Chapter 10: Sometimes Solutions Aren't So Simpleā¦
Jaggedshadow's Pov
Jaggedshadow marched through the rocky grassland. Although he could see Star Place in the distance, he paced himself. He wanted to finish his journey strong.
Jaggedshadow halted abruptly. It would not do to arrive in the Nightclan Camp half-starved to death. He dropped into a hunting crouch; he spied a pheasant. Stalking toward it, he watched it with care. Once Jaggedshadow was almost within striking range of the pheasant, his paw fell on a twig and snapped it. The pheasant flew away, startling a rabbit from behind a rock.
Despite his immense hunger, and growing impatience, Jaggedshadow could not risk getting any more hungry. He walked forward, looking for other prey to stalk.
Jaggedshadow stalked toward a mouse. It was big and plump-looking, but most importantly, it was nibbling on a grass seed, completely unaware of the looming predator that stood almost motionless behind it. Jaggedshadow stepped toward the mouse, carefully feeling for any rocks or twigs that might give his position away. He set his paw down. Jaggedshadow froze. The wind had shifted, and the mouse had turned its head in Jaggedshadow's direction. Jaggedshadow held his body as still as he could. The mouse's small beady eyes peered at him. Jaggedshadow stepped toward the mouse once it looked away.
A sparrow dive-bombed Jaggedshadow's ear, causing his ear to flip inside-out. Seething in pain, Jaggedshadow leaped backward. Seeing this, the mouse scampered away, kicking up a trail of dust as it ran.
Jaggedshadow sighed, pushing his ear in place with a hindpaw. He shook his head to regain his balance. He began walking toward a small birch. A wood pigeon was perched on a lower branch. If Jaggedshadow could prowl close enough, he would be able to make the leap. Jaggedshadow stepped toward the wood pigeon, choosing his foot placements with care. Fortune seemed to smile upon Jaggedshadow, and the wood pigeon did not notice him.
Jaggedshadow tensed his powerful hindlegs, gazing at his target as he prepared for a massive leap. Pushing his hind paws against the ground, he launched himself at the wood pigeon. Just before Jaggedshadow reached his prey, a hawk seized the wood pigeon in its talons, carrying it away as Jaggedshadow fell to the ground. He had made a massive miscalculation in his leap.
Othtor help me! Jaggedshadow thought, continuing to plummet back-first toward the ground. No help came, and Jaggedshadow was left to fall. He landed with a thump on his side. He stood. His ribs weren't broken, they were just bruised.
Jaggedshadow's exclamation had been redundant, as he had abandoned that faith a long time since. It had been a reflex from a period of time when he still believed. Othtor was the protector of Caelum (An: Kai-loom), Nightclan's afterlife. In Jaggedshadow's mind, once one died, they were gone forever. He did not believe in either Othtor or Caelum.
Jaggedshadow walked to a nearby shrub. His left side, including his shoulder, and his hip on that side, hurt with each step that he took. He needed to rest.
Laying among the tall green grass stems, which terminated in spikes of seeds, Jaggedshadow brought his legs stiffly in. Once he rested enough, he would be able to walk with some more freedom of motion. Jaggedshadow closed his eyes. He drew a long, deep breath into his chest through his nose. Once his lungs stung, he opened his mouth and began to let the breath slip away, careful to not exhale too fast. Jaggedshadow drew another breath, and, after holding it in for a few moments, released it. Jaggedshadow drew in a third breath. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
Jaggedshadow stood. His side felt a lot better, but it still hurt, although to a lesser degree than before. He walked out of the shrub's shade. He glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning to drop below the horizon, casting ephemeral sunbeams as the light faded. Jaggedshadow needed to hurry if he wanted to meet Stoneclaw at Star Place before nightfall.
He gritted his teeth, and began to run. Jaggedshadow never was one to run long distances without tiring. He could either slow his pace to preserve his strength and energy. Or, he could sprint intermittently as usual until he arrived at his destination.
Jaggedshadow slowed his pace almost to a stop. This sprinting thing worked, but it aggravated his bruised ribs. His usual method of running was to sprint furiously for as long as possible, stopping only to give his lungs rest. This would have worked for Jaggedshadow, and it usually did; but his ribs were bruised, and he still had a long way to travel. He continued walking. His lungs and ribs still hurt from his last burst of speed. From then, until he arrived at Star Place, he would have to run at a slower, but more consistent pace than his usual sprints.
Jaggedshadow paused. He could no longer continue his quest without food. His last three attempts to catch prey had only made him even more hungry than before.
His ear turned as a rabbit scampered to a stop behind him. Jaggedshadow cautiously turned to face his prey, making sure that his paws did not land on anything noisy. He began to stalk through the tall grass. The rabbit lumbered toward Jaggedshadow, unaware of his presence. Jaggedshadow threw himself at the rabbit. If he had timed his leap correctly, he would catch the rabbit. If not, then all he would get would be a facefull of grass stems and soil.
He landed on top of the rabbit. He had timed the leap well. The rabbit struggled, but Jaggedshadow sank his teeth into its neck, piercing it's spine. The rabbit went limp.
He stood up. He froze. He stood for what felt like hours. Without warning, Jaggedshadow leaped forward and tore the rabbit to shreds, leaning down to devour it, moving with vicious speed as if he were rabbid.
With the edge takin off of his appetite, Jaggedshadow sped toward Star Place. He had little time to waste. Stoneclaw was likely waiting for him.
Jaggedshadow stepped into the clearing. The cleaning was lit only by the moon's silver light. Jaggedshadow could not see Stoneclaw, but he could trace his former mentor's scent trail. It led toward the Nightclan Camp. There were no other scent trails leading that way.
In the clearing, sound asleep beside the pool, were seven cats. The two closest to Jaggedshadow, a she-cat and a smaller gray tabby tom, had a similar scent to the faint smell of the golden tufts. Across from them, were two cats who had a similar scent to the brown tuft. The scents of the other three cats were muddled together. Jaggedshadow turned away, wondering who these cats were, and what they were doing at Star Place. He walked around the outside of the clearing. The answer to his question did not matter to him. All that mattered to Jaggedshadow in that moment was finding Stoneclaw.
As soon as Jaggedshadow was sure that he would not be heard, he ran, tracing Stoneclaw's scent trail. Not long after Jaggedshadow had begun to run, he detected a sudden turn in the scent trail. Following the turn, Jaggedshadow saw Stoneclaw. The large grey warrior with piercing sky-blue eyes had clearly been waiting for a while, as evidenced by the scent-pool that he was standing in.
"How was your journey?" Stoneclaw asked Jaggedshadow.
Jaggedshadow sat. "Not bad. Apart from falling out of a tree, I enjoyed it."
Stoneclaw chuckled. "And what have I told you about tree climbing?"
"For the longest time, you forbade me from doing that," Jaggedshadow retorted.
"Only because you kept falling from the branches. I could not train an apprentice who was limping so often. You have come a long way."
"Physically?" Jaggedshadow asked Stoneclaw, "or are you just being sappy?"
"Well you did finish that journey, did you not?"
"I don't have time for your jokes."
Stoneclaw stood, frowning. "I wish you would lighten up. I miss the way you were before."
"So what?"
"I know you care not for my opinions," Stoneclaw meowed, "or any other cat's for that matter. But there are many cats, including myself, who are worried for you. You have been distant lately."
Jaggedshadow stood. "I know."
"Good," Stoneclaw meowed. "Let us walk to the camp. I imagine Nightsong, Shadefern, Moondusk, and Shattered Oak will be glad to know you are safe."
Stoneclaw and Jaggedshadow began to walk toward the Nightclan Camp. Their fur ruffled in a cold breeze, and one of Jaggedshadow's ears twitched as a large dead leaf fell on it.
"Where's Shadefern?" Jaggedshadow asked.
"I do not know" Stoneclaw meowed, "I last saw her two days ago."
"Jaggedshadow." Shadefern slid out of the shadows which were casted by a tree to Jaggedshadow's left. "I am here. When you didn't return many days after you began your journey, I began a search, hoping to find you."
"That's... Thoughtful," Jaggedshadow meowed. He had not noticed Shadefern's scent until just then, for some reason or other. Jaggedshadow was glad that no cat had followed him into the tunnels, as he would likely have been blamed for their death. He continued to walk. Shadefern and Stoneclaw walked on either side of him as if escorting him to the Nightclan Camp.
As Jaggedshadow stepped through the entrance tunnel, several cats stopped to gaze at him for a brief moment. His energy was exhausted, and he did not want any special attention. He headed toward the guardians cave.
Once in his nest, Jaggedshadow closed his eyes. For once in his life, he fell asleep without much effort.
Jaggedshadow stood. The sky was still dark. He must have not rested for long. His mouth was dry, so he began walking. He was heading toward the snow pool. The stream that flowed from the snow pool had the most delicious, and refreshing water that Jaggedshadow had ever tasted. Despite the rest that he had, his side still hurt.
Jaggedshadow bent his neck and lapped at the cold, fast-moving stream. Once he had quenched his thirst, he looked around at the clearing.
It was a nice spot. The clearing was a flat patch of land that was bathed in cold silver moonlight. To Jaggedshadow's left, was a large chunk of vibrant orange sandstone. During the day, it was a good spot for basking in sunlight. The stream that he had been drinking from flowed from the snow pool. Above Jaggedshadow, birch and oak trees stood out from the dark of the night, and from the moonlight.
Jaggedshadow stepped out of the clearing. He started toward camp. Moments later, when he stepped through the entrance tunnel, he turned eastward, and walked into the guardians cave. Walking around Stoneclaw and Ravenheart, who were asleep in their nests, Jaggedshadow stepped into his nest. He laid down and closed his eyes once again.
Jaggedshadow awoke to the first rays of the day's dawn. He rose from his nest. Stoneclaw's, and Ravenheart's nests were empty. Jaggedshadow stepped around their nests. He left the cave.
Jaggedshadow could not have asked for a better time to begin the first phase of his plan. There were few cats in the camp and Cedartail was nowhere to be seen. Jaggedshadow walked out of the camp. The first step of his plan to kill Cedartail was to gather a large quantity of poison, preferably bloodberries. The sweet, deep-red flesh of a bloodberry was edible in small doses, but one must be careful, as a dose of only three berries, seeds or no seeds, was lethal. There was a small bloodberry bush half a day's walk south of camp. That bush was far outside Nightclan territory, but Jaggedshadow was willing to face any dangers in pursuit of his vengeance.
Jaggedshadow stepped across the faint scent line that was the Nightclan border. He would have to be quick with this quest. Nightclan would likely notice that he had been away, and they would likely send a search patrol after him.
Jaggedshadow ran. If he ran fast enough, he could reach the bush in a quarter of the time than it would otherwise take. This way, Jaggedshadow could return to Nightclan before night fell. It was of utmost importance to him to avoid any suspicion.
Sure enough, Jaggedshadow reached the bush in a short amount of time. His ribs did not hurt anymore, but his chest ached from the run. Jaggedshadow walked away from the bloodberry bush. He was looking for a long broad leaf to carry the bloodberries in. He soon spied a dock plant which towered over him. Its broad leaves would work as a container for the potent bloodberries. Jaggedshadow reached up and nipped the largest leaf from the bush at its base. Seizing the leaf between his teeth, he carried it to the bloodberry bush.
Jaggedshadow gathered ten berries and placed them, one by one, on the dock leaf. After he did that, he turned his attention to the sky. The sun had not moved far since he had begun this quest. He had a decent amount of time. He would catch prey, both for Cedartail, and for Nightclan, so that he could say that he had been hunting.
Jaggedshadow dropped into a hunting crouch, listening and watching for prey signs. He opened his mouth and drew air into his mouth, tasting the air for prey-scent.
After a few moments of waiting, a mouse's scent drifted through the air. The mouse was a fox-length upwind from Jaggedshadow. The mouse was small but plump-looking, and its gray fur shone as it scampered between rocks. Jaggedshadow prowled toward the mouse, hoping that the wind would not shift.
Jaggedshadow leaped forward. He pined it against the ground and sunk his teeth into the mouse's neck, killing it. He dug a small hole and buried the mouse.
Jaggedshadow gazed across the landscape. He opened his mouth, once again tasting the air for prey-scent. He strained his ears, listening for the heavy rhythmic footfalls of a hare or a rabbit. Jaggedshadow stood motionless, swiveling his head to scan the horizon. After a few moments of careful watching, a pair of large ears appeared above the grass stems. Jaggedshadow kept his gaze trained on the rabbit, and the rabbit's small beady eye gazed back at him. He froze. The rabbit lowered itself back on to its forelegs, and Jaggedshadow prowled toward the rabbit, placing his paws carefully on the ground; feeling for any twigs, soft ground, or loose rocks that might give his position away. Once he was close enough to strike, the rabbit sat up. It had seen him.
Jaggedshadow had no time to waste. He sprang at the rabbit. For a moment, it seemed like he was flying. Seeing this, the rabbit froze. Jaggedshadow collided with the rabbit, knocking it over. Holding the rabbit down with his paws, Jaggedshadow leaned in and sank his teeth into its neck. He stood and seized the rabbit by its neck fur.
Jaggedshadow folded the dock leaf around the bloodberries. The sun was not far above the horizon. If he wanted to return to camp before dark, he needed to hurry. He dug the mouse up and seized it by the tail, tucking the leaf parcel behind the hare in his jaws, careful not to bite too hard. Jaggedshadow stood. He arched his back, and bounded northward, running to the Nightclan Camp.
Dense rocky grassland turned into leaf-strewn woodland as Jaggedshadow ran. He soon ran past the Nightclan borderline. The sun was slipping below the horizon. Jaggedshadow would have loved to watch the sun fall below the horizon, but he needed to get to camp.
Jaggedshadow walked into camp. Shadefern, Stoneclaw, Shattered Oak, and Stormwind greeted him. He nodded at them. Jaggedshadow walked into the prey storage den and dropped the mouse on top of the small fresh-kill pile. He strode into the guardians cave and tucked the leaf parcel carefully into his nest.
Jaggedshadow stepped into Cedartail's den. As he laid eyes on Cedartail, his enemy and leader, a wave of revulsion swept over him. He stepped toward Cedartail, wondering how long he would have to suck up to Cedartail.
Cedartail stood. "Ah, so the renegade returns."
Jaggedshadow dropped the rabbit at Cedartail's feet. He stepped back, bowing his head. "I am not a renegade. Othtor guides my path. I was only hunting."
Liar! Jaggedshadow heard Plague say.
Not now Plague. Jaggedshadow thought. I don't have time for this. To Jaggedshadow's surprise, Plague did, in fact, stop talking.
"I thank you for the prey." Cedartail seemed satisfied with Jaggedshadow's answer. He relaxed. "Go. Get some rest. It would be a shame if a powerful warrior like yourself was too exhausted to endure a patrol."
