Stones to Ashes - Warriors Fanfiction

Chapter Three

A few weeks passed since Sunsetberry died. It was also the day when the gathering started at midnight, and Fogheart had said that he had recovered from the leg soreness.

Swiftpaw was having his first solo mission. He trotted around and every once in a while he would stop to pick up a scent. But no luck.

Just then Swiftpaw saw a twoleg farm. It looked almost abandoned, yet there were monsters that were stopped on a neat, gravel pathway that led up to a twoleg den and a large barn.

At first, he sniffed the air, he only smelled a sweet smell, like blueberries.

Swiftpaw quietly approached the farm, hoping he could get a snatch on those mice that live in the barn. He looked around at first to see if any twolegs were there. But all he could hear and see was farm animals and he began to approach the barn.

"Why, howdy there!" He heard an unfamiliar voice. His fur bristled and he pounced backward, his claws unsheathed.

"Don' worry! I won' hurt you." A golden, beautiful, young tabby appeared just inside of the barn.

"W-Who a-a-are yo-you?" Swiftpaw stuttered.

"I'm Berry! A farm cat!" Smiled the golden tabby, "And you?"

"I'm Swiftpaw." He meowed, now relaxing his fur and letting his claws back in.

"Oh my! You are one of those clan-cats from the stories!" Berry's golden yellow eyes narrowed with shock.

"Yeah, so?" He shrugged and approached closer to the barn.

"When I was a younglin' I heard many stories of you clan-cats from my ol' papa." Berry meowed.

"Well, I'm just here to get some prey for my Clan." Swiftpaw explained and Berry nodded, understanding.

"You can catch whatever you need for your Clan." She said and let him go inside of the barn.

It smelled super nice like blueberries, but it had a scent of mint inside as well. "Oh, and if you smell mint, that is just my best friend, Jason."
Just then a ginger tabby appeared out of nowhere. "Who is this, Berry?" The ginger tabby growled, "Hopefully this fleabag won't get our meals."
"No, don't worry, Jason!" Berry meowed, "He is one of those Clan cats!"

"That's for younglings, Berry." Jason rolled his eyes and climbed up some crates then up a ladder, and onto the upper level of the barn.

Swiftpaw looked around and caught a glimpse of a small brown rodent near a hay pile.

He went to a crouch and began to stalk the rodent. Then, once he got closer, pounced and caught the mouse.

"Good catch!" Smiled Berry from behind him, he turned around with the mouse in his jaws, she was lying down on a soft pile of woven hay.

"Yeah, yeah." Jason snapped from above them.

"I'll geh goim mow." Muffled Swiftpaw under the mouse.

"Don' leave yet!" Berry cried and got up. "Why don't you stay?"

Swiftpaw thought for a few heartbeats, then sighed and shook his head.

Berry sighed deeply, "Well, we can meet tomorrow at sunhigh?" This time, he nodded.

Swiftpaw began a trot outside of the barn, then ran.

The fields were damp and it had stopped snowing, that meant Leaf-bare was over, New-leaf began to start. He saw flowers begin to bloom and the wind breezed warmth.

Just then a flicker of a calico tabby cat appeared in his mind. Then disappeared again.

He started to run faster and his paws felt like they were almost stone, his heart began to beat faster as the calico tabby cat flickered again in a flash again and again. It looked as if the calico was walking towards him.

Then, his head started to spin, his legs wobbled back and forth, he stopped dead in his tracks, and his eyes began to spin to a pitch white.

He collapsed with the mouse out of his mouth and in front of him.