Recap / Warrior Cats: Thunderstar's Echo

Thunderstar's Echo is the twelfth novella; one of the three in the Legends of the Clans compilation alongside Pinestar's Choice and Spottedleaf's Heart. It takes place a few moons after the end of Moth Flight's Vision.

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Several moons after the end of Moth Flight's Vision (long enough that the kits born at the end of the book are now apprentices and young warriors), the forest at peace. As Thunderstar hunts with some of the Clan apprentices, he reflects on how nice it is that the forest is safe for young cats like them and that they can peacefully visit the other Clans. When they return to camp, some of the ThunderClanners are arguing with each other, and Thunderstar is irritable at how they can get upset over the little things when not so long ago they had much bigger problems, and hopes that being leader doesn't just mean that he has to referee disagreements. Violet Dawn announces to Thunderstar that she's expecting kits. He's nervous about this: he thinks the forest is dangerous, and he worries that he'll be a terrible father since Skystar was to him. Lightning Tail points out that even though that was the case, Gray Wing was a good father to Thunderstar, and Thunderstar is reassured.

Later in the season, the Clan scents dogs at the camp - ones that look and smell strange, unlike any they're used to seeing around the forest - and they escape by climbing trees. They decide to look for the dogs' camp, but first warn the other Clans, and Thunderstar chooses to go to SkyClan to visit his father. He is greeted by his half-siblings and listens to them talk about how Skystar is a supportive father, and wishes it had been like that when he'd been in SkyClan, but it reassures him that even if he isn't a good father he can learn to be, just as Skystar had. Skystar admits that he scented the dogs but didn't realize they were a threat, and he and Thunderstar follow the scent to a Twolegplace.

Thunderstar and his deputy, Lightning Tail, decide to investigate further a few days later, and actually enter the Twolegplace: a building surrounded by a yard with dead cars. They find a hole in the fence where the dogs are clearly getting out and try to block it with rocks, and then with brambles, which doesn't work well, and the dogs appear and attack them. One of them grabs Thunderstar, and Lightning Tail comes back to fight it off, but he is also badly wounded. The two cats get away, but feel themselves growing weak, and Thunderstar wonders aloud if they are dying. Lightning Tail points out that he was given nine lives, but Thunderstar isn't so certain that it is true since he's never witnessed a cat coming back to life, and they tell each other that they were a good deputy/leader.

The next thing the two of them know, they are in StarClan. They are greeted by Gray Wing, who tells them where they are, and that while it is time for Lightning Tail to join them, Thunderstar will soon start his second life. Thunderstar is upset, thinking that Lightning Tail's sacrifice was in vain, but Gray Wing points out that the dogs would have killed him over and over, so Lightning Tail did indeed save him. Lightning Tail promises to watch over him from StarClan, and Thunderstar awakens and keeps vigil.

He goes back to the problem of the fence afterward, knowing Lightning Tail would want him to finish the mission they'd set out on. He first tries to roll a larger rock from uphill, but it rolls off course, and then gets the idea to show the Twolegs the hole by luring the dogs toward it. This works: when they notice it, they patch it up. He is relieved that his Clan will now be safe from the dogs, and buries his friend.

When he returns, he speaks to Violet Dawn, and her cry of grief awakens the rest of the Clan. They mourn Lightning Tail for two days, and Violet Dawn suggests helping ease their grief by choosing another deputy and helping get things back to normal. He considers Owl Eyes, who had watched over the Clan while he and Lightning Tail were away, and is just about to agree out loud when Violet Dawn's kits come. They notice that one of the kits, a she-kit, has a lightning-shaped mark on her belly, and Thunderstar thinks with grief about how Lightning Tail would have loved the "echo" of his name and favored the kit. Thunderstar vows to himself to tell his kits all about his brave friend.

The five Clans meet at Fourtrees for a Gathering, and Thunderstar shares his news about the birth of his kits and the death of his deputy. He talks about how he sat vigil for Lightning Tail, and Shadowstar suggests that they always do that when a cat dies. They ask if he has chosen a new deputy, and he thinks about it for a moment and says Owl Eyes will be the new deputy. He speaks to his new deputy afterward and Owl Eyes promises to do his best.

When he returns to camp, he tells Violet Dawn about his choice, and she tells him that she has named two of the kits, Shell Claw and Feather Ear, and that he should name the other two. He decides on Sleek Fur for one, and Lightning Stripe for the she-kit with the lightning-shaped mark. A storm is gathering overhead, and just at that moment lightning flashes and thunder booms right afterward. Thunderstar thinks about lightning and thunder being together, and knows that whenever he sees a thunderstorm in the future, or looks at his daughter, he'll be reminded of his friend, and he knows that Lightning Tail will always be with him.

Tropes appearing in this novella:

• Abandoned Area: Thunderstar and Lightning Tail find what appears to be an abandoned rogue camp; the rogues seem to have fled after the dogs attacked them.
• Afterlife Welcome: Gray Wing welcomes Lightning Tail and Thunderstar to StarClan.
• Attack the Tail: One of the dogs grabs hold of Thunderstar by the tail.
• Dead Guy Junior: Lightning Stripe is partially named after Lightning Tail.
• Due to the Dead:
  • Thunderstar and Lightning Tail find the body of a rogue who has been killed by dogs; they give her a proper burial and ask StarClan to guide her to her eternal hunting grounds.
  • When Lightning Tail dies, Thunderstar sits vigil by his body overnight and buries him. The Clans suggest they always do this from now on when a cat dies.
• Go for the Eye: Violet Dawn and Thunderstar claw at the dogs' eyes.
• The Legend of X: The paperback that this novella appears in is Legends of the Clans. Fittingly, the novellas in it are about three significant characters that take place before the main series.
• Meaningful Name: Thunderstar's kit Lightning Stripe is named partially for the lightning-shaped mark on her belly and partially after Lightning Tail. Another of his kits, Sleek Fur, is named because of how soft his fur is.
• Prequel: Dawn of the Clans and its supplemental books take place long before the main series or any of the other prequels.
• Ruler Protagonist: Thunder is the first leader of ThunderClan. This novella deals with him losing his first life and his deputy/best friend while on a mission to protect his Clan.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • Willow Tail is listed as a WindClan hunter. In Moth Flight's Vision, she had died before Windstar became leader, and had given her one of her nine lives. This error later happens again in Shadowstar's Life.
  • It says of Windstar that "StarClan had healed her and given her nine lives". In Moth Flight's Vision, StarClan was unable to save her existing life as she was dying, so she was given only 8 lives instead of 9. It could possibly have just been a figure of speech, however.
• Tuckerization: Shivering Rose and Hazel Burrow are named after the usernames of two members of Kate's blog, Shiveringrose and Hazelburrow (the latter of which is her son).