Tallstar's Revenge/Chapter 40

"I learned a lot. Friendship and kinship matter more than adventure. Boundaries exist only in our minds. A heart can travel to the horizon without moving a paw step. And I made the best friend any cat ever had."

— Talltail to Heatherstar about what he had learned in Tallstar's Revenge, page 444

Tallstar's Revenge
Chapter number:	40 (of 45)
Page numbers:	434-446
Point of View:	Talltail
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter forty of Tallstar's Revenge. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 40 (of 45)

Page Numbers: 434-446

Chapter description

Talltail hears Jake's words to him in his head again about being a warrior, and how he always will be one. Jake tells him he'll follow the trail back home, and he'll be completely fine. Talltail trusts him, but wonders if he'll be fine himself, and if WindClan would accept him and welcome him back. He can smell his Clanmates bounding across the moor, and is glad when he sees Wrenkit. She calls for Flykit to come, and Wrenkit smells a rabbit burrow. Wrenkit asks if they should explore, and Flykit is doubtful, meowing that it's very dark in the burrow. Wrenkit tells him they'll be fine, and Flykit asks what would happen if they met a rabbit on the way down.

Talltail worries about this, since the tunnels have been neglected, and believes he must stop the kits from entering. Just then, Talltail sees a shadow move through the grass and realizes it is a hawk, and panics as it might attack the kits. As it swoops towards the kits, Talltail calls to Wrenkit to watch out. Both her and Flykit are shocked, and Talltail swipes at the hawk, sending feathers flying everywhere. As it flails in the air, Talltail pins it to the ground and bites its neck, killing it.

Wrenkit exclaims that Talltail had caught the hawk, and Flykit asks Talltail is doing on the moor. Wrenkit happily meows he has come home and that he saved them. Flykit is shocked and exclaims that no one has ever caught a hawk before, and Talltail purrs that Whiteberry would not agree, thinking it feels good to feel the paws of kits on his shoulders again. He asks if they want a badger ride back to camp, and Flykit explains they aren't supposed to be outside of camp. Larksplash appears and growls that Palebird was deeply worried about them, but stops when she sees Talltail and the hawk he killed, asking if he has come back.

Talltail confirms he's back, and that he has brought prey with him as well. Wrenkit explains he saved them from the hawk when it was diving towards them. Larksplash's eyes are doubtful, and Talltail reassures her he doesn't need to be welcomed; he chose to leave WindClan. Wrenkit meows that he went on an adventure. Larksplash tells him he should go speak to Heatherstar and Talltail replies he knows, feeling the kits have grown and gotten heavier since the last time he gave them a badger ride.

Wrenkit begs him to do big steps, with Flykit promising they wouldn't fall. Talltail obeys them, lifting his paws up higher. He reaches the WindClan camp and sees his mother, Palebird. She stares at her kits, scolding them and telling them Heatherstar was about to send a search party for them. Wrenkit exclaims Talltail has returned, and Flykit joins in, telling her he saved them from a hawk.

Palebird stares at Talltail, who wonders if his mother had forgotten him. She snaps he knows they need to stay in camp, asking why he had played with them, when he should have brought them straight to camp. Talltail thinks Palebird is acting like he never left, even though he did. He meows he was bringing them back, and tells her the kits shouldn't have been out of camp as they were nearly swooped by a hawk.

Larksplash agrees, saying Talltail had saved them just in time. Wrenkit exclaims Talltail had caught the hawk, and Palebird is shocked, asking if it was true. Talltail meows that some warriors should go and get it, for it will feed the Clan. He adds it is good to see his mother again.

Barkface is taking some wet moss to the elders, and sees Talltail. He exclaims he is back, and Talltail is glad to see his friend again. Hickorynose calls for Plumclaw, and Whiteberry complains about the moss. Lilywhisker says she can smell Talltail, and that he must be back. Shrewclaw asks who is back, and Ryestalk exclaims Talltail is here again. Stagleap bolts to Talltail past Cloudrunner and Aspenfall, and Barkface asks urgently if he had found Sparrow and killed him.

Talltail replies he found him but let him live, and Barkface is relieved. He tells him Sandgorse had died saving him, asking how he could kill Sparrow knowing the truth. Stagleap meows he looks good, and Shrewclaw asks if the "wormcat" is back, thinking he had left for good, but his tone was slightly humorous. Talltail says he's back, and wants to stay, if Heatherstar would let him. Stagleap tells him she's leading a hunting patrol, and Ryestalk meows it's good to see him back. Talltail meows back it's good to see her, and notices her and Shrewclaw are touching pelts, wondering if they'd become mates. Dawnstripe leaps towards him, meowing he had come back, and Talltail tells her he'd returned.

His mentor says his training wasn't for nothing then, and Talltail tells him it was never wasted. Palebird is shooing away Flykit and Wrenkit, meowing she can never leave them alone. Rabbitkit demands why did they not come with them and where did they go, but Bristlekit doesn't care, meowing Talltail is back. Larksplash meows the kits would have been lost if Talltail hadn't come home, glaring at Palebird. Ryestalk asks what happened, and Larksplash meows Talltail saved the kits from a hawk. Stagleap is impressed, and Larksplash tells her and Cloudrunner to go get it. Heatherstar appears and she tells them not to bother, as Redclaw and Hareflight are already bringing it back to camp. She tells him she scented Talltail, saying he must have learnt new skills while away from WindClan.

Reedfeather meows hopefully he learnt more, and Talltail wonders if he'll be able to rejoin WindClan. Shrewclaw asks if the Clans were too scary for him, and Talltail meows he had always wanted to be home, and his paws led him here. Whiteberry asks if he had caught it, and Talltail reveals he had scared the hawk. Whiteberry replies it could have killed a warrior, but Talltail can only think about how he had rescued the kits, wondering if that was a good sign from StarClan. Heatherstar invites Talltail to walk with her, telling Reedfeather to organize the dusk patrol.

Talltail realizes that they are heading for Outlook Rock. Heatherstar asks if he's happy to be in WindClan again and Talltail murmurs yes, thinking about how his kin was all here and how it was his home. The leader says he's always loved it on the moor, and Talltail confirms this. Heatherstar asks if he found what he was searching for, and Talltail meows he didn't. She deducts that Sparrow must be alive then, and the black-and-white tom replies he's still alive. Heatherstar asks him if he couldn't find Sparrow, and Talltail meows he found him, but then was told Sandgorse died to save him, and if Sparrow was killed, Sandgorse's sacrifice would be for nothing.

Heatherstar asks if he didn't really need to leave WindClan, and Talltail growls he felt like he didn't belong here. The WindClan leader tells him sometimes cats need to leave to find where they really belong, and Talltail suspects Heatherstar knows more than she says. Talltail tells her he learned a lot. Heatherstar asks if his loyalty is to WindClan now, and Talltail says yes, feeling irritated. She asks if he has returned for good, and Talltail confirms it, thinking it's right for her to question his loyalty.

She tells him she always knew he would leave, confusing Talltail. Heatherstar meows when she had her nine lives ceremony, the first medicine cat Moth Flight had told her one of her warriors will turn rogue, though at first, she refused to believe this. Talltail asks how did she know it was him, and Heatherstar replies as a kit, he was restless. He was a kit of tunnelers but hated the tunnels, and a moor runner who cannot understand borders. Heatherstar meows she had let him go like Moth Flight had told her, which would make him understand.

Talltail meows he had made a friend who had told him to return to WindClan, and he thinks of Jake. Heatherstar meows that cat must be wise then, and he knows Talltail more than he does himself. She meows he'll still have to regain the trust of his Clanmates. Talltail meows he knows, and Heatherstar meows he'll have to prove he'll die for them, even Shrewclaw. Talltail replies he'll try to, and walks away slowly. Heatherstar meows she's glad he came back, and Talltail meows the same.

Characters

Major

• Talltail

Minor

• Wrenkit
• Flykit
• Larksplash
• Palebird
• Barkface
• Hickorynose
• Plumclaw
• Whiteberry
• Lilywhisker
• Shrewclaw
• Ryestalk
• Stagleap
• Aspenfall
• Cloudrunner
• Dawnstripe
• Bristlekit
• Rabbitkit
• Heatherstar
• Reedfeather
• Hareflight
• Redclaw

Mentioned

• Jake
• Redclaw
• Mistmouse
• Appledawn
• Sparrow
• Sandgorse
• Moth Flight

Errors

• Rabbitkit is referred to as a tom.
• Moth Flight is called Mothflight.