On to the eighth chapter! I know you're all excited, seeing as I haven't updated in a while. Thank you Nightclaw for telling me who the last kit was. Briarkit! Oh, and sources tell me Briarkit is a girl, so I must edit that, but no worries. I'll do that as quickly as possible. Why I didn't remember that I'll never know. So now I may go on with the story.

Erin Hunter owns all warrior cats and books, so yay to her!

Evia's POV:

I had been on my guard since that night, and to make matters worse, I scented Jay around my bush the next day. Luck had been on my side when I decided to go hunt. I had not wanted to encounter him again, not after that night. I felt horrible, and yet relieved, as if I had no reason to be guilty, as if I had done the right thing.

Why did Jay think he could help me that night, anyway? Why did it seem he was still insisting, determined? I was lost right now. Lost and not wanting to be found anytime soon. But was it really so obvious?

I would never admit it, though. Not if I could help it. I'd grow strong, once I paid the penalty that was expected of me.

But Jay wasn't the only thing on my mind. The stupid visitor I had scared off after saying good-bye to Jay was probably still waiting for me, most likely not to far away from where I was now.

I couldn't let that stop me though. Determination was one thing I could not afford to lose, especially when I was trying to forget my whole life and create myself a new one.

Did I mention how hard it is to do that?

Well, it's pretty hard. Smoke still lingered everywhere I walked, and it more than annoying. It was like padding through a forest, stumbling, and instead of humiliating yourself (minus the spectators to tease you), you hear laughter and it turns out someone was spying on you. You couldn't escape it because you didn't know it was there, or if you did, you didn't know how to get rid of it. In my case, I just didn't know how to get rid of it. Oh yes. Luck was on my side, alright.

It had been three days since the meeting with Jay, and I had grown accustomed to taking my own little patrols around my small area of what was so called "ThunderClan's Territory" but I don't really care. I have been extremely careful not to run into anybody, and that means traveling through the trees and killing sleeping squirrels as to not risk running into someone on the ground. It's not as fun as hunting moving, waking kill, but it is what I must do. Still, deep inside, part of me was still thinking of Jay's words. I had every reason to hide and stay a secret, to cut myself away from everything else for a little while, but in a weird way that didn't make sense, Jay's solution sounded right. I was lonely and yet I chose to stay alone.

But he would never understand. Really, he knew nothing, because really he had never been put in my situation, nor would he understand what I had to deal with. He wasn't being stalked. I was.

I realized I had stopped walking through the branches, and continued on my way, digging my claws into the bark to get a good grip. I almost slid on the bark a couple of minutes ago, but had caught myself. The pride that gushed through me was pathetic. Proud of not falling off a branch. I was desperate for something to make me feel better, and since Quay was an enemy, I would have to resort to climbing. Maybe I'd head down to the lake later, enjoy the water I had come to adore.

I didn't know where I was going this morning, however. I always knew where I was going, at least, I thought I always did. But as I weaved through the trees, done with hunting, I realized I had ended up at the end of the line, and I mean that literally. There were no more trees. It was a clearing.

And in the middle of the clearing was a large hole, big enough to a hold a whole bunch of cats.

Big enough to hold all the cats that I watched hunt and fight in the forest. What had Jay called them? ThunderClan, I think. ThunderClan, the clan where they named cats after things and believed jays had paws.

Then I saw Jay.

He looked worried, and bothered, but I wasn't good at reading a blind cat's emotions. They're emotions didn't flash across their eyes like others. He was talking with a black she-cat and a golden tom. They seemed related, and it was definetly obvious the way they huddled together talking softly together. My paws itched to leap from the tree and see what was going on, but this world was not one for me to enter. I had made that mistake plenty of times already, so it was best to stay away. As I watched, something pulled at me. I wasn't sure what it was just yet.

That's when I saw the oddest thing.

Three kits all sat outside a den, one that smelled of milk. Two were fighting and having fun, but there was one. One that sat in the shadows watching, eyes glowing. I eyed that one warily, unsure of what was wrong with her. Didn't kits normally wrestle? I was pretty sure they did. This wasn't normal. The kit was pretty odd. It looked like it was hundreds of years old, had seen battles and fought battles, met death and wrestled with the invincible, the impossible, but that didn't even make sense. something about that kit...

And this kit. It just didn't seem natural. Was it even a cat? I was almost positive the answer was no.

And when I looked from the kit to Jay, both of them merged in my mind, and then something just...

Clicked.

Jaypaw's POV

The day was coming to a close and I couldn't help the sense of anticipation that flowed through me as Leafpool and I prepared to leave for the Moonpool.

"Why are you so excited, Jaypaw?" Leafpool eventually asked. No matter how eager I was, I still winced at the paw part. My name had yet to be given to me, and today was the day hopefully. All the medicine cats would be there to see me, right? I would finally be able to prove myself, even if it wasn't in the way I wanted to. It wouldn't be through fighting or hunting, like I had dreamed it would be.

"No reason," I snapped, but it was a lie. StarClan was weak, and last time I had met managed to let it slip that they weren't ready to handle dreams and cats yet, so now that it was time for medicine cats to speak, would they be prepared?

I felt Leafpool's gaze on me as I chewed my herbs. "Alright, then. Let's go." I nodded, and we left camp just as I swallowed.

This would be an interesting meeting.

I had long before memorized the path to the Moonpool, including every pawstep along the hill side that lead to the pool. I knew where every rock was, where it was safe to step, where there were rabbit holes, where the bushes were, it was like I had lived there and not my camp. That path was burned into my brain.

We were almost there when we met up with Mothwing, Willowshine, and Barkface. Kestralpaw had probably fallen behind. That's when I heard Kestralpaw panting and shook my head. Weren't WindClan cats supposed to be fast? "Hey Jaypaw," Willowshine greeted.

I scowled. There it was again. Stupid names. I head learned to ignore the RiverClanner. My paws took me away from the annoying she-cat, and ahead of everyone else. Eagerness had given me energy not even the herbs could offer.

Whenever I reached Moonpool, a feeling went through me. The feeling wasn't always the same, but normally it was power, forboding, wisdom, and annoyance. Today it was three things. Panic. Secrecy. And as always, annoyance. Yet, above all, the power was definetly gone, replaced by a sense of weakness. I didn't hesitate, though. The others were puzzled as I raced skillfully down the hill and rushed to the pool's edge, careful not to get my paws wet. There was suspicion in the gazes that burned my pelts, but I didn't care.

"Jaypaw? Where are the others?" Littlecloud asked. He had gotten here earlier. That was obvious.

"Slower than a blind cat," I replied sourly. Littlecloud sighed as I heard everyone else arrived. I was very impatient. This was my chance. My chance to see what was really going on.

Finaly, I heard the scuffling of paws as they all positioned themselves around the pool. I lowered myself to its edge and rested my nose on the smooth, cold surface, the starry world overcoming me.

That's when the growling started.

I think this might be my first actual cliffie, or maybe it's sort of like a half cliffie. I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. -pats self on back- I'm so proud of myself. I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully your eager to find out what's next. (If not then I need better lessons on how to write cliffies.)

Thanks for reading. Love you guys, and please review! My goal is twenty before I post chapter nine, but I love this story, so I'll probably post it anyway.

This is my favorite fanfic I'm writing, even though that doesn't say much write now, seeing as I only have two, and Rings Equal Forever has stumped me. (writer's block? at my age? I'm not even far into that story. hmm...)

Ezzy