*~Heya peeps, heres the new chapter. Thanks for all who reviewed last chapter, Blossomstar, Lightkit, xBlaze of Furyx, Skystripe, Wildstar07, New Prophecy, Shimmerleaf, Sunpelt, Jaggedpelt, Silverpelt-Hawksky and Cinderpaw11. Takes a moment to breathe. Well anyway this chapter may be kinda boring, and there are 16 chapters left of the story, so KEEP ON REVIEWING! Also check out my other stories and I have a poll on my profile asking which story you think I should write next. Thanks!~*
~Leo~
CHAPTER 22
As the last cats found a comfortable place to stay, light rain began to patter outside the caverns.
"I hope this is comfortable for you all" Stormfur meowed, licking his paw, "Its a good thing we have some empty caves, or I doubt everyone would fit".
"Its fine thanks" Jayfeather answered, sniffing his surroundings.
Everything smelled of cold stone and wet grass, totally different than the familiar scents of the forest. The scent of Graystripe wove in front of Jayfeather's nose, as the gray striped warrior appeared at the cave entrance.
"There's someone I want you to meet Stormfur" the older tom meowed, walking towards his son.
Jayfeather noticed Bumblestripe and Briarpelt walking into the cave. So Graystripe's finally going to show his son, his new kits.
"These are my kits" he meowed, "Briarpelt and Bumblestripe".
Stormfur turned his amber gaze, to meet his younger siblings.
"Its nice to meet you" Briarpelt stepped forward, looking at her brother inquisitively.
"Same here" Stormfur responded, smiling. He turned to look at Bumblestripe who was standing awkwardly, "Are you okay?".
The striped tom looked up, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Its good to finally meet you, Graystripe told us a lot about you".
Their father smiled, and Jayfeather could feel the awkwardness in the air beginning to fade.
"Their are some cats I would like you to meet as well" Stormfur meowed with a smile, "I'll be right back".
Jayfeather knew where his old friend was going, to get his two kits. Graystripe will be excited to see his Grandkits, Jayfeather smiled, it was good that his grandfathers friend had so much family now. He remembered feeling Graystripe's pain whenever he thought about his previous mate, Silverstream. It was like a monster hitting you, over and over again.
"Come kits" Stormfur's delicate meow came from the cave entrance.
The dark gray tom padded in, two fluffy bundles running behind.
"Whose kits are these?" Graystripe meowed, looking curiously at the two young cats.
His son smiled, "Their mine, and their your grandkits".
Instantly Graystripe's steady purr turned into what sounded almost like thunder, he rushed over to the two kits and smothered them in licks.
"What are their names?" Briarpelt asked, seeming interested in her niece and nephew.
"This is Light where sun shines" Stormfur flicked his tail to a cream and white she-cat who was being battered in licks. Her brother was a dark brown almost black tom, with white paws.
"And this is Hawk that Hunts Swiftly" Stormfur prodded his son.
Jayfeather smiled as the family talked about the kits and Graystripe introduced them to Millie.
I'll never have kits of my own, he sighed, though I probably couldn't handle being a father. He would probably end up torturing them anyway.
"Jayfeather can I have a word?" a meow belonging to Firestar made the gray Medicine Cat turn.
"Sure" Jayfeather sighed, it looked as if that nap he was longing for, had to wait.
The flame pelted leader stopped at a cavern entrance, and turned to face his grandson.
"I just wanted to thank you for what a great job you've been doing as Medicine Cat, the clan really appreciates it" Firestar rested his tail on Jayfeather's shoulder.
Then why can't anyone leave me alone long enough for a short nap? He bit back the retort, and thanked Firestar.
"It looks like you'll be able to take Emberkit as an apprentice after all" his leader meowed, taking Jayfeather by complete surprise.
"What do you mean!?" he instantly demanded, "How can I have an apprentice, If I'm still one myself?".
Firestar sighed, "Leafpool told me she no longer wishes to be Medicine Cat of ThunderClan. She says StarClan has another path set out for her".
Jayfeather's fur stood on end, "But that's mouse-brained! She can't just stop being a Medicine Cat, what about the clan?".
"They'll be in good paws" Firestar gave Jayfeather a nudge, "But you can always try talking to Leafpool, I'm sure she would like to catch up with you".
That was exactly what Jayfeather wanted to do. He had to convince his mother to stop with this mouse-brained idea, he couldn't be the full Medicine Cat.
"Where is she?" he asked, peering around the large cavern.
"She's with Sandstorm and Squirrelflight in Flares den, their with Sunpaw" Firestar meowed, "You can come with me if you want".
That was all he needed, more family members to talk with. Jayfeather just wanted to rest his paws for now, he would talk with Leafpool later.
He found a nice moss nest to sleep in, and closed his sightless eyes.
The image of Leafpool popped into his mind. It didn't matter if she wasn't Medicine Cat of ThunderClan, Leafpool was home.
And that's all that matters. Wasn't It?
A freezing breeze chilled Jayfeather to the bone, as he shuffled tiredly in his bedding. All was quiet now, except for the faint sound of rushing water.
Opening his eyes, Jayfeather could sense the coolness in the air, it was nighttime. How long did I sleep?
Jayfeather was angry that no one woke him up, what if Leafpool already went to sleep.
"Have a nice rest?" a voice jolted Jayfeather up, making his tail puff out.
But that voice was exactly the one he had been looking for.
"Leafpool?" he meowed sleepily, "What are you doing here?" he ran over to his mother.
"Watching the moon" she said quietly, "Firestar said you wanted to speak with me. So I decided to wait until you woke up to talk".
Sitting down on the cold stone, Jayfeather felt totally at peace. He had finally found his mother, after so many moons of wondering if she were dead or alive, he had finally found her.
"I know there must be many questions you have to ask" she finally meowed, "But first, I would like to know how you're doing".
Jayfeather shuffled his paws, "Fine I guess" he grumbled, "The clan is doing well, we have many new kits".
He didn't know what else to say, in the past few moons Jayfeather hadn't thought about himself much, just his clan. The strain of being a Medicine Cat was great, and he didn't know how Leafpool did it for so many moons. Especially when she had to teach him almost everything.
"Why did you leave?" he asked out of the blue, "Why not search for us. Surely you didn't think we were all dead".
Leafpool sighed, "I knew you weren't dead, but StarClan told me to come here. They showed me something very important, they told me my destiny is not yet over".
Jayfeather turned, looking astonished. "What is your destiny?" he gasped, after all Leafpool wasn't exactly young.
"I cannot say, but in time I will tell you. Would you like to hear the rest of my story?".
He nodded, waiting to find out why his mother never came back to the clans to find him or her other kin.
"I traveled through the mountains on my own. Only the memories of the journey here to guide me" the she-cat paused, as the moonlight bathed in her pelt.
Jayfeather noticed odd feelings waving off of his mother. He was surprised he could actually read her feelings, Leafpool was always guarding her thoughts and she was good at it.
"I soon made it to the tribe, where I met with Flare. He said I was welcome to stay for as long as I wanted, and would be glad to have me."
Flare sounded like a nice enough to cat to Jayfeather, maybe Stoneteller was just exaggerating.
"But I soon thought of the possibillity of one of my kits being hurt or worse" Leafpool trailed off, "And I knew I had to return to the camp, at least to see what had happened. And to stop my mind from going to dark places."
Jayfeather listened intently, if Leafpool wanted to leave, then why hadn't she?
"The time came and I went to Flare to tell him I was leaving. He suggested I stay a little longer to trade herbs and healing techniques. I kindly said no, and explained that I had to return as fast as possible" Leafpool breathed, "But Flare stopped me from leaving with his guards, he said I couldn't leave".
As the Medicine Cat explained, Jayfeather could feel a dreading sensation creeping up on him, maybe Stoneteller was more correct than he had previously thought.
"So what are you saying, Flare didn't let you go?" Jayfeather asked, becoming shocked and curious.
Leafpool sighed as she looked behind her, "Jayfeather, I've been here the whole time. Flare has been keeping me captive, you have to help me".