Lightleap/Main article

Lightleap is a dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

She is born as Lightkit to Tigerheart and Dovewing during their stay with the guardian cats along with her siblings, Pouncekit and Shadowkit. Lightkit briefly visits ThunderClan with her siblings when Dovewing returns to the clan territories. Once they leave, she joins ShadowClan when her mother chooses to follow Tigerheart, now Tigerstar, back.

She becomes an apprentice under Stonewing, becoming Lightpaw, and later earns her warrior name, Lightleap, alongside her sister.

River of Fire

 * Lightkit appears unnamed, huddled up with her siblings beside Dovewing at the Moonpool. Alderheart rushes over, greeting Dovewing. He looks down at the kits and notes how the dark brown one looks just like her father, and Dovewing reveals her name to be Lightkit, along with her siblings.


 * When the others discuss Tigerheart being dead, Shadowkit speaks up, claiming he isn't dead, and that he had a dream of him and his family in the ShadowClan camp, playing moss-ball together. Tigerheart is revealed to be alive after all, and is now named Tigerstar and will be rebuilding the fallen Clan. Dovewing decides she will be joining him in ShadowClan, but wants to visit ThunderClan first, bringing Lightkit, Pouncekit, and Shadowkit with her. On the way, Alderheart and their mother help the kits climb over the terrain, and bounce around Dovewing's paws, demanding to know all about Clan life and their kin.


 * Once they reach ThunderClan's camp, they meet Ivypool's kits, and Lightkit remarks they're kind of small, and warily touches her nose to Bristlekit's. Dovewing explains to her kits that Ivypool's kits are their kin. After discussing the events at the Moonpool, Dovewing gathers all three kits together and they are escorted to ShadowClan.

The Raging Storm

 * During Shadowkit's vision, Lightkit cowers with her sister and denmates at the other end of the nursery.


 * After Shadowkit is spending much of his time helping Alderheart in the medicine den, Lightkit and Pouncekit attempt to get him to come out and play. Pouncekit says Strikestone and Blazepaw are going to give them badger rides, and Lightkit adds they're going to race while they ride them. Shadowkit declines, stating he's having fun in the medicine den. Lightkit looks unconvinced, wondering how looking after the sick can be as fun as badger rides. Pouncekit nudges her out of the den, saying they're wasting their time.


 * When Shadowkit goes missing, Lightkit says he was playing a game, pretending he was on an important mission to save the Clan, and Pouncekit wanted to go with him, but he told her it was something he had to do alone. Dovewing weaves frantically around them, asking if he said where he was going. Lightkit tells her he just said he had to save them, then sneaked out of the den.

Lost Stars

 * Lightleap has completed her apprenticeship and is now a full warrior of ShadowClan. She and Pouncestep return from a border patrol, and Pouncestep announces she is starving and thought they'd never get to the end. Lightleap agrees, but also states they made a good job of the scent markers and SkyClan won't dare set paw over the border. As the two warriors share a vole, Shadowpaw comes over, asking if they have seen Cinnamontail and Blazefire. Pouncestep replies that she hasn't seen a whisker of them, and Lightleap adds that she hasn't either, not since yesterday. Shadowpaw tells them that Dovewing is leading out a patrol to look for them, and Lightleap blinks nervously, mewing she hopes she finds them and she can't imagine why they would wander off in this weather.


 * Shadowpaw heads back to his den, but spots Lightleap waving her tail at him, and she tells him to come and play with her and Pouncestep. Tail curling with amusement, Shadowpaw points out that since he's not trained like them, they'd claw his fur off. Lightleap promises they'll go easy on him. Pouncestep pretends to be a badger invading camp, while Lightleap and Shadowpaw are two warriors driving it out. Lightleap rears up and swipes Pouncestep's muzzle, telling the filthy badger to get out. While Shadowpaw distracts Pouncestep, Lightleap jumps in and rolls her sister over. Once they trap Pouncestep, Shadowpaw asks what they should do, and Lightleap answers that they'll shove it out of camp, and begins to push Pouncestep across the ground. After their playfight, Shadowpaw has another seizure. Once it passes, he sees Lightleap and Pouncestep watching him from further away, eyes wide with fear. Later, Tigerstar calls a meeting and Shadowpaw finds a spot to sit near his sisters.

The Silent Thaw

 * Lightleap and her sister proudly gaze at their brother as he leaves to receive his full name. Later, Lightleap frantically calls for Shadowsight as she and Flaxfoot carry Snowbird into camp. He orders them to carry Snowbird into an empty nest in the medicine cats' den, and Lightleap explains how Snowbird slipped and broke her paw while hunting. Shadowsight noses Lightleap out of the den and when she insists she wants to stay, Shadowsight has her fetch sticks for a splint. He later goes to search for them when they take too long.

Tigerheart's Shadow

 * Lightkit and her littermates, Pouncekit and Shadowkit, are born to Dovewing and Tigerheart.


 * When Tigerheart returns from scavenging, he finds Dovewing and the kits asleep. The dark tabby catches a thrush, and his mate excitedly wakes her kits up. Lightkit scrambles from the nest, her tabby fur ruffled from sleep, and sniffs the prey. The small kit comments the bird smells sweet. Dovewing peels meat strips from the fresh-kill, and lays a strip in front of each of her kits.


 * Lightkit grabs her meat piece and tugs it with her teeth. Later on, the tabby she-cat looks from beneath the ledge sheltering their nest and asks if there were more nests. Behind her, Shadowkit and Pouncekit chase each other. Lightkit blinks at her father and questions why her father calls the healers 'medicine cats'.


 * Pouncekit mentions Dovewing's story about the Clans and Lightkit eagerly asks if they'll go there one day. Lightkit gazes up at the wall and mews she likes sunshine and doesn't want to hide in darkness.


 * As Tigerheart is heading out to scavenge, Dovewing meets Lightkit and her siblings as they charge up to their mother. Tigerheart gives the kits a badger ride, and while clinging to her father's back, Lightkit asks what a badger is. Tigerheart tells them a story of how he and his Clanmates fought a badger once, and Lightkit is breathless as she asks how they beat it. Lightkit is disappointed she has to go to sleep, complaining she wants to hear more about badgers, and Dovewing promises they'll tell them about hawks tomorrow.


 * The kits are taken out of the Twoleg nest to watch the guardian cats battle train. Lightkit bounces on the grass, squeaking it's soft, then asks Tigerheart if he'll play with them. She doesn't pay attention to his answer, preoccupied with following Pouncekit onto the stone slabs. When Pouncekit gets caught in a Twoleg trap, Lightkit and Shadowkit scrabble at the outside, trying to reach her. After Pouncekit is freed, Lightkit looks out from below Dotty, asking if the Twolegs are trying to hurt them.


 * Later, Lightkit, Pouncekit, and Shadowkit give their parents a scare when they sneak out of the nest and climb up a tree, sitting on the branch like a bunch of starlings. Lightkit looks down at her parents, telling them they're watching the Twolegs gathering. Lightkit climbs down the tree, along with her siblings. Once out of the tree, Pouncekit tells her Tigerheart said they weren't ever allowed out of the den alone, making Lightkit's eyes spark with horror.


 * Dovewing and Tigerheart decide it's time to return to the lake and begin the journey home. Lightkit is clearly excited at the news, squeaking they're going to be warriors. She is carried by Cinnamon as they walk through the Thundersnake tunnel. When Pouncekit and Shadowkit are placed on the floor, Lightkit wriggles in Cinnamon's jaws, saying she wants to walk too. Once on the ground, she proudly comments that she bets no kits have walked along the Thundersnake tunnel before. When Pouncekit begins complaining of her sore pads, Lightkit tells her to imagine the ground is the soft grass outside the Twoleg den. When a Thundersnake passes, Lightkit hides underneath Cinnamon. After it passes, she wriggles out, exclaiming that was exciting, with shining eyes. Once out of the tunnel and city, Lightkit sounds frightened as she comments how big everything is.


 * Later, Lightkit sniffs some sweetbriar buds, asking if they can eat it. Dovewing says no, but Jayfeather might use them to make medicine, and Lightkit blinks, asking who Jayfeather is. A Thundersnake approaches them, and Lightkit freezes in the tracks, but Spire saves her before the Thundersnake reaches her.


 * Later, Cloverfoot gives Lightkit a badger ride as they reach a river. They cross a Thunderpath going over the river, but it begins to split and rise in the center. Lightkit and Shadowtkit squeal in panic, sliding down past Tigerheart, but Rippletail catches Lightkit as she falls toward him, wrapping his paws around her. She is seen playing with Berryheart's kits. Tigerheart asks her where Shadowkit is, and she explains Dovewing took him out of their temporary camp to discuss something. She then shows Spirekit how to strip out the meat on prey. After an owl drops Tigerheart, Lightkit and her littermates sit beside Dovewing, fear in their round eyes as they gaze at their injured father.


 * They continue the journey back to the lake, and Lightkit's eyes are misted with fear as she asks if Tigerheart will be okay. As Tigerheart slips away, Lightkit and her littermates cling to their father's pelt. After he dies, Tigerheart sees his body being carried, Lightkit follows, her eyes misted with grief. Tigerheart is resurrected as Tigerstar, ShadowClan's new leader. Pouncekit and Lightkit crowd around him, eyes as wide as moons.

Squirrelflight's Hope

 * She is now an apprentice with Stonewing as her mentor. She practices battle moves against Pouncepaw. Later, she and her family attend a tense Gathering and her father weaves protectively around them.

Tawnypelt's Clan

 * Tawnypelt is woken up from a dream because of Lightkit and her siblings loud play. Lightkit yowls at Shadowkit that that's not how you play, then Pouncekit screeches at Lightkit to get off of her. Juniperclaw exits the warriors den, furiously telling the kits that they need to settle down right now, they're waking the whole camp. The three kits freeze and stare up at him, then Dovewing apologizes, and Tigerstar comes in, telling the kits to quiet down.


 * Shadowkit tells Tawnypelt that they're sorry if they woke her, and his sisters nod earnestly. Tawnypelt meows that it's fine, and Lightkit cheerfully tells her littermates to come on, they'll be so quiet now, as quiet as they were when they hid from the Twolegs. Later, Lightkit is seen playing with her siblings and the other kits of the Clan, squealing with delight as they chase each other around the clearing.

Interesting facts

 * Lightleap has ThunderClan blood via Dovewing and kittypet blood through Cloudtail.
 * She looks just like her father, Tigerstar.

Author statements

 * Kate has said Lightleap was named to celebrate the differences between her parents, Tigerstar and Dovewing.

Mistakes

 * She was mistakenly called Shadowkit.