Legacy: Infinity (Book 3)

Chapter 9: Fall-Out

Chapter 9: Fall-Out

The next seven days went shockingly well for Jay and she watched them slip by quietly. Jay estimated that she was now no more than a moon from kitting and no cat could look at her slender frame without noticing the bulge in her belly. She was starting the feel the pressure, but it still wasn't her main concern.

And now she was ready, for after a bit of hard work she and Amelia had constructed a den worthy of envy. They had decided to change the location and had built the den against a felled tree trunk on the outskirts of the meadow a little closer to the sinking-sand. Weaving brambles and briars to form a dangerous exterior barrier while making the insides soft with ferns, moss, and lichen lining to keep out drafts. It was spacious, since Jay had planned it to easily accommodate six full grown cats. At the moment, it looked even bigger with only the two lone dens on either side of the circularly constructed den.

The only entrance was a small opening equidistant from both Jay's and Amelia's nest, as agreed by the two of them. The entrance was the only point where light came in, leaving the inside cool and dark even in the heat of the day. Jay still wanted to line the ground with moss, but for now cold dirt and grass sufficed as a floor.

When they had finished the work Jay had sat inside and admired their handiwork, pride warming her chest as she appreciated that there was not a single hole or draft besides the entrance. And now she wouldn't have to feel chills from unknown eyes.

That terrifying sensation had never come back, but just once had been enough to put Jay on high alert. But no amount of searching and investigating led to anything fruitful. Jay had started to keep a careful eye on Amelia, specifically when they worked together on building the den.

The black she-cat didn't seem to be as edgy as she was, but Jay had noticed Amelia looking around a bit more than usual and she wore an anxious look sometimes as evening came upon them. How odd! Two of the most dangerous she-cats the Clans had ever met, and they were scared of apparently nothing! The irony of it made Jay's blood boil.

There's something more going on here, and I'm determined to find out! Jay hissed quietly to herself, striking the ground as she scraped away the moss from the stone and clean curls. It was the evening of the seventh day since she had been overcome by chills, and just remembering her paralyzing fear angered her.

But she had been busy the last few days, building a den and warming Python's group up to her. She hadn't met the leader himself again, but she'd done little favors for his cats everyday. From helping collect moss for fresh bedding to helping fight off a hawk, she'd made sure she was there whenever they needed help.

And she hadn't had time to send Amelia into investigating it- she wanted to do it herself anyways- but the black she-cat had been assigned to learn as much as she could about the Ivy Cats. Though the reports so far were less than interesting.

"They seem to be broken up in two parts; one fights, the other hunts. I don't know how they are organized and I can't tell who the leaders are yet." "I haven't seen a cat younger than five moons outside of the cave, and those that are younger than about eight are always accompanied." "I have seen a few she-cats outside the cave, but they are always accompanied by a tom and don't seem to do much besides walk and gather herbs."

Jay was impatient with this. She didn't want to know how they survived, she wanted to know why they lived. And why Python thought they needed to be destroyed. Also, knowing their weaknesses was always a good thing.

Jay sighed, time was running out. She didn't know what Ash was doing, but she was sure he was trying to drag things on until after she had her kits and would be preoccupied before he made any moves. I also don't know how close Python is to freeing the pass. But I'm going to have to deal with it sooner or later as well.