Here's chapter two! xD
I actually started this a few weeks ago but just finished it tonight. This one is more from the viewpoint of Jayfeather, because he's the one who would learn about the Guardians since he's the one who can share with Rock. And he's my favorite Warrior Cat, so of course I was going to use him. XD
Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! R&R!
A gray tabby tom awoke in his nest, opening his sightless blue eyes. He breathed in deeply the sweet scent of herbs was all around him. He padded out of the Medicine Den and out into the the ThunderClan camp. "Good morning Jayfeather!" the tom recognized the voice of his brother, Lionblaze.
"Hi," Jayfeather mewed in reply.
"What's up?" Lionblaze asked.
"Nothing really," the Medicine Cat responded.
"I can help you collect herbs today, if you want."
"I don't need help," Jayfeather replied getting a little irritated. He got up and headed out of the camp. Even though he could sense that his brother felt hurt, he ignored it. He was sick of every cat thinking that just because he was blind he couldn't do anything by himself. He was capable of getting herbs without some cat breathing down his neck!
Jayfeather continued through the territory until the scent of borage hit his nose. That was the herb he needed! He hurried down to the lake, the place where the scent was coming from and began plucking off the leaves.
Collecting the borage leaves didn't take as long as Jayfeather had thought it would. He figured he should have enough time to head down to the lake.
When he got to the shore he immediately went over to where he'd last hidden his stick. He pulled it out from where he'd left it under a tree root that had a small arch in it and sat down in front of it. He gently ran his paw over the strange marks the stick had etched into it.
Suddenly, and totally to his surprise, Rock's raspy voice sounded in his ears. Strange birds are coming, he warned. Jayfeather knew this wasn't a prophecy, it was too direct.
What birds? the blind tom demanded silently. Surely a bunch of birds would be easy enough to deal with, after all the clans fought amongst themselves all the time! Surely, with the Dark Forest planning to attack they had more to worry about than a bunch of mouse-brained birds!
Owls, Rock answered directly.
The ThunderClan medicine cat thought for a moment. Owls would sometimes swoop down into camp and pick of a kit for a meal, but it didn't happen often. Was that why Rock had warned him, because the owls would kill clan kits? It didn't make much sense to Jayfeather, Rock had never warned him before of any such events. It was strange. The gray tabby tom narrowed his blind blue eyes suspiciously. Why are you warning me of this? He knew Rock, of all cats, should have a better reason than for the safety of kits.
These owls can fight, Rock murmured in his raspy old voice. Jayfeather sighed. Fighting owls? That was the last thing ThunderClan, or any of the clans, needed right now. If he were to tell any other cat about this, they'd think his brain was full of cloud fluff, and Jayfeather couldn't say he'd be able to blame them. He was sure how much he believed Rock, even though the ancient cat had never been wrong before.
Frustration grew inside the medicine cat. How in the name of StarClan did owls learn how to fight?
Jayfeather waited several moments, but this time, no reply came. He let out a quiet hiss of annoyance and shoved his stick back under the tree root where he usually kept it hidden.
After that he headed back in the direction of his clan's camp. He could tell by the scents around him that it was getting late, there was more prey scuffling in the bushes than there would be if the sun was still high in the sky and patrols were still out hunting.
Soon the familiar sounds of camp filled Jayfeather's ears. He padded down the ravine and into the camp. He could tell by the scents of fresh-kill that most of the cats had settled down to eat. The medicine cat walked straight through the camp to his den, without turning his sightless gaze to a single cat.
When he walked in the den he knew from the scent that Briarlight was there. "Hello Jayfeather," she greeted him cheerfully.
"Have you been doing your exercises?" he asked, ignoring her greeting.
"Yeah," she replied. "I put new moss in your nest too," she added.
Jayfeather's only reply was a quiet grunt, but he guessed Briarlight was used to it.
He settled down into his nest. To his surprise it did feel much more comfortable since the wounded she-cat had put new moss in. He settled his head on his paws and closed his eyes. He silently hoped that Spottedleaf, or even grumpy old Yellowfang would speak to him more about these fighting owls Rock had told him about.
When he finally fell asleep that night, his sleep was absolutely dreamless. Not haunted by the words of StarClan whispering to him as he'd hoped they would.