Warriors: Broken

Chapter 11

⠀⠀ Darkness tugged mercilessly at the honey-colored rogue as she tumbled through the water. Her muzzle surfaced for a fraction of a second, but it wasn't long enough to get a breath of air. Jayfrost sucked murky water into her lungs as the icy claws of the river soaked through her fur and onto her skin. She surfaced again, this time long enough for her to see her old clan members. They were leaving, unable to watch her die. She wailed as the current sucked her back under, clawing desperately as she sunk. Lungs burning, the feline attempted to swim to the riverbank, but her paws were too small, and her legs were too weak. Tumbling helplessly beneath the water, everything began to grow dim. Something snagged her scruff, tugging her to the surface. Had she died? Maybe her spirit was being lifted silently into Starclan. She opened her eyes to see black paws struggling to continue their ascent. Soon the black of the paws began to spread, forcing her to close her eyes so she didn't have to watch her vision disappear. She wasn't dead yet, but she would be soon.

⠀⠀ "Jayfrost! Jayfrost!"

⠀⠀ The name echoed in her ears as her eyes slid open. She tried to reply, but ended up coughing. Water erupted from her lungs with each cough, though there was a smaller amount each time.

⠀⠀ "Jayfrost, we have to go. I think there's a group from this clan's territory coming our way." With a deep breath, she staggered to her paws. Wind whipped over the currently vacant moor, chilling the water that drenched her fur.

⠀⠀ "Where are they?" she asked, glancing at the tom. It was Jaxx that had saved her, and he seemed a bit proud of it. She figured she would be too, if she had just saved a cat from drowning by risking her own life in the process.

⠀⠀ "Just over the hill. Let's go," he mewed, more hurriedly now. Jayfrost was able to scent them as she began to pad away from where they had reached the surface of the water. She gave him a slight nod and picked up the pace, but she was still coughing and wheezing. The cats on the other side of the hill knew they were there from the beginning. Now they were just following them.

⠀⠀ "Just pretend that you don't know they're there," Jayfrost rasped as the group began to close in on them. She felt the need to run, or at least do something, but in their conditions, it'd be difficult to get away.

⠀⠀ "Who are you and why are you on Windclan territory?" a voice called out. Jayfrost and Jaxx froze. She had to think of another name, or they'd kill her. Her mind raced as the cats approached.

⠀⠀ "I'm... Cry," she murmured, "and this is Jaxx." The ebony tom shot her a look, but nodded. "I fell into the river and Jaxx went in after me. We were just about to leave..." Jayfrost had a sudden idea. "but could we join your clan? We've been living alone for moons and now that there's a murderous cat from Thunderclan, we don't want to be around her." The group of cats stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, one spoke.

⠀⠀ "We'll take you both to the camp to ask Violetstar," he mewed warily. "Follow us." They turned and padded up the hill, Jayfrost and Jaxx trudging behind them. It felt like a much longer journey than it was, and Jayfrost nearly collapsed when the reached the camp. An older tabby she cat with amber eyes padded out of a den.

⠀⠀ "Hello," she mewed casually. "Who might you two be?" The greeting was rather odd for a leader, but Jayfrost felt much more welcomed by it. Jaxx, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably. It took a moment for her to realize that he had never been around so many at once before. Maybe she should start acting more like a rogue.

⠀⠀ "Hello. I'm... Cry," she paused, noticeably shifting her weight to the other side, "and this is Jaxx. We'd like to..." her tail curled nervously around her paws, "We'd like to join your clan." Violetstar stared at her for a moment before shrugging.

⠀⠀ "I will consult Voleclaw. Please give me a moment," she mewed, turning and padding up to a black tom with a white chest and paws. His expression gradually changed from shocked, to disgusted, to accepting, and then finally to excited. The two approached them rather calmly, and Jayfrost was afraid they would be denied. However, Violetstar simply dipped her head.

⠀⠀ "Considering that Windclan is currently in need of warriors, we will be accepting you into the clan. Tonight at moonhigh, you will be receiving your warrior names. Choose wisely, as they will represent you for the rest of your life," she mewed quietly. Voleclaw nodded, his coarse fur rustling only slightly with each movement.

⠀⠀ When Jaxx and Jayfrost were left alone, the former warrior turned to him. "We need good names. Ones that sound like a clan would create," she whispered. "What should I be?" The expression on Jaxx's face quickly transitioned from concern to concentration as he studied hers, taking small mental notes of certain traits.

⠀⠀ "Lost," he murmured, "Lostcry."

⠀⠀ Jayfrost gave him a curious look. She had never thought of herself as lost, just unsure. She was unsure of what laid ahead, not looking for a clan camp, but as she continued running the name through her mind, she realized that it had a nice sound to it. Lostcry.

⠀⠀"And you'll be..." she began, trailing off as she searched her mind for a suitable name. "You'll be Zephyrwing, but I'll just call you Zephyr, because that's a fairly long name," she mewed. Jaxx chuckled and gave her a slight nod.

⠀⠀ "Cry? Jaxx?"

⠀⠀ A young apprentice trotted up to them with round eyes. His pelt was a fiery orange, with only a small white spot on the tip of his muzzle. His pale blue eyes glistened with fear, but also curiosity. The two tilted their heads towards him, realizing that it was fairly dark.

⠀⠀ "Violetstar would like to do the ceremony now, instead of waiting," he mewed. Jayfrost nodded and paused before speaking.

⠀⠀ "Alright. Where should we go?"