Jayfeather's Choice

Chapter 2

Wet melting snow froze Jayfeather's paws as he looked around the mountains for prey. It was in the middle of green leaf, and the snow still hadn't melted. It had never been so cold back at the Clans. 

A familiar scent drifted into his nose. Jayfeather slowly turned around and saw a snowy, white colored rabbit. Excitement flooded through Jayfeather's heart- this would probably be the first piece of the prey the Tribe got since Fluttering Bird's death. 

He lowered his body to the ground, wincing as the watery snow grazed against his belly. He persisted. 

The soft crunching of the snow didn't seem to reach the ears of the rabbit. It was only until Jayfeather was right behind the rabbit, that it tried to run. Jayfeather unsheathed his claws and slammed his paw onto the rabbit's body, digging his claws into it's neck. Satisfied, Jayfeather picked the rabbit up and headed back towards the Tribe. 

As Jayfeather approached a cluster of pine trees, memories swirled in his mind. When he lived in ThunderClan, he would often go near the ShadowClan border to collect herbs. The smell of pines was similar to that of ShadowClan. It was one of the only memories of his Clan life that Jayfeather hopefully clung on to. 

Someday, after Half Moon dies, I'm going to go back and help them defeat the Dark Forest. 

Jayfeather was greeted by Stoneteller when he got back. 

"Lovely. A piece of rabbit that will totally feed the entire Tribe. We're leaving." 

"Um, ok. Who carries the rabbit?" 

"Carry the rabbit? We're eating it! Clear Sky and Gray Wing caught an eagle, so most of the Tribe is fed. We should give this to Misty Water and Lion's Roar- they have been stubborn enough to have not eaten any of the eagle." 

"Ok. Er- I'm gonna go look for some travelling herbs." 

"Don't stray too far!" Stoneteller called. 

Jayfeather padded back into the pine cluster, desperate to get one last whiff of refreshing scent of pines. One last whiff of home. 

He looked around for a while, finding enough daisy and burnet to last a cat for an entire moon. He went back into Stoneteller's old den and grabbed some See Sorrel and chamomile before mixing all four ingredients together. He wrapped the mixture into 6 large leaves. 

"What is that you're holding?" Gray Wing stared at the bundle of traveling herbs in Jayfeather's mouth. 

"Traveling herbs. They'll give strength. I should probably give some to the elders and Jagged Peak..." 

After providing the elders with the traveling herbs, Jayfeather had one bundle left. He thought of Stoneteller, and decided to give the last bundle to her. 

--

The path down the mountain was more miserable than Jayfeather expected. The snow was extremely melted and was knee deep. The cold water splashed everywhere whenever Jayfeather moved, chilling him to the bone. 

Finally, at sun-high, the cats found a place to rest. It was a sunny area, where the cats could dry out their fur. 

"Jayfeather, I...uh, I have something to tell you." Stoneteller mewed. 

"What is it?" Jayfeather asked. 

"I think that I'm expecting kits!"