Irhaboggle Pride (2019) Spectrum

Yellow

The sun shined gold overhead, its yellow rays warming the earth and bringing the world into another lovely summer day. All around the abandoned barn, wildlife stirred. Mice ran to and fro, insects buzzed through the air, the occasional frog hopped on by. But there was one creature, larger than all the others, that wasn't moving at all. Instead, he lay lazily in the barn's entrance, just basking in the sun's heavenly light. It was Ravenpaw, the ex-apprentice of ThunderClan. Although there were times when he missed the clan, days like this reminded him that the life of a loner was much more enjoyable! No duties or responsibilities or obligations, just eternal bliss...

"Having fun?" someone teased the young black cat. Ok, so maybe he didn't live entirely alone. His one other friend was a fellow loner, the cat who essentially owned the barn. His name was Barley. He was balancing on the rafters of the old barn, immediately over Ravenpaw's head.

"Well I was... until you showed up," Ravenpaw meowed playfully. He could hear Barley hissing above him in mock indignation.

"Well, I never!" he harrumphed softly, but loud enough that Ravenpaw could still hear him. Then a second later, he leapt from the rafters, landing gracefully a mere inch away from Ravenpaw.

"You know that trick won't work on me anymore," the smaller tom joked. When he was new to the barn, the first time Barley pulled a stunt like that, it had scared Ravenpaw half to death. But after the eight time, Ravenpaw finally stopped getting as anxious, and now, it had no effect on him at all. He knew how agile and balanced Barley was.

"Awww! You're no fun!" Barley pretended to pout. "I thought I invited a nice cat to live with me in the barn!"

"You did, you're just so cruel that you have no idea what real niceness actually looks like," Ravenpaw teased. Barley bristled at him playfully.

"Come on, you lazy sack of bones!" he commanded. "Get off your tail and let's go!"

"Go?" Now Ravenpaw was genuinely confused. "Where?"

"For a run! Of course!" Barley flicked his tail impatiently as he turned towards the open barn door. "It's such a lovely day!"

"But I was going to stay in and sun!" Ravenpaw flopped back onto his side dramatically. "It's such a lovely day! Why waste it outside? Running around and getting all hot and messy! I would rather just say here and relax and take it all in!"

"And you used to be a warrior cat?" Barley snickered in mock disbelief as Ravenpaw shut his eyes contentedly again.

"You and I both know I was never cut out for that sort of life!" Ravenpaw snorted back, eyes still shut.

"I can see why!" Barley raised a paw to step on Ravenpaw's tail. The smaller cat, eyes still shut, didn't even see it coming.

"Yeeeeeeooooowww!" he shrieked, sent straight up into the air.

"Kit," Barley snickered. He hadn't even stepped on Ravenpaw that hard! Ravenpaw fluffed up in indignation.

"I hope you're happy!" he complained, wide awake now. "You ruined my mid-morning nap!"

"Oh, come on, Ravenpaw! Learn to live a little! Let's get out of this dingy, dark old place and go explore!" Barley pleaded. Even though the barn was like his kingdom, and even though he was a cat who knew how to relax and indulge in the utmost of leisurely activates, Barley still enjoyed getting out and seeing the sun every once in a while.

"Come on," he pleaded again. "Please?" A note of genuine earnestness entered his mew and Ravenpaw couldn't help but concede.

"Alright," he pretended to heave a martyred sigh, but secretly, he was thrilled. Even though he really had hoped to spend the entire day just lying around in the sun's yellow rays, he couldn't deny that a day spent exploring the land with Barley sounded really fun. Though honestly, any day spent with Barley was a golden one. Barley was Ravenpaw's happiest memory, and even though he was a black and white cat, Ravenpaw saw nothing but yellow when he was with Barley. And that yellow only grew even more intense once he and Barley left the darkened barn.

Yellow straw, yellow flowers, yellow corn, yellow fruit, yellow stones, yellow earth, yellow sun. Yellow, yellow, yellow. And Ravenpaw basked in it all. Sure, a cat nap would've been nice, but this stroll around the territory was beautiful. So bright and warm and yellow! The most glorious yellow, though, to him, was the aura that seemed to surround him and Barley both. And it only grew stronger and stronger with every paw step they ran together, sometimes running side by side and sometimes engaging in a small game of chase.

Ravenpaw might not have been a warrior apprentice anymore, but he was still very strong and fast. But Barley wasn't just some random loner either, he was a farm cat. This land was his domain, and he knew all the ins and outs of it, so he was able to give Ravenpaw a pretty good run, weaving in and out of the rows and rows of plants, ducking in and out of sight tauntingly. It was an endless, jovial back and forth. Sometimes, Barley was the "hunter", chasing Ravenpaw down. But other times, he'd duck and dive in the tall grass, making Ravenpaw the hunter.

But Ravenpaw never grew frustrated with how surprisingly skilled an opponent Barley was. Instead, every time he lost, he would only laugh. And every time he won, he'd laugh again. He'd meant it quite literally when he decided that Barley was his happiest memory, and that any day spent with Barley was a golden one.

It was just the two of them, alone together, the barn behind them and the warm yellow fields beneath them, straw and flowers lining the way. Only the bright yellow sun was there to witness their little playdate on that warm summer day, and if it had been capable, it would've smiled at them. The yellow aura seemed to surround the two tomcats until the black and white faded away completely, their pelts literally being stained by the sun, a bright, warm, glowing yellow.

AN: As a fan of the Warriors cats (especially Ravenpaw) this HAD to happen, because he and Barley are an old married couple 1000%!