brush up against her once more, and Ivypaw-no, Ivypool looks up at Hawkfrost and asks him how she got there.
In Now, Ivypool and Shadowsight cross over the bridge, finally reaching the heart of the distortion in the Dark Forest. Before them, a pair of blue eyes flash. Shadowsight growls Ashfur's name at the same time Ivypool hopefully exclaims Bristlefrost's.
Instead, the eyes resolve themselves into Hawkfrost. Ivypool says that he died in the battle, but Hawkfrost says that he'll never really be gone. The Dark Forest knows him down to the roots, and so does she. He's been stalking her for her whole life, ever since she let him in, so long ago, and now, she will finally fulfill her destiny and bring him back. Ivypool charges forwards and attacks him, but Hawkfrost swats her away easily. She's never beaten him before. She never will beat him. He will haunt her, forever.
Ivypool says that she thought she would find Bristlefrost, and Hawkfrost mocks her, saying that Bristlefrost is gone, forever. He took her from Ivypool, and he'll take everything else she cares about as well. So why fight him? Why not just give up?
Ivypool nods and collapses. She can't beat Hawkfrost. She's powerless against him. Unable to face him, she tumbles into a hole that opens beneath her. Hawkfrost looks down at her from the edge of the hole and tells her that she should make herself useful.
"Start digging."
In Then, Ivypool realizes that the hole is her life. Once she's dug it all away, she'll be gone, and Hawkfrost will be restored. Hawkfrost tells her to keep digging. There's no reason to stop. She's lost all hope of seeing Bristlefrost again, and she can never stop him. He's every failure that her life has ever had, and what is her life but failure? Russetfur died. Antpelt died. Hollyleaf died. Dovewing left. Bristlefrost fell into oblivion.
With each word he speaks, Ivypool scoops out another pawful of dirt. There's not much left. At least, finally, she'll be done. She won't have to do any more. Hawkfrost tells her to look up at him as she finishes. Look at the Dark Forest trainees around him. Even these cats, who she tried so hard to save, still died.
And something in that tickles Ivypool's mind. It reminds her of something Shadowsight said.
They died. Yes, they were fooled, and they died in the battle. But when they died, they weren't Hawkfrost's. And she just barely chokes out that they didn't die in darkness. They didn't give up. They died finding their way back to the light.
Hawkfrost smirks. So what? What does that change? They still died.
And Beetlewhisker turns to him and says, "But I didn't die yours." And suddenly Sunstrike speaks up, and Applefur, and then they've all joined together as a chorus to yell in defiance at Hawkfrost, that they were not his.
Hawkfrost stumbles back, overwhelmed for the moment by the trainees. The hole starts to shudder, and as Ivypool goes to take another scoop of dirt, someone blocks her paw.
Ivypool looks up, and there she is. Hollyleaf.
"You're not his either," Hollyleaf says.
She tells Ivypool that one mistake doesn't define her whole life. It's what she chooses to do with every second of her life after that decides that. Ivypool taught her that, so she's here to return the favour.
Ivypool is a wonderful, amazing cat who's so much more than her mistakes. Hawkfrost can't take that from her. He has no claim to the wonderful things she's built, and he has no claim to her mistakes either. This is her life, not his.
Ivypool asks Hollyleaf how she can stop Hawkfrost when she has so little left. Only the smallest pawscoop of dirt remains. Hollyleaf purrs. Even the smallest bit of life is enough, when you have someone to watch over it for you. She'll keep it safe for Ivypool.
Ivypool looks up and sees that although the hole is deep, she can do it. She can get out. As she prepares to leap, she turns back to Hollyleaf and tells her that she misses her every day.
Hollyleaf says that she has always been watching over Ivypool, and she's proud of what she's done with her life. Leaf-bare may seem long, but Newleaf always comes in the end.
Ivypool prepares herself, and springs up out of the hole.
In Memories, Ivypool meets with Tree in SkyClan. He says that it's sad that because of the ways of the Clans, their kits were never able to be together. He says that the land doesn't want cats to be apart.
Ivypool asks what he means, and Tree says that the land loves the cats who live on it, and remembers every step they've ever taken. She is walking in the pawsteps of every cat who has stood here before, and as long as she remembers that, she'll never be apart from any of them, even in death. She'll carry with her everyone she's ever loved.
It doesn't quite break the grief in her heart, but it does help Ivypool to think that she's carrying everyone she loves with her.
In Awakening, Ivypool emerges from the hole to see Shadowsight standing up to Hawkfrost. He's beaten, battered, and bleeding, but even though he's losing, he's bravely giving it his all. However, he's also fighting recklessly, without concern for his own life.
In that moment, Ivypool realizes that just like she came here to die to bring back Bristlefrost, Shadowsight came to the Dark Forest to die to kill Ashfur.
She charges forward knocking Shadowsight away just before Hawkfrost can strike a killing blow. Shadowsight is startled that he was saved, and Ivypool tells him that neither of them have anything they deserve to die for. Bristlefrost and Ashfur made their own choices. The two of them should honour Bristlefrost not by dying, but by living on in the peace she brought them.
Hawkfrost sneers that even if they've resolved to live, the two of them together can't defeat him.
Ivypool agrees with him. The two of them can't defeat him. But in the Dark Forest, you bring with you everything you carry, and she carries a lot of cats. And a light shines from Ivypool and Shadowsight, and all the cats they love are with them. Whitewing. Birchfall. Cinderheart. Lionblaze. Jayfeather. Fernsong. Thriftear. Flipclaw. Twigbranch. Dovewing. Tigerheart. Lightleap. Pouncestep. Birchkit. Rowankit. Puddleshine. Rootspring. Bristlefrost.
And the shining light reveals what Hawkfrost truly is. He is the rotting, putrid Dark Forest, that ate so much of Hawkfrost's malice that it became him. Ivypool's life shines within him, but it cannot hide the wretched thing that he is.
Ivypool and Shadowsight's loved ones swarm Rot-Hawkfrost, holding him down. Ivypool leaps forward, ripping her life out of him and pulling it back into herself.
As she stands over Rot-Hawkfrost, Ivypool says that he must be carrying things too. She asks what he's afraid of. Rot-Hawkfrost begs her to have mercy, but her loved ones drag him away, throwing him into the hole. The hole begins to fill with water, which consumes Rot-Hawkfrost completely, reducing him to nothing. Ivypool remarks that it's strange that a RiverClan warrior's greatest fear would be drowning.
Ivypool and Shadowsight look back at their loved ones, who begin to fade away into light. The two of them give a long, lingering look at Bristlefrost. Ivypool tells Shadowsight, "She was stronger than she should have had to be."
With the distortion quelled, the two of them decide to head home. They pass back through Juniperclaw's Gate, and he asks them if they found what they were looking for. Shadowsight tells him that they found what they came in with.
They wake up at the Moonpool, and Ivypool escorts Shadowsight back to ShadowClan. When they get there, Dovewing runs in to see him, overcome with relief. When Shadowsight vanished, they looked everywhere, and were scared that something had happened. Ivypool tells Dovewing that she would never let anything happen to Dovewing's kit.
Ivypool and Dovewing go off to speak privately, and Ivypool tells Dovewing that she may not agree with all of her choices, but she loves her, and wants things to be alright between the two of them. Dovewing says that she loves Ivypool too, and that she's sorry she hurt her. She wants them to be sisters again. They promise that they will both try. Dovewing admits that she hasn't been able to keep their kithood promise to always be together, but Ivypool disagrees. They're never apart.
When Ivypool gets back, she finds Fernsong, Thriftear, and Flipclaw all sleeping together in a big pile, like they used to when Thriftear, Flipclaw, and Bristlefrost were kits. Fernsong wakes up and says that he was worried, because he knew Ivypool had gone off to do something difficult, but he'd trusted her to make the right choice. Ivypool asks him if he knew that they were walking in the pawsteps of everyone they'd ever loved. It's amazing to think about.
Fernsong tells her to take care of herself and get some sleep. Ivypool settles into the big pile with him, and as she curls up against him, she feels the first warm winds of newleaf begin to blow.
In the manga, ThunderClan's leader asks Ivypool if she's ready. Ivypool admits that she's a little scared, but she's had a lot of time to think about herself lately, and what she wants is for everyone in ThunderClan to come home safely. She's ready for this challenge. She steps out into ThunderClan's clearing, ready for her new role as deputy.