Outcast

Chapter 14

Jaypaw could feel dappled sunlight and shade on his pelt as he padded beneath the trees. Lionpaw flanked him on one side, while Hollypaw bounded ahead for a few paw steps, then returned to join her littermates. The air was full of birdsong and the rustling of leaves, and the scents of prey were sharp in the undergrowth.

The three apprentices brought up the rear of the group of traveling cats. Brambleclaw had taken the lead, with Stormfur and Brook, closely followed by Talon and Night. Just ahead of Jaypaw he could scent Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt.

“…and Tigerkit has already learned the hunter’s crouch,” Tawnypelt was meowing. “But I think Dawnkit will be the best fighter, if only she listens to what her mentor tells her once she’s apprenticed. Right now she doesn’t listen to any cat.”

“All kits can be deaf when they choose,” Squirrelflight told her. “They’ll grow into fine warriors, you’ll see.”

Kits! Jaypaw thought. Boring!

He angled his ears, trying to pick up more interesting snippets of conversation, but all he could hear was Crowfeather telling Breezepaw about the best way to catch prey in the mountains. The two WindClan cats were padding side by side a few tail-lengths from the rest; Jaypaw could feel Breezepaw’s resentment at being forced to come on the journey. I don’t think he and his father even like each other, Jaypaw decided.

“Hey, look!” Lionpaw exclaimed. “Bet you I can catch that butterfly!”

“Bet you can’t,” Hollypaw returned.

“Just watch!” Lionpaw took off in an enormous leap, then crashed back to the forest floor.

“Missed it!” Hollypaw let out a mrrow of laughter. “Told you!”

Jaypaw heard heavier paw steps in the bracken and his mother’s scent drifted over him.

“Just what do you three think you’re doing?” she scolded them. “Are you kits, let out of camp for the first time? This is a serious journey, and you need to save your strength. You’ll need it later.”

“Sorry,” Lionpaw muttered.

Jaypaw drew his lips back in the beginning of a snarl as he imagined Breezepaw’s smug expression; he knew the WindClan apprentice was listening.

If he says one word, I’ll claw his ear off!

But Breezepaw had the sense to keep his jaws shut.

Soon Jaypaw began to pick up the clean scent of water.

Stronger sunlight on his pelt told him they had left the shelter of the trees. He realized they had emerged beside the lake, and for a moment his paws itched to search for the stick with the marks Rock had made. But he couldn’t carry the stick all the way to the mountains.

I’ll have to leave it behind. But I’m not leaving you behind, Rock. When I get to the mountains, I know I’ll find you there.

“We’re near the WindClan border,” Hollypaw whispered into his ear. “We have to cross the stream.”

For a couple of heartbeats Jaypaw froze, remembering the smothering water in the tunnels. He hated getting his paws wet!

Lionpaw butted him gently in the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.

The water’s really shallow.”

Jaypaw bit back an indignant retort, though it was really himself he was angry with. Would he always have to fight this terror of drowning?

He could hear splashing as the other cats crossed the stream. Hollypaw guided him to the bank with her tail across his shoulders. Jaypaw tensed when he felt the current swirling around his paws. The stream bed shelved down until the water brushed his belly fur. He could feel Hollypaw and Lionpaw close on either side; Lionpaw murmured, “This way a bit; there’s a deeper place just there.” Then the stream grew shallower again, and Jaypaw could scramble up the bank on the other side. He halted a tail-length away and shook himself to hide his tremors of relief.

“Hey, do you mind?” Breezepaw’s unfriendly voice came from just behind him. “You’re making my fur wet!”

“Sor-ree,” Jaypaw muttered.

The cats continued along the lakeshore, across WindClan territory and past the horseplace. Jaypaw could just pick up the scent of the horseplace cats beneath the overwhelming scent of horse, but neither Smoky nor Floss appeared to greet them. He pricked his ears at distant barking and decided that the dog who lived near the horseplace was too far away to be a nuisance.

Once past the horseplace, Brambleclaw led the way uphill.

Jaypaw’s paws tingled as he realized he was setting them down on unfamiliar ground. This was the real beginning of the adventure! The scents of home were fading behind him, and a stiff breeze brought new scents to him, wild and strange. His paws faltered briefly. Stupid cat! he berated himself. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? He felt his littermates’ pelts touching his on either side, and sensed that they too were daunted by the unknown path where they had set their paws.

The ground underfoot was growing wetter and more uneven. Jaypaw brushed past a clump of reeds and heard a splash accompanied by a strong scent of frog. A moment later, one of his paws slipped on a tussock of wet grass and water surged over his hindquarters.

“Fox dung!” he spat, clawing with his forepaws to heave himself out again.

“Are you okay?” Lionpaw asked.

“Fine.” Jaypaw spoke through gritted teeth.

Just beyond his brother, he heard Talon murmur to Night, “This is crazy. Taking a blind to-be all the way to the mountains!”

“I know,” Night replied. “He’ll never keep up.”

A sharp retort bubbled up inside Jaypaw, but before he could speak he felt his mother’s tail laid firmly over his mouth. “Jaypaw will manage just fine,” she meowed. “He’s as good at tackling new territory as any cat. Have you never put a paw in the wrong place, Talon?” she added.

When the big Tribe tabby didn’t reply, she moved her tail from Jaypaw’s mouth to his shoulder. “Come this way. It’s drier over here.”

Jaypaw followed her, thankful to feel more solid ground beneath his paws. He was surprised that Breezepaw hadn’t made some sarcastic comment about his misstep. But Breezepaw was a Clan cat; maybe he felt a kind of loyalty to support any Clan cat against the Tribe.

Not that he stood up for me, Jaypaw thought sourly. That would be too much to expect.

Wind buffeted Jaypaw in the face, telling him they had reached the top of the ridge. There were so many new scents that he couldn’t begin to sort them all out.

“This is awesome!” Hollypaw gasped. “I can see the whole of the lake and all the territories from here.” She bounced up to Jaypaw and gave him a nudge with her head. “Down there is a stream with trees growing around it, where RiverClan has its camp. And beyond that is dark pine forest—that’s ShadowClan’s territory. I can even see the Gathering island, and the tree-bridge… It looks so tiny from up here!”

“Over this way are the woods where we live.” Lionpaw joined Jaypaw on his other side. “I bet we could see the hollow if we were here in leaf-bare. And then there’s open moorland where WindClan live. We can see everything!”

“WindClan look at this all the time.” Breezepaw had padded up behind them. “Our territory has loads of great views.”

Annoying furball, Jaypaw thought.

“Do you remember the first time we stood here?” Jaypaw scented Brambleclaw a little way away, with Squirrelflight, Crowfeather, and Tawnypelt.

“I’ll never forget it,” Squirrelflight replied. “It was night, and all the cats of StarClan were reflected in the lake.”

“I can’t believe how brave you were,” Night put in. “You traveled so far to find a new home, without even knowing where you were going.”

“StarClan helped us,” Squirrelflight murmured.

“And the Tribe of Endless Hunting would do the same for you,” Tawnypelt pointed out, “if the Tribe of Rushing Water ever had to leave the mountains.”

“Leave?” Night sounded alarmed. “We could never leave and nor could the spirits of our ancestors. We belong too much to the mountains.”

Jaypaw wasn’t sure she was right. If the Clan cats failed to drive out the intruders, the Tribe, and the spirits of its ancestors, might have to face a journey of their own.