Tada! 3 chapters added in a day! Who can beat that? I think lots, I guess ;3 Still, I'm bringing many chapters to you within a day... enjoy! Swifttail is back wtih more surprises!
Chapter 4
Swifttail kept hidden in the shadows as a mouse scurried toward her direction. When it got close to her, she leaped and closed her claws around the small creature's body. Yes! Swifttail thought happily. She never was good with mice. It was her first mouse of the day. A voice sounded from behind her. "Good job," Murkheart purred. The ginger-and-white she-cat dipped her head at the black warrior. When Swifttail first came into ShadowClan, it was Murkheart who nursed her. "You're better at hiding in the shadows now," she continued. "Even with that ginger pelt of yours!" Swifttail smiled, and they both began to hunt again. The air was cold today, unlike the last day, when the sun was bright and the oxygen was warm. But it didn't matter, because ShadowClan was always in the shadows. They were always shaded by the tall pine trees in their territory.
All she ended up catching were one mouse and a lizard. Oh, StarClan, she thought. Why can't I still take my mind off Starlingfeather? As they padded back toward camp, Murkheart suddenly meowed, "You know, Starlingfeather really loves you." Swifttail nearly dropped her mouse. "E-excuse me, what did you say?" she quickly asked, flushing. The black she-cat flashed a solemn smile to her, and mewed, "Starlingfeather loves you a lot." Rolling her eyes, Swifttail shot back, "Why'd you say that?" Murkheart gazed intently into her amber eyes, and Swifttail realized how serious the situation was. Oh, she thought. Why is all I can think about these days love? Why is everything love?
"Because Frogfoot told me and the situation you and Starlingfeather are in is a lot like mine and Stripefur's when we first became warriors," Murkheart sighed, a sad gleam inside her usually-bright dark green eyes. Swifttail blinked twice, surprised by how bad she felt for Murkheart. What she saw next surprised her even more. She wasn't padding alongside Murkheart anymore, heading back to the camp. She was already inside the camp, and saw the image of herself, Swiftkit at that time, staring at Murkheart with a look of concern as she wept. The elders were carrying the body of a pale gray tom with deep, thick black stripes and white stripes around his legs. There were burnt marks made by a monster's paws. It was Stripefur. His yellow eyes were closed, and Murkheart was bursting with tears. Swifttail heard voices: I can't believe Stripefur died. He had promised me he would stay with me forever! Why did he have to die, especially when our kits our getting apprenticed soon? Swifttail realized it was Murkheart's voice. Was she seeing her memory and thoughts when Stripefur died? But she wasn't just seeing this; she was in where the memory took place. She tried to comfort Murkheart along with herself when she was a kit, but instead her paw went right through Murkheart's body. She let out a scream of horror, but no cat in the clearing moved. They were still weeping, and Stripefur was still being buried… What was happening? She was inside Murkheart's memory, but no cat noticed her. She was invisible to them, yet she was there and— it was confusing her! She blinked, wanting to leave the sad memory immediately.
And she was back. She realized she was lying on the ground, and Murkheart was screaming. "Are you okay, Swifttail? W-what happened? You were screaming! And you weren't talking! Y-you collapsed!" Swifttail licked her paw and meowed, "I-I don't know what just happened. I just suddenly fainted— I'm sorry." Of course she was lying about fainting, but how could she explain it? 'Oh, sorry, Murkheart, but I just entered your head and saw your memory of Stripefur dying and I was invisible,' Swifttail chuckled. As if I'd say that. She staggered upward, and thought, So I blinked, and entered her memory, then blinked, and got out of her memory again? The world was confusing. "Let's go back to camp," Swifttail suggested as Murkheart's dropped jaw quickly closed up.
"O-okay," Murkheart straightened her chest, recovering from the shock. They slowly trotted back to ShadowClan camp, and Swifttail placed her lizard and mouse on the fresh-kill pile. Swifttail quickly chose a frog to eat, and Murkheart sat beside her, with a mouse in her jaws. They placed their prey down and began to eat. "So what were we talking about before I— well, fainted?" The black she-cat stared at her and purred. "We were talking about Stripefur…" Her voice softened, and her eyes glinted sadly again. Swifttail tried her best not to blink, but she just had to after several heartbeats. Nothing happened. But how could it not? She was confused. It had happened, had it? She entered Murkheart's memory, and… A wave of pain flashed through her head, and she nearly spat out the frog she just consumed.
Her head aching, she told Murkheart, "S-sorry, I have to go now." Without waiting for a reply, she walked away to the warrior's den, leaving the black she-cat blinking with confusion. She snuggled into her nest, confused. I don't know what's happening. StarClan never mentioned this to me! What is happening, anyway? She felt crazed— something peculiar was really happening to her. StarClan, talk to me, she begged as she closed her eyes. Please tell me what is going on! However, StarClan did not seem to hear her call. All she dreamt of were odd things, and things she didn't want to confront. First, it was the face of Starlingfeather. Immediately, Swifttail flushed at the familiar, loving look on the tom's face. Then, the face switched into a mysterious white blur, and then a light brown, striped face. She was more confused than ever. And then, she dreamed that a huge mouse was chasing her. It was as if she were the prey, and it disgusted and frightened Swifttail. Swifttail woke up, panting, her heart beating extra fast. How horrible of StarClan, she thought, for making me have those dreams.
Shuddering, she exited the den, and let Tawnypelt put her into the dusk patrol with Tigerheart, Whitewater, Toadfoot, and Sparrowpaw. "Toadfoot is thinking about making me warrior soon," Sparrowpaw declared. Whitewater purred with amusement, and Toadfoot growled playfully, "If 'soon' means many, many moons later, then yes, I am thinking about doing that." Swifttail purred, "I'm sure you'll make a good warrior." Luckily, she was not put in a patrol with Starlingfeather or Shadeclaw, and all the tension she felt was gone the moment Whitewater, Tigerheart, Sparrowpaw, and Toadfoot began talking. "What do you think your warrior name would be?" Tigerheart asked Sparrowpaw. The tortoiseshell apprentice looked up thoughtfully. "Maybe the name Sparrowflight, because that's the name Swamppaw made up for me to play games when we were kits." Swifttail smiled, and they all reached the border. Perhaps her day wasn't so bad after all.
Whitewater sniffed twice. "I-I smell fox. Do others do, too?" Every cat nodded. "It's faint but fresh enough," Toadfoot's brown fur bristled. "A fox is inside ShadowClan territory!" Swifttail turned to face the dark brown warrior. "We must report this to Russetstar." Tigerheart backed off, and pointed his tail at what was in front of them. "Too late," he croaked. "It's too late. We'll have to fight. And it's not just one fox." Turning her gaze at where Tigerheart was pointing, Swifttail gasped. In front of them were two reddish-brown creatures with a pointed snout and black paws. Tigerheart was right. They had to fight.
Oh, no, cliffie! Let me tell you one thing: Rainpath's not gonna help them. Someone else shall... you make your guesses, I'll just keep writing. The next chapter will be another Swifttail one, since when we're in a tight situation like this, we can't just skip back to another cat, right? Fox! And there are TWO! Could Swifttail survive? What would happen? Well, make your predictions and review!!
~~Rainy