Darkstripe

Darkstripe is a sleek, dark gray tom with black tabby stripes and yellow-amber eyes.

Into the Wild

 * Although Longtail was the first to speak up against a kittypet joining the Clan, Darkstripe was a cat who only grudgingly agreed to his leader's decision to make Rusty a ThunderClan apprentice. Darkstripe took his first apprentice, Dustpaw, after Redtail's death left him with no mentor. When Graypaw says that Spottedleaf was "young and pretty", he then states that, "Now Darkstripe, is neither young nor pretty".


 * As Bluestar indicated Darkstripe as mentor to Dustpaw, she told him to teach Dustpaw some of the good training that Tigerclaw had given him. So immediately we see a connection between Tigerclaw and Darkstripe and we see Darkstripe supporting his old mentor throughout the story. It became no surprise, then, that when Tigerclaw would became deputy after Lionheart's death, would appoint the two cats he trusted most to be Bluestar's bodyguards, Longtail and Darkstripe. It was these two cats that Tigerclaw would use to begin rumors demoralizing Ravenpaw because Ravenpaw knew the truth about Redtail's death. Darkstripe was also on the patrol that raided the ShadowClan camp in search for the missing kits.

Fire and Ice

 * It is revealed that Darkstripe mentored Longtail, though in Into the Wild it was said that Dustpaw was his first apprentice.


 * Darkstripe was unaware of Tigerclaw's plan to lure Bluestar to the Thunderpath in an attempt to kill her. He's also surprised to find Cinderpaw there when he reports to Tigerclaw. He was checking out Snakerocks for signs of ShadowClan, Tigerclaw sent him on this job. It's possible he wanted Darkstripe out of the way when he set his trap. In conclusion, it seems that Darkstripe doesn't know about Tigerclaw's secrets.


 * Darkstripe seems more interested in Tigerclaw in this book and he wants to learn from him. Darkstripe becomes more rude and ruthless like Tigerclaw. He points out Graystripe's reluctance to fight RiverClan. He suspects that Graystripe is seeing someone from RiverClan. He is one of the hecklers when Fireheart brings Cloudkit into ThunderClan. He later complains about Cloudkit again and how he's always crying and whining. Darkstripe also points out how Fireheart lets Silverstream go in a battle and then he's the one who told Tigerclaw.


 * Darkstripe hasn't changed much since Into the Wild except that he's chosen by Tigerclaw more often to go on patrols and errands. He establishes a strong connection with Tigerclaw that is an inkling of events to come. Darkstripe is hardly ever seen without Tigerclaw and they always do duties together, like seeing who was eating the rabbits on ThunderClan territory.

Forest of Secrets

 * Darkstripe still treats Fireheart harshly, calling him "kittypet" whenever possible, thinking he should never have been accepted into the Clan. When Fireheart is made deputy he comments, "Well I'm not taking orders from a kittypet." He also doesn't trust Graystripe very well either. This was most likely because Tigerstar shared his suspicions about Graystripe going to meet a cat in secrecy.


 * After Tigerclaw rebels against the Clan and tries to kill Bluestar, she exiles the tabby warrior. When Bluestar and Fireheart begin to explain Tigerclaw's treachery, Darkstripe calls out that it was impossible, and challenges Fireheart several times throughout the explanation. Before he leaves, Tigerclaw asks Longtail, Darkstripe, and Dustpelt to join him in exile. Though Fireheart believes Darkstripe may join Tigerclaw, Darkstripe declines Tigerclaw's offer. It is shown that Darkstripe is hurt that Tigerclaw did not let him know about the rogue attack. Darkstripe also is angry that Tigerclaw plotted with "that tyrant" Brokentail.

Rising Storm

 * Darkstripe is increasingly vicious to Fireheart, and taunts him as often as possible. Fireheart reluctantly gives him an apprentice, Fernpaw, as Darkstripe was the most senior warrior without an apprentice. It is noted that Bluestar seemed suspicious of Fireheart's motives when he chose two of Tigerclaw's allies, Darkstripe and Dustpelt, and during the apprentice ceremony fear is seen in Bluestar's eyes, but merely says that Darkstripe was intelligent and bold.


 * At several times during the book, he interacts with Cloudpaw, usually to punish him (i.e when Cloudpaw brought home a shrew, Darkstripe sent him to clean out the elders' den). When Cloudpaw is stolen by Twolegs, Darkstripe sends Ashpaw to find out what happened to him, to which Fireheart replies angrily that Darkstripe should find out himself. When Fireheart admits the truth about Cloudpaw, Darkstripe tells the whole camp and out of spite disturbs Bluestar during one of her few peaceful moments. After Cloudpaw is rescued, Fireheart suggests Darkstripe be the one who tells the camp that Bluestar has agreed to take Cloudpaw back in.


 * After the fire, Darkstripe argues with Cinderpelt, Dustpelt and the elders, saying sarcastically that the cats Fireheart left behind in the fire were probably deeply grateful to him. Darkstripe is the fittest of the warriors after the blaze and Fireheart puts him in charge of rebuilding the camp wall, to ensure that he doesn't find Tigerclaw. At the end of the book, Darkstripe is seen craning his neck to get a glimpse of the new ShadowClan leader, and Fireheart wonders if Darkstripe regretted not following Tigerclaw into exile.

A Dangerous Path

 * He sees that Tigerclaw is the new leader of ShadowClan; when he finds out, Fireheart notices that his eyes are shining and he looks excited, and wonders if he would rather have joined Tigerstar as a rogue and then become part of ShadowClan. Tigerstar asks him to bring his kits, Bramblekit and Tawnykit to Fourtrees so that they could meet him. He is followed by Fireheart, and is ordered to take the kits back to the ThunderClan camp. When Graypool goes missing, Fireheart worries that an aggressive ThunderClan cat might kill the elderly she-cat, not knowing that she had wandered into the territory by mistake and that she was in no condition to fight. He immediately thinks of Darkstripe. It is also noted that Dustpelt and Darkstripe are often seen alongside each other. This could simply be because their apprentices were littermates, or because they were both followers of Tigerstar.


 * When Bluestar is obsessed with the idea that it is not dogs, but WindClan that are stealing prey, Fireheart arranges a peace meeting. Darkstripe accompanies the patrol, and during the entire talk, looks impatient and eager to attack the WindClan patrol. Fireheart realizes that if Mudclaw attacked, Darkstripe would meet him and there would be no peace.


 * After the peace talk, Longtail admits that it was Darkstripe who was passing information onto Tigerstar. Right before the dog pack is supposedly coming to attack the Clan, he tries to sneak Bramblekit and Tawnykit away to ShadowClan territory, though he does not admit it. He is caught by Fireheart, who asks where he is taking the kits. Darkstripe claims that he does not think Sunningrocks is safe enough, and he knows a better place. When Fireheart furiously asks if Darkstripe would let his Clan be torn to shreds by dogs, Darkstripe protests and says he didn't know. Fireheart tells Brackenfur to keep an eye on Darkstripe, as he does not trust "a single hair on his pelt".

The Darkest Hour

 * Fireheart is provoked by him because of his kittypet roots after Bluestar's death, and Darkstripe complains that he does not want a kittypet leading ThunderClan.


 * Firestar suspected that Darkstripe was conspiring with Tigerstar, so Firestar told Brackenfur to keep an eye on him,. Darkstripe managed to get rid of Brackenfur by saying to Brackenfur that he had to make some dirt. Sorrelkit secretly follows him to a meeting with Blackfoot, the ShadowClan deputy. Darkstripe tried to kill her by feeding her deathberries, but Graystripe saw her eat them, and attacked Darkstripe. Darkstripe sullenly says that he was trying to stop her from eating them. However, most of the Clan do not believe him, and Dustpelt refuses to talk to him. Sorrelkit manages to survive the poisoning, and tells the Clan that Darkstripe fed her bright red berries, deathberries, as a reward for following him. Firestar then exiles Darkstripe .In Darkstripe's exile, it is revealed that Darkstripe knew about the dog attack, and had actually helped Tigerstar. He then left his Clan to join Tigerstar. The only reason he gave that he did not follow Tigerstar immediately when he was exiled was because Tigerstar had not filled him in on details leading to Brokentail, rogues, and Tigerstar himself launching an attack on ThunderClan.


 * When he is told to kill Stonefur by Tigerstar because he was half-Clan born, he did so without question, but lost to the half-starved prisoner, needing the help of Blackfoot to finish Stonefur off.


 * After Tigerstar's death, Darkstripe is grieving for the TigerClan leader, as now that he was dead Darkstripe was alone. His once sleek pelt was now dull. Darkstripe blames Firestar for Tigerstar's death, telling Firestar that he turned Scourge against Tigerstar. In the battle between LionClan and BloodClan, Darkstripe attacks a BloodClan she-cat, knocking her away from Firestar. At first, Firestar thinks that Darkstripe had found loyalty in ThunderClan again, but he is proven wrong when Darkstripe tries to kill him, claiming that he no longer felt loyalty to the forest cats and that the only cat worth following was Tigerstar. After dueling with Firestar, Darkstripe is killed by Graystripe. He chokes out as he dies, "There's nothing left...it's all dark-everything's gone..." perhaps referring to either his entrance to the Dark Forest, or the way he felt after Tigerstar's death. Graystripe remarks that there was one less traitor in the forest now.

Sunset

 * Darkstripe is seen as a member of the Dark Forest. He somehow manages to come across Tigerstar. He feels very scared and confused about the Dark Forest and acts very unlike himself when he was alive. He notes how he had tried to leave the forest, but he said that it went on forever. He also asks where StarClan are and that he thought that he would be watching over ThunderClan, which means that he didn't think he would end up in the Dark Forest, therefore thinking he wasn't evil.


 * He finds the scent of Brokenstar and he calls out his name, only to be silenced by Tigerstar who said, "You will find the scent of many cats here, but seldom will you meet one face to face". Darkstripe questions what Tigerstar will do now, expresses disbelief on Tigerstar's plots to kill Firestar, and says that Hawkfrost was indeed Tigerstar's son, with a strange note in his voice. He then asks Tigerstar if they can travel together, Tigerstar turns him down with a hint of regret in his voice, yet no hesitation. Tigerstar tells Darkstripe that all cats must walk the path of shadows alone. Darkstripe then watches Tigerstar bound away into the forest, and still wanders there, lost and confused.

Fading Echoes

 * He is seen breifly in the prologue, training Breezepelt along with Hawkfrost and Tigerstar.


 * When Spottedleaf and Jayfeather visit the Place of No Stars, he is overseeing battle training between Shredtail and Snowtuft.

Code of the Clans

 * Darkstripe was in a story about the rule that kits and elders must be fed before warriors.Even though many cats were sick and tired he thought of himself first. When he wakes up to rain and a leaking den he tells Longtail to go find Redtail and have him fix the den so he can sleep. When prey was scarce in ThunderClan, and many cats were sick from greencough, he and Longtail went out hunting at Snakerocks, and soon found a squirrel. Darkstripe suggests that they eat it to have more strength to find other prey. Longtail is hesitant, but eventually gives in.


 * Later, when they return to camp, they are told that the elder Poppydawn had died, because she was so weak from lack of food. Longtail thinks it's their fault that she died; if they had come back with the squirrel she could have lived. However, Darkstripe tells him that it's already over because she's already dead, and orders Longtail not to tell anyone. He sees nothing wrong with what they did, and threatens to tell everyone that Longtail forced him to eat before the elders if he says anything. Darkstripe feels no pity at her loss, but Longtail was wracked with guilt.