"So where are we going exactly?" Dovewing asked as she followed Jayfeather away from the Moonpool.
"Rock's Cave in the Rite of Passage," Jayfeather repeated.
"And what is that exactly?" Dovewing asked. He always complains about StarClan cats being vague, he should listen to himself.
"It's kind of like the warrior assessment," Jayfeather said. "Except softpaws went into it rather than apprentices and they came out sharpclaws rather than warriors and they did it alone. Also you were way more likely to die."
"Great," Lionblaze grumbled.
"Don't worry it's safe now," Jayfeather said. "I think."
"That's so reassuring," Lionblaze said sarcastically.
"So how do you know where it is?" Dovewing asked uneasily.
"Jay's Wing went through the Rite of Passage. Actually, I think he may have died in it but I'm not totally sure. I think he just got lost," Jayfeather said calmly.
"That is so reassuring!" Lionblaze repeated louder but with just as much sarcasm.
"Neither of you went through," Jayfeather went on as he lead them away from the path to the Moonpool but he wasn't leading them towards the ThunderClan camp. "Jay's Wing was the last cat to go."
"So you remember how to get there just because of your memories from your past life past life?" Lionblaze questioned before throwing in a "That's so reassuring."
Dovewing blinked at her former mentor. He was being kind of annoying, behavior that she wasn't used to seeing from him, but she understood where he was coming from.
"Don't worry, I know the way. I went there a half a moon ago," Jayfeather told him.
"That's where you ran off to?" Lionblaze questioned.
"Yeah, I went there a lot when I was away."
Dovewing stayed silent through the brothers' conversation. Jayfeather was acting quite different than he usually did. It kept happening for short periods of time since his return. Is he acting like Jay's Wing? Will Lionblaze and I start acting differently too?
"Shouldn't we be heading back to camp?" Lionblaze asked, only now realizing that Jayfeather wasn't taking them home.
"Rock's Cave isn't far," Jayfeather promised.
"So who's Rock?" Dovewing asked.
Jayfeather paused a moment. "That's hard to explain. All you need to know is that he kept track of which softpaws died in the tunnels."
"Wait, we're going to the tunnels?" Lionblaze questioned. "You've been in the tunnels all this time? You have been in the tunnels all this time?"
Jayfeather exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes.
"What's wrong with the tunnels?" Dovewing asked. "The clan stayed there during the storm. I wandered into them a bit, they seemed fine."
Lionblaze looked uncomfortable. Jayfeather spoke instead. "When we were apprentices, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Breezepelt, Heathertail, and I saved some WindClan kits from the tunnels while they were flooding."
"They can flood?" Dovewing questioned.
"It's not a regular thing," Lionblaze reassured her. He looked to his brother. "Where's this tunnel? I might have been there."
Jayfeather shook his head. "You've never been in it, not even when you used to go down there with Heathertail."
"How do you know about that?" Lionblaze asked, stunned.
"You would sneak out to meet a cat from another clan?" Dovewing questioned her old mentor. Like I did?
"No!" Lionblaze denied. "Well, not anymore. That was a long time ago. How did you know what?"
"I'm not called the sharp eyed jay for nothing," Jayfeather said with amusement in his voice. "Now shut up and follow me or some cat will hear us and take us back to camp."
Dovewing followed Jayfeather down a thin tunnel with Lionblaze close behind her. The entrance was small, so small that she hadn't seen it when she had patrolled at this very spot looking for the missing medicine cat. Now that she knew where it was, she could tell that Jayfeather had gone down and resurfaced here many times.
"How do you know about this entry?" Dovewing asked.
"ThunderClan warriors are supposed to know every pawstep of their territory," Lionblaze said. "I don't think any cat knows about this."
"Oh, there are plenty of small entryways like this one around the territory," Jayfeather said absentmindedly. It was dark. Darker than it had been outside. Dovewing sped up a bit so she was walking right behind Jayfeather. For once his blindness is a good thing. I wonder if he knows that?
"You shouldn't come down here," Lionblaze said with a hint of worry in his voice. Dovewing recalled what had happened to Hollyleaf.
"I don't," Jayfeather said. "When Crane's Wing showed up at camp, that was the first time I'd been down here since the storm."
"And before then?"
Jayfeather paused verbally but kept walking. "I don't remember. Awhile ago, I think."
This answer seemed to satisfy Lionblaze. He shut his mouth and the three walked in silence.
"How far are we going?" Dovewing asked after a while. They'd been walking so long her paws began to tire and they'd taken so many turns that she didn't remember the way back. I hope Jayfeather knows this place as well as I think he does.
"We're almost at the Rite of Passage," Jayfeather told them.
"Almost?" Lionblaze questioned. "We've been walking all night!"
"It's actually day now but I know," Jayfeather said. "That tunnel we went down wasn't exactly close to the start of the Rite of Passage, I just didn't want any cat to find us on the surface."
"So what's this Rite of Passage?" Lionblaze asked. "You said it was like the warrior assessment."
"In a way," Jayfeather said. Dovewing suddenly became aware of the level of confidence he'd been displaying lately. It only strengthened since coming down to the tunnels. Her earlier fears about Jayfeather acting like Jay's Wing began to return. "The Rite of Passage is a maze. Softpaws could go in one end then in a day, they'd come out sharpclaws. Or they'd become a scratch on Rock's stick. More often than not they'd become a scratch."
"That's so-"
"Stop," Jayfeather interrupted his brother before he could reiterate what he'd been repeating jokingly saying all night. "I swear to StarClan, Crane's Wing hasn't been a very good influence on you."
Lionblaze purred, humored by the fact his brother was annoyed. Dovewing silently gave a sigh of relief. Jayfeather had been speaking badly of StarClan lately, hearing him say that phrase she was so used to hearing from him made her feel better about his faith.
Jayfeather suddenly veer off and lead the group into a larger tunnel. Actually, it was more like a cave. Much more open than a tunnel and several tunnels branched off from it.
"This is the start," Jayfeather said, pointing at a particularly large tunnel.
"Where do the other tunnels go?" Lionblaze asked.
"Just into other tunnels," Jayfeather said.
"Then what's so special about that one?"
"Other than Rock's Cave, I'm not sure," Jayfeather shrugged. "But it's much more difficult to get through than any of the other tunnel systems."
"That's good to know."
"Don't worry," Jayfeather said. "I've been through here and to Rock's Cave plenty of times in my time away. Are you two ready?"
Author's Note: The Three are about to embark on their journey through the Rite of Passage. This was kinda just a transitional chapter but Lionblaze and Dovewing learned a lot from Jayfeather. And Dovewing is starting to worry about him. He is acting a but out of character from time to time.
Reviews-
Darth Jay- Yeah, Jayfeather doesn't like to make a big deal out of things and I love him for it. And thanks for letting me know there was an issue.
Wormy- Yes, we're going to visit the hairless man! Thanks, I do actually have a da account but I have no idea how to use it and I can't figure out how to PM. No worries though, I've got it all figured out and I plan on uploading the story soon. Again, thanks for your idea. I liked it more and more the more I thought about it.