Sunfish

"[Whitepaw's] young. He still needs a mother, even though he doesn't realize it. I want you to watch over him as I would. Make sure he's okay. Care for him. [...] But if I don't [get better]. Promise me. Promise you'll take care of him."

— Sunfish to Leopardfur about her son Whitepaw in Leopardstar's Honor, page 104

Sunfish
The pixel artwork is fanart based on the canon description; undefined traits are left to the artist's interpretation.
Affiliations
Current:	StarClan
Past:	RiverClan
Biographical information
Age:	Approx. 60 moons (5 year(s)) old at death
Cause of death:	Infected wounds caused by Redtail
Names
Kit:	Sunkit
Apprentice:	Sunpaw
Warrior:	Sunfish
Queen:	Sunfish
StarClan resident:	Sunfish
Kin
Mother:	Lakeshine
Father:	Cedarpelt
Brother:	Frogleap
Mate:	Beetlenose
Daughters:	Vixenleap, Grasswhisker
Son:	Whiteclaw
Adopted daughter:	Silverstream
Education
Mentor:	Voleclaw
Book appearances
Living	Crookedstar's Promise, Leopardstar's Honor, Redtail's Debt, Onestar's Confession
Living	Crookedstar's Promise, Leopardstar's Honor, Redtail's Debt, Onestar's Confession
Dead	Leopardstar's Honor
Dead	Leopardstar's Honor

Sunfish is a pale gray she-cat with amber eyes.

Sunfish was a RiverClan warrior under Hailstar's and Crookedstar's leaderships in the forest territories. She was born as Sunkit to Cedarpelt and Lakeshine along with her brother, Frogkit. She also helped her denmate, Leopardkit, overcome her fear of water. As an apprentice, Sunpaw was mentored by Voleclaw. After she earned her warrior name, Sunfish gave birth to Beetlenose's kits, Vixenkit and Grasskit. Following Willowbreeze's death, Sunfish adopted Silverkit, Crookedstar's only surviving daughter. She and Beetlenose later had a second litter consisting of Whitekit. During a confrontation on Sunningrocks, Sunfish was left critically injured by Redtail and developed an infection from her wounds, ultimately succumbing to them, but not before asking her best friend Leopardfur to be the mother Whiteclaw would never have. Sunfish ascended to StarClan and later granted Leopardfur a life for friendship, cherishing the close bond she had with her best friend.

History

In the Super Editions

Crookedstar's Promise

Voleclaw: "Come on, let's see if we can find some birds."

Loudpaw: "Birds? It's not leaf-bare."

^{Crookedstar's Promise, page 379}

Sunkit is born to Lakeshine and Cedarpelt along with her brother, Frogkit. Willowpaw comments on their cuteness to Crookedpaw. Sunkit is first mentioned by Willowpaw, who tells Crookedpaw about Lakeshine's kits, and how she visited them and groomed one. Sunkit then becomes an apprentice, under the name of Sunpaw, and becomes Voleclaw's apprentice. She is seen with Crookedjaw talking about catching land prey as well as river prey, as Voleclaw suggests. She later earns her warrior name, Sunfish. When Hailstar brings a patrol to the barn, Sunfish darts out of her nest with her ears pricked wondering why they are hunting when the river is flowing fast. Hailstar tells her they are hunting mice, not fish. After the patrol encounters rats, Sunfish is on the rescue patrol, with Rippleclaw, Timberfur, Blackclaw and Owlfur. When they head back to camp, Sedgecreek, still wobbling from her bites, is propped up by Sunfish and Timberfur.

When Crookedstar is overwhelmed by Willowbreeze's announcement, Sunfish returns from a patrol consisting of Timberfur, Stonefur and herself. They'd patrolled Sunningrocks border, marking the scent line again. As Willowbreeze is making her own nest, Crookedstar scolds her, and Sunfish looks up from her nest, telling Crookedstar that she told Willowbreeze she should have asked for help. Later in her life, Sunfish takes a liking to Beetlenose. When Willowbreeze is kitting, Sunfish is seen, eyes glittering nervously, responding to Brambleberry about watching Willowbreeze have her kits. When Willowbreeze gets greencough, she is said to have moved to the elder's den for the time being. With Beetlenose, they have Vixenkit and Grasskit. Crookedstar feels happy when she has kits because they provide company for his own kit, Silverkit. She is mentioned to be a great foster mother to her.

When Sunstar claims Sunningrocks as ThunderClan's, she is astonished to hear the news, along with the rest of the Clan. After the protests die down about not fighting for Sunningrocks, she is chosen by Crookedstar to go on a hunting party led by Cedarpelt, along with Loudbelly and her littermate, Frogleap. During the comic, she cheerfully greets Crookedstar by saying that it's a fine day for a fishing lesson and he happily agrees with her.

Leopardstar's Honor

Sunfish: "I can't believe you used to be scared of the water."

Leopardfur: "I might still be scared of it if you hadn't put that carp on the other side."

^{Leopardstar's Honor, page 87}

Sunkit sticks up for her friend Leopardkit when the other kits tease her for being too bossy, and she later worries for hers after Leopardkit's demeanor changes following Skykit attempting to drown her. Sunpaw is later named an apprentice with Voleclaw as her mentor; Voleclaw instructs her to be mindful of the current while they swim in the river. Leopardpaw is teased for being a drypaw since she's afraid of swimming, though Sunpaw admonishes Skypaw for spreading gossip. After another failed attempt to swim, Leopardpaw confides with Sunpaw about her worries about disappointing her mentor Whitefang. To help her friend overcome her fear, Sunpaw lays a carp across the river to encourage Leopardpaw to swim for it. Sunpaw swims with her friend and congratulates her on overcoming her fear. While sharing prey with Skypaw and Leopardpaw, Sunpaw reveals her admiration for Beetlenose, much to her friends' confusion. She and the other apprentices agree to delay their warrior ceremonies until Skypaw passes hers.

Sunpaw becomes a warrior named Sunfish. Six moons later, Leopardfur grows irksome of Sunfish's fawning over Beetlenose, especially since the black warrior also also noticed her affection. Leopardfur nearly snaps at Sunfish for insisting that Beetlenose is always right, though decides against ruining her crush. After Hailstar's idea to catch mice in the nearby barn fail when rats arrive, Sunfish, Rippleclaw, Timberfur, Blackclaw, and Owlfur arrive to help their leader. She helps Brambleberry treat Sedgecreek's wound so she can check on Hailstar. However, Hailstar has died. Sunfish and Timberfur help Sedgecreek back to camp.

Moons later, Sunfish and Beetlenose have become mates. She has given birth to Vixenleap and Grasswhisker, and has also raised Silverstream, Crookedstar's daughter, after her mother's death. Sunfish has a new litter of Whitekit. While hunting with Leopardfur, Sunfish frets about leaving her only son alone with his father. When they return to camp, Whitekit excited informs them that Crookedstar will be naming him an apprentice tomorrow. She and Beetlenose watch proudly as Crookedstar names Whitekit an apprentice with Whitefang as his mentor. Leopardfur leads Sunfish, Whitefang, Frogleap, Stonefur, Ottersplash, and Rippleclaw to Sunningrocks, though Whitepaw complains that he's not allowed to come with. While they are marking the border, Sunfish detects fresh ThunderClan scent and a large ThunderClan patrol arrives with Redtail leading it. He provokes Leopardfur to instigating a fight, and Sunfish and Frogleap attack Lionheart. While fighting Redtail, the tortoiseshell tom slashes her flank and Lionheart kills Whitefang. RiverClan retreats from the rocks, with Ottersplash and Stonefur helping Sunfish back home.

Mudfur's herbs fail to successfully treat Sunfish's wounds and the gray she-cat slowly grows weaker. Realizing she is going to die soon, Sunfish requests for Leopardfur to watch over Whitepaw as a mother after she's gone. Leopardfur makes this promise, and Sunfish dies in the night. Whitepaw grows distracted following Sunfish's death, though Sunfish's brother Frogleap helps Leopardfur understand how to navigate her new relationship with her apprentice as both a mentor and a mother. Leopardfur continues to reflect about Sunfish's and Whitefang's deaths whenever she thinks how ThunderClan has reclaimed Sunningrocks from RiverClan, vowing her revenge. After Whiteclaw's death, Leopardfur experiences a nightmare of Sunfish blaming her for her son's death. During Leopardfur's leadership ceremony, Sunfish grants her a life for friendship.

In the Warriors App

Sunfish is briefly described as Leopardstar's former nursery denmate. She is the only cat that knew of Leopardstar's initial fear of water. To force her to get her paws wet, Sunfish would place prey on the far side of a stream, and say that Leopardstar could not eat until she waded through the water to fetch it.

Character pixels

Main images

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 Queen Version StarClan Version

Alternate images

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

Official art

Please do not edit this gallery Sunfish in Crookedstar's Promise Sunfish's icon on the Warriors family tree

Ceremonies

Lives granted

The following is a list of gifts Sunfish has granted during nine lives ceremonies:

Lives granted
Gift Receiver Friendship Leopardstar

Kin

Members

Mate:

Beetlenose: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Daughters:

Vixenleap: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Grasswhisker: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Son:

Whiteclaw: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Adopted daughter:

Silverstream: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Father:

Cedarpelt: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Mother:

Lakeshine: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Brother:

Frogleap: Deceased, verified StarClan member

See More

Aunt:

Fallowtail: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Uncle:

Marshcloud: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Niece:

Dawnflower: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Nephews:

Woodkit: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Robinkit: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Grandnephew:

Pebblefoot: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Grandnieces:

Minnowtail: Living (As of Ivypool's Heart)

Tumblekit: Deceased, verified StarClan member

First cousins:

Graypool: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Willowbreeze: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Trees

Genetic

Unknown

Hailstar ♂

Echomist ♀

Lakeshine ♀

Cedarpelt ♂

Marshcloud ♂

Fallowtail ♀

See more

Voleclaw ♂

Petaldust ♀

Beetlenose ♂

Sunfish ♀

Frogleap ♂

Mosspelt ♀

Emberdawn ♀

Whiteclaw ♂

Grasswhisker ♀

Vixenleap ♀

Robinkit ♂

Dawnflower ♀

Woodkit ♂

Willowshine ♀

Pebblefoot ♂

Minnowtail ♀

Tumblekit ♀

    = Tom

    = She-cat

    = Gender unknown

Adopted

Leopardstar ♀

Sunfish ♀

Whiteclaw ♂

Vixenleap ♀

Grasswhisker ♀

Silverstream ♀

    = Tom

    = She-cat

    = Gender unknown

Appearances

• Crookedstar's Promise (First appearance)
• Leopardstar's Honor †
• Redtail's Debt (Allegiance only)
• Onestar's Confession (Allegiance only)

Trivia

Interesting facts

• Sunpaw helping Leopardpaw overcome her fears of swimming was first touched upon in the Warriors App and was later included in Leopardstar's Honor.

Mistakes

• Despite being referred to as a solid, Sunfish was mistakenly described as a tabby partway through chapter four of Leopardstar's Honor, and on the Warrior Cats website family tree.
• In Crookedstar's Promise, it is said that Leopardstar's generation, including Sunfish, all decided to wait until Leopardkit reached her sixth moon before they were all apprenticed, but in Leopardstar's Honor, Leopardkit was apprenticed early at five moons old.
• She is shown to be alive after she died.

Continuity

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

• On Vicky's Facebook, Sunfish is a light brown she-cat with green eyes.

Quotes

Sunkit: "It's your turn to be ThunderClan!"

Frogkit: "I don't want to be stinky ThunderClan!"

^{Crookedstar's Promise, page 302}

Hailstar: "I used to hunt there when I was a 'paw. I haven't been there for years."

Crookedjaw: "We can catch some mice while we're there."

^{Crookedstar's Promise, page 423}

Sunpaw: "You did it!"

Leopardpaw: "I did, didn't I?"

^{Leopardstar's Honor, page 41}

Sunfish: "Beetlenose says mice are the hardest prey to catch. They move faster than fish. [...] Did you catch it?"

Leopardfur: "Does it look like I did?"

^{Leopardstar's Honor, page 58}

"Be gentle with him. Take his lead and guide him with love. Be patient with him, like Sunfish would."

―Frogleap to Leopardfur about Whitepaw's training ^{Leopardstar's Honor, page 121}

External links

• Exclusive! Leopardstar's Honor: Excerpt on the Warriors official website (backup link)
• Exclusive! Onestar's Confession: Excerpt on the Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiance only)