Honeyfern

Honeyfern is a sleek, lithe, dappled, light brown tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes.

Honeykit is born to Sorreltail and Brackenfur, along with her siblings Molekit, Poppykit, and Cinderkit while badgers are invading ThunderClan's camp. Her aunt and their medicine cat, Cinderpelt, dies protecting Sorreltail and the kits from the badgers.

Honeykit becomes an apprentice and is renamed Honeypaw, and given Sandstorm as her mentor. Shortly after being apprenticed, her brother Molepaw is lost to greencough. Later into her apprenticeship, Honeypaw admits to Hollypaw that she has a crush on Berrynose.

Honeypaw and Poppypaw pass their assessments and are given their new names, Honeyfern and Poppyfrost.

She and Berrynose become mates. They are sharing tongues and discussing having their own kits one day, when she notices an snake slithering over to Briarkit. She leaps and successfully saves the kit, but is fatally bitten by the snake. In her last moments of pain, Berrynose comforts her as she slips away and dies. After her death, Poppyfrost and Berrynose become mates. Poppyfrost convinces herself that Berrynose loves Honeyfern more and is concerned her sister is upset with her, so she goes to the Moonpool to try and contact her. Jayfeather follows and tries to take her home, but Breezepelt tracked the queen and attacks the blind medicine cat with the help of Brokenstar. Unseen by Poppyfrost, Honeyfern's spirit arrives and helps Jayfeather, then proceedes to tell him Berrynose loves her sister and she's pleased with their relationship.

Twilight

 * She and her siblings, although currently unnamed, are the kits of Sorreltail and Brackenfur, born during the badger attack on ThunderClan's camp. To make sure they are all safely delivered, Cinderpelt tries to fight the badgers off, but she is killed in the process. She and her siblings are the first kits to be born in ThunderClan's new camp.

Sunset

 * When Brambleclaw makes his way into the nursery, Sorreltail, Brackenfur, and Cinderpelt's body are in it, with Sorreltail curled around her kits. The four kits burrow blindly into her fur, seeking warmth and their mother's milk. After Rainwhisker delivers the news of Sootfur's death, Sorreltail twists in a spasm of grief, dislodging her kits and causing them to mewl faintly in protest. Brackenfur calms her down, and the kits once again settle back into place.


 * In an attempt to distract the grieving queen, Brambleclaw asks if she has given the kits names yet. The only tom is named Molekit, while the others are named Poppykit, Cinderkit, and Honeykit.


 * Deciding to visit Sorreltail, Leafpool makes her way into the nursery where Daisy is watching Berrykit, Hazelkit, and Mousekit playing. Their mother warns them to not disturb Sorreltail, Honeykit, and her siblings because of how tiny they are. Leafpool later gives borage to Sorreltail for her milk, and Brackenfur claims the four are worse than famished foxes in how much they need.


 * In a dream with Spottedleaf to show where Cinderpelt's spirit has gone, the former medicine cat brings Leafpool to the nursery where Honeykit and her siblings are sleeping beside their mother.

The Sight

 * Honeypaw is now an apprentice with Sandstorm as her mentor. She and her sisters, Poppypaw and Cinderpaw, are seen sharing tongues at Halfrock. Hollykit comments that they remind her of their mother, Sorreltail.


 * Honeypaw yowls an alarm when she scents two RiverClan cats, who turn out just to be Mothwing and Willowpaw, the medicine cats, looking for Leafpool. She is ashamed, though Sandstorm later remarks that Honeypaw had done the right thing, cheering the apprentice up. She is seen again play-fighting with Poppypaw outside the apprentices' den before Hollykit, Jaykit, and Lionkit become apprentices.


 * On Jaypaw's second day as an apprentice, she is the only one still asleep. Jaypaw quickly leaves the den, commenting that he didn't want her telling him about all of her exciting apprentice duties that day. At the night of the Gathering, Lionpaw thinks that it is odd Honeypaw and her siblings aren't going to that night's Gathering, when Berrypaw, Hazelpaw, and Mousepaw are, even though they aren't Clanborn.


 * Honeypaw is on the dawn patrol a day after Graystripe and Millie come back. She is said to be clustered around the two cats when Leafpool and Hollypaw come to check on them.


 * Honeypaw is on the dawn patrol again with her mentor and Graystripe when Hollypaw quits her training as a medicine cat and becomes a warrior apprentice. On the night of the second Gathering, Honeypaw is talking to Cinderpaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw.


 * When Cinderpaw asks if Blackstar will mention the skirmish about the borders, Honeypaw says that ShadowClan never speaks of their losses. She then crosses the tree bridge right after Sandstorm, Firestar, and Squirrelflight.

Dark River

 * Honeypaw is on a dawn patrol with Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Hazelpaw.


 * Later in the book, she is seen giving a mouse to Lionpaw that had been caught by the sunset patrol, thinking he was hungry. Lionpaw asks her if the kits and elders had already eaten, and she replies yes, and then talks about the fight with WindClan on the border. Then she asks him if he's okay because he was thinking of Heatherpaw. She told him to meet them at the Halfrock if he wanted to, padding out of the apprentices' den.

Outcast

 * Honeypaw is seen training with Lionpaw, Poppypaw, and Cinderpaw, while Berrynose is on guard.


 * Later, she admits to Hollypaw that she has a crush on Berrynose, since he was so strong and handsome. Hollypaw asks herself why anyone would love Berrynose, saying he was ignorant and a pain in the tail. She comments that they weren't even warriors yet, and wonders why an apprentice would be thinking about mates. Honeypaw is last seen on a patrol, and is one of the first cats to detect WindClan scents around the border area. She and Hollypaw run back to camp to warn Firestar.

Eclipse

 * Honeypaw is first seen sunning herself with Cinderpaw and Poppypaw on Halfrock. Then, Icepaw comes over with prey in her mouth, and Honeypaw admiringly asks if that was her first catch.


 * Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw are spying on her and her siblings on their assessment, since Jaypaw wanted to see how Cinderpaw was holding up. Lionpaw comments to Jaypaw that Honeypaw looks nervous. When Cinderpaw reopens her leg wound, Honeypaw and Poppypaw run over to her.


 * She and Poppypaw gain their warrior names, although Cinderpaw did not. When Honeyfern is looking over at Berrynose for his approval, Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw instantly stop cheering for her. It is mentioned by all three apprentices that Honeyfern was mooning over Berrynose and sharing fresh-kill with him. She doesn't seem to notice how arrogant he is.


 * During the battle with WindClan, Jaypaw finds her and Sorreltail losing a fight against two RiverClan warriors who came to help WindClan. Jaypaw saves them, although Sorreltail twists her paw. At the end of this book, Honeyfern's sister becomes a warrior, Cinderheart, with Hollyleaf and Lionblaze.

Long Shadows

 * Honeyfern gets greencough and is moved to the abandoned Twoleg nest where she watches over Daisy's daughter, Rosekit, who is also sick. When Firestar gets infected with greencough, he loses a life and Honeyfern is one of the cats gathered around him, watching helplessly as well as some of the Clan cats and all the sick cats. Later, she tries to feed a mouse to Briarkit but the kit refuses to eat it, wanting milk and her mother Millie, who is seriously sick with greencough.

Sunrise

 * Honeyfern and Berrynose are now mates. They appear together, sharing tongues near Lionblaze on a patch of warm rocks. Both of them are watching the kits playing, and hopefully discuss having some of their own. Suddenly, she and Lionblaze notice an adder slithering across the camp, about to bite Briarkit. Before Lionblaze can do anything, Honeyfern bravely dives for the kit, sweeping the kit aside, and the the snake bites her shoulder. As Honeyfern screams that her blood is on fire, Leafpool says the poison had already taken hold and she couldn't save her. While saying this, she looks at Cinderheart, most likely wishing that Cinderpelt was there to help her. Cinderheart, though, watches in horror. Honeyfern soon dies of the poisonous venom of the snake. Berrynose tries to comfort her in her final moments, telling her that they would have had wonderful kits and she died bravely saving Briarkit. When she is nearly dead, he tells her that they will meet again in StarClan. Lionblaze is also regretful because he knew that if he dived at the snake first, he wouldn't have gotten hurt, and he could have killed it.


 * Berrynose, Sorreltail, Brackenfur, Cinderheart, and Poppyfrost are the cats who sit for Honeyfern's vigil.


 * Her mother, Sorreltail, is horribly upset by her death, since she had already lost Molepaw. Mousefur recalls how well Honeyfern took care of her as an apprentice and that she shouldn't have died so young. She mournfully wishes it had been herself who died instead, as she and Purdy had been basking where she had been just a little while earlier. While passing Hollyleaf, Sorreltail goes to her den and hopes that she'd see Honeyfern in her dreams.

The Fourth Apprentice

 * Poppyfrost becomes Berrynose's new mate. Although she loves him, she feels very guilty about "stealing him from Honeyfern". She dreams of walking to the Moonpool often so she could speak to Honeyfern, and apologize. One day, she finally goes, upsetting the other queens as to where she had gone. Jayfeather follows Poppyfrost to the Moonpool, where she mournfully says that Berrynose didn't love her, and still wanted to be mates with Honeyfern. She wants to speak with her dead sister, but Jayfeather tells her that warriors couldn't speak with StarClan whenever they wished.


 * Before Jayfeather and Poppyfrost can leave the Moonpool, they are attacked by a WindClan warrior, Breezepelt, who wants to punish Jayfeather and his brother, Lionblaze, for being born. He plans to drown Poppyfrost in the Moonpool, and blame Jayfeather for it, telling his half-brother that his Clanmates could lie as well as his. Jayfeather tries to make him leave Poppyfrost alone, but winds up having to attack him. A warrior from the Place of No Stars joins the fight on Breezepelt's side. As Jayfeather is losing the fight, Honeyfern comes down from StarClan and helps Jayfeather win the fight. When Breezepelt and the Dark Forest cat are gone, Honeyfern tells him that Berrynose did love Poppyfrost, but was scared of losing her like he had lost Honeyfern. She says that Poppyfrost couldn't see her, but to tell her that she missed her, that she would love her kits as if they were her own, and that she was watching over them.


 * Poppyfrost asks, shortly afterward, what Honeyfern had said. When Jayfeather tells her, she is pleased that Honeyfern was happy for her and her new family, but still doubts that Berrynose loved her.


 * Her presence is felt by Jayfeather when Poppyfrost gives birth to her kits, Cherrykit and Molekit.

The Last Hope

 * When Cherrypaw and Molepaw arrive at the camp, Dovewing looks around to see if Poppyfrost noticed them. She spots her fighting side-by-side with Honeyfern, driving back a Dark Forest warrior. Dovewing notices how well they fight together, as if they had been training with each other for a lifetime. When Poppyfrost runs over to her kits, Honeyfern finishes off the tom they were fighting before following her sister.

Leafpool's Wish

 * Honeykit and her siblings, Molekit, Cinderkit, and Poppykit tumble out of the nursery just as their father, Brackenfur, walks away after his discussion with Leafpool. Honeykit chases after Molekit, her only brother, saying that she can catch him. She and her siblings are warned by Sorreltail, their mother, however, when the senior warrior fears that her kits are getting in the way of the warriors. Honeykit assures Sorreltail that she and Molekit are only practicing their running, and they're not getting in the way of any cat. As she brags about how swift she is, Honeykit accidentally runs into Whitepaw, almost knocking the apprentice off her feet—this is seen by her mother, who tells the kit to watch where she's running.

Interesting facts

 * She has WindClan blood through Windflight, and SkyClan blood through Willowpelt.
 * It was revealed in the sixth Erin Hunter Chat that Honeyfern was killed to have a reason for bringing deathberries into camp.
 * She was originally described as a pale bracken-colored tabby, but this was later changed to her current light brown tabby appearance.

Author statements

 * Kate suspects that Honeyfern had a crush on Lionblaze.

Mistakes

 * Honeyfern is listed in the Hollyleaf's Story allegiances despite dying in Sunrise, the previous book.
 * She was mistakenly called by her apprentice name after she had become a warrior.
 * She was mistakenly called a tom.

Members
Mate:
 * Berrynose (formerly):

Father:
 * Brackenfur:

Mother:
 * Sorreltail:

Sisters:
 * Cinderheart:
 * Poppyfrost:
 * Lilyheart:
 * Seedpaw:

Brother:
 * Molepaw:

References and citations
Zarpa BrecinaHonigfarnМедобокаPelage de MielHoneyfernMiodowe Futro