"Anything?" Bramblestar asked despite not seeing the missing cat along with the returning patrol.
Spiderleg, the leader of the search patrol, shook his head. "Nothing. We followed the scents that the last patrol found but we lost them."
"It's like Jayfeather just disappeared," Amberpaw piped up.
Bramblestar's fur prickled with worry. How does a blind medicine cat just disappear? Unless…
"Did you check by the lake?" he asked, fearing the answer.
"Of course," Spiderleg quickly realizing what Bramblestar was getting at. "Jayfeather isn't stupid. And Cinderheart tells me he can swim."
"Really?" Amberpaw asked. "How? I can't even swim! How can a blind cat do it?"
Spiderleg slapped her with his tail to remind her to not disrespect the medicine cat. "Don't dwell on it, the scent was nowhere near the lake."
Bramblestar exhaled in relief. Squirrelflight, Stormpaw, and Crane's Wing walked up behind him.
"Did you find him?" Squirrelflight asked.
"No," Molewhisker growled. He glared at Crane's Wing. "And it's all his fault."
"Me?" Crane's Wing squeaked.
Berrynose walked up with Poppyfrost at his side. "Yeah, Jayfeather wouldn't have run off if it weren't for you. You did something to make him do it."
Crane's Wing looked at his paws. "I'm sorry."
Why are my cats so quick to blame others? Bramblestar decided he'd talk to Berrynose and Molewisker later. "Don't blame him, he may be responsible but it wasn't his fault. He's been traveling for moons to find Jayfeather." He turned his attention back to the patrol. He looked to Whitewing who had been quiet until now. "Did the location give anything away to where he might've gone?" he asked.
Whitewing shook her head. "No. It didn't seem like he was trying to hide his scent, it just disappears out of nowhere. I doubt he left the territory though."
Bramblestar nodded. He'd suspected as much, Jayfeather never had much interest in life outside of the clan though he had a special connection to the Tribe but, like Spiderleg said, Jayfeather wasn't stupid.
Whitewing must've read his expression. "Don't worry Bramblestar. It's not like Jayfeather to run off, I'm sure he'll be back on his own soon."
"You're right." Bramblestar nodded. He turned back to Squirrelflight. "We may as well stop sending out patrols. It sounds like no one's going to find him."
"Lionblaze and Leafpool are going to be worried," she pointed out.
"Then they can look for him themselves," Bramblestar responded.
Jayfeather knew his clan was looking for him but he didn't care. He was padding through the tunnels. The cool air nipping at his fur as he inhaled the scent of the earth. The feeling of the the smooth water carved ground beneath his paws was comforting.
Jayfeather knew the tunnels well. He'd been in them as an apprentice but also sighted as Jay's Wing. And the clan had taken refuge here when the storm flooded the camp. The time here only added to his mental map. It had taken a while but it was impossible for him to get lost here.
Jayfeather loved the tunnels because his blindness didn't hinder him here. If anything, it made him stronger. He had to rely on his other senses and those were already pretty good on the surface down here, in the peace and quiet, they were even more powerful.
Another thing that Jayfeather loved about the tunnels was how it made him feel. They were familiar, they reminded him of his time as a sharpclaw with Half Moon and the rest of the early Tribe cats. It was comforting.
Half Moon… Dove's Wing… Falcon Swoop… Falling Rain… even Lion's Roar… I miss them.
He was suddenly startled. He'd never met Falcon Swoop. And he'd only met Lion's Roar as a kit. And Fallen Rain had been long gone by his arrival as well. Why do I miss them then?
Jayfeather shook his head of those thoughts and sped up a bit hoping that walking would distract him. Soon, he felt water at his paws. He'd found the underground river. It wasn't very high, there wasn't any risk of it flooding.
He took a few steps into the river until the water reached his belly and submerged his legs. He hated water, he didn't really have a reason for doing this other than he just felt the need to. There was no one around, he could do whatever he wanted.
Something brushed past his leg. He panicked a moment before realizing it was just a fish. He calmed down and his panic was once again replaced with sorrow.
Fallen Leaves… Hollyleaf… Hollyleaf had told him that the two of them had hunted in this river together.
For some reason, he missed Fallen Leaves more than Hollyleaf. It made him feel guilty but every time he'd been in the tunnels as Jayfeather, Fallen Leaves had been there for him. He felt a strong lack of the ancient cat's presence. It made these tunnels feel a bit more lonely.
Jayfeather considered turning back and heading to camp but that thought was denied almost immediately. He'd come here to think, to clear his thoughts. And there were was too many things on his mind right now.
"Hurry it up, Jay's Wing!" Fish Leap called. Half Moon, Dove's Wing, and and Fallen Leaves were at his sides. They paused and looked back at him. Jay's Wing sped up a bit to catch up.
"You've never been this slow, Jay's Wing," Fallen Leaves taunted. "You scared?"
"Of course not," Jay's Wing responded. "What's there to be scared of?"
"Nothing, that's what," Half Moon told him.
"This is the first time we've all gone out without a sharpclaw," Dove's Wing noted. "We really should be cautious."
"Why?" Fish Leap through his head back and looked at the bright blue sky and shining sun above them. The sunlight hit the trees leaves giving them a greener glow than usual. It was beautiful. "There's nothing here, just trees and great prey. And we can catch anything we want without any sharpclaws around."
"Who's ever heard of a softpaw outing?" Dove's Wing snorted.
"I take back what I said, Jay's Wing," Fallen Leaves purred. "Your sister's the scaredy mouse."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Quit it you two," Half Moon said. She looked to Fallen Leaves who was the oldest softpaw out of the five of them. "Where are we going?"
Fallen leaves shrugged. "How should I know? I wasn't the one who brought us all out here."
"Right, it was me," Fish Leap said. "Stone Song showed me this place earlier. He said Dawn River used to spend a lot of time there. I wanted to show you guys."
"Well then lead on before the scaredy mouse siblings back out," Fallen Leaves said.
"Honestly, Fallen Leaves," Half Moon sighed.
"I was kidding!" Fallen Leaves said with the best innocent look he could muster.
Jay's Wing scoffed. "Quit that, you look like an owl with those eyes."
"Hey!" Fallen Leaves took a playful swipe at Jay's Wing.
"Jay's Wing, don't encourage him," Half Moon scolded. Jay's Wing ignored her and took a leap at Fallen Leaves. He landed on him but his smaller form wasn't enough to keep the older softpaw down. Fallen Leaves shoved Jay's Wing off him and pinning him down. Jay's Wing batted at his face. "By the stars, you two are almost sharpclaws and you're still acting like kits. You've really got a long way to go."
"Best to enjoy being a softpaw as long as we can before going to the tunnels for trial," Dove's Wing said with a playful look in her eye. She crouched down ready to join in the two toms' tussling but she was cut off by Fish Leap.
"Come on!" he whined. "We're still really far from where I want to show you."
"How far is it?" Dove's Wing asked skeptically as she rightened herself while Fallen Leaves and Jay's Wing did the same. Their fur was a bit ruffled. The toms flattened it with a few swift licks. Half Moon walked over to Jay's Wing and licked a patch of fur he missed. Jay's Wing blinked at her gratefully
"Towards the moor," Fish Leap told her.
"The moor?"
"Have you never been out there before?" Fallen Leaves questioned. Dove's Wing shook her head. "It's like this big open space. Not really my favorite place but there are a ton of rabbits out there."
"You can run forever," Half Moon added.
"And feel the wind in your fur," Jay's Wing said.
"Am I really the only softpaw who hasn't been to the moor?" Dove's Wing asked.
"Seems like it," Jay's Wing purred.
"Then all you know what I wanted to show you," Fish Leap said. He didn't sound too disappointed.
"You were going to show us the moor?" Half Moon asked then thought about it a moment. "Did you want to take us to the river?"
Fish Leap nodded. "I thought you guys would like it."
"Wait, what river?" Jay's Wing asked.
"The one that runs between the moor and the forest," Half Moon explained. "It runs from the lake all the way to the Moonpool."
Jay's Wing frowned. "I don't really remember that area too well. You've got a great memory Half Moon."
"Thanks," she purred.
"Come on, can we go now?" Fish Leap whined again. "We're wasting daylight when we could be at the river!"
Jayfeather's mind snapped back to the present when he felt something brush against his leg. He lashed out with his forepaw and felt it hit something. He heard a strange sound. He padded back onto the land and felt around.
A fish was flopping around on the land. He's scooped it out of the water like a RiverClan cat. He bent down and took a sniff then reeled back. He never liked the smell of fish.
How'd I catch that? Slowly, the memory of Fallen Leaves teaching him and Fish Leap bled into his mind. Fallen Leaves had already caught two, Jay's Wing managed to hook one and shorty after Fish Leap had fallen into the river. The softpaws shared a laugh, Half Moon had commented that Fish Leap was living up to his name.
Jayfeather shook his head. I never met Fallen Leaves when he was alive…
The fish was still flopping around on solid land. Jayfeather slapped his paw down on it, killing it. The fish stopped moving. Jayfeather settled down next to it and began eating. He wasn't a warrior but he wasn't about to let this fresh-kill go to waste even if it was a smelly fish.
Allegiances (Ancients at time of Flashbacks)
Leader:
Furled Bracken
Sharpclaws:
Stone Song
Dawn River
Falling Rain
Broken Shadow
Chasing Clouds
Cloudy Sun
Dark Whiskers
Jagged Lightning
Lapping Wave
Owl Feather
Rising Moon
Running Fox
Running Horse
Shy Fawn
Strong Pounce
Whispering Breeze
Softpaws:
Fallen Leaves
Jay's Wing
Dove's Wing
Half Moon
Fish Leap
Author's Note: So Jayfeather had a flashback of his time as Jay's Wing. But he hadn't gone back in time while Jay's Wing was a soft paw so this memory was not his own. Clearly something strange is happening here.