Character spotlight: Whistlepaw – an ally and a friend
EXCLUSIVE from the Story Team
BY THE STORY TEAM
With the publication of Wind, the conclusion of A Starless Clan is now firmly in sight, the resolution to the interconnected narratives of Nightheart, Sunbeam, and Frostpaw looming large. But it’s not just the originally selected protagonist cats reaching the ends of their journeys who occupy the thoughts of the Story Team at such times—a lot of attention is also paid to particular characters who have played vital supporting roles in the larger story/ies, whose journeys are only just getting started, and whose growing importance to the sprawling world of Warriors almost takes us by surprise.
One such character is the WindClan medicine cat apprentice, Whistlepaw.
While she begins to come to the fore in the middle chapters of A Starless Clan, Whistlepaw has actually “been around” since the previous arc, The Broken Code. She was initially apprenticed to the warrior, Hootwhisker, before Kestrelflight asserted himself at a half-moon meeting in Darkness Within (volume 4 of The Broken Code), telling the other Clans’ medicine cats that the young gray tabby had been helping him tend to an ailing Emberfoot. The announcement that he’d be taking on Whistlepaw as an apprentice prompted confusion and concern in Shadowsight and Jayfeather because, at that time, StarClan were absent and unable to approve Kestrelflight’s choice. Could he be sure that it was the right one? Kestrelflight stood his ground, making clear that WindClan needed more than one set of paws to tend to their sick and injured Clanmates. With the backing of Mothwing of RiverClan, and Puddleshine of ShadowClan—who pointed out that StarClan do not teach medicine cats how to use herbs, and that Rowanstar agreed to make Puddleshine a medicine cat apprentice before securing StarClan’s approval—Kestrelflight begins Whistlepaw’s training.
Thankfully, when StarClan returns in A Light in the Mist, they approve his choice, and Whistlepaw’s transition from warrior apprentice to medicine cat apprentice is complete. Of course, with the delays in her formal training, as well as the prolonged absences of StarClan, Whistlepaw remains Whistlepaw in the later stages of the A Starless Clan arc, and into the seventeenth super edition, Ivypool’s Heart, which takes place within that timeline.
In River (the first book in A Starless Clan), Whistlepaw gets to know the new RiverClan medicine cat apprentice, Frostpaw, and shows her how to contact StarClan by touching her nose to the Moonpool. The two apprentices form such a quick bond that, in Shadow (book three), it is Whistlepaw whose advice Frostpaw decides to seek when she receives a vision that may or may not be from StarClan. Alarmingly, Frostpaw is attacked by an unseen assailant before she can make it to WindClan, and in Thunder (book four), Whistlepaw happens upon her gravely injured friend. Frostpaw is initially unsure how Whistlepaw would react, and concerned that she will insist on alerting the rest of WindClan, as would be expected of a medicine cat apprentice. She also doesn’t expect Whistlepaw to believe her claims of being in mortal danger. But not only does Whistlepaw believe Frostpaw, she tends to her wounds and escorts her to the horseplace to recover… and she also agrees to plant “evidence” of Frostpaw’s death, which might just be the most effective way of keeping her safe from those who would do her harm.
That she would so readily keep Frostpaw’s secret, and go to such lengths to keep her safe, speaks to Whistlepaw’s character: she is a young cat with a good heart and a strong sense of honor. Even though she knows punishment and reprimand might be in her future, she does the right thing, showing great loyalty to Frostpaw. The Story Team are excited to see how their friendship develops, because cross-Clan bonds are always fun to write!
It’s not just Frostpaw whose fate becomes dependent on the WindClan medicine cat apprentice— a disturbing vision of Whistlepaw’s sets in motion the storyline for the upcoming Ivypool’s Heart (Super #17), which sees a group of specially selected cats investigate a long-forgotten episode from the Clans’ history in order to understand its implications for the living cats.
One of the benefits of telling stories in the world of Warriors—with its broad canvas, and a cast of characters so long it’s occasionally hard to keep track—is that the Story Team feels like it has unlimited options. With so many characters at our disposal, there are endless combinations from which to derive narrative arcs and conflicts. From the Story Team’s perspective, the richness of the world provides ample time within scenes, chapters, and books to give prominence to secondary characters. That takes some of the pressure off of us when it comes time to focus on those secondary characters, because we can craft a story confident that our loyal readers already know and like (love!) the character stepping into the spotlight.
Even though we have yet to see a full story from Whistlepaw’s perspective, her importance to the world of Warriors is obvious, and it is growing. When the time comes for her to take center stage, our hope is that readers will be interested and eager for a story that’s seen through her eyes.
That’s not to say we have immediate plans for that just yet (we don’t… honest!), but we wouldn’t bet against Whistlepaw coming to prominence and gracing more than one cover in the future!
