Red Rivers

​​​​​​Red Rivers is the second book in The Lost Destinies arc. The main protagonists in this book are Robinpaw, Puddlepaw, and Shadowpaw. The cat depicted on the cover is Shadowpaw.

The Blurb
''After the mysterious prophecy, the cats are scared of what the Dark Forest cats will do.  A message from StarClan tells Puddlepaw to do something crazy...but is it too crazy to save the Clans?'' ''Robinpaw has no idea what to do. She carries on with her life as usual, convinced she has no part in the prophecy.'' After hearing the prophecy, Shadowpaw is more than sure his last breath will be spent protecting Petalpaw. What does StarClan have in store for these apprentices?

Plot
The prologue is from Shadedpaw's perspective-one of the three Dark Forest cats, but back when she was alive and an apprentice. The three apprentices from different Clans are meeting in secret, and are struggling to learn to get along without insulting each other's Clans. When they decide to climb a tree, Shadedpaw struggles, since there are no trees in WaterClan. When she finishes climbing the tree, the apprentices spot a fox, and Berrypaw decides to distract the fox by throwing a stick at a nearby bush. Shadedpaw and Ashenpaw doubt it'll ever work, but they try it. The fox seems distracted, so Shadedpaw attempts to climb down the tree. She ends up falling, and the fox spots her, and tries to attack her. Berrypaw jumps down from the tree, trying to save her. After many yowls, Shadedpaw looks up when everything is silent. The fox was killed by Berrypaw, but he got most of his tail torn off. Startled by the noise, the leaders show up and are shocked at the sight of the apprentices and the fox.

Puddlepaw is hunting with his mentor, Jayfur, and feels guilty for getting a FireClan apprentice to teach him to fish instead of just asking Jayfur. Jayfur is impressed with Puddlepaw's fishing skills, making Puddlepaw more guilty when he realizes he learned it from Robinpaw. He begins wondering how Jayfur could possibly think of him.

At the camp, Puddlepaw talks with the kits, and then talks with Fernpaw and Skypaw about the large fish he caught.

That night, Puddlepaw has a dream. He is talking with Creekkit, his dead brother who reveals that in StarClan, you still go through the ranks of apprentice and warrior if you die young, so he's known as Creekpaw. Creekpaw says he has a message for Puddlepaw that only he can deliver, and Puddlepaw wonders how he'd be better suited for it than even the medicine cats. Creekpaw shows Puddlepaw a vision of FireClan's temporary camp. It was the moment when the apprentices learned Maplestar didn't trust Puddlepaw, and intended to keep him there. Creekpaw then reminds Puddlepaw that the apprentices helped him out after that, and then Puddlepaw helped Shadowpaw help his Clan by pointing out how cowardly they were being. Creekpaw then says that the apprentices need to help each other again by meeting up. Creekpaw says that the Dark Forest would be defeated, even if it meant cats had to die for it.

Puddlepaw gets the idea to have apprentices from either Clan in the WaterClan camp by obviously trespassing and making a mess on the other territories. This works, as Robinpaw's patrol spotted the mess in the morning, and went to ask Maplestar what they should do about it, and Maplestar brings a patrol of cats to WaterClan. They are surprised to learn that IceClan is also in WaterClan, discussing the same problem. This is when Puddlepaw talks with the other apprentices about his dream, and they agree to meet the following night at moonhigh, by Moonhill.

When Robinpaw's patrol goes back to their camp, cats tell Maplestar that they have visitors. These visitors are Rowan, Oliver, and their five kits. Maplestar agrees to allow them to live in the Clan because they're ill, and their kits could grow into fine warriors, but not before an argument about whether kittypets are okay to have in the camp or not. Robinpaw felt sympathy for the kits, and for Lightning, whose dying breath wanted Rowan to experience Clan life.

Rowan and Oliver are now apprentices so they can train in the life of a Clan cat-Rowanpaw and Olivepaw. Robinpaw wonders if she should bother inviting them to the apprentice gathering. She decides to tell them about it, though they both refuse to go. The other apprentices all agree to go with them, after a bit of hesitation.

Shadowpaw and the other IceClan apprentices are headed for the apprentice gathering. Shadowpaw thinks Silverpaw is quite weird, but he doesn't judge her out loud. He also wonders why StarClan told Puddlepaw about what to do, instead of a cat like him, who has already proven himself a hero. The IceClan apprentices come across Moonhill, and met the FireClan apprentices. The WaterClan apprentices come soon after that, and introduce themselves. They discuss how this could possibly help the Clans at all. They then decide to make it fun and have the cats go in different groups to hunt together.

Puddlestep's group included Silverpaw and Robinpaw. They wandered beside Twolegplace, and heard noises coming from the Twoleg nest that Robinpaw recognized as the one where Lightning died. Silverpaw complains that Robinpaw acts like FireClan is the only honorable Clan, when all three Clans are honorable. Robinpaw and Silverpaw argue, but Puddlepaw tries to stop the arguing. The argument is interrupted by the sound of another cat, and the three apprentices go into the burned Twoleg nest to see who it was. It's a rogue who is looking for Lightning. Robinpaw explains to him that he's dead, and she knows because he's her grandfather. This surprises Puddlepaw and Silverpaw. Mint says he was looking for his friend, Lightning. Silverpaw states that he is suspicious, and the tom figures out that they're Clan cats, and asks if they can take him to the Clans. When they refuse, and Silverpaw points out how suspicious he is, Mint attacks her, and manages to fight off both her and Puddlepaw. Puddlepaw asks Robinpaw to help them, but she says she can't, because he was a friend of Lightning's. As the battle continues, Robinpaw pleads for Mint not to hurt them, testing to see if he has the virtues of a Clan cat. When he refuses, the fight continues, but stops when Puddlepaw recognizes the shrill scream of Fernpaw. The three apprentices attempt to leave, but a piece of the Twoleg nest collapses onto Silverpaw, and Robinpaw and Puddlepaw dig through the rubble to get her out. When they do, she is dying, and Mint attempts to kill her, but Puddlepaw stops him. As he wrestles with Mint, Robinpaw tries to figure out how to help Silverpaw. Puddlepaw gets away from Mint enough to get cobwebs for her injuries, and Robinpaw pushes on her chest so that she'd cough the dust out. The three apprentices then head to Moonhill to find Fernpaw, and to have Silverpaw's injuries examined by Sunpaw.

When the three apprentices reach Moonhill, nobody is there, and Silverpaw suggests looking by the thunderpath, as that's where the scream came from. Because she's too weak to go through the entire forest, Robinpaw stays with her at Moonhill, and she dreams. Brightstar speaks with her about how Mint is involved with the secrets she kept, but Robinpaw insists that she does not care. Brightstar tells Robinpaw to stop the gathering, and Robinpaw wakes up, as Silverpaw can't sleep knowing the others are in danger. They head to the thunderpath.

Shadowpaw's group comes across the battle, which turns out to be against foxes, and he immediately jumps to battle with Petalpaw. Shadowpaw realizes that there are also warriors and leaders among the battle, and he wonders who told the warriors about the meeting. The warriors tell Shadowpaw to get the other IceClan apprentices and leave, but Shadowpaw refuses, saying he can't knowing he could fight, and needs to find Orchidpaw and Silverpaw. After he sees Orchidpaw, he runs to Puddlepaw, knowing Silverpaw was in his group. Puddlepaw says Silverpaw was injured, and Lilystar gets angry saying they shouldn't have been in Twolegplace in the first place. As they're discussing the way home, a fox jumps on Jayfur and kills him before Hailfeather is able to injure the fox. Lilystar and Hailfeather grieve over their brother. Petalpaw points out to Shadowpaw that this meeting didn't help anyone.

Eventually, Robinpaw and Silverpaw return to the group, and the apprentices learn that an apprentice told the older warriors about the meeting.

Puddlepaw feels completely guilty about the entire gathering being his fault. The gathering caused the death of Jayfur, and almost the death of Fernpaw. Later, he has a dream from Creekpaw, who says Puddlepaw did the right thing. Creekpaw also says that Jayfur will never live again. Jayfur, in StarClan, agrees with this, and the message only confuses Puddlepaw.

Puddlepaw's new mentor is Fawnfoot. He finds himself constantly distracted during training. When he gets back to the camp, cats remind Puddlepaw that he wasn't responsible for Jayfur's death, but Puddlepaw disagrees. He complains to Brightblaze that his family is cursed, and Brightblaze refuses, though she admits it could explain how Ripplerush and Streamshine died. She then explains to Puddlepaw that when Lilystar, Hailfeather, and Jayfur were apprentices, they would often wander into FireClan's territory, and one time, they were attacked by a FireClan patrol. Ripplerush and Streamshine went to find their kits, and the FireClan patrol killed them. Then, when Lilystar became leader, he stopped the grudges that WaterClan cats held against FireClan.

Puddlepaw is feeling sad about this when Jayfur is suddenly alive, and every cat in WaterClan is confused by this. Jayfur notes that his tail feels weird, and Fernpaw whispers to Puddlepaw that his eyes are blood-red. Remembering his dream, Puddlepaw is positive that Jayfur is being corrupted by a Dark Forest cat. He thinks that part of the prophecy may be that Fernpaw can see who is corrupted. Fernpaw is excited by this, exclaiming that she's actually important, but Puddlepaw believes she's always been the most important cat to him.

Robinpaw trains with Crowpaw, and then talks with the kits. She figures out Olivepaw told the Clans about the meeting.

Shadowpaw and Petalpaw return to the camp from hunting, and Shadowpaw is surprised that Berryflower hadn't confronted Petalpaw about the apprentice gathering yet. When Berryflower called for the two apprentices, Shadowpaw found it hard to prepare for his mother's anger.

Petalpaw explained what had happened with the apprentice gathering, and Berryflower yowled at them. Shadowpaw was about to apologize when Petalpaw defended themselves, saying she was just doing what she thought was right. Petalpaw then argues with her mother about how she treats her, and Berryflower is so ashamed, she runs out of the camp. Petalpaw and Shadowpaw follow her after Petalpaw told Shadowpaw to follow Berryflower when she runs.

Berryflower is sitting at the edge of the river, and Shadowpaw sees Jayfur on the other side of the river.

In WaterClan, the cats note how Fernpaw and Jayfur are both missing. Puddlepaw realizes Fernpaw must be in trouble. He leads many WaterClan cats out of the camp to find her, and when they do, Fernpaw is injured, though the medicine cat says she'll be fine. Fernpaw confirms a Dark Forest cat corrupting Jayfur hurt her. Puddlepaw decides they should look for Jayfur, and Hailfeather and Lilystar find it hard to believe their brother would do such a thing.

Jayfur offers to help Berryflower, and Berryflower accepts. Petalpaw tells Shadowpaw that Jayfur's eyes are blood-red, and Shadowpaw widens his eyes. Jayfur then puts his claws into Berryflower's head, and pushes her head into the river. Horrified, Shadowpaw and Petalpaw run forward to save Berryflower. Shadowpaw wrestles Jayfur, and Petalpaw works on saving Berryflower. Shadowpaw continued to battle Jayfur, who is corrupted by Berrytail, who is hindered because he's not used to fighting with a full tail.

Berrytail tells Shadowpaw his life story, about how a fox tore off his tail, and about how he killed the apprentices that bullied him, and when he told his mate when they were older warriors, she killed him. Shadowpaw didn't feel any sympathy toward the evil cat. He continued wrestling with him, and was pinned and trapped to the ground. He pretended to be dead, but Berrytail didn't fall for it. He taunted Shadowpaw by saying he'd just go and kill Petalpaw. Shadowpaw refused, offering to die in her place. Before Berrytail could kill him, Petalpaw pounced in and knocked Berrytail off of Shadowpaw, rescuing him.

The two apprentices worked together to kill Berrytail, and blinded him. Shadowpaw could barely move, he was so injured, so Petalpaw finished him off instead. The two apprentices fall unconscious.

Petalpaw and Shadowpaw wake up in the medicine den, seeing a dead Jayfur, and a dead Berryflower. Shadowstar decides that he is going to give Shadowpaw and Petalpaw their warrior names a little early, as they have well earned it for killing Berrytail.

Trivia

 * The book is called Red Rivers because of how many cats were hurt, and because the prophecy's 'battle by the river' was in this book.
 * In an older draft, Rowan had three kits named Jackdawkit, Finchkit, and Dovekit.
 * The book was originally going to be called Blood in the River.