This story was written by my good friend Purple Eyed Cat

It is Princess/Ravenpaw (evil laughter)


No Longer Alone

Princess paced the fence, more anxious than she had ever been before. She had been anxious when she gave Cloudtail to Firestar, worried when Firestar asked her about the rouges, and absolutely terrified when she had seen the monsters start to destroy the forest. It had been almost a moon since she had seen the monsters go into the forest, and her kin was nowhere to be seen. She had seen no sign of life in the forest for three moons. Before the beginning of the destruction, Firestar would visit, and Cloudtail would come with his mate, Brightheart, and his daughter Whitepaw, and she would get to see them—not all the time, but occasionally. Now, she saw no one, and she had never felt so utterly alone.

The brown tabby stopped pacing and stared out into the forest, trying to see anything beyond the thin line of trees the monsters had left. Seeing nothing, Princess hopped down from the fence and began padding towards the forest. She shivered, unexpectedly frightened. She had heard about the forest, but she had never ventured in. She was just about to set paw beyond the bushes when someone called from the trees, "Graystripe?"

Bristling, Princess tensed, ready to race back to her fence and into the safety of her garden. She watched the trees warily, snarling in defense as another cat appeared.

Emerging from the trees, the black tom stared at her for a moment and then mewed, "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."

Fur flattening slightly as curiosity got the better of her, Princess asked in confusion, "Who's Graystripe?"

The black tom stared at her, and his amber eyes darkened with pain as he answered quietly, "The ThunderClan deputy."

"ThunderClan?" Princess repeated, startled. Firestar had often talked of a ThunderClan. "Firestar's ThunderClan?"

The black tom looked up sharply. "How do you know Firestar?"

"I'm his kin." Princess responded, staring at this stranger with curious amber eyes. Did this tom know where Firestar was? "Who are you?"

The black tom sat down and began to wash. "Ravenpaw," he told her in between licks.

Princess cocked her head at the strange name. "Are you one of the Clan cats?"

Ravenpaw shook his head. "Not anymore. I used to be, but now I'm a loner." The look in his amber eyes said clearly that he didn't want to talk about it. He stretched with a purr, and asked, "Well, kittypet, where's your house? Did you get lost?"

"My name is Princess," the brown tabby snapped, fur bristling once more. Firestar had once explained to her what the term meant, and she didn't like anymore than her brother did.

"Princess?" The black loner looked surprised. "Firestar's sister?"

"I said I was his kin," Princess reminded him. Ravenpaw nodded and began to pad back towards Twoleg place. "Where are you going?" the tabby asked.

"Home," the black cat responded.

Princess watched him walk away, but then she realized that she had not asked this loner where Firestar was. "Wait," she called desperately, "where's Firestar and Cloudtail?"

The black loner turned back for a moment, and this time his amber eyes were shadowed by sorrow, not pain. "They don't live in the forest anymore," he murmured. "They had to leave." Turning away again, he began to pad back towards Twoleg place.

Behind Ravenpaw, watching him walk away, Princess was frozen in disbelief. Suddenly, she whirled around and plunged into the remains of the forest.

Ravenpaw heard the receding pawsteps behind him, and he turned back to look, expecting to see Princess padding back towards her fence. Instead, he saw a light brown tabby pelt disappearing into the trees. Amber eyes wide with horror, the black loner yowled, "Princess!" Growling in frustration, he raced back into the trees, trying to find the kittypet before she got herself killed.

Slipping amongst the rows of tree stumps, Ravenpaw flattened himself against the ground, ears twitching as he listened for oncoming monsters. His nose twitched as he picked up the strange soft scent of Princess. Slipping into the trees, Ravenpaw began to following the kittypet's path, but it was hard. Princess' scent was everywhere, as if she didn't know where she was going and running in a blind panic. Ravenpaw melted into the shadows, only his white-tipped tail giving him away as he began to race through his old, familiar territory.

Somehow, in her blind panic to find her brother and son, Princess had found her way to the top of the destroyed ravine that once led to the ThunderClan camp. The camp itself was completely destroyed. As she wandered through the camp, finding very old traces of Firestar's scent, Princess wanted to wail her despair to the dying forest.

Panting, Ravenpaw crested the top of the ravine. He stared down in shock. Firestar had told him the camp was destroyed, but he had never gotten the courage to come back to the place where he was born to find out if it was true. Tearing his eyes away from the destruction, Ravenpaw noticed a brown pelt making its way through the deserted camp, and sighed with relief.

Bounding down the ravine, he called to Princess, "Princess, we need to get out of here! The monsters could be coming back any minute, and if they find us here, we'll be trapped!" Padding to the tabby's side, Ravenpaw stopped short. The destruction had looked bad from the top of the ravine, but being inside the camp made the former apprentice's stomach turn.

Slowly, his paws suddenly weighted down, Ravenpaw picked his way over to the abandoned apprentice's den. He sniffed sadly at the disappearing scent's picking out Squirrelpaw's and Leafpaw's almost immediately. A growing roar met the loner's ears, and he bounded over to Princess, who was now sniffing curiously at Firestar's den.

"Princess, run!" He yowled, "The monsters are coming!" Picking up on his fear-scent, Princess looked up, amber eyes wide.

Wasting no more time, Ravenpaw scrabbled up the ravine, Princess at his heels. Standing at the top of the ravine for a moment, the loner listened, whiskers twitching. Suddenly, a monster appeared, cutting off their escape route towards Twoleg place. The roar of the monster grew so loud that both cats flattened their ears against their heads. Diving to the side, Ravenpaw raced towards Sunningrocks as Princess pounded at his heels, amber eyes wild.

Leaping down into the once flowing river, that had now become a dry riverbed, Ravenpaw crossed into the deserted RiverClan territory.

Princess looked around in interest, panting, "Where are we?"

Startled by the question, Ravenpaw could only breathlessly answer, "RiverClan." The skinny loner was breathing hard; the last time he had run that fast was back when he was still an apprentice in ThunderClan.

Seeing Princess still standing there, Ravenpaw realized that the tabby kittypet still needed to get home, and was on the wrong side of the forest. Deciding to take a shortcut across the WindClan moors, the one place that had been left mostly untouched, he padded off again.

Princess padded up to his side, brown eyes questioning. "Where are we going?" Ravenpaw didn't answer; he just kept trotting towards the RiverClan border.

Ravenpaw faced the stubborn she-cat in front of him. "Your home is that way!" He insisted once more, but Princess just snarled in defiance.

"I told you, I'm going to find Firestar and Cloudtail," she hissed. Watching her, Ravenpaw had to admire a kittypet that had enough courage to try to attempt the journey, just for her kin.

He tried once more. "Won't your Twolegs miss you?"

Princess stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "No," she told him bluntly, "my Twolegs will just forget about me when I disappear, and then they will replace me."

Ravenpaw didn't want to admit it, but that sounded like Twoleg nature to him. He decided to give it one more try. "Won't you miss your kittypet life—being fed every day with a warm bed to sleep in. You won't be able to have that if you want to go on this journey," he warned.

Princess stared at him, amber eyes determined. "If it means not seeing my kin again, I'm not going back," she mewed firmly, and Ravenpaw knew she wasn't going back. Sighing, he started padding towards Highstones—the way Firestar and the Clans had gone. He could feel Princess' curious amber gaze, but he didn't turn back. He felt her pawsteps on the ground as she padded to his side, her pelt brushing against his.

"Where are you going?" She asked, amber eyes hopeful.

Ravenpaw turned back to her, whiskers twitching in amusement. "I thought you said you wanted to find Firestar and Cloudtail?"

Princess' amber eyes lit up, and a purr rumbled in her throat. Pressing her head against his shoulder, she purred, "Thank you."

Ravenpaw's whiskers twitched in embarrassment, but before he could say anything else, the kittypet had bounded ahead, heading for Highstones. With an amused purr at her enthusiasm, the skinny black loner raced after her.

Princess turned, bracing her white paws on the rock ledge. Leaning her head over the edge, she grabbed Ravenpaw's black scruff and hauled him up, straining. Over the duration of their journey, the brown tabby she-cat had begun to resemble the lean Clan cats as she learned how to live on what she could catch.

Paws scrabbling, throwing up loose pebbles, Ravenpaw steadied himself on the ledge. Licking Princess' cheek swiftly, he padded on, wondering where they were going. They had been following the faint Clan scent after they had left Highstones, but up in the high mountains, the scent was washed away.

Ravenpaw glanced over his shoulder and saw Princess following him willingly. He had gained a lot of respect for Princess over the journey, but in some ways, she was still a kittypet. Suddenly, he crouched, his black pelt standing out against the gray rocks, tensing as the wind blew him an unfamiliar scent. It was the scent of cats, but it was a strange scent—one he had never smelled before. Behind him, Princess tensed, amber eyes wary, unsure of why Ravenpaw was nervous.

Padding towards them was a group of cats, their fur streaked with mud and looking like part of the rock themselves. Spotting the intruders, they bristled. Ravenpaw's fur was also on end, and he could feel Princess' beginning to rise on end as she padded over to balance next to him on the ledge.

Staring at the cats, Princess lifted her head and scented the wind that was blowing the strange cats' scent towards them. Making eye contact with a gray, long-haired tom that stood at the front of the group, she stepped forward as the other cats watched her warily.

"Is one of you a Clan cat?" she asked hopefully, and the gray, long-haired tom looked surprised, as did his companions.

The gray tom stepped forward. "I used to be," he admitted.

"Which Clan?" Princess asked eagerly, and the tom looked surprised.

"RiverClan," he admitted, and Ravenpaw looked at the gray tom in surprise, recognition dawning in his amber eyes.

"Stormfur?" he asked incredulously. The gray tom—Stormfur, now Storm That Howls Around the Mountain—stared at the loner for a moment.

"Ravenpaw?" He mewed uncertainly, and the two toms stepped forward to greet each other. A dark shadow fell over the group, and all the cats looked up, Ravenpaw and Princess in fear.

"An eagle," the cat called Talon hissed. Princess looked up, fear-scent rolling off of her in waves. Storm noticed her fear.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "it won't attack. If it does, we'll keep it away." Princess nodded uncertainly, but pressed up against Ravenpaw, comforted by the familiar scent of the cat she had spent so much time with.

The eagle passed by the cats without so much as a glance, and after the large bird had disappeared, the cats proceeded towards the waterfall that housed the Tribe of Rushing Water.

As they picked their way towards the tribe's home, Princess padded at Storm's side. "Storm, do you know where Firestar is?" The gray tom looked up but nodded anyway. Princess purred with excitement, and turned back to tell Ravenpaw. The black loner had heard what Stormfur had said, and was staring at her with excited amber eyes.

As Princess followed Stormfur along another stone ledge, she wondered what exactly the Clan's new home looked like. Suddenly, Stormfur veered off the ledge and down into a winding pass. Halting at the end of the pass, he waited for the other two to catch up. Trotting to Stormfur's side, Princess gasped at the sight before her. The ground fell away and the land rolled ahead of them, hill after hill, grassy here, shadowed with trees there.

Next to her, Ravenpaw pressed up against her, relaxing. They had found the Clans. Bounding down the slope, the two cats turned to say good-bye to Stormfur. The gray tom raised his tail in a silent good-bye, and then slipped off, back into the cliffs.

Racing through the grass, Ravenpaw at her side, Princess felt like she had finally come home. Turning to look at the tom by her side, she suddenly pounced on him with the playfulness of a kit, and he batted at her in return. Twisting and leaping the two cats played in the grass, feeling the sun warm their backs as they ran.

Flopping down on the grass, Princess glanced up at Ravenpaw. The black loner stood next to her, but suddenly lowered himself to the ground, relaxing. Pelts barely brushing, the two cats stared at the nature around, awed by this new home.

Purring, Princess turned to say something to her companion, but she stopped short. Ravenpaw's amber eyes bored into her own, and she felt her fur heat up. The brown tabby turned her gaze away, but turned back when Ravenpaw suddenly nuzzled her, pressing his nose to her cheek. Without a word, he got up. Flicking his tail, he suddenly leapt into the air for the pure joy of it. Watching the loner bat at the air, Princess purred with delight. Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Brown and black, the two cats entered the forest, which they were sure housed ThunderClan's new home. Sure enough, after taking two steps into the forest, Princess was assaulted by an achingly familiar scent: Cloudtail's. Mewling with delight, she raced through the trees, ignoring Ravenpaw's warnings to be careful.

Slowing, she silently padded through the trees, not disturbing a single leaf—a product of being trained to live in the forest by Ravenpaw. Spotting a familiar white pelt ahead, along with a ginger-and-white one, Princess couldn't take it any longer.

"Cloudtail!" She called eagerly, bounding through the trees, not caring any longer about how much noise she made. Seeing the white cat turn, she purred as she saw her son's familiar blue eyes widen.

"Princess?" He asked in disbelief. Beside him, Brightheart's ginger coat bristled in shock. Within moments, the light brown tabby was at the tom's side, coating his face with licks.

"Cloudtail…" Princess kept murmuring, amber eyes gleaming. "I was so worried about you."

Pulling away from her enthusiastic licks, Cloudtail asked, "How did you get here?"

Princess twisted around, searching for the black loner. "Ravenpaw," she called softly, purring. The black loner padded to her side, and Princess pressed her tail against his flank. "Ravenpaw helped me," she told her son, pressing her nose against Ravenpaw's cheek in a silent thank-you.

Cloudtail watched his mother interact with Ravenpaw, and suddenly, his blue eyes were amused. "Well, it looks like you two became close on your journey," he observed bluntly, and both cats' whiskers twitched with embarrassment as they pulled away from each other. "Come on," Cloudtail purred, not seeming to notice how uncomfortable he had made the other two, "I'll take to camp to see Firestar."

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Princess gazed at the black tom by her side. "So, they made you a warrior," she purred. (Ravenpaw had explained the warrior code to her during their journey.)

Ravenpaw—now Ravenfur—nodded as he bit into his mouse. "And they accepted you into the Clan," he said, glancing at the she-cat next to him. He had gained a lot more than respect for this stubborn she-cat during the journey, he realized now. His amber eyes glowed as he thought of how she made him feel complete and whole—and not as alone as a loner usually was.

Princess held his gaze for a moment before biting into her rabbit. The fresh-kill in this new territory was plentiful, and there was always enough food to go around. Looking up, she found the warrior's gaze on her again. Leaning over, she rasped her tongue against his ear affectionately, whispering once again. "Congratulations, Ravenfur."

Ravenfur gazed at her before mewing slowly, "Princess, this journey was amazing." The she-cat next to him said nothing, she simply watched him. "Princess," the former apprentice muttered, suddenly nervous, "I love you." He pawed at his mouse, unsure of what she would say.

Suddenly, he heard a soft purr, growing louder, and he looked up. Princess' amber eyes were gleaming with a soft light, and Ravenfur saw the love that shone there. "I love you, too Ravenfur," the former kittypet murmured, touching her nose to his. Purring, the black warrior twined her tail with his and covered her face with rapid licks. Purring, Princess returned the gesture.

Pulling away, Princess gazed at the cat next to her. She realized suddenly, that somewhere between the time she had met Ravenfur and this moment, she had stopped feeling so alone. Purring, she pressed herself up against the black tom. Amber eyes half-closed with contentment, she pressed her head against Ravenfur's shoulder. She had finally come home.