AN: In this chapter, Jaypaw hunts and then feels emo about not being able to do that in his own time. In a previous chapter Jaypaw did learn hunting, but I'm going to go back and edit that out. For plot reasons. So if you remember Jaypaw hunting...no you don't ❤

After waking, Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw found they were in the same place they'd been in before falling asleep, in the same undergrowth they'd been hiding in during The Great Battle.

"This is the final place or time you'll visit before returning to the Clans," Rock said. "You've seen how the Clans came to be and why you mustn't let it fall. But there's one more piece of history you have to see." Without checking to see they were following Rock stalked out of the undergrowth.

"How does he even know where he's going?" Lionpaw mumbled, before flashing an apologetic look at Jaypaw. "Oh, sorry! Sounds and scents. I forgot." He walked off after Rock, with Hollypaw and Jaypaw following behind.

"Oh..." Hollypaw breathed as she stared at Fourtrees. Without the battle, it looked beautiful. The four oaks towered above them, striking against the open clearing. They surrounded the great rock. Without the blood, the bodies, the chaos, and war, it seemed peaceful. The branches creaked as the wind stirred them, the leaves creating frenzied dappled light across the grass. As Jaypaw walked, his pawsteps slipped into patches of flattened grass, each a pool of scent. Fourtrees was coloured with the smell of open hills and wind, heavy, swampy smells, damp forests, and running rivers.

"We're going and visiting all the Clans; we're heading to WindClan first. This is a time where the Clans were peaceful. Borders were relaxed, and there were no skirmishes and battles." Rock's voice floated through the air. Jaypaw hurried to catch up to him.

"Borders were relaxed? So cats could go from Clan to Clan?" Hollypaw asked.

"For a short visit," Rock said. "Cats could visit friends, stay for a night or two. This was before the code was created. A better time," he snorted.

Hollypaw blinked. "It can't have been a better time. Not without the code! Our way of life depends on it; we'd be in chaos without it."

Rock let out a huff. "That's what everyone you know has regurgitated to you like a mother bird feed her chicks. You must learn to look beyond your rules and your borders, otherwise, the prophecy can never be fulfilled."

Hollypaw pinned her ears back, staring after him as he strode past her.

"The other Clans won't be able to see me, but they can see you three. Say you're from ThunderClan, they're the furthest away, so it'll be more believable that no one recognises you." Rock told them.

"Well, guys, we're at the fun part! Time to think of names." Lionpaw crowed. "I'm going by Fire Heart!"

"You can't do that," Hollypaw retorted, still looking rattled. "He exists in the future, you might mess everything up."

"Do you really think anyone's going to remember some random cat called Fireheart who was seen once and then disappeared?" Jaypaw flicked his tail.

"If he gets to be Fire Heart, then I'm going to be Black Foot," Hollypaw retorted.

Lionpaw laughed. "Hollypaw and I get named after cool cats and you get stuck with One Whisker." He swatted Jaypaw's flank with his tail.

"One Whisker will never work for Jaypaw! Choose your best whisker, I'll pluck out all the rest for you," Hollypaw added, purring.

"Are you really gonna argue that Onestar was worse than Blackstar? He was Tigerstar's deputy! He killed people," Jaypaw argued, jerking his head away. He didn't trust the other two to leave his whiskers alone. "I'm going to make up my own name. I'm... Silver Claw."

"Oh, Fate, what have you given me," Rock muttered under his breath.

As they walked, Jaypaw tuned out from the other two's banter. Rock's words began to sink in. This was the last time he would be back in the past. Soon, he would go home, back to his normal life back in the Clans. He'd go back to a world of shades of grey, digging away in the tunnels for the rest of his existence. Jaypaw stared around at the moor as he walked, trying to etch it into his memory. He'd see the moor again in his dreams, but it would never feel as real as it did to him right now. The moorland stretched out before him, a tortoiseshell pelt of tawny browns, verdant greens, and straggles of purple heather. He took in a breath of crisp, stagnant air, not yet warmed by the weak sun. A mist settled on the horizon, shrouding WindClan in a hazy cover.

"Can we hunt?" Lionpaw asked, then he gasped. "Hey, we haven't eaten in ages! The last time we ate was when we first met the ancient cats at the lake."

Hollypaw shot him a look. "We're in a dream, Lionpaw. We've gone days without eating or feeling hungry. Haven't you noticed?"

"Well...we've been busy! Besides, I always eat in my dreams." He replied.

"Of course it's a dream. Why do you think I can see?" Jaypaw said.

Lionpaw flicked an ear. "I thought it was a dream, but no one ever confirmed that, so I kept my options open."

Rock ignored them, which Jaypaw thought was probably a wise idea. They continued walking, the cat scent growing stronger. The land sloped downward into a small dip.

"You're walking into WindClan camp now." Rock walked next to them "When we go in, introduce yourself as young apprentices from ThunderClan visiting the other Clans for the first time."

Lionpaw took the lead, charging down the surrounding hill into the camp. Hollypaw followed, leaving Jaypaw and Rock to take up the rear. Sheltered from the wind, the camp was crowded, patrols being organised and cats sharing tongues out in the open. The three apprentices were noticed instantly, heads turning and ears pricking up. Jaypaw hunched down, waiting for the hisses and accusations. But none came. Several cats smiled and called out greetings.

A grey queen purred at them. "New apprentices? Welcome to WindClan."

Lionpaw nodded. "I'm Fire Heart, and this is Black Foot and Silver Claw."

"Our mentors wanted to test our tracking skills by asking us if we could find WindClan camp by ourselves," Hollypaw said.

She purred. "Well, you found it! I'm Slate," she said. She twisted her head, pointing to the fresh-kill-pile with her muzzle. "You must be hungry. Have a bite to eat!"

"Oh yeah! Thanks!" Lionpaw yelled over his shoulder, running off the fresh-kill-pile.

Hollypaw watched him go with narrowed eyes. "I bet he's after that rabbit. He always says rabbit is the prey he's looking forward to trying the most. I'm gonna steal it off him!" She sprang forward, chasing after him.

Jaypaw stayed back, twitching his tail as he watched them run through the camp.

"I take it you're the serious one in the litter," Slate remarked.

Jaypaw snorted. "It's not hard to be with those two around. A rabid fox is more serious than they are."

She stood up, arching her back in a stretch. "Well, Silver Claw, it was nice talking to you. See those cats over there? They're around your age. Go and have a chat with them."

Jaypaw loped over to Hollypaw and Lionpaw. Lionpaw had claimed victory and was eating the rabbit in ravenous gulps. Hollypaw tucked into a stonechat. He flopped down beside them, watching the Clan as they went about on their business.

Lionpaw broke the silence. "Isn't it weird? We just wandered in from outside the Clan and they welcomed us right in. If Hollypaw and I strolled into WindClan in our time, you'd have our claws out in no time."

Hollypaw looked up from her stonechat. "It isn't right. We're supposed to be four Clans. Why have four Clans if we're not separate?"

"I think that's what we're supposed to learn," Jaypaw said, still watching the apprentices.

The three of them tussled. A black and white tom held a pale grey molly down in the dirt as she writhed and squirmed to free herself. A dark grey tom pounced on the pair, landing on the back of the black and white tom, who fell down, squashing the molly.

Jaypaw jumped as an explosion of sound erupted in his ear. Lionpaw guffawed at the apprentice's antics. "No matter what time, apprentices always knows how to have fun."

"If only they knew how to be quiet," Jaypaw rolled his eyes.

Lionpaw shot him a grin before opening his mouth wider than Jaypaw thought possible. "Hey, apprentices, we're ThunderClan apprentices! Come over here!"

The three stood up, all covered in dirt. They bounded over to Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw. The black and white tom reached them first.
"Hi, I'm Black Ear. Are you guys new apprentices?"

"They've got to be. We haven't met them before and we've met the other WindClan apprentices. I'm Silver Stripe. What are you guys called?" The pale grey molly.

"I'm Fire Heart. My frie-littermates are Black Foot and Silver Claw." Lionpaw said.

"White Tail." The grey tom peered over Black Ear and Silver Stripe's shoulders. "Do you like WindClan camp?"

Hollypaw nodded. "It's very nice."

"We were just saying how cool it is that we can go and visit other Clans. Imagine if we couldn't do that and stayed within our own borders all the time. What if we were enemies all the time?" Lionpaw mused, keeping his tone light.

Jaypaw pricked his ears, curious to hear the apprentice's response.

"Be enemies all the time?" Silver Stripe questioned. "That would be horrible."

"I've heard about the Great Battle. The Clans were like that then." Black Ear shot a glance at White Tail. "I wouldn't like it if the Clans acted like that. I have so many friends in other Clans I wouldn't be able to visit or be friends with." 

"What if someone was sick and we couldn't share herbs, or give each other prey? We came from the same group of cats. We're not supposed to fight like enemies. We're different Clans, but we'll always share and help each other when possible. We will never fight again." Silver Stripe said.

"Right." Lionpaw nodded. "Black Foot here was just arguing that it would be better if we all stayed in our borders and weren't friends."

As all three apprentices turned to stare at her, Hollypaw shot Lionpaw an accusatory glare. "I only meant...well...that...we should have rules we all should follow. We're Clans, right? Not rogues! We should have something to separate us from them. We're four Clans, not one, so we should be separate in some ways. It's what StarClan would want. Us all mixing can cause problems and divided loyalities. How can we be loyal to our Clans if we can have mates from other Clans and jump from Clan to Clan."

Black Ear shook his head. "Do you have bees in your brain? StarClan told us to unite or die. We have to unite. Staying in our own borders would just make us turn on each other again."

Hollypaw gazed at him, mouth open to defend the Clan's current lifestyle. She stopped, staring down at her paws, lost in thought.

"Just imagine if we lived separately!" Silver Stripe exclaimed. "I wouldn't be able to see Morning Fire in ThunderClan or Pine Needle in ShadowClan. It would be so lonely." 

"Spotted Fur wouldn't be mates with Mud Paws. How would you ever find someone you love if you can only love people in your own Clan?" White Tail asked.

Jaypaw grunted. "You wouldn't. If cats could only take a mate in their own Clan, they'd fall in love with cats in other Clans regardless." 

Lionpaw looked at him. Soft, fluffy strands of his tail brushed over Jaypaw's boney spine. Of course, Lionpaw knew about Crowfeather and Leafpool.

"But imagine in the future if the Clans stopped being like this and they did separate. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Hollypaw ventured.

Black Ear snorted. "It would be terrible. Didn't your parents tell you about the Great Battle?"

Lionpaw's ears flattened against his skull, his head bowing. Jaypaw watched him. They knew more about the Great Battle than these three cats could ever know.

"So many cats died in that battle. And that was because the Clans were selfish. They only thought about what would benefit each individual Clan. They wouldn't share, they didn't understand each other. They stopped seeing each other as family, and that's why they fought. We're not supposed to be five different groups. There are five Clans, but we're all still Clans. Most cats came from the mountains together. We're supposed to be five branches of the same tree, not five different trees," White Tail purred.

After his words, the group all fell silent. How could any of them argue with that? They'd seen the ancient cats leave the lake for the mountains, then the mountains for the forest. And now they'd come back to the lake in Jaypaw's time. If one thing was clear, it was that the Clans had to stay together. Jaypaw raised his eyes to Hollypaw. She looked calm, but her tail tip flicked.

Silver Stripe sprung to her paws, eyes sparkling. "That's enough talking. Do you ThunderClan cats want to run around on the moors like a WindClan cat for a while?"

Lionpaw looked at her. "We can chase rabbits?"

She nodded. The six of them headed out, spending the day galloping over the moors, chasing rabbits, and racing each other. With the five of them at his side, Jaypaw felt like this was the life he was supposed to have led. Happy, free. No restrictions from his blindness. No one telling him he couldn't hunt, no one telling him what he could or couldn't do. He didn't have to worry about where he put his paws, what direction he was going in. No more careful scenting and listening. With sight, everything was easy. 

"Look, ThunderClanners, a rabbit! Wanna try catching it?" Black Ear whispered, eyes trained on a rabbit feeding on the grass seeds.

Lionpaw opened his mouth to volunteer, but Jaypaw cut in front first. "I'll give it a go."

Lionpaw shot him a disgruntled look. Jaypaw shook his head. Lionpaw tilted his, trying to understand what Jaypaw was trying to tell him. Rolling his eyes, Jaypaw mimed a digging motion, pawing at the air. Comprehension dawned on Lionpaw, who nodded. Jaypaw would never be allowed to hunt back in his WindClan. No one thought he could. This was his only chance.

He remembered what Breezepaw and Heatherpaw had told him about hunting. The wind buffeted Jaypaw's fur, bending his whiskers. He was downwind. Moving slowly, he began stalking the rabbit, each pawstep light and carefully placed. The sound made by his steps would feel different if he walked over a shallow tunnel, hollow, with no layers of earth to soften the vibration. But he didn't know where those tunnels were, so he hoped he wouldn't stand on them. As he crept closer, he turned to Black Ear, who nodded. Gathering all his power, he sprung off the ground, extending his legs as far as they could go. He sprinted towards the rabbit, who fled from him, but Jaypaw was close enough. He covered the ground between him and the rabbit, leaping on its back. His teeth closed around its throat, piercing the artery under its skin. Blood began to gush from the incisions he'd made, over Jaypaw's teeth and into his mouth. He held still as the rabbit thrashed around in his jaws, straddling its body as it bled out. When the rabbit's movements slowed, he retracted his teeth, feeling the tight grip of the rabbit's skin release.

"Wow, Silver Claw, what a catch! How did you do that?" Silver Stripe gasped. 

Jaypaw shrugged. "I just watched how you guys hunted and tried to copy you." 

She beamed at him. "Well, that was really good. Let's take our prey back to camp for the queens and elders."

As he dragged his paws and his prey back to WindClan. His heartbeat started slowing down as the adrenaline from the hunt wore off. As it did, so did his elation. The hunt was over. Now, he'd go back to his own WindClan never being allowed to hunt again, knowing the feeling of the chase, of blood and flesh in between his teeth, the feeling of providing for his Clan. But Harestar would never let him hunt. He'd just say "blind cats can't hunt." Even if Jaypaw could catch prey while blind, Harestar would tell him that he was better suited for tunneling. He would dig away at dirt walls for the rest of his existence.  

The three wandered from territory to territory all day, spending the night in ShadowClan camp. After visiting RiverClan the next day, they trooped back to Fourtrees.

"We're finally going home! I can't wait to see my clanmates again. Will I have been asleep for days? Squirrelflight and Bramblestar will be so worried. Oh, I'll never catch up to Blossompaw, Briarpaw, and Bumblepaw!" Lionpaw lamented, swishing his tail and disturbing a butterfly.

Darkness enveloped Jaypaw's vision as he crawled into the bush, its leaves blocking out the sun. Jaypaw gritted his teeth. Clambering back into that bush, back into the darkness...he didn't want this.

"Well, I hope you all enjoyed your little journey into the past and learned from it because it's time to go back to your normal time." Rock greeted them, sitting down.

Hollypaw's tail tip, which had been bobbing all day, began to lash out behind her as words began to pour out. "The spirit cats told the Clans they needed to unify and stop fighting. StarClan's original vision for the Clans was for us to live in peace, to live as one! To visit each other, to cross the borders, to be friends, and even have mates. But we don't do that! We live separately. We still fight each other. Are we doing everything wrong? Is StarClan angry at us?"

"Maybe that's what the Prophecy is for," Lionpaw mused. "For us to bring peace back the Clans, for good this time." He looked hopefully to Rock. "Is that it? Have I figured out the prophecy?"

Jaypaw cut in before Rock could answer. "Calm down, clearly StarClan isn't angry, they still guide us and they've never told us we should break down our borders or anything like that. The Clans have peaceful times and war times. It's a cycle. We're supposed to fight sometimes, it's just in our nature."

"But what if it shouldn't be!" Hollypaw whirled around to face Jaypaw, fur bristling. "Maybe StarClan has been sending us signs all along and we just haven't been listening. Maybe they sent the twolegs to drive us out of the forest and drove us to the lake to teach us to go back to our roots and live in complete peace again. Even if StarClan isn't angry, we're disobeying the very first rule they gave us."

Jaypaw groaned. Now wasn't the time for Hollypaw to have some big spiritual meltdown. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. StarClan would tell the medicine cats if we were supposed to have open borders."

Lionpaw, who had stopped waiting for a reply from Rock, joined into the discussion. "I don't think we're meant to fight. You're wrong, Jaypaw. Look how happy these cats are! We make our own decisions and choices, and those define who we are, not some nature. And Hollypaw, you're wrong too. Sometimes changing our way of life is a good thing. Nothing is supposed to stay the same forever. Kittypets choose to live with twolegs, even though cats weren't meant to live that way, and they seem perfectly happy. They get food, shelter, and protection from predators because of it. RiverClan cats swim even though cats aren't supposed to, and they get prey. Jaypaw runs around in tunnels and that definitely isn't natural!" 

Jaypaw and Hollypaw were both quiet, stunned at that speech. 

Rock started laughing, a slow, wheezy chuckle. "Well, look at that. The mouse-brain is the only one with sense."  His cracking laugh filled the silence, as Jaypaw and Hollypaw continued to glare at each other. "You're both getting upset about nothing. Lionpaw's right."

Lionpaw shrugged. "It's been known to happen."

Hollypaw's fur began to fall flat again. "You're right...I just got scared because everything was so different. We're always taught how important the Code is, and I was worried our entire foundation is a lie. It isn't...the Code is still right, isn't it?"

"You need to stop thinking of things as right or wrong. You're going to have to make a lot of  important decisions in the future, and they're gonna require nuanced thinking." Rock grunted. "Now, enough waffling, I've had enough of looking after you three like a queen. Go to sleep, and you'll wake up back in your time."

Hollypaw and Lionpaw nodded. "Jaypaw, come walk in our dreams next time we sleep. We can try to figure out the fourth cat and the prophecy then." Hollypaw instructed. 

Jaypaw didn't reply, staring at the dappled light dancing across her fur. He wouldn't see light like that again unless he was dreaming.

Lionpaw purred. "Well, why are we all talking? I've never wanted to go to sleep more in my life." And with that, he crashed to the ground.