Chapter 31
Author's Note: …so long time no see. I apologize deeply for my lack of activity on this story, but I had lost interest in it especially since I wrote this for my younger sister who moved out a while ago so I really had no interest in finishing it. Then this morning I was reading through a couple old chapters from Jaystar's Story and I remembered how much I enjoyed telling the stories of Darkshadow, Airstorm, and the others. So I've planned a very long and hopefully exciting chapter for all of you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, but I do claim JayClan and the cats that make up it.
Stupid mousebrain.
Airstorm rolled his eyes as he moved deeper and deeper into ThunderClan territory, trying to find a trace of Darkshadow's lingering scent, but StarClan wasn't making things easy for him. The rain that had been falling for the previous moon still hadn't let up and even the normal scents that made up ThunderClan's territory were absent. Everything was damp and the smell that rose up from the muddy ground was not pleasant, but since it was everyone, the cats of JayClan grew use to it.
"Airstorm!" Airstorm's gray eyes drifted towards a pile of shrubs and his face showed no surprise when Waterdrop pushed through, his sister's silver fur clinging to her skinny frame. "Any luck?"
Airstorm shook his head in annoyance, "The rain has washed away all traces of his scent." Airstorm rolled his eyes to show his feelings towards Darkshadow and StarClan. Darkshadow for disappearing completely randomly earlier that day (Gingereye had said he had wanted to be alone, but once sunhigh turned into sunset, Volestar gathered a patrol together) and StarClan for sending all this rain their way. Airstorm turned to face Waterdrop once more and noticed for the first time that she was alone, "Where's Thunderpaw and Dawnpaw?"
"Dawnpaw started coughing and I was afraid that if she stayed out in this weather for any longer she might catch whitecough. This may not be typical weather for leafbare, but this is the season when whitecough is the strongest."
"And Thunderpaw?" Airstorm asked.
"I sent him to escort her home," Waterdrop explained, "The rogues may have just attacked a few days ago, but I still think it is unwise for a cat to be alone until we are sure their attacks have stopped."
"Try telling that to Darkshadow," Airstorm growled with another roll of his gray eyes, "Honestly, what was he thinking? If he's upset about Woodstar's death and Volestar replacing him then there are other ways of showing it. He didn't have to run away from his family and his Clan. We would have understood." Waterdrop opened her mouth to add something, but Airstorm wasn't finished. "And what is he thinking? Abandoning Dawnpaw and Featherpaw? He has to be the worse father in the history of the Clans. I mean first Birdheart and now Lakesky…"
"What?" Waterdrop meowed, orange eyes narrowed in confusion, "Darkshadow had kits with Birdheart?"
Nice going, mousebrain.
Airstorm turned to face Waterdrop, not believing he just revealed Darkshadow's deepest secret. The secret that he had been asked to keep quiet about… the brown tabby sighed. There was no use lying about it now.
"It wasn't meant to happen, yes," Airstorm sighed, "Birdheart did become pregnant with Darkshadow's kits and told him that last night we stayed with SkyClan. She asked him too stay with her and their kits, but he couldn't. He had to come back to JayClan… to his family… to Lakesky."
Airstorm turned to stare at Waterdrop wondering how she was reacting to this sudden news. Airstorm himself had been furious at Darkshadow and had even tried to attack him when he learned of his brother's decision, but to the brown tabby's surprise, Waterdrop simply nodded, "While I know it was unfair to Birdheart, I'm kind of glad Darkshadow chose to return to JayClan with us. We had just lost Cloudleaf. I don't think I couldn't have survived if we lost Darkshadow too."
"You took it much better than I did," Airstorm mused and then gave a curt nod, closing the conversation, "Remember you can't tell anyone, especially Lakesky." Waterdrop nodded in agreement and Airstorm sighed, a weight lifted off his shoulder as someone else learned of Darkshadow's secret. "Now we best continue looking for our missing cat."
"Your search is over," A cat growled and both Airstorm and Waterdrop whirled around to see Darkshadow drop down from a tree, his expression emotionless. The cats were silent for a moment until Darkshadow turned to Airstorm and meowed softly, "I can see your clumsy tongue revealed my secret."
"I'm sorry, Darkshadow," Airstorm mewed quickly, "You know that I would never purposely hurt you, brother."
Darkshadow's eyes widened and a look of uncontrollable fury crossed his face, "You are no brother of mine. Not fully." Darkshadow's head then whipped around to face Waterdrop, "And you are no sister of mine and the same goes with Cloudleaf and Thunderpaw. Thunderpaw is my apprentice and nothing more."
"What are you talking about?" Waterdrop asked and Airstorm saw the confusion clear in his sister's eyes as well as the hurt. Darkshadow no longer considered them kin?
"Talk to our mother," Darkshadow spat, "You might learn that she broke the warrior code!"
"What are you talking about?" Waterdrop repeated and Darkshadow whirled around to face her completely,
"I'll tell you what I'm talking about! Woodstar wasn't my father! Gingereye fell in love with Talonclaw and together they produced me!" Darkshadow snarled and then added in a quieter tone, "A mistake in the eyes of StarClan!"
"So?" Airstorm meowed and Darkshadow turned to face him, growling,
"So what?"
"So what if Talonclaw was your father," Airstorm mewed, "He wasn't the father you knew! Woodstar will still be your father if you see him that way because he was the cat who you grew up with! Not Talonclaw! StarClan will side with you depending on who you choose as a father! If you choose Talonclaw then sure you were a mistake, but if you choose Woodstar then you were the same cat you have always been! It's your choice! Just like it's your choice whether to go back to Lakesky and your daughters!"
Darkshadow honestly looked surprised after Airstorm's speech, "What makes you think I don't want to go back to Lakesky or Dawnpaw or Featherpaw? I just needed some time to think things over, but you are right, Airstorm. If I still see Woodstar as my father than he will always remain my father, no matter what my blood says."
"I don't think we have touched on another issue," Waterdrop interjected, her orange eyes fixed onto Darkshadow. "I know that you are feeling more than just anger at finding out Talonclaw was your father. You know Volestar never wanted to Woodstar to die and he's doing his best to make sure Woodstar's Clan survives."
"It's hard to accept another leader when we had Woodstar for so long," Darkshadow sighed, "But Volestar was once my mentor and I didn't turn out that badly. If I didn't turn out that bad then I have to believe JayClan will be the same."
Waterdrop nodded, clearly satisfied with Darkshadow's answer while Airstorm meowed, "So… back to JayClan?"
Darkshadow nodded, "Back to JayClan."
Waterdrop led the way, Darkshadow in step beside her. Airstorm moved to follow them when Jaystar's voice whispered in his ear,
"Four will take one and make five, making history repeat itself. Thunder will fall on the lake and the Clan of birds will be no more. The end is now." Jaystar murmured the familiar words, but added softly, "He will be safe with me, I promise."
Airstorm felt his body freeze as he listened to Jaystar's words, his eyes instantly locking onto Darkshadow's retreating form.
Did the ancient Clan leader mean his brother?
"Darkshadow, Waterdrop, will you two please listen to me?" Airstorm meowed, his temper increasing as his siblings continued to ignore his fears that something was going to happen. Something bad. "Jaystar has only spoken to us about certain things a few times and her words have always ended up being correct. I think something's going to happen soon. Something that has to do with the prophecy. Why else would Jaystar promise me that 'he will be safe with me?'"
"StarClan has been wrong before," Darkshadow mused and Airstorm fumed at the note of amusement he heard in his half-brother's voice, "They may be our warrior ancestors and they may watch over us, but sometimes they are just as clueless as us."
"I agree with Darkshadow," Waterdrop added and then seeing the look of anger on Airstorm's face continued gently, "Okay, Airstorm, I'll humor you. You think Jaystar's words have something to do with the prophecy?" Airstorm nodded. "Okay then what part? The prophecy doesn't mention a single cat dying."
"The Clan of birds will be no more?" Airstorm quoted, "What if something is going to happen to JayClan?"
"Jaystar said that he will be safe with her," Darkshadow meowed with a shake of his head, "The Clan isn't a single cat."
"What about Volestar?" Airstorm mewed, determined to make his siblings see reason. "He's the leader. The prophecy could be referring to him or Talonclaw. After all, he is our medicine cat and the closest to StarClan. Or it could be referring to one of us. Since we know about the prophecy we are sort of important!"
"I'm not a tom," Waterdrop purred, flicking Airstorm's ear with her tail. "I think you may have swallowed a piece of bad prey, Airstorm. With all this rain, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the prey got sick. Maybe when we get back to camp, you should rest or something. Or maybe you should see Talonclaw?"
"I'm not sick!" Airstorm snapped and then sighed, "Can I do nothing to convince you two?"
Darkshadow shook his head, "I just think that maybe in this case Jaystar is wrong."
"But what if she isn't?" Airstorm pressed.
"Home," Waterdrop sighed suddenly and Airstorm turned, realizing they had arrived at the treebridge. The silver she-cat then turned to look at her brothers, a hard mother stare in their depths, "You two toms can resume your arguments later. The Clan is still mourning Woodstar and the last thing anyone needs is you two snapping at everything that moves because of your own annoyance." Waterdrop stared at her two brothers, "Can you two promise me that?"
"Yes, Waterdrop," Darkshadow sighed and then purred, his black eyes lightening up as he gave his half-sister a hearty nudge, "When did you become so much like Gingereye?"
"Perhaps I've always been like her," Waterdrop purred, giving a small shrug before turning to look at Airstorm, "Airstorm?"
Airstorm nodded and was about to add something when his eyes caught two figures on the treebridge: one of them a slender she-cat, the other a smaller tom. Airstorm nudged Darkshadow and meowed, "Looks like your mate and apprentice wanted to be the first to greet you." Darkshadow followed Airstorm's stare and the brown tabby watched his half-brother's eyes glow as he spotted Lakesky and Thunderpaw, two cats who meant a lot to him.
The three cats walked towards their Clanmates and Darkshadow bounded a couple steps forward, waving his tail as he yowled, "Lakesky! Thunderpaw!"
They all heard Thunderpaw's yowl of excitement and Airstorm purred with amusement as he watched his brother scramble on top of the treebridge, racing across to get to Darkshadow and his other siblings.
Airstorm's purr was cut off however…
…when Thunderpaw's feet slipped and he fell into the lake.
"Thunderpaw!" Waterdrop yowled and the three cats raced forward, Airstorm leading them since he was the fastest. They reached Lakesky in a couple easy strides, the blue-gray she-cat trying to grab a hold of the struggling Thunderpaw.
Lakesky looked up urgently as they scrambled to stand beside her, her voice rough with nerves, "The water is too high! He's having too much trouble coming up for air!"
The four cats watched as Thunderpaw's head went under once more and without even thinking, Airstorm dived into the water.
"Airstorm!"
Airstorm knew that someone had called his name, but that was all he knew. The moment his head went under water, his ears thundered with noise and he could barely make his paws move.
Suddenly, his head broke the surface and he heard everyone screaming his name, but one voice cut through the rest,
"Airstorm, help me!"
Airstorm felt his body spin around because of the small current of the lake and spotted Thunderpaw struggling to keep his head above the surface of the water. Airstorm paddled towards his brother just as Thunderpaw's head went under and the brown tabby followed, trying to get a grip on the apprentice's scruff.
Airstorm felt them being dragged deeper and deeper and he felt like his head was going to explode from the lack of the air.
Great StarClan, was Jaystar talking about me?
Suddenly Airstorm's head broke through the surface and Thunderpaw's weight was lessened. Airstorm turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw an unfamiliar tortoiseshell tom helping to carry Thunderpaw!
"Airstorm, let me help," Airstorm felt some cat move him out of the way and his eyes widened even more than before as he watched Violet swim gracefully towards Thunderpaw, grabbing the apprentice's scruff in her jaws.
"Violet?" Airstorm rasped in shock, but shook his head. Right now they needed to help Thunderpaw.
Airstorm tried to help the tortoiseshell tom, but he merely nudged him out of the way, growling, "Focus on getting yourself to shore, Airstorm. Leave me and Violet to help with this cat."
Airstorm had no idea what the tom was and how he even knew his name, but he obeyed, swimming weakly towards the shore, giving a great sigh of relief as his paws touched dirt. He only took one relaxing breath before whirling around to face Violet and the strange tortoiseshell as they set Thunderpaw onto the ground.
Airstorm scrambled towards them and looked down at Thunderpaw.
He wasn't moving.
Violet gave a cry of disbelief and the tortoiseshell shook his head sadly,
"He's dead."
Airstorm blacked out.
"Airstorm! Airstorm!" The brown tabby opened his eyes as Talonclaw slowly came into focus.
"Talonclaw!" Airstorm meowed, practically jumping to his paws as he remembered what happened earlier.
The lake…
Violet…
Thunderpaw…
"Talonclaw," Airstorm repeated himself, "What happened?"
Talonclaw sighed, shaking his head sadly and Airstorm immediately knew that what he had heard earlier was true, "Thunderpaw joined StarClan, Airstorm. He drowned despite the help of you, Violet, and Perry."
Perry, Airstorm thought to himself, That's who the tortoiseshell was! Violet's friend Perry!
"Does everyone else know?" Airstorm whispered. How was Gingereye taking Thunderpaw's death? She had just lost her mate and she had lost Thunderpaw's brother, Sleetkit just a few moons earlier.
Talonclaw nodded, "Gingereye left camp a little bit ago and Orangepelt went with her. I think Gingereye just needed time to grieve. Everyone else is sitting vigil for Thunderpaw and Volestar is talking to Darkshadow, Waterdrop, Violet, and Perry."
"About what?" Airstorm asked, wondering why the she-cat he fancied and the tom she was friends with were talking with Volestar. The two kittypets didn't know much about Clan life.
"Lakesky suggested that since the two cats tried to save Thunderpaw's life that they should be invited to join JayClan," Talonclaw explained and Airstorm snorted with laughter. He loved Violet and he felt deeply grateful to Perry for trying to save Thunderpaw, but kittypets couldn't join a warrior Clan.
"How did Volestar take that suggestion?" Airstorm purred and was shocked when Talonclaw meowed,
"He said yes. They're earning their warrior names tonight while Darkshadow and Waterdrop offered to help them adjust to Clan life."
Airstorm couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Violet, Perry step forward," Airstorm's eyes locked with Violet's and he gave her a encouraging nod as she followed Perry to stand in front of Volestar, "Violet and Perry have decided to join JayClan. Their old lives have been stripped away by their acceptance into our Clan and their old names no longer have meaning."
Volestar jumped off of HighTree so that he was standing in front of the two former kittypets, "Violet, Perry, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and promise to protect this Clan even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Violet meowed softly while Perry merely nodded.
"Then I give you your warrior names," Volestar meowed, "Perry from this moment on you will be known as Beechstripe. StarClan honors you for your bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of JayClan." Volestar then turned to Violet and mewed, "Violet from this moment on you will be known as Duskflower. StarClan honors you for your bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of JayClan." Airstorm nodded in approval, but barely had time to call out the new names before Duskflower hurried over to him.
"I can't believe it!" She meowed, "This morning I was Violet, a housecat, and now I am Duskflower, a warrior of JayClan."
Airstorm purred, "I know. Now I don't have to sneak away to meet you."
Duskflower nodded and Airstorm suddenly realized something. "What were you doing on JayClan territory anyway?"
Duskflower's violet eyes suddenly glowed.
"I'm pregnant!"
Author's Note: Well there's my chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and please review!