Jayfeather

Jayfeather is one of the deuteragonists of Erin Hunter's Warriors books franchise. 
He and his siblings Hollyleaf and Lionblaze were born from a forbidden relationship between Leafpool and Crowfeather, being raised by Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw to conceal the secret. Though he initially wanted to be a warrior, he later became a medicine cat due to his special powers and connection to StarClan. He later finds out that he and his brother have been given special powers along with Dovewing to help fight against the Dark Forest with.
== Appearance ==
Jayfeather is a lean tabby tom with silky, thin and mottled pale gray fur and bright blue blind eyes. After his fight with Breezepelt in The Fourth Apprentice, he has a long scar running down his side.
==Biography==
===Leafpool's Wish ===
In the hollow of a tree far from Clan territory, Leafpool gives birth to three kittens with the help of her sister Squirrelflight and the spirit of Yellowfang. A few days later, the smallest kit - a blue-gray tabby tom - opens his eyes to reveal that they're bright blue like the feathers of a blue jay. Seeing this, Leafpool decides to name him Jaykit upon Squirrelflight's suggestion, hoping to name him Jayfeather in the future after his father Crowfeather. She thinks about how there will be a special place in her heart for him and his siblings, sensing that he's more vulnerable than Hollykit and Lionkit.
Two weeks later, the two sisters head back to ThunderClan now that the kits are old enough to walk. While watching her children play, Leafpool notices that Jaykit is very clumsy, suspecting something may be different about him after she rescues him from a hole he fell into. Testing her suspicions, she asks him to go find the biggest leaf in the area and bring it to her. Jaykit does so, examining each leaf with his whiskers before bringing one back that isn't the biggest, confirming to Leafpool that he's blind. Upon telling Squirrelflight this, the shorter she-cat wonders if Jaykit will be able to become a warrior, and Leafpool insists that he'll have the same life as his siblings regardless of his lack of sight.
While nearing ThunderClan, Squirrelflight adopts the three kits as agreed, and Leafpool begins to trail behind so they may bond with her. Jaykit asks why she isn't walking beside them anymore, and why Squirrelflight - who he and his littermates believe to be their birth mother - didn't stay in camp to give birth to them. He then asks why he can't see like Hollykit and Lionkit, asking is Leafpool could give him the ability to see. She sadly replies that she can't remove his blindness, but he's unbothered by this as he runs off to play with his siblings. As the group enters ThunderClan's camp, Hollykit and Lionkit walk on either side of their brother to guide him through the bramble entrance as Squirrelflight announces to the Clan that she's had kits while she was gone and that Brambleclaw is the father.
===The Power of Three===
==== The Sight ====
Jaykit, Hollykit and Lionkit are raised in ThunderClan by Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. One day, the three of them hear about a fox den in the territory and volunteer to go take care of it, but their father says that they're too small. Despite this, Lionkit convinces his siblings to sneak out of camp anyways, where they quickly find the fox's den with the help of Jaykit's strong sense of smell, only to discover that the fox cubs are much larger than they anticipated. As the trio flees, Jaykit stumbles and falls into a hole, getting knocked out in the process. While unconscious, the spirit of Spottedleaf visits him in his mind and comforts him. Jaykit then awakes in the medicine den, where Leafpool offers him some water. He declines before telling her of his encounter with the StarClan cat, to which Leafpool suggests that he become a medicine cat for his connection to their ancestors. Jaykit adamantly refuses, insisting that he wants to become a warrior instead rather than being separated from his Clanmates and smelling of mouse bile all the time.
Once they reach six moons old, the three all become apprentices and earn the names Jaypaw, Lionpaw and Hollypaw. Jaypaw is assigned to have Brightheart as his mentor, which the young gray tabby isn't very thrilled about as he feels that she's only telling him stuff that he already knows. He often disobeys Brightheart and wanders off without her, one time sneaking out of camp at night after noticing she's not present, unknowingly crossing into WindClan territory. He falls into a stream there, with the WindClan warrior Crowfeather saving him and escorting him home. While with Crowfeather, Jaypaw senses tension between him and Leafpool.
Later, Leafpool heads to the Moonpool to ask StarClan who the deputy of ThunderClan should be now that Graystripe is back. Jaypaw decides to follow her, ending up in her dreams. She's angry that he snuck out to follow her, but is also amazed at his ability to enter other's dreams, offering once again for him to train to be a medicine cat. Jaypaw refuses once more, still wanting to be a warrior. Shortly after, a ShadowClan patrol attacks, and Jaypaw engages in battle with Owlpaw. He struggles however, with Lionpaw helping him by telling him where his foe will strike. That night, he decides to go visit the Moonpool to ask StarClan if his destiny lies in being a warrior or a medicine cat. While visiting StarClan, he's suddenly able to see and begins running around, accidentally running into the Dark Forest. There, he witnesses Tigerstar and Hawkfrost gossiping and mocking his sister Hollypaw for wanting to be a medicine cat. They then spot Jaypaw and compliment his fighting skills, offering to train him. Jaypaw is tempted, but Spottedleaf appears and guides him out of the Dark Forest, with him waking up soon after.
In the waking world, Spottedleaf insists that he become a medicine cat, and reluctantly he obliges. He is soon reassigned to Leafpool, with Hollypaw - who had been struggling with medicine cat training and excelling at warrior duties - being reassigned to Brackenfur. Some time later, a bought of greencough infects the camp and many fall ill, with Poppypaw being especially afflicted. One night, Jaypaw notices that Poppypaw is dying, and goes to StarClan to retrieve her spirit and bring her back to life, with her then making a full recovery after.
Jaypaw's siblings attend the first Daylight Gathering without him, which he's extremally envious over. He then gets a vision through Lionpaw's eyes of him being buried alive, quickly finding out that his brother and Breezepaw had fallen into an abandoned badger den while hunting that collapsed in on them. He arrives to the Daylight Gathering and is able to help rescue the two toms, sensing the relief of Breezepaw's parents Crowfeather and Nightcloud. A little while later, he enters his grandfather Firestar's dreams and learns of a prophecy stating "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws", quickly finding that said prophecy was about him, Hollypaw and Lionpaw.
====Dark River ====
While he and Leafpool are out gathering herbs one day, Jaypaw comes across a stick stripped of its bark and with several deep claw marks carved into it. Despite his mentor's disregarding of it, Jaypaw is fascinated and hides it under a tree's roots so that he may inspect it later. Later, he has a dream of being in underground tunnels with a cat named Fallen Leaves, who he finds out had journeyed through the tunnels to become a sharpclaw - the ancient cat's equivalent of a warrior - but had drowned when rainwater flooded the underground and is now trapped as a spirit wandering the tunnels.
After Hollypaw goes missing, Jaypaw finds in a dream that she went to RiverClan to help them with something. He also goes into the dreams of Cinderpaw, discovering that she's a reincarnation of Cinderpelt, the previous ThunderClan medicine cat and Leafpool's mentor. Cinderpaw doesn't know this, and Leafpool stops her apprentice when he tries to get her to remember something from her past life. When Cinderpaw breaks one of her hind legs, Jaypaw plays with her during her stay in the medicine den, though is bothered by her concern over his blindness. Firestar sends him and Leafpool to WindClan a little while later to find out whether or not a fight will break out between the two Clans, making the grouchy tabby happy to know that medicine cats do more than what he'd thought.
He and Leafpool go on another mission to WindClan later on to find out if RiverClan had attacked them. After the three WindClan kits Sedgekit, Thistlekit and Swallowkit go missing, Lionpaw suggests that they may be in the tunnels under Clan territory and goes with his littermates to search for them. The three find the WindClan apprentices Breezepaw and Heatherpaw who'd also been looking for the lost kittens, and together the five find them. Fallen Leaves then appears and helps to guide the group out, but is unable to find an exit. Soon the tunnels start to flood, and in a panic Fallen Leaves disappears, leaving the group on their own. Suddenly an old, hairless cat named Rock appears to Jaypaw, holding the stick covered in clawmarks. Jaypaw realizes that every carving in the stick that's been marked twice was an ancient cat that went into the tunnels and came out, and those marked only once are for those who entered the tunnels and never returned. The hairless cat carves eight new marks to symbolize the group. Jaypaw thinks with horror that they'll all die in the tunnels until their carvings on the stick are marked once more, signaling the group's survival. Jaypaw then realizes that the stick was originally in the tunnels before an underground stream floated it to the surface, locating said stream and having everyone use it to escape. The three WindClan kittens are safely returned home, and not wanting to spill the secret of the tunnels, Jaypaw, Hollypaw and Lionpaw lie that the kits were found by the lakeshore.
====Outcast====
While collecting herbs with his mentor, Jaypaw tries using the stick to contact Rock again, but is unsuccessful. He then happens upon Berrypaw and Hazelpaw, with the former complaining that he'd scared away a bird they were hunting, causing the medicine cat apprentice to retort that he can't see. Jaypaw later overhears the two apprentices from before as well as Mousepaw excited to become warrior and wondering what their names will be. Berrypaw frets that his warrior name will be a cruel one about his amputated tail, causing Jaypaw in turn to worry that the name given to him upon becoming a full medicine cat will be in reference to his blindness. He confides in Hollypaw about this fear, who tells him that Leafpool wouldn't do that and teases that he'll probably get a dumb name instead, but Jaypaw doubts it.
Later, Leafpool and Jaypaw go to the Moonpool where they see the spirit of Feathertail bringing prey to the Tribe of Rushing Water. Leafpool worries that something bad might have happened to the Tribe, and her fears are confirmed when two of its members named Talon of Swooping Eagle and Night of No Stars come to ask ThunderClan for help. Looking through their memories, Jaypaw finds that a conflict with some rogues had gone wrong and Stormfur and Brook Where Small Fish Swim had been exiled for it. Firestar decides to send a patrol to the mountains to go help, with Jaypaw and his siblings being three of the cats chosen.
On the way to the mountains, the patrol comes across an elderly loner named Purdy who decides to join them on their travels. Jaypaw gets worried when Hollypaw and Lionpaw take a while to come back after going with Purdy to hunt in an abandoned barn, and is relieved when they reappear. Once the patrol reaches the Tribe, Jaypaw gets uneasy about the Tribe cat's distaste for Clan cats. He finds out that the Teller of the Pointed Stones, who serves as both the Tribe's healer and leader, is lying about the Tribe of Endless Hunting. He then discovers that the Tribe's ancestors had given up on them, as well as the fact that they had originally lived by the lake rather than in the mountains. After teaching Jaypaw about some of the herbs used in the Tribe, Stoneteller reveals that he knows of the "kin of your kin" prophecy. Jaypaw decides to tell his siblings about said prophecy and his belief that they're the cats it refers to, and both Hollypaw and Lionpaw are shocked.
====Eclipse====
After returning home, Jaypaw tries to make an ointment out of dock leaves for Toadkit's scratch. The kit sends them flying however, so the frustrated gray tom goes to get more, tripping over Daisy in the process. He then senses Toadkit about to bite his tail and yells at him to stop before telling him to take the ointment. Later, upon hearing Leafpool state that Cinderpaw is ready for an assessment despite her still-healing leg, Jaypaw tasks his littermates with watching over her during the assessment. Cinderpaw mistimes a jump while hunting and falls, with Hollypaw and Lionpaw rushing her back to camp to get her injuries treated.
Later, Jaypaw swims out to try and retrieve his stick after it had fallen into the lake and begun to drift away, nearly drowning until Firestar saves both him and the stick. Jaypaw then realizes that swimming will help Cinderpaw's leg heal and takes her to the lake to do just that. Leafpool is shocked when she finds out, but allows it anyways. Later still, Jaypaw helps Millie give birth to her and Graystripe's kittens. He then receives a vision of deep, suffocating darkness, but no one else remembers it.
When a loner named Sol visits ThunderClan camp, he tells Jaypaw and Leafpool in private that soon the sun will disappear, with the two wondering if it's a message from StarClan. During a battle between all four Clans, Jaypaw tells his mentor that he's going out to help their wounded Clanmates get back to camp, and reluctantly Leafpool allows him to. He helps with the warrior's injuries while aiding Lionpaw by warning him of oncoming attackers from RiverClan. The battle is suddenly interrupted by a solar eclipse just like what Sol had predicted, stunning all four Clans.
After the battle, Jaypaw, Lionpaw and Hollypaw all go track down Sol to find out how he knew about the eclipse. The three of them accept his offer to help them with their own prophecy but don't allow him to stay in ThunderClan's camp, and Sol agrees to these terms. On the way back though, the group is confronted by a ShadowClan patrol and taken to their camp despite not even being on their territory. In ShadowClan camp, Jaypaw takes notice of the leader Blackstar taking an interest in Sol and agreeing with him about StarClan not existing. Sol then states that he won't be helping the three after all and is instead staying in ShadowClan, much to their shock and disappointment. He later listens to the warrior ceremonies of Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Cinderheart.
====Long Shadows====
Jaypaw and his siblings are concerned that ShadowClan has abandoned StarClan and the warrior code ever since Sol took over. The spirits of Raggedstar and Runningnose appear to Jaypaw and plead for him to help ShadowClan, and with the help of the ShadowClan apprentices Tigerpaw, Dawnpaw and Flamepaw, he and his littermates come up with a plan to fake a sign from StarClan. Just when their plan is about to fall apart however, Raggedstar and Runningnose help them and appear to Blackfoot and Littlecloud, the Clan's current leader and medicine cat, which convinces them to regain their faith in their ancestors. Soon after, Sol is exiled from ShadowClan for nearly making their Clan fall apart.
In his dreams, Jaypaw exits a tunnel and suddenly gains sight, being greeted by a bunch of cats he doesn't recognize who call him Jay's Wing. He finds out that he's in the past and living through his previous incarnation. He meets a white she-cat named Half Moon, who he finds himself infatuated with. The cats of the past are debating whether or not they should stay near the lake or move to the mountains, and decide to hold a vote by making a line in the ground with the two sides representing staying or leaving, and having each cat put a small stone on the side they choose. Realizing that the ancient cats will become the Tribe of Rushing Water, Jaypaw/Jay's Wing casts the final vote to leave for the mountains, breaking the tie. As he prepares to go with them, Rock interrupts him and tells him that Jay's Wing disappeared on the way to the mountains, waking him back up in the present.
Later, Jaypaw and the other apprentices are sent by Leafpool to go get catmint, only to find the catmint on their territory squished and unusable. A StarClan cat named Brightspirit then tells him to seek the wind, which he deciphers as meaning that WindClan has catmint to borrow. He then finds that WindClan's own medicine cat apprentice Kestrelpaw had been told the same thing, and then sends Lionblaze to go retrieve some catmint from the neighboring Clan.
At the next half-moon meeting, Leafpool tells her apprentice that he's completed his training and will earn his full name that night. As the naming ceremony begins, Jaypaw silently wishes that he won't be named Jaywing out of respect for Jay's Wing. He's instead named Jayfeather, and as all the medicine cats congratulate him, he senses a strong emotion from Leafpool but is unsure what it is.
A little while later, a fire breaks out in ThunderClan camp and Squirrelflight tries to help Jayfeather and his littermates evacuate. Ashfur stops them though, announcing his intent to make Squirrelflight watch her kits die to pay for the pain he'd suffered when she rejected him in favor of Brambleclaw. Squirrelflight bluffs that killing the trio won't hurt her, revealing that they're not her biological kits. All four are shocked by this, and Ashfur lets them go, reasoning that having this secret revealed will hurt her even more and planning to announce what he'd learned. After Squirrelflight and the three escape the fire, they ask her if what she'd said about being adopted was true. The orange she-cat confirms that it is, but that she lied about not caring if they died as she loves them very much. The three feel betrayed that they'd been lied to for their whole lives, storming off.
Knowing Ashfur's plans and fearing what will happen once everyone finds out that he, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze are the result of such a scandal, Jayfeather enters Ashfur's dreams to try and convince him to reconsider. He reasons that revealing the secret will only cause more chaos in ThunderClan, but Ashfur remains adamant to do so anyways. On the night of the Gathering though, Ashfur is mysteriously missing. On the way to the Gathering however, his dead body is found floating down the river.
====Sunrise====
Jayfeather resolves to find out who his birth parents are, questioning Mousefur who tells him that she doesn't know, but complains of Leafpool giving her the wrong herb once. She then tells him that the herb stuck to his pelt is what she was given, which Jayfeather identifies as parsley. Since parsley is used to dry up milk faster, the blind gray tom begins to suspect that Leafpool is hiding something and decides to go to her mother Sandstorm next. The beige warrior suggests that the herb mix-up could either be because Whitewing is pregnant or be from the shock of Ashfur's death, but agrees that something seems off.
He receives a vision of Squirrelflight and Leafpool traveling through the snow, and with the help of Mousefur, Longtail and Littlecloud, he finds out that it was a vision of Leafpool giving her sister three kits to raise, and that she's his mother. Soon after, Yellowfang appears to him in a dream and tells him that the secret of his parentage shouldn't have been kept from him for so long, presenting him with a black feather symbolizing Crowfeather from WindClan, who's the three's biological father. Once his siblings learn of this, Hollyleaf is unable to accept the fact that her existence is thanks to breaking the warrior code in two ways and insists on revealing this at the next Gathering.
After revealing the truth at the Gathering to a very shocked audience, Hollyleaf confronts Leafpool and demands that she eat deathberries. Jayfeather tries to stop her, and she attacks him before running out of camp and toward the entrance of the tunnels. Her brothers try to stop her, and as she stops in front of the entrance she tells them that she was the one to kill Ashfur. Jayfeather uses his powers to look into her memories and witnesses her ambushing and killing Ashfur by the river. The black she-cat then runs into the tunnels as they collapse, with her brother's attempts to dig her out being fruitless as they mourn her supposed death.
Not wanting the Clan to find out what she did and remember her as a murderer, Jayfeather and Lionblaze lie that their sister ran into the tunnels while chasing a squirrel. The two then realize that Hollyleaf was not a part of the "Kin of your kin" prophecy like them, and that one of Whitewing's daughters Dovekit and Ivykit may instead be the third prophesized cat, as both are the granddaughters of Firestar's nephew Cloudtail and thus the kin of his kin.
===Omen of the Stars===
==== The Fourth Apprentice====
With her secret revealed, Leafpool steps down from being a medicine cat, leaving Jayfeather stressed about being the only one in the medicine den. Upon discovering his new apprentice Dovepaw is the third cat with the power of enhanced sight and hearing, Lionblaze tells his brother of this. After testing her, Jayfeather confirms that the young she-cat is in fact the third they've been looking for. Dovepaw protests, saying she doesn't want a special destiny and only wants to have a normal life, but the medicine cat tom tells her that she needs to step up and help save the Clans regardless.
Later, Dovepaw finds out that the drought at the lake has been caused by a beaver dam blocking the river, and along with several other cats from different Clans she and Lionblaze are sent to go sort out the issue. Jayfeather is troubled by being separated from his brother, and Leafpool tries to soothe him by telling him about the time she and Squirrelflight were separated when the latter went with Brambleclaw to the sun drown place. Still bitter about her lying to him, Jayfeather doesn't want her sympathy, but later sympathizes with Ivypaw who's also upset at her littermate being gone.
At the lake's shore, Jayfeather tries using the stick to contact the Ancients for help, but is unable to understand them. He later overhears some of his Clanmates arguing with his WindClan half-brother Breezepelt and goes to stop the fighting. Breezepelt taunts him by pointing out that the ThunderClan cats are on WindClan's side of the border before stating that he blames Leafpool for how his Clanmates have been behaving towards him recently, and that if she'd never met Crowfeather then things would have been different. Before a battle can start, Breezepelt's grandmother Ashfoot shows up and gets the fighting to stop, warning the ThunderClan medicine cat to keep his peers on their own side of the border as she leaves. While returning home, the blind tom hears the Ancients calling out the name of Jay's Wing. Still bothered by the incident with Breezepelt, he wishes that he could talk to Lionblaze.
After helping Dustpelt with some back pain, Jayfeather feels angry when he senses Leafpool giving him a look of pride. While speaking with Cinderheart, who's worried about her pregnant sister Poppyfrost he reports that she's doing just fine. He then senses her feelings of grief after losing her other sister Honeyfern recently and is reminded of Hollyleaf, feeling her loss all over again. He enters Poppyfrost's dreams that night, finding her dreaming of visiting the Moonpool. The next morning, Daisy and Ferncloud tell him that Poppyfrost is gone. He follows her scent to the Moonpool, concerned to pick up Breezepelt's scent nearby as well. Once he finds her there, she tells him that she wanted to try and contact the spirit of Honeyfern. Jayfeather reminds her of the time she visited StarClan when they were apprentices and how he had to go retrieve her, saying that there's no way to go back without being seriously hurt or sick.
Breezepelt suddenly confronts the two, proclaiming his hatred of Jayfeather and Lionblaze ever since the affair between Leafpool and Crowfeather had been revealed. Poppyfrost tries to help fight him off despite the medicine cat's orders, but her swollen belly limits her movements so she hides in a nearby bush. The spirit of Brokenstar then appears and helps Breezepelt attack his older half-brother - giving him a long scar across his side in the process - but the blue-gray tom is saved when Honeyfern chases them off. Yellowfang then shows up as well and warns Jayfeather of an oncoming war so severe that StarClan may not survive.
Rock is later contacted by the stick and reveals that he knew who Jayfeather's birth parents were all along, and the medicine cat breaks the stick in half in rage, feeling betrayed. At last Lionblaze and Dovepaw return, and Jayfeather tells the former of what happened with Breezepelt. After he helps Poppyfrost give birth to Cherrykit and Molekit, he notices the spirits of Tigerstar, Brokenstar and Hawkfrost watching. He and his brother conclude that the boundaries between the living world and the afterlife are weakening, and soon a war between StarClan and the Dark Forest will break out. After Lionblaze tells him that the Dark Forest is training living cats to help them with the battle, the two of them realize that Breezepelt and Tigerheart are two of those trainees.
==== Fading Echoes====
Dovepaw's powers detect two cats near the lake shore and she wakes Jayfeather up, who identifies them as Mistyfoot and Mothwing. He senses their grief and concludes that Leopardstar must have died and Mothwing is taking Mistyfoot to the Moonpool to become the new leader. He then tells Dovepaw that she mustn't let anyone know of her powers, as not even Firestar knows. Upon sensing her guilt and grief for the RiverClan warrior Rippletail's death, he comforts Dovepaw by telling her that the incident was the path that StarClan had laid out and was no fault of her own.
Later, he suddenly gets a stabbing pain in his side and finds out that he's feeling Mistyfoot's leadership ceremony. Mothwing and the newly named Mistystar then arrive in ThunderClan's camp to deliver the news, at at Firestar's orders Jayfeather gives them some strengthening herbs. A little while later, Firestar calls him, Lionblaze and Dovepaw in to his den to have a private discussion. There, he tells them that he'd received a prophecy of three of his descendants having special powers. Jayfeather tells him that they already know of the prophecy and have for some time, and is disappointed when the leader doesn't know anything more about the prophecy than they do. Feeling hopeless at what his destiny may be, Firestar reassures him that whatever it is, the orange tom will give the trio his full support.
As Jayfeather and Lionblaze speculate who else could be training in the Dark Forest, the former decides to spy on Flametail at the next half moon meeting. Yellowfang catches him, and once he explains the situation she goes with him and Spottedleaf to the Dark Forest. They run into Brokenstar there, and upon seeing Yellowfang's distress, the blue-eyed tom looks through her memories to discover that he's her son. Once Brokenstar leaves, Spottedleaf advises Yellowfang to go back to StarClan as being around her son is too much for her, and the two venture on. They then encounter Tigerstar, Shredtail and Snowtuft, with Spottedleaf stopping Jayfeather from trying to attack Tigerstar and talking the two of them out of a fight. The two then watch in horror as Tigerstar instructs Shredtail to tear Snowtuft open from face to stomach, fleeing as they hear the white tom's screams of agony. 
After Dovepaw warns of a tree about to fall into camp, everyone is evacuated except for Longtail and Briarpaw, who are crushed underneath. Briarpaw manages to survive, but her spine is broken. Together, he and Leafpool are able to save Briarpaw, though due to her spinal injury her back legs are left paralyzed. Jayfeather then tells his brother that working with Leafpool again has made him remember how much he wishes she was still a medicine cat with him and that the Clan needs her more than ever.
He goes to seek advice from Littlecloud, who'd dealt with the same spinal injury before with a warrior named Wildfur. Squirrelflight is his escort, and on the way there she tries telling him a story from her kittenhood. And argument starts between them, with the orange she-cat telling him that his pain is not the hardest to bear. When they get to ShadowClan, Littlecloud tells him to get Briarpaw to exercise daily, as if she doesn't fluids may build up in her back legs and kill her. Following Littlecloud's advise, the exercises help Briarpaw recover and she soon becomes a warrior alongside her siblings named Briarlight. Jayfeather continues to try and keep her spirits lifted, but is bothered by her mother Millie's over-protectiveness.
Later, he and Lionblaze try to get Dovepaw to use her powers to spy on the Dark Forest, but she refuses to. After a violent battle between ThunderClan and ShadowClan results in Firestar losing a life and Russetfur's death, Jayfeather is distraught at the many wounds of his Clanmates. He and Lionblaze conclude that the battle should have never happened, wondering if the Dark Forest happened to influence it.
====Night Whispers====
Knowing of the Dark Forest's plans to train living cats to help take over the Clans, Jayfeather begins to suspect Ivypaw of being one of the trainees. His suspicions are confirmed when he visits the Place of No Stars and sees the young she-cat being tutored by Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. Yellowfang then tells him that cats must stay loyal to their own Clans and must not help others.
Later, Ivypaw is held hostage by ShadowClan who states they will only return her if ThunderClan gives them some catmint, with Jayfeather being hesitant due to the shortage of the herb but ultimately agreeing to the terms. He also helps Briarlight to recover from her cough and convinces her to eat to keep her strength up, assigning her to help out around the medicine den once she's well enough.
After realizing the Dark Forest's plans, Ivypaw tells her sister as well as Lionblaze and Jayfeather that she'd been receiving training there and asks them what she should do. The medicine cat requests she continue to visit the Dark Forest to spy on them, which Ivypaw obliges to. A little while later, Jayfeather overhears Flametail falling through the ice of the frozen lake and dives in after him. Rock insists that he stop and leave Flametail to his fate, telling him that it's the ShadowClan medicine cat's time to die, but not his. Reluctantly Jayfeather returns to the surface without Flametail, and the orange tom's sister Dawnpelt accuses the blue-gray tabby of purposely drowning her littermate.
====Sign of the Moon====
After Icecloud falls through the collapsing ground into the tunnels, Jayfeather examines her and tends to her injuries. He and Lionblaze then investigate the tunnels for any sign of Hollyleaf, finding a tuft of black fur which leads to them speculating if their sister could still be alive. Rock later tells Jayfeather in his dreams to go visit the Tribe of Rushing Water. Firestar lets him go, saying that Leafpool and Brightheart will take over in the medicine den while he's gone. He bristles at the mention of Leafpool, to which Firestar tells him to leave the past in the past. Alongside Squirrelflight, Dovewing and Foxleap, Jayfeather travels to the mountains. He's agitated that Squirrelflight is with him, but doesn't argue. 
While visiting the Tribe, he once again relives a moment from his past incarnation. As Jay's Wing, he finds himself falling for Half Moon, but Rock tells him that his destiny is with the Tribe, not her. Jay's Wing protests that he wants to be mates with Half Moon and spend the rest of their lives together, but Rock states that she must become the first Teller of the Pointed Stones instead. Jay's Wing hisses back that he can't make him do anything, but after thinking the matter over he resigns to what Rock tells him. The next time they meet up, Jay's Wing tells Half Moon that the two of them can't be together, making her hurt and angry. He manages to calm her down and explain the situation, revealing to her that her destiny is to become the first Stoneteller. Half Moon protests at first, but after being appointed the Stoneteller she accepts her new role.
Upon returning to the present, Jayfeather is visited by the Tribe of Endless Hunting who inform him of a fourth prophesized cat alongside himself, Lionblaze and Dovewing. They also ask him to choose the Tribe of Rushing Water's new Stoneteller, as the previous one had died without a successor. He picks Crag Where Eagles Nest to be the new Stoneteller, sensing the spirit of Half Moon by his side as he does so. As he and his Clanmates head home, Jayfeather hears Half Moon saying she'll wait for Jay's Wing forever.
====The Forgotten Warrior====
While helping Jayfeather in the medicine den, Briarlight discovers a tuft of black fur in the herbs and informs the tabby tom of this, wondering who would put it in the herbs. He immediately identifies the fur as Hollyleaf's from the scent and hides the tuft in his nest where Briarlight wouldn't find it. While overhearing his Clanmate's exited chattering while gathering for the dawn patrol, he wishes he could share in their enthusiasm, but that lately all of his thoughts had been occupied by the Tribe and Half Moon. In his dreams, Yellowfang tells him that Cinderheart needs to know of her past incarnation Cinderpelt, as ThunderClan needs a second medicine cat. She claims that Leafpool is forbidden from resuming her role as a medicine cat, which angers Jayfeather as his mother is very skilled at the role.
After Dovewing hears Sorreltail going into labor near the lake, Jayfeather rushes to the kitting she-cat and helps her give birth to Seedkit and Lilykit. He later breaks down from the stress of being ThunderClan's only medicine cat and tells Cinderheart about Cinderpelt, showing her the memories of her past life in a dream. At the next Gathering, Dawnpelt interrupts and tells the Clans that Jayfeather had killed Flametail. He's confused by her insistence that he was behind her brothers death and depressed when he realizes that unless he can prove his innocence, the Clans will want him to step down from his position as a medicine cat. The other medicine cats all try to get him to step down, and he refuses to do so. A fight almost breaks out before StarClan sends a bolt of lightning followed by heavy rain, ending the Gathering early. The blue-eyed tom is lost in the confusion until Squirrelflight lets him lean on her shoulder, comforting him with her presence.
After Dovewing and Ivypool exit the tunnels with Hollyleaf - who had been living underground for the passed few moons in secret - in tow, Jayfeather and Lionblaze are both relieved and ecstatic to have their sister back alive, welcoming her warmly.
====The Last Hope====
As the next half moon meeting approaches, Jayfeather wonders whether or not he should attend, as he's been confined to the hollow ever since Dawnpelt blamed him for Flametail's death. He reminds himself that he's innocent and was in fact the only one who tried to save the orange tom. While returning from the fresh-kill pile with a vole, Briarlight tells him to keep his strength up, adding that nothing ever stopped him. Firestar joins the conversation, and when Jayfeather brings up Squirrelflight's and Leafpool's lie, asks his grandson if how he was born had ever mattered. Jayfeather then mentions how everyone thinks he had killed Flametail for a number of reasons. The ThunderClan leader tells him that he's one of the most important cats in the Clans, sparking an argument about how important the blue-gray tabby is to the prophecy.
Jayfeather storms out of the medicine den when Yellowfang confronts him, telling him he needs to find the fourth cat already. He protests, causing the StarClan spirit to taunt him until he snaps at her to leave him alone. She yells back to stop making excuses, doubting he's even told Lionblaze or Dovewing that there's a fourth cat yet. Remembering when the Tribe of Endless Hunting gave him the prophecy, he argues that he's waiting for the right moment. Yellowfang doesn't believe this however, saying he just doesn't want to admit there could be a fourth cat at all because he believes that the three of them could handle things on their own. As she leaves, Jayfeather tells her to find Flametail and have him reveal the truth, but she tells him that she can't due to StarClan's divided territories.
After Yellowfang disappears, Leafpool tells her son that she's worried about him, advising him to go to the Moonpool and get Flametail to clear his name. Taking her advice, Jayfeather goes to the Moonpool and dips his head into its waters. He's met with a black-and-white she-cat who introduces herself as Brambleberry, who was RiverClan's medicine cat years ago. She tells him that boundaries only exist within the mind and warns him of a great darkness that must be stopped. When he begins getting agitated, Brambleberry says that the Clans must unify against the darkness. She adds that the only boundaries are between that of night and day, life and death, and hope and loss. The spirit then admits that even StarClan can't see the lake anymore, and tells Jayfeather that he already knows how to find the fourth cat as she fades away.
After Brambleberry leaves, a voice Jayfeather recognizes as Brokenstar's tells him that his death will come. He then listens in on a training session in the Dark Forest, shocked to hear trainees talking about the upcoming war with StarClan and the living world. Many cats then rush towards him, but before they an reach him he wakes up to find Mothwing staring at him in concern. She tells him that her fellow medicine cat Willowshine isn't attending the half moon meeting because StarClan told her to stay away from the other medicine cats. The ThunderClan tom explains to her that StarClan is afraid of the Dark Forest and that there's a battle between the two coming soon. He then tells her that the Dark Forest is training living cats to help them with this battle, with Mothwing shocked to hear that her brother Hawkfrost is one of them. She lists off some of her Clanmates that have been acting strange recently, affirming her loyalty to RiverClan and asking Jayfeather who to trust. Jayfeather tells her about the Dark Forest's plans to destroy the Clans, to which Mothwing says that while she can't control the dead, she'll try to get Willowshine to start visiting the Moonpool again.
Jayfeather meets with Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Dovewing at the Sky Oak to tell them about the fourth prophesized cat. The identity of the fourth cat is suggested to be Hollyleaf or Ivypool by Lionblaze and Dovewing respectively, but both Jayfeather and Hollyleaf deny this. The blind medicine cat then begins to wonder if Mothwing is the fourth and tries to go to RiverClan to speak with her, encountering WindClan's leader Onestar on the way there. Onestar allows him to pass through, but wonders why he's going against StarClan's will for the medicine cats to stay away from each other. He responds that he must if there's going to be peace, and while the leader thinks he's referring to Sol, he denies this before continuing to RiverClan. When he gets there, a patrol takes him to speak to Mistystar, who lets him visit Mothwing and Willowshine. The three of them talk about the battle as well as proving Jayfeather's innocence, with Mothwing promising to try and get through to Littlecloud and Kestrelflight. Mistystar then tells the ThunderClan tom that he needs to leave and has him escorted out by an excessive number of warriors. 
While crossing the log out of RiverClan, he briefly encounters several Dark Forest spirits who try to block his path, but disappear when a WindClan patrol approaches. The patrol helps escort him home, where Firestar is furious that he crossed into another Clan's territory without his permission like that. When he returns to his nest, Brightheart walks in and happily announces that she's expecting her and Cloudtail's second litter. He snaps that it's a horrible time to be expecting with the Dark Forest battle looming, and hurt by his response, Brightheart walks out sadly. Later, Lionblaze gets his wounds treated by his brother after he'd purposely gotten in to a fight with the ShadowClan warrior Ratscar. Firestar berates him for this, and after the leader leaves Lionblaze asks Jayfeather if he's going to scold him next. He doesn't though, and instead tells his littermate about his worry over the prophecy, afraid that it's StarClan's last hope.
After helping make her nest comfortable, Jayfeather is asked by Briarlight what's on his mind, lying to avoid making her worry about the Dark Forest. As he lay down to sleep, he tries taking his mind off of the Place of No Stars by repeatedly listing herbs and their uses. He succeeds in falling asleep, where he has a shared dream with Dovewing and Lionblaze. The three of them go down a tunnel and find Rock, where the blue-eyed tom demands to know why he told him to let Flametail drown. Rock snaps that he can't control a cat's destiny, spitting at Dovewing when she asks if he's from StarClan. He then tells the three that he summoned them in the dream before ranting about how they should have never been born and listing their faults. Jayfeather then inquires about the fourth cat the Tribe of Endless Hunting told him to find, and Rock responds that they need to stop talking and start looking. Various cats as well as Midnight appear in front of the three, with Midnight telling the medicine cat that he needs to see his own strength. Jayfeather is irritated at this, and Rock throws the broken stick at him. The Ancients then angrily asks Jayfeather why he left them, with the ground becoming stained with blood as Rock screeches at him. The three wake up from the shared dream and begin to discuss it, with Jayfeather frustrated about the fourth cat prophecy.
While preparing herbs for the sick Ferncloud and Molepaw, Jayfeather is interrupted by Mothwing being escorted into camp, requesting to talk to him. She tells him that there's something in RiverClan he needs to see, taking him there and showing him a burning reed. Upon examining the reed, he concludes that it's a sign that Flametail is the fourth cat. He thanks Mothwing for showing him and dreams himself into a meadow upon returning home. Spottedleaf greets him there, and is confused when Jayfeather mentions the burning reed, as StarClan had not sent a sign. The tom then discovers that StarClan has been separated into four borders, and that Flametail is in ShadowClan's section. He and Spottedleaf go there to find the orange tom, when suddenly he begins to sink in to the mud. Flametail appears, watching Spottedleaf trying to drag Jayfeather out an refusing to help, still bitter about the blue-gray tabby letting him drown. Spottedleaf snaps at him, convincing him to help as the two of them save Jayfeather. Spottedleaf then tells the two that they must speak to the other medicine cats, entering their dreams and telling them that the Clans need to stick together, with Flametail himself adding that Jayfeather didn't kill him. As Jayfeather wakes from his dream, Spottedleaf tells him that Flametail isn't the fourth cat.
He tells Lionblaze and Ivypool what happened, agreeing to keep the latter's secret about training in the Dark Forest. He and Lionblaze then tell Leafpool, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw about the prophecy and their roles in it as well as forgiving them for the secret of their parentage. Jayfeather then goes to the Moonpool, explaining to his fellow medicine cats that the Dark Forest is planning to attack any day now and has many residents, and that lots of blood will be spilled and he is one of the only four that can stop it. He then enters StarClan alongside Brambleberry and Midnight and tells the other medicine cats to gather together their ancestors from their own Clans as he unites ThunderClan's ancestors. When StarClan is all brought together, he tells them that everyone must work together to stop the Dark Forest. Bluestar reminds him that there's a fourth cat, and Jayfeather tells her that he still doesn't know who that is. She responds that she always knew fire could save the Clans, and he realizes that the fourth cat is none other than Firestar.
He tells his grandfather that he's the fourth prophesized cat, and the orange tom agrees to go with StarClan to see the Place of No Stars for himself. Upon witnessing a training session between Mapleshade and Shredtail, Firestar announces that the only way to defeat the Dark Forest is to fight together. The medicine cats get their leaders to all meet on the island at sunhigh the next day, with Jayfeather attending the meeting where he informs everyone of crucial details about the oncoming battle.
As the battle is about to begin, Jayfeather stocks up on herbs and tells Leafpool to stay behind in camp before formally telling her that he forgives her for everything. As the battle rages, Hollyleaf is fatally wounded by Hawkfrost and taken back to ThunderClan camp by Ivypool and Tigerheart. Despite his and Leafpool's best efforts, the injury is too severe and Hollyleaf dies, her brother and mother mourning her heavily together. As StarClan and the Tribe of Endless Hunting both appear to help with the battle, Jayfeather is briefly able to reunite with Half Moon before they get back to fighting. After the Dark Forest is defeated, Firestar dies of his wounds with his friends and family gathered around him, Jayfeather included. He witnesses Firestar's spirit rise from his body and ascend to StarClan alongside all the others who'd fallen in the battle, grieving all those lost. 
Later, after Bramblestar becomes the new leader of ThunderClan in the wake of Firestar's death, Jayfeather prompts him to choose a deputy, and Squirrelflight is picked. As a new era for ThunderClan begins, Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Dovewing stand together, proud of themselves for fulfilling their destinies and saving the Clans.
== Gallery ==
File:TheSightOG.webp|Jaypaw, Hollypaw and Lionpaw on the original cover of The Sight
File:EclipseOG.webp|Jaypaw on the original cover of Eclipse
File:JayfeatherTheUltimateGuide.webp|Jayfeather in The Ultimate Guide (2013)
File:HollyJayLionCatsOfTheClans.webp|Jayfeather, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze in Cats of the Clans
File:JayfeatherFactSheet.webp|Jayfeather's fact sheet on the official website
File:JayfeatherFamilyTree.webp|Jayfeather's icon on the family tree
==Trivia==
*Jayfeather is indirectly named after Feathertail.
*He's the only character to receive two different mini collector figures - one with his stick and the scar Breezepelt gave him and one without.
*Jayfeather mistakenly describes Dustpelt's appearance despite being blind on page 7 of The Sight.
==External Links==
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