Chapter 11, home

Surveillance led the way. She found the mountain path and began to sprint down it.

Owlpaw gave Ravenpaw a nervous glance, Ravenpaw felt the same. It was not easy for the Clan cats to sprint down the mountain the way the silky white cat did.

Owlpaw padded up to her. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Ravenpaw jerked up her head. "For what?"

"I bugged Glacier and that's what made Spiderpaw drown…." He looked at her uncertainly, as if he had offended her by saying that Spiderpaw was dead.

"He's dead," Ravenpaw finished for him.

"Okay," he agreed, then meowed, "Smokepaw's really sad."

"I know," Ravenpaw said, "Spiderpaw was his friend."

"He'll never show it," Owlpaw meowed. his eyes were large, as if he were thinking about something.

"Hurry up!" Surveillance snapped over her shoulder at the lingering Clan cats.

OoOoO

"The great Clans?" Whitepaw yowled, leaping to her feet. That meant TigerClan and LionClan…

"How many were their?" Firestar asked.

"Two Clanfulls. But they were small…like the size of a big…Brambleclaw," Leafpaw meowed, referring to the largest cat in the Clan.

Firestar blinked.

"They were ordinary cats," Leafpaw mewed, "but they looked like lions and tigers. And they were skinny. I could see their ribs. And their claws…they were reinforced by dog's teeth."

"BloodClan!" Firestar yelped.

"No," Leafpaw meowed, "They didn't wear collars. But they had claws like that."

"Show me," Firestar commanded. "Shrewpaw and Whitepaw, you come too, along with Greystripe and Sorreltail."

Leafpaw charged out of camp, with Whitepaw close behind. She came to Fourtrees, and, hidden in the bracken were cats.

They were about the size of Brambleclaw.

Firestar closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "This is BloodClan," he whispered.

"But they look like lions and tigers!" Leafpaw protested.

"BloodClan were always big cats," Firestar meowed, "You just saw them through the trees…"

OoOoO

Ravenpaw bounded down the slope with Owlpaw behind her. She skidded around a turn, avoiding crashing to the ground.

"Is that all you can do, Kittypet?" Surveillance hissed.

Ravenpaw stopped. How did Surveillance know of Kittypets? How did she know that Ravenpaw had even been one?

"Stop standing there like an idiot!" Surveillance snapped at her.

"How do you know?" Ravenpaw asked, caught in the element of surprise.

Something flickered in the white she-cat's eyes. It was absolutely fear.

"Oh," she mumbled, and Ravenpaw knew she was lying. "Just a word I heard a cat say, it sounded cool."

What cat?

Ravenpaw looked at her, and Surveillance turned and started charging down the slope.

No, no, no, what? That was all Ravenpaw's brain could say. This was wrong. Surveillance shouldn't know. She was a mountain cat.

Or was she?

It suddenly hit her that Surveillance may not be mountain cat. Ravenpaw knew nothing of the white cat's history.

"Are you listening or not?" asked an irritated voice.

Ravenpaw zapped her head around. It was Splashpaw. Ravenpaw gulped. She had like, never talked to her before.

"I was wondering," Splashpaw meowed, "Why our mothers gave us the names we have."

Ravenpaw sighed, and rolled her eyes to the sky. Oh Splashpaw, don't take me here.

"I really can't listen now," Ravenpaw stammered, "I am…er-afraid of the mountains, and I need to focus on that."

"Well," she whined, "I just wanted to meet you…"

Her chin wobbled. Ravenpaw knew she was working into a fit. Great StarClan, she thought, how will this cat ever become a warrior?

"You!" she whined, "I hate you! I just wanted to talk…"

Ravenpaw walked ahead. Although Splashpaw was the same age as the rest of the apprentices, she seemed to Ravenpaw very young and naive.

She looked ahead, and realized that all the other cats had gone far ahead. She sprinted to catch up with them.

OoOoO

Ravenpaw looked over the edge. They had been traveling since sunrise, and now it was sunset. The ground was close, seven or eight fox-lengths below them.

"Surveillance!" she called, "We're almost home!"

She sprinted ahead of the white cat, and found herself thrown across the path, a white paw holding her down.

"I lead," Surveillance snarled. She gave a quick bite to Ravenpaw's shoulder.

Fury burned through Ravenpaw, hot and cruel. She felt her teeth draw back from her lips. If surveillance thought she could boss Ravenpaw around, she was wrong! Surveillance had never been appointed their leader!

Ravenpaw snarled. She kicked the white cat off her with her hind paws. It shocked her at how much strength she had. She was a whirlwind of dark tabby fur as she leapt on Surveillance and knocked the white cat to the ground. Surveillance snarled, throwing Ravenpaw off. She leapt, and the two cats tussled, rolling down the path.

They broke apart. Clumps of fur had been torn from Ravenpaw's shoulders. One ear dripped blood, and there was a long scratch on her flank. Surveillance had similar injuries. But the blood stood out on her snowy white pelt.

The white cat stalked past her, her fur bristling with tension. The other apprentices looked a little guilty.

Surveillance lead the way down the slope again. They were close to the ground, about two fox-lengths. Pricks of excitement twitched in Ravenpaw's pads at the thought of seeing home again.

Surveillance jumped off the path and onto a boulder, hoping neatly off it and onto the pebbly ground.

Ravenpaw followed, with the other apprentices behind her.

Surveillance stopped at Highstones, peering into the dark cave. The moon had risen by now.

She continued to lead the way past it, over the Thunderpath, and would have continued if Owlpaw hadn't raced past her, his long black and brown legs covering the ground quickly as he raced for the home he hadn't seen for half a moon.

Surveillance was angry that Owlpaw was now in front of her, but she didn't say anything about it.

Owlpaw disappeared down a slope. "Wait!" Ravenpaw hollered.

The black and brown tom turned and sprinted over to her. "What?"

"Surveillance is the savoir for all the Clans," Ravenpaw meowed.

Smokepaw pushed his way foreword. "I think Surveillance will save us when the trouble starts, whatever it is. She can stay somewhere, perhaps by Twolegplace, until the trouble starts. Then we can get her."

To Ravenpaw's surprise, Surveillance's eyes grew very bright and shiny, she smiled. "Yes," she meowed, "That would be wonderful. Very wonderful."

"I'll lead you there," Ravenpaw meowed.

"I know the way there!" Surveillance spat.

She bounded off in the direction of Twolegplace.

"Well," Owlpaw muttered, "I better go."

He looked at Ravenpaw for a long time, then bounded down the slope that led to the WindClan camp.

"Well…" Smokepaw muttered, gazing at the direction of ShadowClan territory. "I should go too."

He looked over all the other cats in turn, then nodded with a firm smile, and bounded over to the marshes.

"Let's go," Ravenpaw muttered. Something fluttered inside her chest when she saw Splashpaw, Volepaw, Squirrelpaw, and an empty spot.

Squirrelpaw seemed to know what she was thinking. "He's still with us," she muttered.

"Yes," Ravenpaw murmured, her voice scarcely audible.

She led the way down to Fourtrees.

"Bye," Splashpaw mewed.

Volepaw stared at them for a long time, before dipping his head stiffly.

"It seems like a year since we left," Squirrelpaw meowed.

"Er-yeah," Ravenpaw mewed awkwardly. She was not used to Squirrelpaw being so kind to her.

"Let's go home," Squirrelpaw muttered, and charged up the slope.

Ravenpaw inhaled in the smell of the familiar ThunderClan cats.

She raced through the forest, suddenly eager to see her Clan mates. She could see the ravine nearing, and she put on a burst of speed, shooting into camp with Squirrelpaw just behind her.

So…it is sorta a cliffy…I would have done a better one but that was a boring chapter so there was no real action to leave you hanging on. Review!