I’ve already made two theories on what I think can/will happen in the cave, but this is a little reprise of it. We got two panels at the end of chapter 65 back with Volepaw, Breezy, and present Redeye. And though these panels are short, they say so much with so few words. [next] To reprise what I said in previous theories: 1) I believe that the last cat to speak outside the cave dictates what memories will be inside. I also think it'd be interesting and practical (for Starclan officials judging where a cat should go) if other distinguishable traits of said cat could be used, such as a drop of their blood, a petal of their flower, and a piece of their fur. [next] 2) Based on the song ‘The Cave’, I believe that Salmonpaw will return to the cave and the reason they go back, or what they will find within it, will lead to more information on the wolf. Perhaps the wolf could even be with her. (Two other theories on the wolf I made: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1067925239/ and https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1010650879/) [next] 3) Volepaw and Breezypaw have been in the cave before and have possibly witnessed their own death before the fog had cleared. This would explain why they were so scared when they found it and why they refused to explain its purpose to Salmon. They feared if she knew then she would get too curious and go in despite their warnings. [next] Now here are some things that can be presumed by the singular frame we saw. 1) This panel practically confirms that Volepaw and Breezypaw have been here. They are, first of all, not panicking and know the best idea is to stay still and wait. We don’t know /exactly/ why this is the best strategy yet, but we can presume that going into the cave or trying to fish the cat out of the cave will do nothing. If they hadn’t been here and their new bestie had just fell in, they’d be diving in after her, but they have experience with this so they’re smart enough not to. 2) I may be reading into this too much, but Volepaw says ‘She’ll come out soon, right?’ I take this as meaning one of four things, which I will go through in what I believe to be least likely to most likely order: First, the idea that time passes differently in the cave. What may seem like five minutes waiting for Redeye, Breezypaw, and Volepaw could be five hours or more for Salmon as she goes through all the memories. Though this would be useful for officials, making it more time efficient to go through memories, I think this is less likely based on Vole’s and Breeze’s reactions. Even if there was nothing you could you for your friend, you would be freaking out if she could relive a whole lifetime in ten minutes; maybe prepping a therapy session or something. [next] Second, which is basically tied for plausibility with the other two theories, is that the cave has a mind of its own. Perhaps it’s a Silverpelt like figure that can judge who deserves to see what memories. Little tangent, but I want to talk about what this could mean for this theory of mine: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1067925239/. In that theory I discussed that Featherstar is trying to get information or an alliance out of the wolf. If the memory cave works as I assume it does, meaning they just need a tooth or a piece of its fur to function, then why wouldn’t Featherstar just do that instead of bribing it with food? Well, perhaps the cave doesn’t think that she deserves to see these memories. I think that this would be an interesting reason for Salmon to get involved with the cave and the wolf, especially since I mentioned that her just wanting to help wouldn’t make the most sense with her character. The cave could decide that Salmonpaw would use the knowledge of Cobweb’s memories wisely, and perhaps she would only share select information with Featherstar. I think that this would be an interesting concept, despite the fact it’s extremely unlikely. [next] Third is that once a good endpoint for a memory is reached it kicks you back out. Not out-out of the cave, but back into the rainbow thread area. This could allow you to look through related memories rather than just sitting through an entire lifetime to wait for a few important moments. The reason Vole and Breezy’s reactions would be so mild is they’d hope Salmon would immediately be like ‘enough of that I’m out’ and swim back up to the surface. If I know her though, I think she’d let curiosity take the best of her just like her mother. [next] Fourth is very similar to third, but it’s where the cave kicks her all the way out back to the surface. This would explain why Volepaw was so certain she would be out soon. Assuming that the officials are using this for practical purposes, this would kind of suck. Having to enter the cave over and over just to live through a simple lifetime? Not very efficient for getting your memories back or judging other cats. Thanks for reading! Most art, characters, and story by @Meadowfoot_ToPH Panel 6 art and character by @9rainbowtails
