Chapter Text
With Asterpaw and Breezepaw both having their names and mentors, it meant there was no more stalling- Ravenkit would be getting her name, and Owlwhisker would become her temporary mentor- to teach her the basic ways of self-preservation in the case she finds herself in battle- and most importantly to hopefully give Kestrelpaw a few moons extra to get his own full name early. That way, Barkface would never have apprenticed the both of them at once. The kit found herself unable to move, bright green eyes wide as Onestar looked down at her with what she could only hope wasn’t pity. He gave her one more moment, letting the clan settle over Breezepaw’s new name, before he spoke.
“Ravenkit, you have just nearly reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed.” He began, and Ravenkit shakily took her spot beside her brothers as he continued, “From this day on, until you receive your full name, you will be known as Ravenpaw. Your mentor will be Owlwhisker. I hope Owlwhisker can pass down all he knows to you.”
The tom looked down to the medicine cat, nodding once in respect, before he turned back to the younger warrior.
“Owlwhisker, you are ready to take on an apprentice.” Onestar continued, watching as Owlwhisker stepped up to Ravenpaw, facing her with an unreadable expression, “You have received excellent training from Tornear, and you have shown yourself to be steadfast and loyal to WindClan. You will be the mentor of Ravenpaw, and I expect you to pass all you know to her.”
Ravenpaw nervously pushed out her nose to touch her mentor’s, the thunderous noise of her clanmates calling her new name doing nothing to ease her panic. Every moment passing was one closer to visiting ThunderClan- a place Ravenpaw wanted to never go near, if her visions had anything to do with it.
Barkface hadn’t been able to parse what her vision meant, and the young black she-cat figured there was little way that Leafpool would fare any better. All she caught were glimpses, most of them rushing by her so quickly she couldn’t even begin to describe them before they were already gone. Adding onto that the concern of the older medicine cat’s face as she tried to talk about it, the way his ears flattened against his head, and Ravenpaw began to worry that perhaps it wasn’t a nice easy vision, like the ones about where to find catmint. Perhaps something horrible was coming to ThunderClan, and only with WindClan would they be able to survive- if only Ravenpaw could figure out what.
“Ravenpaw?” Asterpaw asked lightly, his voice so small, “Are you okay?”
Ravenpaw couldn’t even begin to describe how not okay she was- Owlwhisker had already left to speak to Onestar, and the young she-cat whimpered at the thought of him deciding she was some sort of lost cause. She didn’t know what her future would look like, and it was scarier than she’d ever expected. She remembered asking Barkface about the warrior code, and how her situation even fit in it’s guidance- he’d only made a face and told her that he’d ask StarClan for examples of cats who’d changed paths, as he couldn’t remember one immediately.
“Ravenpaw?” Breezepaw was the one to ask this time, ears pinned to his head as he tried to catch her eyes.
“I will be. Okay, that is.” Ravenpaw decided, puffing out her chest in the hopes that she looked confident, “I just need to focus on every moment as it happens. First, I go to ThunderClan to tell their medicine cat my vision, then I come back here and train to be a warrior until Kestrelpaw gets his name, then Barkface trains me with the help of the other medicine cats and then… I hopefully get my medicine cat name before I get gray fur.”
“Ravenpaw.” Nightcloud’s voice came from behind them, and Ravenpaw slowly turned around to face her mother, “I’ll be coming with you and Barkface to ThunderClan- Onestar figured it would be a good idea for you all not to be going alone. We’ll be heading out soon.”
The young black she-cat dragged her paws as she pressed herself into her mother’s fur, and Asterpaw and Breezepaw were quick to follow her. It was comforting like this, with her family around her.
“You won’t be alone, sister.” Asterpaw reminded her, “You’ll be back sooner than you know.”
It was their father’s turn to come up and show his support to Ravenpaw, and while she appreciated it she couldn’t help but notice the anxiety written across his features- his fur sticking out awkwardly from his frame. She couldn’t remember a time where she’d seen Crowfeather like that, and seeing it now brought the worries back into her head- what if this was a bad idea? What if she wasn’t ready? Nighcloud seemed to have a silent conversation with him, but it didn’t calm her mate.
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do? She’s just a kit, still- our kit.” Crowfeather nosed at Ravenpaw’s shoulder, “You have to be careful with those ThunderClan cats, Ravenpaw. They’re not trustworthy, why don’t you just let Barkface tell them what you saw instead? Or, better yet, wait until the half-moon meeting when you’re older?”
“Dad, I had a vision- I can’t ignore it.”
“I know, my little bird, but-” The dark gray tom turned away from her slightly, expression dark, “I don’t want you around that Clan- especially not around Leafpool.”
“Kestrelpaw told me Leafpool is super nice- if you’re going to be mean to her, you should just leave me alone!” Ravenpaw growled, but before she could continue her father did just that- he turned away, stalking back towards the warriors den.
Asterpaw and Breezepaw both looked on in confusion, and as Ravenpaw turned to their mother she noticed the same look on Nightcloud’s face. If Ravenpaw didn’t know any better, she’d almost assume a look of suspicion or concern passed the bright eyes of her mother- but it was wiped away far too soon to know for sure.
“I… don’t know what’s come over him.” Nightcloud shook her head, before leaning down to meet her daughter’s gaze, “But you did the right thing- I’m sure Leafpool will be incredibly kind to us. Crowfeather is just overly protective of you kits, this is our first litter together- I think he’s just worried about being a good dad.”
“He’d be a better dad if he just listened to me…”
“Ravenpaw, I think that’s a bit unfair.” Nightcloud sighed, but she flicked her tail towards the medicine cat den, “Now, why don’t you go visit Barkface- I need to tell your brothers to behave while we’re gone.”
Ravenpaw reluctantly let herself be gently guided away, amused at the sounds of protest from Asterpaw and Breezepaw- at least they weren’t being strange or different. Whatever had happened to Crowfeather, if Nightcloud thought it was nothing to be too worried about then the young apprentice assumed she must be right. Ravenpaw had no idea what it was like for her parents, but thinking back she knew that it made sense for them to be worried- their kits weren’t even 6 moons old yet and now one of them was going all the way to ThunderClan’s camp? Even though Crowfeather had once been close to Squirrelflight, Ravenpaw guessed that he and Leafpool must have had some sort of quarrel large enough to cause the disdain she saw.
Barkface was already on his way out of the den as Ravenpaw made her way to him, and he purred a greeting.
“Kestrelpaw’s decided to stay back at camp for us, so we don’t need to rush there and back.” He explained, “That young tom is really excited about your being an apprentice- and he wishes us good luck about your vision. Let’s see if we can’t figure out what Leafpool might need to know, hm?”
“Barkface, do you remember when dad came back from the Journey?”
The medicine cat froze mid-step, before nodding.
“Sure I do, Webfoot and Owlwhisker were on the patrol when the journeying cats came back across our territory. Owlwhisker was only an apprentice then, just a tiny thing- but enough of my blabbering, why do you ask, kit?”
“Well… he seemed really angry with Leafpool- and I know her sister was on the journey, right? So I wanted to know if you remember back then- if maybe he brought up why he was angry with her?” Ravenpaw asked, “He just really didn’t seem to want me to talk to her, but Kestrelpaw says she’s like the friendliest of the medicine cats! Uh- no offence.”
Barkface sucked in a breath as he began walking towards Nightcloud at the entrance to WindClan’s camp, as though he was gathering his thoughts. Before they got close enough for her mother to hear what the medicine cat would say, Barkface turned around to look Ravenpaw in the eyes.
“I-… well, I think you’re a bit young to learn about that, kitten. I’m sure Leafpool can tell you herself when you’re a bit older and wiser, but I think you’re too young to understand all of it right now.”
“Wh- can’t you just tell me?” Ravenpaw begged, but the medicine cat shook his head- quickly, and without much thought, the young black she-kit jumped between him and the way he was going, “Barkface! Tell me why Crowfeather is so mad with Leafpool!”
“I think Leafpool likes him.” Barkface explained, before a look of dread passed his face, “Don’t tell your mother I said that- I don’t think Crowfeather even likes her back. I- I really didn’t mean to tell you this, this is all far too complicated for a young kit like you. Try not to think about it too hard, will you kitten? Crowfeather is mates with your mother, the rest isn’t important.”
The answer was… shocking. Ravenpaw could only find it in herself to nod, letting Barkface guide her to the edge of camp- and then soon enough her paws were touching soil she’d never touched before. Nightcloud said something, to which the medicine cat replied, but Ravenpaw could only focus on what he’d just said. Leafpool liked her father- like Nightcloud liked her father? Wasn’t that against the code, to become mates with a cat outside your own clan? Leafpool was a medicine cat too, they couldn’t even have mates- and that was without thinking about Leafpool being from ThunderClan. Even if she wasn’t a medicine cat, it was still against the code- did Nightcloud know?
With her little world blown out of the water, Ravenpaw let her senses slowly come back- to the smells of the moor, the sight of the lake far far from them, the sounds of the friendly chatter between the cats she was following. If she hadn't had so much suddenly dumped in the forefront of her mind, perhaps Ravenpaw would see the shining sun reflecting on the lake and decide she never wanted to be cooped up in camp again. Perhaps if she'd noticed, she would see the way the wind shifted the ferns across the moor, or if she'd looked in the right place she'd even be able to see the horseplace she'd heard about once or twice. She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head, to instead focus on the sights she’d never seen before, but it all seemed somewhat soured. Barkface had been right, this was too complicated!
“Ravenpaw, are you coming?” Nightcloud called back, and the young kit shook out her fur.
She had far more important things to be doing, the fate of ThunderClan could very well come into question without her vision even if she didn’t understand it yet. At least she’d finally get to meet Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, the stories her father had told about them seemed to always be met with another cat cuffing him over the ears for insulting them. The playful way Crowfeather joked about the cats he’d journeyed with sometimes made it seem like he missed being away from the clan- one night when Ravenpaw had been pretending to sleep in the nursery, she’d heard Nightcloud quietly and yet firmly telling him off for being so distant. It was weird to imagine the tom as any kind of friendly or sociable, especially towards warriors from other clans, which made Ravenpaw all the more excited to meet the others.
Was Squirrelflight as talkative as Crowfeather said? Was Brambleclaw really such a stick in the mud? Would they have anything to say about her father that he refused to tell his family in WindClan? All questions she wanted answered, and as Ravenpaw caught up to her mother she tried to leave Barkface’s comment behind her. The trees far in the distance, across the ThunderClan border, seemed to be calling her name.