Jayfeather's Curse

Chapter 19

I open my eyes to the kits wrestling in the middle of the barn and Jayfeather munching on a mouse beside them. When he realizes I'm awake he finishes his last bite and brings one over to me.

"Did you have a good sleep? Pretty sure you slept most of the day away," he mews and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah sure. Thanks for the mouse. Where's Patches?" I ask.

"She left early this morning after catching all these mice. She's not one for goodbyes, which makes me think that she won't return until we leave. We better start walking. If we head out now, we can probably get there in a few days," he mews and I understand his urgency.

I turn to the kits who are still rolling around the floor. "Okay, come on you two, we have a few days worth of walking and we'll finally be in the clans," I call, and they come bounding over. "We'll follow Jayfeather and hopefully end up at home."

Jayfeather heads out of the barn and we follow him for the rest of the day. Despite being completely blind, he seems to be familiar with where we are walking, so I trust him. The kits keep up with us the entire day, despite our fast pace. I can't help but think about our earliest days together, and the effort they had to put in to be able to keep up with me. They've grown so much, and I can't wait to show them to the clan.

We stop for the night in a hollow and collect moss for our nests. I've held firm on my stance of them sleeping without me, so they defeatedly curl up together while Jayfeather once sleeps with his nose to a puddle. With it being a half moon, Jayfeather said he was going to try and connect with the other medicine cats at the moonpool to get an update on the state of Thunderclan.

Once I hear him softly snoring, I make my escape. The hollow is getting too stuffy for my liking so I settle down outside under the stars. It's comforting to know that these are the same stars my littermates and friends in the clan are sleeping under. After a while I feel the presence of a cat beside me, and I turn to see a cat with stars in its blue fur sitting next to me.

"Hi Bluestar," I mew, remembering Jayfeather telling me her name in a prior story.

"Hello Lilypaw. I see you're heading back to the clans."

"Yes! We must be close, because you can reach us! What direction do we have to travel?" I ask, hoping to get a straight answer from her.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, young one. Just trust yourself and you will make it back. You have a promising future, so don't waste it by not returning. Hurry back though, because if you do not arrive in time there will be peril in the clan," she warns. "Now I must go, because it seems like we have an unwelcome visitor." And with that, she disappears as gracefully as she appeared.

I swing my head around, looking for the cat that caused her to disappear so hurriedly, but I don't see anyone. "Okay kits, come on out, I know you're there," I call, but it's not the kits that forced her departure. Our eyes meet and I feel my heart drop.

It's Stream.

Jayfeather

I hear yowls from outside and realize that Lilypaw has left the den. Fearing the worst, I burst out of the hollow and freeze. I can scent Lilypaw and... Stream.

Stream is here.

Lilypaw is happy that Stream is here.

She realizes I'm standing here and cries, "Jayfeather! Look! Stream found us! I don't have to be sad anymore!" The happiness radiating off her is so strong that I can't bear to burst her bubble, so I turn around and head back into the hollow. By this time, the kits have woken up to all the commotion.