Jayfeather's Sacrifice (Super Edition/Short Story)
Chapter 1
Jayfeather gazed solemnly across ThunderClan's vast territory. The cold, hard scents of leaf-bare seemed to be seeping into the ground like fish to water. Jayfeather could feel the freezing snow on his paws, and it hit him with a cool sense of relief. He felt calmer than he had been in moons. He sighed, his whirling thoughts for once at ease.
Jayfeather left his spot from beneath the broad oak tree and trudged with his usual grumpiness once more. His paws sunk into the snow, and his fur tingled as he took each step. Suddenly, Jayfeather felt a spark of proudness from deep within himself. He felt like a master of something no one had mastered before. He knew ThunderClan like he knew all of the herbs a medicine cat could. He knew the land for each pawstep, each rock, each tree, each scent, because this was his home. Like little planets, his clanmates personalities floated around in his head. Leafpool's never-wavering kindness, Berrynose's ignorance, Lionblaze's fighting spirit. All was known to him.
Each day, each hour, Jayfeather learned the movements and routines of his clanmates. A stalker, no. A quiet thinker, a listener. Jayfeather tried to calm these thoughts by sitting down on a tiny rise and observing his territory once more. As he sat, pondering these notions, he noticed the dawn patrol coming out of camp. "Hey Jayfeather, want to come with us?" Lionblaze yowled. Accompanying him were Thornclaw, Twigbranch, and Dovewing. "No." Replied Jayfeather, in his usual gruff manner. Dawn was setting in, and Jayfeather longed for the sweet carefree life he had once lived.
It seemed like only a few moons ago that he was romping around outside the nursery with Lionblaze and Hollyleaf. Their tiny little tails were bobbing up and down in front of him. He remembered the day he heard those fateful words, "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." Oh, how young and innocent he had been, so excited to find out what his power would be. If only he had known how much heartache he would cause himself.
As he sat on the little rise, the tiniest of tiny hills, he found himself remembering what he had done, what he could have been. The things he wished for lay just out of reach. He remembered how to see.
Chapter 2
It must have been just when he was born, yes, that was it. He was asleep, and he heard a soft mewing. It was like those sweet-sounding, high-pitched twoleg things that hung from their dens. Jaykit, being only just born, was fascinated by this oddly metalic-sounding mewing. He opened his eyes and saw a pretty, thick-furred white she-cat with smoky-gray ear tips. The she-cat's bright blue eyes, so much like his own, glittered brightly in the dark cavern. Her fur was a bit tattered and she looked like a Clan elder, but Jaykit saw a beautiful shine on her worn fur. Than the she-cat spoke. "Jaykit, do you know who I am?" The she-cat asked. "No, but are you from ThunderClan?" Jaykit replied, tipping his head to the side. "That's right, my name is Snowfur." Snowfur mewed.
"Snowfur?" Jaykit pondered, "I'm sorry, I still don't know who you are." "I'm Bluestar's sister, remember now?" Snowfur asked. "Oh yeah! You died on a thunderpath right?" Said Jayfeather, and then he gulped, realizing that was probably quite rude. "Sorry." Jaykit mumbled. Snowfur purred, "That's quite alright young one. But now I must tell you why I am here." She gazed at him sadly, "You will have great powers Jaykit, but you will experience great suffering because of them. I am so sorry that StarClan has chosen this path for you, but they have given me permission to deliver this message." Snowfur mewed, "You will be stripped of your sight, so that you can dream and see from the ways of other cats-" "You mean I'll be blind?" Jaykit mewed in fright. "Yes." Snowfur replied. "You will have to become a medicine cat and you will never live the life of a warrior." "NO!" Jaykit yelped, and began to cry.
"Yes." Snowfur said. "You must live with your fate." Than Snowfur faded away and Jaykit was back in the nursery.
