The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 3

            Tigerstripe opened his eyes slowly as light blinded him. As his vision came into view, he leapt up in surprise as he found himself resting beside Jetfur. He hadn't realized how'd close they'd squeezed together during the night, and he hadn't expected to find himself situated so close to her. Yowling in surprise, he leapt up, also forgetting they had sheltered underneath a rock for the night. In surprise, he hit his head against the rock and came back down, growling to himself as his head stung.
            Jetfur's eyes immediately opened in surprise, and she slowly stood up, noticing Tigerstripe. Upon seeing him rub his head with his tail, her whiskers twitched in amusement.
            "What happened to you?" she wondered.
            "Hit my head," Tigerstripe muttered, embarrassed to have forgotten that a rock was hanging over his head.
            Jetfur giggled some more. "Was that what you were yowling about?"
            "Something like that," Tigerstripe grumbled, stepping out from underneath the rock carefully. This prompted more laughter from Jetfur, which caused Tigerstripe to grumble even more. His day hadn't gotten off to the best start.
            "Oh, come on, I'm just messing around," Jetfur assured him while Tigerstripe sat down, sulking.
            "My head hurts," he muttered.
            "I thought you were a big MoonClan cat," she teased. "And you're complaining about a little bump."
            Unfortunately, Jetfur was aware of Tigerstripe's weaknesses, his pride being one of them.
            "I am a MoonClan cat!" he growled, standing up.
            "Well, why don't you prove those MoonClan skills by finding us something to eat," Jetfur suggested. "I'm starving."
            "Fine," he agreed. Together, he and Jetfur padded through the woods, Tigerstripe's nose still lifted high in the air as he tried to trace any scent of his old home. It had been so long ago, he wondered if he could even find it. Much of his memories were filled with the recent MoonClan camp and the journey he'd made as a young kit.
            While his nose did not pick up the scent of his old home, he did catch the scent of a robin. Licking his lips and realizing how hungry he was too, he quietly poked Jetfur and pointed to the robin sitting on a nearby tree branch.
            Jetfur nodded and urged Tigerstripe to make the kill.
            Grinning, Tigerstripe knew it was now time to show off his MoonClan skills. Digging his sharp nails into the tree bark, he climbed up the tree slowly, still keeping distance from the red-breasted bird in order not to alarm it.
            Jetfur watched below, which added a bit of pressure on Tigerstripe. He knew that if he missed this catch, she'd surely laugh at him.
            Since when do I care if she laughs at me? he wondered. After all, she had been a very low-ranked member in MoonClan. He had been one of the best warriors of the clan.
            Coming up equal to the bird now, Tigerstripe leapt into the air, just as the bird caught sight of him. As it spread its wings to take flight, Tigerstripe closed his large brown paws around the bird and struck it, blood coating his claws as he killed it.
            Desperately trying to regain balance as he shook on the tree branch, he held on tightly to the bird with one claw and the bark of the branch in the other.
            "Careful!" Jetfur cried from below.
            That's odd, he thought. I would've thought she'd laugh at me.
            Now balanced once more, Tigerstripe placed the robin in his jaws and slowly inched his way back down the tree, careful not to miss a step. His feet finally touched the forest floor, and he padded to Jetfur happily with his piece of prey.
            Jetfur grinned as he set the robin down.
            "Good catch," she told him.
            "I wasn't one of the best hunters in the clan for nothing," he admitted, puffing out his chest as he boasted about his accomplishments.
            "Yeah..." Jetfur replied, glancing down at the bird. She took a small bite, and Tigerstripe paused, wondering what he had said. Perhaps discussing his accomplishments in MoonClan wasn't the best idea. After all, it was Jetfur who wanted to forget about the old days in the bloodthirsty clan.
            Falling quiet as well, Tigerstripe took a bite of the robin, his stomach slowly filling. Although it did not fill him completely, it satisfied him, and he left the rest of his share for Jetfur to eat. If she were going to embark on a long journey with him, it was important for her to keep up her strength.
            "Are you getting enough to eat?" Jetfur asked as Tigerstripe finished burying the bones of the deceased robin. They had left that part of the forest now and were continuing their expedition.
            Tigerstripe shrugged. "Not as much as I'd like, but you need to keep up your strength."
            "If you caught the prey, you should eat it," Jetfur decided.
            "What will you eat?" Tigerstripe wondered.
            The black she-cat shrugged. "Whatever I catch. How about that? We both catch for ourselves."
            "That doesn't seem fair," Tigerstripe admitted.
            "What? Do you think I'm not able to catch anything?" Jetfur asked, her green eyes stinging with annoyance.
            "What? No!" Tigerstripe argued. "I just thought..."
            "Then it's settled. We'll both hunt together, but we're responsible for catching our own prey," Jetfur explained.
            "All right," Tigerstripe sighed, still not satisfied with the decision. He didn't want Jetfur to starve, but his health was important as well.
            The woods were somewhat familiar to Tigerstripe now, and he thought back to himself as a young kit traveling through these woods with the rest of his clan. He had picked up some of the scent and was working the best he could to follow it now.
            Turning a corner, he and Jetfur approached into an even more dense part of the forest. The sunlight was nearly washed out by the multitude of trees surrounding them, trapping them in a dark environment.
            As Tigerstripe sniffed the air for the familiar scent again, he picked up an odd, yet familiar scent. He paused for a moment, Jetfur stopping behind him in confusion. Suddenly, the scent was ever so clear. He'd smelled it several times in MoonClan.
            "Fox!" he gasped, recognizing the scent.
            Without thinking, Tigerstripe leapt up the nearest tree, completely abandoning Jetfur. He dug his claws into the bark and scurried up the tree like a young kit, trying to get as far away from the fox as possible. If there was one animal he hated, it was a fox. The ginger animal had haunted him ever since he was a kit. Moonstar had often teased him about it and purposely assigned him onto patrols to drive foxes from the territory.
            What a great mother, Tigerstripe thought.
            Though he had been able to drive the fox away with other clan members, he still wasn't completely over his fear, and he stopped at a high tree branch, panting heavily.
            The fox leapt out of some nearby bushes and bared its sharp white teeth at Jetfur. The black she-cat froze, then crouched and hissed menancingly at the fox. Tigerstripe guessed she thought it would scare it off, but the fox remained, still snarling at Jetfur.
            "What am I doing?" Tigerstripe whispered, leaping back down the tree. The fox was rapidly creeping up on Jetfur now, and like a fool, Tigerstripe had left her down below with no help.
            As his feet touched the ground beside Jetfur, the she-cat turned to him angrily.
            "Um, I wasn't scared," he lied. He turned to the fox now and growled at it, unsheathing his sharp claws.
            Jetfur backed up, her claws unsheathed as well as the fox approached. As it came closer, she hid behind Tigerstripe. Apparently she was more frightened of the fox than Tigerstripe had been.
            The fox lunged just as Tigerstripe shouted, "Move to the side!"
            Tigerstripe and Jetfur quickly moved from each other, and the fox landed on the ground, disappointed. Turning its gaze on Tigerstripe, it now chose him as a target.
            It leapt towards Tigerstripe once more, though the tom quickly turned and climbed back up the tree. This action, however, was not one of cowardice, but one of strategy. The fox was completely ignoring Jetfur now and snarling at Tigerstripe as he stopped at a branch.
            The fox stood on its hind legs and clawed at the bark of the tree, growling. Catching Jetfur's eyes, Tigerstripe leapt down and landed on top of the fox, digging his claws into the fox's back.
            Jetfur, meanwhile, backed up some more and charged, plowing into the fox. Yowling in pain, the fox fell to the side as Tigerstripe leapt off. Clearly defeated, the fox limped off into the bushes, whining.
            "Yeah! Take that!" Tigerstripe yowled, his heart racing as adrenaline rushed through him. Jetfur grinned too, proud of their ability to drive off the fox together.
            "Nice work!" Tigerstripe told Jetfur, not expecting her to have thought through the plan so well.
            Jetfur smiled and glanced down at her paws. "It was nothing. Should we be off now? I don't want to run into anymore."
            "Sure, but I think we could take them," Tigerstripe admitted, beginning to walk again. As he padded alongside the she-cat, he was suddenly extremely grateful she'd come along with him. They worked well together as a team, he discovered.