Deputy

A deputy is a warrior who is second in command to the leader, helping him or her in their tasks and replacing them immediately after their death or retirement. Also, when the leader is sick, the deputy will replace them until they recover and they will take their place at Gatherings if needed.

Appointment

The leader of a Clan must decide on a new deputy before moonhigh on the night that the old deputy has either died or become leader,and also must state his or her name before the body of the old deputy (if the previous deputy was deceased- if not, they say the new deputy's name before StarClan) so the spirit of the old deputy will hear and approve the leader's choice of the new deputy. One exception to this rule is Fireheart, as Bluestar did not follow through with the ceremony right away. This lead to widespread rumours that Fireheart was unfit to be deputy.

When the leader dies or retires, the current deputy will become the new leader, unless a rebellion starts, or the leader changes the deputy before death.

A warrior may not become deputy unless he or she has mentored at least one apprentice. This was added to the warrior code after Acorntail of WindClan was appointed deputy under Featherstar. However, he was convinced he was the wrong cat and Featherstar suggested that he should mentor an apprentice to get used to giving orders and having authority. She later proposed this to add to the warrior code and the rest of the Clans gave their agreement.

Deputy Ceremony

Usually, when a leader appoints a new deputy, it is because of the death of their previous deputy. If this is the case, this is how the ceremony words usually go:

Leader: "I say these words before the body of (name of former deputy), that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice.The new deputy of (name of clan) will be (warrior's name)!"

Retirement

A deputy can resign from their position if he or she wishes to do so, for instance to retire as an elder (depending on age), such as Tawnyspots in Bluestar's Prophecy. They can also be deposed by the leader if considered unfit for the position (like Tallstar deposing Mudclaw in Starlight when he died). In either of the cases, a new deputy will be named before moonhigh. A deputy can also be banished (example: Tigerclaw in Forest of Secrets).

Tasks

Tasks of a Clan deputy include:

• Assisting the leader in their tasks; they are a sort of "apprentice leader"
• Assigning border patrols, listening to their reports and assigning hunting patrols
• Organizing warrior trainings to keep up their skills (like Brambleclaw did in Twilight)
• Making reports to the Clan leader
• Substitute for the Clan leader on Gatherings and in battles if they are unavailable (like Fireheart did for Bluestar after the fire)
• As a deputy is also a warrior, they are expected to carry out warrior tasks as well (patrolling, hunting, mentoring etc.). They do not have a den of their own, but sleep with the other warriors.

If the deputy is unavailable, the senior warriors will distribute the deputy's tasks between them (like the ThunderClan senior warriors did when Graystripe was away, or when Tawnyspots was sick during Bluestar's Prophecy).

List of Deputies by Clan

ThunderClan

Deputy	Later Name	Entered Rank In	Left Rank In
Lightningtail	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Owleyes	Owlstar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Vinetail	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Daisyheart	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Greeneyes	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Leafstorm	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Seedpelt	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Sunfall	Sunstar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Bluestar's Prophecy
Tawnyspots	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Adderfang (temporary)	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Bluefur	Bluestar	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Redtail	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Into the Wild
Lionheart	None	Into the Wild	Into the Wild
Tigerclaw	Tigerstar (ShadowClan)	Into the Wild	Forest of Secrets
Fireheart	Firestar	Forest of Secrets	The Darkest Hour
Whitestorm	None	The Darkest Hour	The Darkest Hour
Graystripe	None	The Darkest Hour	Sunset
Brambleclaw	None	Sunset	Outcast
Graystripe (temporary)	None	Outcast	Eclipse
Brambleclaw	None	Eclipse	---

WindClan

Deputy	Later Name	Entered Rank In	Left Rank In
Gorsefur	Gorsestar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Stonetail	Stonestar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Mudpuddle	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Pebblefur	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Acorntail	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Milkfur	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Reedfeather	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Bluestar's Prophecy
Talltail	Tallstar	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Deadfoot	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	The Darkest Hour
Mudclaw	None	Before Firestar's Quest	Starlight
Onewhisker	Onestar	Starlight	Starlight (technically Twilight)
Ashfoot	None	Starlight (technically Twilight)	---

RiverClan

Deputy	Later Name	Entered Rank In	Left Rank In
Sloefur	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Shellheart	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Bluestar's Prophecy
Crookedjaw	Crookedstar	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Timberfur	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Oakheart	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Into the Wild
Leopardfur	Leopardstar	Into the Wild	A Dangerous Path
Stonefur	None	A Dangerous Path	The Darkest Hour
Mistyfoot	None	The Darkest Hour	Moonrise
Hawkfrost (temporary)	None	Moonrise	Dawn
Mistyfoot	Mistystar	Dawn	Fading Echoes
Reedwhisker	None	Fading Echoes	---

ShadowClan

Deputy	Later Name	Entered Rank In	Left Rank In
Lakestorm	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Sunnytail	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Brightwhisker	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Marshscar	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Snaketail	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Stonetooth	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Bluestar's Prophecy
Raggedpelt	Raggedstar	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Foxheart	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Cloudpelt	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Brokentail	Brokenstar	Bluestar's Prophecy	Bluestar's Prophecy
Blackfoot	None	Bluestar's Prophecy	Into the Wild
Cinderfur	None	Fire and Ice	Rising Storm
Blackfoot	Blackstar	Rising Storm	The Darkest Hour
Russetfur	None	Before Firestar's Quest	Fading Echoes
Rowanclaw	None	Night Whispers	---

SkyClan

Deputy	Later Name	Entered Rank In	Left Rank In
Maplewhisker	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Raincloud	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Petalfall	Unknown	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Cloudstorm	Cloudstar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Buzzardtail	Buzzardstar	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Honeyleaf	None	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance	Before Mapleshade's Vengeance
Sharpclaw	None	Firestar's Quest	---

See Also

• List of deputies
• Deputy Ceremony

References & Citations