The seventh Warriors arc A Starless Clan wrapped up its sixth and final book last year. As the most recently completed arc, it is one that’s fresher in my mind.
This is the first arc Clan switching is allowed due to the code change, which offered some new dilemmas for couples. While this also makes it harder to keep track of familial relationships and who-came-from-where, I was intrigued with the trials and how they affected relationships.
This article has the same problem the one on The Broken Code did with the lack of available art. Since these books are new, their translations in other countries are not available yet. With a lot of the art I collect for these articles coming from covers in other countries, this limited my ability to get art of even one cat for each couple (especially the background characters). I was also only able to find seven couples instead of the typical eight.
This article contains spoilers for the books up to the end of A Starless Clan (including Frostpaw’s name in the first description), but also a small one for The Elders’ Quest.
Frostpaw and Splashtail
Rating: 0/10
It should be obvious how I feel about a ship when one of the names end in ‘paw and the other doesn’t, but if it isn’t clear, EW. For the entire time that she knows Splashtail, Frostdawn has her apprentice name. She goes past the age of apprenticeship, yet the majority of their “relationship” happens when she’s an apprentice and he’s a young warrior. Splashtail manipulates Frostpaw’s crush on him for his own benefit, using Frostpaw’s feelings for him as an anchor to guilt her about becoming a warrior apprentice. For Splashtail’s plan to work, he needs her to be a medicine cat and her stepping down is disastrous for him. I cringed so hard when Frostpaw confessed her feelings to him, hoping to be mates in the future. Her mistake was immediate as Splashtail acts like an abusive boyfriend by snapping at her then apologizing multiple times when they’re talking. Also, Splashtail tries to murder her! I kept them at zero, but I’d give them a negative thousand in reality. There’s nothing redeeming about this “couple.”
Sunbeam and Nightheart
Rating: 5/10
Of all the couples in this article, this one is my most uncertain rating. While the others got their ratings on the first draft, it took me until the end of writing to finally pick a number for Sunbeam and Nightheart. The reason? I hated them when they first got together. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Nightheart falls in love with Sunbeam so quickly and essentially tricks her into being mates by joining ShadowClan without talking to her first. Though he tells her it’ll be up to her if they stay friends or become mates, it’s wrong. I loved when they bonded over the journey to get catmint, and their adventure stealing Twoleg food was cute, but it was immediately soured by Nightheart’s actions after. Despite saying he will always support her, he is constantly leaving Sunbeam hanging with no explanation. He purposefully fails his third trial to go back to ThunderClan and out of nowhere, Sunbeam joins him there instead. Their affection for each other doesn’t grow on me until the very last book, Star. The relationship finally feels real and feasible. Shinepaw and Goldenpaw are also very cute names for their kits; I can see them being excellent parents. Based on all of this, to be fair, I placed them at the most average rating.
Sunbeam and Blazefire
Rating: 2/10
I’m sorry to Sunbeam, but her drama surrounding Blazefire was one of the most entertaining parts of the first couple books of A Starless Clan. It’d been a while in the series since we’d gotten something so trivial to the plot, but perfect for character development. As a reader, it was apparent to me early on that Sunbeam and Blazefire wouldn’t work out. His early teasing of Sunbeam being a “perfect little ShadowClan warrior,” while he leaned more rebellious cued me into an unbalanced dynamic. It always seemed like Sunbeam was seeking him out instead of the other way around. When Lightleap entered the picture, it was all over for Sunbeam. The main reason that I gave them at least a two is because I always love the idea of childhood friends to lovers, which they would’ve been if they worked out. Plus, it was fun to read about. I’m happy they were able to become friends again later and secretly hope that we might see Sunbeam, Blazefire, and Lightleap interact in the background of the new arc at some point (or their kits, maybe).
Blazefire and Lightleap
Rating: 7.5/10
Together these two cats match each other’s rambunctious energy and make a perfect pairing. Their situation is an interesting one, as lightly explained above, since they insisted they were friends before falling in love. If anything, having a fun low stakes situation like that improved my rating for them. As much as I felt for Sunbeam, I could see how Blazefire and Lightleap were meant for each other. Their teasing and adventures, though I agree are reckless at times, were sweet bonding moments. It’s also clear they never wanted to hurt Sunbeam and were trying to spare her feelings, even if they should’ve been honest from the beginning. I think they’re both funny individuals, so together it makes for a good time. Plus, I’m pleased Blazefire brings in some genetic diversity to ShadowClan, especially given that Lightleap is connected to a ThunderClan line as well. They have a litter of kits in the most recent arc, Beechkit, Poolkit, and Quickkit, so I’m hoping we get some glimpses into their parenting.
Spireclaw and Fringewhisker
Rating: 7/10
What is cuter than seeing random background characters in a prologue, where they pine after one another and hope that the code changes allow them a future together? Without naming them, this start to ASC created intrigue and romance. I remember everyone trying to figure out who they were and I wasn’t disappointed for the reveal. Readers even get a little backstory on how they came to be: when Fringewhisker was guarding the Imposter in TBC, she met and fell in love with Spireclaw. His constant reassurance and support of Fringewhisker when she’s moved to ShadowClan, going through the trials, and continuing to live there is adorable. The two of them are a wonderful support for Sunbeam and Nightheart too. They’re even supportive when Sunbeam leaves to join ThunderClan instead, Fringewhisker specifically staring warmly at Sunbeam during the announcement at the Gathering. Readers may not know much of them as individuals, but together they’re great.
Shellfur and Fernstripe
Rating: 4/10
I only love a few aspects of this couple’s relationship, mostly having to do with what a sweetheart Fernstripe is. I’ll start with the positive: Fernstripe’s adjustment to ThunderClan goes amazingly well, especially when she defends her choice and relationship with Shellfur by discussing how everything she loved about him she figures out she loves about ThunderClan. I think the general support that these two give to Nightheart and Sunbeam is sweet also. However, as background characters they are sort of a mess. For starters, I cannot figure out who Fernstripe’s kin is in WindClan; she appears to just spawn into the series. Then, Shellfur was originally a white she-cat in the books before being changed to a tortoiseshell tom. Most recently, the authors made a huge mistake by saying Shellfur was mates with Myrtlebloom in The Elders’ Quest. This mistake was fixed in later publications but caused a stir in the fandom. Honestly, I almost wish they’d kept the little drama. Imagine the pain of Fernstripe moving Clans for Shellfur, only for him to leave her for a ThunderClan cat anyway. For all the little blunders in their characters and the general vague relationship, they got a below average rating.
Cinnamontail and Slatefur
Rating: 6/10
Cinnamontail and Slatefur are the type of relationship I wish the books shed more light on. A cat coming from outside the Clans, Cinnamontail, falling for another that was in the tumultuous Kin, Slatefur, is an interesting dynamic. Even mentioning them more in the background during the arcs would’ve been nice. Instead, I have to go off the idea of how I think they interacted and fell in love. Since Slatefur is one of the ShadowClan warriors that flees when the Kin takes over, he first meets Cinnamon when she’s traveling back with Tigerheart, Dovewing, their kits, and the other Guardian cats. While readers don’t see this happening, I can imagine this is where they first connected. Of the canon we have to go off of, they seem like a decent couple. Slatefur takes care of their one healthy kit while Cinnamontail and their other kits are sick and (this does count for something) they name their kits with fun prefixes. They’re an all-around wholesome, unassuming couple.
That concludes this article series for the Warriors arcs, but there’s plenty of couples I haven’t touched on that are included in Super Editions, novellas, and other extra content! Look out for those in the near future.
Check out my other articles for this series:
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – The Prophecies Begin”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – The New Prophecy”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Power of Three”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Omen of the Stars”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Dawn of the Clans”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – A Vision of Shadows”
“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – The Broken Code”
