Warrior Cat Rants

Leopardstar: Like

(Spoilers for the whole series)

Leopardstar is a good cat. In the TigerClan incident, Tigerstar made it clear he would kill anyone who disobeyed him as he used Stonefur as an example to prove he wasn't kidding. Leopardstar felt guilty about it afterwards and didn't want to make big mistakes like that ever again since she didn't want to let her Clan down like she did. She couldn't even trust herself.

"Leopardstar made an alliance that would nearly lead to the destruction of every cat. She realized her mistake when Tigerstar combined their Clans into TigerClan and made himself leader, then made half-Clan cats fight to the death, Whatever Leopardstar had hoped for, this was not it. But she was trapped by her pride and couldn't speak out against Tigerstar-not because she was scared for her own safety, but because she didn't want to lose the respect of her Clanmates by admitting she was wrong."

She has never forgotten how close she has came to destroying her Clan, and if she seems hostile and defensive when dealing with other Clans, it's not because she doesn't trust them; it's because she no longer trusts her own judgement and fears for the safety of her Clan if she makes another mistake." - Cats of the Clans, Leopardstar's page

Mistystar's Omen also proves she regretted it:

"I never deserved your forgiveness," Leopardstar whispered, jerking Mistyfoot back to the cold, quiet den." - Mistystar's Omen, chapter one.

In this quote Leopardstar also expected Mistyfoot to hold a grudge against her and be happy she was dying:

"But I don't want to lose you!" Mistyfoot protested.

One clouded blue eye opened and gazed at her. "Really?" Leopardstar wheezed. "After what I did to your brother? All half-Clan cats?" - Mistystar's Omen, chapter one

In The Darkest Hour, Leopardstar was too defeated to stand up and protect her deputy. If she did, she would have been killed as well, the same as Blackstar. And if the both of them did die, RiverClan would be without a deputy and leader and would likely get destroyed because of Tigerstar leading over them. RiverClan would likely cease to exist as they were in a bad place to be losing both a leader and deputy.

Tigerstar angrily swept his tail toward Leopardstar. "You showed poor judgement when you chose this cat as your deputy," he growled " RiverClan is choked by the reeds of treachery, and we must root them out."

To Firestar's dismay, Leopardstar bowed her head. The gesture showed just how far Tigerstar's power extended, that the once-formidable RiverClan leader was unable or unwilling to protect her own deputy. - The Darkest Hour, page 167

"The hill was made up of only prey bones, not mixed with cat bones like the one in his dream. On one side of it stood the ShadowClan deputy, Blackfoot. On the other side was Leopardstar. Her gaze flicked nervously back and forth across the clearing. Firestar wondered if she regretted what had happened to her Clan, and guessed that her ambition to make her Clan strong blinded her to Tigerstar's real nature. But whatever the former RiverClan leader felt, it was too late for her to go back now." - The Darkest Hour, page 161

Leopardstar also defended Hawkfrost and Mothwing in Midnight. She even trained Hawkfrost:

"Leopardstar made no attempt to quiet the clamor, only staring stonily down until it died away. "They are strong young cats and have learned their warrior skills well," she meowed when she could make herself heard. "They have sworn to defend their Clan at the cost of their lives, just as all of you have sworn." With a glance at Blackstar, she added, "Were not some of ShadowClan's warriors rogues once?" Before he could reply, her gaze swiveled to Firestar. "And if a kittypet can become Clan leader, why should rogues not be welcome as warriors?"

"She has a point there," Graystripe admitted.

Firestar dipped his head toward Leopardstar. "True," he mewed. "I will be glad to see these cats fufill their promise as loyal members of their Clan." Leopardstar nodded in reply; his words had clearly appeased her." - Midnight, page 49-50

She didn't order for Stonefur to be killed, Tigerstar did. Since when did anyone get the idea that happened? Leopardstar's not like that.

"The blue-gray warrior had turned to face Leopardstar. "I take orders from you,""he growled. "You must know this is wrong. What do you want me to do?"

For a heartbeat Leopardstar looked uncertain, and again Firestar began to hope that she would take a stand against Tigerstar and stop the destruction of her Clan. But he had underestimated the strength of her ambition, and her misguided faith that Tigerstar offered an invincible future.

"These are difficult times," she meowed at last. "As we fight for survival we must be able to count on every one of our Clan mates. There is no room for divided loyalties. Do as Tigerstar tells you."

Stonefur held her gaze once more. A moment that for Firstar seemed to last for several moons. The he faced the two apprentices and they shrank away from him, their eyes glazed with terror.

Stormpaw gave his sister a comforting lick. "We'll fight him," he promised. "I won't let him kill us."

Brave words, Firestar thought desperately. Stonefur was a skilled, experienced warrior, and even in his weakened state he was a formidable threat to two half-trained apprentices who had obviously been ill-treated and imprisoned as well.

The RiverClan warrior gave a little nod to Stormpaw, just as any mentor approving of his apprentice's courage. Then turned up to look at Tigerstar again. "You'll have to kill me first Tigerstar!" he spat.

Narrowing his eyes, Tigerstar flicked his tail at Darkstripe. "Very well. Kill him," he ordered." - The Darkest Hour, pages 168-169

Leopardstar is seen grieving after Tigerstar leaves:

At once the cats in the clearing began to slip away. Tigerstar leaped down from the Bonehill and vanished into the reeds, flanked by Blackfoot and Darkstripe. Eventually only Leopardstar was left. She padded forward until she stood over the broken body of her former deputy. Slowly she bent her head and nosed Stonefur's torn gray pelt. If she meowed a last farewell Firestar didn't hear it, and after a moment she turned and followed Tigerstar through the reeds." - The Darkest Hour, page 174

If Leopardstar wanted Stonefur to die, she wouldn't have grieved for Stonefur. If she hated half-Clan cats she wouldn't have made a big deal to get Graystripe's kits into RiverClan in Forest of Secrets, wouldn't have allowed Sasha to stay for a while, wouldn't have accepted Hawkfrost and Mothwing, and wouldn't have trained Hawkfrost. She also wouldn't have made Mistyfoot or Hawkfrost deputy and when found out Stonefur was half-Clan, kick him off his position and force him to be a warrior again. She was even sad when Sasha left! She also saw Mistyfoot as a daughter to her.

People also hate her for her actions when she was dying. Her good judgement and wisdom wasn't as good as it was if she wasn't sick. Keep in mind Leopardstar had diabetes and was dying, and she was so weak and very old. She was even mentioned to look badly. She was weak to the point a thorn managed to make her lose a life.

Keep in mind no cat outside ThunderClan knew the truth about Tigerstar. Every other Clan saw him as a powerful warrior that was feared, not a traitor. Any other Clan would have been relieved to have him as an ally because he was the strongest cat in the forest. No cat even liked going in battle against him. Leopardstar couldn't have known anything about Tigerstar because ThunderClan kept it a secret and Tigerstar fooled them. By the time she would have found out what he was really like, it would be too late to go back.