A/N: Hello guys! This a random one-shot that has been bothering me... I don't do a lot of one-shots, and I hate to take even a small break from the story I am mainly working on now, Russetfur Rising, but if I don't write this I will go insane... Umm, I don't own warriors, and this idea probably could never have happened in the canon, so I don't see how you would make that mistake. Regardless, though, I hope you enjoy this story, and it takes place soon after Jayfeather finds out what Dovewing (paw at this time) 's power is. Also, after you read this... Do you think I should make a fic about the.. er... She-cat that this will be about? After I'm done with my now projects, of course...
Jayfeather curled up in his den, tail over his nose. He closed his blue, sightless eyes tiredly. He relaxed his muscles with a small sigh. He was on the brink of sleep when a loud chorus of laughter made his eyes snap open immediately. His extra-sensitive ears flattened against his head irritatedly. He could tell that the laughing came from the apprentices' den with his sharp ears, and cursed quietly. His claws unsheathed and dug into the ground darkly. Trying to restrain his anger at being woken on the cusp of sleep, the medicine cat got to his paws and left the camp sullenly.
His ears flicked when Berrynose, guarding the entrance, asked him, "Where're you off to?" but the gray tom didn't bother to answer the young warrior. Jayfeather kept walking, at a right angle to the lake, toward the ShadowClan boundary, where he knew no lovestruck couples would wake him.
The tom closed his eyes and took in the silence, letting sleep swirl around him and take him in. The peace of unconsciousness, however, lasted only a short time before a slender paw jabbed him in the side. "Hey. Open your eyes." said a silky voice. Jayfeather's eyes opened reluctantly, and he took in a beautiful black-furred she-cat with bright fiery amber eyes and several long scars. She had thin legs and paws, but was more stocky than slender otherwise.
"Who are you?" he asked, unable to keep a bit of irritation out of his voice.
The she-cat paused before replying, "I was once known by the name of Nightsong."
"And why did you wake me?" the medicine cat asked, his eyes, able to see again in the dream, dark.
Nightsong huffed. "Wake you? You're in a dream, Jayfeather. And I chose to talk to you because you happen to be sleeping a mouse-length from where I died."
"That's wonderful. Can I sleep now?" he asked grumpily.
Taking a slow breath, the she-cat responded, "Also, I want to show you something." Nightsong let a slow smile spread across her face, then in a blur, in her place was a large raven. Instead of glassy black eyes, however, the bird held the same fiery gaze as the she-cat who had been in its place a moment before.
"Woah, what in Star-" he started, but broke off when Nightsong was there again.
The black-furred warrior lifted her chin and said with a coy smile, "Any she-cat you know that can do that?" She chuckled, and continued, "Of course not. Look, Jayfeather, you need to quit thinking that your brother, his apprentice, and yourself, are the only cats with powers that ever lived. There may not be some of us every generation, but honey, don't be so conceited. I don't think you ever even asked if other cats had had powers. Not that they could've told you, of course, but honestly."
"I'm sorry?" Jayfeather apologized questioningly.
Nightsong laughed again. "It's okay, honey. No one really remembers the four of us anymore- we're ancients I suppose, now."
"Us?" the gray tom inquired.
The she-cat dipped her head sadly. "Yes. There were four of us. One from each Clan, which was, I have to say, a bit more balanced than all of you in one Clan... Larkfeather was the WindClan cat. She could speak to any creature...Birds especially. She had the hardest time catching prey because she heard their screams..." The black she-cat shuddered violently. "Then there was Whitemask, from ThunderClan. He was kind of a jerk, but he could make the clouds move across the sky- make it start raining, or stop.
"Flowershade was from ShadowClan, poor guy. Can you believe his name? What his mother was thinking... I guess Blizzardstar tried to masculine it up with the 'shade' bit, but still... He had the ability to become invisible. He could literally melt into the shadows, like all the stories tell about ShadowClan. And then there's me. I can change into any animal I want, but I always keep the same fur, the same eyes." Nightsong finished.
Jayfeather looked up, confusion in his eyes. "Wait, if you're an ancient warrior from the Clans, why did you die here, in the new territory?"
"Yes, I was wondering if you were going to ask that... You see, Jayfeather, our Clans demanded a lot of us when they learned of our powers. They each tried to use us to win battles, gain more territory, sate their thirst for revenge... With our arrival, war followed right after. The four of us met in the night, on the ShadowClan edge of Fourtrees, knowing if we stayed here that the bloodshed would keep coming- that until the day we were killed, the Clans would keep fighting.
"So we faked our deaths. Larkfeather called a raven, got it to come near, and Whitemask slit its throat. That was supposed to be me, since RiverClan, my Clan, knew that was the form I often took. The others, well, they rolled around in the ferns to make sure they'd be scented, and Flowershade cut himself openand splashed blood in a couple of places. Larkfeather and I did, too, but Whitemask said he was "above" it." Nightsong rolled her eyes, which looked a little misty.
Jayfeather didn't know whether to comfort her or not, so he just nodded awkwardly. Taking a slow, deep breath, the she-cat continued her story. "Flowershade and I stayed to see if our Clanmates came to the right conclusion. He went invisible, and I changed into a thrush. We watched, and at dawn, a ShadowClan patrol found the scene. Flowershade's... friend... scented his blood, and started crying, screeching that he was dead, that she would rip RiverClan apart... Because his blood was spilled near the dead raven.
"Blizzardstar calmed her down, said that since I was dead, and since Larkfeather and Whitemask were dead, that he had no quarrel with the other Clans. So we left. The four of us traveled for a long, long time. Eventually we came here. Flowershade and I had kits together, Blacksky and Blossompelt. Shows how self-absorbed we were... But the neverything turned for the worse. Blacksky and Blossompelt were attacked by a badger. Whitemask was there, but he didn't want to endanger his own life. They were only seven moons, and Whitemask let them die."Fury made the queen grit her teeth as a tear rolled down her muzzle.
"I attacked him. I was furious, my kits were dead, and I was a good fighter. He was better. Whitemask killed me, right where you fell asleep tonight. That's how I came to die here, Jayfeather. Doesn't make it any better, does it? Knowing? Having power? Power destroys cats. Remember that. Power. Kills. And not just the ones who possess it. No, anyone who comes near will be destroyed too. Beware!" Nightsong spat, before she started fading away.
Getting to his paws Jayfeather called, "No! Nightsong! What happened? Where are Blacksky and Blossompelt? Where is Whitemask? Don't leave yet!" No answers came, though. The RiverClan she-cat only chuckled darkly, madly. Then she was gone.
His surroundings faded until he was enveloped by darkness once more. Blind. His claws were buried in the earth, unsheathed. "Power destroys..." he murmured. "Power kills."