“I am leader here, Blackfoot. I make the decisions. And I’m not ready to give up yet– not if there’s a chance of driving out BloodClan.” -Leopardstar about going to battle in The Darkest Hour
Leopardstar was RiverClan’s leader in the forest and lake territories. She was born as Leopardkit to Mudfur and Brightsky alongside three unnamed kits. Her mother, Brightsky, died after kitting, so Leopardkit was fostered by another RiverClan queen named Shimmerpelt. She was apprenticed as Leopardpaw to Whitefang and had an apprentice of her own named Whiteclaw shortly after she became a warrior. Leopardfur became deputy after Oakheart died and was being manipulated by Tigerclaw about her deputy-ship. Leopardstar may have made some terrible decisions as leader, but she believed in her deputy Mistyfoot to lead her Clan into glory after she died.
Leopardstar in the The Prophecies Begin
Leopardfur becomes RiverClan’s deputy after Oakheart dies after a battle with ThunderClan. Leopardfur defends her Clan with tooth and claw and is a strict follower of the warrior code. When she and her patrol attack two ThunderClan warriors named Fireheart and Graystripe, she witnesses the death of one of her warriors, Whiteclaw, when he falls off the gorge. She blames Graystripe because he was looking down at the gorge and watching Whiteclaw fall. She then becomes extremely bitter to the two cats. Leopardfur is sent to retrieve Silverstream’s kits, Stormkit and Featherkit, from ThunderClan. She meets Graystripe and he asks Crookedstar to join RiverClan. Leopardfur refuses to trust him after Crookedstar agrees to let him join. Despite her distrust, she helps ThunderClan flee to RiverClan after their camp is destroyed by a forest fire.
After Crookedstar dies of greencough, Leopardfur receives her leader name and nine lives. When she gets back to camp with Mudfur, she appoints Stonefur as her deputy. Now that she is leader, she is able to banish Graystripe after he refuses to attack Fireheart despite his leader’s orders. After Tigerstar becomes leader of ShadowClan, he convinces Leopardstar to join the two Clans together into TigerClan. Leopardstar originally wanted the Clan to be called LeopardClan, but Tigerstar refused. Tigerstar’s first decree is to rid TigerClan of half–Clan cats, which includes Leopardstar’s deputy Stonefur, his sister Mistyfoot, and Graystripe’s kits Featherpaw and Stormpaw. Tigerstar tells Stonefur to kill the two apprentices, but he refuses, saying that he only takes orders from Leopardstar. Leopardstar feels powerless, so she tells him to do as Tigerstar says. After still refusing to kill the apprentices, Tigerstar’s deputy, Blackfoot, and Darkstripe, a banished ThunderClan warrior, kill Stonefur. Leopardstar is horrified at her deputy’s death and immediately regrets her decision to join TigerClan. Leopardstar witnesses Tigerstar’s gruesome death and believes that the Clans will be slaughtered at the claws of BloodClan. However, Firestar urges her to fight for the Clans, and she asks him to lead LionClan as she no longer has the strength to lead. She appoints Mistyfoot as her next deputy before the battle with BloodClan in honor of her brother’s sacrifice.
Leopardstar in The New Prophecy
Under Leopardstar’s leadership, there are many moons of peace. When Mistyfoot is captured by Twolegs (humans), Leopardstar is reluctant to choose another deputy, but she eventually chooses Hawkfrost as her temporary deputy. However, to the delight of Leopardstar and her Clan, Mistyfoot returns days later and Leopardstar appoints her as deputy once more. Hawkfrost is privately angered by this decision, but he openly accepts Mistyfoot’s return. When the forest is destroyed by the Twolegs, Leopardstar is the last leader to agree to leave the forest with the other four Clans. She insists that RiverClan can survive off of the river and its fish, but eventually she is convinced that the Twolegs will destroy the river, and she leads RiverClan on the Great Journey.
Upon arriving at the lake, Leopardstar is determined to have the best camp for RiverClan and claim as much territory as possible. She is unaware of Hawkfrost’s plots with Mudclaw, but her deputy Mistyfoot witnesses the situation and receives help from ThunderClan to stop Mudclaw’s rebellion. When Hawkfrost makes up a sign about Stormfur and Brook being obstacles to RiverClan’s success, she is initially skeptical, but banishes the mountain cats after Stormfur attacks Hawkfrost in a fit of rage.
Leopardstar in Power of Three
Her Clan moves into the island where Gatherings are held in order to escape Twoleg kits (children) who were terrorizing them. When the ThunderClan apprentice, Hollypaw, sneaks into RiverClan territory to see what’s wrong, Leopardstar decides to keep her hostage out of fear that she would spill RiverClan’s weakness to all the Clans. She takes sides with Onestar that ThunderClan thinks every problem is their own, and forms an alliance with WindClan to attack ThunderClan and ShadowClan. She and the other Clan leaders demand ThunderClan to banish Sol from the lake because of all the damage he caused.
Leopardstar in Omen of the Stars
Leopardstar and her Clan are heavily affected by the drought causing the lake to dry up. She insists angrily that the remaining water belonged to RiverClan, and her Clanmates guard the water to prevent any other Clan from stealing fish. The drought affects her severely, and Leopardstar loses her remaining lives. Mistyfoot successes her as leader.
Leopardstar in Mistystar’s Omen
Leopardstar, weakened and frail by the drought, is barely clinging to her last life. Mistyfoot stays at her side, and Leopardstar says she never deserved her deputy’s forgiveness for everything that happened during Tigerstar’s rule. Before Leopardstar passes, she reveals she always thought of Mistyfoot as her surrogate daughter. Mistyfoot wakes up to find Leopardstar dead.
Leopardstar in Return to the Clans
Sasha, a loner and former kittypet, takes her two kits, Hawk and Moth, to RiverClan where they are confronted by Leopardstar and her patrol. Leopardstar agrees for the three to join RiverClan, and names the kits Hawkpaw and Mothpaw. However, Sasha constantly refuses to accept a warrior name. When Hawkpaw and Mothpaw are playing with the remnants of the Bonehill, Leopardstar reprimands them and informs them of Tigerstar’s rule. Leopardstar is hesitant when Sasha reveals she is leaving, but Leopardstar accepts her friend’s decision and thanks Sasha for providing two apprentices for RiverClan.
Leopardstar in A Shadow in RiverClan
Feathertail struggles to trust Leopardstar after she supported Tigerstar and almost allowed him to kill her and Stormfur. When Leopardstar allows Hawk, Moth and Sasha to join RiverClan and mentors Hawkpaw, Feathertail questions her leader’s intentions and wonders if she ever changed. A fox attacks RiverClan’s camp, and Leopardstar, Feathertail, Stormfur and Hawkpaw scout out for its den to drive it away. However, they are cornered by the fox and Leopardstar is gravely injured trying to protect Hawkpaw. Feathertail and Stormfur save her, and Leopardstar admits her past faults and pride in them. Feathertail forgives Leopardstar for what happened, to which she is grateful.
Source: Warriors Wiki- Leopardstar
