Brightheart

Brightheart is a fluffy white she-cat with ginger patches, a ginger tail, and blue eyes.

Firestar's Quest

 * Brightheart is now seen as a queen, pregnant with Cloudtail's kits. She is noted to spend a lot of time with her mate, as well as with Ferncloud, the other queen. She acts as a surrogate mother to Sorrelpaw, Rainpaw and Sootpaw after their mother, Willowpelt, is killed by a badger with Ferncloud. She defends Firestar when he decides to leave ThunderClan for a while, reassuring everyone that StarClan had never let them down before, and that they should trust their warrior ancestors to bring Firestar back, and keep him safe on his journey.


 * In the epilogue, she has given birth to one daughter, Whitekit. She gently warns her kit to be careful around Squirrelkit and Leafkit, Firestar and Sandstorm's newborn daughters. Firestar remarks that Whitekit acts very proud and protective of Leafkit and Squirrelkit, as though they are her own children.

Into the Wild

 * Brightkit is the daughter of Frostfur, the sister of Cinderkit, Thornkit, and Brackenkit, although they are not mentioned by name. Later, when they go missing, it is thought that they had been stolen by Yellowfang, but it was really Clawface.


 * They are later fetched by a group of older ShadowClan cats, who are driven out of their Clan by Brokenstar for defying him and his evil reign. They are accompanied by a ThunderClan patrol, as they were looking to get back their stolen kits. The group, including the ThunderClan cats, contains Yellowfang, Ashfur, Nightpelt, Dawncloud, Whitestorm, Firepaw, Graypaw, and Darkstripe. The kits are found and taken home by Graypaw and Firepaw.

Fire and Ice

 * Brightkit is not shown much in this book, and is not mentioned in the allegiances, because kits typically aren't listed in the allegiances during this arch. Two of her siblings, Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw, are now apprentices.

Forest of Secrets

 * Brightkit becomes an apprentice, known as Brightpaw, along with her brother Thornpaw, and is apprenticed to Whitestorm. Like her brother, she is very excited to go out and explore the new territory. When Fireheart and Graystripe are being punished by having to stay in the apprentices' den, she and Thornpaw stare at them in shock, humiliating Fireheart and Graystripe greatly.

Rising Storm

 * Fireheart notes that Brightpaw has been hunting very well lately, and he goes to her and asks her whether she takes her catch straight to the elders or not. Brightpaw honestly assures him that she did, hoping it is the right thing to do. Later, when Bluestar asks Fireheart where Whitestorm is, he replies that he is out training Brightpaw. At a Gathering, Fireheart listens in on Brightpaw and a ShadowClan apprentice's conversation. When the apprentice asks if ThunderClan had seen any more of the rogues, Brightpaw replies calmly, positively telling the ShadowClan apprentice that they haven't scented them in their territory for nearly a moon.


 * She is later seen play-fighting with her brother, Thornpaw. Not long after the rogue attack, and when Runningwind is killed, Fireheart takes Brightpaw out hunting, and Sandstorm tags along. Later, when Brightpaw returns from a patrol, Fireheart asks her if she's ready to go hunting, and she asks if they have to go then. Fireheart says that they can leave if she's not too tired, but Brightpaw shakes her head and runs after Fireheart and Sandstorm as they leave the camp.


 * When Brightpaw meets Ravenpaw for the first time, she is happy to know he's alive. Then, Sandstorm and Fireheart go to look for Cloudpaw and attempt a rescue. Fireheart and Sandstorm order her to go back and tell Whitestorm where they have gone, knowing he would understand. Once Cloudpaw is rescued and he returns, she greets him with a friendly nuzzle, relieved that Fireheart and Sandstorm rescued him.

A Dangerous Path

 * When Fireheart and the others arrive from the Gathering, Brightpaw is seen with Swiftpaw, running from the apprentices' den. Later she goes hunting with Cloudpaw. Unlike Cloudpaw, Brightpaw asks Whitestorm's permisson before she leaves, much to Fireheart's annoyance.


 * She is seen another time when she practices her battle moves with Fireheart, Thornpaw, Cloudpaw and Swiftpaw. When Fireheart mentions that he is going to ask Bluestar if they can be warriors, she exchanges excited glances with the other apprentices.


 * Later, when Fireheart tells his Clanmates about his plan about peace between WindClan and ThunderClan, Whitestorm decides that Brightpaw shouldn't come with them, if there would be a battle after all.


 * When Cloudpaw is made a warrior and recieves the name Cloudtail, she tries to be happy for her friend, but feels the other older apprentices should have been made warriors too. Swiftpaw gathers all the apprentices, and suggests they go and find what is taking the Clan's prey. Brightpaw is the only cat that agrees to go with Swiftpaw, because she is worried about him being alone. They sneak out late that night, yet don't know that the predator scented is a dog pack. They try to fight, but fail. Swiftpaw dies and Brightpaw is injured badly, losing an eye, receiving a large scar on one side of her face, and having one ear shredded on her left side. She is then in the medicine cat's den for quite a while, having many nightmares. She also repeatedly says in her sleep, "Pack, pack" and "Kill, kill." Cloudtail never leaves her side, showing an affectionate side that he's never shown before.


 * Before Cinderpelt nurses her back to health, Bluestar gives Brightpaw the cruel warrior name of Lostface, saying it is so that the memory of the dogs, and how StarClan did nothing to stop them, would always live on. Cloudtail is enraged by the fact that Bluestar had given her such a cruel name, and Bluestar remarks that StarClan would receive her as a warrior named Lostface, or they wouldn't receive her at all. Cloudtail then promises Lostface that he will never say her dreadful name.


 * Under Fireheart's order, Lostface lives with the elders for a short amount of time, forging a close bond with them. She comforts and gets along especially well with Speckletail, who grieves for her dead son, Snowkit, who had been carried away and presumably eaten by a hawk before. She allows Speckletail to 'take care of her' in order to ease the pain of losing him. Lostface begins to get used to cats shrinking away at the sight of her horrible scars.


 * She goes with Cloudtail, Graystripe, and Fireheart to see Cloudtail's mother, Princess, who is also Fireheart's sister, and feels hurt because Princess is terrified of Lostface's appearance. She asks to see her reflection, and when she looks into a puddle to see her face, she painfully realizes why Princess is so afraid of her. She is devastated by her injuries, but is comforted by Cloudtail's words that she is still, and will always be, beautiful to him.

The Darkest Hour

 * Cloudtail insists that Firestar, now leader of ThunderClan after Bluestar's death, change Lostface's name, and the ginger-and-white warrior asks him also. He says that he isn't sure how he can change her name, though, especially because StarClan had already accepted her as Lostface. Cloudtail notes that One-eye and Halftail couldn't have been born with those names. Firestar asks One-eye how to perform the rare name changing ceremony, and the elder tells him.


 * During Thornpaw, who is now Thornclaw's, warrior ceremony, Firestar changes Lostface's name to Brightheart. She is overjoyed by her new name.


 * Cloudtail then begs for Firestar to make Brightheart a full warrior, but Firestar questions this act because she can't hunt alone, and can't fight with only one eye. Cloudtail tells Firestar that he has trained Brightheart to fight with only one eye, but Firestar still is unsure. However, Cloudtail continues to bother Firestar until he finally approves.


 * With Cloudtail's training, she is soon able to beat other cats in practice fights using fighting techniques Cloudtail made especially for her and her condition. Eventually, Firestar gives her permission to participate in the battle against BloodClan, and tells her that she can sleep in the warriors' den from then on, as she is now a full warrior. She is able to use her moves to her advantage in the BloodClan battle, and it is noted that she is fighting alongside Cloudtail almost all the time.

Midnight

 * Brightheart is now a senior warrior under Firestar, as well as her mate, Cloudtail. She is seen in the beginning of the book, on a hunting patrol with Cloudtail and Brambleclaw. Her and Cloudtail's daughter, Whitepaw, is seen as an apprentice, along with Squirrelpaw, Shrewpaw, Spiderpaw, and Sorrelpaw. She is also one of the first cats to notice that Brambleclaw is not in the warriors' den, or even in camp, when he and Squirrelpaw leave to go on the journey to the sun-drown-place. However, she doesn't think much of it, and is calmer than most cats about it, assuming he has just gone hunting on his own. She is not seen much after this.

Moonrise

 * She is seen twice in the book calming her mate, Cloudtail, who is frustrated that Firestar won't let the Clan go into battle against WindClan and RiverClan.


 * She and Cloudtail later go missing. Whitepaw is extremely worried for her parents, because no cat knows what happened to them, so she begs to look for them. Leafpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, later infers that the Twolegs are capturing Clan cats, after Mousefur struggles free of one, and she offers to go search for them near where the Twolegs are.

Dawn

 * When Leafpaw is trapped by the Twolegs and is being held in a small Twoleg nest, she realizes that Brightheart and Cloudtail would be there, as well. She sees Brightheart and calls her name, and Brightheart answers warily,and asked who had called her. She is terrified at what the Twolegs might do to them. Two other Clan cats are trapped as well; Mistyfoot and Gorsetail. She later greets the rogue, Sasha, when she is brought into the nest by a Twoleg, and shows concern for the rogue Coal when he is wounded by one of the Twolegs.


 * When the captured cats are being freed by a patrol, Rainwhisker and Cloudtail are having trouble opening Brightheart's cage. Graystripe orders them to leave, and he quickly frees Brightheart himself. She races into the trees, reunited with Cloudtail, but she pulls away from him and gasps when Graystripe is grabbed by a Twoleg. As they watch, Graystripe is taken away in a Twoleg monster. When they return to the camp, she and Cloudtail greet their daughter, Whitepaw, with fierce licks and purrs, happy to be reunited.


 * Later, she participates in the patrol to aid ShadowClan, and returns with only a few scratches.

Starlight

 * When the Clans reach the new territories, she tells some others that it is impossible to see what was down there in the dim light. As the Clans make their way down, she carries one of Tallpoppy's kits down the slope. She later compliments Squirrelflight on finding the new ThunderClan camp. On the way, she keeps guard with Cloudtail on one side of the traveling Clan.


 * She goes out on patrol to explore the new territory with Sorreltail and Cloudtail, and they find a hole between the roots of a tree. She identifies it as stale fox scent, and warns Sorreltail against going into the hole, as they knew that there was nothing inside.


 * During the battle for Onewhisker's leadership in WindClan, she and Cloudtail are put in charge of guarding the camp. Two ShadowClan cats flee from the battle and fall into the hollow, and she later reports that they broke their necks and died because of the fall.

Twilight

 * Brightheart is becoming increasingly jealous of the loner Daisy from the horseplace, because she takes up so much of her mate's time. Cloudtail is trying to teach Daisy fighting moves so she can become a warrior, not realizing how much he was hurting Brightheart.


 * She helps her sister, Cinderpelt, with the medicine cat duties and Leafpool thinks she is trying to take her place, even though it was probably because she was trying to find her place now that Cloudtail was spending so much more time with Daisy.


 * When Brightheart is telling Daisy that her kits had gotten into Cinderpelt's herbs, she is shocked, and asks Brightheart what happened to her face and Brightheart flinches. Upset, she turns the scarred part of her face away and replies that she was attacked by dogs.


 * When Leafpool leaves, she thinks it was her fault because she was taking up a lot of the medicine cat duties and made Leafpool jealous, but is later reassured by Squirrelflight that she did not drive Leafpool away.

Sunset

 * Most of Brightheart's appearances in this book is when she's helping Leafpool, the new medicine cat, with injuries from the badger attack. She later tells Leafpool that she will return to her warrior duties. Leafpool, who was earlier annoyed by Brightheart's help, wishes she would have stayed around to help longer.


 * Near the end of the book, Daisy tells her that Cloudtail loves Brightheart, not her, and Brightheart thanks her for telling her this. She and Cloudtail rekindle their relationship, when Cloudtail, by the suggestion of Leafpool, asks her to go out hunting with him.

The Sight

 * Sometime before this book begins, her daughter is made a warrior, now known as Whitewing.


 * She mentors Jaypaw for a short time before he becomes a medicine cat apprentice. Brightheart doesn't take him into the forest often, mainly keeping him in camp to tend to the elders, and is often shown to be irritated by Jaypaw's uncooperation and stubborness.


 * When Jaypaw becomes a medicine cat, Brightheart is very hurt that she doesn't get to keep her first apprentice. She wanted to prove she can function well for an apprentice even though the pack badly injuried her. It is mentioned that whenever Jaypaw tries to make her understand his new decision, she always changes the subject or makes an excuse to leave.


 * When Whitewing tells the Clan of the dogs on WindClan territory, she asks if they should really go and help out with the dogs. Brightheart thinks about it, but replies saying that they lost much in the past with the dog pack, they can't let that happen again to another Clan. Later, when there is a greencough epidemic, she assists Jaypaw while Leafpool is fetching catmint from RiverClan.

Dark River

 * She is seen drilling Mousefur and Longtail on what to do if there is an attack on the camp at night.


 * Later, when Hollypaw goes missing, she suggests she may be hurt. The idea that WindClan captured her is put forth, and she points out that now that they have extra prey from the forest, they can take a hostage.


 * During a border skirmish, when two WindClan apprentices cross the border to kill a squirrel, Brightheart wrestles with Whitetail and then, with the help of Poppypaw, she rakes her ears with her claws. Her tail is slightly wounded when it is bitten, and Jaypaw later treats it with a poultice of oak leaf. After she's treated, she helps rub a poultice on Lionpaw's ear.

Outcast

 * She lets Berrypaw know that Firestar will never give a cat a cruel name, when Berrypaw is worrying that Firestar will name him "Berrystumpytail," and tells the story of how her name was changed from Lostface to her name now, Brightheart. She is later seen sharing a thrush with Cloudtail, discussing Icekit and Foxkit's apprentice ceremony.


 * When Hollypaw runs back to camp to alert Firestar of intruders near the WindClan border, Brightheart is seen looking out from the warriors' den in alarm.

Eclipse

 * Back from a patrol with Birchfall, Brightheart reports that WindClan have once again crossed the border. She later is on guard duty at the camp entrance, and lets Jaypaw know when he leaves, if he needs help, the dawn patrol is out. During the WindClan attack on the camp, she stays in the nursery to defend the kits and queens. In the aftermath, she is seen helping to weave brambles into the camp barrier to reinforce it.


 * She stays in the camp during the search for WindClan in ThunderClan's territory, and watches for WindClan warriors along the top edges of the hollow. She later helps Leafpool and Jaypaw with passing out herbs after the battle against WindClan and RiverClan, and keeps an eye on the severely wounded Squirrelflight.

Long Shadows

 * She goes on the dawn patrol along with Ashfur, Thornclaw and Lionblaze. She reports back to Firestar after Ashfur and Lionblaze have an extra training session. Later on, when her brother Thornclaw is coughing, she goes out to get him some herbs from Leafpool. She becomes very angry and annoyed at Berrynose and Spiderleg when they complain about Thornclaw's coughing, and sharply scolds them.


 * Eventually, Brightheart herself catches greencough, along with several of her Clanmates. She later moves into the abandoned Twoleg nest with the other sick cats. She is one of the cats to witness Firestar lose one of his lives. Once he revives, she gives him a drink from some moss, and tries to convince him to return to the camp. When he refuses, she states softly that she had known he would insist on staying.


 * When the Clan has healed, Brightheart and Cloudtail assist in dragging burnt branches away from the warriors' den after the fire occurs. She later goes on a hunting patrol with Ashfur, Lionblaze and Cloudtail, and hunts in the Twoleg garden with her mate.

Sunrise

 * Brightheart suggests that perhaps Ashfur has been killed when he had run into the loner Sol, and they had fought, but this is quickly shot down, as there was only one mark on Ashfur's body. She later goes on a hunting patrol with Dustpelt, Cloudtail and Icepaw.


 * She questions Sol's calmness when he is brought back to ThunderClan, thinking he shouldn't be calm if he had killed Ashfur. After Honeyfern's death, she expresses sadness, and wishes there was a herb to cure a snake bite as she helps Hollyleaf put herbs away. Near the end, she calls Jayfeather to the nursery since Whitewing, her daughter, is giving birth to Birchfall's kits. They are named Ivykit and Dovekit, and Brightheart seems very proud of her daughter.

The Fourth Apprentice

 * Since Leafpool had left her post of medicine cat, Brightheart had taken to helping Jayfeather with basic injuries and gathering herbs. She is one of the few cats who are sympathetic towards Rainstorm when the RiverClan warrior came to ThunderClan to rest after getting stuck in the mud. She volunteers to collect traveling herbs for Lionblaze and Dovepaw. She asks Jayfeather what herbs she needs to collect, but Jayfeather cannot remember the traveling herbs. She helps him by describing the herbs; sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet.

Fading Echoes

 * She is first shown dropping off some fresh-kill on the pile. She later attends the Gathering, and Dovepaw notices her behind her when they are leaving. When she catches Ivypaw and Dovepaw outside camp, she herds them back inside the camp, fearful they'll catch a cold.


 * When the tree is falling, she rushes to check the elders' den. She can't get Mousefur to move until Lionblaze intervenes, and then she leads the elders out of the camp. Later, she asks Jayfeather what she can do to help Briarpaw's injury, and he tells her to give her a poppy seed, as well as Mousefur, who is in shock over Longtail's death. She later keeps Millie away from her daughter's nest while Jayfeather tests her injury, and warns the panicking Millie that her daughter can hear her.


 * She later participates in the meeting of the senior warriors to discuss the dream that Ivypaw had. She is defensive of her daughter's kit when Thornclaw is scornful.

Night Whispers

 * Brightheart is first seen having trouble getting up after the battle with ShadowClan. Cloudtail's encouragement seems to bring her enough strength to do it, though. Later, she and Bumblestripe bring Jayfeather cobwebs and take moss to the nursery, because Dovepaw and Ivypaw are both out training, even though it's an apprentice task.


 * She goes on Graystripe's hunting patrol by the lake with Millie and Blossomfall. Later, Brightheart helps fight off the fox that breaks into the ThunderClan camp. After the battle, she helps Jayfeather and Leafpool gather herbs. They are escorted by Thornclaw and Dustpelt. Unfortunately, they only bring back a few pawfuls of mallow and thyme, and it takes them half a day to find that much.


 * Brightheart fetches Jayfeather when Sandstorm begins coughing. Sandstorm's white-cough then began to spread, so that when there are four patients in the medicine den, Brightheart is in charge of the patients the night of the Gathering so Jayfeather can attend.

Sign of the Moon

 * Brightheart is seen helping Jayfeather after Icecloud falls into one of the tunnels and wrenches her shoulder, and watches Briarlight and Icecloud for him while he goes to investigate the tunnels.
 * Brightheart acts as the medicine cat, along with Leafpool, while Jayfeather leaves, due to the Tribe requesting his help.

Secrets of the Clans

 * In the section "Brightheart Speaks: The Death of Swiftpaw," she gives some insight and opinion on what happened when the dogs attacked her and Swiftpaw in A Dangerous Path. She talks about how she and Swiftpaw thought it was unfair that Cloudtail got to be a warrior before them, revealing jealousy was the reason they went to Snakerocks to find out what was stealing the prey. They saw one dog there, then more come out. Brightheart talks about remembering a forest of legs, blood and fur. She notes that even when she couldn't see the battle, she could hear it and knew how fierce it was, and she soon faints. She also states that, although she never knew when the end came for Swiftpaw, she remembers him fighting "like all of LionClan" until the very end. She says that she was thrown roughly against a rock and passed out. Brightheart said that she woke up in Cinderpelt's den three days later, and Cloudtail was next to her and woke up at the same time, and that her face felt frozen on one side. She also says that she never would have made it through that dark time if it had not been for Cloudtail, and that as long as he loved her, she was not Lostface, but Brightheart.

Cats of the Clans

 * Rock explains to the three kits of StarClan how Brightheart's face got injured when she and Swiftpaw tried to take on the dogs. He tells how she can remember how she didn't use to be ugly and scarred, and it pains her to see her reflection in the lake, or remember her first warrior name, Lostface. She hardly flinches when kits or newcomers shriek at the sight of her scars, but Rock says she needs to see inside herself to her own beautiful courage, loyalty, and devotion.

Battles of the Clans

 * Brightheart participates in the battle against the foxes, and accompanies Graystripe, Mousefur, and Spiderpaw on their mission to lure the foxes with a rabbit.


 * During the battle with the badgers, Brightheart attempts to get her daughter Whitepaw to safety along with Daisy and her kits. She is frightened for her daughter and argues fiercely with Cloudtail against letting her fight, but eventually relents and tells Cloudtail to keep her daughter safe. She then goes to help get Daisy and the kits out of the hollow.

The Lost Warrior

 * In Graystripe's flashback, Squirrelpaw is seen trying to rescue Brightheart from a cage inside the Twoleg monster. Brightheart is trying to persuade them to leave her and save themselves, but Squirrelpaw refuses. Instead, Graystripe shoves Squirrelpaw out of the back of the monster, and helps Brightheart himself. He rescues Brightheart, who tries to tell him to jump, but he is flung backward and taken away in the monster as she escapes.

A Clan in Need

 * Brightheart is seen when Ravenpaw and Barley first enter the ThunderClan camp, and is later part of the patrol that attacks the BloodClan camp in Twolegplace.

The Heart of a Warrior

 * Brightheart is part of the patrol, along with Cloudtail, Firestar, Brackenfur, Bramblepaw, and Graystripe, that helps Ravenpaw and Barley take their barn back from the rogues.
 * When they reach the farm, Firestar orders Cloudtail to take a hunting patrol out and Brightheart joins him.
 * The next morning, she fights the rogues along with the rest of the patrol. Brightheart flees when Firestar tells them to retreat because there are too many rogues.
 * Brightheart is seen fighting alongside Cloudtail when they attack the rogues for a second time. During the fight, she tells Icicle, Cloudy, Sniff, and Snowflake to leave and run away, as this is no battle for kits.
 * She leaves with the rest of the ThunderClan cats once the rogues leave the barn for good.
 * Brightheart is seen fighting alongside Cloudtail when they attack the rogues for a second time. During the fight, she tells Icicle, Cloudy, Sniff, and Snowflake to leave and run away, as this is no battle for kits.
 * She leaves with the rest of the ThunderClan cats once the rogues leave the barn for good.

Ultimate Leader Election: Firestar

 * Brightheart votes for Firestar to lead the Clans for a while.

After Sunset: The Right Choice?

 * Brightheart is mentioned to be watching Firestar, whose neck had been bruised in a fox trap.

Trivia

 * She has been mistakenly mentioned as white with tortoiseshell patches instead of white with ginger patches.
 * She has been seen as white with ginger specks.
 * On Kate Cary's facebook page, it is revealed that Brightheart's father may be Whitestorm.
 * Vicky revealed that she will be expecting another litter of kits in The Last Hope.
 * Brightheart respects Cloudtail's lack of faith in StarClan.
 * Brightheart will not receive an apprentice before Omen of the Stars ends.

Members
Mate:
 * Cloudtail:

Daughter:
 * Whitewing:

Mother:
 * Frostfur: Deceased, Suspected StarClan member

Brothers:
 * Thornclaw:
 * Brackenfur:

Sister:
 * Cinderpelt: Deceased, Reincarnated as Cinderheart

Grandfather:
 * Fuzzypelt: Deceased, Suspected StarClan member

Grandmother:
 * Robinwing: Deceased, Suspected StarClan member

Uncles:
 * Unidentified Kits: Status Unknown
 * Ravenpaw: Status Unknown
 * Dustpelt:

Half-Uncle:
 * Longtail: Deceased, Suspected StarClan member

Aunt:
 * Brindleface: Deceased, Verified StarClan member

Cousins:
 * Ferncloud:
 * Ashfur: Deceased, Verified StarClan member
 * Two Unnamed Kits: Deceased, Suspected StarClan members
 * Sandstorm:
 * Squirrelflight:
 * Leafpool:
 * Lionblaze:
 * Hollyleaf:
 * Jayfeather:
 * Spiderleg:
 * Shrewpaw: Deceased, Verified StarClan member
 * Larchkit: Deceased, Verified StarClan member
 * Hollykit: Deceased, Verified StarClan member
 * Birchfall:
 * Foxleap:
 * Icecloud:
 * Toadstep:
 * Rosepetal:

Nephew:
 * Molepaw: Deceased, Suspected StarClan member

Nieces:
 * Poppyfrost:
 * Honeyfern: Deceased, Verified StarClan member
 * Cinderheart:

Granddaughters:
 * Dovewing:
 * Ivypool:

Great-Nephew:
 * Molekit:

Great-Niece:
 * Cherrykit: