Author's Note: Just a warning—this chapter contains various spelling errors, grammer errors, run-on sentences, and basically everything that would make an English teacher have a heart attack. I am very sorry about this, and it is because I wrote the rough draft by hand at home, raced to the library, and typed this up so I could post it to my dear readers! (And reviewers)! The librarian was basically glaring at me the entire time, so I had no time to proofread multiple times...ebil librarian that she is. My deepest apologies to you all for the mistakes and the delay—MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! –passes out cookies and Ravenwing plushies to all-
Chapter Ten: Barley That Sways in Wind
"Don't look so surprised. You may have always known me as Barley the loner, but I had a life before this!"
Ravenwing could only stare, astonished, but Rose was excited, eyes gleaming. "What was your Tribe name?" she asked eagerly.
Barley looked thoughtful. "Hmm...ah! Now I remember. It was Barley that Sways in Wind," he meowed, "but that was much before your time, Rose. Maybe I might have known your mother, but you were too young to know me."
Ravenwing blinked. To him, Barley still looked young and lean, but that was probably because he spent his days catching rats.
"How did you end up from the mountains to WindClan?" the black tom gasped. "Twolegplace, fields, thunderpaths...and The Great salt Water! Great StarClan, did you have to swim over it?" He was bursting with questions. Barley had always been...well...Barley, the retired loner on the edge of WindClan territory that caught rats. Learning about the tom's past life was amazing.
"Ravenwing," Rose rebuked gently, "if you want to hear his story, give him a chance to tell it." She turned to Barley. "Well, Barley that Sways in Wind? What is your tale?"
xxx
"I was born to be a prey hunter when I became old enough to take on my duties. When I think of it now, I realize I should have been content in the mountains." The loner let out a wistful sigh, gazing off into the distance.
"What happened that made you want to leave?" Rose interrupted curiously.
Barley smiled. "Life happened. I was young, and naive and adventurous. I hated the mountains at that time. My parents were both dead—eagles—and I wanted to explore. My best friend understood, and he even came with me. His name was Boulder of Gray Stone. His mate, Star in Twilight Sky, heard of our intention and begged to come with us. So the three of us set off—"
Suddenly, Ravenwing jumped. "Boulder! Isn't he a ShadowClan tom? Dark gray, skinnier than a wet rat?"
Barley threw back his head and laughed. "Certainly sounds like him," he commented.
"Anyways?" Rose prompted impatiently, flicking her ears.
Barley settled down into the hay and curled his tail around his paws before continuing. "Well, one day, I just told Boulder and Star that today was the day I was leaving, because I couldn't stand it any longer. So the three of us set off—"
"You told us that part already," Ravenwing couldn't help chiding.
Rose nudged Ravenwing in the shoulder. "Shh!" she exclaimed.
Barley continued. "Such adventurous we had—all three of us. Racing across Thunderpaths without a trouble in the world, taking care of no one but ourselves—Rose, that was freedom—doing anything and everything we wanted whenever and wherever we wanted." His gaze shifted to Ravenwing. "But you wouldn't understand anything about that, Ravenwing." There was a pause, and then he continued. "Boulder and Star and I wanted to do everything! See everything there was to see; and we did. We might have grown tired of it and gone back to the Tribe—if not for the incident in Twolegplace."
Ravenwing shifted uncomfortably. He sensed trouble, and so did Rose. He could tell because her pelt was bristling as if she saw rows of enemies in front of her. "Relax, it's just a story," he whispered into her ear. Rose flushed red and nudged him with her nose irritably.
"You understand," Barley was meowing, "that at that time, Boulder and I and especially Star was arrogant and conceited..." he trailed off. "But not like Scourge. No...never like Scourge." Barley lifted his head and looked away, as if he were trying to see something in the distance. "It was a dark and stormy night...no, that sounds like the beginning to an elder's tale. It was night, darker than an eagle's heart, darker than the shadows. We had recently met a young tom named Purdy, and he was our guide in Twolegplace." Barley scoffed, but in an affectionate manner. "Some guide! It was dark, and we were all lost..."
Flashback
"Purdy, tell me. What kind of guide gets lost?" my annoyed voice broke the silence of the night, as all four of us strained our eyes in the confusing mass of Upwalker nests. We could have probably gotten out easily if we were in the Tribe's territory, but here, everything was unfamiliar to me.
"Well, nawh, we're not all tha' los'..." Purdy mumbled uncomfortably, flicking his ears.
"Purdy, I swear, if we're not out of here by first light, my Tribal ancestors will hunt you down," Boulder growled, but in a joking manner. Purdy and Boulder had become good friends in a short period of time. Annoying as Purdy could be, he was usually quite friendly.
Purdy cracked a weak smile. "Dun' worry 'bout tha', I'm thinking I found a way outta this Upwalker dump..."
"Then leave, before I forcibly throw you out of my territory."
A cold voice sounded from behind us, and I whirled around, pelt bristling. But I relaxed the instant I saw who had spoken. An undersized, skinny black tom with a studded Upwalker's collar.
"What, you think you can take on all four of us?" snorted Boulder, flattening his ears against his head. Obviously, my gray-furred friend thought of this tom as a nuisance instead of a threat.
"Yes," was the tom's smooth answer.
"Then we'd better set you straight!" Star snapped. Purdy nodded in agreement, eyes narrowed, digging his claws into the ground.
The black cat laughed coldly, and the studs on his collar glittered strangely in the moonlight. "Let's not be hasty, now," he meowed smoothly.
"He knows he's no match for us," I muttered to Boulder, who snickered.
"Well?" the tom meowed darkly, stepping forward. "Will you leave my territory, or will I be forced to fight you?"
"Look here," snapped Star, "it's a big misunderstanding if you think you can beat us. You're outnumbered, and to be honest, you're a bit on the small side when it comes to size."
Laughter broke out among our ranks, and I knew Star was speaking the truth—so why did I feel nervous when looking at this puny cat? Something about the way his collar glinted made my "six sense" tingle.
The black cat shook his head. "Pity. I admire you're courage, my dear, but you're one of those that stay arrogant to the last."
"If you harm Star, I'll kill you!" Boulder snarled, immediately leaping forwards, claws unsheathed. I hauled him back, and he whirled around, eyes blazing. "What was that for?" he spat.
The tom let out a sigh and flicked his tail. A signal? Suddenly, a terrible sense of foreboding filled me, and with a pang of horror, I realized why the tom's collar had glinted so strangely. It was studded with teeth! Dogs' teeth, even...but how could such a small tom...the answer came as if on cue.
From behind him, the grass stalks rippled, and out stepped a mass of cats—skinny and underfed with bristling fur and bared teeth. Out of them all loomed a massive black-and-white tom with narrowed jade eyes and a hostile glare searing into us.
"Let me introduce my loyal deputy, Bone," the small black tom meowed, with just a trace of smugness in his tone, "and I am Scourge, the leader of BloodClan."
I felt my friends bristle with anticipation—now we were the ones that were badly outnumbered, in the dark, in a strange territory.
"We have to make a run for it," Boulder murmured quietly.
"Yes," I was quick to agree. "We're eagle prey if we stay here."
Even Purdy, so outspoken and reckless and confident, was grim and silent as his eyes scanned over the group of fierce, blood-thirsty cats.
But then, Star spoke.
"We fight," she meowed, her eyes narrowed and pelt bristling. "We fight for our honor! I'd rather die than be disgraced. If we die now, at least we die with some pride in us. I'll fight to the death if I have to!" Her voice was quivering with emotion, and her entire body trembled with anxiety and fear and excitement.
"Ya will die, if yeh fight, Star," Purdy growled.
"Excuse me," Scourge meowed coldly, "I believe you have two choices."
"Just kill them, Scourge," Bone growled, in a low rumble of a voice.
"Nonsense!" Scourge replied briskly, as if he were discussing something as simple as the weather. "Now, you can either fight against BloodClan and be shredded to kit bedding and drown in your own blood and the blood of your friends...or you can join me."
Bone loomed over us, eyes cold. "Which do you choose?" he rumbled, his lips drawing back in a snarl.
"How about I add a third option?" Star yowled, throwing her head up to the sky and unsheathing her claws. "We will fight, and we will win!" With a fierce caterwaul, she leapt at Scourge with eyes like flinty ice. And immediately, the air was filled with yowls and yelps of pain, and the writhing and screeching of cats eager for our blood.
I lost sight of my friends and charged into the fray of cats, only to buried under a mass of bodies. I was immediately pinned down, and couldn't see a thing! Biting and scratching and blinding pain—it was like that for the longest time; moons! I managed to get my claws unsheathed and flailed frantically, but it was no use. I saw a gap in the writhing mass of BloodClan cats, and with a thunderous caterwaul, I broke free and limped away. I had only been weakened and scratched—they're had not been enough room for claw-to-claw combat.
With some relief, I caught a glimpse of Purdy and Boulder fighting. But that was all I saw before something massive bowled into me—I was crushed against something hard—searing pain—and then a fading darkness enveloped me.
End Flashback
Ravenwing and Rose were both staring. "What happened after that?" Rose meowed breathlessly. Ravenwing just shook his head. He had no idea Barley had led such an adventurous life in his youth. The fierce and reckless tom Barley had been describing himself as didn't fit the wise old ratter that Ravenwing saw before him.
Barley's eyes were bitter when he meowed: "We were taken as BloodClan cats, into Scourge's territory; but at least Purdy was spared of Scourge. He didn't believe that Purdy was fighting fiercely enough to be 'worthy' of the ranks of BloodClan. He was given the chance to flee—but the rest of us were not so lucky." Barley took a deep breath. "Scourge's territory was misery itself. Misery and despair; fear overwhelmed and controlled everyone and everything. Sickness and death stained the air and reeked through the alleyways. Those without hearts of stone—those who could not bear Scourge's evil, were destroyed; they're hearts were crushed. Some could not stand such overpowering, pure terror...such as Star."
"Star?" Rose interrupted, her voice quavering. "The way you described Star—she seemed so strong and confident in herself. She didn't seem like the type who would crumple under terror, no matter how strong."
Barley shook his head once more. "You don't understand the kind of terror that ruled BloodClan. Living in constant fear, constant despair—not a light of hope to be seen. Death, sickness, darkness—Star died."
Barley paused, obviously lost in his thoughts. Rose touched his shoulder with her tail tip and meowed: "what happened after Star died?" She looked pained, her eyes gleaming with sorrow, and Barley cleared his throat.
"It was too much for Boulder. He had loved Star very much, and with her death, something in him died. Scourge saw this weakness, and he was disgusted by it. He released Boulder, but I couldn't leave. Scourge said that my strength would benefit his Clan. When Boulder left me behind, I could not begrudge him. He was grieving for Star so badly that his mind had fragmented...shattered."
"Why didn't Boulder go back to the Tribe?" Ravenwing meowed eagerly, in a hushed and subdued voice.
Barley put his head on his forepaws and continued. "A few days later, I managed to escape from Scourge in the dead of night. I started to track Boulder—and eventually, I stumbled upon the WindClan moors. Boulder had been plodding along slowly, and I had raced after his scent trail. I managed to catch up to him...
Flashback
"Boulder, what are you doing? Where are you going?"
The light was dying from the sky, and I was out of breath when I finally caught up to Boulder. He turned around, not even looking surprised to see me.
"Barley," he rasped hoarsely, "old friend. I knew you would escape."
"Boulder," I panted, "come back to the Tribe!"
He let out a hollow, empty laugh, lifeless. "What's left for me in the Tribe?" he meowed emotionlessly, "Star is gone. I won't go back there. I can't. I will be forever remembered as the cat who led Star to her death. Because of me, Star is dead. I will not go back."
"No, Boulder," I meowed, nudging him with my shoulder, eyes wide. "It would be my fault, if nothing else. I wanted to leave the Tribe, and I let Star come with us. Forgive me, old friend."
There was a silence, so I continued. "What will you do here? What if you meet another Clan like Scourge's? You have no idea what is awaiting you here. If you want to stay, at least let me stay with you."
Boulder's eyes were bleak and confused. "Why?" he meowed flatly.
I flicked my ears with surprise. "Because you're my best friend!" I burst out, "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Boulder suddenly looked moons older than he really was. "The Tribe of Endless Hunting has already taken Star from me," he meowed coldly, "I have nothing more to lose."'
End Flashback
"After that, we both became ShadowClan cats for a while, but I soon grew sick of the swamps and marshes, and I missed the winding moors of WindClan," Barley continued, "I left Boulder in ShadowClan, and became a WindClan cat for a little while. Finally, I realized that Clan life was just not for me—so I came to this barn and lived with the former ratter here, Morgan. That's the end of my story, Ravenwing, Rose—now I suggest you go to sleep!"
Ravenwing cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. "Barley..." he meowed, "thank you for sharing this with us. I had no idea that you had such a sad life before this.
"Yes," Rose put in gently, touching her nose to Barley's shoulder, "thank you. For everything you have done for me."
Barley yawned widely and stretched, arching his black-and-white back. "Come on now, to bed." There was a pause, and then he added: "Ravenwing, my life wasn't all that sad. I had good times, and I had bad times. But the most important thing is, I'm happy here." He smiled. "Rose, you are welcome to stay the night if you would wish. I would very much like to hear your own story."
Rose's dark gray eyes, so kind and warm before, were now guarded and masked and distant. "My own story..." she repeated quietly, her eyes staring at the full moon outside. "My own story...yes..."
Author's Note: Well, there you have it—the tenth chapter of "Ravenpaw's Secret"! I hope that was satisfactory! Yes, I understand that Boulder was a loner/rogue that Tigerstar recruited and was not a member of ShadowClan in books one or two. So don't kill me over that...angry mob supplies are waay too sacred to be wasted on me...heh...heh...
More to come