Songbird's Future: Founding a Foundation

Chapter Twelve

Sagestar groaned as he continued the nursery. He decided to continue to build it up to get his mind off things. He had wanted- No. He had chosen Songbird to be his mate. The signals she sent him seemed to point that she wanted him back. She even said that she.. Loved him. He shook away the thought and continued. He tilted his head. "I'm going to need brambles." He leaped down from one of the large roots and went over to the medicine den.

"Songbird! Could you help me collect some brambles?" No response. Sagestar was already annoyed as it was, but now she was ignoring him? He walked into the den, only to see Graypool sleeping in a corner.

"What? Where's Songbird?" Not wanting to wake the elder, he picked up her scent and began following it.

"She left camp. I knew it." He growled as he looked down. His paws- they were starry? He blinked and then he was in StarClan. Again, he was met by Aspenmist.

"Sagestar." She began. Sagestar lowered his ears, but was willing to listen to her.

"Songbird has her own destiny. And you have your own. Your paths were meant to cross, but you two were never meant to be anything more than friends. I'm so sorry, I understand if you have a difficult time realizing this. I talked to Songbird before, I told her of a prophecy, that she has told you. I gave her details about your destiny, but she can't tell you them." Sagestar had so many questions to ask her.

"Why not? Why can't she tell me? Why can't you tell me?" Aspenmist sighed.

"You become weak. Incapable of doing things. If you know your destiny, you will do your best to follow it, but by doing so, you could also destroy it. The past and the future are very important to us, please, Sagestar. Leave her. She has her own four paws to walk on, she doesn't need you." Sagestar felt his heart shatter.

"I understand." He meowed, though he did not understand a single word. He knew that Songbird loved him, yet they weren't meant to be? It is so star-crossed that even StarClan themselves had to step in? He hissed quietly to himself. He respected StarClan's wishes, however, and went off to collect brambles by himself.

Sagestar yawned as he reached the ThunderClan border, looking for a bramble bush. Suddenly he heard a branch snap. He turned quickly and a she-cat stood there. She was shorter than Sagestar- even shorter than Graypool. She had light brown colored fur with amber eyes. Her tail tip was white, as well as her paws. Finally, her muzzle was also white. Sagestar blinked.

"Hello?" She asked. Their eyes met a moment, before he looked away.

"Good day, I'm Sagestar." He meowed, refusing to look at her.

"Sagestar? What kind of name is that?" She asked, laughing through her sentence.

"Well, what's your name?" He asked, flustered with annoyance.

"The name's Jess." She purred.

Suddenly, something shiny caught Sagestar's eyes. A collar? It was purple, and laced with silver.

"Your a kitty-pet, Jess?" He asked. Jess looked at him.

"A kitty-pet? I'm a pet, yes! But not anymore.. My owners tried to give me away, but I didn't want to go with anyone else. However, they didn't want me anymore.." She mumbled.

"Hey Jess." Sagestar started. Jess looked at him.

"Yes?" Then, Sagestar slashed his claws through the collar. He felt the material give way at his claws. The collar hit the ground. Jess stared at him in shock.

"W-What was that for?" She stuttered.

"Here, those collars aren't good for you. I've simply done you a favor." He explained, then began gathering the brambles, being careful.

"H-Hey! Sagestar.. Do you have a home?" She asked.

"I have a home," He began. "However, our definitions of home are very different, Jess."

"I.. I don't care. Can I stay with you?" He tilted his head.

"You want to stay with me?" He asked.

"Yes, please! As long as it was cause you any trouble." Sagestar thought a moment. Jess would surely be another mouth to feed, but he shrugged it off, as he knew he needed another warrior.

"Very well, Jess. You can stay with us, however, you must be completely loyal to us, and only us." He meowed. She looked at him for a moment.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"There are many groups of cats here- Five to be exact. Were hidden, for now. There are about four of us, but if you join, that will be five. One of our she-cats our pregnant as well." He explained.

"Oh! I see." Jess said.

"How many toms are there?" She asked. Sagestar flinched.

"It's just me. The other three, or four, are she-cats." Jess blinked, but shrugged.

"Sure, I'll contribute to this group! What're we called?" She asked.

"FireClan." Sagestar meowed.

"Also- Jess. How well can you hunt? And fight?" Jess sighed.

"I've been apart of the wild for awhile now. Your scents surprised me, which is why I wanted to see who you were. I know the other groups, they are much larger than yours. Ignoring that fact, I can hunt and fight decently." She mewed.

"Alright, good." He nodded.

"For now, can you help me collect these brambles?" He asked.

"Of course." She smiled, and began to help collect them.