Ravenwing’s head swung around with a sharp hiss, and glared at the she-cat he was talking to. His tail flicked with the same tension an agitated snake would have, as if to warn Frecklewish to be careful with her next words. The black tom’s blue eyes were cold, almost colder than the Dark Forest’s chilling fog that crept inside the tree hollow, and around their paws on the rotting aground.
The spotted she-cat gave the former medicine cat a steady gaze.
“We should have saved those kits, Ravenwing…” Frecklewish murmured steadily.
The small, black tom curled his lip to show a glint of fangs. “We were not obligated to do such a thing! They were half-Clan creatures!” He growled, eyes narrowing as the fur on his neck bristled. “As I recall, you echoed those words.”
The she-cat did not flinch. A sadness swelled in her eyes, now black as the night sky flickering with twin amber stars. “Ones I never should have said.” Frecklewish shook her head with something resigned in her voice. “They were just kits…small, tiny kits.”
“Ones who were NOT your brother’s!” Ravenwing spat with a lashing tail. “Or have you forgotten that?”
This time Frecklewish sank her claws into the soil. “You do not get to speak to me about my brother!” She snarled, hackles starting to rise from her golden pelt.
“Oh, really?” Ravenwing sneered with his eyes as dark as the depths of the murky waters of the Dark Lake. “I seem to be the only one who does, when his own kin disgraces his name.”
Smack!
Ravenwing’s head suddenly snapped to the side from a vicious blow. Black, gleaming claws raking across his face and nearly slicing open his nose.
“Birchface would never have wanted kits to be killed on his behalf!” Frecklewish shrieked with spiked fur.
The former medicine cat was silent for a moment, raising a paw to soothe his stinging cheek and bleeding nose. He then looked at his paw, and cracked an incredulous laugh when he saw the dark shine of his own blood. “Well, look at you Frecklewish…” He slowly turned his head to look at her with an unkind smile. “Acting like a proper Dark Forest cat now. Perhaps this really is where you belong.”
“Both of us belong here.”
Ravenwing growled, tail whipping behind him and paw slamming down. “I have been misplaced! I do not belong here! I have killed no kit!” His whiskers gave a scornful quiver with every word.
“You may as well have!” Frecklewish spat back, mirroring Ravenwing’s spiteful posturing with bared teeth. “You knew! You knew what would happen when you told my father—told the Clan! You knew they would die in that storm!” The she-cat was in his face now, making the small black tom lean back, but held his ground. Frecklewish’s sides were heaving with seething rage, voice cracking. “You knew they couldn’t be saved.” Anger flashing through her eyes, but then dulled as if grief had suddenly weighed her down, and lowered her head. She stared at her black claws hooked deep in the cool soil.
“I thought...I really thought those RiverClan cats would handle everything.” The she-cat’s words grew heavy, and thickened with guilt she carried with her for seasons upon seasons, ever since her death. “I know I was…” A huffed sigh escaped, her ears following suit and drooping. “I was still too angry, and didn't want to be responsible. I couldn't forgive…” The words trailed off, dissolving into a faint breath. She heard a scoff above her and Frecklewish could feel Ravenwing sneering at her.
“But YOU!” Her head snapped back up, fury sparking back to life. “You pulled your paw away!”
The former medicine cat stiffened with bristling fur. “I did not—”
“Yes you did!” Frecklewish flashed her teeth at Ravenwing. “I remember that day as much as you Ravenwing. I didn't care enough at the time, but now? Now, I know what you were thinking!”
Her hiss came hot and sharp. The she-cat stepped forward and Ravenwing slid back a couple paces. Her yowl wavered, like it was still battling against the harsh winds of the very storm that claimed the kits.
“I loved those kits, Ravenwing!” An involuntary sob rattled inside her throat and she couldn’t swallow it down. “And you did too!”
Ravenwing narrowed his eyes, glowering at her with flattened ears.
Frecklewish continued, and the ghost of a hushed name spilled out.
“Petalkit…” She murmured, eyes downcast. “Every time you visited the nursery, she always greeted you. So curious about what you did, and you…” A growl began to bubble. “You used to look at her with such soft eyes! You loved those kits!”
“Only because I was deceived!” Ravenwing snapped back, “It was before I knew what shameful creatures they truly were.”
Frecklewish was about to speak, but he thrust his muzzle in front of Frecklewish, despite being smaller. “And you used to be loyal to the code!” The former medicine cat’s eyes were bitter and burning. “Was it not you, who was the first to demand their removal? I remember that day too Frecklewish! You were not ignorant of the weather.”
The she-cat flinched. Ravenwing had not even lifted his paw, yet Frecklewish felt a burn of claws scraping over her heart.
Both Dark Forest cats stared at each other in a heavy silence.
“I was blind.” Frecklewish croaked, tearing her gaze away from Ravenwing. Her eyes were seeping with overwhelming shame.”I was still hurting from losing Birchface…” Her eyes squeezed shut like she was enduring something harrowing. “Mapleshade deceived me, made me believe-” She could not finish. Her shiny, obsidian claws retracted in self defeat. “But the kits did not lie, and I failed them.”
“Failed?” Ravenwing echoed with a repulsed sniff. “They were not even your kin, and they gave you nothing but false hope and joy-”
“No!’ Frecklewish’s eye swung back to him. “The joy I felt was real! They may not have been kin, but every moment I spent with those kits…they made me remember what happiness felt like.” She shook her head. “Larchkit, Patchkit and Petalkit. They were the most precious creatures in the forest, and I did not realize what I was throwing away.”
The former medicine cat just watched her in silence, tail flicking back and forth with detached indifference.
“Why didn’t you wait!?” Frecklewish demanded. “All of us were still grieving Birchface! Our hearts were still bleeding, and you! You scraped at our open wounds!”
“The truth had to come out!” Ravenwing snarled, eyes blazing with vexation. “I did what had to be done Frecklewish, it was StarClan’s will!”
“Was it really?” The she-cat’s eyes sparked with challenge.
“Are you doubting me?” Ravenwing hissed back, daring her with a hard glare. “Doubting StarClan?”
“Yes, I think it was you who made a mistake.”
“I have not!” Rage surged within the smaller cat’s body, words rattled out hotly. “A medicine cat is never wrong! Don't you see?” Ravenwing stepped closer, nose to nose, their breaths colliding. “A medicine cannot be wrong, do you understand?” His voice shrank, eyes no longer hostile. There was something almost pleading in his dark gaze, and Frecklewish’s own face softened.
“Oatspeckle was never wrong,” Ravenwing continued with imploring eyes. “You don’t know what it was like to live in her shadow!” His composure was slipping, words losing their bite as they trembled. “I-I felt like a stumbling kit trying to chase after it. It was always moving too fast, I could barely keep up!”
For a moment, Ravenwing looked younger, his tail curling around him like he was shielding himself from cold rain. Frecklewish was tempted to comfort him. It was like he was an apprentice again, the Ravenwing she once knew.
So long ago that it felt ancient, sacred even. Old memories she wished were more than memories. Back when Mapleshade’s company was one she sought after often, and she longed for the days they shared laying in the sun and eating freshkill together.
If only things had gone differently…
“I wasn’t ready!” Ravenwing blurted out, head swinging side to side. “I wasn’t ready for Oatspeckle to leave us—leave me so soon!” The former medicine cat gave Frecklewish a wild stare, tail twitching like he was spiraling from the inside. “I could not lie to our Clanmates! I acted when no one else could, I did my duty Frecklewish! I could not allow Mapleshade to fool us like she fooled me. “He scraped at the ground with bared teeth at the she-cat’s hardening expression. “I have done nothing wrong!”
“Then why are you here with me?”
Ravenwing stiffened into silence. His chest heaved, swelling with quiet rage. Suddenly, the den felt too small. The thickening scent of mold was tightening around the two cats like jaws trying to suffocate its prey. Had they still been alive, the crushing tension would have been unbearable.
“I told you!” Ravenwing hissed through a clenched jaw. “I have been misplaced! There has been a terrible mistake, done at a terrible time!” His hackles spread out like sharp, jagged rocks, tail alive with animosity. “All StarClan needs to do is find me!” He insisted, eyes glowing with something desperate. They darted around his den, desperately peering up through tangled roots in search of hidden stars. His yowls began to sound more like pleas, as if he could convince The Place of No Stars to somehow defy itself for him.
The Dark Forest, however, refused to be bargained with.
“They just need to see me!” The former medicine cat cried out, and Frecklewish wondered if he was trying to persuade her or the Dark Forest. “I just haven't gotten their attention yet! They would never do this! Not to a medicine cat!”
Frecklewish merely watched him, eyes shimmering with pity. But there was only so much she was willing to give. When she spoke, there was a haunting calmness to her voice that remained unmoved.
“It sounds like you are the one who doubts StarClan, Ravenwing…”
A paw flew towards Frecklewish’s face.
“How dare you!” Ravenwing screeched, snarling as the she-cat’s head ducked beneath his swiping claws. When his paw flung out again, Frecklewish retaliated with her own. Black claws clashed, but the former medicine cat’s strikes failed to land. The she-cat however, was still a seasoned warrior, and death had not diminished that. Within moments the small, black cat was pinned beneath her, and Frecklewish let her wrath burst free. There was no desire to hold back for her former Clanmate anymore, and let her fury guide her teeth. Ravenwing was spitting furiously, his feet kicking fiercely at her belly when she bit into his shoulder hard. Their bodies tangled, pelts blurring into each other in a flurry of fangs and claws.
“Am I interrupting something?” A voice drifted in with a sickening sweetness.
The chaos came to an abrupt stop. The two battling cats had quickly rolled off each other and scrambled to their paws. With disheveled fur and alert eyes, their attention immediately snapped towards the owner of the voice.
There stood another Dark Forest cat by the mouth of Ravenwing’s den. His grey-and-white pelt hummed with a ghostly glow from the moon’s pale, dying light. Thick, spiked fur engulfed his neck, flaring out like the blossom of a thistle. A scar had been carved through his dense mane, splitting it open to reveal the flesh of his throat. His paws slid forth smoothly, obsidian claws shining with an elegance that felt false. The corner of his mouth gave a playful tug with no warmth.
Frecklewish felt her skin prickle uncomfortably under her golden pelt as he stepped inside.
“Do you need privacy?” The larger tom purred as if being polite.
Ravenwing’s shoulders were hunched and tightly coiled.
“No,” the smaller tom answered rigidly. “There is no need-”
“What do you want, Thistleclaw?” Frecklewish’s growl cut in sharply.
The she-cat earned a dirty look from Ravenwing. Thistleclaw on the other paw, offered a crooked smile. His eyes brightened with something dangerous behind them. “I’m just here to collect something I requested.” He mewed innocently, shoulders rolling with a simple shrug. “Ravenwing is generously sharing what he’s gathered over the moons.” Thistleclaw nodded towards the smaller tom, who dipped his head in turn, shuffled back to fetch whatever he promised to Thistleclaw. “Habits of a dedicated medicine cat I’m sure.” His dark gaze shifted to meet Frecklewish’s distrustful eyes. “And you seem to have kept your warrior spirit I see. Why don’t you show Mapleshade? Perhaps she will look at you more favorably.”
“Don’t talk to me!” Frecklewish hissed, spotted fur bristling. She never liked this cat.
Thistleclaw met her with a little laugh that felt belittling. “I will get out of your fur soon, relax she-cat.” He chuckled, now resting on his haunches with a lazy sweep of his tail. “Mapleshade has grown bored of both of you anyways.” Thistleclaw began licking his paw.
Frecklewish flexed her black claws, fur itching with irritation. She was tempted to claw that infuriating smirk off his face. Yet she knew better than to underestimate Thistleclaw. Instead, she twitched a single ear and nothing more. Her restraint was being put to the test.
“Should I keep it that way?” Thistleclaw turned to Ravenwing, the question sounding more like a threat than anything sincere. The medicine cat’s head shot up with wide eyes. A bundle of glowing fungi wrapped in shriveled leaves hung heavily between his teeth. Thistleclaw continued, not needing an answer. “Good,” he purred. “Keep honoring our little arrangement, and I won’t give Mapleshade any reason to reunite with her old Clanmates.”
“Yes, of course…” Ravenwing replied, ears folding back with unease. He obediently carried over the musty, leaf-wrapped cluster to Thistleclaw, who gave Frecklewish a sideways glance.
“Pity I can’t say the same for you, Frecklewish.” He crooned, his words a dishonest imitation of an apology.
“I don’t need your protection Thistleclaw!” Frecklewish spat, tail snapping behind her in indignation. “I have not sunk that low!”
Thistleclaw looked amused.
Ravenwing on the other paw, was not. He glared at Frecklewish like unsheathed claws. She returned the favor, eyes full of loathing and disgust. She regretted mourning this cat in life!
The medicine cat ignored her, and gingerly placed the glowing bundle by Thistleclaw’s paws. “Use your paw to squeeze the fluid out,” Ravenwing instructed, voice now firm. “But slowly, or it will spray everywhere and go to waste.”
“Shredtail and Silverhawk thank you.” Thistleclaw meowed, bowing courteously as if receiving a gift. He bent down to retrieve his prize and got up to his paws. “I will be on my way to meet them now.” With a satisfied purr he turned to take his leave, tail swaying carelessly in his departure, barely missing Frecklewish's scowling face in its path.
The she-cat growled, jerking her head back as if contact would give her greencough.
That filthy piece of mouse-dung!
Frecklewish was glad to see him leave. Good riddance was the only thought she had.
Just when he was about to slip out, he paused to linger by the entrance. “Oh, and Ravenwing…” He tossed an unhurried glance over his shoulder. Frecklewish suddenly felt her belly knotting with dread when she realized he wasn't just looking at Ravenwing.
Thisteclaw’s voice was disturbingly pleasant. His eyes danced with an undercurrent of menace.
“My new apprentice would love to meet you some day.”
Ravenwing! He is the Thunderclan Medicine cat in Mapleshade's Vengeance, who sees her showing her kits the river and her private exchange with Appledusk and tells their leader. He also has an omen about it but tbh might have been forged who knows. He is a danger doctor in my mind, but not as scary as Hawkheart from Bluestar's Prophecy but in the same category. I don't know that he was evil but it's a vibe. Could that be distorted by Mapleshade's narrative? Absolutely. Do I still love his death scene? You bet, it goes so hard and is metal af.
