Yessss! The next chappiieee! This is my favorite chappeh evah. All you fans of PepperxRaven will lovveee it. ;) So anyways… Yeah. Read. XD

A Raven's Peppered Wing

Chapter 9

"This wasn't so bad, was it?" Pepper looked up, acknowledging the teasing words with only a nod. Ahead of her, a tall, lanky gray she-cat was looking over her shoulder at the little tabby, her lavender eyes glittering with amusement. It was just like Lilac to point out when someone had been proven wrong—again. The pale cat had a thing for being right, and Pepper had gotten so used to it, it seemed more familiar than ever.

For a reason, maybe? Pepper heard her own question echo in her head. She looked from her paws to ahead of her. Lilac had strayed off of the dusty, worn-down trail and was nosing some tall-growing plants with pretty blue flowers, smelling them and smiling to herself. Pepper was once again struck with the surprisingly strong sense of déjà vu. She shook it off, once again.

"Yeah, I guess exploring outside the farm wasn't so bad," Pepper answered. Except for finding that track, she added silently to herself. Though she was still a bit on her guard, Pepper had shoved that thought to the back of her mind, determined not to think about it.

Lilac turned around, walking backwards. That was another thing the she-cat did, walk backwards, and other abnormal little quirks. "Besides," Pepper went on. "I wasn't scared at all. I surprised myself."

Lilac let out a haughty laugh. "You sure did! I could have sworn you'd seen a fox instead of stepping on a twig yourself! You nearly jumped out of your skin!"

"Shut up!"

Lilac chuckled and turned around again. "So what did you think of the 'outside world?'" she called without turning around this time.

Pepper trotted to catch up with her and walked at her side. "It was pretty much how I'd remembered it. Before I came to the barn, of course. You know, trees, animals, dirt…"

Lilac giggled. "But you weren't afraid or anything?"

"Not as much as I'd expected myself to be."

Pepper's friend smiled. "Why would you expect that? You're so much braver than you think, Pep."

Pepper felt a rush of warmth and amusement at the use of her given nickname. Only Lilac used it, occasionally Barley. And Ravenpaw too.

Ravenpaw. The name echoed through her mind and stuck. Pepper had to grit her teeth and take a deep breath to keep from shivering. Just the thought of the sleek, kind-hearted black tom made her feel like a clumsy idiot, compared to Lilac's grace and elegance. She wondered why he hadn't padded after her. Instead, the way he was standing still drove Pepper crazy. Didn't he feel anything? She didn't think she would believe it if he didn't. All Pepper wanted to do was be with him, all the time—Was that how love was supposed to be? Or was she just terrified of being alone in the world again? Since she had escaped her Twoleg, since the days she had spent laughing with Ravenpaw, seeing him smile, the sun warming both their pelts, almost brushing… She had never been so happy.

"Hello? Pep? Pepper!"

"Whoa, okay—what?"

Lilac was grinning at her. "I said, why are you dramatically staring off into the distance?"

"Wha—but—I—I was not staring!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were too."

Pepper gave up, and shook her head. "We're getting off topic," she argued, trying to push all thoughts of Ravenpaw and his deep yellow eyes to the back of her mind. She failed. Ignoring them, she continued, "The point is, is that I look back and can barely figure out why I was so terrified of everything at first. Probably because I was so alone." Pepper winced at her own lie, then sharply reminded herself that is wasn't really a lie. She had been alone.

Lilac smiled at her and padded ahead. "Come on," she yowled, speeding up to a run. "I told Barley and Ravenpaw we'd be back by sundown. We should probably get back before mealtime!"

Pepper quickened her pace, and together they ran, carefree, through the rest of the thin woods, until they reached the barn.

The barn, it had become so familiar to her. Pepper felt a purr rising up in her chest as it came into view. The old red chipped paint, rustic and welcoming, and the comfortably messy sprawl of the hay all along the floor. And the chatter of the animals as they went along with their daily routines. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Not that they would bother you, though, not with me, your faithful guardian. Ravenpaw's voice rang in her head, and Pepper bit her lip to keep from grinning like a lovesick goose as she padded under the shady cover of the barn roof. Almost immediately, a sleek black head popped up from atop a pile of hay, the golden eyes sparkling with surprise. Pepper didn't try to stop the happiness rising up in her chest like a gust of wind; it was Ravenpaw.

The skinny tom stood, shaking one or two hay straws fro his pelt, his eyes lighting up as he recognized the two she-cats standing in the doorway.

"Lilac!" he mewed happily. His gaze moved to her. "Pepper." Pepper smiled. Had she just imagined the softer, gentler tone to his voice when he'd seen her? No, she hadn't, because when she looked to her left, Lilac was smiling away like she knew a secret no one else could guess. Pepper looked back to Ravenpaw, who was softly grinning at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to say something, but he only smiled. Good enough for me.

Barley rounded the corner from another haystack closer to them, smiling. "We'd started to wonder where you'd gotten to." He pressed his muzzle against Lilac's after a small greeting from her. Pepper could hear Lilac purr, and she was sure that Ravenpaw could hear it from where he stood at least ten tail-lengths away. She snuck a glance at him, and saw that he was smiling as big as she was.

Barley padded away with Lilac, his eyes holding a new softness. "You two got back just in time," He sat down in the hay. "Ravenpaw and I hunted the day away while you two slackers took the day off."

Pepper scoffed, and flung a clawful of dust and hay in his direction. He hissed good-naturedly. She laughed and started for the miniature fresh-kill pile stacked by her self-claimed haystack.

"Wait," Ravenpaw leaped down from his perch and stepped toward her. She stopped and faced him, wondering what he could possibly want.

The black tom, didn't say anything at first, just shifting from paw to paw, looking a bit awkward and a lot anxious. "Uh," he started. Pepper suppressed a small chuckle. "I was wondering if you, uh…" His eyes flicked up, then down, then up again and stayed, locked to hers. "Wanted to go on a walk with me?" The nervousness had gone from his eyes, leaving just tenseness and another feeling that Pepper couldn't quite place.

The brown tabby she-cat stayed silent at first, caught a little off-guard, her mouth opening and closing a few times when the words didn't come. Ravenpaw added hurriedly, "Well, if you wanted to eat, that's fine. I mean…" He didn't finish his sentence, only nodding as if that were more than words could ever mean.

Pepper shook her head. "No, no, I mean… Sure, I—I'd love to."

Ravenpaw smiled. "Okay. Well, uh, let's go."

"Okay."

They walked out of the barn side by side, and along the worn path through the woods she had been on just a few minutes ago with Lilac. Only this time was different. This time, the dry, dusty old path felt like starshine, and every step she took sent tingles through her legs, every brush of his night-black fur against her dingy brown one. Pepper looked at Ravenpaw as their friendly conversation on the barn animals came to a pause. The sun was setting behind him, and his dark fur shone with gold, a beautiful contrast, with more soft golden light leaking out around his profile and his eyes, just barely visible, looked like setting suns themselves. He was beautiful, like an angel, and Pepper was again painfully aware of how ugly she was.

Ravenpaw looked at her, and she quickly looked away. She waited to hear his voice, saying, "Pep, why are you staring at me?" or maybe just "Uh… Pepper?", and then she'd feel like a silly love-bird. She waited, but the words didn't come to her ears. Instead, Ravenpaw's warm, sweet breath did, ruffling the fur by her head.

"Follow me. I want to show you something." The brief moment of delicacy stayed there, hung in the air for a moment, and then it was gone as Ravenpaw dashed off into the fern.

"Ravenpaw…" Pepper's voice trailed off and she raced after him, dodging trees and ducking branches as she almost frantically tried to keep the black tail-tip from leaving her sight. Ahead she could hear Ravenpaw's warm laughter, but it wasn't mocking. It was the kind of laughter you laugh when you're not really amused, but simply enjoying your moment. The realization sprung pleasure in Pepper's head, almost making her dizzy, but she laughed too, clearing it and running faster until she had caught up with him.

Pepper almost slammed into Ravenpaw when he came into sight again, because he was standing still, waiting for her. She screeched to a halt, letting out a small "Oh!" when she thought she actually would barrel into him. When she didn't, Ravenpaw grinned and laid that elusive tail-tip of his on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about running into me, Pepper," he assured her. "I'm as strong as stone. Now come on." The last words were whispered, and he began to creep slowly and quietly through the undergrowth. Pepper followed him, being careful not to step on anything. She wondered what it might be, what he was showing her. Pepper let her imagination wander astray. It could be something important, if he had to take such caution approaching it.

As if he'd read her mind, Ravenpaw turned his head and meowed softly, "It's not dangerous or anything. I just want to make sure no one else is there."

Why? Pepper's wonder turned to caution. As much as she felt for Ravenpaw, ideas that she didn't like started popping into her head. Along with the caution came bitter disappointment. Why was it that she always had to be on her guard? She considered going back while she could.

"Here we are." Too late. Ravenpaw straightened, turning around. Pepper's distrust and wariness crumbled away as she saw the kit-like excitement in his yellow eyes that looked so much like suns, and shone with as much kindness. Pepper instantly felt horrible. Her imagination (or paranoia) had gotten the best of her. This was Ravenpaw, her best friend, and, to her, more—How could she have ever suspected him? He had never shown her anything but kindness—and, she hoped, more.

Ravenpaw's voice sounded again, pulling her out of her guilty thoughts. Pepper forced herself to be in the present again and looked at him. His face was softened with warmth and compassion. "I know you've never been out this far in the forest, but it's all right." He twined his tail with hers and pulled her gently. She took small steps forward, fixing her eyes on the thick undergrowth in front of her, knowing that they were going to step through them. She again wondered what was on the other side.

Ravenpaw stepped forward and pushed them aside for her. Pepper gasped. There before her was a tiny clearing, filled with purple and pink and yellow light from the sunset beyond the edge of the trees. Long grass ringed the perimeter with tall orange wildflowers springing from it.

Pepper took a step into it, softly, as if it could break into a thousand pieces if she were too careless with such a beautiful thing. Shorter, downy-soft grass caressed her tired pads like tiny brushes of feathers, and every step felt effortless, as if the ground was carrying her paws across itself for her. Tiny royal purple violets adorned the grass, and Pepper tried not to step on them, the occasional taller blue or pink wildflower brushing against her as she veered around, carefully placing her paws just the right way.

On the far right of the clearing, fresh water ran from an unseen source in the trees and tumbled noisily down a collection of rocks before splashing into a bubbling brook, streaming along in a straight line and veering off to the right again, disappearing into the woods.

"It's so lovely," Pepper barely recognized the voice as her own, soft and amazed. Ravenpaw didn't reply, but she heard him purr.

Pepper looked to her left and gasped again, but this time, in horror. To the far left of the clearing, the long grass stopped and revealed the stone edge of a cliff—overlooking a forest that lay crumbled in ruins. Moors were dry, stripped of their grass and bushes, and not even the dust that lay everywhere stirred with any hopes of wind. Dark pine trees lay flattened, folded in on top of one another, as if they were all lying down together, praying for life. A marshy plain look encrusted with rubbish, the once-healthy-looking wetness reduced to crusted mud. A river had gone dry, leaving nothing but dry banks and fish skeletons. And a woodland—a once-beautiful woodland—lay destroyed. Somehow this hurt even more than the rest of the ruin. The trees had lost most of their leaves, and the rest hung limply off their branches. The groaning trees themselves leaned against anything that was there to support them. The entire circle of terrain looked utterly dead.

"This is where the Clans once lived." Ravenpaw finished. Pepper looked at him through eyes that were starting to fill up with tears. The Clans had lived here? She looked back at the destruction. Yes, she could picture the land as it once was. Lively, free: a sweeping moorland, rolling hills and dry heather bushes tugged at helplessly by an unseen wind. Darkness shadowing the points of pine trees that jabbed up like needles or sharp rocks. A marsh with the thick river rushing luxuriously through it. And beyond them all, a thick, lush forest that seemed teeming with life even at such a distance. For a moment, the lovely scene stayed in her head, but then faded, leaving only the ruin for her to flinch from. How had this happened?

Again, like he could read her mind, Ravenpaw answered her question. "The Clans' home was destroyed moons ago. By the Twolegs." Pepper tried to blink against the tearing that were turning his figure into a shapeless black fog, but couldn't. Ravenpaw's voice was emotionless, and it disturbed her to see the happy, energetic tom so different in this way. "Their camps, their territories… Everything they once knew, falling down on top of them."

Pepper's eyes widened, only making room for more tears. "You don't mean they—"

"No, they weren't killed." Ravenpaw paused. "Okay, maybe a few. But the rest were fine," he added quickly, hearing Pepper's shocked whimper. He still hadn't looked at her, pain and bittersweetness harsh in his tone. "The Clans were forced to evacuate. They stayed at the barn for a night," (Normally this thought would have fascinated Pepper.) "And then they went on in search of a new home. For all of them." Ravenpaw finally turned to face her, and alarm immediately lit in his face when he saw her small trembling body and her wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Pepper!" He mewed, and moved to her side, pressing his pelt very close to hers and rubbing his muzzle against her own. "Pepper…"

Pepper blinked and let the excess tears roll down her face. She knew that Ravenpaw must have been getting wet too, but he didn't say anything. "Ravenpaw…" she started, staring at the ground a few steps in front of her. "Did they ever find a home? The Clans?"

Ravenpaw hesitated. Pepper waited for him to say "I don't know, Pepper…" or "No, Pep, they didn't." and waited for the tears to come again, more this time. She waited—but they never came. Instead, Ravenpaw curled his warm, strong body around her and murmured, "Yes, Pepper. I'm sure they did. I'm sure."

Pepper blinked again and rested her face on his shoulder. He nestled her head in the curve of his neck. For a moment, Pepper felt that unknown feeling she had seen in Ravenpaw's eyes earlier (which seemed so long ago now), stronger than it had ever been before. It was in the air, it ran in her veins—it was honest and true.

Pepper felt a small surge of courage, but that was enough for her. She began to unbury her face to look at the woeful scene again, but Ravenpaw stopped her before she could even catch a glimpse.

"Pepper," he whispered. Something in her heart moved. To hear her voice spoken with such tenderness, such care, made her want to laugh, cry, scream, and fly all at once. "Don't look." He finished. Pepper didn't look. But she did let him steer her away from the cliff and back to the clearing, where they lay surrounded by the wildflowers and groomed each other until sleep claimed them both. Beyond where they slept, the scene of devastation by the cliff disappeared into the night, leaving only blackness, dark as the sky above them with no moon, and no trace of the misery that it had caused. Because the feeling in the air was too strong for it.

*is trying really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY hard not to cry* AWWWW! That was SO much fun to write! PEPPERXRAVEN FOR EVAHH! And OOOH OMG PRETTY CLEARING! And the destroyed forest was cool to write. I mean, it was sad, vewy vewy sad. =( But I thought it would be interesting to see what happened after the whole Twoleg thing. XP So anyways, please review and blah de blah…. LOL Tune in next time for the finale! ;D KTHANXBYE XD