The Beginnings (Book II)

VIII

Then

Entire weeks came and went, and Jay's prayer saw no answer. The windows grew foggy with uwashed dirt, and the streets continued to be crammed with scattered paper, abandoned cars, and half-packed suitcases.

The stars remained silent.

Jay felt his legs trembling with hunger as he ducked into an empty home. The breeze easily pierced his fur, which was thinning with hunger, and he could feel his tail-tip dragging across the rough, unkempt asphalt. The house offered him a small measure of warmth, standing strong in spite of the nighttime chill and neverending rain.

His breath billowed out in front of his jaws as he huddled in a corner of the house. The furniture was scattered, torn into pieces by rats and peppered by a thin coating of dust, and shattered plates littered the kitchen nearby. It's too dangerous to even walk in this place, Jay thought with a scowl. Would he ever be able to have kits with Red? Would it be safe for such fragile creatures to play in their own home?

The weight of leadership laid heavy on his mind. Jay had only one life to spare, and yet it seemed as though battle-hardened rogues and stray dogs lurked around every corner.

He tossed his head, shooting a scathing look towards the nearest window. A single star shone outside, peaking through the hostile clouds.

Why couldn't you answer my prayer? He narrowed his eyes. Why couldn't you give us one thing? Jealousy roiled in his belly, burning like a newborn flame. They had no leaders to receive the stars' blessing, nor any medicine cats to interpret their will. All of those things were stolen from me – and for what?

The star blinked back at him. It seemed to twitch. Was it moving?

Slowly but surely, the star inched towards the windowsill – sliding through the pitch-black sky as though it was coming down to Earth. Jay felt the fur on his shoulders bristle, as though a ghostly tail had been draped across them.

"You know..." a she-cat's voice tickled his ear fur, "...They say that every prayer can have one of three answers."

Jay should've felt scared, but he didn't – only warmth flooded through his veins. Starlight seemed to dance around his paws, drifting across the hardwood floor like a swarm of beautiful fireflies. His fur stood on end. I know this saying. "Yes, no, and wait."

"You had to wait," the she-cat mewed. Suddenly, Jay felt warm fur brushing against his flank. "Some of us don't even get that luxury."

Jay wanted to look at her, but he felt unworthy. A brown-and-white tail wrapped around him, drawing him closer.

"You can have everything that you ever wanted." A delicate tongue rasped across his ear. "You and I just have to take it."

Now

The battle had hardly ended when Stormstar and his patrol were forced from SkyClan territory. Sparrowstar had even forbidden Stonefeather, his medicine cat, from treating the wounded warriors.

Nightstar and Specklefur had left first, peeling off from the group towards ShadowClan's ominous pines; Brackenstar, Stormstar, and their patrols were left to travel in the other direction.

The trek was mostly silent. The battered warriors left a trail of blood in their wake as they trudged, defeated, through the undergrowth. Stormstar could hear his ThunderClan counterpart hissing soft curses to himself as he limped alongside him, his ears clawed to shreds and his tail bent down the middle.