Brindleface

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

"With this life I give you protection. Use it well to care for your Clan as a mother cares for her kits."

— Brindleface to Fireheart in The Darkest Hour, page 50

Brindleface

Affiliations

Current:

StarClan^[1]

Past:

ThunderClan^[2]

Biographical information

Age:

Approx. 72 moons (6 years)^[3] at death^[4]

Cause of death:

Killed by Tigerstar^[4]

Names

Kit:

Brindlekit^[3]

Apprentice:

Brindlepaw^[5]

Warrior:

Brindleface^[6]

Queen:

Brindleface^[2]

StarClan resident:

Brindleface^[1]

Kin

Siblings:

Unnamed kits

Foster brother:

Whitestorm

Half-brother:

Longtail

Mates:

Redtail, Whitestorm

Daughter:

Ferncloud

Sons:

Ashfur, unnamed tom

Kit:

Unnamed kit

Foster son:

Cloudtail

Education

Mentor:

Stormtail^[5]

Book appearances

Living

Bluestar's Prophecy, Spottedleaf's Heart, Redtail's Debt, Into the Wild, Fire and Ice, Forest of Secrets, Tigerclaw's Fury, Rising Storm, A Dangerous Path

Dead

The Darkest Hour, The Last Hope

Brindleface is a pale gray^[7] tabby she-cat^[2] with darker flecks^[7] and green eyes.^[8]

Brindleface was a ThunderClan warrior under Sunstar's and Bluestar's leaderships in the forest territories. She was born as Brindlekit to Robinwing and Fuzzypelt, along with her sister, Frostfur. Her mother fostered Whitestorm after his mother, Snowfur, died. As an apprentice, Brindlepaw trained under Stormtail until she earned her warrior name, Brindleface. She later gave birth to four kits, including Ashfur and Ferncloud, and also fostered Cloudtail when he was brought to the Clan by Fireheart. When Tigerstar executed his plan to lead a dog pack to attack ThunderClan, he killed Brindleface to give them a taste of cat blood. She ascended to StarClan and gave Firestar one of his nine lives, the life for the love of a mother.

History

In The Prophecies Begin arc

Into the Wild

Brindleface is a ThunderClan queen. She participates in the battle when ShadowClan attacks ThunderClan's camp, even though she is close to kitting, and fights bitterly. She is shocked to hear that Blackfoot, the ShadowClan deputy, had stolen kits. Later, Brindleface has four kits, but they go unnamed. When the kits are born, Firepaw asks how she's feeling, and Brindleface replies she's a little bit tired. She appears to be worried about Yellowfang being in the Clan, along with with other queens.

Fire and Ice

When Fireheart is walking across the clearing, she comes out of the nursery, followed by her kits. After one of her own kits die of sickness, Frostfur brings Cloudkit for Brindleface to nurse. Cloudkit is Fireheart's nephew, brought to the Clan by the tom. Frostfur says she knows Cloudkit will never replace the kits she lost, but the kit would die without her, and Brindleface reluctantly agrees and gives in to her sister. When she is given Cloudkit, she nudges him closer to her with her paw. Fireheart notices her eyes soften, and is relieved. She assures Fireheart that she will keep Cloudkit safe.

After a Gathering, Brindleface tells Fireheart how Cloudkit has a cold but says that it was just a chill and Yellowfang gave him feverfew. Fireheart then asks Brindleface if she would come to the Clan gathering to hear what Bluestar had to say about the Gathering. Brindleface says she thinks she can come because her kits would be sleeping. In the battle with ShadowClan, she is seen bringing Cloudkit to safety. After the battle, she tells Cloudkit to hush when he asked if Clawface was dead. Later, she panics because Cloudkit and her other kits are gone. When everyone starts looking, she tells Fireheart that Frostfur went to tell Bluestar. When the kits are found, Brindleface takes Cloudkit back to camp.

Forest of Secrets

Brindleface speaks with Cloudkit about becoming an apprentice when Brightpaw and Thornpaw receive their apprentice names. Her kits and Cloudkit are playing outside of the nursery when Cloudkit strays away and almost gets eaten by a badger. Fortunately, he is saved by Fireheart, Sandstorm, and Brackenpaw.

Brindleface briefly steps outside of the nursery to sniff the air but then entered the nursery again as if she didn't like the taste of the air. She watches as her adopted kit, Cloudkit, becomes Cloudpaw. Before Cloudkit becomes an apprentice, Brindleface also tells Fireheart that Graystripe is getting in the queens' way because of all the time he spends visiting his kits, and says that they have been dropping hints and that Speckletail even asked Graystripe if he was expecting kits himself. She later fights alongside Speckletail against Jaggedtooth during the battle.

Rising Storm

Brindleface watches affectionately as her two kits tussle around on the ground. Fireheart thinks of how her kits are almost ready to leave the nursery, and how the queen had taken in Cloudpaw, Fireheart's nephew. Not much later, Brindleface speaks with Whitestorm, telling him that she thinks her kits are ready to begin training. She wants to tell Bluestar personally, but the leader has not visited the nursery in days.

After speaking with Bluestar, Fireheart goes to the nursery and tells Brindleface that her kits would be apprenticed soon. He then awkwardly asks who she would like as mentors, to which Brindleface replies that Bluestar would know best, unknowing to the fact that Bluestar had assigned Fireheart to pick their mentors. Later that day, Bluestar holds a ceremony for Fernpaw and Ashpaw as they sit next to their mother. That night, Brindleface returns to the warriors' den.

Brindleface is then seen preparing to lead a group of elders over to the river for water. She gathers them up at the fallen tree. After the fire that nearly destroyed ThunderClan, Brindleface is seen with Whitestorm, flanking Bluestar. She then frets over the fact that their forest had been destroyed and that most of the prey has run away. A few days later, Fireheart assigns her to stay and guard the camp while the Clan is away at the Gathering, in case of any attacks from Tigerclaw.

A Dangerous Path

She shares tongues with Frostfur by the warriors' den and not too long after, she is seen with Cinderpelt and Speckletail when a Clan meeting is called. Later, she and Speckletail are seen outside Cinderpelt's den. Brindleface is grooming Speckletail and comforting her for her kit, Snowkit, because he was taken by a hawk. She tells Fireheart to get a good night's sleep because he looks tired and he works too hard. Shortly after, Fireheart tells Sandstorm to take Brackenfur and Brindleface out on a patrol.

When Fireheart wants to go talk to Tallstar of WindClan because Bluestar thinks that WindClan was stealing prey, he sees Brindleface visiting the queens in the nursery. When they confronted WindClan, Brindleface exchanged glances with Dustpelt. She told Fireheart everything would be okay when Sandstorm walked away from Fireheart because she didn't like betraying her leader. Brindleface congratulates Cloudtail when he becomes a warrior.

She is murdered by Tigerstar to give the dog pack a taste for cat blood. Her body is left slaughtered just outside ThunderClan's camp at the end of the trail of rabbits. She is carried back to camp by Sandstorm and Cloudtail. Her kits, Ashpaw, and Fernpaw are devastated when she dies, as well as her foster son, Cloudtail; Cloudtail even suggests a raid on ShadowClan's camp in revenge for the death of Brindleface. Her kits avenge her death by helping to drive the dogs into the gorge. They succeed, but the leader of the Clan, Bluestar, is killed in the process.

The Darkest Hour

Brindleface is mentioned multiple times throughout the story by Fireheart. Fireheart remembered her when he was bringing Bluestar's body back to camp and how Tigerstar had murdered her. Fireheart thinks about Brindleface's limp body again when her kits, Ashpaw and Fernpaw, were talking about the dog pack. Later, when Fireheart tells the Clan when they would hold mourning rituals for Bluestar, Cloudtail cries out saying that they should attack ShadowClan because of what they did to Brindleface. Fireheart tells him that it was Tigerstar, not ShadowClan.

Brindleface is one of the cats who give Fireheart his nine lives. Along with his life, she gives him the gift of protection, so that he can protect his Clan as a queen would protect her kits. Fireheart expects the life to be warm and calm but is surprised when the life is shockingly excruciating, showing the power of something a queen would do to protect her kits. Fireheart also understands that Brindleface loves all of her kits very much, even Cloudtail, who was not hers, but a kittypet.

In the Omen of the Stars arc

The Last Hope

Brindleface appears in StarClan when Jayfeather visits the Moonpool. She tells Jayfeather it was good to see him and that something terrible has happened in StarClan. She then states that they can no longer see the Clans anymore. Soon after, Jayfeather tells her that he had to cross the ShadowClan border in StarClan and she tells him to be careful as Jayfeather pads away with Spottedleaf. Brindleface appears after Firestar's death. Jayfeather dips his head respectfully to her and recognizes her as the cat who gave Firestar one of his nine lives, the life for protection.

In the Super Editions

Moth Flight's Vision

Although unnamed, Moth Flight sees her giving Firestar one of his nine lives.

Bluestar's Prophecy

Brindleface is a kit named Brindlekit, born a half-moon after Whitekit. When Tigerkit and Whitekit take her and her sister, Frostkit, out of the nursery for the first time, they go and explore the medicine cat clearing. When Goosefeather sees them there, he begins to yowl and hiss at the kits, terrifying them. She's also seen in the nursery, playing with her denmates, and it is noted that she and her sister both look up to Tigerkit and Whitekit. It was said that they would do anything for their attention and that she had once convinced Whitekit that there was a fox in the dirtplace. When Whitekit's mother, Snowfur, dies, Brindlekit's mother, Robinwing, helps take care of him.

Later, Brindlekit becomes an apprentice, known as Brindlepaw. She is seen being trained by Stormtail. She later becomes a warrior, with the name of Brindleface. She later shares tongues with Bluestar, and wondering what was on her mind.

In the Novellas

Spottedleaf's Heart

Redkit sinks his teeth into Brindlekit's scruff during a game. She shrugs him off and complains that she doesn't want to be a rogue anymore. Fed up with Spottedkit, the other kits go off to play their own game. Then, when Thistleclaw arrives, she and Redkit jump onto his shoulders, knocking him over. Spottedkit orders them to get off the warrior, as they've hurt him. Brindlekit and the others watch anxiously. Brindlekit mews to Featherwhisker that she thought Thistleclaw had died.

During Spottedpaw's apprentice ceremony, Brindlepaw, Frostpaw, and Whitepaw are mentioned to be shouting her name the loudest. Later, though not mentioned by name, Spottedpaw sees the other apprentices bothering the elders with a game they're playing.

Redtail's Debt

Redpaw and Willowpaw are cleaning out the old moss from the warriors' den, and Willowpaw comments that at least they're not picking ticks off of the elders like Brindlepaw and Frostpaw. She and her sister pause from grooming the elders when Sparrowpelt's patrol returns to camp. Before the battle with RiverClan, Stormtail is seen giving Brindlepaw last-minute advice. As the sounds of a fight stop from the rival Clan's camp, Brindlepaw wonders if the fight is over, and she then hurries off with her sister and the rest of the warriors. Later, Frostfur meows she wishes she was going to the battle against WindClan, and Brindleface mews that she would teach them to keep their claws off of their prey.

In the Field Guides

Battles of the Clans

Brindleface is only mentioned briefly when Tigerstar is showing the kittypets around the forest battlegrounds. Vengeance for her untimely killing by the dogs is stated to be the reason her kits, Fernpaw and Ashpaw, run first in the race to the gorge against the dogs. She is mentioned once more in the story Graystripe Speaks: The Battle Against the Foxes. She is stated to have died in the dog attack as Graystripe compares Mousefur's safety to Brindleface's.

Trivia

Continuity

The following information is from sources considered non-canon or retconned.

On the Warriors website family tree, Brindleface's mate is Whitestorm and their kits are Ashfur, Ferncloud, Elderkit, and Tulipkit.^[9] Her littermates are also Chestnutkit and Cherrypaw.^[10] Brindleface is also mates with Redtail.^[11]