The Stars Must Be Crazy

By Leafstar

In the clear midday, a black cat made his way through the bright forest, winding around tree trunks, but cautiously looking up at intervals at the sky above. Snow still littered the ground, after the late Leaf-bare snowfall from two nights before, collecting in small glittering piles, and glinting from the roots of trees. It was warm, and Ravenpaw's whiskers twitched as he got his paws soaked making his way through one of them that barred his way.

His fur rose slightly in response to the sudden cold, and he shivered, sending ripples down his sleek black pelt. Even though it was leaf-bare, he was still well fed, and had all the young vigor of a healthy wild cat. Not as large as some others, he was lithe, but clearly much stronger than a soft kittypet, despite the fact that he did not live with the other Clans.

The small piece of wooded land left near the New Twolegplacethe imposing, frightening rows of twoleg nests that had taken the place of Ravenpaw's beloved forest that had once been home to the four Clans of wildcats, threaded behind walls of slatted fence, which Ravenpaw avoided as he made his way through the trees. Soon, much too soon, he arrived at the end of the small patch of trees, the only bit of what had been his first home left. It opened up to rolling hills of golden stalks, which folded slightly under the cool breeze.

Ravenpaw padded eagerly through the sheaves, weaving in and out, and careful not to accidentally scratch his pads on their spiky sides. This was an inconvenience he had always been unhappy of ever since he had fled from ThunderClan: the lack of a medicine cat. Nether he nor Barley, the other tom he lived with in the barn, knew much of herbs, or where to find them, so they simply had to be careful, and hope that if one of them got hurt, it wasn't so serious that it wouldn't heal on its own.

A dirty stream appeared before him, creating a nasty-smelling ditch in between the fields; a runoff for the water that irrigated the plants, and swirled with a funny smelling liquid that cast a dark rainbow into the water that neither Ravenpaw nor Barley would drink, even if horribly dehydrated. Ravenpaw forded it, ears flicking back, and hissing slightly as the smelly water lapped at his legs, and leapt out again at the other side, shaking his fur, and licking his dirty paws, grimacing at the taste. Sniffing around, he located a vole he had buried by the bank earlier that morning, and dug it up again. Clutching the prey in his mouth, he made his way slowly now towards a structure that had emerged over the rise.

The barn came into view, its red paint peeling and several of the outer slats of wood rotted away, leaving long gaps in the walls. Ravenpaw squeezed through one of these, and emerged into the dimly lit barn, blinking happily.

"Ravenpaw!" The happy meow came from a black and white cat, who was perched on one of the haylofts. He leapt down the rungs of the ladder that was leaned against the plank, tail held high in welcome, its tip twitching with pleasure. Barely was a little bigger than Ravenpaw, and bulkier. He had keen green eyes, but an easygoing demeanor, which was displayed as he padded up to Barley, gave him a friendly butt of the head, and licked him behind the ear.

Ravenpaw deposited the vole on the little pile of fresh-kill they kept in one of the corner, and Barley followed, patient and unrushed.

"I wasn't sure where you had gone," meowed Barley, watching Ravenpaw as the smaller cat gave the white splotch on his chest a quick lick, and picked some hay out of his pelt. "You where up early."

Ravenpaw shrugged, not quite meeting Barley's eyes.

"I had a nightmare."

Barley gave a sympathetic purr, and ran his white tail down Ravenpaw's flank. "About the monsters?"

Ravenpaw nodded. Though it was really many moons ago, Ravenpaw was still haunted by the monsters that had come through the forest and torn up the trees, spat out dirt, and chased out the rest of the cats that had lived there. "I can't help but wonder what happened to them, and if they ever found a home."

"Have a little more faith in your friends," meowed Barley gently. "Firestar wouldn't let anything happen to ThunderClan. StarClan is watching over them."

Ravenpaw didn't say to Barley how he wasn't so sure StarClan had much power out of their skies. He didn't even know if they would be able to go with the Clans when they moved either. For all his faith in his warrior ancestors, he had a shrewd suspicion that they might be helpless against the actions of the Twolegs.

"Stop worrying," urged Barley. The black and white cat wasn't normally very talkative, but he clearly couldn't bear to see Ravenpaw so upset. "They're fine. You'll see someday. They probably found a nice new forest far away from Twolegs, and have set up territories, and found a place to speak to StarClan."

When Ravenpaw still looked sadly uncertain, Barley said hesitantly, "Maybe you should go to the Moonstone."

Ravenpaw looked up, surprised. The Moonstone, the place where the Clans used to speak to StarClan, where apprentices journeyed to and Medicine cats congregated every half moon. Mothermouth had been ripped up by the Twolegs' monsters, but the Moonstone remained.

"I will," promised Ravenpaw.