Raven sniffed the crisp evening air, looking around. It had been near a moon since he had left the boundaries of his two-leg place. For the last couple days, his only companion had been an exile of the name Blazeheart. Raven wrinkled his nose, then looked at the feline next to him. "We have been traveling for many nights now, do you have any thought where this 'Red' might be?"
Blazeheart paused, pondering Raven's question for a few odd moments. "I'm not entirely sure myself... the most we can do is continue to look around, I suppose..." she meowed, shaking her head.
Raven gave an impatient sigh. Setting one tired paw forward, he continued his venture to find the mysterious feline they had been searching for. With a flicker of his tail, he summoned Blazeheart to follow behind him.
* * *
Raven twitched his nose as he picked up a familiar scent. "That smell! It's of that plant-matter! She's here alright. We should keep low, for not even I myself know how she'll act." After finishing the sentence, Raven crouched down into the brush, with Blazeheart pawsteps behind as she too got down low into the tall grass.
Raven poked his head into a clearing where the scent lead to. Under the shade of a tree laid the mysteries feline he had met moons ago. Raven looked back at Blazeheart with an unwary expression, awaiting for a silent approval to approach the feline. Upon her nod back, Raven nodded in silent response before softly walking into the clearing. He approached the feline cautiously, ears perked up on alert, eyes fixed. He recognized Red by her distinct scent and the crimson markings that tainted a pure-white pelt. Raven soon stood over the slumbering feline. He sniffed her soft white pelt before slowly nudging her on the shoulder with his right paw.
Her ears twitched before her eyes rolled from the back of her head, revealing pale gold irises and shrinking pupils. She stared into the distance for a few long seconds, then her muscles rippled as she rose to her feet, yawning in the tom's face. "You should be glad I was just dream-walking with our ancestors, or I would have shredded you to pieces for waking me up." She smirked, seeming to be in a playful mood, but her expression faltered slightly as she caught a foreign scent coming downwind, through the tall grass. Her claws unsheathed, almost on their own, as she studied the tom's face. "Brought a friend along, did you? Or, is this betrayal I smell."
Blazeheart slowly emerged from her hiding spot in the grass, slightly embarrassed as she slinked forward to meet the accusing feline by the name of Red. "I am a friend of Raven. I mean you no harm," she replied quietly.
She studied the she-cat for a long moment before retracting her grey claws, letting out a small breath of relief. "What's your name, friend of Raven?"
Blazeheart chuckled slightly, no humor in her tone. Instead of sounding sarcastic or rude, her voice carried a hint of sadness. Her expression was empty as she replied. "I am Blazeheart, the Exiled."
As Blazeheart finished her introduction, Raven took a few pawsteps back to give the feline in front of him some room. "A betrayal, obviously". Raven smirked in a teasing gesture, his sheathed claws and posture showing no sign or readiness for an attack. Raven's smile would fade, as his face would return to an expression of seriousness. "Red... I've left everything I had; something I cannot explain has been driving me on edge. Dreams... dreams I do not understand, but you might." The black cat looked at Red for a brief second as if waiting for a reply before continuing. "I need your guidance."
Red's face mirrored Raven's, her tone becoming more serious by the end of his request, turning her attention completely from Blazeheart to him. As silence followed his words, she appeared to be unraveling a mystery behind glassy optics, glancing between the pair occasionally, before finally parting her lips to speak. "I have that guidance for you. Listen carefully." She then closed her eyes, ears listening to inaudible sound.
"A constellation of three stars have been formed from shadow. Each brightens the other, until into a nova, they explode. When the light clears, one has nine layers, each uniquely colored. Together they are a force heavenly structured, woven by a world now broken."
Once she had finished speaking she opened her eyes, staring into the ground nervously.
Raven listened to Red as she discussed her dream, deciding to rest his sore hind legs as he lent his ear to the mysterious feline who had his attention. As Red finished, Raven gave a stern nod, confused yet intrigued. "My own dreams, they have been of a... mist. A strange, ancient land I have never laid eyes upon. There were lush trees and crystal clear waters." Raven paused again before continuing, collecting his thoughts. "There were other felines. Many. They got along, there was no hunger, no fighting. I was confused about your dream until you mentioned the sky. In my dream, the sky, I knew not of what it was called, but it was beautiful. A storm of colors. Rich blacks, reds. There were stars, so no cloud could do this."
Red's eyes widened as he spoke, recalling the same images from previous dreams, ones that she had while still living in the two-leg place. Swiftly shaking off her stupor, she calmly stated, "This place you speak of... I have been there too, many times." A mysterious sadness, unknown to both of the felines before her, would show unwittingly in her eyes as she continued. "I recognized some of the cats that lived there, when I first visited. They spoke with me... told me many things, some of which I can tell you. This place you've seen is called StarClan. In it reside the spirits of the noble cats who have died." She paused, scratching the dirt with a single claw, creating a spiked star in the ground. "From what I know... from the dream I had today... you are being called to the life of a clan leader, Raven. There is no way to escape from this fate, but I can guide you through it."
Raven looked at Red with an expression of mild concern and confusion. "Fit to lead a Clan? I know nothing about those... felines. I've known felines who told stories of how vicious they were... savages. I wouldn't know where to start, a Clan would be too large of a burden for me." Raven's multicolored eyes drifted to the grass as the wind pushed it gently, thinking.
Blazeheart perked her ears up, excited, her despair now gone. "You'd be a wonderful Clan Leader! You already lead well, and with practice...you have potential."
Raven gave a look back at Blazeheart. "You're the only one who has been in a clan here, what do you see in me that could lead an army of cats?"
The exile studied Raven for a moment. "Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen yourself? You're brave, intelligent, and strong. Caring as well. So by my standards, everything important in a Clan Leader." Raven could only stare silently at his companion, not having any words to challenge Blazeheart's claim. Blazeheart smirked. "Plus, you aren't bullheaded. You do not appear to be one to rush into battle like a fool. You are a careful one, I believe."
Red cleared her throat, staring into Raven's pelt with a certain detached look. "The cats in StarClan would not lie to me, you are fit to lead a Clan whether you think you are or not." Sighing, she turned her head away from both of them and slinked off between a cluster of trees. Without turning to look behind her she would say, "Return when you've come to terms with your destiny, Raven."
Raven thought briefly of Blazeheart's words before having a change of heart. "Wait!" the black cat yelled, getting back up on all fours. "If you truly believe this is my fate and that I cannot escape it, then I will see what this... StarClan has in store for me." Raven looked at the crimson-streaked feline with ready eyes, his muscles tense. He then looked confidently at the cat before himself. "I will see to what you believe in me, but I need you as my guide, Red. And your assistance, Blazeheart." Raven turned to look back at Blazeheart with a stern look, awaiting a sign of confirmation.
Blazeheart's eyes widened with surprise. "Of course I'll do what I can to assist you, Raven! Whatever you need, I'll be your right-paw feline. You can count on me," a smile spreading across her face after not being happy for quite some time. Raven's stone expression turned into a confident smile at Blazeheart's sign of allegiance.
Red paused just before leaping into the sea of tall grasses, swaying in the wind. She turned around, tail curling smugly as her eyes began to glint with excitement. "Took you long enough. Thought I'd have to wait for moons." She smiled slightly while looking at Blazeheart, giving her a rare show of silent gratitude, before turning back to the tom. "Looks like you've got your two trusted companions to help you on your journey, leader." She smirked widely, showing off sharp canines, then began gasping. "Oh! One last thing." She could barely hold back a playful meow as she sighed, jokingly.
"Try not to disappoint."
