Hushpad

### Appearance

Gray with black striping; tiny, slim paws with a round body; black trimmed nose; green eyes; slender tail (Pictured differently above)

### Dead?

No

Hushpad is a background character and a friend of Fritti Tailchaser's. She's the main drive for Tailchaser's journey.

## Appearance in *Tailchaser's Song*

**This page contains spoilers for the novel. Read on at your own risk.**In the first chapter, she's frequently mentioned by Tailchaser as he looks for her during Meeting Night due to the fact that they hadn't finished their Joining. She's nowhere to be found. After the Meeting, Thinbone promises him that he'll help look for her at Unfolding Dark.

She appears officially in a flashback, to when she and Fritti first met. As he's attempting to pull a twig loose from his tail after his day of exploration, Hushpad startled him by her sudden appearance. He asked her how she knew his name, since he didn't know hers. She introduced herself and explained that she'd seen him from afar during a Meeting, and that many referred to him for his love of rambling and exploring. Tailchaser was immediately infatuated with her as they grew to become friends. After their first meeting, they promised each other to meet again the next day. They began to meet each other repeatedly, day after day, and many watched as their friendship developed into something further.

After Tailchaser found his family gone and he fell into a depressed state, Hushpad failed to visit him at all. Only when he was inevitably nursed back to health by M'an did they see each other again. She asked him to pardon her for her not visiting him, as she wouldn't have been able to bear seeing him in such a state. Tailchaser quickly forgave her, and they continued their frequent meetings. They began to discuss about the coming Ritual when she came into her season. On the night before Meeting Night, she and Tailchaser sang his song. When they departed, this was the last time he would see her for a long while, despite the unspoken promise of the Joining between them.

She appears briefly in a dream, in which Prince Ninebirds had taken her and was running away with her. Tailchaser awakes in a rattled state and searches all day for her, at one point asking for Thinbone's assistance, to no avail. This goes on for several days until Tailchaser and Stretchslow have a discussion about her and how her disappearance adds to several others. He invites him to the following Nose-meet to share her story.

Ultimately, this is all for naught. None of the cats take him seriously, aside from setting up a delegation to send to the Queen. Tailchaser vows to search for her himself. Later, he stumbles into Stretchslow again, and they talk about her again. The old tom gives him directions to help him find her.

Fritti has another dream about her, as well as his mother, siblings, Stretchslow, and Thinbone. He tries to warn them about an on-coming danger, only for them to laugh at him. After hearing about the monstrous cats from Lord Snap, he wonders if Hushpad was killed by them.

Tailchaser asks the Court about Hushpad. They dismiss him, and he continues his search.

After Vastnir's collapse, Tailchaser learns Roofshadow's heart name, and shares his own with her. He realizes that he never did the same with Hushpad. He continues on his search, stumbles upon Mother Rebum, who directs him to Villa-on-Mar. He takes a boat to get to the island, and finds Hushpad sleeping safe and sound, in the care of M'an. She's a completely changed cat, and dismisses his tales as childish, and Tailchaser realizes that she was not what he was searching for after all.