Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ravenpaw was helping out the elders when the stranger arrived. He had been doing so for most of the day so far, but he didn’t mind at all; the elders were nice to talk to, and having a break from training was relaxing. Besides, Tigerclaw had promised to take him battle training in the afternoon, and he was looking forward to that. Sure, Tigerclaw was always very strict, but Ravenpaw knew that was because he needed to be pushed. He was weak at the moment, and far less skilled than the other apprentices. So he took pride in working hard to improve himself, and he hoped that one day he could finally prove himself. Tigerclaw always said that he could be strong if he was willing to work for it, and considering how great a warrior Tigerclaw was, Ravenpaw was more than willing to take his advice. He couldn’t wait until he was strong enough to finally beat his brother.

He poked his head out the elder’s den when the commotion started, to see Bluestar and Lionheart leading a stranger across the camp. He assumed they were a rogue at first for they were not wearing a collar, but after hearing the whispers begin, he smelled the air again and realised it was indeed a kittypet, only making Ravenpaw more curious. He stuck his head back inside, informing the elders of what was happening, when Bluestar announced a Clan meeting, as he had expected.

He went outside, joining up with the other apprentices as everyone gathered round. He saw Tigerclaw sitting on the far side, and noticed him hesitate for a while before joining the meeting.

Once everyone had gathered and fallen silent, Bluestar began. “ThunderClan needs more warriors. Never before have we had so few apprentices in training. It had been decided that ThunderClan will take in an outsider to train as a warrior . . . “

She paused for a moment as muttering swept across the Clan, glaring down until they silenced again. Ravenpaw stayed silent, unsure what he thought about this. Sure, ThunderClan needed more warriors, but an outsider . . .? “And I have found a cat who is willing to join ThunderClan.”

“Lucky enough to join ThunderClan,” Yelled out Longtail, from where he sat beside Darkstripe and Tigerclaw.

Ignoring him, Bluestar continued. “This young cat has already fought off a fox, and added prey to the fresh-kill pile. It is my decision that he will begin training with the other apprentices, to become a warrior of ThunderClan.”

For a moment there was silence, and Ravenpaw almost thought that would be it; it certainly seemed to him that that should have been all the convincing cats needed. Maybe he was an outsider, but ThunderClan didn’t have many other choices right now. Besides, he had already proven himself by bringing food, and above all, Ravenpaw trusted Bluestar’s judgement. If she thought this cat could handle it, then he was inclined to believe her until proven otherwise. Of course, many of the warriors were more outspoken against outsiders, and more willing to speak up against Bluestar.

“But he’s a kittypet!” It was Darkstripe this time, being unpleasant, as usual. Ravenpaw always found the dark tom to be rude and annoying, so he tried to avoid him as much as possible.

“Once a kittypet, always a kittypet!” Called out longtail in agreement. “We need warriors, not another soft mouth to feed!”

 At the front the newcomer was narrowing his eyes, watching Longtail closely.

“If you’re going to challenge me, then do it now,” he meowed, speaking for the first time since entering the camp. His voice was calm, despite the circumstances, and surprisingly confident.

Longtail, to no-one’s surprise, refused to back down, hissing and dropping into a crouch. He had barely a moment to spare before the kittypet lunged forward with surprising speed. Longtail managed to dodge the first blow, but then they were upon each other, the two cats struggling against one another in a ball of fur and claws. They rolled around the clearing, and Ravenpaw had to step back to stay out of the way as he tried to keep track of what was happening and who was winning. It was hard to tell who was on top, especially for one with his inexperience. He glanced at Bluestar nervously, wondering if she was going to intervene, but she was just watching the battle closely, no doubt much more aware than he was as to how the fight was progressing.

Then, all of a sudden, it was over, and in a move to fast for Ravenpaw to see the kittypet gained the upper hand, and at once he had pinned Longtail to the ground. He paused there for a moment, before turning to look up at the rest of the Clan.

They stared back shocked, unable to believe a mere kittypet had beaten one of their warriors. Before any of them had a chance to speak, Bluestar leaped down off the highrock with a yowl.

“Enough,” She called out. “This fight is over.”

Nodding at the kittypet, she added, “You may let him go.”

The kittypet stepped back, sheathing his claws, and sat down, looking as casual as ever. He had barely a scratch on him from the fight.

Turning to face the crowd, Bluestar spoke up. “The newcomer has proven himself in a battle for his honor. He has defeated a warrior and shown himself worthy to join ThunderClan as an apprentice.”

This time no cat argued, and Ravenpaw didn’t blame them. This strange cat had proven himself to be a worthy opponent, despite being a kittypet. He had shown he was not the soft kittypet everyone had assumed.

Bluestar stood before the kittypet, and muttered something to herself, though Ravenpaw was too far away to make it out. Then she shook herself and announced, “From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Firepaw, in honour of his flame-coloured coat.”

The kittyp- Firepaw dipped his head, and meowed, “Thank you, Bluestar.”

None of the Clan shouted his new name, like they would do for a normal apprentice, but they still seemed cheerful.

“This meeting is adjourned,” Spoke Bluestar, and with that the Clan began to disperse slightly, though they stayed talking with each other excitedly.

Beside him, Ravenpaw saw Graypaw getting up to meet the new apprentice, and figured he might as well follow him. He wasn’t particularly close with any of the other apprentices, but Graypaw was the closest he had to a friend. Maybe this new cat would be friendly, if he was lucky.

“Hey, Firepaw!” Called out Graypaw as he approached. “Great fight there! Very impressive, especially after fighting that fox earlier.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Said Firepaw, looking away sheepishly.

“Graypaw’s right, your fighting was amazing there,” Said Ravenpaw, joining in the conversation. “Where’d a kittypet learn to fight like that?”

“I, uh . . . “ Began Firepaw, before trailing off. He looked a little taken aback, and Ravenpaw worried after a moment if it had been rude to call him out on being a kittypet. Then Firepaw smiled cheekily and said, “Natural talent, I guess.”

That was clearly a lie, thought Ravenpaw. No-one was that good without some kind of training, and he was clearly avoiding the subject. He didn’t ask more, though. There were many reasons for lying like that, and most of them weren’t anything worth worrying about. He had only just met this cat, so naturally he wouldn’t tell Ravenpaw everything. And Graypaw trusted him, so that was a good sign.

Some others came over to them as they sat there, congratulating Firepaw on the name and the fight. As each cat arrived Firepaw thanked them, greeting them politely.

Then Redtail came by, and Firepaw stared at him with an expression of only confusion for a moment, before something clicked in his head and his face changed to some emotion Ravenpaw couldn’t quite figure out.

“Congratulations Firepaw,” Meowed Redtail. “You seem like a fine young cat, and I’m sure you will be a great apprentice.”

“Thank you,” Replied Firepaw, dipping his head respectfully.

“You’re welcome. Now, I think you had better head to the medicine den, after fighting off both a fox and a warrior.”

“Understood,” Said Firepaw, taking a step forward, then seeming to remember he wasn’t sure where he was going. He paused, looking around camp for a moment before Graypaw jumped in.

“I’ll show you around,” He said, before turning to Ravenpaw and adding, “You coming as well?”

Ravenpaw hesitated for a moment, looking across the clearing, and noticed Tigerclaw rising to his feet. He began heading this way, a determined look in his eyes. He seemed a little unsure of himself though, a little shaken. That was odd; Tigerclaw always seemed very self-assured, and Ravenpaw couldn’t think what might have disturbed him.

At the sight of him, Ravenpaw quickly remembered that he had apprentice duties to attend to, unlike Graypaw and Firepaw. He was supposed to be with the elders, wasn’t he? Tigerclaw would get mad if he avoided his duties for too long, even with something like this happening.

“I need to go back to my duties,” He told Graypaw quickly, turning to leave. “I should be looking after the elders, and you know how Tigerclaw is.”

“Goodbye, Ravenpaw,” Spoke Firepaw as he left, and Ravenpaw flicked his tail in response. Something about what he said seemed off to Ravenpaw though, and it took him a while to work out why. Then he realised: he had never told Firepaw his name, so how did Firepaw know it?

That was . . . odd. He wasn’t sure what to think about that now, but he would have to ask Firepaw about it later. Or more likely, it was nothing to bother about, and Graypaw had just mentioned it when Ravenpaw wasn’t listening.

Either way, he carried on with his duties, and it wasn’t too long before Tigerclaw arrived, calling him out for battle training. He followed eagerly, glad to be away from his chores.

As they walked, Ravenpaw watched Tigerclaw for any sign of what had shaken him earlier, but didn’t notice anything. Either he had imagined it, or Tigerclaw was just very good at hiding things.

They headed toward the training hollow, walking in silence. Tigerclaw was never one for unnecessary conversation. After a while, Ravenpaw worked up the courage to ask, “What do you think of the new apprentice?”

Tigerclaw looked at him in surprise, then stayed quiet for long enough that Ravenpaw wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Eventually, he said, “He’s a kittypet. I don’t see why we are inviting weaklings like them into our Clan.”

Ravenpaw nodded, unsure what he had really expected; Tigerclaw had made his hatred of kittypets and outsiders well known. Then, much to his surprise, Tigerclaw carried on. “But . . .” He sighed, and it seemed to take him some effort to say the next words. “But he did show skill in defeating longtail, so there may be some hope for him. We will have to wait and see how he manages with training.”

That was kinder than he had expected, and he looked up at Tigerclaw in surprise, but Tigerclaw was looking directly ahead, not acknowledging him. Ravenpaw stayed silent after that, not wanting to push his luck. Tigerclaw had a short temper, especially when it came to kittypets, and he knew better than to get on the wrong side of him. Still, Tigerclaw being willing to talk was definitely an improvement, so maybe Tigerclaw was starting to like him more. He hoped so; he wanted to be able to talk to his mentor, like Graypaw and Dustpaw did.

Shortly after that they arrived at the training hollow, having stayed silent for the rest of the journey. The training session that followed was mostly normal, with Tigerclaw showing him some basic battle moves and Ravenpaw attempting to copy them. He failed the majority of his attempts, as usual, and Tigerclaw was quick to point out all the places he went wrong, and all the ways he looked like a fool. He was ready for it though; Tigerclaw was always harsh, and he had prepared himself for the insults. That was just how Tigerclaw was, and he tried to not let it discourage him. It was worth it for the few times when Tigerclaw couldn’t offer any insults to his method, or when Tigerclaw said it was merely ‘passable’. Though that might not have been high praise, he knew that from Tigerclaw it meant so much more.

When the light started dimming, they finished off and headed back to camp, leaving Ravenpaw feeling exhausted, all his limbs aching. Still, he felt he had improved a bit, now managing to pull the basic battle crouches almost every time, and even managing a more complex manoeuvre to a level that Tigerclaw deemed ‘not entirely a failure’. Ravenpaw had taken that to mean it was at a level that most mentors would have considered acceptable.

They had not mentioned the kittypet at all, though there had been a few times when Ravenpaw had looked up to see Tigerclaw seeming distracted, as though there was something on his mind. He hid it the moment he noticed Ravenpaw looking, but Ravenpaw was sure he wasn’t imagining it.

When they returned, Ravenpaw grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, then went to sit by the tree stump as usual. The other apprentices were there already, with Graypaw and Firepaw sitting on one side chatting, and Sandpaw and Dustpaw on the other, glaring at them. Ravenpaw wondered what they were arguing about this time, before noticing most of their glares were directed at Firepaw; it seemed not all the apprentices were as happy as Graypaw about having a kittypet join them. Ravenpaw hesitated for a moment before heading over to sit beside Graypaw.

“Hey,” Said Graypaw, as he sat down. “How was training? You’ve been out all day.”

“Well, you know how Tigerclaw is,” Meowed Ravenpaw. “But I think I’m getting better. How have you been?”

“I’ve been showing Firepaw around all day, explaining how the Clans work. Though,” He added, looking cheekily at Firepaw. “It seems like I didn’t need to bother, since he appears to know it all already.”

“He does?” Asked Ravenpaw, curious.

“Well, I heard a lot about the Clans while I was a kittypet,” said Firepaw, chipping in. “Anyway, I wasn’t only a kittypet. I spent some time with the loners in the twolegplace, so I picked up quite a lot of stuff from there.”

“How was it? As a kittypet, I mean?” Asked Ravenpaw, wondering how anyone could willingly choose that life.

“It was . . . alright, I guess. You get easy food and don’t have to fight for anything, but there isn’t any freedom. Clan life is much better. Out here, you can live a proper life.”

“You say that as though you have experience living in a Clan.”

Firepaw laughed a little at that, though Ravenpaw didn’t see anything funny in it. “Well, I’m sure I will love it, anyway.”

They carried on talking for a while after that, and Ravenpaw watched Firepaw closely. He certainly didn’t act like a kittypet, or at least not like how he had expected a kittypet to act. He seemed far too at ease with Clan life, and somehow seemed to know almost everything, even things that he had no way of knowing. He was kind though, and a nice enough cat. He had managed to quickly befriend Graypaw, and already they were speaking as though they were friends who had know each other for seasons, rather than under a day (It was Graypaw though, so it wasn’t that impressive. Graypaw was easily one of the friendliest cats Ravenpaw knew).

Firepaw had spoken to him as well, and he had spoken as if he knew Ravenpaw, despite them barely having spoken before. It was . . . odd, especially since Firepaw didn’t know him as well as he thought he did. He seemed to think that Ravenpaw was anxious, or that he was scared of Tigerclaw, which he definitely wasn’t.

And Firepaw was generally acting a little weird. He kept starting to say something, before stopping himself, looking down sadly. He seemed to be hiding something, or avoiding some topic, but Ravenpaw had no idea what. More than that though, he spoke with a maturity and confidence that sounded ridiculous for a kittypet, especially one of his age. He acted like a seasoned warrior, rather than an apprentice barely Ravenpaw’s own age.

It was suspicious, and kept nagging on Ravenpaw’s mind. He wanted to just relax and enjoy the conversation, but he couldn’t help feeling that Firepaw was up to something.

After a while, though, they headed into the den, needing some sleep before training the next day. The apprentices curled up in their usual places, with Firepaw barely hesitating before marking out a place for himself beside Graypaw. It took Ravenpaw some time to fall asleep, however, with questions about Firepaw keeping him awake.

Chapter Text

The next day, Ravenpaw woke up early, pushing himself out of bed. He had a patrol with Tigerclaw at sunrise, and there was no way he was being late. They were headed down the RiverClan border, where there was a high chance of a battle after the fights they’d been having lately, and he needed to be ready.

As he moved to leave the den, Firepaw stirred behind him, looking up sleepily. “Where are going, Ravenpaw?”

“I’ve got a patrol with Tigerclaw,” He answered quietly, trying not to wake anyone else.

Firepaw stayed silent for a moment more, then something seemed to click in his head, and he jumped to his feet, crying out. All around the den, the other apprentices groaned, awakened by the noise.

“Sorry,” Whispered Firepaw, looking a little sheepish.

“What was that?” Asked Ravenpaw, as he headed out of the den, Firepaw following close behind. “It’s just a patrol, nothing that important.”

“No, I just suddenly remembered something, that’s all. It doesn’t really matter though. Anyway,” Said Firepaw, clearly trying to change the topic, and reminding Ravenpaw of his suspicions. “Do you think I could join your patrol?”

“Why? I’m sure you’ll be going on a patrol soon enough today.”

“Well, I . . . I’m just excited to start training, that’s all.”

Ravenpaw didn’t believe that for a moment; there was clearly some other reason for wanting to be on this patrol that had made Firepaw jump up earlier, but he didn’t push it. He doubted that he would get an answer, and it was probably better to keep his suspicions secret from Firepaw for now.

“Maybe, but you’ll have to ask Redtail, he’s the one leading the patrol. He’ll probably have already assigned you somewhere though, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

As he spoke, Ravenpaw saw Tigerclaw and Redtail coming out of the den. Other warriors were getting out as well, either ready to start the day or just having been woken up by cats leaving the den.

“Come on, you can ask now,” He said, leading Firepaw over to the patrol. He wasn’t actually sure whether it was a good idea to let Firepaw join, but figured he couldn’t stop him from asking, so he might as well help him.

“Good morning, Redtail,” Began Firepaw, dipping his head respectfully. “I was wondering if I could join your patrol?”

“Eager to get started, are we?” Responded Redtail with a slight chuckle, looking down at the apprentice. “I’m afraid not, however. Since you don’t have a mentor, Lionheart will look after your training for now, and see where your skills lie. He will take you out on a patrol soon, don’t you worry.”

“But I-“ Began Firepaw, before Ravenpaw hit him with his tail. When Firepaw looked across at him, he whispered, “Do you want the Clan to like you or not?”

As Firepaw looked back and forth between him and Redtail, Ravenpaw added, “You won’t get anywhere by arguing with the deputy.”

Firepaw shook himself, thought for a moment, then nodded to Redtail and turned to go, looking much more panicked than Ravenpaw had expected. Before he left, however, he whispered to Ravenpaw, “Watch Tigerclaw. Keep Redtail safe.”

He spoke in a serious tone, a voice full of experience and command, and stared at Ravenpaw intently for a moment. Before Ravenpaw had a chance to respond he left, heading back over to the other apprentices, who had just started coming out of the den.

“Everyone’s here, so we might as well get started,” Said Redtail behind him, and they headed out the camp, Ravenpaw still lost in thought.

He remained distracted as they walked through the territory, wondering about what Firepaw had said. It sounded like he expected something to happen to Redtail, something he was worried about. Probably that was why he wanted to come on this patrol: to try and protect Redtail himself. And from how frantic he had been when he woke up, this was clearly not just some prank; Firepaw truly believed Redtail was in danger. Ravenpaw couldn’t see how Firepaw could know that, however. It wasn’t like he knew the future or anything, right? Unless . . . maybe StarClan had told him something.  Ravenpaw couldn’t understand why they would talk to an apprentice though, especially one who was a kittypet until the day before.

As they reached the border he noticed he was falling behind, and hurried to catch up. Glancing ahead at Redtail, he decided he would keep a close watch on him for this patrol. It probably wouldn’t make much difference anyway, since Tigerclaw was here to help fight off any danger there might be, but it would do no harm and, well, better safe than sorry. He could figure out what all this meant later. It was probably nothing, after all. Hopefully Firepaw was just imagining something, and there would be no danger.

He couldn’t make himself believe that, though. He remembered the look in Firepaw’s eyes, and he knew that Firepaw had not been lying. He knew something, somehow, and Ravenpaw promised himself he would get to the bottom of it one day.

“Come on, Ravenpaw!” Called out Tigerclaw as he caught up. “We don’t have all day.”

“Sorry,” He answered quickly, knowing better than to say anything more. Looking up at Tigerclaw, he wondered about the other part of Firepaw’s warning. ‘Watch Tigerclaw’. He had no idea what that could mean. Was he also supposed to protect Tigerclaw? If so, that shouldn’t be an issue, since Tigerclaw could take care of himself. If not, then what was Tigerclaw going to do that he needed to watch for?

They continued on, and quickly reached the RiverClan border. Ravenpaw looked across it nervously, wondering if they would run into a RiverClan patrol. RiverClawn had been aggressive lately, and there had been several battles in the last few moons. Normally he would be fairly eager for a battle; he had been looking forward to a chance to prove himself and get the better of some enemy warriors. Today, though, he just hoped they would have a quiet and peaceful patrol, with nothing unexpected. Firepaw’s words had worried him, and with his warning about Redtail, a battle was the last thing he wanted.

Redtail was clearly having similar thoughts, for he spoke up then, saying, “We need to be ready. We might well run into a RiverClan patrol today.”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” Spoke Tigerclaw, confident in his abilities, as usual. And he was a brilliant fighter, so his confidence wasn’t entirely unfounded. “Isn’t that right, Ravenpaw?”

Ravenpaw just nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. He wasn’t really sure they could handle anything right now, and he certainly didn’t want to risk it. He was suddenly very aware they only had two warriors and an apprentice on this patrol, surely much smaller than whatever patrol RiverClan would throw against them.

Redtail looked over at him uncertainly, and Ravenpaw knew that he was worried he would get himself injured. He wanted to argue that he could fight well enough, and Redtail didn’t need to worry about him, but at the moment he found himself agreeing with Redtail. This patrol would probably end up being dangerous.

They carried on, marking the border as they went, and encountered no RiverClan warriors. At least, not until just before they reached the Sunningrocks, where they spotted a RiverClan patrol just a few fox-lengths ahead of them, on the ThunderClan side of the border. There were five of them, with Oakheart leading the patrol. He spotted them at once, so there was no chance of a retreat without making them look like cowards. Redtail paused for a moment, before heading forward to confront Oakheart, Tigerclaw and Ravenpaw following close behind. Ravenpaw could see Tigerclaw itching for a fight, sheathing and unsheathing his claws.

Redtail stood before Oakheart, staring him down. He appeared to be standing casually, ignoring the threat of the warriors around him. Looking closely though, Ravenpaw could see him tensed, ready for an attack despite his uncaring stance.

“This is ThunderClan territory,” He began. “You are not welcome here. You have trespassed on our territory far too much lately, and we will not tolerate any more. Leave now, but we will not let you go so easily next time.”

He spoke calmly, but with a conviction in his voice that could not be ignored. The RiverClan warriors stared back, refusing to back down. They were well aware they had more warriors, and that despite Redtail’s words, they had the advantage here. Ravenpaw watched nervously, waiting for Oakheart’s response, though he knew where this was headed. Whatever words they might say, or how they might speak of peace, this would end in a battle. That was simply the way of things.

“Our Clan has to be fed, no matter what you say,” Returned Oakheart, after a moment. “We need this territory for our Clan, and we will hunt here, whatever you threaten. Besides, this is not ThunderClan territory, though your Clan has claimed it. Sunningrocks belongs to RiverClan, and always has. We will take it back.”

“So, it’s to be a fight, then?”

“Unless you let us hunt in peace, I’m afraid so.”

For a moment both deputies seemed genuinely disappointed, upset that it had to come to this. Then the moment passed, and barely a second after Oakheart had finished speaking Redtail was leaping forward, claws outstretched. At once everyone else was moving, joining in the battle.

Ravenpaw froze for a moment, unsure what to do. He had never been in an actual battle before, and he was well aware that his fighting skills were rather lacking. Still, he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. He saw an apprentice he had noticed before, attacking Tigerclaw along with a few other warriors, and ran at them, knocking them aside. They turned to face Ravenpaw, but before they got a chance to attack Ravenpaw had lunged at them. The apprentices fell to the ground together, fighting for control, clawing at each other’s sides. With a great effort, Ravenpaw pushed himself away, separating them, and they stood for a moment watching each other. Ravenpaw noticed that he was bleeding in several places now, but the adrenaline had kicked in, and he couldn’t feel the pain at the moment.

Putting more thought into his attack this time, he tried one of the moves that Tigerclaw had showed him yesterday, diving in under his opponent and flipping them onto their back. He clawed at their vulnerable underbelly, and heard them yowl in pain. After a moment he let them go, and they ran away across the river.

Ravenpaw took a moment to look across the battlefield, to see where he was needed. Tigerclaw had already sent one of the RiverClan warriors running, but he was surrounded now by two more warriors, who were clearly much less tired than he was. Meanwhile Redtail . . . Ravenpaw stared for a moment, trying to spot him, before he noticed him still fighting viciously with Oakheart. They had fallen further away from the main battle in their fight, now at the edge of the Sunningrocks.

As Ravenpaw watched, he saw the rocks above them shift slightly, and a few pebbles rained down around them. The rocks are about to fall, he realised with horror. If they fell with the warriors underneath them, both would probably be killed.

Maybe this is the danger Firepaw was warning me about, he thought briefly, before focusing himself. He needed to get them away from the rocks before they fell. He ran ahead, dodging around where Tigerclaw was still battling, before yelling, “Watch out!”

Redtail seemed to hear him, and broke away from Oakheart for a moment, glancing across at the battle.

“The rocks-“ Yelled Ravenpaw, trying to warn him, before he was cut off mid-sentence as the breath was knocked from his lungs. He felt claws dig into his pelt as he was pinned to the ground, and twisted his head franticly to see what was going on; one of the warriors that had been attacking Tigerclaw had broken away, coming to fight him instead.

Ravenpaw tried to speak, to warn them, because it was their deputy in danger as well, but the warrior was pressing down hard on his throat, and he couldn’t manage to get the words out. Looking up at the warrior above him, he realised he should worry more about his own life right now, and struggled desperately, trying to break free. He was nowhere near as strong as the full-grown warrior though, and they held him down easily. Unable to break free, he started panicking, feeling the claws digging into his sides and his underbelly. He watched the warrior above him, hoping they would let him go, but they just raised their claw, ready to strike again. I’m going to die here, he thought. There was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go. He was simply not strong enough to break free. He closed his eyes, bracing for the pain that he knew was coming.

Just then there was a loud rumbling noise, a sort of harsh grating sound that filled the air. The warrior above him paused for a moment, looking around. The rockfall, thought Ravenpaw vaguely, realising that he was too late, even if he wasn’t pinned down. Redtail was probably crushed by now. He wriggled again, trying to use the warrior’s distraction as a chance to break free, but it was still no use. Instead, it only brought the warrior’s attention back to him, and they raised their claw again. But before they landed the blow, Ravenpaw felt a weight leave him as the warrior was thrown aside. Opening his eyes, he saw Tigerclaw standing before him, staring down the warrior. The RiverClan warrior glanced around the battle quickly, then ran off.

Dazed, Ravenpaw struggled to his feet, trying to clear his head. He looked across the battlefield, seeing Tigerclaw staring in shock and disbelief at something behind him. Turning, he found himself looking at a pile of fallen boulders at the edge of Sunningrocks. It took him a moment to connect the dots, and recognise that as the place where he had last seen Redtail and Oakheart fighting.
“Redtail!” He cried out, racing towards the rocks. Redtail couldn’t be dead, surely. Not like this. Maybe he was still alive, under all the stones. If they got him out in time, maybe he would be okay.

As he cried out, it seemed to shake Tigerclaw from his trance, and he ran forward ahead of Ravenpaw, quickly overtaking him. As Tigerclaw arrived at the rocks, he stared down, clearly seeing something there amongst the stones, and at once started trying to shove aside some of the boulders. Ravenpaw helped him, trying not to look down at the battered body of Redtail as they moved the stones off of it. They finished quickly, and Ravenpaw bent down, shaking Redtail, checking for any signs of life.

“We need to get him to Spottedleaf!” He cried out, looking up at Tigerclaw franticly. “There might still be time!”

Tigerclaw stared down at him, remaining expressionless for a moment, then he sighed and knelt down beside Redtail, nudging him. Looking at Ravenpaw sadly, he shook his head. “It’s too late, Ravenpaw. He’s dead.”

“No, He . . . he can’t be . . .” Ravenpaw trailed off, looking down at the ground again. He knew it was true though, as much as he was trying to deny it. He had known as soon as he had heard the rocks fall, that there was no way Redtail could have had survived. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he couldn’t deny the truth now. Redtail was dead. He had failed.

He took another step forward, stumbled, and fell to the ground. All at once, his wounds caught up with him, and he felt himself aching in a dozen places, wincing as the wounds in his belly brushed the hard rocks beneath him.

He felt something touch his side lightly, and looked up to see Tigerclaw staring down at him. Much to his surprise, Ravenpaw saw signs of sympathy in his eyes. He was sure it was the first time Tigerclaw had showed any sign of kindness towards him.

“Come,” Said Tigerclaw. “We should get back to camp, before any more RiverClan cats come past. And you need Spottedleaf to have a look at your wounds.”

Walking past Ravenpaw, he picked up Redtail’s body, separating it from Oakheart’s corpse. Ravenpaw hadn’t even thought about Oakheart earlier, too bust worrying about Redtail, but now that he looked again he saw Oakheart lying crushed under the rocks beside Redtail, his claws were still locked in Redtail’s fur. That must have been why the RiverClan warriors left so quickly.

With Redtail’s body on his back, Tigerclaw turned to leave. When he noticed Ravenpaw wasn’t following, he looked back.

“Ravenpaw?” He asked. “Can you still walk, or do you need some help getting back?”

Ravenpaw sighed, staying still for a moment longer. He wanted to just stay lying down where he was, on the ground. All his energy had run out, and after seeing Redtail die, despite his efforts to save him . . . He had tried his best, but it had simply not been enough.

There wasn’t anything he could do about that now, though. And Tigerclaw was right, they needed to go back. They needed to tell the rest of the Clan what had happened, for one thing.

“I can walk,” Ravenpaw said reluctantly, pushing himself to his feet, wincing at every bout of pain that ran through him in response to his movement. He wobbled slightly as he stood, and took a moment to catch his balance. As he did so he glanced at the forest ahead of him, and for a moment he thought he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. A pair of green eyes, that looked distinctly like Firepaw’s . . . he shook his head, and when he looked again they were gone. It was probably just his imagination anyway.

 He padded forward slowly to stand beside Tigerclaw.

“Let’s go home,” He said quietly.

Chapter Text

It took them a while to walk back to camp, with Ravenpaw limping most of the way, slowing them down. He stumbled a few times, but eventually managed to make it the whole way back without needing any help from Tigerclaw.

They walked in a heavy silence, lost in thought and grief. The few times Ravenpaw glanced across at Tigerclaw, he saw him staring straight ahead, a closed expression on his face, refusing to look at the body on his back.

As they entered the camp, brushing past the gorse tunnel, cries of alarm rose, everyone smelling the scent of blood. At once cats started turning to look, their eyes going wide as they saw Redtail. The clearing went quiet as shock swept across the Clan. Tigerclaw walked into the middle of the clearing, dropping down Redtail’s body where all could see.

“How did this happen, Tigerclaw?” Asked Bluestar, heading over from where she had been sitting to stand before the Clan.

“We met a RiverClan patrol, just outside Sunningrocks,” Began Tigerclaw, and Ravenpaw tuned his words out as he started explaining. He took a few steps forward, not really thinking where he was going, and fell to the ground as his legs finally gave way beneath him. The world spun around him, and he heard the vague sound of someone calling for Spottedleaf, as if they were speaking from afar. His eyes closed, exhaustion catching up with him, and his mind slipped away from consciousness.

He opened his eyes what felt like a short time later, but was probably much longer judging by where the sun had risen to. Groaning, he raised his head, looking around him. He was in the medicine den, and he could see Spottedleaf to one side, fiddling with some leaves.

“Ravenpaw! You’re awake!” Came a voice from his other side, and he turned his head to see Firepaw sitting there, looking at him with concern.

Firepaw . . . there had been something he had wanted to ask Firepaw, hadn’t there? Something important . . . He tried to think, but his mind couldn’t focus at the moment, and no thoughts came to him. His head spun.

“How do you feel?” Asked Spottedleaf, and the words started to blur together as the world started spinning again.

“Not . . . not good,” Answered Ravenpaw, the words coming out sluggishly. “My head . . . hurts . . .”

He trailed off, words failing him. He lay his head back down, falling into unconsciousness again.

The next time he awoke the sun was still high in the sky, and he wondered for a while how so little time could have passed, before realising that he must have slept through the entire day.

He raised his head, surprised to find that he felt much less pain from doing so. He slowly stretched out the rest of his limbs carefully, finding that the worst of the pain had gone now, though many of his wounds still stung. Looking down at himself, he saw cobwebs covering his sides, as well as large parts of his underbelly, and winced at the sight.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet, sitting up cautiously, looking around the den for Spottedleaf, spotting her across the den. As he rose she turned, noticed him awake and quickly came over, looking concerned.

“You should stay lying down for now,” She said. “You don’t want to reopen your wounds.”

“Sorry,” Muttered Ravenpaw, before lying back down. He knew better than to argue with a medicine cat. “Have I really been asleep all day?”

“I’m afraid so. Your wounds were quite severe, and you needed time to recover, so I let you sleep. I’m impressed you managed to make it all the way back to camp without collapsing, actually.”

“I’m going to be okay though, right?” He asked, a little nervously. He figured he would be, but still . . . he knew he had been hurt badly, and he was only a small apprentice.

“Yes, you should recover fully, as long as you let yourself heal. You’re going to have to stay in here for another day or two, and you won’t be able to do any strenuous activity for at least a week.”

“I understand.”

“I’m sure you do, just make sure Tigerclaw does as well. I’ve told him you won’t be able to do any battle training for a while, but you know what he’s like.”

Ravenpaw chuckled at that, knowing exactly what she meant. Chances were Tigerclaw was probably expecting him to be back up and ready for training this afternoon, despite his injuries. He was not one to make allowances for anything, and demanded full effort and attention no matter how tired Ravenpaw was.

“Has much happened while I was asleep?” He asked, remembering the dramatic way they had returned to camp. The deputy had died, after all.

“The Clan mourned for Redtail last night, especially Bluestar. Everyone is sad to see him go, of course.” Spottedleaf looked down for a moment, her expression painful, and it took Ravenpaw a moment to remember that Redtail had been her brother, though they didn’t often mention it. Redtail’s death must be hitting her hard. “He has been buried by now though, and Lionheart has been named the new deputy.”

“Not Tigerclaw?” Asked Ravenpaw, surprised. Knowing how great a warrior he was, and how well he had defended the Clan yesterday, he had expected Tigerclaw to easily be chosen as deputy.

“Well, Lionheart is more experienced,” Mused Spottedleaf. “But it’s for Bluestar to decide, not you.”

Ravenpaw nodded, accepting that. Bluestar was far wiser than him, after all.

“Anyway, I should probably go tell Firepaw and Graypaw you’re awake. They’ve been in here almost non-stop these last few days, waiting for you to wake up.”

“Firepaw?” He asked, curious. Graypaw he had expected to visit; the tom was always friendly, and it was natural that he would come to check on one of his fellow apprentices. Firepaw on the other hand barely even knew him, despite what he seemed to think. And after what Firepaw had said the last time Ravenpaw had seen him, there was a decent chance he wasn’t just coming to make sure Ravenpaw was alright.

Thinking back now, he remembered how Firepaw had looked before he left for patrol – how panicked he had been, how he had tried to warn Ravenpaw. He had known that Redtail was going to die. Somehow, he had known. And he had warned Ravenpaw about it, hoping that Ravenpaw could save him.

But Ravenpaw had failed. He couldn’t save Redtail. He couldn’t even save himself; he had only survived because of Tigerclaw. He had just been so . . . so useless, so weak, like the others called him when they were in a bad mood, or Tigerclaw called him whenever he failed worse than usual. And this time his failure had cost something, and now Redtail was dead. He didn’t want to face Firepaw. He didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Don’t tell them I’m awake yet,” He said softly, trying not to cry. “I need some time to myself.”

Spottedleaf paused on her way out the den, looked back at him for a moment, then nodded. “I understand. You’ve been through a lot for such a young apprentice.”

Ravenpaw just waited for her to leave, then curled up in his nest, closing his eyes and trying not to think too much about Redtail, or about the battle, or about how much his limbs still hurt.

He stayed like that for a while, letting his thoughts drift away from him in the silence of the medicine den. He relaxed, for a bit, free from the troubles in his mind.

Eventually though, he raised his head, sighing. He had gotten himself some more time, but he couldn’t avoid Firepaw forever. He would come at some point, and Ravenpaw would have to face him. Until then, maybe he could try and figure out the truth about Firepaw, and work out what he truly wanted. He had promised himself he would do so, and now he had even more reason to find the truth, after Redtail’s death had proven that Firepaw knew more than he was letting on. He had no idea whether or not he could even trust Firepaw, or what he was planning. There was every chance that Firepaw might be a danger to the Clan.

Sure, Firepaw had warned him about Redtail, but that only raised the question of how he knew about Redtail’s death in the first place. He could have been told by StarClan, but then why would they have told him instead of Spottedleaf? Could he have known the RiverClan patrol would be there? Not without being in contact with RiverClan. And even then, the rockfall was just an unfortunate accident; there was no way he could have predicted that. Unless . . . it wasn’t an accident? He stopped himself before his thoughts went too far down that path. He did not want to consider the possibility that he would be sharing a den with a murder.

And regardless of how he knew about Redtail, why would he have only warned Ravenpaw? Why not someone who could actually do something about it, like Tigerclaw?

I could have warned them, thought Ravenpaw to himself. I knew there was a chance Redtail might be in danger, and I kept it to myself. Maybe if I had just warned someone else instead of trying to deal with it myself, Redtail would still be alive.

A noise from outside the den broke through his thoughts, and he looked up, expecting to see Spottedleaf to be returning. Much to his surprise, he saw Tigerclaw coming through the entrance instead. Upon seeing him awake, Tigerclaw hesitated for a moment, before coming to stand before him.

“Is Spottedleaf here?” He asked, after a moment.

“No, she left a short while ago. She’s probably out collecting herbs, if you’re looking for her.”

Tigerclaw shook his head. “I’m here for you, actually. I figured I should check in to see if you’re doing okay.”

Ravenpaw looked across at Tigerclaw, watching him carefully. He wondered if Tigerclaw was coming here because he actually cared about Ravenpaw, or merely to find out how soon Ravenpaw would be able to train again. Was this just a duty to him?

“So, how are you feeling?” Asked Tigerclaw, sitting down beside him.

“Alright, I suppose. It still hurts a lot. I’m certainly not ready for training anytime soon.”

“Don’t worry, I’m well aware that you need time to recover. And Spottedleaf would probably kill me if I tried to take you training too early.”

 Ravenpaw laughed at that, shocked at Tigerclaw actually making a joke for once. He hadn’t been aware that the tom even had a sense of humour.

Tigerclaw smiled, just a little, so that Ravenpaw wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching closely. He looked away for a moment, then spoke again, a bit hesitatingly this time. “I’m glad that you’re ok. I’m sorry your first battle had to be like this.”

“. . . Thanks,” Responded Ravenpaw after a moment, not really sure what to say. He wasn’t used to Tigerclaw caring if he was alright, or having much sympathy towards him. Not that Tigerclaw was cruel, exactly, but he certainly wasn’t kind. He was not entirely sure how to react to this change, though he was certainly thankful for it. He hoped this wasn’t just a one-time event, and that it meant his mentor would be a bit kinder to him from here on in. He searched for something more to say, not sure what would be appropriate.

“It’s a pity you didn’t get to be deputy,” He said after a while, hoping that Tigerclaw wouldn’t mind him trying to be friendly.

Tigerclaw looked down at him, shocked, and for a moment he just stared. Several emotions passed across his face, too quickly for Ravenpaw to make any of them out. He glanced away, and just when Ravenpaw was sure he had crossed a line and Tigerclaw was going to be angry, he spoke quietly, “No, I don’t think I would have made a good deputy. Bluestar made a good choice in picking Lionheart.”

Once more, Ravenpaw wondered what had changed in Tigerclaw, or if there were simply more sides to him than he had seen before. Tigerclaw was always confident in his own strength and skill, and it seemed to Ravenpaw like he had wanted to be deputy. He felt like there was something going unsaid, something Tigerclaw wasn’t telling him, but he had no idea what. He certainly wasn’t planning on asking, though; Tigerclaw had answered him, but he was sure he had pushed a little to close to the boundaries of what Tigerclaw would let him say.

As they sat there awkwardly for another moment, neither of them saying anything, there came a hiss from outside the door, and Tigerclaw jumped to his feet at once. He moved a little away from Ravenpaw, as if embarrassed to be seen comforting his apprentice. Ravenpaw scented the air, wondering who was outside, and detected Firepaw just a moment before he entered the den. He looked angry, or perhaps scared, and his gaze fixed on Tigerclaw as soon as he walked in. He stared at Tigerclaw, some hidden thoughts swirling around in his mind, and this time Ravenpaw was sure he wasn’t imagining the glimmer of fear in Firepaw’s eyes. He wondered if Tigerclaw saw it as well.

“What are you doing here?” Asked Firepaw after a moment,

“I’m just checking in on my apprentice,” Answered Tigerclaw coldly. “But I was leaving now anyway.”

With that, he stood up, nodded at Ravenpaw, then headed out the door. Ravenpaw wondered just how much that was true. It hadn’t seemed as though he was about to leave, but he couldn’t really tell what Tigerclaw was thinking. Had he just wanted an excuse to leave? Or had he only left because Firepaw had arrived? Firepaw had told him to ‘watch Tigerclaw’, so maybe there was something going on between the two of them.

“Are you okay?” Asked Firepaw, breaking through his thoughts. He looked up to see that Firepaw had taken a seat next to him, a little closer than he would have liked. This strange cat was not his friend, though Firepaw acted as though he was.

“Yes,” Answered Ravenpaw cautiously. It wasn’t entirely true, but he was not going to admit that to Firepaw, not while he still knew so little about him.

Firepaw looked across at him for a moment, a doubtful look on his face.

“That’s good,” He said after a moment. He stayed silent for a while, watching Ravenpaw with a thoughtful expression on his face. He opened his mouth to ask something, then clearly thought better of it and turned away.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Asked Ravenpaw, before he could think too much about what he was saying. He didn’t want to talk about it, or confront Firepaw like this, but he couldn’t just ignore it. “You knew Redtail was going to die.”

Firepaw’s eyes widened in shock, and he stayed still for a moment before turning his head aside, avoiding Ravenpaw’s eyes.

“Yes,” He said quietly. “I knew what might happen. I knew there was a chance that Redtail would be murdered. I . . . I wanted to stop it, but . . . I couldn’t. I hoped you might be able to help, if I warned you.”

Did . . . did he just say murdered? He thinks that Redtail was murdered? But how would he know that, unless . . . Ravenpaw quickly hid his face, not wanting to give away any sign of what he was thinking. He wasn’t sure if Firepaw realised what he had just said, but if he didn’t, then it was probably not a good idea to reveal it. If Firepaw had murdered Redtail, or had anything to do with it, then Ravenpaw could not afford to let Firepaw know that he suspicious. He needed to act natural, to try and keep calm.

“Me?” Asked Ravenpaw, trying to focus and respond to what Firepaw had actually told him. He tried to ask what he would have asked normally, without any suspicions. “Why would you warn me? Why not Redtail himself?”

“Do you think he would have believed me, about this? Do you think he would have trusted me?” He sighed, and for a moment Ravenpaw glimpsed an expression of infinite weariness on his face, and he suddenly seemed far older than he truly was. He would have felt some sympathy towards Firepaw, if he could be certain that he was showing his true emotions. “Maybe you’re right, and I should have told him, but . . . I wasn’t sure what would happen. I needed someone who I knew would believe me, and I knew that I could trust you to try and save him.”

Why would you trust me? You don’t even know me, he thought, but did not dare saying out loud.

“Well, I tried,” He admitted. “I tried to save Redtail, even though I nearly died because of it.”

He looked across at Firepaw, who was staring down at him sadly, and felt a rush of anger. That was right, he had nearly died! And for what? To try and save Redtail, who Firepaw knew was going to die anyway? If Firepaw knew Redtail was going to be murdered, then surely he must have known how much danger Ravenpaw would be in if he had tried to save him. He had asked Ravenpaw to try and help, without warning him of what was going on or how much danger he had been in. And why would he ask Ravenpaw, the weakest apprentice in the Clan? He should have known that Ravenpaw wouldn’t be able to save anyone.

Of course, that was assuming that Firepaw wasn’t the one who killed Redtail, an idea Ravenpaw was trying hard not to think about but finding more and more likely by the second. If Firepaw was involved in Redtail’s death, then had this all just been some way to mess with Ravenpaw? Had he been trying to get him killed as well?

He sat up, his anger giving him the confidence to speak out against Firepaw, even temporarily. This cat had almost gotten him killed, intentionally or not, and now he just sat there pretending to be Ravenpaw’s friend.

“All this happened because I listened to your warnings,” He said aloud, gesturing at all the cuts and wounds covering his underbelly. “This is what happened when I tried to save Redtail. Is this what you wanted?”

It probably wasn’t fair to accuse Firepaw like this, when there was a chance that he didn’t have anything to do with Redtail’s death, and he had just been trying to help, but still. He had almost died, for StarClan’s sake! He could still remember lying there helpless beneath the RiverClan warrior, moments away from death . . . he pulled his mind away from that image before it drew him in too far, focusing back on Firepaw.

“I . . .” Began Firepaw, before trailing off. He took a step back, looking horrified, and then turned away, not meeting Ravenpaw’s eyes. “I’m sorry, okay? I never meant for you to get hurt. It wasn’t supposed to come to this.”

Come to what? Wondered Ravenpaw. What was he wanting to happen? He wanted to trust Firepaw; he wanted to believe that Firepaw hadn’t wanted to hurt him. The look on Firepaw’s face seemed genuine, the sadness with which he gazed at Ravenpaw seemed truthful. He had looked guilty when Ravenpaw showed him his wounds, and Ravenpaw wished that he could believe that was because he regretted sending Ravenpaw into danger, and not guilt for some more sinister crime.

He stayed silent, unsure what to say. He knew so little about Firepaw, and he didn’t want to risk saying something that might put himself in danger. Until he learned more, he could not bring himself to trust Firepaw.

Firepaw stayed silent for a long while as well, staring down at the ground, away from Ravenpaw. Eventually he looked up again, meeting Ravenpaw’s eyes.

“Can you . . . ?” He began, before stopping himself and shaking his head. He stood up, and turned to head out of the den. Just before he left, he turned back one last time, and spoke quietly. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess, but I promise I will fix it.”

There was a determined look in his eyes, one that promised he would not stop until he had done what he came here to do. Ravenpaw wished he could find that thought reassuring instead of terrifying.

Once Firepaw was gone, Ravenpaw lay back down in his nest, where he felt safe. Or at least, safer than he had felt while Firepaw was here. He wondered what Firepaw was planning, or what he was going to do. He had promised he was going to fix things, but what could he fix? Redtail was dead, and Ravenpaw was wounded, and nothing Firepaw did would change that. Maybe he would try and catch the murderer, assuming he wasn’t the one who killed Redtail in the first place.

Something had to be done about Firepaw, he decided. Maybe this was all in his head, and Firepaw was innocent after all. Maybe he had an explanation for knowing that Redtail was murdered, when Ravenpaw didn’t even realise that despite being there while he died. But if he wasn’t, and if he had had something to do with Redtail’s death . . . then there was a good chance he would do something again. The Clan might well be in danger. He didn’t want to just sit around and let that happen. He needed to find out the truth.

But he couldn’t do it alone. He had thought that he could protect Redtail on his own, thought that knowing the danger was there would be enough to let him save Redtail. He had been wrong, though; he was far too weak to do something like that. He was not strong enough. After seeing Firepaw defeat Longtail when he first arrived, Ravenpaw doubted that he would be able to beat him in a fight, if it came to that (he really hoped it wouldn’t). And even if he could manage to find out the truth on his own . . . he really didn’t want to. He was scared, of what he might find out and what Firepaw might do to him. He wanted to have someone to help him, at least, so he wouldn’t have to feel so alone, like he did right now.

Maybe he could tell Tigerclaw. He was strong enough to be able to help Ravenpaw, and much more experienced. Besides, he was one of the only cats Ravenpaw knew for certain he could trust right now. If Firepaw was telling the truth, and there was actually a different murderer running around, then it could be anyone. Ravenpaw knew Tigerclaw was loyal to ThunderClan though, and he had seen him during the fight with RiverClan; he had not had a chance to do anything to kill Redtail. He had been a bit kinder to Ravenpaw when he had come by earlier, and more willing to talk. Maybe that meant there was a chance he would listen to Ravenpaw; a chance that he would care enough about what Ravenpaw said to try and help him. Even if he didn’t, Ravenpaw would need Tigerclaw’s help. He needed to become stronger, to learn how to fight better. He had felt so helpless during that fight, unable to do anything as the RiverClan warrior tore him apart, and he wanted to make sure he never had to be that helpless again. He would become stronger, whatever it took. Maybe then he would be able to take on Firepaw himself after all. He would talk to Tigerclaw, and hopefully he would agree to train Ravenpaw even harder than he already was. Tigerclaw could teach him how to be stronger.

For now though, he would rest. He needed to get his strength up, and he couldn’t do anything until he had recovered. Spottedleaf was right; there was no use trying to train now, when it would only get him more injured. He would have to wait before trying to do anything else. There would be time to find out the truth about Firepaw later.

Chapter Text

Spottedleaf returned not long after Firepaw had left. Ravenpaw nodded at her, but said nothing. He didn’t have anything to say. She looked over him quickly, but mostly left him to his thoughts, which was fine by Ravenpaw. He had a lot to think about.

Some time later, closer to evening, Ravenpaw heard a loud commotion at the entrance. Listening for a moment, he heard Graypaw’s voice among those outside. Sure enough, Spottedleaf shortly came back in to tell him that Graypaw wanted to see him, and check if that was alright. He barely had time to nod before Graypaw came rushing in past Spottedleaf, carrying a large bird in his mouth.

“Hey, Ravenpaw!” He called out, as energetic as ever. “How are you? I brought you some food.”

Ravenpaw smiled, amused by Graypaw’s antics, not at all surprised that he hadn’t bothered to wait for Spottedleaf to let him in. Behind Graypaw, he saw Spottedleaf watching for a moment, before she smiled to herself, shook her head and left the den.

“I’m quite hungry, actually,” Ravenpaw said, only noticing as he returned his attention back to Graypaw. The last time he had eaten had been before going on patrol.

“That’s a pity,” Spoke Graypaw as he settled down beside Ravenpaw. “Otherwise I could have eaten this myself.”

Ravenpaw chuckled; typical Graypaw, obsessed with food. It was comforting, in a way, how predictable Graypaw still was - an island of stability in the midst of all the chaos currently going on.

“Thanks, by the way,” Said Ravenpaw as Graypaw slid the bird across to him. “I know how hard it is for you to give away food.”

This time Graypaw laughed for a moment, before his face turned more serious. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. I was really worried when I saw you come back with Tigerclaw. There was . . . a lot of blood.”

Ravenpaw winced, looking away. He knew that Graypaw often exaggerated, but even so, he was aware that he had come far closer to death than he wanted. He didn’t really want to think about it though. He didn’t want to remember that moment, when he had been about to die. And even though Tigerclaw had saved him, he had still come close to death, with only Spottedleaf’s healing keeping him alive.

“I’m alright though,” He replied, trying to keeping himself focused on what was, rather than worrying about what might have been. “Spottedleaf says I should make a full recovery.”

“You’re going to be stuck in here for a while though?”

“Just a day or two more, according to Spottedleaf. It’ll be longer than that until I can start fully training again, unfortunately.”

Graypaw nodded sympathetically, though Ravenpaw could tell that he wouldn’t have minded as much if he’d had to miss some training. But then, he doesn’t have to work as hard as I do just to prove himself capable.

“Well, at least you get to avoid Tigerclaw yelling at you for a while,” Said Graypaw, with a slight smile, and Ravenpaw wasn’t entirely sure whether he was serious or trying to lighten the mood. He decided to defend his mentor, just in case.

“Tigerclaw’s not too bad, once you get to know him,” He replied, which he was fairly certain was true. At least, he hoped it was true, and Tigerclaw’s actions earlier suggested that he might care about Ravenpaw, after all. “And he did save my life.”

“I’m certainly grateful for that,” Spoke Graypaw, “I just wish he wasn’t as harsh on you during training, that’s all.”

“Me too,” Said Ravenpaw quietly, looking down. He understood why Tigerclaw was so strict with him, or at least he thought he did – Tigerclaw wanted him to improve, and he needed to work hard to make any progress. He would never learn to get stronger if Tigerclaw was too soft on him, and the fight with RiverClan had shown him just how weak he currently was. Still, it . . . it hurt sometimes, especially when they were training with the other apprentices, and he had to watch all the others getting praise from their mentors while he sat there being scolded.

They stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before Graypaw spoke up again. “Well, maybe I’ll go tell him that. I could go yell at Tigerclaw for you if you want; I’ll give him a piece of my mind. I can be very convincing, you know.”

Ravenpaw laughed, drawn out of his sombre thoughts by the image of Graypaw trying to complain to Tigerclaw. “Graypaw, you wouldn’t convince him to do anything, except maybe punish you.“

“Am I really that bad?” He asked, and then after seeing Ravenpaw’s face, he added, “Well, why don’t you have a go then?”

“Because it’s Tigerclaw, and I doubt he’d change his ways for anyone, and certainly not an apprentice.” He hadn’t really meant to be serious, but as he said that, he started wondering how true it was. When he had first become an apprentice, he certainly wouldn’t have dared to speak up against Tigerclaw, but now . . . he still wasn’t sure how Tigerclaw would react if he asked him to be less harsh during training, but maybe it was at least worth a try. Tigerclaw had been acting slightly kinder to him recently, after all.

“Maybe I’ll try though, just to save you from having to embarrass yourself.”

“I hope you do,” Said Graypaw, looking across at Ravenpaw seriously for a moment. “You should talk to Tigerclaw, and get him to treat you better. What’s the worst that could happen, anyway? Even Tigerclaw wouldn’t actually hurt a Clanmate.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Said Ravenpaw. A few days ago he would have said that about anyone in the Clan, but now . . . now he wasn’t so sure. For a moment his mind slowly drifted back towards Firepaw, before he focused himself.

“Alright,” Agreed Ravenpaw. “I’ll talk to him at some point, see what Tigerclaw says.”

He stayed quiet for a while after that, thinking some more to himself as he took a couple bites of the bird.

“There’s a gathering tonight,” Said Graypaw, interrupting his thoughts. “What do you think RiverClan’s going to have to say?”

“Not much, I assume,” He replied, after a moment’s thought. He’d forgotten about the gathering until Graypaw had mentioned it; there had been too much going on lately. “They retreated, after all, and I doubt they’ll want to mention that.”

“That’s true. Maybe this will make them back off a little, and stay away from Sunningrocks.”

“I hope so,” Said Ravenpaw. “I don’t want to have another battle with them.”

Graypaw looked down at him for a moment, pity in his eyes. Ravenpaw looked away, not wanting to talk about it. Yes, he’d been injured, but he could recover. He would be fine, he just wanted to avoid a fight, for now. After seeing what an actual battle was like . . . he had no wish to repeat it.

“What do you think of Firepaw?” Asked Graypaw, clearly trying to change the subject. Ravenpaw was grateful for it, though he would have chosen a different subject to switch to. “I think he’s pretty awesome.”

“You do?” Asked Ravenpaw, not trusting himself to say anything else at the moment. He wasn’t sure what to say, or how he should answer that. He didn’t want to lie, especially to Graypaw, but if he told the truth . . .

“Yeah!” Continued Graypaw enthusiastically, oblivious to Ravenpaw’s thoughts. “He’s just a kittypet, but he already seems almost as skilled as some of the warriors. I mean, you saw him against Longtail when he first arrived, and he’s been just as capable in training.”

“He did fight very well,” Agreed Ravenpaw reluctantly.

“I went on a patrol with him yesterday,” Continued Graypaw. “He seemed to work out where everything was instantly! Though he did stand on a thorn and have to come back to see Spottedleaf, so he’s not that clever.”

“Wait, he left the patrol?” Asked Ravenpaw, suddenly much more interested in what Graypaw was saying. “When was this?”

“Not that long after we left, actually. We’d just started walking along the ShadowClan border, when he came up with a thorn in his foot. Since we hadn’t gone too far and he had shown he was more than capable of finding his own way, Lionheart let him go back by himself.”

Ravenpaw thought for a minute, comparing the times. He remembered seeing Firepaw just after the battle with RiverClan, though he had assumed that was just his mind playing tricks on him. If Firepaw had left by himself, though, then he might actually have seen him. But what was Firepaw doing at Sunningrocks then, watching Redtail die? He could have been trying to prevent Redtail’s death, but in that case Ravenpaw couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t have told him about it. On the other paw, maybe he had been there to make sure Redtail died.  

“Why does that matter, Ravenpaw?” Asked Graypaw, and Ravenpaw looked up to see him staring down worriedly, realising that he had been staring off into the distance for a while. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s . . .” Began Ravenpaw, before trailing off. He wanted to tell Graypaw what he knew, wanted to share it with someone. He could see how close Graypaw was becoming to Firepaw, and he wanted to warn him, tell him that Firepaw was hiding something. He wasn’t sure how Graypaw would react though, or if he would even believe him. Either way, with how close he appeared to be to Firepaw, and how much Graypaw talked, it was likely that he would let something slip to Firepaw about his suspicions, which could end up badly for both of them.

If he was correct, then telling Graypaw the truth might put him in danger from Firepaw. If he was wrong, as he hoped he was, then all he would achieve would be potentially ruining Graypaw and Firepaw’s friendship for nothing.

“It doesn’t matter, Graypaw,” He said eventually, hating having to lie to someone he wanted to be friends with. “It’s nothing.”

Graypaw looked at him for a long moment, then spoke again, without his usual exuberance. “Ok. But if there is something, then you can tell me, alright?”

“Alright,” Replied Ravenpaw, thinking. He wanted to be able to talk to Graypaw, since he hadn’t really had anyone since his parents had died; he wasn’t exactly close with Dustpaw or the other apprentices. He didn’t want to push Graypaw away just when they were starting to be friends.

He still didn’t say anything though, and after a moment Graypaw got up and headed towards the door.

As he watched Graypaw walking away from him, Ravenpaw came to a decision. He couldn’t just stay silent and let Graypaw leave; he didn’t want to keep secrets, and he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to handle it if he kept everything to himself. Besides, so what if it was a little dangerous? Graypaw deserved to know the truth, or at least Ravenpaw owed it to him to warn him about his suspicions.

“Graypaw,” Called Ravenpaw just before he left.

“Yes?”

“Just . . . be careful around Firepaw, that’s all. I think he’s hiding something.”

Graypaw looked back at him for a moment, his face indecipherable, nodded, then left the den. Ravenpaw remained watching after him for a while, wondering what he was thinking. He wondered whether Graypaw would take his advice seriously, or if Graypaw just thought he was mad. He wondered whether Graypaw would say anything to Firepaw. He hoped not.

He had no answers though, and Graypaw did not return, though Spottedleaf came back in after a bit. He stayed in his nest as instructed, and finished off the bird Graypaw had brought him.

When he finally fell asleep later that night, his dreams were troubled. It was the first time he was actually sleeping since the battle, and though he wished for a dreamless sleep, it did not arrive. Instead, memories from the recent battle surged through his mind, along with images of Firepaw, haunting him.

He awoke early the next morning, feeling not much more rested than before he went to bed. Yawning, he raised his head, looking around him. Spottedleaf was asleep in her nest; she must have returned from the gathering while he was sleeping.

He stretched his limbs, and noted that they felt much less sore than yesterday, though they were stiff from staying in his nest all day. He climbed slowly to his feet, with his wounds only giving him minor amounts of pain while doing so; Spottedleaf had said that it was alright for him to move around now, as long as he was careful.

Walking out into the camp itself, he looked around at the cats starting to leave their dens, getting ready to start the day. There were less than normal, many cats taking the opportunity to lie in a bit later after coming back late from the gathering. After a moment, he noticed a hint of movement from one side of the clearing. Looking closer, he watched as Firepaw crept out from behind the nursery, glancing around himself cautiously. He paused for a moment, speaking quietly, though Ravenpaw was too far away to hear any of the words. Who was he talking to? Ravenpaw wondered, as he could see no-one anywhere within earshot. He didn’t appear to be talking to anyone in particular though, and it seemed to Ravenpaw as though he must be talking to himself, which was rather odd. More importantly though, he wasn’t sure where Firepaw had been. Like all the apprentices, Ravenpaw was aware of the hidden exit behind the nursery, and had even used it to sneak out himself once, at Graypaw’s suggestion. He hadn’t expected Firepaw to know about it (though given what else Firepaw knew, he shouldn’t have been too surprised), let alone be using it within days of arriving. Just more proof that he was up to something, Ravenpaw supposed. Meanwhile, Firepaw snuck back into the apprentice’s den, seemingly without anyone else noticing.

He sighed, turning his gaze away. He didn’t really want to think about that right now; he just wanted to have an ordinary day where he could relax and not have to worry about potential murders or any other conspiracies. He watched Tigerclaw exiting the warrior’s den instead, seeing him stretch out his muscles before heading over to join some other warriors. Tigerclaw noticed him watching after a moment, and looked back across at him, before nodding briefly.

Remembering Graypaw’s words from the night before, he considered going up to talk to Tigerclaw for a moment, before turning away. Later, he told himself. I can do that later.

“Hello,” Came a tentative voice from behind Ravenpaw, and he turned around to find Dustpaw standing before him, much to his surprise. He just stared for a minute, not really sure what to think. Though they were littermates, he had Dustpaw had never exactly been close, especially after their parents had died. Since becoming apprentices, they had drifted even further apart, and barely spoke to each other as siblings now. Dustpaw was much stronger than him, and much more confident; he had done well in his training while Ravenpaw had fallen behind the other apprentices, forced to work harder just to even come close to them. Ravenpaw had often been a little jealous of him, and looked forward to the day he could match his brother in a fight.

“I brought you some food,” Said Dustpaw after a moment of awkward silence, sliding a mouse across to him. He looked tired, as though he had barely slept that night. Remembering that he had been at the gathering, Ravenpaw wondered why he was even awake this early; most cats slept late after a gathering.

“Thanks,” Replied Ravenpaw, accepting the mouse, and he gestured beside him, offering Dustpaw a chance to sit down, which he did gratefully.

“I . . .” Began Dustpaw, before trailing off. Ravenpaw stayed silent, seeing that Dustpaw had something he wanted to say, and content to give him his time. Sure enough, after a while Dustpaw spoke up again, this time sounding much more confident.

“I know we haven’t exactly been close lately,” He began, to which Ravenpaw had to stop himself from snorting at. “But you are still my brother. I do care about you, okay? Please try not to get injured like this again. I don’t . . .” His voice broke for a moment, then he carried on. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

“I . . .” Began Ravenpaw, before trailing off, not really sure what to say here. He settled for reaching out a paw towards Dustpaw, who immediately accepted it, settling in against Ravenpaw’s side.

“Thanks for caring,” Said Ravenpaw quietly. “I’ll try not to die, okay?”

“Promise?” Came Dustpaw’s voice, barely audible.

“I promise.” And that was a promise he intended to keep. He would be careful, for Dustpaw’s sake even if not for his own. He did care about his brother as well, for they were littermates, after all. He could tell that his severe injuries had made an impact on Dustpaw, and that was not something he wished to repeat.

It could be a hard promise to keep though, knowing what Firepaw might be up to. He had not really had a plan, just wanting to rush in and investigate, to find the truth. That was risky though, and maybe he should put some more thought into things before he got himself or anyone else hurt. Like Graypaw whispered his mind unhelpfully, as he once again wondered if he had made the right decision warning him the day before.

Ravenpaw let them stay like that for a while, peacefully leaning against each other, before pulling away, and looking down at Dustpaw.

“This is because of Redtail, isn’t it?” He asked, because he had already guessed what prompted this display of affection from Dustpaw, and that it was not merely him coming close to death.

Dustpaw looked away, not meeting his eyes.

“I know you were close with him,” Continued Ravenpaw, and then added, partly due to his own guilt, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save him.”

“It’s not your fault,” Replied Dustpaw quietly. “Tigerclaw told me what happened; there was nothing you could have done.”

I could have warned someone, thought Ravenpaw to himself. I could have told someone Redtail was in danger. I should have watched him closer, seen how close they were to those rocks.

But he said none of that, staying quiet, letting Dustpaw talk.

“I . . . I just wish I could have been there,” He continued. “Even if I couldn’t have done anything. He was my mentor, and I should have been there to help him.” He sighed. “I know this is how Clan life is; it’s dangerous, and cats die sometimes, I just . . . it somehow feels much more real now.”

“Fighting for your territory is all fun and games until someone dies,” suggested Ravenpaw, understanding exactly what Dustpaw was thinking. While their parents had died when they were only kits, that had been merely to old age and sickness; this was the first time a warrior had died in combat that they could remember. Now he looked back at them play-fighting as kits, pretending to be RiverClan warriors, or whoever was most opposed to ThunderClan at the time. It had been easy to imagine defending the Clan as something heroic, every kit’s dream. Even when they had grown up and become apprentices, learning to fight for real, they still hadn’t quite realised the reality of what they were doing. Ravenpaw remembered all the times when he had hoped for a fight during border patrols, looking for a chance to prove himself. Now that thought just made him sick.

Dustpaw nodded beside him, before saying quietly, “I thought I was going to lose you as well.”

Ravenpaw stayed quiet for a moment after that, not sure what to say, and feeling a little overwhelmed.

“But you didn’t,” He said eventually. “I’m alright, and I’m not going to die. Or at least, not any time soon.”

“I know,” Said Dustpaw with a sigh. “Thanks.”

“You are okay, right?” He added after a moment. “You did almost die.”

The memory of that fight flashed through Ravenpaw’s head, the helplessness he had felt, closely followed by all his fears about Firepaw, all that might be about to go wrong with the Clan.

 “I’m fine,” Replied Ravenpaw, hoping that Dustpaw would believe him. His brother had enough to worry about at the moment, with Ravenpaw adding his own troubles to the mix.

Dustpaw remained silent though, accepting his answer. Neither of them spoke for a while after that, as they watched the rest of the Clan hurry about, many of them leaving to go out on patrols.

“How’s Sandpaw holding up?” Asked Ravenpaw after a while. He remembered how it had felt when he and Dustpaw had lost their parents; they had barely been old enough to remember, but it had still hurt a lot. Sandpaw had had much more time to know Redtail, and losing him in battle this way must be difficult for her to handle.

“Not great,” Replied Dustpaw, a little reluctantly. “She hasn’t spoken to me much, but I can tell she’s struggling. I think she’s mostly taking it out on the kittypet though; she’s being much meaner to him than she usually would be.”

“Firepaw?” Asked Ravenpaw, taking a moment to work out who Dustpaw was referring to. With all that had been going on lately, he had almost forgotten the original reason Firepaw’s arrival had been so controversial. “What do you think of him?”

“He’s . . . odd,” Replied Dustpaw. “Being a kittypet, I hadn’t expected much of him, and doubted he would understand our ways. Instead, he seems to understand everything almost at once, as though he has always been a Clan cat. It’s weird. He’s certainly skilled though, much more than I’d have expected from a kittypet. I still don’t know why Bluestar let a kittypet into the Clan, but at least she chose one who can put up a fight. He’s also . . . been acting a little strangely, especially with Sandpaw.”

“He has?” Ravenpaw was certainly interested in any information about Firepaw, especially if there was anything else suspicious that he had done.

“Yeah. He seems to know everyone already, which is a little weird. Also, he never reacts when Sandpaw mocks him, instead just looking back at her with some strange expression on his face. With the rest of the Clan he’s always quick to defend himself, saying how it doesn’t matter if he’s a kittypet, but with Sandpaw . . . it’s as though he just doesn't want to fight with her, for whatever reason. I think that’s partly what’s making her mock him so much; she knows that she can be cruel to him and he won’t fight back.” He sighed, glancing away for a moment. “I’m not sure what to do about that.”

Ravenpaw looked across at his brother, feeling a little guilty that he had drawn the conversation on to Firepaw when Dustpaw was still busy worrying about Sandpaw. He wasn’t particularly close with Sandpaw, but he knew that Dustpaw cared about her, and he didn’t want either of them to be upset like this.

“You should talk to her,” He suggested. It wasn’t exactly the most original advice, but that was because it generally worked. “You’re her friend, she’ll listen to you. Besides, you’re . . . one of the few people she has left. She needs you.”

“Okay. I’ll . . . try,” Said Dustpaw tentatively.

“I’m sure she’ll be alright, with time,” Replied Ravenpaw, hoping that he was telling the truth. “As will you.”

“Thanks,” Said Dustpaw, with a slight smile. “You’re a pretty good brother, you know?”

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

They stayed there for a few more minutes, before Dustpelt eventually rose to his feet, stretching out his muscles.

“I’m going back to my nest,” He said. “I need to catch up on some sleep before training this afternoon.”

Ravenpaw nodded, then thought for a moment before asking, “Has . . .” He hesitated briefly. “Has Bluestar assigned you a new mentor yet?”

“Not yet,” Replied Dustpaw, after a moment’s pause. “I figure she’ll give me one today.”

Ravenpaw nodded, and Dustpaw headed away, leaving Ravenpaw alone with his thoughts. He sighed after Dustpaw had gone, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He was glad that Dustpaw had come to speak to him, but it had also given him more stuff to think about. He hoped that he had made some difference to Dustpaw, and it seemed that he was feeling better when he left. As for Sandpaw . . . it would just take her time, he supposed. There wasn’t really anything he could do about it though.

He also wondered about Firepaw, and why he was so reluctant to fight back against Sandpaw. He was fairly certain they hadn’t met before, so there was no reason why Firepaw should treat her differently. Unless they had met before, somehow, or maybe Firepaw knew something about Sandpaw that he didn’t? But he doubted Sandpaw was keeping secrets, so that seemed unlikely. Maybe it was far simpler than all that, and he simply liked Sandpaw and didn’t want to upset her – not that he was doing a great job at that either, if he hadn’t warned her about her father’s death.

While Ravenpaw was thinking, Spottedleaf came out of the den behind him, a concerned expression covering her face. For a moment he thought she was worrying about him, and maybe he wasn’t supposed to have left the den yet, but she didn’t seem to be looking for him. She noticed him after a moment though, and seemed surprised to see him there. She paused, looking down at him, before speaking. “Good morning. Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to be moving around?”

“Yes,” Replied Ravenpaw, truthfully. “I’m feeling much better actually.”

“Good. That’s . . . good,” Said Spottedleaf, her voice trailing off. She was clearly distracted, her eyes not seeming to focus on anything in particular. She stayed standing there for a moment, before she focused herself, and turned to head off across the clearing.

“I’ll check in with you later,” She said to him before she walked away. “Stay in camp, and don’t move around too much or do anything stupid.”

“I won’t,” He replied, but she was already halfway across the camp and out of earshot.

There was definitely something that had bothered her, he decided. Probably something StarClan related, if he had to guess. Maybe they sent her a sign? Or a dream perhaps – that would make sense, as she seemed to have just woken up. He wondered if it was related to what was happening with Firepaw in any way, though he wasn’t sure whether or not he even wanted that. Whatever it was, it had clearly troubled her, so it couldn’t be anything good.

He watched as she left the camp, seeming to go past everyone without even noticing them. Going for a walk to clear her head, he guessed. He wished he could do the same, but it seemed he was stuck in camp for at least one more day. Instead he headed back into the medicine den for some peace and quiet, hoping to get his thoughts in order. It was going to be a long day, stuck in the camp the whole time, but at least he had a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

Ravenpaw spent the next few hours in and around the medicine den, mostly not doing too much, merely watching the rest of the Clan going about their business.

Not long after his talk with Dustpaw, he watched as Firepaw and Graypaw left their den to go start training – unlike Dustpaw, they had not been at the gathering, had to begin training in the morning as usual. As he watched, he saw Graypaw leave first, with Firepaw following after, casting a sad glance at Graypaw as he went. They headed over to Lionheart and Tigerclaw, who it seemed were mentoring them that day, but as they went there seemed to be some tension between them, a distance that had not been there before. They nodded to their mentors, and left to begin the training, it all happening fast enough to make Ravenpaw wonder if he had imagined the awkwardness he had seen. He remembered how Graypaw had talked of Firepaw the night before, and how close they had been on that first day Firepaw arrived, before everything had fallen apart. Something had changed overnight, and he couldn’t help but feel that it was probably his fault. He had told Graypaw to be careful around Firepaw, and it seemed that maybe Graypaw had listened to his advice, for once. Even so, things had changed quickly there, and he wondered what had been said between them to shift the mood so suddenly.

He sighed, still watching the now empty entrance to camp. There wasn’t anything he could do about that now. Maybe he could ask Graypaw about it later, but he figured there was probably some personal matters going on there, and it wasn’t his place to ask questions. Hopefully it was just something personal, as he didn’t want to consider that this could be related to his other fears about Firepaw, which could mean Graypaw was in danger. But no, he wouldn’t think about that. Whatever was going on, it would surely just be some minor drama between apprentices, not worth worrying about.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, instead taking in the bright sunlight that filtered down from above. It was a lovely day to be outside, and there was no point in spending the day worrying about things he could do nothing about. Instead, he might as well enjoy the sun while he could – he had no responsibilities today, and was free to just sit at camp doing nothing. Normally, he was always busy with training, even while at camp. Training might be tough, especially with Tigerclaw as a mentor, but he couldn’t afford to miss any of it, not if he wanted to stop being so weak. Not if he wanted to prove that he was capable of being a warrior. Now, though, he was stuck here unable to train no matter what, so he might as well make use of it. This was the perfect time to relax, without having to concern himself with apprentice duties or trying not to disappoint Tigerclaw, and it would be foolish to waste that.

So, for the next few hours, he lay down, the sun warming his pelt, and tried his best to relax, and push all thought of Firepaw or any other worries from his mind. He even headed over to the elders for a while, had a long chat with them; they were more than happy to help him pass the time, and tell many tales of the past.

After a while, he looked up to spot Sandpaw heading out of the den, Dustpaw at her side. Sandpaw’s head hung low, and she looked tired, even from this distance. Beside her, Ravenpaw could see Dustpaw talking, though he couldn’t make out the words from so far away. As he spoke, Sandpaw smiled a little, raising her head slightly.

Watching their interaction, Ravenpaw smiled himself. Maybe Sandpaw was suffering, but she had Dustpaw to help her; she’d be alright.

Shortly after that, Spottedleaf returned to camp, from wherever she had gone off to in the morning. She walked in quickly, seeming less distracted than before, but just as worried. She quickly headed over to where Bluestar was chatting with some of the warriors, and as soon as Bluestar saw her approaching she rose to her feet. Together, they entered Bluestar’s den, presumably to talk privately. Ravenpaw watched them go, wondering what was going on with Spottedleaf. It must be important, for Bluestar to take it so seriously. Some message from Starclan, he guessed. That didn’t exactly narrow it down though. Yet another worrying event that he couldn’t do anything about. He sighed, turning away. He was just an apprentice, and not even a good one, this was really none of his concern. Let the warriors deal with the important stuff, for he had enough to worry about just trying to become a warrior. That was what he had always done, and why had it changed now? Firepaw, he thought to himself. For the first time he found himself directly involved in important events, ones which might even involve the murder of the deputy. He could try and tell the senior warriors about it, let them deal with matters, but even as he thought that he knew it would never work. He had no proof of anything, merely wild theories and speculation; his own biased thoughts on what Firepaw had said. Despite that, he was certain of his suspicions; not all of them, of course, but there was something going on with Firepaw, something that he was keeping hidden. He truly hoped that some of his darker ideas were wrong, but he could not simply dismiss them. There were too many coincidences, too many things that didn’t quite add up. There was definitely something going on, and he would reach the bottom of it one day. Not this day, though. Today he just wanted an ordinary day, without needing to worry about any secrets. So he tore his gaze away from Bluestar’s den, returning to chatting with the elders, though he noted when Spottedleaf returned to the medicine den a few minutes later.

The day continued, until around sunhigh, when Bluestar headed over to the highrock from where she had been talking with Lionheart, and leaped up, loudly calling out the announcement for a Clan meeting.
As everyone gathered around, Ravenpaw rose to his feet, heading to where the other apprentices were gathering. He could already guess what this was going to be about, and was looking forward to the distraction from sitting in camp all day.

He sat down beside Graypaw, who briefly looked up at him with a smile, before focusing on something in front of them. Following his gaze, Ravenpaw saw him watching Firepaw, an odd expression on his face. Firepaw didn’t seem to notice though; instead, he was sitting beside Sandpaw, who was clearly not pleased with him being there.

After a few moments, he looked away, focusing on Bluestar as she stood up to begin the meeting. “As you all are aware, Redtail was killed by Riverclan a two days ago. This means his apprentice, Dustpaw, has been left without a mentor. Since we cannot afford to delay the training of any of our apprentices, he must be assigned a new mentor as soon as possible. Dustpaw, you may come forward.”

Dustpaw walked out in front of the Clan nervously, glancing around the Clan, no doubt wondering who his new mentor would be. Ravenpaw gave him an encouraging smile as he went past. When he arrived at the centre, Bluestar continued speaking.

“Darkstripe, you are ready for your first apprentice, so you will continue Dustpaw’s training. You had a fine mentor in Tigerclaw, and I trust you will pass on many of the skills you were taught.”

Darkstripe rose from where he had been sitting beside Tigerclaw, and strode over to Dustpaw. Bending his head, he touched noses awkwardly with his new apprentice. Bluestar jumped down from the highrock, signalling the end of the meeting, and several cats headed over to Darkstripe to congratulate him on getting an apprentice. Unlike normal apprenticeship ceremonies though, the mood was mostly subdued, as people remembered why Dustpaw needed a new mentor in the first place. Dustpaw certainly did not seem particularly happy to be assigned a new mentor, looking up at Darkstripe with little excitement. Or it just have been that he didn’t want to be mentored by Darkstripe. Ravenpaw couldn’t really blame him for that.

Ravenpaw walked over slowly to Dustpaw, not really sure what to say, with Graypaw following him after a moment. But Dustpaw smiled when he saw them, greeting them as they arrived. They started chatting, a little awkwardly at first before finding words to say. They spoke about Dustpaw’s new mentor, though Ravenpaw noticed how he avoided mentioned Redtail at all. Dustpaw was not happy about being mentored by Darkstripe it seemed, and Graypaw had a joke to make about that as usual.

Sandpaw turned up a moment later, and Dustpaw’s attention turned to her. A moment later Ravenpaw and Graypaw moved away, leaving them to chat.

Ravenpaw glanced around as they went, noting Tigerclaw talking to Darkstripe, looking a little unsure as he did so. Firepaw was sitting by himself, and turned away as soon as Ravenpaw looked in his direction, but Ravenpaw was sure he had been staring at them.

“You got more training this afternoon?” He asked, as they headed for the edge of the clearing.

“Yep,” Replied Graypaw, “Lionheart’s training me hard, as usual. You’re still stuck in camp, I suppose?”

“Unfortunately. Though I’ve been feeling better today, so I’m hoping Spottedleaf will let me leave tomorrow,” Replied Ravenpaw, mostly truthfully. His wounds were feeling much better, thanks to Spottedleaf’s medicine, only occasionally giving him pain now, but he could tell that his wounds had not fully healed yet, and would likely still be there for a while. Getting your belly clawed up sure left some marks. But he did not want to be stuck in camp any longer, with little to do; not when there were so many pressing matters to deal with. It just made him feel useless, sitting around wasting his time. So he really hoped that he would be able to convince Spottedleaf to let him go.

As they sat down, Tigerclaw went past them, heading to the camp entrance, some unknown expression on his face. He glanced back once before he left, his gaze lingering on Ravenpaw for a moment. Ravenpaw wasn’t really sure what to make of that, but he didn’t think too hard about it; it didn’t seem that important. Or he hoped that it wasn’t.

But as he looked around, he spotted someone else also watching Tigerclaw leave – Firepaw. He still sat by himself, watching the Clan go past, but his eyes focused only on Tigerclaw. After a moment he got up and, glancing across at Ravenpaw (who quickly looked away so as to not get caught staring), headed over to the back of the nursery, and was gone when Ravenpaw looked back.

So, he’s sneaking out again, though Ravenpaw. Though this time, he had a guess as to where Firepaw was going; it seemed pretty clear that he was following Tigerclaw, for some reason. He wondered what was going on between the two of them, for he was now certain something was happening there – Firepaw had asked him to watch Tigerclaw before the patrol, and there had been some tension between them in the medicine den after the battle. Firepaw had seemed almost scared of Tigerclaw, he remembered. So what was he doing now, following Tigerclaw around? Nothing good, probably.

He wondered if he should tell anyone. But what could he say? That Firepaw was sneaking out, sure, but that wasn’t much of a crime. The chance of any of his secrets being revealed even if Ravenpaw told someone was low, and he did not want to bring attention to how the apprentices snuck out of camp, when he would likely be doing the same as well. He would just have to leave it, and hope that Firepaw wouldn’t do too much damage. Tigerclaw was more than capable of taking care of himself anyway.

Unless . . .

He couldn’t follow Firepaw, not in his current state, but maybe someone else could.

“Graypaw?” He asked, turning to the tom sitting next to him.

“Yes?” Graypaw looked across at him, seeming slightly nervous.

Ravenpaw stared at him for a moment, opened his mouth opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself, thinking better of it. He didn’t want to get Graypaw involved in this business, any more than he had to. Asking him to go follow Firepaw would just risk putting him in danger. Besides, there was something going on with him and Firepaw at the moment, and whatever it was, asking him to spy on Firepaw was likely a bad idea. Ravenpaw had no idea what he thought about Firepaw at the moment, or whether there was even a chance that he would agree to sneaking out after him. And if he did it would likely go down badly.

Instead he thought for a while, before deciding to ask, “Did something happen between you and Firepaw? You seem quite distant from him today.”

“No, I-“ Graypaw began, before sighing and cutting himself off. “Is it that obvious?”

“Pretty much. You were already very close on the day he arrived, and it seemed you were becoming friends. Yet you’ve been avoiding each other all day, and I have noticed you glancing across all the time.”

Graypaw stayed silent for a while longer, before taking a deep breath and speaking. “Yes, you’re right. Something did happen, and I . . . I don’t really know what to do. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but . . . “

He trailed off, looking away guiltily. Then he started speaking again, all his words coming out in a burst. “I want to be his friend, okay? I want to trust him. I want him to trust me. I don’t want any of this. I don’t want it.”

“Don’t want what?” Asked Ravenpaw, trying to keep him talking. Partly because he wanted to find out what was up with Firepaw, but also because he wanted to help out his friend. Whatever this was, it was clear that it had been eating up Graypaw keeping it a secret, even just for a day. Graypaw was his friend and, regardless of all the drama that was happening, Ravenpaw cared about him. He didn’t want to see Graypaw upset like this, and he figured maybe if he shared whatever was happening it would help him in some way.

For a while, Graypaw said nothing, but then he raised his head to look Ravenpaw in the eyes, and said, “If someone asked you to keep a secret from the whole Clan, even Bluestar, could you do it? Would you?”

Ravenpaw froze, staring at Graypaw, feeling as though he were staring into his soul. What Graypaw asked . . . that was exactly what he had been wondering himself. Could he keep a secret? Could he stay silent, and hide something from everyone? Was he the kind of cat who kept secrets? Even now, he was keeping his suspicions about Firepaw a secret, trying to hide what he was thinking. He knew instantly the answer to Graypaw’s question, and he could not help but be ashamed of it. Keeping secrets may be useful, but it was certainly not the most honourable trait. He looked away, not meeting Graypaw’s eyes, though the other cat still stared at him.

“Thought not,” Said Graypaw after a while, an odd sadness in his voice.

“I could,” Ravenpaw replied quietly, barely speaking above a whisper. “I could keep a secret from everyone, if I wanted to. If I had to. I . . . I don’t want to. But I can.”

“Are you . . .” Began Graypaw, before trailing off and looking away. Whatever he had been about to ask, he’d clearly decided against it. Which Ravenpaw was rather grateful for, because there were some questions he’d rather not answer. He may not want to keep secrets, but keeping them certainly seemed preferable to sharing some of them, at the moment.

They stayed in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts, thinking about things they dared not share.

“Firepaw asked you keep a secret, didn’t he?” Asked Ravenpaw eventually.

It seemed as though Graypaw was simply going to ignore the question, or maybe he had been too distracted by his thoughts to hear it, but then he spoke up, voice sounding strained. “ . . . yes, he did. He asked me to trust him, and to promise to keep a secret for him, but . . . “ He paused for a long moment. “I couldn’t do it. I wanted to, I really did, but . . . I couldn’t make that promise. I don’t know if I can keep a secret like that. I don’t know if I want to.”

Ravenpaw stayed silent, unsure how to respond. He wanted to try and reassure Graypaw, or help him somehow, but didn’t know how. What could he do, encourage Graypaw to keep secrets from him? Or that it didn’t matter that Firepaw didn’t think he trusted him? He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Graypaw; there was no easy way out of that situation.

Ravenpaw hesitated for a long time before asking his next question. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to know the answer, and he knew that it was not a question he should be asking. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Graypaw. And yet . . . he had to know.

“Do you know what the secret was?” He asked.

Graypaw looked up for a moment, seeming a little shocked, and when he spoke, his words were slow. “No. He wouldn’t tell unless I promised to keep it secret. And anyway, I can’t . . . I shouldn’t . . . I wouldn’t tell you, even if I knew. It’s not . . . I don’t . . . I want him to trust me.”

“I understand,” Replied Ravenpaw, feeling rather guilty. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

And that was the truth – he shouldn’t have asked. And he was sorry about it. But . . . he needed to ask questions, to find out the truth. He wasn’t sure how far he was willing to go to do that. If he had another chance at finding out the truth, at the cost of upsetting Graypaw . . . he wasn’t sure whether he would take it. But he knew there was a high chance that he would. That probably wasn’t a good thing, but he knew it to be true. So he stayed silent, not daring to say anything more, and watched Graypaw, who seemed to be thinking intently, mostly having forgotten what Ravenpaw had said a moment before.

After a few moments of silence, Graypaw spoke up again. “I wonder if maybe I should go back to him, tell him that he can trust me, ask him to give me his secrets. But . . . I don’t want to keep secrets. And . . .” He paused, looking across at Ravenpaw. “You know something, don’t you? Something about him. You told me you thought he was hiding something yesterday, and you were right. So tell me  . . . tell me, can I trust him?”

He stared at Ravenpaw, almost pleadingly, and Ravenpaw froze, unsure how to answer. His instinctive answer, of course, was that Graypaw couldn’t trust Firepaw. He didn’t want to disappoint Graypaw like that though, nor did he want to explain why he thought that. He didn’t want to get Graypaw involved in whatever his life had become, any more than he already was. But he couldn’t just lie to his friend. Not like this. Graypaw needed him right now, and even if being told not to trust Firepaw might make stuff worse, he wanted to tell the truth.

“. . . I don’t think so,” Ravenpaw replied.

Graypaw fell silent again after that, seemingly stuck in his own mind for a while, with Ravenpaw having very little idea what he was thinking about.

“Why not?” Asked Graypaw eventually. “Why don’t you think I can trust him?”

“I . . .” Ravenpaw began, then stopped himself, not entirely certain what he had been about to say. He thought for a long moment before continuing. “I can tell you, but you will have to promise to keep it a secret, especially from Firepaw. I don’t know much, but what I do know . . . it needs to be kept secret.” He sighed. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you Graypaw, but I don’t want this stuff to be shared, and I don’t want to force you to keep secrets. If I tell you, then you will be a part of whatever’s happening. That might put you in danger, and you will have to keep secrets. So, do you want to know?”

Graypaw stared at him, and for a moment there was only pity in his eyes, which was one emotion Ravenpaw had not been prepared to see.

“No, I don’t,” He answered after a moment. “There’s clearly a lot going on that I don’t know, but I don’t want a part in it. I just want to live a normal life, without having to deal with any secrets.”

“So do I,” Spoke Ravenpaw. “But I wasn’t given a choice.”

Graypaw looked at him again, the concern evident in his eyes. “Have you not told anyone your secrets? How much are you dealing with by yourself?”

He paused for a moment, long enough to see the answer that question written all over Ravenpaw’s face. “You shouldn’t have to deal with all that. I could . . . I would listen to you, if you wanted. If you need to share the secret, I will listen.”

Ravenpaw shook his head. “No. I don’t want to burden you with any secrets. I’m not going to force you to keep any secrets you do want to, or make promises you don’t want to keep. I may be a part of this, but you don’t have to be.”

“Thank you,” Replied Graypaw, smiling at last. “You should talk to someone, though. I don’t want you to go through all this alone.”

“I will, don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.” Tigerclaw, Ravenpaw thought to himself. That was who he would tell. He wasn’t sure whether he would listen, but Tigerclaw was someone Ravenpaw trusted fully. Besides, if there was one cat he should be able to share his suspicions with, it was his mentor. Tigerclaw had seemed to be acting slightly nicer to him the last few days, so maybe he had a chance. There was a lot he wanted to discuss with Tigerclaw, actually, he thought as he remembered the other thoughts he had other the past day or so. Tomorrow, maybe. Maybe tomorrow he’d have a chance to talk.

They sat in a companionable silence for some time after that, thinking to themselves. A short while later Graypaw had to leave to continue training, and Ravenpaw was left to occupy himself for some time again.

He watched the entrance behind the nursery carefully during that time, spotting when Firepaw made his return – some time after Tigerclaw had returned, he noted. Firepaw looked rather shaken when he returned, glancing across the clearing frantically. Ravenpaw avoided making eye contact, watching as he paced nervously from a distance. He seemed to calm down shortly though, or otherwise did a good job of hiding whatever it was that had been bothering him, and carried on with his day as normal.

Nearer the evening Spottedleaf checked him out again, refreshing all of the dressings on his wounds, and he asked her about training as she did so. Spottedleaf thought for a while, before responding, “Well, it’s too soon to fully return to training, but I suppose you should be able to manage some less strenuous activity. I wouldn’t recommend it, but . . . I know apprentices don’t like been stuck in camp for too long. As long as you’re careful, it’s better to allow you to go out yourself then risk you sneaking out anyway. So yes, you may go out on patrols and return partially to training. Strictly no battle training though, and if your wounds start to hurt, then you stop at once, understand?”

“Yes,” Replied Ravenpaw, very grateful for her response. He wasn’t sure whether he would have snuck out of camp if she’d said no, as she suggested, but he could definitely see some of the other apprentices doing that.

Spottedleaf stared at him for a moment, as if trying to see if her words had actually been heard, before smiling. “Good.”

The rest of the evening continued mostly uneventfully, at least for Ravenpaw. From his place at the side of the clearing, he watched as Graypaw went up to speak to Firepaw after returning from training. He couldn’t see what they were saying, but it seemed like they’d come to some agreement. He smiled, happy to see them interacting. Even if he didn’t trust Firepaw, he wanted Graypaw to be happy as well, and he was glad to see that his talk with Graypaw earlier had been of some use.