Jaypaw ignored the nervous prickling of in his pelt as he weaved around pine trees, making his way deeper into not-ShadowClan territory. He focused on the feeling on pine needles stabbing his pads to keep his thoughts away from what he was about to do. He'd already nearly backed out once. He wasn't about to let himself do it again.

Stop being such a scaredy-mouse, Jaypaw mentally scolded himself. You're a wild born cat. A sharpclaw. This is nothing. You're strong. Stronger than them anyway.

"Ooh, wild cat's back," a voice taunted. Jaypaw looked up and saw the fence that marked his destination. He'd made it there. Now he just had to make it through here. "Come to get another tail-kicking?"

"Tough words for a kittypet," Jaypaw shot back and slid his claws out as he looked defiantly up at the large cat sitting up on the fence. The kittypet glared down from his perch, yellow eyes glowing in the night. They were proud and hostile but behind them reflected the same fear that Jaypaw saw in himself. In the moonlight, claw marks could be seen on the kittypet's dark brown pelt. The wounds were closed but still fresh. Neither of them wanted to do this. They both suffered from it. But they had to. Part of me even wants to...

With a yowl, the kittypet threw himself down at the grey tom, paws stretched out towards him. Jaypaw reared back onto his haunches and boxed his paws in the air as the kittypet slammed into him.

Jaypaw gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and he was thrown flat on his back. The kittypet took a moment to rebalance then rose a forepaw and raked his claws down Jaypaw's cheek. Jaypaw yowled in pain as blood flew from his face, splattering on grey and brown pelts alike.

Back still flat against the ground, Jaypaw shifted his weight to his shoulders and kicked up with his back legs, bucking the heavy tom off his belly. There wasn't nearly enough force to said the kittypet flying but he was unbalanced enough for Jaypaw to rise up and shove him away.

In a heartbeat, the two stood tail lengths apart, circling each other. Blue eyes met yellow, both pairs burning and angry. Where their hatred came from neither knew. Maybe it was from the eternal rivalry between wild cat and house cat. Maybe it was that their souls clashed. Maybe they had met in a past life. Maybe it was just that they were both crazy. There was no explanation right now. Only battle.

Jaypaw was the first to break the circle. With a battlecry, he launched himself forward, body slamming the kittypet. The brown tom hissed as he was thrown back. His paws grappled at Jaypaw's back, hooking his claws on his shoulder fur. Jaypaw clamped his jaws down on the kittypet's chest fur as his adversary was pushed into an awkward sitting position balanced on his tailbone. The kittypet ignored the discomfort from holding himself like this and poured all his energy into the fight.

The two were locked on either other. Pelt grasped in jaws, claws embedded into shoulders, hind paws scraping belly, foreleg wrapped around back to dig claws into spine, ear in teeth. There was nothing clean about this fight. The two were just shredding the living fox dung out of each other.

Jaypaw was breathing hard, labored breaths as he pushed his weight into his opponent. He was smaller and lighter but he was still currently on top of him. It didn't give him much advantage, the kittypet was still strong enough to push back against him. This wasn't going anywhere.

The kittypet's hind paws battered his belly, Jaypaw's ear was bleeding in his mouth, the kittypet's claws were gripping his shoulders with no sign of letting go. With a scream fueled with determination, Jaypaw tore himself away from the death grip. The sound of ripping fur filled two sets of ears but neither paid any mind.

Jaypaw tried to get away but the kittypet lunged at him again, hissing. Jaypaw leaped backwards- that was no easy feat- to dodge. Before the kittypet could recompose himself, Jaypaw swiped forward with his forepaw and smacked the kittypet right between the eyes, stunning him, before once again throwing himself at him.

"You piece of-" the kittypet snarled before Jaypaw barreled into him. Jaypaw didn't try to pin him this time. He just let the kittypet go rolling and slam into a tree. The kittypet hissed in pain as he pushed himself back to all four paws. He was bleeding from his forehead and chest. Jaypaw smiled with satisfaction at the taste of blood in his mouth. He spat it out on the ground. His mouth was filled with thick saliva brought by the thrill of battle.

Jaypaw kneaded the ground in excitement, claws tearing up roots and scuffing up the earth, as he prepared to throw himself at his enemy again. Unfortunately he didn't get the chance. A bright light flooded the clearing the two cats were hashing out and angry twoleg shouts filled their ears. Twoleg?!

Fear struck Jaypaw and he didn't give the kittypet a second glance before he turned tail, ears pressed back, and fled into the safety of the forest.

"We're back," Leafpool announced upon entering the den. Jay's Wing rose his head lazily from his nest and pricked his ears. Two sets of pawsteps. He inhaled through his nose, trying to identify who the second cat was.

"Hi Hollypaw," Jay's Wing greeted and pushed himself into a sitting position. He stretched his neck to one side. He was stiff from laying around so much.

"Hi Jaypaw." Hollypaw's voice was muffled by a bundle of herbs in her mouth. Jay's Wing could smell it but he couldn't tell which herbs she held. "How are you doing? Bored from sitting around all day?"

"I'm fine. I took a nap," Jay's Wing responded. He turned his blind gaze to Leafpool. "Some cat called Daisy came in earlier looking for you. Toadkit had a thorn in his paw."

"I hope the poor thing's okay," Leafpool murmured as she took a few steps to the exit. "I've been gone for awhile… I hope it doesn't hurt too bad."

"Toadkit had a thorn in his paw," Jay's Wing repeated. "I got it out." Jay's Wing shifted uncomfortably as he felt Hollypaw and Leafpool's surprised gazes sweep over him. He ducked his head, pelt flushing. "What?"

"N-nothing," Hollypaw stammered.

"I'm just surprised you were able to," Leafpool told him slowly. "After all, you've been struggling with your training."

"Medicine cat stuff isn't so hard," Jay's Wing said casually. "All that memorizing stuff is stupid and boring but actually doing stuff isn't hard."

"Are you starting to remember things?" Hollypaw questioned, tail waving behind her excitedly.

Jay's Wing gave her an odd look. "No. This stuff is easy. I don't need to know how to do it to do it. I'm a medicine cat."

"I don't think you really understand what that means…" Leafpool said slowly, sounding confused. "A medicine cat's skill comes from moons and moons of of training…"

"Oh. Well, I don't mean that part. The other part," Jay's Wing went on, glad to finally have the opportunity to talk about this. "Those weird feelings. They're pretty useful. They confused me at first but once I figured out it was just a medicine cat thing-"

"What are you talking about?" Leafpool asked, confusion evident in her voice. Jay's Wing titled his head, suddenly feeling her confusion. Shock and surprised radiated from Hollypaw. He didn't know why.

"I mean like those feelings," Jay's Wing explained, slowing down as he tried to find the words to express himself. Hesitance to speak crept into his mew. "Like when you feel stuff, I can feel it in my head. It's like waves lapping at the shore. It comes off you and then I feel it. Especially at night. It's weird. Today was different though. When I touched Toadkit, I saw-"

Jay's Wing was cut off as Hollypaw shoved him into his nest. She slapped her tail over his mouth then swiftly swooshed it over his head to play it off like she was checking his temperature. "You feel hot. Are you alright?"

Jay's Wing gave her a look of confusion. He could feel urgency in her gaze. Was I not supposed to talk about that?

Leafpool moved Hollypaw out of her way and put her tail over Jay's Wing's forehead. She frowned. "You feel fine."

"He's been pretty confused since he got hurt…" Hollypaw said. Jay's Wing could hear desperation in her voice.

"I'm fine…" Jay's Wing trailed off, confused. He could tell that Hollypaw knew what he was talking about. He didn't understand why she was hiding it. She didn't seem like the type of cat to blatantly lie. She must have a reason. He swallowed, mouth dry as he tried to think of what to say. "My head's been hurting. I could be mistaken…"

He could feel Leafpool's concern for him as she checked him over. He leaned away from her, suddenly aware something about his ability was wrong. He didn't want to touch her. Not after what happened with Toadkit. He'd thought it was a medicine cat thing, that it was normal. It's not. There's something wrong with me. He didn't want to do it again. That was an invasion of privacy.

Leafpool seemed to get the idea that he didn't want to be touched. She didn't seem offended or anything. "I was planning on heading over to WindClan territory later but I think I'll stay here a bit. Get some rest, Jaypa- Jay."

Jay's Wing nodded and settled back into his nest despite having just woken up. He wasn't tired but he didn't want to do anything wrong. He closed his eyes, distress washing over him all of a sudden. What is this power? What is wrong with me?

"Jaypaw!" Half Moon screeched as Jaypaw limped through the oak forest. Dawn light shone down from above onto his pelt, illuminating the shining blood. Jaypaw winced. He'd hoped he'd be able to make it to the lake to clean himself up a bit before he ran into any other cats but it seemed like that was not the case. At least it was only Half Moon.

"Hi… What's up?"

"What do you mean what's up? You're drenched in blood!"

"Yeah…. About that…"

"If you weren't so cut up right now, I'd claw your face off," Half Moon grumbled.

Jaypaw let a smug smirk slide onto his face. "Nah. You wouldn't want to mess up this handsome face."

Half Moon blinked. Jaypaw was surprised at himself. Woah. Where did that come from?

To his relief, Half Moon purred. "Well, you can't be that hurt if you are strong enough to go around saying nonsense like that."

"I'm saying it 'cuz it's the truth," Jaypaw said, getting the idea that Half Moon was enjoying his cocky banter. Besides, it distracted her from the fact he was practically bleeding out here.

Half Moon fell in step beside him as he continued his hobble in the direction of the lake. "What happened to you? And don't say you got caught in a bramble bush. Don't you dare say you got caught in a bramble bush."

"It was a thorn bush," Jaypaw said. Half Moon gave him a look that told him that the time for joking was over. "Okay, fine. I got in another fight."

"With a rouge?"

"Um. Yes. Same one," Jaypaw lied. He didn't like lying, especially not to Half Moon, but the truth was pretty embarrassing. No way was he telling her he got his tail handed to him by a kittypet.

He got more than a tail kicking. That kittypet was strong. That was why he kept coming back to the greenleaf twoleg place night after night. If he couldn't beat a silly kittypet, what kind of wild cat would he be let alone a sharpclaw?

Last night had been worse than the other nights though. Neither cat had training, their fights were more of a savage, animalistic brawl than a real battle. As a clancat, Jaypaw would have held himself above that kind of fight but he was a tribecat now. A weak one at that. Fighting that kittypet would make him stronger. Even if he got as injured as he had along the way.

Jaypaw ignored the pain shooting across his body as he and Half Moon reached the bank. Leaving a trail of bloody paw prints behind him, Jaypaw began wading into the water. He hissed softly as the cold water touched his open wounds. Blood washed out of his fur and dispersed into the water filling the lake with a large cloud of red.

Half Moon gasped. Jaypaw glanced over his shoulder to see her eyes wide with horror. "It's not as bad as it looks," Jaypaw insisted. "It just looks bad when it gets into the water."

Half Moon didn't look convinced. Jaypaw shut his maw and walked farther into the lake until he was fully submerged and the world around him was a haze surrounded by red fog.

"Jaypaw."

Jay's Wing responded to the sound of the name with only a split second lack of recognition. Cats were calling him that so much that he was starting to get used to it. He sniffed and caught the scent of Jaypaw's siblings. He nodded in greeting. "Hollypaw. Lionpaw."

"Geez, you're still napping?" Lionpaw had amusement in his mew. "You were asleep when I came by earlier."

"It's not like I have much else to do," Jay's Wing muttered. His tail twitched.

"We brought some fresh-kill," Hollypaw spoke up. Jay's Wing nodded. He could smell squirrel and thrush in the air. The black furred apprentice put the prey down and slid it over the floor to him. Jay's Wing sniffed it and felt feathers brush his nose. He flinched then sneezed, turning his head to stop himself from sneezing on his food. That would be rude. And gross.

As Jay's Wing began eating, he sensed a glow of happiness in the den. Unspoken words conveyed the duo's joy that he was eating again. Jay's Wing had long since realized that refusing to eat other cats' kill really only hurt himself.

"You came to talk to me?" Jay's Wing prompted already knowing the answer. Hollypaw's earlier reaction to Jay's Wing talking about his powers deeply startled him but he managed to sleep most of his concerns off. And he knew Lionpaw already knew about them too. That was what initially caused him to believe that these sensations were completely normal.

Hollypaw nodded but Lionpaw still seemed confused. He glanced back and forth between his sister and the cat that he believed to be his brother. "What? Did something happen?"

Hollypaw hesitated a moment. "Jaypaw… He mentioned his powers in front of Leafpool."

"He what?" Lionpaw was clearly alarmed. Eyes wide, he stared at Jay's Wing.

Jay's Wing shifted uncomfortably. "How was I supposed to know? You mentioned them before so I thought it was just a medicine cat thing. And it's Jay's Wing. Not Jaypaw."

"Jay's Wing," Lionpaw said slowly, experimenting with the word. "Jay's Wing. Jay's Wing. Any particular reason you're hook on that name?"

"It's my name," Jay's Wing stated. Why is that so hard to understand?

To him it was as clear as day. A cat's name, that was who they were. If someone walked up to him and asked who he was, he had a thousand answers but his name summed all that up into a single phrase. He could say he was a sharpclaw, a member of the Tribe of Still Water, a former softpaw, or that he was the brother of Dove's Wing. He could also say that he was a tom or that he had grey fur or that he was a few seasons old. He could say that he was a dreamer or that he was a fighter. He could say just about anything but that would take forever. But his name, his name was associated with all of those things. It was a word- two words technically- that just meant him.

These clancats, they just didn't seem to get it. They thought he was someone else. Some cat he didn't even know. It made him feel… feel… Being called Jaypaw just feels wrong.

Hollypaw and Lionpaw didn't seem to accept his answer but they didn't continue on the matter. There were more important things to discuss.

"Your powers. We agreed not to talk about them."

Jay's Wing lashed his tail. "I didn't even know I had powers! I'm not Jaypaw. I don't know why I have his powers. And I know you guys think I have memory loss so you guys can't get mad at me for not knowing something."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Hollypaw murmured.

"Me too," Lionpaw said. "I should've realized you'd be having some problems with your powers."

"Don't worry about it," Jay's Wing sighed. "So what's the deal with this thing anyway? I assume that every cat can't do this?"

Lionpaw nodded. "You were the one who told us about it. It was actually your powers that helped you figure it out."

"Oh?"

"You have the power to walk in other cats' dreams," Hollypaw explained. "You-"

"Really?" Jay's Wing interrupted. He'd never tried that. Of course he didn't know how but he'd have to try it. He had some wild dreams. Seeing other cats' would be pretty neat.

"Yeah. You can do other stuff to but I think that's your main ability," Hollypaw went on. "You walked in Firestar's dreams and you learned about a prophecy."

"Who's Firestar? And what's a prophecy?"

"Firestar is our leader," Hollypaw explained. "And the prophecy… Are you asking what a prophecy is or the prophecy is?"

"Both."

"A prophecy is… they're like dreams or signs given to leaders and medicine cats by StarClan."

"And they usually tell them about the future or something," Lionpaw added. He frowned. "It's kind of hard to explain. You're the medicine cat here, not us."

"Not a medicine cat," Jay's Wing reminded but didn't wait long enough for another conversation to get started on that. "Now what's this prophecy thing got to do with me?"

"So basically some cat told Firestar that 'there will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.'"

The power of the stars in my paws? Jay's Wing blind gaze looked down at his two paws. He turned them over so his pads faced the ceiling. In his mind, he pictured the two of them before him. He couldn't imagine them holding anything let alone a star. They were small and, unlike twoleg paws, not very good for grabbing things.

"It doesn't mean literally," Hollypaw told him, picking up on his confusion. Jay's Wing felt his pelt flush. Oh. He felt silly. "It just means that the three of us have powers."

"You two do too?" Jay's Wing questioned. The siblings nodded. "What are they?"

"I can't get hurt," Lionpaw told him. There was no boasting in his tone though he did sound proud.

"How about you, Hollypaw?"

"I think… I think I have the special abilities of each of the clans," Hollypaw confessed. "I mean, not as good as a cat from each clan but kind of… y'know. Balanced."

Jay's Wing nodded. He didn't know enough about the other clans to have an opinion on this statement. Heck, he didn't even know the clans had special abilities let alone what they were. He'd have to ask some cat later.

"So anyway," Hollypaw said before Jay's Wing could get thinking too much, "you told us to keep quiet about our powers until we know more about the prophecy."

"What more is there to know?" Jay's Wing asked. "It sounds pretty straight forward."

"You're always complaining that StarClan cats aren't clear. You said that's probably not the whole thing," Lionpaw told him.

"And prophecies usually exist for a reason," Hollypaw added. "We have a purpose. We just don't know what it is."

"Okay." Jay's Wing shrugged. Whatever. He didn't really care about that. Hopefully whatever brought him here would take him back before his 'purpose' came.

"Do you understand, Jay?" Lionpaw asked, his voice pleading.

Jay's Wing nodded. "Yeah. I get it. Don't talk about the whole powers thing."

Hollypaw and Lionpaw considerably relaxed. The two of them let out sighs of relief and settled down. "Now, let's not let this prey go to waste."

Sitting by the thorn entrance, Leafpool saw Hollyaw and Lionpaw enter her den with prey in jaws. Good. She didn't want them around for what she was about to do.

Leafpool shook out her light brown pelt. The sun caught it but it didn't glow like her father's. Getting to her paws, she padded across camp to the fresh-kill pile where her sister and Brambleclaw were sharing tongues. Normally she wouldn't interrupt them but right now was one of the few moments that everyone she wanted to talk to was in camp and everyone she didn't want to talk to was occupied.

"Squirrelflight. Brambleclaw," Leafpool stated upon approaching the pair. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight looked up, amber and green eyes meeting another pair of amber. Leafpool noted the shine in them had come back. They're doing so much better… I don't know if I can do this to them. "Can I talk to you two?"

"Sure," Squirrelflight said, getting to her paws with Brambleclaw doing the same a heartbeat later. "What's up?"

"Hold on. I want to talk to Firestar too," Leafpool told her.

"Is something wrong?" Brambleclaw questioned. His voice was laced with worry and his eyes were round with concern.

Leafpool hesitated. "Maybe. I don't know. I just wanted to tell you guys."

"Is it Jaypaw?"

Leafpool nodded slowly, hating herself as she watched the pair's hearts shatter. They suddenly went from happy and energetic to more sullen and down. Squirrelflight's face fell as she lost her usual cheerful demeanor. Brambleclaw looked as if something had just sucked all the life out of him. Leafpool winced. She hated how she could break them in just a few words.

She shook her head clear. She couldn't let her feelings cloud her mind. She was a medicine cat. It was her job. No matter how much it hurt.

With a flick of her tail, she lead the two of them across camp and up to the highledge. She kicked a stone, announcing her arrival, and poked her head in. "Firestar?"

"Leafpool," the ThunderClan leader greeted upon her entrance. Sandstorm sat at his side and waved her tail in greeting. Leafpool dipped her head and took that as a signal to walk in. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight trailed behind her. Firestar rose an eyebrow. "Oh. Hello Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight. I didn't see you."

Neither Brambleclaw or Squirrelflight said anything. Brambleclaw flicked an ear. Squirrelflight shrugged, eyes trained on the ground. Sandstorm suddenly looked worried.

"Is this about Jaypaw?" Firestar spoke after a moment. His green eyes flicked to Leafpool.

The medicine cat nodded. She paused a moment, pulling herself together. She took a deep breath. I'll just come out and say it. Get it over with quick. No sense prolonging this. But when she opened her mouth, no words came out and she just stood there feeling stupid.

"Take your time," Sandstorm offered gently. Leafpool blinked gratefully at her and swallowed before clearing her throat.

"Earlier today I went out to ShadowClan territory to ask Littlecloud about head injuries," Leafpool began. She took a deep breath before continuing. "As you know, Jaypaw's had some memory loss. He thinks he's a different cat."

"Oh Jaypaw," Sandstorm murmured. Firestar's eyes clouded with worry. This wasn't news to Brambleclaw or Squirrelflight but the ginger she-cat still pressed against her mate's strong flank for support.

"When I was out, Daisy took Toadkit to the medicine den," Leafpool continued. "She, of course, doesn't know about Jaypaw, just that he's injured, and I don't think she noticed anything. But Jaypaw… when I asked him how he was able to treat Toadkit… he said something weird."

"Weird?"

"What does that mean?"

"He started talking about… feelings."

"Feelings?" Firestar questioned. "I know that Jaypaw isn't the most open cat but talking about his emotions while dealing with a head injury isn't something to cause worry."

"Not emotions," Leafpool corrected. "He said… he said… he said when I 'feel stuff' he can feel it too. He compared it to water. I don't know what that means but he started to say something about seeing but Hollypaw cut him off before he could go on. Normally I'd say that he was just confused from his injury but Hollypaw seemed to panic like she knew what he was talking about. It could be nothing, I just thought I'd let you know."

"Seeing?" Squirrelflight murmured. "Feelings?"

"Maybe his injury is worse than we thought," Brambleclaw said quietly.

"No," Firestar stated. His green eyes blazed as he got to his paws. Leafpool flinched at the confident way he held himself. Since he was her father, she sometimes overlook how much of a leader's spirit he had. Now was not one of those times. "I know what he's talking about."

Leafpool looked at him, face tense with perplexity. She tilted her head, prompting him to go on.

"Brambleclaw, do you remember back in the old forest when Sandstorm and I set off on a journey?" Firestar asked looking at his deputy. Brambleclaw nodded but didn't say anything. "I never told anyone, not even Greystripe, where we went. I… It's about time I told you. Promise me you won't tell the clan about this. Not yet at least."

Leafpool was alarmed by the seriousness in his voice but nodded alongside Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. "I promise."

Firestar let out a long breath as he prepared himself to speak. "A long, long time ago, there weren't four clans. There five. Six, if you count StarClan."

"Five clans?" Leafpool repeated. She suddenly felt numb.

Her father nodded. "Five. Before the twolegplace was built, a clan named SkyClan lived in the forest next to ThunderClan but were driven out when twolegs destroyed their territory. They moved to a gorge far away from clan territory until they were wiped out by rats. StarClan sent me a dream telling me to rebuild SkyClan."

"Did you?"

"Yes. I did. And when I did, I met a cat named Skywatcher who gave me a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Leafpool had never heard of any prophecy. I'm his medicine cat. He should tell me these things. Then she remembered she hadn't been born yet. By StarClan, that was a long time ago. Firestar had been kitless and now one of his kits had kits. Maybe he told Cinderpelt? But judging from Sandstorm's surprised expression, it seemed Firestar hadn't told anyone.

"Skywatcher told me 'there will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.'" Firestar said, his voice as clear as the lake's waters. "At first I thought it was you two and Cloudtail but…"

"It's Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw," Bramblestar realized.

Firestar dipped his head. "I believe so."

"The power of the stars…" Leafpool whispered. A light shock seemed to settle into her through her fur. StarClan holds the power of the stars… Surely no living cat can have StarClan's power.

"I don't know what that means," Firestar said. "But I have a feeling we may find out soon enough."