“Run! Now! Make this count, Violetpaw!” —Needletail’s last words to Violetpaw.
Needletail is a sleek, silver-gray she-cat with white chest fur. She has a lithe, long body, with 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 that 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 mentoring Violetpaw. She grew close to a rogue named Rain, but after his death, Needletail had second thoughts on Darktail’s leadership and was imprisoned. When it was discovered that Violetpaw was working against the Kin, Needletail sacrificed herself to save Violetpaw against Darktail, Sleekwhisker, and Roach, who drowned her. She became a ghost, leading Violetpaw to Tree, and reuniting her former Clanmates and Alderheart. After giving a message, she ascended to StarClan. She took part in the battle against Ashfur and the Dark Forest where she reunited with Violetshine and killed Darktail’s spirit with the help of her friend.
Needletail in A Vision of Shadows
Needlepaw is the sole daughter of Berryheart and Sparrowtail, being mentored by Tawnypelt, and is often shown 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 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 do not 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 grew more powerful beyond ShadowClan’s territory. When a rebellion arises among the ShadowClan apprentices, she aligns herself with Darktail, abandoning her Clan to join the rogues and taking Violetkit with her. Changing her name to Needletail, she unofficially mentors Violetpaw and is shocked and hurt 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 because she was blamed for the betrayal. 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.
Needletail in The Broken Code
Needletail is part of the StarClan cats who make it through the unblocked barrier and help the living defeat Ashfur. She challenges him and his ideals and actively works on distracting Ashfur and those he possessed to weaken him. She avenged her own death by killing Darktail’s spirit alongside Violetshine. In the aftermath of the battle, Needletail is amongst the StarClan cats who decide to rearrange the warrior code based on importance in order to fit the Clans’ current priorities better.
