The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 6

            Tigerstripe for a moment froze, staring at the unknown she-cat. He shuddered, wondering how long she'd been watching him. Had she just arrived? Had she been with him since however long ago he'd blacked out? He eyed her suspiciously, unsure of whether this was a she-cat to be trusted or not.
            Still, she seemed to glance at him in a generally concerned manner, as if she really did care about his health. Tigerstripe's mind suddenly darted back to Jetfur, and he glanced around, suddenly realizing he'd never answered the she-cat's question.
            "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," he quickly replied, making eye contact with the tabby. "I was looking for my..." He paused, not sure how to describe Jetfur in relationship to him. Was she an acquaintance, a partner?
            "I was looking for my friend," he decided.
            "Oh," the she-cat replied, glancing at him curiously and tilting her head. "It looked as if you were having a nightmare."
            Tigerstripe stiffened, recalling the snake's jaws crushing Jetfur as she screeched for mercy.
            The she-cat didn't seem to notice Tigerstripe's sudden spark of fear, and she continued to introduce herself. "My name is Snakepelt."
            At the word snake, Tigerstripe flinched, trying to rid the horrid creature from his mind. He instead focused on introducing himself to the tabby.
            "I'm Tigerstripe," he explained. He paused for a moment, then added, "And yes, I was having a nightmare."
            Snakepelt nodded, as if the pieces were slowly coming to her. After a few heartbeats, she quietly spoke.
            "May I show you my clan?" she wondered.
            Tigerstripe glanced at her oddly, not really sure why she had such a desire to introduce him to her clan. He didn't even know there was a clan around here. And as he thought about it, he really did need to find Jetfur. She could've been anywhere by now...
            "It's best you get checked by the medicine cat," Snakepelt further explained. "It seems like you've been through a lot as it is."
            Tigerstripe nodded, glad the she-cat was keeping her distance from his personal affairs. Not once had she asked why he'd been out here or what he was doing. He pondered, supposing that Jetfur could very well have arrived at Snakepelt's clan.
            "All right," he agreed, rising and stretching his sore muscles.
            Snakepelt nodded and motioned Tigerstripe forward. Together, they began walking out of the meadow and through the trees, raindrops hanging off the branches and leaves from the storm. As Tigerstripe wandered, he was amazed by the beauty of the forest. It seemed no lightning had struck this part of the forest.
            The chirping of birds now became audible, and the dew of the leaves glinted in the fresh sunlight. As they continued their silent journey to Snakepelt's clan, the forest began to get more and more green. Why had MoonClan never looked like this?
            As he passed by some rocks, moss filled every crevace, and vines hung from branches. There was a buzzing of insects nearby, and Tigerstripe glanced around curiously. How could this forest possibly be in the season of leaf-bare? It seemed as if it were instead green-leaf.
            As Tigerstripe swatted with his tail at insects nearby, Snakepelt did not at all seemed bothered and continued to walk happily.
            "Wow," was all Tigerstripe managed to say.
            Snakepelt must've heard his comment, but she did not reply. Instead, she came to a halt at two large leaves. She pulled them back to reveal an enormous clearing. As Tigerstripe peered through the opening of the leaves, he noticed cats padding about, meowing to each other. Kits were wrestling with each other and shouting in a loud manner while the queens watched and toms laughed hardily.
            Snakepelt glanced over at Tigerstripe, clearly noticing the amazement in his eyes.
            "Welcome to my clan," she said.
            Tigerstripe smiled, imagining himself living in this clan. Everyone seemed so joyous and happy working together in this community. There were no severe punishments, no public slaughters in the center of camp, no vigorous training so that they could later kill innocent cats. It seemed the cats all had enough to eat too, for all were in their best shape. The prey must've been evenly distributed, not only given to cats who deserved it, like in MoonClan.
            Tigerstripe followed Snakepelt slowly into the camp, unsure of what the reactions of these clan cats would be when they saw him. He hoped they hadn't heard of MoonClan, or if they had, he hoped that they would not recognize him as a MoonClan tom.
            A gray tabby kit seemed to be having a good play-fight with another tabby until it started to tumble backwards and bump into Tigerstripe's leg. She was laughing a great deal until she turned around and saw the striped tom.
            "Uh-uhm, sorry, sir," she mewed quietly, backing up a few paw-steps.
            Tigerstripe's heart shattered. Did he look that intimidating? He supposed he was one of the larger toms with strong, muscular legs and a broad chest. He really didn't seem to fit in here.
            A black and white queen gasped at Tigerstripe as if he'd done something to frighten the kit. She ran over to the kit and curled her tail protectively around the gray tabby kitten. Glaring at Tigerstripe, she picked up her daughter by the scruff and padded away.
            "What's wrong?" Tigerstripe asked.
            Snakepelt glanced at him, seemingly unphased by the whole encounter.
            "Oh, that's just Mossytail," she explained. "Don't mind her. She's very protective of her kits, that's all."
            "Oh," he replied, a bit relieved.
            "So, what clan are you from?" Snakepelt asked curiously as Tigerstripe glanced around, trying to see if perhaps Jetfur had wandered here.
            Tigerstripe felt ashamed of mentioning MoonClan, so he thus replied, "I don't want to talk about my clan."
            The tabby nodded respectively but looked a bit uncomfortable. It seemed she had noticed that they were the center of attention, as now many cats were turning heads and glancing up to stare at the both of them. A few queens seemed to be gossiping, and Tigerstripe could detect annoyance in Snakepelt.
            Trying to lighten the mood, he began to speak.
            "Well, maybe I should tell you about my clan," he decided. "It might help me find my...friend. I belonged to MoonClan, a vicious and bloodthirsty clan run by my mother, Moonstar. We worked hard to beat another clan in battle, but we failed, and the deputy ended the clan and told us to choose between becoming a clan cat somewhere else of a rogue. Jetfur joined me as a rogue, and we were heading toward my birthplace when a storm came and we became separated," he explained.
            Before Snakepelt could reply, an old gray tom stepped out of a nearby den, his fur shaggy and matted. His old and crackled meow rang across the clearing, the noise so dreadful that all of the cats fell silent. The tom looked in both directions, and once he knew there was total silence, he set his eyes intensely on Tigerstripe, causing Snakepelt to wince.
            "Who...is this?" the gray tom inquired, pointing a claw shakily at Tigerstripe.
            "Oh, I'm Tigerstripe," he explained.
            "And you are from...MoonClan, eh?" he wondered, apparently having overheard their conversation. Snakepelt was clawing at the ground nervously beside Tigerstripe, making Tigerstripe wonder if he too perhaps should be worried.
            The tom turned to Snakepelt now.
            "Snakepelt."
            "Yes?"
            "So, you have decided to bring in a complete stranger without my permission?"
            Snakepelt glanced down at her paws and then glanced back up, gulping.
            "He was alone, Graystar," she explained. "I didn't want to leave him there for the...you-know-what."
            Tigerstripe tilted his head. You-know-what?
            "I apologize, Graystar," he said to the leader. "A bad storm hit and my friend went missing. Snakepelt found me and invited me here. I can leave if you wish."
            Graystar narrowed his eyes for a few heartbeats. Finally, his shoulders relaxed, and he sighed, turning back to Snakepelt.
            "Hm. If you are sure, Snakepelt, that this cat is no danger..." Graystar paused to cough madly, and the voices of the clan members started to raise with worry. Clearly the tom had to be on his last life.
            The leader cleared his throat and finally regained the ability to speak again.
            "Then...He can-eh-stay."
            The clan yowled in disagreement, but the loudest voice out of all was Mossytail, who stepped forward angrily. She stared scornfully at Tigerstripe, then turned to her leader.
            "What about the kits?! This cat could hurt them!" she hissed.
            "Are you kidding, Mossytail?!" Snakepelt replied angrily, which surprised Tigerstripe. "Does this cat look like a threat?"
            Tigerstripe felt like he should be seen as a threat, coming from a vicious clan. Perhaps coming here was not the best idea after all.
            Mossytail bristled angrily. "I'm telling you that cat could hurt my precious kits!" She bent down, nuzzling the two kits who clung to her legs.
            "Your kits will be fine, Mossytail," Snakepelt reassured her. "It's not like they're mice with a million predators out to get them."
            The white and black she-cat unsheathed her claws, ready to lunge at the tabby.
            "ENOUGH!" Graystar shouted, standing up. "This cat can stay here for the time being. End of period. GOOD DAY!"
            And with those words, he padded back inside his den.
            "I can leave if you want," Tigerstripe spoke.
            But it seemed no one was around to hear him. After Graystar left, the other cats scattered back into their little groups. Mossytail, however, still remained where she was, shouting, "Yes, please do!"
            Snakepelt scowled and approached the she-cat. "He won't leave unless he wants to. You raising your kits so soft is going to affect their abilities, you know. They won't even want to hunt knowing a fox could be nearby."
            Mossytail rolled her eyes while Tigerstripe stepped back, unsure why these two were such bitter enemies.
            "Oh, like you would know how to raise kits!" she snarled. "You'll never have any."
            Snakepelt's eyes became filled with tears, and she stood there, motionless.
            "Don't talk about it? Well, too late!" Mossytail snapped cruelly. "You will never know what love is."
            And with that, Snakepelt froze and Mossytail padded away with her kits, leaving Snakepelt to remain in her position, tears streaming down her cheeks.
            "I better go," Tigerstripe suggested.
            Snakepelt shook her head, wiping the tears away. "It's best you see the medicine cat and at least stay here for the night. You can leave when you want, but...Just stay the night."
            Tigerstripe nodded, wondering if perhaps his time spent here would help him get any information of Jetfur. The sun was already beginning to set, and he supposed he'd have more time to investigate in the morning. For the time being, he went to the medicine cat den, where he was inspected and declared a quick recovery. Afterwards, he shared a mouse with Snakepelt, who still seemed upset, and then headed off to bed, sleeping in a spare nest.
            As Tigerstripe closed his eyes to sleep, he wondered what Mossytail and Snakepelt's argument had been about and why Snakepelt seemed so unpopular with her clanmates. His mind then filled with Jetfur again, and as he drifted off, he silently prayed to StarClan he'd find her soon.