A New Era

Hi! What's up guys? The story is going great! I'm getting lots of hits! Yay! Also, it has been decided that SkyClan will be joining us! So, anyway… We're gonna switch back to Jayfeather's POV, and he's gonna try another… Let's say, "experiment" in this chappie. Hmmm… I wonder how that's gonna turn out! Anyhoo! This chappie takes place just after Hazeltail ran away, and the day after Leafpool returns. Fun!

~Crystal Cavern

P.S. I tried to make this chappie long since I took a little break! Oh, and, please review!

Chapter 9: The Stunt That Gave Answers

As the light started to shine in the medicine cat's den, Jayfeather awoke. He stretched his paws and yawned. What a night! He hadn't been able to sleep well after what Leafpool told him. He tossed and turned his nest the whole time! And when he did sleep, it was an uncomfortable struggle. But, that wasn't what made it so unbearable. He was worried that Firestar didn't come to him in his dreams. And Willowshine too… What about her? Wasn't she supposed to come back today?

He pricked up his ears and listened. A few birds were chirping. Everybody was waking up and getting ready for the day. He scented Leafpool sorting out some herbs, and heard the crunching of dried out leaves. There was the faint scent of Hollyleaf, Berrynose and Mousefur too.

"Should I go collect some more herbs?" He asked. "Some of those don't seem fresh anymore."

Leafpool didn't reply. She just continued sorting.

"Leafpool? Are you all right? Leafpool?" He padded over to her.

Leafpool was playing with some catmint. "Leafpool? Leafpool, what's wrong?" Jayfeather asked again. When she still didn't say anything, he batted her tail. "Leafpool!" He screamed, right in her ear.

She looked back, over her shoulder. "Good morning, Jayfeather." She murmured sadly. Although he couldn't see it, Jayfeather was sure that Leafpool had a somber expression on.

"Leafpool, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." Yeah right! And hedgehogs fly! Jayfeather thought.

"You can tell me, Leafpool." And if you don't, I'll pry it out of your head!

Leafpool sighed, and stopped playing with the dried out, crumpled pieces of catmint. "It's Hazeltail." She said. "Sh-she... she ran away."

Hazeltail what?! "Last night, after you left to go see Hollyleaf in the warriors den," Leafpool continued, "Lionblaze came in and said that Hazeltail ran away." Leafpool shook her head. "I don't know why! I feel like I'm failing Firestar! And StarClan! And all of ThunderClan!" Leafpool wailed softly. "Why? Why is this happening? Why didn't StarClan give us a new leader? If this was decided, then none of this," she gestured to the catmint, "would have happened!"

"What else? What are you not telling me? I'll find out sooner or later." Jayfeather asked. What does Hazeltail running away have anything to do with catmint?

Leafpool turned away. "Jayfeather, take a warrior with you and go fetch some more catmint. It's by the abandoned twoleg-place."

Jayfeather's fur bristled. I know where it is! "I don't need a warrior to accompany me! I could do it my myself!" He argued.

Leafpool replied without moving or seeming offended. "Fine. Take an apprentice then. You'll need an extra mouth to carry it."

Jayfeather forced his fur to lie flat. "Fine." He said. "But who has green-cough?"

"Mousefur does, but Berrynose, and Hollyleaf have tummy-ache. They were here, but I told them to go rest in their dens, since it's not too bad. Green-leaf is mild this year, and they've worked so hard. Berrynose and Hollyleaf need some yarrow. I think you should gather some of that as well. They probably ate some bad fresh-kill." Mousefur, I understand. She old. But, Hollyleaf and Berrynose?! What have they been eating? Other than being his usual annoying self, Berrynose is a strong warrior! And Hollyleaf! She's sick too! She was fine last night!

Jayfeather gave a curt nod, and then felt stupid since Leafpool wasn't looking at him. He decided to get some fresh kill first, and then ask Sandstorm to go with him. She was practically ancient, and very intelligent. Plus, he needed to talk to her. She needed to know what Leafpool had told him the night before. He could have taken Squirrelflight, but his "mother's" mouth was slippery. She blurted things out too much. Sandstorm had more self-control.

As he padded over to the fresh-kill pile, he noticed that there was only a thrush left, and the one that Lionblaze brought back yesterday too. It was not too stale, but it reeked of dirt. How long exactly was it buried?!

He decided not to eat after all. It wasn't worth it. He could wait for the hunting patrol to return. It wouldn't take too long. Lionblaze was with them. Again… Jayfeather regretted putting Lionblaze on so many patrols. He had wanted to keep him busy, but now it was hard to find a time when everybody was free to discuss the issue.

Jayfeather padded over to the warriors den. "Sandstorm?" he asked.

It was Brightheart who answered. "She went out with Cloudtail to track down Hazeltail. Why?" she asked.

"Nothing." He sniffed. There was only Brightheart, Hollyleaf and Berrynose in the den. Hollyleaf and Berrynose were sleeping, but Brightheart was awake. (Obviously…) Everybody else's scent was stale. "Where is everybody else?"

There was a pause. "I don't know." Came the uncertain reply. "Here and there, I guess." Jayfeather thought that that was suspicious. I don't remember giving orders that included this many cats to be gone for such a long time. Where could they be? For all I know, Littlecloud might make ShadowClan invade our camp now! Then he went against his previous thought. No. Firestar said that the other clans would help us. There would be no reason to attack right now. All the other clans have their own problems.

He thought about his next move, and picked his words carefully. "Brightheart." He said. "I need to go get some catmint for Mousefur, and some yarrow leaves for Berrynose and Hollyleaf. Can you come with me?" He paused, and then explained. "It's so they can get better. I don't want them to get sicker. You're good with herbs."

His former mentor thought. "Of course, Jayfeather. I want to help the clan in any way possible."

"Thanks, Brightheart." Jayfeather said.

Jayfeather and Brightheart headed towards the abandoned twoleg-place. They walked in silence.

About halfway there, he tried to talk with Brightheart. "Brightheart, who do you think the next leader should be?" Jayfeather tried to make it sound casual.

At the words, Brightheart flinched. She thought about it. "StarClan chooses." Instead of picking a cat's name, she submitted herself to higher power. A very wise answer. Jayfeather thought.

"What do you think caused the deaths of Firestar and Brambleclaw?" Jayfeather asked.

Again Brightheart flinched. There was another pause, and then, "I don't know, but whatever it was, it was not any sickness I've ever heard about."

"What do you have in mind, Brightheart?"

"Well…" She thought about it, uncertain. "I think it was a ghost."

"Ghost?"

"You know, like a spirit. I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but Greystripe said that when he lived with twolegs, he once heard the twoleg kits squeal about ghosts. He said that they seemed scared of them."

"Greystripe lived with twolegs before?" Jayfeather asked.

Brightheart twitched her ears. "Yes." Then she added quickly. "But you can't tell anyone I told you, especially the senior warriors. Okay?"

Jayfeather nodded. "Fine… But tell me more."

Brightheart hesitated. "Well… Back when we were in the forest… You know, the one which Tigerstar lived in… Well… Before we left…"

Jayfeather was getting impatient, and he gave his tail a single lash. "Please get to the point."

Brightheart sighed. "Well… The twolegs came in and captured cats… Including me… Greystripe, who was deputy at that time, led a rescue patrol and saved me, and all the other cats, but he himself got caught." Brightheart sighed again, and she continued in a gentle tone. "That was when Greystripe got sent to a twoleg home, where he met Millie."

Jayfeather finally understood. He once caught a glimpse of what it was like in one of Cirderheart's stories, but this was the first time he heard the whole thing. "And it was because of the twolegs that we moved here, right?"

Brightheart nodded. "That's right. You weren't born when it happened, but that's the true story."

Jayfeather tried to get the conversation back on track, but it was Brightheart who spoke first.

"Jayfeather, at the gathering, what are we going to do? StarClan didn't give us a new leader, and they showed no hint of help. Are we going to be driven out like WindClan?" Brightheart blurted out.

"WindClan were driven out?" Why is there so many things that I don't know?! StarClan, why don't you just tell me the whole history of the Clans?! It would have been really useful right about now! Jayfeather flicked his ears. "I feel like a blabbering fool." Wow. Never said that before. "Could you tell me about the time when WindClan was driven out?"

Brightheart stopped walking. "Jayfeather, we're here."

Jayfeather hadn't noticed, but now he could scent that they were, in fact, at the abandoned twoleg-place. And… he was about to walk right into the catmint bush. For the second time that day, he felt stupid.

Brightheart began collecting stems of catmint. Jayfeather did the same. They got as much as they could, and headed back to camp. Jayfeather wanted to chat a bit more with Brightheart, but with his mouth full of herbs, he couldn't. So instead… he decided to go into her head.

But before he did, he remembered that he would have either spaced out or gone unconscious, and quickly pushed the idea out. It would have been bad if he suddenly stopped walking and flopped on the floor like he was having a heart attack.

When Jayfeather and Brightheart got back to the camp, they went straight to the medicine cat's dean and dropped the herbs by Leafpool.

Leafpool thanked them, took a few stems, and ran to where Mousefur was.

As Jayfeather walked back outside, he noticed that there were a lot more cats around. Hmmm… I guess that they finished whatever they were doing.

Just as Jayfeather was padding over to the freshly stocked fresh-kill pile, Brightheart spoke up. "Jayfeather, we still need to get the yarrow leaves for Hollyleaf and Berrynose."

Jayfeather grunted in response. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and he was hungry, but medicine cats had to help their clans first before relaxing. It wasn't a rule, just common sense. Plus, it'll make you honorable.

Jayfeather and Brightheart padded out of camp.

When they were out of earshot of Squirrelflight, who was guarding the entrance, Brightheart spoke. "Jayfeather, where is the yarrow tree?"

Jayfeather replied, "Just follow me. I know where I'm going. And Brightheart?"

"What?"

"Could you tell me about WindClan?" Jayfeather felt like a kit again, begging to go out and explore clan territory.

To his surprise, Brightheart didn't answer his question, but asked him question. "Jayfeather, why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious, I guess. A medicine cat needs to know this stuff." Plus, I want to know if this has anything to do with Scourge.

Brightheart stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Mousefur has greencough, right?"

"That's what Leafpool told me." Why do you want to know that?

"Then why don't you ask her to tell you the story when she gets better?" Brightheart asked playfully.

"I don't want to seem like a kit! She might not even tell me!" And besides, she's going to wonder where I got the idea from if she survives.

Jayfeather nudged Brightheart's shoulder with his nose. "Come on, I want to get back to camp by sun-high." And I also want to eat.

Brightheart continued to follow Jayfeather.

"Jayfeather," She asked, surprising Jayfeather once again, "What about you? What do you think happened to Firestar and Brambleclaw?"

I don't think, I know. Jayfeather thought, but I can't tell you that… At least, not yet…

Jayfeather padded on without answering.

"Jayfeather?" Brightheart asked, "Come on! Tell me! I won't laugh! I promise!"

"I can't." was all he said.

Brightheart flattened her ears against her head, but then straightened them up again. "Fine, but I'm here if you ever want someone to talk to. You can trust me."

Jayfeather rounded an oak tree to get to the yew. He smelt it. He heard Brightheart shuffle around. "What do we do, Jayfeather? The yarrow tree doesn't have a lot of leaves! They're so tiny!" That's right, it's new-leaf! Welcome to reality!

"Don't worry. We just have to break down a branch with leaves on it. Even small leaves would make a cat vomit out whatever bad prey he had eaten."

"Fine. Let me try." Brightheart said. Jayfeather sat down and listened to Brightheart. He could hear her drop into a hunter's crouch. She gathered all her strength in her hindquarters and leaped. In midair, she unsheathed her claws and sliced the tip of a small branch off. She landed perfectly, but her voice was not happy. "The yarrow is so tall! I can't reach the branches!"

Jayfeather sighed. And that's why we climb… He got up and grabbed the tree trunk. Digging his claws in, he heaved himself up onto the first branch. "This is how it's done." He continued to climb up until he was pretty high.

"Careful!" Brightheart called.

"I can take care of myself!" he yowled back. Jayfeather climbed onto a sturdy branch and dragged himself across it. Once he thought he scented a squirrel within leaping distance of him and his mouth watered. He was about to jump, but he didn't. Jayfeather lost his balance and wobbled on the branch. He was expecting Brightheart to tell him to be careful or to come down and let her do it, but she held her tongue. If only all cats were like her. Jayfeather thought. Snapping back to the present, Jayfeather sliced off a few small twigs around him. They fell to the forest floor.

He called, "Get those twigs, Brightheart!" and started to climb down.

Brightheart's reply was muffled. "I'ff goth ttit!"

As Jayfeather climbed down, he got an idea. When he got within leaping distance to the ground, he purposely let his hind paw slip and he tumbled to the ground. It didn't really hurt that much, but he let out a yowl anyway.

Brightheart ran over to him, and spat out the twigs. "Jayfeather! Jayfeather! Are you okay?" She asked. "Say something!"

Jayfeather pretended to pass out. He peered into Brightheart's mind, searching for WindClan's past. I'm sorry, Brightheart. He thought, but if you won't tell me what happened to WindClan, I'll find out myself.

Jayfeather searched into Brightheart's mind. First the image of Cinderheart tumbling out of a tree came into view. I guess she's thinking I broke my leg or something. It was a logical thought, so Jayfeather wasn't too angry.

He looked for WindClan cats… but saw nothing. He did see a group of cats… No… That's BloodClan. I recognize them from my other vision. He looked for WindClan, but he didn't see them. No WindClan… There has to be something from WindClan!

Then he saw Onestar. But that was it. No WindClan past.

Jayfeather realized that he was taking too long, and slipped back into his own mind. Brightheart was pacing around him. "What do I do? What do I do?" She seemed to be talking to herself. "Ok. Calm down, Brightheart. You're not going to tell him about the meeting. You're not going to betray your clanmates. You're not going to tell him anything. You're going to go back to camp and ask for help." She sounded worried.

Jayfeather immediately sat up. He didn't want the clan to know about this, and especially not Leafpool. "I'm fine." He said.

Brightheart wasn't convinced. "I saw you fall! When did you wake up? Are you all right, Jayfeather? That was my fault! I'm so sorry!"

"That wasn't your fault. I'm fine. I only pretended to fall." Jayfeather said.

"What are you talking about? You slipped! I saw you!" Brightheart babbled on. "We need to get you back to camp." She shook her head briefly. "No. Never mind. I'll bring Leafpool over here. Don't move!"

As she was turning around, Jayfeather pounced on her back, claws sheathed. His weight pinned her down. He growled in her ear. "I said, I'm fine. Calm down, Brightheart."

Brightheart slowed her breathing from fast, shallow gasps to normal breathing. Only then did Jayfeather climb off her.

"Now." Jayfeather said. "Brightheart. You owe me an explanation."

Brightheart replied. "No. You owe me an explanation."

Jayfeather sighed. "Fine. I pretended to fall so-"

"So you could scare me to death?!" Brightheart challenged. "I thought you had broken bones! I thought you would have been crippled for the rest of your life! I even briefly thought that you were going to be like Cinderpelt!"

Jayfeather responded by twitching his ear. "But I'm fine. It's over." Then there was an awkward silence. "Brightheart, now it's your turn to explain. What did you mean when you said, 'meeting'?"

Brightheart twitched her ears and looked away, like a guilty apprentice who didn't change the elders' moss. "I can't tell you."

"Yes you can."

"No, I can't. I can't betray everyone."

"What is it about? At least tell me that." Jayfeather said.

Brightheart hesitated. "The gathering that's in two moonrises."

"And…?"

"Our new leader."

Author's note:

I tried to make this chappie long, and I put in about 3 hours of continuous typing! For my efforts, PLEASE review! The reviews are greatly appreciated!

In other words, review, or else.