Hello! Here's the next chapter. And thank you for all the reviews I'm getting! I'm pretty surprised ^^
REVIEWS
"Maplebreeze of MountainClan"- Well I realized that the one thing I've always sucked at is making mystery since I always start with the character at a young age. But reading stories, I realized that most of the time they start as late as possible.
"Twinkle Legacy"- What do you think?
"Uncommon. books"- Haha, right-o!
Flower- I'm always willing to accept OC's. However I can't promise that they'll actually make it into the story. It depends how things progress.
Brian- Oh dear, I'm in the big league now. Whoever said anything about rape? I know I've done it in the past but give me some credit... and I consider this on the edge since she was almost a warrior by that time.
Dawny- Haha, I'm glad you've got an idea about how it could go, cause I sure don't! This time I don't even know how it's going to end, though I do have more of the middle figured out. Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Silverdusk- Haha, it's alright. And you do have a good memory! I think you're the only one who said they remembered. It was already two years ago, my, how time flies.
Shallow- I hope you are!
"tudogg"- Thanks! And why are you asking me? I don't know anything!
catlover216- Not sure if it's a valid excuse for what he was trying to do. Well, just read and see ^^
"IncD"- Well, Jay was practically a warrior by that time, and it's all so exciting!
"Cherryblossom"- If a weird person looking exactly like you turned up and you had her past, are you sure you'd tell them your real name? Young people make mistakes, that's all I can say!
Frost- Yeah! I hope this doesn't disappoint!
"Nightbird1648"- It's alright! And thank you, this chapter doesn't have a cliff-hanger though, so no worries!
Mistystream- Thank you very much! I'll try to make this as epic as possible. And thank you for the cats! If you don't mind, I'd like to give them a special position? And I may change a few things, but not much.
Bubbles- Thanks for the cats! I'll try to use them.
Pinefur of SC- You ask some great questions, have fun wondering at them for a while yet!
Chapter 2: O'er the Hill and Far Away
Jay woke with a pounding in her head. Bleary, she opened her eyes and found them sticky with secreted salty moisture. She was still curled down on the packed sand floor, the light slanting away from the entrance, telling her it was morning. The sky outside was a powdery gray and the ocean waves had quieted to their normal rumbling purr.
With a grunt of effort, Jay pushed herself to a sitting position with her forepaws and her head bobbed as she waited to catch her balance. "You're up, finally," an annoyed mew brought her attention to the owner of the den. Pepper stood beside her nest, her tail whisking behind her irritably.
"Sorry, it seems I slept all night," Jay apologized, her voice was hoarse.
"And you've managed to get sick on top of that," Pepper hissed, the fur lifting along her spine. Jay didn't speak as Pepper whipped around to the back of the den and stalked back, spitting out a few leaves at her paws. "Eat those and get out."
Jay dipped her head, sniffing at the leaves carefully. She recognized the scent of tansy and knew it to be safe so she licked them up, scrunching her face at the sharp taste and shaking her head, willing the pain away. "I'll be on my way, then," she mewed, turning to the entrance.
"Good riddance," Pepper growled, turning her back to her as she stepped out of the den, squinting her eyes against the spray that the fierce wind whipped off the top of the waves. Turning her paws upward along the trail, her paws carried her to the top of the cliffs. Her stomach rumbled more loudly than the waves crashing down below.
But the top of the cliffs were just as desolate as the beach, sand mixed with patches of dirt and a few patches of coarse, needle-like grass. In the distance she could see a hazy line of trees. Where does Pepper get her food? Jay looked around uncertainly, surely there had to be somewhere closer than so far away?
Her belly rumbled loudly in complaint and she curled her claws, stepping out in the direction of the trees. She wouldn't find anything by standing here worrying about it. As the gray she-cat trekked across the path, she spotted a small pool of water left over from the storm yesterday.
Crouching besides it, she closed her eyes contentedly and drank, relishing the fact that it was not salty. She opened her eyes as she raised her head, her whiskers dripping and turning the pool into ripples. As the pool settled she saw not one cat, but two.
"I thought you said, 'good riddance,'?" Jay asked.
Pepper growled, "I'm not here to help you, but I'm sorry for your kits. So I'll make sure you don't make any mouse-brained decisions."
Jay dipped her head, accepting the insult and the help graciously- since it would be helpful to have a cat that knew the area- and turned her face back to the line of trees that were a little closer now. "I need to find a safe home with shelter, food, and water. I thought I'd fine that on the beach since my mother said she once lived there, but I'm not so certain anymore."
"It's difficult to raise young there," Pepper agreed. "My only kit, I lost in a storm like the one yesterday. She was much younger than you but I know she had more sense in one paw than you have in your head."
"Speaking of paws," Jay mewed, looking at Pepper's front paw that she held awkwardly, leaning off of it.
Pepper rolled her eyes, "Let's talk on the way, I'm as hungry as you are."
The two she-cats walked side by side. Had anyone seen them they would have had little room to doubt that this was a mother and a daughter. The pelt color was the same- a smoky dark gray with a hint of iridescent blue- and their eyes were the same color- deep, dark blue so that one may be tricked to think they were black. Even their bodies were similar, they were both short- by comparison to most cats- had rounder heads and rounder paws- though Pepper's features were much more so than Jay's.
The last thing that divided them was age, Pepper had a few silver hairs speckling her muzzle while Jay's smooth young limbs had not yet grown to their full size or reached their highest strength- being only twelve moons old.
But if the two cats noticed their similarities, they didn't speak of it. Jay didn't ask out of respect of privacy, and the fact that she simply had no interest in such things. Pepper's reasons were less easy to determine since her guarded gaze remained unhappily locked on the line of trees that towered over them as the sun passed its highest point.
"Do you always go so far for food?" Jay asked as she stepped under the shade and sat down, catching her breath from the stifling heat.
"No, I can usually catch something in the bushes around the clifftop," Pepper mewed. "But you aren't going to find a home in those shabby bushes, so we had to come here." Pepper narrowed her eyes up at the trees that blocked out much of the sunlight and curled her lip in disgust. "But a kit won't learn to breathe in a place like this."
"I grew up in an even thicker forest than this," Jay mewed, looking around. Although there were lots of trees, the ferns and bushes remained exclusively around the trunks of the trees, leaving the space wide open to travel through. She actually liked it more.
"I wouldn't mind living here," she decided, "For a while at least. I'm sure I'll get tired of it eventually."
"Is that why you left your first home?" Pepper asked, padding forward and sniffing at a clump of marigold.
"Part of the reason. I'm going to go hunt now," Jay mewed, turning to the forest in search of some kind of morsel to feast upon.
Her ears pricked as the scent of rabbit reached her. I haven't had a rabbit in a long time... But she was nervous about spending time on a rabbit when there was no cover to use to sneak up. Deciding not to bother, she searched and found a vole and chaffinch to devour and ate them up, taking time to groom herself afterward until she was crisp and clean.
Heading back to where she'd last seen Pepper, she paused as she saw three figures standing through the trees. Jay approached slowly, drawing in their scents and recognizing only Pepper's. The two figures were tall black she-cats that stood a whole head taller than Pepper. They both had amber eyes, though not quite the same shade and although they looked similar, Jay wouldn't bet that they were related.
"Jay! I found you some guides for around the forest," Pepper called and Jay hastened to reach them.
The two black she-cats glanced between the shorter gray she-cats and Pepper gave them a stern look. "We'll look around the forest with you to see if we can find you a home and then we'll be on our way," the first black she-cat mewed curtly, her amber eyes were darker, had more of a brown hint.
"Yeah, we have something to do with... Pepper," the other black cat mewed, her amber eyes were brighter, they had more of an orange tint.
Jay nodded, "I want it to be close to water and somewhere in this forest. A good solid den, or at least a place with the capacity to have one."
The black cats nodded and set out, leading them around. There was only one tiny stream that wound through this part of the forest, and there was no good place for a den along it. By dusk Jay was tired and called it a day. They ate and spent the night in the forest together.
The next morning the black she-cat with the amber-brown eyes woke her. "We need to get an early start, we'll be heading through other cats' territory today so we want to get through before they wake up."
"Alright," she agreed, letting the two black she-cats take the lead while she followed behind with Pepper. They traveled swiftly in silence through the leafy trees and open grass. Spotted sunshine started appearing as dawn ascended and the gulleys and clefts in the ground became pools of shadows.
Jay watched the three strange cats she had found herself surrounded by and wondered at them. Just because she was quiet didn't mean she hadn't noticed. All three of them hated each other. Pepper looked at them with a glazed look of anger and the two taller she-cats shot each other hostile glances while disdainful looks were shot back at Pepper.
By sun-high they had passed unseen through the rogue cats territory and settled down for a break by the stream which babbled along beside them. When the four of them had caught some prey and settled down to eat it together in tense silence Jay finished her meal first and paused to stroke her whiskers.
"Actually, I don't think you ever told me your names," she mewed, looking at the black she-cats.
They stared at her in surprise and Jay noticed that amber-brown she-cat was older than the other black cat, a few silver hairs spotting her muzzle. She's probably as old as Pepper. "We've been traveling for two days together and you never knew our names?!" the younger black she-cat hissed. She looked young, but not as young as Jay, perhaps the same age as her older siblings.
"You never told me and I never thought to ask," Jay mewed simply, staring her straight in the eye."It was not necessary for me to know it, but it would be improper to go on traveling without knowing your names," Jay added.
The younger black she-cat rolled her eyes, snorting and turned away. The older black cat glared at her and then turned to Jay, "My name is Raven, that is Amelia," the she-cat mewed, nodding at the younger she-cat.
Jay nodded, turning back to her washing. She didn't care to betray that she had grown up learning those names. It didn't matter anyways, they would help her find a home and then they'd be on their way.
Pepper rose to her paws and ordered them off, so they set out again and as they crossed once more into rogue territory Jay noticed that all three of them tensed up, a grim determination settled upon their shoulders. Amelia led them, her sharp eyes guiding them on a long and twisting path away from the stream and back to it.
"They're tracking us," Amelia growled, pausing at a little rise to look back. Although there was little undergrowth, the trees were so full and leafy that the distance was quickly swallowed by shadows whenthe sun was at an angle.
Jay looked around, "The sun is going down," she mewed.
"It'll be harder for them to find us at night," Raven mewed.
"It'll be harder for us to see them at night," Pepper growled.
"Let's keep moving, if we move fast we can get out of their territory by midnight," Amelia snapped, guiding the cats hastily through the woods.
Jay's paws ached and her month was dry, she wished they were still by the stream. Her slightly rounded belly seemed to add to her uncomfortableness as nausea knocked into her along with exhaustion. However she was- having passed her warrior assessment- a warrior. She kept quiet and trotted along dutifully until the pitch-blackness told her that the new moon was nearing its peak.
"There's the border line," Raven whispered, her black pelt lost in the darkness.
Jay paused and looked over her shoulder as the three sprinted for the border. Weren't these rogues they were dealing with? What kind of game were they playing... Jay trotted after her companions and found them flopping down near a pool of water. "Let's rest for now," Pepper mewed, sounding as exhausted as Jay felt.
The expectant mother crouched and drank until her thirst was quenched and then she sat back as the others came forward for their fill. She sat with her ears pricked, her eyes searching the flat darkness. Was that a crunch she heard? A faint wild smell reached her. Prey, or predator? It was impossible to tell in the darkness. Her traveling comrades were already fast asleep, exhausted by the long days trek. However, Jay was younger then all of them.
She rose to her paws and quietly started stalking back the border. "You shouldn't do something so reckless," a voice hissed in her ear.
She didn't flinch, turning to meet Amelia's bright amber eyes that flashed dimly. "Neither should you," Jay responded.
Amelia snickered, "I promise you I'm a much better fighter than you, and ruthless. I have nothing to worry about."
"Pepper hates these cats," Jay mewed, padding forward. "I'd like to do her a favor for all she's done for me."
"How did you know she hated them?" Amelia asked, sounding a little curious.
"I just noticed a few things, and it isn't difficult to put it together," Jay mewed, thinking of how Pepper would pause and look around, her lip curling in disgust. "By the way, why do you look so young? The way your eyes move and how you take command... Besides your temper you feel older than both Pepper and Raven," Jay mewed.
Amelia was quiet, following her as she sought the invisible enemies. "My father gave something precious to me once and I was given a gift. Or perhaps, it is more of a curse," Amelia mewed.
"You don't have to tell me," Jay mewed, sensing the grave hesitation in Amelia's tone.
"I won't. I just liked how observant you are. It isn't every day I find a young cat whose head isn't filled with thistledown," Amelia mewed.
"The cats are straight ahead, hiding in wait to ambush us," Jay mewed.
"I noticed, do you have a plan?" Amelia asked.
"Since you're the spy out of the two of us, you sneak around and surprise them. There are five of them so you want to knock out at least two of them first while I get their scout that's coming toward me. Then we meet up and get the last two," Jay mewed.
"You want to do it quietly?" Amelia asked, moving away.
"As quietly as possible, I wouldn't want to wake the others," Jay mewed.
"Jay, are we killing them or just knocking them out of action?"
"Your decision, not mine," she answered, crouching down to get upwind of the scout.
"What will you do?" Amelia asked.
"I don't know yet. But it's time to get moving," Jay mewed, abandoning Amelia as she streaked through the dark. The scout never noticed her. Jay leaped on her back, her weight falling upon the thin cat's shoulders and forcing the scout's head into the ground.
It was over in a second, the blow had been hard enough to knock the cat out and Jay left with little blood on her paws. She lifted her head and scented the air, the sharp preying instinct dawning upon her, a wild rush it was, one which the scent of blood intensified. Amelia has struck.
Jay raced forward, the startled cries guiding her and her whiskers doing the rest as she moved lithely through the woods. Bounding down a gully she leaped for one of the remaining cats that was engaged in combat with Amelia.
Her claws hit the neck and she felt around for the hollow between the should blades that every creature had on its neck and dug her claws into that, twisting sharply as she did so. There was a snap and a pop and the snarling creature she was perched upon convulsed and crumpled to the ground.
Jay paused, her heart beating erratically as she shook the blood from her claws. The only sound was silence. "Amelia, did you finish your part?"
"Of course," the she-cat mewed through a yawn, padding up to her, her paw steps sploshing in something and splashing the liquid on Jay's legs. But she didn't flinch, there was a reason why she didn't fit in with the Clans. "I can't believe these cats are the marauders that have been terrorizing the other rogues, they're pretty pathetic."
Jay prodded a limp bunch of fur, "There are probably more of them and they do it by overwhelming with numbers," she mewed. "But that takes care of the nits on our back, let's go back to the others, I'm tired," Jay mewed, turning back to where the border lay.
Amelia followed her, humming cheerfully. "I didn't think you'd really kill them," the she-cat mewed.
Jay shrugged in the darkness, "I only killed one. They really weren't that strong. Besides, there's something about a fight that I really can't stand," Jay mewed.
"And that would be?" Amelia asked, sounding almost giddy.
"Letting your enemy get away just to attack you another day. There's nothing more frustrating then a futile battle," Jay mewed.
Amelia agreed and the two she-cats reached where Pepper and Raven were sleeping, unaware of their activities. The two younger cats curled down together and fell asleep instantly. When the sun rose the next morning, Pepper and Raven stared in surprise to see their two colleagues curled up together in a ball of of purring fur, the light gleaming on their contented faces and glistening off their blood spattered pelts.
…
Raven and Pepper didn't speak a word to the younger two she-cats about the matter. When they rose they only ordered them to clean their fur and then they moved out, putting more space between them and the rogue territory before stopping to hunt, even though the threat had been eliminated.
"Jay, did you notice Pepper this morning?" Amelia asked.
"She seemed pretty unhappy about what we did," Jay mewed. They were trailing after the older cats, keeping up a steady pace through the silent forest.
"Did you know who those cats were that we attacked?" Amelia asked.
"No, and I don't really care to know," Jay mewed.
"You don't seem to care to know a lot," Amelia grumbled.
"I don't need to know everything about a cat to fight him. And I prefer to know even less when I kill him," Jay mewed.
"Seems pretty cowardly," Amelia declared.
Jay shrugged, "That's just how I am. For whatever you know, you're responsible. So I'm happy knowing as little as possible. Or at least, not allowing others to be aware of how much I know." With this she gave Amelia a glazed glare and the fellow she-cat dropped the conversation.
Not another word was spoken until dusk when, at long last, they came to the end of the forest. "We didn't find anywhere at all for a home," Jay sighed.
Raven shrugged, "All the good places are already taken up, but this is as far as we go. We let you accompany us this far, but you have to continue on your own," the black she-cat mewed.
Jay looked at her coolly. This had been planned the entire time. The two black she-cats had known all along there was nowhere to make a home. As she'd expected, they and Pepper had come here for their own reasons and she'd only been allowed to accompany them through dangerous territory thanks to Pepper's persuasion.
Without a word she stepped out from underneath the woods, looking out at the land ahead. Tall green grass waved, as tall as her shoulders as the new-leaf season deepened. It was pretty bare, open to the sky with a few scrubby patches of trees trembling along the river that ran out from the woods through the hills.
Far in the distance a little to the north east lay a palace of glimmering lights and hard angles. "That's Twolegplace, you want to avoid that," Amelia mewed, seeing her eye the place. Jay nodded, having heard of the place before. Back by the lake, she'd heard that if you went to the top of the rise behind the Horseplace you could see the Twolegplace far in the distance to the south east. So now I have a general idea about where I am.
Back even further to the north east was something that caught her eye, a tall long range of peaks that silhouetted itself in a hazy pattern against the sky. Faded purple and blue against the darkening dome overhead. She knew those were the mountains.
"Good luck with your fight," Jay mewed, starting off from the cats. Raven and Pepper flinched in surprise and Amelia smiled.
"So you knew all along, huh?" Amelia asked.
Jay looked back over her shoulder at the three figures that collected shadows, "I had a rough idea when those cats we attacked were waiting to ambush us. If they just wanted to drive us out, they would have challenged us outright, wouldn't they? And you aren't all as conspicuous as you may want to be," Jay pointedly looked at Pepper.
Pepper met her gaze levelly. "I didn't want you to get involved is all. They'll probably catch up with us sometime to night, so you better put some good distance between us if you don't want the risk of dying."
Jay turned forward again, "I wasn't planning on it. So, goodbye. Maybe we'll meet again in the land of the living." She crested a hill and disappeared from their sight.
Shaking her head she followed the river until she reached a small cluster of trees. She wasn't that far away from the edge of the woods. But she was out of sight or smelling range with the weak breeze that blew. However, if they were loud enough, she'd hear. And this was the obvious escape route. We were being tracked by at least eight cats, they won't stand a chance.
She caught a vole and scarfed it down, curling down on the slightly damp moss underneath a leafy green willow tree that veiled the vicinity beneath it. For a moment, she wondered exactly why they were fighting, that was the only thing she hadn't been able to figure out. She knew that something happened and they were going to fight, but what had happened she was drawing a blank on. Well, if they get rid of the rogues, then I can have their former territory, right? Or maybe I don't want to live in woods after all.
Curling down to wait she dozed until midnight, the faint starlight shedding a silver glimmer on the river that ran swiftly beside the willow like a restless snake. Just past midnight the first screeches of battle rocketed over the hills to her.
She positioned herself by the river, on a stone cliff over the narrow strip of beach where the trail ran, the sheer stone- probably four tail-lengths tall- on one side and the swift river on the other. Rocking a few of the precariously placed boulders she chose three that were slightly bigger than her and sat down to wait.
Just as she'd anticipated, four cats streaked along the bank, flecks of blood flying from their wounds and the light of flight in their eyes. Even Amelia ran, scowling, in retreat. A pack of seven less injured rogues trailed them. Jay sighed, waiting for them to draw nearer.
Only Amelia seemed to have noticed her and had broken from the trail, giving a spurt of seed to reach her before Pepper and the others did. "We going to block the path and leap on them from above?" Amelia whispered in her ear, her breathing heavy and irregular.
"Blocking? That wasn't my original intent, but it will be the effect, I suppose," Jay mewed.
Amelia's eyes glittered with delight and she nodded, understanding what she was saying and as her three comrades dashed beneath them they put their shoulders against the rocks, Jay holding Amelia back just a slight bit longer before they toppled down the boulders with perfect timing.
The rogues screeched in terror as the three bigger boulders fell, taking smaller stones and age-old dirt along with them. Jay waited for the dust to settle in the dark before she frowned, "We only took out four of them," she mewed in disappointment.
"No, five," Amelia mewed, nodding to the rogue in the front who had managed to avoid the crushing the rocks, only his tail was trapped and he scrabbled at the ground, his claws scratching over the rocks as he tried in vain to free himself.
The two unscathed rogues who had been lucky enough to be slow had turned and fled, not bothering to check on their colleagues. "Humph, rogues," Jay scoffed, jumping down beside the trapped rogue. As Amelia went to find her friends Jay interrogated the rogue for her missing information and then she coldly kept her promise of freeing the rogues' tail.
But she'd anticipated that he'd attack her, his flattened tail whipping through the air. And she'd torn out his throat before he could touch her. She ignored the blood that splashed across her chest and she passed him, her paws splashing in his blood as he gave his final convulses. The poor fox-heart, I didn't even care enough to know his name.
She then scaled the cliff and padded to where Amelia and the rest had gathered beneath the willow tree she had been resting beneath. "Jay! Didn't I tell you to get far away?" Pepper scolded, but her eyes were bright with contentment as she brushed up against a dark red and orange tom with merry green eyes.
Jay shrugged, "I didn't say I would. Besides, I knew you wouldn't stand a chance in a fight and I have nothing better to do."
"How about finding a home before your kits arrive?" Raven growled sternly, but even she seemed to be in a better mood.
Jay waved her tail, pertinently sitting down and wrapping her tail over her paws as she faced the four cats. "So you're Pepper's mate?" she asked, looking at the tom.
"Pepper?" he looked confused and Pepper whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said, it cleared things up and he nodded vigorously. "Yes, she is," he mewed happily.
"I'm surprised you were given the job as spy among the rogues, I thought Amelia was much better suited to that job," Jay mewed dubiously.
"I was the only one left that hadn't been seen by them, so I had to do it," the tom mewed.
"And what is your name?" Jay asked, this was the last piece of the puzzle.
"Needlepine," the tom mewed unhesitatingly, and Pepper groaned.
Jay smirked at her, Pepper's secret was uncovered and she knew it. "Anyways, I guess I do need to get back to finding a home. So stay safe," Jay mewed, getting up.
"Wait!" Needlepine mewed, stepping in her path, "You helped us out and it isn't safe to go into strange territory in the dark. You should stay with us until morning, Have a good rest and a good meal," he mewed.
"I'm not going to say no," Jay murmured. She was still tired and her hunger was coming back, though it could wait till morning.
"Then I'll keep watch and you can all get some rest," Amelia mewed cheerfully, leaving the willow tree and pacing around it. Jay curled down immediately on the ground where she stood. Raven did as well, yawning and giving her bloody pelt a few licks until she settled down and slept.
Pepper and Needlepine curled up together, tending to each others wounds and Jay pricked her ears in their direction, listening to their soft murmurs. "It's good to have you with me again," Pepper mewed.
"Same with you. But that cat... who is she?" Needlepine asked.
"She's a rogue who I found drowning in the ocean a couple days ago. It was the day before we had to set out so I brought her along, the stupid cat can't even take care of herself. I thought we might be lucky and find her a home in the woods to ditch her at but no such luck. If you want to work for a moon doing rough work you could make your own shelter by the stream, but she doesn't have that kind of time," Pepper mewed.
"Why doesn't she have time? She's a young cat and green-leaf is just starting," Needlepine mewed.
Pepper sighed, "I swear, you're always so dense. She's expecting kits." Needlepine expressed his shock that such a young cat was having kits all alone.
"It isn't like it's a new thing or anything. I was probably that age with my first litter, or younger, and I was traveling around too," Pepper mewed irritably.
"But you were in a special circumstance," Needlepine mewed softly and he whispered a few things Jay didn't catch.
"Anyways, she seems pretty restless. I wouldn't be surprised if she wandered around until she kitted. We need to find her a home, or tell her where she can find a home. Do you have any ideas?" Pepper asked.
"How about sending her to the Clans?" Needlepine suggested.
"No, even though Raven told us that the black cats and Pinefur were defeated by Scorch... I already tried to send her back to where she came from and she refused. She won't be going back to the Clans," Pepper mewed.
Jay stiffened, so Pepper knew more about her then she'd let on as well... "Back?" Needlepine mewed, "She was a Clan cat? Do you think she knew Scorch?" the older tom asked hopefully.
"Ask her yourself," Pepper mewed, "I haven't asked anyways. But I get the feeling that she did."
"I'll have to ask before she leaves tomorrow," Needlepine mewed with a yawn. "But let's put this trouble out of our minds. The rogues are defeated and we can live in peace again."
"Yes," Pepper murmured, "In peace."
They fell asleep and Jay listened to their soft breathing, finding the rhythm harmonious to her own and sleeping soundly until the first mornings light.
…
The morning light woke Jay just before it had reached the horizon, the first rays sending cream light streaking across the deep blue sky. She sat up and stretched, shaking the dew from her pelt and smoothing down her fur with a few licks.
Her fur was tingling and her whiskers wouldn't stop twitching. What was causing her so much excitement? She could taste it in the air, she really could. The breeze ran fast and clear from the north east and she left the willow tree, stepping over Amelia who had fallen asleep during guard duty, and came to the top of a hill.
Red glowed on gray and she could clearly see the pink mountain peaks against the dark sky. Magnificently cold, carefully clueless, they created a strong picture in her mind of a rough life living by the skin off your nose in valleys of stone. How invigorating. Her heart beat in her ears just thinking about it.
However, the one thing that held her back was her kits. She ran a paw over her belly, she could only just feel a tiny bump. They were growing and she wasn't oblivious to the fierce feelings she had already attached to them. No matter what, she wanted to give them a place that was safe to learn and grow but also sparked creativity and awe into their minds.
The ocean wasn't the place for her, it was too mind-numbing. So overwhelming that she felt her mind would be washed away just by staying there. The forest wasn't the place, too sheltered. These plains weren't the place either, too lonely. But those mountains... maybe when they were older.
"Maybe we could all go over that hill and far away," Jay whispered, hugging her belly tighter.
"The mountains are a dangerous place," Pepper's voice growled from behind her and she turned to see Pepper, Needlepine, and Raven approaching up the hill.
Jay ignored her, "I don't mind danger."
"You should, at least for your kits' sakes. And I promise you, it is no place for a queen," Pepper snarled.
Jay stayed silent, something powerful was pulling at Pepper's voice. She knew what she was talking about. "Are you from there?" Pepper nodded. "Is there any nice place up there? I don't want to strand myself and my kits in a rocky valley."
Pepper seemed reluctant but Raven nudged her. "If you go far to the north along the mountain range there's a pass. It's still tricky for amateurs, but it leads to a valley that is very green during the right seasons. But during the cold seasons the pass gets filled with snow and you have to risk your neck to get out again."
"So I just have to make it there before the snow comes," Jay mused. "Well, I'm off then," she mewed, getting to her paws, eyes fixed on the mountains.
"Wait!" Needlepine trotted up to her side. "I wanted to ask you. If you came from the Clans, do you know a cat named Scorch?" Jay nodded. "How is she doing?" Needlepine asked.
"Well, when I left she was expecting her third litter. Her mate was still the leader of ThunderClan and she seemed happy enough. Of course, that's saying as happy as a blind mother could be," Jay mewed.
"Blind?!" Needlepine looked stunned and Pepper seemed distressed. Even Raven looked shocked.
Amelia trotted up besides her, "I guess I never mentioned. But in the fight with Pinefur, after she dealt the killing blow, he blinded her," the black she-cat mewed. The three cats looked at Amelia severely. But Amelia ignored them and looked at Jay, "It must have been hard to see your mother like that."
Jay shook her head, "I was happy enough and she seemed happy enough. I didn't pry and we were all a family anyways. It didn't matter."
Needlepine was staring at her, dazed. "You're her daughter?"
Jay couldn't decide whether to be amused or annoyed. She went to stand by Pepper. "Rainstone and I are practically twins, don't tell me you didn't notice."
Rainstone flinched, "You knew my real name?"
Jay shrugged, "Not at first, but it was easy to guess after awhile. Your lame paw and how alike we look gave away that you are the mother of my mother, Rainstone."
Rainstone dropped her gaze, "Did she talk about us?"
Jay saw for a moment that Rainstone, despite trying not to care, still desperately missed her long-lost daughter. Jay touched her shoulder gently, "She named my brother after you," Jay mewed warmly. "She never forgot and neither did we. In fact, even though she can't travel anymore, I know having you two visit her would be a dream come true for her."
Rainstone lifted her head and met Needlepine's gaze. "Then that's just what we'll do."
"I'll go with you," Raven mewed, stepping next to them, "I'd like to see how the little furball is doing," the black she-cat mewed, a hint of warmth coming into her gaze.
"And I'll go with Jay," Amelia announced. Jay jumped in shock and the three others glared at her warningly. Amelia insolently smirked at them, standing beside Jay and wrapping her tail around Jay's neck. "She's the most interesting cat I've seen in a while."
Rainstone shook her head, "Jay, I'd almost say you'd be safer going alone than with that cat."
"I agree," Raven added. "I don't trust a cat who stays the same age for forever."
Amelia laughed and Jay shook her off, "I'm happy to have you along, but don't think you're going to be in charge," Jay mewed with a glint in her eye.
Amelia's eyes narrowed and a playful look played across her face, "The thought never even crossed my mind."
"Good luck on your journey!" Jay called to the trio, starting to turn away. Then she stopped and faced Rainstone, touching muzzles with her gently and breathing in her scent as if it were her mother's, "Goodbye, I loved meeting you."
Rainstone purred- the first and last time Jay would ever hear it- "I'm happy I got to meet you too, if even for a short while. But, Jay," Rainstone backed away, looking at her more seriously. "Over that hill and far away may be where you want to go, but it might not be where you want to stay. It's dangerous there, with cats even more ruthless than Amelia. You'll have to keep your wits about you if you want to survive."
Jay nodded, "I'll do that, for sure. And if it isn't where I want to stay, I'll just seek a new hill to climb and a new far away to find."
...
Jay is such a difficult character to write... I know I wanted to challenge myself, but this may be too much. I hope she isn't coming over as shallow or anything. Anyways, I'm trying a new thing with my writing, keeping the pace up while not explaining everything all at once. Is it not working as well? I'm always worried when I try something new.
Also, school starts tomorrow *cue moans and groans* But I think that for the first two weeks I'll be able to keep updating once a week. However, after that I start college classes on top of my regular school work so that may be when things slow down.
Please Review!
