Warriors: The Forbidden Fruit - Chapter 5
Okay, I know that this chapter is longer than usual. I had to cram a lot of stuff in here, and I'm still not done. The next chapter will also be in Jayfeather's point of view and will still take place at the Gathering.
If you were wondering, ShadowClan, Tigerheart, Dawnpelt, and Breezepelt will all play a major part in this fic as well. :)
I do not own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. :)
Chapter 5
"Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know anymore...
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah oh oh
This is it, boys, this is war - what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?"
-"Some Nights" by Fun.
Jayfeather
Jayfeather spent the rest of his day going around the ThunderClan camp, checking his Clan-mates for injuries. He couldn't shake that horrific feeling he experienced when he woke from his unconsciousness. The first thought that popped into his brain was Briarlight—he feared that while he had passed out, Tigerheart had returned and killed her. Another thing he couldn't get out of his mind was Leafpool's troubled face as she led him from the medicine cat den to the rest of his Clan-mates.
While he checked over Dovewing, all of these thoughts somehow managed to squeeze into his mind despite his best efforts to block them. The loss of blood he had suffered was already effecting his thought process, and he didn't need anything else floating around in his head. The gray-furred warrior had suffered a deep scratch across her right flank that would probably leave a scar there. "So, Jayfeather," she meowed after a moment.
Doing his best not to groan, he regarded her kindly. "Yes, Briar—I mean Dovewing?" he asked, hissing through his teeth at his mistake. I have to be more careful, he thought angrily. No one can know that I think about her!
Dovewing seemed taken aback by his name confusion, but continued cautiously. "I heard there was an altercation in the medicine cat den with a ShadowClan warrior. What happened?"
Biting back a harsh retort about cats minding their own business, Jayfeather took a deep breath. "Tigerheart came into the medicine cat den and tried to attack Briarlight," he mewed simply, trying to keep his voice even despite the rage that burned in his heart. I swear it on StarClan, if he goes near her again, I will kill him! he thought, resisting the urge to flex his claws. His own brutality surprised him. Where did that come from? I am a medicine cat, I can't be thinking those kinds of thoughts! But… but he can't hurt Briarlight. He can't hurt her.
The she-cat gasped at his words. "Tigerheart tried to kill Briarlight?!" she nearly yowled in outrage.
Jayfeather flattened his ears against his head, irritation prickling through his pelt. "Yes. That lousy excuse for a warrior tried to kill her! She might be a warrior, but she's defenseless!" he began to rant, but stopped himself. If he kept thinking of her and talking about the incident, his true feelings would begin to show.
But what do I feel?
"Head over to my den with the more serious injuries. Leafpool and Brightheart are applying poultices to the serious wounds. Just show Leafpool your wound and she'll know what to do," he murmured before moving on to the next warrior.
After checking over all of his Clan-mates, including the queens and elders in his effort to stay away from Briarlight longer, he returned to his den, exhausted. Briarlight said nothing upon his late entry, and Jayfeather was glad for her sudden silence. He could hear her slow, steady breathing and could feel her eyes burning into him as he padded toward his nest, sleep tugging at his paws. "Are you sure you're not hurt?" Briarlight inquired as he flopped down.
He didn't have the energy for a sharp retort, so just nodded.
"You know, I'm thinking about asking Brightheart and Cloudtail to maybe help me train a little. I mean… they developed Brightheart's fighting style so maybe they will be able to help me," she told him, shifting in her nest nervously. Jayfeather could hear the uncertainty in her voice as if she feared that she would upset him.
It was perfectly normal for a warrior to want to help their Clan. If she wanted to fight, she should at least try to do so, but Jayfeather couldn't stop the sharp claws that sank into his chest at her words. She wants to be a warrior again? Oh, so I'm not good enough, is that it?! "Are you sure that is what you want?" he asked quietly; any louder and he feared that his voice might have betrayed the pain he felt.
"Yes," she answered.
"You could always become my apprentice… you could stay here with me…" he tried to convince her. I shouldn't be doing this, he thought angrily. She's been through so much… She deserves to be happy… but why can't she understand how this is hurting me? "I can protect us both… I can… I can't give you very much… but I can make you happy."
She was silent for the longest moment and Jayfeather began cursing himself. I knew it! I knew it! StarClan darn it all! She'll hate me now. She doesn't feel this… this… I don't even know what it is! Finally, she put an end to Jayfeather's silent musings. "I know you can. I'm not leaving you, Jayfeather. I'll never leave."
Jayfeather didn't look at her—it would have been pointless since he couldn't see her—but her words shocked him. "I'll never leave you, either, Briarlight. I will never let anyone hurt you again."
"Why, Jayfeather?" she queried. "Why now? I've been here for so long, so why do you change?"
He let out a small laugh. "Change? I've never changed, Briarlight. I'm still me… I just… I realize know that I do need you. I don't know why or for what… and heck, it might kill me, but I need you. I can't explain it, but I've always felt this way… I've felt this way from the moment you risked your own life to save Longtail… I thought you were the bravest, most selfless warrior I'd ever seen. You're smart, and brave, and kind… and…"
The rustling of moss told Jayfeather that Briarlight was moving. She made her way over to him slowly and lay beside him. "Thank you, Jayfeather," she breathed on his face. Her hot breath and delicious scent clogged his brain. Instinctively, he shifted closer until he felt her warm body press against his. She leaned into him, resting her head on his flank.
"Don't leave, Briarlight," Jayfeather whispered, his heart aching at the thought of losing her.
"Never." And her words sounded like an eternal promise, one that neither of them would dare to break.
The next evening, Jayfeather sat with the other four medicine cats on the island, awaiting the Gathering to begin. Willowshine sat beside him, chattering about what an awful few months it had been in RiverClan to find tansy while Kestrelflight and Lilystem, the new ShadowClan medicine cat, spoke in hushed tones about a strange outbreak of Whitecough that was breaking out in these late newleaf moons.
Despite the voices of other cats rumbling around him, his thoughts were only concerned with Briarlight. His eyes scanned the clearing searching for a certain brown tabby warrior and not finding him. Horrible thoughts of returning to the camp to find Briarlight lying there, dead in her nest consumed him and made his stomach twist. The rational side of his brain tried to console his troubled side. Even Tigerheart wouldn't dare break the full moon truce, he tried to reason.
"This Gathering will now come to order!" Onestar's yowl rung out, calling the attention of all the cats gathered. "WindClan has been doing well in the past moon. Our deputy, Ashfoot, was killed just after the last Gathering defending the Clan from a stray dog. Crowfeather is our new deputy."
Jayfeather's ears perked up at that. Crowfeather, his biological father, was now the deputy of WindClan. He spotted the gray warrior seated at the base of the oak tree, puffing out his chest with pride. Looking around, he noticed, to his relief, that his mother, Leafpool, was not attending this Gathering. Everyone would probably look at her to see her reaction… but I doubt she'd do anything.
The thought of his lineage made him wince internally. Briarlight came back into his mind. Did the feelings he held for Briarlight break the warrior code or even the medicine cat code? We're not mates… I mean… we're just really good friends… right? he thought. Even his reasoning in his thoughts was weak. He knew it was wrong, and he knew that StarClan would not be happy with him when he visited the Moonpool.
As Onestar finished his update, Bramblestar stepped forward. From his body language alone, Jayfeather could tell that sitting next to Blackstar had ruffled his fur. "News from ThunderClan will come after a moment. Right now, I see this as the perfect opportunity to confront Blackstar," he yowled.
Confused murmurs broke through the WindClan and RiverClan warriors, while yowls of approval sounded from the ThunderClan cats. The ShadowClan warriors muttered harsh words amongst themselves. "Recently, Blackstar attacked our camp. This attack was completely unprovoked, so tell me Blackstar: what was your reason for this attack? Oh, and also include as to why one of your warriors attacked Briarlight, a she-cat who is currently paralyzed from the middle of her back to the tip of her tail. Not only did this warrior attack a defenseless she-cat, but also our medicine cat who was trying to protect his injured patient!"
Shocked yowls erupted from the crowd at this. Jayfeather could feel the eyes of the other cats on him. Nearby, he heard a RiverClan elder whisper to one of his companions, "Looks like ShadowClan is up to their nasty tricks again."
"Agreed," a WindClan warrior meowed, turning around to face the elder. "ShadowClan can't be trusted. You know that Blackstar was Tigerstar's deputy, and Brokenstar's!"
A RiverClan she-cat stepped in between them, her lips curled back in a snarl. "Who are we to judge him?! He fought with us during the battle against the Dark Forest! He fought against his old allies—he has changed."
"And who are we to doubt that he could go back to his old ways?" The WindClan warrior shot back.
"Silence!" Blackstar yowled above the other voices. "This attack was not unprovoked, Bramblestar! If you remember correctly, a moon ago when ThunderClan scent was found on our territory, we warned you that we would be forced to violence if this scent was found again, and guess what, Bramblestar? We found more ThunderClan scent on our territory, so we fulfilled our promise!"
"Border scents blown by the wind do not count, Blackstar!" Cloudtail yowled, his blue eyes burning with rage.
"This scent was found deep within ShadowClan land," Blackstar answered the white warrior, his voice betraying no anger or irritation. "ShadowClan will defend our borders to make sure that no more ThunderClan scent is found."
Bramblestar's hackles rose. "And ThunderClan will make sure that no ShadowClan scent is on ThunderClan land!" he hissed. "We have been scenting ShadowClan scent on our ground as well, Blackstar, but we did not try to kill an innocent warrior, nor did we attack your medicine cat! Those acts were unnecessary and go against any Clan's morals, or are ShadowClan cats as heartless as they are believed to be?!"
Jayfeather could not believe his ears. Was Bramblestar really saying such things about the Clan his own sister belonged to? He finally saw Blackstar's anger as the white-furred tomcat's fur began to bristle and his lips threatened to curl back over his teeth. "Brave words for a cat whose father belonged to this very Clan!"
"My father was a murderer and a traitor! I will never follow him or the weak, pathetic Clan that accepted him and his treachery!"
Furious snarls spewed from the ShadowClan warriors while the ThunderClan cats rose to meet them. Jayfeather's eyes flew to the full moon that shone above them, but it still shone brightly in the sky. Will StarClan really let a battle happen here?!
A/N: DUN DUN DUH! Evil cliffie! I know! I'm so bad! XD
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