This is my first Warriors fanfic, so I hope yall like it! This takes place during the first series in book 5 "A Dangerous Path".
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors, the amazing Erin Hunters do.
~Shimmerwhiskers
"Cloudtail! Cloudtail!" As ThunderClan cheered for their newest warrior, all the apprentices hung in the back of the clearing, grumbling.
"Why does he get to become a warrior and not us," complained a golden-brown tabby tom, "we're the same age as him."
"Yeah," agreed a pale gray she-cat, "we should be there too. What do you think Swiftpaw?"
Swiftpaw nodded, "we should be up there Fernpaw, but we're not."
"So what are we going to do?" the golden-brown tom pondered.
Swiftpaw flicked his tail, "The only thing we can do, Thornpaw, prove ourselves."
"But how?" a pale grey speckled tom asked.
The group quieted. How are we going to prove ourselves? Swiftpaw thought. Then, a white she-cat with ginger splotches spoke up for the first time, "the dogs" she murmured.
"What?" the pale speckled tom questioned, looking both shocked and confused.
"We fight dogs that are living at Snakerocks, Ashpaw. If we drive them away, then Bluestar will see we are ready to become warriors." The she-cat insisted.
"It could work Brightpaw!" Swiftpaw mewed, suddenly excited. "If we attack the dogs it will show that we are willing to risk our lives for our clan, and then we will become warriors! I know it!"
Fernpaw took a step back, quickly followed by Ashpaw. "No matter how much I want to become a warrior, I can't do this," Ashpaw stated as Fernpaw nodded vigorously in agreement, "there's got to be another way."
"Well there isn't." Swiftpaw replied tartly. He turned to Thornpaw, "surely you will join us, won't you?" Thornpaw shook his head and joined Fernpaw and Ashpaw. Anger welled up inside Swiftpaw and he stepped closer to Brightpaw. Surely you won't turn your back on your own plan, would you? He was relieved to see that all that showed in Brightpaw's face was determination. "Fine," he spat "but don't be surprised when we become warriors and you don't."
Swiftpaw was woken the next morning by movement in the den.
"Go back to sleep," Brightpaw murmured, "I'm on dawn patrol." With that, she was gone.
The night before, he and Brightpaw came up with a plan. They would sneak out of camp before dawn in two sunrises, go to Snakerocks, defeat the pack, and come back home heroes. They considered stopping to hunt on the way back, just for good measure. We just have to make it through today without any warriors finding out. Swiftpaw prayed to StarClan that the other apprentices would keep their mouths shut. He glanced over at his friends, if only you would join us, Swiftpaw thought sadly, and then we could all become warriors.
Swiftpaw must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, the sun was shining high in the sky through the ferns covering the front of the apprentices den. Across the den, Brightpaw was sleeping peacefully. She must be tired, Swiftpaw thought, she stayed up late last night for the celebration and she woke before dawn. Suddenly an image came in his mind: he and Brightpaw, fighting the dogs, both of them exhausted, getting weaker and weaker… No. Swiftpaw told himself firmly, we will defeat the dogs and become warriors. But no matter how much he said that, one could only wonder if Swiftpaw was telling himself the truth.
"No Swiftpaw! You run up to your opponent, and then you stick out your paw to swipe!" Longtail, Swiftpaw's mentor, shouted, clearly annoyed.
"Okay, okay. Here, is this better?" Swiftpaw ran at Longtail, shot out a paw, swiped a few times and ran away.
"Yes, much." Longtail huffed, clearly surprised. After practicing the move a few more times, Longtail mewed "We can end our session now. Go and hunt for the Elders. When you come back, you may take something for yourself." Longtail flicked his tail and left.
Swiftpaw decided he would hunt at the near Snakerocks. I might as well figure out as much as I can about this pack before we attack them. Swiftpaw thought as he made his way to the adder-infested boulders.
Just as the rocks came into view, an eerie howl broke through the birdsong. The pack. As he approached the rocks, all Swiftpaw could smell was the rank sent of dogs-several of them. It was a strong odor that smelled of crow-food and filth. There wasn't a morsel of prey in sight. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to hunt here, Swiftpaw realized as he took in his surroundings. He noticed the pack was living in a cave that was in one of the largest rocks, and to his delight, there were three easily accessed entrances/exits. "So if we do need to escape, we can easily." Swiftpaw murmured aloud, but hastily added "not that we'll need to."
When Swiftpaw returned to camp, he dropped his prey off to the Elders and took a piece for himself. As he was chewing his first bite, Brightpaw padded up and settled beside him.
"I heard you went to Snakerocks today" she stated after she was comfortable.
"Yes I did, and I found out the best way for us to attack," Swiftpaw replied. He explained how there was the multiple escape routes, and how the reek of crow-food would cover their scent. "It seems as if StarClan is making this easier for us!" Swiftpaw mewed excitedly, "That must be a sign."
"A sign of what?" Brightpaw asked.
"A sign that this is our destiny. We were born to save our Clan from this nuisance, and to become the best warriors ever!"
An owl hooted as Swiftpaw and Brightpaw made their way to Snakerocks. They had got up well before dawn, and had snuck out of camp unnoticed.
"I still can't believe we had to use the dirtplace tunnel." Brightpaw complained for the twentieth time, "It'll take moons to get rid of this stench."
Swiftpaw rolled his eyes. At least she's not worrying about what we are about to do. Swiftpaw thought. He had his doubts, no matter how hard he to push them away, but he wasn't willing to voice them, let alone accept them.
Swiftpaw was so lost in thought that he didn't realize how close they were to Snakerocks, and crashed right into one of the boulders. With no injury worse than a bruised ego, Swiftpaw pulled himself to his feet and walked back to Brightpaw, whose whiskers were twitching.
"Shut up!" Swiftpaw spat. Brightpaw stopped, but she still looked amused.
"So where are these pathways you were telling me about?" Brightpaw mewed.
"They're right ov-" Swiftpaw was cut off by the sound of claws scratching rock.
"What was that?" Brightpaw whispered her terror showing in her eyes. As if on cue, a huge dog came out from behind a rock. Then out came another, and another, and another, until Swiftpaw and Brightpaw were surrounded. These dogs were like no other Swiftpaw had ever seen before. They were bigger than ten of the biggest warriors combined. They had razor sharp teeth and lolling tongues. Their paws were the size of a grown cat's head, and the claws, they were longer than their teeth. They all seemed to whisper "pack pack, kill kill" under their breath. Swiftpaw cringed; these dogs could easily kill a whole clan, let alone two small apprentices.
"We need to get out of here." Brightpaw whimpered.
"I know," He murmured and then they pounced.
At once three dogs were on him, and Swiftpaw realized that he was fighting for his life. He batted at one dog's muzzle as he kicked at another with his hind leg. He felt as if he was being nipped and scratched all over. He fought and fought, but the dogs never seemed to tire, while Swiftpaw was exhausted. He dared a glance over at Brightpaw and saw she was having the same trouble. Their eyes met, alight with fear and regret. The biggest dog Brightpaw was fighting saw her momentary distraction and lunged. Its teeth met the left side of her face, picked her up and shook her vigorously.
"NOO!" Swiftpaw screamed. He broke free from his fight and lunged for Brightpaw's attacker. He landed square on the dog's shoulders and dug his claws as deep as they would go. The beast dropped Brightpaw and tried vainly to reach Swiftpaw, who was now pummeling its back with thorn sharp claws. All of a sudden the dog started running towards a boulder, and just before they reached it, the dog turned, smashing Swiftpaw between it and the rock. Swiftpaw fell to the ground in a daze; black dots sparkled in his vision as he turned back to the dog. Its eyes lit up with surprise when Swiftpaw lunged and dug his claws into its face. The dog easily shook him off, and lunged for the apprentice's throat. Swiftpaw snarled defiantly as the creature tore at his stomach. No matter how hard he tried, Swiftpaw felt his blows getting weaker and his eyes started to droop. The dog backed away leaving Swiftpaw in a scarlet pool of his own blood. As the pack retreated Swiftpaw noticed Brightpaw, who was desperately trying to help him.
"Its-no-use" he choked and then the world went black.
Wow. This is my first Warriors fanfic (as you prob know) and I'm actually pretty proud of it! I worked hard on it, so I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please review; I love constructive criticism and advice! Also please follow me (as an author). I'm going to start writing a long fanfic about Leafpool and Squirellflight and I want everyone to see it! Thanks again!
~Shimmerwhiskers