Pouncestep

Pouncestep is a gray tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes.
Pouncestep is a ShadowClan warrior under Tigerstar's leadership in the lake territories. Pouncekit was born to ShadowClan's deputy, Tigerheart, and a ThunderClan warrior, Dovewing, during their stay with the guardian cats, along with her siblings, Lightkit and Shadowkit. She and her family grew up in ShadowClan. She became an apprentice named Pouncepaw with Snowbird as her mentor, and later earned her warrior name, Pouncestep. She became mates with Flaxfoot and bore Redpaw and Sprucepaw.
==History==
===In the A Vision of Shadows arc===
====River of Fire====
:Dovewing introduces Alderheart to her kits, Pouncekit, Shadowkit and Lightkit. Violetshine, after seeing Berryheart, Sparrowtail, Rippletail, and Cloverfoot, asks where they came from. Dovewing explains that she went to a Twoleg nest to have her kits, and when they left, they ran into the former ShadowClan cats in a disheveled Twoleg nest. Shadowkit protests that Tigerheart is not dead, and says he had a dream of his father playing moss-ball with him and his sisters. Pouncekit and Lightkit stay silent. However, Puddleshine appears with Tigerheart, and Pouncekit follows her littermates and mother in greeting him. Puddleshine explains that Tigerheart, now Tigerstar, was resurrected to lead ShadowClan. However, upon learning that Dovewing intends to move to ShadowClan, Alderheart tries to persuade her to change her mind, saying that Ivypool now has kits. Dovewing speaks with Tigerstar, and she tells Alderheart that she will take one last visit to ThunderClan.
: On the trek to ThunderClan, the three littermates play and tussle with one another. Pouncekit stops play-fighting, and asks Dovewing and Alderheart if they will be made warriors. Dovewing gently explains that she is not old enough, which results in a groan from all three kits. However, they quickly get back to their fun, much to Alderheart's amusement. Dovewing sighs that she does not know where they get their energy from. 
:Upon arriving to ThunderClan, Pouncekit and her siblings meet their kin, Birchfall and Whitewing, who are Dovewing's father and mother. Ivypool streaks through the crowd to greet Dovewing, with her own kits wriggling through the crowd to find their mother. Ivypool notices Dovewing's kits with her. Dovewing introduces her kits to her, explaining that she is her sister and is thus their kin. Pouncekit, Shadowkit, and Lightkit examine one another, and Pouncekit says that it is good to have kin. Dovewing then explains that she is moving to ShadowClan to be with Tigerstar. Ivypool, now furious, stalks away from them, taking her kits with her. Bramblestar tells Dovewing that she will need an escort back to ShadowClan, and Birchfall immediately offers to lead it, alongside Whitewing. Bramblestar appoints Fernsong to go as well, and the three cats lead Pouncekit and her family out of ThunderClan.
====The Raging Storm====
:During Shadowkit's vision, Pouncekit and Lightkit cower with their denmates at the other end of the nursery. Later, Shadowkit is often helping Alderheart with medicine cat duties, and Pouncekit and her sister crowd at the entrance to the den, eyes bright with excitement. Pouncekit can barely keep still as she tells her brother that Strikestone and Blazepaw have promised to give them badger rides around the clearing. Lightkit adds that they are going to race while they ride them, and Pouncekit gives Shadowkit a pleading look, saying he must come and that he has missed all the fun since he has been helping Alderheart. Shadowkit tells them he has been having fun in the medicine den, and says he still has a lot to learn, as he is going to be a medicine cat one day. Pouncekit rolls her eyes, nudging Lightkit out of the den, saying they are wasting their time.
:When Bramblestar and Alderheart come to ShadowClan to confront Tigerstar about Juniperclaw, Pouncekit and Lightkit bounce out of the nursery, and Dovewing raises her tail at them to tell them to settle down. Pouncekit peers from the nursery, calling to their mother, asking if they can have fresh-kill. Dovewing asks them if they can share a shrew with Shadowkit. Pouncekit blinks, saying he is not in the den. Lightkit explains he said he was playing a game, and Pouncekit wanted to join him, but he told her it was something he had to do by himself. Dovewing weaves frantically around her daughters, asking if he said where he was going. Pouncekit says he did not, with a frightened demeanor.
===In The Broken Code arc===
====Lost Stars====
: Pouncestep has completed her apprenticeship and is now a full warrior of ShadowClan. Pouncestep and Lightleap return from a border patrol. Pouncestep announces that she is starving and never thought they would get to the end. The sisters are sharing a vole when Shadowpaw approaches them and asks if they have seen Cinnamontail and Blazefire. Pouncestep replies she has not seen a whisker, so Shadowpaw tells them that Dovewing has gone to look for them, and Lightleap wonders why the two warriors would go out in the harsh weather. Shadowpaw murmurs that Tigerstar was talking about foxes and badgers, and Pouncestep meows that she is sure there are not any on their territory since Cloverfoot told the patrols to keep a special lookout, and there has not been a sniff.
:Pouncestep, Lightleap, and Shadowpaw have a play fight, where Pouncestep pretends to be a badger invading camp, while her siblings are warriors fending it off. After wrestling and succeeding to trap Pouncestep, Shadowpaw asks what they should do with the "badger," and Lightleap answers that they will shove it out of camp. She begins to push Pouncestep toward the camp entrance, while the gray warrior protests. Pouncestep manages to find her paws and compliments Shadowpaw, saying he could have been a warrior if he wanted. Shadowpaw then has a seizure, and a vision with it. After he recovers, his parents are with him, and Pouncestep and Lightleap sit a tail-length away with fear in their eyes. Later, when Tigerstar calls a Clan meeting, Shadowpaw seats himself near his sisters.
====The Silent Thaw====
: Pouncestep and Lightleap gaze proudly as they watch their brother leave to receive his full name. Shadowsight and Dovewing rush into the medicine den and discover Puddleshine tending to Pouncestep, who had fallen from a tree after disturbing a wasps' nest. Puddleshine believes she has broken a rib, and Shadowsight applies ointment to her stings while Puddleshine gives her poppy seeds to eat. She complains that it is difficult to breathe before falling asleep. Puddleshine believes sleep will do her good while Shadowsight frets that StarClan is punishing ShadowClan with the string of injuries in the Clan. Later, when a mysterious cat attacks Shadowsight, he desperately tries to remember battle moves Pouncestep had taught him.
====Darkness Within====
:Shadowsight sees Pouncestep and Grassheart observing the fresh-kill pile, trying to decide what they should take.
====The Place of No Stars====
:Tigerstar mentions that now Lightleap and Pouncestep are warriors and Shadowsight is a full medicine cat, he and Dovewing must back off and face the fact that their daughters or son could be killed or seriously injured, and that they have to take risks for their Clan.
====A Light in the Mist====
: When Tigerstar refuses to allow Lightleap to go into the Dark Forest, Pouncestep supports her, saying that she is strong and can deal with the barrier. Later, Shadowsight confides in Juniperclaw about feeling unable to go home, and Juniperclaw tells him that he can, mentioning that Pouncestep and the rest of his kin are waiting. Rootspring later sees her with Shadowsight and Lightleap as the Clans grieve the fallen.
===In the A Starless Clan arc===
====River====
:Sunbeam and Lightleap discuss how Pouncestep fought a dog the other day, and they talk about what she should have done. When Sunbeam enters ShadowClan camp injured, Pouncestep asks what happened. Later, Sunbeam spots Pouncestep and Lightleap sharing prey.
====Sky====
:Pouncestep joins her family to sit vigil for Rowankit. Later, Sunbeam observes Pouncestep and Flaxfoot playing with a mouse. Pouncestep encourages him to toss it over a branch and catch it, saying he can climb to retrieve it if it gets stuck. Flaxfoot encourages Sunbeam to play, but Pouncestep says her prey is too big. Sunbeam gives her her squirrel to share. After Berryheart reports Fringewhisker to Tigerstar, Flaxfoot tells Sunbeam to eat, and Pouncestep says that they can give the kits a badger ride. Instead, Sunbeam says that she needs water, though Pouncestep reminds her that they drank on patrol.
====Shadow====
:Nightheart returns to camp from patrol with Pouncestep and Gullswoop. When Sunbeam tries to talk to Nightheart about his second task, Pouncestep enters the warriors' den with Grassheart. Later, Sunbeam has a nightmare about Nightheart finding another mate, and when she awakes, she sees Pouncestep watching her, surprised. As Sunbeam hangs out with Lightleap and Blazefire, Lightleap tells her about how she, Snaketooth, and Pouncestep had scared Blazefire to stop his snoring.
====Thunder====
: When Blazefire points out that the agreement of both Puddleshine and Shadowsight is required to depose Tigerstar, Pouncestep agrees.
====Star====
:Sunbeam encounters Pouncestep and Whorlpelt hunting above ShadowClan camp. Pouncestep greets her happily and persuades Whorlpelt to bring her to camp. She starts to ask Sunbeam about Nightheart, reminding Sunbeam how nosy and friendly Pouncestep could be. She asks Sunbeam about her trials to join ThunderClan, and Sunbeam informs her she had to train kits. Pouncestep is impressed by this and starts to talk about the mischief Cinnamontail's kits get into before Whorlpelt cuts her off. Pouncestep tells Sunbeam to ignore Whorlpelt and that all of ShadowClan is just worried about how she is managing in ThunderClan. As they arrive in camp, Pouncestep tells her ShadowClan wants to see her. 
:When Cloverfoot tells Sunbeam to fetch Mothwing, Duskfur, and Icewing and bring them to ShadowClan, Pouncestep volunteers to make them nests with Scorchfur, Flowerstem, and Gullswoop. Later, Pouncestep shares a thrush with Blazefire and bares her teeth at Splashtail when he takes over. 
===In the Changing Skies arc===
====The Elders' Quest====
:Pouncestep and Flaxfoot's two kits, Sprucepaw and Redpaw, have been apprenticed. While on a hunt with Tawnypelt, Bloompetal praises herself and tells her that she caught a sparrow the day before. Tawnypelt discredits her catch and thinks about how she only caught it because of Pouncestep's assist. Later, when Birchfeather prepares to leave for SkyClan, Pouncestep and her littermates gather around him to say goodbye.
===In the Super Editions===
====Tigerheart's Shadow====
 
:Pouncekit and her littermates, Shadowkit and Lightkit, are born to Tigerheart and Dovewing. Later, Tigerheart tells her that he's going on patrol, and Pouncekit asks if he means scavenging because that's what the other cats call it. Her mother, Dovewing, says scavenging is like hunting. Pouncekit asks why warriors do not scavenge like city cats. Tigerheart stares, and Dovewing assures her hunting is more fun. After going hunting, Tigerheart returns with a thrush. The gray she-cat looks around, sniffing, saying that she smells meat, and Tigerheart prods the thrush. Pouncekit dismisses the bird with a flick of her muzzle, stating that it is all feathers, causing the brown tom's stomach to tighten and wonder why his kits cannot smell the fresh-kill. Dovewing helps her kits, stripping the meat away from the feathers.
:Pouncekit stares at her mother with a horrified look as she works, and the pale gray she-cat lays a meat strip in front of each her kits. Dovewing encourages the young cats to eat, and Pouncekit sniffs the strip uneasily, touching it with her tongue. The gray she-cat affectionately looks at Tigerheart, but he does not say anything, gazing at his kits anxiously, wondering if they will ever like fresh-kill. The mates gaze at their children, who eat the thrush, and while Shadowkit looks thoughtful, and Lightkit has too much in her mouth, Pouncekit still frowns. Then the guardian cats find new cats to take care of, Pouncekit wants to go look at them, but Tigerheart does not allow her. When Dovewing returns from a hunting party, Pouncekit and her littermates race over to meet her.
:Tigerheart gives the kits a badger ride, and explains that they will eat kits if they catch them. Pouncekit wonders why a badger did not eat him, then asks if he was ever chased by one. Tigerheart tells them a story of how he once fought a badger with his Clanmates, and Pouncekit squeaks that he is the best warrior ever. Tigerheart shrugs them off, much to Pouncekit's dismay as she tries to cling onto his pelt. Pouncekit and her littermates are taken out of the Twoleg nest to watch the guardian cats battle train, preparing to fight off foxes. Pouncekit bounces around on the grass, rolling around and mewling with delight, then mews she wants to explore. She goes off with Lightkit onto the stone slabs. The cats cease their training when Pouncekit gets caught in a Twoleg trap. Once free, Dovewing leaps to her kits side, and Pouncekit mews she's all right. 
:Pouncekit and her siblings sneak out of the nest and watch the Twolegs, who are holding some sort of gathering. Pouncekit comments how they have made a hole and surrounded it with flowers, thinking it looks pretty, and wonders what they are hiding. After a Twoleg kit breaks away from the group, Tigerheart orders the kits to climb down the tree. Pouncekit complains, and Tigerheart crossly tells her they are not meant to leave the den alone. Pouncekit stares at him, pointing out that the Twoleg traps are gone now and that it is not fair. She tells Lightkit that Tigerheart said they are not ever allowed out of the den alone, and her sister's eyes spark with horror. 
:Their parents decide it is time to return to the lake, and Pouncekit excitedly asks if they can ride real badgers when they get to the forest. She is carried by Dovewing through the Thundersnake tunnel. She walks for a bit, then complains her paws are getting too sore, and Lightkit tells her to imagine the stones beneath their paws as like the grass outside of the Twoleg nest. When Thundersnake passes, Dovewing wraps her paws around Pouncekit. After it passes, Pouncekit wonders if they can wait for another one, thinking it was fun and wanting to experience it again. Once out of the city and tunnel, Pouncekit is frightened by how quiet the wilderness is and Tigerheart comforts her, saying she will get used to it.
:Later, when Tigerheart says they should be at the lake by the full moon, Pouncekit complains that he said they would be there before then. She then eagerly asks if they will be apprentices once they get to the lake. Pouncekit and Lightkit are almost hit by an approaching Thundersnake, distracted from playing with an acorn, but both manage to stay safe. Tigerheart gives Pouncekit a badger ride as they reach a river, and the she-kit exclaims there are floating monsters.
:They begin crossing a Thunderpath that goes over the river, but it splits and rises in the center. Pouncekit is at the top of the other end, where it cracked open, wailing with terror. Spire saves her, but he dies in the process. She and Lightkit play with Berryheart's kits. After an owl drops Tigerheart, Pouncekit and her littermates sit beside Dovewing, fear in their round eyes as they gaze at their injured father. Dovewing begins snapping at Shadowkit, desperate to get back to the lake, and Pouncekit darts to her brothers side, telling her mother to not scare him. They continue the journey back to the lake, carrying Tigerheart, and Pouncekit approaches him, asking if he is dying. As Tigerheart slips away, Pouncekit and her siblings cling to their father's neck. After he dies, Tigerheart sees his body being carried, and Pouncekit stares at his body across Dovewing's back, pain in her gaze. Tigerheart is resurrected as Tigerstar, ShadowClan's new leader. Pouncekit follows Dovewing as she pads up to Tigerstar, her eyes as wide as moons.
====Squirrelflight's Hope====
:Pouncepaw is now an apprentice with Snowbird as her mentor. She practices battle moves against Lightpaw. Later, she and her family attend a tense Gathering and her father weaves protectively around them.
====Ivypool's Heart====
:When Whistlepaw describes the mountain she saw in her dream, Tigerstar chimes in that he recalls that mountain from passing it after his kits were born. Later, Dovewing reminisces on how giving birth to Birchkit and Rowankit in ShadowClan was superior to her first litter's birth in the Twolegplace.
===In the Novellas===
====Tawnypelt's Clan====
:Tawnypelt is woken from a dream by Pouncekit and her siblings playing loudly. Pouncekit screeches at Lightkit to get off of her, then Juniperclaw pushes his way out of the warriors' den and furiously growls at the kits to settle down. The three kits freeze and stare at him, then Dovewing apologizes to the Clan deputy. Tigerstar steps in and tells the kits to be quieter. Pouncekit peers up at Tawnypelt, asking what she is doing, and if she would like to play with them. Shadowkit apologizes if they woke her, and his sisters nod earnestly. Tawnypelt tells them it is fine and thinks that they are sweet. Later, Pouncekit plays with her siblings and the other kits of the Clan.
===In the Field Guides===
====The Ultimate Guide: Updated and Expanded Edition====
:While playing with her littermates and Berryheart and Yarrowleaf's respective litters, Pouncekit grabs a moss ball from Hollowkit and gives it to her sister, Lightkit. Yarrowleaf scolds them for bumping into the warriors and Tigerstar smugly remarks that his kits were were the fastest.
==Character pixels==
==Official art==
==Personality and traits==
:Pouncestep is an energetic and playful warrior. Although she can be nosy or talkative, she is also friendly and supportive.
==Family==
:Pouncestep's mate is Flaxfoot, and Sprucepaw and Redpaw are their children. Her parents are Tigerstar and Dovewing, and her littermates are Shadowsight and Lightleap. Her younger siblings are Rowankit and Birchfeather. For more of Pouncestep's family, click here!
==Appearances==
==Trivia==
===Interesting facts===
* Pouncestep has ThunderClan blood via Dovewing and Tawnypelt, and kittypet blood through Cloudtail and Hal.
*Dovewing has noted that Pouncestep looks more like her father Tigerstar than her cousins Flipclaw, Bristlefrost, and Thriftear.
*Hers and Shadowsight's favorite prey is mouse.
===Author statements===
*Kate has said Pouncestep is her favorite kit of Dovewing and Tigerstar's litter.
==Quotes==
==External links==
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===Fan content===
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==Notes and references==
de:Springschrittfi:Pouncestepru:Когтистаяnl:Grijpkitpl:Skoczny Krokfr:Saut de Puce
Category:Ivypool's Heart characters
Category:ShadowClan cats
Category:She-cats
Category:Warriors
Category:The rebels
Category:Prisoners
Category:Queens