Raven groaned, her head throbbing painfully and her vision blurred. She could faintly hear the voices of two cats around her, but it was impossible for her to hear what they were saying. She opened her mouth to say something, but her jaw stiffened and she could make a sound. And when she tried, it made her head hurt even more!
Where am I? Raven wondered briefly. What's going on?
Opening one amber eye carefully she glanced around. She heard the cats murmur something before hurrying over to her side.
"She's awake!" one of them purred happily.
Amber? Raven realized. Her friend was here! The thought filled Raven with relief. But then... Who's the other cat? She thought hard about what had happened before she blacked out. She faintly remembered another cat, a tabby she thought.
"Thank StarClan!" The tom exclaimed, bounding over to her. "Ravenpaw- I mean Raven! Are you OK?" he asked, nudging her carefully. Raven struggled to open her eyes, finding a bright pair of leaf-green eyes staring back at her.
"Hawkspirit!"
Of course! She and Amber had just found her brother by the river and patched him up! And then she blacked out after he told her his name?
"Raven. It's so good to see you! I've really missed you and Falconpaw." her brother purred, licking her cheek.
“It’s good to see you too.” she rasps. “But what happened?”
Hawkspirit shrugs. “I don’t really know. One moment you were standing there, and the other you looked pained and collapsed to the ground. Me and Amber kinda panicked a little.” He smiles crookedly. "Do you remember anything?"
Raven pauses to think. She did remember her dream. Every little detail. But she wasn't comfortable talking about it, not until she found out what it meant. But this was Hawkspirit! Her brother, her old clan mate, her best friend. She trusted him more than she trusted herself, even after he left to become a loner.
"I had a dream..." she began, looking up at him. "But I... I don-t really know-" She stops as Hawkspirit blinks slowly, his eyes warm and gentle.
"It's OK, you don't need to talk about it yet." he tells her. A warm feeling spread through Raven. The three of them had always been close, and even after so long Hawkspirit understands her. She looks over at Amber, who was watching her with a curious gaze.
"Hawkspirit told me about his life with Falconblaze when you were unconscious. I think you'd be interested in hearing his story." Amber smiles, helping her to stand up. Raven looks at Hawkspirit expectantly, but the brown tabby just shakes his head.
"Not here, in the middle of the sun. We had our paws full trying to keep you cool when you were asleep! Let's head up to the forest line." he meows.
Raven nods and starts walking, her headache slowly fading away. Amber was still by her side, helping to support her whenever her paws felt weak. She glanced over at Hawkspirit, and she saw that her brother was still in very much pain. Though he didn't complain or make a sound she could see the pain written on his face for every step. She looked back at Amber, and could tell by his frown that he had seen it to.
"I'm fine. Let's go help him." she whispers. Amber nods and quickly walks over to Hawkspirit's side. Without a word Raven takes up her place on his other side, and together with her friend they lead her brother up the hill and into the shade of the trees. Hawkspirit lies down gratefully by a tree whilst Raven and amber lie down in front of him.
"Well, we're ready!" Raven smiles. "So, tell me what has happened since you left us!" Hawkspirit sighs and nods with a smile.
"Very well, I'll make it fast." he settled down comfortably and then starts to explain his journey with Falconblaze.
