WARRIORS\ The Dark Raven\ Evil Jayfeather AU\

THE ANGRY RIVER

        Jayfeather stood from his nest, stretching his legs and opening his jaws in a long yawn. Alderheart was already sitting upright in his nest, his muscles tense beneath his thick fur.

       "What's the matter with you, Alderheart, you're never up before I am." Jayfeather grumbled, shaking the sleep from his pelt and padding over to where the younger medicine cat sat.

       "Well?" he grunted, prodding Alderheart's shoulder, "spit it out!"

       "It's Briarlight, Jayfeather, she's gotten worse." as if hearing Alderheart's response had somehow drained all of the annoyance out of his body, Jayfeather slumped to the ground, dreading the moment they would have to surrender Briarlight to Starclan.

      Briarlight struggled to sit up in her nest, the sickness overcoming her. Jayfeather choked out a few words that she couldn't hear, turning his head to gaze blindly in her direction.

       "But she's never given up, so why should we give up on her?" Jayfeather spat, his grief turning to anger, " why should we stop trying? What kind of Medicine Cats would that make us?" He demanded, fury burning hot under his pelt. Alderheart backed away, concerned for his former mentor, who was clearly in distress.

       "Jayfeather, sometimes being a good Medicine Cat means accepting when there's nothing else we can do." Alderheart mewed, wincing as Jayfeather shot him a glare through his sightless blue eyes. Cold fury pulsed through Jayfeather's veins, sending a rush of adrenaline through him. Alderheart cowered away from the older Medicine Cat in fear, wishing he would've kept his mouth shut. A low growl rose in Jayfeather's throat as he flicked his tail angrily.

       "Don't listen to him, Jayfeather, I understand you" A mysterious voice spoke, harsh yet somehow comforting, " I understand the pain of losing someone precious to you." The voice turned into a low growl, sending a chill through the blind Medicine Cat's fur.

       "Alderheart," Jayfeather started, " is there any other cat here with us?" He asked, parting his jaws to taste the air for traces of the mysterious cat.

       " No, Jayfeather, He can't hear me. I'm speaking directly to you through your thoughts." The voice spoke again, this time sounding more like a mother comforting her kit.

       "No other cat besides Briarlight" Alderheart mewed in concern, "Jayfeather are you okay? You seem a bit spacey."

       "Who are you?" Jayfeather called out to the voice in his mind, "Why are you speaking to me?"

       "You've probably heard about me before," the voice spoke again, becoming more clear that it was the voice of a she-cat, " My name is Mapleshade"

       Jayfeather froze, recognizing the name of one of Thunderclan's most feared she-cat. When he was a kit, Jayfeather had been told stories of the bloodthirsty and heartbroken she-cat, but it was different now, hearing her speak to him herself. He never truly understood the fear that the queen had over other cats, he always just saw it at a tall tale to make kits behave, but now she was here, and she was speaking to him.

       "oh, so you have heard about me! I hope it's all nice things!" The she-cat growled intimidatingly, clearly peeking into the blind medicine cat's thoughts. Jayfeather felt his gray fur stand on edge along his back, unseeing eyes wide in fear. 

       "Do not worry, Jayfeather, we are not all that different you see. Riverclan has betrayed us both." The last part of her words turned into a low snarl at the mention of Riverclan. At first, Jayfeather had been confused, but then it came back to him. A young she-cat by the name of Ravendusk had come over just a few sunrises ago for catmint, the herb needed to save Briarlight's life. "So you understand now, hm?" Mapleshade's voice spoke again, "you now understand just how selfish and cruel Riverclan is?" She spat, a low growl rising in her throat. 

       Part of Jayfeather knew that the old she-cat was delusional, but another part of him bore hatred against Riverclan for walking right into Thunderclan's camp and asking their medicine cat for the very herb keeping their clan alive. If it hadn't been for Alderheart, Jayfeather concluded, they would not have given any away at all, but he had to be so persistent about sharing. It was almost hard for him to understand how they were related by the way he acted sometimes, like his name suggests he makes decisions with his heart, not his mind. *It's no wonder he failed as a warrior and had to become a medicinal cat apprentice.* Jayfeather scowled at the thought, not even trying to stop the ghostly cat in his head from hearing everything. Every ounce of hatred in the tom began to rise up in him at the idea that if it weren't for Alderheart, Briarlight wouldn't be in such bad a condition. *You wont take her away from me, fleabag.*