YEE-AH!! CHAPPIE TWO!! XD Okay, so I left you guyz wiv a CLIFFIE!!! O.O DUN DUN DUNNN!!! So yeah. Here's the next chappie. So... *awkward glance around* Er... bye. Read now. O.O OOH! ONE MORE THING!! THE 15TH REVIEWER OF THIS CHAPPIE GETS A VIRTUAL PEPPER PLUSHIE!! Okay. Read NOW. ^-^
A Raven's Peppered Wing
Chapter Two
Pepper twisted around as best she could to see a lanky black tom gaping at her. His big yellow eyes flashed in alarm at her injuries. At first Pepper didn't speak. She couldn't-- and she didn't know why.
"Hello? I said, are you okay?" Pepper jumped. She realized that the tom had been talking to her while she looked at him with her mouth open.
"Oh, um," She was about to say 'yes,' but rethought the situation. She frowned, shaking her head. "No." Pepper winced as another jolt of pain shot up her leg again.
The black cat's eyes filled with understanding. "Well, let me help you. Bear traps are tricky, but they're possible to get out of." With one claw, he held the bottom jaw down and began to pry the contraption open again. Suddenly, with a sproing, the jaws bounced apart.
The tom paced around the broken trap that lay on the forest floor and crouched beside her, his face close to her and lined with concern. "That better?" he mewed softly. When she nodded, he continued, "Can you walk, or do you need help?"
"Um, I-I don't know." Pepper tried to stand, precariously holding her injured leg awkwardly out to the side. Her tiny, dirtied paws trembled beneath her, and her three good legs buckled and gave way, sending Pepper down with a small squeal. The tom instantly caught her, supporting her with his flank.
"Well," he meowed, a hint of laughter in his kind voice. "I'll take that as an 'I need help.'" Pepper knew he was trying to cheer her up somehow, so she managed a weak smile.
"My name's Pepper, by the way," she pointed out as the black cat began to walk her along the path he had come from. "You are?"
"Ravenpaw." Ravenpaw...
"That's an odd name..." Pepper murmured, then realizing she had just said that out loud. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't--"
"Oh no, it's fine, I... I get that a lot," he mused casually. "See, I was born in a place far away from here, and the cats I lived with had names like that."
Pepper looked at him, confused. "Cats? You lived with other cats? I thought that all cats lived alone, or with humans."
Now it was Ravenpaw's turn to be confused. "Humans?... Oh, you mean Twolegs." Seeing Pepper's blank stare, he laughed and continued, "That what we call them. Or at least what I call them."
Pepper nodded. She realized that she had been unconsciously following Ravenpaw. "Wait," she stopped, wincing slightly again. "Where are we going?" she meowed, doubt edging her tone.
Ravenpaw's eyes flickered in surprise. "You need a place to stay, don't you? I mean, you've obviously been through some pretty rough times," he stated, touching his tail-tip sympathetically to her shoulder, which was scarred with many small cuts the human had inflicted.
Pepper nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I do need somewhere to stay, but really, you don't have to do anything for me."
Ravenpaw let out a snort of disbelief. "Are you kidding? Look at you! You just got out of a bear trap, and you've got scars and splinters all over you. Not to mention, your fur is all messy." Pepper felt her skin flush hot, and she look away embarrassed. If she'd known that she'd be meeting this new tom today, she probably would have taken the time to wash herself.
Ravenpaw noticed her reaction, and then seemed to notice the hurtfulness of his words. He pressed himself closer. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean it that way. I just think that you could do with a good rest, don't you?" he added, lifting his head.
Pepper looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, I guess," she admitted. "Thanks."
Ravenpaw smiled too, and resumed walking her down the narrow roadway. Pepper pressed, "So, what is this place I'm staying?"
As she spoke, Ravenpaw ducked though some branches, pushing them away to reveal a beautiful place Pepper had not seen before. Her cloudy brown eyes widened as they took in sweeping moorland, animals of foreign kinds to her, and what looked like a giant red human house. All matter of strange birds pecked around it, and in a far, fenced-in place, giant creatures with sweeping manes and tails thundered over the ground with hard, heavy paws.
"Welcome to the barn," Ravenpaw stated, pausing to look around with her, then starting across the long grass to the 'barn.' "I stay here with my friend, Barley." he continued. "He can be a bit reserved at times, but he's friendly enough to strangers in need." On the last few words, his voice intensified, as if there was more behind what he was saying, but Pepper stayed silent.
"How did you get these scars, anyways?" Ravenpaw inquired darkly, like he was afraid of her answer.
Pepper let out a long sigh. "I'd tell you, but it's a really, really long story. And I mean really long." Ravenpaw nodded, understanding shining in his yellow eyes.
"So is mine," he assured her. "I'll tell you if you tell me. But first, we both should get some rest. The sun's already down."
For the first time, Pepper realized how much time had gone by. She'd never really paid attention to the time, just 'wake up, dodge human, scrounge for food, survive beating, crawl to her corner, and sleep.' Wow... she thought as she realized how much she had allowed to slip away.
When she and Ravenpaw reached the barn, her hind leg was throbbing, and she couldn't think of anything more amazing and wonderful than sleep. But before she could collapse onto some of the sweet smelling hay piled inside the barn, a black-and-white shape weaved out around the heaps of yellow straw.
"Who's this, Ravenpaw? A stray?" the cat asked, caution edging his voice. This must be Barley, Pepper thought.
Ravenpaw purred, untouched by Barley's tone. "Barley, this is Pepper. I found her stuck in a trap not far from the path. She got hurt," He glanced hopefully at Pepper then at Barley again. "I told her she could stay here. Is that okay?"
Barley padded toward Pepper and sniffed at her leg. It stopped bleeding a long time ago, and now the remaining blood had dried around the cut. "That does look a bit nasty," he thought out loud. He looked in her direction. "I'll get some stuff for that." Without another word, he disappeared behind the hay piles again.
"What does he mean by 'stuff'?" Pepper asked timidly. Ravenpaw flicked his tail. "Oh, just typical things. Marigold, maybe cobwebs..." He laughed as he saw Pepper's shoulder's twitched uncomfortably. "Don't worry, he knows what he's doing. He's taken care of himself and even me many a time." Ravenpaw gave her a reassuring smile that warmed her from her nose to the tip of her tail.
Later, Pepper lay stretched out, nestled comfortably in the fragrant straw. After Barley had tended to her leg, she had, for once, given herself a thorough wash. She felt so much better afterwards. Her fur was pretty grungy, just as Ravenpaw had pointed out.
Ravenpaw. Pepper allowed herself a low, soft murmur. Something about him gave her that old sense of protection that she got from her family. With a small smile, she closed her eyes and began to drift of into the void of sleep. But not before a familiar scent wreathed around her and a warm flank pressed against hers.
^o^ D'AWWW!!! I cannot WAIT to get to the more romantic parts! So now we've introduced Ravenpaw and Barley, and we're on the road to RavenxPepper! =D *sings with a melodramatic country accent* ON THE ROAD AGAIN!! I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPPIE AND GET ON THE ROAD AGAIN!! XD And I'm not really sure, but I MAIGHT have the next chapter in Ravenpaw's POV. Hm... I don't know... Well, anyways, thank you, all my lovely reviewers! =D R&R PLEEZ!! KTHANXBYE XD