Warriors: The Forbidden Fruit - Chapter 8
This chapter is a bit sad. :( Yellowfang goes too far.
I don't own Warriors, it belongs to Erin Hunter.
Chapter 8
"Where there is desire
There is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
You've gotta get up and try try try
Gotta get up and try try try
You gotta get up and try try try
Eh, eh, eh
Funny how the heart can be deceiving
More than just a couple times
Why do we fall in love so easy
Even when it's not right"
"Try" by P!nk
Jayfeather
Sleep tugging at his paws, Jayfeather stepped into the medicine cat den to find Briarlight lying there waiting for him. He could feel her eyes on him as he padded past her without a word. Jayfeather knew that since he had been gone, the Clan had been talking about what happened in the medicine cat den that day with Tigerheart attacked, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Briarlight heard their gossip.
"Everyone seems to be talking about you," she commented as Jayfeather sat down in his nest.
Jayfeather couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I'm not worried," he answered dismissively. "If any of those fools actually had lives of their own, they'd stop talking about mine. Those warriors all gossip like queens in the nursery."
Briarlight was silent for a long moment. "I suppose you're right… Leafpool talked to me after you left," she meowed suddenly.
Jayfeather sat up abruptly. His blind eyes flew to her and he strained his ears to pick up the slightest sound. "What did she say to you, and what did you say to her?" he demanded. He prayed to StarClan that Briarlight didn't give away too much information, not that it would matter. Leafpool knew exactly what was going on.
The brown tabby she-cat gazed at him, bewildered. "She told me that she didn't want us to do what she did, and I told her that nothing she said would keep me from loving you," she meowed quietly. Her voice sounded hesitant, and Jayfeather knew he had frightened her. Still, he could not help the fact that his heart soared at her words.
"Nothing will keep me from loving you, either," he whispered, pressing his muzzle to her ear gently.
A quarter of a moon had passed since Leafpool visited the two in the medicine cat den the night of the Gathering. Jayfeather was now exiting the ThunderClan camp, and on his way to the Moonpool to meet with the other medicine cats. Jayfeather was dreading standing before StarClan and having them scold him for his behavior. What will I tell them? he wondered as he made his way toward the WindClan border. I cannot control myself when it comes to Briarlight… but who would even understand what I feel if I did tell the truth?
He continued to ponder this as the WindClan scent grew stronger. It wasn't long before he reached the border, the moon already high in the sky, casting silver light down over the moors. Jayfeather gazed at it dismally—the beauty of nature itself could not calm the ball of nerves that was weighing down his gut.
"Greetings Jayfeather," a familiar voice greeted off to his left.
The ThunderClan medicine cat turned to see none other than Willowshine, the RiverClan medicine cat standing there. Jayfeather returned the pleasantry and padded up to her. "How are things going on the other side of the lake?" he inquired casually. He hoped that maybe engaging in conversation with the young she-cat would get his mind off more stressful matters.
Willowshine sighed. "Alright, I suppose. One of our elders, Pouncetail, died this morning. The rest of the Clan are sitting vigil for her now… She had a really bad cough that just wouldn't go away. I was so worried, and I didn't know what to do," she sighed, hanging her head. "Mothwing would have known what to do."
Jayfeather gazed at her sympathetically and rested his tail on her shoulder blade. "You are a gifted healer, Willowshine, but you can't save every cat. No one can. Some are beyond repair," he assured her gently.
"Like Briarlight?" she asked suddenly, taking Jayfeather off guard. "You can't fix her back."
Nodding, Jayfeather sighed. "No. I cannot fix her back, but I've kept her alive. You can only do so much for some."
Willowshine appeared like she wanted to say more, but a voice sounded nearby. "There you two are!" Kestrelflight, the WindClan medicine cat meowed, bounding toward them. "I was waiting further up the trail," he explained. Jayfeather could feel the tom's eyes on him, but did nothing to show it. "Do you think ShadowClan will come?" Kestrelflight asked, conversationally.
Jayfeather flattened his ears against his head. "Lilystem and Fogpaw are medicine cats, and not to come would be breaking our sacred oath to not let Clan rivalries split between us," he replied sharply. However, a part of him did wonder whether or not the ShadowClan medicine cats would show their faces.
"Do you really think they still believed that you killed Flametail?" Willowshine inquired in a whisper.
Jayfeather remained silent.
"Well I know that Dawnpelt and Tigerheart still do," Kestrelflight answered her as if Jayfeather wasn't present. "I heard that they were planning to—"
"Will you two grow up?!" Jayfeather hissed at them. "You two are gossiping like queens in the nursery! We're medicine cats! We should not worry about silly Clan rivalries, and what warriors do with their spare time unless it is our own. You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"
Hypocrite! a voice inside him snarled. How dare you scold them when you love Briarlight?
The three cats waited another moon-shift in silence for the ShadowClan medicine cats to show; they didn't. "We should go on ahead without them," Kestrelflight suggested, puffing out his fur. "It's kind of chilly out tonight, and it's nearly moonhigh."
"Yes," Willowshine agreed. "We should be on our way."
Jayfeather nodded weakly, before turning in the direction of the rocky path that led up to the Moonpool. The three cats walked in silence, all seeming to be lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the hollow where the starry pool lay, Jayfeather took in a deep breath. Into the fire I go, he thought grimly. Willowshine and Kestrelflight had stepped up beside him and were all staring into the pool. The WindClan medicine cat was the first to lean down and lap up some of the water and lay down close to one of the smooth, stone walls. Willowshine followed swiftly after, leaving Jayfeather standing there with dread. With another deep breath, he lapped up some of the cold water and lay down close to the pool.
His eyelids grew heavy with a sleep he wished he could avoid. Dread manifested itself deep inside him before he slipped off into darkness.
Jayfeather woke in the middle of the forests of StarClan. He sat up to see Yellowfang standing there, her orange eyes scrutinizing him thoroughly. Neither spoke as she appraised him. Finally, she broke the silence, her voice eerily calm. "Do you think this is a game, Jayfeather?"
Her question took him by surprise. "A game?" he questioned, his ears flattening against his head. "No, why do you even entertain the notion? Do you have any idea how much danger I'm putting myself in being with her?" His anger was getting the better of him, and he struggled to subdue it. He mustn't lose his temper with Yellowfang.
Recognition flashed in her orange eyes. "You understand the danger, and the difficulty, and yet you continue."
"I love her," Jayfeather whispered, unable to come up with a better response.
A new look appeared on Yellowfang's face—pain? Understanding?—and then disappeared quickly. "I was afraid that you would say that," she confessed. "So I enlisted a little help to get you back onto the right path." She turned around, flicking her tail for the unknown cat to come forward.
Jayfeather watched with horror as a pale white she-cat with green eyes approached them. He recognized her instantly, and her image alone made his heart shatter. Pain enveloped him to the point that he unsheathed his claws and dug them into the supple soil. He clamped his eyes shut and ground his teeth together, biting back a yowl of anguish. Tears brimmed behind his eyelids, but he refused to let them fall.
"Jay's Wing… Jay's Wing, my love," Half-Moon meowed, coming closer still to him. "Why? Why, Jay's Wing? Why do you do this to me? Why do you hurt me like this? Look at me, my love."
He opened his eyes, and felt the tears overflow. "Half-Moon," he whispered. Even though his voice wasn't loud, his voice still came out half-strangled. Nothing—absolutely nothing—could have prepared him for this. He loved Half-Moon, and it nearly destroyed him to leave her in the mountains all those moons ago when he still traveled back in time to help the Tribe of Rushing Water. Now, now Briarlight had replaced her… but he could never forget Half-Moon. She had always been there—a shadow in the back of his mind, haunting his dreams.
"Why, Jay's Wing? Why?" she asked again. He risked a look at her, and saw that tears were staining the white fur of her cheeks. It tortured him to see that beautiful creature in such pain because of him. "Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me."
"I do love you," he choked out.
"But you said that you would love no other," she reminded him. Her voice was gentle, but pain-stricken.
"I know… I know…"
"Why did you lie to me? Why did you choose her?"
Jayfeather couldn't speak. He just looked at Yellowfang through his teary eyes. He saw that Yellowfang too appeared upset by the whole situation. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked at the former medicine cat. "Why do you do this to me?" he asked. "Why?!" he yowled. There was no way he could go back Briarlight and be with her after this.
Yellowfang just sat there and sighed. "I had to. Briarlight will destroy you."
"Jayfeather!" a voice called. It was soft, and far away. Jayfeather clawed at the grass as he saw Half-Moon and Yellowfang begin to fade. "
"No!" he yowled, seeing Half-Moon turn away from him. "Don't go! Half-Moon, don't go!"
"You don't love me anymore," she whispered simply, before disappearing completely. With a startled yowl, Jayfeather awoke in the stony hollow of the Moonpool, face to face with the last cat he wanted to see—Breezepelt.
A/N: DUN-DUN-DUH! Did you like this chapter? Leave a review and let me know! If you liked what you've seen here and you wanna see more, click on my username to see more! :D