Rising Storm

Chapter 20

"Ravenpaw!" Skyfall sprang forward to give her old friend a welcoming nuzzle.

"It's so good to see you, Skyfall!" Ravenpaw nudged her in return and turned his eyes to Longtail. "Is this really old, grumpy Longtail?"

Longtail snorted playfully but nodded.

The black tom's eyes narrowed. "How's Dustpaw?"

Skyfall understood Ravenpaw's wary tone. Despite being littermates, Dustpelt always saw Ravenpaw as more of a rival than a brother. When Ravenpaw had fled from his former mentor, Tigerclaw, and gone to live in the Twoleg territory beyond the uplands, Dustpelt hadn't reacted much to the announcement that Skyfall originally told the Clan; that Ravenpaw was dead.

"Dustpelt's fine." Longtail shrugged. "He has his own apprentice now."

"And is this one your apprentice?" Ravenpaw asked, looking at Brightpaw.

Longtail answered curtly, "My apprentice is Swiftpaw, Goldenflower's son. This is Whitestorm's. Her name is Brightpaw."

The warm breeze ruffled the leaves at the top of the trees. Skyfall glanced up at the noise. This unexpected meeting had disarmed her, and she'd let her guard slip. She scanned the undergrowth warily as she remembered the threat of Tigerclaw and his band of rogues. "What are you doing here, Ravenpaw?" she asked urgently.

Ravenpaw, who had been studying Longtail with a curious expression in his green eyes, turned his head. "Looking for you."

"Really? Why?" Skyfall knew it had to be important for Ravenpaw to come back to the forest. The young black cat had lived in constant fear after he had accidentally witnessed Tigerclaw killing Redtail, the ThunderClan deputy. When Tigerclaw had tried to kill Ravenpaw too, to keep him quiet, Skyfall and Graystripe had helped their friend escape. Ravenpaw now lived on a Twoleg farm with Barley, another loner—a cat who wasn't a kittypet, nor part of a forest Clan. Ravenpaw must have a very good reason for returning to his old enemy's territory now. After all, he had no way of knowing that Tigerclaw's treachery had been revealed and he had been driven out of ThunderClan. As far as Ravenpaw knew, Tigerclaw was still the deputy.

Ravenpaw flicked his tail uneasily. "Barley asked me to come and bring you to the farm."

Skyfall stared at him, confused, and Ravenpaw tried to explain. "We've been finding strange scents on the edge of our territory and he's been really shaken about it. He asked me to come fetch you a few days ago after the strange scents led further into our territory."

"Why would he ask for me?"

"I'm not too sure, but he seems really unnerved and I've never seen Barley like this."

"Why does Skyfall have to go?" Longtail stared intently at the black cat. "She's ThunderClan's deputy, she can't just go running off."

"I'm just here to do what Barley asked of me," Ravenpaw retorted. "Trust me, I wouldn't have come anywhere near the forest unless I absolutely had to."

Skyfall flicked her tail at Longtail. "Ravenpaw is allowed in ThunderClan territory by Bluestar's order. Whatever he needs, ThunderClan will offer their assistance. If you disagree then go home."

"You can't just keep running off to help every cat in need," Longtail protested. "Running into RiverClan territory was one thing because Thunderpaw was there. You'd be heading into unknown territory with only Ravenpaw to protect you."

"It's Ravenpaw's territory. And he's my friend; he wouldn't intentionally hurt me." Skyfall weaved around Brightpaw and Longtail impatiently.

Ravenpaw cut in. "She's right. I'd never let anything hurt Skyfall."