I can't stop coming back to this. Many years ago, when I was working on the original version of Jayfeather's Conclusion, I did say I would finish this story to completion...
The video of the week is Ugly the Cat. Look it up on youtube if you haven't heard of it already. I'd recommend the version done by darkpharao1987.
The warm breeze ruffled Jayfeather's pelt as he padded between the young saplings that were beginning to sprout up wherever sunlight touched the forest floor. Birdsong filled the air around him, reminding him that it would be many moons before he would have to deal with snow and ice again. He had set off that morning to find a few more herbs to fill his stores but had lost interest halfway to the garden and wandered off the trail he usually took.
Life is a wonderful journey but sometimes you have to wander off the beaten path to appreciate it fully.
He kept thinking about what Hollyleaf had told him when she had visited. Was there some secret meaning behind his sister's words, or were they really just meant to comfort him in his time of loneliness? He wasn't on the beaten path right now; he was somewhere between the old thunderpath and the river that bordered WindClan. But he didn't think Hollyleaf's words were referring to a literal path.
Two days had passed since Bramblestar had called the Clan meeting and apart from Toadstep catching a blackthorn in his pad, nothing had happened to quell Jayfeather's mounting boredom. He had almost been tempted to slip some yarrow in the fresh-kill pile just so he would have some patients to take care of.
His paws felt light and strong as he padded across the cool soft earth in the direction of the WindClan border. He knew the ThunderClan forest well so he wasn't worried about bumping into anything or losing his way. Over the past few moons he had found himself wandering the woods more often, lost in his own memories. The power of three. Now that he reflected back on those days when he was part of the prophecy, he realized he really hadn't done all that much to stop Tigerstar and the Dark Forest cats. StarClan had made the prophecy sound like a big deal, even if it wasn't their prophecy to give.
But now he wanted real purpose, not some vague and mysterious omen hanging over his head promising greatness. He wanted a destiny that wasn't in the paws of ancient dead cats. After so many seasons of giving his all to the Clans, was it wrong of him to want just a little bit more in return?
"Morning Jayfeather. Fancy finding you so far out in the forest."
He jumped in surprise and pricked his ears. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed the scents of Dovewing and Ivypool nearby. "Greetings, Ivypool," he meowed, locating her among the ferns. "And Dovewing too," he added, hearing the other she-cat rustling in the bushes a little farther off. "Hunting?"
"We are," Ivypool meowed, panting slightly as if she had just raced all the way from the camp. "Nothing like a run through the forest to get the blood pumping. It feels so good to be out of the snow finally. You hungry?" she dropped something on the ground with a soft thump. "I just caught a mouse but I can catch another to bring back for the elders. I swear Sandstorm is just having fun tormenting us with her demands. She's only been an elder for a few days but she acts the part even more than Purdy does now."
Jayfeather purred in amusement, giving the fresh mouse a tempted sniff. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not very hungry. I ate right before I left camp."
"That's fine," Ivypool meowed, scooping it up again and following Dovewing who had slipped into the trees as she pursued her own prey. "If you run into any trouble, just yowl and we'll come running."
There was a squeal as whatever Dovewing had been hunting met a swift end. "You could join us, Jayfeather, if you wanted!" Dovewing called from somewhere among the nearby bracken. "I know you've been wallowing around the forest lately so it will give you something fun to do."
It bothered him slightly that Dovewing had been keeping track of him wherever he went. She was also part of the prophecy and her power let her see and hear things from far away. He was just about to decline the offer when Ivypool shuffled her paws uncomfortably.
"He can't hunt, mouse-brain, he's blind," Ivypool whispered quietly into her sister's ear.
Jayfeather straightened himself to his full height, his tail fluffing out in agitation. "I heard that!"
Ivypool gasped, and quickly backtracked. "I mean, um, wouldn't you do better searching for herbs or something?"
Jayfeather bared his teeth. He would rather hunt mice over plants any day! "My herbs aren't going anywhere so I think I can squeeze in a small hunt. I haven't hunted in a while but I'll claw your ears off if you make fun of me for missing a catch." He knew that the two she-cats were some of the best hunters in the Clan, but he didn't need to prove anything in front of them. He just wanted to move his paws like a normal cat did for a change.
"Then try to keep up," Ivypool laughed.
Jayfeather's paws kicked up dirt in his haste to follow as they scooped up their catches and raced deeper into the trees. With moons of practice maneuvering through the forest, he was almost as fast as they were and he was only panting slightly by the time they stopped in a copse of beech trees.
"There are plenty of things to hunt here," Ivypool informed him, dropping her catch among the roots of a nearby tree. "Even you should be able to find something to kill. Just watch out for the brambles." she added.
Jayfeather only grunted in response, focusing all of his senses on his surroundings until he was almost as aware as a sighted cat. He heard the wind whistle through the new-leaf branches high above his head and felt the moist earth give slightly beneath his paws. And was that a tick he felt crawling in the fur behind his ears? He would deal with that when he got back to camp.
It wasn't the season for the beech nuts to fall but there were still plenty of squirrels and mice in the area foraging. The two sisters were starting their own hunts, their minds reaching out eagerly into the trees. For the two of them, it was a friendly competition with each trying to outdo the other.
He lowered himself into the best hunter's crouch he could muster with the little hunting training he had received as an apprentice. He heard scuffling and angled his ears towards a mouse under a nearby juniper bush. He crept forward, silent as a shadow, and was about to leap when he heard it move farther away under the bush. It hadn't seen him yet, he was sure, so he took a few more careful steps forward.
A twig snapped beneath his paw and he flinched. The mouse must have heard it because it suddenly rushed away, its paws pattering in the opposite direction. You're not getting away that easily! He gave chase, forgetting to be quiet and pounded after his catch. He could hear its tiny heart pounding in terror as he gained on it. He was just a few tail-lengths away.
He was brought to a painful jolting halt as a bramble caught him in his fur, dragging him down to the ground as the mouse scampered safely away. "Fox-dung," he swore as he thrashed to free himself from the thorns.
"You need help?" Dovewing was beside him, her tone of concern making his fur grow hot with embarrassment. "You seem to have caught some thorns."
Jayfeather muttered angrily to himself for getting himself tangled up in front of the younger cat, especially so soon after Ivypool had told him to stay away from brambles. "No, I'm fine." He sank his teeth into the vines to bite them off. He felt the spines pierce his lip, but he kept nipping at them until he was free. "Dumb plant."
Once he pulled away from the grasping thorns, he concentrated again on the sound of prey. He wouldn't mess up again. He opened his jaws and separated the smell of the furry creatures from the foliage in bloom. Another mouse was lurking somewhere a few fox lengths away. It hadn't heard him yet as it munched on a stale beechnut so he began to creep towards it.
"Jayfeather, I hate to disturb you in the middle of a hunt, but-"
"What is it, Dovewing?" he snarled, standing up straight again and listening to the second mouse scurry off into the trees. He stomping angrily over to the place the mouse had disappeared and gave it a good sniff. "You better have a good reason for ruining my catch."
He could tell by the warning washing off the warrior's pelt to tell she did have a reason so he pricked his ears with interest.
"There's a patrol of WindClan cats approaching through the trees. It's Ashfoot and a couple other warriors," Dovewing told him. "They aren't in fighting force, so I don't think it's an invasion."
"Are you sure?" Jayfeather asked, listening for the sound of paw steps. "Should we find Ivypool and tell her?"
"I'm already here," meowed a voice nearby. "I thought I heard an old badger rampaging through the forest so I came to investigate."
Dovewing purred in amusement. "That was just Jayfeather hunting."
Jayfeather's ears burned. "Can we please just find these WindClan cats on our territory and forget about the hunt? Ashfoot surely has a reason to be here and she needs an escort if she wants to see Bramblestar." He strained his hearing and, sure enough, heard the thrumming of multiple sets of paw rapidly approaching. He opened his mouth to taste the air, but he had to trust Dovewing because his sense of smell wasn't good enough to distinguish any of the cats.
"WindClan you say? What are they doing on ThunderClan territory?" Ivypool growled.
"That's what we are going to find out," Jayfeather informed her. "From what I can hear, it sounds like they will be here any-"
Three cats burst out of the ferns and skidded to a halt in front of the ThunderClan cats. Jayfeather's neck-fur instinctively began to rise, but he forced it down. He detected no hostility coming from the WindClan warriors.
"What business does WindClan have on ThunderClan territory," he called to the cats as they stepped out of the bracken. Now that they were in front of him, he recognized the scents of Heathertail and Weaselfur accompanying their deputy.
Ashfoot padded forward. "When we realized we had already missed the dawn patrol, I made the call for us to enter ThunderClan's territory. I didn't expect the medicine cat to be the first cat we ran into. I hope ThunderClan doesn't take offense to our intrusion, but I have some important information to share with Bramblestar."
Jayfeather narrowed his eyes. "What's so important that it couldn't wait until the next Gathering?" he growled coolly. In recent history, WindClan had proven they were no friends of ThunderClan.
"Typical ThunderClan," Weaselefur murmured into Heathertail's ear. "They think only they are allowed to trespass onto other Clan's territory whenever they want."
But the warrior was silenced by a small growl from Ashfoot. "It's information meant for your leader. As your Clan's medicine cat, you will probably be with Bramblestar when we tell him so please escort us to your camp."
Jayfeather felt Dovewing and Ivypool's expectant looks warm his flank. He did outrank them so it made sense that it would be his decision. "Very well," he meowed, flicking his tail for the others to follow as he turned around and headed deeper into ThunderClan territory. "Come with us but don't try anything thistle-brained."
:3
"Onestar invites ThunderClan to join him on WindClan territory two days from now to celebrate the defeat of the Dark Forest. All the Clans are welcome to bring their kits and apprentices. Onestar has a day of events planned for the warriors and apprentices while one of our queens will be making sure the kits have something to do as well. Now that leaf-bare is finally over, the moors are warm and Onestar says he's trying to make amends and promote long-lasting peace around the lake."
Jayfeather listened to the WindClan deputy's words as he sat with his tail curled around his paws in the leader's den. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight stood beside him, pelts prickling with interest. He remembered the last time all the Clans had joined together in peace to celebrate. It had been moons ago and he had just been made a medicine cat's apprentice. He hadn't participated in the activities then.
"Can you assure our warrior's safety on your land?" Bramblestar asked. "Our Clans haven't been on the best terms over the past few seasons. I will not be made responsible if a fight breaks out."
Ashfoot snorted in indignation. "You think WindClan has no honor? Onestar wouldn't be making this generous offer if he he didn't believe all four Clans could come together in peace- for just one day. We will all meet in the WindClan camp at first, and will split up our cats from there. Come just after sunrise and bring fresh-kill and any kits fit to travel. The celebration will last until sundown and Onestar wants to make this a Gathering no cat will ever forget."
There was a moment of silence as Jayfeather pictured Bramblestar glancing at his deputy. "Then trust ThunderClan to be there. Tell Onestar I look forward to meeting him somewhere other than the battlefield for once."
Ashfoot grunted in amusement before standing up and padding out of the den. Jayfeather stood up too and followed his leader and deputy onto the high-ledge that looked out over the camp.
"Come on, Weaselfur and Heathertail!" The WindClan deputy called, already at the base of the rocks- she must have jumped down. "We want to make it to RiverClan's camp before sun-high."
The ThunderClan cats clambered down the rocky slope more carefully. Jayfeather couldn't help but envy the limber-legged WindClan cats.
"Are you going to run around the entire lake?" Squirrelflight asked in surprise as the WindClan cats headed for the camp entrance. "We could send a patrol instead if you wanted to head back to your camp."
"We are WindClan," Heathertail responded, her meow bursting with pride. "We could run around the lake three times without stopping if we wanted to."
"Then so be it," Squirrelflight meowed simply.
As the WindClan cats raced through the bramble entrance, Jayfeather angled his ears towards the curious ThunderClan cats gathering beneath the high-ledge. It had been moons ago since the last daylight Gathering, and it had been Squirrelflight's idea at the time. What was going through her head now? He knew he could always just find out using his power, but that didn't feel necessary.
"Times are changing," Bramblestar meowed. "The Clans are at peace and what better way to keep long lasting peace than to have our kits makes friends with cats outside their own Clan?"
Squirrelflight purred. "Perhaps this daylight Gathering actually will bring permanent peace to the Clans. I know the Gathering I suggested sure didn't."
Around them, the rest of ThunderClan watched, eagerly awaiting an explanation for the WindClan cats' visit. No cat in the clearing had made a sound since Ashfoot had shown up. It was as if they all knew something important was about to happen. They stared at Bramblestar intently, eager to find out what the WindClan cats had said.
"I guess I'll call a Clan meeting," the leader mewed. "They need to hear this."
Jayfeather sighed inwardly, and instead of staying to hear the announcement, he headed back to his den. He didn't imagine this Gathering would mean anything for him. A blind medicine cat would never have a role in the activities of warriors. He would probably just sit and 'watch' as every other cat had fun- just like when he was an apprentice.
Review please! Especially if you are one of those quiet readers who never reviews!
