Just a fair warning before I start ranting my head off, this contains major spoilers for Crookedstar's Promise (and also spoilers for Firestar's Quest)! You've been warned! So yeah, I've almost finished reading Crookedstar's Promise (I'm not quite done with it yet, though, so no spoilers!), and I have something to rant about. Rainflower. In my opinion, one of the worst mothers in Warriors. If you don't remember why she's so terrible, let me refresh your memory: When her son, Stormkit, broke his jaw, she refused to even look at him for a while, and even went so far as to have his name changed to Crookedkit. She loved him just as much as his brother, Oakkit, before his accident, but afterwards she was awful to him. She even forced him to sleep in his own nest in the nursery because she couldn't bear to sleep with her own kit just because of how he looked. So yeah... She's a pretty terrible mother. But that's actually not the main thing I'm here to rant about today. Crookedstar's leader ceremony. So far, I've read three leader ceremony scenes in the books: Firestar's, Leafstar's, and Crookedstar's. The first two made me cry the first time I read them... But Crooked's didn't. Why? Because in my opinion, it just wasn't that good. First of all, half the cats he received lives from he'd never met, cats who'd had no significant impact on his life whatsoever. Yes, I can understand why Leafstar's ceremony had Cloudstar and the other ancient Clan leaders. Those actually made /sense./ But Duskwater? Lilyflower? Mossleaf? Lightningpaw? Sparrowfeather? Just why? It makes no sense. But anyway, you're probably wondering what this has to do with Rainflower. Well, Rainflower was NOT among the cats who gave Crookedstar a life. And honestly? I think she should have been. Yes, I know she's an awful cat, but she /got away/ with being awful. She was never made to apologize or face her actions. And honestly? I think she could have had a chance at redemption. I'm imagining a scene where Rainflower comes forward and apologizes to Crookedstar, explaining that she saw the error of her ways and realized how awful she'd been. Then she gives Crookedstar a life for acceptance and forgiveness. A scene like this would have made the leadership ceremony FAR more emotional, and it also would have given Rainflower the redemption I think she needed. (I've written what I think the scene would look like in the notes and credits.) Welp, that's all for my rant about Rainflower. Let me know what you think!
This scene starts right after Sparrowfeather gives Crookedjaw a life for patience. (I'm replacing Lilyflower with Rainflower, since their gifts are pretty similar.) -- As Sparrowfeather walked away, a gray figure stepped out of the crowd of StarClan cats. Crookedjaw's breath caught in his throat. Rainflower! Had she forgiven him after all this time? "Crookedjaw," his mother whispered softly, her head bowed. "I am so sorry. I see now that what I did was wrong. I was such a terrible mother... I should never have let your appearance define you in my eyes. If I had been able to see past your face, I would have sooner realized the amazing warrior that you were all along. I am so proud of you." Tears welled in Crookedjaw's eyes. She was /proud/ of him. After all this time, she finally realized the error of her ways. "Thank you," he choked out, unsure what else to say. Rainflower touched her nose to the top of his head. "With this life I give you acceptance and forgiveness. May you do right what I have done wrong." Crookedjaw felt a wave of compassion sweep through him. The faces of many cats flashed before his eyes-- Some were badly scarred, some were blind, some were deaf-- But that didn't matter. He felt a strong surge of love for them all. Rainflower stepped away from her son, a softness in her eyes that he hadn't seen in many moons. "I hope you forgive me," she murmured. "Of course I forgive you," Crookedjaw said, his voice cracking. "I love you," said Rainflower, dipping her head and disappearing back into the crowd. -- After this scene would come the scene where Shellheart gives him his ninth life. It would be exactly the same, except without the part where he says Rainflower isn't going to give him a life, because, well... She just did. Then the book goes on as normal (though any mentions of Rainflower not giving Crookedstar a life would be removed).
