Outcast (14 page)

Jaypaw shivered in the dawn chill.
The sharp scent of the traveling herbs wreathed around him, almost masking the scent of Leafpool as she worked beside him in the medicine cat's den. Stifling a yawn, he thought back to his dreams of the night before, full of strange scents, jagged rocks, and unfamiliar cats, and the screech of warriors meeting in battle. He had lost count of the number of times he had jerked awake, his heart pounding until he realized that he was curled up in his own nest of ferns. Nothing in the dreams made any sense to him, and he flicked his tail impatiently.
What's the point of dreaming if I don't learn anything?

Soft sounds filtered through the bramble screen as the cats in the clearing began to wake up. Jaypaw couldn't remember the hollow ever being so full, with the WindClan and ShadowClan cats as well as the visitors from the Tribe. It was just as well the night had been warm enough for some of them to sleep in the open; the WindClan cats especially were used to that. Jaypaw's claws slid out as he remembered his dismay when he discovered that Breezepaw had come along with his father.

I can't
stand
that arrogant, mange-ridden excuse for a cat!

He would never forget how useless Breezepaw had been when they were trapped underground. It was no wonder that the tunnels had been sealed up, so Jaypaw couldn't reach Rock and Fallen Leaves anymore. What could you expect when Breezepaw hadn't shown any sense or respect?

“Jaypaw, what are you daydreaming about?” Leafpool's voice broke into Jaypaw's thoughts. “You can start taking these herbs out to the cats who are leaving.”

“Don't you want to do that?” Jaypaw was surprised; the Tribe cats would probably want a medicine cat to explain to them what they were eating.

“No.” Leafpool sounded agitated. “I've got to check these herbs one more time.”

Rubbish!
Jaypaw thought.
It doesn't take all this fuss to make up a few traveling herbs.
But he just picked up the first portion of herbs and padded out into the clearing.

The scent of the herbs in his jaws made it harder to locate the cats, but after a couple of heartbeats he pinpointed a group of them just outside the warriors' den: Crowfeather, Breezepaw, Squirrelflight, and Tawnypelt.

Jaypaw padded up to them and dropped the herbs at Crowfeather's paws. “Traveling herbs,” he mewed.

“Thank you.” There was a tension about Crowfeather that Jaypaw didn't understand; it felt like more than the natural anticipation of the journey.
Who knows what goes on in the minds of those weird WindClan cats?

Returning to his den, he was tempted by the thought of
sneaking something disgusting into Breezepaw's traveling herbs. A few yarrow leaves, maybe. The first part of their journey would be around the lake on WindClan territory; if Breezepaw started being sick, they would have to leave him behind.

Or maybe he'd just delay the rest of us
. Jaypaw considered the punishment he'd receive if any cat found out what he'd done. He'd be made to stay at home, for sure. The risk wasn't worth it.

He went on dividing up the herbs. Soon the Tribe cats appeared with Stormfur and Brook and joined the others by the warriors' den.

“What's this?” Talon queried when Jaypaw put down his share of the herbs.

“Traveling herbs,” Jaypaw replied. “They'll make you stronger, and you won't feel so hungry.”

“Are you sure?” Jaypaw pictured the cave-guard prodding the herbs suspiciously with one paw. “I've never heard of anything like that.”

“Stoneteller never heard of them, either,” Night agreed. Jaypaw heard her sniffing at the little pile of leaves.

“For StarClan's sake!” he snapped. “Just eat them. We're not trying to poison you.”

“They're okay,” Stormfur meowed. Jaypaw felt the gray warrior's tail flick lightly across his muzzle. “They'll make the journey a lot easier.”

“If you're sure…” Talon's voice was still dubious, but he licked up the herbs. “They taste bitter,” he complained.

Stifling a sigh, Jaypaw carried on until he'd taken herbs to
every cat except his father.

“Where's Brambleclaw?” he asked Squirrelflight, mumbling around his mouthful of leaves.

“I think he went to talk to Firestar,” Squirrelflight replied. “I'll take those up to him, if you like.”

“No, I'll do it.” Jaypaw's fur bristled as he bounded across the camp.
I can climb up to the Highledge without falling!
He scrambled up the tumbled stones, making sure that his pelt brushed the cliff wall at every paw step. As he reached the Highledge, he heard Firestar's voice from inside the den.

“You'll be away for at least a moon, Brambleclaw. We need to decide who should be deputy while you're gone.”

Jaypaw halted outside the den, drawing close against the rock wall so that the cats inside wouldn't see him.

“Graystripe is the obvious cat to choose,” Brambleclaw answered. “He knows the deputy's duties, after all.”

Jaypaw's whiskers twitched in dismay. His father had only become Clan deputy because every cat thought that Graystripe was dead. After the gray warrior's unexpected return, some cats had thought that Brambleclaw would step down. Graystripe hadn't wanted that; he said he didn't have enough experience of the Clan's new home, and he was tired after his journey. But none of that was true anymore. If Graystripe took over as deputy now, what would happen when Brambleclaw came home? Jaypaw gritted his teeth. Couldn't his father see that he might be giving up his position in the Clan?

“Fine, if you're happy with that.” Firestar sounded relieved. “I'll tell him.”

There was movement inside the den as if the cats were rising to their paws. Quickly Jaypaw found a loose pebble and flicked it with his paw so they would think he had just arrived. Stepping into the mouth of the den he meowed, “Firestar?”

“Come in,” his leader responded.

“Are those my traveling herbs?” Brambleclaw asked. “Thanks, Jaypaw. Is every cat ready?”

“Nearly,” Jaypaw replied. “I'd better find Leafpool and see if she wants me to do anything else.”

He withdrew from the den with a quick dip of his head. As he hurried down the rocks again he tried to scent Lionpaw and Hollypaw. He wanted to tell them about Graystripe taking over as deputy while they could still talk in private. But as he reached the floor of the clearing, his littermates passed him with fresh-kill in their jaws, heading for the elders' den. Hollypaw called out, “Hi, Jaypaw,” as they went by but they were too busy to stop.

Frustrated, Jaypaw went back to his own den. Leafpool was still there, fiddling with some leaves, though all the traveling herbs had been distributed now, except for Jaypaw's own.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “Do you want me to take some herbs with me?”

“What?” Leafpool sounded surprised, as if she hadn't realized he had come back. “Oh, no—there's no point in doing that. They'd be a nuisance to carry every day, and you don't know what you'll need.”

“But I have no idea which herbs grow in the mountains,” Jaypaw objected.

Leafpool scraped the ground with one paw; she was trying to hide it, but Jaypaw could feel she was on edge for some reason. “You won't
be
in the mountains for most of the way,” she told him. “And when you get to the Tribe, Stoneteller will be able to show you the mountain herbs. You'll learn a lot from him.”

I hope so, and not just about herbs
.

“Come on, Jaypaw, don't just stand there. Eat your own herbs.” Jaypaw felt his mentor's paw brush his as she pushed the remaining herbs toward him. “Brambleclaw will want to leave soon.”

Jaypaw licked up the mouthful of herbs. “Yuck,” he muttered.

“You'll be glad of them once you get going,” Leafpool mewed sharply. “You're lucky to be going on this journey at all.”

Lucky because I'm blind and shouldn't be allowed to go?
Jaypaw thought mutinously. He said nothing, trying to swallow the last of the bitter leaves.

“You'll find the mountains fascinating,” Leafpool went on, sounding more like her normal self. “You should take the chance to learn all you can about them.”

That's just what I mean to do
, Jaypaw told himself, though he suspected he meant something different from what his mentor was suggesting. Oh, he would learn about new herbs and new ways of living, but what he really wanted to know was how the Tribe came to settle in the mountains, and how they
were connected to Rock and the ancient cats who had left their paw prints around the Moonpool. But he knew better than to say any of that to Leafpool.

“Jaypaw?” Brambleclaw's voice came from the clearing. “Are you ready?”

“Coming!” Jaypaw called back. He whisked around the bramble screen, then turned back to ask Leafpool, “Aren't you coming to say good-bye?”

Leafpool let out a long sigh. Tension was crackling off her like a storm in greenleaf. “I—I've said it already,” she murmured.

“Okay. Good-bye then.” Jaypaw knew he should leave, but something held his paws back. He found Leafpool incredibly annoying when she fussed, but he couldn't ignore her feelings of misery, even if he didn't understand them. He darted across to her and buried his nose in the fur on her shoulder. “Good-bye. I'll have lots to tell you when I get back.”

“Good-bye, Jaypaw.” Leafpool's voice quivered. He felt her tongue rasp over his ear. “Take care.”

“Jaypaw!” Brambleclaw's voice came again from the clearing.

“Gotta go,” Jaypaw meowed, dashing out past the brambles with a sigh of relief to be away from Leafpool's strange intensity. As he emerged he smelled Squirrelflight's scent and felt her pelt brush his as she slipped into the medicine cat's den to talk to her sister.

I hope she knows what's going on, because I sure don't
, Jaypaw thought.

The cats who were leaving had gathered together in the middle of the stone hollow. Jaypaw found Hollypaw and Lionpaw and bounded over to stand beside them.

“What kept you?” Hollypaw asked. “We're all waiting.”

“I'm here now,” Jaypaw retorted. “And I've got stuff to tell you two.”

The chilly air of dawn had vanished as the sun rose. Jaypaw could feel the beams slicing down through the trees, falling across his pelt. It was a perfect morning to travel: cool and clear, with warm sunshine later on.

He heard rustling from the warriors' den as several of his Clanmates emerged to see the travelers off. There was a rapid patter of paws from the apprentices' den, and Jaypaw heard Icepaw mew, “It's not fair! I want to go too.”

“Maybe your turn will come another time,” Whitewing told her kindly.

The sound of a huge yawn came close to Jaypaw's ear, and Cloudtail's scent wafted over him. “Why don't you get moving?” he mumbled. “Then every cat can get a bit more sleep.”

“No chance.” Dustpelt spoke sharply nearby. “You're coming with me and Sandstorm on the dawn patrol.”

“Mouse dung!” Cloudtail muttered.

Jaypaw picked up Firestar's scent and heard his paw steps as he padded across to join the traveling cats. Graystripe was just behind him; Jaypaw could picture the gray warrior standing at his leader's shoulder with a glow in his amber eyes.

As if he's deputy already!

“Farewell, all of you,” Firestar meowed. “May StarClan
light your path—and may you all come home safe.”

A sudden tension sprang up between the departing cats, as if Clan warriors and Tribe cats were facing one another, gathering their courage for the first paw steps of their journey. Squirrelflight had returned, slipping up to Brambleclaw's side.

“Ready?” Brambleclaw asked.

“Yes, ready,” Stormfur replied.

Jaypaw stood still and let all the scents and sounds of the stone hollow—the herbs from the den he had just left, the milky scents of the nursery and the dusty smell of the ground, the voices of his Clanmates and the rustle of wind in the trees—soak into his pelt.

What if I never come back? StarClan would have warned me, wouldn't they? Isn't that something they do, tell cats when they're going to die?

“Jaypaw!” Hollypaw's voice sounded from the thorn tunnel. “Wake up! Every cat is leaving.”

Jaypaw jumped. Dashing across the clearing, he followed his sister into the tunnel and out into the forest.

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.