Crookedstar

Crookedstar is a supporting character in The Prophecies Begin and the titular protagonist of Crookedstar's Promise. As the great grandson of Appledusk and Reedshine, Mapleshade targets him from a young age and begins to train him in the Dark Forest, all while making his life miserable by picking off everyone he cares about one by one as revenge for his great grandfather breaking up with her many years ago.
== Appearance ==
Crookedstar is a very large, lean tabby tom. He has glossy and thick light brown fur with a pale brown underbelly and bright green eyes. He has a small nick in one ear and a notable twisted jaw that he had received after breaking it and having it heal incorrectly in his early childhood.
== Biography ==
=== Crookedstar's Promise ===
During a flood in which RiverClan must evacuate their camp, Rainflower gives birth to her and Shellheart's kits, naming one Stormkit after the storm they were born in and the other Oakkit after the fallen oak tree she took shelter in while kitting. Rainflower is very proud of her son's appearances and constantly encouraging Stormkit's reckless behavior by telling him how brave he is, even after he almost drowns when slipping off a tree that Volekit dared him to climb and falling into the water.
Later, Stormkit and Oakkit sneak out of camp and head to Sunningrocks, where they see the ThunderClan medicine cat Goosefeather gathering herbs nearby. Thinking that he's trespassing on RiverClan's territory, they two kits go to confront him only to find out that he was in ThunderClan territory the whole time and they are now the ones trespassing. Furious, Goosefeather chases them back across the stepping stones, but Stormkit slips and hits his head against one of the rocks, breaking his jaw. As he falls and sinks into the river, he sees the spirit of an orange, black and white she-cat who tells him that it isn't yet his time to die before falling unconscious and being rescued by Mudfur.
Stormkit awakes in the medicine den, where the medicine cat Brambleberry tells him about his broken jaw, and that he'll have to stay with her for a while as it heals. His jaw heals incorrectly however, leaving it to be permanently crooked. Rainflower is horrified at her son's appearance and feeling as though his beauty as been forever soiled. She makes him sleep in a separate nest from her and Oakkit, claiming that his fidgeting at night will disturb his brother's sleep. Later, he overhears an argument between his parents, with his mother wanting to change his name to "Crookedkit" due to his twisted jaw. Disgusted by her treatment of their son, Shellheart immediately breaks up with her, before Stormkit begs them to stop fighting and that he'll accept a new name if it means they stay together. Shellheart tells him that it isn't his fault for the way Rainflower is acting or the fact that they're not longer mates.
After Rainflower tells Hailstar about the name change, the leader holds a ceremony for it, where to his dismay the young kit is renamed Crookedkit. After that he watches his brother Oakkit - now Oakpaw - become an apprentice while he gets held back. While he's happy for his littermate, he's upset that they won't get to train together, being turned down by his Clanmates when he tries to help them in the meantime. Shortly after, Rainflower decides to move back into the warrior's den, leaving Crookedkit alone in the nursery. He tries to get her to stay with him by attempting to climb a tree to impress her like it used to, but she just tells him to stop showing off.
That night, he decides to sneak out of camp and visit the Moonstone so that he may ask StarClan why they let him be faced with such cruelty. On the way there, he falls asleep and in his dreams encounters the same orange, black and white she-cat he had seen when he had first broken his jaw. The she-cat introduces herself as Mapleshade, claiming to be a StarClan cat and telling him that he must return to RiverClan. The next day, Crookedkit visits a farm near WindClan's territory and meets the cat who lives there, a tom named Fleck. The farm cat tells him that he knew a cat with a twisted jaw similar to his, teaching him to hunt and eat with his condition. Fleck then takes Crookedkit to meet his sister Mitzi and her children Soot, Mist, Piper and Magpie. 
Crookedkit decides to stay on the farm, answering Mitzi's questions about Clan life and recommending giving Magpie coltsfoot when he has a bad cough. A moon passes, and Mapleshade returns in Crookedkit's dreams to growl at him that he needs to return to RiverClan. Crookedkit then saves Soot from a corn harvester with Mitzi thanking him, and as he prepares to leave he tells the farm cats that he'll never forget them. When he comes home, his Clanmates reactions range from curiosity to distrust. As punishment for leaving, Hailstar delays Crookedkit's apprenticeship even more, and the light brown tom decides to obediently stay in camp to avoid getting into more trouble. Mapleshade visits him again, telling him that she'll train him and help him rise to power if he promises that he'll be loyal to RiverClan above all else, which Crookedkit accepts. After defending Graykit and Willowkit from an attacking heron, Crookedkit regains Hailstar's trust and finally becomes an apprentice, being mentored by Cedarpelt.
Later, Crookedpaw goes to his first Gathering and meets the ThunderClan apprentice Bluepaw, quickly befriending her. Soon after, he encounters Bluepaw again in a battle with ThunderClan at Sunningrocks. He's hesitant to attack her, but does so anyways when remembering his promise to Mapleshade. Crookedpaw is winning at first until Bluepaw's sister Snowpaw arrives and the two chase him away, with him renouncing his friendship with the blue she-cat as he flees. When a dog bothers the Clan, Crookedpaw presents the idea of having the two fastest warriors, Shimmerpelt and Softwing, lead the dog under some trees that the rest of the Clan will be hiding in, pouncing onto the dog from above and driving it away. His plan goes awry however when the dog goes for Graypaw and Willowpaw instead, and he must quickly improvise by chasing the dog to get it to leave them alone, defending Willowpaw from it when it tries to attack her. The dog is successfully lead back into the trap and driven off from there, and for his heroic deeds Hailstar makes him a warrior, giving him the name Crookedjaw.
Crookedjaw is extremely worried for Willowbreeze when she gets captured by twolegs, promising Graypool that her sister will be rescued. When he informs his leader of Willowbreeze's kidnapping, Hailstar responds that they'll have to wait until tomorrow to save her, as most of RiverClan's warriors are still wounded from another fight with ThunderClan over Sunningrocks from earlier that day. After challenging the leader, Willowbreeze's mother Fallowtail whispers that she can't lose her daughter again, and that Crookedjaw must find her. While sneaking out at night to do just that, he runs into Brambleberry while she's on her way to the Moonstone. She says that she knows what he's trying to do, as it's part of his destiny, but leaves in a hurry when Crookedjaw asks what she means. He continues on his rescue mission while joined by Graypool, and together the two of them find the captive she-cat and save her. While heading back to RiverClan, Mapleshade appears to the green-eyed tom and demands to know why he bothered saving Willowbreeze, stating that she'll only get in the way of his duties to the Clan and adding that he has a grand destiny ahead of him as one of the greatest leaders the Clans have ever seen.
Crookedjaw and Willowbreeze grow very close, and he feels embarrassed knowing that his Clanmates are gossiping about them, anticipating for them to announce that they've become mates. He later goes for a walk with her and professes his love for her, which she reciprocates. Mapleshade then angrily scolds him for falling in love with any cat, much less taking a mate. After Shellheart retires from his position as deputy, Mapleshade breaks the jaw of a squirrel Crookedjaw caught and Hailstar believes that it's a sign from StarClan, making the light brown tabby the next deputy of RiverClan. He then finds out that Mapleshade isn't a StarClan spirit, but a Dark Forest one, and declares that he's never letting her control him again. The Dark Forest warrior then reveals that she's been the one causing his life to be miserable ever since after he broke his jaw, stating that it's revenge for his great grandfather Appledusk, who left her for his great grandmother Reedshine many years ago. 
Hailstar dies shortly after, and Brambleberry takes Crookedjaw to the Moonstone to get his 9 lives from Starclan. There, he receives a life of courage from Hailstar, a life of motherly love from Duskwater, a life of justice from Troutclaw, a life of trust from Mossleaf, a life of compassion from Lilyflower, a life of humility from Lightningpaw, a life of hope from Brightsky, a life of patience from Sparrowfeather, and finally a life of loyalty from Shellheart. His father tells him that Rainflower is in StarClan and apologizes for not knowing about Mapleshade's manipulation until it was too late, telling him that StarClan will always be at his side and that he'll be a great leader. With that, Crookedjaw earns the name Crookedstar. He then finds himself in the Dark Forest with Mapleshade saying that he should be thanking her for all that she's done, but the newly-named leader is enraged at all the suffering she's caused and turns on her.
Later, Willowbreeze gives birth to their children Minnowkit, Willowkit and Silverkit. Unfortunaly Willowbreeze and two of the kittens die of greencough shortly after, leaving Silverkit as the only survivor and her father devastated. He tries to avoid Silverkit at first, not wanting her to die like all of his other loved ones, but Oakheart confronts him and tells him that he's treating her the same way Rainflower treated him. Taking his brother's advice, Crookedstar soon forms a deep bond with his daughter. Many moons later, Silverstream is now a warrior and Crookedstar worries about how strange she's been acting lately. He confronts her when finding out that she's been sneaking off to meet with the ThunderClan tom Graystripe, who she's been in a secret relationship with. One night, he sees Silverstream's spirit walking to StarClan and soon after finds out that she'd died while giving birth to her and Graystripe's kits. Mapleshade appears and says that with the death of Silverstream her revenge is complete, but Crookedstar retorts that she hadn't won as his daughter will live on through her children Featherkit and Stormkit, and that everyone he's lost is waiting for him in StarClan. A few moons later, Crookedstar loses his final life to greencough and goes to StarClan, where his family is waiting for him and welcomes him warmly. Willowbreeze in particular approaches him to greet him personally.
=== The Prophecies Begin ===
==== Into the Wild ====
Crookedstar is seen at Firepaw's first Gathering along with his new deputy Leopardfur. After Brokenstar reveals that he's chased out WindClan, he demands for the other two leaders to give up a bit of their territory to ShadowClan to avoid the same fate. Bluestar denies this, but Crookedstar reluctantly accepts to protect his Clan from the tyrant's wrath. Despite his Clanmate's outrage, he reasons that there's plenty of fish in the river that aren't worth spilling blood over.
==== Fire and Ice ====
At the next Gathering, the new ShadowClan leader Nightpelt demands to still let ShadowClan hunt at the river due to the Clan still recovering from Brokenstar's reign. The RiverClan leader refuses, and Bluestar must intervene to prevent the two from fighting. Instead, Crookedstar and Nightpelt then agree to both share the absent WindClan's territory for hunting. Bluestar protests this idea, as WindClan needs to return home, and reluctantly both leaders claim to accept this, hunting in the abandoned land in secret.
At another Gathering much later, Bluestar accuses RiverClan of stealing ThunderClan's prey. Crookedstar retaliates by bringing up the fact that the ThunderClan warrior Graystripe had accidentally killed a RiverClan warrior named Whiteclaw by knocking him into the gorge during a border scuffle. He then accuses ThunderClan of stealing prey as well, reporting that he had scented one of their warriors in his Clan's territory recently. 
Once WindClan is returned, ShadowClan and RiverClan form an alliance to drive them out once more so that they may continue to hunt on their territory. ThunderClan arrives to help WindClan with the attackers, and RiverClan retreats when Crookedstar receives a near-fatal bite to the spine from Tigerclaw.
==== Forest of Secrets ====
At yet another Gathering, Crookedstar is aggressive to WindClan, still upset about no longer being allowed to hunt in their territory. Bluestar calms the other leaders down, and Crookedstar then seems to accept WindClan's place in the forest. As the warmth of newleaf melts the ice and snow of leafbare, RiverClan's camp floods from the excess water and the inhabitants must evacuate. Leopardfur later brings Fireheart and Graystripe to him to let him decide if their claims of saving Mistyfoot's kits from the flood are to be believed. Crookedstar finds their story to be true and thanks them, allowing them to hunt for RiverClan while their camp is still flooded. 
At the next Gathering, Nightstar reveals that ThunderClan has been sheltering the former ShadowClan leader Brokenstar - now renamed Brokentail. RiverClan is mostly unfazed by this, due to being the least effected by Brokenstar's tyranny, and instead of commenting on the issue Crookedstar addresses of the floods that have been happening as of late. When Nightstar refuses to let ThunderClan return home by passing through ShadowClan's territory, Crookedstar offers to let them pass through RiverClan instead in return for Fireheart's and Graystripe's help with catching prey. 
He is stated to have a very strong bond with his daughter, and is ravaged with grief when she dies. When he hears that her kittens are still alive, he urges ThunderClan to give them to RiverClan, ultimately succeeding and allowing Graystripe to join the Clan to take care of his children.
==== Rising Storm ====
After a forest fire drives them out of their camp, Crookedstar allows the ThunderClan cats to shelter in his Clan's camp until it's safe to return. He then lets Graystripe go with Fireheart to assess the damage the fire had done, commenting that if any of the orange tom's Clanmates had died, then he'll need the comfort of an old friend. As the rest of ThunderClan leaves, he accepts Bluestar's gratitude for sheltering them. At the next Gathering, he's noted to look weaker than usual.
==== A Dangerous Path ====
At the Gathering, Crookedstar greets the new ShadowClan leader Tigerstar, unaware of the brown tabby tom's crimes. He then talks about RiverClan's new apprentices and warriors, adding that more twolegs have been spotted near the river. Fireheart takes note of how frail and tired he looks and how Leopardfur is taking charge more and more often, chalking it up to the stress that he's been facing lately. At the next Gathering, Leopardfur - now Leopardstar - announces that Crookedstar had died of greencough and that she is now the leader of RiverClan.
== Gallery ==
File:CrookedstarsPromiseOG.webp|Cookedstar on the original cover of Crookedstar's Promise
File:CrookedstarsPromiseReprint.webp|Crookedstar on the reprinted cover of Crookedstar's Promise
File:CrookedstarsPromiseManga.webp|Crookedstar in the manga epilogue of Crookedstar's Promise
File:CrookedstarExileFromShadowClan.webp|Crookedstar in Exile from ShadowClan
File:CrookedstarEnterTheClans.webp|Crookedstar on the cover of Enter the Clans
File:CrookedstarSecretsOfTheClans.webp|Crookedstar in Secrets of the Clans
File:CrookedstarFactSheet.webp|Crookedstar's fact sheet on the official website
File:CrookedstarFamilyTree.webp|Crookedstar's icon on the family tree
== Trivia ==
* His grandson Stormfur was likely named after his birth name Stormkit.
* Author Victoria Holmes has stated that he likely doesn't have a speech problem due to his accident occurring when he was very young, thus he learned how to adjust relatively quickly.
* Victoria has also explained that the reason Crookedstar's twisted jaw isn't as prominent in Wayne McLoughlin's illustrations is because he had trouble drawing it.
* His mother was stated to be Lilystem in Bluestar's Prophecy, though this was changed to Rainflower with the release of Crookedstar's Promise.
== External Links ==
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