Swiftstar's Prophecy - Unofficial version

Chapter Twenty-three

By the time Swiftpaw finished her thyme and her fish, she could hear the TideClan warriors storm into the camp clearing. Several angry grunts and hisses ushered the other cats that remained to be silent. Baydawn lifted his gray chin, and his tail lashed, "What happened?" he murmured quietly, before glancing at Brookpaw, then Swiftpaw. The brown tabby apprentice held back a sigh, "I'm not sure..."

Swiftpaw lifted to her paws, and after cleaning up her area, she slowly approached the entrance of the medicine cat clearing to at least know what was happening outside. Behind her was Baydawn, the smaller medicine cat trembling lightly.

The many warriors that were part of the battle were mostly covered in injuries and blood. Swiftpaw could spot an unlikely Ripplepaw, who was limping. Oh no! "Ripplepaw!" she said in a sharp whisper, and hurried over to support her brother. The larger, but younger, gray tabby tom's left hind leg was covered in blood, and it evident to witness a bite mark there. His spine had a distinct scratch that stretched to his shoulders to his tail, and some claw marks on his flanks. Thrush-heart was supporting him, until Swiftpaw hurried over to support her brother. Before Swiftpaw could ask if he was alright, Redstar's face was close to hers.

"Where were you at the battle field?" Redstar's aggressive snarl made Swiftpaw flinch back in slight fear. This much bigger, red tom was confronting her in a rather unnecessary way, and it made Swiftpaw's heart uneasy. Redstar was covered in claw marks, his tabby pelt nearly drenched in blood. But the scratches were more light, yet his right ear was completely torn off. "TideClan lost because we lacked another warrior, or may I say apprentice? Because of your laziness, the Shiny Shore belongs to DriftClan now!" Redstar pushed.

Before Swiftpaw could snarl back, a bloody, and half-blinded by his own blood Blizzardtail stepped in between them, his mottled-white fur bushed up. The senior warrior was only a whisker taller than Redstar, but it only made him more terrifying. Swiftpaw stepped back more, only to realize that the leader stepped back as well. 

"I ordered her to stay in camp," Blizzardtail meowed coldly, "I have not yet taught her any battle tactics, and she was near being ripped to shreds from Goldenjump." His tail lashed angrily, and his ears were pushed back. Redstar took a glance back at Swiftpaw, then back at Blizzardtail. "Then it is your fault that we lost to DriftClan!" he accused.

"Redstar, calm down!" Lichenface meowed, as the gray she-cat bounded over to her mate. The she-cat's tail rested upon Redstar's shoulder, and she looked over at Blizzardtail. "Blizzardtail, maybe you should train your apprentice soon..." she suggested, her green eyes scanning the mottled tom. "My name is Swiftpaw," Swiftpaw meowed, or rather growled.

The clan cats around them began murmuring. Blizzardtail growled, "Then what should I do first? Teach her some water battle moves at the Grand River?" Swiftpaw could see that something hit Lichenface, because the she-cat's eyes widened. Redstar meowed, "Everyone, to the medicine cat clearing," He padded towards it, but he roughly brushed his shoulder against Blizzardtail's. "We're not done," Redstar growled at him, then he left, glaring at Swiftpaw. The calico apprentice lifted her muzzle, a snarl on her lips. Lichenface followed Redstar, murmuring something into his ear as she stared down Blizzardtail.

The mottled tom then looked over to Swiftpaw. "Are you alright? I'm glad Goldenjump didn't hurt you," his right ear was bleeding, and it blinded his right eye, and his chest had a scratch. Swiftpaw stammered, "B-But are you alright?" Her mentor nodded, and slowly began his walk to the medicine cat clearing. 

"Blizzardtail?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you defend me from Redstar? You know I can do that myself." They both stopped, just watching as their clanmates hurried into the medicine cat clearing, with Ripplepaw leaning up against Thrush-heart for support. Blizzardtail turned his head away from her a bit, panting a bit heavily. "Because that's a terrible excuse of a father," he replied, before padding into the medicine cat clearing. Swiftpaw knew to leave him alone, so she decided to take a small run through the territory, up until the sun was drowning in the horizon. 

She wanted to clear her head, to get away from TideClan, from Redstar. Maybe do some hunting for Blizzardtail or Dovefeather? Whatever it was, it could get her away from her clan. She padded past Snaketail and Tawnynose, who both had each other's noses in each other's fur. Swiftpaw's heart tugged, for she wanted to be loved like that, too. She was rung dry, just like the dry, hot sand.

Exiting camp, Swiftpaw began to run. Into the reeds, through the Training Clearing, past the willow forest, towards the cherry blossoms and the fields. She skipped and stepped over the cool streams, but she avoided them, like as if they were streams of blood. Swiftpaw felt guilty, she didn't know why, but she did. Maybe I'm guilty because I'm a coward to face my Clan... she thought, leaping over the log that collapsed under her mentor's weight. The calico she-cat gracefully ran, her strong legs carrying her far enough that she could only hear the calls of the birds. 

The cherry blossoms were fruitless, their leaves about to fall. Some flowers remained, yet they were dying. Swiftpaw came to a halt underneath one, staring up at its faded beauty. Red leaves flowed down unto the grass, joining the other dead leaves. The emptiness soon formed in her chest, and Swiftpaw wished she could just fall into it.

The feeling of love made her want it. Her siblings are too busy, she's too busy, Redstar hates her... Swiftpaw wanted Echoflower. Her chest hurt of heart break, but the apprentice only lowered her muzzle, her gaze unto her paws. 

She didn't know how long she stared at her paws. Several heartbeats passed, and Swiftpaw was almost lost in time until her peripheral vision caught movement. The apprentice lifted her head, and her amber gaze rested on a mere rabbit, who had just crossed the border from BoulderClan to TideClan. I'll catch it for Blizzardtail, then  share it with maybe Briarkit and Dovefeather! Swiftpaw wasn't too far from it, and she had the advantage because she was up on a hill. Now crouching down a bit, Swiftpaw inched forward, closer and closer to the unsuspecting rabbit. Its brown back was to her. If she could just leap at the right time... 

Swiftpaw leapt at it, despite her odd hunting crouch. With great stamina, she reached the rabbit on time. But she didn't see another cat launch at it as well. Quickly, Swiftpaw's jaws snapped around the rabbit's neck, before paws kicked at her flank. She grunted, her eyes dizzy as she rolled over roughly, but she held on tight to the rabbit. Its blood ran into her mouth, and it tasted rather good for pray that DriftClan cats usually ate. Scrambling to her paws, she turned to see who it was, her tail spiked, but her heart instantly calmed. Adrenaline stopped running through her veins, and her breathing slowed. Instead, her pelt felt hot, and her heart felt fuzzy and warm.

He lightly chuckled, slowly sitting up, for he also fell over too. Drawing a paw over his black ear, Stonepaw meowed, "Well, this was a surprising reunion."

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Question!

What is your opinion of Blizzardtail calling out both Lichenface and Redstar? Comment below!

-Morgan