However, Clear Sky retained his fierceness toward intruders and even his own cats, qualities that led Thunder to leave.
After the Great Battle, Clear Sky realized that his fierceness in protecting his larger group rather than any individual cat had led to horrifying violence. While still proud and protective of the cats under his leadership, he became less fierce toward the other cats in the forest, and gentler with the weaker members of his own group. He became the first leader of SkyClan.
JAGGED PEAK
JAGGED PEAK WAS THE brother of Gray Wing and Clear Sky, from a younger litter. As a kit he was bright and brave, impatient to get out of the cave and begin learning skills of hunting and mountain survival. When the cats cast votes whether to stay in the mountains or leave, Jagged Peak voted to leave and was frustrated when his mother, Quiet Rain, said that he was too young to go. Refusing to be left behind, Jagged Peak crept out of the cave and went after the departing cats.
He tracked the group for a good distance before he was attacked by an eagle and had to be rescued by Gray Wing, who had followed him. But his spirit stayed strong after the danger, and the two cats journeyed on together until they caught up with the group.
Jagged Peak especially admired his brother Clear Sky and went with him to the forest when the cats split into two groups. He enjoyed learning to hunt in trees but was badly injured when he fell from a high branch. As soon as it became clear that his injured leg wouldn’t heal properly, Clear Sky banished him, and he returned to the moorland cats. Here he grew embittered because he felt he was useless. But Jagged Peak discovered an affinity for young kits and was able to become a valued member of the group on the moor by the care he gave them. While his limp never fully disappeared, he gradually became stronger and was eventually able to raise his own family in WindClan.
THUNDER
THE SON OF STORM and Clear Sky, Thunder was born in the Twolegplace and rescued from a collapsing Twoleg den by his father’s brother, Gray Wing, who took him to Clear Sky’s camp in the forest. He was bewildered by Clear Sky’s rejection of him, and anxious about what would happen to him, until Gray Wing brought him to the moor and persuaded the moorland cats to take him in.
Though Thunder was raised on the moor, his instincts were to hunt among trees, using cover to creep up on his prey, and he found it hard to hunt on the open land, where there was nowhere to hide.
But he worked hard to perfect his skills, wanting to make Gray Wing proud.
Thunder’s first chance to shine came during the forest fire. He was the first cat to leap over the flames when River Ripple showed the cats the way to safety, and joined Jackdaw’s Cry in returning through the flames to rescue Moon Shadow.
After the fire, Clear Sky and the other forest cats temporarily took shelter with the cats on the moor, and Clear Sky was impressed with the promise of his strong young son. Thunder was proud to be praised by his father, and went with Clear Sky when the forest cats returned to their camp. But Clear Sky’s aggressiveness alienated Thunder’s compassionate nature, and when Clear Sky drove another cat, Frost, out to die, Thunder went with him, taking him to the moorland camp.
While he struggled to find the place where he truly belonged, Thunder was always strong and determined. He fought bravely in the Great Battle and won the respect of the cats around him. In the end he became the first leader of ThunderClan.
STORM AND TURTLE TAIL
STORM WAS A LONER , a beautiful she-cat with silver fur and green eyes. She had no permanent home, but moved easily between the forest and the Twolegplace. The first mountain cat she knew was Gray Wing. Though she teased him, she clearly liked him and was happy to spend time with him in the forest, but when she met Clear Sky, the two cats instantly fell in love.
Storm went to live with Clear Sky, but gradually became disillusioned. She could not approve of Clear Sky’s obsession with guarding his territory and controlling his cats’ lives, or his violent clashes with trespassers. She felt guilty because she didn’t speak up when Clear Sky drove Jagged Peak out of the forest. As an independent, spirited cat, she also became impatient with Clear Sky when he tried to pamper her while she was carrying his kits.
Finally Storm couldn’t stand Clear Sky’s ways any longer and grew tired of making excuses for him. She left the forest and made a nest in an abandoned Twoleg den, where she had her kits. She and two of her kits died when Twolegs demolished the den; Gray Wing rescued the third kit, Thunder. In his grief, Clear Sky was unable to forgive himself for driving Storm away and would not accept
Thunder into his group.
Despite her death, the memory of Storm continued to affect Gray Wing and Clear Sky for many moons, and Thunder would always yearn for the mother he could barely remember
Turtle Tail had tortoiseshell fur and green eyes; her name came from her stumpy tail. She was part of the group of cats who came from the mountains, and remained on the moor when the group split into two. She befriended a kittypet named Bumble and spent a lot of time with her, even visiting her home in the Twolegplace.
Always cheerful and brave, Turtle Tail’s natural optimism was tried when she fell in love with Gray Wing, who at first only regarded her as a friend. She was hurt when Gray Wing became interested in Storm and, feeling rejected, she went to live with Bumble and her Twolegs.
When the Twolegs brought another kittypet named Tom into their home, Turtle Tail thought she might be able to make a life with him and became pregnant with his kits. But when Bumble admitted that the Twolegs would take her kits away from her, she left the Twolegs and returned to the moor.
At first Turtle Tail was unsure whether her former denmates would welcome her back, and some of them were hostile to admitting a cat who had chosen to be a kittypet. But Gray Wing spoke up for her; while she was away he had missed her dreadfully, and now he realized how much she meant to him. Turtle Tail finally had the life she’d dreamed of when she and Gray Wing became mates, and Gray Wing became father to her kits, Pebble Heart, Owl Eyes, and Sparrow Fur.
TALL SHADOW
TALL SHADOW WAS A thick-furred, black she-cat with green eyes. She left the mountains with Clear Sky and the others and became the leader of the group after the death of Shaded Moss.
She was always a watchful and thoughtful cat, tending to be suspicious of strangers. She was reluctant to allow other cats to join the group and at first sent Gorse and Wind away, even though the rest of the group would have welcomed them in. This caused a quarrel among her cats; some of them even called for her to step down as leader and for Gray Wing to take her place, though Gray Wing himself had no wish to do this. Her insistence on watching the camp also angered some cats, who felt that she should be taking a more active leadership role.
However when her littermate, Moon Shadow, was badly injured in the forest fire and later died, Tall Shadow found her anxiety and grief was too much to bear. She willingly gave up the leadership to Gray Wing, although later she resumed her authority and for a time the two cats acted as joint leaders.