That Special Place In My Heart

"Mmph..." Swiftpaw woke up rather pleasantly, letting his jaw break out into a yawn. Suddenly the ease didn't last for long, and a sharp pain cut through his back and through his thigh. He couldn't feel his back left foot. Trying to move it, he stirred up the moss, only creating more pain and friction against the bones in his left thigh, and caused strain on his back. Flicking one of his ears, he closed his eyes, then bit back a whimper of pain.

Lifting his left paw over his eye, he saw what stood before him, a slightly horrifying sight. A blood-bathed she cat, with little white fur showing, and ginger patches all over her. Dried blood stuck to her white fur, making it a bright crimson with the slight shade of a darker red as it dried. Swiftpaw stared at the body for a while, but then nearly yelped when he saw the face of the she cat. Ripped skin and blood stuck to one half of it, clumps of fur sticking out as the jagged points of ripped skin stuck out. Half of her right ear was gone, while cobwebs were stuck to that one half of her face. Swiftpaw whispered quietly, then tried to scooch away. But a thought hit him as he realized who that was. Brightheart! he thought.

"Oh no... no, no, Brightheart! Wake up!" Swiftpaw yelped, weakly tapping her on the back. The she cat squirmed under his touch, then yelped and whimpered.

"Pack... pack... kill... kill..." she whispered as Swiftpaw frantically continued shaking her vigerously, desperately trying to wake up the she cat. He then finally collapsed and gave up, letting out a tiny whimper. The she cat twitched her left ear as she opened her one eye, then yelped as she saw Swiftpaw laying on his side, staring into her eyes.

"Oh my goodness, Brightheart... what happened? Why are you bleeding? We're in StarClan, you would have been healed by now," Swiftpaw mewed weakly, trying to lift himself with the last bit of strength he had. He didn't know why his body ached, his left thigh pained, and he felt so... helpless. And a sudden loss of energy. "How did things get like this? Brightheart? Your face is ripped open again!"

The blood bathed she cat squirmed as Swiftpaw's voice rang in her ears, and she covered them harshly with her paws, digging her claws deep into her fur. As Swiftpaw tried to get a mew through her, she lashed at him, then flopped down on her side again, whimpering as she held her paws to her ears, drowning out Swiftpaw's cries.

Swiftpaw soon took a hint and flopped down on his side as well, staring at the wall of the den. Where am I? he thought, worried. He was in pain, with a harshly bleeding Brightheart, sitting in nests in a den. This wasn't StarClan, he knew that for a fact. In StarClan, cats were healed when they stepped in, and they felt no pain. He closed his eyes, then opened them again when he remembered the last time he set foot in StarClan.

Lionheart had asked him to make a wish.

Had his wish come true? Why would Lionheart grant him a wish so selfish, just so he could be with Brightheart? He had completely erased the future, forcing it back to the past. All the events would have to replay. Wouldn't that irk all of StarClan? Of course it would, the prophecies would probably be rearranged, they would have to give cats their lives again, and...

But what if StarClan just wanted Swiftpaw to be happy?

"Hurph... Swiftpaw?"

Swiftpaw raised his head, alarmed by the voice who said that. It sounded like Brightheart, but... much more youthful. She had that young spark in her voice again, something that Swiftpaw hadn't heard in a long time. His ear perked as she mewed his name for the first time in a long time. "Y-yes, Brightheart?"

"What are you, Bluestar? My name's still Brightpaw, silly," Brightpaw weakly smiled at Swiftpaw as she turned her head towards him, revealing ugly gashes and torn skin on half of her face. The bleeding had stopped, what a relief. Her blue eye still shone with the true Brightheart.

"Brightpaw?" Swiftpaw asked. "B-Brightpaw?" he realized it now. His wish had come true. For Lionheart to do such a nice, considerate thing for the miserable tom was truly heartwarming. He would forever respect Lionheart for this, but now wasn't the time to say his thanks.

"Yes?" Brightpaw asked, as if Swiftpaw had been asking for her attention. He hadn't. He shifted uncomfortably, then locked his gaze into hers.

"Er- do you know what happened?" Swiftpaw asked. He wanted to make sure that Lionheart had truly gone back into the past to change his fate. His left thigh still hurt, and he didn't have the effort to swing his head to his shoulder and see what had happened.

Brightpaw suddenly started trembling. Uncontrollably. She continued shaking, muttering words under her breath, her gaze darkened from Swiftpaw. Her left paw twitched as she continued to mutter the dark words. Swiftpaw, concerned, attempted to reach his paw to hers. "Brightpaw!"

Brightpaw lifted her head suddenly, her gaze still dark as her bright blue eye had turned into a dull, sparkle-less color. One word came from her lips. "Dogs."

She had to say no more. Swiftpaw believed what was happening in front of his own eyes, as his gaze darkened as well. He looked down at the ground, then started having flashbacks himself. Of the dogs. As they ripped through him, acting as if he was their chew toy. They bit at him, as if they were going to eat him. Swiftpaw tucked his head under his paws. He was so tiny, defenseless... he tried to save Brightpaw, but she still got injured in the process... she was scarred for life now, both emotionally and physically. He was ashamed of himself. He could have saved Brightpaw.

He remembered his own body being crushed by their huge paws, as he got trampled and walked on as they tried to get to Brightpaw. He failed her. As he was passed out on the ground, they started ripping at her as well. They tore the skin off her face, then ripped out clumps of her fur until they felt the satisfaction of enough blood and left. Swiftpaw closed his eyes once more, as the terrifying image was stuck in his head. The blood stained teeth pinching at his skin. The canines ripping at his leg, and chewing at his body. The sound of splattering and ripping, even tearing. He whimpered.

"Swiftpaw!" Brightpaw gasped, shaking him as well. "Are you having terrible flashbacks as well?"

Swiftpaw held a solemn gaze towards the white she cat. He nodded, the fear in his eyes noticeable. Brightpaw saw it, gently holding out her paw for him. He took it, then scooched a bit closer, letting his head rest on her soft, brushing white and ginger fur. Brightpaw layed down with him, and they both just rested for a while. Swiftpaw didn't feel scared anymore, as long as he was still with Brightpaw. His life wasn't miserable anymore; it was almost the opposite.

Suddenly a fluffy gray she cat entered the den, her gaze gentle as Swiftpaw cringed at her sudden approach. He opened his eyes, staring at the gray she cat. She looked at Brightpaw for a moment, before muttering something under her breath. "Oh, StarClan, are you two doing okay?"

Swiftpaw forgot who this she cat was. But then it came to him. Cinderpelt. Warily, he looked at her. "I'm fine, I guess... it's just that my thigh and my back..."

"It's all right. You have scars running in lines on your left leg, and they're pretty deep. You can see bone. You can't feel that, can you?" she asked curiously.

"N-no... it's only my left thigh," Swiftpaw mewed, starting to panic as he tried to whip his head back to look at his left leg.

"Hush there, it's gonna be all right..." the gray she cat gently set her tail on Swiftpaw's head, as he instantly calmed down a bit. "The teeth marks are noticeable, looks like they threw you a lot and hung onto your leg. It's no surprise you can't feel it, they're in jagged lines running from your foot to your thigh, all of them you can see the bone. It was bleeding for a long time, you soaked up the moss under you. So did Brightpaw, with her face. But it's all right. You two will be okay."

Swiftpaw closed his eyes. "W-what else is wrong?"

"You lost your left ear while Brightpaw lost half of her right ear. I'm afraid you won't grow that ear back, however there's a chance that Brightheart will. It's okay though."

Swiftpaw's gaze darkened once more when he heard this. What used to be fear turned into rage. Those dogs took his life the first time, and now they took his leg and ear the second time. He didn't deserve this. Why did those dogs have to do this to Brightpaw too? She lost half of her face; she would remain ugly to the others for the rest of her life. She was beautiful and wonderful on the inside, but not all cats would understand that... Swiftpaw felt so useless, so helpless. It was unfair.

"I'm so sorry, Brightpaw and Swiftpaw," Cinderpelt murmured, as she left the den, sweeping her tail gently in front of Swiftpaw's face. She was going to return with herbs, Swiftpaw suspected. Yet he couldn't hide the anger and agony he felt at that moment.

"It's not fair..." he whispered. "It's not fair!"

"S-Swiftpaw?" Brightpaw whispered, as she turned over onto her side again.

"It's just not fair!" Swiftpaw cried out, losing it all, as his voice broke into crazy laughter and cries. "It's not fair at all!"

He didn't know what was going on. All he knew is that he broke out into an insane laughter and crying frenzy, with no cat who could stop him.

Author's Notes and Rambles - Here you go c: Thanks guys for the reviews, it really helps! With your support, you'll be getting chapters more frequently, remember that. I'm just going to post a quick rant, if that's okay. Apparently people don't like the idea of slash + warriors, and I understand that, but really with all the hate? I posted something about BrambleHawk that was rated M for a reason, and I got PMs of people telling me they were scarred, it was sick, or I was a freak. I posted warnings, apparently people are stupid enough that they can't read the summaries or warnings. I deleted it, to avoid anymore unnecessary flames. So I guess I won't be writing much M rated stuff, or slash, since people think it's so "disgusting". Even if it's rated T, people feel the need to express their hate and disgust of Warriors slash. People these days, right?

Rant over. Sorry you had to read that, you guys probably either don't care or you might agree. Thanks for the support again! c: I do not own Warriors, all rights belong to Erin Hunter. Reviews are appreciated!