Ravenstrike sighed inwardly. He padded into the Clan's camp, a hare in his jaws.
"That measly piece of prey is all you got when you were out for that long?" The angered screech of the black tom's mother made his ears flatten.
Ravenstrike just let his head fall and dropped his hare on the pile before passing away to sit in his corner.
"Hey, Ravenstrike!"
The black tom looked up, his yellow eyes meeting soft amber eyes. The eyes belonged to a slim and beautiful ginger-and-white she-cat.
"Crystalflight! H-Hi!" Ravenstrike stammered, taken aback that someone like this she-cat would even talk to a failure like him.
"I noticed Dewfang's reaction, I'm sure it was just an unlucky hunt. She shouldn't expect that much of her kits," The she-cat sat down beside Ravenstrike, curling her fluffy tail around him comfortingly.
Ravenstrike stiffened. He looked down at Crystalflight, who was a little smaller than him. A small purr escaped his throat as her tail wrapped around him.
"But Cloudstreak meets those expectations," he sighed.
"Cloudstreak is a stuck-up fluff-brain," Crystalflight mewed, "just because your parents are highly respected that doesn't mean you should have to meet their standards."
"Thanks, Crystalflight," Ravenstrike purred.
He couldn't help but scoot in a little closer to the kind ginger-and-white cat, warmed by her kindness and her fluffy pelt. Crystalflight pressed her head to his shoulder, amber eyes soft and kind. The black tom blinked his own yellow eyes softly.
'She's such a good warrior. Maybe I could get her to join with the Dust Whips? But Dust said not to tell anyone.'
Ravenstrike dispelled his thoughts, just relaxing in Crystalflight's presence.