Chapter 8

Half Moon entered the den and was immediately hit by the strong scent of the herbs laid inside. Looking around, she studied the den which, she was told, was essentially where Jay's Wing lived and worked. The place where he spent his nights alone, she thought to herself.

Padding deeper into the den, she noticed a clump of bracken and soft moss formed together to make a nest. Getting closer to it, she could smell the warm and familiar scent of Jay's Wing radiating all over it. Moving towards the nest, she couldn't help but smile as his scent overtook her, making her mind look back to the nights the used to spend together, sleeping side by side in each other's warmth, content and happy.

Gently placing herself on top of the nest, she laid herself down and gave out a gentle happy purr, as she closed her eyes and savored his scent. It felt so right, to ease the tension in her body and be comforted by his scent.

For a moment she had forgotten her worries, and had shoved away the trouble they had encountered earlier. For a moment she imagined that she was alone with Jay's Wing, the two of them side by side and enjoying a nest together.

Oh, how long had she yearned for this moment too. But yet, why did it seem it was still so far? They were finally together, yet it seemed things weren't happening as smoothly as she thought.

She had always imagined it to be simple, that she would be with Jay's Wing and there would be nothing wrong about it. But now, this clan of his seemed to frown upon their relationship as if it were some sort of crime. But why? What was so wrong about two cats loving each other? Was it because she wasn't part of this clan of his, was it because she wasn't part of them? Did they hate outsiders so much that they discourage any relationships with them? The last one made her shiver in fear, and she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him once more.

She simply didn't understand what was happening here, and she was scared that they would part her from him, breaking her heart.

Sighing, she did her best to shove those awful thoughts away and instead placed her faith on Jay's Wing. Even though he wasn't a great leader of this clan like they had imagined he would be, it was clear to her that he still held some position of importance here. And now that he went to talk to their leader, she was sure that he was going to get things cleared up and that they would soon be together without worry.

'Soon' she thought to herself, returning to the soothing moment in her mind, 'soon enough our nights will be spent together, and nothing is going to stop that from happening.'

The moment was, however, broken, when Lionblaze strode closer to her and let out a short chuckle.

"Making yourself at home, I see."

Opening her eyes, she was reminded that she was not alone here, and as she looked up at the golden cat, she suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment overtake her, realizing how foolish she must have looked to him.

"I'm sorry…" She said, sheepishly. "…it's just been such a long day, and I feel so tired after everything."

"Hey, don't worry, I can't blame you." Lionblaze said with an amused purr. "I'm sure travelling through time and suddenly placed in front of the whole clan can take a toll in any cat. Besides, I'm sure Jayfeather wouldn't mind you three resting in his den…that is, as long as you don't mess with his herb supply." With that, Lionblaze glanced towards the said, and following his gaze Half Moon saw Dove's Wing and Lion's Roar curiously sniffing and moving a neat pile of assorted leaves placed in the corner of the den.

"Sorry…" Dove's Wing said apologetically when she realized the comment was directed at them.

Giving his own apologetic look, Lion's Roar nodded. "We'll fix it!" He offered.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I can fix all of that, it' not like I'll have anything better to do anyways." A voice from the entrance of the den called out, making all four cats glance towards that direction. "Besides, without knowing which herb is which, you'll probably end up messing it even more. And I'm sure that'll make Jayfeather even grumpier." The cat added with an amused purr.

Squinting her eyes to see, Half Moon noticed a dark brown she-cat move towards them. But as she got closer she quickly noticed that there was something off about her. It didn't take long for her to realize though, as her eyes widened in shock the moment she saw that the she-cat's rear legs were seemingly dead at that the cat had to drag her whole body with her fore legs alone.

"Thanks, Briarlight." She heard Lionblaze greet, as the cat stopped right next to him. "By the way, these cats are from..."

"Don't worry, Lionblaze, I heard Jayfeather's announcement too. Had to drag myself outside the den just to see what all the commotion was all about." Briarlight said, cutting him off politely. Turning her head towards Half Moon, she gave him a friendly smile and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Brightlight, Jayfeather's unofficial assistant."

"Oh?" Half Moon said, studying the cat in front of her. She never realized that Jay Wing had an assistant, or even needed one, but thinking about it she guessed it made some sense. With so many cats in this clan even a good a resourceful cat like him would probably need some help.

But why was she having an uneasy feeling about this cat?

There was a heavy feeling in her heart when she heard what she said, and she had to fight herself in order to stop a hiss emit from her mouth. What was wrong with her? What was she doing? This cat was simply Jay's Wing's assistant, so why was she feeling so uncomfortable, so hostile towards her?

"Well, I guess it's good to see someone giving Jay's Wing company…" The words came out more bitter than Half Moon expected, and even she was shocked at her own tone.

But whether Birarlight noticed or just chose to ignore it she would not know, as the she-cat instead focused on something else. "Jay's Wing?" She asked.

Doing her best to ignore the heavy feeling, she tried to distract herself and return the friendliness she was being given by showing a small smile. "Yes. You see, back where we came from his name is Jay's Wing." She said. "Although, I guess his name there is quite similar to his current name here."

"Yeah, I guess so." Briarlight said with a nod. "Lion's Roar and Dove's Wing sound familiar to the name of some other cats here too. Like Lionblaze over here, and Dovewing."

Moving forward and dragging herself towards the herbs, Briarlight politely excused herself as she began restacking the pile.

"So…" Briarlight asked as she worked. "Was what Jayfeather said true?"

"Which part?" Half Moon asked.

"The last one…" She said, this time Half Moon noticed her voice was a bit shaky, as if something was affecting her. "…that you two are mates."

Half Moon narrowed her eyes at the she-cat and felt her relationship with Jay's Wing being questioned. She didn't like this, not one bit. There was something about this she-cat that made her protective instincts trigger. Was it because she was also hostile to the idea of her and Jay's Wing were in a relationship, just like the rest of this clan?

No, that can't be it. She could sense it, it was different. The way she spoke about it, the tone in her voice, it wasn't hostility, it was something else.

"Yes." Half Moon said, plainly and cautiously. "Why, is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no!" Briarlight immediately said, turning around to face Half Moon as she apologized. "I'm not like the rest of the clan, I don't disapprove of what you have, what you two have."

As Half Moon glared and stared at Briarlight she couldn't help but keep her eyes on the she-cat, as she felt her heart race faster and faster. The heavy feeling was impossible to ignore now, as her emotions brewed inside of her.

There it was, she knew what was wrong now, she knew why Briarlight was acting so strange and asking in a tone that made her protective.

There in her watery eyes, Half Moon could see that Briarlight was jealous.

"What do you mean the truth?" Jayfeather hissed, turning his head to each one of them as if he were glaring at each cat in front. "What are you, mouse brained? Didn't you hear me explain everything earlier."

"We heard what you said, Jayfeather." Squirrelflgiht said, in a monotone voice. "But we just don't believe it. It just sounded so absurd."

"Absurd?" Jayfeather nearly screamed, his voice reflecting his anger. By now his fur was bristling, as he felt offended at their lack of trust towards him. Is this the way he was going to be treated? Was this the way they were going to treat one of the cats who saved all of the clans from annihilation? Were they really not going to trust them, all because they think he broke the code. "Listen, what I said eaerlier was the truth and despite what you all are thinking, I did not break the code. Yes, Half Moon and me are mates, but when we made that bond, when we fell in love and got together, I was a sharpclaw, not a medicine cat bound by some stupid code!"

There was silence for a moment, and Jayfeather could sense that Leafpool was starting to get worried and uncomfortable, while Bramblestar and Squirrelflight remained stiff in their stance of not trusting him.

Jayfeather, however, held his ground. He had waited so long, sacrificed so much, and endured many things that most cats couldn't even imagine, and all he wanted was something of a compensation for his hard work. And it had already came in the form of Half Moon.

He had longed for her for so long, missed her for so many nights, dreamt of her every time he close his eyes, and now that she was hear he wasn't going to let her go. No matter what stood in his way, h wasn't going to lose her, not again, not this time.

We are together now, he thought to himself, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way.

Right now, he was trying to be reasonable with them, with the entire clan. Surely they could understand the logic behind it all? He didn't break any code, he did everything right. He was a sharpclaw then, their love was right, there was nothing wrong to it. Besides, he was sure that it was StarClan who gave Rock the approval to send her here to him, so it means that they agreed with him and that it was right.

Why couldn't they understand that?

"Jayfeather…" It was Leafpool who spoke this time, and Jayfether turned his head to hiss at her as she started.

He didn't want to hear her, to be lectured by her. Although he knew in himself that he didn't break the code, he also knew the same couldn't be said by her. She not only broke the code, but also betrayed the clan. To make things worst she had lied to everyone, lied that he and his littermates where Squirrelflight's kits. She was anything but right, and Jayfeather hated her for what she had done, what she had done to the clan and to him and his littermates. And now she had the nerve to lecture him?

"Jayfeather…" Leafpol said once more. "…we only want what's best for you. You out of all cats should knew that medicine cats cant have mates and if they do there can be unforeseen consequences."

Jayfeather snorted when he heard that. "Consequences, huh? Just like the consequences that you ignored and threw away?"

He could sense the hurt in Leafpool from that comment, but he didn't regret it. He was still angry at her and he felt she deserved it, he didn't think she had been punished enough for what she did.

"Besides, how many times do I have to tell you, over and over. I was a sharpclaw when we fell in love, not a medicine cat." Jayfeather hissed.

"Alright." Bramblestar said, and Jayfeather could feel his heavy gaze on him. "Let's assume that you are telling the truth. That you really were transported to the past and fell in love there. Let's believe all of that for a moment. So what now? Those cats, they're here now, and your mate is here now in the clan. So what now? You're not a sharpclaw here, Jayfeather, you're a medicine cat. And as a medicine cat, you are forbidden to have a mate. You may have been allowed to be with her as a sharpclaw in the past, but you're a medicine cat here, right now, and you're forbidden from forming a romantic bond with her. So what are you going to do?"

For a moment Jayfeather was silent. He was shocked at what he heard, petrified, and afraid. He hadn't really thought about that, hadn't really considered what Bramblestar said. It all made sense, his logic was right, and Jayfeather knew he had a point. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how true what he said was, the angrier he got.

Staring at him, a betrayed look showing in his blind blue eyes, Jayfeather tried to speak, only to stop as he felt he throat dry and his head light. H felt everything collapsing, the idea of his love for Half Moon here in this time was a forbidden one. He felt sick, thought of how cruel everything was to make that happen.

'Why?' He thought in anger. 'StarClan why?'

Unable to say anything, unable to do anything about that situation, and feeling their heavy stares on him, he couldn't help but let his fur bristle in anger. He couldn't control himself, he felt the rage churning inside of him, rising and rising and wanting to be vented out.

Around him he could feel their unease towards him, and he could sense some worry overfill Leafpool. He then noticed her take a step forward, moving towards him, thinking that she could do something to calm him down.

But he didn't want her, he would never want her. The idea of her trying to comfort him filled him with disgust, and with his anger boiling he couldn't help but unsheathe his claws and swing a powerful slash at her. It happened so fast, he wasn't able to control himself.

But he felt no regret doing it.

He felt the impact, heard the scream of pain, and the sudden defensive posture of the two cats before him. He heard the noise of them saying something, screaming something, but he felt too much anger to understand.

Instead, h turned around and padded away from the leaders den as fast as he can. He could sense their want to block him to stop him, he could sense Leafpool hurt, but nothing serious.

They didn't stop him, probably thought that they should let him cool off first.

But he couldn't cool off, he didn't know how.

There were glances towards him as he excited the den, many more accusing stares and whispers.

They were once again talking how he was betraying the code and the clan.

No.

It was the clan who betrayed him.