#jayfeather au

Bad wc cosmic horror AU where a really old (yet young) and tired Jayfeather and an unknown kit (maybe baby moonpaw?) are locked on a loop where each time an eye in the sky gets closer to them.

They are in the "edge of time", a place where anything happened yet and everything happened already. Without their presence in there everycat will be forgotten and their world will stop existing (it will happen eventually but it will take a long time).

headcanons

. i like to think of him as bisexual and non-binary

. he/she/they pronouns jay is also a favorite of mine

. i LOVE platonic jaybriar they r best friends

. i do enjoy a few jayfeather ships as well but i think im a huge fan of jaycinder or jaypoppy

brightstar au info

. ok the biggest change is that in this au, jayfeather is named jayflight and gets to be a warrior

. he is trained under both longtail and brightheart so that he can get the proper accommodations

. obviously is named after his mama squirrelflight

. in this au he becomes mates w cinderheart !!  but in this au her name is brackenheart because cinderpelt aka cinderclaw doesnt die, but we’ll get to that when i draw her

. i dont think im gonna give them kits but we’ll see !

. after brightstar becomes leader he is made deputy :)

. his brightstar au design isnt really any different, but i wanted to draw him in the warrior/deputy lineart anyways

Basically, when Squirrelflight left with Leafpool when it was time for Leaf’s kits to be born, the ran into the Sister’s because they were on their birthing grounds.

Moonlight, for whatever reason, sees the little gray tabby and asks if they would leave him behind with them, despite him being a tom. She recognized his power and assumed he was meant to stay with them.

At first, Leafpool is against it because why would she leave any of her kits with these strangers, even if they helped her through the birthing process. But when they realize he’s blind, they agree because they can’t see him having a life in any of the clans. 

Note: I hate the able-ism in warriors so much, and as much as I love the Jay-becomes-a-warrior AU’s and Bright/Jay interactions, this is the excuse I’m going with because in canon, it was discussed that Jay may as well be shoved into the elders den, plus the stupid medicine cat destiny.

So Leafpool goes ahead and gives him a full name before they leave with Holly and Lion because even if he would never be with the clans, he deserved a proper name to be welcomed to starclan with when he dies. I propose the name Jayflight, Jay after a bird because Crowfeather, and -flight after Squirrelflight, and also because his destiny would take him far away from the clans.

So Jayflight grows up with the Sisters, never feeling ostracized due to his blindness because none of them care. Maybe he takes a mate when he’s old enough like the other toms do, and eventually, he’s sent away just like the other toms, maybe he even grows up with Tree.

When Jayflight leaves, he goes to explore the lands he was told not to go near, because what else would a newly independent cat do? His first stop is the mountains, he felt a calling there. 

He joins them briefly when he tells them he wants to learn all there is to learn about the world. They give him a new name (because he never told them his), and among the tribe, he becomes Jay that Flies High In the Sky. He’s given the honor of learning from the Stoneteller (When the Tribe of Endless Hunting tells Stoneteller that he must). They also tell him stories about the mass exodus of another group of cats who traveled through the mountains some time ago.

Jay leaves when the Tribe of Endless Hunting tries to convince him of his destiny. He tells them this.

“I am the Jay that Flies High In the Sky, and I go where the wind guides me, not where the stars tell me.”

And with that, he leaves with no set direction in mind, though he ends up heading towards the old forest.

He does run into a badger who spoke in riddles, she also tried to convince him of some destiny foretold long ago, but he ignores her continues on his journey, noting that she called him Jay.

A note about Jayflight’s personality. In the clans, Jayfeather always felt he had to fight against his clanmates because of his blindness, even when they already had faith in him (mostly). His entire life felt like a battle. But by being raised by the Sister’s as a free spirit, he’s a lot more easy-going, still headstrong, and snarky when cats start doubting him when they find out he’s blind (It took four moons for the Tribe to notice). 

In this AU, it took Greystripe and Millie a bit longer to find the lake, and Jayflight runs into them at Barley’s barn.

For about a week, he goes nameless until Greystripe shows up with Millie. When Greystripe asks for his name, Jay asks Greystripe how he got his name, and Greystripe explains the Clan’s naming system. Quick to pick things up, Jay asks Ravenpaw if he used to be part of a clan, but never completed his training.

Surprised, Ravenpaw affirms this, and so conversation leads into explaining everything that happened with the forest clans. The story takes a few days to tell, but the other cats have been distracted once again and forget about Jay not having a name for a while.

Before Greystripe and Millie continue on their journey to find the clans, this conversation happens.

Jay: So Greystripe, you said you were a deputy once? Which meant you could have been a leader?

Greystripe: Yes, though I doubt I would have made a very good one, why do you ask?

Jay: You asked me what my name was, tell me. What name would you have given me if you were a leader?

Greystripe: ..... Are you older than twelve moons?

Jay: Yes, I am.

Greystripe: Then you could have been a warrior by this age, I think I would have called you Silverwind. Silver for your pelt, and wind because you’re quick on your feet. A free spirit too.

Silverwind: I thank you for this name, from now until I move on, I shall be called Silverwind.

Greystripe offers to take Silverwind, Ravenpaw, and Barley with him on the journey, the latter(s) turn him down because their home is the barn, whereas Silverwind says that he’s still traveling the world. But who knows, maybe their paths will cross again.

Silverwind finds the moonstone and sleeps next to it and speaks with the Starclan cats who stayed behind. These cats know nothing of the prophecy and instead share more stories about the land’s history, dating all the way back to the stories they know about Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow.

From there, Silverwind winds up in twoleg place and stumbles across Princess and Smudge who share their own stories about their lives living with humans. They too, tell him about Firestar just as Ravenpaw and Greystripe had. Silverwind, in turn, shares his own personal stories of his travels, adventures, or jokes he’s heard in passing. They ask for his name, and he asks them to give him one. They think long and hard about it before Princess suggests Falcon, after the story of how he got a scar on his flank.

And so Falcon leaves, to explore what’s left of the torn-up territories. He finds bones in the forest, too big to be prey, so he buries them and wishes the spirit peace, whomever it once was. After that, he travels along the river and eventually finds Skyclan.

They take him in, and he chooses to study under Echosong about herbs and healing. He goes by Eaglepaw for a while, as he is an apprentice under the Medicine cat, eventually, he earns the name Eaglewhisper for the stories he tells in the dead of night to any cat who finds themselves without sleep. How Eaglewhisper manages to find time to sleep, no cat knew.

Names are sacred among clan cats, as Eaglewhisper had already learned, but he explained to Leafstar that names are sacred to him too, but in a different way. For him, a name is something he earns when he has learned as much as he can about the cats he comes to live with for a time. And every name is a gift he holds to remember them by.

So with his new name, Eaglewhisper bids them farewell, now with a goal in mind. Somehow, in every land he managed to travel to, the same name appeared in one story or another, and it was in Skyclan that Eaglewhisper learned about the Prophecy of Three.

Somehow, he was connected to this “Firestar” and had some duty to save the clans.

Whatever the case was, Eaglewhisper was going to get to the bottom of it. 

Eaglewhisper travels for a long time, not backtracking because he never moves backward, he thinks that retracing his steps is like trying to step back into the past which is pointless because you can’t go to the past, all there is the now. He finds his way to the moonpool, and not far from there he ends up in the tunnels.

By this point, The PoT arc is over, Lionblaze is Lionflower, a medicine cat who feared his own strength so much he chose to become a healer instead. Hollyleaf finds out about the Crow/Leaf thing and still does her Gathering reveal before fleeing into the tunnels. Lionflower refuses to speak with Squirrel or Leaf not because of their lies, but because of the brother that they gave away. Liobnflower laments not having his other sibling, having always felt there was a piece of him ripped away too soon.

Eaglewhisper finds the stick and goes back in time (despite thinking it impossible) and gets his name among the Ancients, Jay’s Wing. He guides them up to the mountain and explains the role of Stoneteller to Half Moon, and then wakes up to Hollyleaf snarling at him.

He had fallen asleep in her nest.

He calms her down, explaining that he’s a loner who got lost, and she offers to guide him back to the surface where it would be easier to see. He declines the offer and asks if she could show him around the tunnels instead.

Eventually, Hollyleaf loosens up enough to talk about her past, and in turn, he tells her about his travels to the faraway places. She asks him what his name is, and he explains how he’s a ‘collector’ of names, so to speak. Hollyleaf leaves it at that for a while, thinking about everything she’s learned about him, and approaches him days later with a name to call him by.

Hollyleaf: I had a brother who I left behind, and another who I never met. A long time ago, my mother gave him to some loners because he was born blind. I feel some sort of kinship with you, though I don’t understand it. May I name you after them?

Him: Of course, it would be an honor.

Hollyleaf: Then I shall call you Jayflower. Jay for my forgotten brother, and Flower for the brother who should forget me.

Jayflower: You would be a hard cat to forget, but I accept this name with respect and honor. From now until the day I must move on, I shall be Jayflower.

Jayflower tells Hollyleaf more about his travels, specifically about the name that always appeared in the stories he was told by others and how he wants to find this mysterious “Firestar” who is known throughout the lands.

To his surprise, Hollyleaf tells him that she is Firestar’s granddaughter and that they hunt and sleep beneath his territory.

Eager to finally get answers, Jayflower asks Hollyleaf if she will go with him to speak with Firestar, Hollyleaf is scared at first, not wanting to see her old clanmates after what she did, considering that she murdered a clanmate, but Jayflower convinces her that its time to put the past behind her.

Before they leave the tunnels, Jayflower thanks her again for the name but warns her that he may shed it in Thunderclan should they accept him. Having heard all of his stories and the names to go with them, Hollyleaf understands and tells him that that would be fine. Joining Thunderclan would simply be another part of his journey to be marked with a new name, and it was her honor to be able to give him a name herself.

It just so happened to be a full moon that night, there was no guard for the Hollow and everyone was fast asleep. Hollyleaaf tried to convince Jayflower that they should come back in the daylight, but he insists that now was as good a time as ever.

Note: Its around Night Whispers by now and Hollyleaf still doesn’t know that Jayflower is blind. That tidbit wasn’t important to his stories so it was never mentioned to her.

When the clan finally returns from the gathering, they’re met with quite the surprise.

Lionflower recognizes Hollyleaf and is overjoyed that he is no longer without either of his littermates, and the clan swarms around her, happy to have her back. Jayflower sits off to the side, occasionally using his powers to look through a random cat’s eyes to better understand what was going on.

Firestar approaches him quietly, not wanting to alarm the clan about the intruder in their midst.

Firestar: And who might you be? Did you come with Hollyleaf?

Jayflower: I did, yes. She and I became quite good friends in the past few moons.

Firestar: And where are you from? You carry strange scents on your pelt.

Jayflower: I am a wandering loner, I have been to many places and somehow, I always heard your name from quite a few cats in each place, Firestar.

Firestar: And how did you know that I was Firestar? I could have been any cat

Jayflower: You were the first cat to notice me, only a leader would be that aware of their surroundings during a happy occasion such as this. Leaders must be on their guard at all times, wouldn’t you agree?

Firestar: ..... You never answered my question, who are you?

Jayflower: What name would you give me?

By now, the clan has noticed Jayflower and are back on their guard, untrusting of the stranger until Hollyleaf stands resolutely beside him. The pair are welcomed to the clan by Firestar and are given nests in the medicine den to rest in, giving Lionflower time to check them for any injuries before letting them eat poppy seeds for a full night’s sleep.

The next day, Jayflower offers a deal to Firestar, he will share his stories with the clan until he has no more stories left, and after that Firestar can grant him a name should he decide to allow him to stay. Firestar agrees, but before he can start, he gets interrupted by Greystripe and Millie, calling out to Silverwind in shock.

Amused, Jayflower decides to start there, explaining how he knew Greystripe and his mate, as well as Ravenpaw and Barley (who he later ran into again while staying with Skyclan).

His stories are never in order unless the kits and apprentices ask him “What happened next?” after hearing a particularly interesting tale, but eventually, he works through them all, ending with his stories about the Sisters.

Jayflower: You see, each name I receive tells a different story. The Tribe calls me Jay, Greystripe called me Silverwind. Skyclan named me Eaglewhisper and the kittypets of the old twoleg place you knew gave me the name Falcon, in honor of one of my own stories. Hollyleaf chose to name me after her brothers, but my mothers.....

Jayflower: My mothers tell me that my birth mother named me Jayflight before I was given away. Apparently, she didn’t believe that a blind kit could survive in her world, sometimes I wish I could find her, just to prove her wrong.

The clan is in shock, not only because they never realized he was blind, but because this was Leafpool’s lost kit. The reason Leafpool was almost exiled from the clan, for abandoning a kit before to strangers outside of any of the clans.

No one in the clan wants to be the one who says it, that his mother is there, sitting three fox-lengths away from him. But he’ll learn on his own, its hard to ignore the turmoil in their thoughts.

I’m not sure what would happen after this, it’s late and I haven’t thought that far ahead. But please feel free to add on to this! I’m actually kind of proud of this