[[description]]
Heatherpaw is a "light brown tabby she-cat" with "eyes the color of a late-afternoon sky", as she is described in The Sight when seen by Lionpaw. Her eyes, which seem to be her most distinguishing feature, are also described as "smoky blue" and "the color of heather". (Note that I couldn't find a picture with the right color eyes.)
Heatherpaw is an apprentice of WindClan and is being mentored by Crowfeather. She seems to be good friends with Crowfeather and Nightcloud's son, Breezepaw.
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[[stats]]
NAME: Heatherpaw
AGE: In The Sight, Heatherpaw is seven and a half moons old.
FUR: Light brown tabby
EYES: smoky blue; heather-colored
CLAN: WindClan
RANK: Apprentice (Mentor: Crowfeather)
KIN: Unknown (As Of Yet) Possibilities - many cats in WindClan have brown fur. The only "light tabby", however, is Owlwhisker. Tornear is described as being "tabby", and Onestar is a "brown tabby". No she-cats are listed with light tabby or brown fur. No cats are listed with blue eyes, except for Gorsetail, a pale gray-and-white queen.
FRIENDS: Heatherpaw is seen often with Breezepaw of WindClan and Lionpaw of ThunderClan.
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[[history.of.appearances]]
There will be spoilers ahead if you have not read "The Sight" or "Dark River".
Heatherpaw arrives in the Warriors series in The Sight, the first book in the Power of Three series. It is her second Gathering and Lionpaw and Hollypaw's first. She introduces herself to Lionpaw by asking, "Are you Jaypaw's brother?" and proceeding to inquire about the health and location of Lionpaw's brother Jaypaw, who was saved by Heatherpaw's mentor Crowfeather from drowning on RiverClan territory. She "dipped her head to Lionpaw" as ThunderClan passed.
She is seen next when WindClan is attacked by dogs and ThunderClan warriors rush to the rescue. Lionpaw calls out to her and she stumbles over a rabbit hole, grabbing a dog's attention. She is saved as Lionpaw springs toward the dog and grips onto its flank. Heatherpaw escapes but returns to help Lionpaw with the yowling dog. She is described as having a "soft gaze" and a "soft voice" when speaking with Lionpaw. In front of WindClan she gives him credit for saving her life and minutes later asks him if he needs herbs for his wounds. He refuses, but that is when the connection is established between them. Lionpaw leaves with "the memory of heather-colored eyes and a soft voice asking if he needed herbs".
Later, when Squirrelflight establishes the idea of a daytime Gathering, Heatherpaw faces off against Hollypaw in a contest to see which apprentice had the best fighting skills. She loses after a valiant fight, and is a sweet and good sport about the loss afterwards. She congratulates Hollypaw on a "great move at the end", and then is angry when Hollypaw is insulted by the ShadowClan apprentice Ivypaw; she "narrowed her eyes at Ivypaw" when Ivypaw says that Hollypaw would not have beaten her so easily. At the daytime Gathering, however, she does win in a climbing contest after climbing to the top of the Sky Oak; for this she is rewarded by Onestar with the fattest rabbit.
In her first appearance in Dark River, Heatherpaw is joyous and excited to see Lionpaw at a Gathering. She is upset that he doesn't seem as pleased to see her, and comments that she was on her best behavior all moon so she couldn't be left behind at the WindClan camp. She seems just as happy, maybe even more so, to see Jaypaw, who had not attended the last two Gatherings. Her eyes shine as she makes the comment, "You brought your brother!" to which Jaypaw responds hotly. She apologizes, flustered. Crowfeather and Breezepaw later guide her away from the ThunderClan cats, but after the Gathering, Heatherpaw rushes up to Lionpaw and asks him if he wants to meet up before the next Gathering. She convinces him that it will be exciting and won't hurt anyone.
They are seen later tossing a moss ball back and forth across the border. Hollypaw catches them at it and Lionpaw becomes angry and frustrated, accusing his sister of spying. Heatherpaw sighs when Lionpaw tells her he has to go, and the two of them brush muzzles before they part.
Later, at night, Heatherpaw comes to the ThunderClan camp and riskily fetches Lionpaw to show him something she has discovered. She leads him into a network of tunnels that she found when she chased a mouse down into a crack and found that the crack opened up into a tunnel. She realized that the tunnels led into ThunderClan territory and tells Lionpaw it can be "their place" and rubs her muzzle along Lionpaw's cheek. They form "DarkClan", in which she is Heatherstar and he is Lionclaw, warrior and deputy. She tells him in one of the many episodes in the tunnel that she "doesn't want to lose" him. She makes a pledge to him that she could never go into battle against him; he avoids saying the same, saying "we'll just hope we never have to." After many meetings in the tunnels, Lionpaw tells Heatherpaw that they can't meet anymore. Heatherpaw is devastated; she flinches at his words and grows angry. She tells him, "I just hope being a warrior is worth it!"
When three kits wander away from WindClan, Heatherpaw and Breezepaw go searching for them. She leads him into the tunnels and, when Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw enter, asks, "H-how did you know about this place?", feigning ignorance. After wandering through the tunnels, Jaypaw finds the kits, and they go back to the main cavern, only to find that their way out is blocked. They quickly get frightened, the panic rising. Lionpaw whispers in Heatherpaw's ear, "Our time together will be something I remember even when I'm with StarClan." She replies, "There will be no borders between us there."
At the end of the book, Lionpaw's rejection of Heatherpaw is complete as he tells her flatly that he would have helped any cat - that his assistance had nothing to do with her. With "pain flash[ing] in her eyes", she tells him he's going to be a great warrior, and she leaves.
So far in the series, this is the last time Heatherpaw appears.