Top five heartfelt and funny Jayfeather lines
BY THE EDITOR
Jayfeather’s grumpiness and snark are legendary, both throughout the Clans and the fandom. It’s hard not to love this sarcastic furball, especially once you get to know what a true heart of gold lies beneath the prickly exterior. But which of his witty retorts and sarcastic comments are the best? To figure it out, we’re counting down the top five funniest Jayfeather lines!
5 – “What’s the matter? Worried I might give you some medicine?“
Compared to medicine cats, warriors have a tendency to think with their claws when it comes to interactions with the other Clans, and warrior apprentices are even worse. When Squirrelflight and Jayfeather went to ShadowClan to ask Littlecloud advice about Briarpaw’s condition after the tree fell into the hollow, Ferretpaw seemed determined to treat the pair as dangerous enemies to be guarded with the utmost attention. A lone warrior and a medicine cat aren’t a threat to any cat, much less as scrawny and unpracticed in battle a medicine cat as Jayfeather, and he predictably didn’t take kindly to being treated with such ridiculous suspicion, spawning this snarky remark.
4 – “What do you expect me to do? Fly up to the stars and drag them down by their tails?”
This particuar quote may have come with a fair bit of bitterness attached to it, as Jayfeather once had the power to do what he sarcastically suggested here, or near enough. But the power of the stars had left his paws many moons ago by the time he made this snarky remark to a concerned Bristlefrost, and he was as helpless as any other medicine cat against the strange silence from StarClan since just before the appearance of the impostor at the lake.
3 – “He snapped at Hazeltail for getting in the way, hissed at Cherrypaw for trampling on Ferncloud’s moss and ordered Foxleap and Toadstep to fetch comfrey. So I guess he’s fine.”
This line wasn’t actually spoken by Jayfeather himself, but as a line from another cat that so perfectly encapsulates Jayfeather’s loveably snarky persona, we just had to include it! Lionblaze had plenty of reason to ask after Jayfeather’s state in this scene – it was in the lead-up to the Great Battle, when the medicine cats still weren’t speaking to each other and Jayfeather was still suspected of Flametail’s murder and under restrictions about visiting with StarClan until the matter was cleared up. But Bumblestripe’s reponse perfectly sums up how to tell that Jayfeather is feeling more like his usual self – see if he’s acting grumpy to everyone around him!
2 – “Oh, great. Let’s lump all the useless cats together and hope a tree falls on them!”
While of course the idea of seeing disabled cats as “useless” is problematic on its own, it comes from a place of deep frustration for Jaypaw, both in he thinks his Clanmnates think of him due to his blindness, and his desperation to prove them wrong and carve a place for himself. Stil, deeper meanings aside, this snarky bit of internal commentary from Jaypaw is an absolute classic, and defintiely one of his funniest lines.
1 – “I’m here to heal you. If you want sympathy, go to the nursery.”
Our very favorite snarky Jayfeather line comes from early in his medicine cat training. When then-young warrior Birchfall was acting like a kit over a simple thorn in his paw, Jaypaw was less than sympathetic about the very minor injury. When Birchfall complained about Jaypaw’s lack of tact or warmth, like one might find in a healer like Leafpool, Jaypaw retorted with one of the most iconic lines of snark in the whole series.
If a cat didn’t know Jayfeather any better, you could forgive them for thinking that the bristly, snarky exterior is all there is to him. But the cats closest to Jayfeather know that a true heart of gold lies behind that sharp tongue, and some of his best moments come from the times he allows the warmth within to shine through. To celebrate that, we’re counting down the top five most heartfelt Jayfeather lines!
5 – “Go carefully, Fallen Leaves. I hope you find your own way out one day.”
In his youth, with frustration over not being able to train as a warrior as well as a deperate desire to prove himself burning beneath his pelt, Jaypaw had a tendency to be fippant with the great power he held in his paws. He was never truly malicious in their use, but he did have a tendency to care more about what he could do with his powers and how far he could push them than with how they affected the cats around him. When he heard that dogs would be attacking WindClan in Backface’s dream, he cared more about impressing Firestar by suggesting they use this moment of vulnerability to take WindClan’s territory than about whether WindClan cats might be hurt in such an attack, or whether they deserved to have their land stolen in such a way. He frequently snooped in the dreams of others without regard for their privacy, and he was more excited than frightened by the idea of what he and his siblings could accomplish with the power they wielded together.
But this scene with Fallen Leaves, and several other such scenes between Jaypaw and the long-dead young tom, was the first time readers really got to see Jaypaw’s capacity for compassion and understanding for others. This time, he didn’t just care about what he could learn about the ancient cats through his interactions with Fallen Leaves; he truly felt for him. He stood by Fallen Leaves’ side through his drowning and refused to abandon him, and he ached for the tom’s lonely existenc beneath the lake. It was a sign of just how great a heart Jaypaw possessed, and how deeply he would come to care for others around him as he grew and matured.
4 – “Don’t you think you should figure out who you are before you decide where you fit in?”
Going from one of Jaypaw’s earliest scenes to one of his most recent ones, this scene also deals with a frustrated young tom desperate for a chance to prove himself. Nightheart felt deeply unhappy and unappreciated in ThunderClan, with so many cats constantly comparing him to Firestar and expressing disapproval when he tried to break away from his famous ancestor’s legacy. While Jayfeather hadn’t dealt with that specific issue, he knew what it felt to be a young cat, full of potential and eagerness, only to be doubted and held back by those around them. He softened his characteristaclly sharp tongue to give Nightheart a bit of empathetic advice, and he even suggested him for the upcoming catmint patrol, fully aware that the young tom needed a chance to prove himself to his Clanmates, a chance he’d constantly felt he was being denied in his own youth.
3 – “Talking back to an old badger like me is not the same as standing up for what you believe to cats from other Clans. I was proud of you.”
While Nightheart was given a glimpse of Jayfeather’s softer side, Alderheart is the cat most acquanited with it of the younger cast. As Jayfeather’s apprentice, he felt the sting of the older tom’s sharp tongue more than once, but he also learned what it meant to truly have the difficult tom’s respect, and just how caring he could be. When Alderpaw stood up to the other medicine cats, Jayfeather set aside his brusque remarks and made it clear how proud he was of the young tom. It was one of the first times Alderpaw got to truly experince such sincere warmth from Jayfeather – but it would not be the last, nor the last to appear on this list.
2 – “This will not be the end of the Clans. As long as I have breath in my body, the Clans will be safe.”
Jayfeather’s relationship with Mousefur was one of much snarking and complaining and annoyance, from Mousefur over constantly being bothered about medical issues she considers trivial, and from Jayfeather about the stubborn old she-cat not letting him do his job and look after her. But beneath all the barbed words and grumbling, Jayfeather truly cared for his elderly patient, and his care for her and for the Clans as a whole truly comes across in this scene. When Mousefur revealed she’d been dreaming of darkness and that she feared the end of the Clans was nearing, Jayfeather spoke these words, both to reassure her, and as a truthful promise that showed his commitment to preserving the life of every cat around the lake. He was no longer the frustrated young tom who had cared more about how far he could push his powers than who he woud hurt by using them. He was a medicine cat in evey sense of the word, a healer who cared deeply about helping those he loved, and a Clan cat who would defend everything the Clans stood for.
1 – “If ThunderClan had to lose you, it would be like a wound that wouldn’t heal.”
And now for our favorite heartfelt line, and our favorite heartfelt scene, we turn back to the relationship between Jayfeather and Alderheart. By this time, Alderheart was no longer an apprentice learning to stand up to those around him and who Jayfeather needed to guide, but a full medicine cat in his own right. Jayfeather respected him and his position, and his right to make choices for his own life – but he cared for the young tom too much, and saw too clearly just how loved and valued he was in ThunderClan, to let him go without trying to talk him out of it. In an unusually raw, vulnerable moment for the tom, he told Alderheart just how much he and the rest of the Clan valued him, and how much it would hurt to lose him if he chose to follow Velvet back to Twolegplace. Luckily, in an equally heartfelt and iconic line, Alderheart made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere, and that he valued and cared for Jayfeather just as much as the difficult old tom cared for him. “I know where I belong. It’s with you, you grouchy, difficult, dedicated furball. And with ThunderClan.”
