Embers [OPEN]

Ruby wandered through the woods, lost. Though she didn’t wear a collar, it was clear from first sight that she was a kittypet - or, at the very least, not from the forest. She trod on every twig in her path, and struggled to keep her fur clear of leaves and other such things - to no avail. After her mother’s death, she had decided to search for the forest cats her mother had so often told her about, but she had gotten lost so quickly. The forest was so big, far bigger than the Twolegplace - and she'd never even seen all of that place. Everywhere she stepped there was something - a leaf, a twig. Part of her wanted to abandon her search entirely, but... She couldn't do that, could she? No, she didn't even have anywhere to go. She didn't know the way home, or anything about this forest. And so she kept wandering, at least for the moment.

Ravenpaw was hunting, and having no luck so he had decided to head home only to hear paw steps and twig snapping. Whoever this cat was they obviously weren't used to the forest or they were a new apprentice. The large fluffy gray and black cat padded over with a scowl on his face. "Hey stop being so loud your scaring all the prey for miles around!" He snapped and then blinked and wrinkled his nose. "Eugh! Who are you and where do you come from?" He meowed looking down at the she cat he towered over.

She froze when she was addressed by another cat. So she wasn't completely alone here - a small comfort, given how large and rather intimidating the other cat was. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice genuine. "I've never been here before." She paused, taking in the appearance of this cat, so much larger than she was. Were all of these forest cats so large? She wouldn't stand a chance in a fight, but that wasn't what she was there for. "My name is Ruby, and I came from the Twolegplace. I was... I am... Searching."

Ravenpaw turned his head and gave her a sideways glance. "Searching? Searching for what? Your twolegs?" He meowed his yellow eyes studying the she cat. She was rather small, but to the large tom everybody but the full grown warriors and his siblings were small, and his mother was giant compared to him, his ears just barely came halfway up to her shoulder.

She shook her head. "Searching for the forest cats M-mama told me about." She almost choked on her mother's name, remembering how her eyes had fixed on the sky. What had she seen up there, to take her from her daughter? "I... Take it I've found them?" she asked quietly, and forced her thoughts away from her mother, onto different things. Like the size of this cat. Were all the other forest cats so big? She supposed it wasn't impossible. She wondered, also, how much older than her this cat was. A lot, judging by his size?

"Why were you searching for us forest cats? Also how old are you? Your rather small." He meowed, right to the point. He was the biggest apprentice in Thunderclan, and quite possibly in the entire forest. This she cat, this kittypet, was rather small and didn't look well fed like the others he had seen patrolling around by twoleg place. Maybe she had lived in a bad part of twoleg place or maybe her two legs didn't feed her, or maybe she had been lost for a while and doesn't know how to hunt and fend for herself.

"Before Mama d-died... She would tell me stories about the forest cats that lived by a code of honor. I wanted to be like them... And when she... When she... I decided it was time I finally found them," she said simply. "She told me they were strong, and they protected each other... Like a f-family," she choked on the word, remembering that she didn't have one anymore. She supposed it must be a good sign that this cat hadn't yet attacked her, right? "I... I wanted to find them... So I could be like them. There's nothing left for me in the Twolegplace, so I thought it was time I... I finally kept my promise to her. But... She was supposed to be here, to see it..." Her voice broke, but she registered his second question then. "Six moons," she answered, and waited for his response. To a strong forest cat, her sentimentality must have seemed silly, she supposed.

Ravenpaw's expression softened. "Hey it's ok. You found me and I'm part of Thunderclan. And we do treat each other like family so your mom was right about that. We have our ups and downs and disagreements in the clan but we're also there for each other. Your pretty small for six moons. I'm only eight moons old, but my mothers huge so I get my size from her. Anyways how about I take you back to camp and you can meet our leader Blizzardstar and discuss about joining the clan with her. What do ya say?" He melted looking down at the she cat.

She paused. "You'd... Really take me with you, to talk to your leader... About...? I... Thank you, that would... Yes, please," she managed, the last two words so quiet it was hard to hear. She tried to gather her voice, and finally succeeded. "Thank you," she said, her voice clear. "What's your name?" she asked, wanting to know the identity of the cat who had saved her from wandering the forest.

"Ravenpaw." He meowed and gave her a soft smile. The tom led the way to camp keeping a slow pace for the she cat along the way he stopped and signaled for her to wait her with his tail before he went through some undergrowth and came back later with a mouse in his jaws. The tom set it down in front of the she cat and sat down. "Eat this. You look hungry. Plus nothing tastes better than fresh kill than those hard pellets I hear kittypets get fed. How long have you been wandering this forest for?" He meowed trying to get to know the she cat a little.

"...Thank you, Ravenpaw," she said gratefully, accepting the mouse. She took a bite out of it, and her eyes lit up. "This is... Amazing!" She finished the rest of it fairly quick - it had been a couple days since she'd last eaten anything. "It's been... Two days, I think. I don't exactly know where things are here, so it's taken me this long to find another cat..." She shrank slightly, making her seem even smaller.

Ravenpaw smiled. "Fresh kill is great especially when it's been freshly caught and not caught a day or two before. Let's resume our journey shall we? Well stop and get some water next." He meowed as he led her to a small stream that ran in the territory. "Fresh water is the best to. Crisp and clean and it quenches thirst." He meowed sitting by the stream and waiting for the she cat to drink some water. So you know my name but what's your name?" He meowed when she was finished.

Ruby took a drink of water, finding that it was true - the fresh water here was far better than the water from the dish they set out for her and her mother in Twolegplace. She laughed at his question, wondering if he had been paying attention when she said it earlier. "Ruby," she told him.

Ravenpaw smiled and stood leading the way to camp. "Well Ruby here we are. If you'll follow me to Blizzardstar's den please." He meowed leading the way into camp and to Blizzardstar's den. Poking his head inside he meowed. Blizzardstar? I have brought somebody to talk to you." He meowed into the den hoping to catch the leader's attention.

Ruby attempted to hide herself behind Ravenpaw - not a difficult task, given their size difference. She wondered what the leader of these cats looked like - large and strong, surely, like Ravenpaw?