Ivypool and Fernsong – support and understanding in a Warriors romance
BY THE EDITOR
We all know Ivypool―strong and tough, she is a fearless and stoic warrior who helped lead the Clans to victory against the Dark Forest. By contrast, her mate, Fernsong, is a gentle, lighthearted tom with a sweetness and innocence about him that hardly makes it seem that he would suit such a battle-hardened warrior as Ivypool. But do these descriptions really do either cat justice? Neither one is a simple one-note cat–tough or gentle, stoic or lighthearted. These two cats have seen both good times and bad and have learned to survive the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Let’s take a closer look at this Warriors pair and why they work together so well.
Ivypaw was barely out of the nursery when her sister, Dovepaw, started being singled out as special by Jayfeather and Firestar, and seemingly by StarClan themselves, based on her vision about the beavers and the journey on which she was chosen to go. Having no knowledge of Dovepaw’s powers or place in the prophecy, Ivypaw could not understand why her sister was suddenly being treated as if she was so remarkable. The difference in how Ivypaw was treated in comparison hurt. The Dark Forest was easily able to prey on her growing resentment. Hawkfrost came to her in dreams and subtly created a divide between her and Dovepaw, promising that he could make Ivypaw stronger and better, helping her gain the adoration that her sister so unfairly hoarded.
Dovepaw tried to warn Ivypaw about the true nature of the Dark Forest, of course, but what reason did Ivypaw have to believe her? As far as she knew, Dovepaw was just a young, inexperienced apprentice like herself with no special knowledge of the motives of dead cats. Why would she know any better than Ivypaw? She resented her adored, golden-kit sister for implying that the cats who treated Ivypaw as if she was special too were only using her and never meant their words of praise. Ivypaw’s Dark Forest training drove an even greater wedge between the two sisters, who had once been as close as each other’s shadows.
By the time Ivypaw realized what she’d truly gotten herself into with the Dark Forest, it was too late. There was no way of backing out of her nighttime training without tipping off Hawkfrost and putting herself and her Clan in even more danger. So, in an act of courage barely concealing her fear, Ivypaw decided to continue her Dark Forest training as a spy for the Clans. She hadn’t even earned her warrior name yet when she was forced to make this choice. The rest of her moons in the Dark Forest were filled with terror. She lived in fear of being discovered and killed, and she experienced overwhelming guilt for the harm she was forced to cause in order to convince the Dark Forest cats she was truly on their side. Her spying paid off when she was able to sway the rest of the Dark Forest trainees to side with the Clans during the battle and turn all of their refined training back on their vicious mentors. But the trauma of all she had to endure in the Dark Forest didn’t just disappear after the battle was won. Bramblestar noted the ruthless advice Ivypool gave the apprentices after the Great Storm, and that she had learned more savagery there than most warriors could imagine―and it was never fully forgotten.
By contrast, Fernsong seems to have led a relatively easy life. The closest he ever came to experiencing the Dark Forest was being named after one of its victims, Ferncloud. His first major scene as a warrior saw him fretting over a sick kit, showing his natural kindness and empathy for those in pain. It also displayed how good he is with kits, even one that is not his close kin. He gladly accompanied Ivypool, Twigpaw, and Alderpaw on the patrol to find Twigpaw’s mother, trading easy, flirty banter with Ivypool during the trip and showing delight any time he was with her. By the time we see the pair again in Darkest Night, they’re officially mates and are discussing plans to have kits.
While Fernsong definitely has a lighter air to him than his mate, he isn’t naive, and he isn’t careless with the trust Ivypool places in him. Instead of dismissing Ivypool’s worries about having kits restricting her freedom, he offers a viable solution to step up with the kit-rearing himself so that Ivypool can still enjoy her warrior duties. When Ivypool despairs over her sister’s disappearance, it is Fernsong who assures her that no cat could doubt her sister’s loyalty. Some may have expected Ivypool to take a mate more able to match her ferocity, but it is important to remember that this ferocity did not come to her naturally―she adopted it as a shield to survive the brutality of her Dark Forest training. Is it any wonder that, after enduring such harshness, and having to become harder to survive it, she would choose a mate with a gentler touch to stand beside her? Is it any wonder that a cat who succumbed to the temptation of the Dark Forest because of her desire not to be overlooked and to be admired for everything she could offer would fall for Fernsong―a tom who looked at her, battle scars and all, and saw a cat worth spending his life with?
We’ve been able to see more of their dynamic and how it has evolved over time. All these seasons after they began their life together, Ivypool’s worst traumas came back to haunt her in the worst possible way when their precious daughter, Bristlefrost, was taken from them forever. The warrior, thought by her Clan to be so fearless and stoic, fell apart, and despite his own grief, it was Fernsong who caught her when she fell. He supported her in the final chapters of The Broken Code as she lost the last shred of hope that she might be able to find her daughter’s spirit again, and in the excerpt for Ivypool’s Heart, we see him gently bringing up his concerns about Ivypool losing herself to her grief. Though Ivypool has left him behind in Clan territory for her quest, there’s no doubt that her beloved mate, and the daughter he helped her raise, will be in her thoughts in the journey to come. Will Ivypool be able to come to terms with her grief as Fernsong hopes? Or will resentment and pain pull her away from him? Only time, and the upcoming release of Ivypool’s Heart, will tell.
