Patchstar

Patchstar was a black, silver, and white tom with violet eyes.

Originally born into an animal shelter, Patch always felt that he was being held back from his true potential. Unhappy with the boring life his adoptive family gave him, he convinced his next-door neighbor, Milky, to run away with him. Together, they travelled deep into the forest, until Patch began to receive dreams seemingly from the stars. Guided by their light, he and Milky were renamed Patchstar and Milkpelt, the founders of BirdClan—or as Patchstar always preferred to say, "the Winged Ones."

Curiously, a she-cat named Slate found her way to their camp only a moon later, with the claim that she too had been guided by the stars. Over the course of her life, she would dream of far away Clans of cats, and would report their happenings and rules to Patchstar. With the information she brought to him, he was able to conduct and enforce his own Warrior Code, as well as assign roles to his fellow Clanmates.

Tragically, a few seasons after the founding of BirdClan, Milkpelt passed away due to cancer. Slate had warned the pair of friends about a growing illness inside Milkpelt only a few days after her acceptance into the Clan, claiming that it would take his life but that she was unable to help. His best friend's passing was crippling for Patchstar, but he was impressed with Slate's knowledge, officially naming her as a medicine cat.

Patchstar met Petalstep early on in the quest to recruit lost cats, after Milkpelt found her wandering the forest. He was stunned by her beauty and wit, and she was impressed by his ambition and kindness, and the two became subtle mates over the moons. After the Clan had grown considerably and Patchstar began to have fewer responsibilities, he was finally able to give her kits, only to have her die in childbirth. As Patchstar had already been mourning the death of Milkpelt, Petalstep's passing was a heavy blow to the leader's mental health. For several seasons, he was very spiritually absent from his Clan, spending most of his days alone in his den.

It took Patchstar a long time to recover from the deaths of those closest to him, but eventually he felt it necessary to turn a new leaf and take on an apprentice for the first time in many seasons. Seeing great potential in Lakekit, he named himself as the young cat's mentor. Hardly a moon into their training, a fox ambushed one of their battle sessions. Despite the leader's best efforts to defend his apprentice, Lakepaw suffered a heavy bite to the neck before Honeypaw and Dunescrape rushed in to help the elder cat drive the fox away. Later that night, Lakepaw's wounds proved fatal.

Only a couple moons later, Patchstar's trusted deputy, Wavestorm, was struck by a car and killed. Already hollow from his apprentice's death, Patchstar is crushed, but knows he must appoint a new deputy. He considers Marshstep, Troutsplash, and Skypatch as replacements, but ends up naming Stripecloud to take the position for his calm and calculating demeanor. He also thought of Dunescrape, as he was impressed with his loyalty and fighting abilities when trying to save Lakepaw, but came to the realization that the young tom had not apprenticed any warriors yet and therefore had not proven his ability to lead and teach.

After several more seasons, an intense rainstorm overflowed the river and flooded the camp. In his old age, Patchstar struggled to stay above the current, but was fortunate that Shinestripe spotted him and dived in without hesitation to help, followed by Troutsplash, Skypatch, and Duskclaw. The clanmates save the unconscious leader's life by carrying him to the riverside and lifting him onto a high outcropping, at the cost of Troutsplash, Shinestripe, and Duskclaw's lives. Once Patchstar awakened and made his way to the rest of the recovering Clan, he was devastated to find the number of cats who did not make it, particularly pained by the loss of Slatetail, his trusted medicine cat and spiritual guide, and Shinestripe, one of his oldest friends and strongest apprentices. The leader named Shineleaf as the new medicine cat, and disappeared to his den for days on end.

His mental retreat was soon interrupted by Honeylake and Rosepetal's desperate attempt to warn him of Dunescrape's alleged wrongdoing. Annoyed by the she-cats' intrusion and accusations, he lashes out at the two and deems them as disrespectful liars, as he had only ever known Dunescrape as an attempted savior of his lost apprentice.

A few weeks later, a small band of dogs broke into the camp to battle the Clan for their land in the forest. Emotionally broken and infuriated by the state of his Clan and so many lost loved ones, Patchstar fought the dogs with every last shred of strength he had. While he was able to inflict impressive damage, a dog had managed to tear one of the leader's paws nearly off of his leg, leaving Patchstar unable to stand and bleeding a dangerous amount. After the dogs fled, the Clan rushed to his aid, but to no avail. In Patchstar's dying moments, he looked around at the Clan—the family—he had built alongside his now-gone loved ones, and realized that they would live on through these cats. He told his family how proud he was of them, and that Stripecloud would guide them well. He promised to see them in the stars, closed his eyes, and never opened them again.

The night after his death, Patchstar appears in Stripecloud's dreams to grant him his second life: a life of guidance.