OMG guys, I got sooo much support for my story while I was working at camp. So many reviews and over 200 views to just the most recent chapter alone. I thought folks would be mad that I was gone for so long. I promise to only give my best as I push this new storyline through to the end!
Xalicxs I'm glad you thought it was cool. I was experimenting with that chapter for a while before I was satisfied.
Whalee It will be some time before they meet up again. I have plans.
hudsonk1racer I originally planned on having Jayfeather eat the fox cause he couldn't catch any of his own prey, but decided to change the whole chapter to what it is now.
MistLion I love the flood of reviews, and yes, Jayfeather is very resourceful. He is one of the cleverest cats in all the series after all.
Moonlight Talon of the Night I'm glad you enjoyed it!
fuzzy-purple-bat Welcome back. The old story didn't go as far in depth to describe the characters. And camp was hell on Earth :D
The Venom Symbiote I can't even read the newest series because Jay and Briar are all but forgotten. Makes me sad that Erin is moving on while there is still so much we could get from JayXBriar.
OriontheGreat Hehe, I had to giggle at your comment. You should know that I had 2 other possible outcomes for the chapter but this outcome will transition most nicely into the next stages of the story.
Guest I'm happy you like what I'm doing. I personally thought the "operation" scene was super cheesy, but it was better than how I made it in the original story.
Snowcrystal of ThunderClan I'm with ya! shipshipshipship... JayXPoppy forever! oh wait...
lemon The old version would be about 4 years old by now. I like to think my writing has come a long way since then. :)
espritduchat Welcome! I'm back to writing at maximum speed. The goal is to have 2 chapters out a month so hopefully I won't disappoint.
A tremendous roaring sound woke Jayfeather from his troubled sleep and he lurched into a sitting position. Immediately the burning returned to his shoulder where the fox had bitten him. When he moved his foreleg on that side it sent spasms up into his neck. He tried to stand but realized something soft and fuzzy was draped over him, tangled around his paws. What happened to me? Where am I? It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't by the thunderpath anymore. Or at least, he wasn't in the same place as when he had collapsed- everything smelled different.
The ground began to shake as the roaring returned and his fur shot up in terror. But the rumbling sound faded as quickly as it had come and he realized he had to be under the thunderpath. Someone or something had dragged him inside some sort of den tucked away in the earth. The air smelled of stale water and twoleg rubbish, and the walls of the den where cold, hard, and smooth to the touch. It reminded him of some of the tunnels beneath the Clans.
He took a deep breath to gather his bearings. Pain still wracked his body but the soft, blood-soaked material covering him seemed to have stopped him from bleeding out while he was unconscious. When he examined it more closely, he realized it was some sort of twoleg fur-thing. He forced himself to his paws, clenching his teeth against the pain, and let the twoleg stuff fall from his shoulders.
A fresh breeze brushed over his pelt and he turned his head in interest. His first steps were shaky and wobbly but that was probably a side-effect of losing so much blood. His head spun and he knew he needed fluids to replenish everything that he lost. He followed the tunnel deeper into the den after realizing the cave was open on both ends. He reached the exit and there was a wet sploosh as his first step into the sunlight landed him ankle deep in a huge cold puddle. Normally he would be offended to have his paws wet, but he was too thirsty to care. He dipped his head down without a second thought and gulped huge mouthfuls of the disgusting liquid.
Once he had drunk his fill, he crawled out onto dryer land. To his surprise, he discovered himself back on the side of the thunderpath that bordered the forest. He must have traveled underneath the thunderpath and out onto the other side. He kept his ears pricked for any enemy that would take advantage of his weakness. He didn't have the energy to run if another fox showed up but hopefully, the only fox around was the dead one he had left on the other side of the tunnel. He would remember the underground passage if he ever wanted to cross again.
I'm lucky to be alive. He thought, the familiar feeling of grass beneath his paws offering some comfort. I could have been killed by the fox or by a monster. If somebody hadn't found me I could have bled out, or drowned in a puddle- who knows. Had one of his Clanmates rescued him? He wouldn't be surprised if Dovewing or Lionblaze had secretly followed him all the way from the camp to make sure he was safe. But if that were the case, wouldn't they have shown themselves by now? He shook his head angrily. He didn't want or need his Clanmates' help anymore. He was a rogue now after all- living dangerously came with the lifestyle.
Leaving behind his wistful thoughts, he sniffed the air for any helpful herbs that might be growing in the area. He needed to stay in the 'now' and not get distracted by past memories. To his disappointment, it didn't seem like there were any useful plants growing nearby. He doubted he would find any of the more potent herbs so far away from the lake so he would have to settle for oak leaves and willow bark. The mild remedy would help but it didn't compare to the much stronger stuff he had back in the medicine den.
He let out a long sigh then gave his shoulder a quick lick to clean it. He would patch himself up as best he cold and rest until tomorrow morning. Then he would be on his way again. StarClan willing, I won't run into anymore trouble or set-backs.
There was a tiny sneeze nearby.
"Shut up, he'll hear you!" hissed a small voice.
Jayfeather turned, his attention focusing on a nearby bramble bush. He tried to taste the air for the cats scents, but the wind was blowing way from him. "Who is that?" he growled assertively. If they were hostile, he would rather try to scare them off than fight. He was in no condition to exchange claws. "I know you are there!"
"Please don't eat us!" wailed a young tom's voice and there was a rustling of leaves as two cats stepped out of their hiding place.
"We are so skinny, we wouldn't taste good anyway," whimpered the second cat, also a tom.
For a moment, Jayfeather forgot about how afraid and achy he was and head tilted to one side in amused surprise. "Of course I'm not going to eat you! What in StarClan gave you such a mouse-brained idea?"
The two cats gave simultaneous sighs of relief.
Neither of them could have been much older than a newly made apprentice, Jayfeather realized. In the Clans, such young cats would rarely be wandering off on their own, but these cats seemed to be utterly alone. "My name is Jayfeather," he stated coolly. "I'm just passing through-"
"Are you a real forest cat?" asked one of the young cats eagerly, leaping across the grass towards him. "We've heard stories of huge vicious forest savages that would fight dogs and eat kits."
"And when we saw that you killed a fox, we were sure you had to be one of them," cheered the second tom, racing after his friend's tail. "My name is Cash, by the way, and this is my half-brother, Jayjay."
Jayfeather stiffened, jaws clenched with discomfort as the two toms approached. They examined him intently like kits that had just discovered a new piece of fresh-kill.
"You don't smell like a house cat," Cash observed. "You smell all woody and mossy."
"And you weigh as much as a dog!" Jayjay added. "We dragged you all the way over to one of the empty drain tunnels and covered you with some cloth we found. You must be super brave and strong to fight a fox."
Jayfeather couldn't help but purr in amusement. Even though a part of him swelled with pride at their admiration, they needed to know the truth. After all, they had saved his life. "I didn't actually fight that fox. It attacked me and got killed by a monster when it chased me over the thunderpath." He paused, feeling their disappointment. "But I am a forest cat," he added. "And I'm on a long journey to the mountains and beyond."
"Oh, that's cool too, I guess," meowed Cash. "Do you already know the way?"
Jayfeather shrugged uncertainly. "I've been there a few times in the past, but my memory of the path is a little dusty. I'm sure I'd figure it out eventually."
"Oh it's easy," Cash meowed excitedly, eager to be helpful. "All you have to do is follow this road until you get to the big blue house. Then turn right and follow the street all the way down past the huge bridge. After that it's maybe a day's walk, you'll be able to see the mountains in the distance by then, and after that- why aren't you following where I'm pointing?"
Jayfeather stared blankly at the young cat. "Because I'm blind," he mewed simply. He was used to every cat in the Clans knowing it already so he could only guess how kittypets and rogues would react.
"What? No way! Just look at-" Jayjay suddenly stopped, his tiny paw whisking the air in front of the medicine cat's face trying to get his attention. "Wow, you really are blind. How do you feed yourself if you don't live with any housefolk?"
"He's a forest cat, dummy," growled Cash pointedly. "He could hunt down a badger if he wanted to."
"No blind cat could take on a badger by themselves, you moron," countered Jayjay, spinning to face his companion. There was a soft smack of a fuzzy paw meeting an ear.
Instantly, both young cats were rolling on the ground at Jayfeather's paws, growling and spitting in enlivened play-fury. He rolled his eyes. His initial interest in these strangers was rapidly turning into initial annoyance. "It was nice meeting you both, and thanks for the help, but I need to go find some herbs for my injury." He turned and began limping back in the direction of the thicket of trees from which he had come the previous day. His shoulder burned and the thought of a willow bark and oak leaf poultice offered little comfort.
"No, wait!" Cash begged, breaking free from his companion and rushing over to the medicine cat's side. "We'll come with you!"
Jayfeather stopped without looking around. He wasn't surprised that they wanted to tag along. "Then don't waste my time or I might just decide to eat you after all," he added with an evil grin.
"Please don't eat us!"
He chuckled quietly to himself. It was almost too easy. "Come along, you two. I may not be able to kill a fox, but I can teach you a few things about being a forest cat. Where I come from, we heal ourselves with herbs we find in the forest."
The young cats raced after him as he limped back into the woods. "What do you mean, herbs?" Jayjay asked, slowing to match the medicine cat's pace once he was by his side. "Is that like housefolk medicine?"
Jayfeather sniffed the air. Now that he was among the trees, he began to pick up more helpful scents he hadn't detected before. "Uh, sure. They are plants you use to heal injuries, cure illness, and various other things."
Cash padded by Jayfeather's other side. "Those sound awesome. It might be a good idea for us to learn since the gang cats have chased us out of the housefolk's place. We can't rely on housefolk anymore."
"Gang cats?" Jayfeather asked curiously. He instantly imagined Scourge's BloodClan from the nursery stories- a hostile group of kittypets that used to live in the old forest territories before the Clans moved to the lake. Their leader, Scourge, had lead a huge invasion to try and conquer the Clan territories, but he had been killed by Firestar.
"Yup! They are a bunch of dirty rotten so-and-so's who pick on little cats like us," Jayjay explained. "They are mean and you don't want to get on their bad side. And we, uh, sort of made the gang leader upset with us. It turns out cats get mad when you poke holes in the box they are sleeping under during a rain storm."
"We'll stay with you and learn all we can," Cash mewed happily. "If you'll let us," he added carefully.
Jayfeather mulled the new information over in his mind. These young cats, as foolish as they might be, knew the territory better than he did. He hated asking for help, but he couldn't pretend he could do everything on his own- especially when there could be aggressive kittypets lurking about. "I suppose it can't hurt for you to come along," he meowed after a moment's hesitation. "As long as you don't get yourselves- or me- into trouble."
The air whooshed as Jayjay made an excited leap. "You can count on us! Wow, I can't believe we are hanging out with a real live forest cat!"
"I know! It's so cool!" Cash cheered.
Jayfeather rolled his eyes. He couldn't say he was entirely thrilled to be traveling with a couple young, immature kittypets, but to his surprise, he actually looked forward to teaching them what he knew. It wasn't in the traditional sense but it could be almost like an apprenticeship; something he never had the opportunity to do in the Clans. The idea felt strangely appealing.
He purred contentedly as he lead the toms out into the leafy trees and ferns in his search of herbs. He would rest well tonight and tomorrow he would continue his journey around the edges of the twoleg place. He may have left his Clan behind, but he was starting to feel more comfortable as a rogue. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his own new destiny, whatever it might be, and no force under the sky could make him return to the life of a Clan cat.
