Chapter 36

Jayfeather's POV

'The new sounds, the new smells,' Jayfeather thought. A Twoleg had saw him at the abandoned Twoleg nest and picked him up. The Twoleg was carrying him somewhere. He fidgeted a lot, trying to make it let go, but wriggling made it tighter and harder to breathe.

'Even if it did let me go,' Jayfeather thought, 'Where will I go? I am probably out of ThunderClan territory.'

He heard a clicking noise, followed by the soothing sound of a creek. A dog started barking and the Twoleg put him down on something soft. He started to walk the soft grass-like thing. It kept snagging in his claws, so he sheathed them. He bumped into something, and it was as hard as a rock.

"Jayfeather? Is that you?" someone asked.

Jayfeather whirled around, unsheathing his claws. The voice sounded oddly familiar. "Who are you, and where am I?" he snarled.

"Don't you recognize me?" the cat asked. "I'm Jessy!"

Jayfeather twitched his ears. He remembered Jessy from many moons ago, when her nest had been flooded, and she came to live in ThunderClan, "So it looks like I'm with your Twolegs right now, aren't I?"

"Yes," Jessy said. "How did you end up here? My nest is far away from ThunderClan camp."

"A Twoleg saw me, scooped me up and took me here," Jayfeather said. "That's all I know."

Jayfeather sighed. He should've been at his Clan right now, taking care of it, but instead he was here, in this Twoleg nest. With Jessy.

"You want to go back," Jessy said.

Jayfeather nodded. "The Clans are going through some serious trouble. I can't afford to be here."

"I know how to get back to ThunderClan from here," Jessy said.

"Let's go right now then."

"No, you're exhausted," Jessy retorted. "You need some rest."

Jessy wrapped her tail on Jayfeather's back, slowly guiding him to her nest. They moved slowly around the house, and suddenly Jayfeather felt something feathery soft and sat down. After they got settled, Jessy started asking questions

"So, how is ThunderClan? You said there was trouble," Jessy asked, with a flutter of curiosity in her eyes.

"It's none of your business," Jayfeather was trying to hide the glint of worry in his eyes, but Jessy caught it.

"Nothing bad happened, right? Is Bramblestar okay?" she asked, worry replacing her gaze.

Jayfeather shifted uncomfortably. How did she do that? A twinge of jealousy formed in his chest as he recalled the days where he could enter the dreams of other cats.

"Well, there is trouble for the Clans yet again," Jayfeather admitted.

Jessy gasped, "Not another flood, is it?"

"No, it's worse than a flood. The Dark Forest is coming, once and for all. They have risen again, and are haunting the dreams of our apprentices."

Jayfeather got up, "I really need to head back now. Squirrelflight is depending on me to keep an eye on the apprentices."

"How can you keep an eye on them if you're blind?" Jessy said jokingly.

Jayfeather glared at her.

Then she grew serious, "All right then, we'll go. Can you handle it? This nest is really far away from the Clans."

Jayfeather flexed his claws. He had to be strong enough. "I can handle it. I need to get back to camp before anything bad happens."

"Okay then. Stay close to me, and follow my voice. We're right in the heart of Twolegplace, and there are lots of other dangerous cats around, so we need to be careful."

Jayfeather padded towards Jessy, and together they made their way outside. After being in the Twoleg den, Jayfeather found it comforting to be outside, feeling the crisp grass beneath his paws, hearing the birds sing.

"There's a fence up ahead, and we're going to jump on it on the count of three. One, two, three!"

Jayfeather bunched up his hindquarters and sprang up, landing neatly on top of the fence. He heard a thump to his right, and knew that Jessy had made it up as well.

"Okay, head to the right, and I'll tell you when to get off."

Jayfeather followed Jessy, being careful to place his paws exactly on the lining of the fence. He didn't want to fall off, and possibly land in a yard full of dogs. That thought kept him moving.

"Are we almost there?" Jayfeather asked.

"In a moment. We're going to have to jump off soon and continue on the ground. Stay close to me; those troublesome kittypets that were bothering ShadowClan during the flood are nearby."

Jayfeather nodded and kept walking. The fence's surface was jagged, and each pawstep made him wince.

"Okay… and jump off to your left!" Jessy said.

Jayfeather bounded off of the fence, grateful to feel the ground beneath his paws. He sniffed the air. These scents smelled familiar… he had smelled them on the pelt of Bramblestar when he came back from battling the kittypets.

"They're close," Jayfeather growled, "Should we go another way?"

"I'm afraid this is the only way. The other paths lead away from the forest, into other parts of the Twoleg world. It's dangerous, too many monsters." Jessy replied. "Let's go before they get here."

"And just what do you think you're doing here?" a cat snarled from behind them.

Jayfeather stiffened. Why did they have to come now? He had to get back to camp as soon as possible!

"We're just passing through, Riga," Jessy replied calmly.

"Just passing through?" another cat hissed. "You mean, trespassing."

"We just need to get to the forest, Ziggy," Jessy said, impatience in her voice. "We don't mean to steal anything."

Jayfeather flexed his claws, preparing himself to fight.

"Oh, really, now?" Riga said. Jayfeather could pawsteps circling around him. He tasted the air. More cats were coming. This couldn't be good.

"Yes, really. We don't want to cause any trouble. Just let us go on our way." Jessy said desperately.

"And just what are you going to do in the forest? Hunt in our territory?" Ziggy said. "You know what happens when cats steal from what is ours."

"Just let us go-," Jessy said before she was cut off. Jayfeather heard a scuffle happening between Jessy and another cat. He unsheathed his own claws, bracing himself for a fight.

A cat pounced on him, claws scoring his back. Jayfeather hissed and swiped, his claws meeting the empty air. The cat swiped for his muzzle, and Jayfeather felt a searing pain on his nose. He swung his claws out again, and managed to hook on to a pelt of fur. Feeling satisfied, Jayfeather reached with his other paw and hooked his claws into the pelt of fur. The cat shrieked, tore away from Jayfeather's claws, and bounded away.

He scented more cats, and soon Jayfeather was met with a fierce group of claws and teeth, tearing away at his pelt. He tried in vain to bat them away.

"What's the matter, blind cat? Trying to fight us?" he heard Riga taunt. Jayfeather turned angrily, pouncing and leaping everywhere, trying to battle the kittypets.

"What is going on here?" a voice asked.

Immediately, the cats stopped fighting Jayfeather. He relaxed, then opened his mouth, trying to find Jessy. He padded towards her. She was panting, and Jayfeather could smell blood.

"What is the meaning of this?" the cat asked again.

"These two were trespassing, Victor," Ziggy spat. "They were trying to go to the forest, which is our territory, not for others to come and go as they please."

"Hey, aren't you the cat who caused us a lot of trouble?" Victor asked. Jayfeather scented him coming closer, circling them. "Jessy, isn't it? And who are you?"

"I'm Jayfeather," he said, unsheathing his claws.

"Ahhhh it's a Clan cat," Victor said disapprovingly. Then Jayfeather heard his pawsteps stop. "Take them to camp. Tomorrow, we'll decide what to do with these vile creatures."

"Come on, you heard him," he heard Riga said as he poked Jayfeather with a claw. Jayfeather twitched his whiskers in annoyance, his anger seeping through his veins. He helped Jessy up, and they limped together, surrounded by kittypets, heading away from the forest.