Ravenstar’s Story

**This fanfic may contain violence/death.**

If you’ve read Briarstar’s Journey, I think you know by now that Ravenstar is cruel and heartless. But what made him like this? What happened in his past that made him so cold? This fanfic has the answers.

Please do not edit this page unless you are fixing a spelling/grammar mistake. Thank you!

By: Tailbite the SeaWing

## Allegiances

*Note: toms are male cats and she-cats are female cats*

**WoodClan:**

Leader: Hawkstar - white tom with dark brown tabby patches and green eyes

Deputy: Foxslash - dark ginger tom with a long scar on his foreleg

Medicine cat: Dustberry - dark gray-black tabby she-cat with a white belly

*MC apprentice: Brightpaw*

Warriors:

Snowpelt - fluffy white tom with sky-blue eyes

Mapleheart - dark ginger and black she-cat with green eyes

Smokefeather - dark gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes

Vixentail - ginger tabby she-cat with golden eyes

Crowclaw - black tom with blue eyes

Featherpool - cream tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

Molefang - solid brown tom with yellow eyes

Flintclaw - red tabby she-cat with sharp claws and orange eyes

Queens:

Fernwhisker - black-and-white she-cat with amber eyes and long whiskers (mother to Nightkit and Ravenkit)

Mintflower - pale gray she-cat with minty green eyes (mother to Spottedkit and Mottlekit)

Kits:

Nightkit - black she-kit with a white chest and green eyes

Ravenkit - pure black tom with startlingly bright green eyes

Spottedkit - spotted brown-and-white she-kit with bright green eyes

Mottlekit - mottled gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Brightpaw - dilute calico she-cat with amber eyes

Elders:

Moonleaf - dark gray tabby she-cat with startlingly bright green eyes

**DewClan:**

Leader: Seedstar - yellow tom with darker stripes and green eyes

Deputy: Hazelfrost - brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Medicine cat: Needlewhisker - ginger tom with blue eyes

*MC apprentice: Toadpaw*

Warriors:

Heathermist - gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

*Apprentice: Doepaw*

Applestorm - light ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

*Apprentice: Graypaw*

Darkstrike- pale gray-white tom with streaks of black fur

Owlblaze - dark brown tabby tom with pale blue eyes

Peachfur - ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes and long fur

Sunfire - white she-cat with pale ginger patches, yellow eyes

*Apprentice: Sorrelpaw*

Oakfall - brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Queens:

Leafpetal - cream-furred she-cat with dark gray tabby patches and blue eyes (mother to Lakekit, Frostkit, and Streamkit)

Kits:

Frostkit - pale gray she-kit, blind in one eye, one eye is dark blue and one is frosty blue

Streamkit - silver tabby she-kit with black stripes and blue eyes

Lakekit - gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Doepaw - cream she-cat with white spots and blue eyes

Graypaw - dark gray tom with bright amber eyes

Ivypaw - silver tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

Sorrelpaw - pale, sandy-brown she-cat with amber eyes

Toadpaw - black tom with white patches and green eyes

Elders:

Bluestorm - blue-gray she-cat with green eyes

Daisyfur - long-furred white she-cat with amber eyes

## Prologue

“Are the kits here yet?” Mintflower asked.

“Almost,” Dustberry meowed, brushing her tail over Fernwhisker’s pelt.

Brightpaw watched, fascinated. This was her first time delivering kits. She had become Dustberry‘s apprentice half a moon ago, and she loved being a medicine cat. She was good with herbs, and was good at healing cats. Her mother, Featherpool, and her father, Smokefeather, had encouraged her to ask if she could be Dustberry’s apprentice. And wow, was she happy that she had.

A few heartbeats later, there was a wriggling, wet kit lying at the curve of Fernwhisker’s belly. A she-kit. Brightpaw blinked happily.

“That’s good,” Dustberry meowed approvingly. “Brightpaw, lick her fiercely to get her blood flowing.”

Brightpaw obeyed, licking the she-kit’s fur in the wrong direction to get her dry. When she looked up, there was another tiny kit curled up at his mother’s belly. This one was a tom, with fur that was darker than the sky at midnight. Fernwhisker was licking him.

”That’s it,” Dustberry meowed, sounding pleased. “Foxslash, you can come in now.”

The ginger tom stepped into the nursery, and his chest puffed out with pride when he saw his kits.

Brightpaw wondered if she would ever stop smiling. She stared down at Fernwhisker’s kits for several heartbeats, before she realized that something was wrong. The pitch-black tom was drenched in blood. She flinched backward, shocked. Dustberry gave her an odd look. When she looked at the tom again, the blood was gone.

An odd shiver went through Brightpaw’s body. A thought went through her mind, almost without her realizing it. *This kit was not supposed to be born.*

## Chapter 1

“Ravenkit, hold still!”

Ravenkit squirmed while his mother, Fernwhisker, licked him fiercely.

”I don’t want you to look like a messy ball of fluff during your apprentice ceremony!” Even though Fernwhisker’s words were stern, Ravenkit could hear a note of affection in her voice.

”How come Nightkit doesn’t have to be washed?” Ravenkit huffed.

”I can clean myself, thank you very much.”

Ravenkit threw an annoyed look at her. “Of course you can, Sassyfur,” he purred.

The black she-kit bared her teeth. “Don’t call me Sassyfur!”

”Sassyfur!”

”Now, now,” Fernwhisker stopped licking Ravenkit. “Of course Nightkit has to be cleaned too.” With that, she began to swiftly wash Nightkit.

Nightkit squealed in protest.

”Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Branch to hear my words.”

Ravenkit’s fur tingled. He and Nightkit were finally going to be apprentices!

Their father, Foxslash, came up to them, purring. “Good luck,” he meowed, nuzzling them both. His green eyes were full of pride.

Every cat gathered around the branch. Mottlekit and Spottedkit both looked extremely jealous.

”Nightkit and Ravenkit have reached their sixth moon,” Hawkstar announced. “It is time for them to be apprenticed. Nightkit.”

Looking nervous, Nightkit stepped forward.

”From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Nightpaw. May StarClan guide your paws. Featherpool, you are a skilled warrior. You will mentor Nightpaw.”

Nightpaw touched her nose to her mentor’s.

”Ravenkit.”

Ravenkit stepped forward, his tail bristling with anticipation.

”From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ravenpaw.” Hawkstar stared down at him with powerful green eyes. Ravenpaw shivered with awe. “May StarClan watch over you on your journey to become a warrior. Flintclaw, you are a strong warrior. Ravenpaw will be your apprentice.”

Ravenpaw touched his nose to Flintclaw’s.

”Nightpaw! Ravenpaw! Nightpaw!”

As she gazed down at Ravenpaw, Flintclaw’s eyes glimmered oddly, as if she’d wounded her paw and Ravenpaw had healed it.

## Chapter 2

”Are you ready to begin training?” Flintclaw asked.

Ravenpaw nodded eagerly. “Yes!”

”You seem a little excited,” Flintclaw meowed. “Let‘s go.”

As they padded into the forest, Ravenpaw tried to act calm and observant, but inside he was extremely excited. *I’m in the forest! The actual forest! In a few moons, I’ll be a warrior!*

Flintclaw showed him the Squirrel Tree, the stream, and the Sky Tree. When they got to the DewClan border, they stopped. “This is the DewClan border,” she announced. “You shouldn’t go past the scent. No cat has ever tried to pass the border yet, but if some cat did, DewClan definitely wouldn’t be overjoyed.”

Ravenpaw nodded. “I won’t go over there,” he assured his mentor.

Flintclaw flicked her tail. “Good. Why don’t I teach you a few hunting moves?”

Ravenpaw nodded. “That would be great!”

”Alright,” Flintclaw meowed. “Watch me closely.” She crouched down, keeping her back legs slightly bent, and keeping her tail still. She stalked forward, then lunged into a patch of ferns. She came out holding a starling in her jaws. “It must have been a kit,“ She meowed as she laid her starling on the ground. “It didn’t try to fly away when I pounced on it.”

”That was amazing!” Ravenpaw mewed. “How did you do that?”

”It takes practice. Try it.”

Ravenpaw crouched down.

”Dont knead your paws on the ground; the prey will hear you rustling the leaves,” Flintclaw meowed.

Ravenpaw kept his paws still.

”Good. Now, can you smell any prey?”

”I smell a juicy smell...kind of like like a maple tree,” Ravenpaw meowed.

”That’s a squirrel. Go for it!” Flintclaw told him.

Ravenpaw crouched down and stalked forward. As soon as he began to move, the squirrel darted up a tree to safety. Ravenpaw turned to Flintclaw, hoping she wasn’t disappointed.

“That‘s fine,” Flintclaw meowed quickly, flicking her tail. “It took me a while to learn how to catch squirrels too. They’re tricky. Mice and voles are the easiest. You should start with them.”

Ravenpaw and his mentor padded through the forest, smelling for mice or voles. Finally, Ravenpaw was able to smell the faint scent of mouse. He crouched down and began to slither across the forest floor. He could see the tiny creature nibbling on a seed in a patch of tall grass. Heart racing, he bunched up his muscles, ready to spring. He pounced. The mouse squirmed around until Ravenpaw swiftly killed it.

”Excellent!” Flintclaw exclaimed. “You’re a fine hunter already, Ravenpaw.”

Ravenpaw raised his head proudly. *I’m going to be the best warrior in the whole forest! No one will dare cross me!*

## Chapter 3

Ravenpaw tried not to retch in disgust at the stench of mouse bile.

”Why didn’t anyone warn us that mouse bile smells so bad?” Nightpaw gasped.

”It’s something that you’ll have to get used to if you‘re a WoodClan apprentice,” Dustberry told them. “Off you go.”

Ravenpaw and Nightpaw padded into the elders’ den, where Moonleaf was sitting with her paws tucked beneath her tail. “Finally!” She exclaimed. “I was starting to think that the ticks would have to pull themselves off.”

“Sorry for taking long,” Nightpaw apoligized.

”No worries,” Moonleaf sniffed.

Ravenpaw remembered that Fernwhisker had mentioned that Moonleaf was their grandmother. Now he realized that she had the same very bright green eyes as him, and the same fluffy fur as Nightpaw. He felt a pang of sympathy. *She’s the only elder. She must be lonely.* Sniffing along her flank, he found a huge, swollen tick latched onto the base of her tail. Shuddering, he rubbed some mouse bile onto it. It came right off.

When they were pulling of the ticks, Ravenpaw and Nightpaw brought the mouse bile back to Dustberry. She nodded in approval. “Well done.”

Ravenpaw padded into the clearing with Nightpaw on his tail. Fernwhisker, who was sitting in the shade, stopped grooming herself and padded over to them. “I’m so proud of you,” She purred, licking their fur as though they were still kits.

Ravenpaw’s ears grew hot with embarrassment. “I’m glad,” he meowed, wriggling out of his mother’s grasp. “I’m going to get some fresh-kill. I’m starving!”

”First, take something to Mintflower. She must be hungry,” Fernwhisker meowed.

Ravenpaw chose a mouse for Mintflower and a squirrel for himself. He walked over to the nursery and stuck he head in. “Here you go, Mintflower,” he meowed, tossing her the mouse.

”Thank you,” she meowed gratefully, dipping her head.

Ravenpaw padded back into the clearing, then realized that Mottlekit and Spottedkit had followed him out of the nursery.

”What’s it like being an apprentice?” Spottedkit demanded.

”Hard work,” Ravenpaw purred. “But fun. It’s much better than being a kit!”

Mottlekit sighed. “I wish *we* were apprentices.”

”You won’t have to wait much longer,” Ravenpaw pointed out. “You were only born a moon after Nightpaw and I.”

”But I want to be an apprentice NOW.” Spottedkit grumbled. “It’s not fair.” With that, she stalked back to the nursery. Mottlekit followed her.

Ravenpaw rolled his eyes. *Spottedkit is so dramatic!* He brought his squirrel to the apprentice’s den. Nightpaw was already inside, nibbling on a starling.

”Today was amazing!” Ravenpaw burst out as soon as he sat down in his nest. “Flintclaw taught me everything! She showed me the whole territory. She taught me how to hunt! She even taught me some battle moves.”

Nightpaw flicked her tail. “I know!” She exclaimed. “Featherpool is such a good mentor. She‘s so patient! And calm! And wise!” She grinned.

”I wonder when we‘ll become warriors,” Ravenpaw meowed thoughtfully. “Six moons from now? Maybe even less? Great StarClan, I’m excited!”

”So am I,” Nightpaw meowed. “And it’s nice to have a den all to ourselves, considering Brightpaw spends all her time in the medicine cat den. I wish Spottedkit and Mottlekit were younger so that we’d have more time to be the only warrior apprentices.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ravenpaw meowed. “I talked to Spottedkit today. I told her all about how great it is to be a warrior apprentice. She was so jealous!”

Nightpaw let out a purr of amusement, then took a bite out of her starling. Ravenpaw had completely forgotten about his squirrel, and bit into it hungrily.

Stars had appeared in the evening sky when Flintclaw came up to Ravenpaw. “You’re needed on the dusk patrol.” She announced.

Ravenpaw rose to his paws. “Coming!” He called after his mentor.

The night air was cool, and a light breeze rustled some fallen leaves. The waxing moon hung high above their heads. Ravenpaw glanced around. “What do we do on the dusk patrol?” He asked his mentor.

Flintclaw snorted. “We patrol the forest, of course. Threats can come at night just as easily as they can come during the day. It’s pretty self-explanatory.”

Mapleheart, who was also on the patrol, gave Flintclaw a hard stare. “Calm down, Flintclaw. You asked the exact same question when you were a ‘paw.” She turned to Ravenpaw. “We patrol the forest until moonhigh. One the moon is at its highest point, the midnight patrol will take over. That way, there’s always some cats awake that can alert the camp if there’s danger.”

“Oh,” Ravenpaw meowed, feeling silly. “Of course. That makes sense.”

Mapleheart nodded briskly. “Let’s check the DewClan border. They’ve been unusually active in the past moon. I’m afraid they could be planning an attack.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Flintclaw meowed. “If they are planning an attack, then we’ll have to practice battle moves so we can be as strong as ever.” She dug her claws into the ground, her lip pulling back into a snarl.

“Yes.” Mapleheart agreed.

The three cats padded in silence to the DewClan border. When they reached it, the same horrible scent that Ravenpaw had smelled earlier filled his nose. He grimaced. It seemed oddly stronger, as though there was a DewClan cat standing right next to him.

“What are you mangy WoodClan cats doing?”

Ravenpaw nearly jumped out of his fur. Flintclaw’s hackled rose and her claws extended. However, Mapleheart remained calm. “We’re marking our border. We don’t want any trouble.”

“How do we know that you weren’t going to cross the border?” The DewClan she-cat growled. She had thin white fur with pale ginger tabby patches. Her eyes were a yellow color like the sun. Behind her stood a dark brown tabby tom and a ginger tabby she-cat.

”You don’t,” Mapleheart meowed coolly.

This just made the DewClan she-cat even more mad. Snarling, she lunged forward, only to be blocked by the tom.

”Sunfire!” he growled. “Do you *want* a fight with WoodClan?”

Sunfire snarled. “Yes, Oakfall! Those mange-pelts deserve it! If they dare to cross this border, I’ll give them some wounds that they won’t forget.”

Flintclaw gave Sunfire a glare that was so full of hatred that it made Ravenpaw’s fur prickle. “You‘re foolish if you think WoodClan can be defeated so easily.”

Oakfall and the ginger tabby she-cat shuffled their paws nervously. Mapleheart narrowed her eyes and extended her claws; she looked completely unafraid of what might be about to happen as Sunfire and Flintclaw glared at each other.

Suddenly, Sunfire lunged again, and this time she wasn’t stopped by Oakfall. In the blink of an eye, Flintclaw and Sunfire were wrestling each other on the ground, letting out savage screeches of pain or rage, Ravenpaw couldn‘t tell. He pressed himself close to the ground, completely terrified. He was relieved when Mapleheart darted in and grabbed Flintclaw by the scruff of her neck, pulling the red tabby she-cat away from Sunfire.

”What are you two doing? Do you have bees in your brain?” Mapleheart exclaimed.

Sunfire shook out her pelt. “I was just defending our territory!” She growled.

Flintclaw glared at her. “*Defending?* You *attacked* me!”

The ginger tabby she-cat stepped forward. “One of you could have been seriously injured!” She meowed worriedly.

”I’m fine, Peachfur.” Sunfire meowed. “You should be thanking me. I have the courage to fight, but you and Oakfall let them use you as a scratching post.” She bared her teeth.

”That was very foolish,” Mapleheart meowed. Turning to the DewClan cats, she meowed, “I’m very sorry. Clearly some cats need to relearn the warrior code.”

“She started it!” Flintclaw hissed.

”I’m ending it.” Mapleheart meowed coldly.

Sunfire bared her teeth. “Alright. I’ll let you go this time, trespasser. But next time I won’t go so easy on you.” She signaled with her tail to her patrol, then lead them away from the border.

Mapleheart, Ravenpaw, and Flintclaw stayed silent until the DewClan patrol was swallowed by the mist. When they were gone, Mapleheart immediately lashed out with her forepaw and struck Flintclaw on the nose.

”You dumb cat!” Mapleheart hissed angrily. “Do you want a war between our Clans? If you think provoking Sunfire was the best thing to do in that situation, then I’m worried about you.”

“I wasn’t *provoking* her!” Flintclaw meowed indignantly, wiping a droplet of blood off her nose with her paw. “She was being an idiot!”

”The only *idiot* around here is you.” Mapleheart snapped.

Flintclaw’s fur bristled until she looked twice her size.

“Come on. We must report this to Hawkstar. I’m sure he’ll be *very* interested to hear about this.” Mapleheart meowed, fuming.

Turning away, Mapleheart led them back to camp. After casting one last glance onto DewClan territory, Ravenpaw followed them back home.

## Chapter 4

Ravenpaw picked at the remains of a sparrow, wondering what time it was. He couldn’t see the sun through the branches of the apprentices’ den, and he didn’t feel like leaving his nest.

Two days had passed since the fight between Flintclaw and Sunfire, but Ravenpaw still couldn’t get the image of the two she-cats slashing and biting at each other out of his head. It was like accidentally walking into a spider web; he tried to shake off the memory, but it clung to him like a tick. He sighed when Flintclaw stuck her head into the den and informed him that it was time to start training.

“You’ve been moping around for a long time now,” Flintclaw complained. “You need to act like a true warrior and face the real world.”

”Alright.” Standing up, Ravenpaw shook out his fur and followed his mentor into the sunlight. In the center of camp, Spottedkit and Mottlekit were wrestling each other, nipping and pawing each other playfully. Over by the medicine cat den, Brightpaw was picking some of the small flowers that grew in the grass near the bramble wall, her expression cheerful. Foxslash was giving directions to a patrol that was about to leave, his tail held high. The ginger tom shot Ravenpaw a warm smile as he and Flintclaw walked past. Hawkstar was lying in the shade, grooming himself and chatting with Mintflower. Nothing unusual was happening.

As they padded into the forest, Ravenpaw felt the familiar sense of wonder. The forest was so alive, so broad and vast. Birds fluttered through the branches. Squirrels scampered up trees. Ravenpaw even spotted two deer in the distance, their heads bent gracefully as they snacked on grass and other small plants.

Flintclaw stopped near the Squirrel Tree and stared at him seriously.

”What are we going to do today?” Ravenpaw asked. “Battle training?”

Flintclaw smiled faintly. “Yes. Battle training.” Her meow almost sounded like a growl.

Ravenpaw shifted uneasily. “Okay, teach me.”

Flintclaw sat down and tucked her paws beneath her tail. “Okay. To start of with, unsheathe your claws until they hurt. Get used to that feeling.” She dug her long, silvery claws into the soft earth below her.

Ravenpaw unsheathed his claws. “Um...we won’t be using unsheathed claws during training, right?”

Flintclaw shrugged. “If your smart, you’ll use your claws to defend yourself. When I was an apprentice, that‘s what I did to Mapleheart the first time we battle trained. She was mad, but I was proud of myself.”

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Ravenpaw looked down at his claws. They looked tiny compared to Flintclaw’s. *I hope I don’t get hurt. Fernwhisker would freak out. Foxslash would be furious.*

”The first step to being a good fighter is always being prepared.” Flintclaw meowed. Before Ravenpaw could ask what she meant, she leaped at him, claws outstretched. Ravenpaw let out a screech of fear and scrabbled backward, slipping on we the leaves as he tried to get away from his mentor. She sank her claws into his pelt, causing a piercing pain. Ravenpaw shoved at her, trying to get her off him. She eventually let go and hauled him to his paws.

”That, my lovely apprentice, is how you DON’T defend yourself.” Flintclaw meowed.

Ravenpaw didn’t know what to say. He was angry that she had attacked him, and his pelt still stung from her claws, but he didn’t dare stand up for himself. Instead he lowered his head and mewed, “How do I defend myself then?”

Flintclaw rolled her eyes. “You’re a strong apprentice, Ravenpaw. You’ll make a great warrior. But you have to know how to be a true warrior in order to be a great one. And a true warrior fights back.”

Ravenpaw lifted his gaze. “I’ll fight back if you teach me,” he meowed boldly.

Flintclaw’s eyes glinted. “Okay. Copy me.”

What felt like eternity passed. Only when Ravenpaw was able to successfully defend himself from Flintclaw’s attacks did she finally seem satisfied. By the time they got back to camp, the sun was already starting to set, casting a warm glow over the forest.

Ravenpaw, huffing tiredly, padded into the apprentice’s den. Nightpaw wasn’t there, and Ravenpaw assumed that she was out hunting with her mentor. For the first time, he was grateful that his littermate wasn’t there; he felt like he needed time on his own. Wearily, he rested his head on his front paws, his tail curling over his nose, listening to the chirruping of the crickets.

Calm.

Silence.

Suddenly, Ravenpaw jolted awake. It was dark out, and he could hear Nightpaw’s peaceful snores in the nest beside him. But he felt like there was someone else there. Someone watching him.

He sat up, his ears pricking, his fur rising. He glanced across the clearing, and then he saw it. A cream-furred she-cat, staring at him from the edge of the clearing, her amber eyes wide, her tail raised, her mouth half open in surprise.

Ravenpaw blinked, and she was gone.