Sandstorm

Sandstorm is a pale, ginger she-cat with barely visible tabby stripes and pale green eyes. Her mate is Firestar.

Bluestar's Prophecy

 * She is a minor character in this book, seen only once and briefly, play-fighting with her denmates, Graypaw and Dustpaw.

Firestar's Quest

 * Sandstorm now has Sorrelpaw as an apprentice, just as Firestar promised to her in The Darkest Hour.
 * Firestar goes to sleep in Smudge's garden to try and dream of the strange cats in his dream. Sandstorm and Graystripe both think that Firestar is going to tell them that he is going back to live with his Twolegs to become a kittypet once again, and she asks him, devastated, how he can abandon his Clan and herself just to go look for other cats. Firestar tells her he would never do that and asks her to travel with him to rebuild SkyClan. She agrees until she remembers her apprentice, Sorrelpaw. Firestar says that Dustpelt can be her temporary mentor until they return.
 * While traveling during a storm, Sandstorm suggests that they spend the night in an abandoned Twoleg nest, but as Firestar steps inside he becomes frightened from his kittypet origins and insists that they find another place to rest. While they are looking, Sandstorm gets swept away by a giant wave. Firestar regrets the argument over his feelings for Spottedleaf that he and Sandstorm had been having moments before she was lost, as well as not staying in the Twoleg nest. He spends the next few chapters of the book desperately searching for his beloved mate. He eventually finds her with the help of some loners and she insists on playing an equal role in the quest his dream. Sandstorm insists that Firestar loves Spottedleaf and how the two had always seemed to belong together when Firestar first joined the Clan. Spottedleaf couldn't choose a mate, even if she desperately wanted to. Firestar also tells Sandstorm he would love her for all the moons to come and she would never be second-best to him. Though
 * In the epilogue, she gives birth to Firestar's kits: Squirrelkit and Leafkit, meaning that she truly accepted Spottedleaf's advice. It was suspected by Firestar that she named Leafkit after Leafstar, or even Spottedleaf. Also she mentioned that she named Squirrelkit after her big bushy tail.In the books to follow she does not have any more kits. Also in the series that follows this she is not in the nursery anymore, so this is the only time it states her in the nursery.
 * In the epilogue, she gives birth to Firestar's kits: Squirrelkit and Leafkit, meaning that she truly accepted Spottedleaf's advice. It was suspected by Firestar that she named Leafkit after Leafstar, or even Spottedleaf. Also she mentioned that she named Squirrelkit after her big bushy tail.In the books to follow she does not have any more kits. Also in the series that follows this she is not in the nursery anymore, so this is the only time it states her in the nursery.

SkyClan's Destiny

 * She is not seen, only mentioned, when Leafstar frequently wonders what Firestar and Sandstorm would have done about her Clan's troubles and predicaments.

Into the Wild

 * Sandpaw is one of the older apprentices in ThunderClan, along with Dustpaw. She is being mentored by Whitestorm.
 * Redtail, is killed in a battle against RiverClan, supposedly while fighting Oakheart. Sandpaw and Dustpaw are hostile and teasing towards Firepaw throughout the book because he has kittypet blood. Graypaw and Firepaw usually mention her and Dustpaw throughout the book while talking to each other. She is seen bragging about how she and Dustpaw get to go to the Gathering and the other apprentices don't. Sandpaw is seen telling Firepaw that perhaps Bluestar thinks that a kittypet should be better off taking care of the sick in the camp. When Firepaw asks her if she was going battle-training with Whitestorm, she said that he was going to teach her how a real warrior fights. When Lionheart tells Firepaw that he's going to the Moonstone with Bluestar, Sandpaw tells him that he better see Spottedleaf, and Firepaw was surprised that there was no sourness in her voice. As Firepaw padded towards the fresh-kill pile, he notices that there is no fresh-kill, and Sandpaw tells him that she and Dustpaw ate the last two mice. Once Graypaw came back from Spottedleaf's den, he was talking to Firepaw, and Sandpaw tells them to shut up, because she and Dustpaw were trying to get sleep after they had gone on a patrol.

Fire and Ice

 * She is first seen, after Fireheart and Graystripe are made warriors, sneering at them saying "Behold the great warriors," along with Dustpaw. Her mentor, Whitestorm, scolds her then takes her out for battle training.
 * Sandpaw joins Tigerclaw, Willowpelt, and Whitestorm on a patrol to help Fireheart and Graystripe, and their WindClan escorts in a border skirmish against RiverClan. Locked in a tussle with another warrior, she almost falls off the edge of the gorge, and is saved by Fireheart. At first she is angry and tells Fireheart that she can fight her own battles, but when she sees Whiteclaw fall off the edge she realizes that she was an inch away from death and how Fireheart had saved her. Since then, when Dustpaw mocked Fireheart, she looked at him with a confused glance, instead of taunting him.
 * When Cloudkit and Brindleface's other kits go missing, she accompanies Fireheart to help find them. They follow a scent for a while, but finally realize that with the bad weather, they will need more cats to help search. They start to head back to camp, but they hear a squeak, and find the kits. They ask the kits what they were doing, and they reply that they were hunting. They then take the kits safely back to camp.
 * She fought in the battle against Brokentail and his rogues that attacked ThunderClan. She then received her warrior name with Dustpaw, and was named Sandstorm, after Fireheart told Bluestar of her bravery when fighting off the rogues. She kept her warrior's vigil with Dustpaw, now named Dustpelt.

Forest of Secrets

 * She catches Fireheart and Graystripe going the opposite direction when the Clan is leaving the Gathering. Fireheart asks her to tell Bluestar they are going hunting when they really are going to see Ravenpaw. She happily agrees to tell Bluestar. She is sleeping next to Dustpelt when Fireheart returns and she tells him she told Tigerclaw, but he didn't believe her. She then sleeps next to Fireheart, receiving a glare and snort of disapproval from Dustpelt.
 * When Tigerclaw, Longtail, and Fireheart come back from the patrol, Tigerclaw explains about Fireheart's attempt to cross the branch, which impresses Sandstorm. When Bluestar orders Fireheart to make sure he's healthy and be checked up by Yellowfang and Cinderpaw, Sandstorm says that when he's done to come to the warriors den so they can eat.
 * Later on, she runs into Fireheart and Graystripe when they are on their way to visit Graystripe's kits in the nursery. Fireheart asks if he will see her in the den later which she replies with saying she'd see him, but keep Graystripe away from her. This showing that she didn't like the fact Graystripe had a mate in a different Clan. When Leopardfur, Stonefur, and Mistyfoot come to retrieve Silverstream and Graystripe's kits, Leopardfur says that they belong to RiverClan and Sandstorm spats, "Cheek! Who does she think she is, coming in and telling us what to do?"
 * She was sent out on a hunting patrol by Tigerclaw to Snakerocks, but was fetched by Cloudpaw once he and Fireheart discovered that rogues were going to attack the Clan. However, her patrol returns shortly after the fight is over and fetches Tigerclaw out of Bluestar's den along with Brackenfur. When moonhigh has come and gone and Bluestar still hasn't named a new deputy she tells Fireheart that she is annoyed that Bluestar won't set paw out of her den. She is among the first and few cats to congratulate Fireheart for becoming deputy.

Rising Storm

 * On the way to the Gathering, she tells Fireheart about her fears about Bluestar, saying, "She's changed." Fireheart has noticed too, but he convinces her that Bluestar is still the same cat she has always been.
 * She is seen waking up Fireheart excitedly saying, "We captured two ShadowClan warriors." Later when she goes with Fireheart to take the ShadowClan warriors back she and Fireheart discover a tunnel under the Thunderpath that lead straight to ShadowClan. They both are excited to get back to camp to tell Bluestar. When they get back, Fireheart tells Bluestar but she seems to not care, telling him not to say a word about the tunnel to anyone else. Sandstorm and Fireheart are both sad about the news.
 * When Cloudpaw started eating kittypet food, after Fireheart told Sandstorm about what his apprentice was doing, Dustpelt sneered at Fireheart for not training his apprentice enough. But Sandstorm tells him to leave Fireheart alone, saying that being spiteful toward him isn't impressing anyone. Later, when Cloudpaw is stolen away by Twolegs, Fireheart is devastated, and tells Sandstorm that he now has no one in the Clan he's close to. This hurts Sandstorm, knowing that she loves him, and says that he has her and she apparently didn't mean anything. Later on, Fireheart apologizes, and Sandstorm is quick to forgive him.
 * Her love for Fireheart now becomes very obvious, although Fireheart seems unaware of it, so that even Cinderpelt has to tell him, "Fireheart, every cat in the Clan can see that Sandstorm is very, very fond of you!"
 * After telling Fireheart that Cloudpaw just needs time to grow up and he will be fine, she travels with him to the Twoleg farms near Barley and Ravenpaw's barn with Fireheart and Ravenpaw to find the stolen Cloudpaw. On the way to the Twoleg nest, she and Fireheart were chased by two dogs, but manage to climb a tree before being attacked. On their return journey, they are stopped by the WindClan warriors Mudclaw, Deadfoot, and Mudclaw's apprentice, Webpaw. She and Cloudpaw drive away Mudclaw. Throughout the book she becomes a cat for Fireheart to confide in.
 * When Fireheart decides to try to rescue Halftail, Patchpelt, and Bramblekit, during the fire. Sandstorm protests, stating "you can't go back in there!" She offers to go back in there, along with Cinderpelt and Yellowfang, but it was Yellowfang who went back with him.
 * When they're rebuilding the camp after the fire, Sandstorm and Fireheart argue. He snaps at Sandstorm and Cloudpaw. Fireheart tries to make up for the recent quarrel, but she ignores him when he comes out of Bluestar's den. When they are at the Gathering and Fireheart gets ready to attend, Sandstorm brushes past encouragingly him and says he did well on the Highrock, forgiving Fireheart for the fight.

A Dangerous Path

 * When Fireheart chooses to go behind Bluestar's back, arranging a peace meeting with WindClan. She says what a bad idea that is, asking Dustpelt if he agrees with her. He says that he thinks it is a good idea, for once choosing Fireheart's side instead of Sandstorm's. She eventually agrees to go to Fourtrees with the patrol though, she feels very bad about lying to Bluestar.
 * When Fireheart chooses Brackenfur to mentor Tawnypaw, instead of Sandstorm, who was more experienced as a warrior and still hadn't yet had an apprentice, she becomes irritable towards him and refuses to speak to him. Fireheart chose Brackenfur because he wanted to keep Sandstorm safe, because Tawnypaw is the daughter of Tigerstar, and he was afraid that Tigerstar would hurt the mentors of his kits.
 * On the morning before the dog patrol, Fireheart approaches Sandstorm and asks her to come with him. She says she understands, and then Fireheart apologizes finally, and tells her he loves her. She says she loves him too, and she goes on the patrol with him. Sandstorm tells Fireheart that she could see how torn he must have felt, between loyalty to the Clan and loyalty to the warrior code. She also told him that she too was torn, between loyalty to the warrior code and loyalty to him.
 * Sandstorm's mother, Brindleface, is slaughtered by Tigerstar to lead the dogs toward the ThunderClan camp to give the dogs a taste of cat blood. She is also one of the cats in the line to the gorge.

The Darkest Hour

 * Sandstorm and Firestar are now openly mates. It is hard for Sandstorm to comprehend that it will be harder for Firestar to spend time with her, now that he is leader, although she soon gets used to it. Firestar later considers her for being his new deputy but he realized that he couldn't choose her because she had never had an apprentice and feared that she wasn't ready yet to assume the deputy's duties. He also sorrowfully realized that Sandstorm not having an apprentice was his fault.
 * Before the battle with BloodClan, Firestar is comforted by Sandstorm when she talks to him, saying that although he might never see some of the cats going into battle today they will all fight to the finish. Also Sandstorm is seen training Sorrelkit, Sootkit, and Rainkit how to fight in case of an attack on the camp. The three all argue that they want Sandstorm to be their mentor. Sandstorm quietly suggests to Firestar that she wouldn't say no if he wanted to give her Sorrelkit for an apprentice, to which Firestar agrees.
 * Sandstorm fought with LionClan against BloodClan, and helped them win. She also witnesses Firestar make Graystripe deputy after Whitestorm's death. Firestar was seen running towards her after the battle with BloodClan saying, "Thank StarClan!"

Midnight

 * Sorrelpaw, Sandstorm's apprentice, is made a warrior. Her warrior ceremony was delayed because she had ventured too close to the Thunderpath while hunting a squirrel. A monster hit her, injuring her shoulder. Her warrior name is Sorreltail.
 * Sandstorm also stopped many fights between Squirrelpaw, her daughter, and Brambleclaw. When Sorrelpaw receives her warrior name, Sandstorm looked proudly at her, and she had suffered when Sorrelpaw had been injured.When Firestar asks her if Sorrelpaw was ready to be a warrior, she states that she will be a warrior that the clan will be proud of. Sandstorm is the one who pointed out that the fire-and-tiger prophecy mentions fire, tiger, and trouble, but it did not say that fire and tiger would cause the trouble, and agreed with Firestar that it might mean they would save them from trouble. She offers to go on the patrol with Firestar, and tells Leafpaw, her other daughter, that Cinderpelt would be waiting for her and that she was to not tell anyone about the prophecy
 * She is seen telling Firestar that he needs to be gentle when he scolds Squirrelpaw, for being tough only makes her to the opposite of what you told he to do.
 * She is seen telling Firestar that he needs to be gentle when he scolds Squirrelpaw, for being tough only makes her to the opposite of what you told he to do.

Moonrise

 * Throughout the book she comforts Firestar and remains calm even though cats are dying and going missing.
 * She is seen on many patrols such as, she went with Firestar and some other warriors to talk of peace with WindClan. Being a great hunter, she is able to catch much prey for ThunderClan, keeping them strong. She also goes to hunt for Brightheart and Cloudtail, but they had no luck finding them.
 * She remains worried for her daughter, Squirrelpaw, hoping she returns soon.

Dawn

 * Sandstorm is among the ThunderClan patrol who witnesses the destruction of Fourtrees. Sandstorm rejoices in the return of both her kits, Squirrelpaw, who had journeyed to the sun-drown-place, and Leafpaw, who had been captured by Twolegs.
 * When Graystripe was captured by Twolegs, Sandstorm and Brackenfur are the cats who did most of his jobs as deputy. Sandstorm also does her best to comfort Firestar after Graystripe is captured and when it comes time to leave Graystripe behind.

Starlight

 * She helps ThunderClan settle into their new home. Being one of the best hunters in the Clan, she helps stock up the fresh-kill pile in the new camp.
 * She also supports the idea to save WindClan from Mudclaw and Hawkfrost's plan to overthrow Onestar so Mudclaw can become leader.

Twilight

 * Sandstorm tells Squirrelflight she needs to stop quarreling with Brambleclaw since their friendship had slipped away. She is also mentioned a couple of other times.
 * Leafpool approaches Sandstorm when she is troubled with her relationship with Crowfeather, but Sandstorm is talking to Dustpelt about the best hunting grounds.

Sunset

 * When Brambleclaw tells Firestar that he needs to get a new deputy, Sandstorm agrees and helps him convince the stubborn leader. After some convincing, Firestar loses hope, and admits Graystripe is probably dead. He chooses Brambleclaw, his daughter Squirrelflight's mate, as the new deputy. Firestar breaks the warrior code here, because Brambleclaw has never had an apprentice, but Sandstorm takes no notice.

The Sight

 * She has a new apprentice named Honeypaw.
 * In the prologue of the book, it is revealed that Firestar never shared the prophecy Skywatcher had given him with Sandstorm. Sandstorm is seen mostly in short scenes, normally alongside Firestar.

Dark River

 * Sandstorm is seen with Firestar when Leafpool and Jaypaw bring back news from the Moonpool about RiverClan being in trouble. Firestar decides not to help RiverClan, however Sandstorm shows no opinion about agreeing or disagreeing with Firestar.
 * She is seen on a patrol with Dustpelt, Hazelpaw, and her apprentice Honeypaw when two WindClan apprentices almost cross the ThunderClan border while chasing a squirrel. Dustpelt gets angry when he sees Harepaw and Breezepaw chasing squirrels, he questions WindClan why they are chasing ThunderClan prey. Two WindClan warriors, Tornear and Whitetail explain that they have woodland in their territory so it makes sense to use it. Dustpelt retorts back, saying that WindClan has always hunted rabbits not squirrels. Tornear and Dustpelt are about to get into a fight, but Sandstorm manages to calm Dustpelt down and they return.
 * When the ThunderClan cats return to the camp Dustpelt tells Firestar that WindClan may be planning to invade, but Sandstorm points out that there was no WindClan scent on the wrong side of the border and they can do whatever they want in their own territory, managing to calm everyone down again.

Outcast

 * She is seen on a patrol with Brackenfur, Dustpelt, and Hollypaw when she scents "strange scents" that later she reveals to be mountain cats from the Tribe of Rushing Water. Sandstorm is slightly annoyed when her apprentice, Honeypaw, goes on and on about Berrynose.

Eclipse

 * When a ThunderClan patrol scent WindClan on their territory, Firestar suggests they go talk to Onestar. Sandstorm disagrees and wants to fight instead. When Squirrelflight gets injured, she is deeply worried. When Firestar says she should eat and rest, Sandstorm refuses, saying that Squirrelflight is her kit, and she isn't leaving her.
 * Sandstorm, Brambleclaw, Hollypaw, and Brackenfur go to find out why WindClan were stealing food from ThunderClan territory. They meet Harespring, Owlwhisker, and Ashfoot, the Windclan deputy. Harespring attacks Brambleclaw, and with one swipe, Brambleclaw pins him to the ground in turn. Ashfoot begs Brambleclaw to let him go, and to go back to their own territory, saying that Onestar had nothing to say to them, thus shows how desperate WindClan was.
 * Her apprentice Honeypaw becomes a warrior, now known as Honeyfern.

Long Shadows

 * She appears in this book quite often, then she is on the border patrol when Birchfall gets into a quarrel with Snaketail, a ShadowClan warrior. She chastises him starting the fight. Later she tells Hollyleaf that Firestar is very proud of her and that she shouldn't worry so much.
 * She was very worried for Firestar and after he lost a life to greencough, and Brambleclaw comforts her.
 * Sandstorm continues to be a temporary mentor to Foxpaw while Squirrelflight is recovering from her injuries.

Sunrise

 * She takes a walk with Jayfeather because she is concerned about Leafpool and wants to discuss her concerns with him.
 * As ThunderClan was heading toward the Gathering, Sandstorm mentions how she missed Fourtrees. Firestar comments on how she sounded just like an elder. Playfully, Sandstorm says that she'll be the crankiest elder the Clan has ever seen, and Mousefur will look nice and sweet compared to her. Jayfeather, who had overheard, has doubts about her being that cranky, saying that Mousefur can have a tongue as sharp as a thorn when she wants to.
 * Sandstorm is disappointed in Hollyleaf when she announces to the rest of the Clans that Squirrelflight is actually not their mother, Leafpool is.
 * She is also seen staring at Hollyleaf in sorrow and disappointment.

The Fourth Apprentice

 * Sandstorm is first seen with Firestar, Graystripe, and Thornclaw after Firestar got attacked by a fox, and he soon loses a life after Jayfeather wasn't able to help him. She was very worried for her mate. She later is on a water patrol with Leafpool, Briarpaw, and Bumblepaw when she catches Lionblaze kneading the ground as a test to see how well Dovepaw can hear. After Lionblaze and Dovepaw get back from upstream, Sandstorm was the first to greet them.

Fading Echoes

 * During the Gathering, she hushes Dovepaw and Blossompaw when they whisper as the leaders talk, threatening to send them home if they can't be quiet. She is also seen padding up to Firestar's side after he loses a life in the battle with ShadowClan.

In the Field Guide Series Secrets of the Clans

 * Sandstorm gives a tour of ThunderClan's camp back in the old forest. She introduces you to both her daughters, Leafpaw and Squirrelpaw. She shows you the all the dens (warrior, nursery, medicine, etc.), at the elders den she meets Dappletail who quickly accuses you, the reader, of being spies for ShadowClan.
 * When Cloudtail speaks about being captured by the Twolegs, he says how grateful he was to Sandstorm for not judging him for his mistakes and welcoming him back into ThunderClan, unlike some of the other cats in ThunderClan.

Cats of the Clans

 * Rock thinks that Sandstorm should be remembered for more than just being the loyal mate of Firestar, and a good mother to Squirrelflight and Leafpool. He says that it was Sandstorm who convinced Firestar to lead ThunderClan into battle with BloodClan, and that he was doing the right thing.
 * Sandstorm knows Firestar better than he sees, even more so than Spottedleaf. She is not just Firestar's shadow; she matched his courage in the journey to rebuild SkyClan, and helped fight off the rats even though she only had one life to lose.
 * Rock says he holds Sandstorm in higher esteem than almost any other Clan cat, and that she has come a long way from tormenting the kittypet Rusty with Dustpaw.

Code of the Clans

 * Sandstorm speaks about Firestar in this book, about how his kittypet origins may have helped him become one of the greatest warriors in the forest. She asked if a forest-born cat would have gone behind Bluestar's back to do what was best for the Clan, or if Fireheart would have suspected Tigerclaw of treachery if he wasn't a kittypet. She also said that Firestar is like forest-born cats because he rejected the life of a kittypet, even though he was born one.
 * At the end in "A Change of Heart: Sandstorm Speaks", Sandstorm expresses that she loves Fireheart more than she could imagine loving any other cat, and asks that if Fireheart knew, if he would love her as well. Also, in "Who Goes There? : Whitestorm Teaches Border Tactics", she is one of the apprentices alongside Ravenpaw, Dustpaw, Graypaw, and Firepaw. She and Dustpaw are seen trying to torment Firepaw by putting a fire ant in his fur. Also, when Graypaw is drawing a "border line," she complains the line is wobbly, and Whitestorm responds by telling her borders aren't whisker-straight.

Battles of the Clans

 * Sandstorm does not make an appearance, but Lionblaze mentions her during Bumblepaw's demonstration of a battle tactic and states that she can track a mouse from the other side of the forest. Tigerstar also mentions how she was part of the chain to lure the dog pack away from the ThunderClan camp when giving the reader a tour of the forest territories. Graystripe mentions how she and Firestar were away on some sort of mission, and had left him in charge of ThunderClan.

A Clan in Need

 * She is with Leafkit and Squirrelkit as Ravenpaw and his friend, Barley, approach the nursery. When Squirrelkit asks who they are, Sandstorm tells her that they helped ThunderClan in the battle of BloodClan. Ravenpaw compliments the kits and plays with them.

The Heart of a Warrior Edit

 * She is seen with Leafkit and Squirrelkit when they wake up all of ThunderClan.

Ultimate Leader Election: Firestar

 * She votes for Firestar to lead all the Clans temporarily. "FIRESTAR IS A HERO!" she yells.