You might recognize the first part of this chapter if you have been around for a long time, but I promise there is a fun fight scene at the end which you haven't seen before so stick around!
And the movie of the day is: "A Streetcat named Bob." If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend.
"There's no way she won't tell the others where we are hiding now," mewed Kestrelflight nervously. "We need to find some more LionClan cats. We won't be able to hide for much longer once the news gets out where we are."
Jayfeather nodded and after clambering to his paws, followed Kestrelflight down the path that lead back to the heart of WindClan. He pricked his ears and listened. As they neared the camp, the sound of fighting drifted in the wind and Jayfeather realized that Blackstar and Mistystar's patrol was pressing deeper into the LionClan side of the moor. "I don't think near the camp would be a good place to hide," he warned the other medicine cat.
Kestrelflight grunted in agreement. "True. We should-"
"There they are! Get them!"
Jayfeather as many sets of heavy paws thundered towards them. He scented RiverClan. "They've spotted us!" He scurried away and fled towards the lake, using the gurgling river as his guide. He may not have participated in the last daylight Gathering, but he would do everything in his power to win this one.
It was a long run but he didn't slow down until he felt the smooth pebbles of the lakeshore beneath his paws. Only then did he realize Kestrelflight wasn't with him. He sniffed the air, but he couldn't pick up the other cat's scent. He was alone against TigerClan now. Fox dung! They'll be after me next.
He crept along the rocky beach in the direction of RiverClan, hoping to sneak around all of the fighting warriors. No cat would expect to find him hiding so far away from where he had started. His new goal was to trek all the way to the RiverClan border. Perhaps he could even hide somewhere in the horseplace. The thought of those huge smelly animals was not appealing but he would do anything to win.
"Jayfeather's scent leads this way! Let's get him!"
He froze. The TigerClan cats would surely find him soon if he didn't do something. Thinking quickly, he thought of the one place no cat would ever expect to find him. He turned to face the lake. He clenched his teeth and braced himself for the misery ahead before throwing himself into the waves. The cold instantly cut to his skin and weighed down his fur, but he forced himself to paddle deeper into the water- LionClan was depending on him!
Thundering cats' paws rattled the pebbles on the shore. "I lost his trail!" some cat cried. "The waves must have washed it away."
Taking a deep breath, Jayfeather plunged his head under, claws scraping against small rocks as he forced himself to stay below the surface. It wasn't a windy day and the current was weak, but he was very careful not to let the water take control. He had no idea if the other cats had left and cold thunder roared in his ears as he held his breath.
Fear trickled down his spine as the airless moments dragged on. He fought his fear of water for as long as he could but panic eventually overwhelmed him. He kicked his way to the surface and took in a massive breath of the fishy breeze. He shook his ears of water and angled them towards the shore but there was no sound. The other cats had gone.
Relieved, he dragged his sodden fur through the shallows- the waves trying to knock him off his paws- until he was back on the shore. I'm never doing that again for as long as I live. He shook his pelt out, spattering the pebbles. Even though it was new-leaf, it didn't feel like the lake was aware of that yet. He shivered, grateful of the sun-high warmth drying off his pelt.
"Jayfeather! Are you okay?"
He jumped and turned, recognizing Dovewing's voice as she pounded over. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed. "What are you doing here?"
The she-cat skidded to a halt in front of him, breathing fast as if she had just run across the entire moor. "I saw you fall in the lake and when you didn't come back up, I thought something was wrong."
"Where is Gorsetail's patrol," he asked. "Did they chase away the TigerClan cats that were following me?"
"Gorsetail's patrol was overrun and forced to retreat back to the camp."
"That's not good," Jayfeather mewed. "What about the others? Squirrelflight and Ashfoot?"
Dovewing listed the locations of the other cats. "Blackstar and Mistystar have most of their cats on the attack and they are pushing through Bramblestar and Onestar's patrol. Kestrelflight was caught just a short time ago and they are escorting him to the RiverClan border while Nightcloud and Crowfeather caught Littlecloud early in the competition. Squirrelflight and Ashfoot have joined the leaders to fight the huge TigerClan push and they are holding their ground for now. Willowshine is hiding around the horseplace and Lionblaze and Breezepelt have already picked up her scent."
Jayfeather tried to make sense of the information all at once. "So if I can just survive long enough, Lionblaze and Breezepelt will surely be able to catch the RiverClan medicine cat. I just have to give them some more time."
Dovewing gave him a friendly prod. "Easier said than done. There are TigerClan cats all over the moor and very few from LionClan."
"But we can still try." Jayfeather reached around and gave his soggy pelt a few quick brushes with his tongue. "Great, I'm going to smell like the lake for days."
Dovewing let out an amused purr. "Come on, let's find you a dryer place to hide."
He followed his Clanmate along the pebbly shore in the direction of the RiverClan border. TigerClan had to really be pushing LionClan back if they were no longer safe on their own side of the moors. What if a medicine captures another medicine cat? I think I could take Willowshine on! He savored the idea in his mind of going toe-to-toe with the RiverClan medicine cat. He had never really liked her from day one, and though he didn't hate her guts now like he had used to, he couldn't help but imagine the fight as he trotted after Dovewing.
"Gorsetail said something about a rock patch where there were places to hide," the she-cat informed him. "There are no cats there right now and Blackstar and Mistystar's patrols have already pushed past it. No cat will expect to find you closer to the RiverClan border."
"I was thinking that myself," he meowed. "TigerClan won't have any idea what's going on when they scour the whole moor from here to ThunderClan. By the time they figure out where we are, Willowshine will have already been captured."
"Exactly! But there are TigerClan patrols between us and the RiverClan border so you will have to follow me closely."
Jayfeather nodded. "I'm right behind you."
The two cats padded along the pebbly shore until they stopped and Dovewing rested her tail on his shoulder. "I have made a mistake, the cats I were tracking have changed course. We can't make it to the horseplace without running into Reedwhisker and his patrol. TigerClan has split up and is now looking all over the moor for you. And we can't go back because I can hear that ShadowClan warrior Dawnpelt sniffing out your scent trail. We're trapped."
"But you know where every other cat is," Jayfeather mewed. "Surely you could find us a way to escape." But he already knew from her tone that they really were trapped.
"I know where every cat is, but I can't turn you invisible. The only option I can suggest is that we make our last stand on the broken half-bridge. It is only a matter of time before some cat spots us."
He nodded. "Lead the way."
"It really is just a few strides away," she chuckled. "I'm surprised you didn't hear the wood creaking."
The medicine cat snorted in annoyance. "I did, I just wasn't thinking about it. Come on!"
The two cats padded up onto the old twoleg-built thing, the soggy wood rubbing oddly against Jayfeather's pads. It was like walking across the tree-bridge to the island, except this wood was strangely flat. Also it smelled of a tree he didn't recognize.
"Here they come," Dovewing hissed nervously in his ear.
Jayfeather pricked his hear apprehensively, becoming aware of the set of paws rapidly approaching. No matter who it is, I make my last stand here!
"Oh no, more LionClan cats-"
Jayfeather blinked in surprise. It was the voice of Willowshine, the RiverClan medicine cat! She skidded up beside the half bridge, and right behind her was Breezepelt who was giving chase.
"Jayfeather, we got you now-"
And there was Dawnpelt's meow as she raced up to the half-bridge from the opposite direction. She had Minnowtail with her and the two TigerClan cats stopped in surprise when they saw the group of LionClan cats already there.
A moment of silence slipped by as the gathered cats sized each other up, low growls rumbling in their throats. It looked like both sides were evenly matched but whoever won the fight here won the day.
Dovewing stepped protectively in front of Jayfeather. He was the most important cat on the bridge right now.
"TigerClan, attack!" Dawnpelt suddenly screeched, and without another word, she and Minnowtail stormed onto the bridge, their paws thrumming the wood and making the whole structure shake.
"LionClan defend!" Breezepelt howled, rushing forward and intercepting Dawnpelt. Dovewing leapt into action next, tumbling into Minnnowail with a piercing caterwaul.
Jayfeather stepped out of the way as the battling cats rolled towards him and scurried back to the shore where Willowshine stood.
"Fancy seeing you here," he mewed to her casually. "Wasn't Lionblaze chasing you too at some point? Why isn't he here?"
"Did Dovewing tell you that? Yes, he and Breezepelt were tracking me at one point, but I think he left to help fight off the huge TigerClan attack." The she-cat spoke with an air of confidence. "Guess he thought two warriors chasing after one lonesome medicine cat was a little excessive."
"Fair point. Dawnpelt has been following me almost since the battle started. I'm surprised I've lasted this long." Behind them, their Clanmates yowled and yelped as they fought each other, more a battle of wits and strength than a battle of teeth and claws. It sounded like they might be busy for a while so now seemed like an ideal time to escape. LionClan still had a chance to win this day if he got away. "I'll see you later, Willowshine. I'm leaving while they are distracted and I suggest you do the same."
He began to pad off in the direction of the horseplace, but Willowshine suddenly pounced, knocking him to the ground with a strong shove from her head. "You aren't going anywhere," she hissed in his ear as she stood over him. "More TigerClan cats will be here any moment now and then we are taking you back to the border to win!"
"Oh really?" Jayfeather growled, his lip curling in the beginning of a snarl. "I think you are mistaken because it is you who will lose." Energy surged through his paws as he realized the fight he had imagined earlier was about to happen. He kicked his sheathed paw across the ground, knocking her forepaws out from under her so she crashed down onto her side next to him.
Willowshine grunted as she hit the grainy earth. "That was a dirty trick!" she growled at him, spitting sand from her mouth.
He stood up and shook the dirt from his own pelt. "There are more dirty tricks where that came from," he cooed mischievously, his pelt rising at the prospect of a battle with the other medicine cat. "You still have a chance to defend your dignity and back off. It would be the smarter option."
"For TigerClan!" Willowshine slammed into Jayfeather head on, knocking the surprised ThunderClan cat off balance and into the sand. She smacked him with sheathed paws across the cheek, knocking the wind out of him.
She's stronger than I imagined, he thought, rolling away from her onslaught of paw swipes and leaping to his feet. But she's a medicine cat like me so her battle training won't be that great. He easily dodged away from her attacks since her thick fur ruffled loudly with every move she made and prepared to launch his own attack. He couldn't remember much of his warriors training, but every cat had some fighting instinct in them and his paws seemed to know what to do.
Willowshine leapt at him again, but this time he met her head on, rising onto his hindpaws and grabbing her around the chest as she barreled into him. She was light for a RiverClan cat so he didn't have much trouble tossing her aside and back into the sand with a thump. His heart was racing and his muscles pumped with exhilaration. Unlike his brawl with Dawnpelt earlier that day, this time he was alone and on even footing with his opponent.
But Willowshine wasn't about to give up soon and was quickly back on her paws and spitting. She raced low to the ground with tiny pawsteps so he couldn't hear her pelt in the wind, and dodged his counterattack when she got close. She might be small, but the blow to the side of his head sent him reeling in confusion. He staggered and in that moment of weakness, she leaped onto his back and grasped him with her soft paws.
The extra weight threw him off balance and he collapsed onto his side while she pummeled him with her hindpaws. He tried to squirm free from her onslaught, but she held on tight and yanked him back down when he tried to stand up. You can't lose! Remember your warrior training, what do you do in a situation like this? He thought fast and went limp, becoming slippery as a fish and slithered out of her grip.
"That was a neat trick there, Jayfeather," she panted as he stood up and stepped away from her. His muscles were burning from the effort, but he knew she had to be just as tired. "But I think it's pretty obvious who is going to win here so you might as well give up now."
He snorted in amusement. "Not going to happen." He charged at her again with a shriek, lifting onto his hindpaws to take a swing at where he thought her head was. She did the same and they crashed together with forepaws flailing. It is so hard to win a battle without claws unsheathed. We could be fighting for days! He swung his paws with all his might and was pleased when he felt them contact with fur.
But he couldn't keep up with her fast and well-aimed strikes so he backed away, hissing. Without being able to see her, all he could do was flail in her direction and hope something landed. In the meantime, his muzzle was starting to ache from the number of times she had smacked it.
"Getting tired already?" the she-cat teased, trying to hide the weariness in her own voice. "I could keep this up all day."
His head was spinning and his paws were heavy, but he would never be able to forgive himself if he let Willowshine beat him. I have to take advantage of my size and strength to beat her since I can't match her accuracy. He dropped back down into a loose fighting stance with his head low to the ground. "You have a lot to say. Why don't you put your fighting skills where your mouth is?"
Willowshine snarled and the sand crunched as she leaped. Instead of trying to dodge, he let her crash into him and they rolled together in a flurry of paws towards the half-bridge. They thrashed in a tangle of legs until Jayfeather managed to grab a hold of her scruff in his teeth. She yelped and tried to escape, but he held on tight, careful not to break the skin. With his enemy where he wanted her, he used the rest of his strength to leap on top of her, squashing her into the shore. "Do you give up yet?"
She struggled to slither out from under him, but he held her down firmly until she stopped fighting. "I surrender, I surrender! Just let me up!"
Purring in satisfaction, he released her and stepped back. He had done it! He suddenly became aware of more cats around him and realized they must have stopped fighting to watch the two medicine cats.
"You heard her," came Breezepelt's loud mew from nearby. "She gives up! LionClan wins!"
If it's not Warriors, it is worthless!
