| “ | I thought it would end an argument between the Clans. But it was a cowardly thing to do. Not worthy of a warrior, or of ShadowClan. I brought shame on my Clanmates. | „ |
| ~ Juniperclaw explaining why he poisoned SkyClan's freshkill pile to Shadowsight. |
Juniperclaw is a supporting character in Erin Hunter's Warriors book series, serving as a major anti-villain in A Vision of Shadows arc, a supporting protagonist in the super edition Tigerheart's Shadow and a supporting anti-hero in The Broken Code arc and a novella Tawnypelt's Clan.
He is a former deputy of ShadowClan, former resident of the Dark Forest and the current border guardian between the afterlives. He is also the brother of Sleekwhisker and Strikestone.
Biography[]
A Vision of Shadows[]
Juniperpaw and his siblings, Sleekpaw and Strikepaw, are young apprentices of ShadowClan, but feel dissatisfied with the way their leader Rowanstar is leading the Clan, feeling as if ShadowClan is no longer the powerful and intimidating Clan it once was. When Darktail and his rogues arrive to the lake, Juniperpaw, alongside Sleekpaw, Needlepaw, and Violetkit rebel against their leader and abandon the Clan to join The Kin. There, Juniperpaw renames himself Juniperclaw, and while enjoying the freedoms of being a rogue not bound to the warrior code, he soon comes to regret his decision in leaving ShadowClan when he notices how cruel and bloodthirsty Darktail and his minions really are.
Juniperclaw defects from The Kin with the help of his brother Strikestone and their mother Dawnpelt, rejoining ShadowClan. He later helps in the Clan's attack against The Kin, successfully driving them out of the lake territories. Despite still holding a grudge against Rowanstar for letting The Kin take ShadowClan over so easily, he is given the apprentice Whorlpaw to train.
After ShadowClan joins with SkyClan after the disappearance of their deputy and their leader's crumbling confidence, Leafstar, the leader of SkyClan, refuses to let Sleekwhisker and Yarrowleaf in when the two attempt to also join. Juniperclaw, spiteful at Leafstar for rejecting his sister, helps her and Yarrowleaf refuge in ShadowClan's currently unused camp. Once Tigerstar the II becomes ShadowClan's new leader after Rowanclaw steps down, Juniperclaw moves back to his original Clan and later becomes the new deputy, though this is faced with outrage from the other Clan cats because Juniperclaw was one of the first who betrayed his own for The Kin.
In an attempt to drive out SkyClan, believing it's the only way to protect his own Clan, Juniperclaw puts deathberry seeds into the SkyClan fresh-kill pile, nearly killing Sparrowpelt in the process. Alderheart finds out before his plan takes affect, and when the ShadowClan tom admits his crime, Strikestone and Tigerstar the II immediately disown him as family, the latter also stripping him of his position as deputy. Juniperclaw, ashamed, flees the camp were he soon discovers Violetshine and Shadowkit caught in a flood. In an attempt to redeem himself, he saves the two cats at the cost of being swept away and drowning.
The Broken Code[]
Juniperclaw appears in the final book of the arc, A Light in the Mist, where he is revealed to have gone to the Dark Forest after his death.
Juniperclaw offers his help to StarClan in defeating Ashfur to free the trapped soul of his brother Strikestone, but everyone else scolds him for almost poisoning SkyClan until Rootspring defends him, convincing the rest of the group to let him help. After Ashfur is killed, the trapped spirits are freed, and the connection between StarClan and the living world is restored, Shadowsight thanks Juniperclaw for saving him from the flood when he was a kit, lamenting Bristlefrost's death and blaming himself for it. Juniperclaw reassures the medicine cat that he isn't at fault, and that the negative aura of the Dark Forest is just getting to him. As the StarClan cats begin to leave, Juniperclaw, feeling he has no place in StarClan, instead offers to guard the tunnel Ashfur made that connects the Dark Forest to StarClan.
Appearance[]
Juniperclaw is a sleek, skinny, pure black tom with a thin tail and green eyes.
Personality[]
| “ | Rootspring felt a prick of sympathy for the black tom. Even though he didn’t know the whole story, it sounded like Juniperclaw really wanted to make amends. | „ |
| ~ Rootspring when Juniperclaw was treated with disgust. |
Juniperclaw is extremely loyal to ShadowClan, going as far as attempting to poison a cat to keep it safe. While he did poison a SkyClan cat, he genuinely thought he was doing the right thing and realized his errors once Tigerstar (AVoS) demoted him from deputy and berated him. Juniperclaw would dedicate his life to atone after, sacrificing his life to save Shadowkit and Violetshine from a flood. Even when Juniperclaw was sent to the Dark Forest, his desire for atonement was never erased as he would risk his existence to help the Clans defeat Ashfur. When Shadowsight was considering staying in the Dark Forest because of his survivior's guilt, Juniperclaw would furiously tell him to snap out of it and managed to convince Shadowsight to go back to the Clans.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Dawnpelt (mother)
- Crowfrost (father)
- Sleekwhisker (sister)
- Strikestone (brother)
External Links[]
- Juniperclaw on the Warriors Wiki
