| “ | Keep the dumb kits. Let them grow up wild. I don't care. | „ |
| ~ Tom disowning his kittens |
Tom is the secondary antagonist of Dawn of the Clans arc in Warriors book series.
He was formerly a kittypet that lived with a two she-cats: fellow kittypet named Bumble and a former Tribe cat named Turtle Tail. Briefly he became mates with Turtle Tail, but after she returned to the forest, he blamed Bumble for it. He later kidnapped Turtle Tail's litter after they were born, indirectly getting her killed in the process. He attempted to join Clear Sky's group in the forest, only to get killed by One Eye after trying to protect his daughter from him.
Appearance[]
Tom is a large tom with a broad face and shoulders, and a nick in his ear. He has thick, ragged, copper-colored fur the color of autumn leaves. His tail is thick and feathery, and he has a dark brown muzzle.
History[]
Dawn of the Clans[]
Thunder Rising[]
A little while after a group of former Tribe cats settle into a moor, one of them, Turtle Tail, leaves to the twolegplace. There, she meets and starts to live with a tortoiseshell kittypet she-cat named Bumble, and not long after, their owner brings in a new cat. They find that his name is Tom, and he was taken in by their owner after his previous owners neglected him.
Tom is at first friendly, and for a short time he and Turtle Tail become mates. Soon he discovers that she's pregnant with their children, but is apathetic towards helping her plan their future. She also began sensing tension between him and Bumble, but neither of them would tell her what's wrong.
After Turtle Tail leaves to return to the moorlands, Tom accuses Bumble of making her leave, becoming more violent and scratching at Bumble, waiting for whenever their owner wouldn't notice to avoid getting caught. Bumble soon leaves and goes to the moorlands as well. She tells the cats there about her situation, and when the moor cats' leader Tall Shadow asks if there's any way the two can get along again, Bumble shakes her head and tells her that she should be asking Tom that.
The First Battle[]
After Clear Sky kills Bumble, Thunder sees Tom visiting her grave. The two bicker for a bit before Thunder brings up Turtle Tail, which piques Tom's interest. He then orders Thunder to bring her to him, saying that he won't leave until he sees her. Seeing no other option to make him leave, Thunder does so, bringing Tall Shadow and Gray Wing as well. When Turtle Tail arrives, Tom begins to show affection towards her, but the tortoiseshell begins trembling with fear.
Trying to spite his ex-mate, Tom says that he misses the times the two of them would "play fight" together, but Turtle Tail snaps that he was the only one who was playing. He then inquires about their kittens; Owl Eyes, Sparrow Fur and Pebble Heart. Not wanting him to try and take them, Turtle Tail lies that all three of them were scrawny wastes of milk that nobody would want. Tom growls that he never wanted them anyways, stalking away. He threatens to come back as he leaves, remarking that he would rather have had Turtle Tail die instead of Bumble.
Later, despite claiming he had no interest in them, Tom kidnaps Owl Eyes, Sparrow Fur and Pebble Heart, taking them to his owner's house. When Turtle Tail and Jagged Peak discover this, the former goes to confront him while the latter goes back to the moor camp to inform Thunder and Lightning Tail. While in the twolegplace however, Turtle Tail is unfortunately killed by a monster. Thunder and Lightning Tail are joined by the loner River Ripple as they go to the twolegplace afterwards, shocked and grief-stricken to find Turtle Tail's body there. They then find Tom with the three kits, though none of them are happy to be there. He suggests they play a game of hide-and-seek, but quickly changes his mind and has the three go back inside.
River Ripple, Thunder and Lightning Tail then watch as Tom's owner comes out, and are appalled to see him acting friendly towards them as they hand him some kibble. They then confront Tom, but are unable to get him to hand over the kittens. Instead, Lightning Tail comes up with a plan to convince the kits to leave by showing them what life as a kittypet is like. They tell the kits how they'll be missing out on a lot by living in a house, before Lightning Tail gets Tom's owner to pick him up, which horrifies the three kits, who want to return to the moor.
River Ripple guides them out while Tom accuses Lightning Tail of stealing his owner, racing after the moor cats as they leave. The moor cats then stop to tell Tom that the three kittens will always be wild. Tom spits at them, but Lightning Tail remarks that they'll blame him for Turtle Tail's death as well. He snarls that they can keep the litter before he storms off.
The Blazing Star[]
Tom has left his kittypet life behind, and when Clear Sky finds him in his territory, he insists that he means no harm. He then requests to join Clear Sky's group in the forest, saying the concept of living and working together in a group appeals to him. Clear Sky is dubious on whether or not to let him join, as he's a former kittypet, but Tom replies that he feels at home in the forest. He, a rogue named One Eye, and the rogue's daughter Star Flower are then all accepted into Clear Sky's group.
When Gray Wing, Thunder and Mouse Ear find out that Clear Sky had let Tom into his group, the inform the leader of his treatment of Bumble and how he stole Turtle Tail's kits. Tom confronts the three moor cats, and while Clear Sky feels shame, he defends his newest member nonetheless. Back at the moorlands, cat begin to worry about what Tom or One Eye could do. Owl Eyes asks why his birth father is so awful, and worries that the group won't want him or his siblings around for being the kids of a bad cat, but Gray Wing assures him that isn't the case.
A little bit later, Sparrow Fur sneaks off from camp, wanting to know what her birth father is like. Meanwhile, in the forest, Clear Sky watches over a training session between Tom and One Eye and is impressed by how well the former is adapting to life in the wild. Sparrow Fur then shows up, but One Eye attacks her, nearly killing her. Tom yowls for him to stop, and the two begin fighting as their campmates tend to Sparrow Fur's wounds. One Eye then kills Tom, and when the moor cats learn what happened, Owl Eyes is devastated and wishes Clear Sky had never let One Eye join his group.
Trivia[]
- Author Kate Cary has states that he took the kits to try and control Turtle Tail, not to abuse them, but if they were left with him he likely would have. She also states that his protectiveness over his kits, Sparrow Fur in particular, was out of possessiveness rather than fatherly love.
- Kate has also states that Tom's spirit likely doesn't reside in the Dark Forest, but rather in an afterlife for kittypets, where gentler kittypets are teaching him to be kinder.
External links[]
- Tom on the Warriors Wiki
- Tom on the Hate Sink Wiki
