TO THE WATERS AND THE WILD \ ravenpaw

[FERNGILL]

Fernpaw was prone to being scatterbrained when it came to matters of his training, but in terms of his friends he did not as easily forget. The announcement that Ravenpaw was to be the new medicine cat apprentice had been... one fraught with a multitude of reactions. And though he had encouraged his friend in the moment, he felt almost as if it wasn't enough. Ravenpaw had never liked the water, something many had made fun of him for in the past, but for Fernpaw that just told him that the charcoal tom was meant for a path different than a warrior's.

Many of his trips to the river borne from a hurried need to improve his skills resulted in Fernpaw bringing home a shell or a pebble or two, and today was no different- but it was a good stone he'd found, this one! It was pitch black, like a little patch of void; perfectly smooth, perfectly matte. He would not waste a moment in bringing it to the cat who he had been reminded of so strongly.

"Ravenpaw...?" he called softly, poking his head into the den and concealing the gift beneath his paw. "I, uh- can I talk to you a sec?"​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[RAVENSONG]

With his head resting on the edge of his nest, Ravenpaw stared blankly at the wall opposite of him in their makeshift medicine cat den. Ever since his argument with Dovepaw after his announcement, Ravenpaw had replayed every single moment that lead him to this moment—being bedridden for most of the day while he rested from a migraine attack earlier that day.

The situation of his ascent to medicine cat apprentice made Ravenpaw think hard about what he could have made better but never had it made him think that this was not his path. He simply did not have a star-blessed path like the others had been given. His path was one that had never been tread before, so he had to make do and mark his own path—if StarClan decided to help or not if they did actually exist.

Ravenpaw jolted alert at the sound of Fernpaw's voice. His head twisted over to the entrance, where he recognized the soft orange fur of Fernpaw, his friend. The gloom that wrapped around his brain suddenly became a little lighter. The dark cat smile weakly and raised up to his elbows. "Hello, Fernpaw. Sure, Beesong is not here, however. What is wrong?"

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[FERNGILL]

"I didn't come to see Beesong," he said, but his voice was warm. There was a clear, audible grin in his voice, heard in the lilt of it- despite his hesitation a moment before, he was glad to see Ravenpaw. The night-pelted tom sometimes hid away, bed-ridden, and though Fernpaw didn't know exactly what drove him to do so, he was glad that he could act as some sort of support.

As he padded toward the other, one of his paws dragged on the dirt from the effort of concealing the stone beneath it. At last he revealed it when he was close enough, pushing the pebble toward the other tom. It really was remarkable in its smoothness, as if eroded by thousands of tears of perfectly evenly placed water. And its colour- well, the significance of its solid charcoal hue would not be difficult to surmise.

"I came to bring you this. It reminded me of you, and- well, I thought it could be a sort of... good-luck charm thing." Despite his age phrasing, the enthusiasm for his gift was infectiously earnest. "You're gonna be an awesome medicine cat, Ravenpaw." He grinned as bright as a summer noon, never surer of his own words.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[RAVENSONG]

Ravenpaw's ears pricked. Although he considered Fernpaw a friend, he had been accustomed to assuming that every cat that came through the medicine den had something they needed done. Because Ravenpaw was inexperienced, they would usually only ask for his mentor. Ravenpaw was half-confident in his abilities. There was no room for him to get petty that he was not included when cats called for the medicine cat.

"So me?" He smiled faintly, sitting up. It was not often he was being sought out personally—the black cat did not have many friends. Soon he realized what exactly Fernpaw had come in for, his eyes turning down toward the strange way the apprentice dragged his paws. The stone was revealed soon after, its smooth onyx surface glittering in the minimal light that they were granted. Ravenpaw held in his breath and crept closer, using his paw to curl around the pebble and bring it closer to him as Fernpaw spoke.

"Oh, it is beautiful." Ravenpaw murmured, eyes shining. It looked like a miniature version of himself. "I never collected things much, but—this is very pretty. Thank you." He raised his head up to meet his friend's eyes, whiskers twitching. The shining confidence that Fernpaw espoused stirred even a deeper gloom within the young cat's heart.

"I hope so." He rasped. At least there was one more cat who had faith in it.

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