Jayfeather's Curse

Chapter 12

He stands in the entrance of the den looking sightlessly at me. I scramble up and feel frozen in place with my gaze locked on him. After a few moments of surging emotions I slowly start to pad towards him. I can hear the kits and Stream slowly stand up behind me.

"Jayfeather? Is that actually you?" I whisper in awe. I put my muzzle a whisker length away from his and part my jaws to take in his scent. It is exactly the same as I remember, but also completely different. He takes a few steps backwards and cocks his head to the side, settling his burning, sightless gaze on me as if he can see. Uncomfortable under his intense gaze, I take a few more steps backwards and stand next to Stream. "Jayfeather?" I cautiously ask, and he snaps out of his state, and his eyes seem to unfocus. 

"Yes?" he answers, and I feel my heart melt. 

"How long have you been looking for me?" I hesitantly ask, hoping it hasn't been too long. 

"The night that we had the dream."

I feel my heart sink. Taking a closer look at him, though, it's very obvious. His grey fur, once sleek and smooth, is matted in places. He has small sticks and leaves caught in his fur. There is a tear in his once perfect ears.

"Come here Jayfeather. I want to introduce you to everybody," I tell him and he pads towards me. "This is Stream-"

"And he's the father of your kits," he cuts in coldly.

I look at him, taken aback. "No no. Not at all. I was gonna say that he saved me and the kits when he invited us to this cave to stay. And these are my kits, but not really. The tom is Shimmerkit and the she-cat is Willowkit. I found them when they were tiny. Now they're little naughty furballs. Isn't that right you two?" I ask them, and I can't help but giggle when I see Shimmerkit's tail thrash angrily.

"Hey! I'm not little! Besides, I can catch a whole rabbit. I have before," he boasts.

"No you didn't you fuzzbrain! It ran away because you stepped on a twig! You're just trying to show off," and with that, they are wrestling on the moss, flinging it everywhere.

"And you now can tell why I haven't found you earlier. I had to take care of these two rascals very soon after I left. Their mother was on the thunderpath and no father came for them, so I raised them from newborn kits. They are my life now, and I don't know that I would do without them," I tell him, and the kits stop wrestling. They pad over to Jayfeather and sit right in front of him.

"So, Jayfeather, I heard you're blind. What's it like not being able to see?" Shimmerkit asks him and I cringe in fear. I can only imagine how mad Jayfeather is. I take a quick glance at him, and am surprised to see no anger in his features. Even more surprising, he is chuckling. So unlike him.

"Well, as I have never had the ability to see for more than a few moments, I would say that I don't know what it's like to see. Therefore I don't know what I'm missing."

"Woah, you've been able to see before? But you're blind!" Willowkit exclaims, and stares intently at his eyes.

"Well, I can only see in my dreams, so I'm not sure if what I see is real. So I don't count it as seeing," he explains, and I know that's a lie. Through his stories he has told me that he sometimes gains vision in situations where being blind could kill him. Probably relates to him being super important or something like that.

I notice Stream sitting in the corner alone, so I leave the kits to talk to Jayfeather while I check on him. When I sit beside him he shifts further away from me.

"Hey, what's wrong? You don't seem to be having a good time," I tell him and he looks into my eyes.

"I'm fine. Go talk to Jayfeather," he orders and I am taken aback. He has never acted this way toward me or the kits.