Tailchaser's Song / Characters

Characters that appear in the novel Tailchaser's Song. Due to the amount of characters, only important ones are listed. Beware of unmarked spoilers!

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Main Characters

Fritti Tailchaser

Cool Big Sis: He acts as a brother figure towards Pouncequick.
Dark Horse Sibling: He's unusually small and has his heads in the clouds. His mother initially wonders if there's something special about Fritti, but she later decides it was just her imagination. Tailchaser not only ends up the sole survivor of his family, but he becomes a famous hero with his own Song (tale).
Did Not Get the Girl: Fritti finds Hushpad living a plump, comfortable (and, it's implied, spayed) life with humans. He leaves her to return to the cats who still live free.
Kid Hero: He is a fully grown cat but is not quite an adult yet at the start. Early on he states he's almost nine months old, and the novel spans several month, but not enough for Pouncequick to stop being a kitten, so it's to be assumed Tailchaser is an adult by the final chapter.
Cat Stereotype: He's an orange tabby who fits the "heroic male orange tabby" cliche.
Childhood Friends: He met Hushpaw when he was a few months old. They quickly became friends.
Childhood Friend Romance: He fell in love with Hushpad quickly, though he was too young to understand the emotions. He's an Unlucky Childhood Friend.
Despair Event Horizon: He became miserable after his family died. He would have died if a human hadn't rescued him.
First-Name Basis: He shares his heart-name with Roofshadow near the end of the novel.
High on Catnip: Because he doesn't know what they are, Tailchaser accidentally overdoses on catmint and passes out.
Living Legend: By the end of the novel due to his adventure. The book is about his Song (legendary tale) after all.
Male Gaze: Subverted. Tailchaser is fascinated by Hushpad's tail, but he has a thing for tails in general. It's symbolic.
Mr. Imagination: He likes to daydream and imagine things.
From Stray to Pet: Downplayed. He is saved from the brink of death by humans who give him food and shelter. Tailchaser sleeps on their porch and sometimes eats their food, but he still lives predominantly as a stray. Near the end he tries to be an inside cat with Hushpad, but he can't handle the boredom and coddling so he returns to being a stray.
Mind Rape: Hearteater digs through Tailchaser's mind to see if he's a danger or not.
Parental Abandonment: His father ran off and his mother is presumed dead.
Red Is Heroic: Tailchaser is an orange tabby who becomes a legendary hero amongst cats.
Sickly Child Grew Up Strong: Not sickly, but small and feeble. He wasn't the runt of his litter but Tailchaser is still unusually small for a tom.
Sole Survivor: His mother and four siblings disappeared one day while Tailchaser was away. It's implied Hearteater took them. They're most likely all dead.
Survivor's Guilt: He becomes miserable after his family dies. He wouldn't eat and almost got killed. He would have died if a human hadn't rescued him.

Pouncequick

An Arm and a Leg: He has his tail torn off by Scratchnail.
Affectionate Nickname: Tailchaser often shortens his name to "Pounce".
Cat Stereotype: Subverted as he's an energetic grey kitten. Double subverted after his Character Development. He becomes calm and wise.
Harmful to Minors: He sees a lot of terrible things but seeing the Clawguard disembowel a dying dog and eat it alive takes the cake. Tailchaser shields him from the sight, but they can still hear it.
Heroic BSoD: Pouncequick all but stops functioning after being captured by the Clawguard.
Keet: Being a kitten, he is very energetic and curious. This is often to annoying degrees.
Kid Hero: He was recently weaned. This likely means he starts out between two months and three months.
Kid Sidekick: He decides to tagalong on Tailchaser's journey.
Meaningful Name: His name fits his energetic nature.
Parental Abandonment: His parents are dead.
Tagalong Kid: He chases after Tailchaser on his own. Tailchaser doesn't have the nerve to send him through the dangerous woods again, so he just lets him come along with him.
Seers: He decides to start training as a Far-senser at the end of the book.
Wise Beyond Their Years: After the events of the book, he's changed dramatically. While he still has some kittenish traits, he overall acts like a much older cat and says things that not even Tailchaser understands.

Firsa Roofshadow

Celibate Hero: Roofshadow grew up uninterested in male cats. She kept away from them, particularly to make sure her instincts wouldn't betray her and she would end up pregnant.
Cool Big Sis: Towards Pouncequick because he reminds her of her little brother. It's mentioned later on that Roofshadow and Tailchaser have an almost paternal relationship with the kitten.
Disappeared Dad: Her father disappeared and is presumed dead.
Does Not Like Men: She doesn't seem to be particularly fond of males, especially cocky ones.
First-Name Basis: She shares her heart-name with Tailchaser near the end of the novel.
Implied Love Interest: It's implied that Roofshadow is in love with Tailchaser. Tailchaser is confused about his feelings towards her, however he does feel attracted to him. They part when Tailchaser decides to look for Hushpad but they have a Maybe Ever After.
Love at First Sight: Implied. She mentions early on that feels drawn to Tailchaser but doesn't understand why.
Only Friend: Prior to his death, her only friend was her brother Snufflenose.
Meaningful Name: She can be so quiet that she blends in like a roof's shadow.
Missing Mom: She never makes mention of her mother.
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Most of the cat characters prefer their space, but Roofshadow was especially seen as an oddity in her clan for being a loner. She disliked the males of her clan and thus spent as much time away from home as she could, so that she didn't become overcome by her instincts and get pregnant with a litter she didn't honestly want. This caused some issues in her clan as she was more independent and skilled than most other females.
Not So Stoic: Though normally stoic and unemotional, she has some scenes where she's playful or fearful.
Parental Abandonment: Her entire clan, parents included, was slaughtered.
Parental Title Characterization: She refers to her father as her "sire". It's mentioned she had many siblings, implying her father wasn't particularly active in her life.
The Quiet One: She's not much of a talker.
Replacement Goldfish: Pouncequick reminds her of her litterbrother Snufflenose.
Sole Survivor: She went out hunting and came back to find everyone in her clan either torn to pieces or missing.
The Smurfette Principle: She's the sole female out of Tailchaser's group.
The Stoic: She's been hardened by her trauma.
Tomboy: Has shades of this. Her father Slipwhisker teased her about it, asking her if she was not actually an effeminate-looking male, though he still felt proud of her independence.

Eatbugs

Amnesiac God: He's actually Firefoot with a case of amnesia. He returns to his prior form at the end of the book.
Cloudcuckoolander: He's an oddball elderly cat.
Magical Homeless Person: He's a reoccurring elderly Talkative Loon who disappears as quickly as he appears. It turns out that he's the legendary demigod Tangaloor Firefoot with amnesia.
Messy Hair: He has very dirty and tangled fur.
The Pig-Pen: He's perpetually dirty.
Talkative Loon: He often goes into episodes where he rambles and speaks in nonsense.
Sixth Ranger: He's not a part of the main trio. He repeatedly randomly pops up then leaves for long periods of time.
Tomato in the Mirror: Eatbugs is Lord Tangaloor Firefoot with amnesia.

Hushpad

A Pet into the Wild: Tailchaser asks him to run off with him. She declines, subverting the trope.
Big Beautiful Woman: After meeting a plumper Hushpad at the end of the novel, Tailchaser still finds her attractive as ever.
Cats Are Superior: Used lightly with her and "her m'an". Hushpad doesn't particularly care for humans but she doesn't hate them either. She tolerates their petting and playing but prefers to be by herself in a different room.
Cat Stereotype: She's a gray tabby and befits the stereotypes. She's calm, cool, and collected.
Childhood Friends: She met Tailchaser early in the summer of their first year and the two quickly became best friends.
Childhood Friend Romance: Tailchaser is in love with her, though he didn't understand the feelings at first. It's implied she likes him as well. After being spayed, Hushpad loses interest in being with Tailchaser.
Damsel in Distress: Her mysterious disappearance causes Tailchaser to start his journey. Subverted when it's revealed she was never in any trouble. Her humans just moved to an island.
Lazy Neutered Pet: Hushpad is a Rare Female Example. Her owner spays her, which turns the Formerly Fit and energetic cat lazy. All Hushpad wants to do is sleep and eat. She doesn't go outside, play with Tailchaser, or even play with her owners.
Proper Lady: She's the cat equivalent. She's very proper and Tailchaser initially addresses to her in a formal manner.
Token Minority: She's a pet amongst ferals and strays. It's unknown if she was a captured stray or if she was always a pet, but her dialogue implies she always had an owner.
The Unreveal: We never learn her heart-name as Tailchaser never gets on a First-Name Basis with her.
What Beautiful Eyes!: It's noted that she has attractive green eyes.

Antagonists

Grizraz Hearteater

Animalistic Abomination: Over the centuries he's warped into a blind, bloated monster with tiny legs. He's well over 100 times larger than Tailchaser.
Cain and Abel: He's the Cain to his two brothers.
Cat Stereotype: Inverted. He's a grey cat but is nothing like the normal calm and wise role associated with the colour. Grizraz Hearteater is cruel and evil.
Creepy Child: It's briefly implied when it's mentioned he was always an "unusual individual". He does have the name "Hearteater" after all^note.
Driven by Envy: Grizraz was jealous enough of his siblings' talents to summon a demon-hound in response.
Eye Scream: Being underground for a significant amount of time left him sensitive to light. He ended up returning to the earth in order to escape the sunlight.
Green-Eyed Monster: His hatred of his siblings stems from being jealous of them.
I'm a Humanitarian: He eats cats.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: A name like "Hearteater" just sounds ominous.
Middle Child Syndrome: Hearteater is the middle child between Whitewind and Firefoot. He isn't as agile as his older brother or as smart as his younger brother, which made him jealous. His jealousy caused him to try and kill his siblings.
Physical God: He's a god-like cat with terrible powers.
Sibling Murder: He reared the hell-hound Venris' last spawn, Ptomalkum, in order for it to kill his siblings. He only ended up killing his brother Whitewind, however.
Weakened by the Light: Years underground left him unable to be out in the sun. When he first saw sunlight after coming aboveground he became blinded and had to dig back underground.

Scratchnail

Dying as Yourself: He temporarily regains his senses right before being hit by a boulder.
Mook: He's a very strong one, however he's still a lowly Clawguard.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: True to his name, he's a dangerous fighter.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: He has black fur, an underbelly spotted with white dots, and sharp red claws.
Sanity Slippage: He spends the latter portion of the book insane due to brain damage.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Scratchnail uses cat swears a lot.
Weakened by the Light: He loathes sunlight.
You Have Failed Me: Downplayed. He is allowed to survive, but it's so traumatic that it causes severe brain damage. He becomes child-like and insane.

Skinwretch

Animalistic Abomination: Along with the rest of the Toothguard, Skinwretch is a terrifying hairless cat with no eyes and huge nostrils.
Cat Stereotype: It's never stated what he is but he fits the "creepy villain" stereotype of a Sphynx.
Creepy High-Pitched Voice: He has a creepy, high-pitched whisper of a voice.
Eyeless Face: He doesn't have any eyes, just folds of skin.
Weakened by the Light: He dislikes light.
Verbal Tic: His speech patterns are compared to a snake's. He extends certain words into slithers and hisses.
You Have Failed Me: Downplayed. His punishment is a torn up nose, which severely cripples him because he can no longer smell correctly.

Fikos

Animalistic Abomination: It's a vaguely dog-like monster made of dying animals.
Body of Bodies: It's made out of dying and dead animals.
Hellhound: It's mostly indistinguishable but has a vaguely dog-like look to it.
No Name Given: "Fikos" is a title at best. It's Conlang for "terrifying badness".

Nipslither

Creepy High-Pitched Voice: He speaks in a high-pitched whisper.
Eyeless Face: He doesn't have eyes
We Hardly Knew Ye: He is introduced in one page and gets his neck snapped by Scratchnail on the very next page.
Verbal Tic: He hisses like all of the Toothguard.
Weakened by the Light: He can't stand the light.

Mythical and Historical Characters

Meerclar Allmother

Dark Is Not Evil: She has pitch black fur but is the cat's benevolent God.
God: She's the cat goddess and created the world, along with most of its inhabitants.
Meaningful Name: She's the mother of all domestic cats.

Harar Goldeneye

Offing the Offspring: He planned to kill Hearteater after Hearteater betrayed his family, however he was unable to find him. In his grief Goldeneye fled into the sky to be with the Allmother.
Meaningful Name: His eyes are described as the colour of the sun.

Fela Skydancer

Dumb Struck: She became mute after the death of Whitewind.
Meaningful Name: Her name is due to the fact she "was beautiful, like freedom, and clouds, and the songs of travelers returned".

Viror Whitewind

The Ace: He possesses great physical prowess. He is considered the strongest and fastest cat.
Cain and Abel: He's the Abel to Hearteater.
Fastest Thing Alive: According to legend, he's the fastest cat to have ever lived.
Light Is Good: He's a noble cat with a pelt as white as snow.
Meaningful Name: Whitewind is white coloured and is fast like the wind.
World's Strongest Man: He's known as the strongest of all cats.

Tangaloor Firefoot

Animal Gender-Bender: He's black with red paws. This coloration only makes sense for a tortoiseshell, but tortoiseshells are almost always female.
Cain and Abel: Firefoot is the Abel to Hearteater.
Dark Is Not Evil: He's one of the most heroic characters in the book and is mainly black-furred.
Fantastic Racism: He doesn't like humans.
I Have Many Names: In one story he's called "Prince Redlegs".
Meaningful Name: He's named after his red-coloured paws.
Physical God: He's one of the Firstborn and has unusual powers.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Subverted. He has black fur and red paws but is a legendary hero.
Sibling Murder: A heroic example. At the end of the novel he finally kills his evil brother Hearteater.
The Smart Guy: Firefoot is an intelligent cat. He's the best of all cats at solving puzzles and riddles.
The Trickster: He's the reason why dogs and cats are enemies. He tricked King Rauro Bite-then-Bark, which made dogs hate all cats.

Ptomalkum

Hellhound: He's a demon-hound.

Queen Satinear

The High Queen: The granddaughter of Skydancer, she was a kind and just queen.

Prince Ninebirds

Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He is a prideful cat that ended up letting his strength get to him.
The Big Guy: He is described as a large cat.
Hair-Trigger Temper: He is described as quick tempered.
Meaningful Name: As a young kitten he killed nine birds with one blow.
Spiteful Spit: He does the cat equivalent—he sprays a cat in the face with urine. Unfortunately, the cat is Firefoot in disguise. Ninebirds ends up beaten, turned into a human, and exiled.

King Rauro Bite-then-Bark

Dog Stereotype: He's described as a mastiff and fits the aggressive and protective stereotypes.
Large and in Charge: He's the biggest dog in Barbarbar, the ancient city of dogs, and is their king.
Meaningful Name: He's a dog that isn't to be messed with.

Windflower

Ambiguously Gay: He's a feminine-looking male who asks Firefoot to walk with him. The glossary refers to him as a "strange cat" (likely referring to Windflower being neutered).
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Windflower is the most beautiful cat Firefoot had ever seen, with soft grain-coloured fur, a lithe step, a soft voice, and beautiful eyes. Windflower is also a tomcat.
Effeminate Voice: Windflower is an effeminate neutered tomcat with a soft voice. He's so androgynous that Lord Firefoot initially mistakes him for a female.
Gender-Blender Name: "Windflower" is a effeminate name for a male.
Unsettling Gender-Reveal: While walking together, Firefoot notices a faint masculine smell and asks Windflower if any males might be stalking them. Windflower casually mentions, besides himself, Firefoot is the only male he's seen all day. Firefoot freaks out and scorns humans for defiling cats to the point where a tom can seem like a female.
What Beautiful Eyes!: His eyes are described as gorgeous.

Meeting Wall Clan

Thinbone

Animal Gender-Bender: He's a dilute tortoiseshell tabby. Male torties are extremely rare,
Vitriolic Best Buds: Thinbone is close friends with Tailchaser but teases him for living amongst the Big Ones.
Chick Magnet: Tailchaser mentions that Thinbone has a string of females after him.

Jumptall

The Bus Came Back: He's a bit character early on but reappears near the middle as a slave underground.

Stretchslow

Accidental Misnaming: He refers to Hushpad as "Squashpod" and then "Peachpit" because he doesn't care much for her.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He's usually aloof and laidback, which confuses Tailchaser when he acts energetic and respectful towards him when Tailchaser leaves to go on his journey.

Bristlejaw

Animal Gender-Bender: He's a rare male tortoiseshell.
Cool Old Guy: He's eleven-to-twelve years old (extremely old for a feral cat) and well past his prime, but he is still a respected cat and a stern but nice one at that.
Implausible Hair Color: He's a male tortoiseshell. They do exist but are extremely rare.

Earpoint

Accidental Misnaming: He's an elder who can't remember Tailchaser's name. He calls him "Tailchewer" once and then gives up.

Snifflick

Henpecked Husband: His mate Twitchnose chews him out after he tries to run off on an adventure.

Indez Grassnettle

Missing Mom: She was Tailchaser's mother who was killed when he was a kitten.

Brindleside

Disappeared Dad: He's Tailchaser's father. He ran off prior to Grassnettle giving birth.

First-Walkers

Thane Quiverclaw

Dark Is Not Evil: He's pitch-black furred and an intimidating adversary, but he's a benevolent character (unless messed with).
The Leader: First-Walkers don't usually stay in groups, but Quiverclaw is the leader amongst his temporary party.

Hangbelly

Affectionate Nickname: Quiverclaw calls him "Bounce-Gut".
The Big Guy: He's the largest in his group.
Big Fun: Hangbelly is large and jovial.
Can't Hold His Liquor: Scuffledig makes a joke suggesting this. He says that at a future gathering, Hangbelly will likely sniff too much catmint and embarrass his friends.
Meaningful Name: He's a chubby and large cat.
Stout Strength: He's fat but quite strong.

Eyeshimmer

Eye Colour Change: His eyes turn from a milky blue to a deep blue-black while using his special powers.
Meaningful Name: He has unusual shiny eyes.
Mystical White Hair: He's a white-furred cat and is the Farsenser.
Occult Blue Eyes: He has milky blue eyes and has special powers.
Prophet Eyes: He has milky eyes and is a Farsenser.
Wise Beyond Their Years: It comes with being a Farsenser.

Squeakerbane

Covered with Scars: His striped body is covered in scars.
Fluffy the Terrible: "Squeakerbane" sounds cutesy to humans but it's more intimidating if you know cat lexicon. "Squeaker" is the general term for rodents and other small prey mammals. Squeakerbane's name implies he's a very skilled hunter.
Killed Offscreen: He dies during the confrontation against Hearteater and Fikos.
Meaningful Name: He brings fear into prey's hearts with his hunting abilities.

Firsthome cats

Prince Fencewalker

The Big Guy: He's described as large enough that he can carry a near-grown cat like a tiny kitten.
Boisterous Bruiser: He likes to fight and is very upbeat about it.
Celibate Hero: He's more interested in adventure than felas.
Disappeared Dad: Dewtreader is not his father. His biological father's whereabouts are unknown.
Fiery Redhead: He's a spirited, red-pelted cat.
Great White Hunter: All cats like hunting, but Fencewalker takes a special pleasure in hunting. The bigger and more extravagant the prey, the better. Fencewalker is also an adventurous prince who prefers to be out and about than sitting around in court all day.
Messy Hair: His fur is shaggy, presumably because of his rough-and-tumble lifestyle.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Unlike his parents, Fencewalker is pro-active.
Warrior Prince: Fencewalker loves fighting, hunting, and adventure.

Queen Mirmirsor Sunback

Light Is Good: She's described as a beautiful fela with long, white fur. She's good, though not particularly active.
Idle Rich: Despite her authority, she's a pampered queen that doesn't do much.

Prince Consort Sresla Dewtreader

Cat Stereotype: He's a chocolate Siamese with a serious, boring attitude.
Fantastic Racism: He thinks humans are pathetic and describes them as an "object of scorn"
Icy Blue Eyes: He has sky-blue eyes but it's noted that he has a constant look of disinterest.
Idle Rich: He doesn't really do that much.
Prince Charmless: He's considered a terribly boring and overly serious prince consort.
The Stoic: He's described as "a cat who had seen many strange places and things, and regarded them no differently than he did the sun and the leaves".
Token Minority: It's implied he's a purebred Siamese, making him the only purebred noted.

Dayhunter and Nightcatcher

Always Identical Twins: They're hard to tell apart from looks alone, but their personalities differ.
Heroic Sacrifice: They died protecting Fencewalker.
Killed Offscreen: They're both killed protecting Fencewalker near the end of the book.
Polar Opposite Twins: Subverted. Dayhunter is chatty while Nightcatcher is quiet, but it turns out Nightcatcher is mute. He received throat trauma saving Fencewalker from a fox.
Theme Twin Naming: They're named after times of day. "Catcher" and "hunter" are also synonyms.

Howlsong

Animal Gender-Bender: He's a male dilute tortie.
Identical Stranger: He looks like a larger, glossier-furred version of Thinbone.
Meaningful Name: He is training to become a Master Old-singer.

Rumblepurr

Big Eater: Howlsong mentions that he likes to eat Squeakers a bit too much. He's of the "fat" variant, being a very stout cat.
Sleepyhead: Due to his age, he naps a lot.

Non-Cat Characters

Lord Pop

The Good King: He's the benevolent ruler of the squirrels.
Third-Person Person: He calls himself "Pop".
Verbal Tic: Squirrels repeat words.
You No Take Candle: Possibly because he speaks another language, but he and the other squirrels speak this way.

Mistress Whir

Damsel in Distress: Mistress Whir is a squirrel that Tailchaser rescues from Stretchslow. In exchange, the squirrels let him through the forest.
Third-Person Person: She calls herself "Whir".
Verbal Tic: She repeats words.
You No Take Candle: Like all squirrels, she speaks like this.

Skoggi & Krelli

Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Skoggi frequently critiques his son. He also frequently pecks him whenever he says something stupid.
Clever Crows: Krelli is naive due to his young age, but his father counts.

Mother Rebum

Cool Old Lady: She's a wise old frog who lives in the Marsh at the Center of the World.
Third-Person Person: She refers to herself in third person.

Huff-So-Gruff

Angry Guard Dog: He tries to attack Tailchaser for trespassing on his territory.
Dog Stereotype: He's a mean mastiff.

Karthwine

Mama Bear: Karthwine is a mother fox who almost kills Pouncequick due to believing he was out to harm her kits.

Characters / Tailchaser's Song

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