Life of RavenForbidden (discontinued)

Chapter thirteen (Ravens POV)

I padded back to camp without Shadow- He said he would meet me back at camp. I was still shocked that Shadow had acted so coolly when I told him I was not tribe-born. Who would of thought? I pushed the thought to the back of my head- I had duties to do. The tribe was waiting my the rock pile when I arrived- No time to waste. I hurried over and scrambled up the rocks. "Okay." I began, trying to force back my grin. I could not. "Crag, would you lead a border patrol? Take any cat you want. But head for the..Uhhh... Water border. And, Petal, same for you, but go towards the dead tree. Echo and Wolf, please lead hunting patrols. Go to the usual spots. Echo, you take the To-Bes- They could us the training." Echo glanced over her shoulder hesitantly. "All five?" She asked. I nodded. "Wolf, you take the remaining cats."I finished, and hopped off the rocks. My belly grumbled. I was heading for the pile when Stoneteller padded over. "Ah, Raven. There you are." He greeted me. I grinned. "Hello." I responded. "I think Dark and Sandy are ready to become full tribe cats." I purred happily. "They do deserve it." I agreed. "When should I asses them?" Assessing To-Bes sounded exciting- All I had to do was casually offer to take them on hunting patrol, then a border patrol, to asses their skills. If I think they are good enough, they become full tribe cats.

"Tomorrow." Stoneteller decided. "Great!" I meowed. With that, Teller turned and padded off. I continued to the prey pile. It was low. I remembered the mouse and seagull Shadow had brought me, and my heart ached. I grabbed a scrawny fish and sat in the shade. Prey should be returning back now that its White-Water. I thought. "Raven!" I looked up to see Swoop padding over, a grin that lit up her eyes spread across her face. "Hi!" I called, swishing my tail in greeting. "Come sit." She sat beside me. "I have exciting news." Fang and Swoop had recently become mates, so that could not be the news. "Okay. What is it?" I prompted, finishing the fish. It hardly took an edge off my hunger, but I tried to ignore that and focus on Swoop. "You won't believe it!" She gushed. I waited. "I'm expecting Fangs kits!" That got me on my paws. "Kits? Swoop, thats amazing! I'm soo happy for you!" I yelped like a To-Be. Cats turned. The few closest congratulated her, while the rest of the camp came over to see what all the fuss was about. "Oh my!" Echo purred. Echo had left her patrol with Wolf and came back early. "Darling, thats fabulous! Come, come, lets go make you a nest in the nursery!" I laughed happily as Swoop protested. "Alright, alright." Echo sighed, finnaly giving up. "Well, while we're all gathered here, I have some news, too." Echo meowed. Her tail swished happily. "Kits! I'm expecting Wolves kits!" I gasped. More kits? Was it possible? "Whats going on here?" I turned to see Stoneteller approaching. "K-Kits!" I stuttered. "Two litters!" I watched the Healers eyes light up. "Kits? This is wonderful!" He exclaimed, looking ready to race around camp like a hyper kit. "Go help Wolfs patrol hunt!" He ordered. "We will need extra prey for this!" I nodded and raced out of camp.

"Isn't this great?" Crag asked. It was almost night time now, and the whole tribe was feasting- Wolfs patrol had returned with more than enough prey to feed the whole tribe- Including Shadow and Daisy. It was the first good meal I had gotten in weeks. I had given the mouse and seagull from Shadow to the To-Bes, even though he told me to eat one of them.

"The kits?" I asked. Duh. "Yeah. It is." Crag smiled, satisfied with my response. "How 'bout you?"I asked, trying to be polite. "Of course." He responded. "Its great for the tribe." Before I could ask him what 'great for the tribe' meant, Fang pulled him away, leaving me alone. I sighed. My mind was spinning. The day had been crazy. Suddenly, I caught Shadows grey pelt out of the corner of my eye. And what about Shadow? Had he forgotten about asking me to leave? "Raven, can we talk?" I was not at all surprised to hear Shadows voice. Of course he had not forgotten! He was Shadow, after all. "Okay." My voice wobbled. The handsome tom nodded swiftly and led me sneakily out of camp. Once on the beach, he started talking. "Have you thought about it?" He whispered to me. I shook my head. "Okay." He sighed. "Shadow.. I can't leave now. My tribe needs me. After the kits are born, i'll bring you my answer." His eyes lit up. "Okay." He purred. I changed the topic. "How much longer are you and Daisy here for?" Shadow sighed. "Daisy said she's done. We'll leave tonight, she said, if possible." My shoulders slumped. "Oh."I breathed sadly. "I.. I wish you could stay." He shook his head firmly. "No. I would distract you from your job." I had to agree. "We should go back." I decided. "I have to assign the night patrol." Shadow nodded. "Let them walk us out." He offered. I agreed it was a perfect idea. So it was settled. I assigned the night patrol to Starry, Petal, Stripes, and Wing. I wanted to go, but Stoneteller insisted that I stayed in camp and got rest- I would assess the To-Bes at dawn.