Brightpelt

**Brightpelt** is a predominantly white she-cat with black and ginger tabby patches. She has one blue eye and one green eye. Her fur is short, but thick and tufty. One ear is badly torn and her muzzle, back and flanks are scarred, with some white marks within her coloured patches where fur has grown back without pigmentation. She walks with a slight limp.

## Personality

A fairly average warrior with no outstanding skills, Brightpelt enjoys the company of other cats but allows them to come to her rather than approach them herself. She is quite close to her brother Runningwolf, in part because they are each other's only surviving kin, and occasionally Brightpelt has stepped in to watch his kits when Grapeclaw needs a break and no other queens are available. Brightpelt has never wanted kits for the sake of being a mother, but would like to help secure the next generation of the clan, and would be happy to carry the kits of a mate who wanted them.

## History

Brightkit and her brother Runningkit were born to a mother who died in kitbirth, and were raised alone by their father Wildheart. As an apprentice, Brightpaw trained alongside the slightly older Deerpaw, developing a strong crush on him. A few moons after she had earned her warrior name, Brightpelt, she asked him out on an evening hunt in the Valley, intending to confess her feelings in the hopes he would reciprocate.

Their hunt did not go as planned. Brightpelt was found by a later patrol badly injured, and Deerstep's savaged body was found on her direction soon after. Brightpelt claimed that they were attacked by a Bloodhides rogue who left them both for dead, with Brightpelt only just able to crawl back towards camp so that she might be seen and rescued. There was a brief theory that Brightpelt had been rejected by Deerstep and become murderous as a result, but it was not long before this was widely dismissed as laughable.

During the leaf-bare preceding the leaf-fall of the Highlands ambush, Brightpelt's father Wildheart died of greencough.

### First Leaf-fall

When Smokefall is kitting, Grapeclaw leaves the nursery and asks Brightpelt to watch her kits while Grapeclaw is assisting them. Brightpelt readily agrees and begins entertaining her niece and nephews.

The next day, Brightpelt is sleeping deeply until Peapaw and Ermineflight return with news of their ambush. Both she and Grapeclaw are concerned for Runningwolf, one of the cats who was on the Highlands expedition, and Grapeclaw sits by Brightpelt to ask if she thinks Runningwolf will be okay. Though Brightpelt is nervous and the ambush brings to mind her own attack by the Bloodhides, she says that she's sure Ermineflight or Peapaw would have mentioned if Runningwolf was badly injured, and Blazestar picked good cats to send as reinforcements. Grapeclaw suggests that the Bloodhides are probably running home with the arrival of more EagleClan cats, and Brightpelt is half-convinced by the comment, thinking that there can't be too many Bloodhides if Ermineflight escaped her attackers. Her slight relief is lost at the thought of the patrol being completely overwhelmed, imagining Runningwolf killed by the same rogue who had attacked herself and Deerstep. She gratefully accepts Grapeclaw's comfort, and agrees that the patrol will be just fine.