Warriors: Descending Darkness

Chapter 11

Ravenkit stepped into the den, sneezing as soon as she did. The place was filled with dust and it appeared that no cats had been here for quite some time. The scent of the cat Ravenkit had smelt earlier was old in there. Sighing, Ravenkit turned to leave and was startled when she came face to face with the cat.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" She asked, narrowing her brown eyes at Ravenkit.

Ravenkit was certain the cat could smell her fear, "My name is Ravenkit, I was looking for whoever lives here to ask a couple of questions."

"That would be me." The she-cat meowed, sitting in front of Ravenkit like she knew the young cat posed no threat, "What's your question?"

Ravenkit studied the red spotted tan she-cat, noticing how muscular she was, "Was there a large group of cats that came this way?  They were following the river."

"Yes, they came through here a few moons ago.  They rested here for a night before leaving.  They said they were following a message from...Starclan that would lead them to a place where they could live."

Ravenkit purred, her heart light, "Yes, that's them.  I'm part of the group.  I fell into the river when it was flooded from storms and was washed away from them.  Could you tell me which way they went from here?"

She nodded, her whiskers twitching in amusement, "They continued following the river."

"Thank you!"  Ravenkit purred, happily taking a step forward to pass the she-cat.

The she-cat stopped her, "It's getting late.  It gets dangerous here and you don't know how long you'll have to travel to find your friends, so you should rest here for the night."

Ravenkit hesitated before giving the cat a small nod, "Alright, thank you.  I'll leave by dawn's light tomorrow."

The she-cat nodded, turning and leaving the twoleg place. Ravenkit looked around, curious about what a twoleg den looked like. She began exploring, finding odd twoleg structures that were made out of wood, floors made with strange fur, and a few big white things that were made of something harder than stone.

Ravenkit couldn't understand what anything was here, or why a kittypet would choose to live in a twoleg den over the moor or even the forest. She was beginning to feel cramped in the den. She went back to the entrance, leaving for some fresh air.

The she-cat was nowhere to be found, but Ravenkit's stomach began to growl, reminding her that she had to eat. She padded away from the twoleg den, her ears pricked as she listened for any prey nearby. Her attention fell on a water vole near the river. She dropped into a crouch and silently snuck up on it, pouncing on it when she was close enough. She delivered a killing bite to it as the she-cat walked up to her.

The she-cat meowed, "So you caught something. Good. As far as I was aware, you clan kits aren't taught how to hunt until you're about six moons old."

"Yes." Ravenkit replied with a nod, "When I was separated from my clanmates, a group of rouges found me. They taught me how to hunt so I could leave to find my clan."

The she-cat shook her head, her whiskers quivering, "I couldn't imagine that. My mother taught me to hunt almost a moon after I opened my eyes."

"Our mothers don't teach us, we're mentored by a warrior in our clan." Ravenkit meowed, crouching down to take a bite of the vole.

The she-cat tilted her head, "What happens if they die?"

"We're assigned to another warrior and they teach us." Ravenkit offered her some of the vole, pushing it towards her.

"So how do you become a warrior?" She asked.

Ravenkit thought for a moment, "I'm not really sure. Uphold the warrior code and try your best to perfect your skills."

The she-cat purred, "Sounds exciting. Nothing much happens around here...it gets really boring." Her tail swooped around to emphasize her point.

"Why don't you join one of the clans?" Ravenkit asked.

The she-cat looked back at the twoleg den, her tail and ears drooping for a moment, "I don't know...maybe I should..." She looked back at Ravenkit, returning to normal, "By the way, my name is Spots."

"Nice to meet you." Ravenkit meowed back politely.

The two cats continued to exchange conversation until the vole was gone. They back inside the twoleg den to settle down for the night. Ravenkit slept in a spot near the entrance to the den, resting her head on her paws.
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Ravenkit opened her eyes, finding herself in a field like when she awoke in Starclan.  She looked around, half expecting to find Crowbreath approaching her, but instead, she saw a gray she-cat with stars in her pelt.

For a brief moment, Ravenkit thought the she-cat was her littermate, Stripekit, and she felt sadness touch her heart. She couldn't help but feel relieved when she realized the cat wasn't her littermate.

"Hello, Ravenkit." She meowed, her blue eyes twinkling.

Ravenkit answered with a timid, "Hello."

"My name is Fogcloud.  I know you've been afraid for your clanmates for the past few moons." The strange she-cat stated, dipping her head, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"  Ravenkit asked, not understanding.

Fogcloud looked up at the young cat, her eyes looking hollow.  "I'm the one who showed you that."

Ravenkit's fur began to bristle with anger as she narrowed her eyes at the cat, "Why would you do that?  Did I do something wrong?"

"No..." Fogcloud looked at her paws, "I was the one who was wrong.  I was afraid you wouldn't go back to your clanmates, so I needed to make you want to go back."

Ravenkit lashed her tail, "So it was just a dream?"

Fogcloud's next words broke Ravenkit's heart, "No, it was real...all of it."

Ravenkit crouched to the ground, taking a deep breath, "Smokekit, Breezepelt, Creamkit...they're here, in Starclan?"

Fogcloud nodded, "Yes..."

Ravenkit's fur bristled, "So cats left their clanmates to die? Cats like Sandfoot?"

"Don't be angry with her, Ravenkit. She was just protecting Ashkit and she wasn't the only one." Fogcloud replied, her eyes narrowing.

Ravenkit lashed her tail again, "Who else are you talking about?"

"Doeflight and your littermates. Anyone who stayed to fight died. Be happy you'll see them again soon." Fogcloud muttered quietly, seeming to be annoyed by something, "It is almost time to leave. Do you remember what Crowbreath told you?"

Ravenkit nodded, "Yes."

"Good, remember it."