Mudclaw (WC)

Mudclaw is a wiry, lithe, mottled dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes and sharp yellow teeth.

Firestar's Quest

 * Mudclaw is the new deputy of WindClan following the death of the previous one, Deadfoot.


 * At a Gathering, Tallstar reports that he and another WindClan warrior, Onewhisker drove a fox out of their territory. Later, he is seen on a patrol with Onewhisker when they scent ThunderClan on their territory. Mudclaw promises that they will wish they were never kitted if he found them.

Fire and Ice

 * He, along with the rest of WindClan, are driven out of their territory by ShadowClan and its leader, Brokenstar. Fireheart and Graystripe of ThunderClan come and find WindClan to bring them home and tell them that Brokenstar is no longer leader. The Clan returns to their camp, and a few of Mudclaw's Clanmates escort the ThunderClan warriors home.


 * Mudclaw also becomes the mentor to the apprentice Webpaw.

Forest of Secrets

 * However, he is mentioned by Fireheart when uses he him as an excuse to get away from the Gathering, saying that Mudclaw had told him about a warren of rabbits just inside ThunderClan's territory.

Rising Storm

 * On a patrol, he stops Fireheart and Bluestar from traveling to the Moonstone, because WindClan is still furious at ThunderClan for sheltering Brokentail, the cat who drove WindClan out of their territory. When he learns that Brokentail died, but was not murdered by ThunderClan, he quickly retaliates by saying that ThunderClan protected murderers, sending the two cats back to their territory.


 * At the next Gathering, he looks coldly at Fireheart, but does not speak to him. He also is one of the cats to demand to know what happened to Tigerclaw, the former deputy of ThunderClan. Bluestar, however, refuses to tell him, or anyone else.


 * He later attacks Sandstorm, Fireheart, and Cloudpaw as they travel through WindClan territory to return to ThunderClan, after saving Cloudpaw from Twolegs. He fights Sandstorm, but Cloudpaw helps her after driving away Mudclaw's apprentice Webpaw, and he, too, is driven away along with Deadfoot, who was fighting Fireheart.

A Dangerous Path

 * Mudclaw's apprentice, Webpaw, is now a warrior after completing his training, taking the name of Webfoot.


 * He is on a patrol with Onewhisker and Gorsepaw when Fireheart is trying to see Tallstar to divert a possible battle between WindClan and ThunderClan. Onewhisker manages to speak with Fireheart without the notice of Mudclaw.

The Darkest Hour

 * Mudclaw is on patrol with Tornear and an apprentice when they see Fireheart and Cinderpelt on their way to the Moonstone. He curls his lip upon recognizing Fireheart, but Tornear reacts calmly. All three cats look solemn when they learn about the death of Bluestar, and allow the ThunderClan cats to continue on.


 * He goes to ThunderClan for help when TigerClan attacks WindClan, but he is badly wounded and it takes him a while to get to their camp. However, Firestar still sent a patrol to WindClan and they found the Clan in near ruins.

Midnight

 * He chases a vole across the ThunderClan border, and is caught by a patrol consisting of Brambleclaw, Dustpelt, and Squirrelpaw. His apprentice, Crowpaw, gets into a fight with Brambleclaw, but Onewhisker prevents the fight from getting out of hand. Later, Mudclaw is briefly seen when WindClan comes to get water from RiverClan.

Moonrise

 * He steals more prey from ThunderClan, and is spotted by Firestar as he talks to Tallstar about WindClan's theft. He then quarrels with Graystripe, who accused him of stealing prey, but Mudclaw denies it.

Dawn

 * Mudclaw seems to be very hostile during the Great Journey, arguing just for the sake of seeming independent at times. Because of Tallstar's dwindling health, he took over many of the leader's duties. He takes over so many leader duties, Talon from the Tribe of Rushing Water accidentally mistakes Mudclaw for WindClan's leader.

Starlight

 * When Firestar suggests sending a patrol of cats to explore the new territories around the lake, Mudclaw pads up to the leaders to join the discussion. He objects the idea, reasoning that Tallstar needed to rest and couldn't go farther. As Firestar says they should send a patrol right away, he adds to Mudclaw, who is ready to argue, that all of the cats were tired. He also adds that they would sleep more easily if they weren't stuck out on an open hillside.


 * Shortly after Firestar calls the other cats together, Mudclaw is seen returning to Tallstar's aid, nudging him to his paws.


 * While the patrol that the leaders had sent returns, Mudclaw is noted to be standing close to the other leaders beside a tree stump. Before Firestar could finish speaking to the cats about resting for a bit, Tallstar collapses onto his side. Mudclaw stalks up to his leader, sniffing him briefly before speaking into his ear. When Blackstar tells the deputies to find two or three strong warriors to stay awake longer, Mudclaw meows his agreement. It is noted that since Tallstar is so weak, he is speaking for WindClan.


 * Tallstar takes the deputyship away from Mudclaw before he dies, saying that he was not the right cat to lead WindClan. He appoints Onewhisker in his place. Mudclaw is outraged to hear of this, and says that Firestar, Brambleclaw, and Onewhisker were lying. Onewhisker offers Mudclaw the position of deputy again, now that he was the leader, but Mudclaw angrily refuses.


 * When Onewhisker gives the strip of woodland to ThunderClan as a thanks to them because Leafpaw helped save Morningflower and Darkfoot, Mudclaw yowls angrily at Onewhisker, saying that herbs were not as valuable as their territory.


 * Mudclaw leads a revolt against Onewhisker, believing that he, as the original deputy, should have been leader. Mudclaw tells Brambleclaw about Hawkfrost's involvement in the revolt. He says that Hawkfrost came to Mudclaw and offered help in return for making Hawkfrost RiverClan's deputy and helping him to take over RiverClan later. Hawkfrost denies it and accuses Mudclaw of lying. Mudclaw starts to run away, but a lightning bolt hits a tree that falls on him, crushing him and killing him in the process.


 * The Clan cats take the lightning to be a sign from StarClan that Mudclaw was never meant to be WindClan's leader, and the tree also provides a bridge to the Gathering Island.

Night Whispers

 * Mudclaw is scented by Mudfur during a meeting between seven StarClan cats. He is welcomed into the circle after the cats get over the surprise of him being in StarClan, having expected him to have gone to the Dark Forest for denying Onestar's position as leader.

A Clan in Need

 * Mudclaw is first seen circling Ravenpaw and Barley when they crossed to WindClan's territory, along with a few other WindClan warriors. He recognizes them almost immediately, remembering the BloodClan battle. WindClan thinks rogues have taken Crowkit, and at first accuses them. After Ravenpaw says he'll look out for Crowkit, Mudclaw thanks him before running to camp, along with the other WindClan cats.


 * Ravenpaw and Barley make their way to Fourtrees, and find Crowkit trying to climb the Great Rock, wanting to see what it's like to be a leader. The two loners take him to WindClan, only to find that ThunderClan and WindClan are almost at the start of a battle. Mudclaw wrongly states that ThunderClan have stolen Crowkit. After Ravenpaw shows Mudclaw that Crowkit is safe, Mudclaw shows great affection to Crowkit, and the battle is called off. WindClan returns to camp with the lost kit.

Cats of the Clans

 * Rock says that Tallstar realized that with his peace loving nature, he needed a deputy who could be a bit more forward, and that cat was Mudclaw. Mudclaw had every right to be angry when Tallstar changed his deputy, as he had been waiting to become leader for a long time and felt cheated. Rock says he might not have much such a terrible leader; true, he was ambitious, but it was ambition to become leader, and once he got that he would surely serve his Clan to the last breath. He even had supporters in other Clans that thought he was the rightful leader, but he was also manipulated by Hawkfrost, whose ambitions were even larger. In the end he was struck down by lightning, but Rock questions whether this was StarClan making their choice of Onewhisker for leader known, or just a lucky strike of lightning that killed a troublesome cat.

Battles of the Clans

 * Tawnypelt mentions him when she is taking the reader on a tour of the lake territories. She tells the story of when he rebelled against his leader Onestar, believing himself to be the rightful leader, and asked cats from other Clans to help him take over. He was killed when lightning struck a tree and it crushed him. Tawnypelt mentions that he was furious for being shunted aside, and asks who could blame him, but that he should have respected his leader, Tallstar's decision.


 * In the battle with the foxes, he calls to the patrol holding the baby foxes captive, and tells them to stand aside to let the foxes retreat with their parents.

Trivia

 * In an Erin Hunter Chat, it was revealed that Mudclaw went to StarClan because he was following the warrior code. He was the deputy and according to the code, the deputy succeeds the leader. Mudclaw believed that he was acting on the will of StarClan.