It was sunhigh the next day when the cats who went to the Gathering the previous night began to wake up. When Dovewing returned from her morning trip to the dirtplace, she spotted Lionblaze and Crane's Wing sharing tongues with Cinderheart and Daisy outside the nursery. Across the camp, Leafpool and Jayfeather were talking while Briarlight did her exercises nearby with Millie.
I should talk to them, Dovewing thought. The three don't really talk anymore. Was our bond just centered around the prophecy?
As Dovewing watched the cats around the medicine den, she noticed Jayfeather and Leafpool begin to argue. She heard Jayfeather hiss from all the way across camp. Millie and Briarlight looked over from what they were doing and tried to break them up.
What's that about? I should probably go help Millie and Briarlight.
By the time she reached the medicine den, Briarlight had shouldered her way in front of Jayfeather and was giving his bristling fur soothing licks while Millie was shoving Leafpool back.
"What's this about?" Dovewing asked and nudged Jayfeather back. The blind tom sat back on his haunches with an angry look and growled something ineligible. She looked to Leafpool. "Well?"
"He's not telling me something," Leafpool said. Jayfeather continued to glare.
"And I have every right to," he responded. "Quit bothering me about it."
"Really, that is what all this has been about?" Briarlight sighed. "This has been going on far too long."
"We kind of have a history of not getting along," Jayfeather grumbled.
"I'm your mother. If there's something going on with you," Leafpool said. "I deserve to know."
Jayfeather opened his mouth to undoubtedly give some sharp retort but Dovewing interrupted before he could. "Seriously Jayfeather, just tell her if it bothers her this much."
"She's been fine not knowing since before you were kitted," Jayfeather growled at her. Dovewing leaned away from him a bit. Jayfeather was usually a bit hostile but even this was out of character for him. He didn't scare her but it was definitely unsettling.
"You've been keeping secrets for that long?" Leafpool demanded.
"Oh, like you've never kept secrets?" Jayfeather retorted. Dovewing saw Leafpool flinch pretty hard. Clearly, he hadn't forgiven her for all those seasons ago despite them working together for many moons and those feelings were resurfacing. "It's not keeping secrets if I don't tell you something. If StarClan wanted you to know, you'd know."
Dovewing shot Jayfeather a questioning look. He'd said this didn't have to do with StarClan. He seemed to sense her confusion and gave her a swift wink. She understood. He just wanted to get Leafpool off his back. This Jay's Wing stuff must be really important to him if he's willing to use his faith as an excuse.
Leafpool shut her mouth but still looked upset. "You should still tell me. I'm your fellow medicine cat."
"Not everything has to do with being a medicine cat," Jayfeather said.
"Maybe you two should take a break from each other for a while," Briarlight said.
Jayfeather and Leafpool continued glaring at each other.
"Briarlight, can you go fetch Lionblaze and Crane's Wing?" Dovewing suggested. "I'm sure they have something to talk about with Jayfeather. Millie, could you be a buffer for a bit while I go find Squirrelflight?"
Millie nodded and stepped between the mother and son. Briarlight dragged herself towards where Crane's Wing and Lionblaze were sitting with Daisy and Cinderheart.
Dovewing scanned the camp for the deputy. She spotted Squirrelflight organizing patrols. She stood below the highledge with the majority of the clan standing around her waiting for their orders.
"Hey, Squirrelflight?" she called. She knew it was rude to interrupt her but she felt time was of the essence. Millie was probably having a hard time keeping the angry medicine cats from clawing each others' eyes out. "Can you go talk to Leafpool when you're done?"
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, she's just arguing with Jayfeather. Briarlight suggested we keep them apart for a while. We'd appreciate it if you kept Leafpool busy while Lionblaze, Crane's Wing and I talk with Jayfeather. Maybe then poor Briarlight can get some peace and quiet in her own den."
"It's that bad?"
Dovewing hated announcing other cats' problems with all these cats around but she sensed that the issues between Jayfeather and Leafpool were deeper than she thought. "Yeah."
"Alright," Squirrelflight nodded. She looked back to the assembled cats. "Whitewing, take a hunting patrol towards the ShadowClan border. I know that you don't need to be reminded to be careful not to cross it. Poppyfrost, take one in the opposite direction. Both of you pick your own cats. Everyone dismissed!"
Squirrelflight padded through the masses and made her way to Dovewing. The two began walking towards the medicine den. She ginger she-cat's gaze fell on Leafpool and Jayfeather who were bickering again. She sighed. "Not this again. What happened?"
"Leafpool's been bugging Jayfeather about why he left and Jayfeather's past the point where he can deal with her," Dovewing explained.
Squirrelflight nodded. "I suspect it's more than that. They just rub each others' fur the wrong way, if you know what I mean."
Dovewing nodded even though she didn't. When she'd been born, Jayfeather had been the only medicine cat. Leafpool had only returned to duty a few moons ago so she didn't really know a lot about her relationship with Jayfeather and she was starting to realize it wasn't very good. She could only imagine what it was like when Jayfeather was Leafpool's apprentice.
Dovewing and Squirrelflight arrived at the same time as Briarlight, Lionblaze and Crane's Wing.
"We're not kits, you don't need to put us on timeout," Jayfeather grumbled.
"We're not, we need to go talk about… the thing while Squirrelflight talks with Leafpool and Briarlight can take a nap without listening to you two snap at each other at every little thing," Dovewing told him.
"The thing?" Leafpool questioned. "You know about it?"
"Did you not see me talk to her with Bramblestar, Lionblaze, and Cinderheart?" Jayfeather asked with more sass in his voice than Dovewing was used to hearing from him.
"Okay, let's go," Lionblaze said loudly and guided Jayfeather towards the entrance. Jayfeather glared at him and mumbled something about being treated like a kit but didn't protest. Dovewing guessed that he was happy to get away from Leafpool.
The four cats made their way to the abandoned twoleg nest where Jayfeather grew herbs. The group of distant kin sat around in a circle.
"So what's this about?" Jayfeather grunted.
"Cinderheart said we have to free our old spirits," Dovewing said. She realized the four of them hadn't really spoken much since the last conversation. Or really at all. She couldn't recall ever talking with Crane's Wing. He'd been around for over a moon and she'd avoided him for most of that time. She could understand why he never called her by the right name. She did now, of course, and she felt a bit bad. "Whatever that means. None of us have any idea how to do that."
"Actually, I do," Lionblaze spoke up. "I was there when Cinderheart freed the spirit of Cinderpelt."
"Really? How'd she do it?" Dovewing asked.
"She pretty much just decided to be Cinderheart rather than Cinderpelt and then we saw Cinderpelt's spirit leave her and go off to StarClan," Lionblaze explained.
"Alright. I chose to be Dovewing and not Dove's Wing," Dovewing stated. Nothing happened. She hadn't expected anything to happen but she still felt disappointed.
"I think it's a bit more complex than that in your cases," Crane's Wing said. "From what I gather, StarClan sent her spirit to live again right after she died. Lion's Roar, Jay's Wing, and Dove's Wing have been dead for countless season cycles and they weren't StarClan cats, they were among the ranks of the sacred cats."
"The what?"
"Cats who are worthy can move on from StarClan to a place where they cannot fade and they gain power greater than they can StarClan," Jayfeather explained. "That's why the three had more power than StarClan, we got the power from somewhere greater than StarClan."
Dovewing and Lionblaze exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Neither of them liked how casually Jayfeather disregarded the beliefs that every clan cat had lived by since they were kits.
"Is there any way to, you know, talk to them?" Lionblaze asked. "The sacred cats?"
Crane's Wing looked thoughtful. "Remember when I told you about the shama?"
"Solar Sigil, yeah," Lionblaze nodded.
"Solar…"
"... Sigil?"
"The shama," Crane's Wing nodded.
"Explain," Jayfeather instructed.
"He's a cat who lives among the lines who receives signs and messages from our ancestors," Crane's Wing explained. "I think he communicates with the sacred cats how you medicine cats communicate with StarClan."
"What's a sigil?" Dovewing asked. Crane's Wing shrugged. Dovewing chose to let it go. "Maybe we can find this cat and ask him?"
Crane's Wing shook his head. "It's too far. I traveled for seasons to find my way here."
"The Moonpool maybe?" Lionblaze suggested. "We could try to contact them ourselves."
Crane's Wing shook his head again. "No, the shama speaks with the sacred cats using the Sacred Stump. From what you tell me, the Moonpool only lets you contact StarClan."
"Wait," Jayfeather said. "When I went to the Moonpool last half-moon, I made contact with the Astral Plane."
"You did? What's that?"
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"What cat did you speak to?" Crane's Wing asked eagarly.
Jayfeather ruffled his pelt. "It wasn't the same as speaking with StarClan. I don't think it was actually supposed to happen, StarClan actually got worried about me when it happened. It was more like I was watching something that already happened."
"You can't watch something that already happened," Lionblaze scoffed.
Jayfeather merely shrugged.
Crane's Wing looked excited. "So we can go to this Moonpool place and you can ask how to free your ancient spirits?"
"I doubt it," Jayfeather said. "But I don't have any better ideas."
"Can't only medicine cats go to the Moonpool?" Lionblaze questioned.
Jayfeather shrugged again. "The three of us were once and maybe still are greater than StarClan. I'm sure they wouldn't mind that much. Bramblestar once told me that at the old forest, mentors had to take their apprentices to the Moonstone before their warrior ceremony. I don't know why the clans don't do that anymore but non-medicine cats and leaders would often go multiple times. I don't think StarClan really minds."
A wind blew past the abandoned twoleg nest causing the plants and herbs to shake. Dovewing shivered. Surely that wasn't a good sign?
"What about Crane's Wing?" Lionblaze asked. "Can he go in? He isn't one of the three."
Crane's Wing waved him off. "I don't need to join you. I feel like this is something the three of you should do on your own."
Lionblaze nodded then looked to his brother. "When should we go?"
"Can we go now?" Dovewing asked. "The cats at camp won't suspect anything if we're out very much longer."
Jayfeather shook his head. "We need to be at the Moonpool at midnight. The clan would be worried if we were out for that long."
The blind tom looked slightly annoyed.
"We could sneak out," Lionblaze suggested.
"Cats would still notice we're gone," Jayfeather pointed out.
"I could stay back and cover for you," Crane's Wing offered.
Jayfeather dipped his head to the cat who looked just like him. "Thanks, that would be great."
"So when are we heading out?"
Author's Note: Leafpool's mad at Jayfeather, Jayfeather's kind of reached his limit, Briarlight can't get any peace with all the tension in the medicine den.
Reviews-
Darth Jay- I'm glad my writing has triggered them fangirl feels. Sometimes even my crude chapter plans make my inner fanboy go wild but I hadn't really noticed anything significant in that chapter until you mentioned it. I too love the brotherly bond and JayxHalf. There isn't going to be too much romance in this fic but I'll keep it in mind for anything else I may work on. I really love reviews like this, they let me know I'm doing something right.