“Ravenpaw!” called a voice that seemed all too familiar. He opened his tired eyes, and for a brief moment he found himself back at the ThunderClan camp, Bluestar prodding her black nose into him. He blinked to clear away the memory. When he opened his eyes again, he just saw Barely, nudging Ravenpaw’s side with his pink nose

“For a second I thought you were Bluestar!”

“She’s dead, remember?”

“Yeah, I know.” The bitter memory was undisguised in his voice. He yawned and stretched, his sleek fur gleaming in the sunlight. As two pairs of yellow eyes met, both had the same thought: food.

Barely spoke first. “So, I’ll go catch some rats in the barn, and you can go hunting in the forest. Watch for dogs and rouges, too.” Though his attitude was leader-like, Ravenpaw could tell by the humor in his eyes that he was only acting, that the Barely he knew had not been replaced by some other cat. He eagerly accepted his offer, and ran off to fulfill his request.

As he entered the forest, he sensed an animal moving in the brush. Slowly he crept up to it. As he approached it, he could clearly see the shape of a finch. Cautiously, he came closer and closer… and suddenly, with all of his might, he pounced on it and ended its life with a single, swift bite. As he began to carry the bird back to his friend, the shrill wail of a cat in pain caught his attention. Knowing what he should do, he grabbed the finch and ran over to where the cat seemed to come from.

“Please help m’. I ain’t never hurt anythin’ dat wadnt pray.” said a still orange shape as Ravenpaw approached the area where the sound was coming from. “Dumb rats…” He approached the shape again. As he drew closer, he could see the cat was covered in rat bites and dripping with blood. He dropped the finch in front of the cat, and dragged it onto its feet. Looking at the cat he now determined was female, he saw that she was black on one side. A pair of brown eyes showed former pride as she began to ungratefully tear into on the finch. When there was just a pile of bones and feathers remaining, she began to walk away.

“You look like you need a place to rest.” Ravenpaw offered, hoping that she would accept. As she looked over her shoulder, the once upset expression in her eyes softened into gratitude. “’Guess I could. Name’s Coffee. Thanks ‘fer the food.” She looked expectantly at Ravenpaw, who led her to the barn.

Barely was sleeping once again in a bail of hay, and Ravenpaw prodded him awake. “Hey, sleepy head, wake up. We have a guest.”

Black ears perked up, and a nose sniffed the air. “Coffee!” He ran and touched noses with her, as if she were a friend. “Oh, Coffee, how have you been? I haven’t seen you since your Twolegs moved to… Oh, who cares where it was!”

Coffee seemed excited to see him as he was to see her.

“Um, sorry to spoil the mood, but where do you know each other from?” Ravenpaw inquired.

“We knew each other back when I was in BloodClan,” meowed Barley, “and I haven’t seen her since I left.”

“We us’d ta be good friends,” Coffee added, purring.

“I never thought I’d see..” Barley stopped short as he noticed the loner’s condition. “What happened to you!”

“I was hun’in’ in the forest when a buncha rats came outta nowhere ‘n started attackin’! I don’t know what they were doin’, but I barely survived.”

“Don’t worry. You’re in good hands now,” Barley meowed consolingly. “Ravenpaw, go fetch me some burdock root. We’re gonna fix her up good as new.” Ravenpaw nodded hurriedly and sprinted off to where they kept their limited stock of healing herbs. He returned a huge, long root dangling out of his mouth. “Here, this is all we’ve got.”

“That should be plenty,” Barley replied. “Now, Coffee, tell us what you’ve been up to since I last saw you.” He began chewing some root.

“Nothin’ much really. I’ve been jus’ wanderin’ ‘round, w’dout much thought ‘bout where I was goin’. But one thin’ – one thin’ I saw amazed me. There was this place, with water as far as th’ eye could see. Not the kinda water you can drink, though, way teh’ salty. An’ at night, the sun fell into the water. I couldn’ believe it, but it did... yowch!” Coffee hissed. “S’rry, dat one hurt!”

“Sorry,” replied Barely, “but you’re all done now! You should be feeling good as new in a day or two.”

“Thanks’ a million, Barley. Thanks a lot. You too.. what’s yur name?”

“Ravenpaw.”

“Okiedokie th’n. Thanks a bunch, Ravenpaw. Now, I must be on m’ way.”

“What? You just got here!” Barley mewed, stunned. “Aren’t you going to stick around for at least a couple days?”

“Sorry, Barely,” Coffee meowed, rubbing her head against Barley’s pelt. “My place ’s as a loner now. I hope ya ‘nderstand.” And with that, she walked right out of the barn. She turned to blink at the two one more time, and then disappeared into the trees.