Cloudtail

Cloudtail is a major supporting character in Erin Hunter’s Warriors book series. He is Princess’s son and, therefore, Firestar’s nephew. Following his mother’s wish, he is brought into ThunderClan as a newborn by Firestar to be trained as a warrior. As the son of a kittypet, Cloudtail is quickly despised by the rest of the clan but is allowed to stay. He soon reveals himself to be bold and skillful, despite his hot-blooded and insolent behavior which causes Firestar some trouble. He begins to settle down once he receives his warrior name and he turns wiser, even becoming Brightheart’s mate and father of her kits.
He is a major protagonist in The Prophecies Begin arc and a minor protagonist in the rest of the series, playing a more or less important role depending on each situation. He is also the deuteragonist of the graphic novel A Thief in ThunderClan.
== Appearance ==
Cloudtail is a snow-white tom with thick, fluffy fur, enabling him to go unnoticed during the winter but being a burden at another time of the year. He also has light blue eyes.
== Personality ==
Cloudtail has always been characterized by his short temper and stubbornness. As a kit, he already had issues with authority, not hesitating to reply to Bluestar, Tigerclaw or other experienced warriors when they scolded him. This, along with his kittypet origins, had a lot of cats doubt that he would become a loyal warrior one day. Therefore Cloudtail had always been ambitious to prove himself worthy of being part of ThunderClan.
From a young age, Cloudtail was brave and curious. He had a habit of sneaking out of the camp, either to follow Fireheart or to lead his foster siblings on a hunt or an exploration of ThunderClan territory. His daring and adventurous behavior caused him a lot of trouble, as Fireheart and his friends often had to save him from deadly threats, such as a badger or a bush of deathberries that he was about to eat. Still his courage and his pride were noted to be those of a warrior by his comrades.
He was regularly punished for his mischiefs. Most of the time, he had to clean the elders’ den, so much so that he grew to enjoy spending time with them. He liked to listen to Halftail’s stories and the elders reciprocated his feelings by defending him in front of Fireheart, surprising the latter.
He was apprenticed to Fireheart, whom he looked up to as a model, even though his hot-blooded and insolent temper made him an insufferable student for his uncle. He had a tendency to contest his orders and started disregarding the warrior code, being unable to understand its importance in the eyes of his comrades. He also did not believe in StarClan and sometimes showed contempt for Fireheart’s beliefs. He became rather arrogant, often showing out to his mother about his life as a future warrior.
When he was captured by Twolegs, Fireheart thought that his former clanmates would not miss him and that he would be content away from ThunderClan. However it was revealed on the one hand that the other apprentices cared for him, whom they thought of as inspiring them, and on the other hand that he was unhappy with the life of a kittypet. Upon being rescued, he wised up and promised to make efforts to stick to the warrior code, wishing to become a loyal warrior for his clan.
After becoming a warrior, he kept his harsh, hot-blooded temper but gained in maturity. Having developed feelings for Brightpaw, he was heartbroken and angry when she was disfigured and nearly killed by the dog pack. He decided to look after her, spending most of his time in the medicine cat’s den, and he resented Bluestar for giving Brightpaw the name Lostface. When his foster mother Brindleface was murdered by Tigerstar, he swore revenge on him, his anger having already been fueled by what had happened to Lostface. He also had growing disdain for his kittypet mother, especially after she looked at Lostface’s wounds in horror.
As a more experienced warrior, he kept his grumpiness and sharp tongue and never hesitated to contest Firestar’s decisions or to criticize other warriors or leaders for what they said or did. However he has much more wisdom and is not as daring as he was before. Despite being wary of strangers and cats from other clans, he is rarely eager to jump into battle as his first intention. Rather he is prone to helping them if they do not pose a threat, as he did with Tawnypelt and Daisy. The latter being a former kittypet also helped to gain Cloudtail's compassion, as he relates to those who share his origins and is keen on defending them.
As a loving mate and father, he is also very close to his family, spending a lot of time with them. He often goes on hunting patrols with Brightheart and is very proud and protective of Whitewing. He is even shown to be warm and easy-going with kittens in general, as seen with Daisy's.
Following Firestar’s death, he misses his uncle a lot, having always considered him as a role model and the closest thing he ever had to a father figure.
== Trivia ==
* Cloudtail is several times noted to have the best tracking skills in ThunderClan due to his sharp sense of smell.
* Cloudtail is one of the few clan cats to not believe in StarClan, believing it to be stories made up for kits in the nursery.
** This, however, has probably changed after the Great Battle, since Cloudtail witnessed StarClan and Dark Forest cats manifest in the world of the living and fight each other. During their encounter, Darkstripe even mockingly asks him if he believes in StarClan now.
== External Links ==
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