JayxPoppy -Secrets- Part 10

Poppyfrost coughed twice, her delicate body shaking. Jayfeather gently nosed her with his muzzle, concerned by the heart flowing from her. Sighing, the medicine cat stood up and turned around.

Cherrypaw, his apprentice now, was standing behind him. He imagined her eyes wide with concern.

"Will she be all right?" the little she-cat asked softly.

"I don't know," Jayfeather admitted. "Her fever's gotten worse. Get me some feverfew from the storage cleft, will you?"

"Yes, Jayfeather." Cherrypaw climbed into the crack, now able to reach it on her own. There was the sound of ripping fur, and suddenly silence, proving she had made it through. Nowadays, she didn't need to yowl, "I made it!"

Jayfeather remembered her first night in his den, when she had begged him to let her sleep in the storage cleft. He purred. Even thought Cherrypaw wasn't his own daughter, he still loved her like a kit. She was Poppyfrost's kin, after all, and quite often, she reminded the gray tabby tom of her mother. Besides, she was his apprentice, and a great help in the den. He had no idea how helpful it would be to have a permanent help in his den.

The ginger she-cat squeezed out of the storage cleft again, jumping down onto the floor. She padded up to Jayfeather, dropping the feverfew at his paws. He picked it up and pushed it toward Poppyfrost.

"Eat this," he urged her. "Please. It'll help."

Poppyfrost leaned forward and grudgingly chewed on one of the feverfew stems. She let out another bout of coughing.

"Oh, Jayfeather," she whispered hoarsely. "Do you think I'll be okay? I feel so sick…"

She rolled over, her breath coming in short rasps. He took his paw and gently turned her head back toward him. He imagined her eyes being just barely open. He leaned down so he was right next to her.

"If I saved you once," he hissed, "I can save you again."

"I know you can," she wheezed, before turning over again.

Jayfeather sighed, looking at his crumpled mate. She HAD to be okay.

"You stay with Poppyfrost," he commanded his apprentice. "Try to get her to eat some more herbs. I'm gonna go see how your brother and sister are doing without her."

"Can't I come?" Cherrypaw asked. "I want to see them!"

"Maybe later," her mentor sighed. "Stay with your mother for now."

"Okay," Cherrypaw sighed.

Jayfeather padded out of the medicine cat's den, and followed the scent of milk and kits into the nursery. Lionblaze's four kits were playing right outside, and Ferncloud and Daisy were watching them nearby. A couple called a greeting to Jayfeather as he padded into the nursery.

The nursery was warm and quiet. Icecloud was curled in the back, Frondkit and Blazekit suckling serenely. Their scent soothed Jayfeather enough to make him forget his worries, if only for a heartbeat.

"Hi, Jayfeather. How's Poppyfrost's greencough?" her voice was filled with concern.

"Got a bit worse," Jayfeather admitted. "But maybe Cherrypaw will find some catmint in the storage cleft. How are the kits doing?"

"They're fine," she purred. "They're eating plenty; I didn't think they would, since it's not their mother nursing them. They DO miss her, though, and often ask me where she is. Berrynose tries to visit them as much as he can, though."

Berrynose! Jayfeather bristled slightly at the mention of the cat who thought he was the kits' father. Realizing Icecloud was still watching him, he let his fur lie flat.

Jayfeather padded up right next to the white she-cat. "How are you two coming along?" he asked the two kits cheerfully.

Frondkit stopped suckling. "How's our mother?" she squeaked. "Are you helping her?"

"I'm helping her as much as I possibly can," Jayfeather assured his daughter. "We were good friends before you two were born, you know."

"She told us." Blazekit had stopped suckling, too. 'So she's hinted at it already,' Jayfeather thought.

"Is she gonna die?" Fear flashed from Frondkit's pelt. Jayfeather was surprised such young kits thought about such things.

"Not if I can help it," Jayfeather growled. "Cherrypaw's helping me, too, and we're doing everything we can to make her better. So don't worry." He was careful not to say "your sister" when he mentioned Cherrypaw.

"I hope you've trained Cherrypaw to help her." Blazekit meowed.

"Poppyfrost is tough," he informed them. "Did she tell you that she survived greencough when she was about Cherrypaw's age? I cured her then. I think she'll make it this time."

"Make sure she does," Blazekit growled. The large ginger kit went back to suckling.

"Good luck, Jayfeather!" Frondkit was warmer toward him. "Tell her we said hi! And hope she gets better!" The gray tabby she-kit joined her brother.

Jayfeather looked up at Icecloud, sighing and shaking his head. "Looks like I've said all I can say here," he meowed. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Lionblaze's mate mewed. "Tell me if Poppyfrost gets any better!"

"I will!" he called over his shoulder, running back to the medicine cat's den.

Jayfeather stopped dead in his tracks when he got to the entrance. Uneven pawsteps were echoing around the den, too widely spaced to be Cherrypaw's. 'Poppyfrost must be hobbling around!' Sure enough, when he tasted the air, the tortoiseshell's scent was constantly changing places.

"You're walking!" he gasped. Most greencough patients were too sick to move.

"Cherrypaw forced me to eat some feverfew," she replied. "And I needed to stretch my legs a bit."

Jayfeather help happiness pulse through him. "Good job!" he praised his apprentice.

"Your kits say they miss you," he added to Poppyfrost. "They told you they want you to get better, and Blazekit COMMANDED me to heal you."

Poppyfrost laughed. "Oh, that Blazekit. He's getting more and more like his father every day, isn't he?"

Jayfeather smiled. He knew what she meant.

"Keep exercising," he told her. "I'm gonna get you some fresh-kill."

As Jayfeather padded out of the den, he had another rush of confidence. Everything was fine, thanks to his talented apprentice.

Poppyfrost was going to be okay. HE was going to be okay.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The tom's paws were shaking. SHAKING! They'd been so still earlier. He could MOVE them.

He could still hear the roar of the battle in his ears, could still feel the Shadowclan warrior's claws ripping mercilessly across his back…and then, blackness. Until now.

He blinked open his eyes. He was in a forest, the sun making soft dapples on the grass. The trees were covered in green leaves, rippling in the soft breeze. And the sky…it was as blue as his eyes.

'But it's the middle of leaf-bare!' he thought, his head spinning with puzzlement. 'Where am I?'

He slowly stood up, surprised he didn't feel any pain. He actually felt…good, like there wasn't a thing wrong with him. Not a scratch on his body.

Letting out a yowl of joy, he bolted through the forest, feeling the wind in his pelt. The sun warmed his coat, and he breathed in a long breath of the pure air. The grass was newleaf-soft underpaw, and he felt like he could run forever.

He suddenly stopped as he spotted a flash among the distant trees. He crouched down nervously in a patch of goldenrod, breathing shallowly, afraid to think he'd passed onto another cat's territory. Whoever lived in this beautiful forest probably didn't want to share it with anybody.

Yellow petals still clinging to his pelt, he inched his way out of the bush. He curled his slim body around a nearby tree, sliding behind it. A yellow-and-orange butterfly fluttered lazily by, not seeming to care where the wind took it.

"It's so beautiful here," he whispered. "What's going on?"

Pawsteps behind him. His heart pumped with fear as he dashed, quick as a hare, behind another tree. He slunk behind a poppy bush, hoping the vibrant flowers would distract his pursuer from him. At least long enough to get away.

The pawsteps came closer…and closer. He crouched lower among the poppies, ignoring a large yellow petal that drifted down onto his nose, tempting him to sneeze. He had to stay quiet, or he would blow his cover.

Finally, the other cat stepped out of the shadows. It was a slender beautiful she-cat, with well-groomed fur and slender whiskers. She looked one way, then the other. When she turned her green eyes on him, he realized who it was with a start.

He burst out of the poppy bush, and bright flowers flew everywhere, raining down on the two cats. She swept her head around to face him, and her look of surprise turned to one of pure joy, as did his.

They dashed toward one another, and almost knocked each other down with enthusiasm. The two cats rubbed their heads together, their hearts speeding up with excitement. The sun seemed to shine brighter down on them as they stood there, happiness pulsating from their paws.

"I told you someday I would find you," he purred, licking her cheek.

She rubbed her shoulder against his, before stepping closer to him. Their eyes met, blue to green.

"And I waited for you," she murmured. "Believe me, I don't regret a thing."

A mouse dashed out from under a tree root and tried to run into a patch of clovers. With an expert hunting move, she spun around and pounced on the mouse, ending its life before it could escape.

"Wow!" he breathed. "How did you do that?"

"Get this fat thing?" She snorted. "It was too slow to outrun a slug!"

He breathed in the prey's scent, feeling his mouth water.

She dropped the dead mouse and nosed it toward him. "Here. Consider it a gift from me to you." He gave her a grateful smile before plunging his teeth into the mouse. He hadn't eaten since he got here, and he WAS quite hungry.

Never had he tasted anything so fresh, so juicy. Every scrap of meat was warm and savory, and its blood was hardly bitter at all. As he finished, he looked up, licking his lips.

"Don't worry," she laughed. "There's more where that came from."
"So…what is this place?" he asked, brushing up against her. "Where's Thunderclan?"

"You can't go back to Thunderclan," she sighed. "We're far away from it now."

Fear pulsed through his body. "Am I dead?"

"Some might say so." She gave him a sad smile. "I say you've just moved…on. At least we're together now."

"That's better than I would've hoped for," he admitted.

"Nothing will tear us apart ever again," she promised, pressing her nose into his fur. "We'll walk the skies together forever."

"The skies?" he tilted his head.

"Yes," she purred. "We can watch over Thunderclan by night, and by day, we live here, where it's always greenleaf and the prey never runs out."

"It doesn't matter," he conceded. "I'm with you now, and that's all that matters."

"Come." She flicked her tail across his back. "It's time I took you to meet some of the other cats here."

They padded through the trees, side by side, tails entwined. He still felt a pit in his stomach, though. At first…he wasn't sure he should tell her, but then he decided it didn't matter. None of it mattered now.

"I still can't believe Poppyfrost lied to me!" he burst out. "I trusted her, I really did! I thought those two were my kits, a son and a daughter to be proud of. But all along she was just using me to get to HIM."

"I can't believe it either," she growled. "I completely trusted her with your affections, after we couldn't be together. I hoped with all my heart it would turn into some thing real, but…I can't believe I didn't see that other side of her."

"It's NOT your fault!" He gave her a fierce look. "It's mine. I should've known there was no cat like you in Thunderclan."

"But I told you Poppyfrost loved you!" she wailed.

"Maybe she did, at one blissful moment," he sighed. "But after she had my kits, it was too late to tell me she didn't."

"I still should have seen her intentions," she grumbled. "I walk the skies, and can see into many cats' minds. I just didn't look hard enough into that cheater's."
"Oh well!" He butted her playfully with his head. "We're together now, screw Poppyfrost! She can have six more kits with that tom friend of hers, if she wants to!"

"You're right!" She grinned at him. "None of that's important anymore. Besides, we're almost there. Once we're there, there's no turning back. Just you an' me…for always."

"Once we're where?" He looked at her questioningly, raising an eyebrow, but she was staring straight ahead.

Suddenly, she stopped, and he had to dig his claws into the soft grass to skid to a halt beside her. "We're here," she announced quietly.

He looked up for the first time, and his blue eyes grew wide with amazement. In front of them, the trees thinned, to give way to a grassy slope, barely steep at all. At the bottom of the slope was a hollow, with a starlit pool glimmering at the bottom. All around it were silver-white shapes that looked like fallen stars. As he focused his eyes, he saw they were…cats. Cats with glittering pelts, all gathered around the pool. He turned and noticed her pelt was starting to shine, too.

"This must be Starclan!" he breathed. "It's incredible! Will I get a sparkly pelt, too?" he joked.

"Of course!" she replied. "Follow—"

Before she could finish, he butted her in the shoulder. "Race ya!" he growled playfully, pelting down the slope. "Wait up!" she yowled in false annoyance before following him. Their paws echoed around the hollow as they ran, laughing, toward the place where the Starclan cats gathered.

Behind them, the breeze whispered the name of a cat who had watched over her love from the skies, guiding him all the way. A cat who had hid her pain when he took a new mate, and loved his kits like they were her own. Lastly, a cat who had waited for her love here in this greenleaf forest, and welcomed him when he came, mateless and broken, and had helped heal his broken heart. A cat who stayed through it all.

Honeyfern…