Willowbreeze

Willowbreeze is a pale, silver-gray tabby she-cat with a soft muzzle, sharp claws, soft fur, and amber eyes.

Crookedstar's Promise

 * Willowkit is born to Fallowtail of RiverClan along with her sister, Graykit. It is noted that no tom ever comes to the nursery to visit them, and Fallowtail never names a mate.


 * Willowkit and Graykit are taken outside by their older denmate, Crookedkit, to play in the snow. He lets them ride on his back, and Willowkit asks him why he is still a kit when his brother, Oakpaw, is already an apprentice, despite that Fallowtail had told them not to ask him, as quickly pointed out by Graykit. Crookedkit explains that he broke his jaw on the stepping stones when he was a kit, which leads Willowkit to comment that he seems better.


 * When they arrive at the river, she asks to play on the ice, but it is too thin to hold their weight, so she and her sister play warriors instead. Graykit makes herself RiverClan and Willowkit WindClan. As they wrestle playfully in the snow, Crookedkit sees a heron, and tries to order them back into the nursery. As Willowkit asks why, the heron dives at the two kits. Willowkit and Graykit nearly end up killed by it, but Crookedkit throws himself over them, prepared to die in their place. All of them are saved by a nearby group of warriors.


 * When Reedfeather, the WindClan deputy, comes to RiverClan’s camp, Willowkit and Graykit are seen racing from the nursery away from Fallowtail to get a closer look at him, excited to see their first WindClan cat. Reedfeather then reveals that he is their father, and that he wants to take the two kits to live in his Clan instead for him to raise. Willowkit whimpers to her mother that Reedfeather couldn’t be their father. Fallowtail is shocked that Reedfeather could propose this, and says she loved Willowkit and Graykit more than her own life, and planned to bring them up as true RiverClan warriors. Her Clanmates protest, but when Reedfeather darkly states WindClan would fight for them, Fallowtail decides she couldn't let there be war over her choices, and she allows Reedfeather to take their daughters, which horrifies both kits. Willowkit tries to catch her mother’s eye as she and Graykit are given to Reedfeather. He picks up Graykit, and Willowkit looks back, asking why the warriors weren’t stopping him. Graykit wails for Willowkit not to leave her as Reedfeather carries her toward the thorn tunnel. Willowkit cries that she was coming, and races after her sister and father to live in WindClan.


 * Later, Hailstar, Ottersplash, Owlfur, Rippleclaw, and Timberfur raid WindClan's camp and steal Willowkit and Graykit back. After Hailstar almost drowns Reedfeather in the process, WindClan surrenders. When Reedfeather is lying motionless on the riverbank after Owlfur pulls him out of the water, Willowkit is afraid he's dead. When her father wakes up, though, she is relieved, and asks if she and Graykit were going back home, referring to WindClan. When they find out they are going to stay with RiverClan, Willowkit and Graykit are thrilled to be with Fallowtail again, and soon settle back into life with the Clan they were born in. All the two kits ever say about their time in WindClan is that they had been treated well, but were glad to be home again.


 * Willowkit is made an apprentice, Willowpaw, and her mentor is Owlfur, while Graypaw is apprenticed to Brightsky. On the same day, she travels to the Moonstone with Hailstar, Owlfur, Brightsky, Graypaw, and Crookedpaw. She's a little daunted by traveling so far on her first day as an apprentice, but doesn't complain. Willowpaw worries that WindClan will try to steal her and Graypaw again, but she is reminded by Graypaw that WindClan wouldn’t dare stop them from visiting the Moonstone. As they reach Highstones, the patrol stops to hunt. When Willowpaw catches a rabbit, the others are shocked, because only WindClan cats eat rabbits. Willowpaw shrugs, and says it is still food.


 * Hailstar leads a patrol according to a plan devised by Crookedpaw to attack a dog in their territory, but when the dog sees the patrol, it runs away, toward the place Willowpaw, Owlfur, Brightsky, and Graypaw are training. The dog corners Willowpaw against a tree, and Crookedpaw attacks the dog, luring it away and saving her life. She is very grateful toward him, and from then on, she is a very loyal, close friend to him.


 * While out fishing, Oakheart teases Crookedpaw about Willowpaw's obvious affection for him, mimicking her concern over him, and telling him she said she was going to move her nest so she could sleep beside him. Despite this, Crookedpaw thinks that even if he did like Willowpaw, he couldn’t see why she’d ever fall in love with him because of how his broken jaw had distorted his face.


 * Willowpaw and Oakheart congratulate the newly named Crookedjaw shortly after his ceremony, saying she’d miss him in the apprentices' den. Willowpaw agrees with Oakheart that they believe in Crookedjaw even if Rainflower, his mother, does not.


 * Willowpaw is regarded by Mapleshade, the dark cat Crookedjaw trains with in dreams, as a distraction to his destiny to be a great warrior and leader, and often discourages him from loving or continuing to be friends with her. However, Crookedjaw ignores her and nurtures his relationship with Willowpaw.


 * When it is time for Willowpaw and Graypaw's warrior assessment, Crookedjaw tries to teach Willowpaw how to stalk a bird. The crouch is uncomfortable to Willowpaw, and she says in frustration that ThunderClan hunts birds, not RiverClan, after she falls over onto her side. Crookedjaw reminds her they couldn't fish when the river was frozen in leaf-bare, and they had to rely on birds instead. Willowpaw is frightened at the idea that Owlfur might expect her to catch a bird when she never had before, and insists she would fail the assessment. Crookedjaw realizes he had left an important part of the move out, and when he tells her what to do again, she quickly understands.


 * Willowpaw returns to camp with Owlfur after her assessment, charging down the slope with Graypaw, exclaiming they had passed and were going to be made warriors, Graypaw catching a trout and Willowpaw catching a blackbird. They are greeted by a grim, grief-stricken camp, and are informed of Brightsky and three of her newborn kits’ deaths. Shortly afterward, their warrior ceremony begins. Willowpaw murmurs she hadn’t wanted it to happen like this, but shortly afterward, she is given her warrior name, Willowbreeze, in honor of WindClan, while Graypaw is named Graypool in honor of RiverClan. Fallowtail had suggested the names to Hailstar, to remind her daughters of their heritage.


 * Willowbreeze goes out on patrol with Crookedjaw, Voleclaw, Oakheart, Graypool, and Petaldust when a Twoleg kit carrying a bright yellow ball rolls it away from itself. Only Crookedjaw can see Mapleshade approach the ball and nudge it toward the warriors’ hiding place. A full-grown Twoleg runs after the kit and spots the patrol. Willowbreeze is backed up against the fence, terrified. The Twoleg picks her up by her scruff and carries her back to their pelt-dens, to the patrol’s dismay. Graypool and Crookedjaw are distraught, and Fallowtail is furious with Hailstar when he refuses to rescue her until the following day. He says this because they had just lost a fight against ThunderClan, and were weakened by their wounds from it. Crookedjaw and Graypool go out at night on their own and spot Willowbreeze inside the pelt-dens, locked in a trap. Willowbreeze tells them she couldn't get the flaps at the top open, and as they attempt to get it open, they knock the trap over. The fall knocks a space between the flaps, and Willowbreeze tries to force her way out. As the Twolegs awaken, Crookedjaw and Graypool help her out, and they escape.


 * Willowbreeze is often seen hunting and talking with Crookedjaw. The two develop a close bond as friends and mates, even as Crookedjaw progresses from a warrior to Clan leader, Crookedstar. Willowbreeze is shown to still be good friends with her sister as well; when Graypool adopts Mistykit and Stonekit, Willowbreeze is seen blocking nosy Clanmates from going inside the nursery. Once, Voleclaw mentions to Crookedstar that she'd be a good mother herself one day.


 * Later, Willowbreeze takes Crookedstar out on a walk, where she tells him she’s pregnant with his kits. He’s thrilled, and tells her she should move to the nursery at once, thinking of all the queens who had lost their kits in the past. He later tells the rest of the Clan in excitement.


 * Close to the end of her pregnancy, Willowbreeze begins to develop a cough she blames on a feather she swallowed. Brambleberry decides to give her herbs anyway, but Crookedstar is worried that, despite Brambleberry's light attitude, Willowbreeze's cough might be something more serious than she was making it out to be. He plans to talk to her in private later on, when Willowbreeze starts to kit. Brambleberry calls her apprentice, Mudfur, over to help. They allow Sunfish to watch, since she would be kitting soon as well. To comfort his brother while Willowbreeze is in the nursery, Oakheart begins to tell Crookedstar of how he'd seen her defeat an enemy warrior with a single blow, and she could hold her breath underwater for even longer than Rippleclaw.


 * Mudfur announces that Willowbreeze had given birth to three she-kits, and tells Crookedstar to come see them. Willowbreeze is seen coughing and tired after the birth. Crookedstar sits with her for a moment, and thinks of how his and Willowbreeze’s kits were beautiful and a blessing. The next morning, he goes to take Willowbreeze a fish to eat, but Mudfur stops him from entering, saying she was a little sick, but that their kits were fine. She could be heard coughing inside. After arguing with Mudfur, Crookedstar calls to her to get better soon, and that he loved them.


 * Willowbreeze’s sickness grows steadily worse, and it soon spreads to two of her kits. The catmint used to treat her doesn't help, and Brambleberry says she has greencough. Crookedstar is finally allowed inside to see her because Willowbreeze wanted to name their kits. As Willowbreeze lies in her nest, she apologizes to her mate for leaving him alone to raise their kits. Crookedstar protests, but Willowbreeze continues, saying he will be a good father, and expresses her gratitude toward Hailstar for bringing her back from WindClan. She and Crookedstar name their kits Minnowkit, Willowkit, and Silverkit. Willowbreeze sighs, and begins to fall asleep. Crookedstar crawls into the nest with her, promising to keep her warm. It's also mentioned that Willowkit was named after her mother, Willowbreeze.


 * The next morning, Brambleberry tells him that Willowbreeze died in the night. Crookedstar is distraught, and runs out of the nursery, yowling to Mapleshade if this was another one of her “sacrifices” so he could be the best warrior possible, he took back his promise to her. Oakheart runs over to comfort him.


 * Minnowkit and Willowkit also die soon afterward from the same sickness that killed Willowbreeze. Silverkit is their only surviving daughter left to be raised by Crookedstar; at first, he ignores her, scared to become attached to her in case he loses her like Willowbreeze and all the other cats he had loved. Oakheart tries to make him see he was doing the wrong thing, and the two scuffle, but Crookedstar sees he needed to be there for Silverkit, and raises her from then on. Even as a warrior, Silverstream, she is stated to still be very close with her father.


 * Willowbreeze appears after Crookedstar dies during the manga at the end of the book. She greets him gently, and tells him she'd been waiting for him. Willowbreeze and his family help guide him to StarClan.

Bluestar's Prophecy

 * Her mother is Fallowtail, and her sister is Graykit.

Battles of the Clans

 * Willowkit and her sister, Graykit, are taken from their mother, Fallowtail, in RiverClan, to live with their father, Reedfeather, in WindClan. Hailstar sees how distraught Fallowtail is over the loss of her kits, and that she is slowly dying of grief. Hailstar sees this was too terrible a punishment for her to bear, even if she had broken the warrior code by falling in love with Reedfeather, and decides to take a patrol to WindClan and steal Willowkit and Graykit back. He chooses Timberfur, Owlfur, Rippleclaw, and Ottersplash to come with him.


 * They go to WindClan camp, and then into its nursery. In the far corner, Owlfur finds Graykit and Willowkit, and alerts Hailstar to this. Hailstar scoops up one of the kits, unsure of whether he's holding Willowkit or Graykit. One of the queens threatens if they didn't put the kit back down, they would regret it. Ottersplash hisses that Graykit and Willowkit belonged to RiverClan, as WindClan knew very well. They are confronted by Heatherstar, who hisses they couldn't steal their kits. Hailstar sets the kit he was carrying down and says they needed to be with their mother. They argue for a while, until Timberfur and Rippleclaw threaten to kill the guards if they didn't let them take Willowkit and Graykit. Heatherstar says, a little sadly, that threatening to kill was not how her Clan fought. Hailstar replies that it was theirs when they had to, picking either Willowkit or Graykit up again, while Ottersplash picks up the other, and they leave camp.


 * No sooner have they left camp than WindClan pursue them. Hailstar isn't surprised, thinking that his Clan would've done the same. They run as fast as they can, but the kit Hailstar had with him seemed very heavy, and when Owlfur tries to take her from him without slowing down, they wind up launching her into the air. Luckily, Timberfur catches her and races ahead. Hailstar orders them to get the kits into the river; Ottersplash helps Timberfur with his kit and Owlfur helped Rippleclaw with his as they crawl into the river. They place the kits on the stones across the river, and turn to face WindClan. The opposing Clans attack each other, but the fight ends abruptly when Hailstar almost drowns Reedfeather. After this, WindClan acknowledge they have lost the fight, and one of the warriors spits that he hoped Willowkit and Graykit were worth Reedfeather almost losing his life. Hailstar thinks of Fallowtail, and says they were.


 * Much later on, when Willowpaw and Graypaw are nearing the end of their training, Fallowtail speaks to Hailstar. She says she wished Willowpaw's warrior name to be Willowbreeze and Graypaw to be Graypool, so they would always remember they carried the strength of both the wind and the water. Hailstar sees that even if he had gotten Willowpaw and Graypaw back, she still loved Reedfeather. Later, he does as Fallowtail asked, and gives Willowpaw the new name of Willowbreeze and Graypaw becomes Graypool.

Trivia

 * She is half WindClan, because her father, Reedfeather, is a WindClan cat.
 * When she is shown greeting Crookedstar at the end of Crookedstar's Promise, she's shown as a solid colored cat.
 * She is mistakingly called Willowkit despite already having earned her apprentice name.

Members
Mate:
 * Crookedstar:

Daughters:
 * Silverstream:
 * Willowkit:
 * Minnowkit:

Mother:
 * Fallowtail:

Father:
 * Reedfeather:

Sister:
 * Graypool:

Uncle:
 * Cedarpelt:

Nephews/Nieces:
 * Splashkit:
 * Morningkit:

Cousins:
 * Sunfish:
 * Frogleap:
 * Vixenkit:
 * Grasskit:

Grandson:
 * Stormfur:

Granddaughter:
 * Feathertail:

Great-Grandson:
 * Pine That Clings to Rock:

Great-Granddaughter:
 * Lark That Sings at Dawn: