Needletail

Needletail is a sleek, silver-gray she-cat with white chest fur. She has a lithe, long body, a thick tail, a small gray nose, and bold green eyes.
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 as Needlekit, 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==
===A Vision of Shadows===
: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, especially growing close with a gray tom named Rain, but flees from their camp when they are suspected of plotting with SkyClan. Before fleeing however, she secretly encourages Rain and the rest of the rogues to follow their patrol at a distance and come back to the lake with them, but warns him to make sure the other journeying cats don't see them. During the journey back to the clans, 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 would often leave ShadowClan's camp in the middle of the night and secretly spend time with Rain and the rest of The Kin as they grow more powerful beyond ShadowClan's territory. When a rebellion arises among the ShadowClan apprentices, she aligns herself with Darktail, abandoning her clan to 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===
:
==Character pixels==
===Main images===
===Alternate images===
==Official art==
==Killed victims==
*Darktail (Spirit, alongside Violetshine)
==Personality==
:Needletail is rebellious, careless, rude, independent, eccentric, and insolent. She has a sharp tongue and can be impulsive. She sometimes also manipulates others to get what she wants. As an apprentice, she often challenged Rowanstar's leadership and choices, inspiring other ShadowClan apprentices to do the same; after Rowanstar refused to let Rain, Raven, and Flame join the Clan, Needlepaw decided to leave ShadowClan to join the Kin. However, she also cares greatly for some cats, and eventually forms a close friendship with Violetkit when she was brought to ShadowClan by Rowanstar. She ultimately sacrificed herself to save Violetpaw from Darktail, Roach, and Sleekwhisker. However, it should be noted that even after she ordered Violetpaw to run and sacrificed herself for her, she still holds a grudge against Violetpaw for abandoning her. Needletail can be very moody with others : at times both cold and pressuring, or attentive and concerned.
==Relationships==
===Violetshine===
:At first, Needletail ignores Violetshine when she is a kit in ShadowClan. 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. 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. Needletail sacrifices herself to save Violetshine from Sleekwhisker and Darktail, and later appears as a ghost and guides Violetshine to Tree before finally joining StarClan. Violetshine later names one of her kits, Needleclaw, after her.
===Alderheart===
:
===Darktail===
:Needletail looked up to Darktail and deeply respected him, desiring to be as tough and powerful as he is. She joined his Kin and is cruel to the weaker cats in it, like he was. 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.
===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. As a ghost, Needletail leads Violetpaw to Tree, who is the six-toed cat said to fend off the storm in a vision.
==Kin==
===Members===
Mother:
:Berryheart: 
Father:
:Sparrowtail: 
Sister:
:Sunbeam: 
Brothers:
:Hollowspring: 
:Spireclaw: 
===Tree===
==Appearances==
==Merchandise==
===Toys and Plush===
====Needletail & Violetshine - Mini Collector Figures====
*Series 8
* Though they started off as strangers, a lonely apprentice finding an abandoned kit, they ended as sisters bonded forever through love. Needletail led her young friend into great danger with the Kin, but once she realized her mistake she gave up everything she had left to save her. Violetshine grew up lonely and unwanted in ShadowClan, then lived her days in fear with the Kin, only to finally find where she belonged in SkyClan.
*Sturdy mini figure of Violetshine and Needletail, approximately 7cm in height.
*Also included in a three-pack bundle with the rest of Series 8: Rock and Midnight, and Sol and Brokenstar.
*Approximate individual price is $12.99 USD, and the three-pack bundle is $38.97 USD.
==Trivia==
===Interesting facts===
*In an earlier draft of the allegiances for The Apprentice's Quest, Needletail was originally the daughter of Stonewing and Wasptail along with Puddleshine, Beenose, and Yarrowleaf.
*Needletail is one of the few single-litter kits in the series.
*Needleclaw is named after her.
===Author statements===
*Kate has sympathy for Needletail, but she can't understand why she was so crabby.
*Kate has said she wouldn't be surprised if Needletail named herself after Darktail.
===Mistakes===
*Needletail was mistakenly called a ShadowClan warrior, despite never earning the rank.
*Needletail is depicted without white chest fur and a gray nose on the cover of Shattered Sky.
==Quotes==
==External links==
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==Notes and references==
de:Nadelschweiffi:Neulashäntäfr:Plume d'Aiguillesit:Codad'Agonl:Naaldstaartpl:Iglasty Ogonpt-br:Cauda de Agulharu:Иглохвостая
Category:She-cats
Category:Rogues
Category:Groupless cats
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Darktail's cats
Category:Mentors
Category:StarClan cats
Category:Place of No Stars visitors
Category:Ghost cats
Category:Main characters
Category:Prisoners
Category:Characters with merchandise