Jayfeather's Lesson

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

            “Your master? Jayfeather asked? He could sense the massive cat standing in front of him. He smelled like a combination of twoleg scent and rotting flesh. Needless to say it was not a very pleasant odor.

            “Yeah, the hairless one that feeds me. Now are you going to get out of my garden or am I going to have to remove you piece by piece?” The cat snarled.

            “We just need some herbs. We can grab what we need and your twoleg will never even know.” Jayfeather could feel the heat coming from the cat and knew before he had even finished speaking what the cat’s answer would be.

            “Out. Now!!” the cat yowled.

            They ran for the wall, and with some quick directions from Icepaw, Jayfeather leaped to the top and over it, knowing that the beast of a cat at that twoleg nest could easily fly over that wall and tear them to pieces if he wanted.

            “Let’s find a place to rest and figure out what we are going to do,” he said as he trudged away from the whole reason they went on this trip, his tail drooped and his head hung low.

            “There’s a bunch of trees up ahead,” Icepaw commented, his voice devoid of his normal enthusiasm. “We can probably find somewhere to rest there.”

            As they rooted around the trees looking for a comfortable spot to rest, Jayfeather couldn’t help to think that the two of them should be able to outsmart a kittypet, even if it was a big bully of a kittypet. Icepaw had described what the cat looked like; big, black, a scar over its one eye which couldn’t open fully, and some kind of twoleg object wrapped around its neck that had what looked like bones all over it. So big and dumb, at least that is what Jayfeather was hoping as he developed a plan.

            While they were resting and watching the sun start to set, Jayfeather told Icepaw of his plan. “We will sneak in at night. I’ll hide while you start to collect the herbs. If he is asleep, which I’m hoping the kittypet will be, we should have no problem. If he comes out you try to get him to chase you. You say he looks big but I am betting you can outrun him with all of your energy, right?”

            Icepaw was silent for a moment but replied. “Yeah, I can, if you think it is best.”

            “I think it is the only way. If you can lead him off and keep him busy long enough I can get the rest of the herbs and be gone before he gives up the chase.”

            “Alright,” was his reply. He sounded unconvinced, but Jayfeather figured he was just a little nervous. The plan was solid. It would work.

            Hours later, after a rest and a meal, the two cats slinked towards the twoleg nest in the stillness of the night. It had cooled off more than the night before but it wasn’t too cold. Still, it might have been chilled enough to keep the kittypet inside of the twoleg’s nest.

            They walked around the nest and found a low spot on the opposite side as the garden, a spot that was easier for Jayfeather to get over thankfully. Icepaw had gone back around to jump over where they had before, just in case the kittypet was watching. Better to have only one cat spotted than two.

            Once over the wall Jayfeather ducked under a bush and waited. He could scarcely hear Icepaw snipping leaves with is teeth. They had brought several large leaves with them to help carry the herbs that they needed, and hopefully Icepaw would get them filled up and out of there before being spotted.