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"Run! Now! Make this count, Violetpaw!"
— Needletail's last words to Violetpaw in Shattered Sky, page 218



Needletail is a sleek, silver-gray she-cat with white chest fur.[10] She has a lithe,[11] long body, a thick tail,[12] a small gray nose,[13] and bold green eyes.[10]

Needletail was a ShadowClan apprentice under Rowanstar's leadership in the lake territories and previously a rogue in the Kin under Darktail. She was born to Berryheart and Sparrowtail, and as Needlepaw, she was apprenticed to Tawnypelt. She joined Alderpaw's quest to find SkyClan, and the two apprentices discovered two orphaned kits whom they named Violetkit and Twigkit. When Violetkit was taken to join ShadowClan, Needlepaw befriended her, but being frustrated with Clan life and the warrior code, Needlepaw and other apprentices rebelled against Rowanstar. Needlepaw joined the Kin renaming herself Needletail and unofficially mentored Violetpaw. She grew close to a rogue named Rain, but after his death, Needletail had second thoughts on Darktail and was imprisoned. When it was discovered that Violetpaw was working against the Kin, Needletail sacrificed herself to save her against Darktail, Sleekwhisker, and Roach, who drowned her. She became a ghost, leading Violetpaw to Tree, and reuniting with former Clanmates and Alderheart. After giving a message, she ascended to StarClan. She took part in the battle against Ashfur in the Dark Forest where she reunited with Violetshine and killed Darktail's spirit with the help of her friend.

History[]

Looking for a longer overview? Find one here!

A Vision of Shadows[]

"I'm sick of living in a Clan that only cares about peace. The rogues would have made us strong. But, if you don't want them to join us, I'm going to join them!"
―Needlepaw deciding to go live with the rogues Thunder and Shadow, page 176
Needlepaw is the sole daughter of Berryheart and Sparrowtail, being mentored by Tawnypelt, and is often showed to pay little respect towards Clan life. She meets the ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice, Alderpaw, and forcibly includes herself on his journey to the gorge. There, they encounter Darktail, and Needlepaw befriends him and his rogues, but flees from their camp when they are suspected of plotting with SkyClan. She and Alderpaw become separated from the rest of their patrol, but find two kits abandoned in a tunnel underneath a Thunderpath. They return to the lake, and at a Gathering, Needlepaw supports ShadowClan's claim to a kit, and Rowanstar chooses to take the kit Needlepaw had named, Violetkit.
Initially, Needlepaw ignores Violetkit, but after being pressured by Alderpaw, the two become friends, and Needlepaw allows Violetkit to meet in secret with her sister, Twigkit. She aligns herself with Darktail when a rebellion arises among the ShadowClan apprentices, leaving the Clan to join the rogues and taking Violetkit with her. Changing her name to Needletail, she unofficially mentors Violetpaw and is shocked when she returns to ShadowClan. However, Needletail convinces her to join the Kin after Darktail takes over ShadowClan.
After Darktail kills Rain and the cats who attempt to flee his Kin, Needletail realizes her mistake. She allows Mothwing and Alderheart to recover herbs from their camp, causing her to be starved in the prisoners' den. When Violetpaw is caught sneaking poppy seeds into Darktail's prey, Needletail is nearly drowned. Darktail tells her to earn her life by killing Violetpaw, but Needletail instead attacks him, Sleekwhisker, and Roach, allowing Violetpaw to escape. She is killed, but her spirit leads Violetpaw to Tree, a cat prophesied to help the Clans, before joining StarClan.

The Broken Code[]

Coming Soon

Character pixels[]

Main images[]

Alternate images[]

Official art[]

Killed victims[]

This list shows the victims Needletail has killed:

Personality[]

Needletail is a rebellious, careless, and risk-taking young she-cat.[source?] She does care for some cats, and eventually forms a close friendship with Violetkit when she was brought to ShadowClan by Rowanstar.[source?] She ultimately sacrifices herself to save Violetpaw from Darktail, Roach, and Sleekwhisker.[5]

Relationships[]

Violetshine[]

Needletail: "All this that's happening to me...it's not your fault, Violetpaw. All the mistakes we made were mine."
Violetpaw: "That doesn't matter now. Don't worry about anything. I'm going to get you out of here."
Needletail: "Don't take risks for me, Violetpaw. You have to survive, any way you can."
—Needletail and Violetpaw Shattered Sky, page 169
At first, Needletail ignores Violetshine when she is a kit in ShadowClan.[source?] But after some convincing from Alderheart, she decides that 'it might be cool to have a kit following her around', and pays more attention to Violetshine.[source?] Violetshine begins to rely on Needletail as her only friend in ShadowClan, and follows her when she defects from ShadowClan to join Darktail's rogues.[source?] Needletail sacrifices herself to save Violetshine from Sleekwhisker and Darktail,[5] and later appears as a ghost and guides Violetshine to Tree before finally joining StarClan.[15] Violetshine later names one of her kits, Needleclaw, after her.[16]

Alderheart[]

Needletail: "Hi there."
Alderheart: "Needletail! You made it to StarClan!"
Needletail: "Yes. Once we had delivered our message, we were able to move on to StarClan."
Alderheart: "And are you okay?"
Needletail: "Oh, yes. It's great here. But I still worry about Twigpaw and Violetshine. You will keep an eye on them, won't you?"
Alderheart: "You know that Violetshine is in SkyClan now, and she has her father and her kin to look after her. But I'll certainly take care of Twigpaw. You can trust me."
Needletail: "Let me down, and I'll come over to ThunderClan and claw your ears off!"
—Needletail and Alderheart River of Fire, pages 99-100
Coming Soon

Darktail[]

Needletail looked up to Darktail and deeply respected him, desiring to be as tough and powerful as he is.[source?] She joined his Kin and is cruel to the weaker cats in it, like he was.[source?] However, she later realizes the full extent of Darktail's bloody ways, and ultimately sacrifices herself to help stop him, admitting she should never have followed him.[5]

Tree[]

As an apprentice, Needletail is caught by an owl and dropped far away from her home. There, she meets Tree, and she thinks he is weird. Tree helps her get back to ShadowClan, and opens up to her about how his mother and sister abandoned him. When they arrive in ShadowClan, Needletail asks if Tree can join the Clan, but her Clanmates are strongly against it. Needletail doesn't understand why they have to treat outsiders this way, but Tree explains that he's fine being a loner.[17] As a ghost, Needletail leads Violetpaw to Tree, who is the six-toed cat said to fend off the storm in a vision.[18]

Kin[]

Members[]

Mother:

Berryheart:[19] Living (As of Thunder)

Father:

Sparrowtail:[19] Living (As of Thunder)

Sister:

Sunbeam:[20] Living (As of Thunder)

Brothers:

Hollowspring:[20] Living (As of Thunder)
Spireclaw:[20] Living (As of Thunder)
See more
Uncles:
Buster:[19] Living (As of River of Fire)
Conefoot:[21] Deceased, verified StarClan member

Aunts:

Cloverfoot:[19] Living (As of Thunder)
Mistcloud:[22] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Beenose:[23] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Yarrowleaf:[23] Living (As of Thunder)
Bluebellkit:[blog 1] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Dewkit:[22] Deceased, residence unknown
Gullswoop:[21] Living (As of Thunder)
Frondwhisker:[21] Deceased, verified StarClan member

Grandmothers:

Kinkfur:[22] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Snowbird:[24] Living (As of Thunder)

Grandfather:

Scorchfur:[24] Living (As of Thunder)

Great-uncle:

Ratscar:[25] Living (As of Squirrelflight's Hope)

First cousins:

Flaxfoot:[26] Living (As of Thunder)
Hopwhisker:[26] Living (As of Thunder)

Tree[]

Unknown
Kinkfur ♀Scorchfur ♂Snowbird ♀Ratscar ♂
Dewkit ♀Mistcloud ♀Sparrowtail ♂Berryheart ♀Cloverfoot ♀Beenose ♀Yarrowleaf ♀Nettle ♂Buster ♂Gullswoop ♀Frondwhisker ♀Conefoot ♂Bluebellkit ♀
See moreFringewhisker ♀Spireclaw ♂Sunbeam ♀Hollowspring ♂Needletail ♀Flaxfoot ♂Hopwhisker ♀

    = Tom

    = She-cat

    = Gender unknown


Appearances[]

Trivia[]

Interesting facts[]

Author statements[]

  • Kate has sympathy for Needletail, but she can't understand why she was so crabby.[blog 3]
  • Kate has said she wouldn't be surprised if Needletail named herself after Darktail.[blog 4]

Mistakes[]

  • Needletail was mistakenly called a ShadowClan warrior, despite never earning the rank.[28][29][30]
  • Needletail is depicted without white chest fur and a gray nose on the cover of Shattered Sky.[31]

Quotes[]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Revealed in River of Fire, page prologue
  2. 2.0 2.1 Revealed in Thunder and Shadow, pages 176-177
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Revealed in The Apprentice's Quest, allegiances
  4. 4.0 4.1 Revealed in Darkest Night, page 300
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Revealed in Shattered Sky, page 218
  6. Needletail's profile on the Warriors official website (screenshot)
  7. Revealed in Thunder and Shadow, page 198
  8. Revealed in Shattered Sky, chapter 11
  9. Revealed in Thunder and Shadow, page 13
  10. 10.0 10.1 Revealed in The Apprentice's Quest, page 46
  11. Revealed in A Light in the Mist, page 164
  12. Revealed in Thunder and Shadow, chapter 12
  13. Revealed in A Light in the Mist, page 138
  14. Revealed in A Light in the Mist, pages 246-247
  15. Revealed in Darkest Night
  16. Revealed in Lost Stars, page 273
  17. Revealed in Thunder and Shadow: Bonus Scene
  18. Revealed in Darkest Night, page 280
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Revealed in Tigerheart's Shadow comic
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Revealed in Tigerheart's Shadow, page 371
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Revealed in Shattered Sky, allegiances
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Revealed in Night Whispers, page 241
  23. 23.0 23.1 Revealed in Thunder and Shadow, page 336
  24. 24.0 24.1 Revealed in Tigerheart's Shadow, page 336
  25. Revealed in The Last Hope, page 279
  26. 26.0 26.1 Revealed in River of Fire, chapter 17
  27. Revealed in A Light in the Mist, page 210
  28. Revealed in Darkest Night, pages 95-96
  29. Revealed in A Light in the Mist, page 139
  30. Revealed in The Ultimate Guide: Updated and Expanded Edition, page 89
  31. Revealed on the cover of Shattered Sky
  1. Needletail's kit name, Needlekit, has only ever been revealed on the Warriors website.

Author references



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