Swiftstar's Prophecy - Unofficial version

Chapter Fifty-eight

Swiftblossom woke up to a fat drop of rainwater landing unto her nose. She opened her eyes and flinched at the sheer coldness of the droplet. The pretty calico sat up and shook her head. She slept rather well despite how harsh last night was. Beside her was a snoring Wolfspirit, but his pelt was slightly messy. She affectionately touched her nose against his ear to wake him up. It was almost dawn yet it seemed like the afternoon. Above, from what Swiftblossom could see through the opening of the reed den, she could see heavy storm clouds slowly making their way across the sky. She heard the soft rain outside; it hasn't stopped raining. 

She prodded her mate again. Swiftblossom wanted to talk to him about what happened last night; she didn't exactly get to explain what she was doing with Nectar. Though she was still a bit hurt from last night, she wanted to at least communicate with him peacefully. 

His green eyes fluttered open and they instantly softened to her surprise. Swiftblossom thought that he would still be angry at her, but he wasn't. He had guilt in his eyes. He murmured, "Swiftblossom..." But before he could continue, a shadow of a cat stepped into the light coming from the entrance of the mostly empty den. 

It was Clovertail, the warrior came to fetch them for a patrol. "Good morning, Wolfspirit, Swiftblossom," he nodded at the two sleepy warriors, "Swiftblossom, you're with me on a border patrol. Wolfspirit, you're with Blazestripe to handle a fox problem nearby the BoulderClan border."  The mates looked at each other and Swiftblossom let out a soft sigh. Wolfspirit had a look of slight disappointment before he told Clovertail, "We'll be there in a moment. Swiftblossom..." he began once Clovertail left.

"Yes, love?" Swiftblossom asked as she quickly groomed herself, smoothing down the tuft of fur that stood up on her chest. Wolfspirit gently spoke, "I-I just wanted to say that... I'm sorry. For last night." It was hard for him to get out the words and his green eyes flooded over in heavy emotions. He opened his mouth to say more until Flaxpaw's voice called, "Swiftblossom! Come on, let's go!"

Swiftblossom pressed her nose against his, "We'll talk later if we can. I love you." She then hurried out of the nearly empty den, her tail affectionately stroking underneath his chin. Wolfspirit moved his head to try to savor the feeling of her soft tail but she left. The black tabby tom sighed, his ears flattening against his head. His heart was aching, wanting more of her.

The calico she-cat hurried out of the den. She could spot Clovertail's patrol, with a patiently waiting Tortoisetail, Ripplefrost, and Brackenstalk. Flaxpaw was making his way over to his mentor, his tail drooping in tiredness. Swiftblossom padded over and Clovertail began their morning patrol.

Ripplefrost and Brackenstalk walked behind Clovertail, while Swiftblossom, Tortoisetail, and Flaxpaw remained in the back. Swiftblossom would occasionally turn her head to check on Tortoisetail, the she-cat slowing down once in a while. Flaxpaw would chirp about the sights he saw and the landmarks he remembered as the patrol made their way towards the Grand River.

"Tortoisetail, are you alright?" Swiftblossom asked, her tail lashing in concern. The black tortoiseshell lifted her head and her pale glinted, "Yes, I'm fine, I'm just expecting kits." She said it casually that Swiftblossom nearly disregarded that. Flaxpaw's eyes widened and he cheered, "Tortoisetail's going to have kits!"

"Wait, you are?" Brackenstalk whipped around, she too surprised. Clovertail turned his head while Ripplefrost purred, "Congratulations!" The patrol stopped to congratulate Tortoisetail; the borders can wait, the sun was barely up.

Tortoisetail purred and her tail lashed. Swiftblossom's eyes dropped to examine her kin's stomach. Indeed, Swiftblossom could see that Tortoisetail's stomach was growing swollen by each day. The calico wondered how long until Tortoisetail was due. But Flaxpaw sadly meowed, "If Tortoisetail is going to become a queen, then what about me? You can't mentor me anymore?" The apprentice's ears flattened against his head.

Brackenstalk encouragingly set her tail-tip on Flaxpaw's shoulder, "I'm sure that Lionstar will give you a great mentor in place of Tortoisetail."

"Lionstar will? Good grief, not her," Tortoisetail remarked, her ears flickering, "I've already chosen who would mentor Flaxpaw and that's Swiftblossom."

"Eh?! Me?" Swiftblossom gasped.

"Tortoisetail, are you sure? No offense, Swiftblossom, but you're not an experienced warrior enough!" Clovertail budded in. Ripplefrost rolled his eyes and prodded the leading warrior on the patrol with his paw, "Are you just saying that because she hasn't lead a patrol yet?" Ripplefrost poked fun of Clovertail's love of leading patrols. Swiftblossom sighed, "I'm fine with your choice, only if you tell us who's the father of your kits." The calico she-cat bargained, her eyes narrowing. Brackenstalk let out a short purr and joined in, persuasively asking, "Yeah, Tortoisetail, who's the father?"

Tortoisetail shyly lowered her eyes, "M-Mudstrike."

"No way!" All of the cats on the patrol gasped in unison. Tortoisetail replied, "Yes way. He's the father of my kits."

Swiftblossom's heart swelled. Tortoisetail is going to have kits! I wonder what my kin will look like? And I wonder if Mudstrike is excited, too. Does he even know? Her friend never confided in Swiftblossom whether or not he wanted kits, nor that he was even interested in having a mate. I'll ask him much later! She thought pleasantly. 

Clovertail blinked before he turned back around. The patrol continued their routine, marking the border at the Shiny Shore, paying close attention to any strange scent marks and odd trails. Flaxpaw brushed up against his half-sister and asked, "Are you okay with having me as an apprentice?"

The calico she-cat then jokingly responded, "No, not at all. Rather, I'm excited to have you as my apprentice!" The two lightly laughed together before Clovertail began to lead the patrol towards the BoulderClan border. He carefully instructed his patrol, "Lionstar and Blazestripe informed all border and hunting patrols to not go near the BoulderClan border. We will be nearby. BoulderClan and TideClan are working together to drive out some foxes."

"Foxes? What do they look like? Are they always red-furred?" Flaxpaw asked Swiftblossom. The warrior replied, "Some are. Some are brown-furred. Usually, foxes don't cross our borders, but our clan and BoulderClan are working together to put an end to the threat since this fox threatens both of us." But her mind took her back to the badger attack, and she could vividly remember seeing Acornpaw being flung into the stream with no mercy. She pictured Flaxpaw and held in a sigh. At least Flaxpaw wouldn't end up like that-- not on her watch.

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I'm sorry for not updating in like a...week? Not sure. But I'm trying my best to keep this story alive not stagnant. 

Should I make a comic of a specific scene from this book? If so, let me know what scene I should make a comic on!

-Morgan