Mosspath: This is going to another one of my longer ones, so be prepared for a short chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews: Night Kassianna, Jay's wing a.k.a. Jayfeather, Jokegirl and Howlingsky. You all get a virtual plushie of some cat you want. Jay's wing a.k.a. Jayfeather, I am already sending you a virtual Jayfeather plushie. Just let everyone know now, that my plushies tend to have a tendency of being invisible ok, be prepared for another chapter full of adventure, flashbacks, emotion and total cheesy random stuff. Like the above and this...

Chapter 2

Jayfeather snapped open his eyes at the sound of coughing, although it didn't really help him. Was he dreaming, was he awake. Must be awake, darkness was all he could see. Frankly, he'd had enough of odd dreams, and was glad that his rather rudely interrupted sleep was dream free. Giving his bad paw a couple of rough licks, the tom sat up and sniffed. A new moss bed was made in the main area of the cave, and Leafpool was gently resting in a bed nearby the newly occupied one.

Opening his mouth, he scented Sandstorm resting near her daughter, seeming calm and peaceful. But her breathing was rough, and every few moments, it would break completely into a bad cough. Jayfeather was surprised that it hadn't woken Leafpool, but he was worried anyway. It was only Leafall, and it hadn't been a particularly cold one. If a cat as strong as Sandstorm was beginning to get the first symptoms of whitecough, how would the rest of the clan cope. There would be several kits in the nursery in a moon or two, and then it would be in the coldest depths of Leafbare.

The scent of illness was faint, but nevertheless, the very hint of the rancid smell made bile rise into Jayfeather's throat. He had seen plenty of cases turn into greencough, and cats so ill that they had to move away from the rest of the clan. The illness that had only come several moons ago, still haunted the toms mind. Its ok, we'll be prepared this time, Brightheart or Leafpool went and got some catmint, there'll be plenty more, he reassured himself.

The tom was still exhausted, but was determined to see if the poultice and rest had helped his paw at all. He also wanted to get rid of the thought of whitecough. Gently leaning forward, he carefully stood up. Like last time, it was fine to begin with, but the tom was hoping it wouldn't give way this time. Not only would Leafpool go mad seeing him, but he didn't want to disturb Sandstorm. She may be Squirrelflight's mother, but we don't want this case of whitecough getting out of hand.

Carefully rolling a little more weight onto the sore paw, he slowly padded around the cave, slowly making his way around careful not to fall or knock into anything. Relief washed over him as he reached his now rather bad smelling bed. He relaxed and let himself lie back down. But his fun for the night had only just started. Had Brightheart actually brought in any catmint, and did they have any feverfew or tansy, as Sandstorm would need it in the morning.

Determined to make sure his leg was getting better, Jayfeather briskly padded over the the large crevice where all the stores were neatly kept. Carefully and silently squeezing in, the tom pulled his foot in so it didn't scrape the coarse rock wall. Inhaling deeply, the tom checked what they had. Plenty of comfrey, golden rod, cobweb...Jayfeather sorted through the stocks, checking what he had. To his shock, the scent of tansy and catmint was stale. Hadn't anyone got any!?

Jayfeather raged at the thought. Leafpool didn't let him go out and get any, and then didn't make sure that they had a generous stock of it! He was fumigating inside for some reason. He knew he didn't want the clan to get ill again, and especially not as bad as last time, but there was something else, some otherreason for his madness he didn't understand.

Suddenly it happened, again.

Just a buzz in his ears, and then an annoying whining. Jayfeather's head began to spin, and then hurt badly. His ears rang, and his mind throbbed. Unsure of what was going to happen, he winced in pain. Though, he had an idea what was going to happen. "Yellowfang had better be right about me being able to control this!" he groaned through gritted teeth. Suddenly there was a horrendous bout of coughing, and the thick darkness returned, shrouding him its impenetrable gloom.

Then just as quickly as last time, the dark fog cleared, and light swarmed around him, and into his blue eyes until, darkness again. Jayfeather froze in panic. If I've gone into someone's mind, why can't I see? Am in Longtail's mind or something. Again there was a bout of coughing, but this time it shook him violently, and his throat began to hurt, and nose clog up a bit. Sandstorm! I must be in her mind. He relaxed and tried to sense her feelings. There was great discomfort, of course, she had whitecough, but then there was even greater annoyance, and almost hatred at something.

Looking deeper into Sandstorm's mind, he realized it was at herself. She was annoyed and angry that she wasn't in the warriors den sleeping, and wasn't going to be out on patrol, hunting, helping around camp again for along time. And she knew Leafpool well, she knew that her daughter wouldn't let her out until at least a few days rest after she got better, to make sure her mother was ok and wouldn't pass on the infection. But nevertheless, Sandstorm's love for her daughter didn't falter, and it was just herself she was annoyed at.

At that point, Jayfeather realized that that was where the extra anger was coming from, and the annoyance from himself at Leafpool grew. Why didn't she get the catmint, or ask Brightheart to? Her mother was ill, surely she would have gone out to get some when she found, or made a special trip, after all, it was her mother. Why would she not get any? Jayfeather understood and knew what it was like to love a parent, and would have done anything for Squirrelflight before he had found out that she had lied. But to Jayfeather that was old news, it was only Hollyleaf who still had that grudge against that cat.

Delving into the most hidden corners of Sandstorm's mind, he carried on with what he assumed he was supposed to do, fin out who the traitor was. Jayfeather looked around for anything that seemed hidden and protected that would mean it might tell him something useful, as that was what it had been like in his mentors mind, although he was still annoyed at her, why didn't she get the catmint. He was beginning to find it hard to concentrate, as there was that continuous nagging thought from his own mind about Leafpool.

He opened his mind some more, and tried to detect any hatred or annoyance, maybe even regret. But it was hard with his own thoughts blocking Sandstorm's. Trying again, Jayfeather cleared his mind, and tried to reach out to any type of emotion, as he couldn't seem to find anything bad. Then he found something, and it was what he was looking for. Hatred. Concentrating hard on that memory, the medicine cat tried to get closer, but found that her mind was a lot more open than his mentors. Moving in, he stepped into the thoughts and memories.

Jayfeather's eyes snapped open. While he had been in Sandstorm's mind searching, he had found it easier to concentrate. So, as he did, he blinked sharply, light engulfing him. He was in a hollow for a camp, with brambles and thorns enclosing and hiding it. He recognized it as ThunderClan's old camp. It was late greenleaf, and the scent of prey in and out of camp was strong. There was a large pile of fresh kill, and the cats were enjoying themselves, sharing tongues and resting in the warming sun. He spotted Sandstorm sitting in a corner with Dustpelt. That's odd. Jayfeather thought, and then realized how much younger the senior warriors looked. They must be apprentices! He looked around for Fire'paw', but couldn't find the flame coloured tom.

As he did, he jumped in shock, as he saw Greypaw looking straight at him, and with even more shock, felt a breeze as the grey tom padded straight pass him without noticing the odd fitting tom. Relief flooded over him, as he guessed that he couldn't be seen. Stay focused, Jayfeather, stay focused, he thought to himself. He padded past the busy cats, and sat down beside Sandstorm, and listened into her conversation. Just small talk, he thought, as the two cats spoke about nothing much, what they did yesterday, how much prey they had caught, what praise they had been given...

Closing his eyes, his preferred way of doing it, Jayfeather delved into the young Sandstorm's thoughts. Only happiness, and tiredness radiated from the she-cat, and the tom thought that he must have done something wrong, until there was rustling of leaves and branches, and a patrol of cats padded into the clearing. Five cats padded into the clearing, all senior warriors, except one. Not all the cats, that came in, Jayfeather recognized. There was Bluestar, and a cat he thought he knew... Among the unknown toms was a pure white, a dark tabby, and a golden tabby. Reaching into Bluestar's mind, Jayfeather found that the white cat, was Whitestorm, the golden tabby was Lionheart and to his disgust, the dark tabby was Tigerclaw.

Bluestar had a quick confer with the cats that had been on her patrol, they nodded in agreement, and the she-cat bounded up the rock that the grey tom guessed was the equivalent of halfrock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath highrock for a clan meeting!" the grey she-cats clear voice got the cats of ThunderClan to trot forward and sit back down once close to the large grey rock. Sandpaw came forward with the other cats, and Jayfeather got back up to follow suit. Once they were all settled, Bluestar continued. "ThunderClan needs more warriors, never before have we had so few apprentices in training. It has been decided that ThunderClan will take an outsider to train as a warrior..."

As the leader said this, Jayfeather had to wince as he felt anger and annoyance burn his pelt. His fur seemed to be on fire, and his head began to spin with thoughts, to rude to imagine. Cats caterwauled in disagreement and anger. There were yowls of 'Where does he come from?' 'What clan does he belong to?' and 'What a strange scent he carries! That's not the scent of any clan I know!' and much more. He watched in surprise, seeing almost all cats joining in, including Sandstorm. Jayfeather now realized who the flame coloured tom, and felt like hitting himself in his ignorance. Firestar! "Lionheart and Whitestorm have met this young cat and they agree with me that we should train him with the other apprentices."

The yowls of annoyance died down as Bluestar spoke, which was a relief to Jayfeather's 'scorched' pelt, but as soon as she finished, they started again. There were hisses and yowls of protest."Look at his collar! He's a kittypet!" Jayfeather recognized Longtail doing the jeering although there was horror in his voice, and saw most of the clan joining in. Reaching out to Sandstorm, he felt the anger and agreement with Longtail rise up inside her. Looking at her, he saw the hate in the pale she-cats eyes. He had seen all he had needed. Most of the clan had hated Firestar when he first joined, but he knew that they all he gotten used to him, and some had become close friends, well, he hoped.

Leaving the memory, Jayfeather got up and left Sandstorm mind, and returned to his own. So the Clan was angry about Firestar when he first joined? Jayfeather thought. What if some of them still have a grudge against him? Shaking his head, the tom realized that his trip into the pale ginger cats mind hadn't been very useful. He might as well be suspecting all the clan that had been alive when Firestar first joined. Making his way around the medicine cat den, he scented dew on the ground outside, and knew that the sun had nearly begun to rise. Silently padding into the clearing, Jayfeather imagined the pearly white moon that was now hiding behind the horizon of leaf-fall trees.

The sky was a peachy colour, giving everything else an odd glow. Scenting around the camp, he noticed that no-one had got up yet, and that the dawn patrol hadn't left. Might as well get some catmint if no-one else is, the tom thought. So, silently, Jayfeather padded through the camp, letting his sprained paw get used to being used. The brambles tugged at his grey pelt, and before he could think about it, he was out of the camp. Relief and annoyance suddenly flooded over him as no-one called his name or had he scented fresh cat. Again, the medicine cat wanted to kick himself at his ignorance. There could have been someone there! he told himself stupidly, they might notice I'm gone when the dawn patrol leaves . I should have gone through the dirt place, no matter how bad it smells!

Jayfeather, with his jaws slightly opened, made his way carefully to the abandoned twoleg nest, tentatively placing his paws on the hard ground. The leaf-fall musky scent covered up most of the smells, but the medicine cat knew his way well, as he had made the journey to the old building enough times. But one thing he couldn't tell was where the undergrowth was. He had his ears pricked, but the rustling of leaves didn't help. The tom tripped several times, until he found what he had been looking for. It was stale, and covered with many other scents, but he had found his trail he had left the last time he went to look for catmint. Although he was glad that he had found it, he knew that it meant he had gone the wrong way slightly, and hadn't made much progress in the tome he had been outside the camp.

Nose low to the ground, he followed the musky trail he had made to the twoleg nest, Jayfeather made his way slowly to the catmint. Although following the trail that had been made several moons ago, the undergrowth had regrown rapidly over greenleaf, and the tom was as careful as he could be, trying not to trip or stumble. His noise had become extra moist from the refreshing dew on the grass and plants, so as he sniffed along, his sense of smell was weakened. Finally, he came to the end of the trail, and felt the undergrowth thin. This meant that he had come to the thunderpath, and he knew it.

Taking a tentative step at first, Jayfeather quickly sped across the cold rough path, and was relieved when he felt the soft soil beneath his aching feet. As he did, he couldn't help but think he had tasted the scent of an awake monster. It was stale, but he was sure that he could smell the scent that the shiny creatures made as they ran across their rough paths. He was also sure that it was recent, he had never smelt what he just had like that before when crossing that thunderpath, and it made Jayfeather worried. But, he needed to get the catmint before anyone noticed, so he ran on following his old trail.

The tom weaved around the rotting wood that had bordered the overgrown twoleg garden, and opened his jaws, letting the scent of catmint guide him to the plant. Happiness and relief washed over Jayfeather, as he found a large clump of the sweet smelling stuff, all healthy and smelling fresh. The aroma was tempting, and he really wanted a quick roll, but the urge to get what he wanted quickly, stopped him getting his desire. Sniffing the base of the clump, Jayfeather bent down and stretched his jaws wide, trying to get the most he could. Once his mouth was around the fragrant plant, he gently pulled, making sire that the stems didn't snap and that the shallow roots would instead, letting a good amount of leaf and stem come loose.

Success. Getting back up, the blue eyed tom rushed up and weaved the rotting fence. At reaching the thunderpath, he was sure he could hear a rumble in the distance, and the acrid smell of monster, but with his sense of smell numbed by the juicy catmint, he rushed straight over. Suddenly the scent of monster came stronger, although his jaws were jammed with a wad of catmint, and the roar of it came closer and louder. The sound seemed to stun him, until fear slammed into him, and it seemed to get his legs working, push him onto the side of the thunderpath, and knock him over.

Shocked and mildly grazed, the dazed Jayfeather lay on his front, not daring to move. He reflected on what just happened. Had a monster just roared past him, nearly flattening him, or was some weird hallucination, a message from StarClan? Jayfeather composed himself and dropped the catmint in a neat pile at his feet, until his mouth was clear of the stuff. His jaws wide, and mouth clear, he couldn't seem to scent the acrid smell of monster, well freshly anyway. Reality kicked in, and he breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. What happened? Was it real? If it wasn't, why am I aching all over, and my leg hurt? Those were just some of the thoughts that were in his mind, until he sensed another cat nearby.

A/n sorry for lying to you all.

Sorry, I really wasn't expecting to write a chapter any longer than the previous one, and I don't think I have the ability to write a chapter like the one from my one-shots. Was that ok? Hope you liked it. Who do you think the mystery cat is and why? Any more ideas for who to do. I got Mousefur, and that's it. Though I do have some ideas of my own. Also, just saying now, no-one ask who the traitor, not just because it'll give the plot away, but, err, I erm don't really know. So, R&R please and plenty of positive comments. Thanks. Next chapter? Dunno. I will need 5 more reviews though, maybe 1 new reviewer.

Mosspath