I figure this would be a good place to start. (Notice how the title of the play is very interesting: We Need To Talk...) Leafpool goes to the WindClan border to talk to Crowfeather, and Crowfeather alone. She must want to tell him about their kit, or else she wouldn't have to talk to him alone; she could have talked to any WindCan cat. She aso seems really upset when he mentions Nightcloud, implying even more that the news must be personal. AuthorTracker also sent out a note to all subscribers saying:

My spring tour seems a long time ago now, but you may remember from my tour diary that I wrote a ten-minute play called After Sunset: We Need to Talk, which had its World Premiere in the Secret Garden Bookshop in Seattle, WA. This was one of the highlights of my tour, with all the actors putting on Oscar-winning performances! Especially Leafpool, who seemed to understand exactly what she was—and wasn’t—saying. The good news is that if you missed this fabulous performance, you now have the chance to put on one of your own! The lovely folks who manage the Warriors website have agreed to post a link to the play script in its original form. If you look very closely, you might uncover a few secrets about Power of Three.

An almost identical note is attached to the page where you can download the script at www.warriorcats.com:

As promised, here is your chance to read the play script that I wrote especially for my recent tour. As it turned out, the events were mostly too busy for public performances, but I was thrilled to be part of the world premiere of We Need to Talk on Saturday, April 28, at the Secret Garden bookstore in Seattle, WA. Eight hugely talented fans brought the script to life, and best of all, they seemed to know exactly what was going on. In Warriors, you always need to look for the meaning in between the words that are spoken out loud, and this play is no different. If you look closely enough, you might even spot some important clues to what's going on in Power of Three.

Another good point Brambleclaw4evr brings up is that whenever asked if Leafpool and Crowfeather had kits, possibly two or all of the three, (in online chats, book signings, etc.), Vickky always says "I'm not telling" or "You'll have to wait and see" or some other excuse. Why else would she be protecting her secrets? If they weren't true, she would come right out and say so!

There's also a quote from Dark River where Leafpool and Jaypaw are going to WindClan to talk to Onestar, and Leafpool tells Crowfeather that he's hiding from his responsibilities. She's probably thinking that he's ignoring his responsibility to her; he gave her the kits then just backed out. How would you feel?

Anger surged through Leafpool; Jaypaw felt it hot against his pelt. "Not every cat hides from his responsibilities!" she hissed.

Crowfeather halted. "Are you saying that's what I would do?"
                ~Dark River, page 271


2. Cats of the Clans

Cats of the Clans came out today, and with it came many, many more clues. Yay!!!

Ok, first off... Here's how the layout works, for those who haven't read it: every cat has its own page with info on it, front Rock's point of view. I checked the three kit's pages and Brambleclaw's page, and it just tells what we already know, no big secrets. But what I found weird was that it never said who their parents were, just that Firestar had waited for the kits to come for a long time. So then I went to Squirrelflight's page, and it just said that she'd been a good mother to the kits, and that she should be rewarded for her devotion. It sounds like she's been looking over Leafpool's kits and should be rewarded with her own for her devotion... Here's the exact passage:

Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw have gone through so much together. Squirrelflight is a good mother to Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw. I hope Squirrelflight is well rewarded for her devotion.
                    ~Cats of the Clans, page 20

It also said, on that same page, that "even Squirrelflight has her secrets." Could this mean that she knows the truth about Hollypaw and Jaypaw?

...Even Squirrelflight has her secrets.
                     ~Cats of the Clans, page 20

Then I went to Nightcloud and Breezepaw's page and it said that Breezepaw knows that his Clanmates doubt Crowfeather and he doesn't want them to doubt him too. Then it says something interesting...

...But Breezepaw needs to learn that a battle is unfair from the start if there are secrets waiting in the shadows, and if the cats around him have left a legacy of mistakes and ill judgment that has not reached its end.
                     ~Cats of the Clans, page 54

Could it be referring to the birth of Leafpool's three kits as the "mistakes" and "ill judgments"? Also, on Crowfeather's page, when it's talking about his love for Leafpool, it says that perhaps StarClan was punishing him for something that he hadn't yet done when he fell in love with Leafpool. Could this "misdeed" as it's referred to be the kits?

Or perhaps they [StarClan] were punishing him [Crowfeather] for some misdeed he hadn't yet done?
                     ~Cats of the Clans, page 52

And on Leafpool's page, their forbidden love will supposedly color the Clans' future in ways nobody can see. This fits in well with the "Kin of your kin" prophecy, since the kits are going to influence the future of the Clans as well. They could be referring to the same thing.

Even now it [their love] echoes among the Clans, coloring their future in ways not even Leafpool can see.
                      ~Cats of the Clans, page 18

Still I find it interesting that on all the pages in the book, not once did Erin refer to Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw as the kit's parents. Nor did she refer to Jaypaw, Hollyleaf, and/or Lionblaze as their kits. It only further supports the theory that she doesn't want to give away her plotline, but at the same time, she doesn't want to lie outright.


3. Pregnancy Clues

Isn't it odd that Yellowfang, when she and Bluestar deliever the message below to Leafpool, is the one to tell her that she will tread a path few medicine cats before her have, when Yellowfang is the only medicine cat in the books that appears to have had kits? Prehaps this is a clue that Leafpool will follow in her pawsteps as a mother.

"Do you have a sign for me?" she asked, giving all her attention to the three StarClan warriors.

"Not exactly," meowed Bluestar. "But we wanted to tell you that the path of your life will twist in ways yet hidden from you."

"Yes." Yellowfang's voice was dry, with an edge to it that made Leafpool almost certain the old medicine cat knew something she wasn't telling. "You will tread a path that few medicine cats have walked before you."
              ~Sunset, page 102

Also, underworld9245 found a quote in Sunset where Leafpool goes to the Moonpool and sees three stars. Spottedleaf tells her that they're an omen... prehaps of Leafpool's bearing kits!

Then above her head she saw the three tiny stars that she had seen twice before. They seemed to shine more brightly than ever.

Beside Leafpool, Willowpaw was curled up asleep, and on the opposite side of the pool sat a beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat, her eyes glowing softly as she gazed at the apprentice.

"Spottedleaf!" Leafpool exclaimed.

She raced up to the starry spirit, drinking in the familiar sweet scent, and pressed herself against Spottedleaf's soft tortioseshell flank. "I'm so glad to see you. Can you tell me about those three stars?" She pointed upward with her tail. "I would think they'd mean that three warriors have died, but I can't figure out who it would be!"

Spottedleaf shook her head. "The stares a sign, dear one. But this is not the time for you to discover their meaning."
               ~Sunset, page 275

HorseRidingFreak also found a quote where Leafpool is worrying about her destiny. She says "what will I do", possibly implying that she's having kits, and being found out would land her in trouble...

She had other worries too, suspicions that troubled her more deeply. She remembered Feathertail's warning, and how Bluestar had told her in a dream that her path would twist in ways yet she could not foresee. It can't be true, she told herself. If it is, what will I do?
              ~Sunset, page 247

In addition, I find it a little suspicious that Erin hardly wrote anything about Leafpool and Crowfeather running away. I mean, there are huge time gaps where almost anything could have happened! This further supports the fact that Crowfeather got Leafpool pregnant when they ran away.

There is also another line from Sunset that says that Leafpool has grown "quite plump," suggesting that she's close to bearing her kits. Isn't it strage that Leafpool is the cat mentioned, when most of the Clan is looking well-fed? If she was only carrying a kit or two, all she would look is plump, and not obviously pregnant.

Every cat looked sleek and well-fed; even slender Leafpool had grown quite plump.
               ~Sunset, page 285

Jaypaw notices in Dark River that Leafpool is very fond of secrets.

Why was Leafpool so fond of secrets? Secrets about his gift, secrets about Mothwing and StarClan. He suspected there were even more secrets buried in his mentor's heart, secrets that she guarded so closely he had never been able to glimpse them.
              ~Dark River, page 53

Could one of these closely guarded secrets be the fact that she's a mother?

MizzBridget has an idea of how the birthing could have been carried out: Remember how one litter would have been older than the other? Well, since Leafpool obviously got pregnant first, she could have just asked Squirrelflight to get pregnant so they could stage the birthing together, since she and Brambleclaw were back on again after Cinderpelt's death... The two litters would have been close enough together. And then they could have moved out to the hollow and Leafpool giving birth may have triggered Squirrelflight's labor. Or, since it was out in the hollow, Leafpool could have told everyone not to visit Squirrelflight so she could deliver Lionblaze. It's not likely that Squirrelflight would have gotten pregnant on her own, since in Secrets of the Clans, which takes place during the time gap between Sunset and The Sight, she clearly states that she doesn't want any kits yet:

What cute kits! I don't want any of my own yet, though. I want to do a lot more warrior stuff first. Although it does look comfortable in the nursery.
                ~Secrets of the Clans, page 21


4. Closeness to the Kits

Leafpool is always going out of her way to be kind to Squirrelflight's kits, like bringing wool for their nests and honeycomb to lick. Is it perhaps because she's really the mother of Jaypaw and Hollyleaf? There are also two quotes from The Sight where Leafpool is hiding something...

"I will teach her everything I know," Leafpool promised. She touched Hollypaw's muzzle with hers, but she didn't meet Hollypaw's eyes; instead, she looked past her, her expression clouded. Surprised, Hollypaw turned and saw that Leafpool was staring at Squirrelflight. She wondered why there was sadness in both cats' eyes.
               ~The Sight, page 88

"Leafpool sat down and wrapped her tail over her paws. "I would be honored to be Jaypaw's mentor." She dipped her head. "I think the Clan would be lucky to have him as its medicine cat." Hollypaw stared at Leafpool. Why does she look like she's hiding something?
               ~The Sight, page 245


5. Jaypaw is Leafpool's Son

Leafpool seems to want Jaypaw to become her apprentice more than any other kit in the Clan. Prehaps so she can get to know her son better...?

Leafpool's whiskers twitched with amusement as she guessed what Hollykit was trying to ask. "No," she purred. "Once a medicine cat has learned enough, he can take his proper name and assume full responsibilities, even with his mentor still alive." Hollykit wondered why Leafpool had said he. "Do you have someone in mind already?" Leafpool flicked the tip of her tail. "I've not decided anything yet."
               ~The Sight, page 50

And when Hollyleaf becomes her apprentice instead, she seems more than a little let down:

"I will teach her everything I know," Leafpool promised. She touched Hollypaw's muzzle with hers, but she didn't meet Hollypaw's eyes; instead, she looked past her, her expression clouded. Surprised, Hollypaw turned and saw that Leafpool was staring at Squirrelflight. She wondered why there was sadness in both cats' eyes.
               ~The Sight, page 88

Leafpool often acts motherly to Jaypaw, more than just a concerned mentor would be, (MizzBridget found the second of the two quotes):

"Jaypaw, are you all right?" Leafpool went on. Her irritation was fading, giving way to concern, a sticky flood that threatened to overwhelm Jaypaw just like the water in the tunnels. "You would tell me, wouldn't you, if anything was wrong?"
                ~Outcast, page 11

Ferns rustled around Squirrelflight. "Have you eaten, Jaypaw?"

"Not yet." He was starving.

"Make sure you do." Squirrelflight's mew sounded a little stronger.

Leafpool's tail brushed the ground. "I know how to take care of my apprentice."

Jaypaw was surprised. There was a sharp edge to his mentor's mew. She was never bad-tempered with her patients.
                 ~Eclipse, page 282

In The Sight, there's a passage where Jaypaw asks Leafpool is he went on the Great Journey, because he remembers traveling in the snow as a young kit.

"Sometimes I dream about when I was very small, traveling through snow," he confessed. "Is that right? That wasn't the Great Journey, was it?"

Tension crackled through Leafpool's fur. "No, the Great Journey was long before you were born. But your... your mother did make a long journey with you through the snow when you were very small. You were born outside the hollow, and she had to wait until you were all strong enough to travel."
               ~The Sight, page 190

Leafpool is hesitant to mention Jaypaw's mother, as though she's afraid she might give something away. And why else would she refer to Squirrelflight as simply "your mother?" Besides, there's no other reason why Squirrelflight would be kitting out in the snow in the middle of Leaf-Bare, unless she was helping Leafpool hide the fact that she's having kits. There's also a mention that she had to wait until the kits were strong enough to travel, suggesting that one of the litters was a little ahead or behind the other, and the younger kits had to catch up. Jawpaw's blindness fits into this too. What if StarClan punished Leafpool by blinding Jaypaw as a kit? Jaypaw's personality is also remarkably like Crowfeather's. Prehaps that's something more than just a coincidence... (Plus Erin has stated that Jaypaw's warrior name is Jayfeather. :o What if she's named him after his father?!)

Also, as Gazer123 points out, Jaypaw has strong connections with StarClan, prehaps not only because he is a medicine cat with the power of the stars in his paws but because his mother is a medicine cat. And she also looked on the Warriors website and found out that Crowfeather is listed as one of the important cats in Power of Three, and in the "Ask Erin Hunter" section of the website someone asked which of the three kits they like best, and Erin said that she can't tell without revealing the plotline...

Drawkansir also points out that after Jaypaw wanders into WindClan territory and Crowfeather rescues him, Squirrelflight is feeling anxious while they talk. Why else would she be anxious, except if she knew something he didn't, like the fact that Jaypaw is really his kit, not hers? Here's the passage:

Jaypaw bowed his head, his pelt burning with embarrassment. To make it worse, Squirrelflight was feeling an awkwardness that strengthened as Crowfeather went on. "Do your kits always go out by themselves?"
                  ~The Sight, page 121


6. Hollyleaf is Leafpool's Daughter

Leafpool has often acted very motherly to Hollyleaf, as shown in one passage from Dark River:

Leafpool shook her head. "We must trust RiverClan to sort it out themselves."

"Leafpool's right," Firestar meowed. "Besides, helping RiverClan would mean crossing WindClan territory."

"Or ShadowClan's," Sandstorm added.

Leafpool ran her tail down Hollypaw's flank. "And that would only make things worse, wouldn't it?"

Hollypaw shied away from Leafpool. She didn't need to be soothed, like a kit having a bad dream!
                   ~Dark River, page 180

Later on in Dark River, when Hollyleaf goes missing, Leafpool is extremely worried about her; Jaypaw even suspects she's more worried than Squirrelflight, his sister's supposed mother.

He felt Leafpool's paw pressing him. "You must try to dream!" she meowed. "You have to find out where she is!"

Her urgent plea set his fur bristling with indignation. Not so long ago she'd begged him to keep his dreams a secret; now she wanted him to use them to find Hollyleaf. Was this all he was to her? A quick way to get answers from StarClan when she wanted them, and a danger to the Clan when she didn't?

"Please!"

"I'm not tired!" Jaypaw objected. "I can't just dream when I like."

"Just close your eyes and try," Leafpool begged.

"I'll dream when I'm ready!" he snapped.

He padded toward the entrance and felt Leafpool's pelt brush against his. She was blocking the way!

"You have to try now!" Leafpool hissed.

Jawpaw's pelt bristled. "But she's probably just gone off by herself for a bit." What was wrong with Leafpool? She sounded more worried than Squirrelflight!
                    ~Dark River, page 211

And when Lionpaw tells her later on that WindClan didn't take Hollyleaf, Leafpool replies desperately, "Then where is she?" Could it be that she's worried about Hollyleaf more than a mentor should be for her former apprentice?

"Any news of Hollypaw?"

"We didn't get a chance to ask." Brook admitted.

Leafpool sighed. "I suppose not," she meowed. "I was just hoping they might have given something away."

"WindClan hasn't got her," Lionpaw announced.

Leafpool pricked her ears. "How do you know?"

Lionpaw stared at the ground. "Well, surely, they would have told us if they had?" He glanced up at Leafpool."Why else would they have her?"

"Then where is she?" Leafpool's mew sounded desperate.
                      ~Dark River, page 237

Also, skyprophecy1 found a quote in Dark River after Hollyleaf returns home from RiverClan when Leafpool is especially concerned about her...

Leafpool was staring at her with troubled eyes. "I'm glad you're safe," she mewed.

"I'm sorry I worried everyone," Hollypaw replied.

"Don't do it again." Leafpool's mew was suddenly fierce.

Hollypaw bristled. You sound like my mother! She'd had enough of being told off.
                      ~Dark River, pages 254 and 255

And as TheMidnightWalker says, Hollyleaf is frequently told that she is a good hunter, (In Outcast, Lionblaze even calls her the best hunter in the Clan), and hunters rely on speed. Well, aren't WindClan cats supposed to be the fastest cats of all the Clans? If Crowfeather was Hollyleaf's father her amazing hunting skills would make sense.

Yet another point Darktiger1991 brings up is that although the fact that Firestar is related to Scourge, a black cat, may show that Hollyleaf does in fact come from Squirrelflight's litter, it actually further proves the LeafxCrow theory! Scourge's mother was gray while his father, also Firestar's, was ginger. This may mean Scourge's mother's mother/father might have been black, but it could also mean his father's father/mother was black. And Crowfeather's side of the family has very dark fur, hence Hollyleaf's black coat. (This point also strengthens the theory of Jaypaw's coloring.)

And haven't you noticed yet? Erin stated a day before Eclipse came out that Hollypaw and Jaypaw would be named Hollyleaf and Jayfeather. HollyLEAF and JayFEATHER, for LEAFpool and CrowFEATHER!


7. Both are Leafpool and Crowfeather's Kits

Jaypaw and Hollyleaf are both small in description, as is Leafpool. If they were Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's kits, they would be larger. Also, isn't it weird that Squirrelflight's supposed kits have very near the same coloring as Crowfeather? Nobody in Squirrelflight's or Brambleclaw's families, (including Firestar, Sandstorm, Leafpool, Tigerstar, Goldenflower, Hawkfrost, Mothwing, and Tawnypelt), have black or gray coloring!

Also, as PurpleStarleader points out, Squirrelflight's milk didn't come at all, and she returned to her warrior duties much earlier than queens usually do. Could this be because she never really had two of the three kits?


8. But What About...?

There are many people who would argue against this pairing with different points, which I think I should address as well:

1. The cover flaps, descriptions, family trees, and info on warriorcats.com all say that ""Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw spring from a strong legacy: children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, two of the noblest ThunderClan warriors, and grandchildren of the great leader Firestar himself.". How does that work?

If Erin Hunter put anything other than the above, it would just scream "Not Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's kits!!!", wouldn't it? Of course she's not going to reveal her plotline; all the coverflaps and yadda-yadda are misleading us so it will be a big shocker when she reveals it. Makes sense, no?

2. Wouldn't the other ThunderClan cats have noticed if Leafpool was pregnant?

If the above line in Sunset was foreshadowing Leafpool's kits, then her Clanmates did notice. They just assumed that her plumpness was due to the fact that the fresh-kill was running well, because as stated before, having only one of two kits wouldn't have made her pregnancy super-obvious. Also, as RoseyTail points out, Yellowfang was able to hide her pregnancy very well in Secrets of the Clans, so why shouldn't Leafpool be able to do the same?

3. When Jaypaw tells Tigerstar he doesn't want to be a warrior, Tigerstar replies, "How could kin of mine say such a thing?" If Jaypaw wasn't his kin, why woud Tigerstar even bother with him, let alone say this?

Since Tigerstar's not a StarClan cat, he wouldn't be able to know whos kit Jaypaw truly was. (Especially if he and Brambleclaw are still meeting in dreams, which is unlikely but still possible, and Brambleclaw told him that he had three kits with Squirrelflight.) Also, have you noticed that Tigerstar's been leaving Jaypaw and Hollyleaf alone lately, as though he suspects they may not be his kin?

4. The "Kin of your kin" prophecy could only work with Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, so they can't be Leafpool's kits!

Not necessarily. The exact "Kin of you kin" prophecy goes: "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." This simply means that they have to be Firestar's kin. And if Leafpool had two of the kits, and Squirrelflight had the other, it would still work because both are Firestar's daughters.

5. If the theory was to work, Leafpool and Crowfeather would have had to mate when they ran away together, therefore, Leafpool would have given birth before the end of Sunset.

Sunset isn't very long, time-wise. It's only about two moons, which would be eight weeks in real life. Pregnant she-cats usually carry their kits for nine to ten weeks before giving birth, so it's totally possible that Leafpool could have given birth after the end of Sunset.

6. One of the litters would have been older than the other, so Squirrelflight couldn't have claimed the kits as hers without the Clan becoming suspicious.

Assuming the sisters got pregnant within a week of each other, (which is possible because even though Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw weren't on "mating terms" when Leafpool and Crowfeather ran away, they made up after the battle, which was only a day or two away from when the two ran away, and then could have mated), the kits would only have been within a day or two of each other. It's also possible that since Leafpool and Squirrelflight have a "telepathic connection," when Leafpool went into labor, her pain might have triggered her sister's labor as well.

7. Leafpool's scent on her kits would have given her away right away!

Not really, because if the three kits had to wait with Squirrelflight until they were old enough to walk back to camp, they would have had plenty of time to adapt a new scent, as long as Leafpool didn't lick or cuddle them too much.

8. But what if Squirrelflight mated with Ashfur too, and that's why Jaypaw and Hollyleaf look the way they do?

Squirrelflight said to Ashfur that she only wanted to be friends from the start, so why would she mate with him if her heart was always with Brambleclaw? Besides, if she did mate with him, it would be before the badger attack, while she probably mated with Brambleclaw afterward, when they were on speaking terms again. If this was true, she'd already be too pregnant with Ashfur's kits to have any of Brambleclaw's. And Erin isn't exactly too shy about putting Ashfur's affections forward, so if Ashfur was Squirrelfight's mate, she'd just put that on the cover-flaps. (Besides, the issues of their fur colors are addressed above.)

9. As Roleplay-girl says, what if the genetics for the kits skipped a generation or two? We don't know the colors of Firestar or Sandstorm's parents. For all we know, his dad could have been black with blue eyes. Then it skipped 3 generations. And viola, Jaypaw's and Hollypaw's pelts.

Ok, think about this for a minute: Firestar is a rusty orange color and his sister, Princess, is a white and brown tabby. This already means that their parents have to be some variety of white, cream, brown, orange, or rust colors. Without even looking at how their siblings' pelts turned out, wouldn't it be a little freaky for one of their parents to be black or gray furred? Besides, if Redtail was Sandstorm's dad, (look it up on the WARRIORS website), that adds red to the mix, so her mother had to have been orange or brown for her pelt to turn out the way it did. (Now this issue has been further solved, if you read the above sections.)

10. Again, Roleplay-girl argues that Squirrelflight had to be noticably pregnant or else the scheme wouldn't work, so she had to be carrying more than one kit.

The books never really mentioned her pregnancy, so for all we know, she could have been mildly plump like Leafpool. Even if Squirrelflight did have other kits, they could have died in birth, and Lionpaw might have been her only survivor.

11. Well, I still don't believe it, nor do I want to.

Well then that's your problem. You'll believe it when Erin announces that it's true.