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REVIEWS

"Key of Light and Darkness"- Aw, you're making me bashful. Though, I've seen it done so many times I would hope that I could at least do a mediocre job at it.

"Cascade of Raining Ice"- Ahaha, I think many people would agree with you.

"Sillymew"- Doesn't it? Oh dear! Yeah, Easter isn't a good holiday if you're trying to lose weight. But hey! Eggs are very good for your metabolism!

"Blurg the Destroyer"- Well, nothing much has yet changed for Ash, except that he's a father, but I think he's the last cat that would seriously take that role seriously. At the moment at least, please don't take any of this as spoiling, I'm simply speculating on my own story... When I think about being trapped in a desolate mountain in the winter, I think cozy and snugly. There are two kinds of people.

"Bushclaww"- Haha, yeah, I'm too lazy to be terribly original. My mind is always full of thoughts, but never relevant thoughts.

Mistystream- Nice to see you return! It is a bit difficult to sympathize with a cat that got his just desserts, huh? Jay and Ash are perfect for creating arguing. They're similar, but different, plus the visual image of blue-gray against orange provides a contrasting color scheme.

Flower- XD

Brian- Ah! I'm being attacked by logic! Ahahaha... ... ... Well, I don't think they'd move to where the Mountain Pass Cats stayed since that was close to where Midnight's den was and Midnight's den was attacked, suggesting that the StarReaders already took a hole of that territory. Jay's counting on it to snow to prevent any more visits from the StarReaders and then slip out as soon as if melts in the spring. Idk, I can't make sense of my story anymore. If I didn't hate it when writers abandoned stories I probably would have just cut it short a long time ago.

"Mondmaedchen"- She is an amusing character, isn't she? Well, she's the one I have the most fun writing anyways, whenever I feel stuck I bring it Amelia and it all goes smoothly again.

Chapter 33: Star Valley

"We're moving where?!" Jay had supposed that her announcement would be met with a variety of emotion since none of the cats in the camp were remotely similar, but they all greeted the decision with shock, horror, and a pensive judgment that Jay felt was uncalled for.

Thunderstorm looked grumpier than usual, Silver looked ready to scream or cry, and Amelia was glaring at her. "Yes, it should be a livable place since the StarReaders lived there for season upon season," Jay answered, wondering why they couldn't see it was the perfect solution.

"But it's the enemies territory! I thought you wanted us to survive!" Silver mewed, her voice shrill with disbelief.

"The enemy only uses it very rarely and when the snow falls passage between the mountain and the valley won't be possible," Jay explained. "That's what Ash told me," she added, nodding at the orange tom who was lounging on one of the rocks, languidly watching the kits as he groomed his fur.

"Why can't we stay here?" Amelia groaned. Jay had to admit that it was Amelia's displeasure that surprised her the most, usually, the black she-cat was fine with whatever she decided to do. But now her amber eyes glared at the ground in irritation and she wouldn't meet Jay's gaze.

"I don't think this mountain's forest will be able to support us all through leaf-bare and the snow might trap us here to starve. I can't take that risk with so many kits that can't fend for themselves," Jay mewed, a firm pressure in her voice.

Thunderstorm looked like he was resigning himself to this fate and Silver had a hint of understanding in her eyes. Ash had already agreed and she'd tell Crow and the kits later. Perhaps the black tom would rethink staying on the mountain alone, she wasn't comfortable with leaving the elderly tom for the harshest season alone. And the kits would miss him for sure.

"When are we leaving?" Thunderstorm's impatient question startled her. He rarely spoke to her and she looked up to see him staring in her direction with his blank and dimly scarred eyes, a deep frown on his face.

Jay thought for a few moments, she hadn't quite decided on that but she supposed the sooner the better. "Five days from now," she mewed. There was, of course, numerous details to attend to before they could leave. The first would be to find the place itself and the safest route, pack up her herbs, and find traveling herbs to help sustain them on the trek.

The tall gray tom nodded shortly and turned away from her. Silver glanced at him before looking at her again, "Jay, are you sure this is a really good idea? I mean, traveling through enemy territory into unknown enemy territory with six kits and a blind cat?! I don't have a good feeling about it," the pale tabby warned.

Jay waved her tail, "Most cats dislike change. It'll all be fine" she mewed, brushing off Silver's concerns. But in reality, she felt those concerns strongly. She knew this was risky, that it would be difficult because she had more cats than not that were dependent on others.

Eagle was probably capable of keeping it up if they took frequent enough breaks. Thunderstorm could be led easily enough and her own kits were old enough to walk most of the way on their own. Midnight's kits would be a bit more difficult, but they could walk at times and then there were enough to carry them. Jay figured they could make it, though she didn't know how she'd take her herbs with her if she were carrying kits all the time.

I would like to just regather herbs, but I won't be able to since it is so late in the season, and I need these herbs in case something happens!With an annoyed flick of the tail she figured she could return with Amelia after they'd made a home in the new place and fetch her herbs then.

"But what if they catch us?" Silver's anxious voice brought her back to the present.

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, having lost track of the conversation while being immersed in her thoughts.

"It's StarReader territory! And what's more, it's that part of the territory. You really want to live in a place that has seen the merciless death of countless cats?" Silver's voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.

Ahh... I had forgotten about that. The north-east mountain was where, they'd conjectured, the StarReaders killed their 'gifts.' It might be a little scary for the kits if they were to move into a camp full of cat carcasses, and she certainly didn't want any of her cats to add to the number. "Don't worry, Amelia and I will scout it out tomorrow. But to do that I need a favor," she mewed cheerfully, laying her tail over Silver's shoulders and leading her more toward the edge of the clearing.

"What is it?" Silver was leaning away, blue eyes studying her face wearily.

"Don't give me that look. Come on and be a pal, I just need you to watch the kits for-"

"No, no, no, no, never again!" Silver broke away from her hold, shaking her head and muttering under her breath. "You remember what happened the last time I watched them!" the pale tabby mewed, staring beseechingly.

Jay's whiskers twitched in amusement. Silver was referring to when Jay had coerced her to watch the kits for an afternoon so that she could have a little break from her full-time job. Jay had a great time, catching a meal for herself and dozing in a sunny spot on a patch of soft moss far away from the noise and hassle of the kits.

However, she'd returned at twilight to find the kits had overrun Silver. They'd subjected the tabby to be the center of their games, whether it was an enemy to be defeated or a mountain to be climbed. Silver had been scratched, jumped on, and run ragged by the pack of the kits.

Jay had, of course, been amused to see the depressed Silver with tears of frustration turn to her and wildly shout at her for raising a pack of savages. She'd talked to the kits, telling them to thank Silver for playing so nicely with them and apologize for being too wild. Silver had accepted the apology, but not any further propositions to watch the kits.

"It will be only one day, and you'll have Crow and Thunderstorm and Ash to help you!" Jay purred, trying to convince her. "I need you to do this for me," she added more firmly as the tabby shrunk away.

"Why can't you just have Amelia go alone?" she whined.

"Amelia doesn't have an eye for these things. Her coming along is to find a route, not to find a den," Jay mewed firmly. Also, she doubted the black she-cat would even go up that mountain on her own.

"Ask Ash instead, some of them are his kits," Silver mewed.

"He can help, but he has about as much parental sense as a cuckoo," Jay mewed, "You are perfectly capable of doing this," she added, starting to get impatient with the excuses.

Silver seemed to notice the change in her tone and gave her a quick glance, "Fine, I'll do it. But what's in it for me?"

"Excuse me?" Jay asked, blinking twice as if it were a joke.

"What do I get out of it? Whenever you do favors for me you ask for things in return and when Amelia does it, she gets something back too. So what do I get?" the tabby stomped her front paw expectantly.

"I'm your leader," Jay snapped, "You get to live under my protection."

"Not enough, I could protect myself just as well without you. This only really benefits Thunderstorm and the kits. You have to do something for me in return," the tabby mewed.

With an annoyed growl Jay gave in, "What do you want?" she snapped, it had better be something easy, like a day off of hunting or the likes...

Silver seemed surprised that she'd actually agreed, but her eyes quickly turned serious. "I want you to help me rescue Python's cats. They were so welcoming to me when I had nowhere else to go, they're my friends. I want to save Leaf and Spark who recruited me, and Glade who mentored me. I know this is a lot to ask as a favor, but I don't want the StarReaders to kill another cat," Silver pale blue eyes, usually so weak and dim, now blazed with passion. This was something she felt strongly about and from the hard set of her jaw, something she'd given a lot of thought to.

So this is how she deals with pain, by finding a new goal to aim for. Jay could almost say she was proud, and since she'd already been planning on rescuing the captive cats, this 'favor' was not much of a favor. However, Jay could see Ash's shadow against a rock, hiding where he thought he was out of sight.

Since she'd told Ash that she wasn't going to get involved in the valley's affair in return for his help rescuing the kits, having him find out she'd been lying wasn't going to help the present situation. So instead of agreeing to the request Jay shook her head, "I can't do that. It isn't possible for two cats to defeat the StarReaders and the last things these kits need are their caretakers to get themselves killed for no reason."

As she said this Silver's glow dimmed and she looked disappointed, but not surprised. But as she turned away, Jay leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "We'll talk about it later alone, don't let Ash on to anything though."

Silver gave her a stunned look, but understanding glimmered as she gave a quick nod and leaped away, "But I'll only watch the kits for one day!" she called. Jay's whiskers twitched, it felt like Silver didn't hate her so much anymore, and that of course made her being a part of the camp less displeasing.

Turning away with that matter settled, she called to all her kits. "Who wants to go visit Crow?" she asked. Every kit from Eagle to Panther cheered, after all, he was their one and only storyteller. Jay was counting on his affection for the kits to convince him to come with them. After all, I can't lose such a cat that's so useful in entertaining the kits.

…...

"Remember when I said I would never step paw on this mountain again?"

"Mmhm."

"Well, I really meant it!" Amelia's angry voice was hushed but it still rang out in the early dawn air like a shrill bird's cry in the stillness. After leaving camp early that morning, Jay and Amelia had left the mountain and found in the low light a trail just outside the StarReader's territory that led to the north-east mountain.

It was a bit difficult because it was on the mountainside, but it was so close to the base that it wasn't dangerous until you got to the part where a ravine ran alongside the mountain base. Jay felt like they'd have to be very careful with the kits when going through that section.

Now they stood half-way up the north-east mountain, Jay stood on a boulder that jutted out over the hillside, looking down at Amelia who had finally lost her nerve after being mutinously silent the whole venture. "I remember, I just don't care," she snapped. "Now get up this mountain, you're being a fraidy-cat."

Amelia planted her paws and lowered her head to balk. "And now you're just being immature," Jay sighed, leaping back down the trail to push Amelia forward with her head against her rear. "Come on," she huffed, "You have to come with me."

The black she-cat shook her head, "You can do it yourself, I'm going to go back." The she-cat started pushing Jay back down the trail.

"And what happens when we move to this mountain?" Jay asked through gritted teeth, pushing her paws into the ground to halt Amelia's retreat.

"I'll live in the valley, you can visit me when you need something," her voice was so firm and final Jay couldn't believe she was just thinking it up on the spot. That didn't mean she was going to let her greatest asset go without a fight.

"But what if the StarReaders find you? Or find us meeting and follow one or both of us back and find both our dens. Besides, if it is as Ash says, we will be blocked off from each other all leaf-bare," Jay reasoned, "It's better to stay together, especially when we don't know what we're facing."

"I can take care of myself," Amelia snorted, "And I don't care what happens to you, I've been thinking about leaving for a while now. But I can't live on this mountain," Amelia sharply indicated the mass of rock that rose steeply before their paws.

"Why not?!" Jay hissed, "I went through losing my memory too. It's unsettling, but with the StarReaders gone it shouldn't happen again!"

Amelia shook her head so vigorously that her ears flopped like a kit, "It isn't just losing my memory. It's something else and it's still happening," Jay could see her paws trembling and being so close, could hear her breaths that came too fast for the amount of energy she was exerting.

Jay's ears twitched, but she couldn't tell that anything was out of the ordinary. They weren't being followed, for once, the bird song was a bit shriller in the thinner air, and the wind made a strange whistling sound, but that was because they were on the side of a mountain. It was no different than climbing up the mountain they lived on now.

"You can't understand," Amelia growled and pushed back with more gusto, causing Jay to fall back on the uneven ground and onto her back with her paws in the air.

As she black she-cat rushed past her Jay lunged at her legs and caused her to fall, quickly placing herself on Amelia's back and pinning her against the slope. Amelia struggled, but couldn't catch a grip on the trail. "You can't go back until you tell me why you won't go up this mountain with me," Jay growled stubbornly, pushing roughly on Amelia's shoulder blades, it wasn't going to injure her, but it would make moving painful.

The black she-cat winced, "You wouldn't believe me," she muttered.

"Try me," Jay challenged.

"Alright," Amelia turned her head slightly so that she could look up at Jay with one amber eye. "My hearing is cut off on this mountain."

Jay didn't understand, "But you can here me when I'm talking to you, right?"

Amelia sighed, "Not like that, I can still hear you and whats around me and all that. Basically, it's like I have hearing only as good as yours or any other cat."

Jay's tail flicked, "And is that odd? I know you have good senses, but how much better could it really be?" she mewed, feeling insulted by the condescending tone Amelia was using.

"I said you wouldn't believe me," the black cat muttered, turning her face back toward the dirt.

"I didn't say I didn't believe you, I'm saying I don't understand. So explain it to me, just how far can you usually hear?" Jay pressed, keeping her voice neutral. If she started sounding mocking or like she was just playing along, she would probably end up being rolled down the mountain by an angry she-cat.

Amelia paused for a moment and tilted her head, "It varies, sometimes I pick up on things really far away, sometimes closer. Usually I can hear something if it's unusual or I'm searching for it, or really loud," the black she-cat mewed.

"But you can't hear anything up ahead?" Jay asked, she didn't really understand since 'normal' hearing was what she had, but she supposed it must be like if she could only hear Amelia, the wind, and the birds, and not the rustling and shifting of plants up ahead and down below her, like something was missing.

Amelia nodded her head in slight agreement, "I don't like not knowing what to expect," the she-cat hissed.

Jay had to admit that this would explain why Amelia always seemed to know where every cat was and how she was such a good hunter and had knowledge she shouldn't have, but if what Amelia claimed was true, why couldn't she have found her kits more easily?

"Then when were searching for my kits, why couldn't you find them? And what about Midnight, did you just not tell any cat that she was being ambushed?" Jay challenged.

"It was like this, I couldn't hear around me. It was that white cat, no doubt," Amelia growled, more to herself than Jay. "I hate that cat, and anything that has to do with her," her amber eye glared at the sky with such burning Jay could almost feel its heat.

"But if the cat isn't here, then why is it blocking your hearing?" Jay mused, assuming Amelia's telling the truth, of course, and that cat isn't here, she wasn't quite convinced that something like this was possible. I mean, Amelia somehow has super hearing? Why? How? There was a story in ThunderClan about three cats who had powers like that, but why would Amelia have it? It's not like StarClan has any reason to bless her, considering she's the daughter of a cat who nearly destroyed half the Clans.

"This mountain stinks, I won't go up it," Amelia snarled.

Jay pressed down more firmly, "Then maybe we should clean it out, running from your problems won't help anything, it'll only become something to be used against you."

After a time of haggling and begging, Jay finally got Amelia to follow her once more up the mountain with the promise that she wouldn't have to come back if she really couldn't handle it. The black she-cat plodded behind her with her ears laid flat against her head as if she were in pain but her face had a look as if she had tasted something especially disgusting.

They paused when the reached the ravine with the crescent arch. Even in the sunlight the space past it was dead in the dark. This was around the place where they'd lost their memories and even Jay had to admit she was nervous, carefully tasting the air and straining her ears forward as far as they would go. The sudden disappearance of light would unnerve any cat.

"I don't understand why it's so dark past the arch, I mean, really..." Jay mused, standing at the edge of the darkness and peering upward, trying to see something, anything. Wait a moment... Jay ran away from the dark to the other side of the ravine and stood on her hind paws, trying to see over the arch.

Ah-ha! Although the arch looked like it was floating in the air, a singular piece of rock that connected the mountain peaks on either side of them, it wasn't. There was a roof behind it that couldn't be seen from below it that caused the piercing dark and cool air.

"It's a cave," Jay told Amelia who was watching her in confusion. Amelia looked confusedly at the arch for a moment before understanding alighted in her eyes. They both relaxed as they approached the large cave, now that they knew the cause for the dark it was somehow less disturbing.

Their paw steps didn't echo on the dirt ground and the walls of the cave were so far away that it really didn't feel like one at all, she assumed this is why they had never noticed it before now. And also, the last time she'd come here had been at night and Amelia had probably been too busy worrying about her problem to notice.

"Does this cave have an end?" Amelia muttered after they'd walked in the dark for quite a while.

"Probably, I feel a breeze, don't you?" Jay asked. As she said that, her eyes-which had adjusted to the dark- picked up on a yellow light up ahead. Sunlight, no doubt.

"There it is," Amelia muttered, Jay could feel her tenseness, she imagined she wanted to get in and out of here as fast as she could. As they reached the opening they both stopped and stared, dumbfounded at what they could see. The sun, the silver, the glimmering, it dazzled them enough to leave them speechless for no less than five minutes.

Jay looked at Amelia, her eyes dilated black even in the bright light. "I think this is it."

…...

"Hey, stop pushing!"

"Stop pushing, yourself!"

"Why is it so dark?"

"Mommy? Mommy? Mommy!"

Jay wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as she herded the kits through the pith-black tunnel. The two-day journey here had been agonizing and beyond difficult. Ash had disappeared the morning they set out and Amelia had used that as an excuse to leave the party as well.

So Jay and Silver had brought seven kits, a blind cat, and an elder, all the way down one mountain and up another. And now they were almost there, ready to fall dead on their paws. The sun had set not long ago and now they were stumbling through the dark, moving toward the faint gleam of gray twilight up ahead that marked the end of the crescent archway cave.

"Are you sure there's a home all the way up here?" Silver's voice came from Jay's left and she could hear Crow's laboring breathing behind her. If there wasn't a place here, she didn't think any of them had the energy to leave the area until tomorrow anyway.

The kits' complaining mews reminded her of this and she almost stepped on Panther who had collapsed on the ground. "I can't go a step further," the kit sounded on the brink of tears.

Jay bent her nose down and have her a comforting lick, "You did very well today, walking so far on your own paws. And don't worry, we won't leave you behind," she grabbed Panther gently by the scruff and lifted the small kit, who was lighter than a mouse.

Jay quickly brought the cats to the end of the tunnel and they stood out, staring over this new land. A narrow trail wound down the mountainside into a great valley of gray stone with rippling silver tones. "Ponds!" Breeze's breathless whisper was the only thing that broke the quiet.

In the twilight gray, dozens and dozens of pools gleamed and rippled like the pelt of a silky gray cat. The light breeze gently caressed the water's surface and brought it to life, lapping and murmuring upon the stone. It was like a giant cave full of twisting paths and creeping water with the wide open sky as a roof.

Jay remembered the first time she'd seen it with Amelia, she had known in her heart that this was it, almost as if she'd come home from a long journey, comfort washed over her heart. The others seemed to be as starstruck as she had been, but they hadn't even seen the best part. "Come on," Jay purred, sweeping the kits away from the edge of the trail and pressing them against the mountain side, "You haven't even seen the best part yet."

...

Ah... finally over. It's a rather cut up chapter and is mostly filler without much plot except that, hurrah, they moved from point A to point B. Oh, I guess there was a bit of Amelia centered stuff there. Muse on that for a few moments. Not really a surprise, especially if you read the previous Legacy story, huh?

I'm going to try to finish this story as fast as I can, my goal was to finish it by summer and spend summer doing the spin-off, but oh well, we'll see if I can get this story to actually make sense.

Oh yeah, remember when Jay said 'he has as much parental sense as a cuckoo,' ? If anyone didn't get it, the Cuckoo bird is notorious for bullying other birds into taking care of their young...

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