A Fallen Blossom (A Jayfeather x OC Story) [CURRENTLY ON HOLD]

VII

 Dawn flitted through the camp as Blossom, soon to be Blossompaw, woke up in the medicine cat den. No one else had been told about her decision, so for now she was stuck with the herbs. The moment her eyes opened, she shot up. She looked around the room and saw Jaypaw bundling up some herbs together.

"Someone's up early," He chuckled. She looked at her fur. It was matted and tangled. Mouse dung! I need to clean it for the ceremony!

The night before, Firestar had told her about how the ceremony worked between a mentor and apprentice.

"Who's going to be my mentor?" She asked Firestar. He flicked his tail, amusement in his eyes.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret. You should head to bed, so that you can wake up early for the ceremony," He had told her. She doubted that anyone would want to be her mentor.

Grooming her pelt, she heard Firestar's voice call from the Highrock. Oh no! I'm not ready!

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock!" His voice called out. Blossom could already see cats surrounding the Highrock, confusion amongst them. She heard Berrypaw's voice a bit louder than usual outside the medicine cat den.

"Am I becoming a warrior already? I knew it would happen eventually," He said pridefully. Jaypaw hissed in disgust.

"He thinks he knows everything," Jaypaw muttered under his breath. Blossom couldn't help but try to tease him.

"What? Jealous?" She purred. Jaypaw swiveled his gaze towards her, his eyes sharp.

"You did not just say that I'm jealous of that lumpy fur ball," He warned. She purred. Her smile still on her face, she nudged Jaypaw.

"I think you might want to come to this announcement," She winked. Jaypaw's eyes widened for a moment.

"You don't have anything to do with it, do you?" He asked, suspicion in his mew. She laughed.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You won't find out unless you come," She teased. Jaypaw rolled his blind eyes. Standing up, he stretched his hind legs, the scent of herbs clinging to his pelt. They both padded out of the medicine cat den, trying to listen to to the announcement, when Berrypaw stopped in front of Blossom.

"The announcement is for Clan cats only, rouge," He sneered. A long haired gray tom padded towards Berrypaw.

"Now Berrypaw, you know better than to treat outsiders like that. You were once one, weren't you?" The tom asked. Berrypaw scowled and trudged away, his claws unsheathed. Blossom turned to the gray tom.

"Thanks," She said. She didn't want to get into another argument with the cream colored tom. The gray tom gave her a small smile.

"I think," He started, "That we'll get to know each other much more," He said, trying to be ominous. Blossom caught on immediately, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Jaypaw looked between the two of them, confused.

"What are you talking about, Graystripe?" He asked, confusion twinkling in his eyes. Graystripe laughed.

"So you haven't told him? Don't worry, I won't ruin the surprise," He chuckled. Jaypaw swirled towards Blossom.

"What surprise? Blossom, what's he talking about?" Blossom remained silent, not wanting to say anything. Jaypaw gave a small growl of frustration, which made her giggle.

"Blossom," Firestar's voice carried from the Highrock. She stood up, and walked towards him. Every cats eyes were on her, even the kits. A loud thudding entered her ears. She was starting to have trouble breathing. No, not now! She unsheathed her claws and used them for balance, calming her self down enough to hear Firestar's words.

"Blossom, you have decided to join our clan, and it is time for you to become an apprentice. From this day fourth, you will be known as Blossompaw, and your mentor will be Graystripe," He stated.

A few beats of silence passed. Then she heard cheering. She turned to see Hollypaw, calling her name out. Slowly, other cats joined in, cheering out her new name. Blossompaw. She padded towards Graystripe, touched noses with him, and listed to the cheering of her name. Almost everyone was now in, save for some like Berrypaw and the long legged cat she assumed was Spiderleg. But that didn't matter. She felt at home. She was free from Frost. And that's what mattered most.

Once the ceremony was done, Jaypaw ran towards her, his blind eyes not stopping his speed.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to become an apprentice?" He asked, his gaze shining. She couldn't help but purr.

"Why? Did you want me gone so fast?" She teased, and she could feel his pelt heat up. Her ears twitched, and before Jaypaw could respond, Graystripe padded up to her.

"Let's start training at noon. But by the looks of it, you already know a lot of hunting," He praised, and her pelt felt warm with embarrassment. He walked towards the fresh kill pile, looking for the juiciest piece of prey. Blossompaw turned around and saw Hollypaw walking towards her.

"You're now an apprentice just like me!" She gushed, and Blossompaw smiled. She had new gratitude for Hollypaw since she was the first one to cheer.

"Thanks for that, by the way," She beamed, and Hollypaw flicked her black tail.

"You don't have to thank me for that, it was the least I could do for saving my life," Hollypaw smiled back. Brambleclaw padded up to the both of them, his fur fluffed out a bit. Still, Blossompaw couldn't help but think he was extremely familiar. Flashes of memory of a cat that looked like him entered her mind. Except with blue eyes. He couldn't possibly be related to...? But he looks just like him, She could feel a headache coming on, and turned around, pain pressing on her skull. Her hearing became fuzzy as pain swept over her.

"Blossompaw! Blossompaw, are you alright?" Jaypaw's voice snapped her back into reality. Her eyes opened, she didn't even realize she had closed them in the first place. She looked around to see the other cats around her, worried about her. No, she thought, the same time she said

"Yes,". Jaypaw looked unconvinced. She blinked, which caused her to have a minor headache.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," She gave a fake smile, but no other cat returned it. She sighed inwardly, causing a bit of pain in her chest.

How long can I keep going like this?