Lionblaze lay on the ground sharing tongues with Crane's Wing. The two were deep into conversation about Lionblaze's parents and the last Gathering when Leafpool padded up to them.
"Lionblaze, Crane's Wing, have either of you seen Jayfeather?" she asked.
"No," Lionblaze said. Crane's Wing shook his head. Leafpool frowned. "Have you asked Thornclaw? He's usually on guard duty."
"Thanks," she meowed. She turned to walk away but Lionblaze got to his paws.
"Let us come with you," Lionblaze said. She nodded without questioning. His concern was understandable with how his brother had been acting lately and even though Lionblaze knew the whole story, or at least most of it. Leafpool didn't and she wasn't about to stop her son from accompanying her.
With Crane's Wing close behind, Leafpool and Lionblaze padded across camp. Thornclaw wasn't on duty anymore so it took a few moments to find him.
"Thornclaw, have you seen Jayfeather?" Lionblaze asked. Somewhat to his surprise, Thornclaw nodded.
"Yeah. The other medicine cats came by to tell him something," Thornclaw said. He looked to Leafpool. "You didn't hear? I thought it was some sort of medicine cat business."
"Apparently nothing is medicine cat business anymore," Leafpool grumbled.
"So then what happened?" Crane's Wing asked, encouraging the older tom to continue.
"They left and Jayfeather told me he was heading out soon after," Thornclaw said.
"Do you know where he went?"
Thornclaw shook his head. "I was trying not to eavesdrop but Birchfall was leading the patrol that found them and he seemed pretty nosey today. Ask him, maybe."
After murmuring a thanks to the senior warrior, the three cats wandered off to find Birchfall. He wasn't difficult to find either. He was resting near his kin after a long day of patrolling.
Birchfall, Whitewing, Ivypool, and Dovewing were sitting in a loose circle. At the sound of the other cats pawsteps, Dovewing looked up to her former mentor.
"Hey," she greeted. "Do you need something?"
"We actually need to talk to Birchfall," Lionblaze said. Dovewing looked mildly surprised but said nothing more and looked to her father.
"What is it?" Birchfall asked.
"Jayfeather."
"Thornclaw said your patrol found the other medicine cats by the border," Leafpool explained. "He said you may have overheard what they told him."
"He didn't tell you?"
Leafpool shook her head. "Thornclaw said he left soon after."
Birchfall looked alarmed. He was one of the many cats who had kept an eye on Jayfeather once he returned from his earlier disappearance.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon," Lionblaze said quickly. "We just need to know what the other medicine cats told him just in case."
Birchfall looked uncomfortable. "It was medicine cat stuff, I shouldn't have listened…"
"Well, I'm a medicine cat so tell me," Leafpool instructed.
"It was Kestrelflight, Littlecloud, and Willowshine," Birchfall started. "Each of them received an omen."
"Of what?"
Birchfall shrugged. "A jay? I think Littlecloud said that a jay flew over him and a feather fell. The wind blew it around. I don't really know what that means. I'd say it was nothing if the Kestrelflight and Willowshine didn't say they saw the same thing."
"Do you remember anything else?" Leafpool questioned.
Birchfall paused for a moment as he thought. "Yeah. The jay came from the direction of ThunderClan territory. I guess that's how they knew they had to tell Jayfeather."
"Anything else?" Leafpool asked again. She was starting to sound frustrated but she wasn't about to lose her patience on the tom. "Where did the feather blow? That was probably the message."
Birchfall paused again. His face hardened with concentration. "Littlecloud said it landed on a bush or branch or stick or something like that then blew up towards the sky. Does that mean anything to you?"
Leafpool shook her head as Lionblaze hissed under his breath. Leafpool looked at him in surprise. "You understand it?"
Lionblaze nodded. "Dovewing, Crane's Wing, we should go."
Dovewing nodded and got to her paws.
Crane's Wing looked confused. "Wait, I'm lost. What are we doing?"
"We'll tell you on the way," Dovewing said.
"I'm coming with you," Ivypool and Leafpool said in unison.
Lionblaze shook his head. "This is a three thing," Lionblaze told them, trying to remember if Dovewing told Birchfall and Whitewing about the prophecy or not. It seemed she did because they didn't look confused when Ivypool sat back down.
Leafpool wasn't giving up though. She gestured to Crane's Wing. "He's not of the three."
Lionblaze opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words to say. Crane's Wing isn't related to the prophecy but he's related to the three.
"We need him," Dovewing said when Lionblaze didn't respond. "I'm sorry but I'm sure Jayfeather would claw our pelts off if we told you."
"I'm going to claw his pelt off," Leafpool grumbled. "He said this didn't have to do with StarClan or the prophecy."
"It doesn't," Lionblaze said.
"It's complicated," Dovewing added.
"Can we go?" Crane's Wing asked. His paws shifted in impatience. "I haven't actually done anything since I got here and this sounds important."
"It is," Lionblaze confirmed. "Let's go."
Lionblaze and Dovewing filled Crane's Wing in on everything they knew before they reached the tunnels. When they reached them, Crane's Wing looked incredibly excited.
"The tunnels! I never thought I'd see them let alone go into them," he chattered. He looked at the two warriors with thrill glowing in his eyes. "As a kit I was told stories about them and the Rite of Passage."
"Then maybe you'll know something to help us get through," Lionblaze stated blandly.
Crane's Wing nodded vigorously as he bounced on his paws like a kit. "I know the way through."
Lionblaze blinked. I wasn't being serious.
"My tribe's duty is to honor our ancestors, especially the Ancients and Sacreds," Crane's Wing explained, noticing their shock. "That involves a lot of memorizing. Word for word so we don't mess it up."
Dovewing's dark expression immediately brightened. "So you can get us through?"
Crane's Wing shrugged. "Eh, probably. I'm still learning everything and I'm not very good at memorizing that kind of stuff. Like I'm not bad, I'm just not the best or anything. And I really don't know how accurate the stories are. And we're starting really late."
"Great," Lionblaze sighed. He took a few steps towards the tunnel. "Shall we?"
Author's Note: Onward!
There's a new story on this account called The Wrong Pawsteps. If you remember, a awhile ago I asked if anyone had any requests, this story is the story requested by Wormy. I asked for story ideas so that I could try out a new writing style that I want to use for an upcoming story so The Wrong Pawsteps won't be updated as frequently as this story but hopefully the writing will he higher quality than this story. Hope you guys check and enjoy.
Reviews-
Darth Jay- Jayfeather seems to be fading. The group is going to have to pick up the pace. btw, now I'm picturing all the cats bickering with Crane's Wing off to the side listening to that song and not paying attention. Very amusing.