Legacy: Infinity (Book 3)

Chapter 6: Reconnaissance

Chapter 6: Reconnaissance

A dead end.

Jay grumbled under her breath as she settled down to her evening meal. The broad mountainsides of the east were peaked in the russet hues of sunset while the mountainsides of the west were gray with shadows. The sky was taking that turn into violet twilight but still teetered with braids of gold and scarlet flaring out across the heavens.

The air too was turning crisp as the heat of the day leaked out from the rocks that the valley was built enclosed in. Jay fluffed out her fur and flattened her ears to her head as the wind whistled by. Irritation and annoyance battled within her as she crossly tore at her meal, chewing it excessively as she dug her claws into the tough grass and into the packed dirt.

When she had decided to go in search of information she had thought that it'd be easy to enough to draw a conclusion of what was going on by asking just a few cats. But she'd asked dozens and was further back then where she had started! Because now, she had no clear picture of what to do next.

Although, I do have a few names to go on. It seemed there were several prominent figures living in or near the vast valley. First, there was the best known cat, Python- and his lackeys, whose aim seemed fairly straightforward. And then a group of communal cats that lived in a cave with a vibrant cover of ivy, they were known as the Ivy cats and from the several opinions she'd heard, they were mysterious and ill-liked. However, there wasn't much information about them and, as usual, no cat knew a thing, but every cat had an opinion.

There was also a group of ruffians who had been surprisingly quiet as of lately, and Jay was willing to guess they were the cats holding the pass hostage. There was also a cat who had conflicting reports, being called, 'as sly as a snake,' a 'helpful and generous loner,' and, 'a charming folk-cat.'

Jay was convinced that the strange persona was her adversary, Ash. Proving her suspicions that he was a manipulator to some degree, true. There were rumors that he had worked with Python for a long time and rumors that he was a stranger to the mountains and did odd jobs for all the cats around the valley.

How true these rumors were, Jay couldn't say, but she had her doubts about the credibility of anything pertaining to Ash and preferred to think that she knew nothing of him. But now, as the sun went down on her first day of investigating, she couldn't help but feel disappointed with her findings as she curled up on a patch of lichen in the shelter of a briar bush.

Tomorrow, things will be better, she told herself, but she slept restfully all night long. The creaking of branches over her head and the calls of birds seemed alien to her. The moving shadows disturbed her mind from sleep and the melody of the breeze seemed melancholy as it passed over pinion and rocks.

But dawn did eventually come, calling an end to the nightly noises. Jay had managed a doze at last, but was a light sleeper if anything, and a quiet paw-step was enough to startle her awake.

The thin gray light of early morning and the damp cover of silver mist lingered among the trees, creating a blurry picture for Jay to look out upon as she peered out from under her cover. However, she knew what she had heard and after a few moments of attentive listening, she found the creature moving parallel to her amongst the greenery.

Pushing herself to her paws, she crouched down and moved silently through the tall grass, dew wetting her fur and the ground cool and soft under paw as the fresh scents of morning battled against the fickle scent she hounded upon. Jay tracked the quiet creature, narrowing her eyes as she spotted a white and gray pelt, almost blending in with the mist, but clearly outlined against a thick green holy bush.