Lionblaze opened his eyes in Rock's Cave. He felt rested and rejuvenated. Then he felt confused. This is where I fell asleep. Did we not dream?
He felt Crane's Wing and Jayfeather shift beside him as they awoke too. Dovewing was already up and looking around.
"Nothing happened," she said.
"No, we're in a dream right now," Jayfeather told her. Lionblaze looked at his brother and saw his clear blue eyes. He was right, they were dreaming.
"Woah, you can see," Crane's Wing said stupidly.
Jayfeather rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Why would I be blind in dreams?"
Crane's Wing didn't have an answer. Lionblaze got to his paws and leaped off the stone that they'd be sleeping on.
"So we're having a shared dream, right?" Lionblaze said. "Shouldn't something be happening?"
"Indeed," a voice said.
The four cats whipped around and saw a cat standing beside him.
"Great StarClan…!" Dovewing gasped in surprise then slapped her tail over her mouth. Crane's Wing was less discrete.
"By the Ancients, it's hideous!" Crane's Wing blurted loudly. Lionblaze closed his eyes and sighed, hoping this wasn't happening. The cat merely flicked his ears.
"This is Rock," Jayfeather told them.
Rock took a step towards them. Lionblaze instinctively wanted to run away but he stood his ground. He was a warrior, this was just a cat. And Rock wasn't scary, just ugly. Really really ugly.
Rock was bald for the most part with a few random tufts of fur scattered across his scrawny form. His body was lumpy, scarred and deformed. But what was the most disturbing was his eyes. They were clearly blind but they looked nothing like Jayfeather's. Rock's eyes had no color or pupils, they were a solid foggy grey and they bulged out of his head in a way that made Lionblaze want to vomit.
Rock's gaze raked over them. Lionblaze stiffened. Dovewing crouched and cowered back a bit, she probably didn't even know she was doing it. Crane's Wing made no effort to hide how he felt. He looked fascinated by the cat he'd undoubtedly heard stories about his whole life but he was no warrior. When Rock looked at him, he yelped and jumped behind Lionblaze. Only Jayfeather seemed unaffected by the sight of the disgusting cat.
Rock's nose twitched in amusement at the others' reactions. He looked to Jayfeather. "These are the cats you associate yourself with?"
"I didn't choose them and you know it," Jayfeather said sharply. Rock continued to look amused.
"You shouldn't talk to an Ancient cat like that, let alone one as holy as Rock," Crane's Wing whispered to his look alike.
Jayfeather scoffed. "I've known Rock a long time."
"Yes, we were close once. If we had been two normal cats, we would have likely been friends," Rock said.
Lionblaze's ears twitched in surprise. Friends? Jayfeather's never really been the kind of cat to have friends. I was surprised when I saw how close he and Briarlight but there's no way he'd befriend this cat.
Jayfeather looked at Lionblaze as if he could read his mind. "I have a lot of friends. You just don't know about them."
"Yes, in Jayfeather's time with the Ancients, he became close with many of Jay's Wing's friends. They speak highly of him to this day and await the day they are reunited," Rock nodded.
Lionblaze didn't say anything. This is too much.
"We're here for a reason," Dovewing spoke up.
"Ah yes. I do not appreciate cats trying to contact me but I feel this time was necessary," Rock said with a hard look at Jayfeather. The medicine cat looked embarrassed for a moment. Clearly that was some reference to something that had happened between the two of them but no one dwelled on it. "You are lost."
"We need to find our ancient spirits," Lionblaze said. "We couldn't contact them at the Moonpool. We were hoping we could contact them here."
"As I said, you are lost. You are not looking in the right place," Rock told him.
"Can't you ancient cats stop being so vague?" Jayfeather asked.
Rock didn't acknowledge him. He looked at the three. "You- Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Jayfeather- seek your spirits- Lion's Roar, Dove's Wing, and Jay's Wing- who are from the spiritual worlds of your ancestors."
"Yes."
"We do."
"We are."
"You are looking in the wrong place," Rock said with another sweeping gaze.
"How?" Lionblaze demanded. "We know they're cats of the Astral Plane-"
"You are Lion's Roar, Lionblaze," Rock interrupted. "As you are him, he is you. You are currently looking for yourself."
"But I'm not Lion's Roar," Lionblaze protested. "Not like the way Jayfeather is Jay's Wing."
"Your brother is unique," Rock said. "But the three of you have another spirit within you. You must liberate it."
"How?" Lionblaze repeated.
"You must follow your hearts," Rock said. "When your hearts are free of turmoil, your soul will be too and your spirits will no longer be trapped."
"What does that even mean?" Jayfeather grumbled.
"I think I understand it," Crane's Wing said. The four cats looked to him. "You're saying that the three need to follow their hearts and when their inner conflict is settled, their spirits will be liberated."
Rock nodded. "Precisely."
"I'm still confused," Dovewing said.
"You must follow your hearts," Rock said. "Ask yourself, where does your heart lie? Find that place and go there."
Lionblaze thought a moment. He knew where his heart lay but before any cat could say anything, the world went dark.
Author's Note: Finally they find Rock.
Reviews-
Darth Jay- I love how everyone calls him the bald guy or the bald man or the hairless man. It's hilarious.