Only a few days later Raven and Amber reached the foot of the mountains. The sun was low but not quite setting and bathed the landscape with a glowing, orange, hue. Raven stared up with large eyes, trying to see the top. Amber looked more or less the same; long fur fluffed up and amber eyes staring into the clouds surrounding the peak.
"So this is it." Raven sighed. "The mountains; our final stop for now." She glances over at her traveling companion. Amber continues to look up at the mountains. His nod was barely visible.
"Yes... Our last stop." he murmured. Raven tilted her head slightly and frowned. There was something in the young tom’s voice that sounded off but she shrugged it away.
He's probably just tired.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind she realized just how exhausted she was herself. Her paws were trembling slightly where she stood and her sleek, black tail drooped. She breathed out loudly and started walking towards a slightly thicker group of bushes and trees close by. Amber followed as well, staring at his paws.
When they had settled down Amber helped gather moss and feathers for nests as he usually did, but he placed his nest slightly farther away this time. Raven was confused, but didn't dare speak up in case it was nothing personal. Either way though, she felt strangely hurt.
Wordlessly Raven set out to hunt and tried to think of something else than Amber. She scented the air but with no luck, so she continued to walk further. Suddenly she spotted movement from the corner of her eye. She stiffened and dread shot through her. She closed her eyes and slowly turned around before daring to open them again. To her relief and amazement it was no rogue sneaking around but some sort of large, fat bird. It was as big as she was but oddly plump and with strange colors. She tilted her head curiously and crept closer. Behind the bird came another one, but this one was more boring and smaller.
I may not have much chance with the biggest one, but I can certainly do with the little, brown one! Birds that big and fat can hardly fly, can they? She thought smugly.
Stalking the bird like she usually did she came closer and closer until she figured she could pounce. Fixing her eyes on the target she wiggled her haunches a little and jumped. The birds whistled with shrill voices and split, running and waving their wings in confusion. Raven twisted around and ran after them but the birds got wind under their wings surprisingly fast and flew out of reach.
Raven stared after them in disappointment for a moment before turning around and walking back towards her nest. When she came back Amber was already curled into a tight ball and sleeping peacefully. Careful not to disturb him she circled around his nest and lay down in her own. For once sleep came easily and dreamlessly, giving her a well-deserved rest the whole night. All around them tree leaves rustled gently and stars twinkled merrily. Somewhere an owl hooted, its mate replying with another throaty sound.
Soon Raven was fast asleep.
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With a small sigh she rolled onto her back and looked up at the stars. It was in the middle of the night and Raven had woken, but she had been unable to fall asleep again. So she lay there in her nest, reminiscing. She remembered another night she hadn't been able to sleep, so she and her mother snuck out into the forest to Mistyflight's favorite clearing. It was right by a steep hill down so they could sit at the edge and look up at the stars freely. Raven had been just a young kit, but old enough to start to worry about her future. So she had asked,
"What if I'm not worthy enough to be a warrior?"
Mistyflight had looked down at her kit with soft eyes, and stroked her tail down Raven's back. Turning her head to the stars she said something Raven would never forget.
