Thinking about the role system of the clans and how it is cemented in the different dens for each role. This has both positive and negative impact imo.
I love the sleepover or youth hostel vibey potential of the apprentice den. Staying up late to talk, plotting shenanigans, sneaking out, complaining about your annoying siblings snoring, cuddling with your friends after an exhausting day of training.
With the warrior den, i really like what was described in TPB when Fire and Gray were made warriors and (i think) Whitestorm, but definitely a mentorly figure, released them from the silent vigil and showed them free space in the warrior den to get some rest. A really wholesome thing which i think should be a tradition for former mentors to do, because it signifies that even now when the newly named is a Warrior, a part of the main protectors and providers of the Clan, they are themselves cared for and protected by the other warriors.
This first sleep of a warrior should also be jokingly referred to as an important ritual and base for one of these traditional unfunny jokes among the senior warriors. Young warriors are so lazy these days, sleeping till sunhigh.
Also it's so funny to me to think of Tigerclaw and Fireheart as roommates
These dens really signify the connection of a clan. To be one of the warriors isn't just a job, it's what shapes each day and night. They are always around each other, for better or worse. A betrayal hurts so much more when they have slept next to you everyday. A cat that died or left the Clan leaves a hole in the order of things. The remaining ones will feel it in the morning by the lack of warmth on their pelts. But eventually they'll fill the gap as time passes and new warriors join.
I like that the leader and the medicine cat sleep alone. These are important, sacred roles and it is an honour to have their own space, but it can be cold and lonely. They may have power, but they lose this understanding and community that comes with the other dens. It might push them to seek company with each other, or (mostly in case of the Healer) with their counterparts in the other clans.
StarClan is closer to these cats because they sleep alone. Their dreams are easier for StarClan cats to wander in because they aren't huddled together with others, and they sleep deeper because they are undisturbed. This is maybe also why StarClan sometimes seems more distant when they are most needed, because the healers will be busy and sleep less deeply when they have many patients to attend to.
Where the deputy sleeps may signify their role within the clan, which can vary depending on clan traditions and the current leadership's preferences. They could be seen as the first among the warriors, something between their manager and their union represantative, and thus sleep in the warrior den, maybe in an elevated or especially good spot. Or they have an entire den on their own, maybe if they are primarily seen as the heir. Some leaders may choose to share the den with their deputy if they are close and rely on them a lot. This might also happen if the leadership sees themselves as very much above the commoners.
