Halftail

Halftail is an old, big, dark brown tabby tom with patchy fur, broad shoulders, yellow eyes, and is missing part of his tail.

Bluestar's Prophecy

 * He is a warrior of ThunderClan, then named Sparrowpelt, for he still has his full tail at the time.


 * Sparrowpelt walks through the gorse barrier with a thrush, followed by Speckletail. Moonflower points him out. Later, at a Clan meeting, he is seen sitting with Tawnyspots while Featherwhisker weaved between them.


 * Bluekit smelled his scent on the gorse barrier, which means he was on the dawn patrol. After Sunfall takes Bluekit out, Sparrowpelt explodes from some ferns and tells them WindClan has been stealing their prey. He then plunges over the ravine and shares his story with Pinestar. When Pinestar asks to verify that there was blood in the border, Sparrowpelt nods, saying there was fresh squirrel blood. Windflight tips his head to one side, slowly saying that the WindClan scent could have drifted from the moorland, causing Sparrowpelt to scoff at him. As the fox scent topic is brought up, Sparrowpelt says that there was fox scent everywhere if one sniffed for it. After Mumblefoot says that WindClan had done the trick before, Sparrowpelt adds to Stonepelt's comment that it wouldn't be the last time. As the topic dies down, Sparrowpelt is seen circling Stormtail and Adderfang, tail bristling, who were talking quietly.


 * When siblings, Snowkit and Bluekit become apprentices, Sparrowpelt is appointed as Snowpaw's mentor, and is mentioned to look quite surprised when Pinestar chooses him. He is told to train Snowpaw to be a fine warrior. Sparrowpelt then bounds up the ravine with Snowpaw, and he advises Snowpaw to take the route between two big boulders. He says that usually warriors go that way, but places faith that Snowpaw could make the jump. Sparrowpelt calls to Snowpaw to hurry up, reasoning that he was going to show her the river.


 * The next morning, Snowpaw reveals to Bluepaw that Sparrowpelt said that they were going to go hunting together. When Bluepaw complains that Snowpaw got to see Fourtrees, Snowpaw drops her voice like Sparrowpelt's growly mew, telling her to remember the RiverClan scent. Sparrowpelt surprises Snowpaw, calling if she was ready to go. He heads out the tunnel as Snowpaw replies, urging her to hurry up. When Stonepelt suggests the Owl Tree, Sparrowpelt debates that the Great Sycamore would be better for prey. Bluepaw asks the warrior how much farther, and Sparrowpelt promises that it wouldn't be much longer. As they reach their destination, Sparrowpelt weaves in front of the cats and lifts his chin. He later agrees with Stonepelt that the greatest hunter knows how to wait. When Snowpaw asks if any prey was at their location or nearby, Sparrowpelt says not if they have any sense. Snowpaw also asks if prey would come into the open, which Sparrowpelt says that since they were downwind, some might. He also asks if the apprentices see the sycamore pods, claiming that where there were pods, there were bugs. Stonepelt finishes his sentence that where bugs where, there was prey. After Snowpaw fails to catch a mouse, Sparrowpelt shakes his head. He admits that he liked Snowpaw's enthusiasm, but her technique needed a little work. Bluepaw notes the teasing lightness in his tone. She encourages Snowpaw that she was fast, but Sparrowpelt says that speed didn't count when hunting mice. He reasons that skill was far more important. Stonepelt suggests leaving hunting for another day, in which Sparrowpelt agrees to. After Bluepaw demonstrates the hunting crouch, Snowpaw tries hers. Sparrowpelt praises her, telling her to move forward slowly. As dusk arrived, Sparrowpelt tells the cats they needed to go home, and he heads away through the trees with Snowpaw. Stonepelt promises Bluepaw they could practice again the next day, then catches up with Sparrowpelt.


 * When Bluepaw catches a big squirrel, Sparrowpelt opens his mouth and stares for a moment. After they reach camp, Snowpaw promises she'll catch something the following day, resulting in Sparrowpelt reminding her that it wasn't a competition.


 * After Bluepaw returns from the Gathering, she tells Snowpaw to ask Sparrowpelt if she could come to the following one.


 * As Snowpaw wakes up, she tells Bluepaw that Stonepelt said she could sleep as long as she would like while Sparrowpelt took Snowpaw hunting to practice her stalking. When Goosefeather receives an omen from Snowpaw's vole, Sparrowpelt barges forward, hooking the vole with his claw so the clan could see. He yowls that had to attack first. Pinestar then retrieves the vole from Sparrowpelt. Sparrowpelt hisses at his leader that should they risk not fighting, reasoning that there may be no Clan to strengthen if they didn't act. As Sunfall understands the heavy weight in Pinestar's decision, Sparrowpelt growls that he thinks StarClan made the choice clear.


 * Snowpaw later becomes a warrior, earning the name Snowfur.


 * It is mentioned that his mate is White-eye, and he often shows affection towards her, and she later has his kits, Runningkit and Mousekit.


 * He later gets a new apprentice, Redpaw, one of the kits from Adderfang and Swiftbreeze's second litter.


 * His apprentice later becomes a warrior, Redtail.


 * Many seasons later, it is mentioned that he has lost half of his tail fighting a badger. Because he has a much harder time staying balanced on trees without his tail, he had retired to the elders' den, changing his name to Halftail.

Into the Wild

 * When the new apprentice, Firepaw, visits the elders' den, Halftail greets him warm-heartedly.


 * Graypaw tells Firepaw that Halftail's tail was bitten off by a badger, and he hasn't been able to climb a tree since for fear of falling, and not having his tail to help him land right.

Fire and Ice

 * It is stated that Halftail is the first cat to wake up after Fireheart and Graystripe's warrior vigil. Halftail is also one of the cats to ask about the Gathering.

Forest of Secrets

 * Halftail, along with all the other elders, create a bond with Fireheart's nephew, Cloudkit.

Rising Storm

 * His son, Runningwind, is killed by Tigerclaw and his band of rogues in an unprovoked attack. His daughter Mousefur and her apprentice, Thornpaw, were also injured in the fight.


 * Later in the book, a forest fire strikes. Bramblekit, Patchpelt, and himself get trapped in the camp. Yellowfang and Fireheart travel back from Sunningrocks to rescue them. Fireheart finds Patchpelt and Halftail unconscious, but is unable to save Patchpelt due to inhaling too much smoke. He succeeds in rescuing Bramblekit, who is stuck on a burning tree. Yellowfang grabs Halftail by the scruff and tries to pull him out of the camp to safety. However, a burning tree falls down, blocking their only way out. Fireheart travels to the camp later, and finds that Halftail breathed in too much smoke too, along with Yellowfang, who dies shortly after Fireheart finds her in her cave. Graystripe offers to bury Halftail, and the Clan all mourn Halftail, Patchpelt, and Yellowfang's deaths.

The Darkest Hour

 * Halftail is mentioned, along with One-eye, when Cloudtail asks Firestar to change Lostface's name, pointing out that they most likely had not started out with those names.

The Elders' Concern

 * Halftail, concerned about ThunderClan's aftermath due to the broken law of the code when Fireheart was made deputy by Bluestar, gathers his fellow elders. He merely tries to find a solution to keep their Clan strong in this time of doubt, but one of the elders tells him that they were just elders. Smallear reminds Halftail that Bluestar must have had bees in her brain when she appointed a kittypet as the new deputy. He also states that instead of being honored to serve his Clan, Fireheart looked like he had just been asked to jump off the gorge, and that their once honorable leader has turned her back on StarClan. To Halftail's dismay, when Smallear tells him that Fireheart will never be a true deputy in his eyes, the rest of the elders, Dappletail and Patchpelt, agree with him. Halftail is left wondering what will become of the Clan he had loved and cared so deeply for. He silently vows that he will never turn his back on his Clan.

Trivia

 * He and Patchpelt might have been at Firestar's leadership ceremony, but weren't named.
 * Halftail is older than One-eye, making him one of the oldest cats in ThunderClan.

Members
Mate:
 * One-eye:

Son:
 * Runningwind:

Daughter:
 * Mousefur: