Chapter 5*
Ravenflight woke feeling more refreshed than he had since he first entered the maze-like twoleg place, stretching luxuriously before he sat up, taking advantage of the quiet morning light to better examine Fox and Snow's den. It was bigger than he thought, but still small; seeming just spacious enough for a few cats move around comfortably and keep dry and warm. After a quick wash, Ravenflight stood, looking around for his new guide. To his surprise, neither of the toms were anywhere to be found in the den, though their nests weren't cold, so he could assume they hadn't been gone too long.
"Fox…?" The sleek black tom called experimentally, slipping out of the den. Fog hung heavy in the air outside, making everything seem even more bleak and gray than it had during the storm.
"You called?"
Ravenflight whirled around, blinking and looking up, finding the dark red tom lounging across the top of the broken wall that made his den. "There you are." He sighed, shaking his head. "You can't sit still for long, can you?"
With a twitch of his whiskers, Fox stood and jumped from his perch, landing softly beside Ravenflight. "It's never been a strong point of mine." He shrugged. "Ready to go?"
"Where's Snow?" Ravenflight glanced around, half expecting the large white tom to come strolling casually out of the fog. Fox, however, merely shrugged again, flicking his tail almost impatiently.
"No clue. Probably out looking for some she-cat to woo." He glanced around as well, though, his eyes bright. "Anyways, from the top of the wall the sun looks really nice. It's just over the tops of those buildings over there." He flicked his ears towards the buildings behind Ravenflight. "You said the sun goes to your right shoulder, right? If so, we're heading towards the north exit."
That said, he turned, padding casually towards another twisted back alley. Ravenflight hesitated for a moment, before realizing that—much like the day before—Fox didn't seem to bother making sure Ravenflight followed. With an amused twitch of his whiskers, the warrior followed, increasing his pace to catch up.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" He huffed, finally walking alongside the dark ginger rogue. Fox scoffed good-naturedly.
"Of course I know." He turned to the left, and Ravenflight followed. "I've lived here my entire life. You'd be hard pressed to find something I didn't know about this town."
Town? Ravenflight stopped himself from asking out loud, figuring Fox would find it funny. That must be what the twoleg place is called.
"Tell me more about the Clans." Fox suddenly quipped, glancing at Ravenflight over his slender shoulder. "What you told us last night—that can't be all."
Ravenflight tilted his head. "No, I suppose not." He thought for a moment, trying to think of where to start. "There's nothing really like it." He began. "From the time you're a kit nothing is more important than the Clan. You aspire to be an apprentice, when you learn the warrior code. Then that aspiration turns into the determination to become a warrior and fight for what you believe in while defending your Clan and warrior code—even if it costs you your life."
Fox's eyes were bright with curiosity that seemed still unsatisfied. "And this 'warrior code.'" The ginger rogue nudged Ravenflight to the right, into a small hiding spot between the wall and a large structure that smelled of crowfood. He dropped his voice, "What's that all about?"
Following suit as Ravenflight realized they were in fact hiding from a passing twoleg, the sleek warrior dropped his voice. "It's a set of rules—Fifteen guidelines laid down by our ancestors to keep peace between the Clans."
The twoleg passed, and Fox leapt to his feet, kneading the ground. "What are they?"
Ravenflight crawled out behind him, his whiskers twitching in amusement as he watched Fox set off again, still seeming full of energy. 'The first is to protect you Clan, even if it costs you your life."
Fox nodded, slowing his pace slightly to walk beside Ravenflight. "The second," Ravenflight continued, "Is to never trespass on or hunt in another Clan's territory."
"Or you'll get chased out?"
"I'm getting there." Ravenflight flicked his companion with his tail tip, and Fox obediently closed his mouth. "Third, elders queens and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Some exceptions are made, depending on how plentiful prey is at the time, but apprentices aren't allowed to eat until they hunt for the elders and queens, and warriors aren't allowed to eat until they've hunted for the Clan." Fox nodded, and Ravenflight continued. "Fourth is that prey is killed only to be eaten, and that a cat should always give thanks to StarClan for its life."
"Kind of a sad life to live for a mouse, eh? But at least you respect your food." Fox's whiskers were twitching, and Ravenflight rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"Fifth is a kit must be six moons old to be apprenticed. Seven is that a cat cannot become deputy until they have mentored at least one apprentice."
"So, you, for example, couldn't become deputy?" He tilted his head, and Ravenflight nodded.
"Yes. I left before I could mentor an apprentice." His eyes clouded a little as he thought back to all of the possibilities, but he quickly cleared his head of the thoughts. "Eight is that the deputy will become leader when the current leader dies, retires, or is exiled."
"Exiled?" Fox looked surprised. "If the leader is so great, why would they be exiled?"
"Once," Ravenflight sighed, recalling the day he left the Clans. "There was a leader by the name of Brakenstar. He forced kits into apprenticeship too soon and broke the warrior code in many other ways—such as chasing WindClan out of their home in the moorlands. My Clan—ThunderClan—helped ShadowClan exile him."
The dark ginger rogue nodded thoughtfully. "He wasn't a very good leader," he finally mewed. "But the cats in his Clan still followed him?"
Ravenflight dodged around a murky puddle that Fox leapt with ease. "Yes and no. He banished or killed those that disagreed with him, so they followed him mostly out of fear instead of loyalty."
Fox wrinkled his nose. "Well doesn't he sound like he just crawled out of a sewer." He spat, shaking his head. "Anyways, continue. I'm intrigued."
Amused, the black tom did as he was asked. "Nine is that when the deputy dies or retires, a new deputy must be named before moonhigh. Ten is that a gathering of all four clans is to be held on the night of every full moon. There is to be no fighting at this gathering—only peaceful talk and the sharing of news."
"So it's okay to be friendly with cats of other clans?" Fox seemed confused, so Ravenflight elaborated.
"Again, yes and no. At gatherings, it's okay to have friends outside of your own clan. But your loyalty must always remain true to your birthclan, since it's very possible to meet your new 'friends' in battle the very next day." The ginger rogue nodded gravely.
"I see." He took another unexpected turn, and Ravenflight followed, only to blink in sudden surprise as he realized the red-furred tom was gone.
"Fox?" He looked around, feeling panic rising in his chest. The fog was clearing, but not nearly enough for the warrior to make it back the way they had come.
"Yeah?" Ravenflight nearly jumped out of his skin as the dark ginger rogue stuck his head out from a narrow split in the stone wall—much like the one that led into his and Snow's den.
"Is this… the end?"
Beckoning Ravenflight forward with a flick of his ears, Fox slipped back into the crevice, leaving the sleek black tom to hesitate slightly, and then follow. Instead of a direct exit, his found a tumble of rocks inside the small, dark space. A tail length ahead of him, Ravenflight could make out Fox's lithe form, gracefully scaling the debris. With a deep breath, Ravenflight followed, scrambling clumsily after his guide, heading towards what appeared to be a light at the very top. His claws ached from clawing at the hard pavement for days on end, but he managed the climb, and with one final heave, Ravenflight pulled himself out of the small opening in the top, gasping in surprise at the sight that met him.
To his right, the sun shone brightly in the sky, just nearly directly above them. Behind him the twoleg "town" stretched on for what looked like forever from the top of the wall, but the part that caught Ravenflight's breath lie in front of him—a huge span of grass, sloping gently away into a forest that seemed as vast as the cold stone town behind him.
"I present to you," Fox meowed with great flourish, sweeping his tail towards the trees. "The north exit."
"Thank-you so much," Ravenflight turned to face his new friend, unexpectedly sad that they had to part ways so soon. Fox was bright, and his intrigue when it came to Clan ways had Ravenflight feeling that the rogue would make a great warrior one day.
"It's no problem," Fox shrugged. "Don't worry about it." His gaze slipped past Ravenflight, to the trees that line the horizon. "I dream about it, sometimes." He suddenly murmured. Ravenflight pricked his ears. "Roaming through the forest," the rogue continued. "Catching real prey and not having to live in the shadow of twoleg houses…" He trailed off, and Ravenflight rested his tail-tip on his shoulder.
"Maybe one day you will." He mewed, following Fox's bright blue gaze out into the forest.
"I know I will." The red-ginger tom sat up straighter, fixing Ravenflight with a bright, even gaze. "Because I'm going with you." He paused, before shaking his head. "I mean, I want to go with you—on your journey for StarClan. If you don't mind me tagging along, that is…" He looked down, and Ravenflight felt something tug at his mind. Just moments ago he was thinking of how great a warrior Fox would make—now the rogue was asking to help him follow StarClan's prophecy.
"Are you sure?" He asked carefully. "It's going to be dangerous—you've heard the rumors about those cats."
"Yeah," Fox countered. "And you've seen me fight off the dog that would have torn you to shreds. If you let me come, you won't regret it."
"What about Snow?" Ravenflight knew deep down that the large white tom would have misgivings about this, and by the flicker of doubt in Fox's eyes, apparently he did, too.
"If Fox is going, then I'm going as well."
Ravenflight whipped around to see Snow padded carefully towards them across the top of the wall. "Are you sure?" The sleek warrior was surprised, but hope was burning in his chest. Maybe he wouldn't have to do this alone after all.
"Positive." The white rogue dipped his head, before fixing his brother with a critical look. "This one couldn't take care of himself if his life depended on it. Besides…" He looked out towards the trees as well, kneading the stone wall beneath his paws much as Fox had done earlier. "I, too, dream about the forest. It's about time we leave this rat hole behind us."
"Finally." Fox's whiskers were twitched again as he swatted Snow's shoulder playfully. Ravenflight tilting his chin up, squaring his shoulders and gazing out at the journey that lay before them.
"Let's get going then."*
I've really been on a roll updating all my stories xD Hopefully this one will be one of them that I start taking better care of—I do love Ravenpaw/flight^^ Let me know what you guys think, I'm getting kind of busy, and if no one is really interested in this story, I may have to drop it:/
Lots of love to those of you that are reading though(:
