AN: This Warriors Cats fic is a Ravenpaw X OC and is set in book one right after Ravenpaw tells Firepaw that Tigerclaw killed Redtail (which happens during Tigerclaw's deputy ceremony). I'm writing it as though Ravenpaw and Sunpaw both got out of training for one day because Tigerclaw was busy acclimating to deputy life and Sunpaw was able to convince her own mentor to let her go just this once. This is what these two lovers do on their day off during all the gloom and doom of clan life.
"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Sunpaw laughed, turning her golden head back in order to look at the scrawny black tomcat trying to keep up.
"I'm trying!" the tomcat meowed tiredly. "But Tigerclaw worked me to the bone last night and I still haven't recovered!"
"Oh, Ravenpaw!" Sunpaw meowed affectionately. "How will you ever become a ThunderClan warrior at this rate?"
"Hey!" Ravenpaw hissed, but both of them knew he was only teasing. There was nobody closer than those two apprentices were to each other and as this thought ran through Ravenpaw's mind, he found himself grinning stupidly as he continued to climb up the rocky high rise after Sunpaw.
"It's about time!" she teased the moment he set paw on the stone upon which she already stood. "I thought I would be an elder by the time you finally got up here."
"Well, you've already got their foul temper and their haggard appearance!" Ravenpaw meowed, nudging her shoulder as he laughed. Sunpaw narrowed her blue eyes dangerous and pretended to huff in offense.
"How dare you say such horrible things about me, Ravenpaw?" she asked dramatically. She even lashed her long tail for the effect. "You are perhaps the cruelest tomcat I have ever met!"
"And I'll be the only one you ever want to meet too!" the black cat bragged, uncharacteristically bold. But Sunpaw didn't miss a beat.
"You're the only tomcat I will ever want or need," she meowed in agreement, then she nudged him back, though her nudge was gentler and more affectionate. Ravenpaw felt his pelt burn, all of his bravado suddenly gone at the soft look she was giving him.
"So, what did you want to show me?" he asked distractedly, unable to stare into Sunpaw's blue eyes any longer.
"Just this," the golden she-cat meowed with a laugh, seeing Ravenpaw's confidence leave him and knowing exactly why. Then she began to crawl carefully down the other side of the high rise. It was a lot faster than the climb up. The pair was headed in a southwest direction, finally stopping some place between the sandy hollow (where other ThunderClan apprentices trained), the owl tree, and the sunning rocks. What Ravenpaw saw once he and Sunpaw reached the center of this little triangle seemed very unremarkable. It was only a stream with rocks and trees surrounding it.
"Why did you bring me here?" the scrawny cat asked his best friend. It was very strange of Sunpaw to show him a place like this because usually, when she had to show some cat something, it was amazing, dangerous, just generally extreme, or some variation of the three. This simple place was none of those three things.
"Just for the peace and quiet," the golden cat meowed. She wouldn't look at Ravenpaw, though, and he became confused and even a little concerned. What did an energetic cat like her need with solitude? She wasn't the shy one, he was. "I found it while on a hunt and you can tell from the scents, or lack thereof, that this place isn't used too often. I thought it would be a nice place for us to hang out together. You always seem so tense back at camp that I was hoping a place as quiet as this would be a nice change for you. It's our secret sanctuary."
Suddenly, it became clear to Ravenpaw. Sunpaw was trying to get him alone to spend some real time with him because it was true, he was incredibly jumpy and quiet back at camp. This whole time with Sunpaw, Ravenpaw had been almost bold. That was a side of him that never showed its face when they were back in camp together on a normal day. It was clear that Sunpaw wanted to see more of Ravenpaw's happiness and confidence, so she had brought him here, where he didn't have to worry about watching eyes all the time. Ravenpaw even heard the unasked question in her mew but he couldn't bring himself to answer. There was absolutely no way Ravenpaw was going to endanger his dearest friend by telling her what was really going on back at camp. He knew she knew that something was wrong and had even found this place just for them to share, both for casual and secretive purposes, but he still couldn't tell her.
"You're right," he finally settled upon meowing. "It's just that the stress of trying to please ThunderClan's strongest warrior isn't the easiest stress to deal with," he meowed. "And I don't want to bother anyone by telling them."
"I understand," she meowed back. "My mentor may not be famous by any measure, but I understand the pressure of trying to live up to an image," she paused for a moment and Ravenpaw watched her whiskers twitch. "But here, we don't have to do that. Here, we don't need secrets or masks. Here, in this sanctuary, we can be our own images now. We don't have to set or achieve any goals or live up to anything. Here, we can just enjoy what we have now…" she meowed, trailing off as she continued to stare at the stream and refuse to look at him.
The pair sat in silence by that stream for awhile longer. Ravenpaw suddenly felt shy again, but this time, it was a good kind of shyness. It was that shyness that laced itself with giddiness and joy. It wasn't the usual terror or despair that he had come to know all too well. It wasn't the shyness Tigerclaw had instilled in him out of a desire to keep him quiet. It was a new and warm kind of shyness that made him feel goofy and happy. He really did want to tell Sunpaw everything, believing that he owed it to her, but at the same time, he knew that if he breathed so much as a word to her, she would try to stop Tigerclaw and that never ended well. Ravenpaw didn't think he would be able to bear it if she ended up getting hurt trying to protect him. The foolish she-cat didn't realize that Ravenpaw was trying just as hard to protect her as she was trying to protect him.
But as the silence dragged on, the warmth of the sun and the serenity of the scenery around them finally got to the scrawny and without even meaning to, he began to relax. This place really did feel like a sanctuary. As present as his troubles were, they felt so far away in this little corner of the forest. He felt freer and happier here than he had any place else. Sunpaw wasn't lying when she said that this might be the perfect spot for him to unwind, open up, and finally get to see who he was as an individual and not as one mere part of a puzzle.
"So, Sunpaw?" he meowed, confidence slowly coming back to him again. "Since you brought me all the way out here, I assumed you had something in mind for us to do. Right?"
"Yeah," Sunpaw replied. It was clear she still wished Ravenpaw would open up more but she wasn't going to push. Instead, she finally met his eyes. In the back of his mind, Ravenpaw saw as much secrecy in them as he did whenever he saw his own reflection. He pushed those troubling thoughts from his mind and continued to meow.
"Might inquire as to what that was?" he asked.
"You just did," she meowed with a smile. He opened his mouth to protest or fire back with an equally witty remark but Sunpaw continued on. "I wanted you to look into this stream for a moment and tell me what you see."
"What?" he meowed, put off by her remark.
"Please?" she asked. Ravenpaw narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion, but he obeyed. He walked over to the very edge of the stream and looked in. His rippling face stared back. He hoped she wasn't going to go on another long speech about how it was ok for them to talk freely here. He didn't want the temptation of telling her everything to win out over-
SPLASH!
"Hey! What in StarClan?!" Ravenpaw was suddenly sputtering for breath as his head broke the surface of the water for a second time. Sunpaw had since fallen over from laughing so hard. Ravenpaw gave her a tremendous death glare but she was too wrapped up in her own mirth to see it.
"I can't believe you fell for that!" she yowled, legs twitching in the air. Ravenpaw's scowl, against his will, faded into a smile and he began to rumble with laughter as well, finally crawling out of the stream and back onto the bank.
"You piece of crowfood!" he growled.
"Watch your tongue!" Sunpaw meowed back, still laughing but finally getting to her paws again. "Ah, that was fantastic!"
"Was it?" the scrawny black cat asked, taking several cautious steps over to her before suddenly shaking his pelt wildly.
"Oh! You mousebrain!" she howled, jumping away from her friend in surprise.
"I can't believe you fell for that!" Ravenpaw mocked. While she had begun to shake her own fur off. She cast a glare at him that looked just like the one he had given to her only moments ago.
"Ah, that was fantastic!" the tomcat meowed once both of them had shaken most of the water from their fur.
"Was it?" the she-cat meowed bitterly. Ravenpaw was taken aback. He hadn't really meant to anger her, but he could hear anger in her meow.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Sunpaw. I didn't know, I mean, I didn't mean to-" Ravenpaw stuttered, walking back up to her and trying to nuzzle her to show his sincerity. The moment he got too close, though, he found himself pinned beneath her.
"Got you again!" she yowled triumphantly. Ravenpaw felt his heart drop. She had only been faking her anger and he fell for it! He should've known she would pull something like this-
"Owwww!" Ravenpaw hissed suddenly as Sunpaw shifted her weight slightly.
"What? What did I do?" Sunpaw asked in genuine fear, leaping off of Ravenpaw. He was so scrawny that she was worried she might've hurt something. Suddenly, his earlier remark about being worked to the bone by Tigerclaw came back and she lowered her ears and body in a sign of submission as he staggered back to his paws.
"What did you do?" he asked her, repeating her question. He winced and pretended to look at his shoulder, but then his expression suddenly changed. "You totally fell for it!" he began to hop up and down to show that she hadn't hurt him at all. Her jaw dropped.
"You! You! You!" she meowed, sputtering. Ravenpaw only continued his victory dance, meowing loudly. It was clear he was proud of himself.
As he continued to dance, Sunpaw's total shock wore off into a real warmth and affection. Watching Ravenpaw bounce around so freely was such a change. It was beautiful. Usually, when she saw him, Ravenpaw was cowering, shaking, or stuttering. It always made her heart hurt to see him in such a miserable and terrified state all the time. Now, out here, he looked so liberated and brave. It was a nice change, but a sad one too. What had to happen to a cat for him to feel so afraid any time he wasn't entirely alone? Of course, what Ravenpaw didn't know was that Sunpaw was already very aware of what was going on between him and Tigerclaw. She'd heard it from Firepaw, that kittypet apprentice. She had been one of the few cats willing to accept Firepaw right away despite his domesticated beginnings. Because of her easy acceptance of Firepaw, she and Firepaw became fast and close friends. Maybe not as close as she was to Ravenpaw or Firepaw to Graypaw, but close enough. Close enough so that when Firepaw began noticing Ravenpaw's increasing despair, he finally came to her about it. She still remembered that night all too well…
"Hey, Sunpaw?" Firepaw asked, a little too loudly, a little too casually.
"Yes, Firepaw?" she asked back, the same exact tone in her meow.
"Can you show me where that thing was again?" he meowed.
"Of course!" she replied. "It's this way!" then, she led him to the far side of camp. The moment they were alone together, Sunpaw spoke.
"OK, Firepaw, what is it? What's wrong?" she meowed.
"Ravenpaw," the ginger tomcat replied and that was all he needed to say for Sunpaw to be all ears. In that secret little conversation on the far side of camp, Sunpaw learned that Tigerclaw had killed the ThunderClan deputy, Redtail, but framed it on the RiverClan cat known as Oakheart. Ravenpaw saw Tigerclaw kill Redtail but was unable to reveal Tigerclaw's treachery on the threat of death.
"That no good piece of-" Sunpaw had started to swear worse than ever before, pulling up words she didn't even know she knew. Firepaw agreed with every single one of them. Both of them felt deeply betrayed, having held Tigerclaw in such esteem only to learn that he was a lying, manipulative, merciless killer who would do anything to have his way.
At last, however, Sunpaw calmed down enough to let Firepaw finish. The ginger tomcat then told Sunpaw about everything else Tigerclaw might have done or was trying to do, including getting rid of Yellowfang and maybe even offing Ravenpaw himself. That had been what really put Sunpaw in shock. She always knew Tigerclaw was never the best at the concepts of kindness and gentleness and everyone knew that he was never really fond of Ravenpaw, even from the beginning, but to hear that Tigerclaw really would kill Ravenpaw was a whole different thing.
"No," Sunpaw meowed at once. "No! We can't let that happen!" she was frantic.
"Of course not!" Firepaw agreed. "But we can't do anything yet either, or we may only make it worse for Ravenpaw!" he meowed. He knew how deeply Sunpaw cared for Ravenpaw, even if Ravenpaw didn't seem to see it himself. It was why Firepaw had come to Sunpaw of all cats. He knew how much she loved Ravenpaw and if there was anyone out there who would be able to keep Ravenpaw safe without arousing suspicion, it would be her. Unlike him, Sunpaw had no bad blood with Tigerclaw and would still be able to talk to Ravenpaw without attracting unwanted attention.
"So what do you want me to do?" the golden she-cat asked her friend, blue eyes flickering with worry.
"Just keep an eye on him," Firepaw replied. "See what else you can get out of him and try to keep him far away from Tigerclaw and his friends."
"But what if Tigerclaw does try something? Or if he does something to Yellowfang or some cat else and blames it on Ravenpaw?" Sunpaw fretted.
"That's just why I need you with him," Firepaw meowed. "I know you already spend most of your time with him, but if you can be more aware of your surroundings from now on, if Tigerclaw does ever try to pin something on him, you'll be able to offer an honest counterargument."
"By being a witness to his innocence," Sunpaw finally breathed in understanding. Great StarClan, Firepaw was smart. Sunpaw was almost afraid of him now. If this was what all kittypets were like, maybe ThunderClan ought to bring in a few more.
"Exactly," Firepaw meowed. "I'd like to say more, but we've been here too long. We need to get back to camp before some cat notices."
"You're right," the she-cat agreed ruefully, then she led the way back out of the bushes and back to the heart of ThunderClan. By the time they were at the apprentice den again, they were loudly talking about who was going to catch more on tomorrow's hunt. Firepaw's confession about Ravenpaw was what drove Sunpaw to find this sanctuary, in case either of them would ever need it. She prayed to StarClan that they wouldn't.
Sunpaw awoke from her reveries to feel Ravenpaw poking at her. The tomcat had since stopped his victory dance and was worriedly trying to get Sunpaw's attention. She'd been staring blankly at the stream long enough for him to realize how lost in thought she was and he wanted to make sure she was ok.
"Hello? ThunderClan to Sunpaw, come in Sunpaw?" he asked, nudging her sides and chest.
"Huh? Oh. What? Uhhh, hello!" she meowed back, suddenly alert.
"Wow, there, are you ok?" Ravenpaw tilted his head.
"Uhhh, yeah! I'm fine!" Sunpaw lied. "Just lost in thought."
"I can see that," the tomcat frowned slightly. "Did you want to talk about it?"
"No, I'm good," the she-cat replied with a forced smile. Both of them knew it was a lie but both of them had secrets of their own so neither of them could justifiably call the other out on their obvious lies.
"Did you want to do something else?" Ravenpaw asked, trying to change the subject. He was determined not to let the shadows get to them here in this little sanctuary of theirs.
"Umm, sure, what did you have in mind?" the she-cat asked.
"Well, we could try hunting for awhile. Or we could just walk or swim again," the black cat suggested.
"Ok. Let's just go for a run," the she-cat replied.
"Ok, I'll count off," Ravenpaw nodded. Then another flash of playfulness ran through him and, in one breath, he counted down. "Three, two, one!"
"Hey! Wait!" Sunpaw yowled. "That wasn't fair!" but Ravenpaw was already off and running and, by StarClan, he was fast. Sunpaw had to fight hard just to keep up with him, but the warmth of the sun and the chill of the wind combined so pleasantly that she began to laugh as she ran.
"You cheater!" she accused playfully.
"All is fair in love and war!" Ravenpaw meowed back as they continued to run.
"And which is this?" Sunpaw asked.
"I think it's both!" Ravenpaw replied. That was enough for Sunpaw to nearly trip over her own tail. Never had Ravenpaw admitted anything like this, let alone so boldly. Ravenpaw laughed at Sunpaw's stunned expression.
"Come on, you look like a love-struck kit!" he accused as they continued to run side by side.
"Do not!" she replied indignantly, picking up her pace again. Then she added, "I'm a love-struck apprentice!" she managed to lean over to Ravenpaw, licking his cheek quickly before tearing off through the forest.
Ravenpaw's jaw hung open wide as Sunpaw's laugh echoed the trees she ran through. Great StarClan! I must be dreaming! he decided, then he continued to run after the golden she-cat, just as lively and truly happy. Both of the apprentices were fighting their own battles, hiding life-threatening secrets from one another. A cloud of darkness hung over their worlds. But today, they didn't care. Today, that gloomy cloud couldn't cover up the sun that shone down on them. Today, they were each other's whole worlds and nothing else existed. Today, in this part of the forest, they were truly free and nothing in all the forest or the four clans could worry them. Together, the pair continued their race through the sanctuary and, for once, there was not a care in their worlds.
AN: I love Ravenpaw and I hated how miserable he was for the first book, so this story was just made to give him a shred of happiness through his time suffering in silence under Tigerclaw. And yes, I know some theories state that Ravenpaw is gay and ends up with Barley, but once again, bisexuality is a thing. Besides, I just wanted to give Ravenpaw a love interest now because he always seemed so cute and sweet and imaging him crushing on a pretty she-cat was just adorable. (I confess that Sunpaw is basically an author-insert because I did have a tiny (big) crush on Ravenpaw the first time I read the first book).