(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. My university and the internet don't get along very well. *sigh* This happens a lot. Anyway, I haven wifi again, so I can update!

Pie: It's okay. I've got a plan for Swallowpaw and Newtpaw. You do have a fair point, though. In the canon books forbidden loves tend to end badly. Maybe it is time for a change. Or maybe it isn't. At any rate, I promise Swallowpaw isn't going to end up like Silverstream. I'm not that evil.)

Chapter 12

"Has your sister told on us yet?" Newtpaw asked, sitting down on the cool, dewy grass. It had been nearly a half moon since Swallowpaw and Streampaw had their fight, and since then the black she-cat had only been meeting her friend at night. The air was cool and the moon cast dark shadows over the forest, but the two apprentices were safe from being spotted by patrols.

Swallowpaw sighed heavily, casting a glance up at the dark moonlit sky. "Not yet, but I think she's growing more angry every day."

The dark gray tom brushed his tail along the she-cat's side. "Have you tried talking to her again?"

"No. She's been avoiding me since our argument," the ThunderClan apprentice mewed. "To be honest, I've been avoiding her too."

"Avoidance won't solve anything," Newtpaw replied, staring at his friend. "You should try talking to her."

The black she-cat shook her head, flexing her paws in annoyance. "Why would I do that?" she growled. "Streampaw is furious and anything I have to say to her will just make her even more upset. She doesn't want us to meet together and that's all she'll say to me if I try talking to her."

The gray tom nodded solemnly, shifting his paws. "So how are you holding up?" he asked, changing the subject. "Is your training going well?"

No, Swallowpaw thought to herself, it isn't. "I guess it's going alright," she mewed, lying to her friend. I can't let him know I've been so tired lately that I've missed easy prey or messed up simple battle moves! He might not want to see me anymore!

"I think Grasswing is getting suspicious," Newtpaw meowed. "Or at least thinks something's wrong with me. She knows I haven't been sleeping and that it's affecting my training."

"Does she know you're sneaking out of camp to see me?" the ThunderClan she-cat asked.

The tom shook his head slowly. "I don't think she knows why I'm so tired, but I'm afraid she'll find out."

Swallowpaw stared down at her paws, a wave of sadness washing over her. "Cherryfall thinks I'm sick. I'm afraid she'll go to Streampaw and ask what's wrong with me. If she does, I'm sure my sister will tell her the truth."

"Why does meeting you have to be so hard?" Newtpaw hissed suddenly. "We shouldn't have to sneak around like this or let our training suffer! We should just be able to meet whenever and be friends without the stupid warrior code telling us not to!"

"I wish that rule didn't exist," Swallowpaw sighed. "It's so unfair! Why can't cats from separate Clans like each other? It's not like we're doing anything wrong!"

The ShadowClan tom nodded seriously. "Maybe that rule should just be abolished. It's a new time now. Season-cycles have passed since it was added to the code. I think it's outdated. We should get it removed!"

"The leaders will never listen to us," the black she-cat fretted. "We're just apprentices. And we're breaking rules. Rowanstar and Bramblestar will just punish us without even thinking about revising the code."

Newtpaw leaped to his paws. "Then we'll just have to become leaders and change the code ourselves! From now on we have to be extra careful with our training- get more sleep, practice our battle moves more, and prove to our mentors that we'll be great warriors! Then once we get our warrior names we have to be the most helpful, wise, rational cat in the Clan. We'll volunteer for dawn patrols, bring the most prey back from hunting patrols, fight for our Clan valiantly when we need to, and work our way up to Clan deputy! Once we do that our leaders will have to listen to us, and if they don't agree then, well, it won't matter because we'll be leader after them!"

Swallowpaw stared at her friend with wide green eyes, shocked by the tom's outburst. "That's all good and well, but how are we going to prove to our mentors that we can be great warriors if we're always too tired to train as apprentices?"

"We're going to have to meet less often, I guess," the dark gray tom mewed, pain brimming in his deep blue eyes. "I don't want to, but what else can we do? Meeting every night is hurting our training."

"Do you want to stop seeing me?" Swallowpaw asked nervously. "Because I don't want to stop seeing you."

Newtpaw shook his head quickly. "No, no. I will never stop seeing you. We just need to take a break between meetings so we get some sleep. How about we meet every fourth night? Then we'll get three nights of rest in between."

The black she-cat tipped her head to one side, thinking carefully. "Yes, that could work. We'll have to be extra good then, too. Even when our mentors say we can be done for the day, we should ask if we can do one more thing- fetch moss for the elders, play with the kits so their mothers can rest- anything at all just to prove how serious we are about being good warriors."

"Oh, and doing even more than what our mentors ask will make a good impression on our leaders!" Newtpaw gasped. "Rowanstar and Bramblestar will have to notice us! Good thinking, Swallowpaw!"

The she-cat ducked her head shyly. "Thank you," she muttered, feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the praise. "I think we should probably get going now," she added. "We should get some sleep before morning."

"I agree," the dark gray tom meowed, stretching his jaws in a wide yawn. "I could fall asleep right here."

"Good bye, Newtpaw," Swallowpaw mewed, standing up to leave."

Newtpaw stood up beside her, pressing his dark brown nose into her fur. "Good bye, Swallowpaw. I love you."

The ThunderClan apprentice froze, shocked by the tom's proclamation. "I…I love you, too."

"Swallowpaw, you did well today," Cherryfall meowed as she and her apprentice padded back to the ThunderClan camp after a hard day of training. "I was very impressed with you."

"Thank you," the apprentice mewed. "I didn't think I could beat Smokepaw in that match, but once he went limp I knew it was a trick and held on tight."

The ginger warrior nodded. "Smokepaw is a lot bigger and stronger than you, but you're smarter and faster. The two of you make good sparring partners. Anyway, you seem to be over that rough patch you had. I thought you were getting sick."

Swallowpaw stared down at her paws. "Well, I hadn't been sleeping well, but last night I got a great night sleep. Maybe I shouldn't eat such a big vole before nightfall anymore."

"You couldn't sleep because you ate too much?" Cherryfall asked. "Oh, thank StarClan! It was only a bellyache. You had me worried sick, Swallowpaw. You're one of the best apprentices in ThunderClan. It was hard watching you fail and things you had excelled at early on in your apprentice-hood."

"Well, I'm better now," the black she-cat assured her mentor. "Everything is fine."

The ginger she-cat glanced down at her apprentice. "I'm glad to hear it. You did very well today, so why don't you take the rest of today off? Tomorrow Dovewing and I are taking all the apprentices out for an all-day hunting parting, and I want you to be well rested."

Swallowpaw looked up at her mentor, giving the she-cat a sweet expression. "If you don't mind, I'd like to check the elders for ticks before I go to my nest. They deserve to be comfortable and not suffer from those pesky parasites."

Cherryfall nodded, curling her tail happily. "I think that would be acceptable. I'm sure the elders will thank you for volunteering and doing it willingly."

The apprentice bounced on her paws as she and her mentor padded into the camp. Newtpaw's idea to meet less often and get more sleep was paying off. Cherryfall was pleased with her and Swallowpaw's training was once again going smoothly. She was proving that she could meet with her ShadowClan tom and still be a great ThunderClan cat. Everything was going well.

Cheerfully, she trotted toward Jayfeather's den to fetch some mouse bile for the elders. Pushing through the lichen entrance, Swallowpaw spotted Streampaw standing in the back of the den, organizing the herb store. Swallowing, the apprentice approached her sister cautiously, knowing the tabby hadn't been pleased with her lately.

"Streampaw?" Swallowpaw asked. "Can I get some mouse bile please?"

The medicine cat apprentice turned around to face the black she-cat. Narrowing her amber eyes, Streampaw stared at her sister with a solemn expression on her face. "Swallowpaw, we need to talk."