Scorchstar

* Official image
* Portrait
* Official art
* Life image

**Scorchstar** is a massive, muscular ginger-and-white tom with short, sleek fur and amber eyes.

## History

Born to Scorchkit alongside his sister, Russetkit, to Sunleaf and Swiftstar, Scorchkit is doted on by his father and his Clan. He is seen as the natural leader to Swiftstar one day, much to the chagrin of his half-brother, Adderpaw. Scorchkit tries his best to be humble about it. He is close friends with Gorsekit, Wildkit, and Blackkit.
He becomes an apprentice to Berrysplash, the Clan deputy. During the course of his training, he finds that Berrysplash is taking it easier on him, most likely because he is the son of the Clan leader, and so Gorsepaw helps him out when Berrysplash isn't training him. He also grows closer to Wildpaw, and he is teased a few times by Gorsepaw about his budding affection towards her. When training with Gorsepaw, he sees a rogue that looks like him and Swiftstar, and the rogue introduces himself as Habu, Swiftstar's father.
One day, while walking with Swiftstar, his father tells him that he has an assigned mate when he becomes a warrior, Hollyfrost. Scorchpaw is outraged and tries to stand up to his father, but they grab the attention of a fox, and when Swiftstar tells him to run, Scorchpaw is too frightened to move. Swiftstar runs in the way of the fox, about to take Scorchpaw, and he is killed in the process. Guilt-stricken, Scorchpaw brings Swiftstar back to camp and vows never to talk back to his father again.
WindClan attacks ThunderClan, and in the battle, Hollyfrost is killed. Scorchpaw proves himself to be a warrior in the battle, defeating many enemies, much to Swiftstar's pride. He makes Scorchpaw a warrior by the name of Scorchclaw, while also giving most of his denmates their warrior names - Russetstripe, Gorseflight, and Blackdove. Wildpaw stays an apprentice due to her not participating in the battle, and Scorchclaw encourages her when she performs her final assessment. She becomes a warrior, Wildheart, and the two grow even closer until they finally realize the depth of their feelings for each other while on the island one night.
Scorchclaw makes an attempt to get close to his half-brother, Adderstripe, who saves him from being taken away by a hawk. Over the course of his time as a warrior, Scorchclaw sees many controversial and cruel decisions his father makes, but chooses to stick by his father due to Swiftstar teaching him about the importance of family, and his still lingering guilt after Swiftstar lost a life protecting him from a fox.
Over time, Scorchclaw realizes that Adderstripe sees him as a threat to his potential deputyship. After Berrysplash retires and Petalspring dies, Swiftstar wearily makes Adderstripe the deputy. Scorchclaw is jealous, but knew that the position was always supposed to go to Adderstripe. Scorchclaw hunts on the border with ThunderClan one day when he sees Habu. Surprised, Scorchclaw asks what Habu is doing, and Habu reports that he heard rumors in the Twolegplace of cats wanting to attack Swiftstar. Scorchclaw tries to get more information, but a ThunderClan warrior by the name of Peartuft knocks Habu into the stream, drowning him. Peartuft sneers at Scorchclaw to keep an eye on Wildheart and to avoid Adderstripe. Scorchclaw is confused until he puts all the pieces together. He realizes Wildheart is in danger, and breaks up with her to avoid causing any harm to her. He plans to confront Adderstripe, but on his way to fight his half-brother, Adderstripe and his best friend Brambledusk, maul Scorchclaw to near-death. Russetstripe finds Scorchclaw and brings him to Violetheart's den.
While Scorchclaw is unconscious, Adderstripe starts his rebellion against Swiftstar and brings a patrol full of ThunderClan and ShadowClan cats to attack Swiftstar. The camp explodes in battle, and Russetstripe ends up killing Adderstripe. Brambledusk, who was involved in the planning of the attack, confronts Russetstripe and is imprisoned by Swiftstar. Swiftstar then appoints Scorchclaw deputy, despite his son not having an apprentice and being unconscious. Swiftstar checks on his son every day until Scorchclaw regains consciousness. He is told of the recent events by Violetheart and is conflicted on how he feels - he is surprised that he is deputy but is relieved that Adderstripe's threat is over with. He reunites with Wildheart, who realizes why he did what he did.
As deputy, Scorchclaw finds himself confused on whether to obey his father's orders or to do the right, moral thing. He helps his father invade RiverClan and take their territory and tries to argue with his father when he takes Emberpaw prisoner. When evidence of prey-stealing shows up on their territory, Scorchclaw reports it to his father. He gains an apprentice, Harepaw, around the same time. Swiftstar announces that they will eradicate the group of cats stealing the prey, despite Gorseflight and Russetstripe's fervent protests. The two cats ask Scorchclaw to stop the impending massacre, and although Scorchclaw tries his best, he is unable to stop his father. Swiftstar leads the attack on the Nirvana cats, killing most of them except the cats Russetstripe and Gorseflight had managed to evacuate. Gorseflight fights Swiftstar, and Swiftstar is moments away from killing him until Russetstripe interferes. Swiftstar exiles Gorseflight, and Scorchclaw watches his best friend limp away, swearing for revenge against WindClan.
Swiftstar dies of an unspecified illness, leaving Scorchclaw to become leader. Just before Scorchclaw embarks for the Moonpool, Wildheart tells him she is expecting his kits. Scorchclaw gets his nine lives and becomes Scorchstar. He works on approaching a leadership style that resembles his father's, but with minimial sacrifices and more regard for life. He makes Brambledusk deputy, which shocks his Clan since Brambledusk had been involved in Adderstripe's rebellion. Brambledusk warns Scorchstar that he will step down if Scorchstar makes a decision that results in an avoidable loss of life.
Wildheart gives birth to three kits, Hawkkit, Redkit, and Mallowkit. Hawkkit and Redkit are boisterous and cheerful kits, while Mallowkit is slow to grow and stays in the nursery longer, but manages to speak with the help of the new medicine cat apprentice, Sedgepaw. Scorchstar finds himself involved in the wars of the Clans when Talonstar approaches him and warns him about Dapplestar's impending attack. Scorchstar defeats Dapplestar with Talonstar's help, and when Dapplestar attacks again, she has ThunderClan on her side. Scorchstar loses a life to Emberflame, and a few of his warriors are killed, much to his dismay. Shortly after, Hawkkit and Redkit are apprenticed as Hawkpaw and Redpaw to Blackdove and Heathercloud.
A fire engulfs WindClan's camp, and Scorchstar and Brambledusk are hard at work saving Violetheart's herbs when the Tall Branch catches on fire. It falls from the tree and nearly lands on Scorchstar until Brambledusk pushes Scorchstar away and takes the blow for him. Working together, Scorchstar and Russetstripe free Brambledusk and escape the fire through the tunnels. Scorchstar leads his Clan to RiverClan and asks Shimmerwing for shelter. Shimmerwing agrees and brings the WindClan cats to the RiverClan camp, where they shelter for a few days.
Back at WindClan's camp, Brambledusk steps down as Scorchstar's deputy, telling the ginger-and-white leader he had never truly forgiven himself for his role in Adderstripe's rebellion. Scorchstar, although distraught, understands and names Harewhisker deputy. Shortly after, Violetheart announces to Scorchstar her impending death, and Scorchstar is afraid that he will not be able to confide in her apprentice, Sedgefall, like he was able to in Violetheart. Mallowkit is named Mallowpaw and becomes Sedgefall's apprentice.
Hawkpaw and Redpaw quarrel often in their training, troubling Scorchstar who remembers Russetstripe and Wildheart's bouts in their apprenticeship. Scorchstar reprimands Hawkpaw for biting Redpaw, and the two end up apologizing to each other. Later, Skyheart is trapped by a Twoleg, and Scorchstar, alongside with a couple of kittypets and several of his Clanmates, go after her. They find her in a shelter and release her alongside the other trapped cats. Skyheart convinces Scorchstar to take two cats sentenced to death, Nick and Hotaru. Scorchstar grudgingly agrees, letting Nick join WindClan as an elder and having Iceheart and Waspberry teach Hotaru the ways of a warrior.
After Hawkpaw and Redpaw save each other from being constricted by a snake, and Scorchstar names them Hawkfire and Redmoon. Shortly after, Scorchstar receives a report of a dead ThunderClan warrior on his land. Baffled, Scorchstar tries to figure out who killed the warrior, but ThunderClan attacks him before he can investigate the death of the warrior. They engage in a battle on ThunderClan territory, where Brookfeather of ThunderClan is killed, and Rootstar and Scorchstar both lose a life. Scorchstar hangs his head and apologizes for the battle, saying it never should have happened. He goes back to camp and is told by Hotaru that Wildheart had been kidnapped.
Scorchstar follows Wildheart's scent with Hotaru, Redmoon, and Hawkfire. He sees that Gorseflight had taken Wildheart hostage - and Iceheart as well. Gorseflight confesses that he was the cat behind Ravenfeather's death, and Scorchstar attacks him. Iceheart pleads for Gorseflight to live, and Scorchstar decides to spare Gorseflight's life, so long as he does not return to WindClan again. Scorchstar reunites with Wildheart, telling her he will never let anyone hurt her again.
In camp, a silver rogue attacks, and Hotaru recognizes it as his brother. The rogue takes one of Scorchstar's lives and disappears from the Clan. Iceheart flees WindClan with Hotaru, and Brambledusk and Russetstripe follow them and bring them back. After he recovers, Scorchstar demands an explanation from Hotaru and Iceheart, and Hotaru explains his history with his brother and a village named Iga. Hotaru confesses that Iga may attack soon, and Scorchstar, already exhausted from his fight with ThunderClan and Dapplestar's looming threat, wonders if he can defeat Iga as well as his other two enemies.
Scorchstar argues with his sister, Russetstripe, more often than usual, suspicious of her having a relationship with a cat from another Clan. One day, the argument boils to a point where Scorchstar states he trusts Wildheart over Russetstripe. Russetstripe decides to go to ThunderClan for a bit when Briskheart and Icefrost enter the camp to request Sedgefall's assistance. Mallowpaw, recently named Mallowleaf, takes over in Sedgefall's place. Scorchstar lets Sedgefall go, wondering if he did the right thing. At the next Gathering, when Winterfall attacks Peartuft, he notes how fiercely Russetstripe fights for ThunderClan and wonders if she found a new home.
A group of rogues attack Redmoon's patrol, and he retrieves help from Scorchstar and Wildheart with the other cats on the patrol. The cats they are fighting are strong and powerful, more like Clan cats than rogues. Buzzardwing sacrifices his life for Scorchstar while Redmoon takes his father away, leaving Scorchstar overwhelmed with guilt. He realizes that these are Peartuft's group of cats, who declare war on WindClan since they are in such close proximity to the moor they live on, and Scorchstar eventually allies with ThunderClan to fight Peartuft. Scorchstar eventually loses Sandfall and Aspenstep to Peartuft as well.
Russetstripe is taken hostage by Peartuft and is tortured alongside with three other WindClan cats. Scorchstar joins Rootstar to rescue her and is horrified at the state she is in. He mourns deeply for her when Sedgefall warns him that it is a possibility she may not recover from being so physically and mentally damaged. At the next Gathering, Peartuft covers the island with poison to demand his kits back from Rootstar. Mintpaw, a deaf WindClan apprentice, does not hear the warning Scorchstar calls and falls victim to the poison. Skyheart, Mintpaw's mother, is devastated. The clearing breaks out into battle, and Scorchstar loses a life to Dusk, one of Peartuft's cats.
In camp, Runningflame, Russetstripe's forbidden mate, finds a way into the nursery where Russetstripe is being held, with Blackdove's assistance. Scorchstar is outraged and drives Runningflame away, and demotes Blackdove from his senior circle of warriors for helping Runningflame. Later on, Lionflight from ThunderClan arrives at the WindClan camp and announces that reinforcements have come to aid in the fight against Peartuft. Scorchstar meets the reinforcements, who introduce themselves as the Dragon Blood Guardian cats. One of them, named Nightstalker, says he is a healer. Scorchstar takes him to his camp to see if he can heal Russetstripe. Nightstalker is able to provide her with the right treatment, and Russetstripe slowly recovers from her comatose state. Scorchstar is relieved.
Hawkfire and Redmoon, alongside Frostpetal and Iceheart, disappear from camp. Scorchstar is wracked with fear and guilt as he tries to search for his Clanmates, but to no avail. Brambledusk and Lightningtalon set out to search for them, and after a journey to the mountains, Brambledusk brings Scorchstar's children, his kin, and Iceheart's kits back. However, Lightningtalon dies in the mountains. Scorchstar is grateful that his kits are safe, but mourns Lightningtalon's loss deeply.
RiverClan starts to send patrols to attack WindClan until they establish a permanent presence on the moorland, where they ambush any WindClan cat they see. Scorchstar decides to hole up in his camp and prepare for a siege when ThunderClan is unable to provide them with help. Frustrated with Scorchstar's refusal to submit, Dapplestar orders her warriors to burn WindClan territory to the ground. Scorchstar orders his warriors to retreat while he fights Dapplestar. Dapplestar overpowers him as Scorchstar sees Mallowleaf burning alive in the flames. Scorchstar forces Dapplestar off him and tries to save Mallowleaf, but she is already dead by the time he arrives. He drags Hawkfire away from the fire and joins his Clanmates out of the moorland, realizing he lost his territory. Scorchstar loses a life from smoke inhalation and mourns his daughter - alongside many of his Clanmates - together.
Later on, Swiftcloud, a RiverClan warrior, arrives to their makeshift camp. She tells Scorchstar that Shellfall and Shimmerwing are fighting for control of RiverClan, and Scorchstar decides to side with the devil he knows when he hears that Shimmerwing overthrew Dapplestar. He brings his remaining warriors with him to RiverClan and joins the battle on Shimmerwing's side. Moonshade nearly takes a life from him, but Blackdove takes the blow for him, telling him she loved him as she dies. Scorchstar realizes why she did what she did for Russetstripe as she dies, and tells her he forgives her. Icepaw takes a life from him later on in the battle.
Shimmerwing and her warriors win, and the tawny she-cat gives the moorland back to Scorchstar and the pines back to Nightfire. Scorchstar brings his Clan back to the moorland while reeling in his losses, realizing that Brambledusk had died in the battle as well. Russetstripe tells Scorchstar that she is expecting Runningflame's kits and wants to leave WindClan to move into RiverClan. Scorchstar is stunned and furious, but eventually gives up and allows Russetstripe to leave. Wracked with loss for most of his family, Scorchstar tries to keep himself together as he helps the newly named Shimmerstar in defeating Peartuft with Rootstar. Once FierceClan is defeated, Shimmerstar unites all the Clans in an alliance, and Scorchstar agrees.
Harewhisker grows ill and eventually passes away. Scorchstar makes Redmoon deputy, but Redmoon declines and says Hawkfire would be a better deputy. Scorchstar then appoints Hawkfire as deputy, but the two clash heads often, unable to agree on anything. Russetstripe advises Scorchstar to listen to Hawkfire more often instead of immediately turning her down. When an increasingly violent fox shows up on WindClan territory, Nightstar, Icestar, and Shimmerstar decide to send aid to Scorchstar, Russetstripe being among them. Scorchstar leads his Clan and his reinforcements into a final battle against the fox, where he receives an infected wound. He joins his mate, Wildheart, into the medicine den, where the two pass away together, surrounded by Redmoon, Hawkfire, and Russetstripe.
He joins StarClan with Wildheart and reunites with his loved ones. He gives Hawkstar a life in her nine lives ceremony and tells her that she has to leave her Clan to find new cats to join it.
## Personality

Scorchstar carries himself with an air of pride and authority. He exudes confidence and commands the respect of his Clanmates. His strong presence and assertive nature make it clear that he is the leader of WindClan. Scorchstar places great importance on his family and Clan. He deeply values the bonds of kinship and works tirelessly to ensure the well-being and safety of his loved ones. He prioritizes the needs of his Clanmates and will go to great lengths to protect them, treating them like his extended family. Scorchstar's protective instincts are fiercely ingrained in his character. He is willing to do whatever it takes to safeguard his family and Clan, even if it means putting himself in danger. He acts as a guardian, watching over his Clanmates and ensuring their safety.
Scorchstar has a fiery temper that can flare up in moments of frustration or when he feels his Clan is being threatened. His emotions can sometimes get the better of him, leading to impulsive or brash decisions. However, he also recognizes the importance of channeling his temper into decisive action when needed. Scorchstar is a formidable warrior and leads by example on the battlefield. He is skilled in combat and doesn't shy away from fighting for what he believes in. He instills a sense of bravery and determination in his Clanmates, inspiring them to fight alongside him. Scorchstar holds a deep reverence for the Warrior Code and upholds its principles with unwavering dedication. He believes in the importance of honor, loyalty, and integrity, and expects his Clanmates to follow these guidelines as well. Scorchstar possesses a strong will and an unyielding determination. He doesn't easily give up, even in the face of adversity. He pushes through challenges and strives to lead his Clan to prosperity, using his resilience as a driving force.

## Theme song

* **Wait For It** by Leslie Odom Jr.

*"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break, and we make our mistakes."*
## Quotes

**Wildheart**: "*Aren't the stars beautiful?*"

**Scorchclaw**: "*They are, but you're more beautiful than all of them put together, Wildheart.*"

**Wildheart**: "*Scorchclaw...*"

**Scorchclaw**: "*I'm serious. The way you are... is what I like best. I see you. I see everything you've been through. And I want all of that, Wildheart. I want all of it. I love it. I love it all.*"
**Wildheart**: "*Are you going to fall in love with me?*"
**Scorchclaw**: "*I already have.*"

—Scorchclaw and Wildheart

"*But I [didn't know it was true]. I hid it from myself for so long, I didn't want to face the truth because I had lost so many other cats that I had loved. I didn't want to lose another one, too. But now it's in my face, and I have to come to terms with it. Even though the Clans are at peace, that doesn't mean sorrow or tragedy won't rear up and show its ugly face again. We may be happy, but happiness cannot exist if it does not coincide with sorrow.*"
—Scorchstar's thoughts

## Family

**Mate:**

Wildheart: Deceased
**Daughters:**

Hawkstar: Living
Mallowleaf: Deceased
**Son:**

Redmoon: Living
**Mother:**

Sunleaf: Deceased
**Father:**

Swiftstar: Deceased
**Sister:**

Russetstripe: Living
**Half-brother:**

Adderstripe: Deceased
**Nephews:**

Tigerblaze: Living
Lionflame: Living
**Niece:**

Flameheart: Living
**Grandfather:**

Habu: Deceased