Ravenpaw's farewell

"Faster, Ravenpaw! Follow!" Graypaw glanced over his shoulder, then jumped into the bracken.

Crow Claw stuck his paws into the soil and continued to speed up.He saw Graypaw's dappled fur disappear into the bracken, following Firepaw's.Ravenpaw rushed into the bracken following his Clanmates.They were running so fast that the colors of the forest seemed to him to be green and brown and pale gold mixed together.They sprinted across the meadow, the path narrowing and narrowing, but the thickest blackberry bushes did not slow them down in the slightest.The smooth gray figure looms in a heartbeat.I didn't know we were heading for Snake Rock, Ravenpaw thought in surprise.Then they flew across Reggae Road, and the monster roared towards them, but the apprentices ran very fast; they quickly left the growling yellow-eyed monster behind.

Now they were by the river, which was brown and foaming away.The paths along the river were as narrow as the thinnest reeds and covered with a layer of green moss, but the cats did not hesitate, and were not afraid to whip their green stalks.

I wish I could keep running like this!Ravenpaw thought.His legs are no longer weak, his feet are as light as fallen leaves, and his breathing is as comfortable as lying in a nest.

Directly in front of him, Firepaw had reached the Sunstone, a huge boulder standing beside the creek.Firepaw scrambled up the rock without any hesitation.Graypaw and Ravenpaw climbed up the rock, and the three cats stood side by side on the rock, looking out into the forest.

"There's no better place than ThunderClan!" Firepaw announced loudly.

"ThunderClan!" Graypaw echoed.

Ravenpaw opened his mouth to join in, but the rain splashed his muzzle, making him jump.The sky was clear and blue, and the sun was burning his black fur, but this unknown rain just appeared, and it was getting bigger and bigger.

"You're wet!" Ravenpaw complained in his ear.A paw poked at his side, and he rolled over to see Barry standing in front of him.

Following the crack in the barn, he could see the pale sky behind his friend's head.Another drop of rain fell on his neck, and Ravenpaw jumped to his feet with a grunt.

"I think you checked the roof last night before making the nest," he muttered.His dreams still haunted him, and he was convinced that the smell of old friends was still there.

"Don't be so stingy," Barry teased. "You want me to climb up on the roof every night before you go to bed to make sure you don't get wet? Do some work here, come here."

He patted the dry grass under him.Ravenpaw lay there for a while, feeling a sharp pain in his stomach.

Barry pricked up his ears. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Ravenpaw said, "It's probably caused by the mice you caught before sunrise. I told you it looks a bit rotten."

Barry squinted at the gap in the roof. "I don't think it will rain for a long time." He meowed.

"Do you want to go to the forest with me today? It won't be easy when the weather changes. We haven't been there for months."

Ravenpaw sniffed the air.He could smell the bald leaf season coming, cold and fresh as stone. "Yeah, I want to go too." He meowed.He stretched his front legs, arched his back, and bent his tail until it touched his ear.The pain in his stomach had subsided gradually, and Ravenpaw hoped that a walk in the forest would get rid of it completely.

They jumped off the heap - where Barry hid the remains of some pigeons yesterday.Ravenpaw wasn't very hungry--he felt strangely full--he had only picked one wing, and he felt Barry's eyes seem to see through his fur.After Barry cleaned his beard, they walked through the hole in the wall and onto the long lawn outside the barn.The rain had stopped, and the white clouds gradually became thinner, revealing patches of blue.

Barry stopped beside a rock.The faint barking of dogs came from the part of the yard where the Twolegs had their den—the dogs were far away, so the cats scrambled across the stone path and onto the fence.Barry walked ahead, his huge soles marking the wet soil.Ravenpaw tried to get his foot into the same spot, but Barry's legs were much longer than his.He had to trot all the way to catch up.

A small herd of cows looks up as the cats walk across the pasture.At first, Ravenpaw was intimidated by these huge black-and-white creatures, but now he even took a liking to them.He knew them so well, almost like his Clan cats.

For a moment, he was back in his dream, standing on top of the Sunstone, looking down on the forest where he was born.Really wonder where Mars and Graystripe are.A long, long time had passed since they had been apprentices together.When Ravenpaw first left ThunderClan, they sometimes visited him, but Firestar led the four Clans out of the forest when the great ThunderClan was built.Graystripe had disappeared before then, stolen by Twolegs.After the Clans left, Ravenpaw saw Graystripe again. He escaped from the Twolegs and embarked on a journey to find ThunderClan. He showed Graystripe where they left.Ravenpaw hopes Graystripe will find them.

Ravenpaw shivered.No matter where you are, I hope you are safe, have enough food and drink, and there are no strong winds and waves.May StarClan light your way forever.

"Keep up!" Barry turned and returned to his side: "Go and see if the tunnel is flooded."

Reggae Road is much wider than when he was an apprentice.The hills in the distance were chiseled away, leaving a huge hole in the earth.Even at dusk, Reggae Road is still full of glowing fish like a small river, and the roar of the monsters is getting farther and farther away.The cats couldn't get through, the road was too wide, so Barry and Ravenpaw used a tunnel to escape.The tunnel was dark and dank, and only a badger could pass crouching; fortunately, Ravenpaw had never run into them in such a narrow place.

Sometimes the tunnel does flood with water after rain, but today there is only some water at the bottom.Barry took a deep breath and jumped in.Ravenpaw gritted his teeth and followed. He hated this path surrounded by dirt very much.The sound of monsters passing by was mixed in the air. Apart from heading towards the cold, fresh air, I really didn't have the heart to think about anything else.

Ravenpaw eventually rushed out, almost hitting Barry.They're standing on the edge of the Blackberry barrier.There was nowhere to cross; so they crawled along the edge and up the steep path beside Reggae Road.The land had been turned upside down to build new stone roads, the vast plains were barren, and the roar of monsters echoed across the gray bare ground.

Ravenpaw walked up the slope with his ears down.By the time he reached the top of the cliff, the noise died down a bit.Here is a lawn blown by the wind towards the forest.The wind here is very strong, slightly tugging at Ravenpaw's jet-black hair.Familiar smells filled his mouth, and memories rushed to his mind: the canyon, the forest meeting, the smell of the witch doctor's lair, the training with Tigerclaw... Ravenpaw shook his body.It was not without reason that he left the forest.

He walked softly along the edge of the shallows, surrounded by gorse and small pebbles.Ravenpaw had already sensed that this was the former WindClan camp, but the impression in his mind was vague, and there were no cats here anymore.Barry behind him complained about the strong wind that nearly knocked him over.

"Let's go and hide in the forest," he called.He ran across the grass, his black and white fur standing out against the green.Ravenpaw glanced down the cliff again before leaving.Did WindClan survive the migration?What about other ethnic groups?

The fern under the shelter of the forest feels very peaceful.Ravenpaw stopped to catch his breath, and listened to the rustling of the prey hidden in the woods.The branches directly above criss-crossed, covering the sky.The cats pushed past the fragile leaves and walked on until new sounds rushed into their ears: the rumblings of the monsters seemed a little slower, and the shouts of the Twolegs were no exception.

Ravenpaw stood on the edge of the forest and looked down.It seems that the last time I stood here gazing at the four trees bathed in the moonlight was already in my previous life.The valley has disappeared, replaced by many low silver lairs and stone roads filled by monsters.The air was filled with the smell of smoke, warm like prey but could not stimulate the appetite at all, and Ravenpaw felt a little nauseous.

Barry started walking along the bracken on the slope.Ravenpaw knew he was walking down an ancient path that had once run across the top of the valley to ThunderClan territory.When the ethnic group was still here, Barry didn't have the confidence to cross the border here.But now that the Twolegs have taken control of this place, there is no border, so to speak of a patrol team, there is nothing to be afraid of for a lone traveler.

Leaving their silver lair behind, they headed for the forest.The trails that ThunderClan used to use are now overgrown and not level.A large clump of blackberries covered with gray-white pebbles brought him back to his dream: although the snake was long gone, this must be Snake Rock.Some pines appeared among the oaks and beeches, and the almost invisible winding path under his feet was familiar to Ravenpaw.

"Be careful!" Barry yelled, jumping in front of Ravenpaw and shouldering him, Ravenpaw blinked and looked down.Before him a mouse's distance the ground had caved in, filled with brambles and young young trees.

"This is the valley," Ravenpaw whispered, "where I was born!"