Post by Hollow, Sky, Laurel, Jay, Rye on Nov 27, 2014 16:27:15 GMT
Unlike the suffix, which changes as the cat matures, the prefix is expected to be eternal. The exception to this is, of course, name-changes, where the prefix is changed to better illustrate the most notable characteristic of the character (see ii. Obvious features). Name-changes are often due to highly unpleasant circumstances that have befallen the cat, and not all that common either, it seems. In Thunderclan, circa ‘Into the Wild’, there are only two cats that have had name-changes, both of them quite elderly - Halftail and One-eye.
But I think I have digressed a little. The prefix is given to the kitten at birth - perhaps not straightaway, but shortly after. At that age, there is very little difference between kittens - pretty much they’re all stumpy, round, squeaking fuzzballs. About the only way to tell them apart - with the exception of extreme sizes, such as an undersized runt or an enormously chubby kitten - is by their fur colour. For this reason, it makes sense for the prefix to represent the pelt of the cat, and that appears to be how Erin Hunter has structured Warriors (for the most part).
To name a few canon characters - Tigerclaw (big dark brown tabby), Dappletail (once-pretty tortoiseshell), Nightpelt (black), Goldenflower (pale ginger) - there is a notable trend among them. Whether a reference to a time of day, animal, pelt type, colour or other, the prefix is directly linked to the pelt of the cat - by colour or pattern. Littlecloud is an exception to this trend, but as he is described as being “very small”, there is no reason to suggest that the prefix is unsubstantiated.
This is probably the most obvious “rule” of Warriors.
However, even in the very first book of the first series, there is some kind of discrepancy. Runningwind - described as a swift tabby tom.
I don’t know if any of you have been lucky enough to see little newborn kittens, but running is definitely a thing they don’t do. Likewise, they don’t pounce (Pouncetail, ginger-and-white Riverclan tom, first seen in ‘Outcast’) or any other kind of effervescent action. It seems to be an unfounded prefix and doesn’t actually describe the appearance of the cat. It is a transient trait as well - pregnant queens are unlikely to “pounce” and elders surely won’t - so it doesn’t really fulfill the criteria as an eternal feature.
For this reason, it makes much more sense to use only the pelt or size of the cat as the prefix, as that isn’t about to change during its lifetime. Furthermore, it makes the cat recognisable from a distance. Any cat with the prefix night- will be black, and so, in an enemy clan, it isn’t particularly difficult to distinguish who is who at a glance.
But I think I have digressed a little. The prefix is given to the kitten at birth - perhaps not straightaway, but shortly after. At that age, there is very little difference between kittens - pretty much they’re all stumpy, round, squeaking fuzzballs. About the only way to tell them apart - with the exception of extreme sizes, such as an undersized runt or an enormously chubby kitten - is by their fur colour. For this reason, it makes sense for the prefix to represent the pelt of the cat, and that appears to be how Erin Hunter has structured Warriors (for the most part).
To name a few canon characters - Tigerclaw (big dark brown tabby), Dappletail (once-pretty tortoiseshell), Nightpelt (black), Goldenflower (pale ginger) - there is a notable trend among them. Whether a reference to a time of day, animal, pelt type, colour or other, the prefix is directly linked to the pelt of the cat - by colour or pattern. Littlecloud is an exception to this trend, but as he is described as being “very small”, there is no reason to suggest that the prefix is unsubstantiated.
This is probably the most obvious “rule” of Warriors.
However, even in the very first book of the first series, there is some kind of discrepancy. Runningwind - described as a swift tabby tom.
I don’t know if any of you have been lucky enough to see little newborn kittens, but running is definitely a thing they don’t do. Likewise, they don’t pounce (Pouncetail, ginger-and-white Riverclan tom, first seen in ‘Outcast’) or any other kind of effervescent action. It seems to be an unfounded prefix and doesn’t actually describe the appearance of the cat. It is a transient trait as well - pregnant queens are unlikely to “pounce” and elders surely won’t - so it doesn’t really fulfill the criteria as an eternal feature.
For this reason, it makes much more sense to use only the pelt or size of the cat as the prefix, as that isn’t about to change during its lifetime. Furthermore, it makes the cat recognisable from a distance. Any cat with the prefix night- will be black, and so, in an enemy clan, it isn’t particularly difficult to distinguish who is who at a glance.