Chapter Text
Prologue:
He stretches his paw forward, reaching for his reflection, but the water ripples before his toes can even make contact with it. Tiny waves disrupt the surface until he withdraws his limb.
Jay’s Wing hums thoughtfully.
He licks a paw and rubs his right ear, for there’s an odd buzzing in it now. A dull pain has begun settling behind his eyes.
He looks up and spots a small opening on the rocky wall, right above the underground river. For a moment, he can swear he sees something, or someone, sitting at the edge, watching him. A silver streak against a backdrop of darkness.
He shakes his head and dismisses it as some trick of his mind. He hasn’t been sleeping all that well lately, has he? Fallen Leaves’ trial is fast approaching and everyone is expectant of the result. A lot depends on his friend becoming a sharpclaw and officially taking the title of consort.
However, distractions cannot be borne. What he’s doing is potentially dangerous. Back when he tried to commune with the inhabitants of the Moonlake, he peered into somewhere else by mistake. From there, where nothing should exist, something in the writhing dark reached out to him. He needs to find out what it was and, most importantly, what it wants.
He returns his gaze to the underground river and begins concentrating. This place, the Cave of Trials, is normally off limits for everyone that’s not a softpaw undergoing their initiation. However, being the sovereign’s brother does open some otherwise inaccessible venues to you.
And there’s a good reason he’s come here. These waters are ancient beyond understanding and have never been touched by the light of the moon.
His paw taps the surface a few times. He follows no specific pattern, unlike what this method usually requires, because he doesn't know what he’s trying to contact. It doesn’t take long before his chest feels tight, his ears twitch as all sounds become muffled and distorted. He’s familiar with these symptoms, they let him know he’s on the right track.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Now comes the sketchy part of his plan.
If the thing could reach out and touch him from the other side, then perhaps…
He tries to be cautious, but when his forepaws take the first step into the water, they fail to meet any floor underneath and he plunges into the river with an alarmed yelp.
[--------------------]
Jay’s Wing is caught off-guard by how painful the transition is.
He’s swept by a violent current that drags him downwards. The water feels sharp and alive. It bites into his pelt, gnaws at his flesh until it’s scraping against his bones. Cold encroaches him from all sides, like a blizzard burying him in snow. He feels the tears and mucus freezing inside of him. Wild spasms wrack his muscles, climbing up his limbs, making his spine bend inwards. White flashes across his eyes and he grits his teeth so hard he’s worried they might break.
He passes out at some point, yet he remains vaguely conscious. There’s still whispers in his ears keeping him from fully slipping. As his consciousness fully returns, the pain slowly subsides.
Jay’s Wing is left shaken and panting, but forces his eyes open still, and is left awestruck with what he sees on the other side.
He's floating in a massive body of water, as vast as the sky itself. Dark blue and clean, filled with distant spots of light and undefined shapes. Akin to touching an expecting queen’s belly and feeling her kits, he feels this place teeming with life just by being here. Life of all kinds; past, existing and potential, all pulsing and squirming to the unrelenting rhythm of what he could only describe as a shared, metaphorical heartbeat.
He’s not breathing, he realizes, but his body doesn’t seem to need it.
He opens his mouth and drinks in the… ‘air’, as it were. He only tastes salt, so concentrated that it makes him wince.
His paws tingle with excitement. There's a kit-like glee that takes over him for a moment as he looks around, taking in every detail. He’s heard of this place ever since his path was chosen, but he never expected to be able to gaze upon it in life.
There are streaks of light and ripples and small currents that branch out like a tree, connecting everything, holding all together. He wonders where each leads to. Will he find other tribes at the end of those streams? Or maybe the ancestors of said tribes? He wants to explore all, to see, to understand.
He looks up and his breath catches in his throat. He can’t see the surface anymore, the cave has just… disappeared. This place just stretches upwards far, far into the distance. And in the furthest reaches, he spots a light, different from all others. It calls to him soothingly, almost sweetly. The ‘voice’, so to speak, sounds familiar to him.
His heart comes to a stop. He realizes that must be the entrance to the Moonlake, the resting place of all virtuous tribe cats! For him, who has dedicated his life to healing and divination, this is the chance of a lifetime. No living cat has ever seen the Moonlake with their very own eyes. The only information they have has been passed down for generations and who knows if it’s even accurate. He could be the first! He could be the one to make history and describe it in detail!
But he gets a hold of himself. He realizes he is being blinded by the beauty of this place and the secrets hidden therein. As incredible as this opportunity is, he just can’t afford to remain here for long. This place is not for those still tethered to a body. It was never meant to be visited by one. If he physically went to the Moonlake… would he be able to come back?
He can’t risk it.
So, tearfully, he wrenches his eyes from the light and gazes downwards.
If the Moonlake is above him, then he must head in the opposite direction. He must seek the dark. That’s where he’ll find answers.
Thus, he dives deeper into the Great Brine, in search of the murky place from whence his unwanted visitor came from.
[--------------------]
Jaypaw gave a shuddering gasp as his head broke through the surface.
He didn’t know how he’d fallen into the river, nor why he felt so sore and incredibly tired. Confusion and panic clouded his judgment, his swimming lessons slipping from his mind as he flailed wildly, trying to keep himself afloat. By some miracle, perhaps the will of StarClan, he managed to get to the rocky shore of the river. He dragged himself out, using his claws to find purchase on the rocks, and collapsed on the floor.
The effort left him panting, his remaining strength wholly spent. Eventually, the roaring in his ears subsided, his heartbeat began slowing down, the adrenaline in his blood wore of. He began shivering uncontrollably, so he curled up on instinct to conserve warmth. He opened his mouth and tried to call for help, but only a choked whimper came out.
He could tell he was slipping back into unconsciousness and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He could only pray there wouldn’t be any more dreams waiting for him. The last one… Stars above, so many lights, so many sensations. It’d been overwhelming. He just wanted to rest. Could StarClan grant him that small favor?
“You are hurt and tired, my friend”
Jaypaw felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up. There was someone in this cave with him, and they knew Jaypaw was too tired to defend himself. The hopelessness of the situation hit him hard.
He caught a glimpse of something amidst the usual darkness. It looked like a paw, fur white and ginger, but it was almost translucent, like it was made of mist. He hissed weakly at it, frankly too out of it to question how it was possible he was seeing anything at all. He tried to push himself to his paws and face this other cat, but his limbs wouldn’t answer to his orders.
“Don’t overexert yourself. You’re safe now” The unknown cat muttered.
It was a tom, Jaypaw realized. Not only that, but his voice was familiar to him. He’d heard it before, though he couldn’t remember where.
The stranger shifted and sat down next to Jaypaw. The silver tabby could feel his presence, could still see his paw, then a tail being draped over his back, but he couldn’t feel the touch of his fur against his own at all. He tried pushing into him, seeking at least a bit of warmth, but to no avail.
“Rest. When you wake up, I’ll show you the way out, just as I did for your friend”
“My friend?”
His memory was foggy, but he recalled sneaking around in ThunderClan in search of… something. He came across a large thicket, with a burrow underneath. Then there was a tunnel. He and Pouncepaw…
“Pouncepaw!”
Now he knew exactly where he was: a tunnel underneath ThunderClan territory! He and Pouncepaw came down here to hunt rabbits!
It all started to make sense. Jaypaw must have fallen into the underground river, so Pouncepaw went to get help. The cat by his side must be a ThunderClan warrior, sent by Firestar to find him.
His ears burned with shame. It's likely that Pouncepaw had been disqualified from the competition, and RiverClan shamed for cheating. He’d known this was a bad idea, it was too good to be true, but he wanted Pouncepaw to win so badly that he’d insisted they at least tried it.
He’d apologize to his boyfriend as soon as he got out of here. He’d need a good gift for that. A fat fish, some shiny pebbles, a colorful shell… anything Pouncepaw wanted.
But knowing he was safe was enough for now. Jaypaw relaxed and gave in to his exhaustion, allowing himself to be dragged into the world of dreams.