Swiftstar's Prophecy - Unofficial version

Chapter Twenty-five

"He has a crush on Swiftpaw? Wow, and he thinks that being rude and everything will get him a mate," Briarkit scoffed, a brown paw batting a stalk of grass. Dovefeather lashed her gray tail, and she lightly scolded in a hushed voice, "Briarkit, be nice!" Her tail then wrapped around the brown calico kit, bringing her close. Swiftpaw nervously looked down at her paws, feeling deeply troubled. He has a crush on me? How? I'm not even that good looking... She thought, That's so mouse-brained...

Sparkclaw's tail-tip rested upon her shoulder, "Half the clan already knows, by now. I might have as well tell you." he meowed to her, before Swiftpaw gave him a nod. "Oh, well, t-thank you..." She stepped back from them, before she slowly began her way to the Apprentices' den. On the way there, she padded beside Webpaw, who was almost dozing off. "Tired from training?" Swiftpaw asked her sister.

"Yeah... battle training. But are you okay from earlier? Ripplepaw and Maplepaw didn't have the time to ask, so I'll ask now for them," Webpaw meowed. Swiftpaw lowered her head. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. But... Acornpaw has a crush on me," she murmured to her sister. The tiny tabby she-cat let out an amused purr, and she playfully looked at Swiftpaw. "Aww! You both would be good together!"

"What? No!" Swiftpaw quickly declined once they entered the den. "I-I'm not even interested in him. Plus, he's very mean to us..."

Webpaw gave her a look, "That was when we were younger, Swiftpaw! Maybe he's changed. You can't just judge someone because of their past, everyone has the chance to change  in the end." True... but, my heart wants someone else... "Speaking of who, here he comes!" Webpaw whispered, before bolting over to their nests, which were in the back of the den.

Swiftpaw turned around to see Acornpaw enter the den. He was slightly taller than her, with longer legs. Their eyes met, and he averted them shyly. Swiftpaw looked away as well, unsure of what to say. "H-hi, Swiftpaw," he meowed, his pale eyes finally looking up at her.

"Hi, Acornpaw," she kept her composure, and let her tail remain slick rather than spiked. He dipped his head, before he said, "I just wanted to say that you did good today, getting the clan to defend the Shiny Shore." Then, he padded away from her towards his sister, whose tail lashed curiously. Swiftpaw stared after him, an ounce of sorrow in her heart. I'm so sorry, Acornpaw...but my heart belongs to someone else.

~

Blinking away the urge to sleep, Swiftpaw quietly rose her head from her paws, looking around her. Webpaw and Ripplepaw were curled up together, snoring peacefully; the twins could never separate from each other. Maplepaw slept deeply, his heavy snores echoing throughout the reed den, and his tail wrapped around his hind legs. Acornpaw and Fallowpaw were asleep, as well, but Swiftpaw could suspect that any of them would wake up easily. They both slept near the entrance, and it would be difficult to sneak out. But Swiftpaw held her breath, and set steady paws in front of the other.

Stepping over Maplepaw and sticking to the reed walls of the den, Swiftpaw deftly padded out into the cool camp clearing. She felt the air wrap around her warm body, and she shivered a bit. Leaf-fall was going to end soon.

Swiftpaw narrowed her amber eyes at the camp entrance, and easily she could see both Whitefish and Carptooth guarding, their broad figures standing out from the shadows. I can't go near the entrance at all... The calico she-cat then made her way towards the Dirtplace, for that was the only exit that wasn't guarded. She then slid out of camp, her calico pelt now bathing in the slight moonlight.

It was hard to make her way towards the border of BoulderClan and the cherry trees, her white and ginger paws stepping lightly on the grass and pebbles. The creek waters would wash her paws, but every step she took made her jump in her fur. Using her nose, she followed the stale scent of the sundown border patrol, and let her ears also help.

After what seemed like several heartbeats, finally, she could barely see the blossom trees. The open field then reached her paws, and freely, she bounded over towards the downward slope just left of the trees. There, a clean cut between a field then trees were; TideClan, then BoulderClan. Even though it was tough to see the grass before her paws, she could see the outline of Stonepaw, the moonlight reflecting off his black tabby pelt.

As she neared him, he turned his head, his green eyes blinking. "There you are!" Swiftpaw meowed happily, and skidded to a halt as she approached him. Stonepaw returned with a gentle purr, before relief glowed in his green eyes. "I'm glad you came. I was believing that tonight would be too dark for you," he meowed to her, as he sat down. She sat down beside him, and tilted her head.

"No, it's not that dark," she lied a bit, her tail wrapping around her paws neatly. The moon is barely visible! I'm blessed enough that I was able to reach here without getting hurt! "I'm relieved, then," Stonepaw then lifted his muzzle in the air, opening his mouth to taste it. That was when he said, "Tell me about yourself, Swiftpaw."

Swiftpaw felt slightly pressured. I'm not very interesting, nor do I do anything interesting! the only thing about me is my unique pelt... "W-well, I don't have much to say. I was named because I was quick, and my pelt is kinda rare in TideClan..." Oh, StarClan, I'm so boring... Swiftpaw thought worriedly, what if he just leaves me because I'm so boring? That'll be something terrible...

Stonepaw turned to her, and tilted his head. "You do have an interesting pelt, and it's really pretty, too," he meowed kindly. Swiftpaw's pelt then felt hot. He called my pelt pretty! She thought happily, before she asked him, "What about you, Stonepaw?"

He then replied, "Well, I don't have any littermates, but my siblings are Hornet-tail and Marigoldsnap, both warriors. I like to eat mice..." He then stopped, recollecting his thoughts, before he sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I'm as boring as you are."

"Hey, so that's so mean!" Swiftpaw spat, standing up, her tail spiking. Her amber eyes narrowed, "W-well, it's true...but that's so mean, also!" Deep down, she knew he was joking, but she still prayed that he was. But he only laughed and remarked, "Well, I'm not too lame. At least I can hunt a rabbit properly." He narrowed his green eyes daringly. Swiftpaw scoffed, turning her head away from him, "But you didn't catch it. I did." she pointed out, now glancing back at him.

Stonepaw chuckled, before he shifted his body to face her. "Would you like me to teach you how to properly hunt, then?"

"Are you saying that I can't?"

"Obviously," he pressed jokingly, before Swiftpaw chuckled at him. It made Stonepaw hesitate slightly, more in confusion. She lifted her chin, lashing her tail proudly. "Oh yeah? Then how about you teach me, since you obviously thing you're better than me!"

__________________

Hey guys! We're almost at a thousand reads! Thank you! Thank you!

I can already hear the fangirls of Swift x Stone in this chapter, heh.

-Morgan