Nettlebreeze

"Don't go getting any fancy ideas, kits becoming apprentices at four moons? It would never have happened in my day."

— Nettlebreeze about Goosepaw's early apprenticeship in Goosefeather's Curse, chapter 4

Nettlebreeze
The pixel artwork is fanart based on the canon description; undefined traits are left to the artist's interpretation.
Affiliations
Current:	StarClan
Past:	ThunderClan
Biographical information
Cause of death:	Starvation
Names
Kit:	Unknown
Apprentice:	Nettlepaw
Warrior:	Nettlebreeze
Elder:	Nettlebreeze
StarClan resident:	Unknown
Kin
Mother:	Dawnfeather
Education
Mentor:	Deerdapple
Apprentice:	Flashnose
Book appearances
Living	Mapleshade's Vengeance, Pinestar's Choice, Goosefeather's Curse
Living	Mapleshade's Vengeance, Pinestar's Choice, Goosefeather's Curse

Nettlebreeze is a ragged ginger tom with cloudy, rheumy eyes.

Nettlebreeze was a ThunderClan elder under Oakstar's and Doestar's leaderships in the forest territories. Born to Dawnfeather, he later became an apprentice as Nettlepaw, under the mentorship of Deerdapple. During Mapleshade's exile, he interacted with her and brought her some herbs, and told her about how Frecklewish watched her kits drown in the river. He later earned his warrior name, Nettlebreeze, and mentored Flashnose. He retired to the elders' den and told kits stories about Mapleshade. Nettlebreeze died of starvation during the Great Hunger and joined the ranks of StarClan.

History

In the Novellas

Mapleshade's Vengeance

"I was collecting these for Ravenwing, but I think you need them more. You don't smell good, Mapleshade. Please eat them. I... I'm sorry about your kits. Frecklewish saw what happened in the river, but I hoped you made it to the other side."

―Nettlepaw to Mapleshade ^{Mapleshade's Vengeance, page 43}

Nettlepaw wakes up Mapleshade, telling her that Beetail wants her to go on the dawn patrol. When Mapleshade finally gets up, Nettlepaw demands to know why she is so slow. When Mapleshade asks Nettlepaw what his mentor, Deerdapple would do if he talked to her like that, and he admits that she would probably make him go and search the elders for ticks for a moon.

He peeks into the hollow where Mapleshade seeks refuge after being exiled. He asks her what she was still doing here and reminds her that she isn't meant to be in their territory anymore. Mapleshade bitterly tells him to pretend that she is dead. When Nettlepaw asks her about the kits, Mapleshade tells him they have drowned. Nettlepaw is dismayed and Mapleshade tells the apprentice to leave her alone. Frightened, Nettlepaw flees.

Nettlepaw returns later with a bundle of herbs in his jaws, awkwardly explaining that he was supposed to take them to Ravenwing, but decided that Mapleshade might need them more. While Mapleshade eats the herbs, Nettlepaw tells Mapleshade that Frecklewish had watched the kits cross the river. Furious, Mapleshade asks Nettlepaw why Frecklewish didn't help her kits, and why she left Mapleshade's kits to die. Nettlepaw is frightened, and he tells her that Frecklewish saw RiverClan cats helping them already. He leaves when a cat calls out his name, asking for him to come.

Pinestar's Choice

Nettlebreeze is a ThunderClan warrior mentoring Flashpaw. When Pinepaw returns from his first journey around the territory, he looks up from the water he's drinking across the clearing and asks the apprentice how it was. He tells the apprentices the story of Mapleshade, a former ThunderClan warrior who wanted revenge for the death of her kits. He continues that Mapleshade had come back for vengeance on Frecklewish. Pinepaw shivers, having heard this story many times, though the apprentices still ask for him to tell it. Daisypaw begs Nettlebreeze to tell what happened when Mapleshade found Frecklewish, and he obliges, crouching down and raising his back fur as he says Mapleshade found her by Snakerocks, forcing her to where the snakes were, and one of them spat venom in Frecklewish's eyes.

He pauses and screws up his eyes in an imitation of her, then says that Bloomheart had found her, grief in his tone when he informs them there had been nothing he could do, since Mapleshade had killed Ravenwing, the medicine cat at the time, so Frecklewish died a few days later. Nettlebreeze shakes his head, continuing that it may have been a mercy from StarClan, because if she had lived she would have been blind and driven mad by the horrors that she had seen. He finishes the story, stating that if Mapleshade didn't go to the Place of No Stars, there was no justice, and the apprentices echo his words. Fallowsong then pushes her way into the den, scolding him because she claims he keeps giving the apprentices bad dreams.

Fallowsong informs them she had come to take the group on a hunting patrol anyway, as most of their mentors had gone on a border patrol. Both Nettlebreeze and Fallowsong lead them to the pine trees near the treecutplace. When Oakstar chooses cats to go on a patrol to scare off the intruding kittypets, Flashpaw points out that he hadn't picked her or Nettlebreeze to go. Nettlebreeze grunts that his days of running around Twolegplace are over, and she can go if she wishes. Rooktail offers to keep an eye on her for him, and Nettlebreeze nods his thanks. Moons later, after the great starvation that tears through ThunderClan, Pineheart feels sorrow for his former mentor Mistpelt when he remembers she had watched Nettlebreeze, her denmate, starve to death. He also remembers him alongside Hollypelt, Stagleap, Harepounce, and Flashnose, after Mumblefoot murmurs that StarClan had spared them.

Goosefeather's Curse

Nettlebreeze: "Don't you know the warrior code? Elders and kits eat first!"

Goosekit: "I am a kit!"

^{Goosefeather's Curse, page 18}

Nettlebreeze is now an elder. Goosekit grabs a mouse and Nettlebreeze looms over him. Adderpaw tells Nettlebreeze to watch out, as there is plenty of prey. Nettlebreeze turns his cloudy gaze onto the apprentice and asks him if he said something. A tick covered in a lump of mouse bile falls onto Goosekit's head. Goosekit protests at Nettlebreeze, saying that the mouse is his. The elder sniffs Goosekit and asks him if he knew the warrior code, as it says elders and kits eat first. While Goosekit protests, Nettlebreeze tells him to leave him to eat in peace. Goosekit fluffs up his fur indignantly, but he knew better than to argue with the oldest cat in ThunderClan.

Cloudberry questions Goosekit about the mysterious cats he is seeing around camp. Goosekit tells Cloudberry that he doesn't recognize the cat sitting next to Nettlebreeze. He describes the strange cat with pale orange fur, a white belly and four white paws. Goosekit adds that she is watching the elder like a kit, and feels amused at the thought of the ancient tom ever being in the nursery. Cloudberry nudges Goosekit, telling him to ask the elder her name.

As they ask him about the cat, Nettlebreeze's fur rises up and he tells them that she is his mother, Dawnfeather. He asks them if she spoken to them from StarClan. The old medicine cat tells him that she asked her to tell him that she is watching over Nettlebreeze. The old tom grunts that it's a nice thought, and he closes his rheumy eyes. Goosekit exclaims that the cat was beside Nettlebreeze all the time, and wonders why he couldn't see it.

At Goosepaw's apprentice ceremony, Nettlebreeze lurches past him and comments that early apprenticeship wouldn't have happened in his days. Goosepaw scowls at the elder, but Moonkit reassures him that Nettlebreeze was probably all grumpy because of the ticks. During one of Goosepaw's training sessions, Pearnose tells Goosepaw to take a few herbs back to camp and check on Nettlebreeze for ticks. She also tells Goosepaw that he didn't use enough mouse bile yesterday. Goosefeather promotes into a medicine cat, and is with Cloudberry, choosing a soft piece of prey for Nettlebreeze, who is complaining about a toothache.

During leaf-bare, Nettlebreeze is mentioned to have slipped into a slumber from which he couldn't awake, sprawled in the middle of the clearing whilst coming back from the dirtplace. A circle of StarClan cats had gathered around the dead tom. Swiftbreeze tells Goosefeather that he can't feel anything. He tells Swiftbreeze that he still deserves their respect. He picks up the elder's tail and places it over the ginger cat's back, telling Cloudberry that there is no such thing as bad luck, just destiny.

Character pixels

The pixel artwork is fanart based on the canon description; undefined traits are left to the artist's interpretation. Kit Version Apprentice Version Warrior Version Elder Version StarClan Version

Kin

Members

Mother:

Dawnfeather: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Appearances

• Mapleshade's Vengeance (First appearance)
• Goosefeather's Curse †
• Pinestar's Choice †

Trivia

Continuity

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

• On Vicky's Facebook, Nettlebreeze has blue eyes.

Quotes

Nettlepaw: "Mapleshade! You're not supposed to be here!"

Mapleshade: "Then pretend I'm dead. I may as well be."

^{Mapleshade's Vengeance, chapter 5}

Nettlebreeze: "That's my mother, Dawnfeather. Why are you asking about her? Has she spoken to you from StarClan?"

Goosekit: "StarClan? But she's right-"

^{Goosefeather's Curse, chapter 3}