Leopardstar

How dare you judge me? Have you been leader of a Clan? Have
you had the fate of so many cats in your paws? Have you faced
fire, flood, poison, starvation, predators, and Twolegs, all within a few
short seasons? Kits and elders were dying under my watch. And I was
supposed to sit back and let it all happen?

I am a great leader. I make tough decisions and stick to them. I dis-
cipline bad behavior with fair, strict punishment. My warriors respect

me and would follow me to the end of the river if I told them to.
And I recognize strength when I see it. Tell me this—why is it all
right for Crookedstar to accept help from those bleeding-heart
ThunderClan warriors, but wrong for RiverClan to ally itself with
Tigerstar? He has a plan for the forest—a vision for all the Clans! If
you met him, you’d understand. He knows how we have suffered and
how to save us. WindClan and ThunderClan will join us soon, I am
sure.
As one Clan, we will rule the forest. No cat will go hungry. There
will always be prey somewhere—in the river, in the woods, or on the
moors—and all cats will benefit.
Why waste our energy fighting one another when our common
enemies are dogs, badgers, and Twolegs? With the combined strength
of all our warriors, perhaps we could fight back against the Twoleg

monsters! Think of what we could accomplish! Think of how power-
ful we would be!
Tigerstar believes in TigerClan so
strongly. I can see the future spreading
out before us as he talks. If I join him
now, he and I will be joint leaders.
Tallstar and Firestar will have to follow
us. I know that Tigerstar is in charge

now, but this was his idea. Once every-
thing is settled, he will listen to me.

And if TigerClan is inevitable, as I

believe it is, I would rather be the sec-
ond-strongest cat in the whole forest

than cast out of the Clan to wander
alone. Tigerstar has been there. He
knows what it is to be weak and alone. He told me about it, and I
never want to be that cat.

The only thing that makes me nervous is the way he keeps talk-
ing about half-Clan cats. I had no idea that Stonefur was half

ThunderClan when I made him my deputy. Neither did he, in fact.
But now we know he is, he and his sister, Mistyfoot. And half-Clan
cats cannot be trusted, Tigerstar says.
He has a point—remember what happened with Graystripe? I
always suspected he was spying on us, waiting for a chance to tell

ThunderClan our secrets. He betrayed us in the end. Divided loyal-
ties are not what TigerClan needs if we want to survive all the trou-
bles facing us.

I don’t know what Tigerstar plans to do with our half-Clan cats,
but I know something must be done. For now, I’ve allowed him to
leave a few ShadowClan warriors in our camp to protect us. They’re
not like RiverClan cats. They’re building a hill of prey bones down by
the riverbank. It gives me nightmares. . . .
-Secrets of the Clans