Power of Three and a Half

Chapter 3: Alarm Call

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Jayfeather asked as he followed Firestar through the forest.

"I um, was taking a walk last night, because uh, I wanted to stretch my legs."

"Okay," Jayfeather said, waiting for Firestar to continue. He didn't.

"Um, was that it?"

"No," Firestar sighed. "When I was walking, I realized the pain in my leg was getting worse."

"You're walking fine now," Jayfeather pointed out.

"So I decided to go to your den to see if you had some herbs to make me feel better," Firestar continued talking as if Jayfeather hadn't spoken. "And I overheard you talking to Hollyleaf about her dream."

"Oh," Jayfeather realized what he was talking about at once.

"What do you think of it?" Firestar fixed Jayfeather with his even green gaze.

"I'm not really sure," Jayfeather stammered. "I can't help but wonder if it was just a dream. It seems unlikely that there would be another cat in the prophecy."

"Three became four but only two knew," Firestar quietly repeated part of the prophecy. "I presume you and Lionblaze are the two. And Dovewing is the third... wait, does Dovewing know about Hollyleafs dream?"

"No," Jayfeather said awkwardly. "I was kind of hoping we wouldn't have to come to that."

"This is confusing," Firestar said, frustrated. "Let's think for a minute - the prophecy said that only two cats knew about the fourth. And since it isn't Dovewing, who is the fourth?"

"I dunno," Jayfeather snapped, getting tired of this conversation. "And who cares? The second part of the prophecy claims the four became two again, so it doesn't really matter who the fourth was."

"True," Firestar agreed. "Now for the next part-"

Jayfeather sighed loudly.

"Look, the faster we get through this, the faster we can just forget about it," Firestar snapped. "Okay, so the next part was two thought the third was the only one left, but the one always knew there was little time left. That must mean that you and Lionblaze thought the third, which is Dovewing, was the only one left in the prophecy."

"That makes sense," Jayfeather nodded. "But what about the part about the 'one always knew there was little time left.' Dovewing never mentioned a thing about that."

"I know," Firestar murmured. "That's because Dovewing isn't the third."

"What?"

Firestar stared at Jayfeather with wide, scared eyes. "We were wrong. Hollyleafs dream wasn't a prophecy," Firestar said quietly. "It was a warning."

(Page Break)

Lionblaze snuck guiltily out of the warriors den, praying no one on the evenings hunting patrol would see him. He had feigned being sick, so he could have a nap in the middle of the day.

I don't know why I've been so tired, Lionblaze thought to himself. Maybe I've been eating too much lately or something. Lionblaze dismissed the thought nearly at once. He could see Jayfeather walking slowly to the gorse tunnel.

What the heck is he doing leaving the camp unattended? Lionblaze sighed and followed him, deciding to hunt a little to make up for ditching the evening patrol. I'll just keep an eye out for him while I'm hunting, Lionblaze decided. That way if he catches me I'll be able to prove I didn't just leave the camp to spy on him. Lionblaze dropped into the hunters crouch as a mouse darted across his vision. He waggled his haunches, preparing to spring. At the last second Jayfeather crashed through the clearing and scared the mouse under a bush and out of sight.

"What the heck!" Lionblaze screeched. "I was going to catch that!"

"Great Starclan!" Jayfeather screamed, jumping at least a fox length into the air. He turned around to face his brother. "I didn't know you were standing there!"

"I didn't know you made more noise then a wounded badger," Lionblaze shot back. He regretted it at once. "Look, I'm sorry," he started to apologize but Jayfeather cut him off. "Yeah, I'm real sorry I can't walk around normally like you," he choked. Lionblaze flinched at how hurt he sounded. "Well here's a news flash for you! I'M BLIND!" and then he turned tail and ran back in the direction of the camp. Lionblaze felt horrible. I'll apologize to him later, he decided. For now I need to concentrate on hunting. He looked around again, and as luck would have it, he spotted a thrush almost instantly, camouflaged from the undergrowth. Lionblaze sank low to the ground, and just as he was about to spring -

Jayfeather smashed his way out of a bush, and the thrush flew away, letting out an alarm call to every bird in a hundred foot radius. Lionblaze exploded into a yelling fit, not actually screaming any words, but a bunch of inaudible sounds. He stopped to take a breath, and Jayfeather leapt at the chance. Lionblaze inhaled a bunch of air, prepared to start howling again.

"Will you be quiet!" Jayfeather hissed.

"THRUSH... YOU... NOISE... THRUSH!" Lionblaze burst out.

"LIONBLAZE!" Jayfeather snapped. "For gods sake let it go."

"Why did you do that?" Lionblaze sputtered.

"I feel so useless!" Jayfeather wailed. Lionblaze was taken aback. "What? Why?"

"Everyone's always hunting for the clan, and all I do is sit around picking berries. A kit could do that! And while you guys are all out fighting," Jayfeather looked at the ground. "I'm sitting there, mixing herbs together."

"What brought all this on?" Lionblaze asked, the thrush already lost from his mind.

"I'm useless," Jayfeather snapped. "Completely, useless. I scare away the prey because I can't see where I'm going, I can't hunt to save my life, and when it comes to fighting I bet Longtail could do better!"

"Longtail can't fight," Lionblaze scoffed. Jayfeather glared at him. "Exactly!"

"Jayfeather, you can't control being blind."

"I hate it," Jayfeather said mutinously. "I should just die!"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Lionblaze all but screamed into Jayfeathers ear. "Don't even THINK about that!"

"Why not," Jayfeather mumbled. "It's not like any skills would be lost."

"You're being absolutely ridiculous," Lionblaze snapped. "You're one of the most useful cats in the clan."

"Yeah right," Jayfeather rolled his eyes.

"You are," Lionblaze glared at him, then stopped when he remembered Jayfeather couldn't see his expression. "Stop acting stupid," he said. "Want to go find something fun to do? We can steal Firestars nest and soak it in the creek."

Jayfeather stopped looking sad for a brief moment to look up at Lionblaze, annoyed. "Did you not learn your lesson from last time?" he snapped. About four moons ago, Lionblaze, Berrynose and Spiderleg stole Firestars nest from his den, dragged it down to the creek on the Windclan border, and soaked it. They were down there for a while, howling with laughter at it. Back at camp, Firestar had called a Clan meeting, announcing his nest had been stolen. Apparently Firestar had some sort of precious rock stuffed in his nest to keep it safe, and he wanted it back.

Four search parties had been set out, and as luck would go, Firestar was leading the one that patrolled the Windclan border. Lionblaze and his party had faced an entire moon confined to the camp. When the moon was up, Firestar found the rock hidden under some leaves in the corner of his den. Go figure.

"Firestar lost that stupid rock anyway," Lionblaze scoffed. "I'll bet he didn't care about it at all, he just wanted his stupid nest back."

"Probably," Jayfeather grinned. "Where did he lose it?"

"He dropped it down a rabbit hole."

Jayfeather decided he didn't even want to know how that happened. "How about we just go for a walk?" he suggested. "I can pick herbs and you can hunt."

"GREAT IDEA!" Lionblaze howled, happy that Jayfeather didn't sound sad anymore. Jayfeather suppressed a sigh as he heard a bird fly up and screech yet another alarm call.