Chapter Text
Ravenpaw was sleeping in his nest when he felt Dustpaw hitting his side. He opened his eyes to Dustpaw staring down at him. “Tigerclaw and Redtail need you.” Ravenpaw could tell that Dustpaw seemed angry that he couldn't go with Redtail, his mentor, to wherever Redtail and Tigerclaw wanted to go.
He got up and stretched, his small body aching from last night. He walked out of the den and saw Redtail and Tigerclaw with Bluestar under the Highrock.
He walked over to the fresh kill pile and swiftly ate a mouse before heading towards the three cats. They headed off into the forest, going to Sunningrocks.
Ravenpaw was frozen in place. The fighting happening around him.
He was on a patrol with Tigerclaw and Redtail, to try and get Sunningrocks back from the Riverclan cats. They had met up with 5 Riverclan cats when they got to the stream near Sunningrocks. Oakheart, Riverclan’s deputy, had been arguing with Redtail when they attacked.
Ravenpaw was brought out of his thoughts as he was knocked to the ground by a Riverclan she-cat. He was pinned to the ground, the she-cat’s claws digging into his skin. The she-cat was about to bite into his throat when Tigerclaw launched himself at her, making them both roll across the ground.
He looked around and saw Redtail getting pinned down by Oakheart. He was about to run to help him when Redtail rolled them both over and staggered away from Oakheart.
Oakheart leaped to his paws and was going to attack Redtail when the boulder above him rolled off the supporting rocks, crushing Oakheart.
Redtail stood there, shocked from what just happened.
Ravenpaw heard Tigerclaw yelling his name, telling him to go get help.
He ran away from the stream, but something compelled him to turn back. He stopped and turned back to the stream. He decided to hide in the bushes so no one would see him watching them.
As he looked at the battlefield, he saw that the Riverclan cats had run off after Oakheart was crushed. He saw Tigerclaw walking towards Redtail, but his gaze seemed distant as he stalked closer to him.
Ravenpaw was going to walk to them when Tigerclaw had suddenly leaped on top of Redtail, his claws still unsheathed.
Ravenpaw was shocked and horrified by what he was seeing. Tigerclaw sank his teeth into Redtail’s throat as he struggled under him. Tigerclaw stayed in that position until Redtail stopped moving, his eyes growing dull.
Ravenpaw slowly backed away, but he accidentally stepped on a twig, the snapping noise getting Tigerclaw’s attention. Ravenpaw froze, trying not to get seen by Tigerclaw. Then he ran off when Tigerclaw turned his attention back to Redtail’s corpse.
He felt the pain from a wound on his shoulder caused by one of the Riverclan cats when they first attacked, but he kept running, trying to get to the camp before Tigerclaw noticed he was spying.
He saw that camp and crashed through the barrier, into the clearing. He was panting, exhausted from the fight and running across the territory. He staggered across the clearing, trying to get to Bluestar.
He stopped in the middle of the clearing when Bluestar walked towards him, “Ravenpaw? What happened?” She jumped onto the Highrock again, addressing him, “Speak, Ravenpaw!”
He struggled to breathe, but scrambled up onto the Highrock. He took a deep breath and announced, “Redtail is dead!”
He started explaining what happened after the clan’s surprised and shocked yowls when he felt his legs give out and his vision went black.
He woke up to Spottedleaf treating his wound, but he kept still and his eyes closed when he sensed Tigerclaw walking up to him.
He heard Tigerclaw talking to Spottedleaf, “So, Spottedleaf. How is he? Do you think you can save him? I’ve spent a lot of time training him up, and I don’t want my efforts to be wasted at the first battle.” Spottedleaf responded to his confident meow, “Yes, a pity if, after all your valuable training, he dies in his first fight, eh?” They continued talking as he made sure he didn’t move.
Soon Tigerclaw left and he heard him talking to Graypaw about a new cat.
He opened his eyes and stirred a bit since he couldn’t hear Tigerclaw again, “Has he gone?”
“Who? Tigerclaw? Yep. He’s gone.” Graypaw replied. “Hi there.” he heard another cat reply. He looked for a second and saw that it was a ginger tom, about his age, with some of his fur ripped out and scratches over his body. He heard Spottedleaf telling them to go away since she still needed to take care of his wound without interruptions bothering her, then she took him to her den to rest.
He fell asleep, trembling from a nightmare he was having about Tigerclaw and the incident. He woke up after sunhigh, Spottedleaf telling him to stay in the den for another day or so just in case.