Chapter 1

"Jay's Wing! Help me! I'm in danger! We're all in danger!" Jayfeather could hear her calling to him in his dream, her voice fading at every word.

"Half Moon! Don't leave me! I need you!" He woke to find himself in the remnants of his nest in the medicine den. It had been so long since he had been to the mountains where the tribe lived, so long since he had seen Half Moon. The last time he'd seen her, her spirit was almost completely faded. He had been so sure that she had faded completely. When he'd thought that, he was heart broken.

"Oh, Half Moon, how I hope you're not gone completely!" Jayfeather wailed to himself.

"I should probably talk to Firestar about this," he muttered under his breath "in case we, I mean, I, need to go up to the mountains." He shook himself off, flicking off a peice of moss from behind his ear before heading out of the den.

"Jayfeather? Where are you going?"

"Huh? Oh, it's just you, Fawnpaw. I'm going to talk to Firestar about something, about a dream I had." he told his apprentice, Fawnpaw, a pretty tan-and-ginger she-cat. She'd been his apprentice for about a moon and a half, and he still wasn't completely used to sharing a den with her.

"Jayfeather, you realize that the dawn patrol just left a few heartbeats ago, right?" Fawnpaw asked politely but sleepily. Jayfeather jutted his nose just outside the entrance to the den and felt a cool, gentle breeze against it.

"I'm sorry Fawnpaw, I didn't realize how early it was. I'm sorry if I woke you"

"You getting up wasn't what woke me, it was your thrashing. You were writhing about, calling someone's name, although I couldn't make it out. Are you alright? Sometimes I worry about you, Jayfeather."

He suddenly got very up-in-arms. "Look, just because I can't see doesn't mean-"

"I wasn't talking about that." she interrupted him "Most of the time I have to remind myself that you're blind. What I meant was, a lot of the time, you won't eat anything for a few days , and you spend almost all your time in here. That's what makes me worry about you, Jayfeather." There was genuine concern in her voice-and in her eyes, for that matter. Jayfeather relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I guess that does happen a lot. I'll try to do better so you don't have to worry as much, okay?" he asked, a bit sarcastically.

"Alright," she purred in reply. "but as long as we're both up, can we go herb collecting? We're running low on horsetail and comfrey, and I found a big marigold patch a few sunrises ago." she looked at him questioningly. "Jayfeather, if you want, you can talk to me about your dream."

Jayfeather had realized that her presence comforted him unlike anyone else in the clan - except his brother, of course. He'd always felt uncomfortable around large amounts of cats. But Fawnpaw, she was different. If only they were'nt medicine cats, and if only she were older.

No, I can't afford to think like that. Jayfeather scolded himself, interrupting his own thoughts.

"Umm... yeah, sure we can go herb picking, but I don't want to talk about my dream, really."

"Okay, if you don't want to talk, I won't pry. Do you want anything to eat before we leave?" she replied, full of energy. Jayfeather admired that about her.

"Yes, please. Thrush or squirrel, if there is any."

"Alright!" she replied, her voice filled with enthusiasm. "I'll meet you at the fresh-kill pile!" with that she bounded off.

Jayfeather purred in amusement as she left. She's adorable. he thought to himself.