"One more," Jayfeather instructed. Briarlight lay on the floor of the Medicine Den doing her exercises.
"Your pushing her too hard, Jayfeather," Leafpool told him from where she sat sorting herbs in their store.
"I can do it," Briarlight said confidently. With a deep breath, she pushed herself to her paws. Grunting she lifted as much of her paralyzed hindquarters off the ground as she could.
"That's enough," Jayfeather said after a few heartbeats. Briarlight collapsed back to the ground panting. "Good job, take a break then we'll do your moss ball exercises."
"Thanks Jayfeather," Briarlight panted and dragged herself into her nest where she curled up. Jayfeather rolled his blind blue eyes and joined Leafpool.
"We're running low on watermint," she commented. Jayfeather nodded but was distracted by the sound of commotion outside.
"What's going on?" Briarlight looked up from her nest.
"Some cat probably picked a fight with WindClan," Jayfeather sighed and began looking for cobwebs but stopped when a yowl from outside made his blood run cold.
"Jay's Wing!"
Half Moon?!
Jayfeather dropped the cobwebs and darted out of the den.
"Jayfeather?" Leafpool called after him in shock.
As he rushed into the middle of camp, he smelled a foreign scent but he recognized it as a tom, not his beloved Half Moon. He scolded himself. I should know better than to get my hopes up.
Dovewing, Lionblaze, Brightheart, and Thornclaw stood around the cat. The rest of the clan was gathering around them.
"Who's that?"
"Is that Jayfeather?"
"No mouse brain, look at his eyes."
"Why did you bring a loner back to camp?"
"Is he trying to join?"
"We already have enough cats!"
"Does Bramblestar know?"
"What's going on?" Bramblestar emerged from his den. Squirrelflight joined him. The rest of the clan backed off. "Is this the cat you scented at the border?"
"Yeah," Dovewing nodded. Squirrelflight looked over him.
"Why are you-?"
"Jay's Wing!" the strange cat suddenly broke away from the patrol and rushed up to him. Jayfeather heard the clan brace, ready to jump in in case this cat attacked him, but Jayfeather wasn't paying attention. He felt dizzy. He dug his claws into the earth to keep himself from falling.
Who is this cat? How does he know that name? I haven't heard it since the Ancients came for the Great Battle!
Jayfeather's thoughts were racing too fast for him to utter a single word.
"Are you okay?" Lionblaze padded over with concern in his voice.
"Y-yeah," Jayfeather managed to get out. He turned to the new cat. "Who are you? Where did you know that name?"
"I am Crane's Wing," the cat introduced. "And the name Jay's Wing has been passed through my cats for generations. Ever since we made our home away from the cats you lead to the mountains."
"What's he talking about?" Bramblestar asked but Jayfeather was too shocked to respond. "When did you go to the mountains?"
"Where I'm from, every cat knows how Jay's Wing cast the last stone and lead our ancestors from the tunnels to the mountains," Crane's Wing continued. "When we went to the forest, a group of cats broke off and told stories of Jay's Wing and Half Moon and honored the sacred cats then our Healer learned seasons ago that you've returned and I was sent to find you, Jay's Wing."
"What's he talking about?" Bramblestar repeated. Jayfeather looked at the cat he'd once believed to be his father then without warning, dashed out of the camp.
"Jayfeather?!" Bramblestar shouted in surprise.
"Jayfeather, come back!" Lionblaze called.
"Jay's Wing!" Crane's Wing shouted.
Jayfeather flattened his ears to block out their calls. This is just too much. A living cat knows who I am? What I did? How is this possible?
The cries of his clanmates faded into the distance and Jayfeather disappeared into the forest.
Author's Note: And Crane's Wing keeps getting stranger. He should know better than to just go rattling off strange things but he can't help himself. He's a do first, think later kinda cat.