Chapter 21: Old cats and hawks are cool too

All right everyone.. This is the moment I've been waiting to get to to show that Echoflight and Jayfeather love. But the timeline is screwed up. It was already effed up to begin with anyway. But I wrote this story when I was twelve and rambunctious and now I'm trying to edit it… But anyways let's just hope it still works out… Yes, I know that Jayfeather visits the ancients in Power of the Three. But since Half Moon gave Echoflight the prophecy recently let's just work from there. Aight? Aight. Don't forget to review, thanks for reading, yada yada, and heartsign.

I opened my eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight. Did I oversleep? The sun usually isn't this bright… Shocked, I stood up. I was in the mountains. Well that explains the blinding sunlight… but why the hell…?

I looked around, frowning. To answer my question, a pale white she-cat bounded up to me, her green eyes gleaming. "Echo Whispers! There you are! Half Moon and everyone else has been looking everywhere for you." She gasped with relief.

Echo Whispers…? Am I with the ancients?

"Come on!" the white she-cat urged as she led me to the caves in the mountain cliffs. I took a deep breath, willing myself not to look down. Damn it all! I hate heights…

Soon enough the white she-cat had led me to a clearing with other cats. Some were talking amongst each other while others were demonstrating other moves to one another.

The Tribe of Rushing Water… Well… the ancient version of Tribe of Rushing Water.

"There you are, Echo Whispers!" Half Moon exclaimed as she bounded up to me. "H-Half Moon!" I stammered as she rubbed her cheek against mine.

"I thought we lost you like Jay's Wing…" she murmured. Like Jay's Wing? So this is after Jay's Wing led her to the mountains…

I looked around the camp. "I'm sure he'll turn up," I meowed.

Almost as if the irony were to kill me, sudden yowls erupted from the camp as some tribe cats led a gray tabby with blue eyes into the clearing. My eyes widened. Jayfeather!

"Jay's Wing!" Half Moon exclaimed, rushing towards him. She rubbed her muzzle against his. I saw Jayfeather close his eyes as he let out a purr. A pang of jealousy stabbed through me but I willed myself to ignored it as I turned to the other she-cat with me; Dove's Wing.

"Wow, you were right!" she mewed, looking at me. I shrugged. I usually am…

I glanced around the camp. "Where is everyone?"

"Hunting! We have to time it right though, since hawks are usually flying around," Dove's Wing explained.

"Echo Whispers are you alright?" Half Moon asked. I glanced at her. She frowned.

Dove's Wing nodded. "When I found you you were unconscious and you looked confused as to where you were."

"Oh um… I hit my head. Hard," I lied. Well… they're old… Maybe they'll believe it.. Wow, god that was terrible of me to say.

Half Moon frowned. "Alright, if you're sure. You're not hurt any more than that?"

I shook my head.

"That's a relief!" Half Moon sighed. "I don't know what I would do if my sister was hurt."

I blinked. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phone. My ancestor cat is Half Moon's sister?

"Um, Echo… Whispers," Jayfeather meowed. "Can I speak with you for a second? Privately?" he added.

I nodded, following him into an empty cave. Jayfeather let out an exasperated sigh. He looked up at me, his blue eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I… I honestly have no clue! I just went to sleep and I was really tired and I woke up here! What are you doing here?"

Jayfeather frowned. "None of your business."

I smirked. "Is it your stick?"

Jayfeather's eyes widened slightly. "M-My what?"

"Your stick. You know… the stick with the tribal markings?"

Jayfeather shook his head, his ears flattening against his head. I smirked. JayxStick is the true OTP.

"Do you know that the Four cats here are the key to the Four cats in the prophecy?" I asked him. He nodded. "I figured," he meowed. "So far I've found Dovepaw… Dove's Wing… But other than that… I have no clue."

"Shy Fawn will give birth to a few kits later on," I meowed. "One of the kits is called Lion's Roar; he represents Lionblaze. But still… We're kind of lost if we don't know who the Fourth cat is."

Jayfeather let out a sigh. "I was hoping that one of the cats here would be familiar to one back in ThunderClan."

I nodded. "Let's hope for that."

Jayfeather nodded as well. "Let's head back," he meowed, standing up. "Half Moon must be wondering what's going on."

I reluctantly followed behind him, my jealousy overwhelming.

"Echo Whispers!" gasped a she-cat similar looking to Half Moon. She bounded towards me, rubbing her muzzle against mine.

"R-Rising Moon!" I stammered. Half Moon's mother…

Another cat, a tom, followed behind his mate. He rested his nose on my forehead. Chasing Clouds…

I forced a purr. So these are my 'parents'.

After meeting the rest of the Tribe, Jayfeather glanced at me. He made a gesture that I should follow him again. I groaned, walking after him.

"I can't spot anyone who looks like someone from ThunderClan," I told him.

He nodded. "I know… I'm having the same problem."

I sighed. "How are we going to find the Fourth cat?"

"I don't know."

I glanced back towards Half Moon who was discussing something with Rising Moon and Dove's Wing. My face fell slightly at seeing her pretty green eyes sparkle. No wonder he likes her…

"Echoflight?" Jayfeather mewed. I glanced back at him. "S-Sorry," I stammered. "Um… let's just keep trying, okay? Maybe one of Shy Fawn's kits could be the Fourth."

Jayfeather shrugged. "Whatever you say."

As it became later in the day I could tell Jayfeather was becoming more stressed out about this. As we settled down to sleep his eyes remained wide open. Right when I had finally closed mine, he nudged me.

"Echoflight!" he hissed. I opened one eye to look at him.

"What?" I asked, annoyed he had just woken me.

"I have no clue who the Fourth cat to be… What if there isn't one?"

I shook my head. "There is one," I murmured, yawning. "Go to sleep, Jayfeather. We can figure it out in the morning."

Jayfeather huffed irritably but didn't say anything else as he let me close my eyes and drift back into calming darkness.

When I opened my eyes again cold wind was ruffling my fur. I shivered, curling up closer to myself. "It's freezing!" I hissed as it did no avail. Cats around us were already getting up, unaffected by the cold weather.

"StarClan it's freezing!" Jayfeather hissed, his fur brushing against mine. I nearly jumped out of my fur. I willed my heart to stop pounding.

"Echo Whispers, Jay's Wing! May I have a word with you?" Stone Song mewed as he walked up to us.

Jayfeather and I nodded as we got up and followed the tom to a place not surrounded by many cats.

"I'm worried that it isn't our destiny to come here," he meowed. "Jay's Wing, both you and Echo Whispers were certain that our ancestors wanted us here but I can't help thinking it was wrong."

I shook my head. "No, we are supposed to be here. It's going to take some getting used to, but we'll learn."

Jayfeather nodded. "Echo Whispers is right. We need to find different ways for living here."

Stone Song looked thoughtful, nodding. "I guess you're right," he meowed, standing up. "Thank you," he added as he walked away.

I glanced at Jayfeather. "Are you certain they'll stay here?" he asked.

I nodded. "They will," I meowed.

"Oh, Jay's Wing! I was wondering if you'd like to come hunting with me!" Half Moon asked. Jayfeather looked up, nodding. He followed the pretty white she-cat out of the camp. I sighed. Although other cats were with them, it didn't help clear the fact that Half Moon was with Jayfeather.

And Jayfeather is so in love with her. I shook my head. Stop acting like a jealous bitch. Try and find someone who looks like a ThunderClan cat. I began to walk around, starting conversation with almost every cat I spotted in the tribe. None of them looked like anyone I knew.

Okay… Maybe this harder than I thought. I sighed, sitting down. What do I do now? We were sent here for a reason… maybe that reason isn't to find the Fourth cat… But who knows?

There was a sudden howl as Chasing Clouds ran back into the camp, Half Moon and the rest of the hunting patrol following. I bounded up to them. "Chasing Clouds!" I exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

He nodded although one of his eyes remained closed. "I'll be fine."

Damn those flying birds! If they kill someone here I swear… I spotted Jayfeather standing back, awkwardly. I bounded to him. "Jay's Wing, can we talk?" I asked. I saw Half Moon was listening. "Alone?"

Jayfeather nodded. "Let's go," he mewed as he led me out of the camp again. I attempted to follow him around the mountains as skillful as he was. My left paw slipped awkwardly as rocks tumbled from my weight. I hissed, regaining my balance before I slipped.

"Careful!" Jayfeather warned. "It's slippery since there's a waterfall there," he nodded his head towards the rushing water. I glared at him.

"You could have told me that sooner," I meowed.

Jayfeather didn't say anything as we passed the waterfall. We were soon near a mossy clearing. I sat down, grateful we weren't at the edge of the mountain anymore.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"Um… well, Half Moon is supposed to become the first Stoneteller."

"The first Stoneteller?" Jayfeather echoed. "But that means that she can't take on a mate! You know how much she loves me! How much I…"

I lowered my gaze. So Jayfeather really does love Half Moon. How typical. "I know," I meowed. "But you're going to have to tell her."

"No, you tell her!" Jayfeather snapped. "I will not tell her that!"

I glared at him. "What do you mean you won't tell her?"

"I mean that I won't tell her!" Jayfeather narrowed his eyes.

I hissed angrily, raking my claws against the ground. "I can't believe you're being so selfish! She won't listen to me if I tell her! She'll listen to you!"

"You know how much Half Moon loves me! If I tell her it'll break her heart," Jayfeather countered.

Half Moon! I thought angrily. You said that Jayfeather cared about me. If he did he'd listen to what I have to say. "That's exactly the reason why you have to tell her!" I exclaimed. "Because she loves you! And she won't be a selfish, inconsiderate fox-heart you're being right now!" I added.

Jayfeather's eyes widened. After the shock faded away it returned to the anger. "Are you sure? Or will she ignore it because I broke her heart?"

I couldn't take it anymore. Does he not care hearing this breaks my heart? "Fine then!" I snarled. "Go on, don't tell her! Destroy the prophecy and have these cats leave back to the Lake. See if I care," I added as I stalked off.

I sighed angrily. Jayfeather just doesn't understand! Why won't he? StarClan makes it sound so easy… I stared up blankly at the sky. Whenever I heard him say the name 'Half Moon' I would fume in anger. She's a freaking ghost cat for God's sake! I thought, angrily. Even though I'm a twoleg at least I'm not centuries older than him! He never even gives me a second glance… he hardly thinks of me as a friend too, I bet.

I twitched my ears. A caw of a hawk sounded. I looked up, my eyes widening in horror at the sight of a hawk flying towards me. I tried to move but my body was paralyzed with fear. Wait… am I immortal here? My eyes widened in terror at the realization that I was definitely not immortal.

"Echo Whispers!"

I recognized the voice; Jayfeather. "Echo Whispers!" This time it was Half Moon. I scowled. Half Moon…

Suddenly the hawk grabbed me, its claws piercing through my fur. "Ah!" I cried out as I tried to break free, only to have the hawk's claws dig deeper into me.

"Echo Whispers!" I heard Jayfeather hissed as he jumped up onto the hawk. My eyes widened. The hawk let out screeches as it tried to fly off with the both of us, but was having difficulty with Jayfeather clawing at it. "Jay's Wing!" I gasped. The hawk squeezed me tighter. I let out another gasp as I gulped for air.

It's no use, I thought sadly. Jayfeather isn't strong enough…

"Don't give up, Echoflight!" Jayfeather hissed, barely loud enough for me to hear. I opened my eyes immediately. I looked around and saw that more cats were coming. Chasing Clouds, Stone Song, Rising Moon and Dove's Wing.

"Let go of her!" howled Chasing Clouds as he jumped up on the hawk, along with Stone Song as they helped Jayfeather in clawing at it. The hawk screeched, attempting to throw the cats off to no avail.

Finally giving up, the hawk dropped me, flying off as it let out another angry screech, disappearing. I gasped for breath, grateful I was on the ground. Jayfeather was by my side immediately. He nudged me. "Echoflight… Echoflight, are you alright?" he whispered.

I nodded, although my side stung terribly where the hawk had grabbed me. "Echo Whispers!" gasped Half Moon. "Are you all right?"

I nodded as I tried to stand up. My legs wobbled and I almost toppled over only to be saved by Jayfeather (again). "Rest some of your weight on me," he meowed. "We'll take you back to the caves."

I nodded again as I leaned against Jayfeather, heading back to camp. Fugging hate hawks...