Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors! Erin Hunter does! And I think she wants to keep it! lol:D
In Thunderclan, Jayfeather was sitting quietly by the lake, listening to the sounds of the forest and feeling the wind brush his pelt. He sighed and stood up, slipping into a hole.
He spat in fury and landed with a thump. But this was not an ordinary hole, it was a tunnel built leading to a fox den. But, before he could do anything, his mind went blank and he fainted.
When he awoke, he heard something sniffing him and panting, a fox! He stood up and sniffed the air. He detected the fox a few tail- lengths ahead of him. He knew by it's scent that it was female.
His pelt quivered with fear and he felt his eyes grow wide, but he knew there was no escape. The fox mother towered over him, but instead of fury, he felt affection coming off it in waves
A fox feel affectionate towards a cat? He thought. Then he realized this fox thought he was it's cub!
Suddenly, he felt a liquid calm sweep over him. He stood still and suddenly felt sharp teeth meet the loose fur on the back of his neck and let out an startled yowl. He felt air rushing towards him as he smelled the forest scents grow stronger and he knew they had leaped through the entrance and were running through Thunderclan territory.
He wanted to yowl out loud, but he had long passed the border, heading into territory not owned by any other clans. He smelled the musty scents of moorland and knew they were running along an open expanse of hills. But soon, the fox lay him down gently and he stood up, sniffing. It was night time now. H felt a tear trickle down his cheek as he thought about his family, Hollyleaf(up in Starclan), Lionblaze, Dovepaw. He felt the steady breathing of the fox mother as he curled up beside her, feeling her warm belly was all he had.
In his sleep, he opened his and saw he was standing in a beautiful clearing with all kinds of herbs and prey running and flying about. All the happiness made his head spin round.
Then, he saw a black she-cat with bright green eyes pad up to him and sit down in front of him, giving his ear a gentle lick.
"Hollyleaf!" He cried, purring loudly when he knew his sister was watching him. Then, he stopped and forced himself to look more serious and calm about the whole thing. But he knew that was not true. He couldn't get rid of the aching feeling in his heart.
"Don't worry. Destiny will lead you to the right cat." Hollyleaf told him, gently laying her fuzzy tail on his tabby shoulder. He shivered and looked at her confusedly.
"What do you mean? I'm a medicine cat!" He reminded her.
"That's not what I mean. But, even Starclan dosen't know who. It might be a tom for all you know!" She hissed impatiently. Then she replied more calmly, "Even Starclan doesn't know everything, brother. But you will get back to Thunderclan, trust in your heart." Then she began to fade and Jayfeather groaned.
"Wait!" He called.
But, soon, his vision blurred back into darkness. He snapped his eyes open to darkness and found himself panting. The fox mother gone and thought about escaping. But he thought better of it, if he tried to leave, the fox would know he wasn't it's cub, and it would surely go after him.
He sniffed around and took a few hesitant steps, but found himself tripping over a patch of grass on the springy moorland. Just then, he scented warm prey, but then, gulped. The mother was bringing dead cat!
Then, he felt a thud beside him and knew the fox dropped the prey. It helped him up, even though he didn't need it, he didn't refuse. The fox bit off a chunk of meat and nudged it towards him.
Knowing it would seem suspicious if he refused, so he bent over and began to pretend to eat, but he felt the fox's hot gaze on the back of his neck and heard the fierce growl of his stomach.
Hesitantly, he took a breath and bit off a tiny bit of prey which seemed to make the fox happier because it started tearing into the rest of the body.
Jayfeather chewed slowly and a eerie feeling crept into his stomach and the taste almost made him puke. It was mostly the thought of eating his own kind. But he had to if he hoped to survive for long with this fox, he would just have to adapt to the thought and taste.
He started taking huge bites of the meat and rapidly chewing it(it was very chewy) until all that was left of his share was a few bones. He almost puked at the scent of them. I'm glad I can't see! He thought, wondering what the bones looked like.
Just then, he felt a warm toungue similar to a cat's rasping across his ruffled fur, beginning to groom him, which made him drowsy. Soon, he fell into a deep, soundless sleep.
But, another dream came. Instead, though, he was in the real world, Thunderclan camp! He looked around and saw the medicine den where him and Leafpool slept. He crept in and saw her sitting by the herb store and realized that she couldn't see him. Tears were streaming down her cheek, and he remembered she wasn't medicine cat enymore as she silently crept out of the den and into the warriors' den.
The stars were shining brightly overhead and he turned to pad up the twisting path up to high ledge, then crept into Firestar's den, but this time, Firestar looked up and his eyes widened.
He looked as if he was about to yowl, but Jayfeather rushed up to him and laid his tail over Firestar's mouth, then let it down.
"You can see!" Firestar exclaimed.
Jayfeather nodded and told him, "I'm not really here."
"You mean-" Firestar started.
"No, I didn't die, I'm in a dream. You aren't, but I am. You're the only one who can see me." Jayfeather explainned.
Firestar looked at him, a faraway look in his eyes.
"Where are you, then?" He asked.
"I'm not sure, but a mother fox took me in. She thinks I'm her cub."
"I see. Leafpool has been taking over. Jayfeather, we need you. We miss you, especially Leafpool and Lionlaze."
"I miss them too." Jayfeather told him.
"Hazeltail cries almost every day." Firestar whispered.
"Hazeltail?" Jayfeather questioned. He had never gotten close to her, and he felt worried.
"She always makes excuses." Firestar murmured. "Like her eyes hurting. But, we all miss you. Even Mousefur." He stifled a laugh.
"Firestar, goodbye." Jayfeather murmured.
He felt something prodding his flank and opened his eyes to blackness.
He could tell it was dawn. He sniffed around and noticed the fox had recently eaten. There was a plump vole lying in front of him. He hastily gulped it down, trying to get rid of the weird taste left from the night before. He groomed his fore paws before noticing that the fox was heading off again.
He sniffed the air to detect it and padded behind it, listening to it's paw steps so he could follow it. Soon, he felt the path grow narrow and the fox grow tense. He heard young twolegs splashing around in water and had to run to keep up with the fox.
Soon, the fox turned and Jayfeather smelled another fox. He cautiously followed and the green-leaf air grew cool and he sensed the presence of a male fox. He tensed, ready to run, but relaxed when he heard the female let out a rumbling purr and so did the male.
He padded forward and felt a fluffy fox tail sweep across his muzzle. He sneezed and felt the 2 fox' gazing at him affectionately. He heard the scuffling of tiny mice scuffling in the hay and heard his belly growl.
He crouched down and stalked stealthily towards a big bale of hay. He heard a barn mouse scuffling around on top and he launched himself at it. It tried to get away, but he crushed it, and when he stood up, it could barely move.
He bent down and nudged it with his muzzle, to figure out where it's neck was. Then, he took it's life with one bite. Without thinking, he gulped it down in a few gulps. He stood straight and sniffed for any traces of fresh water.
He located a couple of rain puddles by the entrance and greedily licked them dry. He sniffed the air and realized that the fox were asleep. He crept out of the barn and sniffed the air.
It was raining outside and he cringed. He sunk back into the barn. He climbed onto a bale of hay and curled up, laying his tail over his little gray nose.