Redtail

Redtail is a supporting protagonist in Erin Hunter's Warriors book series. He is a former ThunderClan deputy who was murdered by Tigerclaw out of greed for the former's position and later tangled in a posthumous conspiracy of being Oakheart's killer. 
He served as a posthumous overarching protagonist of The Prophecies Begin, a mentioned protagonist in Power of Three arc and a novella Ravenpaw's Farewell, a major antagonist in the super edition Leopardstar's Honor, a posthumous character in the novella Tigerclaw's Fury, a supporting protagonist in the novella Spottedleaf's Heart, the titular main protagonist of the novella Redtail's Debt, a minor character in Omen of the Stars arc, a supporting character in the super edition Bluestar's Prophecy and The Broken Code arc and a cameo character in the super edition Moth Flight's Vision. 
== Appearance ==
Redtail is a tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes and tufts of fur on the tips of his ears. His namesake tail is bushy and solid ginger.
== Biography ==
=== Redtail's Debt ===
After he and his sisters are made warrior apprentices, Redpaw worries about the responsibilities and dangers of being a warrior, particularly with fighting. At Tigerclaw's suggestion, Sunstar takes a few apprentices on a patrol to Sunningrocks, Redpaw included. On the way there however, Redpaw falls behind and a hawk that had been stalking the patrol dives toward him. Too frozen with fear to move, Redpaw is saved when Tigerclaw intercepts the hawk and chases it away. Redpaw is amazed at the warrior's strength and bravery, saying that he's in debt to him, and Tigerclaw responds that the young apprentice owes him his life. Due to the hawk incident, the patrol arrives late and loses a battle with RiverClan. Redpaw feels immensely guilty about this, thinking that if he had just moved out of the way instead of freezing up, the patrol wouldn't have been delayed. He only feels worse when Tigerclaw reaffirms these thoughts.
Much later, after Redtail earns his warrior name, Tigerclaw invites him to go hunting together. Wanting to repay the dark brown tabby for coming to his rescue, he eagerly agrees. While the two hunt near Fourtrees, they run into a young WindClan apprentice named Sorrelpaw, who had crossed into ThunderClan's territory while chasing a rabbit. Tigerclaw confronts her and insists that Redtail attack her to make her pay and teach her a lesson for trespassing. Reluctantly, Redtail does so, halting when Tigerclaw commands him to tear her apart. Just then, Sorrelpaw's mentor Stagleap finds them and gives the two warriors an enraged scolding for attacking an innocent apprentice.
On the way back to camp, Redtail feels immense shame for what he did and frets about how Sunstar will react when inevitably hearing about it. As Tigerclaw reports the incident to the leader however, he lies that Sorrelpaw had been disrespecting them before attacking, and that they had only acted in self-defense. Redtail wants to tell the truth, but assures himself that Tigerclaw knows what he's doing. At the Gathering, he talks to Stagleap - who is still bitter about the event - and promises him that he'll try and talk to Sunstar about what really happened to relieve the tension between ThunderClan and WindClan.
However, he's unable to do so, and soon Tigerclaw suggest that the leader launches an attack on WindClan camp, which Redtail is unable to stop. During the battle, Redtail is guilt-ridden that the incident had lead to an attack on innocent WindClan cats. After Bluefur is badly injured, he calls for his Clanmates to retreat. Tigerclaw confronts him on this, calling him a coward for retreating, and in response Redtail denounces his debt owed to the violent warrior.
Much later, after Bluestar takes Sunstar's place as the leader of ThunderClan, she chooses Redtail to be her deputy. Tigerclaw is displeased about the deputy's cautious approach to battle, which only sours further when Redtail calls for a retreat during a battle against RiverClan at the Sunningrocks. Tigerclaw insists that RiverClan must be attacked immediately to reclaim Sunningrocks, but instead Bluestar decides to send a small patrol to go mark the area the next morning to show RiverClan that they haven't given up the land just yet. Wanting to keep an eye on the dark brown tabby, Redtail volunteers to go, much to Tigerclaw's surprise, and though the deputy disapproves he eventually lets Tigerclaw's apprentice Ravenpaw go as well.
However, when the three get to Sunningrocks, they encounter many RiverClan warriors there, including their deputy Oakheart. A battle ensues, and Redtail orders Ravenpaw to flee, but the skinny black apprentice refuses to do so until Tigerclaw himself also orders him to. During the battle, Redtail bites deep into Oakheart's throat, unintentionally killing him. Distressed that he had just killed someone and angry that Tigerclaw had once again started an unnecessary battle, Redtail watches as the remaining RiverClan warriors retreat. As he watches them go however, Tigerclaw pounces on him and tears his throat open. As Redtail bleeds out into the water, Tigerclaw tells him that it wasn't anything personal, and that he was just in they way of ThunderClan having a "real deputy", adding that he should have remembered his life debt to him as the tortoiseshell's world fades to black.
Redtail's spirit rises from his body, seeing the spirit of Sunstar, who had arrived to guide him to StarClan. Redtail worries about the fate of his Clan with a dangerous cat like Tigerclaw among them, watching as a young orange cat fights Longtail in the middle of camp. As his spirit departs, he thinks of his own apprentice Dustpaw, and how he'll be waiting for him to take him hunting like he had promised they'd do earlier that morning. As he arrives in StarClan, he's reassured of ThunderClan's safety when he hears the prophecy "Fire alone will save our Clan".
=== The Prophecies Begin ===
==== Into the Wild ====
After Firepaw is made an apprentice, Ravenpaw bursts into camp and yowls that Redtail is dead. Moments later, Tigerclaw enters, carrying Redtail's body and claiming that Oakheart had killed him, and in revenge the tabby killed Oakheart. Bluestar appoints Lionheart as the new deputy in his place and spends the night holing vigil for him. Later, after Tigerclaw is named ThunderClan's new deputy in the wake of Lionheart's death, Ravenpaw tells Firepaw and Graypaw that Tigerclaw's story is untrue, and that he had killed Redtail to gain the position of deputy, rather than Oakheart being the culprit.
==== The Darkest Hour ====
When visiting StarClan at the Moonstone to receive his 9 lives, Fireheart encounters the spirit of Redtail, who gives him a life of justice before thanking the orange tom for revealing the truth behind his murder. After Firestar loses a life to the BloodClan leader Scourge, he briefly visits StarClan while his wounds heal. Redtail, along with the others who gave Firestar his lives and the recently killed Whitestorm greet him, explaining to him that he needs to wait while he recovers from losing a life. Afterwards, along with the rest of Firestar's life givers, he fights alongside him as he lands the killing blow on Scourge.
== Trivia ==
* Redtail is a male tortoiseshell, which is something that's nearly impossible to occur. Due to this, it has become a popular headcanon in the fandom that Redtail is a trans man.
* Redtail used to be the father of Sandstorm, with her mother being Brindleface, though this has since been retconned and Sandstorm currently has no known parents.
* During The Last Hope, it's mistakenly stated that Redtail gave Firestar his life of courage. In actuality, Redtail gave him a life of justice, and Lionheart was the one to give him a life of courage.
== External Links ==
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