Birdjay's Rise
BloodClan-
Leader- Gorgestar- A pale tan tabby tom with blue eyes.
Deputy- Dogtooth- A black and white dog-like she-cat.
Lily-A light colored she-cat.
Healer- Domino- A black tom with a white chest, paws, and belly with yellow eyes.
Apprentice: Stone- A dark grey tom.
Warriors-
Shock- A light russet she-cat with brown eyes; Murder's mate and Red's mother.
Red- A small grey tom with bloodstained red claws; Murder's son.
Murder- A grey tom with bloodstained paws, chest, claws, and teeth.
Fire- A dark brown tabby tom with bright amber eyes.
Clawflash- A swift tabby tom.
Granite- A different shaded grey tom.
Violet- A dark brown she-cats.
Lily-A light colored she-cat.
Apprentices-
Claw- A Bengal tom with ice-blue eyes.
Shadowstream (Shadow) - A black tom with green eyes.
Snakeclaw (Storm)- A light grey tom with one rattle from a snake instead of bone.
Jaybird- A black tom with yellow eyes (runt).
Queens-
Snaketail- A grey she-cat with black splotches.
Elders-
Jay- A black-she cat with green eyes; Snaketail's mother.
Speck- A Bengal tom with blue eyes; Snaketail's father.
Hawk- A dark black tabby tom; Fire's father
Owl Feather- A light brown tabby she-cat; Fire's mother.
Chapter 4-6)
BloodClan-
Leader- Gorgestar- A pale tan tabby tom with blue eyes.
Deputy- Dogtooth- A black and white dog-like she-cat.
Lily-A light colored she-cat.
Healer- Domino- A black tom with a white chest, paws, and belly with yellow eyes.
Apprentice: Stone- A dark grey tom.
Warriors-
Shock- A light russet she-cat with brown eyes; Murder's mate and Red's mother.
Red- A small grey tom with bloodstained red claws; Murder's son.
Murder- A grey tom with bloodstained paws, chest, claws, and teeth.
Fire- A dark brown tabby tom with bright amber eyes.
Clawflash- A swift tabby tom.
Granite- A different shaded grey tom.
Violet- A dark brown she-cats.
Lily-A light colored she-cat.
Claw- A Bengal tabby tom with ice-blue eyes.
Shadowstream (Shadow) - A black tom with green eyes.
Snakeclaw (Storm)- A light grey tom with one rattle from a snake instead of bone.
Jaybird- A black tom with yellow eyes (runt).
Queens-
Snaketail- A grey she-cat with black splotches.
Elders-
Jay- A black-she cat with green eyes; Snaketail's mother.
Speck- A Bengal tom with blue eyes; Snaketail's father.
Hawk- A dark black tabby tom; Fire's father
Owl Feather- A light brown tabby she-cat; Fire's mother.
RiverClan-
Leader: Huskystar- A young husky tom.
Apprentice- Hawkpaw
Deputy: Icestorm- A young light grey tom.
Medicine Cat- Lilybreeze- A pretty calico she-cat.
Medicine Cat Apprentice- TBA
Warriors-
Rainface- A dark grey tom.
Apprentice- Daisypaw
Tigerleaf- A pretty silver she-cat with blue eyes.
Apprentice- Ashpaw
Frostface- A pure white tom; Tigerleaf's father.
Featherfur- A soft brown she-cat.
Owltail- A brown tom with a long tail.
Apprentice- Longpaw
Toadpelt- A grey tom with short fur.
Petalpelt- A soft white she-cat- Tigerleaf's sister.
Apprentice- Poppypaw
Apprentices-
Longpaw- A musky brown tom.
Ashpaw- A jet black she-cat.
Poppypaw- A dark smoky grey tom.
Daisypaw- A white she-cat with yellow eyes.
Hawkpaw- A light brown tom with black spots.
Queens:
Carpfur- A blue she-cat with green eyes-heavily pregnant.
Speckledawn- A sweet silver she-cat; Tigerleaf's mother.
Kits:
Cloudkit- A very small, young tom with blue eyes.
Pinekit- A big brown tom with green eyes.
Chapter 7-)
RiverClan-
Leader: Huskystar- A young husky tom.
Deputy: Icestorm- A young light grey tom.
Apprentice- Crowpaw
Medicine Cat- Lilybreeze- A pretty calico she-cat.
Medicine Cat Apprentice- TBA
Warriors-
Jaybird- A black tom with yellow eyes (runt).
Apprentice- Jaypaw
Rainface- A dark grey tom.
Featherfur- A soft brown she-cat.
Apprentice- Sparrowpaw
Owltail- A brown tom with a long tail.
Petalpelt- A soft white she-cat- Tigerleaf's sister.
Apprentice- Basspaw
Longclaw- A musky brown tom.
Ashpelt- A jet black she-cat.
Poppypelt- A dark smoky grey tom.
Daisytail- A white she-cat with yellow eyes.
Hawkflight- A light brown tom with black spots.
Carpfur- A blue she-cat with green eyes.
Apprentice- Pinepaw
Apprentices-
Pinepaw-A big brown tom with green eyes.
Basspaw- A silver-grey tom with green eyes.
Sparrowpaw- A small brown tom with blue eyes.
Crowpaw- A large black tom with blue eyes.
Jaypaw- A pretty black she-cat with yellow eyes.
Queens:
Tigerleaf- A pretty silver she-cat with blue eyes.
Elders:
Speckledawn- A sweet silver she-cat; Tigerleaf's mother.
Frostface- A pure white tom; Tigerleaf's father.
Chapter 1
Jaybird moved his tail and hissed at his brother, Storm. "Why are you so clumsy?" He asks, but Storm ignores him and continues to battle his other brother, Shadowstream, or Shadow. Jaybird looked at them with his small size, sighed, and walked out of the small nursery. He looked at the clearing of BloodClan's. He looked at some moss that was nearby the nursery. I'm bored. I should play with that. Jaybird looks at the moss one more time before playing, rolling, and throwing it. Suddenly a snarl came from behind him and he was picked up by the scruff. He tried to struggle away, but was thrown to the other side of the clearing. He then recognized the angry face of Gorgestar, with a wet face. "Why do you-" He stopped himself. The moss had obviously flung into the face of Gorgestar. He suddenly started to purr, but quickly stopped himself as Gorgestar raised his paw, and unsheathed sharp bone-claws. Jaybird quickly ran off, out of camp. He found himself in the woods, near the Twolegplace. He had ventured to the forest part of their territory! He'd only seen the bare scene of an alley with few trees in his life. I wonder why they didn't build our camp here! A large thing picked him by the scruff, but it was hard and fur-less. He felt himself being carried away as he struggled and then saw some silver shiny stuff. Odd looking silver shiny stuff. He put his paw through it. Nothing happened. He went to go the other way, but bumped into more shiny stuff. "I'm in a trap!" He yowled. "Help! Mama! Daddy!" Jaybird cries in his cage for his family, but he heard the roar of a monster and then he is jerked away from the side he can get a view of the forest. He hits the other side so hard that he falls unconscious.
Chapter 2
Jaybird wakes up in another cage, but it was in a room with other cats in it. "I'm in a Twolegplace." Jaybird hisses. "No, the Twolegplace." He corrects himself. He notices that there are other cats in his cage, but they don't seem to notice him. He tries to walk over to them, but they push him away. "Go away kittypet, we are Clan cats," one of them hisses. I'm a Clan- no I'm a mousebrain. These cats are talking of the four clans in the forest around the lake. They probably don't know about BloodClan. Jaybird thought. "What Clan are you from?" He asks. "RIVERCLAN. LEAVE US ALONE." The biggest kit says. But then a pretty silver she cat walks out to him. "I'm Tigerkit." She purrs to him. "Don't worry; those toms are just fur-balls. They are apprentices. They think they're all that and a clump of fish scales." Jaybird purrs. He settles down and goes to sleep on the stone cold floor.
A claw prods him in the shoulder. "What?!" He demands. Tigerkit jumped back. "Sorry," Jaybird murmurs to her. "They just poured food in our cage. We've been in here for over a day now, so how bad could it be? Kittypets eat it. I suppose we could eat soft slop and rabbit droppings." Tigerkit bounds over to it, sniffing each piece carefully. She opens her jaws, taking in a few mouthfuls. She gingerly chews it, but, she was eating, right? Jaybird admired this kit. He bounded over to her, too, and ate next to her. He felt his new teeth bite into soft slop. "Ick!" He spat it out. "I'd much rather crow-food then this!" But, gingerly, he slowly ate the food, until it was gone. He quickly lapped at the water, trying to get the icky taste from his mouth. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. A Twoleg kit walked by and secretly pushed a piece of meat in front of him. He tore it in two. He gulped up the meat, and gave the small half to Tigerkit. She gasped. "Where'd you get that?!" Jaybird pointed with his tail at the Twoleg kit. She gulped it down. "Huskypaw, do you smell that?" One of the apprentices asks. "Yeah, Icepaw, I do." Huskypaw answers. "What about you, Rainpaw, do you smell that?" Rainpaw nods and the three toms walk over. "What are you eating?" Huskypaw demands. "Oh, uh,-" Jaybird is cut off by Tigerkit. "A Twoleg kit gave us a piece of meat. We figured you were too busy to even care. So we ate it. Got a problem?" Huskypaw streches his eyes wide at the kit. "Sassy, are we?" Rainpaw says. Icepaw just purrs. Tigerkit just rolled her eyes. "LOOK OUT! TWOLEG!" The yowl came from Jaybird, not only trying to stop the conversation, but being serious, also. They rushed to the other side of the cage as the Twoleg examines every cat. Jaybird climbs up the wall of the cage. The bars got bigger and bigger until he could squeeze through. "Dumb Twolegs." He mutters. He streches over the cage to unhook the lock, and the door falls open. "Stay there for a second." He hisses, and jumps on a small ledge next to a large opening in the wall. It had a lock too, but it was much harder to get to. He took hold of it with his teeth, and the opening no longer was closed. "Come on!" He yowled. Huskypaw, Rainpaw, Icepaw, and Tigerkit quickly twisted up and around to get on top of the cage. The all jumped out the window, except for Jaybird and Tigerkit. "How old are you, Jaybird?" Tigerkit asks. "I'm almost six moons-" Tigerkit quickly cuts him off as Huskypaw yowls for her. "Me too! I hope I see you again, Jaybird. Remember: RiverClan." Tigerkit purrs and licks his nose. She jumps out the window and sets off with the rest of the patrol. Jaybird watches them go. The Twoleg in the room started to yowl and point. He was picked by the scruff and carried away. He yowled when he was picked up, and he saw Tigerkit look back at him, sadness and wonder in her eyes. Jaybird was thrown into another monster, and the monster quickly drove off with him inside another smaller cage with no shiny stuff, only brown stuff.
Chapter 3
Jaybird knew a moon had pasted. He was older. He was stronger. He missed Tigerkit. She was so sweet. And now she was gone. But now, the Twolegs had let him out of his home. His Twolegs were very nice to him, but he could live without them. He hadn't tasted fresh-kill in a moon, and he was positive that he was very fat due to the kittypet food and since he was locked in all the time. He climbed a tree. It had felt so good to feel his bones burn with energy. He smelled a bird, and let his instinct guide him. He followed the scent. He saw the bird sitting on the roof of his house. He slowly padded towards it, not making a sound. He quickly grabbed it when he was close enough and bit down hard on its neck.
The bird had tasted great. He pushed the bird remains off the roof and jumped down. When he did get down, he buried the remains and set off to the front of the yard. He slipped in the house, and noticed it wasn't as full as it used to. Everything was gone! He went to his food bowl. Gone! The door shut when he went to go out. His owners had left the kitchen window open by mistake. He jumped out of it. His owners drove off in their monsters. Jaybird had a funny feeling they weren't coming back. "I guess I'll try to make it back to BloodClan."
Hours later, he encountered a couple cats. One's name was Badgerscar and the other was Foxfur. "'Just call me Fox and call him Badger.'" They had said. Now Jaybird was following them into their camp. It was only a camp for two of them, and they made dens as they went. The camp was a large stone cleft in a place near some mountains. Jaybird almost couldn't fit through the entrance, because he had become a fat, not lazy, but just a fat kittypet. "So, where are you from?" Jaybird asks. "We are cats from a tribe called the Tribe of Falling Stars. I was the Head Assassin. Badger was a couple things; a Head Gatherer then a Head Brawler. I was also a Head Torturer. But I realized, that was not my style. I was an Assassin. As a to-be, or what some cats call apprentices, I was trained as a Brawler and an Assassin. It was hard, too, because of my bright orange fur." He said. "Why did you leave?" Jaybird asked. "I'm… I'm not sure." Fox admitted. "Can you train me to be an assassin?" He asks. Fox pads away. Jaybird isn't sure if that was a yes or no. Fox hisses behind him. "Fine." And he just kept padding away. "Make you den," Badger says. Jaybird looked for things to make his den with. He finds some brambles and bracken and gathers it together. Then he hits himself. There was a bush right in front of him! He cleared out all the branches and thorns to make himself comfortable. Finally, he got some moss and settled down.
Jaybird wakes in the morning. He realizes that this is the first day of his Assassin training. This was going to take moons, but he was ready. Fox sat at the stone cleft, waiting for Jaybird to pad over. Jaybird realizes Fox has bone-claws, like the cats in BloodClan, but he doesn't ask about it. Instead they silently head out. They went for their first prey: one of the Carrionplace dogs.
Jaybird and Fox soon arrived to the Carrionplace. They were on a Twoleg Den, secretly making their way to the dogs. The dogs were still sleeping, as no noisy Twolegs were trying to break in. Jaybird had never felt so stealthy. Could these dogs not detect them by scent? Obviously not. Fox unsheathed his claws- no bone-claws- and nodded to Jaybird. They had talked about this moment the night before; if they didn't get it right the first time, they would have a high chance of dying. But, as Fox had explained, that's what being an Assassin is all about. Fox also said that he was extremely good at this, so if there was an unexpected amount of dogs, he could handle more than two. So, off Fox went to jump off the roof of the den. He landed perfectly in between two now-dead dogs. He had planted his claws in the heads of the dogs, and they weren't even bleeding. Jaybird knew this was his time. Five more dogs lay, all still sleeping as nothing happened. But, Fox had warned him that the dogs would wake up if they smelled the open cut for long. Jaybird did the same as Fox, landing in between two dogs. A growl came from one of the dogs behind them. Then another. Then another. The three dogs had woken up. Fox unexpectedly ran into battle with the dogs. He spun and spun as the three dogs crowded him. Jaybird couldn't really get a good view. All three dogs fell to the ground, their throats shredded. A couple more growls came from behind when more dogs came around the corner. It was three more. "You saw what I did. Go get 'em." Jaybird did it perfectly. He ran, spun, claws unsheathed. They were dead.
They were back at the camp. Badgerscar called him over. "How'd you do, Jaybird?" Jaybird looked at his paws. "Okay." Then another voice came from behind him. "Okay? You did excellent." Fox purred. "Well, not only are you fit enough to be a gatherer, but you'd have to start out as a brawler in the Tribe. So… You're first gatherer mission: catch as much things as possible. I will be watching. After that will be your surprise brawler training." Jaybird nodded and head out of camp.
Chapter 4
Jaybird had felt as if he could do anything. He was an assassin. He was a deadly assassin. He was a gatherer. He could gatherer anything and everything. He was a brawler. He was what Jaybird dreamed of being. Countless moons had pasted since he was a kit in BloodClan. Although, he had longed to be of BloodClan once more. He wasn't sure what they'd think of him now. "Fox, I'll be back in a couple of sunrises." Jaybird said. He decided he was going.
Jaybird had been walking for many hours now. He'd left at sunrise, and now it was Green-leaf dusk. He kept on walking because he'd just entered a part very close to BloodClan's territory. He knew something was odd here, the smell, the sight, everything. Perhaps it was a gang's territory now. So, he walked in the trees like a squirrel. He was an assassin, right? So, he could smell the BloodClan border very close by. Just one more leap! He jumped. He unsheathed his claws when he thought he would feel bark. Instead he saw the branch getting high and high and he then he felt something cold and slimy. And watery. He splashed into a stream, trying to get out of it. Something warm picked him by the scruff until he saw the face of a cat's. The cat threw him on the shore, and called the rest of his patrol. Jaybird passed out from tiredness that unfolded in him.
He woke up in a clearing that was black and charred. It was a grove with many dying pines and young birch trees. It smelled of BloodClan. He was home. He opened a yellow eye to look at a dark tabby tom. His scent was so familiar. It somewhat mingled with his, and some others he thought he should know. The tabby tom looked at him with confusion, loss, love, and regret. Another cat came up. A large tom with a black pelt and green eyes. He had huge bone-claws. Three more cats came up. One was a light grey tom with bone-claws and an adder's rattle for a claw. Another was a Bengal tabby tom with ice-blue eyes and huge bone-claws. The last one was a grey she-cat with black splotches. "Jaybird?" The she-cat whispered. Jaybird flexed his claws. His muscles rippled through his pelt and the she-cat gasped. "You're so skinny and small but so strong!" Jaybird thought extremely hard. "Are… you are my mother!" Thoughts flooded back to him. He had pushed them away during his training. "Storm, and Claw, and Shadow!" The three young toms nodded. "I am what you call an assassin, now. I was trained by a cat that was from this place called, 'The Tribe of Falling Stars.' The reason why I am so skinny and small is that I made myself that way to be what you call a gatherer.
These two cats- Foxfur and Badgerscar-" He was cut off by Gorgestar. "I thought they died!" All the cats gasped in shock at what Jaybird was saying. "They were from here? I always wondered why they had bone-claws!" A scent came from the entrance. "Jaybird, it's been a lot longer than a couple sunrises!"
Fox and Badger went into the clearing. "I tracked your scent. Don't forget, I was the head assassin."
"Right."
All the cats in the clearing looked at each other with wide glances. Jaybird didn't understand. What was so important? He shrugged his shoulders and walked to his brothers. They were warriors now. Jaybird felt amused. These cats need bone-claws to have sharp, deadly claws. He didn't. I mean, it sure would be a luxury. Jaybird put the thought in his mind. Even Fox had bone-claws. Then, Jaybird gasped. Fox was from BloodClan! He had never ever wanted to talk of his past or anything.
"It's time you got your bone-claws, Jaybird." He heard the elder Jay say. "But first, you need to be trained to be a full warrior of BloodClan!" Murder comes in from behind him. "I'm much more skilled then you think, Murder." Jaybird growled. "What- trained to kill a fly- no, I mean for real, Jaybird. You can't kill a cat. You can't kill a dog. You can't even try to run away from Twolegs! I heard you were a kittypet for some time, too. Good riddance; that put some bones on your collar. Wait, no, that puts a bell on your collar!" Murder chuckled again and padded from the den. Domino had put Jaybird up to the task of searching the senior warriors for ticks and fleas. That was for an apprentice! He was much higher skilled then any cat of the clan… Yet he was put on apprentice duty.
"Done, finally." It was nightfall by the time he was done. Murder was sitting in the clearing. "So, you think you're skilled, you little tiny scrap? Show them all!" Murder challenged him. Fox and Badger sat down close by; as were all the other cats. He saw his mother and father sit next to them, while Shadow, Storm, and Claw sat close by. When the Clan had finished gathering, Murder stood up. Jaybird took that as a sign as to, 'We are starting now.' Murder unsheathed his reinforced dog teeth claws. "I am the most strongest and skilled warrior of the Clan," Murder announced. "Prepare to die, you tiny sniveling scrap of a kittypet!" This burned hatred and rage inside of Jaybird. He realized he was going to have to kill Murder in order to win this fight. Murder plunged at Jaybird, but Jaybird slid out of the way; that move alone could have ripped out Jaybird's throat. Jaybird didn't give Murder a chance to recover. He saw an overhanging branch close by. As quick as a flash, Jaybird was gone. Even the Clan cats weren't sure where Jaybird had gone. When Murder did get up, he called out, "Coward!" Jaybird was sure Murder had thought he had won this battle. He was boasting to Jaybird's brothers of how much of a coward Jaybird was. Jaybird was high in the air, higher for any cat to see him. But he could see them all. "He must have been afraid of my dog teeth claws!" Murder showed his claws to the crowd. When Murder turned to face Jaybird, Jaybird unsheathed his claws. Now! Jaybird flung himself from the branch, aiming for Murder's throat. Jaybird pierced his throat, but the tough cat got up. He flung himself at Jaybird. Jaybird let him fling himself at him. As Murder flipped him over to scratch his belly, Jaybird hit him twice in the heart. The third time, his claw pierced his skin and went into his heart. Murder looked at Jaybird, hatred in rage burned in his eyes. Suddenly, that turned into fear for a heartbeat. Murder's eyes turned dull. Jaybird closed his eyes. He had just killed the strongest and most skilled cat of his Clan. Well, according to Murder he had. So, Jaybird had just murdered-no fought to the death- Murder. The crowd thought Jaybird was dead also, until he kicked off his dead opponent and got up. They cheered. "He wasn't the strongest cat in the Clan," A cat from behind him growled. "I am." He turned around to see the cold-hearted killer Gorgestar and his deputy, Dogtooth. "I'd kill you so fast that you wouldn't see what hit you." They both said at the same time. They both stalked off. He felt a tail hit his shoulder. "Good job, assassin." It was Fox and Badger. "Yes, good job," his mother, father, two grandfathers, two grandmothers, and three brothers yowled together. "There was never a better fighter in our blood then you!" The oldest cat, his father's mother, exclaimed. Jaybird looked at Murder's body, and remembered what cats did to every kill they made. Jaybird snagged out Murder's sharpest teeth and embedded them into the fabrics of his collar.
That night, Jaybird had a dream about a pretty silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes. She smelled of flowers and fish, and the river. She kept telling him to follow the river and he would see her. He remembered this cat who he wanted to see badly. It was Tigerkit. She obviously wasn't a kit anymore; she was as old as him.
"Oh, Tigerkit…" He whispered when he woke up that dawn. He scrambled out of the nest he was in and walked out into the clearing. The teeth on his collar felt weird. He only had two; yet he was used to the soft fabric of the collar, not with the edge of bone. He'd get used to it. He was glad he never had a bell put on his collar; he would have never been an assassin then. Or I could have been a better one with a greater challenge every time. He shook his head. The collar would have disrupted him. "Hi," he hears a voice behind him. It sounded like his father, but it was Shadow. "Yes…?" Jaybird asks Shadow. "I…" Shadow looked dazed. "I can't stay here anymore." Jaybird gasped with surprise. "Why not?" Shadow claws at the ground. "Err…" He sounds shocked; with something else. Was that fear? Regret? Or was that happiness? "I killed Dogtooth." He purred. "I murdered her after he said she was going to kill you." Jaybird realized Shadow had a collar with lots more teeth then him. "Have this," he says, shaking his neck. His collar stretches off and lands at Jaybird's feet. Shadow unsheathes his claws to show bone-claws that had blood go to the top. What had Shadow done? It obviously wasn't a 'kill and run'. He had tortured Dogtooth! Shadow smiled as he licked clean his paws smeared with blood. "I heard of this place some loners talk of," Shadow said, "called ShadowClan. They are cats who hunt in deep pine forests at night with lots of fresh-kill. Especially in Green-leaf. They fight the cats that come to their borders and are always thought of heartless thieves. I'm going there. That way, you can visit me when you'd like." Shadow started to pad off. "Goodbye, my assassin brother…" his voice trailed off when he shot out past the burnt woods. Jaybird sat on the hill, watching a black smear disappear when it reached more woods far off to the side of a lake. This took several hours to watch. He wanted Shadowstream to be safe. Jaybird could see the pine tree forest he had padded into. "That place must be much more prey-rich then here." He flicked over a dead leaf. Under it was a mouse. It was plump, too. "Thank you, Shadow." It smelled of the river and water. "RiverClan…" he said to himself. He smelled deeper. It smelled of many cats until he realized it wasn't caught just by Shadow. A smell of flowers and leaves and the river- again – made him twitch. Tigerkit! He dropped his mouth into the mouse, tearing into the flesh. He lapped the blood that oozed out of it. Delicious!
Jaybird padded into camp, seeing a battered, bloody body. It was Dogtooth. Nobody seemed to care except for Gorgestar, who was going to have to get a new deputy. "Sh-shock will be the new deputy." Gorgestar declares. Jaybird looks at the new deputy, shakes his head, and turns around. He looks back one more time to see his two brothers and his mother, father, grandfathers, grandmothers, with Fox and Badger. He sighs, and pads away.
Chapter 5
Jaybird sees a stream, a large, wide, stream. He pads up to it, and jumps over it. Before his paws touch the other side, his world turns black.
Jaybird's world is greeted back with hisses and snarls. He is confused; these cats seemed so friendly when he was a kit. Suddenly a yowl screeches into the air, "Jaybird!" A cat comes up to him, smelling of the river, and flowers. He ignores the scent and looks up into the eyes of Tigerkit. "J...Jaybird?" Another cat questions. He remembers the voice of Huskypaw, Icepaw, and Rainpaw. "T-t-tigerkit?" He stammers. "I'm Tigerleaf now; a full warrior. Do you remember the three other cats who were apprentices… you'd know them as Huskypaw, Rainpaw, and Icepaw?" Jaybird nods. "I'm Huskystar now. 'Star' means I'm the leader. And, Icepaw, who is now Icestorm now-" he points with his tail at
Icestorm-"Is my deputy now. That means he is second in charge of the clan and will be named Icestar when I die." Huskystar finishes and nods his head at Rainpaw. "I'm a warrior now, my name is Rainface." Rainface sits back down and licks his paw. "So…" A cat from the background interrupts, "Are we going to keep this crow-food smelling cat here? He has a collar! He was a kittypet!" Jaybird turns to look at a short-haired grey tom. He looks like a toad. "Toadpelt, the four of us," He points at himself, Rainface, Tigerleaf, and Icestorm, "wouldn't be here right now."
"I bet he isn't even tough enough to claw a fly!" Toadpelt challenged. Jaybird felt shock and confusion going through him. "Can't any of you see the fear-" Toadpelt was cut off when Jaybird's eyes turned to rage and he flung himself toward Toadpelt. I won't kill him. This isn't BloodClan. I wonder why I was confused. Jaybird was gone within a flash. He almost purred at the confusion in Toadpelt's eyes. Jaybird slowly stalked out of the crevice he was in. Toadpelt had obviously thought he had won; just like Murder. "Coward! He runs away from the easiest fight ever!" At that instant, Jaybird launched himself at Toadpelt. "I win." He says as he nipped Toadpelt's throat. "You're lucky I didn't unsheathe my claws. You would have been dead a long time ago. Back in BloodClan, every argument would end in a death."
Tigerleaf ran towards him, happiness in her gaze. "Good job, Jaybird!" She licked his nose, "I've missed you so much!" Jaybird purred "I've missed you, too."
As the other cats began to pad away, Huskystar yowled from a rock, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather around this Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Jaybird watched the crowd turn around and come back to the rock. "Jaybird, would you like to be of this Clan?" Jaybird nodded to Huskystar. "Do you hereby promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan even with your life?" Jaybird nodded again, "I do." Huskystar sat down. "Then you will be called Birdjay." Jaybird sighed, "No, Huskystar. I'll be called Birdjay, but I still do wish to be called Jaybird within the Clan. I don't mind if enemies call me Birdjay, but I must keep my name: Jaybird." Huskystar nodded, "Only in battle and other Clans will you be called Birdjay." I'll still think of myself as Jaybird forever. Only enemies will know my Clan name: Birdjay.
"Let me show you the camp!" Tigerleaf purrs to him. "That's the elders den." She pointed with her tail at a den with many branches and brambles around it. Then she points at a thorn bush, closer to the river. "And this is the medicine cat den; you go there when you are sick or injured. They are the only cats that have herb knowledge. There has to be at least one, but the medicine cat can get an apprentice. They also can get helpers. But they only know basic herbs, not the other herbs that have different treatments and such unless the med cat wishes to train them in that knowledge. There is at least one in every clan, and they go to the Moonpool, which is on ThunderClan territory, where cats go to talk to their ancestors. But, only leaders and medicine cats go there, usually." She kept padding towards another thicket, this one with lots of brambles and branches around it. It looked as if it was over-reinforced. What do they keep in there, the most precious cat ever? "This is the nursery. We care much about our young that we made sure cats from other territories don't try to kit-steal. Every cat goes through here if they are Clanborn." She padded over towards another bramble thicket. "This is the warrior den. We'd sleep in there." She padded towards the rock that Huskystar had jumped on and showed an opening under the rock. "This is the leader den- the leader leads the clan. They think of new mentors and warrior names for each cat. The deputy assigns patrols and such and sometimes leads battle patrols, or they take over if the leader cannot come to the gathering. I'll tell of the gathering later." She padded around camp, going to the last den. "And this is the apprentice den," It was a reed bed.
"So… what is the 'Gathering'?" Jaybird asks. "The gathering is a place, which in this case is the Island, is where the four clans gather. It happens every full moon. The Clan leader, unless they are sick or busy or something, addresses their Clan. They announce every new apprentice or warrior, and sometimes a death. They usually say how good their prey is running, even in the harshest season in Leaf-Bare. You'll probably go to the one in a couple of days. Just remember- you aren't Jaybird there. You're Birdjay. Anyhow, let me teach you how to fish."
When they reached the river, Jaybird almost gasped in shock of how much prey they had. Tigerleaf immediately sat on her back legs. She stuck a claw in the water and leaned back. After a couple of heartbeats, she took a fish from the water and slammed it on the ground. It tried to flop back into the water, but Tigerleaf sunk her claws in its head before it really did flop back.
"You try now." Tigerleaf purred.
Jaybird copied her- he put his claws in the water. He saw a fish in the water, and went to grab it, but he didn't catch it. It had shied away. "You didn't lean back." Tigerleaf mewed sympathetically. Jaybird did it again, and caught a fish this time.
By the time they headed back, they had caught many fish- ten in all. Jaybird had gotten five and Tigerleaf had gotten five. "Do you hear that?" Tigerleaf asked. "I hear a bird-" Tigerleaf slapped his mouth with her tail, "Shh. Help me catch the duck. Catch it when it comes over here." He watched Tigerleaf run to the shore farther away, crossed the river, and started heading for the duck. She led the duck towards him, that way he could catch it. The duck was starting to fall for the trap. It reached the shore and hissed. That was no duck! It was a huge and plump goose. Jaybird quietly lunged for it, clawing its neck. The goose still wasn't dead. This is one tough goose. He bit down hard on its neck. The goose made a spitting noise and died. "Let's come back for it; we have lots of fish to carry."
After they had brought all the fish and the goose back home, they had settled down to rest. "Aren't you hungry, Tigerleaf?" he asks. "Yes, I am very, very, very much so hungry." She says. "What's your favorite prey?" Jaybird asks. "Oh, it doesn't matter. I guess salmon is my favorite."
Jaybird picked his way over to the fresh-kill pile. There he saw a huge salmon sitting on the side. It was still warm. "Truly fresh-kill," he purrs. He stalks back to Tigerleaf.
"Oh, we can share that for sure!" Tigerleaf exclaimed. "I love green-leaf."
"Me too, Tigerleaf," Jaybird said. "But I think I love something even more."
"What?" Tigerleaf sounded shocked that he could love anything more than green-leaf. "You," He answered. "I love you, Tigerleaf." Tigerleaf's eyes were wide with shock, but love also. "I love you too, Jaybird."
Chapter 6
"So, this is the Island?" Jaybird asked Tigerleaf. "Yes, Birdjay it is. Now follow me on the tree-bridge." Jaybird followed Tigerleaf toward the bridge. He clawed his way up the bridge and landed beside Tigerleaf in the clearing. "This was going to be RiverClan camp. At least, that's what the elders tell us. They told us that their elder's elder's elder's were kits when they were told this from their elder's. There was a cat named Mudclaw. He was the deputy of WindClan during the Great Journey. But, the very old Tallstar didn't want to have him as leader and made a cat named Onewhisker appointed the deputy in his dying breath. Mudclaw didn't believe him, and rebelled against Onewhisker, who turned into Onestar. At the time, there was no tree-bridge. It was too deep for any clan to get there except for RiverClan. So, we were going to have it as our camp, until Mudclaw was killed by this tree-bridge. The cats took this as a sign from StarClan that it was going to be the Gathering spot. So, that is why RiverClan built its home where it is now. Now, we must hurry because the Gathering is starting."
That sure was one graphic story, Jaybird thought. He ran after Tigerleaf. "That cat is from ShadowClan." She pointed at a black tom with green eyes. That cat sure looks like Shadowstream. "And that is a ThunderClan cat." She pointed at a silver she-cat. "And that is WindClan. Actually, that is the WindClan medicine cat, Silentwing." He looked at the young tom. He looked as if he was just barely out of being an apprentice. "His mentor died right after his training," Tigerleaf told him. A yowl came from the tree in the center. "The gathering is starting." She told him, and fixed her gaze on the leaders. "I'll go first, Redstar." He realized Redstar was from ThunderClan. "Go ahead, Jaggedstar." Jaggedstar was from ShadowClan. "I'll go next," A cat from behind says. A young brown tabby tom steps beside Jaggedstar. "Yes, Hawkstar," Redstar says. Hawkstar was obviously from WindClan. "ShadowClan has a new warrior. His name is Blackstream." He points with his tail at the cat that looks like Shadow. "We have been getting lots more kits. We need more territory to hunt on to feed our new mouths. Give us a piece of each of your territories and ShadowClan will stay at peace with everyone." Yowls of protest came from the crowd. He started to yowl with Tigerleaf, when the four leaders yowled for silence. "You have plenty enough territory! You can stretch your borders from beyond the other territories! You have just enough cats in your clan then anyone else's. Kits can't just pop out of nowhere." Huskystar declared. The two other leaders agreed, and Jaggedstar growled, "You all will regret this." Hawkstar stepped up, "WindClan is going great. The prey is running well. We have a new apprentice, his name is Ashpaw. I am his mentor." Hawkstar stepped back and let Redstar go. "Prey is running well. We found rabbit bones on our border, close to WindClan," He glared at Hawkstar, but he shook his head with shock, "Why would we ever do such a thing?" Redstar ignored him and went on, "The Moonpool has over flooded, so beware to any medicine cats or leaders on their way to the Moonpool." He stepped back, and Huskystar stepped up. "Prey is running well in our territory. But, we have spotted a large flock of geese that are very big and strong. They may walk into a camp and are big enough to eat a small kit. They are also seriously strong and can truly injure a very fine warrior. They are strong enough to kill. Anyhow, there are six left. We killed one; we caught it on its own. They will scare prey away, but they make very fine prey and, if buried, can be stored." Murmurs of shock came from the cats. "I have a new warrior." Huskystar said, silencing the cats. "His name is J-Birdjay." Huskystar secretly winced at his quick mistake. He had barely whispered 'J' but he had said it. Jaybird held his head high. "He smells like a kittypet!" A cat challenged from the crowd. "Blackstream, calm down…" The other cat's voice trailed off as he whispered in his ear. "This gathering is over!" Huskystar yowled. "Come on, RiverClan is leaving first. But I want to talk to Black- no I'm a mouse-brain.
Chapter 7
"Let me sneak around, Icestorm. You'll really thank me then." Icestorm nodded his approval. Jaybird shot off. He heard snarls and battle yowls come from nearby. RiverClan was fighting ShadowClan because they had stolen everyone who was in the nursery. The only cat that they didn't steal was Speckledawn and Cloudkit, because Cloudkit was sick and Speckledawn was getting water. The worst part of it was that Tigerleaf was a queen, too. He'd fight to the death to get Tigerleaf back, yet it was hardly possible to kill a bone-claw equipped assassin BloodClan cat, like himself. He was wearing his double collar, which was Shadow's and his. He had put Shadow's behind his, and the reinforced teeth became re-reinforced. Jaybird climbed a pine tree, to do his assassin moves. He could knock out more than just one cat with his own claws sheathed. Jaybird looked at the clearing below; a bloody one already. Jaybird jumped off the branch, and began to 'fly' as he called it. He hit four cat heads while he was still in the air. He knocked them all out. He then got two more with his front paws. The other ShadowClan cats began to crowd around him, leaving some of the RiverClan warriors shocked as the attackers plunged towards Jaybird. "He's just a kittypet. Kill him!" I am not a kittypet anymore! Jaybird spun himself in circles, hitting each cat that dared to come close. One cat leapt upon him, which ended in a horrid screech of pain. Sooner or later, all the cats retreated. "Let's keep going to their camp. Do what you just did again, Birdjay." Icestorm kind of coughed out Birdjay. They headed towards the camp, and Jaybird climbed another tree nearby. The camp turned into another bloody scene. "That kittypet is gone!" He heard a yowl come from the camp. Nobody seemed to hear him. Jaybird sprang off the tree and knocked out him, and a couple cats close by. Then, a grey tom leapt on him. It was Toadpelt! "Today you die, you little piece of crow-food!" He saw a glimpse of Tigerleaf, horrified. "You stole everything! Now, I'll get everything back. You stole Tigerleaf from me. You made me look disloyal to my clan that day you came." Jaybird blinked. "JAYBIRD YOU WILL DIE TODAY." Toadpelt yowled. All the RiverClan cats gasped in shock. Then one piped up, "Who is Jaybird?" The RiverClan cats shrugged with relief. Toadpelt kept on battling Jaybird. Jaybird didn't want to hurt his Clanmate. At that moment, he saw a white claw poke through Toadpelt's body. It went from one side to the other. Toadpelt was dead! He saw the blood from the hole that went through his neck spray about. He sadly kicked the warrior off and looked into the eyes of his own brother. "I saved you, brother. Now, I was visited by Claw a couple sunrises ago. Take Tigerleaf to BloodClan. She must have her kits there!" Jaybird gasped. "I need to ask a question: who took Tigerleaf here?"
"Clawfur, he's over there. He's a mouse-brain anyhow."
He saw Clawfur by Tigerleaf, trying to get his dirty paws on her. She was heavily pregnant, as Jaybird had been in RiverClan for a moon or two. So, every time she shied away. He had been clawing her horribly. He jumped on her, about to claw her belly to shreds. That would kill their kits! He couldn't allow that. Jaybird unsheathed his claws, and took Clawfur down. He flipped him off of Tigerleaf, and clawed his chest open. This happened so fast that after Jaybird did it, he was breathing for a heartbeat. "Oh Tigerleaf…" He murmured at her battered body. ShadowClan had had these cats for a few days, and they had not eaten a thing. Tigerleaf weakly licked his nose. Icestorm had told the cats to quickly get Pinekit and Carpfur. "Can you walk?" He asked Tigerleaf. "As long as I can lean on your shoulder," He nodded. He picked Tigerleaf's brother up, Pinekit, and let Tigerleaf lean on his shoulder. Carpfur was fine, and the cats set off. Suddenly, a shocked yowl came from in the camp. They had found Toadpelt. Another cat brought him out, and RiverClan slowly backed out of the camp.
Jaybird wanted to wail to Tigerleaf about how scared he was for her, but, he didn't. He was an adult. He was better than that. "Ouch," Tigerleaf wailed. "Are you okay?" Jaybird mewed softly. "No… I think our kits are coming." Jaybird gasped. "Stay here, I'll go get Lilybreeze."
"It's not like I am going anywhere," She retorted.
Jaybird dashed off to the medicine cat den to grab Lilybreeze. She grabbed some herbs and a stick.
"W...will she be alright?" He stuttered.
"Yes," Lilybreeze replied.
Tigerleaf started to yowl in pain. Pinekit, who was very startled, wondered, "Was I like that?"
"Yes, brother-" Tigerleaf was cut off by another yowl of pain. Jaybird was shaking next to her, hoping she was going through. "I'm worrying she'll get too tired dealing with this kit. And the other two," Lilybreeze said.
Tigerleaf was yowling so much that Jaybird thought he was going deaf. He had never ever heard such a horrible yowl. He had also never seen a cat give birth. He wasn't in BloodClan long enough. Although he remembered his Twolegs going through this pain, they seemed to wail more. "Come on, Tigerleaf that was the biggest one. The other two will be smaller, and there might be a really small one." He watched Lilybreeze open the sac and an over-sized kit wailed out of it. By this time, the Clan had begun to gather around. "Give me room! Go away!" Lilybreeze snapped. Lilybreeze was right- two more kits came out.
Jaybird sighed in relief. Tigerleaf had managed. "I want to name this one Sparrowkit." Jaybird purred as he pointed at the brown kit. He was the smallest kit with his tail. "I want to name this one Crowkit." Tigerleaf purred softly to the black one. He was the largest. "And this one will be Jaykit." Tigerleaf pointed at another black one, she was just in-between. "But she's a girl," Jaybird protested. "It doesn't matter," Tigerleaf replied.
Chapter 7
Eight moons had passed since Tigerleaf had had her kits. They were apprentices now. Jaybird was mentoring his look-alike, Jaypaw. She was the cutest! She learned very fast, and was very good at fighting and hunting. Due to Jaybird being taught by Tigerleaf different skills and such, he had even more to teach this young kit! He could even train this kit to be an assassin.
At the moment, he was on a dawn border patrol. It was him, Jaypaw, Crowpaw, and Rainface. Rainface was leading the patrol. "Don't you smell that, Jaybird? It smells like ShadowClan." Jaybird sniffed around. "Actually I do. Tell Rainface," Jaybird replied. He watched his kit walk up and shyly prodded the senior warrior in the side. "Yes?" He asked. "I smell ShadowClan!" Rainface gasped. "Where?" Jaypaw led him to the spot. Jaybird's blood turned to ice. Blackstream! He sniffed again. That's not just ShadowClan, that's BloodClan. But, I can't tell them that. "It's very stale," Rainface said.
When they finally returned to camp, Jaypaw was bouncing with energy. "I want to do something. Hunting, fighting, anything," She purred. "Okay. Well, how about a better lesson." He mewed. "What could be better then hunting or fighting?" She asked. "You'll see," He purred.
"Welcome to the secret society," Jaybird mewed. "You will be an assassin if you liked that." He had just shown her what he could do. He had bounced off a branch and attacked a piece of prey far below. "Imagine what you can do with your claws just sheathed. I knocked out many cats with my bare paws."
A few days had passed since Jaypaw had mastered being an assassin. Now it was time to teach her advanced moves. "Just because you're part of RiverClan doesn't mean you can't climb trees!" Jaybird purred. "Watch this," He said. He jumped on a branch. "Remember what incognito means?" Jaybird asked as his apprentice followed him onto the higher branches. "Umm… It means being an assassin?" she began. "No, it means being in disguise." Jaybird corrected his daughter. "Don't worry, Jaypaw, it'll be fine. You'll get it."
Chapter 8
"Your final assessment," Jaybird mewed to Jaypaw. And later on, we may go on a border patrol with Huskystar, Jaybird thought happily. His kit was almost a warrior! Jaypaw yawned and scrambled out of her nest. She followed Jaybird to the forest. "Now, don't forget: I will be watching you. You cannot ask how you are doing, but I don't care where you hunt, as long as it's in RiverClan territory." He reminded her. She nodded, and before she bounded off, Crowpaw and Sparrowpaw padded up. Behind them, Pinepaw and Basspaw padded up to them. They were supposed to be warriors; they had a one-moon delay because they had stolen prey from ShadowClan. All of the mentors padded up: Icestorm, who was Crowpaw's mentor, Featherfur who was Sparrowpaw's mentor, Petalpelt, who was Basspaw's mentor, and Carpfur, who was Pinepaw's mentor. Icestorm nodded and all the apprentices casted off. Jaypaw went first; she was more likely to be using her assassin skills. "It was only supposed to be me, but I let all the mentors come," Icestorm meowed. "Now go. Take your privileges with you."
Jaybird quietly went off and climbed a tree. He detected Jaypaw's scent on some branches ahead. Then he saw her, killing a big, plump squirrel that was oblivious to her approach. She let it drop from the tree, hoping it would still be in a good enough position for fresh-kill. She also scrapped some leaves down, probably hoping they'd land on the squirrel to bury it. She went on, attacking a bird. She then found another mouse. After that, she jumped down, killing a mouse. She was at the lake by that time, ready to fish.
She got into fishing position and immediately seemed to catch a small one. It was too far away to see what it was; Jaybird decided to go collect her other prey.
First, he got the mouse, then the bird, but he couldn't find the squirrel. It seemed like it was nowhere.
Then a snarl came from behind him. It pounced on him, trying to crush him. He saw that he had one of his paws free, and tried to pull himself out from under the creature. Then, the stench of badger filled his nose. He yowled; it was trying to kill him. All because of my small size! It flipped him over, immediately ripping into his soft belly. Jaybird felt himself becoming weaker. "Help!" Jaybird screeched, over and over, but there seemed to be no reply. Suddenly, the deadly badger paused. Its eyes that were filled with rage and hate were now dull. He kicked off the dead badger to see Jaypaw in front of him. He paws were dripping with blood. "I saved you, father." She meowed.
As the rest of the cats padded up, Jaybird closed his eyes and passed out.
"Wake up, Jaybird," He heard a soft call. He was in a nest in some reeds. He looked down as his vision cleared. He saw a river. He looked up. He saw the face of Lilybreeze. "Don't worry; you're in the medicine cat den. You passed out after that badger attacked you. You've only been out for a few hours; don't worry you didn't miss the ceremony. Come now, it's about to start."
Jaybird nodded in approval at the well stocked fresh-kill pile. A squirrel, that was thankfully unharmed, smelled like Jaypaw. He picked out five more fish, a dove, a mouse, and… one of those dangerous geese! They all smelled of Jaypaw. Then he smelled the badger that had nearly killed him. Are we going to eat that? Jaybird thought.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather around this Highrock for a Clan meeting!" He heard Huskystar yowl. "It is time for some of our apprentices to become warriors!" Huskystar nodded to his three kits. "Jaybird, Icestorm, and Featherfur, are you satisfied that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?"
"Yes, they are ready!" They all purred.
"I Huskystar, leader of RiverClan call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."
" Jaypaw, Sparrowpaw, and Crowpaw do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"We do!"
" Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names. Jaypaw, Sparrowpaw, and Crowpaw from now on, you all will be known as Jayleaf, Sparrowfang, and Crowfall. RiverClan welcomes you as full warriors."
Jayleaf walked over to Jaybird, purred, and walked away. Jaybird watched his now-grown kit walk away. All his kits were warriors now; they had their own lives now. She had walked up to Owltail. Jaybird turned away. "Only time will tell," He whispered. Jaybird walked over to Tigerleaf and she licked his jaw. "I'm pregnant again, Jaybird. I saw how you looked at Jayleaf. She still will need you, honey. You don't have to feel bad that she's grown now."
Chapter 9
Jaybird looked at his two-moon old kit. It was the only kit of the litter. Her name was Dawnkit. She was silver with black spots. She had the prettiest blue eyes. He was going to mentor her. She would become an assassin, as well.
Jaybird padded away from the nursery, saying goodbye to Tigerleaf and Dawnkit. "Crowfall, Tigerleaf, come here." Jaybird meowed. "Where's Sparrowfang?" He asked. "He's out collecting moss."