Sunbeam

Sunbeam is one of the three main protagonists (alongside Frostpaw and Nightheart) of A Starless Clan arc in Erin Hunter's Warriors book franchise. 
She's a ThunderClan warrior who has a harsh rivalry with her xenophobic mother Berryheart, often getting annyoed and angered by her starting trouble with other Clans. She was once a warrior of ShadowClan, who left to be with her mate in ThunderClan, though soon gained an appreciation for her new Clan as a whole.
==Appearance==
Sunbeam is a brown and white tabby she-cat with darker brown stripes and golden eyes.
==Biography ==
===A Starless Clan===
====River====
During a Gathering, Sunbeam catches some apprentices teasing the ThunderClan tom Flamepaw for still not being a warrior. She scolds them for their behavior before sitting down to talk with Flamepaw, pointing out that his name doesn't really suit his all-black fur, unintentionally hurting him with this comment. Later, Sunbeam basks in the sunlight alongside Blazefire, who she grew up with and plans to be the mate of. She talks about wanting to be a mentor soon, either to one of Cinnamontail's or Dovewing's new kits. Blazefire teases her gently, calling her a perfect little ShadowClan warrior.
Afterwards, Lightleap asks Sunbeam to go hunting with her. While the two are out hunting, Sunbeam notes that Lightleap has become much more reckless since backing out of going to the Dark Forest to fight Ashfur in A Light in the Mist, concluding that her new attitude must be from her wanting to make up for not helping in the final battle. Her dark brown tabby friend climbs up a tree to try and catch a squirrel, but falls and lands on Sunbeam, injuring her back. Lightleap apologizes and begs her not to tell anyone, to which Sunbeam hesitantly agrees not to. The white-and-brown warrior is confined to the medicine den until she heals, and when Blazefire goes to visit her, Lightleap rushes in suddenly and accuses her of telling Dovewing and Tigerstar what had happened. Shadowsight interrupts, informing her that he was the one who told their parents, and Lightleap lashes out at him. After she leaves, Sunbeam asks Blazefire to speak with her for her, hurt by her friend's accusations.
Once Sunbeam's injury has healed, she joins a hunting party consisting of Lightleap, Tawnypelt, Scorchfur and Whorlpelt. She gets nervous when her friend doesn't talk to her, breaking away from the rest of the group to go reflect on how Lightleap has been acting recently. While away from the others, she hears the sounds of cats fighting near the RiverClan border. She finds Lightleap walking away from the direction of RiverClan, brushing her off when asked if she had anything to do with the noises, so Sunbeam reports what she'd heard to Tawnypelt instead. The day after, two RiverClan warriors named Brackenpelt and Sneezecloud visit ShadowClan's camp to asks if anyone had seen their deputy Reedwhisker recently, leaving when Cloverfoot says they have not. Remembering Lightleap being near RiverClan the day before, Sunbeam tells her suspicions to Blazefire, but to her shock he brushes off her worries.
Later, Sunbeam, Hollowspring and Hopwhisker discover twoleg rubbish on the border between ShadowClan and RiverClan while out hunting. After Hopwhisker wounds her paw while she searches for prey, and nearby Sunbeam spots two RiverClan warriors named Nightsky and Lizardtail. The two are skeptical at first when asked for help, but then go to fetch their medicine cat Mothwing and her apprentice Frostpaw to help Hopwhisker. While the do, Sunbeam sneaks off to RiverClan camp to see what they're up to, finding that neither the leader Mistystar nor her deputy Reedwhisker are present. A bit of time later, Sunbeam once again goes out to hunt, this time with Yarrowleaf and Gullswoop, getting uncomfortable by the latter's frequent compliments. She finds out that Lightleap and Blazefire have been spending lots of time together recently, and the golden-eyed she-cat wonders if they're avoiding her to do so. 
Once she returns to camp, Lightleap suddenly bursts in and tells her that Blazefire is trapped underneath some rocks. They manage to free him, but Sunbeam worries about his broken leg. She visits him the next day, where he admits to her that despite their love for one another, he doesn't think a relationship would work out between them, leaving Sunbeam crushed by his rejection. She lays in the warrior's den solemnly, wondering if he chose Lightleap over her because the dark brown tabby is a rule breaker while she's boring, with her brother Spireclaw comforting her. She then goes on a hunting patrol with Gullswoop, Whorlpelt and Snowbird, and while out runs into Flaxfoot and Hollowspring, who tell them that they've lost a pigeon in a bramble thicket. Wanting to prove that she's not boring, Sunbeam dives into the thicket to get it, getting hurt by the bramble thorns and scolded by Shadowsight for her recklessness as he treats her injuries.
Berryheart, unhappy with the changes made to the warrior code as well as Tigerstar's capability as leader, confides in her daughter about it. At the next Gathering, it's announced that StarClan has approved of the revisions made to the warrior code, and that cats who wish to move to another Clan are now able to do so after completing a test. A large argument breaks out over this, and Sunbeam walks off to find somewhere quiet. She runs into Flamepaw again, and discusses the new warrior code with him. The two then confide in their problems with each other, Sunbeam telling about how her bonds with Lightleap and Blazefire are falling apart, and Flamepaw about failing his warrior assessment twice and feeling as though his Clanmates judge him for not being like his great grandfather Firestar who he was named after.
Some time later, the SkyClan warrior Fringewhisker passes an assessment and officially becomes a ShadowClan warrior to be with her mate Spireclaw. Sunbeam sees Berryheart and some other warriors making snide remarks about the new warrior code, with her mother mentioning that the Clans need "a reminder". She's horrified by her mother's words and almost tells Tigerstar, but stops out of fear of getting into trouble again. After Berryheart catches her talking to the leader, she encourages her to join in on their conversations.
====Sky====
A few days have passed since Blazefire's rejection, and Sunbeam keeps herself busy to keep her mind off it, getting aggravated at her Clanmate's concerns. She awkwardly tries to talk to Blazefire after bringing him a sparrow, but is interrupted when Tigerstar, Dovewing and Shadowsight rush into the medicine den with a deathly ill Rowankit. Being nearly out of catmint to treat Rowankit's whitecough with, Puddleshine goes to ask SkyClan to let him borrow some, only to find that they don't have any to spare either. Tigerstar instead decides to send patrols to the other three Clans to see if they could share any, and Sunbeam volunteers to go. Along with Hopwhisker, Snaketooth and Scorchfur, she goes to RiverClan and meets Splashtail and Mallownose. The two prevent the patrol from entering the camp at first, but soon relent, and the group quickly notice how downtrodden it looks after entering. Sunbeam takes note of how exhausted Frostpaw looks, and Mothwing says that they don't have any catmint left before sharply asking the patrol to leave.
Once all the patrols return, they report that only WindClan barely had enough catmint left to share. Berryheart begins to blame Fringewhisker for the outbreak of whitecough, accusing the former SkyClan cat of bringing the sickness into ShadowClan on purpose to make them weak. Sunbeam thinks about how unfair it is to blame Fringewhisker like that, though doesn't confront her mother about it. After an emergency medicine cat meeting, it's decided to send out a patrol to go look for catmint beyond the lake territory. Tigerstar picks Sunbeam and Lightleap to go, while Leafstar sends Fidgetflake and Rootspring, and Bramblestar sends Alderheart and Flamepaw. While she's upset that she has to go with Lightleap, she's happy to get to hang out with Flamepaw again, learning that he's become a warrior named Nightheart, and she compliments him on his new name.
After leaving through WindClan territory, Sunbeam and Nightheart work together to catch a rabbit. As night falls, she's paired with the ThunderClan warrior to keep watch while every one else sleeps, and the two bond over confiding in and comforting each other about their problems and insecurities. The next day, while slipping under a fence, Sunbeam gets stuck and Nightheart helps rescue her. He then tries to get her to calm down, warning her that Lightleap is watching. She and the black tom are both enticed by the smells of twoleg food while the group passes by a carnival, but Rootspring says they have no time for it. After locating the twolegplace and collecting enough catmint for all the Clans, the group stops for the night near the carnival on the way back. Sneaking off while everyone else is asleep, Sunbeam and Nightheart explore the carnival, snatching some far food to share with their travel partners. 
The next morning, Lightleap and Sunbeam return home to find that Rowankit has died of his illness while they where gone, arriving just as his vigil is being prepared. While Sunbeam is happy to hear that Blazefire will recover from his own ailment, she grieves for the loss of her little brother Rowankit and blames herself for not getting the catmint faster. She feels conflicted when Blazefire is the one to comfort Lightleap and not her, and after the vigil Berryheart invites her to a a secret meeting with Snaketooth, Whorlpelt, Grassheart, Snowbird, Yarrowleaf and Stonewing. To Sunbeam's shock, the group all agree that Fringewhisker brought whitecough to ShadowClan on purpose as a sort of bio-warfare. Later, Tigerheart calls for an emergency gathering to talk about the catmint shortage, and during it Sunbeam sits next to Nightheart as the two listen to RiverClan's news of Owlnose being chosen as the new leader in the wake of Mistystar's, Reedwhisker's and Curlfeather's deaths.
Back in camp, she overhears her mother along with Yarrowleaf and Whorlpelt accusing Fringewhisker of taking all they prey she catches to SkyClan instead of feeding her current Clan. Sunbeam defends Fringewhisker, only for the latter to admit to giving some of her prey to her former Clanmates. When Fringewhisker later tells her that some of the other warriors told her to, Sunbeam confronts her mother about it. After Bramblestar sends him on a mission to find out Tigerstar's true intentions with being RiverClan's temporary leader, Nightheart speaks to Sunbeam about it due to their friendship. He then asks her if it would be ok if he were to leave ThunderClan and join ShadowClan, and she replies that her Clan could always use more warriors. He then asks her if Tigerstar has any ulterior motives concerning RiverClan, and she says that he doesn't as far as she's aware.
After Nightheart leaves, Sunbeam goes to confide in Flaxfoot about his concerns regarding Tigerstar, asking him not to tell anyone about it. Flaxfoot goes against her wishes however and tells Berryheart, who angrily tells Tigerstar in turn. Still mourning his deceased son, Tigerstar furiously denies having any plans to take over RiverClan, and Berryheart gets into an argument with her daughter about trusting a ThunderClan cat. After Berryheart storms off, Sunbeam learns that Lightleap and Blazefire are now mates. She doesn't feel any resentment however, realizing that she has feelings for Nightheart. That night, Tigerstar leads a patrol with Sunbeam in it to RiverClan and insists that they let him help them after StarClan denies giving Owlnose nine lives twice. A battle breaks out, with Sunbeam fighting against Shimmerpelt and Gorseclaw, before RiverClan ultimately surrenders.
====Shadow====
After returning from RiverClan, Sunbeam is mortified to see Nightheart loudly proclaiming his love for her to her Clanmates in ShadowClan camp. She's slightly flattered that he's so infatuated by her that he's willing to move to ShadowClan, but is frustrated and embarrassed that he came into camp and started telling everyone without even letting her know. She confronts Nightheart in private about this, telling him they can't be mates when they know so little about each other, and she isn't even sure yet if she wants a mate at all. Nightheart apologizes, asking to at least give him a chance to prove his loyalty to her and ShadowClan. she asks what he'll do if she rejects him, and he says he'll respect her decision, but hopes they could still be friends. She then decides to give him that chance, but when they return to camp, Berryheart requests some alone time with her daughter. She then angrily scolds her daughter for having a ThunderClan-born cat as a mate, but Sunbeam defends him, deciding to get together with him to spite her mother.
At the gathering, Tigerstar announces that Nightheart is joining ShadowClan, with Berryheart and Finchlight convincing the leaders to make moving Clans harder by requiring three assessments to be passed instead of just one. Sunbeam shows Nightheart around ShadowClan's territory a bit later, with the two collecting honey from a bee hive for the medicine cats. After witnessing Fringewhisker complete her second assessment, Sunbeam advises Nightheart to be creative and focus on passing the tests Berryheart gives him. Later, while out hunting in RiverClan, Sunbeam and her hunting party are challenged by some RiverClan warriors who accuse them of stealing prey. Icewing, who is helping run her Clan alongside ShadowClan's deputy Cloverfoot, tells them that they're free to hunt in her Clan's territory so long as they catch something for them as well. Cloverfoot later tasks Sunbeam and Lightleap with guarding RiverClan's camp, and two days later the brown-and-white warrior notices how miserable the RiverClan cats are with ShadowClan commandeering them. Lightleap then apologizes for coming between her friend and Blazefire, and when asked when she first fell for the orange tom, Lightleap replies that she followed her heart and suggests to Sunbeam that she do the same.
After Fringewisker passes her final assessment, Sunbeam argues with Nightheart over his confidence in completing his own tests, knowing that Berryheart won't make it easy for him, but she apologizes for doubting his determination. Later, when Nightheart sees Berryheart, Whorlpelt and Yarrowleaf all sneaking out of camp, he wakes Sunbeam up and the two follow them. They see the three meet with Splashtail, Mallownose and Duskfur at the RiverClan border, conflicted on if they should do something as they eavesdrop on the six talking about their problems with Tigerstar's supervision. Sunbeam confronts her mother about this later, and the black-and-white she-cat states she must protect ShadowClan, unlike she did in the past, referring to the time she joined The Kin. After Nightheart passes his second assessment by successfully stealing from a twoleg campsite, Sunbeam tells off her mother for sending him there, as he was nearly attacked by a dog in the process.
At the next Gathering, Sunbeam is conflicted about ShadowClan's involvement with RiverClan after seeing the state the neighboring Clan is in first-hand. She worries that if her Clan's influence on RiverClan doesn't lift soon, a war may break out. Sunbeam frets when Nightheart is late for his final assessment, dismayed when he fails his final task of getting an egg out of a bird's nest by falling out of the tree. She soon realizes that he failed on purpose though, angrily confronting him about it. He apologizes, saying he needs to return to ThunderClan, and wishes he could take her with him. He then leaves the Clan, and Berryheart comforts her heartbroken daughter. That night, she has a dream of Nightheart becoming mates with someone else, and Lightleap and Blazefire attempt to cheer her up the next morning. Tigerstar then calls a Clan meeting to announce he's heard rumors of an uprising in RiverClan, and plans on sending more of his warriors, with Sunbeam being disheartened when she's chosen as one of them. Sensing trouble about to come to the Clans, she wonders if she should tell Tigerstar and Berryheart about what Splashtail has been up to. Instead however, she decides to leave ShadowClan altogether and follow Nightheart to ThunderClan.
==== Thunder====
Sunbeam is hanging out with Nightheart in ThunderClan, pleased that Nightheart's sister Finchlight and mother Sparkpelt are so welcoming towards her. Soon after Nightheart leaves, Berryheart barges into ThunderClan's camp, demanding to speak with her daughter. She ignores Sunbeam's request that they speak in private and berates her for joining ThunderClan, claiming that she's betrayed her and ShadowClan. Sparkpelt and Finchlight defend her, and the Clan's new deputy Ivypool has Berryheart escorted back to ShadowClan.
Later, Ivypool gives Sunbeam her first of three trials to officially join the Clan. The trial involves helping Spotfur's litter Bristlekit, Graykit and Stemkit catch prey, without directly catching herself. She's sad when Nightheart has to go back to the Moonpool for Squirrelflight's leadership ceremony., and though she and the kits struggle a bit, she succeeds in her task, and the Clan congratulates her. Soon Squirrelflight comes back, informing the Clan that she has received nine lives and is now known as Squirrelstar, to which the whole Clan cheers. Nightheart is not with her though, and the newly-named leader tells Sunbeam that during her ceremony, StarClan had told her that he's left on an important journey, but will eventually return. This causes the brown-and-white she-cat to worry for his safety, despite his family's attempt at reassuring her he'll be fine, and she begins to worry if she'll be able to fit into ThunderClan without him.
When Squirrelstar holds an emergency Gathering to announce her leadership, Sunbeam spots Berryheart in the crowd, but her mother ignores her the whole time, even when she approaches and calls her name. Sparrowtail then tells her that he's sure Berryheart will speak to her again soon, doubting she can hold a grudge against her own daughter forever. Four days later, Sunbeam and Ivypool meet with Dovewing and Sparrowtail at the ShadowClan border, with the deputy trying and failing to convince her sister to get Tigerstar to leave RiverClan alone. Sparrowtail, meanwhile, is upset that his daughter doesn't want to come back, and reveals that Berryheart has a plan to deal with Tigerstar's supervision of RiverClan. Sunbeam worries what this plan could be, but her father leaves when she asks.
A few days after that, Sunbeam begins her second trial, where she must help Alderheart, Cherryfall and Bayshine push a boulder away from a ledge to prevent it from falling into camp. She constantly argues with Cherryfall during the trial, as the latter wants to just evacuate the camp and push the boulder in, but eventually she and her cohorts succeed in pushing it away. Later still, while she familiarizes herself with ThunderClan's territory, Finchlight shows Sunbeam the Ancient Oak, the oldest tree in the territory. When she gets back to camp, Ivypool announces her final trial: to go to four specific places in ThunderClan territory based on vague hints. She then gives the first hint to look for an apprentice between two elders, referring to a sapling growing between two old oaks. There, Lionblaze gives her the next hint to look where twolegs aren't, which is the abandoned Twoleg nest. Jayfeather is waiting there, giving her the hint to follow plant scents until she can't scent any more, which she deduces means following thyme plants to the lake's shore. Cherryfall is there to give her the final hint, telling her bluntly to go back to where the boulder from her second trial was. Sunbeam quickly figures out by the lack of subtlety that Cherryfall had given a false hint in hopes of making her fail, and instead goes to the Ancient Oak. She worries that she'd failed when no cat is waiting for her there, but Sparkpelt then appears and tells her she's passed.
Upon returning to camp, Sunbeam is made into an official warrior of ThunderClan, though is sad that Nightheart isn't there to see it. She then confronts Cherryfall for nearly making her fail, telling her that the rest of ThunderClan has accepted her, so it would be easier for both of them if she did as well. The next day, the brown-and-white she-cat is happy that Cherryfall is finally respecting her, and is invited to a meeting between all the leaders that night to discuss the RiverClan issue. At this meeting, she's surprised to see Berryheart there, and her mother tries convincing her to come back to ShadowClan. She tells her that she's officially apart of ThunderClan now, which enrages her mother, who then brings up her plan to settle the situation between Tigerstar and RiverClan. Warily, Sunbeam asks what she means, but Berryheart walks away, saying she doesn't need to tell a ThunderClan cat.
At the next Gathering, as Squirrelstar announces Sunbeam has passed all her trials, the brown-and-white she cat prays that her mother will stay quiet for once. To her dismay however, Berryheart speaks up anyways, accusing Sunbeam of betraying her in front of the whole Gathering. Sparkpelt, Finchlight and Bayshine tell her to stick up for herself, while Snowbird, Whorlpelt and Yarrowleaf take her mother's side. Berryheart and her clique then enact their plan, walking up to the leaders and demanding Tigerstar steps down. The black-and-white she-cat says that Puddleshine agreed to support her in this, but the medicine cat interrupts and reveals that he only agreed so the Clans would see how easy it is for a cat to try and vote their leader out based on a petty grudge. Tigerstar then tells Berryheart that she may leave the Clan if she's so upset with his leadership, and she hesitantly complies, with Sparrowtail joining her. She then asks Hollowspring and Spireclaw to go as well, with the former agreeing to while the other refuses. Finally, she asks Sunbeam to join her in exile, and by sensing the lack of warmth in her voice the golden-eyed she-cat realizes her mother doesn't care what she decides, she only wants the other Clans to see her daughter "betray" her once more. Sunbeam refuses, stating that she's part of ThunderClan for more than just Nightheart, as she truly believes it to be where she belongs, as her new Clanmates treat her more like kin than some of her actual family. Appalled, Berryheart leaves, stating that ShadowClan is on its own now as she, her mate and her son all become rogues.
== Gallery==
File:SunbeamRiver.webp|Sunbeam on the cover of River
File:SunbeamSky.webp|Sunbeam on the cover of Sky
File:SunbeamFactSheet.webp|Sunbeam's fact sheet on the official website
File:SunbeamFamilyTree.webp|Sunbeam's icon on the family tree
==External Links==
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