DISCONTINUED | Blood (Jayfeather x Reader)

17

"Ap/n, please do some training now." Graystripe said to you. You rolled over and nodded.

"'K." 

You followed your mentor out of the den.

"We could work on the front flips, you've done really well on the back ones." Graystripe said, facing you. "I'll rush forwards and try to push you over, but you're gonna front flip above me so you land behind me, got it?"

"Yeah." you readied your haunches to jump.

Graystripe bounded forwards. You sprang up and spun forward, but landing painfully on your shoulder in the dirt.

"Ouch. You good?" Graystripe nosed you to your paws.

"I'm fine." you rolled your shoulder back. You could feel the soreness healing instantly.

"Ok. Try again, don't just jump over. Flip." Graystripe advised. You secretly rolled your eyes.

You readied yourself again and leapt up and over, tail nearly touching your nose. You curled into a ball at the highest peak and then uncurled, landing unsteadily on your paws.

"Well done!" Graystripe said.

"Good work." Brambleclaw nodded. You felt startled at his presence. 

"Uh, thanks." you felt a bit dizzy and shook your head.

"We can work on this later, go eat something." Graystripe mewed. You sprinted to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a starling.

"Ap/n, I need you to go on a hunting patrol. We need prey and every cat is tired. You can pick a few warriors, but you're not leading the patrol." Brambleclaw said sternly. 

"I'm gonna eat first." you pointed out.

"Later." 

You grumbled and went to get Lionpaw.

"Hey Lionpaw, wanna go on a hunting patrol with me?" you said to the golden apprentice.

"Ok." he said. "Who else is coming?"

"I dunno, any available warrior." you shrugged and looked around.

"Can I go? I've got no training later." Hollypaw exclaimed.

"Fine, we'll go quick since I  got training later." you huffed.

"Which warrior will we take?" Lionpaw stepped forward to peek into the warriors' den.

"Let's not take a warrior." Hollypaw suggested. 

"What?! Brambleclaw'll kill us." you whispered.

"Just go." 

You, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw waited for an all clear. Once no cat was at the entrance to camp, you slipped through the hanging greens and bumped into Lionpaw's rump.

"Oh StarClan." you rubbed your nose.

"Sh, we'll just pop out, get some prey, and pop back in before sunset." Hollypaw listed off.

"Rabbit in the breeze." Lionpaw breathed.

"I'll go with Lionpaw. Ap/n, you can hunt near the darker ferns." Hollypaw ordered. You glared at her as the worry in your stomach gnawed your sides.

You crept off, the ferns in the ground brushing through your f/c fur. You crouched down and sniffed at the leaves. Your ear tips just showed above the patches of ferns.

The warm scent of mouse filled your nostrils. You slowly pawed through the short grass, your paws silently muffled.

You found the mouse under a dark patch of ferns, the leaves slightly trembling. You pounced and squashed the shaking leaves, then snapped the head back. You grabbed the brown mouse and tucked it in a thin oak.

"Easy kill." you licked your lips and went to stalk more food.

You found a sparrow and climbed a tree to kill it by launching into the sky, knocking it over to the ground, and flattening it when you landed.

"Ugh." you stood up and snatched the limp bird. You grabbed your mouse and stalked back to the meeting spot. A beam of the cold leaf-bare sun barely warmed your fur.

"What happened to them?" you groaned after waiting long minutes. "They're hunting together, shouldn't take long right?"

You sat there for twenty minutes until you came to a conclusion that something was wrong.

"StarClan help me." you murmured, running through the thicket of the forest. The stale scent trail of Hollypaw and Lionpaw was nearly gone.

You jumped over logs and splashed into small streams, slim paws scraping the dirt. The sun was starting to go down, and the sky was dimming.

You caught a strong scent of something and froze, splattering dirt over your paws. A growling noise was growing and a yelp of pain was heard. Then a splash, and now a screech.

"Hollypaw- Lionpa-!" you stopped short when you ran forward. Two cats you didn't recognize were at the river bank. You didn't notice that you ran all the way to RiverClan.

"Help please!" one of the cats on the riverbank said. The other one, easy to notice, was flailing in the water.

You peered closer at the cat and saw kit fluff. "Aren't you kits?"

"Help!" the drowning kit squealed.

You made a split second decision and jumped into the water. But you didn't know how to swim soooo...

You felt the river's current dragging you like the kit, thrashing you around and dunking you under. You pushed yourself to the surface and stuck your nose in the air, coughing. The kit was three tail-lengths away. Your paws slammed against the current and you kicked out with your back legs. You grabbed the kit roughly around the middle and chucked it to the shore, beside its buddy.

"Ah!" the soaked kit grappled onto its friend and stared, terrified at your drowning form. You got one last look at them before your eyes blurred from a wave into your face.

You struggled to stay above the surface, but powerful waves were pushing you around. Water waves into your throat and eyes, blurring. You spluttered and scrapped your claws along the muddy riverbank, until the current swallowed you. You leapt up and lost most of your energy. The current took you far away from the two kits. 

You made a giant leap and dragged yourself on the ground. You flopped onto your side and coughed heavily. Your throat burned and your eyes stung. The stray twigs and rocks that were floating in the river made little cuts on you. You heard pawsteps. Your body gave up and you closed your tired eyes, feeling as though the river's current would ruffle you forever.