Skyclan returns

Chapter 14

Jaysight finally finished sorting herbs just as Leafpool called out to him from the other side of the brambles hanging in front of the medicine den. "Are you coming, Jaysight? We're going to be late."

"I'm coming!" Jaysight replied, running out of the den. He could scent Hollywing on the other side of the clearing, near the fresh-kill pile with Lionclaw, Mousewhisker, and Icepaw. Her confusion and sadness radiated from her pelt in such strong rays that it actually stung. It had been a few days since Brambleclaw's death, and he still felt a heavy dragging in his chest every time he thought about it. Tonight was the half moon, which meant going to the Moonpool to speak with StarClan. In short, he'd get to see Moonpaw again.

There was a stiff breeze that ruffled Jaysight's fur, making him shiver. He could feel the sun's last warm rays of the day fading on his pelt as he and Leafpool left the camp, heading to the stream that marked the border between WindClan and ThunderClan. Dry leaves and small branches crackled softly as Jaysight's paws tread over them, while the wind created a rustling sound above in the trees.

Jaysight scented the other medicine cats soon. RiverClan's Willowberry and Mothwing were there, as well as WindClan's Barkface and Kestrelpaw with SkyClan's Echosong and Moonpaw. Jayfeather's heart leapt with joy as he imagined the pretty SkyClan medicine cat apprentice waiting for him up ahead. He raced the rest of the way to the medicine cats, with Leafpool following at a more leisurely pace.

"Hello, Moonpaw," Jaysight greeted.

"Good evening, Jaysight," Moonpaw replied enthusiastically. "How's everything been going?"

"Brambleclaw, our deputy, died a few days ago from greencough," Jaysight murmured sadly. Just thinking about his father's death again made the choking feeling come back, but it was soon dispelled as he felt Moonpaw brush her pelt against his in comfort. Her warmth and presence soothed Jaysight's mind until the pain was just a dull throb.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured softly.

Suddenly Jaysight felt someone staring at him, their gaze like a searing flame on his fur. Leafpool. A variety of emotions were rolling off her in waves, foremost among them being regret, anxiety, suspicion, and concern. Jaysight jerked his head in surprise at the roiling mix of thoughts and memories that flooded his body, his mind reeling in confusion.

Then Littlecloud and Tigerpaw joined the assembled cats and Leafpool was distracted by them enough that her thoughts disappeared once more. It took a moment for Jaysight to realize that the medicine cats were already heading towards the Moonpool, and he raced after them until he had caught up to Moonpaw.

"How's SkyClan doing?" Jaysight asked in an attempt to divert his mind from Leafpool. He didn't want to spend all night trying to figure out what kind of burr got stuck in her fur when tonight would be his only chance to speak with Moonpaw until the next Gathering.

"We're recovering from the attack well," Moonpaw whispered so that Mothwing, Willowshine, Littlecloud, and Tigerpaw couldn't hear. Jaysight caught a glimpse of her memories as she thought about a day in camp not too long ago.

Moonpaw was in the back of the medicine den, gathering together a few small, withered herbs. "We only have some tansy and borage leaves left!" she called to Echosong, who was standing near the entrance to the medicine den. "What should we do? All of the herbs we need are still too young to do any good, so it would be a waste to gather them from that spot by the stream."

Echosong was quiet for a moment as a cat entered the den. Moonpaw glanced up from her measly pile of herbs to see the cat who had entered was Leafstar. "How is it going?" Leafstar asked wearily.

"We are short on herbs," Echosong answered regretfully. "We need more if we're going to help some of our more injured cats, like Rockfall and Sageclaw."

"Has StarClan sent any signs to you?" Leafstar asked.

"None at all," Echosong sighed, shaking her head. Leafstar looked back at Moonpaw, who also shook her head to answer the silent question.

"Come tell me if anything new happens," Leafstar instructed.

"Of course," Echosong replied, dipping her head respectfully. Leafstar nodded and padded out of the den. Moonpaw was silent while her mentor seemed to be thinking something over. "Go and see if you can find some herbs that we missed," Echosong said with a slight shake of her head. "Only bring back the ones that are full grown. If we dig up all of the young herbs, there won't be any left to grow and replenish our stock."

"Alright," Moonpaw replied, and left her mentor in a thoughtful silence as she left the medicine den. The camp was still a little trampled looking from the fight, but at least the scent of blood and fear had faded. Cherrytail and her brother Sparrowpelt were sharing tongues, while Tinyfeather picked through the fresh-kill pile, trying to find a squirrel, her favorite food. Frostpaw emerged from the elders' den with a loosely grasped ball of moss that reeked of mouse bile in her mouth.

It seemed like the Clan was getting used to the forest and was no longer as hesitant or uncertain about being there. Even though they were short on herbs and they had just fought with RiverClan and ShadowClan, Moonpaw felt a little bit of pride and comfort at this fact. She left camp and headed in the opposite direction from the stream, hoping that there might be herbs that way since she hadn't checked that part of the forest as thoroughly as she had by the stream.

Jaysight's vision of the memory faded until he was left with the same familiar darkness. It took him a moment to focus again and realized that only a few moments had passed while he had seen Moonpaw's memory. He could tell that the rest of the medicine cats were still a few tail lengths ahead of him and Moonpaw by their scent, but they were starting the climb up the ridge that led to the Moonpool.

SkyClan was short on herbs? Why hadn't Moonpaw told him that? The thoughts kept nagging at Jayfeather. Did she not trust him? Maybe she didn't want to reveal a weakness about her Clan and was afraid he might tell someone, or even worse, that another medicine cat might hear and tell their Clan.

Jaysight settled down near the Moonpool, determined that he'd get some answers tonight. "Kestrelpaw," Barkface rasped. "It is time you received your medicine cat name." Kestrlpaw made an involuntary squeak of surprise, making most of the assembled cats purr with amusement. Jaysight didn't. Kestrelpaw scrambled up, his claws scratching against the stone, and hurried over to Barkface, stopped as if catching himself for his apprentice-like mistake, and continued at a much more calm pace.

Jaysight could feel his excitement whirling around in his head as if it was his own, and immediately tried to shut it out. I don't want to be dragged into any other cat's head today, thank you, he thought. Then he wondered if he was that excited when he got his medicine cat name, but decided that it didn't matter one way or the other.

"I, Barkface, medicine cat of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice," Barkface mewed loudly, his voice echoing and vibrating against the stone and water. "He has trained hard to understand the way of a medicine cat, and with your help he will serve his Clan for many moons. Kestrelpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Kestrelpaw answered proudly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Kestrelpaw, from this moment you will be known as Kestrelwing. StarClan honors your determination and hard work." Barkface rested his muzzle on Kestrelwing's head and he in turn licked his shoulder.

"Kestrelwing, Kestrelwing!" Willowberry called. The other medicine cats joined in, including Jaysight.

As the calls ended, Barkface said, "Now let's dream with StarClan and see what they wish us to." He settled down at the edge of the Moonpool and Kestrelwing took up his own position not too far away. Jaysight touched his nose to the freezing water and instantly fell asleep.

He was standing in a familiar clearing with tall trees scraping their branches against each other, seeming to try and blot out the light of the half moon that shone down upon the mysterious forest. A patch of ferns to Jaysight's left shivered as Spottedleaf gracefully emerged into the clearing, stars glittering in her pelt.

"Hello Jaysight," Spottedleaf greeted.

"Why did ShadowClan and RiverClan attack SkyClan's camp?" Jaysight demanded, getting right to the point. Spottedleaf sat down and wrapped her tail neatly over her paws, narrowing her eyes as she did so, as if contemplating the wisdom of telling him.

"A SkyClan cat did cross over into ShadowClan's territory when he was chasing a squirrel from his territory, but it was an accident," Spottedleaf finally answered him. "Though if you were a warrior in your Clan and thought that your prey was stolen, would you not take action?"

"I wouldn't attack the camp," Jaysight argued. "Maybe a passing patrol and give a warning, but never the place where elders and kits could be living." Jaysight knew that was probably a lie, but it wasn't just any Clan, it was SkyClan. Moonpaw had told him about her Clan and he had been in her memories so much that he wouldn't want any of her Clanmates to be hurt, even if only because he knew how much it would upset her. "That doesn't explain why RiverClan attacked, either."

"RiverClan and ShadowClan were already feeling threatened to begin with, it's only natural that they should take sides and try to drive out the cats they believe to be the enemy," Spottedleaf replied patiently. "More importantly Jaysight, we need to talk about Moonpaw."

"Moonpaw?" Jaysight repeated. "What about her?"

Spottedleaf took a moment to answer, as if trying to choose her words carefully. "Jaysight, when you became a medicine cat, you knew that you couldn't be like the rest of the Clan," she said. "You wouldn't fight or be involved in Clan rivalry…or have a mate."

"Moonpaw's nothing like a mate to me!" Jaysight blurted out.

"Did I ever say she was?" Spottedleaf questioned.

"You implied it," Jaysight accused angrily. "You mentioned Moonpaw and then having a mate; you can't say this isn't what you wanted to talk about."

"Jaysight, even though it may not seem it, I know what you're going through," Spottedleaf told him gently. "I was once in love as well, though it was within ThunderClan. Trust me Jaysight; nothing good comes of going against the code that was set down for us by our ancestors."

"I told you, Moonpaw isn't like that to me!" Jaysight insisted, his fur bristling in defense. "If you're just going to accuse me of something I haven't done, then you might as well stop now."

"Jaysight," Spottedleaf said sternly. "Don't do anything you'll regret." As she said this, she started to fade with the forest, as if hidden behind a hazy reflection of water. When Jaysight blinked, his vision was gone and he was laying on the edge of the Moonpool. Sighing in frustration, he stretched out his sore limbs as the other cats groggily woke up.

"How was your dream?" Moonpaw asked curiously.

"Okay," Jaysight replied evenly, trying not to give anything away. The blood was rushing in his ears just at the thought of mating with Moonpool, but strangely…he didn't think it sounded too bad. First, he'd have to figure out how to help SkyClan's lack of herbs, though.

Jaysight and Moonpaw talked easily on the way back, and Kestrelwing and Willowberry even joined in the conversation at one point. As he walked, a plan began to form in Jaysight's mind about how he could help SkyClan. Maybe there weren't any herbs to be found on SkyClan's territory, but that didn't mean that they couldn't accept herbs from another cat offering them…