Swiftstar's Prophecy - Unofficial version

Chapter Thirty-nine

When Swiftpaw woke up, a cool drop of rain fell unto her ear. She winced slightly, her body fully warm, and she pressed herself closer to Wolfpaw. He was snoring softly, his muzzle shoved underneath his forepaw. His tail rested against hers. He looked very peaceful and it made her purr. The calico she-cat looked outside to the gentle rain.

She suspected that this rain will soon turn to snow. The rain fell unto grass and shrubs, delicate drops running down the leaves unto the soil below. The trees swayed in the direction of the cold wind and willow tree's branches swept gracefully. She could see her own breath. Hopefully, we'll be able to make it to BoulderClan territory, then come back. 

Swiftpaw now gently nudged the tabby apprentice. "Good morning, love," she meowed, now sitting up to groom herself. Wolfpaw's ear twitched before his green eyes opened up. "Morning," he yawned, extending his front paws to stretch. Swiftpaw drew a paw over her ear then her tongue ran across her left arm. "It's raining out. We should hurry to BoulderClan territory now... we don't know if the rain will come down harder." 

"Alright," he agreed, "Let's prepare to make our small trip." The two cats quickly groomed themselves before exiting their little den. The rain was gentler, almost drizzling. Swiftpaw lifted her nose to take in the smell of her territory. The clan should be waking up by now. Briarkit and Russetkit would be pestering Dovefeather and Webpaw would be grooming herself, too. She found it strange that currently, she's remembering the small details of her clanmates, like Lionstripe and Bloompelt. Swiftpaw felt that because she was remembering her clanmates (though some of them may not acknowledge her), she was resolving herself. Inside, she felt her heart being pieced together again. Was it because her love was sealed? Or was it because she was maturing? Swiftpaw would never know.

Wolfpaw led her to the border between BoulderClan and TideClan. They stood at the bottom of the cherry blossom hill, the drizzling rain touching their pelts, the wind blowing into their faces. Swiftpaw's legs were shaking; not from the cold, but from fear of confrontation with BoulderClan. Would they accept that Wolfpaw will change clans? Or would they cause a battle?

The moment the scent of a morning patrol hit her nose, Swiftpaw's pelt stood up. But Wolfpaw's tail touched her shoulder reassuringly. "I'll do most of the talking. Just stay close to me," he told her, his nose touching her ear before he turned his head in the direction of the border patrol.

It was two warriors and two apprentices. Swiftpaw recognized one of them to be Blackpaw, the pretty black she-cat from the Gathering. Her amber eyes examined the other remaining cats, one was a senior warrior, the other two were younger but not as young as Blackpaw. It's only an hour before dawn... 

"Stonepaw? You're trespassing on TideClan territory," the senior warrior meowed, her tail lashing in a negative, considerate way, "and who's this?" The senior warrior's amber eyes rested upon Swiftpaw suspiciously, but Swiftpaw stood confidently and stared back in a neutral gesture. Wolfpaw opened his mouth to speak before Blackpaw exclaimed, "We finally found you, Stonepaw!" 

The pretty black she-cat hurried over to Wolfpaw, her wide, blue eyes filled with relief. "What happened?" she asked before Wolfpaw calmly cut her off. He stepped forward, side-stepping a bit out of Blackpaw's way, and he meowed, "Marigoldsnap, please take me and Swiftpaw back to BoulderClan."

"A TideClan apprentice? Why's that?" The senior warrior snarled, her lips pulling back to show off her teeth. Blackpaw looked at Swiftpaw then back at Wolfpaw, before she questioned, "What's going on..?"

Boldly, Wolfpaw meowed, "I'm going to say my good-byes before joining TideClan. I will keep my reasons confidential until I approach Ivystar, but I ask you to take us back to BoulderClan." His ability to keep his head cool in this heated situation is amazing, Swiftpaw thought proudly. She looked back at Marigoldsnap and Blackpaw, her amber eyes narrowing slightly. She kept her calico pelt flat and she kept her head high.

Blackpaw's blue eyes narrowed back at Swiftpaw before Marigoldsnap lashed her tail. "Let's go. Don't try any funny business," she growled towards Swiftpaw before the tabby warrior began into BoulderClan territory. Wolfpaw followed and so did the calico she-cat, staying beside him. Blackpaw and the two other warriors flanked them, but Swiftpaw felt the envious eyes of Blackpaw burning into her side.

The group of cats traveled through the territory in silence. The maple trees and the alder trees were still as they padded through fallen leaves and wet forest floor. Swiftpaw observed that they were heading west, but also that the terrain began to grow hard with rock and stones. Ahead, she could see a gathering of large rocks and boulders and her nose caught the scent of cats nearby.

They call themselves BoulderClan for a reason. These cats can miraculously travel through hard terrain and climb rocks with ease. They have hard paw pads and slick pelts. Swiftpaw found it hard to step unto rocks. Some were jagged on the forest floor, some weren't, and some were slick and slippery. But she stepped carefully but strongly, making sure not to show any type of weakness.

Marigoldsnap now leads them down a cliffside, a flat stone pathway marking the way. Swiftpaw could see the entrance to BoulderClan camp, a silver boulder with a crack in the middle. Lichen and moss grew, making a cover of the entry-way. She admired the beauty of the boulders that made up the BoulderClan camp. The tall grass that resided around the boulder gathering swayed curiously at them. As they stepped off of the stone pathway and through the flattened grass path to the entrance, Swiftpaw can hear cats chattering amongst themselves.

Wolfpaw brushed his pelt against hers and he whispered, "They must've sent a search party out for me. Be careful, Swiftpaw. They'll be highly suspicious of you."

"I know. But I come in peace," she whispered back before Blackpaw agitatedly growled, "Yeah, right." Swiftpaw ignored the she-cat's words but she did shoot a glare at the black cat. She could feel Blackpaw's jealousy radiating off of her black pelt unto Swiftpaw. I think she knows that Wolfpaw and I are in love. I always suspected that she liked him. She felt a tad bit defensive. But Wolfpaw is mine, Blackpaw. You can't do anything to break us apart. She now saw Blackpaw's more venomous nature towards her, yet Swiftpaw remained calm and collected. She knows she can't do anything to me, anyway. 

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