Raven

Part one

Prologue

I live alone. I sleep in a little wooden hut, by myself. I am 17, and grew up with no one. My parents left one day, something about 'keep you safe' and then never came back. The wind speaks to me. It gave me my name, Raven. It taught me how to flatten leaves into clothes, how to crush chestnuts into powder, and then make bread with it. The wind doesn't have a voice, it just talks. Somehow. I've managed to live 17 healthy years by myself. Somehow.

I woke up with a strange need for exploration. Five minutes later, I was collecting berries, carefully studying the color of each, deciding which ones were safe to eat and which ones weren't. Right as I realized it was stupid to be doing this, and I should be hunting, a shadowy figure rattled a nearby bush.

"My lucky break," I whispered, creeping over to the bush. I got ready to attack whatever was hiding behind it. Spotting a sturdy stick, I bent over to pick it up, and then held it like a weapon. I was about two feet from the bush now, excited that behind it would be a rabbit or a large squirrel. The bush rustled and I lunged. I grunted as I hit the ground, but realized that I had caught something. Pinning the animal down, I rose onto my knees, and bent over to see what it was. I studied the animal; Soft, light fur, big eyes, sharp claws, short muzzle.... a cat. A cat. I couldn't eat that. It was probably raging with fleas, and if it didn't have rabies, it had lyme disease. My thoughts were interrupted when a forceful pain stung my hand.

"Gaah!" I gasped, and jerked back immediately. The cat sprung to it's paws, and impossibly, started speaking english.

"What was that for?!" she snapped. "I am a lady. And I-" The cat stopped her rant when she saw the sharp stick in my hand. Her eyes narrowed, and a disgusted look appeared on her face. "You were going to stab me?"

I wanted to explain myself, but I felt strange talking to a cat. Even so, I said-

"Sorry- I didn't mean to- I thought you were- I mean-" I decided I was trying too hard, and started again. " I'm Raven. I thought you were a rabbit. I live alone out here, and I have to hunt for food." I was just about to ask her why she bit me, when I noticed the cat studying me. At last, she seemed to make up her mind. "I'm Nightflower." She said, not nearly as angry. "Can you hunt?" Nightflower asked. "Um, I guess..." I answered, confused by her random question. Nightflower followed that with a series of other questions, like; " 'Are you fast?' 'How good are you in combat?' 'Can you swim well?' "

She seemed satisfied with my answers, and began to trot away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" I exclaimed. Nightflower turned around and looked at me like I couldn't figure out something obvious. She sighed and said- "To my clan. Just follow me."

I followed, and when we arrived, I looked like I was a little kid at a candy shop.

After walking through a guarded entrance, we entered another part of the forest. Cats were everywhere, some fighting, some getting instructions from trainers, some running. But what they all had in common, was that they were training for something, and I wanted to know what. Before I could ask, Nightflower stopped. Right in front of me, sat an important- looking cat, on a throne- type sofa made out of stone and vines. Nightflower turned to me.

"This is Shatteredstar, our leader. He can recruit you, if that's what you want." She explained. I would stay anywhere as long as I didn't have to be alone, especially a place where I got to act however I wanted.

"Yes!" I said, trying to keep my cool. "What will I have to do?"

At this, Shatteredstar rose and padded over to me. "You will have to show me that you are able to live like us..." He said. His voice was lower than I had expected. "Come with me."

We arrived in a little grove with a small stream, where a pack of deer grazed delicately. Shatteredstar walked over to me. He sat down and instructed- "Kill one." I was horrified. Usually, I would kill a deer gladly, considering the rarity of seeing one. But here, they looked so peaceful, so perfect. It would be horrible to see even a drop of blood on the grass-

"Kill one." Shatteredstar repeated warningly. I swatted away the urge to sigh and without a word stepped forward. I crept over to a tree, careful not to make noise so that the deer wouldn't run away. I tore off a thin vine growing on the tree, snapped two branches off of it, and picked up a sharp stone from the ground. Then I sat down and got to work. Taking one branch, I bent it as far as it would go without snapping, creating a half-circle shape. I picked up the rock and made two holes in the half-circle, one at the top and one at the bottom. I took the vine and fit it into the holes, and then made two knots at the ends so that it would stay. A bow. Then I took the other branch and the rock. I used the rock to chisel the end on the branch into a sharp point. An arrow. Fitting the arrow in position with the bow, I rose and took my aim at one of the deer.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let the arrow fly. Bullseye. The arrow landed right in the deer's head. I turned around, crossing my fingers that Shatteredstar would be satisfied. To my relief, he looked amazed. "H-how did you think so quickly? And your aim..... " He paused. "Welcome to DuskClan."

That night, as I lay in bed, I looked over at Nightflower, and began to wonder out loud. "Do you think i'll do good? Will they like me? I mean- I am a human... oh no- what if they don't like me! What am I gonna-" "Just relax." Nightflower told me. "After all, you are the first human to join a clan."