Swiftstar's Prophecy - Unofficial version

Chapter Five

Swiftkit's pelt was wet with sweat as she panted heavily, staring at him with wide eyes. What am I doing in BoulderClan territory? she thought, before she let her bristling fur lay flat and she stood up straight against the bigger tom. "I was simply chasing after a moth," She could've sworn that his eyes softened a bit to her, but he lifted a paw and threatened, "Fish-breath, don't tempt me to strike you down! You're much smaller than me!" 

I am. she thought as her tail flickered slightly. Even if she were to go against him, she would lose anyway. Fear began to rise in her chest, and she hunched down. Swiftkit tried not to show weakness, but when she looked down at her paws, she murmured, "I was following a moth...and I strayed too far from home." 

There was a hesitation in the air. Swiftkit didn't dare look at the tom, but she felt his raised paw slowly set down. "You were after a moth?" He no longer sounded dangerous, but rather calm and even gentle. Swiftkit slowly looked up at him, and met his green eyes. They no longer held hostility, and he no longer was in a warrior stance. She held in a sigh of relief. 

"Yes. I was being a bit curious and ended up here..." she admitted, glancing around them in the dark forest. The tom let out an amused chuckle, "A moth led me here, too. By the way, what is your name, TideClan kit?" 

Swiftkit blinked, and replied, "Swiftkit. And you are?" He puffed out his chest and said proudly, "Stonekit. My mother called me Stonekit because I'm a strong kit!" Amusement rose in her throat, and Swiftkit couldn't hold back a giggle. Stonekit looked at her and his ear twitched in annoyance. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"You are pretty strong, Stonekit. How did you learn to fight?" she asked curiously, but before Stonekit could reply, a breeze blew by, and the faint scent of the river filled her nose. She paused, and Stonekit must've noticed as well, because he asked, "Is something wrong?"

The calico she-kit looked over to her territory. "I have to get back. I've been out too long!" Stonekit let out a whine and stepped in front of her view. "Do you have to go? We were just getting along, Swiftkit." Swiftkit lowered her head, and something pegged at the back of her head. The Warrior Code! I cannot be friends with a cat of another clan! "But Stonekit, this is against the Warrior Code," Swiftkit meowed, and the tom averted his gaze. The she-kit looked down at her paws and let out a sigh. "I'm so--"

"Yes, that is against the warrior code," a voice growled from the shadows. A familiar scent hit Swiftkit's nose, and she held in a gasp. The large, red leader emerged from the shadows, and the half moonlight hit his pelt, making it seem like fire. But it could not compare to the fire in his green eyes. "Swiftkit, what are you doing here?" Redstar asked, and Swiftkit felt lost for words. Three more warriors came from behind the TideClan leader, Heronflight, Beeclaw, and Blazestripe, but they were calm besides the leader. 

Stonekit's tail brushed her flank, and he stepped in front of her to face off Redstar. "Swiftkit was just about to leave," he meowed to the leader, but Redstar's tail lashed angrily. "And what is a kit like you doing out here alone? Swiftkit, come here now." the calico she-kit now embarrassingly brushed past Stonekit to her father, who picked her up by the scruff. Heronflight scoffed, "Your kit just slid right out of camp. Little thing, she slipped by so quick." But he was hushed by Beeclaw's tail. Redstar looked over at Beeclaw and Blazestripe, "You two take this kit back to BoulderClan safely, and do not cause any fights." He glared down at Stonekit, who narrowed his eyes at Redstar, before the kit was picked up by Blazestripe. Swiftkit whimpered under her breath to the tom, but they both stared at each other sadly. It was alright when it lasted. 

Heronflight and Redstar began back to the TideClan camp, the toms both carrying silence with them. They went the same route as Swiftkit did, padding parallel against the river and going unto the trail of grass and reeds. The calico kit guessed that they caught her scent. As they neared the stone arch, she could hear many clan cats awake and worried. When Redstar pushed past the lichen, the first cat to hurry over was Baydawn.

"Is she alright?" he meowed in concern, and Redstar set down Swiftkit angrily. The kit hurried to Baydawn, and his tail stroked her pelt reassuringly. Echoflower gasped, "My kit!" The she-cat bounded over without Swiftkit's littermates, and as all the cats stared at Swiftkit, the she-kit wanted a hole to swallow her up. I broke the Warrior Code, did I?