Lionblaze's paws prickled with anticipation as he followed Jayfeather up the ridge leading to the Moonpool. Dovewing was at his side looking worried.
"What if one of the other medicine cats come?" she asked.
"When have you ever seen me visit the Moonpool when it wasn't half-moon?" Jayfeather questioned her.
"Um… never?"
"Think that over for a few seconds," Jayfeather responded. "No one else is coming. It's only a quarter-moon until we all go. If they needed to talk to StarClan, they can wait. Now stop worrying. We're almost there."
Lionblaze was impressed by how confidently Jayfeather walked up to the path. Not that he didn't normally walk confidently, it was just clear that he'd been here many times.
Jayfeather lead the two down a tunnel. "There are indents where cats have stepped. I don't know how dark it is here but if think you're lost, follow them."
Lionblaze and Dovewing nodded despite knowing that Jayfeather couldn't see their acknowledgement. Lionblaze slid his paws into shallow holes in the stone that perfectly matched the shape of his paw. Not quite the size but close enough. He followed the soft sound of Jayfeather's own steps.
Soon the tunnel opened up into a cave and the two cats who weren't blind were greeted by an amazing sight. Before them lay the Moonpool. Lionblaze's jaw dropped in awe of its beauty. Moonlight rained down from above and reflected off the water giving it a faint glow.
Jayfeather, obviously, didn't share their awe. Even if he could see, he'd probably be used to it. He padded over to the water's edge and laid down. "Lie down and lap the water. We're wasting moonlight."
Lionblaze quickly snapped out of his trace and raced to his brother's side. Dovewing settled at his other side. The three of them lowered their heads. Lionblaze stuck out his tongue and lapped the water. It felt cool to the touch. He felt a rush of energy flood his tongue and spread though his body.
He didn't even remember falling asleep but he found himself standing in a field with low clouds lazily sliding over the surface of the earth. Dovewing and Jayfeather suddenly appeared beside him.
Jayfeather looked around. His gaze rested on Dovewing and Lionblaze. "We're in a shared dream. This must be important."
Lionblaze shivered as his brother's sighted gaze fell on him. He'd seen it before but it wasn't any less daunting. He was far too used to seeing his murky blue eyes.
With sighted eyes, Lionblaze observed, Jayfeather looked a lot like Crane's Wing but as he looked closely, they weren't as similar as he'd initially thought. Previously he'd been able to tell the difference between the two due to their eyes and their scarring but thinking about it, Lionblaze realized that Jayfeather was much smaller than Crane's Wing. The medicine cat was lean while the loner was more well muscled and their fur had different thicknesses. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed that before.
Jayfeather gave his brother an odd look and tipped his head. Lionblaze looked away as he realized he'd been staring. He turned his attention to Dovewing who was trying to listen to the surrounding sounds out of habit.
"You should not be here."
A familiar voice made the three whip around.
"Firestar!" Dovewing exclaimed.
"Hollyleaf!" Lionblaze said joyfully when he spotted his sister standing beside the former ThunderClan leader.
Jayfeather said nothing. Hollyleaf dipped her head to her brothers.
"You shouldn't be here," she repeated what Firestar said.
"We kind of need to," Jayfeather said. "I'm guessing you know why?"
Firestar and Hollyleaf shook their heads much to Lionblaze's surprise. StarClan cats were supposed to know everything.
"What's with StarClan cats not knowing these things all of a sudden?" Jayfeather muttered under his breath.
What's that supposed to mean? Lionblaze wondered.
"Did Half Moon not tell you?" Jayfeather asked.
Both StarClan cats shook their heads.
"Who's Half Moon?" Dovewing piped up.
"Another time," Jayfeather said. She and Lionblaze exchanged a glance. He really doesn't want to tell us. Who is this cat? "She did ask you about the Astral Plane, yes?"
This time, Hollyleaf nodded while Firestar shook his head. He looked at her, slightly surprised.
"I'd never heard of it," Hollyleaf said. "I told her to talk to a cat who's been here longer."
"If you see her, tell her to speak to Yellowfang," Firestar said. "I believe she has some knowledge. She usually knows everything going on in StarClan. Jayfeather, you usually speak with Yellowfang when you come to the Moonpool at half-moon, correct?" Jayfeather nodded. "Ask her then."
"So coming here was for nothing?" Dovewing asked.
"We don't know why you came," Firestar said. "We were only sent to tell you that you should not be here."
"I told you, StarClan knows nothing of this. We should look somewhere else," Jayfeather hissed quietly into her ear. Dovewing nodded.
"I'm sorry we couldn't be any help," Hollyleaf told them. "But it was good to see you again."
"It was," Lionblaze purred. He felt a pang of sorrow in his heart for his dead sister. "Do you want us to pass any messages to our clanmates?"
"We're not supposed to be here, we can't pass messages or they'll know we came," Jayfeather hissed again but the others ignored him.
"Send Sandstorm my love and tell Graystripe how much I miss him," Firestar said wit a final dip of his head and he vanished a moment later.
"Tell Cinderheart congratulations for me. And tell Ivypool hello," Hollyleaf purred and she too vanished.
A moment later Lionblaze opened his eyes beside the Moonpool. He got to his paws feeling stiff. Dovewing seemed to be having the same problem as she awoke but Jayfeather looked perfectly fine. He's probably used to it.
"So that was a waste of time, Lionblaze stated.
"Maybe not. Firestar did tell you to speak with Yellowfang," Dovewing said looking at Jayfeather whose eyes had returned their normal color.
"I was going to do that in a quarter-moon anyway," Jayfeather grumbled.
"Is there any other place we might be able to contact the cats from- what did you call it- the Astral Plane?" Lionblaze asked.
Jayfeather looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe. I know of six places where cats can speak with their ancestors."
"Six?" Lionblaze questioned. That was a lot.
Jayfeather nodded. "Clan cats have used three. The Moonstone, the Moonpool and Whispering Cave."
"Whispering Cave?"
"I've never heard of it," Dovewing said.
"It's far, farther than the Mothermouth," Jayfeather said. "When I was still able to walk in others' dreams, I often saw a distant territory in Firestar's mind. There's a fifth clan that lives far away. Their medicine cat visits with StarClan every half-moon at the Whispering Cave."
"So we can't use the Moonstone, Moonpool, or Whispering Cave," Lionblaze murmured, trying to ignore his shock at learning of a fifth clan and focus current problem. "What are the other three?"
"The Tribe of Rushing Water uses the Cave of Pointed Stones to commune with the Tribe of Endless Hunting," Jayfeather explained. "The Tribe of Endless Hunting is closer to the Astral Plane than StarClan but I don't think… actually. Maybe it could work. Lion's Roar was a Tribe cat."
This was news to Lionblaze but he didn't let it show. "The mountains are pretty far but they're closer to our other options."
"There's the Sacred Stump that Crane's Wing's shama uses," Jayfeather continued, "but I'm sure that's even farther than the Whispering Cave. I think there's a place closer place than even the Moonstone we could use though."
"Where?"
"Rock's Cave in the Rite of Passage."
Author's Note: StarClan doesn't seem to like it when living cats know something they don't.
About the fact Jayfeather knows about every location, Jayfeather's pretty smart and as shown in one of the Vision of Shadows books, he knows a whole lot more than he reveals. There was a part where he told Alderheart that he can sense exactly how everyone's feeling (without using his powers) but there's so much that he can't deal with it all so I assume he knows more than just how his clanmates feel. He's also got the best hearing in the clan and since he's kinda anti-social, he's probably an expert eavesdropper. He also probably learned some stuff when he took Jay's Wing's place in the past. Plus, he used to have powers which allowed him to read other cats' minds and walk in their dreams. At some point, he had to have walked in every cat's mind therefore he knows everything that ThunderClan knows. The series revolves around ThunderClan. ThunderClan knows everything.