Chapter 25. A lot of thought went into this one for a reason you will soon find out. I don't have much else to say here.

babyroxasman welcome back!

BeeQueenBeezy I like Hollyleaf a lot but she sort of fell off the radar in the cannon books. I try to portray her as a good sister.

MistLion I feel like Jayfeather was grumpy in the Clans since his Clanmates represent everything he was never allowed to be. Now that he's free of that stigma, I bet he'll warm up a little... just a little.

Jayfeather lay on his back, fiddling with a twig between his paws as he listened to the gurgling river behind him. He had ripped all the leaves off of his new plaything and it reminded him of the stick he had found in the underground river. But this twig didn't belong to Rock, the mysterious ugly old spirit who lived beneath the Clans. Wise old Rock had proven to be unhelpful in explaining the prophecy about Jayfeather and the others, but he was gone forever now- or so he had claimed.

Jayjay and Cash were nearby, yipping with happiness as they played in the shallow water. Jayfeather had no interest in joining them. The day before he had asked them what they planned to do if he decided to go up the mountain, and to his pleasant surprise, they said they would join him. "We have nowhere else to go since those gang cats won't let us return to the houseplace, and you have so many cool things to teach us," Cash had told him. Jayjay too showed interest in traveling up the mountain to see the Tribe. "I never knew there were cats living up there," he had mewed. "I bet they are super cool."

Jayfeather gnawed on the end of his small twig, trying to chew off a stubborn stub that was in the way of making its surface perfectly smooth. Two days had passed since his sister had visited him and, as she had foreseen, they had found the small river trickling down the side of the mountain. He vaguely remembered passing a similar landmark the first time he had ventured up the mountain to visit the Tribe. I wonder how many of my Clanmates would travel through the dreaded houseplace to find me. Probably just Lionblaze or Dovewing.

"Come join us, Jayfeather!" Jayjay called from the river's edge. "The water feels really good when it's so hot out."

But this was one decision Jayfeather was never going to change. Water was his eternal enemy. "I'll pass on that," he called back. "You two have fun being mouse-brains." He scratched two short lines across his twig remembering how Rock would do a similar thing with his own stick. It was already sun-high and there still had been no sign of the Clancats Hollyleaf had predicted would be arriving. Perhaps they got lost. It's easy to get turned around in the twolegplace- or houseplace as a rogue would say.

He was incredibly bored lying in the same place for a good portion of the day. Back in the Clans he probably would have been busy in his garden at this time. He wondered how Leafpool was doing as the sole medicine cat again. Hollyleaf hadn't mentioned anything bad so he had to assume everything in ThunderClan was going fine without him.

"Brrr, that's cold!" Cash stumbled out of the water and onto the grass. He shook his pelt vigorously and Jayfeather flinched away as some of the droplets landed nearby. "I feel so clean now!"

Jayjay frolicked out of the water after his friend, kicking up a misty wave in his eagerness. "Make sure you don't lie in any dirt until you're dry or else it will turn into mud and stick to you."

"Oh, good point. I guess I'll just stand."

Jayfeather grinned and crossed off the two smaller lines he had made on his twig. Cash and Jayjay survived the river...

"Hey, Jayfeather, what do you have there?" Cash inquired, noticing the twig.

Jayfeather rolled over onto his paws and casually flung his plaything into the water. "It's just a stick, forget about it."

"When did your creepy dead sister say your friends would be showing up again?" Jayjay asked innocently, shaking his own pelt and sending another barrage of droplets in Jayfeather's direction.

Housecats! He had already explained to them what StarClan was but he wasn't sure how seriously they had taken him. It was a difficult concept to grasp that dead cats were watching over them from the stars- even for some Clan cats. "She wasn't specific but I know my Clanmates will arrive soon." For once, the message wasn't in the form of a confusing prophecy. Thank you, Hollyleaf!

"Then we could go keep watch at the houseplace's edge so we'd see them come out," Cash suggested eagerly. "I don't want to sit and get my wet pelt all dirty so this will give me an excuse to stay standing up."

Jayfeather opened his mouth to explain that the Clan cats probably would find their way to the river anyway, but Jayjay raised his voice first.

"First one to spot the forest cats wins!" he announced, turning it into a challenge. "I wonder what they will look like. I bet they will be really big and strong! No offense, Jayfeather," he added.

It wasn't offensive until you said 'no offense.' But Jayfeather could care less as the two housecats raced away through the ferns in the direction of the houseplace. He lay back down in the grass, savoring the heat. It was still mid-day but there was nothing left for him to do except wait for his Clanmates to arrive. Assuming my sister didn't make a mistake. He closed his eyes, pretending the soft grass was his nest back at camp, and took a nap while he waited for Jayjay and Cash to return.


:3


"We found more forest cats!"

Cash was racing towards him through the ferns. It hadn't felt like more than a heartbeat since he had fallen asleep before a yowl startled him to his paws. The air was much cooler so he guessed it was almost sunset.

"We watched the edge of the houseplace for like forever, but then these three cats came out," Cash panted, his excitement overflowing into his words. "They looked rugged and beat up like forest cats so Jayjay stayed to meet them. They'll be here soon!"

Jayfeather turned to face the direction the housecat had come. He was eager to greet his Clanmates again after being away for so long, but at the same time he was apprehensive. What if Hollyleaf was wrong and they really did only want to drag him back to the lake? What if they were disappointed or upset that he had betrayed ThunderClan?

The rustling of fallen leaves and bracken reached his ears as the cats' paws approached. Jayfeather held his breath. I hope they are cats I don't hate, he thought grimly, imagining Berrynose or even Millie traveling through the twolegplace to find him. It's probably not them, he reassured himself.

"Jayfeather?"

His heart stopped. "Briarlight?" He immediately recognized the voice and is chest filled with joy as the she-cat stepped out of the ferns nearby.

"We finally caught up with you!" his former Clanmate cheered and she sprinted towards him.

Jayfeather's initial happiness changed to surprise as Briarlight bowled him over onto his back and landed on top of him, shoving her muzzle deep into his neck fur in a sign of affection. He was frozen in disbelief at her boldness but he couldn't say he disliked it.

"You have no idea how much trouble we went through to find you," she purred, her whole body quaking with the sound. "I've missed you so much!"

"I- I don't know how to respond to that," he stammered at a loss for words. Briarlight was his friend but by the way she was treating him, she could have been his long lost sister. What had gotten into her? "How did you make it this far? Last time I checked, you were still training and recovering the strength in your hindlegs."

The she-cat stepped back, allowing Jayfeather to climb to his paws. Her affection was almost overwhelming and she wasn't even trying to hide it. "I have so much to tell you, but I'll save it for tomorrow. Ivypool needs to hear most of it too."

Jayfeather's ears pricked. "Ivypool came with you?"

"You better believe it!" rose a voice from behind the ferns as the other she-cat stepped out. "Bramblestar will be glad to know that you are safe- erm, at least most of you. What happened to your ear?"

Jayfeather stiffened. Were Briarlight and Ivypool here to take him back to the Clan? I wouldn't have waited for them if Hollyleaf had said they were taking me back! Did she trick me just so my Clanmates would catch up with me?

Jayjay pranced closely behind Ivypool. He was clearly thrilled to be meeting more forest cats. The energy in his fur warmed the air like a lightning bolt desperately wanting to escape its cloud.

Ivypool stepped forward to greet her former medicine cat with a respectful tap on his shoulder from her tail. "It's so good to see you again."

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes and a tiny growl escaped his lips. His eyes flickered in Briarlight's direction. "I'm not sure why you are both here, but I'm not-"

"We can talk about all of that later," Briarlight interrupted, hastily stepping over to him and laying her tail on his shoulder. "Right now we should just be happy that we're all together again. It's getting dark so we need to find a place to shelter for the night."

Jayfeather growled suspiciously. What was she hiding? If his mind wasn't already busy trying to process everything he might have been tempted to search her thoughts. "I assume you already met Jayjay and Cash," he meowed, flicking his tail in the young housecats' direction. "They've been traveling with me for the past moon or so."

Briarlight purred warmly. "We have! They seem like charming little helpers to have with you."

Jayfeather turned his head towards the housecats who were bursting with pride from Briarlight's praise. They were handling the encounter very well; better than Jayfeather was. He could imagine the storm of questions they would unleash upon the new company.

Ivypool coughed suggestively, drawing his attention. "We also met someone else in the twoleg place who wanted to see you. He's traveling with us."

Jayfeather turned, curious, as another cat slowly padded across the grass towards them. He hadn't thought he could be more shocked and confused than he already was, but he recognized the mysterious cat's scent instantly. He sprang back in alarm. "Sol!" The villainous rogue who had infiltrated ShadowClan moons ago and convinced Blackstar to stop believing in StarClan. He couldn't be trusted!

"Greetings, Jayfeather," the older cat meowed, his voice as smooth and coercive as Jayfeather remembered. "You can keep your claws sheathed, I'm not here to cause trouble. I have important information for you that I doubt your StarClan has warned you about."

Jayfeather spat distrustfully, not even realizing his claws were out. 'You can keep your important information to yourself." Sol was an enemy to every Clan cat, but Ivypool and Briarlight already knew that. There had a be a reason they would permit him to travel with them. But Jayfeather was too tired, both physically and emotionally to continue worrying about it. "Don't do anything you might regret- again."

"Now that introductions are out of the way," Ivypool meowed, stepping forward to lead the way deeper into the trees. "We should find some fresh-kill and a place to sleep. It will be too dark to hunt if we wait much longer."

Jayfeather nodded in agreement, still poised to attack. A good night's sleep would clear his head. Then he might be able to handle the full story of why Sol was with them and why Ivypool sounded like she wanted to take him back to the Clans. He was about to follow her and the others but Briarlight stepped in front of him.

"Can I speak with you alone, please? You need to know something before I tell the others."

"Sure," he meowed, sitting down and letting his ruffled fur lie flat. Hopefully she could answer some of the questions he had.

She waited until Ivypool had taken the other cats out of ear-shot before taking a huge breath. "Jayfeather, I'm in a lot of trouble."

Jayfeather's fur began to spike again with alarm. "Are you sick or injured? Are hostile housecats hunting you down?"

"No, it's nothing like that- housecats?"

"Kittypets," Jayfeather clarified. "Jayjay and Cash prefer to be called housecats. What danger could you possibly be in? You sound fine to me."

The she-cat shuffled her paws uncomfortably, shifting her weight from one side than the other. "It's Ivypool. I may have sort of lied to get her to help me. I had no choice!" she added as Jayfeather narrowed his eyes at her. "A few nights after you left, I tried to leave too but Ivypool found me while I was escaping. I wanted to travel alone but she demanded to know what I was doing. I told her that I would find you and bring you back to the Clan."

"I'm not going back-" Jayfeather started but she cut him off.

"I know!" she cried guiltily, clearly distraught. "I only told her that so she wouldn't stop me from following you. But she's still convinced we're here to take you home. I don't know how to tell her the truth or how she'll react. I feel like I betrayed my Clan!"

Jayfeather closed his eyes and smoothed his ruffled pelt. He was grateful his friend wasn't in any actual danger but she would certainly need to fix the problem she had created. "It's pretty simple. Either she goes back to the Clans or comes with us. I'm done with ThunderClan and StarClan and everything else by the lake and there's nothing Ivypool can do to change my mind. She'll be upset but it's not like she'll hurt you or anything."

"But what should I say?" Briarlight meowed, sounding slightly relieved. "I don't know how to confront her without making her mad. She's been talking about going back to the Clans for days, especially after what happened in the twolegplace. She really misses ThunderClan."

Jayfeather opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on her. "You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out. ThunderClan isn't my home anymore; I'm a rogue now." He flexed is paws to show off the bites from the rats and flicked his damaged ear. "If that's all you had to say, we should probably join the others. They'll start getting worried if we don't."

"I have one more thing to tell you," she meowed as he stood up to leave. "I never told you why I left the camp."

Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently. He was hungry and tired and Briarlight was wasting his time with her pointless worries. "You just said you wanted to find me," he said simply.

"It's not just that," she whispered, her voice shaking. "I- I-"

His eyes widened in understanding. Briarlight's emotions were unmistakable and they rolled off her pelt like waves billowing in a heavy gale. He had been suspicious of it before by the lake but she had suppressed them then. Now she was free from the rules of the Clan. I don't know if I'm ready for this.

"I love you, Jayfeather."

Adorable.