Title: A Fluffy White Discovery
Character: Ravenpaw
Author Notes: This oneshot takes place during Rising Storm, when Ravenpaw discovers where Cloudpaw had been taken, and Fireheart and Sandstorm come to rescue him.
I was roaming. Just roaming around my territory, sniffing out a mouse or two to take back to the barn, even though the tiny creatures were abundantly available in the eaves of mine and Barley's makeshift home. We never starved, never got overtired, and whenever a dog did find it's way into the barn, and that was rare, it was only a Twoleg puppypet. We fought it off easily. I knew that this was the life I was meant to live, no longer tortured by my old mentor in a Clan that I missed, but was never truly happy in.
I tasted the air. Mouse! I had not lost the skills I learned as an apprentice. I crept forward, spotting the prey between the roots of a nearby tree. Dropping into the hunter's crouch, I made my way over to it, slowly, slowly, and—
"Eek!"
"Mrrow! Gotcha!"
The rodent's tail was trapped beneath my jet black paws. Success! And no intimidating Tigerclaw breathing over my neck, putting me down, as always. Even when I caught an adder, he barely praised me.
I thought about bringing the mouse back to my den, but I didn't have a hungry Clan to feed; just Barley, who could hunt for himself. That was the good thing about being a loner. I devoured the mouse in a couple of bites. It tasted of the Forest.
I looked up suddenly, and noticed that I was barely a fox length away from a Twoleg nest. I had been so intent on my prey that I hadn't stopped to think about where I was. Or to smell where I was. Because now that I took a sniff, it smelled like…
ThunderClan!
But what would a ThunderClan cat be doing around here? I was on the farthest side of the Forest from their territory. The closest territory was WindClan, and I was well out of their borders at the moment, anyway. So why could I scent my old Clan?
I considered the possibility that I had been thinking about my old home so much that I was hallucinating; believing that I smelled it when I didn't. I closed my eyes and thoroughly cleared my head. I sniffed again. It was still there!
I decided to investigate the scent further. To my surprise, it led to the fenced-in yard of the Twoleg nest I was very close to. I circled the fence a few times until I found a small hole I could peer into. Which I did. Yes, the scent was definitely stronger here.
The only cat I could see was a fluffy young white thing, and it didn't look like the kind of cat ThunderClan would house; on the contrary, it looked very much like a kittypet to me. It was lazing around, occasionally batting a paw out at the yappy dog that was also in the yard. But the cat looked upset about something, and did not wear the content look that most kittypets did.
Suddenly the cat looked up, and the puppypet charged over to the hole in the fence where I was peering through. They could smell me! I tore away from the fence and charged back in the direction of my barn.
When I got back, I discussed the cat I had seen with Barely. He agreed with my thoughts, and said I should go to Fireheart in ThunderClan and ask him if a cat had been taken from them.
"After all, his Clan would probably want him back, but they don't know where to find him," the older black and white tom mewed to me. I nodded my agreement, and, after another meal and a good night's sleep, set off for ThunderClan territory. I wondered what it would be like to see my old friends again…