Cinderheart

Cinderheart is a slender, dappled, broad-headed, fluffy, smoky gray tabby she-cat with round, dark blue eyes, soft fur, a delicate nose, sharp teeth, and a long, sleek, bushy tail.

Twilight

 * Sorreltail gives birth to her, although unnamed, along with three other kits, during the badger attack. Cinderpelt, the ThunderClan medicine cat, sacrifices herself to keep the badger from killing Sorreltail and the kits.

Sunset

 * Cinderkit is named in honor of Cinderpelt. Leafpool, who had been Cinderpelt's apprentice, says she thought it was a wonderful name. Cinderkit is said to look exactly like Cinderpelt, with the same gray coat and blue eyes. When Squirrelflight sees Cinderkit for the first time, she lets out a squeak of alarm because of the resemblance. Cinderkit's two sisters are named Honeykit and Poppykit, and her brother is named Molekit.


 * Cinderkit does not appear very often, except when she is seen padding out of the nursery followed by Brightheart, who carries her back inside.


 * It was revealed to Leafpool by Spottedleaf that Cinderkit is a reincarnation of Cinderpelt. As Spottedleaf shows Cinderkit to Leafpool, Leafpool looks into Cinderkit's blue eyes and watches her yawn and then go to sleep.

The Sight

 * She has been made an apprentice, Cinderpaw, and her mentor is Cloudtail. She is one of Hollypaw's closest friends.


 * When Hollypaw has her first battle training session in the mossy hollow, Cinderpaw has already started her training session. When Cloudtail sees how well Hollypaw is performing, he suggests that she should try training with Cinderpaw.


 * When she and Hollypaw are training together, Cinderpaw gets some moss stuck behind her ear, and she flicks her paw while grooming. Leafpool seems shocked after seeing this, and tells Hollypaw that Cinderpelt used to flick her paw exactly like that. Hollypaw senses a strange feeling coming from Leafpool and wonders why she feels strange about the paw flick.


 * When the Gathering patrol returns to camp with Graystripe and Millie, Firestar asks Cinderpaw why she isn't asleep and she tells him that she doesn't want to sleep until she hears about the Gathering. Cinderpaw wants to help get Graystripe and Millie settled and runs off, crashing into Brackenfur. Brackenfur tells Cinderpaw how much she seems like his sister, Cinderpelt, who was killed by a badger not long before she was born.


 * Longtail is seen complaining about Mousefur's wheezing. Jaypaw discovers that Mousefur has the disease greencough and reports it to Leafpool. Leafpool sends Cloudtail, Jaypaw, and Cinderpaw to go to the Abandoned Twoleg Nest to gather some catmint. It turns out that all the catmint was killed by the leaf-bare frost, and they only find a couple of short stocks. They head back to camp and give Mousefur the catmint that they found.

Dark River

 * Cinderpaw follows Hollypaw out of camp one night to look for Lionpaw. She tells Hollypaw that Lionpaw may be doing something he will live to regret, and would only cause pain. It is possible this was specifically referring to Leafpool's forbidden affair with a WindClan warrior, which Cinderpelt would have remembered. They find Lionpaw by the lake, playing with a WindClan apprentice named Heatherpaw. When Lionpaw sees Cinderpaw, he asks Hollypaw if she had brought all of ThunderClan with her. After quarreling with his sister, Lionpaw storms back to camp.


 * During an assessment with Mousepaw and Hollypaw, Mousepaw was about to fall from the Sky Oak when Cinderpaw saves him. However, she fell instead and broke her hind leg. Furthermore, Cinderpaw tells Hollypaw she is afraid of badgers and hopes she will never have to meet one again, despite never seeing one before this point.


 * While she is recovering in Leafpool's den, Jaypaw enters her dreams. Cinderpaw is walking around the old ThunderClan camp from the forest and is telling Jaypaw about it. She explains to him that she used to sleep in the apprentice den, and then moved to Yellowfang's den. Her voice then suddenly ages and appears much older and wiser. She tells Jaypaw to tell Leafpool not to worry, that she will recover this time, and that she is proud of her and has learned more than she could ever have taught her. Jaypaw goes through series of Cinderpelt's memories, such as getting hit on the Thunderpath, The Great Journey, and getting killed by badgers. Jaypaw then realizes that Cinderpaw is actually Cinderpelt.


 * When Cinderpaw wakes up, she vaguely recalls Jaypaw being in a dream with her in a forest (the old ThunderClan camp), but Jaypaw reassures her that it was just a dream. Jaypaw tells Leafpool that Cinderpaw is actually Cinderpelt and Leafpool tells him that Cinderpaw cannot know this. Cinderpaw, despite being confined to the medicine cat den, is constantly asking Hollypaw and Jaypaw to play catch with her, much to Leafpool's despair. She knows that Cinderpelt can't recover and wants to make sure Cinderpaw does. Later, Jaypaw intentionally gives Cinderpaw the wrong herbs to see if she will know the difference. This angers Leafpool, and she scolds Jaypaw for it, making him defend himself.


 * Later, she plays a game with Hollypaw. She is seen limping to the other side of the clearing.

Outcast

 * Cinderpaw continues to train with Cloudtail, who shows concern about her injured leg, fearing that it is not completely healed. She does not like this concern, because she feels that it's healed, though pain can strike at it sometimes. Hollypaw tells Cinderpaw her plan about concentrating on one part of training at a time so she can be a better warrior. Cinderpaw says that it is mouse-brained, but then apologizes, yet advising her friend not to do it.


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


 * Hollypaw and Lionpaw go with their mentors to watch Cloudtail and Thornclaw train their apprentices, Cinderpaw and Poppypaw. As Cinderpaw and Poppypaw demonstrate an advanced battle move, Lionpaw asks Ashfur if he can try it, too.

Eclipse

 * Cinderpaw has her assessment to finally become a warrior. While leaping for a squirrel, her injured leg buckles and starts hurting again. This time, Cinderpaw is very discouraged because her sisters, Honeypaw and Poppypaw, get to become warriors before her, becoming Honeyfern and Poppyfrost. Cinderpaw is angry, due to the fact that she wants to sit vigil with her sisters, not on her own. She stays in Leafpool's den for a while, not wanting to move her leg. When Jaypaw comes up with the idea of swimming, he says it might help, so she tries it. The swimming helps with her pain, enough for her to walk easier, because she could move the muscle in her leg without having to put weight on it. Before Millie gives birth, Cinderpaw and Hollypaw talk about her and the future kits. Hollypaw asks Cinderpaw if she knows if Millie had names in mind for them. Cinderpaw said that she hadn't because Leafpool didn't want her to, because sometimes it was best to see a kit first before naming them. Hollypaw jokes that she must have been a prickly kit.


 * She gossips with Hollypaw that she has been seeing Whitewing and Birchfall starting to share tongues together.


 * When WindClan attacks, she stays back in the medicine cat den, but says she will attack if needed. At the end of the battle, Cinderpaw gains her warrior name, Cinderheart, in honor of those who have been lost, along with Hollypaw and Lionpaw, who become Hollyleaf and Lionblaze. Firestar said 'In honor of those who have been lost,' because Cinderheart was named after Cinderpelt. He does not know that she is Cinderpelt though. It appears that when Cinderheart is getting her warrior name, Cinderpelt's spirit is watching her, glad she was finally getting to become a warrior. Cinderheart is happy that she's finally getting her warrior name after her long wait.

Long Shadows

 * Cinderheart is mentioned only briefly throughout this book. Near the beginning, Hollyleaf joins her on a border patrol led by a ThunderClan warrior, Ashfur. While they are on it, Cinderheart confesses to Hollyleaf that she does not like going this way because of the recent battle in the previous book. When the patrol finds Tawnypelt and her three kits, Tigerpaw, Flamepaw, and Dawnpaw, Cinderheart is amused when the three apprentices chant Hollyleaf’s name, and jokes with her friend that she has three new apprentices.


 * Much later in the book, Cinderheart is seen coming into camp with a hunting patrol, and her weariness, caused by the growing number of sick cats, is sensed by Jaypaw.


 * Later, when Firestar suggests that all the sick cats shelter in the abandoned Twoleg nest, Cinderheart is one of the cats to agree with him, willing to try it. The last time she is mentioned in the book is when she is seen working on the Twoleg nest, stuffing gaps with twigs to keep out the cold, along with Brackenfur.

Sunrise

 * Cinderheart expresses disbelief when Purdy sticks up for Sol, saying that he was seen near the WindClan border. Later, when her sister Honeyfern is bitten by a snake saving Briarkit, she runs to her sister. She is horrified and grief-stricken when she dies. Leafpool stares at her desperately, as if expecting help from Cinderpelt in her, while Honeyfern is dying.


 * After the Gathering in which Hollyleaf announces her real parents, Cinderheart pads up to Hollyleaf and questions Hollyleaf about what she had just done. Hollyleaf claims that what she had done was the right thing, but Cinderheart disagrees, saying that she had only caused more pain. She is shown to be more like Cinderpelt during this moment, showing great wisdom. After, she pads away.

The Fourth Apprentice

 * Cinderheart receives her first apprentice, Ivypaw. Dovepaw and her mentor, Lionblaze, go with Cinderheart and Ivypaw to fetch water from the lake. While she, Ivypaw, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw retrieve the water, Ivypaw starts sniffing at a dead fish, making Rainstorm, a RiverClan warrior, think that she was stealing prey. He almost attacks her, but he gets stuck in the mud. Cinderheart scolds him for scaring such a young apprentice.


 * Cinderheart stays with Ivypaw and Dovepaw while Lionblaze and the others take Rainstorm back to the ThunderClan camp for him to get looked after. When Ivypaw is upset that they aren't going on the patrol to take Rainstorm home, Cinderheart tells her that they will go to the training clearing to practice battle moves.


 * Cinderheart is later seen expressing concern for Poppyfrost, who is pregnant with Berrynose's kits.


 * At a Gathering, Cinderheart sympathizes with Lionblaze after she catches him trying to ignore Tigerheart. She tells him there was nothing wrong with having friends in other Clans, even if they weren't kin. Later on during the Gathering, she comments about how Mistyfoot was trying to change Leopardstar's mind.


 * Cinderheart later goes to Jayfeather because she's concerned about Poppyfrost. She tells him that she was still upset about Honeyfern's death. Jayfeather sighs, and tells her that there is no cure for a cat that was just sad. Soon afterward, Cinderheart bursts out how much she misses Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather unhappily agrees with her.


 * Cinderheart helps Jayfeather tend to the scratches on his flank when he returns home with Poppyfrost.

Fading Echoes

 * Brambleclaw assigns Cinderheart to patrol with him, Dovepaw, Ivypaw, and Lionblaze.


 * Cinderheart and Lionblaze are seen teaching Dovepaw and Ivypaw how to hop from tree to tree as a battle strategy. Cinderheart tells the two apprentices that Longtail swore that in the old territory, he made it from the Great Sycamore to the camp without touching the forest floor. Dovepaw asks how far it was. Cinderheart tells her that it was about as far from where they were to the hollow, annoying Lionblaze, because she knew this even though she had never seen the old territory.


 * In the middle of the night, she and Lionblaze go for a walk due to Lionblaze having trouble sleeping, and she expresses her concern for Dovepaw and Ivypaw's worsening relationship. Lionblaze, who doesn't seem to care, appears to annoy her, but it wears off.


 * Cinderheart teases Lionblaze by asking him to climb trees with her, but then she tells him she remembered he didn't like to climb trees. The two race each other to the lake and Cinderheart dares the golden-furred warrior to get his paws wet. Lionblaze replies that he wouldn't.


 * Cinderheart goes into the water and starts to swim, apparently still remembering the moves Jayfeather had taught her. Lionblaze teases her about being a RiverClan cat, when Cinderheart jumps up to her defense, saying that she is a ThunderClan cat, through and through. Lionblaze then says that he is glad that she is, showing some affection for her. Misunderstanding him, Cinderheart says that ThunderClan was the best Clan to be in.


 * The two go back to camp. In the morning, Lionblaze expects Cinderheart to be friendly because of their walk the night before, but she only acknowledges him hurriedly before she leaves, possibly because she was angry with Lionblaze for being indifferent about Dovepaw and Ivypaw's tense relationship.

Night Whispers

 * Cinderheart follows Lionblaze out of camp and goes for a walk with him when he can't sleep. When an owl startles them, and they race to the abandoned Twoleg nest, she shows concern for Lionblaze, asking him if he was alright. She joins him on an early patrol.


 * Cinderheart then takes Ivypaw and Dovepaw out for training with Berrynose, in which Dovepaw doesn't pay attention, then goes hunting alone with Ivypaw.


 * Later, Lionblaze is daydreaming about the night before where the two took another moonlight walk to discuss Ivypaw's and Dovepaw's training. Lionblaze asks Cinderheart if they are more than friends, and Cinderheart teasingly asks him if he hadn't already guessed yet. When they take out their apprentices, Lionblaze looks at Sorreltail and Brackenfur together, moving as one, and pictures him and Cinderheart like that one day and their kits running around at his feet, and, guessing his thoughts, Cinderheart brushes his cheek and states that she would like that too.


 * Later, when Lionblaze goes off to drive a fox off the territory, Cinderheart sees him covered in blood. She frantically runs back to camp, thinking that the blood was his own. She is frightened by the amount of blood, and panics, causing other cats to think that Lionblaze is near death. She waits for him until he is done getting treated.


 * Lionblaze then leads her to a spot behind a bush near the medicine den and tells her that she doesn't need to worry about him ever getting hurt because he is part of a prophecy. Cinderheart is at first calm about this, and looks like she understands, but later loses control. She claims that she couldn't be Lionblaze's mate if he was part of this prophecy. She runs back to the warriors den with a wail.


 * She is then seen talking to Leafpool and whispering something in her ear, and Lionblaze senses with dread that she might be telling her about the prophecy, but rethinks it and says he still trusts her.


 * She then goes on a hunting patrol with Lionblaze, Dovepaw, and Leafpool near the WindClan border, and observes Lionblaze and Breezepelt fighting over a thrush. When Leafpool breaks it up and tells them to head back home, she whispers, "You could have killed him" to Lionblaze and he asks why she was so concerned over a WindClan warrior. He gets frustrated over this and asks Cinderheart to stop treating him like a two-headed fox. Cinderheart retorts and says that she doesn't know how to handle him having his power.

Sign of the Moon

 * Cinderheart gives Ivypaw her warrior assessment. Firestar is experimenting with new strategies, one of them being assessing an apprentice with two warriors instead of just their mentor. Cinderheart receives Millie to help her.


 * During the warriors' ceremony, when Firestar calls on Cinderheart to tell him how her apprentice did, Cinderheart replies that she is excellent at battling, but her hunting could use a bit more work, as a vole was right in her presence but it took her longer to catch it. Cinderheart says it was a messy catch. Then, she calls on Millie to give her report. Millie also gives a good report of Ivypaw. Ivypaw then becomes Ivypool, and Lionblaze's apprentice, Dovepaw, becomes Dovewing.


 * While hunting with Lionblaze, she talks about the prophecy and appears thrilled and in awe that he's part of it. This annoys Lionblaze, thinking that she feels no loss of not being mates anymore, but he later realizes that her mew is tinged with sadness. When she killed a female blackbird, she was acting strange, sadly saying that she never had a mate or kits. Lionblaze tries to comfort her, but Cinderheart turns on him claiming that he does not understand and flees in to the trees, leaving Lionblaze stunned. It is more likely that it had been Cinderpelt speaking instead of her. Leafpool mentions her while talking to Lionblaze, saying that Cinderheart loved him, and that she thinks she still does.


 * When out in the forest with Lionblaze, Rosepetal, Toadstep and Briarlight are attacked by a dog, and Lionblaze saves her with some help from Toadstep. Toadstep is so busy showing off in admiration of Lionblaze that he is nearly killed by the dog. Cinderheart comments warmly to Lionblaze that he was a hero.

The Forgotten Warrior

 * Cinderheart is excited to see her friend Hollyleaf again, and is the first one to see her when she enters camp after being away for so long.


 * Cinderheart learns of her past life as Cinderpelt when Jayfeather visits her in a dream after being told to do so by Yellowfang. She feels all the memories, feelings, pains coming back to her, and even knowledge. She is confused, and wonders who she is. Jayfeather reassures her that she is Cinderheart, and tells her that she should honor StarClan for letting her live the life she was destined for.


 * She is on a patrol with Lionblaze, Hazeltail, and Foxleap. Lionblaze notices she is distracted, and sneaks up behind her, and tells her there is a WindClan patrol ahead to see if she's alert. She then becomes angry with him, and the patrol gets back at camp they see Mousewhisker and Cherrypaw curled on the ground in pain. It becomes clear to the Clan that they accidentally poisoned themselves with water hemlock. She manages to save their lives while Jayfeather is checking on his marigold plants outside of camp. She is instructing Leafpool how to do things while Lionblaze wonders how she knows so much about herbs. Once the two are safe, Cinderheart's past identity becomes known to the rest of ThunderClan, and she can't decide whether to be a medicine cat or warrior. She snaps at Leafpool for keeping her past life a secret from her, and runs out of camp. Lionblaze follows her, and encourages her that she is Cinderheart, and she always has been. She replies that she wasn't always Cinderheart, and that she walked this path before: loving some cat she cannot have.


 * Eventually, Cinderheart decides to move into the medicine cat's den and acts as ThunderClan's second medicine cat, although she is unhappy in this position. She spends lots of time with Hollyleaf and cats whisper about the both of them having secrets to hide. Often, Cinderheart feels unhappy and confused about who she is and who she believes she is.


 * Later, Cinderheart asks Jayfeather where her destiny lies. Jayfeather replies that StarClan gave her a second chance so she could have a mate, kits, and live the life of a warrior that Cinderpelt was denied because of her injury. Jayfeather then says that Lionblaze would make her happy and she responds by thanking him. She later joins the warriors in the battle with WindClan, abandoning her post as medicine cat.

The Last Hope

 * Lionblaze is still upset about not being able to be with Cinderheart, and he fights with a ShadowClan patrol, and forces himself to be defeated by Ratscar, so that he could show Cinderheart that he can choose his own destiny by getting hurt, regardless of his power.


 * Later, Lionblaze speaks to Cinderheart about being able to choose your own destiny. Cinderheart tries to argue, but he states that she could be whoever she wants to be, and that she has her own life too. Cinderheart says that she chooses the life of a warrior, to be with Lionblaze. When she says that, Cinderpelt's spirit separates from Cinderheart, leaving her with her own spirit. Cinderpelt whispers thank you to Cinderheart, and she tells Lionblaze that Cinderpelt is set free. He asks her if she will fight with him in the final battle, and she replies by saying always, and the two get back together.


 * She participates in the battle against The Dark Forest. Her best friend Hollyleaf is killed after saving Ivypool from Hawkfrost and having a brutal fight with him. She manages to defeat him and have him run away, but at the expense of herself as she dies from loss of blood afterwards. Cinderheart is angered at this, and fights with all of her strength, stating that the Dark Forest cats are fox-hearts.

Hollyleaf's Story

 * When Hollyleaf is given poppy seeds, she feels just like she did when she was back in ThunderClan, sharing a nest with Cinderheart.


 * Cinderheart is seen when Brambleclaw sends Lionblaze and her, with their apprentices to find what caused the noise at the top of the hollow.

Trivia

 * Cinderheart has WindClan blood because her great-great-grandfather, Windflight, was half WindClan.
 * She has SkyClan blood, because her grandmother, Willowpelt, is Spottedleaf's sister.
 * She has been described as a dark gray she-cat, identical to Cinderpelt, but this was later changed to her current description.
 * When Cinderheart goes to StarClan, she will either go as Cinderheart, or as two separate cats, Cinderheart and Cinderpelt.
 * The latter is proved true in The Last Hope, when Cinderpelt's spirit separates from Cinderheart.
 * Kate has stated that Cinderheart does have kits with Lionblaze after the events of The Last Hope. She is contradicted by Vicky, who says that Lionblaze and Cinderheart have not had any kits yet, and they are enjoying "their childfree days of early married life."
 * Kate Cary revealed on her Twitter that Cinderpelt was given a second chance by being re-born as Cinderheart, but Cinderheart developed her own destiny, so Cinderpelt let her go.
 * She has been mistakenly shown with having amber eyes.
 * She was said to have become an apprentice with her brothers, when she has only one brother.
 * Kate Cary revealed on her blog that reincarnating Cinderheart was Vicky's idea, and how fully connected Cinderpelt and Cinderheart became blurred as the story planning progressed.
 * Kate has said that the Erins left Cinderpelt's reincarnation of Cinderheart blurry on purpose to let readers use their own imaginations to "fill in the gaps".

Members
Mate:
 * Lionblaze:

Daughter:
 * Hollypaw:

Kits:
 * Sorrelpaw:
 * Fernpaw:

Father:
 * Brackenfur:

Mother:
 * Sorreltail:

Brother:
 * Molepaw:

Sisters:
 * Poppyfrost:
 * Honeyfern:
 * Lilyheart:
 * Seedpaw:

Grandfather:
 * Whitestorm:

Grandmothers:
 * Willowpelt:
 * Frostfur:

Great-Grandfathers:
 * Thistleclaw:
 * Fuzzypelt:
 * Adderfang:

Great-Grandmothers:
 * Snowfur:
 * Robinwing:
 * Swiftbreeze:

Great-Great-Grandfathers:
 * Stormtail:
 * Windflight:

Great-Great-Grandmothers:
 * Moonflower:
 * Poppydawn:

Uncles:
 * Thornclaw:
 * Rainwhisker:
 * Sootfur:

Aunts:
 * Cinderpelt:
 * Brightheart:

Great-Uncles:
 * Unnamed kits:
 * Ravenpaw:
 * Dustpelt:
 * Patchpelt:
 * Redtail:

Great Aunt:
 * Brindleface:
 * Leopardfoot:
 * Spottedleaf:

Great-Great-Aunts:
 * Bluestar:
 * Rosetail:
 * Sweetpaw:

Cousins:
 * Whitewing:
 * Amberpaw :
 * Dewpaw:
 * Snowpaw:
 * Dovewing:
 * Ivypool:
 * Stonefur:
 * Mosskit:
 * Mistystar:
 * Reedwhisker:
 * Perchkit:
 * Primrosepaw:
 * Pikepaw:
 * Ashfur:
 * Ferncloud:
 * Spiderleg:
 * Shrewpaw:
 * Foxleap:
 * Birchfall:
 * Hollykit:
 * Larchkit:
 * Icecloud:
 * Toadstep:
 * Rosepetal:

Nephew:
 * Molewhisker:

Niece:
 * Cherryfall: