A/N- This is the first of 100 one-shots that I am working on, one per day. I upload them all to my Deviantart account, Red-And-Black, so I thought I might as well do so here.
Ravenpaw was a rather simple cat. After his early life, one being filled with much hardship and worry. He had retired it all when he had come to live with Barley. He had been hesitant at first, considering the fact that he had always been a part of Thunderclan. After Firepaw and Graypaw and showed him the barn though, pointing out that this would be the only way he could be safe, he gave in and made his new home with Barley and the mice who kept their home and this mysterious and new place.
It had not been all bad. In some ways, it was an improvement to his lifestyle. There was always food to eat, unlike in Thunderclan. Once it hit leafbare, there was hardly enough prey to go around. The mice here were easy to catch and kept him contently fed. They never left during the colder moons either, and seemed to find it okay to keep themselves together in the barn, even after they were hunted. Why they did this, he was not quite sure. They did not seem as smart as the woodland prey either. He had once brought this up with Barley. The tom had simply stated that it did not matter, for it was best that way. It made hunting quite easy actually.
Food was not the only reason he had taken well to his new home. It was hard to believe how warm it was there too. The nests made of straw helped keep him out of the claws of cool weather, and during the season of greenleaf, it was just as relaxing. Ravenpaw did not have to worry about freezing, for it was no longer something that could catch him. It was as if he had expertly hidden among the straws of hay, the cold unable to seep through and find him. It was quite a good hiding spot, if he did say so himself.
Sometimes, though, he missed his life with Thunderclan. His home now was at the barn, but he would always have a piece of him over at the place that had once been his residence. He still had family there. Brothers, sisters, perhaps even his mother and father were still with the clan. Could they so easily move on after he had been declared dead? How had they taken such news? Part of him wanted to know, though he was afraid that some of them might no have cared. Dustpaw especially, who had made it his own personal mission to stay as far away from his brother as he could.
Ravenpaw simply shook his head as he walked along the area just outside of the barn. The trees close by cast their shadows down on him and the area surrounding his paws, and for a moment, he could not help but simply stare at them. There was something tranquil and simply serene about them. It was only when the wind disturbed this peace that he looked away, his amber eyes not wanted to look upon anything a the moment that disturbed his own little way of pondering things.
There were other things that he sometimes missed about the clans. Though he found Barley's company to be enough, sometimes he missed the plenitude of cats that he got to speak with when he was younger. It was just that they all had a way of coming together when it was needed the most, no matter who disliked who. They fought for the common good out of distaste to see their current state ruined by darkness. It wasn't particularly bad at all. It was something to admire them for. Ina way, they became family when they went through these daily trials together. His moments with Firepaw and Graypaw came to mind every time he thought of this.
The apprentices had managed to get themselves into situations that most others would never even think about. They had been the ones to bring back Yellowfang to Thunderclan, and if it hadn't been for those two, he most likely would have died at paws of Tigerclaw, a cat certainly too ambitious for his own good.
Tigerclaw. The name rang in his ears, repeating itself again and again as if to torture him. That cat had killed Redtail to simply gain power. He was one of strategy and strength, who managed to get everything he wanted by planning carefully and then unsheathing his claws. This to worked in the shadows, starting his horrible plans when there would be no one to watch. However, he was still fallible, and that had shown when he had managed to let Ravenpaw see him commit his cowardly act of murder against Redtail. Tigerclaw had not known it at the time, but he had started a chain of events for his own demise when he had done so, and soon it would catch up to him in the form of another cat who he had taken advantage of.
In a way, Ravenpaw was proud to have seen what he had. Hopefully Firepaw would use this evidence to bring down the traitor and end his ways for good. He had faith in his friend, a cat so loyal to a code he was not born into, that it was utterly surprising to see. Starclan had seen that moons before any other cat could have figured it out. Many still didn't understand his destiny either, including Bluestar. That would change though, Ravenpaw knew it. Their ancestors had something very special in store for the orange tom.
For a moment he could not help but wonder if he would be present when this happened. Would fate give him the chance to see his old friends again one more time? Only time could tell, and he knew that, but he disliked it. It would be horrible not to be able to see things change in Thunderclan himself, but he knew that if that happened, that he should be happy. At least then, the forest would be safe. That was all that mattered in the end.
Ravenpaw shifted on his paws briefly before sitting down. The dark black tom gazed up at the sky, taking in it's blue color and the way the sunlight shined down on the earth as he thought. The urge to speak took over, even if there was not anyone to speak to, and he whispered something under his breath, something that could be heard in every cat's ears that very day if they listened.
"Starclan, watch over them. They do not know what they are in for."