The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 41

Soaked and exhausted, Tigerstripe and Jetfur found their way into the woods up ahead and quickly found a bunch of large trees they could sleep under. Tigerstripe curled up alongside Jetfur, thrilled to have her next to him again.

He watched as tiny drops of water from the storm dripped down the leaves of the trees, and the noise slowly lulled him to sleep.

When Tigerstripe next awoke, it was morning, and the sun's rays were just beginning to shine over the forest. He turned to his side to wake Jetfur then gasped to find her gone.

"Not again!" he shouted furiously.

He quickly got up from his sleeping spot and sniffed the air, beginning to pace around.

"Jetfur! Jetfur!" he called, quickening his pace.

The she-cat ran into him, holding two squirrels.

"By StarClan, Tigerstripe! What's the big idea?" she asked, retrieving the squirrels.

"Don't do that!" Tigerstripe shouted. "I thought you were gone again."

Jetfur chuckled slightly. "I was just getting us some breakfast. I think we have a lot to catch up on."

"You bet," Tigerstripe replied.

They both took a comfortable position on the forest floor and began biting into their squirrels. Tigerstripe hadn't realized how hungry he was, and he ate his quickly. Jetfur watched him devour his meal and giggled at the sight.

"Sorry I'm not the best eater," he said.

Jetfur laughed. "I'm a bit hungry too."

"This feels so unreal," Tigerstripe pointed out. "It's been moons..."

Jetfur sighed. "I know..."

"What happened in that storm? Where did you go?" he asked.

"It's all a blur," Jetfur recalled. "I tried looking for you, but I couldn't see or hear you. I think I managed to get to the woods before I blacked out, and when I woke again, I couldn't see you anywhere."

"We must've gone in opposite directions," Tigerstripe guessed. "I found Snakepelt."

"I know of that," Jetfur said. "She seemed very unhappy with you."

"We made up," Tigerstripe promised. "I misinterpreted a prophecy that StarClan gave me. She wasn't the cat I should look out for. But she's on her way home now."

"Home? What happened?" Jetfur questioned.

Tigerstripe briefly explained Snakepelt's loss of memory and the appearance of her sister. He included his meetup with Korosu and Krait as well.

"Oh, dear! Well, I'm glad she's better. And what's this about my sister? Swampstar told me she was dead," Jetfur pointed out.

"Apparently not. And I met your mother too."

"Oh, I saw her in the forest too with Snakepelt. That was before..."

"Before what?" Tigerstripe asked.

"Swampstar and his gang found me not much later and forced me to live in SwampClan. That's why I was fighting in that battle. It was dreadful, Tigerstripe. It reminded me of MoonClan," she explained.

Tigerstripe frowned. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I never really came to any clans besides Snakepelt's. I met a lot of interesting animals though."

"Like?"

Tigerstripe went on to describe his encounter with Rain and the RiverClan cats and the wolves. Jetfur listened the whole time, her eyes widening with each new encounter.

"You should know everyone in the forest by now!" she exclaimed.

Tigerstripe laughed. "I sure did meet a lot of different animals. But it was all worth it to find you."

He watched Jetfur turn away and blush slightly. Was now a good time to admit his feelings? Did she feel the same? Or perhaps it was too early.

"It's really nice to see you again," Jetfur admitted.

"Yeah. You too," Tigerstripe responded. "It's not like I've been searching for moons."

"I'm glad we're together again. Things got tough once we got separated. I've never been that good at living on my own," she confessed.

"I thought I could be a rogue too, but I was so lonely every time I was on my own."

"So what now?" Jetfur asked. The bones of the squirrels had been wiped clean, and it seemed they were approaching the subject that had to be addressed.

"I--well, we can continue traveling to my birthplace," Tigerstripe suggested, though he wanted to speak of something else to her.

Jetfur seemed disappointed by this. "Oh, yes. I guess that's what we were doing before. I guess I was so focused on finding you."

"We don't have to travel there," Tigerstripe interrupted. "We can go somewhere different."

"No, no," Jetfur said, standing up. "That's fine. That's what we wanted."

Tigerstripe could still detect the disappointment in her voice.

"Do you not want to travel with me anymore?" he asked quietly.

"What?" Jetfur said, spinning around. "Of course not! We've searched moons for each other. Why would we quit traveling? I...just thought it'd be different, that's all."

"Different how?"

"I-I don't know," she said. There was an awkward pause before any of them spoke again.

"We should probably get going before it gets too hot," Jetfur suggested. "My fur soaks up heat like crazy."

"I figured," Tigerstripe replied. He stood up and joined her, though he still felt odd inside and felt like more needed to be said.

"Jetfur, I--"

The she-cat stopped walking and spun around to face him, her eyes more full with hope.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I...um...when you were gone," he began.

"Go on," she urged.

"Um...well, I had a lot of time to think about you and us and...I may have some feelings for you," he admitted.

Jetfur glanced at him, confused. "Like?"

"I-I love you," he admitted. "I mean, I wouldn't have gone on this journey to find you if I hadn't. And all I could think about was us getting back together and maybe starting a new life together. I--it's stupid, maybe. I don't know."

Jetfur laughed and approached him. She then nuzzled him gently.

"I love you, too," she whispered quietly.

Tigerstripe's eyes widened. "You-you do?!"

"You're one of the few cats who has treated me like I'm a decent cat," she told him. "All my life I've been bossed around and terrified of others, but you make me feel happy. You make me feel complete."

"Jetfur, will you...be my mate?" he asked.

Jetfur purred and nodded.

Tigerstripe nuzzled her once more. "Oh, you've made me the happiest tom alive!" he exclaimed. "I've dreamed about this for moons and now it's coming true. Let's go back to my birthplace. We can make a little camp of our own. Maybe kits will run around there one day."

"Now don't get too ahead of yourself," she teased. "But I like that idea very much. How about we be on our way?"

"Let's do it," he purred.

Together they padded away, looking forward to their new life together.