Raventail 🐦‍⬛

Raventail, a fierce and unwavering warrior, rose swiftly through CrookedClan’s ranks. From a young age, he fought with unmatched determination, desperate to earn the respect of his Clan and the pride of his father, Liontuft. Every battle was a chance to prove himself. He wore every scar like a badge of honor. He trained harder, fought fiercer, and stood taller than most warriors twice his age. Many believed he was destined to lead the Clan one day: The strongest of his generation, a warrior shaped by determination and loyalty to his clan.

But none of his scars prepared him for the one he himself would carve into his own heart.

One dusk, while patrolling the far edge of CrookedClan’s territory alone, Raventail caught scent of an intruder: a MistClan warrior. His body reacted before his mind could catch up, instincts honed by moons of training. He found the she cat in a clearing, startled, watching him as if she knew him. He demanded she leave. She didn’t run. She tried to speak but no words came out. She didn’t even raise her claws when he lunged. She dodged the first strike, hesitated, then stopped fighting back. Raventail landed blow after blow, confused by how little resistance she gave. She only kept her eyes on him, wide and sad, like she just accepted this was the end. When she finally collapsed, coughing blood and struggling to breath, she looked up at him with a smile that didn’t belong on the muzzle of a dying enemy. “She was right… you really are amazing… I just wish we’d known eachother sooner.” Raventail froze, left completely puzzled by the warrior's words. By the time he returned to camp with her limp body hanging from his jaws, horror creeping into his chest, Liontuft was the first to recognize her. His world collapsed as he watched Raventail return to camp, bloodied and confused. Liontuft fell to his knees and told him the truth. The cat he had killed was Stormflower, his sister. The daughter of Thrushback, the MistClan queen he’d once loved. The sibling Raventail never even knew existed.

She had been sneaking into CrookedClan's borders for moons, too afraid to speak to him, but longing to meet her brother she'd never known. That day, she'd finally built the courage to approach him. And he'd killed her without hesitation.

Now, Raventail walks with a burden no cat can lift. His mother, Thrushback, swears vengeance: promising to kill his father Liontuft the next time their paths cross. Liontuft, drowning in guilt that he never had the strength to tell his son the truth, can no longer meet his eyes. The very cat Raventail once lived to impress now cant stand his presence.
His only solace lies in Spiralfern, Stormflower's sister and the Mistclan medicine cat, his other sibling. Though a part of her still aches with quiet resentment, Spiralfern buries it beneath compassion. She knows her brother wouldn't have done it if he knew the truth. When they visit at the edge of their borders, she is the only cat he can truly speak to. On more than one occasion, he's broken down in her paws, trembling and crying out apologies she doesn't know how to answer.

Despite the clan's admiration for him, Raventail feels alone in CrookedClan. Isolated. Misunderstood. A ghost walking in a body that once held promise. Every night, Stormflower haunts his dreams: not with hate, but with the same gentle smile and her dying words. He puts on a mask of strength and confidence for his Clanmates, but its Spiralfern alone who sees his true self. 

He's still CrookedClan's finest warrior. To them, he is a future leader. To himself, he is nothing but a murderer who ended the life of his own kin.

"She smiled at me... I killed her, and she smiled."

Spotify playlists with songs I associate him with!! :D
Raventail
Raventail, Stormflower & Spiralfern