Moth Flight and Wind Runner, are they really related? Part 1 by Irismist

Irismist debates the parentage of Moth Flight.

Art by Wayne McLoughlin

Hello Blogclan! I am Irismist, and this is my first ever article!
The topic of Moth Flight’s parentage has haunted me ever since I read about Moth Flight in ‘Secrets of the Clans’. As everybody knows (or thinks they know), Moth Flight’s mother is Wind Runner and her father is Gorse Fur. Now, when I was reading Secrets of the Clans, there is the scene where Moth Flight follows the feather (or moth is her super edition), and a twoleg monster comes racing toward her. Being a good father, Gorse Fur races across the Thunderpath and pushes her out of the path of the monster, just avoiding being hit by the monster himself. Now a direct quote from the book,
“(Wind Runner) sped across the Thunderpath. She was furious. Gorse Fur was not only her deputy; he was the father of her kits.”
Stop! Isn’t Moth Flight one of those kits? Remember how in Firestar’s leadership ceremony, and almost every leadership ceremony, how he got the life to protect his clan as a mother would protect her kits? Even from what we just read, does it sound like Wind Runner(star) is going to walk over and like a worried mother ask if both her mate and kit are all right?! *Resume*
“‘Mouse-brain!’ Windstar growled at the white warrior. ‘Star-gazing, feather-watching, hollow-headed mouse-brain! You could’ve been killed-You both could’ve been killed!” … ” ‘Follow your feathers, stuff your head with clouds, eat nothing but berries for all I care! … You must go.’ Mothflight’s face fell. ‘But I belong to Windclan!’ ‘This is your punishment, Moth Flight.’ Windstar eyes were as cold as the north wind.”
So basically, Windstar exiles her daughter from the clan for almost killing herself! What a nice mother! She might be giving Rainflower a run for her money when it comes to worst parent.
Now, back to the whole part about them not being related. Let’s look at Moth Flight. Her description is soft, white fur with stormy green eyes. Windstar has light brown fur, and her mate, Gorse Fur, is a gray tabby. There is no white between them, and their parents are unknown, so we can’t research further into that. Both of her parents are described as lithe, but Moth Flight was known for bringing berries and leaves to camp and daydreaming while on patrol. Even Leafpool went on hunting patrols during her last few moons in the old forest. For goodness’s sake, Cinderpelt, hurt leg and all, went on hunting patrols and managed to catch a mouse or two. What I’m trying to say is, it is very unlikely that Moth Flight would be so incompetent that she couldn’t catch any prey when she had Windclan’s first two leaders for parents, even if she was supposed to be a medicine cat.
It’s been a while since I’ve read Dawn of the Clans, and if I get enough ideas in the comments about who her parents might be, I will do a Part 2, theory edition, where I will write about her possible other parents and why it would make sense. Thanks for reading, and never forget to stay calm, and read Warriors!

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21 comments

  • Maybe Mothflight was a kittypet? It would explain why she looks so different from her parents and also explain why she never hunts because she was born a kittypet?

    But Firestar?

    I don’t know. This is just my best guess.

  • I’d advice you don’t trust the Field Guides as that’s what you cited. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean to insult the guides, they are trustworthy in most ways but when it comes to direct scenes or just certain things, the authors tend to change them if said scene gets included in the books. Just like what you mentioned, that scene got modified in Dawn of the Clans which is now (as most of the fandom would agree on) the primary source. And in that, Wind Runner actually didn’t want Moth Flight to leave. She was worried and furious that her daughter and mate both nearly got killed and she chastised Moth Flight for being distracted and putting herself and her father in danger. She never ordered her to leave. Moth Flight got upset and embarrassed and she chose to leave, and Wind Runner called after her.

    As for the pelt color being off, that is suspicious. But it doesn’t add up to me. If Wind Runner birthed Moth Flight with a different father, why would she hate her? If this was Gorse Fur’s kit with another she-cat, she probably wouldn’t even take her in and neither would she be with Gorse Fur anymore if I know anything about Wind Runner. Finally, if Moth Flight was some rogue kit, why would Wind Runner care for her if she despised her? And as for her pelt color, we also don’t know Wind Runner and Gorse Fur’s ancestry. They could have parents or siblings with that coloring.

    And Moth Flight’s passion and abilities doesn’t have to match her parents. Not everyone is just like their parents. Leafpool is calm, shy, and determined while Firestar is a natural leader. Squirrelflight isn’t afraid to speak her mind and can be rude at times while Firestar remains polite. And this isn’t the only time when leaders have kits that turn out to be medicine cats. I also disagree with you on Wind Runner being a bad mother. She was just worried sick for Moth Flight and the road incident was the limit for her. Can’t blame a mother for caring. She’s also the opposite of Rainflower as she did not disown Moth Flight.

    I am sorry if it sounds like I’m shooting you down, I’m not. I simply disagree.

  • I personally believe they related as it is stated in canon material judging on the canon hieracy and there are plenty of times kits don’t look like their parents. Look at Scourge, Crookedstar, and Oakheart. They don’t look like their parents.

  • Nice article! You had a great use of evidence. However, like Steppy said, Field Guides aren’t good sources. They were written long before Dawn of the Clans and Moth Flight being Wind Runner and Gorse Fur’s daughter might not have been decided yet back then. Also, we know from Wind Runner’s personality that she was really worried about Moth Flight and got a huge scare during that scene, and that was her reaction. A rule of writing is show don’t tell, so the authors wouldn’t have outright told us she was scared right then. As for her appearance, Warriors doesn’t really follow genetics.

    • Idk (haven’t read DotC so idk why I’m answering this 😛) but she sure is her daughter in Moth Flight’s Vision! Along with Dust Muzzle, Morning Whisker, and Emberkit.

  • I agree with Foxstep. Moth Flight ran away from her Clan. And the Erins don’t care about genetics,so fur doesn’t matter. Moth Flight is my favorite character ever!

  • Wind Runner was just frightened and concerned. She was so upset that Moth Flight was being so incompetent, and she really cared and loved them. She exiled Moth Flight because she never brought back anything useful like food, and she almost killed her mate. Moth Flight was a danger to WindClan. Wind Runner, as a leader, can’t show favoritism, and she has to treat all her cats equally. In the words of Clear Sky, “For the good of the group,”.

    • Um I don’t agree with any of you. I have read like every one of the books, even the extras like mothwings vision and i think the reason/s why windrunner/star was like that is. A mother is veeeery protective and she was scared and the other reason is she windrunner only got her 9 lives a few seconds before she died once so maybe that life was the reason why. That is only what I have read and also I have read dawn of the clans so yeah.

      • But… How? Moth Flight was born WITH Emberkit, Morning Whisker, and Dust Muzzle. Wind Runner was the only expecting kits at that exact time, for StarClan’s sake! And anyway, Gorse Fur watched the whole thing! He would have noticed something different. On the other paw, though, he would be loyal to why his mate would be doing that… but what about Dappled Pelt, Cloud Spots, and Pebble Heart? I’m sure Pebble Heart would have told Gray Wing.

  • In Moth Flight’s vision, it shows that scene, except Wind Runner did not want Moth Flight to leave, she told her “Self-pity is not gonna help!” Or something like that after Moth Flight starts to leave. Also, after Moth Flight gets back from Highstones, she goes into the gathering with the news of the Moonstone. Wind Runner sees her and she says, “Moth Flight? Are you..are you dead?” Nice article though.

  • I have moth flights vison and she chose to leave saying she did endgager the clan. She ran off eat a toad met up with a cat who loved her, left hem, met micah, and saved the clans.

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