RC Leadership Inquiry regarding IH

It seems established now that Whistlepaw’s journey is somehow a vital step toward resolving RiverClan’s crisis. Whatever “paying the Clans’ debt” entails, it is linked in Whistlepaw’s dream to RiverClan’s situation by Mistystar’s appearance and the river running with blood. Several cats suggest that RiverClan can’t be restored and peace won’t return to the Clans without the quest succeeding.

Icewing being a member of the quest might tie her in closer to the crisis in RiverClan, rather than alienating her from it and disqualifying her from leadership. Icewing’s journey could even parallel Frostpaw’s quest in Thunder, preparing her for leadership (or maybe a deputy role) and teaching her what she needs to know to help Frostpaw begin a new dawn for RiverClan.

I think it’s worth noting that we don’t know for sure how much of Star the questing cats will be missing. Icewing and the others could be back reasonably early on, ready to participate in stopping Splashtail’s reign and help Frostpaw reestablish RiverClan. Ivypool’s patrol will at least need to be back in time to tie together their quest and RiverClan’s crisis, explaining the connection between the two.

I think it’s completely possible Icewing could still become leader. She still meets all of the requirements Frostpaw is searching for in a leader as of Thunder— honestly better than any RiverClan cat we’ve seen so far, aside from Frostpaw herself. There’s always the possibility of Froststar, and I think Icewing would be a great deputy for her given her experience and level-headed wisdom.

But it’s just as possible Star could give another cat a strong arc and set them up for leadership. My main hope is just that they don’t choose a cat like Mothwing without first building up a major shift in mindset for her from what we’ve seen this arc (cutting RiverClan off from the other Clans, hiding the truth, withholding aid, etc.) I think it’s important to keep continuity with what Frostpaw values most in a leader as of Thunder. After all, Frostpaw wants to establish “a new kind of RiverClan” where a cat like Splashtail would never hold sway.