» C u r š ε - - || December Missing Chapters Event?? 10/30

“Another one is here for Jadestar.”

“Alright…bring her in.”

I slowly raised my head from my nest as two shapes walked into the stony cavern that served as the leaders den. Shafts of light poured in from little cracks in the ceiling, highlighting the pelts of my deputy, Eaglecurse, and a tall, thick-haired, silver mottled she-cat who carried a small package wrapped in bright leaves.

I breathed in deeply to center myself, the air smelling heavily of moss and damp earth. A quarter moon has passed since my fall at the Gathering, and my body was still healing. A clean break to my hind leg, a few torn muscles and tendons, a fractured rib that made it painful to breathe…it could have been worse, at least that’s what Blizzardfang says. As the medicine cat he’s seen many injuries…many that had a more tragic conclusion than mine.

The she-cat brought in with her also the scent of cold misty water, birch trees, and fish. She was clearly another representative from GlacierClan…though her legs said TundraClan.

“Jadestar,” she meowed formerly, dipping her head, “My name is Tallwillow, and it is my honor to offer you this gift on behalf of GlacierClan. We wish you a quick recovery so that you may return to leading your clan with pride.”

Her mew was as thick as her pelt, and had a warm roughness to it that I instantly liked, but secretly I liked the way she towered over Eaglecurse more, her long powerful legs earning her the name she was given.

Eaglecurse could see the humor in my gaze as he too shot a glance upwards at Tallwillow from the corner of his eyes. It was clear he was feeling…inadequate.

As he had been doing sense the start, Eaglecurse inspected the package carefully before opening it to reveal a generous clump of soft looking snowy feathers.

As Eaglecurse pushed them towards me I reached a paw out to gently pat at one, fascinated by how soft it was.

“What creature do these feathers belong to, Tallwillow?” I questioned her, looking upwards with some difficulty.

She smiled, her long, squared muzzle almost reminding me of a wolf’s. “It belongs to a snowy owl, Jadestar. We have quite a few that like to nest in our birch trees.”

“How lovely, it’s a shame none of them like to nest in pine trees,” I mused, giving Eaglecurse a knowing look. “Tell Hailstar I send my gratitude, Tallwillow,” I said earnestly.

She dipped her head again, her pale hazel green eyes warming up with pride.

“Eaglecurse, please take these over to the elders den. I’m sure they would love this against their weary bones.”

Eaglecurse looked surprised and a little uncomfortable. “But…Jadestar…these were sent to you personally from GlacierClan…they were meant for you!”

I glowered at him. “Have you looked behind my nest recently, Eaglecurse?”

Flinching a little as he did so, Eaglecurse noted the growing pile of feathers stacked up against the den wall behind me, waiting to be used. More birds then I cared to count have been killed in my name.

“Oh…”

I turned to Tallwillow who was still standing as still and graceful as a frozen fern, her eyes resting steadily on mine. “Anything that I can use to make my clan happy is a gift to me,” I explained to her, “You may leave now, Tallwillow. My deputy will make sure one of my warriors escorts you safely to the border.”

Once again, she dipped her head. “Thank you, Jadestar. May StarClan light your path!”
And then she was gone with a sullen Eaglecurse in tow.

But then he came back merely seconds later.

“You should be more gracious!”

“Excuse me? I was plenty gracious! You’re the one who keeps insisting I keep all these spoils to myself! I’m not helpless you know…other cats need this stuff more than I do,” I muttered, slowly pushing against my nest with my fore-paws so that I could sit up.

Instantly Eaglecurse was at my side providing his shoulder for support.

“I agree you’re not helpless in general, but right now you are weak and injured…,” he quickly checked to make sure no one was near the den entrance, and then whispered, “You nearly lost your last life!”

I hissed and pushed him away…well, really nudged him away. I barely had the strength to sit up as it was.

“Nearly…more like I should have lost it, I mean look at me! I’m more battered and bruised than the prey on the fresh-kill pile!” I cried; my frustration building.

He gently nuzzled my ear, resting his tail across my aching shoulders. “Jadestar…you shouldn’t say such things. In all my life, through the last three leaders including you…I have never seen MountainClan, nor the other clans for that matter, show so much respect to a leader. They admire you, Jadestar. They see how much you are willing to lay down your life, all seven of your lives, and even your livelihood, for your clan. Do you know how rare that is?” He murmured.

I bowed my head, thinking of the prey, herbs, bedding, and even precious stones that have been delivered to me over the last quarter moon from the other clans and even from some of my own clan members; just little gifts…all to show that they supported me.

It was very humbling.

I simply smiled and finally gave into leaning against Eaglecurse’s shoulder, my chest tightening.

“Thank you, for your words. I needed to hear them.”

He purred softly. “You’re welcome, Jadestar.”

I became suddenly aware of how gentle and caring my deputy was towards me. Yes, I was injured, but what deputy would spend every waking moment with his downed leader? When I was first brought back to the camp he spent many nights sleeping in the den with me, watching over me like an eagle would its prey, fetching the medicine cat whenever my pain became unbearable, or if I woke suddenly from a nightmare.

Nightmares of Darkwing with the evergreen irises…of the fire surrounding his skull…how could someone so uninvolved with my family…die in such an entangled way?

Even now I could sense that protective and almost possessive edge. His body was held erect; his muscles feeling tight and tense against my left side. His tail was wound tightly around my haunches, while his muzzle was resting on my ear.

“…Eaglecurse…is there-”

“Jadestar! You have another messenger from TundraClan. He bears a gift on the Clan’s behalf!”

The voice of one of my warriors at the entrance to my den made me jump slightly, causing me to catch my breath painfully as the rib on my right side throbbed.

Eaglecurse jumped up and helped me lay back down on my moss and feather bedding before going up to fetch the visitor. He did not give a sign he had heard the beginning of my question.

He came back with a smaller, much leaner tom with short, but tough, pale, sandy fur with light brown tabby markings. In his jaws he carried a beautiful, and quite plump, bird. Its structure appeared familiar, but its colors did not. The feathers were marbled brown and reddish with a black tail and white underparts.

Instead of dipping his head he dropped the prey and crouched down like I was; his eyes, which I now noticed were two different colors; blue and amber, were dropped respectfully to mine.

“I am Runningbird, Jadestar. I am here on behalf of TundraClan to present you with our most exotic, and favorite prey,” he meowed. His voice had a slight rasp to it, and it was a bit higher pitched to match his smaller frame.

“What kind of bird is it?” I asked, feeling my stomach growling. I realized then just how selfless I had been. All of the prey I had been receiving from the other clans had been donated to the fresh-kill pile; taking nothing for myself.

My stomach did another loud snarl, and saliva pooled in my mouth.

I honestly couldn’t care if it was a maggot eater. Just tell me it’s edible!

He pushed it forward, the bird’s lovely feathers brushing against my paws temptingly. “It is a ptarmigan, one that is only found on the tundra. I believe there is another kind of mountain ptarmigan that is darker colored and lives on your territory; am I correct?”

Wait…what did he ask? Oh, yes…the ptarmigan…

I forced my eyes to meet his politely. “Yes. We like to fondly call them rock-hoppers. They are hard to catch on these perilous slopes, so we don’t see much of them on the fresh kill pile.”

He smiled, his bi-colored irises focused intently on mine…

“I hope that this will save you the trouble of catching one then,” he said with some humor, his tail-tip twitching.

Why is his tail-tip twitching? Is he annoyed, impatient? Or is it some bug?

…why am I focusing on his tail again?

“Yes, thank you, Runningbird. Please tell Falconstar that the gift is happily received,” I responded, my eyes doing battle between the ptarmigan, Runningbird’s eyes, and his twitching tail-tip.

His tail-tip won, as I noticed that he wasn’t just twitching it…it was a pattern.

His tail first kinked and wound in a small circle, and then once it completed the circle he flicked it rapidly towards the top of the circle…like his tail was trying to shake something off.

I could tell from the way his eyes bore into mine that he was trying to tell me something, but I had no idea what his tail-twitching symbol could mean.

I saw Eaglecurse start to get restless, his claws flexing into the floor of the den.

I snapped out of my transfixions, focusing solely on Runningbird as a whole.

“I will let Eaglecurse escort you out. Thank you, again.”

Runningbird stood and turned away from me before speaking; “You’re welcome. May the Realms grant you a peaceful afterlife.”

And then he and Eaglecurse were gone.

Now alone with the bird, I stared down at it, my stomach telling me one thing, while my brain was trying to tell me another.

Brain won over, and I carefully pulled the bird toward my muzzle, taking in its scent. I parted my jaw and shut my eyes, determined to catch any clue that the TundraClan warrior might have left behind.

But there was nothing…it was just a dead bird.

I must be going crazy…I mean come on…why would some random TundraClan warrior try to signal to me while delivering a gift on behalf of his clan? It must be all those poppy seeds making my brain fuzzy…easily manipulated and tricked…

Smiling and rolling my eyes, I took a generous bite of the bird…and swallowed.

The taste was exquisite. It was mouthwatering; something that you rarely got to experience in the mountains. I was very glad that I had been selfish just this once.

Eaglecurse came back to see me finishing off the bird, and he smiled, a relieved look on his face.

“Thank StarClan you’re eating!”

“Of course I am!” I teased him, tearing off a few feathers and spitting them into the air in his direction.

He shook his head, a deep laugh erupting from his broad chest. “Your mother would be horrified…”

“Ha! It’s her fault. She never taught me any she-cat like manners…”

“Jadestar? Jadestar what…”

“What? What’s wrong Eaglecurse?”

“Blizzardfang, get in here now! Jadestar has been poisoned!” He yelled, coming to my side and cradling my head with his fore-paws.

Wait…why was my head on the ground?

“Poisoned? What’s wrong with you, Eaglecurse? I’m perfectly fine…”

I realized then that my lips were moving…but hardly anything was coming out.

I was choking.

I can’t breathe!

I saw Blizzardfang dashing into the den just before a dark shadow settled over my eyes.

. . .

“Jadestar! What in Realms name are you doing here?”

“M-mother?”

I gasped, recognizing the walls of the MountainClan camp around me, but everything was leached of color…the world completely black and white. My mother’s evergreen eyes were still colored and shown out like beams from the sun.

Shadowhunter’s expression was horrified, her legs frozen in place.

“No…no it’s not your time yet!”

Confused I looked down and saw that my thick pelt was wavering in an invisible wind, just like my mothers. I could also see the ground through my paws…and all my injuries were gone.

As if I was in the Realm of the Dead…

I slowly looked back up at her.

“I…I am dead…”

She rushed up to me, her eyes fierce. “No! You’re not dead yet!”

She then turned away from me and tilted her head straight up, yowling out with more conviction than I had ever seen.

“You will let me save her!”

I took a step back, suddenly afraid as she whipped around and stalked towards me, her irises as hard as flint.

“What-what are you doing, Shadowhunter?”

“I am giving you another life.”

I hissed, swiping at her muzzle. “No! I will not let you sin against StarClan!”

“You will let me do this, Jadestar. You are not finished yet! You must break this curse!” She growled, dodging my strikes and coming within whiskers length of me.

“No! I’d rather die!” I snarled, desperate to get her away from me.

I’m not like her…I can’t live with this curse…I can’t watch more innocents die…

Her eyes glowed brighter as she pinned me to the ground, shoving her paw over my right eye.

I struggled, kicked, and screeched as she spoke the words.

“Under the witnesses of Father Earth and Mother Sky, I produce forth a shard of my soul that shall be given up as a life. May the Realms hear my command and grant Jadestar passage into the Realm of the Living!”

The words spoken were slightly different than the traditional giving of a life, but I knew that it would work regardless.

It wasn’t all warm, fuzzy, or overwhelming as the lives I had received as a leader were…no…this was cold, forceful, and sharp.

It was wrong.

“Mother…why…just let me die…”

“No. You must go on living, my dear. You must fight…”

A white light filled my vision, and she was gone.

. . .

Screams rang out around me.

“Ahhh, she’s alive!”

I awoke to the sound of my clan mates getting the shock of their lives.

I got up, surprised to find that I could stand on all four paws easily, my injuries fully healed. I looked around and saw the eyes of the entire clan on me, their pelts ruffled, their eyes wide as if they had just seen a ghost.

I realized then that I had woken up in the middle of the camp, and my body smelled strongly of scented herbs…as if my body had been put out here so that the whole clan could grieve…

“Jade…Jadestar?”

I slowly turned to see Eaglecurse and Blizzardfang standing side by side, their eyes wide and blood-shot. Eaglecurse appeared haggard, but as he watched my form come to life a spark seemed to catch fire in his amber gaze.

“You’re…you’re alive?”

I looked downwards at my body, my ginger, white, and black fur now being blown by the wind coming in through the camp, the leaves from the trees shivering. I flexed my claws into the dirt, testing the muscles, appreciating the shadows that the early night cast on me.

I looked back up at him and smiled. “Of course I am! I have seven lives remember?”

I hate lying to him…

Eaglecurse took a few steps towards me, his facial expression one of confusion.

“But…you were on your last life…weren’t you?”

I shook my head. “No. I was lying to you…” I am lying to you. “A leader should never reveal the true number of lives they have left.”

Eaglecurse’s whole body relaxed then, his head flopping downwards, his chest deflating as if he had been holding his breath, but when he looked back up at me I could see a silent message in his eyes.

I want to talk to you when this is all over.

“I thought I had lost you…and I thought I was going to have to kill that TundraClan scum…,” he growled.

Looking past him, I could see a group of my senior warriors holding down a battered and bloody tom-cat, one that I recognized as Runningbird.

“You ran him down?” I asked, walking briskly over to the group, achingly aware of the eyes glued to my back.

Eaglecurse sniffed, his eyes glazed over with rage. “Of course I did. I did it myself.”

I looked down into Runningbird’s eyes who were now staring calmly back up at me. Blood trickled from scratches in his shoulders and haunches, and a long wound ran from the right side of his eye lid to the top of his lip on the other side. He had been lucky not to lose an eye.

“You poisoned me. Why? Did Falconstar tell you to do this?”

Runningbird dropped his eyes, but I saw the horror in them before he could hide it away.

“No, Jadestar. Falconstar had nothing to do with this!”

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my head to his level, letting a warning growl slip through my throat.

“Then tell me the truth, Runningbird, and I won’t send a raiding party to TundraClan!”

He shut his eyes, his jaw clenching. “I can’t tell you the truth!”

“Why not?!” I demanded, unsheathing my claws in frustration.

He opened his eyes, and for a brief moment, they were both colored a bright, fiery, electric blue.

“Because I know something that you don’t,” he hissed.

My heart raced and my skull pounded with adrenaline.

He…he is…he knows…

I looked to my warriors, and the cats that surrounded us. “All of you, I need to speak with this TundraClan warrior privately, please.”

Eaglecurse stepped forward. “No, he tried to poison you! At least let me stay.”

The other warriors nodded, one of them speaking up. “He’s right, Jadestar. At least let Eaglecurse be in your presence…we just got you back.”

I dipped my head refusing to protest against their wishes. “Alright.”

Sooner or later…Eaglecurse will need to know about my family…now is as good of a time as any.

Once they all departed, I stood up to my full height, letting my tail swish back and forth, feeling Eaglecurse step up next to me along my shoulder, his head clearing mine. We cast an intimidating shadow across Runningbird, his body shivering slightly.

“Ok, we’re alone. And while you are telling me the truth…you might as well show me the truth as well,” I said, my curiosity eating at me.

His bi-colored irises closed at my request, and then opened again to reveal the bright electric blue gaze that seemed to burn into my evergreen.

Eaglecurse gasped, “What in Realms name-”

“It was him, Jadestar,” Runningbird whispered, his voice urgent, “I didn’t realize it at first…I was on the way here when I was attacked…I felt pain…too much pain for it to just come from a physical attack. When I woke the bird was still in the same place I had dropped it, but…I could sense his presence…I knew he had been the one. I had no idea he had poisoned it…great StarClan I was such a fool…”

I felt like my brain was going to implode.

“H-him? How do you know about-“

“I was good friends with your grandmother, Falconwing. She told me about him very early on...many moons before you were born,” he interrupted, “He is known among our kind as The Fallen Warrior.”

“Wait…our kind? Do…do you mean…”

No…it can’t be possible…the world can’t be that cruel…

Runningbird smiled gently, his electric blue eyes glowing, their light leaking into the air around us. I suddenly felt very tempted to bury my nose into his fur, to take comfort in his warmth.

I felt temptation.

“Your family is not alone, Jadestar, daughter of Shadowhunter. We are cursed, you and I.”

Eaglecurse was icy cold beside me. “Our kind? The Fallen Warrior? Cursed? He’s insane! Surely you must see that Jadestar?”

My sense of hope, the feeling of finding someone with the same struggles and questions as I…turned to ashes as I turned my head to meet Eaglecurse’s amber gaze, my eyes burning with guilt. “No. He is telling the truth, Eaglecurse…I am cursed.”

I watched as his eyes looked at me, really looked at me, boring deep into my irises.

Can you see the fire now, my friend?

The look on his face said yes. Yes he did.

I looked back at Runningbird, desperately wanting to keep him hostage if only to ask more questions, but knowing if he stayed much longer we would have a patrol of TundraClan cats bursting through our camp.

“Go back to your clan, Runningbird, and tell them that your wounds are from a fox that surprised you on the way out. And please…at the next gathering…let’s talk some more,” I murmured, pressing my nose to his fore-head.

He purred and stood, and for the first time I noticed the grey hairs on his muzzle. “Of course, Jadestar, we will talk again soon. May the Realms be kind to you...”

I nodded to a couple of warriors who came over and escorted him away. I managed to catch a glimpse of his electric blue eyes vanishing back into their bi-colored cover-ups before he left out of the camp entrance.

Eaglecurse was still frozen, his eyes watching me, observing me, and taking me in for who I truly was.

“Eaglecurse…I will understand if you don’t want to serve as my deputy anymore…I have lied to you, and I know a leader shouldn’t keep secrets from her deputy-”

“Cut it with the leader deputy fox-dung!”

I flinched, shocked to hear vile language come out of his mouth.

He marched over to me, his eyes glaring into mine with only a breaths distance between us. He growled, his paw sliding forward and pressing onto the top of my own.

“My duty is to protect, provide, and to council you. I swore to it the day you made me deputy, but I also swore it the day we met. You’re more than my leader, Jadestar, you’re my one reason for living. If you died…I would see no point in me living in this world without you,” he said with a raw conviction, his voice rough and tense.

I didn’t know what to say in response. What was he saying? That he would rather die than live without me, check. That he sees me for more than a leader, check. Then…

Does that mean…he loves me?

“Jadestar…weather you are a leader of the valley, or a cursed cat…no matter what you are…I will always support who you are. I am yours, Jadestar, now and until my last breath.”

Eaglecurse…you’re a fool.

And I love you for it.

Still terrible with my words, I instead nudged his shoulder, purring as I pulled a suddenly nervous Eaglecurse into the leaders den.

. . .

“Jadestar! Eaglecurse! Wake up, we have a situation…”

I groaned. “Go away…”

Eaglecurse chuckled, his breath smelling of pine and moss. “You’re surprisingly adorable in the morning, you know that?”

I chucked him over the head with my paw, making sure to keep my claws sheathed. “Don’t push it,” I growled playfully.

He stood, stretching, his muscles rippling. “Come on, Jadestar. We should see what it is before you dose off again,” he meowed.

I rolled my eyes. “Your fault by the way!”

He laughed, rubbing his nose against mine as I got up and walked out into the camp.

What I saw was…disturbing.

A border patrol was standing in a group, their paws caked with mud, dirt and grass. Their muzzles were also in the same state. Some of them had mud going all the way up to their bellies as if they had been digging. Their eyes appeared spooked, and a few were shaking in their fur.

The leader of the patrol just happened to be Screechcry, one of the newest warriors, though he had started to correct his hot-headedness.

His yellow eyes were filled with horror as he spoke. “We found a body half buried along the bank of the Siberian River…from all the torn up grass and manipulated dirt…we suspect he was buried alive…”

Eaglecurse instantly went into deputy mode. “Did you manage to find a scent on the body?” He demanded.

Screechcry nodded, looking at me with fear. “Y-yes…we found TundraClan scent…the one of that messenger from yesterday.”

“Oh…oh great StarClan…no…”

Why him? Why? My one and only chance to find out more about the cursed cats like me…gone…

Mother…why can’t you tell me what’s going on?!

Eaglecurse laid his tail on my spine, his presence giving me a platform to stand on.

“There was also another scent…”

“Another? Whose was it?” Eaglecurse questioned, his claws flexing in the pine needle mulch.

Screechcry gulped, his throat retracting and relaxing unevenly. “We found…Jadestar’s scent…”

My breath caught in my throat.

Eaglecurse snarled. “You dare put blame on Jadestar for Runningbird's murder?”

Screechcry quickly backed up a few paw-steps, the fur on his spine lifting. “No! I would never! I’m just telling you what we smelled was that TundraClan warrior and Jadestar…it could be a warning. Maybe whoever killed Runningbird wants to come after Jadestar! Eaglecurse, if that’s even a possibility we should-“

“No. You have done enough. Please leave us…and go grab a senior warrior.”

I turned and walked woodenly back into my den, the air smelling of pine and moss.

“Fogpelt…please make sure that body is taken to the other side of the border next to TundraClan’s side…and make sure to stage an attack so that we don’t get blamed for Runningbird’s death.”

“Yes, Eaglecurse.”